登陆注册
4610300000018

第18章 MR. WORLDLY-WISEMAN(3)

night that would never any more plague and pollute me, I would be mightily tempted to forget what all my former teachers had told me and try this new Gospel. And especially if the gentleman said that the remedy was just at hand. 'Pray, sir,' said the breathless and spiritless man, 'wilt thou, then, open this secret to me?'

The wit and the humour and the satire of the rest of the scene must be fully enjoyed over the great book itself. The village named Morality, hard by the hill; that judicious man Legality, who dwells in the first house you come at after you have turned the hill;

Civility, the pretty young man that Legality hath to his son; the hospitality of the village; the low rents and the cheap provisions, and all the charities and amenities of the place,--all together make up such a picture as you cannot get anywhere out of John Bunyan. And then the pilgrim's stark folly in entering into Worldly-Wiseman's secret; his horror as the hill began to thunder and lighten and threaten to fall upon him; the sudden descent of Evangelist; and then the plain-spoken words that passed between the preacher and the pilgrim,--don't say again that the poorest of the Puritans were without letters, or that they had not their own esoteric writings full of fun and frolic; don't say that again till you are a pilgrim yourself, and have our John Bunyan for one of your classics by heart.

We are near an end, but before you depart, stand still a little, as Evangelist said to Christian, that I may show you the words of God.

And first, watch yourselves well, for you all have a large piece of this worldly-wise man in yourselves. You all take something of some ancestor, remote or immediate, who was wise only for this world. Yes, to be sure, for you still decline as they did, and desert as they did, those you deem to be the weakest, and stand with those that you suppose to be the strongest side. The Architect of Fortune is perhaps too strong meat for your stomach;

but still, if you ever light upon its powerful pages, you will surely blush in secret to see yourself turned so completely inside out. You may not have chosen your church wholly with an eye to your shop; but you must admit that you see as good and better men than you are doing that every day. And it is a sure sign to you that you do not yet know the plague of your own heart, unless you know yourself to be a man more set upon the position and the praise that this world gives than you yet are on the position and the praise that come from God only. Set a watch on your own worldly heart. Watch and pray, lest you also enter into all Worldly-

Wiseman's temptation. This is one of the words of God to you.

Another word of God is this. The way of the cross, said severe Evangelist, is odious to every worldly-wise man; while, all the time, it is the only way there is, and there never will be any other way to eternal life. The only way to life is the way of the cross. There are two crosses, indeed, on the way to the Celestial City; there is, first, the Cross of Christ, once for you, and then there is your cross daily for Christ, and it takes both crosses to secure and to assure any man that he is on the right road, and that he will come at last to the right end. 'The Christian's great conquest over the world,' says William Law, 'is all contained in the mystery of Christ upon the cross. And true Christianity is nothing else but an entire and absolute conformity to that spirit which Christ showed in the mysterious sacrifice of Himself upon the cross. Every man is only so far a Christian as he partakes of this same spirit of Christ--the same suffering spirit, the same sacrifice of himself, the same renunciation of the world, the same humility and meekness, the same patient bearing of injuries, reproaches, and contempts, the same dying to all the greatness, honours, and happiness of this world that Christ showed on the cross. We also are to suffer, to be crucified, to die, to rise with Christ, or else His crucifixion, His death, and His resurrection will profit us nothing. 'This is the second word of God unto thee. And the third thing to-night is this, that though thy sin be very great, though thou hast a past life round thy neck enough to sink thee for ever out of the sight of God and all good men; a youth of sensuality now long and closely cloaked over with an after life of worldly prosperity, worldly decency, and worldly religion, all which only makes thee that whited sepulchre that Christ has in His eye when He speaks of thee with such a severe and dreadful countenance; yet if thou confess thyself to be all the whited sepulchre He sees thee to be, and yet knock at His gate in all thy rags and slime, He will immediately lay aside that severe countenance and will show thee all His goodwill. Notwithstanding all that thou hast done, and all thou still art, He will not deny His own words, or do otherwise than at once fulfil them all to thee. Ask, then, and it shall be given thee; seek, and thou shalt find; knock, and it shall be opened unto thee. And with a great goodwill, He will say to those that stand by Him, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to thee He will say, Behold, I have caused all thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

同类推荐
  • 王文端公集

    王文端公集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 金液大丹诗

    金液大丹诗

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 大金色孔雀王咒经

    大金色孔雀王咒经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说孛经

    佛说孛经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 聊斋传人

    聊斋传人

    你说什么师傅?原来你以后会变成树妖姥姥!黑山老妖,原来你生前是被我小舅子打死的!
  • 里院

    里院

    里院,里取隐藏之意,为暗影之中的医院。从里一院,到里十院,这样的医院,在华夏大地之上,共分布着十座。里院以医院为遮掩,镇守在十座鬼门关之前,他们阳间秩序守卫者自居,同鬼门关之后的地府一道,维护着各自不同世界的规则,防止出现百鬼夜行之类的重大灵异事件发生。然而,一个巨大的阴谋犹如遮天蔽日的黑幕从天而降,没有人意识到阴阳秩序的混乱,仅仅只是一个开始……
  • 第六十八次祈祷

    第六十八次祈祷

    只是一本记录遗憾与成长的备忘录那些曾经不敢说出的,不敢面对的都只能变成对未来的一声声祈祷。此时此刻也许还有孤独的人,在这个星球的某个角落静静地回忆着逐渐模糊过去,看着与自己无关的热闹。那在彻底遗忘关于成长的所有感觉之前,在将要成为过去的现在,我想就这样把它记住。如果有一天你可以看到这本书,或许可以在里面找到曾经的自己,在这个快速前进的世界,还有一份真挚单纯的美好。好了,我们经历过的青春,重新开始了。
  • 给心灵洗个澡(全集)

    给心灵洗个澡(全集)

    本书运用大量经典、充满智慧的故事和深入浅出的道理,具体介绍了人们应如何调节心态,在逆境中学会放弃,在绝望中抓住快乐,以积极的心态控制未来,使读者受益匪浅。
  • 祝你余生不欢愉

    祝你余生不欢愉

    宋子晴觉的爱多痛苦,但是就是这份痛苦撑着她到现在,可是不爱就不痛了,拼近全力,离开他。他却说:就算死也要死在我手里。当那个女人真的死在他的手里,陆思琛才知道这个恶毒的女人,有多重要。
  • 狂傲音痴:逆天女破天穹

    狂傲音痴:逆天女破天穹

    【新文《凤女惊华之邪仆》已发,欢迎各位读者们去看~】她本音痴,却意外穿越到音者为尊的世界。碧落大陆,乐法环生,此刻才是她生命真正的开始。轻松修炼绝世乐法谱秘籍,魔族神物、萌宠九尾神兽,还有各种奇珍异宝统统自动送上门。运气好到让那些正宗的音乐天才喷血。人们眼中的音痴废物居然是最有天赋的乐法修炼者?某些音乐天才气的泪奔挠墙。本以为一切都是幸女神眷顾,才发现原来另有隐情。是什么尘封住了她惊人的天赋让她成为人人耻笑的音痴?这一切隐藏着什么阴谋,还是这本是她不归的命运?
  • 第十六届百花文学奖:《小说月报·原创版》获奖作品集(下册)

    第十六届百花文学奖:《小说月报·原创版》获奖作品集(下册)

    本书汇集了第十六届百花文学奖《小说月报·原创版》获奖的长、中、短篇小说,共7篇。包括:严歌苓最新长篇小说《老师好美》、曾被改变为热播电视剧的“中国第一婚恋写手”王海鸰的长篇小说《新恋爱时代》、《寻枪》编剧凡一平创作的中篇小说《非常审问》(同名电影正在制作中)、著名作家林那北的中篇《雅鲁藏布江》、实力派作家普玄的中篇《资源》、在2014年被选刊大量转载的著名作家尤凤伟的短篇小说《金山寺》、获得“小说新人奖”的作家向春创作的关注乳腺癌手术的作品《被切除》。全书大约75万字,其中的许多作品一经发表即在社会产生很大反响,或被多家刊物转载,或改编成影视剧,均为贴近现实生活,艺术手法成熟的作品。
  • 惊心后宫路:懿妃传

    惊心后宫路:懿妃传

    那一夜,她甘心献身于他,只因他是自己珍爱之人。宫砂之印褪去,却换来他的一句,朕最恨你这种心机深重的女人。红绡帐暖,夜夜承恩,他让她担尽狐媚之名。在那无数个刀口舔血的日夜,真爱还是利用,信任还是背叛,他们如何区分的清?惊心的后宫之路,诡谲的权力巅峰,这脆弱的感情又当何去何从?影儿为您奉上宫廷版无间道,精彩的猫鼠游戏哦!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 天使消失在街角

    天使消失在街角

    三流酒吧歌手的私生女安尹禾在7岁那年被一群小男生嘲笑后得到天使男孩的帮助,告诉她永远要在对手面前表现出坚强。此后安禾一直坚强隐忍,因为成绩优秀而被挖角到贵族学校,因此邂逅了神秘优雅的瑭和因梦想而叛逆的“坏小子”英树。安禾认定瑭是天使男孩并迷恋上他,这段爱情一波三折,而另一边,命运偏偏又让她和英树滋生出无数的牵连……
  • 鬼恋

    鬼恋

    说起来该是十来年前了,有一天,我去访一个新从欧洲回来的朋友,他从埃及带来一些纸烟,有一种很名贵的我在中国从未听见过的叫做Era,我个人觉得比平常我们吸到的埃及烟要淡醇而迷人,他看我喜欢,于是就送我两匣。记得那天晚上我请他在一家京菜馆吃饭,我们大家喝了点酒,饭后在南京路一家咖啡店里闲谈,一直到三更时分方才分手。那是一个冬夜,天气虽然冷,但并没有风,马路上人很少,空气似乎很清新,更显得月光的凄艳清绝,我因为坐得太久,又贪恋这一份月色,所以就缓步走着。