Light Arising, Thoughts on the Central Radiance - Caroline Emelia Stephen 1908

7/30/2019 Light Arising, Thoughts on the Central Radiance - Caroline Emelia Stephen 1908

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There are no known copyright restrictions inthe United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031231271


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LIGHT AKISING


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"Visit then this soul of mine,Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;Fill me, Radiancy Divine,Scatter all mine unbelief;More and more Thyself display,Shining to the perfect day."


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LIGHT ARISINGTHOUGHTS

ON THE CENTRAL RADIANCE

CAROLINE EMELIA STEPHENAUTHOR OF "QUAKER STRONGHOLDS"

CAMBRIDGEW. HEFFER & SONS

LONDONHEADLEY BBOS., BISHOPSGATE ST., E.C.

SIMPKIN, MABSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., Ltd.1908


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PREFACErflHE following papers have been written on-*- various occasions and at considerable intervalsof time. Some amount of repetition will be foundin them owing to the fact that the point of viewthey representthat of Rational Mysticismis notso often distinctly recognised as it is unconsciouslyoccupied. Its full acceptance involves I believe acertain habitual method of regarding the relationbetween the inner and outer regions of experience.And in order to make the drift of some of thesepapers clear to hearers unfamiliar with that method,it seemed on several occasions necessary to state itafresh.

To re-write the whole series with a view to gettingrid of these repetitions would be not only laboriousbut dangerous, as suggesting an attempt at somethingmore systematic and adequate than I could achieve.I have therefore thought it best to leave the papers


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vi Prefacealmost untouched ; trusting to the kindly indulgenceof my readers in judging of reflections so scatteredand so essentially fugitive in form, though all springingfrom a common foundation of unaltering conviction.

For a fuller and more deliberate statement of mybelief regarding the Inner Light and Divine Guidance,I must refer to Chap. II of Quaker Strongholds 1.

I must acknowledge with thanks the permissionkindly given to me by the Editors of the Friends'Quarterly Examiner, the ComhiU Magazine, andthe Hibbert Journal, to reprint articles which haveappeared in those periodicals.

C. E. S.The Porch, Cambridge.

1908.

1 Quaker Strongholds, by C. B. S., published by Headley Bros.,Bishopsgate Street Without. 4th Edition, 1907.


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CONTENTSPAOE

I RATIONAL MYSTICISM .... 1II QUAKERISM AND FREE THOUGHT . 24III THE QUAKER TRADITION. ... 41IV WHAT DOES SILENCE MEAN? . . 57V THE DOOR OP THE SANCTUARY . . 74VI WAR AND SUPERFLUITIES ... 94VII LIVING ALONE IllVIII THE FAITH OF THE UNLEARNED . 132IX THE FEAR OF DEATH . .151X SIGNS AND WONDERS IN DIVINEGUIDANCE 166

LETTER TO YOUNG FRIENDS . . .180CONCLUSION 187


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RATIONAL MYSTICISM 1It will not, I hope, be inferred from the title

chosen for this paper that I am undertaking to treatthe subject of mysticism either historically, or fromthe point of view of theology or psychology. All thesethings would be quite beyond my power. My aimis only to describe a certain position or experiencefamiliar to many of us in daily life, but not alwaysI think recognised with sufficient clearness even bythose to whom it belongs ; and to make some practicalsuggestions as to our best wisdom regarding it.

In addition to the vagueness associated (perhapsinevitably) with the name of mystic, there is a certainambiguity in its application to individuals. In callingany one by that name one may be attributing to himeither a belief or a gift. As I understand the word,a mystic is either one who has, or one who believesin, a certain illumination from within. I wish this

1 An address given to the Sunday Society at NewnhamCollege.

8. 1


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2 Thoughts on the Central Radiomceevening, as far as I am able, to consider what is reallymeant by the "inner light" of the mystic; what isinvolved in its possession, or in the belief that otherspossess it; and what is its relation to reason andconscience.

I will begin by owning that I have no hesitationin describing myself as a rational mystic. Whatprecisely does this claim mean?

It means, in the first place, that I share the beliefof the religious society to which I belong (the Societyof Friends) that there is given to every human beinga measure, or germ, of something of an illuminatingnaturesomething of which the early Friends oftenspoke as " a seed of life "a measure of that " light,life, spirit and grace of Christ" which they recognisedas the gift of God to all men. They dwelt as muchon the universality as on the inwardness of the graceof Christthe power of God unto salvation. Theybelieved that this seed of life, if yielded to, obeyed,and followed, would lead every one to salvation, withor without the outward knowledge of the Gospel ofChrist.

To believe this is I suppose to be in some sense amystic. It is at any rate to believe that the " mysteryof godliness" is at work in all directions ; thatwherever there is a human spirit there is a Divineprocess, a Divine possibility, the issues of which ex-tend beyond human ken. And this faith is I believe


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Rational Mysticism 3emphatically rational, in the sense that many goodreasons may be given for holding it. I am not goingto attempt to set forth one of them ; but I wishdistinctly to make the claim of reasonableness for themystical position, although it may imply the existenceof something beyond reason ; or rather I claim itwith the more confidence on that very account, forI believe that Reason itself points in the samedirectionthat is to something beyond itself.

Those who have preached the doctrine of theLight within have generally appealed with confidenceto the experience of their hearers, expecting to findin every heart a witness to its reality. They havemet with a wide and general response ; yet theirdoctrine is certainly not universally accepted Therecertainly are people who do not recognise in them-selves any such inner illumination. It may of coursebe said that they must know best ; and that a lightwhich they are not conscious of possessing is no lightat all. I fully recognise that we cannot reasonablyhold a belief in the universality of saving Light, unlesswe assume that the consciousness of light is not neces-sarily co-extensive with its existence ; in other wordsthat that of which we speak under the figure of Lightmay exist in a latent state. This is in fact my ownbelief The indispensable and most beautiful figure ofLight points I believe to something which it is hard todistinguish from the goodness and the grace of God

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4 Thoughts on the Central Radiancefrom the Divine Spirit and life and power. And ifwe believe at all in this Divine power and grace, wecan hardly help thinking of it as universal. Theremay indeed be some who still think of God's graceas something to be bestowed only on a select few.I believe that the increase of outward Lightthegrowth of knowledge and of clearness of thoughtisfast rendering such views untenable by people livingin the open sunshine of our day. But I must notplunge into the theological and psychological diffi-culties of the question of universality.

Whatever our belief on this point,whether weregard the Light as a universal though often latentpossession of humanityor whether we consider thevery possibility of a difference of opinion as evidenceagainst the universality of the inner Light itselfwhichever of these views may be the truest, ourpresent concern is not with them, but with themeaning of spiritual illumination where it does exist.

It is quite certain that the degrees of such lightexperienced by different people, and by the sameperson at different times, do vary indefinitely. Weneed not go far afield to find cases in which a feebleand intermittent glimmer is all that is recognised inthe depths of which we are speaking. There arepeople whose spiritual perception is so dim that theyhardly like to call it Light ; while others tell of aglory of illumination as overpowering to the inward


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Rationed Mysticism 5vision as is the uncurtained light of the sun to thesteady gaze of the natural eye ; or it may be of flashesof revelation, which have changed for them the wholeaspect of life as the blaze of lightning reveals themidnight landscape.

Between these two extremes there seems to beevery variety of experience with regard to the lightvouchsafed ; and the study of " varieties of religiousexperience" is certainly one of profound and growinginterest. It seems to me that one of the greatestgains which have come and are coming to us fromthe encounter between theology and natural scienceby which we have been so severely shaken and sifted,is this ;that we are learning to recognise the infinitevariety and complexity of the conditions under whichpeople are struggling towards Truth, Goodness, andBeauty. We are beginning to see that we cannotblame people, the very focus of whose inner sight isunlike our own, for not thinking or feeling as wedo on the deepest and most comprehensive of allsubjects.

Nevertheless Light and Darkness, Good and Evil,Truth and Falsehood are for ever opposed ; and wemust I believe come more and more to recognisethat whatever else this mysterious life of ours may be,it is certainly a school. And a school implies disci-pline, and discipline implies a Teacher : and belief inthe Light within resolves itself into beliefin an Inward


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6 Thoughts on the Central RadianceMonitorin One whose Voice, once heard, mustnecessarily be the supreme inspiration of our lives.

I said that in describing any one as a mystic youmay be attributing to him either a belief or a gift.I have no hesitation in calling myself a mystic, and arational mystic, in the sense of believing in mysticalexperience, and of considering myself as havingreasonable warrant for doing so. To call myself amystic in the other sense might seem to be claimingnot only a share in what I regard as a universalpossession, but an unusual degree of inward illumin-ation. The gift of the mystic is I believe akin to thegift of poetry. To call any one by that namegenerally implies not only that he is a pupil in theschool of the inner life, but that he has a specialaptitude for learning the lessons there taught. Youwill not I trust suspect me of claiming the possessionof this gift in any unusual degree. Yet I do wish itto be understood that I speak from some degree offirst-hand experience, whether it be much or little ascompared with that of others, and whatever maybe my success or failure in the attempt to describeit. I speak not only as believing that there is aschool of the inner, or " interior," life, but as havingin my measure been consciously under that discipline.

I regard myself then as a pupil in the school ofthe inner or spiritual life ; I believe that school to beopen to alland to be under the unceasing care and


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Rationed Mysticism 7guidance of the Central Source of all Good : Who isLight and is Love. My faith as a mystic is the trustthat He " who opens forth the Light That doth bothshine and give us sight to see " is Himselfmy continualTeacher, leading me by a way I know not towards alltruth, and directing my heart and mind to the lessonsHe would have me learn. The essence of the mys-tical faith is the belief in an actual spiritual inter-course between us human beings and the Father ofour spiritsan interchange of meaning as real asthat which takes place between one human being andanother. In other words, "he that cometh unto Godmust believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder ofthem that diligently seek Him." Almost all seriousthinkers hold in some sense or other the first articleof this short Creed" God is"but the second article,that " He is a rewarder of them that diligently seekHim" is the special and much disputed foundation ofall personal religion ; a foundation to which the posses-sion in any degree of the mystical faculty implies aspecial facility of access. The reality of the reward,or rather in more modern phrase of the response, as-sured to all true seekers is that to which we who havebeen disciples in that school of the inner life of whichI have been speaking must continually desire to bearwitness.

I say the inner life ; for we must remember thatour present enquiry is as to the teaching of the Light


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8 Thoughts on the Central RadianceWithinthat is of the Light which shines in the inner-most, central, spiritual region. In my view, as in that,I believe, ofevery mystic, all things, whether belongingto individual or to universal experience, are rangedin an order which we can scarcely help callingspherical, according to the degree of their nearnessto the Centre ; the perishing or transitory things beingoutward, and those which being perpetually renewedmay be called imperishable, being within. And alllife is full of teaching; the outermost and mosttransient as well as the deepest and most permanentof events or impressions : and all Light is one, andthe direct gift of God, whether it be directed to theinner or the outer regions of life. All Light is one,and all nature may be pervaded by it ; but allthings cannot be seen from one point of view. Thetruths which we call spiritual can be discerned onlyfrom the spiritual, that is the innermost region of ourbeing. It is in this region that the mystic is at home..Here he feels it good to be. Here it is that theDivine teaching deals with all that most deeply con-cerns us ; and gives us, as it were, the key to mysterieswhich lie at the root of more outward matters. Forthe innermost or central principles of life must domi-nate the superficial and trivial. They must at anyrate dejv/re be supreme, and their defacto supremacyis I suppose the condition of all perfectly harmoniouslife and character.


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Rational Mysticism 9" Whatsoever doth make manifest is light 1." But

the figure of light, eloquent and widely applicableas it is, is not by itself sufficient to convey all the truthto which it refers. Light is too impersonal a thingto be an entirely satisfying type of the Father'smanner of responding to the cry of His children. Wefind ourselves necessarily impelled in describing theinnermost faith of His worshippers to use also themetaphors of the life-giving breath, of the Fountain ofliving waters, and above all of the inspeaking Voice,if we hope to suggest ever so faintly that experienceof all-penetrating tenderness of which the sojournersin the innermost sanctuary are allowed at times totaste. Wherever we look, without as well as within,those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will findtypes and parables teaching us something of God andof His Providence. " The heavens declare the gloryof God," and the thunder may represent to us HisVoicebut these do not enter so deeply into oursouls,they do not convey so penetrating a conscious-ness of the Divine Presence,as the still small Voicewhich we may hear in our own hearts when we are

1 There is yet another function of light made known to us bymodern science, to which I cannot resist a passing reference, aswonderfully justifying the prophetic insight of George Pox in hiswell-known teaching that " the light which shows you your sinsis that which heals them." The power of light actually to healdeadly disease must, in the last few years have thrilled many adevout imagination with its suggestion of spiritual meaning.


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10 Thoughts on the Central Radicmcealone with Him, which speaks to each one of us ina language addressed to us individually, with asignificance which almost must be in a large degreeincommunicable. The experience of Divine Guidanceand of answered prayer is an experience belongingto the innermost depth of each life ; soul-subduingand inwardly enlightening to the one to whom itcomes, but, like the oil in the parable, not always tobe shared at will.

Yet although the particular communications re-ceived may be among the hidden thingsa part of"the secret of the Lord" which "is with them thatfear Him"yet we cannot doubt that He who is " norespecter of persons" deals with others in this matteras He does with ourselves. We must believe thatthe Light and the Voice which are reverently held totypify the Father's response to our need of Himthemeans by which mind communicates with mind andspirit with spiritare an all-pervading element ofthe order under which we live. In that innermostregion of which we are speaking personal differencesseem to disappear. In the depths we are all akin,and we may indeed all be one.

At any rate there are laws in this inward kingdomof heaven which it must concern us all to know, andwhich we can sometimes help one another to inter-pret. The question how we discern the Divine Voiceor the Divine Light from the other voices and the


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Rational Mysticism 11other lights to which we may find it easier to attendis not an easy one to answer theoretically. In practiceI think we all find that the power fully and clearly tointerpret the Divine Voice is but gradually acquired,just as is the case with all human intercourse ;while yet there is from the very dawn of consciousnesssome exchange of meaning as between a mother andher child. It would be hard indeed to explain theprocess by which an infant learns to receive com-munications from its mother ; but wonderful andmysterious as that process is, we cannot doubt itsreality. And so in the life of the human spirit, theremay never have been a time to which we can lookback when we were not in some sense aware of theovershadowing Presence of Him in whom we live andmove and have our being ; while as time goes on,this vague sense of a Presence prepares the way foran increasingly distinct and reasoned belief in thetheory, and a growing power in the practice, ofprayer.

But as that practice loses its instinctive character,and is gradually matured into a conscious energy ofthe soul, and directed towards definite ends, we haveto encounter not only distractions from without, butquestionings from within. However blessedly ourchildhood may have been sheltered, I suppose thatfor all of us as we grow older, the sense of theDivine Presence is at times disturbed and confused,if not permanently obscured, by these questionings


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12 Thoughts on the Central Radianceand distractions. Doubts also will arise, not only asto the efficacy, but even as to the Tightness of prayer.To bear witness from first-hand experience to thepossibility and the blessedness of actual communionwith God is the special office of the mystic.

And here we come to the question what is therelation of the inner light of the mystic to reasonand conscience.

I said that I call myself a rational mystic, in thesense of believing that Reason confirms, or at the leastallows, the claim of the mystic to be aware of theimmediate presence of God. But there is anothersense in which I must describe the mysticism I believein as Rational. I mean that I believe in that typeof mysticism which renders to Reason that which isReason's, as well as to intuition that which belongs tointuition. I believe the position of the mystic to be,as has often been pointed out, for himself " unassail-able " ; but I also agree with those who say thatthe mystic can claim no authority for any verbalproposition on the strength of his own intuition. Sofar from making the claim which a recent writer inthe Hibbert journal attributes to mystics in general,that "feeling can, as such, deliver ontological messageswhich are of final validity," 1 I believe that intuitioncannot supply the forms of verbal propositions at alLIt would seem to consist rather in the peculiar

1 "Sources of the Mystical Revelation," by Prof. G. A. Coe.Hibbert Journal, Jan. 1908.


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Rational Mysticism 13intensity and fulness of meaning with which for somepeople the language relating to spiritual things isinvested by the glowing quality of their own innerexperience ; or in the flash of certainty by which asolution may be lighted up, to be afterwards verifiedand tested by purely intellectual processes. I thinkthat the tendency of the characteristically mysticalmind is not to occupy itself with propositions of eventhe simplest kindstill less with theological or meta-physical subtletiesbut rather to dwell in a soul-satisfying contemplation on the Realities with whichthe highest Reason is also occupied, though in adifferent way. I should say that the mysticalconsciousness is immediately aware of, and isprofoundly affected by, that to which Reason givesa name, and points as it were from afar off. Nodoubt the sense of assurance which specially belongsto the intuitive faculty (be that what it may) is aptto overflow into the opinions held by each individualmystic, and not only into opinions but into symbolsand allegories of all kinds ; and those who have notlearnt to analyse their own mental processes oftenfail to distinguish their inward sense of certainty fromthe possession of an intellectual warrant for positivestatement. In point of fact the mystical sense ofinward illumination has been found in combinationwith the most contradictory creeds ; and the confusionof feeling with knowledge has brought discredit on the


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14 Thoughts on the Central Radiancename of mysticism. But the true mystic will ratherstand aloof from controversial thought, even his own,and is content to submit to Reason whatever can bereasoned about, fixing his own gaze not on explanationor proof, but on the Being of Whom in virtue of thismysterious faculty he is so vividly aware.

The rays of light from within and from withoutare not indeed always precisely distinguishable fromone another. They seem to meet and blend in somecentral region of our being. It is only in proportionto our openness to both that we can have the humbleyet well-founded assurance of having rightly inter-preted Divine Guidance. The perfect blending andconsensus of both sources of illumination is the finalwarrant for entire conviction. Let me dwell for amoment on this thought of the distinction and thecombination between the inner and outer light.

By the outer light I mean all the abundantinstruction of experience, history, and observationreaching us partly through our own and partly throughother minds. Such reflected or indirect light reachesus from all quarters, and is mostly common property,amenable to the judgment of reason, and concernedwith matters of fact, with events, and with the laws ofnature. But in the central innermost region of ourminds there shines one pure ray of direct Light fromthe very Throne of God ; one ray which belongs toeach one individually ; which is for that one supreme


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Rational Mysticism 15and apart ; the ray which shining from the heaven-ward side of conscience, and so enlightening andpurifying it, must of necessity dominate the wholebeing. The light reflected from the broad fields ofexperience would be incomplete without the directand supreme ray from the Source of Light ; and theheavenly light itself not only welcomes but demandsthe admission of reflected light from without, as apreservative against personal bias, and spiritualpride and self-deception.

For it must not be supposed that the claim toinward enlightenment is a claim to infallibility. Toooften, I know, it may degenerate, or be supposed todegenerate, into such presumption. But in truth theclaim of the mystic to inward enlightenment is theclaim to be under correction ; to be a pupil in the schoolof Divine discipline ; and the mistakes and even thefaults which may in the innermost region require thecorrection, at once severe and tender, of that schoolare matters of far greater importance than can belongto any outward fault or error. In that innermost regionof our being into which the Light from above shinesmost directly there may be flaws of terrible distortingpower ; and to go astray here is to risk the deepestdownfall. In the Sanctuary of God there is indeed aDivine chastening ; and for those who willingly submitto it,but for those only,a perpetual calm. Here isthejoy which never shines so brightly as in tribulation


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16 Thoughts on the Central Radiancenot only through the quenching of lower lights, butbecause for the creature the joy of joys must needsbe to prefer the Will of the Creator to its owntoachieve in its measure order at its own expense. Thatwhich shows us this joy is the innermost Lightthe"Radiancy Divine" which when kindled by the gift ofGod in any human spirit must thence in turn streamforth for the illumination of other spirits, whether bywords, or silently in the life. The path of the mysticis lighted not only by the Presence of the Father ofLights, but also by that of the Shining Ones who areHis messengers.

Although the true mystic is occupied not by wordsbut by contemplation, yet even mystics must ofcourse sometimes use words. The difference betweenthem and other people is not so much in the contentof the creeds they may accept, as in the emphasis andvalue of certain words on their lips. The same wordsin different minds vary of course indefinitely not onlyin the direction but in the intensity of their meaning.We know how to the Indian yogi the syllable "Om "seems to contain matter for life-long contemplation.I do not suppose that the word conveys much to thenon-mystical mind, or that those to whom it meansmost are much inclined to explain it.

To come nearer home, some of us may rememberhow Mme Guion in her autobiography complainsthat as her own inner experience rose from height to


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Rational Mysticism 17height, and all things were transfigured and madenew, as she herself was changed (to use the Apostle'swords) " from glory to glory, even as by the spirit ofthe Lord," she yet could find no new language inwhich to unfold these increasingly blissful experiences.With a curiously human touch, she remarks on theinconvenience of the fact that the very words inwhich alone she could describe her latest revelationswere often used by people in a quite elementary stageof religious experience to describe phases she hadlong ago left behind. I have heard from living lips avery similar complaint.

The truth is that it is difficult to speak at allstill more to speak at once accurately and adequatelyof an experience which even in its most fragment-ary and intermittent form reveals so wonderful apotential transfiguration of life. In dwelling uponwhat one knows to be possible, it may well happenthat one appears to be claiming more than will berecognised by others as actually belonging to one.Whatever allowance may have to be made forhuman imperfection and infirmity, no one I thinkcan read Mme Guion's autobiography without feelingthat for her the simplest words in which the soul'srelation to God could be described had indeed be-come filled with an incommunicable radiance. Andher history shows plainly how completely the faith ofthe true mystic may be independent of any scaffolding


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18 Thoughts on the Central Radianceof theory. Again and again when doubts were caston her orthodoxy she professed her absolute readi-ness to submit to the correction of the Church everyword she had written. I do not remember thatactual retractation was ever required of her. Butshe clearly felt that Orthodoxy was not her affair.She knew herself to be a devout Catholic in heart,and desired nothing better than to be corrected bythe authorities she recognised And she knew withfar more unshakeable certainty that no correctionsand no persecutions could touch her inward sense ofthe Presence and the Love of God ; and in comparisonof that all else was as dust in the balance.

I believe then that the functions of the mysticalinsight and those of the Reason are so to speak com-plementary, not opposed ; and that the ideal state isone in which they are harmoniously combined. It iswell known that such a combination is possible, thoughrare. It would not be difficult to name instances inwhich much practical efficiency and shrewdness havebeen in full exercise alongside of a deep fund ofmystical experience, and have even perhaps acquiredan increased keenness from the atmosphere ofdisinterested equanimity belonging to those whoseinnermost devotion is for ever fixed on that whichis eternal

How far this combination of mystical conscious-ness of the Presence of God with due and even ener-


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Rational Mysticism 19getic attention to the actual problems of life is withinour reach, I dare not attempt to say. We cannot, Isuppose, make ourselves mystics any more than wecan make ourselves poets. We must certainlyrecognise that it is much easier, or at least morenatural, to some than to others to live the life of faith.Some people may be called "naturally religious," ashaving as it were an eye for the unseen, as othershave an ear for music, or an eye for colour. Themystic in this sense is one whose mind's eye isfocussed for the innermost region ; who is at home inthe depths. Naturally this peculiarity must affect allhis thought ; not as changing the direction of hisbeliefs, but because of the differences in value, and inintensity of belief, which must be caused by so pro-found a difference of experience as that between thedevout disciple and the dispassionate reasoner. It isimpossible not to hold more firmly a belief by meansof which one has been deeply stirred and touchedthan the same belief can be held by one who has butstudied it calmly as through a glass or from a distance.The creed of the mystic, although it may consist ofthe very same words as that of the non-mysticalthinker, will be less at the mercy of intellectualdifliculties, and will as I believe have a richer andfuller quality ; but whether we shall consider this asan advantage or as a source of delusion depends ofcourse on our theological or philosophical pre-suppo-

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20 Thoughts on the Central Radiancesitions ; and I will not pursue the question. I preferto consider how far the state of things which seemsto me to be the ideal onethat namely in whichinward and outward illumination blend into one andpervade the whole lifecan be said to depend on ourown endeavours.We must I think in the first place recognise thatboth intuition and reason are gifts ofGod and elementsof the spiritual gravitation by which we are drawnto Him who is our Centre. Instead of setting up oneagainst the other, we can seek in every decision andin every action, to steep our minds in both reasonand faith. I believe it to be as truly a duty tosubmit every impulse to the discipline and test ofreason, as it is to keep burning the pure flame ofdevotion to the Most High by which alone Reasoncan be raised to the level of Wisdom. We cancultivate the power, more or less latent, I imagine, inevery mind, of passing at will from surface to depthand from depth to surface. I do not know how farothers may be conscious of a power to sink into thedepths of their own minds. To some people I knowthat such expressions seem unmeaning. But toothersof whom I am onethis power, whateverits right name, is as the power to flee to a City ofRefuge. And it is as necessary a condition of clearspiritual vision as is the power of focussing the out-ward eyes to natural vision. And what in conclusion


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Rational Mysticism 21

I wish to urge is that there are two chief meansby which the clearness of our Inner Lightor Visionmay be maintained and increased. These arequietness and obedience.

The connection between mysticism and quietness(or even Quietism) is obvious and familiar to us all.I am anxious to make it clear that I am not pleadingunder the name of Rational Mysticism for the culti-vation of ecstatic or hypnotic conditions. I do notbelieve that it is good to encourage anythingapproaching to the abnormal physical states whichresult in trances and visions. Such things may havetheir place and significance ; but they hardly deserveto be called rational. The mystical sense I valueowes nothing to the darkness. It is emphatically aconsciousness of the clear shining of spiritual lightof the light of truth as to whatever is deepest andmost permanent and far reaching in its spiritual im-port and ethical character ; the light by which weare led to prefer high and noble ideals to any mereself-gratification ; the light in which we see that hewho will save his life shall lose it, and that there isnothing worth having in exchange for our souls. Suchlight as this is not to be gained by occult practices,but by single-hearted devotion to the Highest. It isessentially the light of day ; the same light by whichour outer life, our daily work and thought are in theirmeasure lighted up, but which is rightfully dominant


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22 Thoughts on the Central Radicmceover all lower lights when in its innermost shiningit penetrates into that central depth which we callour spiritual life. If we are to have even a glimpseof the innermost and unspeakable joys of the spiritif we are to rise above pain and sorrow and bitternessinto the pure serenity of the heaven withinif weare to "know that He is God"we must be still.This necessity is as much rational as mystical. Nodeep wisdom can be attained without deliberatethought. No clear impressions, either from above orfrom without, can be received by a mind turbid withexcitement, and agitated by a crowd of distrac-tions. The stillness needed for the clear shiningof light within is incompatible with hurry.

This is not the quiet of inaction, or of idledreaming, but the quiet of a final choice. Nothingsets the heart at rest like a final choice. And nochoice can be really final which is not fixed on theHighest. Therefore quietness and obedience are intruth one. We may of course talk of obeying any-thing, even our whims ; but it is only the unchanging,the unseen and eternal things which can truly andpermanently rule us, and give us that restthat"quietness and confidence"which is our strength.To be faithful to the light we have is the one certainway to have more. All light is from God ; and thatwhich shines into the innermost region of heart, mindand will must necessarily radiate thence in all direc-


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Rational Mysticism 23tions, spreading its purifying healing power to thevery outermost range of our atmosphere. This lightdoes not run counter to the dictates of reason, ofconscience, of common sense, propriety, or wisdom.It inspires, harmonizes and transfigures them all. Itis indeed the very light of lifethe light whichlighteneth every man that cometh into the worldtowalk in which is to walk with God.


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QUAKERISM AND FREE THOUGHT.It seems to us, in the twentieth century, a strange

thing that the words Free Thought and Free Thinkershould ever have had a connotation ofreproach. Theremay come a time when it will be equally surprisingthat Agnosticism should for so many seem to beequivalent to Atheism. But it is probably inevitablethat words of this kind, which of necessity cover agreat variety of shades of meaning, should, in the eyesof fervent believers, come to represent chiefly theelement of opposition which they undoubtedly con-tain. I suppose that our native combativeness issuch that every name chosen as a badge tends tobecome a war-cry. Our party system not onlypromotes but is the outcome of a love of sharpdivisions, which tends, in its very eagerness, toapproach truth by zigzag pathslike forked light-ning.

Now, I am far from wishing to object altogetherto this method of striking out truth, but there is a


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Quakerism cmd Free Thought 25region in which it ceases to be appropriate. Contro-versy is nowhere hotter than in the surroundings andaccessories of faith, but in the region of faith itself Ihold it to be out of placenot only in the sense ofun-fitness, but of actual incompatibility. "A solemn stateof mind," says William James, "is never crude orsimple ; it seems to contain a certain measure of itsown opposite in solution. A solemn joy preservesa certain bitterness in its sweetness, and a solemnsorrow is one to which we intimately consent." 1 Itis in this region of solemnity, of comprehensiverecognition of good and evil, that we dwell when weenter into the deep things of faith. That spiritualinsight which we call faitha power closely akin tohope and lovemust be deep enough to meet reasonat its source. It does not opposeit holds in solutionopposing thoughts. It has nothing to fear from theactivity of the critical and intellectual faculties, forits very life is in the Light.The mystical attitude towards religious questions(which is the root of Quakerism) is in its ideal one ofsolemnity in this sense. It is the attitude of thosewho have penetrated to a depth of inward experienceat which contradiction and controversy are left be-hind. Friends recognise no authority to decidereligious questions as officially belonging to anySociety; they content themselves with looking for

1 Varieties ofReligious Experience, p. 48.


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26 Thoughts on the Central Radiance" right guidance from above," in the conviction thatit is assured to all who honestly seek for it. In otherwords, they regard religious belief as the outcome ofreligious experience rather than as a body of doctrineentrusted to the Church or to be learnt from Scrip-ture ; they look for, and find, such solution ofproblems as they need in the shining of light within,not in explanations from without. They do, it is true,believe that this Divine guidance is more surelyrecognised and interpreted by the united judgmentof fellow disciples than it can be by any individualjudgment, and therefore have always encouragedindividuals to bring forward matters of commonconcern in which they have felt individually called toaction, for the united consideration of the periodicalmeetings held for this and other purposes; butthough the decisions of these meetings being placedon record have resulted in a sort of code of regulationsfor the good order of the Society, yet this code itselfis subject to periodical revision, and is in no waybinding on the individual conscience. The bond ofunion amongst Friends lies in the community not ofopinions but of discipleship ; it is emphatically withinat the quiet heart of thingsnot where the strifeof tongues is heard.

The result is, or ought to be, an habitual sense ofabsolute freedom in the search for truth ; freedombeing, as I suppose we shall all agree, not lawlessness,


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Quakerism and Free Thought 27but the absence of external restrainta state ofbeing controlled only from withinwhich, in our view,includes the idea of control from above. The well-known disuse by Friends of creeds and formulariessprings from this habit of dependence on "rightguidance" alone as all sufficient. I suppose we areall familiar with the way in which, during the lastcentury, Friends have faltered in their allegiance tothis principle, and have sought, in various ways andon various occasions, to supply by definite declarationsof faith the supposed lack of " sound doctrine," or, atany rate, of security for the soundness of doctrine.Had this attempt been successful, we should, I believe,have lost the very key of our position as witnessesto the compatibility of the deepest faith with theutmost freedom of thought. Happily, no actualchange has been made in this direction, and we stillenjoy as a Society our ancient immunity fromprescribed standards of orthodoxy.

I believe this to be a privilege as valuable to faithas to reason, if, indeed, we can thus separate the twopowers by which we recognise the Central Light. Intheir outflowingfrom that centre no doubt theybecomedistinct, but to myself it appears that they are atbottom and essentially one, constituting in their one-ness the faculty of spiritual vision.

However this may be, it is obvious that in thesedays the progress of thought has been such as to


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28 Thoughts on the Central Radicmcecause severe disturbance to any faith which iswedded to words. The special mission of Friendsseems to be to exemplify the truth that faith is notdependent on words, but is, rather, the source of alltheir deepest value. We must not, I believe, shrinkfrom recognising the fact that there is much in ourreligious attitude which is common to all Free-thinkers. Quakerism has always commanded an un-usual degree of respect from those rebels against theChurch whose revolt has proceeded from a real zealfor truth and honesty. We know Voltaire's appre-ciation of the Quaker position, and this has beenre-echoed in our own time by more than one Agnosticof the Voltairean type. They recognise the soundnessof the position implied in the words, " Friends of theTruth" ; and we may thankfully believe that theyrecognise also a degree of faithfulness to thatprofession in the actual inheritors of the title.

The disuse not only of creeds and formulariesbut of the clerical office and of sacraments is afurther extension of the ground common to Friendsand Freethinkers. The common ground is, in fact,so extensive that some may feel that what needs tobe emphasized is the underlying distinction. Therehave been those who have considered it an almostunintelligible paradox that Quakers should bereckoned as Christians at all ; assuming, as they do,that Christianity, or a "state of grace," depends


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Quakerism and Free Thought 29upon the use of ordinances. To have affordedirresistible proof to the contrary is no small serviceto the cause of piety.

Where, then, lies the fundamental distinctionbetween the typical Quaker and the typical Free-thinker ? Historically, of course, it is familiar truththat the early Friends were Christians of an intensetype. George Fox's career as a preacher may betraced to his experience that, when none of thepriests could " speak to his condition," a voice spoketo him in the memorable words, " There is one, evenChrist Jesus, who can speak to thy condition " ; andno reader of his Journal or Epistles could doubt hisardent devotion to Christ as the Word, the Lamb,the Light of the world.

But this, it may be said, though true as a matter offact of the early Friends, is not necessarily true ofall who bear their name ; especially is it uncertain asto hereditary Friends under the Quaker system ofbirthright membership, by which the children ofFriends inherit full membership in the Society with-out any preliminary rite or declaration of faith.Such a system obviously makes it possible for manyto be through life Friends in name only, without anyreal conviction of the truth of our fundamentalprinciple. I have not observed that infant baptism,or even confirmation, afford any guarantee againsta similarly nominal membership in other religiousbodies. But, apart from this question of boundaries,


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30 Thoughts on the Central Radiancewhat, it may be asked, is the conviction or theexperience which constitutes the essence of Quaker-ism? What do we mean by "true convincement"?What is Quakerism at its best and purest?

When George Fox and his companions calledthemselves "Friends of the Truth," we must, I think,recognise that they had in mind the words, "I amthe way, the truth, and the life " ; and " Ye are myfriends if ye do whatsoever I command you." Bythe Truth they meant not merely abstract truth, butHim whom they regarded as the Light of the world.To obey the Light meant for them the same thing asto follow the Lamb. From that time onwards, thishas been the core of Quakerismnot only in theorybut in fact. Thought has been, theoretically atleast, free, but allegiance to Christ has been un-wavering; and sincerity has, in fact, winnowed outfrom the counsels of the Society, and even from thelist of members, manyprobably mostof those whohave found themselves unable to maintain thisallegiance. There would, indeed, be no place fornon-Christians in the inner circle of those whoconduct the affairs of the Society, the central objectand purpose of its existence being, briefly, obedience tothat teaching of which the Sermon on the Mount givesthe most typical instance on record. The heart andcore of Quakerism, because that of Christianity itself,is the following of Jesus Christ, and the worship inHis Name of the Father whom He reveals.


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Quakerism and Free Thought 31How is this discipleship related to freedom of

thought ?Discipleship, of course, implies some fixed con-

victionsat the very lowest, the conviction that theMaster is trustworthy ; but fixed convictions are inno way incompatible withperhaps rather conducivetofreedom of thought. (No one, for instance,supposes it essential to the freedom of arithmeticalthought to be able to regard two and two as five.)The freest thought is not necessarily that which goesfarthest afield, but that which is least warped by biasand prejudice, and least hampered by fear of conse-quences,amongst which consequences the disap-proval of the Society to which we may belong is oneof the most potent. A great deal of religious teachingcertainly has a warping effect ; so, I believe, hasa great deal of teaching of the opposite kind. Asteady confidence in Divine guidance, on the otherhand, tends, I believe, to open and fearless reverence.Every Society must have some fixed convictions asits principles of united action, and the fundamentalprinciple of our Society is certainly discipleshipobedience to the teaching of Jesus Christ. But whatis that teaching ?

This is a question which the Society does notundertake to answer for individuals, though its veryexistence as a Society is a perpetual witness to thefact and the importance of discipleship. I regard


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32 Thoughts on the Central RadfcmceQuakerism as admitting of the widest possible rangeof thought which can co-exist with obedience to suchteaching as the individual himself recognises asderived from Christ ; and this, of course, implies thefree exercise of the reason in ascertaining what thatteaching actually is.Now we come here upon the very origin andessence of the peculiarity of Quakerism as comparedwith other forms of Christianity, and of the pecu-liarity of what we may call the mystical type ofQuakerism as compared with the more modern andless exclusive development which seems to be rapidlyassimilating the Society to the outer world, bothas to its usages and customs, and as to its standardsof orthodoxy. The distinguishing peculiarity ofQuakerism undoubtedly lies in its mystical character.By this much-abused word, mystical, I mean the viewof life which springs from a consciousness of illumi-nation from within. It is a temper of mind, as we allknow, which may be found in combination with everyvariety of religious, perhaps even of non-religious,belief. Inward illumination is certainly not depen-dent upon any kind of orthodoxy. But the tendency,or the faculty, as it existed in the founders of ourSociety, was in point of fact combined with a beliefin Christian doctrines such as made it inevitable thatthey should identify the Light sinning in their ownhearts with that glory which they saw "in the face of


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Qimkerism and Free Thought 33Jesus Christ." Quakerism is the recognition of thisidentity of the Light within with the " Light of theWorld "it is a fusion of the historical and mysticalfaiths.

In these days we have all had to encounter avigorous and sometimes rough handling of what iscalled "historical Christianity." The Bible and allits contents are being dealt with in a way which iscertainly calculated to shake whatever can be shaken,and it would be idle to deny that this process haslaid bare an unsuspected degree of uncertainty as tothe exact words uttered by Jesus of Nazareth. It isno longer possible to rely upon Scriptural recordsalone as giving us any complete and certain knowledgeof His teaching. And even were there no uncertaintyas to the very words used by Him, the inherentambiguity of all language must have been broughtvividly home to most of us by the discussions, sofreely published in the last half-century, as to thereal meaning of passages the mere letter of which isthe least doubtful.My own belief is that the Bible must gain bybeing dealt with in the same manner as all otherbooks. The treasures of its inspiration, the incom-parable beauty and depth of its spiritual teaching,and the profound importance of its history mustalways secure for it the reverence alike of the learnedand the simple ; and, owing to it, as we do, the

s. 3


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34 Thoughts mi the, Central Radiancestrongest and purest influence that can be exercisedby written words on the human mind, there is no fearof its losing its hold on our affections through ceasingto be the object of an unreasoning idolatry.

But, as a result of the searching processes ofhistorical criticism, all of us, even the least learned,are being thrown back on one or other of the twomain sources of that practical certainty, that un-hesitating conviction, which we all instinctively cravein regard to our deepest concern for time and foreternity. We need a living Voice, if only to interpretfor us that written Word which we may regard ascontaining the standard of right belief on the greatestof all questions. Some seek for this living inter-pretation at the hands of the Church as representedby its ordained ministers. Others seek and find it intheir "free Teacher," the "Christ within," to whomour Quaker predecessors looked with a confidencethey could feel in no human teachers, whatever theirofficial position. The priest must, of necessity, standwithout us. The Voice to which we as Friends arepledged to listen is the "inspeaMng voice" of theOne who alone "can speak to our condition."

And again we must ask what is the teaching ofour Inward Guide and Monitor ? What are the sub-jects on which we may reasonably claim that thisTeacher leaves us in no uncertainty ? And again wemust reply, in regard to the inner teaching of the


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Quakerism and Free Thought 35Spirit, as we did in regard to the outer teaching ofScripture, that its boundaries are nowhere preciselylaid downthat what it promises us is not a completetheology but an unfailing guardianship. The Voicewhich we are entitled to call the voice of our " freeTeacher" calls us ever upwards. It assures us per-petually of the Father's love ; it] reproves as well asencourages ; it is at one with all the unshaken truthconveyed in the Gospel story, and written on the" fleshly tables of the hearts" of " a great multitudewhom no man can number" ; it tells of One Whowipes all tears from our eyes, and it leads us "with joyto draw water out of the wells of salvation."But this in-speaking Voice, though easily under-stood by the obedient and child-like heart, is notalways rightly interpreted, even in its simplest instruc-tions. The conscience to which this Voice speaksthrough which the inner Light shinesis itself liableto error and perversion, and may thus distort the mes-sage from above, or may fail to distinguish it fromother promptings. Thus the claim to be under theinstruction of the living and free Teacher is by nomeans a claim to infallibility. It is much morenearly a claim to be under correction, for, as GeorgeFox teaches, the same Light which shows us ourfaults is the Light which heals.

The very fact that a consciousness of illuminationfrom within is found in combination with every

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36 Thoughts on the Central Radicvncevariety of theological opinion shows that it cannotbe appealed to for the decision of abstract andspeculative questions. Such doctrines, for example,as those relating to the nature and origin of sin, themeaning of conversion, justification, grace, ordi-nances, the Atonement, the sense in which we mayor ought to regard Jesus Christ as divine, the mean-ing of resurrection, the authority of the Church,these and many other deep and abstruse matters onwhich it has been sought to obtain unanimity bycreeds and declarations of faith lie outside that inner-most region in which alone can be entire unity. Onthese doctrinal questions, divergence, being obviouslyinevitable, must, so far as it is in good faith, beinnocent. The Light within is spiritual, not merelyintellectual But, as its radiance is shed upon thecomparatively outward region of intellectual diver-gence, it does, no doubt, lead each obedient spiritnearer and nearer to such truth as makes for edifica-tion ; and obedience to truth after truth as it comesin sight is, no doubt, the path which leads to thehighest and clearest understanding of spiritualrealities. It leads also, I believe, to the utmostreadiness to accept correction in the region ofthought ; and to a steadfast resolve not to be bound,or to attempt to bind others, to verbal propositionson speculative subjects.

It is, indeed, a solemn and an awful thought that


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Quakerism and Free Thought 37as the outward teaching of our Master becomes lessand less precisely outlined, his disciples are moreand more thrown back upon the thought of Himas the Lightthe Word of Godthe brightness ofthe Father's glorythe "Eadiancy Divine" shininginto our hearts and penetrating our lives. " If I gonot away the Comforter will not come unto you."That which is seen is temporal ; that which is unseenis eternal.

Perhaps one of the most perplexing thoughtsto many devout minds in these days is the un-deniable and often remarkable goodness of manyunbelievers. We are learning more and more torecognize how far the difference between good andbad is from coinciding with the difference betweenreligious and non-religious people. This is not tosay that religion has no influence on ethics, but thatethics rests on a foundation broader than any par-ticular form of religious belief. Whether the foun-dation of ethics is other than, or broader and deeperthan, that of religion itself is a question which mustwait till the meaning of religion is more clearlydefined and agreed on than I believe it to be atpresent. Meanwhile there are those who go so faras to think that all degrees of moral excellencebeing, apparently, attainable without religious belief,that belief is shown to be superfluous, and if super-fluous, then not fundamentally true. There is, I


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38 Thoughts on the Central Radiancethink, some real weight in these considerations,although they seem to me to apply only to particulartenets, not to religion itself They are, however, atthe lowest, of importance in counteracting the naturaltendency of human beings, especially of the morefervent spirits, to think that their own pattern is theonly right one.

But when we look closely into the differencebetween Agnostics of the best type and those who,in sincerity, profess themselves disciples of JesusChrist, we cannot help being aware of a difference,hard to define, but all-pervading. While we mustbelieve (as William Penn so nobly sets forth inNo Cross No Crown), that all, even the heathen, whoare faithful to the light they have are throughobedience building on the Bock, we cannot but beaware that there are some who, in so followingChrist as to be made one with Him, have found thepearl of great price for which all else is well lost.These dwell in a region of experience which theothers ignore. For them all experiencein asupreme sense all painful experience, the experienceof the Crossis illuminated by the joy of obedience,by the fellowship of His sufferings. Such an expe-rience of inward illumination, bringing with it that"rejoicing in tribulation" which convinces that" all things " do indeed " work together for good tothem that love God," cannot but be recognized in


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Quakerism and Free Thought 39the lives of those who yield themselves wholly to it.To haveor, at least, earnestly to seekthis expe-rience of a "life hid with Christ in God" is the realmark of "a Friend of the Truth" in the widest anddeepest sense of those words. Obviously it mustcolour the whole character, and must affect the wholedirection of energy. But it is an experience belong-ing to the innermost region, and one of which thosein whom it is the most real are, perhaps, the leastlikely to speak very freely.

To be inwardly conscious of an upspringing foun-tain of life and light can certainly not cramp orhinder thought, but it may well lessen its eagerness ;for this consciousness lays to rest the craving for asolution of the " riddle of existence," and quenchesthe thirst of the soul by which so much of the rest-lessness of enquiry is prompted. A great trust anda great peace naturally promote openness to lightfrom all quarters, but will neither stimulate norcheck speculative thought. I think, therefore, thatQuakerism and Free Thought are not really opposed,but rather that they occupy different provinces.Quakerism is essentially inwarda pressing towardsthe centre. When we speak of the Light Within,we mean the Light which shines in the innermostand central region of our beingthe same Lightwhich shines in the innermost and central region ofall beingthe Light of the Spirit. When we speak


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40 Thoughts on the Central Radianceof free thought, we mean that unfettered exercise ofthe discursive reason which has for its province allthings, material or immaterial, which can be knownto the human minda kind of necessarily outgoingor radiating activity, the centrifugal as comparedwith the centripetal force of the mind. It is obviousthat Truth cannot contradict itself. I believe thedanger of Free Thought to be, not that of contradict-ing any doctrine really worth holding, but ratherthat of diverting attention from "the one thingneedful" to a multitude of less important objects.It wars, not against truth, but against concentrationof mind. It is essential to the preservation ofsanity and the correction of prejudice, but it cannot,without injury to the whole being, be allowed to takethe place of contemplation and of adoration.


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THE QUAKER TRADITION.Such an expression as " Quaker Tradition " has a

certain flavour of paradox. For the essential peculi-arity of Quakerism is assuredly its religious inward-nessin other words, its mystical attitude. And it isobvious that there can be no such thing as a schoolof mysticism ; the essential characteristic of themystic being dependence on an illumination fromwithin, which must from its very nature be regardedas of paramount authority for the mystic himself, andwhich thus involves a measure of independence ofoutward teaching. But while mysticism itself cannotbe taught, it is quite possible to teach respect for it.If, on the one hand, the habit of reliance on the Lightwithin tends to produce independence of dogmaticteaching, it must be remembered on the other handthat the existence and authority of that Light isitself a dogma, which can be taught like any otherdoctrine ; and it has in fact been handed down fromgeneration to generation of hereditary Friends, andimpressed upon them by every kind of traditional


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42 Thoughts on the Central Radiancepractice, even to the extent of producing in someminds a vehement reaction.

For to believe that there is an Inner Light is onething ; to see it with the eyes of one's own mind is quiteanother thing. All hereditary Friends have beentaught to believe in it, but all Friends are not bornmystics ; and to those whose knowledge of inwardLight is mainly second-hand, and therefore very im-perfect, the system which has been built on faith in itmust needs be unsatisfying, and may in certain casesbecome acutely oppressive ; while the peculiarly highstandard of truthfulness which has been so diligentlymaintained in the Society (and which may, I believe,be largely traced to this very doctrine) makes thosehereditary members who have not by nature the giftor faculty of mystical insight feel a peculiar uneasinessin the practice of methods of worship and traditionalexpressions based upon that faculty. Within the lastcentury there has been a very marked recoil in theSociety at large from what was felt to be too exclusivea reliance on the doctrine of the Inner Light. Thereare, however, at the present time indications of atendency, especially among the young, to revert tothe ancient and more specially Quaker view. Itseems, therefore, very desirable that we should de-liberately consider what is the true meaning andvalue of the real Quaker tradition in this matterand how far we should aim at maintaining it.


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The Quaker Tradition 43There can, I think, be no doubt that the mystical

view of things, like the poetic view, is the outcome ofa certain idiosyncrasy. There are born mystics, andthere are people to whom all mystical language is un-meaning, and on whose lips the very name ofmysticismis a term of reproach. The word of course impliesthe existence of a secret ; but it must not be forgottenthat there are secrets of two kindsartificial andnatural, voluntary and involuntary. A mystery maybe guarded by restrictions deliberately imposed andmaintained with the object of preserving a certainsuperiority and claim on the reverence of outsiders,which might vanish if the secret were disclosed. Butthe secret of Quaker mysticism is an open secret. Ifit is hidden from some eyes, it is by their own lack ofvision, not by any intentional reticence. The doctrineof the Light withinthe Light of Christ in the heartwas preached by Friends in the beginning with allthe fervour and freedom of the Gospel with whichthey felt it to be identical. The desire of their heartswas that all eyes might be opened to see it ; thelabour of their lives was to spread the knowledge ofthe Light of the World, whose power and kingdomwas within, and whose grace was universal ; theLight which, while it convinced of sin, also healedsinners ; which was in us and in all men "the hope ofglory." They sought, in George Fox's language, to"turn men to their free Teacher, Jesus Christ."


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44 Thoughts on the Central RadianceAnd the response they met with proved that this

teaching, though to some it might be unmeaning, yetwas deep and simple enough to commend itself to agreat multitude, not of the educated specially, but ofthe poor and the struggling and the sorrowful Itmust be remembered that in the teaching of the earlyFriends the Light was never so presented as to betaken for merely intellectual light, or for a mereabstract idea of light "The Lamb was the Lightthereof",; the "light, life, spirit, and grace of Christ"was set forth with a wealth of expression alwayspointing to the Crucified One as the very Fountain oflight and life. It was in His Name that they gatheredthe " glorious meetings" of which their records arefull. Their strength was in their recognition of Himas the Light shining in every heart.

Here is the mystery still ; the open secret whichto some seems foolishness, to others a stumbling-block. Of this central source of our faith I cannotat this time say more. What I wish to consider isthe manner in which, from generation to generation,the tradition has been handed down of our freedomof access to this inward and Divine teaching, and ofthe conditions needed for its discernment. Friendshave still, I believe, a special responsibility as re-gards Divine guidance, and the quietness and inward-ness which naturally accompany and encourage beliefin it.


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The Quaker Tradition 45It has often been pointed out that the difference

between the law and the Gospel is the differencebetween an external restraint and an internal motive.The superior power and beauty of a virtue arisingfrom obedience to inward promptings as comparedwith that which results from the restraint of law isa truism too familiar to be insisted on. That "theKingdom of Heaven is within us" is the very key-note of our Master's teaching. But, like all indis-pensable metaphors, the words " within " and " with-out " are capable of many applications, and thereforeliable to many misinterpretations. As regards thephrase so long valued above all others by Friends,and which to the outer world has been the very gloryof their profession" the Light within " or " the InnerLight "there has, I think, been even amongst here-ditary Friends themselves some serious misunder-standing. There has been a tendency to interpret"within" as implying a limitation rather than asassigning a central position. Too often it seems tobe understood as meaning such light as is containedwithin "my" or "thy" personal experience, ratherthan as the innermost and Central Light, whether ofthe individual or of all Life.

In short, the teaching of inwardness seems torequire, to make it either safe or adequate, a recog-nition, whether express or implicit, of the concentricstructure, not only of human beings but of humanity


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46 Thoughts on the Central Radianceand consciousness. The tendency to regard all ex-perience as in various degrees central or peripheral,as radiating from or converging towards a centre, isI suppose, one of the chief characteristics of the bornmystic. It is, at any rate, the key to such mysticalteaching as that of the early Friends ; and it appearsto me to be the key to most of the problems by whichwe are encountered in our endeavour to read theexperience of life in the light of faith. For faithitself is the faculty by which we are enabled to judgenot by "the appearance" but by the underlyingreality. By " innermost" we mean that which is fromevery point of view the deepest or (which is the samething) the highest or central truththe truth whichis to " the appearance" as the centre is to the surfaceof a globe. While we look only at the surface ofother lives they often bear the appearance of un-meaning or cruel tragedies ; those very lives whichseen from within may be full of the peace of heartfeltconsent, converting tragedy into martyrdom, whiletribulation becomes "all joy" in the light of thecentral glory. Even short of this spiritual experience(not so rare as it may appear to those who see onlythe surface) there will always be a difference betweenthe summary impressions of hasty observers andactual experience as revealed to the penetrativesympathy of faith ; a difference which, when it hasbeen a few times brought home to us by inquiry or


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The Quaker Tradition 47by some unsought and unexpected self-revelation,will make us ever afterwards distrustful of the rash-ness ofjudgments merely from without.

This difference between the outer and inner life isconstantly impressed upon those brought up, asFriends have been, in the continual recognition of theauthority of the " inward monitor," accompanied bythe disuse of all outward rites and forms of devotion,the place of which amongst us is filled by silence.To watch "in the stillness" for the inspeaking Voice,to wait and to feel for the promptings of the Spiritof truth in one's own heart, in every action to lookwith confidence for guidance from abovethese andmany such familiar admonitions are the ABC of areal Quaker education.

That the Voice of the Divine Teacher is to beheard "within," and that obedience to this inwardteaching is all-sufficient, is no doubt as much a doctrineas any clause in the creeds ; but it is a doctrine soall-embracing as to have a tendency to supersedecreedsnot only to discourage their use as formu-laries, but actually to cause many parents to abstainfrom inculcating their contents upon children's minds.I imagine that, in point of fact, this one article ofbelieftha,t a willing obedience to Divine teaching isthe one path of salvationhas often left but littleroom for anything that could be called doctrinalteaching in the families of Friends. I speak with


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48 Thoughts on the Central Radiancesome diffidence on this point, not having myself beenbrought up in the Society, and being well aware thatthere have been great changes of feeling and con-viction with regard to the need of " definite teaching."But that in former times Friends did lay muchgreater stress upon the duty of looking for "rightguidance" in comparison with that of holding "sounddoctrine" than was commonly the case in otherreligious societies cannot, I think, be doubted. Ithas often been made a reproach to Quakerism. Tomy own mind it appears to be one of the greatestclaims the Quaker tradition has upon our respect andgratitude.

For indeed there is nothing in this article of beliefto hinder soundness of doctrine ; it hinders only theattempt to fix it in forms of words and to stamp thesewith finality and necessity. Friends certainly cannever believe that all who do not "keep whole andundefiled the Catholic faith," as defined in the Athan-asian Creed, "will perish everlastingly." But thisdoes not involve the denial of a single article of thator any other creed. "Words," from which GeorgeFox sometimes felt it his place to " famish the people,"are necessarily outward, and therefore of compara-tively little importance. But the habit of inwardobedience, which can be taught both by words and byexample, is the very life of our spirits ; and inwardobedience may call upon us to accept the correction


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The Quaker Tradition 49of our religious phraseology. In these days of shak-ing of all that can be shaken those may be thankfulwhose faith is not bound to any definite form of words.

There is an obvious danger in laying stress onthat meaning of the word "within" which implieslimitation, so that the idea of a light shining onlywithin the four walls of our own minds is substitutedfor the great truth that Light is in its very nature aradiating energy ; that the " radiancy Divine" springsfrom the very Centre of Life and must ever streamforth in all directions ; that it is hindered only bythe unresponsiveness of our mysteriously darkenedminds ; and that its blessed office is not only toreveal but to heal our sins and infirmities. Too oftenpeople have allowed themselves to think of "theLight within" as an exclusive possession of eachindividual, and have so misunderstood the verbalteaching of obedience to it as to think they werecalled on to find instruction in a solitary introspec-tiveness which but too easily becomes morbidthenatural result of studying one's own feelings insteadoflooking upwards (through the skylight ofconscience)to the very Fountain of pure and passionless illumi-nationthe Light which lighteth every manwhichbeing common to all cannot exalt one above anotheror lead to dissension or self-sufficiency. This inner-most Light is in its very nature dominant. The attemptto increase by it exclusion of that which is without

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50 Thoughts on the Central Radianceis suicidal. Dearly as I prize the Quaker traditionof inwardness, I cannot wonder or be sorry that manya one has broken away from so dangerous a perversionof it. Not by the exclusion of lesser lights but byobedience to the one Supreme Light do we increasethe measure of inward illumination.

If we are to obey this Supreme Light, we must ofcourse learn to recognize it ; and in order to do sowe must be quiet True inward quietness is not thatwhich may be produced by shutting out all outwardcauses of distractiona process which when carriedout too severely may but intensify the inward fermentof the mind, especially in the young. It is rathera state of stable equilibrium ; resulting from theresolute seeking first of that which is really primary.It is not vacancy, but stability ; the steadfastness ofa single purpose. Such a purpose diffuses a certainrepose over the whole mind, and even over outwardsurroundings, so that frivolous and trivial distractionsfall away from before it. An outward calm may,however, favour the growth of such an inwardpurpose ; the two things may act and re-act on oneanother.

Inwardness and true quietness indeed appear tobe but two aspects of the same thingof a truly" centred" life. In the innermost region of life thereis perpetual calm. Perturbations and excitementsbelong to the comparatively superficial part of our


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The Qudlter Tradition 51nature. In cleaving to the Centre we cannot but bestill ; to be inwardly still is to be aware of the Centre.This may be mystical language, unfamiliar to thoseto whom it has not occurred that all parts of ournature are not on one level, and do not respond tothe same plane in our environment ; but it is also thelanguage of hard common-sense. The Centre meanswhatever is most unchangeable, most real, most trulyimportant. To attach ourselves by preference towhatever is least liable to change and failure isobviously the course demanded even by mere pru-dence. And success in any great aim requires, asa matter of course, gravity and the calmness ofdeliberation.

The quietness of self-control is often the firststep towards spiritual vision. It is perhaps the onlystep in that direction to which we can point oneanother. " Stand still in the Light," " Stand still andsee the Salvation of God." Notwithstanding allpossible dangers from perversion or exaggeration inthe teaching of quietness, the need for it lies toodeep in human nature to be forgotten while thesearch after Truth and the God of Truth holds itsplace among us.

Friends in former times have no doubt erredvery noble errorin too sternly refusing to give anyplace to the seductive delights of the eye and the earand in too rigidly excluding from their own and their

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52 Thoughts on the Central Radiancechildren's lives much that was innocent and beautiful.Nature and common-sense have been too strong forthe policy of exclusion, and the danger now seems tobe that in the reaction from it we may forget thesupreme and unchanging necessity of a right sub-ordination. So great and overwhelming has been therush of increasing interest and excitement in theouter life of action, of discovery, of enjoyment andamusement, that even our religion is in danger ofbecoming an outward thing. Philanthropy is good,and missionary zeal is good; active endeavours to"extend the Redeemer's Kingdom" are good; butresolute obedience to the Kingdom of God withinus must come first both in order of time and inorder of importance. It is the central root ofobedience alone which can give to outward activityany value or beauty. This is the ancient Quakerprinciple, and unless we hold firmly to it both inthought and in action our Society will assuredlybecome as salt that has lost its savour.

To make clear the paramount importance andvalue of that which is central without disparagementof that which is outward is to do the greatest possibleservice to religion. If the Society of Friends canopen wide its doors, not so much to new members asto new ideas and new sources of knowledge, withoutlosing its ancient and deep hold on eternal truth ; ifit can maintain that inward quietness which belongs


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The Quaker Tradition 53inevitably to immediate access to the Divine Presence,without losing its kinship with all that is human,it may fill a unique place in the present struggle offaith.

No doubt one result of the opening of doors andthrowing down of hedges must be the gradual disap-pearance of the old and well-loved type of exclusiveQuakerism, with its picturesque quaintness, andperhaps even something of its "holy atmosphere" ofawe and reverence. But we shall hardly stay to sighover this if we may but watch the dawn of a yettruer and more lasting, because more free, more openand trustful type of reverent holiness ; if, while"speech, behaviour, and apparel" change like all out-ward things, the habit of looking for and obeyingDivine guidance becomes more and more firmlyestablished. How far this habit can be maintained,together with unrestricted intercourse with thoseto whom the very words "Divine guidance" meannothing, it is hard to guess. In this as in so manymatters we must choose our path without waiting tillwe can foresee whither it will lead us. And assuredlywe can cleave to the imperishable truth of theQuaker tradition without being bound by all thepassing forms it has developed.

Perhaps the chief help towards fidelity to theessence of our tradition lies in our manner of worship.This being based upon silencefreed from rites and


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54 Thoughts on the Central Radianceceremonies and from clerical direction, repeated inthe daily devotions of the family, and striking thekeynote of private and individual seasons of retire-menthas a powerful tendency to achieve and todiffuse the central calm of entire dependence on God,Amongst those who have been brought up in theresultant atmosphere there is certainly observable atendency in all things, even in the minutest actionsof daily life, to wait and to watch for guidance fromabove. To one who like myself has come into theSociety in mature life, one of the most striking factsone meets with in doing so is the readiness of Friendsto make way for any intimation of a prompting fromwithin. In cases in which elsewhere some proposedcourse of action would be met by free criticism andby a discussion of reasons for and against it, thenewcomer is perhaps startled to find that the effect onFriends is that ofa sudden hushan instinctive pause,in which the proposal seems to sink out of sight fora while, and some silent process of weighing andwaiting takes the place of spoken comment. The finalcomment, when it does come, has often a ripenessand a wisdom which fully justify the method ofconcentration and upward expectancy by which ithas been arrived at. Especially ifany kind of religiousservice be in question, there is something surprising,as well as indescribably comforting, in the readiness ofFriends to fall in with and promote the minutest


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The Quaker Tradition 55fulfilment of the individual vision. And even in allthe trivial arrangements of everyday life this atmo-sphere of reverent helpfulness seems to pervade thetypical Quaker household. One finds often amongstFriends a peculiar combination of flexibility andorderliness, as well as a gentle reserve, which havetheir roots in the characteristic tradition of trust inDivine guidance. The "inward monitor" is listenedto even in the minutest details of ordinary conduct.

Of course there is a shadow side to this beautifulhabit of trust. The traditional teaching of the dutyof looking for " right guidance" has no doubt in somecases become oppressive and overstrained. Youngpeople have grown up in an atmosphere of awewhich tended to produce a reaction and a longingfor something more outward and tangible in theirdevotions, and in some cases the habitual watch forguidance has degenerated into superstition. But inspite of all dangers there is in it a virtue which wecannot afford to lose.We need, I think, mainly two things in order topreserve this virtue of immediate dependence onDivine teaching from the perversions to whichexperience has shown it to be liable. In the firstplace, we need to recognize that the Light within is(as I have tried to point out) central, unbounded,radiatingthat it burns best with open doorsthatwhile all light is one, that which shines from spirit to


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56 Thoughts on the Central Radiancespirit is the innermost glory of unchangeable Truth,making manifest the path of holiness, of pureness, ofeternal life. And, secondly, we need to rememberthat the guidance for which we can always andreasonably look directs us not to the fulfilment ofour own desires but to the satisfaction of our spirit'ssupreme hope. The One Guide leads to the OneHome ; often through failures and mistakes, butalways upward and heavenward. The work of the"inward monitor" is to correct, not to explain; sothat to dwell under His teaching is to becomeincreasingly humble and contrite ; wise with thewisdom of simplicity ; not necessarily to acquireany other knowledge than the knowledge, so far as itconcerns ourselves, of His Will. Can we have ahigher aim than so to live that we may, in ourmeasure, transmit the radiance of this Central Light ?


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WHAT DOES SILENCE MEAN?Mere silencethe silence of the lipsmay of

course cover every variety of mental state. WeFriends are so accustomed to the thought of its fitnessto be the " basis" of worship, that I think many of usfail to ask ourselves why this is so. Even hereditaryFriends (or perhaps these especially) seem sometimesto misinterpret its real value, and to forget some of itsmeanings. It is also often forgotten that the silenceof the lips is but a means to an end, or an eloquentsign of something deeper. We forget that silence isnot the same thing as stillness; and that the truetest of the value either of words or of silence istheir power to gather into the stillness of trueworship.

First let us consider how far the absence of wordsdoes tend towards this inward stillness, which is atonce the condition and the result of any true acquaint-ance with God.


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58 Thoughts on the Central RadianceThe disuse of prescribed forms of words, the

practical recognition that words are not an essentialpart of worship, of course means in the first placefreedom from any necessary temptation to insincerity.Its value in this respect can perhaps hardly be fullyestimated except by those who have gone throughthe struggles of conscience caused by the habitual useof liturgical forms, along with an ever-growing doubthow far the prescribed words were true for oneself.This uneasiness may arise quite apart from anythingthat would be called "religious doubt"apart fromany misgivings as to the truth of creeds or doctrinessimply in the form of the very obvious questionDo I at this moment experience the feelings I amexpressing? When I say "there is no health inus," or that we "lift up our hearts to the Lord," amI uttering a mere empty form ? or, worse still, am Itrying to induce in myself a purely factitious emotion ?

I know that many truly pious people are entire

Documents

Light Arising, Thoughts on the Central Radiance - Caroline Emelia Stephen 1908