Introduction to the Philosophy of Saint Augustine
quillity is absolutely necessary for the study of matters shrouded in mystery. |
Further, as the soul in the course of its progress realizes more and more what great difference there is between its state of purity and its state of defilement, the greater is its apprehension that when it has sloughed off this body, God may find it less endurable than it finds itself when defiled. There is, moreover, nothing more difficult than to fear death and to refrain from the allurements of this world in a degree commensurate with the jeopardies involved. Yet, so great is the soul that it can do even this, by the help, of course, of the goodness of the supreme and true God—that goodness which sustains and rules the universe, that goodness by which it has been brought about not only that all things exist but that they exist in such a way that they cannot be any better than they are. It is to this divine goodness that the soul most dutifully and confidently commits itself for help and success in the difficult task of self-purification.
The Fifth Level of the Soul
74, When this has been accomplished, that is, when the soul will be free from all corruption and purified of all its stains, then at last it possesses itself in utter joy and has no fears whatever for itself nor any anxiety for any reason. This, then, is the fifth level. For it is one thing to achieve purity, another to be in possession of it; and the activity by which the soul restores its sullied state to purity and that by which it does not suffer itself to be defiled again are two entirely different things. On this level it conceives in every way how great it is in every respect; and when it has understood that, then with unbounded and wondrous confidence it advances toward God, that is, to the immediate contemplation of truth; and it attains that supreme and transcendent reward for which it has worked so hard. —
The Sixth Level of the Soul
75. Now, this activity, namely, the ardent desire to understand truth and perfection, is the soul's highest vision: it possesses none more perfect, none more noble, none more proper. This, therefore, will be the sixth level of activity. For it is one thing to clear the eye of the soul so that it will not look without purpose and without reason and see what is wrong; it is something else to protect and strengthen the health of the eye; and it is something else again to direct your gaze calmly and squarely to what is to be seen.