But they
who, because judgement is not presently executed upon the ungodly, blame the
management of things as faulty, and Providence as defective, are like such
spectators of a dramatic poem, as when wicked and injurious persons are brought
upon the stage, for a while swaggering and triumphing; impatiently cry out
against the dramatist, and presently condemn the plot: whereas if they would
expect the winding up of things, and still till the last close, they should then
see them come off with shame and sufficient punishment.
The evolution of the world, as Plotinus calls it, is… a truer poem, and
we men histrionical actors upon the stage, who notwithstanding insert something
of our own into the poem too; but God Almighty is that Skilful Dramatist, who
always connecteth that of ours which went before, with that of His which follows
after, into good coherent sense; and will at last make it appear, that a thread
of exact justice did run through it all, and that rewards and punishments are
measured out in geometrical proportion. - Ralph Cudworth.
O God,
in every temple I see people that seek Thee, and in every language spoken people
praise Thee.
Each religion teaches that
Thou art One without equal.
If it be a mosque, people utter the holy prayer;
If it be a Christian church, people ring the bells for love to Thee.
Sometimes I frequent the Christian cloister, and sometimes the mosque.
But it is Thou Whom I seek from temple to temple.
Thine elect are above heresy and orthodoxy. - Akbar
Venerate
God in love and in respect. Then He
will answer thee in thy inward spiritual practice.
Be gentle and humble of heart; then the Spirit of God rests in thy soul.
Be friendly, zealous, and kind to everyone who needs thee.
Be sober in food and drink and in everything thou needest; then thou wilt
live without sorrow or anxiety for thyself.
Watch thyself and all thy weaknesses, judge thyself inwardly and
outwardly in the sight of Truth which is God, but judge no one else who has not
been recommended to thee; then thou wilt live without thorns, wrath and
vengeance in thy heart and find peace in thyself and grace in God. - Ruysbroeck
Always
remember that thou art a man; that human nature is frail, and that thou mayest
easily fall - and thou shalt never fall. But
if, happening to forget what thou art, thou chancest to fall, be not
discouraged: remember that thou mayest rise again; that it is in thy power to
break the bonds which link thee to thine offence, and to subdue the obstacles
which hinder thee from walking in the paths of virtue. - Confucius