John Tauler · 7 of 121

Secondly, of the work and knowledge of grace. · 61.

The knowledge of grace is also in him the distinction of virtue and vice. For it is scarcely possible to leave vice and bring in virtue unless you understand them. And, therefore, it is of grace that man should understand virtue and vice thoroughly. Natural masters have written about virtues, but they never come to the true foundation of virtue. They write of virtues, how much pleasanter and sweeter they are in their nature, for virtues are undoubtedly and naturally a greater source of delight than vice. And in this way they sought their pleasure in virtue and nothing else; but they never get into virtue properly; for virtue consists in the denial of all natural lust, and they never possessed virtue thoroughly, because they sought themselves in it. Now, whosoever wisheth to have virtue in a hearty denial of himself, this must be of grace and not of nature; and virtue is quite at home there. For, whensoever a man has himself in view in virtue, that is not right virtue, it is natural virtue, but not of grace, for sinners have it also; but virtue in genuine self-denial they cannot have. When, therefore, a poor man stands in thorough denial of all natural lust, then he understandeth virtue quite in its groundwork. But the masters of nature could not come with vices to natural truth, and therefore they left vices through the power of natural knowledge. For no man can come to natural truth who is too heavily laden with the coarseness of sins. Hence these philosophers left vice through nature, and not by grace. For the virtue by grace is only for the sake of God, and not from natural knowledge, and therefore they did not come to the right knowledge of virtue; and this knowledge is of grace.