John Tauler · 78 of 121

The third way of a poor, perfect life, when you contemplate God internally, is, that a man do not fly from what may kill him in spiritual things. · 65.

A right work of love hath four kinds of ordinances. First is the law of Holy Church; the second order is that of the natural law; and these two ordinances meet in one law, and their law is measure, and the measure applieth to outer works, and whoso doth not attain to measure in his works of love, spoileth his work. Now, this is the measure, a mean or medium between little and much; and whoso always hitteth the mean in his works of love, his works are ordered and ordained according to divine love. Thus it is not a work of love to give to a man who doth not need it, for the giver doth not work according to the mean, which is here the necessity; for necessity is the object of gifts and their mean or measure, and hence it is not a virtue that a rich man should give to another rich man. Just as little is it a virtue that you give to eat to a man who is full, or to a drunken man to drink, as it is to give temporal goods to a rich man. There is indeed a little of virtue in this, Give to me and I will give to you. But God giveth no reward for this, for it is no work of love. Nor is it a properly ordered work of love, that a man should fast above the power of nature, so that his nature is injured by it; it is also not good that a man should eat beyond necessity, but a medium and measure should be kept in all things, and whoso observeth the mean in all his works, keepeth the commandments of Holy Church and of nature. Of this St. Bernard speaketh: “The best thing that a man can do is to keep order in nature and spirit.” For all things have order, and whosoever taketh away their order from things, taketh their being; and whoso breaketh proper order in his works of love, he infringeth the divine love, and his works are rather evil than good. For Christ saith, “There is no one good save God,” and therefore nothing is good, save it be done in God, and nothing is done in God save according to order. The third order according to which a proper work of love should be worked is the order of the Holy Gospel; the fourth order is divine. And these two orders have one aim, which is God; for the order of the Holy Gospel admonisheth to external freedom from temporal things, which are not God, and the divine ordinance admonisheth to an internal freedom from all things that are not God. And whoso keepeth both these ordinances rightly in his works, he worketh always without mediation, in God and for God. This is because a perfect man, who liveth according to the order of the Gospel and according to divine order, is stripped of all creatures, inwardly and outwardly; hence God is his object, without mediation; for all means are departed, therefore also his works are without mediation, for they are worked without and above all creatures in God. And therefore Christ said, “Whoso leaveth not all that he hath, cannot be My disciple.” He says “all things,” and not to leave a part and keep a part, for this aims at natural means. But He saith we should leave all things and keep nothing, and this aims at God without any mediation. And he is a true disciple of God if he goeth only to the divine school, in which he learneth all truth, and if God alone is his schoolmaster, and teacheth him to work all his works according to divine order. Christ also saith: “Whoso doth not leave father and mother and sister, and all other things, is not worthy of Me.” In truth, whose selfhood cleaveth to a thing that is not simply God, let this thing be as small as you please, maketh himself thereby unworthy of a great God; for worth and dignity subsist in likeness, and whoso cleaveth to his selfhood is unlike to God.