CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

THE IDEA OF SANCTITY IN THE DIFFERENT

RELIGIONS 1

The idea of sanctity — its history — the saint among the Chinese — among the Buddhists — among the Mohammedans — in the Old Testament — in the New — among the principal Christian denominations — the saint in the Catholic Church — the "great man" and the saint — points of affinity and divergence — greater unity, more liberty, more unlimited progress in the saint — the saints and their surroundings — the saint and the mystic — all mystics not saints — are all saints mystics? — false definitions of mysticism — true definition — mysticism is the love of God — the saint, a man who serves God in an heroic manner and from the motive of love.

CHAPTER II

HUMAN NATURE IN THE SAINT 42

Sanctity and natural gifts — saints, by nature, neither half-witted nor of weak constitution — diversities of character among the saints — how far these extend — they shew themselves in great things and in small — meaning of this latter word as applied to saints — humour in saints — tastes and personal habits.

CHAPTER III

EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS 64

Extraordinary states and states of ill health in the saints — is sanctity a nervous disease? — its relation to certain recently discussed phenomena of mental-hearing, second sight, and clairvoyance — the nature of these phenomena in the saints — revelations, visions, prophecies: they do not constitute sanctity, but the sanctity of the person gives them credibility and value — testimony of St John of the Cross — St Theresa — St Jane de Chantal — teaching of Benedict XIV. — this applies also to miracles — three kinds of ecstacy — how the saints, taught by experience, have distinguished between them — so-called hysteria in the saints — Père Hahn and M. Janet — accidental phenomena overcome or transformed — in the saints there is no disintegration, narrowness or dual personality, but an evolution of an absolutely different kind.

CHAPTER IV

THE SENSES AND IMAGINATION — THE INTELLECT AND CONTEMPLATION 118

Theoretic psychology of the saints — the help they derive from the senses — the pre-eminent position they accord to the will, when guided by love — does the saint materialise his conceptions or does spirituality gain the ascendency over him? — distinction he draws between the eternal essence of God and God made man in the person of our Lord — error of the quietists — how the imagination, as soon as it has been purified, becomes once more free — theory of St John of the Cross — what the saint chiefly requires of the intellect is that it should begin to love — reflection and doubt — the sceptic and the believer — the heretic and the saint — what the intellect of the saint desires and obtains by means of prayer — self-scrutiny in the saint — experiences of St Chantal — Bossuet's principles — the saint's knowledge of his own sanctity — contemplation or so-called passive prayer — the effect and cause of steady and fruitful labour — accumulated piety and reflection.

CHAPTER V

FEELING, LOVE AND ACTION 148

Feeling in the saints — how much of it is due to their physical organisation and extent to which this latter is modified in them — predominant part taken by the heart — notable examples — the saint's aptitude for suffering and emotion — by what things is he moved? — his feelings are like ours, only that he has got rid of self-love — human and natural affections — supernatural and heavenly affections — friendship and innocent pleasures — the love of God in the saints — its connection with suffering which is accepted, sought and asked for — its connection with action — how the saint's capacity for action is fostered by his love of suffering, by his method of contemplation, and by the purity of his faith — joy in suffering — spiritual child-bearing — the great precept of St Ignatius regarding resolutions made in times of consolation — the active life of the saints — how they carry it out — conclusion.