Page:From Passion to Peace - Allen - 1910.djvu/64



passion is, peace is not; where peace is, passion is not. To know this is to master the first letter in the divine language of perfect deeds; for to know that passion and peace cannot dwell together is to be well prepared to renounce the lesser and embrace the greater.

Men pray for peace, yet cling to passion; they foster strife, yet pray for heavenly rest. This is ignorance, profound spiritual ignorance; it is not to know the first letter in the alphabet of things divine.

Hatred and love, strife and peace, cannot dwell together in the same heart. Where one is admitted as a welcome guest, the other will be turned away as an unwelcome stranger. He who despises another will be despised by others; he who opposes his fellow-man will himself be resisted. He should not be surprised, and mourn, that men are divided. He should know that he