indifferent.” That religion which sprang from fear of punishment or hope of reward they counted of little worth, and considered love to be by far the highest state, the only one truly worthy of the Christian.[5] Their union with Deity was not that of pantheism but of passionate love, and great prominence was given to the will as the mainspring on which all developments of the higher life depend. The following quotations from “Theologia Germanica” will convey in a few words what may be called the root ideas of the book and of the men whose spirit it so well embodies: “A true lover of God loveth Him alike in having and in not having, in sweetness and in bitterness, in good or evil report; for he seeketh only the honor of God, and not his own, either in spiritual or natural things. Therefore he standeth alike unshaken in all things.” “All disobedience is contrary to God, and nothing else. In truth, no thing is contrary to God; no creature, nor creature’s work, nor anything that we can name or think of, is contrary to God or displeasing to Him, but only disobedience and the disobedient man. In short, all that is, is well-pleasing and good in God’s eyes, saving only the disobedient man.” “The man who is truly godlike complaineth of nothing but of sin only. And sin is simply to desire or will anything otherwise than the one perfect good and the one eternal will, or to wish to have a will of one’s own.” “Sin is to will, desire, or love otherwise than God doth. Things do not thus will, desire, or love: therefore things are not evil; all things are good.” “He who is truly a virtuous man would not cease to be so to gain the whole world; yea, he would rather die a miserable death. To him virtue is its own reward, and he is content therewith, and would take no treasure or riches in exchange for it.” “Union with God is brought to pass in three ways; to wit, by pureness and singleness of heart, by love, and by the contemplation of God.” A still greater name among the Mystic writers, coming a bit later than those already mentioned, is that of Thomas à Kempis, born near Cologne, in this same West Germany where the Friends of God flourished, in 1386, and dying about 1470. His “Imitation of Christ” stands easily at the head of its class, first in popularity and usefulness among manuals for devotion. “The epic poem of the inner life,” it has lent the fragrance of its sanctity to every language of the civilized world, and has been a prime favorite for nearly five hundred years with all those who have made largest advancement in holy things. Only a few extracts need be given to show how closely it is in line with what has already been said, and what remains to be said, concerning the topic of our chapter: “When a man is so far advanced in the Christian life as not to seek consolation from any created thing, then does he first begin perfectly to enjoy God; his heart is wholly fixed and established in God who is his All in All.”