Greco-Christian stream·The Imitation of Christ·Book III — On Inward Consolation·Chapter XI. That The Desires Of The Heart Are To Be Examined And Governed
XI. The desires of the heart to be examined and governed
Not every desire that arises in the heart is from the Holy Ghost. The art of discernment: examining each desire by the criterion of God's honour and the soul's true profit; governing those that prove false; pursuing those that are confirmed.
Source context
- Theme
- examination and governance of interior desires as a discipline of soul purification
- Soul-faculty
- Consciousness Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Stoic philosophy (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius)The Stoic discipline of desire (prohairesis) identifies the governance of inner impulse as the foundational act of moral freedom, showing cross-tradition congruence with the Imitation's insistence on examining and ordering the heart's movements before they generate outward action.
- Hesychast tradition (Evagrius Ponticus, Philokalia)Evagrian nepsis (watchfulness) prescribes systematic scrutiny of logismoi (thought-impulses) as they arise, providing structural congruence with the chapter's method of interrogating desire at its point of origin in the soul.
- Sufi psychology (Rumi, Al-Ghazali)Al-Ghazali's account of nafs governance in the Ihya Ulum al-Din frames the examination of desire as a prerequisite for the heart's purification, showing cross-tradition congruence with the chapter's governing premise.
Chapter XI. That The Desires Of The Heart Are To Be Examined And Governed
THAT THE DESIRES OF THE HEART ARE TO BE EXAMINED AND GOVERNED
"My Son, thou hast still many things to learn, which thou hast not well learned yet."
2What are they, Lord?
3"To place thy desire altogether in subjection to My good pleasure, and not to be a lover of thyself, but an earnest seeker of My will. Thy desires often excite and urge thee forward; but consider with thyself whether thou art not more moved for thine own objects than for My honour. If it is Myself that thou seekest, thou shalt be well content with whatsoever I shall ordain; but if any pursuit of thine own lieth hidden within thee, behold it is this which hindereth and weigheth thee down.
4"Beware, therefore, lest thou strive too earnestly after some desire which thou hast conceived, without taking counsel of Me; lest haply it repent thee afterwards, and that displease thee which before pleased, and for which thou didst long as for a great good. For not every affection which seemeth good is to be forthwith followed; neither is every opposite affection to be immediately avoided. Sometimes it is expedient to use restraint even in good desires and wishes, lest through importunity thou fall into distraction of mind, lest through want of discipline thou become a stumbling-block to others, or lest by the resistance of others thou be suddenly disturbed and brought to confusion.
5"Sometimes, indeed, it is needful to use violence, and manfully to strive against the sensual appetite, and not to consider what the flesh may or not will; but rather to strive after this, that it may become subject, however unwillingly, to the spirit. And for so long it ought to be chastised and compelled to undergo slavery, even until it be ready for all things, and learn to be contented with little, to be delighted with things simple, and never to murmur at any inconvenience."