instrument for a particular purpose. It is the work that is done,
and the quality in the worker by which it is done, that is alone of
moment; and it may be no great matter from a cosmical standpoint, if
in other qualities of character he (the genius) was singularly
defective."[28] Except in the character of our Lord Himself, there
are visible imperfections in the record of every great saint; but
that is no reason for allowing such traces of human infirmity to
discredit what is pure and good in their work. More particularly, it
would be a great pity to let our minds dwell on the favourite
materialistic theory that saintliness, especially as cultivated and
venerated by Catholicism, has its basis in "perverted sexuality."
There is enough plausibility in the theory to make it mischievous.
The allegorical interpretation of the Book of Canticles was in truth
the source of, or at least the model for, a vast amount of
unwholesome and repulsive pietism. Not a word need be said for such
a paltry narrative of endearments and sickly compliments as the
"Revelations of the Nun Gertrude," in the thirteenth century. Nor
are we concerned to deny that the artificially induced ecstasy,
which is desired on account of the intense pleasure which is said to
accompany it, nearly always contains elements the recognition of
which would shock and distress the contemplatives themselves.[29]
There are, however, other elements, of a less insidious kind, which
make the ecstatic trance seem desirable. These are, according to
Professor Leuba, the calming of the restless intellect by the
concentration of the mind on one object; the longing for a support
and comfort more perfect than man can give; and, thirdly, the
consecration and strengthening of the will, which is often a
permanent effect of the trance. These are legitimate objects of
desire, and in many of the mystics they are much more prominent than
any tendencies which might be considered morbid. As regards the