The word of the Lord came unto me.—Ezekiel xxviii. 1.
So long as we dwell within ourselves, we shall be a prey to the opposition, the malignity, the injustice of men. Our temper brings us into collision with other tempers—our passions clash with those of our neighbors; our wishes are so many tender places, open to the shafts of those around. No peace is to be looked for within, when one lives at the mercy of a crowd of greedy desires, and when we can never satisfy this me, which is so keen and touchy as to whatever concerns it. . . . The only remedy is to come out of one's self, in order to find peace. We must renounce ourselves, and lose all self-interest, that we may no longer have anything to lose, to fear, or to contrive. Then we shall enjoy the true peace reserved for those who have no longer any will but God's, which becomes theirs. Then men will not be able to harm us; they can no longer attack us through our hopes or our fears. . . . We wish what we have; we wish nothing of what we have not. The more perfect is our self-surrender, the more perfect is our peace.
