An answer to the question: whether one can, without violation of one's conscience, listen when this or that is spoken against one's conviction.

The Ninety-fifth Letter.

An answer to the question: whether one can, without violation of one's conscience, listen when this or that is spoken against one's conviction.

In the grace of Jesus, dearly beloved friend and sister!

I received your kind letter yesterday through friend M. As an answer to the question you put in it — whether you may, without violation of your conscience, listen when this or that is spoken against your conviction — this serves: that when the matter is one of outward, indifferent things, or of this or that opinion and thought in spiritual matters that do not touch the ground of our salvation, then one must shun all quarreling over it as a temptation of the enemy. But if it is desired that we state our opinion and conviction on this or that, then sincerity does indeed require that we state it — when it is judged edifying to do so — thus and not otherwise than we see it, even though others may be otherwise minded in the matter. Yet this must be done without presumption, without heat, and without stubbornness. For which reason it is neither needful nor edifying, but rather evil, to cut others straight off in their speech who say something that does not agree with our conviction, or to stand stiffly on one's own opinion when our thoughts are contradicted. We must indeed confess nothing to be good and true of which we inwardly have another light; but because we are men, who can err in their thoughts, and because our knowledge in spiritual things is piecemeal, we must not contradict long or hotly, but gladly, and with all friendliness, leave each one his own thoughts, and confess that we too could be in the wrong. For we ourselves, in former times, have had other thoughts about many things than we now have; and who knows how it will go with us in the future? Why then should we not also gladly bear with others in this? Oh! yielding is a truly divine virtue, by which one can work wonders. One also seldom goes too far in it — for only into sin must one not yield. Do you not know, dear friend, that we are to become children, whose whole work is to love the mother, to look upon her, and to suck the sweet milk from her breast, and for the rest to let each one do and say what he will? Ah, how easily can we let everything be well, and let each one be right, when we can occupy ourselves in secret only with this child's-work in faith.

Now as concerns in particular the discourse with your M., you have both surely gone too far in it: he, in that he wants to defend his weakness and human cautiousness as something good, or as a virtue; and you, in that you could not bear his weakness, but grew displeased over it, made many words about it, and wanted him to give his assent to your view — whereas you ought rather to have given way, since you well knew that he would not depart from his own thoughts. Not that you should have said, "He is right, and you are wrong"; but in all such conversations — and especially you, with your M. — one must say, kindly: "It may be that I am mistaken in this; perhaps we do not rightly understand each other; it is not the main thing; let us break off from it, and yet remain good friends." In this way, or in some other gentle manner, one must seek to turn aside such vexations, and always be the least. Yea, it is not enough to keep flatly silent and hold a grudge in the heart; rather one must, when God gives grace, strive to remain gentle, open-hearted, and friendly — yet without noticeable harm and distraction of mind. And so one must also proceed in all other conversations about domestic and other outward things.

If your M. had asked me about the holding of the exercise, and I had known his weakness in it, I myself would not have advised him to it. In such things, which are not indisputably sin, one must demand of no one what he is not yet convinced of, and for which he has neither strength nor faith — lest one bring some soul into heavier temptations, and the last become worse than the first. It is, after all, still your M.'s kindness and good will, that he receives us unworthy ones so kindly, and remains favorable. What would you do, if even this were not so? Do you think that the zeal of the Saviour's disciples was pure, when it went far harder with the Lord Himself? (Luke 9:53 and following.) If any displeasure over a matter arises between the two of you, be you always the first to bow, and wisely to get ahead of the other by friendly persuasion. I know that God will not let it go unblessed.

Sweetest Jesus! open the well-spring of Thy sweet love in the deepest ground of this my friend; soothe and quicken with it her heart, together with all its powers and stirrings of mind, that through this divine love-power she may become gentle, lovely, and Love itself! Give her grace, in all storms from without and within, to sink resignedly and inwardly into this sea of Thy love, that in a gentle and quiet spirit she may become fit — together with me — to walk before Thy countenance, and may please Thee eternally!

Friend H. and the other friends greet you heartily. I am rather weakly, so that my head could scarcely bear to write this. All the friends there I also greet heartily, and remain, through grace,

Your weak fellow-combatant.

Mülheim, the 30th of January, 1730.

German

Der fünfundneunzigste Brief.

Antwort auf die Frage: Ob man ohne Verletzung seines Gewissens mit anhören könne, wann über dies und jenes wider unser Erkänntniß gesprochen wird?

In der Gnade JEsu vielgeliebte Freundin und Schwester!

Euer Angenehmes habe gestern durch Freund M. wohl erhalten. Zur Antwort auf eure darin gethane Frage: Ob ihrs wohl ohne Verletzung eures Gewissens mit anhören könntet, wann über dieß und jenes wider eure Erkenntniß gesprochen wird?

— Opening lines of the original German. The complete transcription of all 605 letters appears in the forthcoming Encounter Press critical edition; Brief 1 is shown in full as a sample.

German text: public domain (1773–75 first edition / 1845 Gesammelte Schriften).