How one is to conduct oneself in regard of the outer and inward solitude.
The Thirty-second Letter.
How one is to conduct oneself in regard of the outer and inward solitude.
In the grace of Jesus, dearly beloved sister!
Your gradual bettering is agreeable to me to learn of. God be praised! To Him alone be our life's strength and time hallowed!
You are bound in conscience, that you now let the needful come to your body in eating and drinking, that it may the sooner recover, because yet the dear God shows, that you shall still remain a little with us in the preparation-time.
The strong inclination to solitude and aversion from the company of men is indeed good, and, as I believe, laid into you by God: Whether however, and when and how far God would really give you the outer solitude? that you can and that you must quietly and childlikely leave to His leading: He cares for you. You must undertake no change out of yourself. Meanwhile the inclination to outer solitude must serve you as a safeguard, that you do not scatter yourself and pass away, so long as you must still be under the company of men. That the dear God however calls you chiefly to inward solitude or detachment, that is certain: Thence it comes, that your own workings please you no more, but hinder you, and that you see nothing but ownness in all your things; for God will, you shall go out of yourself, you shall give Him room; you shall with your working and willing, and with all that is yours, as it were yield to Him, only to wait for Him and His working, and to give place to the same. And then you will with time experience, what the blessed inward solitude is, where God and spirit alone are, and all creature (namely also you yourself according to the ownness) remain shut out. Meanwhile you must will to set yourself in nothing, but be content with what God makes of you. Love God in that wherein you find yourself, when it were even in suffering and in dryness. Think not once so much of yourself and of your conditions, but of God, who alone and eternally is enough for you. In Him I greet you heartily and remain through grace
Your Mülheim, weak brother. the 10th of July, 1758.
German
Der zweiunddreißigste Brief.
wie sich in Ansehung der äußeren und inwendigen Einsamkeit zu verhalten.
In der Gnade JEsu herzlich geliebte Schwester!
Deine allmählige Besserung ist mir zu vernehmen angenehm. GOtt sey gelobet!
— 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).
Translator’s notes
What this letter is. A July letter of the 10th, 1758, from Mülheim to Anna Christina Spieker at Wittenhaus. Her gradual bettering is agreeable to him to learn of; praised be God; to Him alone be their life's strength and time hallowed. She is bound in conscience to let the body have the needful, that it may recover, because God still shows she shall remain a little in the preparation-time. The strong inclination to solitude is good and laid in by God; whether, when, and how far He would give the outer solitude she must leave to His leading. He calls her chiefly to inward solitude or detachment: own workings no longer please; she shall go out of herself and give Him room. Mülheim, the 10th of July, 1758.
Outer solitude, and inward. The strong inclination to solitude and aversion from the company of men is indeed good, and, as he believes, laid into her by God. Whether however, and when and how far God would really give her the outer solitude — that she can and must quietly and childlikely leave to His leading: He cares for her. She must undertake no change out of herself. Meanwhile the inclination to outer solitude must serve her as a safeguard, that she do not scatter herself and pass away, so long as she must still be under the company of men. That the dear God however calls her chiefly to inward solitude or detachment, that is certain.
Give Him room. Thence it comes, that her own workings please her no more, but hinder her, and that she sees nothing but ownness in all her things; for God will, she shall go out of herself, she shall give Him room; she shall with her working and willing, and with all that is hers, as it were yield to Him, only to wait for Him and His working, and to give place to the same. And then she will with time experience, what the blessed inward solitude is, where God and spirit alone are, and all creature (namely also she herself according to the ownness) remain shut out. Meanwhile she must will to set herself in nothing, but be content with what God makes of her. Love God in that wherein you find yourself, when it were even in suffering and in dryness. Think not once so much of yourself and of your conditions, but of God, who alone and eternally is enough for you. In Him he greets her heartily. Your weak brother. Mülheim, the 10th of July, 1758.
A few words and echoes.
- your gradual bettering. allmählige Besserung — Deine; agreeable to him to learn of; praised be God.
- outer and inward solitude. äußere und inwendige Einsamkeit — how one is to conduct oneself in regard of both.
- detachment. Abgeschiedenheit — the inward solitude He calls her to, as against the outer solitude she must not force.
- preparation-time. Zubereitungs-Zeit — she shall still remain a little with us therein; the body is to have the needful.
- the safeguard. Bewahr-Mittel — the inclination to outer solitude, so long as she must still be under the company of men.
- own workings / ownness. Wirksamkeiten / Eigenheit — they please no more, but hinder; she sees nothing but ownness in all her things.
- give Him room. go out of yourself; yield with working and willing; wait for His working, and give place to the same.
- dryness. Dürre — love God even therein, and in suffering; think not so much of your conditions.
- Your / Mülheim, weak brother. the 10th of July, 1758.
trans. Jarred Fenlason · gerhardtersteegen.com/letters/bdii-thiv-032 · all rights reservedEnglish translation © Jarred Fenlason · All rights reserved · gerhardtersteegen.com.