CHAPTER IV.

OF THE THIRD WAY OF RETURN TO GOD, WHICH IS THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH, AND OF ITS FIRST DEGREE — DESCRIPTION OF THIS WAY UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A TORRENT— PROPENSITY OF THE SOUL TOWARDS GOD — ITS PROPERTIES, OBSTACLES, AND EFFECTS EXPLAINED BY THE SIMILITUDE OF FIRE— WHAT BEFALLS THE SOUL CALLED TO WALK IN THE PASSIVE WAY OF FAITH — DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST DEGREE OF THIS THIRD WAY, AND OF THE STATE OF THE SOUL IN IT — THE REST IT FINDS IN IT WOULD BE HURTFUL IF GOD DID NOT DRAW IT OUT OF IT, IN ORDER TO FURTHER ITS AD-VANCEMENT.

T 17 HAT shall we say of the souls in this third way^ unless it be that they resemble torrents which rise in high mountains? They have their source in God Himself, and they have not a moment's rest until they are lost in Him. Nothing stops them, and no burdens are laid upon them. They rush on with a rapidity which alarms even the most confident. These torrents flow without order, here and there,