Always-the-Same Virtue
The doctrine that the divine equanimity — never varying in sweetness of gaze, serenity of face, or calm of word under suffering, provocation, or privation — is a specifically divine virtue that the DW communicates to the soul living in it: “To be always the same is only of God, and of the true children of God. The way that is always equal to itself impresses the divine character in the soul, and reveals the operating of creatures as pure and holy. On the other hand, a changing character is of creatures, and it is a sign of passions that roar within the human heart” — the indelible unchanging character serving both a purgative function (consuming reactive passions from within) and a revelatory function (making the hidden Christ visible through the soul’s manner). (E)
Anchors: Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17; 1 Peter 2:23; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 4:8-10; Philippians 4:11-12; Galatians 5:22-23; James 1:2-4 — Appearances: 1. Full Registry entry.