,,matelda                               
,,and ,,the                             
,,cloister ,,of ,,hellfde               
,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author     ,,trees  
,,planted ,,by ,,the ,,river4 ,crown    
#hvo1 #ds4 #f;d4        ,this excellent 
book will commend itself to many a      
contemplative     ,christian during     
hours of quiet communion with his own   
soul and with     ,god4--,christian     
,commonwealth4        ,a delightful     
book1 and presents points of interest   
quite     novel4--,rock4        ,there  
are some exquisite sketches of the      
religious history of     individuals who
 exerted a powerful influence in their  
day1 but of     whom we know nothing    
now1 which will be highly appreciated by
 every     spiritually-minded           
,christian4--,methodist ,times4         
,a deeply interesting book4--,aberdeen  
,free ,press4     ,,three ,,friends ,,of
 ,,god4 ,records from the ,lives of     
,john ,tauler1 ,nicholas         of     
,basle1 ,henry ,suso4 ,by ,frances ,a4  

,bevan1 ,author of ,the ,story          
of ,wesley1 etc4 ,crown #hvo1 #es4      
,fascinating glimpses of the strange    
religious life of mediaeval     ,europe4
 ,no student of history and human nature
 can fail to be     interested by this  
book1 while to pious minds it will bring
 stimulus     and                       
edification4--,scotsman4     ,,hymns    
,,of ,,ter ,,steegen1 ,,suso1 ,,and     
,,others4 ,edited by ,mrs4 ,frances     
,bevan1         ,author of ,trees       
,planted by the ,river1 etc4 ,crown     
#hvo1 #as4 #f;d4        ,some of the    
hymns are very beautiful1 calculated to 
strengthen the     weary1 comfort the   
sad1 stimulate the down-hearted1 and    
draw the soul     nearer to             
,god4--,record4        ,the literary    
quality of many of the hymns will be    
welcome to many     lovers of sacred    
poetry4--,manchester ,guardian4         
,,matelda                               
,,and ,,the                             
,,cloister ,,of ,,hellfde               

,,extracts ,,from ,,the ,,book ,,of     
,,matilda ,,of ,,magdeburg              
,,selected ,,and ,,translated ,,by      
,,frances ,,bevan                       
,,author ,,of                           
,,three ,,friends ,,of ,,god1           
,,trees ,,planted ,,by ,,the ,,river1   
,,hymns ,,of ,,ter ,,steegen1 ,,suso1   
,,and ,,others1 ,,etc4                  
,london                                 
,,james ,,nisbet  ,,co4                 
#ba ,,berners ,,street                  
#ahif                   ,printed by     
,ballantyne1 ,hanson  ,co4              
,at the ,ballantyne ,press              
,,preface   ,to most of us the ,matelda 
of ,dante has been scarcely more than a 
shape existing in the mind of a poet4   
,it may be that she now stands before us
 not only as a woman of flesh and blood1
 but as one who has for us in these days
 a marvellous message4 ,one of the great
 cloud of witnesses to the love and     
glory of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1      
speaks to us in a ,german ,beguine1 who 

is now recognised by many as the        
original of her who conducted ,dante    
into the terrestrial ,paradise4         
,whether or no we regard her as the     
guide of ,dante1 may she be to us a     
means whereby we forget the things that 
are behind1 and press forward to those  
that are before4 ,may she yet be to some
 sorrowful souls the guide into the     
blessed ,garden of ,god--the garden no  
longer guarded by a flaming sword1 but  
opened to the sinner who has washed his 
robes1 and made them white in the ,blood
 of the ,lamb4 ,may some to whom the    
future is dark and fearful1 and who     
carry as a heavy burden the sin of past 
years1 be led on across the river into  
the light1 the sweetness1 and the rest  
of the green pastures of ,christ--the   
sin and sorrow left behind1 remembered  
no more1 for the ,lord remembers them   
not4 ,and in ,his ,presence1 where there
 is the fulness of joy1 the sufferings  
of this present time can also be        
forgotten1 for sorrow rejoiceth before  

,him4  ,six persons have up to this time
 been regarded as the original of the   
,matelda of ,dante4 ,the ,countess      
,matilda of ,tuscany most commonly till 
modern times2 ,matilda1 mother of ,otto 
the ,great2 the nun of ,hellfde1        
,matilda of ,hackeborn2 the gentle lady 
of the ,vita ,nuova1 and of the         
,convito2 ,vanna1 the lover of ,guido   
,cavalcanti2 and finally1 the ,beguine1 
also of ,hellfde1 known as ,matilda of  
,magdeburg4  ,the claims of the         
,countess ,matilda appear to rest on her
 name only1 without further traits of   
resemblance2 those of ,matilda of       
,hackeborn have been disproved by the   
chronological researches of ,preger2 of 
the rest1 only ,matilda of ,magdeburg   
shows any resemblance striking enough to
 lead to the conclusion that she was in 
the mind of ,dante when he described the
 lady who sang the sweet songs of       
,paradise4 ,scartazzini1 who regards the
 gentle lady of the ,vita ,nuova as the 
true ,matelda1 can assign no valid      

reason for doubting that ,matilda the   
,beguine has a better claim4 ,i think   
that few can doubt it who have carefully
 read the proofs furnished by the       
ancient records of the convent of       
,hellfde1 and by the book of ,matilda of
 ,magdeburg4 ,these proofs will be found
 summarised in a brochure published at  
,munich in #ahgc1 ,dante's ,matelda1 ein
 akademischer ,vortrag von ,wilhelm     
,preger4  ,the extracts from her book1  
which ,i have endeavoured to translate1 
are chosen from the passages in her     
prose and poetry which best exemplify   
the ,divine teaching1 rather than from  
those which identify her with the       
,matelda of ,dante4 ,that which is      
useless1 except for purposes of historic
 research1 has been passed over4 ,the   
writing of ,mechthild1 especially when  
in rhyme and measure1 is difficult to   
translate1 and ,i am conscious that the 
rendering of her poems is extremely     
imperfect4  ,in one case extracts from  
more than one have been placed together2

 in others1 only a part of a longer poem
 has been given4 ,the object has been   
rather to pass on ,mechthild's message  
than to give an adequate idea of the    
whole book1 a great deal of which is    
defaced by the superstition of her      
times4  ,but the truth which is eternal 
is found richly in the midst of much    
that is false1 and thus far1 she being  
dead yet speaketh4 ,that she learnt so  
fully much that we are now very slow to 
learn1 is a fact the more remarkable    
when we consider1 how lost and buried   
was the ,gospel teaching of the         
,apostles in the ages that succeeded    
them4 ,their successors had been too    
often employed in darkening counsel by  
words without knowledge4 ,all the more  
do the love and wisdom of ,god shine    
forth in the teaching which those who   
turned to ,him only1 received from ,his 
lips4 ,mechthild was one who sat at ,his
 feet and heard ,his words1 and it is   
well for us to hear that which she      
learnt of ,him4 ,a somewhat free        

translation has been necessary1 in order
 to render in ,english the equivalent to
 ,german mediaeval language2 but ,i     
trust that the sense and meaning have   
been faithfully1 however unworthily1    
rendered4                               
,the ,cloister of ,hellfde   ,how1 and  
by whom the cloister was founded and    
built1 in which the two blessed maidens1
 ,mechthild and ,gertrude1 served ,god4 
,when men had counted one thousand two  
hundred and nineteen years since the    
birth of ,christ our dear ,lord and     
,saviour1 it came to pass1 by the       
special grace of ,god1 that the mighty  
and noble ,count ,burkhardt of          
,mansfeldt built a convent of nuns near 
to the castle of ,mansfeldt4 ,this      
convent was dedicated by ,count         
,burkhardt to ,mary the ,blessed        
,virgin2 and therein did he place pious 
nuns1 taken from the convent of ,s4     
,james1 called ,burckarsshoff1 of the   
,cistercian order1 near ,halberstatt4   
,the wife of the above-mentioned ,count 

,burkhardt was a ,countess of           
,schwarzbruck1 ,elisabeth by name4 ,she 
was the mother of two daughters--one    
named ,gertrude1 the other ,sophia4     
,gertrude married a young ,count of     
,mansfeldt1 the cousin of ,count        
,burkhardt1 and ,sophia married a       
,burggraf of ,querfurdt4  ,now ,count   
,burkhardt1 in the same year that he    
finished the building and furnishing of 
the aforesaid convent1 departed joyfully
 from this present life2 and after his  
departure the noble countess1 ,frau     
,elisabeth1 his widow1 found that the   
place chosen near the castle of         
,mansfeldt was not suitable for a       
spiritual life1 and therefore1 in the   
fifth year after the death of her lord1 
by the advice of persons of good        
understanding1 she removed and rebuilt  
the convent at a place called           
,rodardsdorff4 ,and when it had remained
 there twenty-four years it was again   
removed to ,helpede or ,hellfde1 as the 
following history relates4  ,now when   

the above-named countess1 ,frau         
,elisabeth1 had removed the convent to  
,rodardsdorff1 she betook herself       
thither1 and there did she serve ,god1  
and ended her life well and blissfully4 
,the first abbess of this convent was   
,frau ,kunigunde of ,halberstatt1 and a 
truly ,god-fearing and devout woman4    
,and when she had lived seventeen years 
at ,rodardsdorff1 she there died a      
blessed death in the year #abea4 ,and on
 the day following her departure there  
was chosen by the direction of the ,holy
 ,ghost1 as the above-named abbess1     
,frau ,kunigunde1 had predicted1 to be  
abbess in her room1 the sister          
,gertrude1 born of the noble family of  
,hackeborn1 and a sister by birth of the
 blessed and marvellously endowed       
,mechthild1 of whom the ,book of        
spiritual graces gives the history4     
,this ,abbess ,gertrude was chosen      
unanimously1 as being of a wholly       
spiritual and devout manner of life4    
,she was nineteen years old at the time 

of her election1 and she filled her     
office for forty years and eleven days2 
and during her time the nuns of the     
cloister lived holy and ,god-fearing    
lives1 and ,god bestowed upon them      
marvellous gifts4 ,and when she had     
lived fifty-nine years1 she was taken   
away from this world1 joyfully and      
piously1 and entered into the gladness  
and the glory of the everlasting kingdom
 in the year of our ,lord #abia4  ,and  
when the cloister had now been standing 
twenty-four years at ,rodardsdorff1 and 
she had been abbess at that place seven 
years1 then for the third time was the  
site of the convent changed1 and it was 
renewed and rebuilt as follows3--  ,it  
was seen and observed by ,count ,hermann
 of ,mansfeldt1 a son of ,frau          
,gertrude1 the elder daughter1 and      
,burggraf ,burkhardt of ,querfurdt1 a   
son of ,frau ,sophia1 the younger       
daughter of the mighty ,count ,burkhardt
 of ,mansfeldt1 the founder of the      
convent1 that at ,rodardsdorff there was

 a great want of water1 so that it could
 not have been well for the convent     
longer to remain there4 ,therefore these
 two counts made an exchange of the     
convent with the two barons1 the ,lord  
,albert and the ,lord ,ludolf of        
,hackeborn1 for the manor and village of
 ,hellfde1 adding on their part other   
estates4 ,and at ,hellfde was the       
cloister for the third time rebuilt4    
,the nuns of the convent of             
,rodardsdorff were removed to the       
convent of ,hellfde in the year #abeh1  
on the ,sunday of the ,holy ,trinity4   
,to this inauguration of the convent did
 the aforesaid two ,counts of ,mansfeldt
 and ,querfurdt invite many lords and   
gentlemen1 such as ,rupert1 the         
archbishop of ,magdeburg1 ,bishop       
,volradt1 of ,halberstatt1 also many    
other lords and prelates1 spiritual and 
temporal4  ,count ,hermann of ,mansfeldt
 had no male issue1 but only three      
daughters4 ,two of these1 ,sophia and   
,elisabeth1 did he place in the convent 

of ,hellfde1 where they lived godly     
lives4 ,one of them became an able      
writer1 who wrote many good and useful  
books for the convent1 and afterwards   
became the abbess thereof4 ,the other   
was for a long time prioress1 and was a 
skilful painter1 who laboured           
industriously at the adorning of the    
books and of other things which         
pertained to the service of ,god4 ,the  
third daughter was given in marriage by 
,count ,hermann of ,mansfeldt to a      
,baron von ,rabbinswalt4  ,and because  
the aforesaid ,count ,hermann had no    
male heirs1 he sold the castle and the  
county of ,mansfeldt to the ,burggraf   
,burkhardt of ,querfurdt4 ,and thus did 
,mansfeldt and the land come into the   
family of ,querfurdt1 as also other     
estates of ,count ,hermann in the land  
of ,thuringia4  ,in the cloister of     
,hellfde there lived many most excellent
 persons1 the children of counts and    
lords1 and of nobles and common people4 
,and for near ninety years the community

 lived after the manner of cloistered   
nuns1 a life as it were angelic4 ,and   
the ,lord ,jesus was so intimately known
 to the persons of this community that  
they communed with ,him1 as with their  
most dearly beloved ,lord and           
,bridegroom1 as one good friend would   
speak with another4 ,and the angels of  
heaven had a special joy and gladness in
 beholding this blessed company1 of     
which much might be written1 but which  
for brevity's sake we will not write1 as
 much is told of these things in the    
,book of spiritual graces4  ,at last1 in
 the year #acdb1 after the birth of     
,christ our dear ,lord1 there arose a   
great dispute between the ,duke of      
,brunswick and the ,count of ,mansfeldt1
 whose name was ,burkhardt4 ,and this   
dispute arose because a ,duke of        
,brunswick1 ,albert by name1 was chosen 
by some to be ,bishop of ,halberstatt1  
and by others there was chosen the son  
of ,count ,burkhardt of ,mansfeldt1     
whose name was also ,albert4 ,and the   

choice of this latter was confirmed by  
the ,pope4  ,therefore there arose war  
and fighting1 so that the ,dukes of     
,brunswick invaded the land of the      
,count of ,mansfeldt with rage and      
violence1 and spoiled and wasted and    
burned all before them4 ,and by means of
 this visitation of ,god was the convent
 burned to the ground1 and utterly      
ruined and destroyed4 ,and as the       
chronicles relate1 it was ,duke ,albert 
of ,brunswick 7the ,bishop-elect7 and a 
lord of ,weringenrod1 who with their own
 hands set fire to the convent4 ,what it
 was that moved them to do this1 is     
known to ,him who knoweth all things4   
,there were also several horsemen1 and  
others with cross-bows and other        
murderous weapons1 who ran to seize the 
abbess and some of her godly spiritual  
children1 intending to do them grievous 
harm4 ,yet1 as the enemies themselves   
bore witness1 when they were a stone's  
throw from these maidens they lost1 as  
it were1 their strength and force1 and  

could proceed no further4 ,and although 
it was against the will and desire of   
,duke ,henry of ,brunswick 7who was also
 ,bishop of ,heldesheim7 and of ,duke   
,otto of ,brunswick1 and of others who  
were with ,duke ,albert1 and though     
these endeavoured with all possible good
 faith to prevent it1 the cloister was  
nevertheless pillaged and burnt4  ,after
 this1 in the year #acdf1 the convent   
was for the fourth time again rebuilt1  
in the outer part of the town of        
,eisleben4 7,from the ,german edition of
 the ,mechthilden ,buch #aejc47         
,gertrude ,von ,hackeborn4  ,it was     
during the forty years in which the     
convent was under the able direction of 
the ,abbess ,gertrude von ,hackeborn1   
that it became distinguished for the    
high attainments of its inmates4        
,gertrude was of the family of the      
,barons of ,hackeborne1 whose castle and
 manor was situated a little to the east
 of the town of ,eisleben4 ,at the age  
of nineteen she was already marked out1 

by her spiritual and mental endowments1 
as a capable directress of the nuns     
placed beneath her care4 ,it was she who
 persuaded her brothers ,albert and     
,ludolf to give the manor of ,hellfde   
for the new site of the convent1 which  
had been for twenty-four years at       
,rodardsdorff4 ,many gifts were         
afterwards given to the convent by the  
,barons of ,hackeborn1 in consideration 
of the distinguished place held there by
 their two sisters1 ,gertrude and       
,matilda4  ,for a long time ,gertrude   
was supposed to be the author of the    
book known as the ,gertruden ,buch1 out 
of which ,ter ,steegen made the extracts
 which he published in his ,lives of    
,holy ,souls1 assigning them to the     
,abbess ,gertrude von ,hackeborn4 ,it   
seems now1 however1 clearly ascertained 
that the book so long attributed to the 
abbess was the work of a nun of the     
convent1 also named ,gertrude1 to whom  
reference will be made later on4 ,in    
this book1 as also in the book called   

the ,mechthilden ,buch1 which was       
dictated chiefly by ,matilda of         
,hackeborn1 and completed by the writers
 7also nuns of the convent7 after her   
death1 much is related of the ,abbess   
,gertrude4 ,she is described as a woman 
of remarkable character1 uniting love1  
gentleness1 and piety with practical    
wisdom1 good sense1 and mental culture4 
,the chief feature which appears to have
 impressed the sisterhood1 was the      
sweetness of the love which dwelt in her
 innermost heart4  ,up to the last her  
love was active and practical4 ,when in 
her latter days she was completely      
crippled1 and in constant suffering1 she
 insisted upon being carried to the     
sisters who were ill in bed1 that she   
might speak to them a word of comfort4  
,when at last her speech failed her1 her
 beaming eyes1 her loving countenance1  
and the gentle movement of her hand     
assured the sisters who stood around her
 that her affection for them remained   
untouched by her bodily infirmities4    

,the sisters said it was not a          
melancholy1 but a joyful1 duty to watch 
by her bed of weakness and suffering4   
,but it was never the case during her   
long superintendence of the convent that
 this remarkable power of loving        
interfered with the strictest           
discipline1 or with the wise and careful
 ordering of the convent life4 ,she had 
no easy task when many daughters of the 
highest families of the ,north ,german  
nobles were committed to her care4 ,they
 were accustomed to rule rather than to 
obey1 and to live idle lives of pleasure
 and self-indulgence4 ,but under the    
loving direction of the ,abbess         
,gertrude order and industry flourished1
 and a desire to learn became very      
remarkable amongst these ,german ladies4
 ,gertrude taught by her example1 by the
 power of her word1 by the decision and 
good sense which made themselves felt in
 all she said and did4  ,above all      
things1 are we told1 she required and   
insisted upon a thorough and careful    

knowledge of the ,bible4 ,she made it   
her constant care that the convent      
should have an increasing supply of the 
best books1 which she either bought1 or 
copied by means of some of the nuns4 ,it
 is certain1 she said1 that if the zeal 
for study should decrease1 and the      
knowledge of ,holy ,scripture diminish1 
all true spiritual life would come to an
 end4  ,there was soon an excellent     
school formed in the convent1 which has 
left proofs of its remarkable character1
 as in the case of the books of         
,gertrude and ,matilda1 which were      
written by nuns of the convent4 ,the    
second part of the ,gertrude ,book1     
written by the ,nun ,gertrude herself1  
is said to be an example of fluency in  
,latin rarely found amongst the women of
 the ,middle ,ages4  ,the life at       
,hellfde was a very busy life1 and had  
nothing of the usual littleness of      
convent rule4 ,with great spiritual     
fervour1 there was at the same time a   
spirit of liberty and cheerfulness that 

helped forward the constant1 serious1   
diligent work of the house4 ,studying   
and copying1 illuminating1 working and  
singing1 occupied the sisters1 as well  
as the care of the poor and the sick2   
and above all1 the study of the ,word of
 ,god4  ,besides the two sisters1 the   
,abbess ,gertrude and ,matilda of       
,hackeborn1 two other nuns were         
distinguished by remarkable gifts4 ,one 
of these1 called on account of her      
office the ,lady ,matilda1 was the      
leader and teacher of the choir1 and    
also the chief teacher in the school of 
the convent4 ,she appears to be the same
 as ,matilda von ,wippra mentioned in   
the ,querfurdt ,chronicles4 ,much is    
related of her great gift as a teacher1 
and of the power which accompanied her  
words4 ,her words1 so it is said in the 
,gertrude ,book1 were sweeter than      
honey1 and her spirit was more glowing  
than fire4 ,to her mainly was the school
 of ,hellfde indebted for its wide      
reputation4  ,when the ,abbess ,sophia  

von ,querfurdt 7the successor of        
,gertrude7 resigned her office in the   
year #abih1 it was the ,lady ,matilda   
who took the direction of the convent1  
which remained without an abbess for    
five years4 ,matilda1 however1 filled   
this post for one year only1 as she died
 in #abii4 ,she was remembered for the  
burning desire which she had for the    
salvation of souls1 and was deeply      
lamented by the sisters whom she had    
loved4 ,they spoke often of her sweet   
voice1 and her friendliness1 and her    
holy conversation4  ,last1 but not      
least1 was the ,nun ,gertrude1 whose    
name is attached to the ,gertrude ,book1
 four of the five books of which were   
written in ,latin by an unnamed sister1 
and one book1 the second1 was the work  
of ,gertrude herself4  ,her history is  
but little known4 ,she was born on      
,january #f1 #abef1 apparently in       
,thuringia1 and of poor parents1 and    
from her fifth year she had been an     
inmate of the convent4 ,very early she  

became remarkable for her thirst for    
knowledge1 and as a girl she devoted    
herself to severe study1 having the     
singular predilection of an enthusiastic
 love of grammar4 ,she soon left far    
behind her all the other nun-students1  
and till her twenty-fifth year was      
entirely absorbed in secular learning4  
,it was then that the great era in her  
life1 described by her in the ,gertrude 
,book1 is to be dated4 ,it was her      
conversion to ,god1#a her passage from  
death to life4 ,she knew for the first  
time the love of ,him who had borne her 
sins2 she knew herself justified by     
faith in ,him4 ,this happened in the    
year #abha4 ,more will be related of    
this remarkable woman4  ,it may have    
been that amongst the means which led to
 her conversion was an event which      
happened sixteen years earlier1 and     
which has yet to be related4 ,but before
 entering upon this part of the history 
of ,hellfde1 a few words must be said   
regarding the dark side of the picture  

presented to us in the records of this  
and other convents of the thirteenth    
century4                          ,the  
,dark ,side of ,hellfde4  ,that to      
,christian life in each of the past     
nineteen centuries there is a dark side1
 is an obvious fact4 ,but as the dark   
side has been constantly regarded as the
 bright side by the ,christians of each 
century1 our task in discovering it must
 not consist merely of a study of old   
records4 ,we have to compare the facts  
related1 and the praise and blame       
attached to them1 with something less   
variable than the human conscience and  
human opinion4  ,the piety1 attributed  
to the mediaeval saints1 even when1 as  
in the case of the nuns of ,hellfde1 it 
actually existed1 included a mass of    
heathenish superstition1 of unwholesome 
excitement of the brain and nerves2 of  
blank ignorance of the true meaning of a
 great part of the ,word of ,god2 and in
 most cases1 of abject submission to a  
fallen and heretical ,church4  ,the best

 books of which the ,abbess ,gertrude   
formed her convent library contained    
grains of truth in masses of error1 and 
some true facts smothered beneath piles 
of legendary rubbish4 ,to find the      
pearls at the bottom of the sea of      
superstition and senseless legend1 is at
 times a despairing endeavour4 ,yet the 
pearls are there1 and must have been    
there2 for the gates of the grave have  
never prevailed against the true ,church
 of ,god4 ,some there always were taught
 by the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1 and      
believing in the midst of their errors  
and wanderings the great eternal truths 
of the ,gospel4  ,if we are to find true
 faith1 if we are to find truth at all  
in the ,middle ,ages1 we must find it   
amongst innumerable human inventions1   
and shining like a gem in the dark      
caverns of human folly4 ,can we say that
 in the nineteenth century it is        
otherwise8 ,it were well to consider1   
and use for the search-light we so      
deeply need1 the unchangeable ,word of  

the living ,god4  ,apart from the error 
taught by the ,church in those past     
ages--saint-worship1 purgatory1 the     
merit of human works1 and many more--a  
bewildering element of confusion        
presents itself in the atmosphere of    
visions and revelations in which the    
pious perpetually lived1 or desired to  
live4 ,for to live what has been called 
in our times the higher ,christian life1
 meant at that time to be a seer of     
visions1 and a dreamer of dreams4 ,the  
seeing of visions was an attainment as  
much to be desired as to live in        
temperance1 or godliness1 or honesty4   
,whilst in our days the wholesome fear  
of being sent to a lunatic asylum serves
 as a check upon the wild imagination of
 undisciplined woman kind1 the strangest
 performances and utterances might in   
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries    
procure for the unfortunate woman a halo
 in the pictures which perpetuated her  
memory4  ,it is well to look at the     
matter of visions and revelations in the

 light of ,holy ,scripture4 ,that the   
servants of ,god have seen visions      
divinely shown to them1 no one can doubt
 who believes the ,bible2 nor that they 
have from time to time received direct  
revelations from ,god4 ,also1 we read as
 a promise made to ,christian people1   
that your young men shall see visions1  
and your old men shall dream dreams2 and
 on ,my servants and on ,my hand-maidens
 ,i will pour out in those days of ,my  
,spirit1 and they shall prophesy4  ,in  
the first place1 therefore1 we must     
admit that visions and revelations are1 
in the cases here mentioned1 a reality1 
and a special gift of ,god1 in          
consequence of the exaltation of ,christ
 to the right hand of ,god1 ,this is the
 explanation of these facts given by the
 ,apostle ,peter in the #ccrd verse of  
the #bnd chapter of the ,acts4  ,but    
when we read the various accounts in the
 ,acts of the fulfilment of this        
promise1 or the accounts in the ,old    
,testament of similar visions and       

revelations1 we find one marked         
distinction between these accounts and  
those given in mediaeval legends4 ,in   
the ,bible the point is1 not the state  
of exaltation to which such and such a  
man or woman attained1 but1 leaving them
 out of the question altogether1 we are 
simply told what it was ,god showed or  
revealed to ,his servants4 ,the seeing  
of visions is never spoken of as being  
the highest state of ,christian life in 
the ,new ,testament1 or of spiritual    
life in the ,old ,testament4 ,on the    
contrary1 ,god on some occasions gave   
revelations to the most unworthy1 and   
simply used them to speak the words ,he 
put into their mouths1 whether they     
would or no--a truth which he taught to 
,balaam by using an ass as an example4  
,but in mediaeval times1 a state in     
which the man1 or more frequently the   
woman1 became liable to visions1 was the
 thing mainly to be desired4 ,it was not
 as in the case of ,amos1 who was       
content to go on herding his cows and   

picking his figs till the ,lord gave him
 his message4 ,the mediaeval saint was  
trained and wrought upon by fasting and 
watching1 by the study of the wildest   
legends1 and by a conviction that the   
seeing of visions betokened a state of  
special holiness4 ,this preparation of  
the mind1 and one may say mainly of the 
body1 for an unnatural and unwholesome  
condition produced the desired effect4  
,the attacks of catalepsy1 of           
convulsions and other diseased symptoms1
 were hailed as supernatural signs1 and 
the disorder of the brain as a work of  
the ,spirit4 ,and from one to another   
the infection spread1 as the convulsions
 and delusions excited envy and         
admiration1 and a straining of the mind 
after something of like sort4  ,the     
atmosphere1 therefore1 of the convent of
 ,hellfde1 and of many other convents of
 ,germany and ,belgium1 was scarcely a  
wholesome one2 and we must disentangle  
the spiritual teaching1 which truly came
 from ,god1 from the revelations which1 

if spiritual at all1 and not wholly the 
result of disease1 were the work of the 
evil one4  ,but whilst amongst facts    
well known to medical scientists1 and   
amongst facts belonging to still        
unexplored and unknown regions of       
psychology1 there may be quite enough to
 account for the stories1 if really     
true1 of the mass of mediaeval visions1 
we must remember1 also1 that a great    
many of these stories were the          
inventions of those whose interest it   
was to compose them4  ,the disastrous   
fact remained that1 by means of these   
fables1 or of real hallucinations1      
errors in belief and in practice were   
taught and encouraged4 ,it would not    
occur to those brought up in a belief of
 superstitions1 which had descended1    
under other names1 from heathen times1  
to sift or examine the legends which    
were their daily food4 ,it is for us to 
sift out from amongst the working of    
disordered brains1 and the inventions of
 ignorant people1 the true teaching     

which they received from the only ,wise 
,god1 who cared for ,his loving1 but    
ignorant1 children of the ,middle ,ages1
 as ,he cares now for ,his more         
enlightened1 but alas6 more lukewarm1   
children of the nineteenth century4     
,there is one more remark to be made    
with regard to the accounts given by    
really holy people of their visions and 
dreams4 ,occasionally1 it was merely a  
form of writing in symbol1 as when ,john
 ,bunyan describes having seen in his   
dream ,christian escaping from the ,city
 of ,destruction4 ,there were two       
reasons for this in the case of the     
mediaeval ,friends of ,god4 ,it was1 in 
the first place1 dangerous to say in    
plain words that which would have       
brought down upon them the curse of the 
,church4 ,they spoke1 therefore1 largely
 in symbol1 whether by word or by forms 
and devices of architecture4 ,this      
language was common to them1 and it was 
well understood by those who had the key
 in their common faith4  ,in the second 

place1 the want of adequate words to    
express spiritual truths must always be 
felt1 and much can be said in symbol    
which could not be said at much greater 
length in plain speech4 ,in how many    
words could that be taught us which we  
learn from the one expression1 ,the     
,lamb of ,god8  ,and that many of those 
of whom the histories remain1 were truly
 ,god's children1 truly taught by the   
,holy ,ghost1 and in continual communion
 with ,him as a real and solid fact1 we 
cannot doubt4 ,they lived a true life of
 intercourse with ,him1 clouded and     
bewildered by the errors of their times1
 by their unnatural bodily conditions1  
and by the fear of sinning against the  
authority which some of them believed to
 be from ,god--the fatal power of the   
,roman ,church4  ,in this dreamland of  
visions and revelations the nuns of     
,hellfde lived--or rather1 into it they 
frequently wandered4 ,they certainly at 
times trod the solid earth1 and         
fulfilled their various duties in a     

practical manner4 ,they also spent much 
time1 more1 no doubt1 than many spend   
now1 in the good land1 the land of      
brooks of water1 of fountains and depths
 that spring out of valley and hills1   
and that drinketh water of the rain of  
heaven4 ,it was a familiar land to those
 who abode in ,him who is there4  ,and  
it is a relief to find that1 in spite of
 their extreme love and reverence for   
the ,abbess ,gertrude1 they had no      
visions to report as seen by her4 ,she  
probably had more to do with creatures  
of flesh and blood1 with the strong     
wills and natures of the girls sent to  
her from the castles of the nobles1 than
 with creatures of her own imagination2 
and she looked for revelations1 and     
found them in the ,word of ,god4 ,she   
undertook the most menial work1 writes  
one of the compilers of the ,mechthild  
,book1 and took a considerable part in  
the common employments of the sisters4  
,sometimes she was the first and the    
only one at work till she called others 

to help her1 or led them to do so by her
 example and her pleasant1 friendly     
words4 ,however busy she might be1 she  
always found time to visit each one who 
was sick1 and inquire if there was      
anything she needed4 ,and with her own  
hands she waited upon them1 either      
bringing them refreshments1 or soothing 
and comforting them4  ,she read the     
,holy ,scriptures very diligently1 and  
with great delight1 as often as she     
could1 and required of those under her  
care that they should do the same4 ,in  
prayer she was very fervent and         
reverent1 she seldom prayed without     
tears4 ,she had a wonderful quietness of
 spirit2 and at her hours of prayer her 
heart was so peaceful and free from     
care1 that if she were called to speak  
to any one1 or to other business1 she   
went back afterwards and prayed as      
quietly as if she had not been          
disturbed4 ,amongst the children she was
 the gentlest and kindest1 and with the 
older maidens the holiest and most      

sensible of friends1 and with the elder 
women the most affectionate and wise4   
,she was never to be seen idle2 either  
she had a piece of work on hand1 or she 
was reading1 or teaching1 or praying4   
,it can1 therefore1 easily be imagined  
that the ,abbess ,gertrude suffered     
neither from catalepsy nor convulsions1 
but that she was a wholesome and        
cheerful woman4 ,in her last days she   
had a paralytic seizure1 which deprived 
her of the power of speech for some time
 before her death2 but she appeared to  
be fully conscious1 and interested as   
before in the sisters of the convent4   
,matilda4  ,we must now go back to the  
time when the ,abbess ,gertrude was in  
full strength and activity at the age of
 thirty-three4 ,in that year1 #abfe1    
there arrived at the convent of ,hellfde
 an infirm1 worn-out ,beguine1 a        
namesake of two inmates of the          
convent--,matilda von ,hackeborn and the
 ,lady ,matilda of the choir4 ,the      
,beguine went by the name of ,matilda of

 ,magdeburg4  ,it would be interesting  
to know as much of her history as she   
related to the nuns of ,hellfde4 ,as it 
is1 we have but an outline of it4 ,we   
know thus much1 that for ,christ's sake 
she had renounced worldly honour and    
worldly riches4 ,she had evidently been 
brought up1 writes ,preger1 under the   
influence of court life and of knightly 
company1 and we see that she was        
accustomed to the manners of noble      
ladies1 and to the language of the      
higher classes4 ,there is a chivalric   
tone in her expressions which seems to  
link her words with the knightly poetry 
of her time1 a poetry then at the height
 of its cultivation4 ,and as in her     
words1 so in her actions--there was a   
freedom and powerful independence which 
betoken high birth4  ,yet of her family 
and of her birthplace nothing is known4 
,the date of her birth we know1 the year
 #abab4 ,apparently her home was not far
 from ,magdeburg4 ,we are told of her   
brother ,baldwin1 later a ,dominican    

friar1 that from a child he had been    
brought up in all good manner of living 
and in virtuous habits4 ,matilda1       
therefore1 had no doubt been carefully  
educated4  ,others said of her1 that    
from her childhood she had led an       
innocent1 unsullied life4 ,of herself   
she says1 that in her earliest childhood
 her sins were many and great4 ,but that
 even then1 whenever she had a trouble  
and was sad1 she prayed to ,god4 ,i     
knelt down before my ,beloved1 and said1
 ,o ,lord1 now ,i am unhappy4 ,can it be
 for ,thy glory that ,i should go away  
uncomforted6 ,but ,i was the most simple
 and ignorant of any who ever desired to
 walk in the way of life4 ,of the malice
 of the devil1 ,i knew nothing2 of the  
misery of the world1 ,i knew nothing    
whatsoever2 and the false profession of 
people who are called spiritual was also
 unknown to me4  ,but ,i must say this  
for the honour of ,god1 that one day in 
my twelfth year1 when ,i was all alone1 
,i received the greeting of the ,holy   

,ghost1 unworthy sinner as ,i was1 in   
such overflowing measure1 that ,i never 
afterwards could endure the thought of  
committing a great and deadly sin4 ,this
 blessed greeting was repeated day after
 day1 and it filled me with love and    
sorrow4 ,i had learnt from ,god alone   
what is ,christian faith1 and ,i made it
 my rule of life2 thus my heart was kept
 pure1 but of the mysteries of ,god ,i  
knew nothing as yet4  ,whilst during my 
youth ,i lived with my friends and      
relations1 amongst whom ,i was the best 
beloved1 the mysteries of ,god remained 
unknown to me4 ,but during that time ,i 
long had the desire that1 without any   
fault of mine1 ,i might be despised by  
the world1 whilst meanwhile the         
sweetness and honour of the world seemed
 greater to me day by day4  ,this is all
 we can learn of the early years of     
,matilda in her unknown home2 but we    
have in few touches a picture of a rare 
and simple nature1 humbled by the sense 
of sin1 but proud enough to desire to be

 despised2 sweet enough also to be loved
 with unusual love1 and to find it a    
delight4  ,in the year #abce1 at the age
 of twenty-three1 she tore herself from 
those who thus loved her and went to    
,magdeburg1 where she only knew one     
person1 a friend of her family4 ,but she
 avoided this one friend1 lest he should
 persuade her to give up her            
determination to live alone for ,god4   
,she asked to be received in a convent1 
but she was refused4 ,she was unknown   
and without any means1 and she was      
looked upon with suspicion and contempt4
 ,she had her desire4 ,she was alone and
 despised4  ,but ,god1 she says1 never  
forsook me4 ,he filled me so continually
 with the sweetness of ,his love1 ,he   
drew me into such intimacy with         
,himself1 and ,he showed me such        
unspeakable wonders of ,his heart1 that 
,i could well afford to lose the world  
and all that is in it4  ,what were the  
further wanderings of ,matilda we do not
 know1 but it was only a little while   

after her refusal at the convent that   
she became one of the persecuted order  
of the ,beguines4                       
,a word as to the ,beguines4  ,there    
lived at ,liege1 at the end of the      
twelfth century1 a priest named ,lambert
 le ,begues4 ,his name does not prove   
him to have been a stammerer2 on the    
contrary1 he was a preacher of great    
fervour1 and attracted multitudes to his
 sermons4 ,le ,begues was probably the  
name of his family4  ,at that time the  
,bishop of ,liege1 whose name was       
,raoul1 was a man of evil reputation4   
,he had formerly been ,archbishop of    
,mainz1 but had been deposed from his   
office on account of simony4 ,at ,liege 
he sold by auction in the market-place  
the church preferments that fell to his 
share4 ,the clergy of ,liege1 who had   
not been shining examples of holy living
 even before the arrival of ,bishop     
,raoul1 were now encouraged by his      
example to live in a disorderly manner1 
and the morals of the town of ,liege    

were at a very low ebb when ,lambert    
began his preaching there4  ,it would   
seem that at that time1 both in towns   
and country places1 there were a number 
of wandering priests1 who went about    
preaching and administering the         
,sacraments1 without being under the    
orders of any special bishop4 ,probably 
they were more or less associated with  
the lay preachers of the ,brethren1     
called in a vague way the ,waldensian   
,brethren1 whose evangelising was       
carried on so extensively as to bring   
upon them much persecution in the whole 
of ,western ,europe4  ,it was in order  
to direct this zeal for evangelising    
into more ,catholic channels that       
,francis of ,assisi and ,dominic founded
 the orders of predicant friars2 just as
 in our days the ,church ,army in       
,england has been formed to bring under 
,church authority the work of           
evangelisation1 which had been set on   
foot by the ,salvation ,army4  ,lambert 
was apparently one of the independent   

priests who preached on their own       
account1 and was1 therefore1 free to    
speak unwelcome truths4 ,he had been    
originally a chorister in ,s4 ,paul's   
,church at ,liege4 ,he was probably a   
man with means of his own2 for not only 
did he preach earnestly and constantly  
against the worldliness of the          
professing ,church1 but he provided a   
practical means of separating from the  
world4  ,in a large garden which he had 
by the river side beyond the city walls 
he built a number of small separate     
houses1 which he filled with women of   
all classes who desired to live a       
secluded life and devote themselves to  
good works4 ,in the middle of the garden
 he built a church1 dedicated to ,s4    
,christopher1 which was finished in the 
year #aahd4 ,lambert then placed his    
community under the care of a priest4   
,these ,beguine sisters took no vows2   
they were free to leave the community   
when they chose to do so4 ,they retained
 possession of their money and property4

 ,they were under no convent rules2 they
 simply promised obedience to their     
,superior as long as they remained in   
the ,beguinage4 ,but if they wished to  
return to ordinary life1 or to marry1   
they had a right to do so1 as married   
women living1 of course1 no longer in   
the community4 ,they were not required  
to wear any special dress1 but to be    
clothed in modest apparel4  ,they lived 
either alone in one of the little       
houses1 or two or more together1 keeping
 house for themselves1 and having their 
rooms very simply furnished4 ,they did  
their own baking and brewing2 and if    
they had no means of their own1 they had
 some employment by which to gain their 
living4 ,this ,beguine life was1        
therefore1 regarded by the ,church as   
less meritorious than convent life1     
notwithstanding the fact that the       
,beguines were employed in nursing the  
sick1 attending to the poor1 and in     
teaching young girls reading1 writing1  
and needlework4 ,they were free to go   

out with leave of the ,superior and     
visit their friends1 or the poor in the 
town outside of which the ,beguinage was
 built4 ,some of them might even live in
 the town1 wearing ordinary dresses1 and
 keeping shops1 or maintaining          
themselves by their labour4  ,these     
rules of ,beguine life were multiplied  
in various ways as ,beguine communities 
became rapidly very numerous in         
,belgium1 ,holland1 and ,germany4  ,but 
to return to ,lambert1 their founder4   
,his sermons1 which contained solemn    
warnings addressed to the higher clergy 
by reason of their evil ways1 very soon 
brought upon him persecution and        
ill-usage4 ,during one of his sermons in
 the great church of ,s4 ,lambert he was
 seized by order of the bishop1 and     
imprisoned in the castle of ,revogne4   
,he employed himself in his dungeon in  
translating the ,acts of the ,apostles  
from ,latin into ,french4  ,amongst     
other accusations which had been brought
 against him1 it was said that he had   

prophesied the destruction of ,s4       
,lambert's ,church4 ,whilst he was      
translating in his dungeon1 it came to  
pass1 on the #bhth of ,april #aahe1 that
 the sexton of the church went up into  
the belfry to ring the bell4 ,he had    
taken with him a pan of hot coals in    
order to warm his hands4 ,a coal must   
have fallen through a crack in the floor
 into a space below1 where wood and     
straw were stored up4 ,in the following 
night the tower was seen to be in       
flames4  ,the fire spread quickly1      
burning not only the church1 but the    
bishop's palace1 which stood near1 the  
houses of the canons1 and the           
neighbouring churches of ,s4 ,peter1 ,s4
 ,trudo1 ,s4 ,clement1 and the ,eleven  
,thousand ,virgins4 ,for three days the 
whole town was in the greatest danger4  
,the charge against ,lambert was now    
changed into an accusation of sorcery4  
,he was brought to his trial1 but the   
four discreet and learned men appointed 
by the bishop to judge his cause1 could 

find no proof of any offence with which 
he was charged4 ,the people of ,liege1  
who were displeased at his imprisonment1
 began to clamour for his release2 and  
he himself demanded to be set free1 that
 he might go to ,rome and appeal to the 
,pope4  ,his request was granted4 ,the  
,pope acquitted him of all charges      
brought against him1 and authorised his 
work by instituting him formally as the 
,patriarch of the ,beguines4  ,he only  
survived this journey to ,rome six      
months1 and died at ,liege towards the  
end of the year #aahg4 ,he was buried   
before the high altar in his church of  
,s4 ,christopher4 ,some chroniclers     
relate these facts in a slightly        
different way1 according to which       
,lambert was sent to ,rome by the bishop
 with a list of charges brought against 
him4 ,but the important point remains   
proved1 that he was the founder of the  
widely-spread community of men and women
 known later as ,beghards and ,beguines4
  ,for after his death1 possibly before1

 communities of men were formed on the  
plan of the ,beguine communities4 ,these
 men maintained themselves by weaving or
 other handicrafts4 ,they met together  
for meals and for prayer1 but did not   
have their possessions in common4 ,they 
had no rule1 but were accustomed to wear
 simple clothes--brown1 white1 black1 or
 grey4  ,as time went on1 the ranks of  
the ,beghards or ,beguines were largely 
recruited by the ,friends of ,god1 with 
whom they seem at all times to have been
 in constant intercourse2 so that in the
 fourteenth century to be a ,beghard or 
,beguine1 meant much the same thing as  
to belong to the ,waldensian ,brethren4 
,in consequence1 their persecutions     
during the fourteenth century amounted  
at last to extermination1 their houses  
being replenished from the ranks of     
orthodox ,roman ,catholics4 ,the        
persons1 therefore1 from that time      
onwards bearing the name of ,beghards or
 ,beguines differed in nothing from     
members of ,roman ,catholic orders4     

,the ,great ,sorrow4  ,but to return to 
,matilda1 who joined the ,beguines at   
the time when they had already earned   
for themselves the reproach of ,christ1 
and when1 on the other hand1 there were 
those amongst them who had wandered far 
from the primitive simplicity of the    
first inhabitants of ,lambert le ,begues
 garden-houses4  ,by these latter       
7though they1 too1 claimed to be the    
,friends of ,god17 ,matilda was bitterly
 despised4 ,and she who had lived during
 her youth in ignorance of the false    
profession of people called spiritual   
had to learn amongst the religious many 
a sorrowful lesson4 ,not amongst        
,beguines only1 but on all sides the    
fact forced itself upon the heart of    
,matilda that the ,church was fallen    
from her first estate4  ,i1 poor        
creature as ,i was1 could yet be so     
presumptuous as to lift up the whole of 
corrupt ,christendom upon the arms of my
 soul1 and hold it up in lamentation    
before ,god4  ,and our ,lord said1      

',leave it alone1 it is too heavy for   
thee4' ,and ,i made answer1 ',o my      
beloved ,lord1 ,i will lift it1 and bear
 it to ,thy feet1 and cast it into      
,thine own arms1 which bore it on the   
cross4' ,and ,god in ,his pity let me   
have my will1 that ,i might find rest in
 casting it upon ,him4  ,and this poor  
,christendom1 brought into the presence 
of the ,lord1 seemed to me as a maiden  
of whom ,i felt bitterly ashamed4  ,and 
the ,lord said1 ',yea1 behold her1 blind
 in her belief1 and lame in her hands   
which do no good works1 and crippled in 
her feet with evil desires1 and seldom  
and idly does she think of ,me2 and she 
is leprous with impurity and            
uncleanness4'  ,and the foremost in the 
guilt of ,christendom she found to be   
those who should have been the pastors  
and teachers1 the great he-goats1 who   
are defiled with all uncleanliness1 and 
with frightful greed and avarice4  ,to  
the ,lord1 the ,high ,pope in ,heaven1  
,matilda turned for guidance and        

consolation4 ,when ,i wake in the night1
 she said1 ,i think1 have ,i the        
strength to pray as ,i desire for       
unfaithful ,christendom1 which is a     
sorrow of heart to ,him ,i love4 ,she   
prayed for the priests1 that from goats 
they might become lambs1 that they might
 forget the law of the ,jews1 and think 
of the blood of the ,lamb who was slain1
 and mourn over the sufferings of the   
,lord4  ,alas for holy ,christendom1 for
 the crown is fallen from thy head1 thy 
precious jewels are lost2 for thou art a
 troubler and a persecutor of the holy  
faith4 ,thy gold is dimmed in the mire  
of evil pleasures1 thy purity is burnt  
up in the consuming fire of greed1 thy  
humility is sunk in the swamp of the    
flesh1 and thy truth has been swept away
 by the lying spirit of the world6      
,alas for the fallen crown1 the holy    
priesthood6 ,for thee there remains     
nothing but ruin and destruction1 for   
with spiritual power thou makest war    
upon ,god1 and upon ,his friends4       

,therefore ,god will humble thee before 
thou art aware1 ,he will smite the heart
 of the pope at ,rome with bitter grief4
  ,and in that grief and calamity the   
,lord will speak to him and accuse him1 
saying1 ',thy shepherds have become     
murderers and wolves1 before ,my eyes   
they slaughter the white lambs1 and the 
sheep are weak and weary1 for there is  
none to lead them to the wholesome      
pastures on the high mountain side2 that
 is1 to the love and the nurture of     
,god4 ,but if any know not the way to   
hell1 let him look at the corrupted     
clergy1 and see how straightly they go  
thither4 ,therefore must ,i take away   
the worn-out mantle and give a new      
mantle to ,my ,bride1 to holy           
,christendom4  ,if thou1 son pope1      
shouldst bring that to pass1 thy days   
might be lengthened4 ,for that the popes
 before thee lived short lives1 was     
because they did not fulfil ,my will4'  
,and it was as if ,i could see the pope 
at his prayers1 and ,god thus answering 

him4#b ,and in the night ,i saw the     
,lord in the dress of a pilgrim1 and as 
if ,he had journeyed through the whole  
of ,christendom4 ,and ,i fell at ,his   
feet and said1 ',beloved pilgrim1 whence
 comest ,thou8' ,and ,he answered1 ',i  
come from ,jerusalem'--by which name ,he
 meant the holy ,church--'and ,i have   
been driven forth from ,my dwelling4    
,the heathen knew ,me not1 the ,jews    
suffered ,me not1 and the ,christians   
fought against ,me4'  ,then ,i prayed   
for ,christendom2 but the ,lord answered
 with bitter sorrow that ,he had been   
dishonoured and put to grievous shame by
 ,christian people1 though for them ,he 
had done so great wonders1 and had      
suffered so great anguish4  ,and so it  
is with me1 that longing and humility   
and love1 these three blessed           
handmaidens1 lead my soul up to ,god1   
and the soul beholds her ,beloved and   
says1 ',lord1 ,i mourn because ,thou art
 thus warred against by those who are   
the dearest to ,thee on the earth1 by   

,christian people4 ,i mourn because ,thy
 friends are sorely hindered by ,thine  
enemies4'  ,and the ,lord answered me1  
',all that befalls ,my friends1 sin only
 excepted1 shall turn to them to joy1   
and for the glory of ,god4 ,for the     
suffering calls with a mighty voice     
saying1 that beyond all worship that can
 be offered ,me is the patience that    
suffers1 and if for a while ,i comfort  
not1 it is far better than that comfort 
should come from another will than      
,mine4'  ,that there were some1 the     
,friends of ,god1 who shone like stars  
in the dark night ,matilda thus found1  
and rejoiced to find4 ,but that the     
eagle soars to heaven1 she said1 no     
thanks is there to the owl4  ,it was no 
wonder that ,matilda was much and       
continually despised by the priests of  
whom she gave so bold a testimony4 ,the 
,lord1 she said1 suffered in like       
manner1 for thus was ,he put to shame   
because in ,him was the truth4 ,it was  
probably for some such plain speaking   

that ,matilda was refused as an inmate  
of the convents to which she applied for
 admittance4                            
,matilda and ,dante4  ,it was during the
 thirty years of ,matilda's ,beguine    
life that she began writing the book    
which has preserved her memory down to  
the days in which we live4  ,not only   
does the book itself present ,matilda to
 us as one of the most remarkable people
 of her age1 but in a book more widely  
known is found1 in all probability1 the 
echo of her words1 and the picture of   
herself as she appeared to the          
imagination of ,dante4 ,it is not       
necessary here to go into the proofs of 
this identification of the ,beguine     
,matilda with the lady all alone who    
went along    ,singing and culling      
flower after flower   ,with which her   
pathway was all painted over2  the      
beauteous lady1 who in rays of love did 
warm herself4 ,for those who desire to  
trace the connection of ,matilda's book 
with ,dante's poem1 the proofs will be  

found in the first volume of ,preger's  
,history of ,german ,mysticism1 and in a
 lecture delivered by ,preger in the    
year #ahgc on the subject of ,dante's   
,matilda4  ,the resemblances between    
,dante and ,eckhart have been remarked  
upon in a recent work on ,dante1 where1 
however1 no allusion is made to other   
,german writers4  ,any one who has read 
the discourses of ,meister ,eckhart1 444
 will be struck by the frequent and     
close resemblances1 not of thought only1
 but of expression and illustration1    
which exist between him and ,dante4 ,so 
frequent and so close are these1 that   
the reader can hardly conceive the      
possibility of their being due to mere  
coincidence4  ,but whence did ,eckhart  
derive his expressions which reappear in
 ,dante8 ,matilda1 says ,preger1        
expresses herself in a language higher  
than that of ordinary speech1 and more  
fitted to the nature of heavenly things4
 ,and it may here be remarked1 how      
frequently the elements of the speech of

 speculative mysticism1 such as we may  
call the speech of ,eckhart1 are        
previously to be found in the writing of
 ,matilda4 ,but ,matilda herself was not
 the creator of these expressions1 for  
her poetical nature was inclined rather 
to expressions of thought in a manner   
less abstract1 and appealing more       
vividly to the senses4 ,but it would    
seem that before ,matilda and ,eckhart1 
certain characteristic theorems of      
speculative mysticism had become        
stereotyped in the ,german language4    
,they form the stock of that capital of 
speech by which1 especially through     
,eckhart's writings1 the ,german        
language has been enriched4 ,matilda is1
 therefore1 of importance in leading us 
to the discovery of how far ,eckhart was
 indebted for his expressions to that   
more ancient store of language4  ,it    
would occupy too much space to trace    
here the remarkable connection not only 
in general between the book of ,matilda 
and that of ,dante1 but between certain 

passages which almost repeat themselves 
in the later book4 ,others1 again1 which
 are not similar1 yet stand in relation 
to one another4 ,the ,city of ,woe1 for 
example1 seen by ,dante1 is found also  
in ,matilda's book1 but there it is the 
,city of ,eternal ,hate2 and thus in    
many instances4  ,matilda's book is     
commonly known by the name1 ,the flowing
 forth of the light of the ,godhead4    
,she wrote it originally in ,low        
,german1 but of this original no copy is
 at present known to exist4 ,soon after 
her death1 which occurred in #abgg1 a   
,latin translation was made by a        
predicant friar at ,cologne1 known as   
,brother ,henry4 ,of this two copies    
remain1 one of the fourteenth the other 
of the sixteenth century4 ,the loose    
leaves had been first collected by      
another ,brother ,henry1 also a         
predicant friar4  ,afterwards a         
translation was made from ,low ,german  
into ,high ,german by a priest1 ,henry  
von ,nordlingen1 assisted by a friend4  

,it was completed after two years'      
labour in #acdd4 ,this ,henry von       
,nordlingen1 a friend of ,suso1 gave the
 ,high ,german translation to ,margaret 
of the ,golden ,ring4 ,margaret gave it 
to the ,waldschwestern in ,einsiedeln4  
,it was discovered in the convent       
library of ,einsiedeln by ,dr4 ,greith  
in the year #ahfa4 ,in the year #ahfi it
 was published in two forms by ,dr4     
,gall ,morel--first1 the ,high ,german  
copy as discovered at ,einsiedeln2      
secondly1 a translation into modernised 
,german4  ,it is from the ,latin        
translation that it could be known to   
,dante4#c  ,the original book is the    
oldest work of its sort hitherto known  
to have existed in the ,german tongue4  
,it may justly be said1 writes ,preger1 
that this book denotes a high degree in 
the measurement of the culture of       
,german women1 and of religious life in 
the ,middle ,ages4 ,with freedom and    
clearness of thought1 the writer        
combines tender and deep feeling2 with a

 childlike and naive perceptiveness1 a  
true sublimity of conception4 ,matilda  
frequently touches the depths in which  
speculative mysticism is formed1 and her
 influence is to be traced even in the  
work of the deep thinker who was her    
compatriot1 namely1 ,meister ,eckhart1  
in whose language we find the echo of   
,matilda's speech4 ,this language1 which
 she employs with freedom and ease1     
takes at times the form of didactic     
speech1 but it often rises to musical   
rhythm1 to lyric song1 and to epic      
portraiture4 ,by the variety and life1  
as well as by the plastic intuition of  
expression1 this work is distinguished  
from the monotonous writings on similar 
subjects by older authors4#d  ,much more
 might yet be said of ,matilda as a     
writer and a poet4 ,but it is with      
,matilda1 the persecuted ,friend of     
,god1 the witness for ,christ in a time 
dark as she describes it1 that we have  
to do in the present instance4          
,the ,book and its ,origin4  ,we have   

,matilda's own account of the origin of 
her book4 ,she says that when she began 
to live a spiritual life1 and took leave
 of the world1 she found that the       
fulness of her bodily life and strength 
was a danger to her spiritual life1 and1
 therefore1 after the manner of her     
times she regarded the body as an enemy 
against which she was called to wage    
continual war4  ,i saw that the weapons 
furnished to my heart were the          
sufferings and the death of ,christ1 and
 yet ,i was in great and constant fear1 
and ,i thought to deal violent blows to 
my enemy with sighs and confession1 and 
weeping1 with fasting1 watching1 and    
prayer1 and with blows and stripes4 ,and
 by this means for two and twenty years 
,i kept my body in subjection1 and had  
no illness4  ,but after this illness    
came4 ,and then came to me the mighty   
power1 even the love of ,god1 and filled
 me to overflowing with ,his wonders1 so
 that ,i dared no longer keep silence1  
though to one so simple as ,i it was    

hard to speak4 ,and ,i said to the      
,lord1 ',o loving ,god1 what canst ,thou
 find in me8 ,thou knowest well ,i am a 
fool and a sinner1 and a miserable      
creature in soul and body4 ,it is to the
 wise that ,thou shouldst commit ,thy   
wonders1 then mightest ,thou be praised 
aright4'  ,but the ,lord was displeased 
at my words1 and ,he rebuked me1 saying1
 ',tell me now1 art thou not ,mine8'    
',yes1 ,lord1 that hast ,thou granted   
me6'  ',may ,i not1 then1 do with thee  
as ,i will8'  ',yes1 my ,beloved2 and ,i
 am willing to be brought to nought if  
,thou willest it4'  ,then1 poor creature
 as ,i was1 ,i went to my confessor1 and
 told him what the ,lord had put into my
 heart1 and asked his counsel4 ,and he  
said ,i ought cheerfully to do that to  
which ,god had called me4 ,and yet did  
,i weep with shame1 seeing before my    
eyes my great unworthiness1 and that    
,god should lead a despicable woman to  
write the things which come from the    
heart and mouth of ,god4  ,then         

,matilda1 as is her wont1 runs on into  
rhyme--    ,the love of ,god has moved  
my pen1   ,my book is not from the mind 
of men4  ,and afterwards1 she says1 ,i  
was warned by some that my book might   
give much offence1 and that it would be 
burnt as evil teaching4 ,and ,i turned  
to my ,beloved1 as was my wont1 and said
 to ,him that if it were so1 ,he had    
,himself misled me1 for it was ,he who  
commanded me to write it4 ,then did ,he 
reveal ,himself to my sorrowful heart1  
as if ,he held the book in ,his right   
hand1 and said1 ',my beloved one1 do not
 be sorrowful4 ,the truth can be burnt  
by no man4 ,he who would take it out of 
,my ,hand must be stronger than ,i4'    
,and yet ,i still answered ,him1 ',o    
,lord1 if ,i were a learned clerk to    
whom ,thou hadst shown these wonders1   
then might ,i write so as to bring ,thee
 eternal glory4 ,but how can it be that 
,thou shouldst build a golden house1 the
 house of ,thy dwelling place1 in a miry
 pool8'  ,and ,he answered me1 that when

 ,he gave the gifts of ,his grace1 ,he  
sought for the lowest and the smallest  
and the most unnoticed treasure houses4 
',it is not on the high mountains that  
men drink of the fountains1 for the     
stream of ,my ,holy ,spirit flows       
downwards to the valleys below4 ,there  
are many wise in the ,scriptures1 who   
are but fools and unlearned in other    
learning4'  ,further on ,matilda says   
that in the ,german tongue she found it 
hard to speak of that which ,god had    
shown her1 and of ,latin ,i know        
nothing4 ,for that which the eye can    
see1 and the ear can hear1 and the mouth
 can speak1 is as unlike the truth which
 is revealed to the soul who loves1 as a
 candle is to the glorious sun4 ,of the 
heavenly things which ,god has shown me 
,i can speak but1 as it were1 a little  
word1 not more than the honey which a   
little bee could carry away on his foot 
from an overflowing vessel4  ,and now1  
,lord1 ,i will commend these writings to
 ,thy tender mercy2 and with a heart    

that sighs1 and with eyes that weep1 and
 with a downcast spirit1 ,i pray that   
they never may be read by a ,pharisee1  
and ,i pray also that ,thy children may 
so receive them into their hearts1 as   
,thou1 ,o ,lord1 hast of ,thy truth     
given out of ,thy store to me4          
,matilda's book grew in an irregular    
manner from year to year4 ,she wrote    
from time to time on loose sheets that  
which she believed she had received from
 ,god4 ,there is1 therefore1 no         
connection in these writings1 nor is    
there any plan in her manner of writing4
 ,sometimes she wrote in prose1 or in   
prose running from time to time into    
metre and rhyme4 ,sometimes she wrote in
 verse1 in irregular measure1 and with  
or without irregular rhymes1 each       
division with a heading4  ,the friar    
,henry of ,halle collected the loose    
leaves1 and before the death of ,matilda
 he divided them into six books4 ,a     
seventh book was added by ,matilda after
 the death of ,brother ,henry4 ,five of 

these books appear to have been written 
before ,matilda entered the convent of  
,hellfde1 and some can be dated by      
allusions to contemporary events4#e     
,apart from all that is interesting in  
these books1 as literature or as        
history1 there remains for the          
,christian reader who is not a ,pharisee
 the far more interesting field of      
research into their value as spiritual  
teaching4 ,the ,pharisee will find much 
to blame and to despise in the ignorance
 and superstition of this ,beguine of   
the ,middle ,ages4  ,and in sifting     
,matilda's writings1 as indeed the      
writings of any man or woman1 the gold1 
if there be any1 has to be separated    
from the dross4 ,the dross which had    
been accumulating for twelve centuries  
formed a large amount of that which     
,matilda believed she had learnt from   
,god4 ,we can recognise the gold by the 
one test furnished to us by ,him who    
despises not any1 but teaches the most  
ignorant who come to ,him4 ,if we apply 

to the writings of ,matilda this        
infallible test1 of conformity to the   
,word of ,god1 we may be enriched by the
 gold without being encumbered by the   
dreary heaps of dross from which we have
 to sift it4  ,the book is supposed to  
be the expression of the intercourse of 
the soul with ,god4 ,that it is really  
so in part1 can be verified by any      
,christian reader who will compare it   
with the ,bible and with the experience 
common to ,christian believers4 ,that   
this true ,christian teaching should be 
mixed with the errors of her time is    
natural1 and we know that the errors of 
each successive age leave their traces  
in the books that are the most          
enlightened1 and that our own age is no 
exception4  ,the object in view in      
making the following extracts from      
,matilda's book is not to present it as 
a literary or historical study4 ,were it
 so1 it would be needful to give        
extracts from the false as well as from 
the true teaching1 so as to give a      

correct idea of ,matilda and her times4 
,but writing simply with a desire that  
the truth taught to ,matilda by the     
,spirit of ,god should be made available
 for those in these later days who are  
glad of spiritual food1 the false and   
the imaginary will be passed over1 and  
the remainder given as much as possible 
in ,matilda's own words4  ,it must be   
remarked1 however1 that certain         
expressions which in mediaeval ,german  
conveyed no impression of irreverence   
would sound painfully familiar in modern
 ,english4 ,an equivalent has1          
therefore1 to be found conveying to     
readers now the same sense which the    
original words would have conveyed to   
the readers of the thirteenth century4  
,it may also be remarked that the chief 
errors to be noted in ,matilda's book   
are a tendency to the worship 7in a     
lower sense of the word7 of the ,virgin 
and the ,saints1 a belief in ,purgatory1
 and a certain weight attached to the   
merit of human works4  ,of the first of 

these1 it may truly be said that        
,matilda's references to the ,virgin    
,mother stand in remarkable contrast to 
the writings of later times4 ,if        
compared with the ,glories of ,mary1 now
 in popular use1 they serve as a        
landmark showing the downward course of 
error and superstition in the ,church of
 ,rome during the past six hundred      
years1 though there were already those1 
such as ,bonaventura1#f who hastened the
 fall4  ,it must be observed1 too1 in   
reference to ,matilda's allusions to the
 ,virgin ,mary1 that the chasm between  
the mother of the ,lord and all ordinary
 believers is very much reduced if      
compared with that which exists in      
modern ,roman ,catholic books of        
devotion1 from the fact that the place  
assigned to every redeemed soul in      
,matilda's writings is far higher than  
in most ,catholic or ,protestant        
teaching4 ,even amongst ,protestants it 
is not uncommon to regard the redeemed  
as in a place below the angels1 or on a 

level with them4 ,but to ,matilda the   
power and the value of the work of      
,christ were so fully recognised1 that  
she regarded the ,bride of the ,lamb1 or
 the individual who is made a member of 
the body of ,christ1 as in the highest  
place next to the ,bridegroom1 the ,head
 of the ,body4  ,as regards human merit1
 ,matilda only appears occasionally to  
attach some weight to it in speaking of 
others2 of herself1 she says she has    
nothing to bring to ,god but her sin4   
,the ,journey to ,eternal ,peace4  ,it  
will be best to describe ,matilda's     
spiritual life as far as possible from  
her own words4 ,she gives us in parables
 the history of her soul4 ,sometimes it 
seems well to give these in full1 at    
other times to give the sense whilst    
omitting repetitions4  ,she tells us    
that for a long time she was without    
rest or peace1 knowing not only the     
guilt1 but the power of sin1 and she    
looked hither and thither for that which
 would meet her need4 ,and the mind1 as 

it were1 disputed with the soul1 for the
 mind would have her to seek her peace  
in the things that could be seen4 ,and  
thus it said--    ,o soul1 in the       
,magdalen's bitter tears   ,do the      
streams of comfort flow4  ,but the soul 
made answer--                ,hold thy  
peace1   ,for my need thou dost not     
know4   ,the comfort ,i crave is joy    
divine1   ,i needs must drink the       
unmingled wine4    ,soul1 if as a virgin
 pure thou art1   ,a river of love will 
fill thy heart4    ,and if in troth it  
so might be1   ,the fountain of love is 
not in me4    ,rejoice in the blood the 
martyrs shed4    ,in the path of the    
martyrs ,i daily tread1   ,but ,i have  
not found my rest4    ,in the wisdom the
 ,lord's apostles taught1   ,is there   
peace1 ,o soul1 for thee4    ,i have the
 ,wisdom that is the best1   ,he abideth
 ever with me4    ,the angels in heaven 
are bright and fair1   ,for solace1 ,o  
soul1 betake thee there4    ,the joy of 
the angels is grief to me1   ,if the    

,lord of the angels ,i may not see4     
,in fastings and labours manifold1      
,did ,john in the wilderness toil of    
old1     ,and so may peace be thine4    
,to labour and suffer my heart is fain1 
,but love is more than all toil and     
pain4    ,o soul1 the ,virgin is kind   
and sweet1     ,and fair the ,child on  
her breast1   ,and thou1 adoring1 before
 her feet     ,shalt find thy rest4     
,my ,beloved is mine1 and ,i am ,his1   
,i seek the joy where the ,bridegroom   
is2     ,for a full-grown bride am      
,i4444  ,then doth the mind warn the    
soul1 saying--    ,in ,his terrible     
glory no foot hath trod1     ,a         
devouring fire dread to see2   ,in the  
blinding light of the face of ,god      
,no soul can be4   ,for thou knowest    
that all high heaven is bright     ,with
 a glory beyond the sun1   ,with the    
radiance of the saints in light1        
,and the fount of that light is ,one4   
,from the breath of the everlasting     
,god1     ,from the mouth of the ,man   

,divine1   ,from the counsel of ,god the
 ,holy ,ghost1     ,doth that awful     
glory shine4   ,soul1 couldst thou abide
 for an hour alone   ,in the burning    
fire around ,his throne8    ,the fish   
drowns not in the mighty sea1     ,the  
bird sinks not in the air1   ,the gold  
in the furnace fire may be1     ,and is 
yet more radiant there4   ,for ,god to  
each of ,his creatures gave     ,the    
place to its nature known1   ,and shall 
it not be that my heart should crave    
,for that which is mine own8   ,for my  
nature seeketh her dwelling-place1      
,that only and none other2   ,the child 
must joy in the ,father's face1     ,the
 brethren in the ,brother4   ,to the    
bridal chamber goeth the bride1     ,for
 love is her home and rest2   ,and shall
 not ,i in ,his light abide1     ,when  
,i lean upon ,his breast8    4       4  
4       4       4       4       4       
,and she who is beloved with love       
untold1     ,thus goes to ,him who is   
divinely fair1   ,in ,his still chamber 

of unsullied gold1     ,and love all    
pure1 all holy1 greets her there--      
,the love of ,his eternal ,godhead high1
     ,the love of ,his divine ,humanity4
   ,then speaketh ,he and saith1        
,beloved one1     ,what would'st thou8  
,it is thine4   ,from self shalt thou go
 forth for evermore1     ,for thou art  
,mine4   ,o soul1 no angel for an hour  
might dream     ,of all the riches that 
,i give to thee1   ,the glory and the   
beauty that beseem     ,the heritage of 
life that is in ,me4   ,yet satisfied   
thou shalt for ever long1     ,thus     
sweeter shall be thine eternal song4#g  
,o ,lord my ,god1 so small1 so poor am  
,i1   ,and great1 almighty1 ,o my ,god1 
art ,thou4    ,yet thou art joined to   
,christ eternally2   ,my love a         
changeless1 everlasting ,,now4      ,and
 thus the joyful soul is still     ,at  
rest in ,god's eternal will1     ,and   
she is ,his1 and thus delighteth ,he    
,her own to be4                         
,the ,path of ,love4  ,we have the same 

history1 the same pilgrim's progress1   
given to us in another form4 ,matilda   
calls it ,the ,path of ,love4--,it is   
her own story1 the years of dreary      
penance1 followed by the revelation of  
,christ to the soul4    ,o thou that    
lovest1 wouldst thou know   ,the path   
wherein thy feet should go8      ,yea1  
teach it1 ,lord1 to me4    ,through     
drear repentance leads the way1     ,and
 the shame of sin confessed--   ,and    
when thou hast trod on the world's      
display1     ,and on the devil's behest1
   ,and on the flesh in its haughty     
pride1     ,and on thy helpless will1   
,that holds the soul of the chosen bride
     ,in bonds and slavery still1   ,and
 when the enemy conquered lies1     ,and
 weary art thou and athirst--   ,then to
 ,him whom thou lovest lift thine eyes1 
,to ,him who loved thee first4  ,then   
shall ,he speak and say--    ,i hear a  
voice that calleth amain1     ,a voice  
of love and tears2   ,i have wooed1 and 
,i have listened in vain     ,through   

long1 long years--     ,and it speaks   
to-day4   ,my heart is troubled1 and ,i 
must haste     ,to the sad sweet voice  
across the waste4    4       4       4  
4       4       4       4    ,and in the
 morning1 when the dew is sweet1        
,she hears the gentle music of ,his     
feet--   ,she hears ,him speak and say1 
,i heard thy voice4     ,the glorious   
,one draws nigh2   ,amidst the dew when 
all the woods rejoice     ,with gladsome
 melody4   ,and she arrays herself in   
fair attire1     ,in raiment of a bride2
   ,her mantle is the holy judgment fire
     ,wherein the gold is tried4   ,of  
meek humility her stole is spun1        
,her robe is white as snow1   ,for unto 
,him1 the ,high and ,holy ,one1     ,she
 fain would go4   ,and thus she passeth 
through the forest dim1     ,where holy 
people dwell1   ,and day and night1 with
 dance and song and hymn1     ,their    
gladness tell2   ,with solemn dance of  
praise that knows no end1     ,hands    
linked with other hands of ancient      

years2   ,the mighty faith of ,abraham  
,his friend1     ,the longing of ,his   
seers2   ,the chaste humility of her who
 bore     ,god's blessed ,son2   ,and   
all the victories that in days of yore  
,his saints have won--   ,these join in 
dance attuned to glorious song     ,and 
move in cadence sweet1   ,and multiplied
 as ages pass along     ,are those      
rejoicing feet4  ,he saith--            
,beloved1 do as they have done          
,who praise ,my name alway4  ,and she   
makes answer--    ,thou must lead me on1
     ,and ,i will dance as they2   ,i   
move to music of ,thy song              
,rejoicing over me1   ,and so my halting
 steps are strong     ,to follow after  
,thee2   ,to pass within ,thy love's    
eternal rest1     ,and onwards to       
confess ,thee undismayed2   ,and onwards
 yet1 till on my ,saviour's breast      
,my soul is stayed2   ,and yet beyond   
that rest and joy of mine1     ,to joy  
which heart of man hath never known1    
,where ,christ rejoiceth in ,his ,song  

,divine--     ,that joy of perfect love1
 ,o ,lord1 is ,thine1   ,and ,thine     
alone4  ,then doth ,he speak and say--  
,beloved1 thou hast praised ,me in the  
dance     ,and weary are thy feet--     
,behold in shadow of the trees of ,god  
,the rest is sweet1     ,rest1 rest with
 ,me4    ,o ,lord1 too great this love  
of ,thine1     ,thine only can it be2   
,for1 lo6 my love1 ,lord1 is not mine1  
,it comes from ,thee4                   
,the ,journey through the ,wilderness4  
,thus much do we know of the journey of 
this redeemed soul from self-occupation 
and self-discipline1 whilst ,christ     
listened for her voice in vain1 to the  
knowledge of the peace and joy that is  
in ,him4 ,and we know something also of 
her earthly path1 told us in a spiritual
 song1 which she calls ,how fair is the 
,bridegroom1 and how the bride followeth
 ,him4    ,behold1 ,my bride1 how fair  
,my mouth1 ,mine eyes2   ,my heart is   
glowing fire1 ,my hand is grace2   ,and 
see how swift ,my foot1 and follow ,me4 

,for thou with ,me shalt scorned and    
martyred be1   ,betrayed by envy1       
tempted in the wilds1   ,and seized by  
hate1 and bound by calumny1   ,and they 
shall bind thine eyes lest thou shouldst
 see1   ,by hiding ,mine eternal truth  
from thee4   ,and they shall scourge    
thee with the worlds despite1   ,and    
shrive thee with the ban of doom and    
dread1   ,for penance thy dishonoured   
head shall smite1   ,by mockery thou to 
,herod shalt be led1       ,by misery   
left forlorn--   ,and scourged by want1 
and by temptation crowned1       ,and   
spit upon by scorn4   ,the loathing of  
thy sin thy cross shall be2   ,thy      
crucifixion1 crossing of thy will2      
,the nails1 obedience that shall fasten 
thee2   ,and love shall wound1 and      
steadfastness shall slay1       ,yet    
thou shalt love ,me still4   ,the spear 
shall pierce thine heart1 and ,mine     
shall be   ,the life that lives and     
moves henceforth in thee4   ,then as a  
conqueror loosened from the cross1      

,laid in the grave of nothingness and   
loss1   ,thou shalt awaken1 and be borne
 above   ,upon the breath of ,mine      
almighty love4  ,thus the revelation of 
the love of ,god1 which was to the soul 
the opening of heaven1 the entrance into
 the ,father's house where was the feast
 of joy1 the music1 and the dancing1 was
 to lead to a walk of faithfulness here 
below1 which would bring upon the       
witness of ,god persecution and shame   
and reproach4  ,was it1 therefore1 that 
when the ,lord had spoken to the        
,pharisees of the love which welcomes   
the publican and the sinner1 of the joy 
and gladness into which the returning   
son was brought1 ,he spoke to the       
disciples the solemn warning lest the   
riches1 not only temporal1 but          
spiritual1 entrusted to them as stewards
 should be wasted by them8 ,is it not   
true that the revelation to the soul of 
that which is in the ,father's house1   
the joy and the love1 and the           
unspeakable riches of ,christ1 needs    

nothing less than ,divine grace and     
power to keep us from misusing the      
treasure entrusted to us1 and making it 
an occasion for feeding and exalting the
 fleshly mind8  ,therefore ,paul needed 
the thorn in the flesh1 not to fit him  
for entering the third heaven1 but after
 he had been there2 so that the riches  
bestowed on him were not made an        
occasion for self-glorification1 but he 
became a good steward of the manifold   
grace of ,god4  ,it is to be carefully  
remarked in the writings of ,matilda1   
that she does not speak of this entrance
 into the gladness of heaven as an      
attainment4 ,on the contrary1 as we have
 seen1 she speaks of the result of her  
repentance1 of her conflict with the    
world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 as     
being but weariness and thirst4  ,it is 
only when ,christ comes into the parable
 that the heavenly experience begins4   
,for1 she says1 before the time when    
,jesus ,christ opened heaven with the   
key of ,his cross1 there was no man so  

holy that he could1 or that he might1   
ascend up into the ,eternal heavens--not
 with labour or with the soaring of the 
imagination1 not with longing or the    
stretching forth of imploring arms1 not 
with the utmost yearning of his love4   
,for ,adam had fastened the bolt so     
firmly1 that no man could open it4      
,shouldst ,thou1 then1 ,o ,eternal      
,father1 keep fast the door of heaven   
with the bolt of ,thy justice1 so that  
sinners must remain without1 ,i turn me 
to ,jesus1 ,thy beloved ,son1 who holds 
in ,his hands the key of ,thine almighty
 power4  ,that key was forged in the    
land of the ,jews1 7and truly the ,jews 
now would lock ,thy people out of heaven
 and keep them in bondage71 but when by 
,jesus the key was turned1 the outcast  
sinner could enter into ,thy love4 ,but 
it is also the love of the ,father who  
speaketh1 and saith1 ',my soul endureth 
not that any sinner should be turned    
away who cometh to ,me2 therefore do ,i 
follow after many a soul for long1 long 

years1 till ,i lay hold upon him1 and   
hold him fast4'  ,by the ,jews who would
 lock the people of ,god out of heaven  
,matilda1 it need not be said1 had in   
her mind the ,jews of ,christendom1 the 
professing ,church being constantly     
called by her ,jerusalem1 and the       
formalist priests those who follow the  
law of the ,jews4  ,but the name of     
,jerusalem was also employed by her as a
 name of honour1 applied to the true    
,church of ,god1 the true ,bride of     
,christ4  ,for within the outward       
profession of ,christianity1 ,matilda   
recognised the living ,body of ,christ4 
,it is true that the two should have    
been one and the same1 as the soul and  
the visible body are one person4 ,but it
 was no longer so1 and ,matilda         
therefore saw the professing ,church1   
,christendom1 divided into two parts1   
the living and the dead1 the true and   
the false1 the children of ,god and the 
children of this world4 ,to her the true
 and living ,church was yet glorious and

 undivided1 for it was united in one by 
the ,spirit of ,god4 ,whether amongst   
professing ,catholics or amongst the    
,friends of ,god who stood apart from   
,rome these living stones were found1   
there was yet but the one building1 the 
dwelling-place of ,god4  ,if ,matilda   
had no thoughts respecting the ,reunion 
of ,christendom1 she had a firm belief  
in the ,unity of the ,church of ,god4   
,it could not be reunited1 for it was   
the ,body of ,christ4 ,the prayer of the
 ,lord that they all may be one1 had    
been heard4 ,i know1 ,he said1 that     
,thou hearest ,me always4  ,through the 
ages when ,christendom had been divided 
into countless sects1 the true ,members 
of ,christ1 whether they knew it or not1
 had been1 and must be1 one4 ,it needed 
but to believe it1 and to own it4 ,but  
in order to recognise it as true1 it was
 necessary that the eyes should be      
opened to see that the same profession  
of faith1 or all varying professions of 
,christian faith1 included the two      

classes1 the living and the dead2 the   
living1 united together as the living   
members of the body2 the dead1 but      
separate particles of mouldering dust4  
,a ,reunion of ,christendom1 which would
 have as its object to form into one    
mass the living and the dead1 can be but
 a denial of the great truth that there 
is one ,body and one ,spirit1 even as ye
 are called in one hope of your calling4
  ,matilda1 in a parable1 describes the 
true ,church of ,god as a beautiful     
maiden standing upon a mighty stone1    
which was as a mountain of spices1 and  
the name of which was ,christ1 her feet 
adorned with a jasper stone1 which is   
,christian faith2 and in her hand a cup1
 of which she drank alone in unspeakable
 blessedness1 for the angels in heaven  
might not drink of it--it was the ,blood
 of the ,eternal ,son4  ,matilda knew1  
and rejoiced to know1 that she was one  
with all the saints of all the ages1 and
 she tells us her experience of it also4
  ,as ,mary1 she said1 she knew how the 

sword had pierced through her own soul  
also1 because so many who seem religious
 are lukewarm and undecided for ,christ4
  ,as ,john1 ,i know what it is to rest 
in the unspeakable love upon the bosom  
of ,jesus ,christ4  ,and as ,paul1 ,yes1
 ,paul1 ,i was caught up with thee1 and 
,i saw so marvellous a place1 that      
thenceforth ,i could but long ever to be
 there4 ,and ,i drank of the wine of    
which the heavenly ,father is the       
cup-bearer1 and ,christ is the cup1 and 
the ,holy ,ghost the pure1 clear wine1  
and love is the plenishing4 ,and love   
invited me and welcomed me to drink     
thereof1 so that now ,i am well content 
to drink gall and vinegar here below4   
,and further1 ,stephen1 ,i kneel beside 
thee before the ,jews who hated thee1   
amongst the sharp stones1 which fall    
upon me1 great ones and small ones1 all 
my days4 ,those who seem to be good     
people stone me in the back1 and run    
away1 for they would not have me know it
 was they who did it4 ,god1 however1 saw

 it4  ,mary ,magdalene1 ,i live with    
thee in the wilderness1 for all is      
sorrow to me except my ,god4            
,practice4  ,of ,matilda's daily life we
 know but little1 having scarcely any   
incidents recorded in her book4         
,apparently1 from various passages1 we  
can learn that1 like most ,beguines1 her
 time was chiefly occupied in tending   
the sick and poor4  ,she considered it  
needful to visit the sick in the        
,beguinage daily1 to comfort them with  
the lovely words of ,god1 and to refresh
 them also in a gentle way with earthly 
things1 for ,god is very rich4 ,it is   
needful also to bestow much care on the 
cleanliness of the sick-room1 and it is 
a good thing to be merry and to laugh   
with them1 but in a godly manner4 ,and  
it is well to serve them with ready     
hands1 and to ask them kindly to tell   
what are their pains and complaints1 and
 to show them that they have a friend   
who will stand by them and care for     
them4  ,household matters1 too1 were a  

part of ,matilda's experience4 ,it is   
right to go every day into the kitchen1 
and to see that the needful provisions  
are good1 so that our stinginess1 or the
 cook's laziness1 may not rob the ,lord 
of the bodily strength of ,his servants4
 ,a hungry mouth will sing the ,lord's  
praises ill1 and a hungry man is little 
fit for study1 and this is so much taken
 from the ,lord's service4  ,matilda    
also wrote letters1 containing much     
wholesome advice4 ,from a letter to a   
prior is the following3--  ,we should   
listen to any complaints with sympathy1 
and be very faithful in giving counsel4 
,if the brethren desire to build        
magnificently1 you should hinder this1  
and say1 ',ah1 dearest brethren1 let us 
rather build for ,god a beautiful palace
 in our souls1 with the stones of ,holy 
,scripture and holy graces4'  ,the first
 stone of such a palace1 in which the   
eternal ,god may dwell1 and where ,his  
beloved may dwell with ,him1 is deep    
humility4 ,we do not desire to build in 

pride and vanity1 as the lords and      
ladies of this world2 but we do need to 
build as heavenly princes upon earth1   
knowing that at the last day we shall   
sit on thrones with the despised ,jesus4
  ,and make sure that during the day or 
the night you find a full spare hour to 
converse with our dear ,lord and ,god1  
praying to ,him without let or          
hindrance4 ,for the heavenly gift which 
,god loves to give to ,his elect1 ,his  
beloved children1 is of a fine and noble
 sort1 and it flows freely to the soul  
that draws near to ,him1 and to whom ,he
 bends down in ,his infinite love4  ,for
 ,his heart was so smitten with love to 
us that ,he gave up all things1 and     
emptied ,himself for more than thirty   
years1 that ,he might at last embrace   
,his beloved1 and give free course to   
,his love4  ,will you not think of this8
 ,could you be so uncourteous to ,him1  
as to refuse ,him one hour a day in     
return for these thirty years8  ,when   
,i1 the lowest of the least1 go to my   

prayers1 ,i adorn myself for this hour4 
,i put on as my only ornament my        
unworthiness1 ,i array myself in the    
miry slough that ,i am1 and ,i am shod  
with the precious time that ,i have lost
 day by day1 and ,i am girded with the  
pain which ,i have caused to others4    
,and ,i am wrapped in the cloak of my   
sinfulness1 of which ,i am full2 and ,i 
put on my head the crown of my secret   
faults1 wherewith ,i have trespassed    
against the ,lord4 ,then ,i take the    
glass of the truth and look in it to see
 myself therein1 and alas6 ,i see but   
sorrow and shame4 ,i would rather put on
 this dress than any rich attire1       
although it were better to be clothed in
 hell1 and crowned with devils1 than to 
be sinful as ,i am4  ,and in this dress 
do ,i go to seek ,jesus1 my blessed     
,lord1 and ,i find ,him in no other way 
so truly as in my sin4  ,therefore with 
joy do ,i go to ,him1 with love and     
fear1 and the uncleanness of my sin     
vanishes before ,his holy eyes1 and ,he 

looks on me with such love1 that my     
heart overflows with love to ,him4 ,and 
all the guilt and grief are gone1 and   
,he teaches me ,his will1 and makes me  
to taste ,his sweetness1 and ,he        
overwhelms me with ,his tender love4    
,prayer has a marvellous power1 it makes
 the bitter heart sweet1 and the        
sorrowful heart glad1 and the poor rich1
 and the foolish wise1 and the fearful  
bold1 and the sick strong1 and the blind
 to see1 and the cold to burn4 ,it draws
 the great ,god down into the small     
heart1 and lifts the hungry soul up to  
,god1 the living ,fountain4 ,it brings  
together the loving ,god and the loving 
soul in a blessed meeting-place1 and    
they speak together of love4  ,in       
another letter she says1 ,that which    
hinders spiritual people more1 perhaps1 
than anything1 is the little importance 
attached to small sins4 ,i tell you in  
truth1 when ,i neglect a pleasant laugh 
that would have hurt nobody1 or when ,i 
allow bitterness in my heart even       

without showing it in word or action1 or
 when ,i feel a little impatience in    
suffering pain1 my soul becomes so dark1
 and my mind so dull1 and my heart so   
cold1 that ,i have to go and confess my 
sin with shame and tears4 ,i feel like a
 dog who has been beaten till ,i breathe
 again freely in the love and mercy of  
,god1 and find myself again in the sweet
 garden of ,paradise1 out of which my   
sin had driven me4                      
,gleanings from ,matilda's ,book4  ,the 
seven books which compose ,the flowing  
forth of the light of the ,godhead being
 composed of detached papers put        
together by ,brother ,henry1 have1 as   
has been remarked1 no special connection
 one with another4 ,it may be as well to
 give detached poems from the first five
 books1 and thoughts in prose1 or rather
 not in rhyme1 asking indulgence for the
 imperfect rendering of either into     
modern ,english4 ,the titles given are  
from the original4                  ,how
 ,god is to be ,praised for ,eight      

,things4    ,o ,dew1 abundant from the  
depths of ,heaven2   ,o sweet white     
,flower1 pure as mountain snow2   ,o    
,precious ,fruit of that celestial      
,flower2   ,o ,ransom from the          
everlasting woe2   ,the holy ,sacrifice 
for sins of men2   ,the ,gift that the  
eternal ,father gave2   ,o ,dew of life1
 by ,thee ,i live again1   ,by ,thee who
 camest down to seek and save4   ,i see 
,thee small1 in low and humble guise2   
,and me ,thou seest1 great in shame and 
sin3   ,lord1 ,i would be ,thy daily    
sacrifice1   ,though ,i am worthless1   
vile1 and foul within4   ,yet into that 
mean cup ,thy grace will pour   ,the    
love that overflows for evermore4       
,how ,god draweth the ,soul to ,himself4
    ,eagle of the highest ,heaven1      
gentle ,lamb1 ,infolding ,fire1         
,kindle1 glow in me4       ,barren1     
thirsty1 do ,i seek ,thee1              
,through the ages of desire1       ,one 
day as a thousand winters1              
,waiting1 ,lord1 for ,thee4             

,bitterer to the soul that loveth       
,far from her ,beloved to dwell1        
,than the pit of doom to sinners--      
,an abyss there is profounder           
,than the depths of hell4          4    
4       4       4       4       4       
4        ,the nightingale she can but   
sing1         ,for she is made of love's
 delight1       ,of love bereft1 what   
else were left         ,than death and  
night8  ,then spake the spirit to the   
soul--      ,arise1 ,o ,queen1 and sing6
   ,behold1 ,he comes1 the ,beloved     
,one1     ,behold the ,bridegroom ,king6
  ,then spake the soul in joyful fear-- 
,o blessed ,herald1 so might it be6     
,for ,i am faithless1 guilty1 vile1     
,in ,him alone is there rest for me4    
,for me is no home beneath the skies1   
,no summer land1 and no resting-place1  
,but the marvellous pity of ,his eyes1  
,and the sweetness of ,his ,face2   ,and
 when all around the lights are dim1    
,the heart that sorroweth turns to ,him4
  ,the ,herald said--    ,thou must     

watch and wait1   ,and water the earth1 
and strew the flowers4  ,but the soul   
made answer--    ,the desolate   ,must  
watch in prayer1 and must wait in shame1
     ,in tears must water1 and long for 
the day2   ,but if as ,i strew the      
flowers ,he came1     ,from myself and  
my tears ,i should pass away4   ,for ,he
 strikes the chords of the heavenly     
lyre1     ,and sorrow and sadness turn  
and flee1   ,and the earthly love1 and  
the earth's desire1     ,in that music  
sweet depart from me4            ,the   
,soul's ,desire sent ,forth to ,seek the
 ,beloved ,one4  ,thus spake the soul to
 her desire--    ,speed forth afar and  
see   ,where may my ,beloved be1   ,and 
say to ,him1 ',his love ,i crave4'      
,then fled the swift desire afar1   ,and
 rose beyond sun1 moon1 and star1   ,and
 called before the heavenly door1       
,lord1 open unto me6  ,then spake the   
,host--    ,what need hast thou1   ,that
 thou dost thus implore8    ,o ,lord1 ,i
 come with the prayer of one   ,who     

weepeth upon the earth alone--     ,the 
fish on the sand must pine4    ,go back6
 no door is unbarred to thee   ,till    
thou bring the sorrowful soul to ,me1   
,for the need is ,mine4  ,then sped the 
messenger swiftly home1 and said--      
,the ,master calleth ,come6     ,arise  
and shine6    ,then she as on summer    
winds doth rise   ,in joyful flight     
through the starry skies1     ,and there
 meet her angels twain2   ,for ,god hath
 sent two angels fleet1   ,the          
well-beloved soul to meet4  ,and they   
ask--    ,what seekest thou thus afar8  
,with the dark earth art thou clad4     
,the soul said--    ,greet me better    
than so1   ,for to ,him who loveth me   
well ,i go1     ,and ,i am no more sad4 
,lo6 dimmed as ye near the earth below1 
,is the sweet light of your eyes2   ,and
 with light of ,god do ,i shine and glow
     ,as aloft ,i rise4   ,then with an 
angel on either hand1     ,the soul sped
 through the skies1   ,and when she came
 to the angel land1     ,to the country 

of ,paradise1   ,she was a stranger     
guest no more1   ,for to her was opened 
the heavenly door1     ,she saw the     
,beloved ,face4   ,forth flowed her     
heart in weeping blest1   ,she said1 ,my
 ,lord1 ,i have found my rest     ,in   
the glory of ,thy grace4   ,i needs must
 praise ,thee and adore1   ,for         
evermore1 for evermore4   ,whence came  
,i here8 ,i am lost in ,thee2   ,i can  
think no more of the earth below1       
,nor of the sorrow and weeping there4   
,i had thought to tell ,thee my grief   
and woe1   ,but1 ,lord1 ,i have seen    
,thee1 and nought ,i know1     ,but that
 ,thou art fair4           ,the         
,complaint of the ,loving ,soul1 and the
 ,answer of ,god4    ,o ,lord1 too long 
,thou dost guard and spare       ,this  
dungeon-house of clay1   ,where ,i drink
 the water of sorrow and care1   ,and   
the ashes of emptiness are my fare1     
,from day to day4    ,where is thy      
patience1 ,o ,my ,queen8     ,let ,thy  
sorrow be sore as it may1   ,i heal it  

as if it never had been1     ,when ,i   
speak1 it has passed away4   ,my riches 
of glory for ever are thine1     ,thy   
might has prevailed over ,me1   ,for ,i 
love thee for ever with love divine2    
,if thou hast the token1 the gold is    
,mine1     ,and ,i weigh full measure to
 thee4   ,for all things renounced1 and 
for all things wrought1     ,all sorrow1
 and all endeavour1   ,i give thee      
beyond all desire or thought1     ,for  
,i give thee ,myself for ever4          
,how ,god comes into the ,soul4    ,he  
comes to me in silent hours1   ,as      
morning dew to summer flowers4          
,how the ,soul receiveth ,god1 and how  
,god receiveth the ,soul4    ,o sweet   
enfolding in the ,arms divine1     ,o   
blessed ,vision1 welcome passing sweet1 
,i bow beneath the joy that ,i am       
,thine1     ,a weight of gladness cast  
,i at ,thy feet4   ,o heights of ,god6  
within ,thy clefts ,i hide1   ,the home 
where dove and nightingale abide4       
,all hail1 ,my dove6 on earth below     

,thou hast roamed afar and long1        
,until should grow the strong swift     
wings1   ,that should bear ,thee aloft  
from thy wanderings       ,to the rest  
and song4                      ,the     
,soul's fivefold ,praise of ,god4    ,o 
blessed ,god1 who pourest forth ,thy    
store2   ,o ,god1 whose love flows on   
for evermore2   ,o ,god1 whose longing  
burns eternally2   ,o ,god1 in whom ,i  
dwell1 whose dwelling is in me2   ,o    
,god1 whose rest is in my love--   ,in  
,thee alone ,i live and move4           
,of the ,soul's ,complaint1 of the      
,garden1 and of the ,new ,song4    ,when
 mine eyes are dim with weeping1        
,and my tongue with grief is dumb2      
,and it is as if ,thou wert sleeping    
,when my heart calleth1 ',come2'   ,when
 ,i hunger with bitter hunger1       ,o 
,lord1 for ,thee4   ,where art ,thou1   
then1 ,beloved8       ,speak1 speak to  
me4   ,i am where ,i was in the ancient 
days1     ,i in ,myself must be2   ,in  
all things ,i am1 and in every place1   

,for there is no change in ,me4   ,where
 the sun is ,my ,godhead1 throned       
above1#h     ,for thee1 ,o ,mine own1 ,i
 wait2   ,i wait for thee in the garden 
of love1     ,till thou comest irradiate
   ,with the light that shines from ,my 
,face divine1     ,and ,i pluck the     
flowers for thee2   ,they are thine1    
beloved1 for they are ,mine1     ,and   
thou art one with ,me4   ,in the tender 
grass by the waters still1     ,i have  
made thy resting-place2   ,thy rest     
shall be sweet in ,my holy will1        
,and sure in ,my changeless grace4      
,and ,i bend for thee the holy ,tree1   
,where blossoms the mystic ,rod2   ,the 
highest of all the trees that be     ,in
 the ,paradise of ,god4   ,and thou of  
that ,tree of life shalt eat1     ,of   
the ,life that is in ,me2   ,thou shalt 
feed on the fruit that is good for meat1
     ,and passing fair to see4   ,there 
overshadowed by mighty wings     ,of the
 ,holy ,spirit's peace1   ,beyond the   
sorrow of earthly things1     ,the toil 

and the tears shall cease4   ,and there 
beneath the eternal ,tree1     ,i will  
teach thy lips to sing   ,the sweet new 
song that no man knows     ,in the land 
of his banishing4   ,they follow the    
,lamb where'er ,he goes1     ,to whom it
 is revealed2   ,the pure and the       
undefiled are those1     ,the ransomed  
and the sealed4   ,thou shalt learn the 
speech and the music rare1     ,and thou
 shalt sing as they1   ,not only there  
in ,my garden fair1     ,but here1      
beloved1 to-day4    ,o ,lord1 a faint   
and a feeble voice     ,is mine in this 
house of clay1   ,but ,thy love hath    
made my lips rejoice1     ,and ,i can   
sing and say1   ',i am pure1 ,o ,lord1  
for ,thou art pure1     ,thy love and   
mine are one2   ,and my robe is white1  
for ,thine is white1     ,and brighter  
than the sun4   ,thy mouth and mine can 
know no moan1     ,no note of man's sad 
mirth1   ,but the everlasting joy alone1
     ,unknown to songs of earth2   ,and 
for ever fed on that living ,tree1   ,i 

will sing the song of ,thy love with    
,thee4'                    ,god's       
fivefold ,comparing of the ,soul4       
,rose1 most fair amidst the briars2     
,harmless dove1 so pure and white2      
,honey-bee that never tires2   ,sun of  
everlasting light2   ,full fair moon in 
cloudless skies--   ,joy and gladness to
 ,mine eyes4                      ,god's
 sixfold ,delight in the ,soul4    ,o   
soul1 thou art the pillow for ,my ,head1
   ,my still sweet rest1 ,my longing    
deep and strong1   ,my ,godhead's joy1  
,my ,manhood's solace sweet1   ,my      
cooling fountain in love's furnace heat1
         ,my music1 and ,my song4       
,knowledge and ,enjoyment4    ,to love1 
and not to know1   ,is through a dark   
wild land to go2   ,to know1 and not    
possess1   ,is hell's dread bitterness2 
,possess1 yet not be where ,thou art1   
,hath rent my heart4                    
,the ,prayer for ,love1 and the ,answer 
thereof4    ,o ,lord my ,saviour1 love  
me well1   ,and love me often and long--

   ,often1 that pure my soul may be2    
,well1 that so ,i be fair to see2       
,long1 and for ever1 for ,thee apart    
,shall be my heart4    ,that often ,i   
love thee needs must be1   ,for ,i am   
,love from eternity2   ,and ,i love thee
 well1 because ,i long   ,for thy love  
with a yearning deep and strong2   ,and 
,i love thee long1 for no end can be    
,to ,my divine eternity4                
,love unto ,death2 ,love ,immeasurable2 
,love ,eternal4    ,i rejoice that ,i   
cannot but love ,him1     ,because ,he  
first loved me2   ,i would that         
measureless1 changeless1     ,my love   
might be2   ,a love unto death1 and for 
ever2     ,for1 soul1 ,he died for thee4
   ,give thanks that for thee ,he       
delighted     ,to leave ,his glory on   
high2   ,for thee to be humbled1        
forsaken1     ,for thee to die4   ,wilt 
thou render ,him love for ,his loving8  
,wilt thou die for ,him who died8   ,and
 so1 by thy living and dying1     ,shall
 ,christ be magnified4   ,and deep in   

the fiery stream that flows     ,from   
,god's high throne1   ,in the burning   
tide that for ever glows     ,of the    
marvellous love unknown2   ,for ever1 ,o
 soul1 thou shalt burn and glow1        
,and thou shalt sing and say1   ,i need 
no call at ,his feet to fall1     ,for  
,i cannot turn away4   ,i am the captive
 led along     ,with the joy of ,his    
triumphal song2   ,in the depths of love
 do ,i live and move1     ,i joy to live
 or to die2   ,for ,i am borne on the   
tide of love     ,to all eternity3      
,the foolishness of the fool is this1   
,the sorrow sweeter than joy to miss4   
,god asks the ,soul what ,she brings1   
and ,she ,answereth4    ,what dost thou 
bring me1 ,o my ,queen8     ,love maketh
 thy steps to fly4    ,lord1 to ,thee my
 jewel ,i bring1   ,greater than        
mountains high2   ,broader than all the 
earth's broad lands1   ,heavier than the
 ocean sands1   ,and higher it is than  
the sky3   ,deeper it is than the depths
 of the sea1     ,and fairer than the   

sun1   ,unreckoned1 as if the stars     
could be     ,all gathered into one4    
,o thou1 ,my ,godhead's image fair1     
,thou ,eve1 from ,adam framed1   ,my    
flesh1 ,my bone1 ,my life to share1     
,my ,spirit's diadem to wear1     ,how  
is thy jewel named8    ,lord1 it is     
called my heart's desire1     ,from the 
world's enchantments won2   ,i have     
borne it afar through flood and fire1   
,and will yield it up to none2   ,but   
the burden ,i can bear no more--        
,where shall ,i lay it up in store8     
,there is no treasure-house but this1   
,my heart divine1 ,my ,manhood's breast2
   ,there shall ,my ,spirit's sacred    
kiss     ,fill thee with rest4          
,how the ,soul praises ,god for ,seven  
,things1 and ,god praiseth the          
,soul who loves ,him4    ,o ,jesus      
,lord1 most fair1 most passing sweet1   
,in darkest hours revealed in love to   
me1   ,in those dark hours ,i fall      
before ,thy ,feet1     ,i sing to ,thee4
   ,i join the song of love1 and ,i     

adore   ,with those who worship ,thee   
for evermore4   ,thou art the ,sun of   
every eye1     ,the ,gladness           
everywhere1   ,the ,voice that speaks   
eternally1     ,the ,strength to do and 
bear1   ,the sacred ,lore of wisdom's   
store1     ,the ,life of life to all1   
,the ,order mystic1 marvellous     ,in  
all things great and small4  ,then doth 
,god praise the soul1 and the words of  
,his praise sound sweetly1 thus--       
,thou art light to ,mine eyes1 and a    
harp to ,mine ears1   ,and the voice of 
,my words1 and ,my wisdom's crown1      
,the love that cheers ,mine eternal     
years1   ,my music1 and ,my renown4     
,wherever thy pilgrim steps may be1     
,thou longest1 beloved1 thou longest for
 ,me4  ,the soul saith--    ,thy love   
hast ,thou told from the days of old1   
,thou hast written my name in ,thy ,book
 divine2   ,engraved on ,thy ,hands and 
,thy feet it stands1     ,and on ,thy   
side as a sign4   ,o glorious ,man in   
the garden of ,god1     ,thy sacred     

,manhood is mine4   ,i kneel on the     
golden floor of heaven     ,with my box 
of ointment sweet1   ,grant unto me1    
,thy much forgiven1     ,to kiss and    
anoint ,thy feet4    ,where wilt thou   
find that ointment rare1     ,o ,my     
beloved one8    ,thou brakest my heart  
and didst find it there1     ,rest      
sweetly there alone4    ,there is no    
embalming so sweet to ,me1     ,as to   
dwell1 ,my well-beloved1 in thee4  ,the 
soul saith--    ,lord1 take me home to  
,thy palace fair1   ,so will ,i ever    
anoint ,thee there4    ,i will4 ,but ,my
 plighted troth saith1 ',wait2'     ,and
 ,my love saith1 ',work to-day2'   ,my  
meekness saith1 ',be of low estate2'    
,and ,my longing1 ',watch and pray2'    
,my shame and sorrow say1 ',bear ,my    
cross2'     ,my song saith1 ',win the   
crown2'   ,my guerdon saith1 ',all else 
is loss2'     ,my patience saith1 ',be  
still1'     ,till thou shalt lay the    
burden down1       ,then1 when ,i will4 
,then1 beloved1 the crown and palm1     

,and then the music and the psalm2      
,and the cup of joy ,my ,hand shall fill
     ,till it overflow2   ,and with     
singing ,i strike the harp of gold      
,i have tuned below1   ,the harp ,i tune
 in desolate years   ,of sorrow and     
tears1   ,till a music sweet the chords 
repeat1     ,which all the heavens shall
 fill2   ,for the holy courts of ,god   
made meet1     ,then1 when ,i will4     
,a fivefold ,song of the ,soul to ,god1 
and how ,god is a ,robe of the          
,soul1 and the ,soul a robe of ,god4    
,thou hast shone within this soul of    
mine1     ,as the sun on a shrine of    
gold2   ,when ,i rest my heart1 ,o      
,lord1 on ,thine1     ,my bliss is      
manifold4   ,my soul is the gem on ,thy 
diadem1     ,and my marriage robe ,thou 
art2   ,if aught could sever my heart   
from ,thine1   ,the sorrow beyond all   
sorrows were mine1     ,alone and apart4
   ,could ,i not find ,thy love below1  
,then would my soul as a pilgrim go     
,to ,thy holy land above2   ,there would

 ,i love ,thee as ,i were fain1         
,with everlasting love4   ,now have ,i  
sung my tuneless song1     ,but ,i      
hearken1 ,lord1 for ,thine2   ,then     
shall a music1 sweet and strong1        
,pass into mine4    ,i am the ,light1   
and the lamp thou art2     ,the ,river1 
and thou the thirsty land2   ,to thee   
thy sighs have drawn ,my heart1     ,and
 ever beneath ,thee is ,my hand4   ,and 
when thou weepest1 it needs must be     
,within ,mine arms that encompass thee2 
,thy heart from ,mine can none divide1  
,for one are1 the ,bridegroom and the   
,bride3   ,it is sweet1 beloved1 for ,me
 and thee1   ,to wait for the day that  
is to be4    ,o ,lord1 with hunger and  
thirst ,i wait1   ,with longing before  
,thy golden gate1       ,till the day   
shall dawn1   ,when from ,thy lips      
divine have passed     ,the sacred words
 that none may hear   ,but the soul who1
 loosed from the earth at last1         
,hath laid her ear   ,to the ,mouth that
 speaks in the still sweet morn         

,apart and alone2   ,then shall the     
secret of love be told1     ,the mystery
 known4                ,the ,lord giveth
 a tenfold ,honour to the ,soul4    ,the
 mouth of the ,lord hath spoken1        
,hath spoken a mighty word2   ,my sinful
 heart it hath broken1     ,yet sweeter 
,i never heard4   ,thou1 thou art1 ,o   
soul1 ,my deep desire1     ,and ,my     
love's eternal bliss2   ,thou art the   
rest where leaneth ,my breast1     ,and 
,my mouth's most holy kiss4   ,thou art 
the treasure ,i sought and found1       
,rejoicing over thee2   ,i dwell in     
thee1 and with thee ,i am crowned1      
,and thou dost dwell in ,me4   ,thou art
 joined to ,me1 ,o ,mine own1 for ever1 
,and nearer thou canst not be2   ,shall 
aught on earth or in heaven sever       
,myself from ,me8                       
,between ,god and the ,soul only ,love4 
',twixt ,god and thee but love shall be1
     ',twixt earth and thee distrust and
 fear1     ',twixt sin and thee shall be
 hate and war1   ,and hope shall be     

'twixt heaven and thee1       ,till     
night is o'er4           ,how ,god      
maketh the ,soul to be ,free and ,wise  
in ,his ,love4    ,my love1 ,my dove1   
thy feet are red1     ,thy wings are    
strong1 thy mouth is sweet1   ,thine    
eyes are fair1 erect thy head1   ,beside
 the waters dost thou tread1     ,thy   
flight is far and fleet4    ,o ,lord1   
the ,blood that hath ransomed me        
,hath dyed my feet2   ,with ,thy        
faithfulness my wings are strong1       
,with ,thy ,spirit my mouth is sweet4   
,and my eyes are fair with the light of 
,god1     ,and safe in ,thy shelter ,i  
lift my head1     ,and beside the waters
 of life ,i tread1   ,i follow where    
,thou hast trod2   ,and my flight is    
swift1 for ,thy love hath need     ,of  
me1 ,lord1 even me4     ,when from the  
earthly prison freed     ,my soul shall 
be2   ,then shall she rest through the  
ages blest1     ,o ,lord1 in ,thee4     
,the ,road wherein the ,soul leadeth the
 ,senses1 and where                     

the ,soul is ,free from ,care4    ,it is
 a wondrous and a lofty road            
,wherein the faithful soul must tread2  
,and by the seeing there the blind are  
led1   ,the senses by the soul acquaint 
with ,god4   ,on that high path the soul
 is free1     ,she knows no care nor    
ill1   ,for all ,god wills desireth she1
     ,and blessed is ,his will4         
,how the ,bride casts away the ,solace  
of ,created ,things1 and seeks          
only the ,comfort of ,god4      ,thus   
speaks the ,bride1 whose feet have trod 
,the chamber of eternal rest1     ,the  
secret treasure-house of ,god1          
,where ,god is manifest3   ,created     
things1 arise and flee1   ,ye are but   
sorrow and care to me4    ,this wide1   
wide world1 so rich and fair1   ,thou   
sure canst find thy solace there8       
,nay1 'neath the flowers the serpent    
glides1   ,amidst the bravery envy      
hides4    ,and is not heaven enough for 
thee8    ,were ,god not there 'twere a  
tomb to me4    ,o ,bride1 the saints in 

glory shine1   ,can they not fill that  
heart of thine8    ,nay1 were the ,lamb1
 their light1 withdrawn1   ,the saints  
in gloom would weep and mourn4    ,can  
the ,son of ,god not comfort thee8      
,yea1 ,christ and none besides for me6  
,for mine is a soul of noble birth1     
,that needeth more than heaven and      
earth2   ,and the breath of ,god must   
draw me in   ,to the ,heart that was    
riven for my sin4   ,for the ,sun of the
 ,godhead pours ,his rays   ,through the
 crystal depths of ,his manhood's grace2
   ,and the ,spirit sent by ,father and 
,son   ,hath filled my soul1 and my     
heart hath won2   ,and the longing and  
love are past and gone1   ,for all that 
is less than ,god alone--   ,god only1  
sweet to this heart of mine--   ,o      
wondrous death that is life divine6     
,of ,love1 the ,handmaiden of the ,soul1
 and of the ,soul whom                  
,love hath ,smitten4    ,of old1 beloved
 damsel1     ,my handmaid thou wouldst  
be2   ,but thy ways are strange and     

wondrous1     ,thou hast chased and     
captured me4   ,thou hast wounded me    
right sore1     ,thou hast smitten me   
amain1   ,and ,i know that never more   
,can my heart be whole again4   ,can the
 hand that has wounded heal8     ,or    
slay1 if no balm there be8   ,else had  
it been for my weal     ,thou wert all  
unknown to me4    ,i chased thee1 for so
 was my will2     ,i captured thee1 for 
my need2   ,i bound thee1 and bind thee 
still1     ,for ,i would not have thee  
freed2   ,i wounded thee sore1 that for 
evermore     ,thou shouldest live by my 
life alone3   ,when ,i smote thee1 mine 
wert thou life and limb2     ,i drave   
the ,almighty ,god from ,his throne1    
,of the life of ,his manhood despoiled  
,i ,him4     ,i brought ,him back in    
glorious might     ,to the ,father in   
heaven's eternal light2   ,and thou1    
poor worm1 shouldst thou go free1   ,as 
if my hand had not smitten thee8        
,be thou in ,suffering a ,lamb1 a ,dove1
 and a ,bride4    ,thou art ,my ,lamb in

 patience dumb1     ,my ,dove in sighing
 for ,me1   ,my ,bride in waiting till  
,i shall come     ,in the day that is to
 be4             ,of the ,two ,golden   
,chalices of ,sorrow and of ,comfort4   
,i1 slothful sinner that ,i am1 knelt   
down at my hour of prayer1 and it seemed
 to me as if ,god were unwilling to give
 me the least measure of ,his grace4    
,then would ,i fain have wept and       
mourned1 because of my sinful desires2  
for it seemed to me that they were the  
hindrance to my spiritual gladness4     
,but no1 said my soul1 think rather of  
the faithfulness of ,god1 and praise    
,him for ,his goodness4 ,glory be to    
,god in the highest6  ,and as ,i        
praised1 there shone a great light into 
my soul2 and in the light1 ,god showed  
,himself to me in great majesty1 and in 
unspeakable glory4 ,and it was as if ,he
 held up in ,his hands two golden       
chalices1 and both were full of living  
wine4 ,in the left hand was the red     
wine1 the wine of sorrow1 and in the    

right hand the most holy consolation4   
,then did the ,lord say1 ,there are some
 who drink of this wine alone1 although 
,i pour out both in ,my divine love4    
,yet the golden wine is in itself the   
noblest1 and most noble are those who   
drink of both1 the red wine and the     
golden4                         ,the    
,working of ,blessed ,love4  ,it were   
bitterer than death to me if ever ,i did
 that which is good1 without ,god4      
,this is the nature of the great love   
which is of ,god4 ,she does not flow    
forth in tears1 but burns in the great  
fire of heavenly glory4 ,and thus she   
spreads to the farthest distances1 and  
yet remains in herself steadfast and    
still4 ,she rises up into the nearest   
converse with ,god1 and remains in      
herself in the lowest measure4 ,she     
grasps the most1 and retains the least4 
,o blessed ,love1 who are they who know 
thee8 ,they are those through whom the  
light of ,god glows and burns4 ,they    
dwell not in themselves4 ,the more they 

are tried1 the stronger they grow4 ,why 
so8 ,because the longer they are in     
conflict1 yet abiding in love1 the more 
glorious is ,god to their souls1 and the
 more do they see themselves to be      
unworthy and vile4  ,why so8 ,because   
the greater the love1 the greater is    
holy fear2 and the fuller the comfort1  
the stronger the dread of sin4 ,the     
loving soul does not fear with terror1  
but she fears nobly4 ,there are two     
things over which ,i cannot mourn       
enough--one is1 that ,god is so         
forgotten in the world2 the other1 that 
,his people are so imperfect4 ,therefore
 many fall1 because the godly have      
fallen before them4                 ,how
 ,god speaks to the ,soul in ,three     
,places4  ,in the first of these places 
does the devil also speak1 which he     
cannot do in the other two4  ,the first 
place is the mind of man1 and this      
stands open not to ,god only1 but to the
 devil and to all creatures1 who enter  
in as they will1 and hold converse with 

the soul through the mind4  ,the second 
place in which ,god speaks1 is in the   
soul itself4 ,and into the soul none can
 enter but ,god only4 ,when ,god speaks 
to the soul1 it is without the aid of   
the senses4 ,it is in a mighty1 strong1 
and swift communication1 in a speech the
 mind cannot comprehend1 unless the mind
 is so humbled as to take the lowest    
place amongst created things4  ,the     
third place where ,god speaks with the  
soul is in heaven1 when ,god draws the  
soul up thither1 and brings her into    
,his secret place1 where ,he shows her  
all ,his wonders4                       
,of ,false ,love4  ,all1 who do not in  
all things cleave to the truth of ,god1 
must fall with bitter loss4 ,for love1  
which has not humility for her mother1  
and holy fear for her father1 will be a 
barren love4                            
,matilda's ,faith4  ,thus far in the    
five first books of ,matilda's writings 
can we trace the history of her soul    
before she found her last refuge in the 

convent of ,hellfde4  ,preger's remarks 
are valuable as showing how ,matilda1 in
 expressions which she borrowed from the
 common stock of the writings of the    
mystics1 as well as in expressions of   
her own1 might appear to have wandered  
into the regions of ,pantheism4 ,that   
she herself attached a meaning to these 
expressions1 which those who were simply
 mystics1 and not believers in ,christ  
as their ,saviour1 could not understand1
 seems1 however1 clear4 ,but the        
expressions were open to the danger of  
being thus misunderstood4 ,to those who 
were mystics1 and nothing more1         
intercourse with ,god was a vague       
sentiment2 and what they called the love
 of ,god1 was merely a name given to    
their own human thoughts of ,god1 the   
,god of their imagination4  ,but        
,matilda insisted strongly upon the     
truth1 that there is no way to ,god but 
through the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the   
,saviour of sinners4 ,that otherwise all
 communication between the soul and ,god

 is cut off1 the bolt fastened by ,adam 
holding fast the door between ,god and  
men4  ,in speaking of some 7no doubt the
 ,brethren of the ,free ,spirit71 she   
mentions as the greatest sin1 and as the
 highest degree of unbelief1 that men   
should think to enter into the presence 
of the eternal ,god1 passing by the holy
 ,manhood of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4  
,when such people imagine themselves to 
have entered into communication with the
 being of ,god1 they enter instead into 
eternal condemnation4 ,and yet by that  
means they intend to become holier than 
others4 ,they set at nought and deride  
the words of ,god1 which are written    
regarding the ,manhood of our ,lord4    
,thus to an unbelieving mystic1 the term
 union with ,god was familiar1 and meant
 nothing better than the dreams of a    
,buddhist4 ,but to ,matilda1 though she 
did not1 and no doubt could not1 clearly
 define it1 the truth was revealed1     
expressed in so few words in the fifth  
chapter of the ,epistle to the          

,ephesians1 where1 with reference to    
,christ and the ,church1 it is written1 
,he that loveth his wife loveth himself4
 ,for no man ever yet hated his own     
flesh2 but nourisheth it and cherisheth 
it1 even as the ,lord the ,church3 for  
we are members of ,his body1 of ,his    
flesh1 and of ,his bones4 ,for this     
cause shall a man leave his father and  
mother1 and shall be joined unto his    
wife1 and they two shall be one flesh4  
,this is a great mystery3 but ,i speak  
concerning ,christ and the ,church4 ,and
 again1 in #a ,cor4 xii4 #ab1 ,as the   
body is one1 and hath many members1 and 
all the members of that one body1 being 
many1 are one body3 so also is ,christ4 
,that this truth1 taught so plainly in  
many passages of ,scripture1 notably by 
the ,lord ,himself in the one word which
 smote the heart of ,paul1 ,why         
persecutest thou ,me8 was the truth     
,matilda believed1 seems to be clear4   
,but she was apt to use1 when speaking  
of it1 the stereotyped expression union 

with ,god1 not perceiving that this is  
untrue1 and incapable of being          
symbolised1 as in ,ephesians1 by the    
figure of ,adam and ,eve4 ,it is not    
,christ as ,god1 but as the second      
,adam1 who is there symbolised4  ,many  
such incorrect expressions may1 no      
doubt1 be found now in modern           
,protestant books4#i  ,preger further   
remarks1 ,if we would describe religious
 life1 as shown in ,matilda1 by its     
distinctive features1 we should remark1 
in the first place1 that she is seeking 
after a consciousness1 or is1 in fact1  
conscious of being in immediate         
intercourse with ,god4 ,whilst the      
majority of her contemporaries knew of  
no relation with ,god1 except through   
culture or learning1 or the medium of   
saints1 or the ordinances of the        
,church1 and were satisfied to know no  
more1 ,matilda looked upon all these    
things merely as helps to personal and  
immediate communion with ,god4 ,this    
alone could satisfy her4  ,and further1 

she was aware that into this communion  
with ,god she could only be brought     
through ,god's free grace4 ,and only by 
free grace could she retain it4 ,it is  
true she speaks of human merit1 and     
alludes to the intercession of ,mary1   
but in so doing was rather expressing   
the ruling thoughts of her age than her 
own innermost convictions4 ,for it is   
only in speaking of others that she     
admits the merit of human works2 she has
 another law for herself1 finding1 as   
she says1 no peace in the good works of 
the saints1 'and as for me1 unhappily ,i
 have no good works to find peace in4'  
,that which is the important matter with
 regard to ,matilda's faith is this--she
 grounds her peace not on imparted1 but 
on imputed righteousness4 ',it is a     
fathomless mystery1' she says1 'that    
,god can look upon a sinner as a        
converted man4'  ,but in spite of this  
evangelical tendency in her writings1 we
 cannot but receive the impression that 
in the heights of her communion with    

,god she at times loses the safe path4  
,the reason of this is1 that the        
subordinate place which she gives to all
 relations between ,god and men by      
,church ordinances is also given more or
 less to the knowledge of ,god by means 
of the written ,word4 ,it does not      
appear to be the ring in which her new  
life is set2 it would seem as though she
 endeavoured to soar above it1 in order 
to assure herself more firmly of her    
state of grace by immediate             
communications from ,god to her soul4   
,therefore she seems in some passages to
 regard the written ,word and the       
,divine ,word spoken to her as distinct1
 and on the same level4 ,thus1 as in    
mysticism generally1 the safe path is   
lost1 and the soul is cast forth upon   
the wide sea of subjective              
self-consciousness4  ,we feel the       
presentiment of this danger1 and the    
need of a safer path1 in which the      
security of ,divine teaching is ours4   
,this can only be when the written ,word

 is the seed of ,divine knowledge1 and  
the faculties of man the ground in which
 the seed takes root4  ,so far ,preger4 
,it may also be remarked1 that whilst   
,matilda evidently grounded her         
salvation and enjoyment of ,god upon the
 atoning work of ,christ1 she does not  
allude to it very frequently4 ,we must  
remember that amongst all the errors of 
mediaeval ,catholicism1 the             
blood-shedding of ,christ was still     
regarded as the means by which sin was  
expiated4 ,it was still an article of   
faith1 though disfigured1 and often kept
 out of sight by all that man had added 
to the ,scriptures4  ,matilda1          
therefore1 regarded it as an understood 
necessity in ,christian faith1 and as   
not demanding frequent assertion or     
proof4 ,had she lived in our days it    
might have been otherwise4  ,that       
,christ once suffered for sins1 the just
 for the unjust1 that ,he might bring us
 to ,god1 was a truth known and believed
 amongst the ,friends of ,god1 ,catholic

 or ,waldensian4 ,that it is the ,blood 
that maketh atonement for the soul1 that
 without shedding of ,blood there is no 
remission1 that on ,christ1 the ,lamb   
who was slain1 did the ,lord lay the    
iniquity of us all1 they knew1 and      
rejoiced to know4 ,however overlaid in  
,roman ,catholicism by the teaching of  
human merit1 and of the mediation and   
intercession of the saints1 this truth  
was preserved through ,god's great mercy
 in the corruption of the ,church4 ,it  
may be found yet as the anchor of the   
soul in the confession of faith of many 
an ignorant and unlearned ,roman        
,catholic1 who know little of the       
doctrines of their ,church1 but who do  
know from their service-books that      
,christ died for our sins4  ,the three  
have ever borne witness on earth1 the   
,spirit1 the ,water1 and the ,blood1 and
 these three agree in one--a witness    
never silenced through the darkest ages 
of the ,church4  ,it was during the last
 years of ,matilda's life that she wrote

 for the children of the world a call to
 ,christ4    ,wilt thou1 sinner1 be     
converted8     ,christ1 the ,lord of    
glory1 see   ,by ,his own denied1       
deserted1     ,bleeding1 bound1 and     
scourged for thee4   ,look again1 ,o    
soul1 behold ,him     ,on the cross     
uplifted high2   ,see the precious      
life-blood flowing1     ,see the tears  
that dim ,his eye4   ,love has pierced  
the heart that brake1   ,loveless       
sinner1 for thy sake3   ,hearken till   
thy heart is broken     ,to ,his cry so 
sad and sweet2   ,hearken to the hammer 
smiting     ,nails that pierce ,his     
hands and feet4   ,see the side whence  
flows the fountain     ,of ,his love and
 life divine1   ,riven by a hand        
unthankful--     ,lo6 that hand is      
thine4   ,see the crown of thorns       
adorning     ,god's beloved holy ,son1  
,then fall down in bitter mourning1     
,weep for that which thou hast done4    
,thank ,him that ,his heart was willing 
,so to die for love to thee2   ,thank   

,him for the joy that maketh     ,this  
world's joy but gall to be4   ,and till 
thou in heaven adore ,him     ,fight for
 ,him in knightly guise2   ,joy in shame
 and toil and sorrow1     ,glorious is  
the prize6                              
,the ,echo of the ,book4  ,matilda had a
 friend1 called ,jutta von              
,sangershausen4 ,a relation of hers1    
,anno von ,sangershausen1 was the       
,grand-,master of the ,teutonic ,order  
of ,knights4 ,other members of the      
family had offered their services to the
 order in defence of their country from 
the invasions of the heathen ,prussians4
  ,jutta's husband had died on a        
pilgrimage to ,jerusalem4 ,her children 
entered various convents4 ,jutta then   
joined herself to the ,beguines1 and was
 employed for a time in nursing the     
sick1 especially those afflicted with   
leprosy4 ,in the year #abfj she         
determined to go forth as a missionary  
amongst the ,prussians4 ,she took up her
 abode in a forest near ,culm1 where she

 lived as a hermitess1 making known the 
faith of ,christ by word and example4   
,matilda for a time resolved to go also 
as a missionary to the heathen4 ,but she
 was now growing old1 and worn-out by   
labours and persecutions4 ,it was       
evident that she no longer had the      
needful strength4 ,she was grieved to   
the heart that she could not thus make  
,christ known1 and she laid the matter  
before the ,lord4  ,he consoled her1 and
 showed her that as ,he had sent ,jutta 
to the heathen1 so had ,he also given   
her ,his message1 which should be sent  
far and wide in the book which she was  
writing4  ,and so it proved1 as her book
 was widely known and read for a        
considerable time after her death4 ,even
 now it may be that the words so lately 
brought to light in the convent of      
,einsiedeln may lead some weary souls to
 ,christ4 ,and still the reflection of  
the light which shone into the heart of 
,matilda shines forth more faintly in   
the poem known and read through so many 

ages1 and in so many lands--the great   
poem of ,dante4  ,it is now more than   
seventy years ago that a young man      
travelling in ,italy employed himself at
 ,venice in reading the ,divine         
,commedia1 for the sake of learning     
,italian4 ,he had cared till then for   
the things of this world only1 but he   
left ,venice with the first beginning of
 a love which was to shape his long     
life1 and make him the means of life to 
many4  ,it was from the poem of ,dante1 
he said1 that he had first learnt to    
know ,christ as his ,saviour4 ,he may be
 known to many as the writer of the hymn
 so often sung--    ,a pilgrim through  
this lonely world     ,the blessed      
,saviour passed2   ,a mourner all ,his  
life was ,he1     ,a dying ,lamb at     
last--  a distant echo of ,matilda's    
voice sounding in many places still4    
,what was it that ,dante learnt1 or     
believed that he learnt1 from the lady  
whose joyful singing sounded to him     
across the river of forgetfulness1 whose

 eyes shone with a light greater than   
that of earthly love8  ,she explained to
 him her joy by the words of that psalm1
 the ninety-second1 which forms a       
key-note to the poems of the ,beguine   
,matilda1 of her to whom the ,lord had  
taught the song and the music of heaven1
 whom ,he had made glad through ,his    
work1 who triumphed in the work of ,his 
hands4  ,it was in the work wrought in  
the land of the ,jews1 the great work   
that loosed the bolt with which ,adam   
had barred the heavenly door1 that      
,matilda the ,beguine rejoiced1 showing 
forth the ,lord's lovingkindness in the 
morning1 and his faithfulness every     
night--the work which the brutish man   
knoweth not1 neither doth the fool      
understand it1 for the preaching of the 
,cross is to them that perish           
foolishness1 the foolishness of ,god    
that is wiser than men4  ,in the work   
which brought her into the sweet garden 
of ,paradise1 where she was no more a   
stranger1 which had won for her the     

right to eat of the ,tree of ,life1     
which is in the midst of the ,paradise  
of ,god1 and to pluck the flowers1 which
 were hers1 because they were ,christ's4
  ,it may truly be said that if there is
 anything distinctive in the writing of 
,matilda the ,beguine1 it is that she   
wrote from her own experience of the    
gladness of the heavenly place1 revealed
 to her whilst yet in the body on the   
earth4 ,she had learnt that there is an 
earthly ,paradise1 earthly not because  
it is of the earth1 but because it is a 
foretaste and earnest of the heavenly1  
given to those who are still pilgrims   
upon the earth4  ,to reach it the river 
had to be crossed1 wherein the old      
things pass away1 and all things become 
new2 where the things that are behind   
are forgotten1 and the things that are  
before become the possession1 by faith1 
of the redeemed soul4 ,her sins were    
amongst the forgotten things1 for ,god  
remembered them no more1 and the sorrow 
of the earth was forgotten1 swallowed up

 in the tide of eternal joy1 and    ,the
 longing and love were past and gone1   
,for all that is less than ,god alone4  
,thus1 in the poem of ,dante1 does      
,matelda draw him through the water of  
the river at the moment when the        
remembrance of his sin had stung him at 
the heart1 so that he fell overpowered  
and helpless and ashamed4 ,it needed    
that the sin should be left behind      
amongst the former things that had      
passed away4  ,those who have known the 
redemption that is in ,christ ,jesus1   
the ,fountain opened for sin and for    
uncleanness1 will gladly own that this  
is the true ,christian experience of the
 saints of ,god--the land of ,canaan    
beyond the river1 reached and entered   
before the warfare and the trial of     
faith are over2 the ,father's house     
become a familiar place before the      
murmuring of the self-righteous is for  
ever silenced4  ,did ,dante know it as  
the ,beguine knew it8 ,was it in his    
case but a vague sense of a place of joy

 and beauty which the soul might find on
 this side of heaven8 ,did he know that 
the river was a river of death--the     
death which is the death of deaths1 in  
the land of the ,jews so long ago8  ,we 
cannot know4 ,it needs the simple faith 
of those who have become fools that they
 may be wise4 ,then does the garden of  
the ,lord become a blessed reality1 no  
dreamland1 but an eternal inheritance4  
,the ,beguine had seen by faith her name
 engraved on the pierced ,hands and     
,feet of ,christ4 ,should she not       
rejoice and sing8 ,should she not praise
 ,him that ,he was wounded for her      
transgressions1 that ,he was bruised for
 her iniquities1 that the chastisement  
of her peace was upon ,him1 that by ,his
 stripes she was healed8 ,and thus she  
knew that her robe was white1 for       
,christ's was white1 and brighter than  
the sun4  ,how far this was the         
experience of ,dante1 his poem does not 
tell us4 ,but he knew that there was an 
earthly ,paradise1 and it seems all but 

certain that in ,matilda's book he had  
found one who was rejoicing there with  
unspeakable joy4  ,the remarks of       
,preger in his lecture on ,dante's      
,matelda confirm the thought that this  
is the true key to his description of   
the beautiful lady1 whose appearance    
formed the great era in his spiritual   
life4 ,the song taken from the words of 
the fifty-first ,psalm1 ,wash me and ,i 
shall be whiter than snow1 the          
introduction into the knowledge of      
heavenly things1 are but an echo of the 
songs of the ,beguine4  ,but the        
heavenly things of ,dante are far more  
clouded with the evil teaching of his   
age than the heavenly experiences of    
,matilda of ,magdeburg4 ,the glory of   
the ,catholic ,church1 rather than the  
glory of ,christ1 is the light that     
lightens his heavenly ,paradise4 ,it was
 the ,lamb who was the light of         
,matilda's heaven4 ,in the bewildering  
medley of ,catholic and heathen         
mythologies in ,dante's poem1 it is only

 here and there that a gleam of the true
 light can make its way4 ,but ,matilda  
the ,beguine rose above the clouds and  
mists of man's imagination1 and she saw 
,jesus4  ,preger refers us to the       
ordinary explanation of ,matelda and    
,beatrice2 namely1 that like ,leah and  
,rachel in mediaeval theology1 they     
represent the life of action and the    
life of contemplation4  ,this theory as 
regards ,matelda was1 as ,preger        
observes1 founded on the idea that the  
,countess ,matilda of ,tuscany was the  
,matelda of ,dante4 ,that the warlike   
countess was a fair specimen of         
activity1 we cannot doubt2 but that it  
had any resemblance to ,christian       
activity1 is more than doubtful4        
,probably the identity of name was the  
only foundation of this idea4  ,it is   
true1 writes ,preger1 that ,dante saw   
these two women prefigured in a dream as
 ,leah and ,rachel1 and that ,leah said1
 referring to her sister1 ',her seeing1 
and me doing1 satisfies4' ,but that     

therefore doing and seeing are the only 
characteristics of these women is a     
conclusion to which ,dante did not      
advance1 nor need we do so4 ,they both  
looked in the mirror1 but ,leah first   
crowned herself with flowers2 and it was
 after hearing the call1 ',blessed are  
the pure in heart1 for they shall see   
,god1' that this dream presented itself 
to ,dante4  ,matelda1 who corresponds to
 ,leah in the dream1 conducts ,dante    
into the earthly ,paradise1 and the     
place accords with the guide4 ,she was  
not yet in heaven1 the working-day was  
not yet over1 but ,matelda was          
rejoicing1 not in her work1 but in the  
work of ,god4 ,she was glad that the    
flowers of ,his garden were her crown of
 beauty4  ,so wrote ,matilda the        
,beguine--    ,i pluck the flowers for  
thee2   ,they are thine1 beloved1 for   
they are ,mine1   ,and thou art one with
 ,me4  ,it was a place in which the     
flowers of the earth had never grown1   
and it needed the washing which makes   

whiter than snow to fit the soul for    
that garden of ,god upon the earth4     
,therefore the song which came to ,dante
 across the river was the ancient song  
of the soul that is washed from sin3    
,blessed are they whose iniquities are  
forgiven1 whose sins are covered4       
,virgil never crossed the river4        
,however clouded may have been the faith
 of mediaeval ,christendom1 the need of 
,christ was felt4 ,the distinction      
between a ,christian and a heathen was  
acknowledged as one which told upon the 
eternal destiny of men4 ,by means of    
,christ the ,saviour could the          
,christian man pass on1 washed and      
sanctified1 into the land beyond the    
river4 ,a land beyond1 was that         
,paradise to men of the world of sense  
and of earthly knowledge1 but without   
the knowledge of ,god1 and of ,jesus    
,christ1 whom ,he has sent4 ,and singing
 the song of the forgiven1 whilst she   
made garlands of the flowers1 ,matelda  
appeared to ,dante1 separated from him  

at first by the river of forgetfulness4 
,she drew near to him as one who dances4
 ,she spoke to him of the nature of the 
mysterious wind that moved the branches 
of the trees which grew in the land     
given as the earnest of eternal         
peace--the earnest whilst here on earth 
of heavenly things1 of the flowers that 
grew from no earthly seed1 and of the   
river that flows from no earthly source1
 and of the other river which divides   
the earthly ,paradise from the heavenly1
 as the river ,lethe divided it from all
 that was before4  ,and we see that     
,matelda is to ,dante the medium of     
supernatural revelations1 just as       
afterwards1 ,beatrice4  ,matelda1 then1 
in the earthly ,paradise appears as the 
representative of the insight into the  
heavenly joy whilst still on earth1     
,beatrice as the beholding of it when   
the earthly life is past4 ,and this     
knowledge of the heavenly things was to 
be brought back by him who had seen them
 whilst still in the body1 as the       

palm-leaves upon the staff of the       
pilgrim who had been within the boundary
 of the holy land4  ,and it was ,matelda
 who drew ,dante through the river into 
that land whilst still upon the         
earth--the land where he should hear the
 singing1 and know the sweetness1 and   
learn more in the ,paradise here of the 
,paradise hereafter4  ,it was the       
earnest of the inheritance which was    
given to him through ,matelda4  ,and    
truly this is the message and mission of
 the ,beguine1 not as ,matelda's1 to    
,dante only1 but to us also1 who can    
receive the message without the         
bewildering counter teaching of the     
corrupted ,church4 ,it is true the      
message1 more clearly given1 is in the  
,bible we have known so long2 and it was
 through the blessed teaching of that   
,bible that ,matilda the ,beguine learnt
 it4 ,but it is well for us not only to 
read the glorious promises of ,god1 but 
to meet with those to whom they have    
been fulfilled1 the sharers of the like 

precious faith with us1 who now believe 
in ,jesus4 ,now1 from the holy women of 
,hellfde have the clouds passed away    
which at times hid from them the        
brightness of the glory1 but the words  
of love spoken to their hearts by the   
mouth of their ,beloved remain to them  
as an everlasting possession4  ,and are 
not the same words still spoken day by  
day to those who have ears to hear8 ,and
 in the midst of this sorrowful world1  
is there not still a blessed company who
 have entered the same ,paradise1 and   
learnt the same songs1 taught by the    
lips of ,christ8  ,it will not render us
 less fit for the common earthly life1  
that we have been there1 in the garden  
where the ,lord ,god walks1 and ,his own
 are not afraid4 ,in truth1 it is only  
those who have been there who have the  
healing leaves for the sick and the     
suffering ones around them4 ,it is only 
those who see the ,son1 and believe on  
,him1 who are thus brought back to the  
garden of the ,lord1 to feed upon the   

fruit of the tree of life4 ,and these   
are they who are again sent forth as    
,his messengers into the world of man's 
exile4  ,as ,my ,father hath sent ,me   
into the world1 even so have ,i also    
sent them into the world4  ,thus the    
,lord spake of all who believe on ,his  
,name4 ,the message sent long ago by    
,matilda the ,beguine has been heard    
again after the silence of ages1 and it 
is once more a call to the sinful1 the  
sorrowful1 and the fearful1 who have    
been living in ignorance of the         
marvellous love which is unchanged1 and 
which answers to the great need of our  
age1 as to that of the thirteenth       
century4 ,may ,god the ,holy ,ghost open
 the hearts of many to hear and to      
rejoice4                                
,matilda's ,last ,years4  ,matilda was  
fifty-three years old when1 in the year 
#abfe1 she took refuge in the convent of
 ,hellfde4  ,gertrude von ,hackeborn was
 not one who would refuse admission to a
 persecuted ,friend of ,god4 ,gertrude  

had now been abbess fourteen years1 and 
was in the prime of her life and        
activity4 ,mechthild von ,hackeborn1 the
 maiden so marvellously lovable1 as they
 said in the convent1 was then          
twenty-five4 ,the little ,gertrude1 who 
was to be the brightest star amongst the
 sisters of ,hellfde1 was only nine4    
,but during the twelve remaining years  
of the life of ,matilda of ,magdeburg   
there was time enough for some good seed
 to be sown in the heart of ,gertrude1  
which should one day spring up and bear 
much fruit4  ,soon after ,matilda's     
entrance into the convent she had a     
severe and painful illness4 ,but she was
 tended with loving care1 and found     
amongst her sisters of ,hellfde a happy 
and peaceful home4 ,she in her turn was 
regarded by them as an honoured teacher1
 and her influence made itself quickly  
felt4  ,it was at ,hellfde that she     
wrote the two remaining books1 rich1    
says ,preger1 in light and instruction4 
,when she had finished the sixth book   

she thought that her task was done4 ,she
 therefore concluded it with a word of  
farewell--,this book was begun in love1 
it shall also end in love2 for there is 
nought so wise1 nor so holy1 nor so     
beautiful1 nor so strong1 nor so perfect
 as love4  ,but afterwards ,matilda felt
 herself led to write more of that which
 ,god had shown her1 although she had   
prayed that she might now lay down her  
pen and cease from her labours4#aj  ,in 
the last years of her life she was      
obliged to write by dictation1 her eyes 
and hands having failed her4 ,the       
following extracts from the last two    
books will show an advance in the       
knowledge of ,him she loved1 and for    
whom she laboured to the last4          
,the ,labour of the ,lord4  ,the ,lord  
showed me in a parable that which ,he   
has ever done1 and will ever do1 to     
fulfil to me the meaning thereof4  ,i   
saw a poor man rise up from the ground  
where he was sitting4 ,he was dressed   
like a workman1 in common linen         

clothing1 and he had a crowbar in his   
hand1 which he thrust under a heavy     
burden that was as large as the earth4  
,i said to him1 ,good man1 what is it   
you are lifting8  ,i am going to lift   
and carry your sorrows1 said he4 ,try it
 thyself1 he said2 with all thy might1  
lift and carry4  ,then did ,i answer    
,him1 for ,i knew ,him1 ,lord1 ,i am so 
poor1 ,i have no strength4  ,and ,he    
answered me1 ,so did ,i teach ,my       
disciples4 ,i said1 ',blessed are the   
poor in spirit4'  ,and my soul spake to 
,him1 and ,i said1 ,o ,lord1 it is      
,thyself4 ,turn ,thou ,thy face to me   
that ,i may know ,thee4  ,and ,he       
answered1 ,learn to know ,me inwardly4  
,i said1 ,o ,lord1 if ,i saw ,thee      
amongst thousands1 ,i could not but know
 ,thee4  ,and then ,i said further1     
,this burden is too heavy for me4  ,and 
,he answered me1 ,i will lay it so close
 to ,myself1 that thou mayest easily    
bear it4 ,follow ,me1 and see how ,i    
stood before ,my ,father on the ,cross1 

sustaining all4  ,then did ,i ask ,him  
to bless me2 and ,he said1 ,i always    
bless thee4 ,thy sorrow shall turn to a 
good blessing for thee4  ,and ,i said no
 more but this1 ,o ,lord1 come ,thou    
thus to the help of all who love to     
suffer for ,thee4                       
,the ,prayer of the ,longing ,heart4    
,there was one who for a long while1    
amidst the mercies of ,god1 and also    
many sorrows1 longed continually that   
,god would release the soul and take her
 to ,himself4 ,and the ,lord said to    
her1 ,wait4 ,then did the suffering one 
answer1 ,lord1 ,i cannot cease from     
longing4 ,oh1 how gladly would ,i be    
with ,thee6 ,then said the ,lord--      
,before the worlds1 ,o soul1 ,i longed  
for thee2   ,and still ,i long1 and thou
 dost long for ,me2   ,and when two     
longings meet1 for ever stilled1   ,the 
cup of love is filled4                  
,prayers4  ,give me1 ,o ,lord1 and take 
from me all that ,thou willest1 and     
leave me but the desire to pass away to 

,thee in ,thy love1 and to ,thy love4 ,o
 well is me1 and ,i thank ,thee1 ,king  
of ,heaven and ,son of ,god1 that whilst
 ,i was in the world ,thou didst choose 
me1 and call me out of the world4 ,for  
this will ,i thank ,thee eternally4 ,thy
 holy sorrow1 all that ,thou hast       
suffered for me1 is mine4 ,therefore all
 that ,i suffer ,i offer up to ,thee1   
though how little is my suffering like  
to ,thine6 ,keep me always in ,thy love1
 that for ever ,i may praise ,thee1     
,jesus1 my most beloved2 and ,i pray    
,thee to loosen the cords1 and let me be
 for ever with ,thee4  ,o ,thou beloved 
,lord ,jesus ,christ1 ,thou ,eternal    
,god1 one with the ,eternal ,father1    
think upon me4 ,i thank ,thee1 ,lord1   
for the grace of ,thine ,atonement1     
wherewith ,thou hast touched the depths 
of my heart1 and pierced me through with
 the power of ,thy love4 ,but when ,thou
 dost touch my heart with ,thine awful1 
,thy holy tenderness1 which flows       
through soul and body1 ,i fear lest ,i1 

who am so unworthy of ,thee1 should be  
overwhelmed with the blessedness of ,thy
 love4  ,therefore ,i turn at times to  
pray for others more than for myself1   
and withdraw myself1 as it were1 from   
the fulness of the joy1 through love to 
,thee and ,christian faithfulness4 ,for 
,i fear the rising up within my heart of
 the pride which cast down the most     
glorious of the angels of heaven1 and   
the voice of the serpent who deceived   
,eve with the promise of vainglory4  ,i 
pray1 ,o my ,god1 that in continual love
 ,i may receive and enjoy the gifts     
,thou givest4 ,i ask for the fulness of 
,thy love1 that shame and pain and      
bitterness may be sweet to me1 and that 
,i may desire ,thy will and not mine1   
and that the fire of my love may burn in
 me to all eternity4      ,of the ,good 
,works of ,men1 how ,they ,shine by the 
,work of the ,lord4  ,how it is that the
 works of godly men shall shine and glow
 in the glory of heaven1 understand from
 these words4  ,wherein we were innocent

 of aught1 in this our innocence1 the   
pure holiness of ,god shines and glows4 
,in so far that we laboured in good     
works1 the holy working of ,god shines  
forth4  ,in so far as we clave to ,god  
with trustful hearts1 the tenderness and
 faithfulness of ,god shines brightly4  
,in so far as we receive our sorrows    
thankfully1 do the sufferings of ,christ
 shine forth4  ,in so far as we wrought 
diligently in holy graces1 does the holy
 grace of ,god shine and glow in        
manifold brightness to all eternity4    
,and as here we loved1 and as here we   
shed forth the light of a holy life1 in 
this does the love of ,god burn and     
shine1 more and more unto the perfect   
eternal day4  ,for all that shone forth 
from us was the light of the eternal    
,godhead4 ,the good works we did were   
given to us through the holy ,manhood of
 the ,son of ,god1 and we wrought them  
by the power of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,thus 
all our works1 our love1 our sufferings1
 flow back thither whence they came1    

from the ,three in ,one1 to ,his eternal
 praise4                  ,the ,soul    
that ,loveth ,speaketh to her ,lord4    
,if the world were mine and all its     
store1     ,and were it of crystal gold2
   ,could ,i reign on its throne for    
evermore1     ,from the ancient days of 
old1   ,an empress noble and fair as    
day1     ,o gladly might it be1   ,that 
,i might cast it all away1     ,christ1 
only ,christ for me4   ,for ,christ my  
,lord my spirit longs1     ,for ,christ1
 my ,saviour dear2   ,the joy and       
sweetness of my songs1     ,the whilst  
,i wander here4   ,o ,lord1 my spirit   
fain would flee     ,from the lonely    
wilderness to ,thee4                    
,seven ,things known to the ,longing of 
,love4    ,i bring unto ,thy grace a    
sevenfold praise1     ,thy wondrous love
 ,i bless--   ,i praise1 remembering my 
sinful days1     ,my worthlessness4   ,i
 praise that ,i am waiting1 ,lord1 for  
,thee1     ,when1 all my wanderings     
past1   ,thyself wilt bear me1 and wilt 

welcome me     ,to home at last4   ,i   
praise ,thee that for ,thee ,i long and 
pine1     ,for ,thee ,i ever yearn2   ,i
 praise ,thee that such fitful love as  
mine     ,thou dost not spurn2   ,i     
praise ,thee for the hour when first ,i 
saw     ,the glory of ,thy ,face1       
,here dimly1 but in fulness evermore1   
,in that high place2   ,i praise ,thee  
for a mystery unnamed1     ,unuttered   
here below1   ,unspeakable in words the 
lips have framed1     ,yet passing sweet
 to know4   ,it is the still1 the       
everlasting tide1     ,the stream of    
,love ,divine1   ,that from the heart of
 ,god for evermore     ,flows into mine4
   ,to that deep joy that bindeth heart 
to heart     ,in one eternal love1   ,a 
still small stream that flows unseen    
below1     ,an endless sea above1   ,to 
that high love1 that fathomless delight1
     ,no thought of man may reach2      
,and yet behind it is a sevenfold bliss1
   ,most holy of ,god's holy mysteries1 
,untold in speech4   ,faith only hath   

beheld that secret place1     ,faith    
only knows how great1 how high1 how fair
   ,the ,temple where the ,lord unveils 
,his ,face     ,to ,his beloved there4  
,o how unfading is the pure delight1    
,how full the joy of that exhaustless   
tide   ,which flows for ever in its     
glorious might1     ,so still1 so wide2 
,and deep we drink with sweet1 eternal  
thirst1   ,with lips for ever eager as  
at first1     ,yet ever satisfied4      
,of a ,sin that is ,worse than all      
,other ,sins4  ,i have heard men speak  
of a sin1 and ,i thank ,god that ,i have
 not known it1 for it seems to me1 and  
it is1 more sinful than all other sins1 
for it is the height of unbelief4 ,i    
grieve over it with body and soul1 and  
with all my five senses1 from the depth 
of my heart1 and ,i thank the living    
,son of ,god that into my heart it never
 came4  ,this sin did not have its      
source in ,christian people1 but the    
vile enemy of ,god has by means of it   
deceived the simple4 ,for1 led by him1  

they would fain be so holy as to enter  
into the depths of the eternal ,godhead1
 and to sound the secret abyss of the   
eternal sacred ,manhood of the ,lord4   
,if thus they became blinded with pride1
 they bring themselves under the eternal
 curse4 ,they would attain to a holiness
 which is reached by mocking at the     
written ,word of ,god1 which speaks to  
us of the ,manhood of our ,lord4  ,thou 
poorest of the poor6 didst thou indeed  
know and confess truly the eternal ,god1
 then wouldst thou also confess of      
necessity the eternal ,manhood that     
dwelleth in the ,godhead1 and thou      
wouldst of necessity confess the ,holy  
,ghost1 who enlightens the heart of the 
,christian1 who is the source of all his
 blessedness and joy1 and who teaches   
the mind of man far better than all     
other teachers1 and leads us to confess 
in humility that which ,he has taught us
 to know of the perfection of ,god4     
,how ,love was seen with her            
,handmaidens--,a ,parable4  ,in the     

night ,i spoke thus to our ,lord1 ,lord1
 ,i live in a land that is called       
,misery2 it is this evil world1 for all 
that is in it cannot comfort me1 nor    
give me joy unmixed with sorrow4 ,in    
this land ,i have a house1 which is     
called ,painful4 ,it is the house in    
which my soul lives1 namely1 my body4   
,this house is old1 and small1 and dark4
 ,in this house ,i have a bed1 which is 
called ,unrest1 for all things are a    
grief to me which have not to do with   
,god4 ,near this bed ,i have a chair1   
called ,discomfort1 wherein ,i hear of  
sins committed by others in which ,i had
 no part4 ,before this chair ,i have a  
table1 that is called ,distress1 for ,i 
am grieved to find so few spiritual     
people4 ,on this table lies a clean     
tablecloth1 which is called ,poverty1   
that has much good in it1 and if it were
 rightly used it would be dear to those 
who use it4 ,on this table my food is   
placed for me2 it is called the         
,bitterness of sin1 and ,willing        

suffering4 ,the drink is called ',scanty
 ,praise1' because1 alas6 ,i have far   
too few good works to be remembered4    
,all this ,i saw as it were dimly in my 
soul4 ,and then was the true ,love of   
,god revealed to me4 ,she stood before  
me as a noble and royal maiden1 of      
stately presence1 fair1 and with the    
roses of her youth1 and around her stood
 many maidens1 who were the graces of   
the ,spirit1 and they were come to be my
 handmaidens if ,i desired to have them 
as mine1 for they were willing to serve 
me4 ,they wore crowns brighter than     
shining gold1 and their clothing was of 
green sendal4  ,and as ,i beheld her my 
dark house was lighted up1 so that ,i   
could see all that was therein1 and all 
that happened there4 ,and ,i knew the   
damsel well1 for she had often been my  
dear companion1 and her face was        
familiar to me4 ,but as ,i have written 
of her oftentimes in this book1 ,i will 
not speak of her further4  ,then said ,i
 to her1 ,o beloved damsel1 that art a  

thousandfold higher than ,i am1 yet thou
 dost serve me with honour and          
reverence1 as if ,i were greater than an
 empress4  ,and she said1 ,when ,i saw  
that it was thy desire to renounce      
earthly things ,i desired to be thy     
constant handmaiden1 for ,i was seeking 
those who from the love of ,god turned  
away from the things on earth4  ,and ,i 
said1 ,beloved damsel1 so long hast thou
 served me1 ,i would gladly give thee   
for thy service all that ,i have or     
might have on the earth4  ,she answered1
 ,i have gathered up thy gift1 and will 
restore it to thee at last with glory   
and honour4  ,then said ,i1 ,lady1 ,i   
know not what more to give but myself4  
,and that1 she said1 ,i have long       
desired1 and now at last thou hast given
 me my desire4444  ,the parable proceeds
 to relate the service of each          
handmaiden bestowed by ,love upon the   
soul1 first ,true ,repentance--then the 
maiden called                           
,humility--,gentleness--,obedience1     

,tenderness 7who was to give her help in
 tending the sick1 and in making coarse 
food and hard labour sweet to her who   
served74 ,then came the beloved damsel  
,purity1 then ,patience1 ,holiness1     
,hope1 and the glorious and holy maiden 
called ,faith4 ,then ,watchfulness1     
,moderation1 ,contentment1 the dear     
maiden who made the hard bed soft1 and  
the coarse food pleasant4 ,then the     
mistress of the maidens1 ,wisdom1 and a 
maiden unwillingly praised1 called      
,bashfulness4 ,and lastly came ,fear and
 ,constancy4  ,and these all being ready
 to serve1 the soul gave thanks1 ,o thou
 dear ,love of ,god1 ,i thank ,thee that
 ,thou hast brought to me so many       
helpers on my way to heaven4 ,and the   
soul saw how all the saints and angels  
bowed down in the wonderful glory of    
,god1 because all they were1 and all    
they did1 was a gift of grace from ,god 
to them4 ,the saints kneel down and bow 
themselves before ,god in blessed love1 
and in joyful longing4 ,they thank ,god 

that ,his grace was ready and waiting to
 bring them through this earthly need1  
and to bear their sorrows4              
,four ,things that ,belong to ,faith4   
,that we believe in ,christ as ,god1    
loving ,god from the heart1 truly       
confessing ,jesus ,christ1 and          
faithfully following ,his teaching even 
unto death4 ,i think that in these four 
things we find eternal life4  ,but our  
faith must be a ,christian faith1 not   
the faith of ,jews1 or of unbelieving   
,christians1 who also profess to believe
 in one ,god1 but who believe not in the
 holy works which ,he has wrought4 ,his 
work they despise1 as we grieve to know4
 ,but for us1 our belief is that ,god   
sent ,his only-begotten ,son into the   
world1 and that it was ,his ,will to do 
so4 ,we believe in the work and death of
 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 whereby ,he  
has redeemed our souls4 ,we believe in  
the ,holy ,ghost1 who has perfected our 
blessedness in the ,father and in the   
,son1 and who brings forth in us all the

 works that are pleasing to ,god4       
,from a ,friend to a ,friend4  ,great   
and overflowing is the love of ,god1    
that never standeth still1 but floweth  
on for ever and without ceasing1 with no
 labour or effort1 but freely and fully1
 so that our little vessel is full and  
over-full4 ,if we do not stop the       
channel by our self-will it will never  
slacken in its flowing1 but the gift of 
,god will ever make our cup to run over4
  ,lord1 ,thou art full of grace1 and   
therewith ,thou fillest us4 ,but ,thou  
art great1 and we are small1 how then   
can we receive that which ,thou givest8 
,lord1 whilst ,thou givest to us1 it is 
for us to give to others4 ,truly our    
vessel that ,thou hast filled is a small
 one1 but a small one can be emptied and
 filled anew1 till it has filled a large
 one4  ,the great vessel is full        
sufficiency of grace1 but we1 alas6 are 
so small1 that one little word from     
,god1 one little verse of the ,holy     
,scriptures1 so fills us1 that we can   

contain no more4 ,let us then empty     
forth the little vessel into the great  
vessel1 that is1 ,god4 ,how are we to do
 this8 ,we should pour forth that which 
we have received in holy longing and    
desire for the salvation of sinners4    
,then will the little vessel be filled  
again4 ,let us empty it forth anew on   
the imperfections of the people of ,god1
 that they may fight more valiantly1 and
 may become perfected in grace4 ,let us 
pour it forth in holy pity for the need 
of the ,christian ,church1 that is sunk 
so deeply in sin4  ,god has first loved 
us1 first laboured for us1 first        
suffered for us1 let us therefore be    
followers of ,him1 and restore to ,him  
in the way that ,i have described that  
which ,he gave4 ,our ,lord suffered for 
us unto death1 but a very small         
suffering of ours seems great to us4    
,but the thoughts of ,god and those of  
the loving soul meet together1 as the   
air and the sunlight are mingled by the 
mighty power of ,god in sweet union1 so 

that the sun overcomes the frost and the
 darkness1 one knows not how4 ,it comes 
all and alone from the sun4 ,so comes   
our blessedness from the joy of ,god4   
,god grant us1 and preserve to us1 this 
blessedness6 ,amen4                     
,something of ,paradise4  ,it was shown 
to me1 and in my mind ,i saw1 what      
manner of place is ,paradise4 ,of its   
breadth and length ,i could see no end4 
,first came ,i to a place that was      
between this world and the beginning of 
,paradise4  ,there saw ,i trees with    
much shade and fair green grass1 but    
weeds were there none4 ,some trees bore 
fruit1 but most of them only beautiful  
and sweet smelling leaves4 ,swift       
streams of water divided the ground1 and
 warm south winds moved onward towards  
the north4 ,in the waters were mingled  
earthly sweetness and heavenly delight4 
,the air was sweet and soft beyond all  
words4 ,yet were no birds or beasts in  
that place2 for ,god had prepared it for
 men only1 that they might be there in  

stillness and in peace4444 ,i saw a     
twofold ,paradise4 ,it is of the earthly
 one that ,i have spoken4 ,the heavenly 
,paradise is in the heights above1 and  
shields the earthly from all harm4 ,but 
of the heavenly ,paradise ,matilda only 
says that it is for a time1 and that it 
is the place wherein the souls who have 
had no purgatory await the ,kingdom of  
the ,lord1 they move in sweet delight1  
as the air moves in the sunshine1 and   
will one day have their crowns of glory1
 and will reign with ,christ4           
,the ,end of the ,journey4  ,it was     
evident to ,matilda that her end was    
near4 ,her age was what would be called 
old age in the ,middle ,ages1 when life 
was so much shorter than in our time4 ,i
 asked the ,lord1 she said1 how ,i      
should conduct myself in these last days
 of my life4 ,he answered me1 ',thou    
shouldst do in thy last days as in thy  
first days4 ,love and longing1          
repentance and fear1 these four things  
were the beginning of thy course1 and   

must therefore be the end also4'  ,then 
said ,i1 ',beloved ,lord1 where1 then1  
are the two things that are the         
foundation and crown of heavenly        
blessedness1 where are faith and full   
assurance8'  ,then said our ,lord1 ',thy
 faith becometh knowledge1 and thy      
longing is turned into full assurance4' 
,this ,i understood from the speaking of
 the ,lord to me1 and ,i know it also in
 my heart4  ,i am a wonder to myself1   
and am indeed a wonder4 ,for when ,i    
think of death1 my soul rejoices so     
mightily in the thought of going forth  
from earthly life1 that my body is      
lulled1 as it were1 in an inexpressible 
supernatural quietness1 soft and sweet1 
and my mind is awakened to see the      
unspeakable wonders that attend the     
going forth of the soul4 ,meanwhile ,i  
would desire most to die at the time    
which ,god has before appointed4 ,yet at
 the same time ,i would willingly live  
till the last great day4 ,and my heart  
longs oftentimes to live in the days of 

the martyrs1 that ,i might shed my      
sinful blood in true ,christian faith   
for ,jesus my ,beloved4  ,that ,i dare  
to say ,i love ,god1 is a gift of ,his  
pure grace4 ,for it is when my sins and 
sufferings are before my eyes that my   
soul begins to burn in the fire of the  
true love of ,god1 and the sweetness is 
so surpassing1 that even my body shares 
in the ,divine blessedness4 ,i write    
this as it were by compulsion1 for ,i   
would rather hold my peace1 because ,i  
live in fear and dread of secret        
tendency to vainglory4 ,yet ,i am more  
afraid1 when ,god has been so gracious  
to me1 that ,i1 poor and empty as ,i am1
 have kept silence too often and too    
long4  ,from my childhood onwards ,i was
 troubled with fear1 dread1 and constant
 sorrow of heart in thinking of my end4 
,now in my last days ,god has given me  
peace4 ,and ,i have said to ,him1       
',lord1 it likes me well to think of the
 light and blessedness of thy heavenly  
glory1 of which ,i am so unworthy1 but  

,i still have a great fear as to how my 
soul shall pass from my body4' ,and the 
,lord answered1 ',it shall be thus--,i  
draw ,my breath1 and the soul will      
follow on to ,me1 as the needle to the  
magnet stone4'   ,and again she prayed  
that at that last moment the ,lord would
 come to her1 as the dearest ,friend1 as
 the ,confessor1 as the ,father4    ,o  
,lord1 ,i pray1 when dawneth the last   
day     ,these weary eyes shall see1    
,come as a father to his darling child1 
,and take me home to ,thee4  ,in these  
prayers and longings we find no thought 
of purgatory4 ,yet as an article of her 
creed ,matilda believed in it4 ,nor did 
any thought of superior holiness make   
her overlook it in her own case4 ,but   
the true spiritual instinct of the new  
nature was stronger than the force of   
education and of the authority of the   
,church4 ,how true is it that in        
spiritual matters the head is no match  
for the heart4  ,so in the case of      
saint-worship--,matilda had never       

renounced it1 yet we see her heart turn 
instinctively to ,god1 as the needle to 
the pole4  ,the waiting time was one of 
suffering1 but cheered by the love and  
tenderness of the sisters1 who delighted
 to wait upon her4  ,thus does a beggar 
woman speak in her prayers to           
,god--,lord1 ,i thank ,thee that since  
in ,thy love ,thou hast taken from me   
all earthly riches1 ,thou now feedest   
and clothest me by the means of others2 
for everything which ,i can now call my 
own1 and all that gives joy to my heart1
 must now come to me from strangers4    
,lord1 ,i thank ,thee that since ,thou  
hast taken away the power of sight from 
mine eyes1 ,thou hast appointed other   
eyes to serve me4 ,lord1 ,i thank ,thee 
that since ,thou hast taken the strength
 from my hands1 ,thou servest me with   
other hands4 ,lord1 ,i thank ,thee that 
since ,thou hast taken away the strength
 of my heart1 ,thou servest me now by   
the hearts of strangers4 ,lord1 ,i pray 
,thee reward them here on earth with    

,thy divine love1 and grant to them to  
serve ,thee faithfully till they reach a
 blessed end4                           
,the ,last ,poem4  ,thus speaks the     
suffering body to the patient soul4     
,with the wings of longing when wilt    
thou fly   ,to the hills of the glorious
 land on high1       ,to ,christ thine  
eternal love8   ,thank ,him for me1     
though vile ,i be1   ,that ,his grace   
for me hath a share2   ,that ,he took   
our sorrows and felt our need1          
,that we are ,his love and care4   ,ask 
,him1 that safe in his tender ,hand     
,in sweet rest ,i may lie1   ,when we   
part at the bounds of the pilgrim land1 
,thou1 soul and ,i4  ,then doth the     
,soul make answer4    ,i thank thee that
 thou on the pilgrim road     ,hast been
 my comrade true2   ,often wert thou a  
weary load1     ,yet didst thou bear me 
through4   ,when the ,day shall come    
that is to dawn   ,shall all thy sorrows
 be past and gone2   ,therefore let us  
give thanks and praise1   ,for ,his love

 who guarded us all our days1   ,and for
 hope of the joy that is to be1   ,for  
thee and me4  ,how did ,matilda die8 ,we
 know no more4 ,her death is mentioned  
in the ,mechthild ,book1 ,matilda von   
,hackeborn being one of those present at
 her death4 ,but1 alas6 as it often     
happens in the search for mediaeval     
facts1 we are met instead by a relation 
of visions and dreams4 ,matilda von     
,hackeborn tells us no more than how she
 beheld in a vision the departure of the
 soul of her namesake4#aa  ,the         
difficulty is to realise that in these  
imaginary histories we are reading the  
writings of some who1 like ,matilda of  
,hackeborn1 had1 in spite of their      
visions1 real intercourse with ,god4    
,that ,matilda of ,magdeburg had this   
true intercourse1 based upon the written
 ,word of ,god1 that she was one of     
those of whom the ,lord ,jesus said1 ,i 
will love him1 and will manifest ,myself
 to him1 there can be no doubt in any   
,christian mind4 ,it was the time of the

 conflict of light with darkness1 of the
 prejudices of early education with the 
experiences of communion with the living
 ,god4 ,the heart received much that    
contradicted the nominal belief1 and    
this inconsistency was not remarked by  
the recipient of the truth1 because the 
mind was not called upon to act in the  
matter4 ,it was left in inert subjection
 to the teaching of the ,church4  ,when 
nearly three hundred years later the    
mind asserted its rights1 and the       
,reformers gave at length ,scriptural   
proofs of that which the ,friends of    
,god had experienced1 all might have    
been well4 ,but1 alas6 the weight was   
shifted to the other side1 and that     
which had been a matter of the heart    
became after a while a matter of the    
reason1 to be discussed and assented to 
by those who had no heart in the        
question4 ,we have to suffer for this in
 our days4 ,let us learn not to be      
contented with proofs in black and      
white1 valuable as they are4 ,we need   

that communion of heart with ,god by the
 power of the ,holy ,ghost1 which needs 
no proof1 and which is the only remedy  
for our lukewarmness1 our worldliness1  
and our joylessness4                    
,the ,nun ,gertrude4  ,it is of interest
 to trace in the convent of ,hellfde the
 results of the work and the teaching of
 the ,abbess ,gertrude and of the       
,beguine ,matilda4 ,it was not in vain  
that the abbess had given to the        
,scriptures such a place of honour1 and 
had so diligently studied them1 and     
insisted upon their study4 ,nor was it  
in vain that ,matilda of ,magdeburg had 
spoken and written of the free grace of 
,god1 and of the love of ,christ that   
passeth knowledge4  ,this teaching was  
the beginning of a stream of life and   
light1 which became deeper and wider as 
it flowed along4 ,and we find in the    
next book written in the convent a      
clearer and fuller confession of the    
truth4 ,this book1 written in part by   
the ,nun ,gertrude1 in part by an       

unnamed sister1 consists of five        
separate books1 together called         
,insinuationes divinae pietatis4 ,of    
four of these books little can be said1 
except that they consist chiefly of the 
visions and revelations of the          
authoress1 and accounts of visions seen 
by the ,nun ,gertrude4 ,it is in the    
second of the five books1 the only one  
written by ,gertrude herself1 that we   
find that which repays the trouble of   
sifting the true from the false1 and the
 gems of marvellous lustre from the     
dust-heaps in which they lie buried4  ,a
 translation of some of the most        
remarkable passages in this second book 
has already been given1 as mentioned    
above1 in the book1 ,trees ,planted by  
the ,river4 ,but a few more short       
extracts will perhaps add to the proof  
of ,gertrude's clear and simple trust in
 ,christ1 as revealed in the ,gospel4   
,when ,i consider1 she writes1 the      
character of my life from the beginning 
and onwards ,i have to confess in truth 

it is a history of nothing but grace1   
grace without the smallest deserving on 
the part of one so unworthy as ,i am4   
,for ,thou didst of ,thy free grace     
bestow upon me clearer light in the     
knowledge of ,thyself1 and ,thou didst  
lead me on by the alluring sweetness of 
,thy love and kindness4 ,i was more     
attracted by ,thy love1 than ,i could   
have been driven by the punishment      
which1 on the part of ,thy holy justice1
 was due to me4  ,the great power and   
sound strength of ,gertrude's mind1     
writes ,preger1 could not allow her to  
satisfy herself with the visions in     
which she had a share4 ,she sought a    
firmer foothold for her new life1 a     
source which should lastingly and       
invariably satisfy her inmost being4    
,and with the whole energy of the mind1 
which had formerly been absorbed in     
secular learning1 she gave herself to   
the study of the ,holy ,scriptures1 and 
of such commentaries as she could find  
to explain them1 amongst others those of

 ,augustine and ,bernard4  ,how deeply  
she felt the value of the treasures laid
 up for her in the ,scriptures1 we learn
 from the joyful inspiration which      
filled her soul when reading them4 ',she
 could not1' writes the unnamed nun1    
'drink in enough each day of the        
wonderful sweetness she found in        
meditating on the ,word of ,god1 and in 
searching for the hidden light which she
 found in it4 ,it was sweeter to her    
than honey1 and more lovely than the    
sound of the organ1 and consequently it 
seemed as though her heart was filled   
with an almost unceasing joy4'  ',she   
copied out from the ,scriptures and from
 commentators whole books of extracts1  
which she wrote for the convent sisters2
 and was often employed from early in   
the morning till late at night in       
endeavouring to write explanations of   
difficult passages1 so as to render them
 more intelligible to her sisters4 ,for 
it was a part of her nature to lead on  
others in the same path1 and to work for

 those around her1 so as to exercise a  
wholesome influence1 forming them and   
helping them4  ',she also provided other
 convents which had few books with      
extracts from the ,bible4 ,thus the     
,scriptures were the ,alpha and ,omega  
of her thoughts4 ,all her reflections1  
warnings1 and consolations had a ,bible 
passage as their source4 ,it was        
astonishing1 her friend said1 how       
invariably the right word from the      
,scriptures was ready to hand in each   
case2 and whether she reproved or       
counselled1 she made use of the witness 
of ,holy ,scripture as that which no one
 might dare to gainsay4  ',this         
universal tendency of her mind to draw  
others into the enjoyment of that which 
she possessed1 and to work for this end1
 explains how instantly and willingly   
she would tear herself away from silent 
contemplation1 to use any occasion that 
presented itself for active work for    
others4 ,to return to contemplation     
again was then easy for her4'  ,we      

perceive from this remark the breadth1  
and at the same time the strength1 of   
her mind1 as well as the harmony of her 
inner and outer life4 ,this is not      
contradicted by the fact that her friend
 mentions as her chief fault a certain  
impatience and vehemence1 for which she 
often blamed herself4 ,it arose from her
 strong impulse to work for others4     
,preger further remarks3 ,it was in the 
ninth year after her conversion1 #abhi  
and #abij1 that she wrote that          
remarkable book which forms the second  
of the five books of the ,insinuationes4
 ,it consists of confessions in forcible
 language1 from the heights of the      
strongest feeling and the clearest      
perception4 ,at the same time1 the great
 gifts with which she was endowed shine 
the more brightly from their            
accompaniment of the most touching      
humility4 ,this book1 together with her 
',practices of ,piety1' a book of       
prayers1 belong to the most beautiful   
products of mystical literature4  ,in   

her case1 a progress from legal bondage 
to ever-increasing liberty of spirit is 
clearly marked4 ,when once her new      
spiritual life had had its beginning in 
evangelical faith1 it followed from the 
strength and wholesome soundness of her 
mind1 that the unfolding of this        
spiritual freedom should proceed in     
spite of the opposition of religious    
tradition1 and should prove victorious4 
,it is of the greatest interest to trace
 this progress as far as we have the    
means of doing so4  ,this onward path   
from asceticism1 self-chastisement1 and 
bitter sorrow over the fallen ,church1  
to calm and happy communion with        
,christ1 was remarked by others1 and the
 passage from bondage to liberty was a  
cause of joyful thanksgiving to herself4
  ,at all times1 writes her anonymous   
friend1 she rejoiced in such assured    
confidence1 that neither calamity1 nor  
loss1 nor any other hindrance1 nay1 not 
even her sins or shortcomings1 could    
overcloud it2 for she had always the    

full and firm assurance of the rich     
grace and mercy of ,god4 ,if she felt   
herself stained by daily sins1 it was   
her custom to take refuge at the feet of
 ,christ1 to be washed in ,his ,blood   
from all spot and stain4  ,it will be   
remarked that ,gertrude had not yet     
fully apprehended the great truth that  
the worshipper once purged has no more  
conscience of sin1 that by one offering 
,christ hath perfected for ever them    
that are sanctified1 and that for this  
reason there is no repetition of        
sacrifice4 ,for without shedding of     
,blood is no remission1 and the ,blood  
of expiation once shed1 can be shed no  
more for ever4  ,but it may be that     
,gertrude1 like many now1 confused the  
recalling of that blood-shedding which  
put away sin1 a recalling which gives   
comfort when we feel that we have sinned
 afresh1 with the actual cleansing1 once
 and for ever1 in the precious ,blood of
 ,christ--the actual cleansing never to 
be repeated1 but the comfort and peace  

founded upon it a constant experience1  
which the heart may rejoice in on every 
fresh occasion of the confession of sin4
  ,when she felt1 continues her friend1 
the marvellous power of the grace of    
,god1 she did not betake herself to     
penances1 but1 committing herself freely
 to the drawing of that grace1 she      
yielded herself as an instrument for    
loving service1 free to receive all that
 ,god gave1 and to be used by ,him for  
,his work4  ,it is further remarked that
 she looked upon ,god's gift of grace in
 ,his ,son as so immeasurable and       
marvellous1 that all human endeavour and
 doings vanished to a point when        
compared with it1 and were not worth    
mentioning4  ,and with regard to her own
 assurance of faith1 she saw that also  
was a gift of ,god's free grace bestowed
 on her in spite of her undeservings4   
,it would seem as if this strong faith  
and sense of ,god's unutterable love1   
had led her entirely beyond the land of 
bondage in which her fellow-,christians 

were living4 ,she was as a child at     
liberty in the ,father's home4  ,on one 
occasion when taking a walk1 she fell   
down a steep place1 and getting up      
unhurt1 she said1 ,o my beloved ,jesus1 
how well it had been for me had that    
fall brought me quickly home to ,thee6  
,and when the sisters who were with her 
said in wonderment1 ,would you not be   
afraid to die without the sacrament8 she
 answered1 ,i would desire the sacrament
 if ,i were dying1 but far1 far more do 
,i desire the will of my ,god and ,his  
appointment for me4 ,that is the best   
preparation for death2 for however ,i   
die1 my hope is in the mercy that will  
never fail me4 ,without that ,i should  
be lost1 whether ,i died suddenly1 or   
with a sure knowledge beforehand that   
the time was come4  ,for she no longer  
regarded herself as apart from ,christ1 
but as in ,him1 and as one in whom ,he  
dwelt1 and therefore looked upon herself
 as belonging to ,him1 and1             
consequently1 instead of mortifying her 

body1 she looked upon taking food or    
rest as something done for the ,lord4   
,not1 says ,preger1 that in regard to   
others she had fully cast aside the     
prevailing belief in the merit of works1
 but in her own case she saw but her own
 sin and ,god's free grace4 ,and with   
regard to the works of others1 she      
considered no value attached to them if 
they were done with a view to reward4   
,those good works1 she said1 which      
people do from habit1 have a black mark 
set against them2 those done for        
,christ's sake1 and by ,his power1 a red
 mark4 ,but the red mark has a black    
mark across it1 if there is any thought 
of gaining merit by those works4 ,they  
have a golden mark when they are done   
simply for ,his honour1 with no other   
aim in view4  ,it should be remarked    
also that ,gertrude entertained strong  
misgivings with regard to the common    
practices of exciting devotion by       
appeals to the senses4 ,the erection of 
mangers at ,christmas1 and the          

representations in pictures and images  
of the sufferings and the death of      
,christ1 appeared to her useless and    
dangerous4 ,she feared that true        
personal intercourse with ,god in the   
,spirit and in truth1 would be hindered 
by these means4  ,nor did she share the 
devotion of her contemporaries to relics
 of any sort4 ,the ,lord has shown me1  
she said1 that the most worthy relics   
which remain of ,him are ,his ,words4   
,in such a soul1 writes ,preger1 in     
which ,christ was so entirely the       
central point1 it was natural that ,mary
 should recede into the background4 ,it 
is true that the spirit of the age was  
not wanting in the influence brought to 
bear upon her1 and the cult of ,mary    
does not disappear1 therefore1 from the 
pages of her book4 ,but she tells us    
that she was filled with bitter grief   
when1 on one of the festivals of the    
,virgin1 she heard a sermon which       
contained nothing but the praises of    
,mary1 and of the value of the          

,incarnation of the ,lord not a word4   
,after this sermon1 as she passed by the
 altar of the ,virgin1 she could not    
feel in her heart the sweet devotion to 
her which she had sometimes known4 ,she 
was roused into a sort of displeasure   
with ,mary herself1 because she seemed  
to her to stand in the way of her       
,beloved4  ,it is a painful example of  
the arguing of an enlightened conscience
 with a conscience shackled and enslaved
 by superstition4 ,she imagined the     
,lord would have her salute ,his        
,mother1 and her heart answered ,never4 
,and at last she resolved the difficulty
 by the belief that in doing that which 
she was unwilling to do1 rather than    
that which would have satisfied her     
heart1 she was pleasing the ,lord       
,himself4  ,it is useful for us to      
follow these conflicts of a heart       
devoted to ,christ1 with the awful power
 of generally accepted evil teaching4   
,the spirit of the age is not at any    
time the ,spirit of ,god4 ,how much     

power does the spirit of unbelief1 of   
lukewarmness1 of corrupted              
,christianity1 exercise upon us8  ,it   
matters little that the errors are of a 
different order4 ,if ,mary stood in the 
way of ,christ in the days of ,gertrude1
 is there nothing that amongst          
enlightened ,protestants stands now     
between the soul and the ,saviour8 ,is  
there nothing believed and taught       
amongst us which blinds the eyes of lost
 and helpless sinners to their need of a
 ,saviour8 nothing which blinds the     
guilty to their need of the ,atoning    
,blood8 nothing which turns the eyes    
from ,christ1 the ,coming ,one1 to look 
for a millennium1 not of ,his ,presence1
 but rather a time when grapes grow on  
thorns1 and figs on thistles8  ,to      
return to ,gertrude1 groping her way    
from the dim twilight around her to the 
glorious ,gospel day4 ,she was once told
 that there was to be an indulgence of  
many years proclaimed to those who were 
willing to sacrifice their riches to buy

 it4 ,for a moment ,gertrude wished she 
had many pounds of gold and silver4 ,but
 the ,lord spoke to her heart and said1 
,hearken6 ,by virtue of ,my authority   
receive thou perfect and full           
forgiveness of all thy sins and         
shortcomings4 ,and she saw at that      
moment that her soul in the eyes of ,god
 was whiter than snow4  ,when1 some days
 later1 this confidence still filled her
 with joy1 she began to fear lest she   
had deceived herself4 ,for1 she thought1
 if the ,lord really gave me that white 
raiment1 surely ,i must have stained it 
many times since then by my many faults4
 ,but the ,lord comforted her1 saying1  
,is it not true that ,i always retain in
 ,my hand a greater power than ,i bestow
 upon ,my creatures8 ,hast thou not seen
 how the sun by the power of its heat   
draws out the spots and stains from the 
white linen that it bleaches1 and makes 
it whiter than it was before8 ,how much 
more can ,i1 the ,creator of the sun1   
keep in stainless whiteness the soul    

upon whom ,i have had mercy1 pouring    
forth upon it the warmth of my burning  
love8  ,here1 again1 we see that        
,gertrude arrived at the right sense of 
perfect forgiveness1 though it was      
rather the ,love of ,christ than ,his   
bloodshedding which gave her this       
assurance4 ,she no doubt had an         
unclouded belief in the expiation made  
by ,his blood1 as we see from other     
passages in her book4 ,but in resting   
her assurance on ,his love1 if that were
 7as happily it was not7 the whole      
ground of her confidence1 she would have
 failed in the possession of unchanging 
peace4 ,she would have rejoiced at the  
moments when she realised ,his great    
love1 and have feared and trembled when 
the sense of it was overclouded by sin  
and infirmity4 ,the ,christian taught of
 ,god looks back to see how ,christ once
 bore his sins in ,his own body on the  
cross1 and looks up to see ,christ in   
glory as the proof that those sins are  
for ever put away4 ,he rests upon these 

unchangeable facts--all the more1       
therefore1 realising the marvellous love
 of the ,divine ,saviour who died for   
him1 and rose again for his             
justification4  ,gertrude did seek and  
find this solid foundation4 ,the longing
 for certainty1 writes ,preger1         
characterises her inner life4 ,her      
powerful mind could only be satisfied in
 the firm grasping of evident truth4    
,this led her to feel the necessity of  
immediate intercourse with ,god4 ,and   
when she had the assurance of knowing   
the will of ,god1 she acted1 therefore1 
with an extraordinary decision and      
promptness4 ,the sisters were astonished
 at the suddenness of her               
determinations1 and the speed with which
 she carried them out4 ,they suspected  
at first that she was self-willed1 but  
they came afterwards to the conclusion  
that she was carrying out the will of   
,god4  ,in the last years of her life   
her longing to depart and to be with    
,christ became so intense1 that she     

fought against it as a mark of an       
impatient spirit4 ,but1 says ,preger1 to
 what clearness and assurance of ,divine
 truth she had been led1 we see from the
 joyful confidence with which she looked
 forward to death and judgment4 ,in the 
last chapters of her book of prayers1   
before mentioned1 we find a passage with
 which it is well to conclude the       
history of her spiritual life4  ,o      
,truth1 ,thou hast for ,thine           
inseparable companions ,justice and     
,equity4 ,in number1 measure1 and weight
 ,thy judgment stands firm4 ,that which 
,thou weighest1 ,thou weighest in a     
perfect balance4 ,woe is me1 a          
thousandfold woe1 if ,i fall into ,thine
 hands and there should be found no     
substitute to take my place4  ,o ,love  
,divine1 ,thou wilt provide the         
substitute4 ,thou wilt answer for me4   
,thou wilt undertake my cause1 that ,i  
may live because of ,thee4  ,i know what
 ,i will do4 ,i will take the cup of    
salvation4 ,the ,cup1 which is ,jesus1  

,i will place in the empty scale4       
,thus--thus all my deficiency will be   
made up1 all my sin covered1 all my ruin
 restored1 and all my imperfection will 
become more than perfect4  ,lord1 at    
this hour 7six o'clock7 ,thy ,son ,jesus
 was brought to judgment4 ,thou didst   
lay upon ,him the sin of the whole      
world1 upon ,him who was sinless1 but   
who was called to render account for my 
sin and my guilt4 ,yea1 ,o my ,god1 ,i  
receive ,him from ,thine hand as my     
companion in the judgment2 ,i receive   
,him1 the ,most ,innocent1 the ,most    
,beloved1 ,him who was condemned and    
slain for love to me1 and now ,thy gift1
 ,o my loving ,god1 to me4  ,o blessed  
,truth1 to come before ,thee without my 
,jesus would be my fear and terror1 but 
to come with ,him is joy and gladness4  
,o ,truth1 now mayest ,thou sit down on 
the judgment-seat and bring against me  
what ,thou wilt4 ,i fear nothing4 ,i    
know--,i know that ,thy glorious face   
will have no terror for me1 for ,he is  

with me1 who is all my hope and all my  
assurance4 ,i would ask1 how canst ,thou
 now condemn me when ,i have my ,jesus  
as mine1 that dearest1 that truest      
,saviour1 who has borne all my sin and  
misery that ,he might win for me eternal
 pardon4  ,my beloved ,jesus1 blessed   
,pledge of my redemption1 ,thou wilt    
appear before the judgment-seat for me4 
,by ,thy side do ,i stand there4 ,thou  
the ,judge1 and ,thou the ,substitute   
also4 ,then wilt ,thou recount what     
,thou didst become for love of me1 how  
tenderly ,thou hast loved me1 how dearly
 ,thou hast bought me1 that ,i through  
,thee might be righteous before ,god4   
,thou hast betrothed me to ,thyself2 how
 could ,i be lost8 ,thou hast borne my  
sins4 ,thou hast died1 that to all      
eternity ,i might never die4 ,all that  
is ,thine ,thou hast freely given me1   
that ,i through ,thy deserving might be 
rich4 ,even so1 in the hour of death1 ,i
 shall be judged according to that      
innocence1 according to that purity1    

which ,thou hast freely given me1 when  
,thou didst pay the whole debt for me by
 giving ,thyself4 ,thou wert judged and 
condemned for my sake1 that ,i1 poor and
 helpless as ,i am1 might be more than  
rich in all the wealth that is ,thine1  
and mine through ,thee4                 
,the ,voice that for ever ,speaks4      
,thus to the ear that listens for the   
,one beloved ,voice1 come from those old
 times the familiar tones1 the household
 words of the family of ,god4 ,these    
souls1 so misled1 so darkened by the    
mists of evil teaching1 yet by the power
 of the ,holy ,ghost saw the ,son and   
believed on ,him1 and had everlasting   
life4 ,his sheep followed ,him1 for they
 knew ,his voice1 and their souls were  
filled with love and praise4  ,did they 
not often mistake for ,his voice the    
imaginations of their own hearts8 ,yes1 
often they did so1 and perhaps we do it 
less often1 because less often do we    
listen for ,his voice4 ,he speaks and we
 are deaf1 and we go on our way         

expecting no word from ,his lips1 and   
therefore there is nothing which we     
suppose to be that ,voice1 and our      
delusions are altogether of another     
nature4  ,our delusion in these days is 
that there is no immediate1 daily1      
hourly communication between the soul   
and ,god4 ,we do not mistake by         
regarding false coin as true2 our       
mistake is that the true coin has ceased
 to exist since the days when ,john and 
,paul spoke to the ,lord and ,he        
answered them1 and the ,holy ,spirit    
spoke1 and they listened4  ,yet still as
 of old there are those whose eyes have 
been anointed with eye-salve and they   
see ,him1 and their ears unstopped and  
they hear ,him1 and they can bear       
witness to the truth that the ,comforter
 abides with us for ever1 and takes     
still of the things of ,jesus and shows 
them unto us2 and these can recognise in
 the old histories of the saints of ,god
 the same voice and the same teaching1  
and can trace it back to the written    

,word1 to which it answers as the stamp 
to the seal4  ,it is well for us also to
 bear in mind the delusions1 and1 to us1
 inconceivable errors which were        
mistaken in past ages for the voice of  
,god4 ,that the chief work of ,satan has
 been from the beginning to counterfeit 
the work of ,god1 we know from          
revelation4 ,nor have we to be on our   
guard against ,satanic power alone4 ,the
 tremendous force of early education1 of
 the general opinion of the world around
 us1 do not act less powerfully upon us 
than upon those in former days4  ,it is 
true that the course of this age is     
according to the prince of the power of 
the air1 the spirit that now worketh in 
the children of disobedience4 ,the      
course of each age since ,adam sinned   
has been thus shaped4 ,but mere natural 
tendency to receive what we call truths1
 without taking the trouble to think1   
and to form opinions1 as well as courses
 of action1 by habit simply and only1   
can lead us far enough astray without   

any other misleading force4  ,the       
convent of ,hellfde is a remarkable     
proof of the power of ,satan1 and of the
 distortion of our nature1 acting upon  
those who were true-hearted believers in
 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 true children
 of ,god1 and truly taught by ,him in   
the midst of many delusions4 ,had they  
applied the test of ,holy ,scripture to 
all which they believed to be the voice 
of ,god1 a very small part of it would  
have stood the test1 in the case of the 
sister1 for example1 who wrote four of  
the five parts of the ,gertrude ,book4  
,the remarkable difference of the second
 book written by ,gertrude herself from 
the four others1 remains as a proof of  
the fact that the entrance of the       
,lord's ,word giveth light and          
understanding to the simple4  ,but in   
the case of communications regarded as  
the voice of ,god1 and not standing in  
opposition to ,his ,word1 must not a    
further distinction be made8 ,even then 
the mind may possibly be exercised in   

simply recalling passages of ,scripture1
 and may be influenced by them as in the
 case of ordinary writings4 ,is there   
nothing more than this which is meant by
 the statements of the ,lord ,jesus     
,christ when speaking of the intercourse
 between the soul and ,himself8  ,why do
 ye not understand ,my speech8 even     
because ye cannot hear ,my word4 ,there 
is1 then1 a hearing of which the        
unbelieving man is incapable4 ,he that  
is of ,god heareth ,god's words4 ,ye    
therefore hear them not1 because ye are 
not of ,god4 ,thus there are those who  
hear indeed and understand not1 and see 
indeed but perceive not4 ,on the other  
hand1 there are the sheep of ,christ1   
who follow ,him1 for they know ,his     
voice4 ,my sheep hear ,my voice1 and ,i 
know them1 and they follow ,me4  ,how1  
then1 was it that the true sheep of     
,christ in the convent of ,hellfde      
followed at times the voice of          
strangers1 and mistook it for ,his      
own8#ab ,should we therefore conclude   

that all they received as ,his was but  
the working of their own minds1 or a    
snare of the evil one8  ,if so1 the     
,lord ,himself is no longer the ,truth4 
,he has solemnly declared to us1 that   
for ever ,he would hold intercourse with
 ,his saints by the power of the ,holy  
,ghost4 ,he has given us the plain      
assurance1 ,lo1 ,i am with you always1  
even unto the end of the world 7the     
age74 ,the saints of all ages have      
claimed these promises1 and have found  
them true4  ,but the world cannot       
receive the ,spirit of ,truth1 because  
it seeth ,him not1 neither knoweth ,him4
 ,nevertheless ,ye know ,him1 for ,he   
dwelleth with you1 and shall be in you4 
,i will not leave you comfortless1 ,i   
will come to you4 ,yet a little while   
the world seeth ,me no more2 but ye see 
,me3 because ,i live ye shall live also4
 ,at that day ye shall know that ,i am  
in ,my ,father1 and ye in ,me1 and ,i in
 you4 ,and again1 ,he that loveth ,me   
shall be loved of ,my ,father1 and ,i   

will love him1 and will manifest ,myself
 to him4  ,thus in spite of delusions   
caused by the false teaching of the     
corrupted ,church1 in spite of the      
hallucinations caused by unnatural      
bodily conditions1 the ,lord was true to
 ,his word1 and made to ,his servants   
that revelation of ,his love that       
passeth knowledge1 which marks their    
testimony4  ,and because it passeth     
knowledge1 and all that it is possible  
for the heart of man to conceive1 we    
recognise it as ,his revelation to the  
soul4 ,the ,god of ,catholicism was a   
,judge1 awful and terrible4 ,even the   
thought that the righteous anger of the 
,father needed to be appeased by the    
merciful intervention of the ,son1 gave 
place in time to the thought that the   
,son also was but a righteous ,judge1 in
 whom was justice without mercy4        
,therefore it was necessary that ,his   
mother should be the hope and refuge of 
sinners1 and that her intercession      
should incline ,his heart to pity4 ,and 

there followed in due time a host of    
other mediators between ,god and man1 to
 whom the sinful and the suffering      
should turn rather than to the great and
 dreadful ,god4  ,and it was in the face
 of this teaching that those who knew   
,his voice had the absolute assurance of
 ,his immeasurable and unspeakable love4
 ,they passed1 as it were1 through the  
host of mediators and intercessors to   
cast themselves at ,his feet1 and to    
wash them with their tears1 and anoint  
them with the love which the ,holy      
,spirit of ,god had shed abroad in their
 hearts4  ,nor had they1 as some        
,protestants in our days1 the strange   
delusion that there is a something      
called religion to which1 if they turn  
in their last days1 they may perhaps be 
fit for heaven4 ,they knew1 and we know1
 if we will look into our hearts1 that  
this is not the answer to our need4     
,can religion love us8 ,we need love4   
,we need a living heart who can love us 
with a love utterly unchangeable and    

eternal4 ,and we find it in ,him whose  
name is ,love2 in ,him who is absolutely
 just1 but who is also the justifier of 
him that believeth in ,jesus4 ,the ,just
 ,god and the ,saviour--well may it be  
added1 there is none besides ,me4 ,no   
,god has ever been invented by the      
thoughts of man who can be at once the  
,just ,one and the ,saviour1 in whom    
,mercy and ,truth are met together1 in  
whom ,righteousness and ,peace have     
kissed each other4  ,we find this       
revelation of ,himself all through the  
ages1 and it is thus that ,he is now    
revealed to every soul whose eyes have  
been opened to see ,him1 whose ears have
 been unstopped to hear that marvellous 
,voice1 which is as clear and distinct  
to the soul now1 as will be the shout1  
and the voice of the ,archangel1 and the
 trumpet of ,god in the day that is to  
be4  ,is it not by the teaching of ,god 
,himself1 through ,his ,word and        
,spirit1 that we find the solid path    
upon which to walk1 day by day1 in all  

circumstances of our ordinary life8 ,he 
thus becomes wisdom to the foolish1 and 
strength to the weak4 ,he directs the   
path of those who in all their ways     
acknowledge ,him4 ,we find a safer guide
 than our own understanding1 than the   
common-sense of the natural heart1 which
 may mislead1 and will mislead1 those   
who have no better teacher1 as dreams   
and visions misled the true-hearted     
servants of ,god in former days4  ,the  
guidance and teaching of ,him who is the
 ,wisdom of ,god1 and who hears and     
answers the prayers of those who seek   
,him1 will assuredly not lead us to     
commit acts of folly2 but the           
common-sense will be more fully         
exercised1 because all existing facts   
will then be taken into account4  ,the  
greatest and most universal failure in  
common-sense must be the leaving out of 
,god in all our thoughts2 and therefore 
is it written of the natural man1 not   
only there is none that doeth good1 no  
not one1 but also1 there is none that   

understandeth1 there is none that       
seeketh after ,god4   #a;,described in  
her own words in ,trees ,planted by the 
,river 7,nisbet74  #b,this pope was     
,gregory ,x4  #c,the ,latin translation 
of ,matilda's book appears to have been 
published    very early1 as it does not 
contain the seventh book1 probably1     
therefore1 considerably earlier than the
 year #acjj4 ,we know that the    #fth  
and #gth ,cantos of the ,purgatorio were
 written between #acjh and    #acac2 the
 #bdth ,canto after the year #acad4 ,if 
,dante passed through    ,cologne in his
 wanderings1 as appears probable from   
his reference to    ,cologne in the     
,inferno1 xxiii4 #fc1 he may there have 
seen the book4    ,it was1 however1 no  
doubt widely circulated before the end  
of the    thirteenth century4 ,the      
supposition that ,matilda of ,hackeborn 
was the    origin of ,dante's ,matilda  
is disproved by the later date of the   
,mechthilden ,buch1 which could scarcely
 have been published before    the year 

#acaj4  #d;,in his lecture on ,dante's  
,matilda1 delivered at a later period1  
,preger    raises the question whether  
the book of the ,beguine is of such a   
nature as to have attracted in so       
considerable a measure the              
appreciation of a ,dante4 ,i must here  
only repeat1 he says1 that    which ,i  
have formerly written with regard to the
 spirit and poetical    power of this   
work1 as it appears in ,morel's edition4
 ,i think ,i may    say that amongst all
 the known works of this nature up to   
the end of    the thirteenth century1   
there is none that attains to the       
importance    of this work4 ,only the   
second part of the book of the ,nun     
,gertrude1    written by herself1 can be
 placed in any point of view in         
comparison    with it4 ,it is evident   
that the ,beguine ,matilda was of       
sufficient    significance to make an   
impression on ,dante1 and to be used by 
him as    a type of that form of        
contemplation which ,i have described   

under the    name of practical          
mysticism4  #e,the contents of the seven
 books may be thus summarised3--     #a4
 ,disconnected passages--visions1 or    
parables related as visions4     #b4    
,disconnected parables1 visions1 and    
prophecies4 ,with regard to one      of 
these visions ,matilda remarks1 ,that   
this so happened is not to      be      
understood literally1 but spiritually2  
it was that which the soul      saw1 and
 recognised1 and rejoiced in4 ,the words
 sound human1 but the      natural mind 
can but partly receive that which the   
higher sense of      the soul perceives 
of spiritual things4     ,commendations 
of the preaching friars of the order of 
,s4 ,dominic4     ,references to passing
 events and contemporary persons1 or    
persons      lately departed4     #c4   
,refers chiefly to ecclesiastical       
matters4 ,contains prophecies of        
the last days1 of the ,antichrist1 of   
the return of ,enoch and ,elijah4       
,in these prophecies occur passages     

reproduced in the ,divine               
,commedia4     #d4 ,the book of love1   
between ,god and the soul4     #e4      
,practical4     #f4 ,descriptions of    
hell 7the ,city of ,eternal ,hate7 and  
,purgatory1 with      which the ,divine 
,commedia may be compared4              
,preparation for death4     #g4 ,various
 and disconnected4 ,references to       
contemporary persons and      events4   
#f;,author of the ,psalter of the       
,blessed ,virgin4  #g,see ,purgatoria1  
,canto xxxi4 #abi4      ,my soul was    
tasting of the food that while       ,it
 satisfies us1 makes us hunger for it4  
#h,see ,isaiah lx4 #ai1 #bj1 as         
explaining this thought3 ,the sun shall 
be    no more thy light by day2 neither 
for brightness shall the moon give      
light unto thee3 but the ,lord shall be 
unto thee an everlasting light1    and  
thy ,god thy glory4 ,thy sun shall no   
more go down2 neither shall    thy moon 
withdraw itself3 for the ,lord shall be 
thine everlasting    light1 and the days

 of thy mourning shall be ended4  #i;,in
 which the ,church1 the ,body of        
,christ1 is spoken of as existing not   
only before ,his death and resurrection1
 but before ,he became    ,incarnate4   
#aj,why did ,i thus pray8 she writes4   
,because ,i find that ,i am still       
just as despicable and unworthy as ,i   
was thirty years ago when ,i began    to
 write4 ,but the ,lord showed me that   
,he had healing roots stored1 as    it  
were1 in a little sack1 and with them   
should the sick be refreshed1    and the
 healthy strengthened1 and the dead     
raised1 and the godly    sanctified4    
#aa,matilda the ,beguine's own words    
relating to the death of a friend may   
better describe her own--      ,he laid 
him down upon the breast of ,god        
,in measureless delight1     ,enfolded  
in the tenderness untold1       ,the    
sweetness infinite4     ,the account    
given by ,matilda of ,hackeborn is but  
an evidence of the    unreal state of   
those who were for ever craving for some

 fresh    revelations to supplement the 
,word of ,god2 who unconsciously to     
themselves were walking1 so far1 by     
sight1 and not by faith1 and by    the  
sight1 moreover1 of a disordered body4  
#ab;,in general no doubt their delusions
 arose from the fact that the           
falsehood presented itself in the form  
of authorised teaching4 ,they    were   
not on their guard against those whom   
they had learnt from their    cradles to
 reverence--who represented to them the 
,apostles of ,christ4    ,and these     
delusions1 acting upon over-strained and
 ill-taught minds    and half-starved   
bodies1 kept up a state of mental       
disease1 in which    clear and          
reasonable thought was at times         
obliterated4 ,it was a    spiritual     
alcohol or opium that was constantly    
measured out by the    accredited       
teachers of the ,church4                
,,the ,,end4                   ,printed 
by ,ballantyne1 ,hanson  ,co4           
,edinburgh and ,london                  

,transcriber's ,notes   --,silently     
corrected a handful of typos3 mostly    
missing quotation marks4