,the ,essentials of ,mysticism          
,,the ,,essentials of ,,mysticism       
,,and ,,other ,,essays                  
,,by                                    
,,evelyn ,,underhill                    
#aibj                        ,,new      
,,york3 ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton  ,,co4         
,,london  ,,toronto                     
,j4 ,m4 ,,dent  ,,sons ,,ltd4      ,all 
rights reserved                         
,,contents      ,preface 4 4 4 v    ,the
 ,essentials of ,mysticism 4 4 4 #a     
,the ,mystic and the ,corporate ,life 4 
4 4 #be    ,mysticism and the ,doctrine 
of ,atonement 4 4 4 #dd    ,the ,mystic 
as ,creative ,artist 4 4 4 #fd    ,the  
,education of the ,spirit 4 4 4 #hf     
,the ,place of ,will1 ,intellect1 and   
,feeling in ,prayer 4 4 4 #ii    ,the   
,mysticism of ,plotinus 4 4 4 #aaf      
,three ,medival ,mystics 4 4 4 #ada     
,i4 8,,the ,,mirror ,,of ,,simple       
,,souls0 4 4 4 #ada        ,,ii4 ,,the  
,,blessed ,,angela ,,of ,,foligno 4 4 4 
#afj        ,,iii4 ,,julian ,,of        

,,norwich 4 4 4 #ahc    ,mysticism in   
,modern ,france 4 4 4 #aii        ,i4   
,s,,ur ,,th,r,,se ,,de                  
,l',,enfant-,j,,sus 4 4 4 #aii          
,,ii4 ,,lucie-,,christine 4 4 4 #bae    
,,iii4 ,,charles ,p,,guy 4 4 4 #bbh     
,,preface      ,the essays collected in 
this volume have been written during the
 past  eight years4 ,they deal with     
various aspects of the subject of       
mysticism3  the first half-dozen with   
its general theory and practice1 and    
special  points arising within it2 the  
rest with its application as seen in the
  lives and works of the mystics1 from  
the pagan ,plotinus to the ,christian   
contemplatives of our own day4 ,most of 
them have already appeared  elsewhere1  
though all have been revised and several
 completely  re-written for the purposes
 of this book4 8,the ,essentials of     
,mysticism0  and 8,the ,mystic as       
,creative ,artist0 were first printed in
 ,the ,quest2  8,the ,mystic and the    
,corporate ,life10 8,mysticism and the  

,doctrine of  ,atonement10 and 8,the    
,place of ,will1 ,intellect1 and        
,feeling in ,prayer0 in  ,the           
,interpreter2 8,the ,education of the   
,spirit0 in ,the ,parents'  ,review2    
8,the ,mysticism of ,plotinus0 in ,the  
,quarterly ,review2 8,the  ,mirror of   
,simple ,souls0 and 8,sur ,thrse de     
l',enfant-,jsus0 7under the  title of   
8,a ,modern ,saint07 in ,the            
,fortnightly ,review2 8,the ,blessed    
,angela of ,foligno0 in ,franciscan     
,essays2 8,julian of ,norwich0 in ,the  
,st4 ,martin's ,review2 and 8,charles   
,pguy0 in ,the ,contemporary ,review4   
,all these are now republished by kind  
permission of the editors  concerned4   
,e4 ,u4    ,august #aibj4               
,,the ,,essentials ,,of ,,mysticism     
,what are the true essentials of        
mysticism8 ,when we have stripped off   
those features which some mystics accept
 and some reject--all that is  merely   
due to tradition1 temperament or        
unconscious allegorism--what do  we find

 as the necessary and abiding character 
of all true mystical  experience8 ,this 
question is really worth asking4 ,for   
some time much  attention has been given
 to the historical side of mysticism1   
and  some--much less--to its practice4  
,but there has been no clear            
understanding of the difference between 
its substance and its accidents3        
between traditional forms and methods1  
and the eternal experience which  they  
have mediated4 ,in mystical literature  
words are frequently confused  with     
things1 and symbols with realities2 so  
that much of this literature  seems to  
the reader to refer to some             
self-consistent and exclusive           
dream-world1 and not to the achievement 
of universal truth4 ,thus the  strong   
need for re-statement which is being    
felt by institutional  religion1 the    
necessity of re-translating its truths  
into symbolism  which modern men can    
understand and accept1 applies with at  
least equal  force to mysticism4 ,it has

 become important to disentangle the    
facts  from ancient formul used to      
express them4 ,these formul have value1 
because they are genuine attempts to    
express truth2 but they are not         
themselves that truth1 and failure to   
recognize this distinction has  caused a
 good deal of misunderstanding4 ,thus1  
on its philosophic and  theological     
side1 the mysticism of western ,europe  
is tightly entwined  with the patristic 
and medival presentation of             
,christianity2 and this  presentation1  
though full of noble poetry1 is now     
difficult if not  impossible to adjust  
to our conceptions of the ,universe4    
,again1 on its  personal side mysticism 
is a department of psychology4 ,now     
psychology is  changing under our eyes2 
already we see our mental life in a new 
perspective1 tend to describe it under  
new forms4 ,our ways of describing  and 
interpreting spiritual experience must  
change with the rest1 if we  are to keep
 in touch with reality2 though the      

experience itself be  unchanged4    ,so 
we are forced to ask ourselves1 what is 
the essential element in  spiritual     
experience8 ,which of the many states   
and revelations described  by the       
mystics are integral parts of it2 and   
what do these states and  degrees come  
to1 when we describe them in the current
 phraseology and  strip off the monastic
 robes in which they are usually        
dressed8 ,what  elements are due to the 
suggestions of tradition1 to conscious  
or  unconscious symbolism1 to the       
misinterpretation of emotion1 to the    
invasion of cravings from the lower     
centres1 or the disguised fulfilment  of
 an unconscious wish8 ,and when all     
these channels of illusion have  been   
blocked1 what is left8 ,this will be a  
difficult and often a painful  enquiry4 
,but it is an enquiry which ought to be 
faced by all who believe  in the        
validity of man's spiritual experience2 
in order that their faith  may be       
established on a firm basis1 and        

disentangled from those unreal  and     
impermanent elements which are certainly
 destined to destruction1  and with     
which it is at present too often        
confused4 ,i am sure that at  the       
present moment we serve best the highest
 interests of the soul by  subjecting   
the whole mass of material which is     
called 8mysticism0 to an  inexorable    
criticism4 ,only by inflicting the      
faithful wounds of a friend  can we save
 the science of the inner life from     
mutilation at the hands  of the         
psychologists4    ,we will begin1 then1 
with the central fact of the mystic's   
experience4  ,this central fact1 it     
seems to me1 is an overwhelming         
consciousness of  ,god and of his own   
soul3 a consciousness which absorbs or  
eclipses all  other centres of interest4
 ,it is said that ,st4 ,francis of      
,assisi1  praying in the house of       
,bernard of ,quintavalle1 was heard to  
say again  and again3 8,my ,god6 my     
,god6 what art ,thou8 and what am ,i80  

,though the  words come from ,st4       
,augustine1 they well represent his     
mental attitude4  ,this was the only    
question which he thought worth asking2 
and it is the  question which every     
mystic asks at the beginning and        
sometimes answers  at the end of his    
quest4 ,hence we must put first among   
our essentials  the clear conviction of 
a living ,god as the primary interest of
  consciousness1 and of a personal self 
capable of communion with ,him4  ,having
 said this1 however1 we may allow that  
the widest latitude is  possible in the 
mystic's conception of his ,deity4 ,at  
best this  conception will be symbolic2 
his experience1 if genuine1 will far    
transcend the symbols he employs4       
8,god10 says the author of ,the ,cloud  
of ,unknowing1 8may well be loved but   
not thought40 ,credal forms1  therefore1
 can only be for the mystic a scaffold  
by which he ascends4 ,we  are even      
bound1 ,i think1 to confess that the    
overt recognition of that  which        

orthodox ,christians generally mean by a
 personal ,god is not  essential4 ,on   
the contrary1 where it takes a crudely  
anthropomorphic  form1 the idea of      
personality may be a disadvantage2      
opening the way for  the intrusion of   
disguised emotions and desires4 ,in the 
highest  experiences of the greatest    
mystics the personal category appears to
 be  transcended4 8,the light in the    
soul which is increate10 says ,eckhart1 
8is not satisfied with the three        
,persons1 in so far as each subsists in 
its difference 444 but it is determined 
to know whence this ,being comes1  to   
penetrate into the ,simple ,ground1 into
 the ,silent ,desert within which  never
 any difference has lain40 ,the         
all-inclusive ,one is beyond all        
partial apprehensions1 though the true  
values which those apprehensions        
represent are conserved in it4 ,however 
pantheistic the mystic may be on  the   
one hand1 however absolutist on the     
other1 his communion with ,god is       

always personal in this sense3 that it  
is communion with a living  ,reality1 an
 object of love1 capable of response1   
which demands and  receives from him a  
total self-donation4 ,this sense of a   
double  movement1 a self-giving on the  
divine side answering to the self-giving
  on the human side1 is found in all    
great mysticism4 ,it has1 of course1    
lent itself to emotional exaggeration1  
but in its pure form seems an  integral 
part of man's apprehension of ,reality4 
,even where it conflicts  with the      
mystic's philosophy--as in ,hinduism and
 ,neoplatonism--it is still  present4   
,it is curious to note1 for instance1   
how ,plotinus1 after  safeguarding his  
,absolute ,one from every qualification1
 excluding it  from all categories1     
defining it only by the icy method of   
negation1  suddenly breaks away into the
 language of ardent feeling when he     
comes  to describe that ecstasy in which
 he touched the truth4 ,then he speaks  
of 8the veritable love1 the sharp       

desire0 which possessed him1 appealing  
to the experience of those fellow       
mystics who have 8caught fire1 and      
found the splendour there40 ,these1 he  
says1 have 8felt burning within         
themselves the flame of love for what is
 there to know--the passion of  the     
lover resting on the bosom of his love40
    ,so we may say that the particular  
mental image which the mystic forms of  
his objective1 the traditional theology 
he accepts1 is not essential4  ,since it
 is never adequate1 the degree of its   
inadequacy is of secondary  importance4 
,though some creeds have proved more    
helpful to the mystic  than others1 he  
is found fully developed in every great 
religion4 ,we  cannot honestly say that 
there is any wide difference between the
  ,brahman1 ,sfi1 or ,christian mystic  
at their best4 ,they are far more like  
each other than they are like the       
average believer in their several       
creeds4 ,what is essential is the way   
the mystic feels about his ,deity1  and 

about his own relation with it2 for this
 adoring and all-possessing             
consciousness of the rich and complete  
divine life over against the  self's    
life1 and of the possible achievement of
 a level of being1 a  sublimation of the
 self1 wherein we are perfectly united  
with it1 may  fairly be written down as 
a necessary element of all mystical     
life4 ,this  is the common factor which 
unites those apparently incompatible    
views of  the ,universe which have been 
claimed at one time or another as       
mystical4  ,their mystical quality      
abides wholly in the temper of the self 
who  adopts them4 ,he may be a          
transcendentalist2 but if so1 it is     
because his  intuition of the divine is 
so lofty that it cannot be expressed by 
means  of any intellectual concept1 and 
he is bound to say with ,ruysbroeck1    
8,he  is neither ,this nor ,that40 ,he  
may be a unanimist2 but if he is1 it is 
because he finds in other men--more1 in 
the whole web of life--that  mysterious 

living essence which is a mode of ,god's
 existence1 and which  he loves1 seeks  
and recognizes everywhere4 8,how shall  
,i find words for  the beauty of my     
,beloved8 ,for ,he is merged in all     
beauty10 says ,kabir1  8,his colour is  
in all the pictures of the world1 and it
 bewitches the  body and the mind40 ,he 
may be--often is--a sacramentalist2 but 
if so1 only  because the symbol or the  
sacrament help him to touch ,god4 ,so   
,st4  ,thomas3                          
8,adoro te devote1 latens ,deitas1      
,qu sub his figuris vere latitas40      
,the moment the mystic suspects that any
 of these things are obstacles  instead 
of means1 he rejects them2 to the       
scandal of those who  habitually confuse
 the image with the reality4    ,thus we
 get the temperamental symbolist1       
quietist1 nature-mystic1 or             
transcendentalist4 ,we get ,plotinus    
rapt to the 8bare pure ,one02 ,st4      
,augustine's impassioned communion with 
,perfect ,beauty2 ,eckhart declaring    

his achievement of the 8wilderness of   
,god02 ,jacopone da ,todi prostrate  in 
adoration before the 8,love that gives  
all things form02 ,ruysbroeck           
describing his achievement of 8that     
wayless abyss of fathomless  beatitude  
where the ,trinity of divine persons    
possess their nature in  the essential  
,unity20 ,jacob ,boehme gazing into the 
fire-world and there  finding the living
 heart of the ,universe2 ,kabir         
listening to the  rhythmic music of     
,reality1 and seeing the worlds told    
like beads within  the ,being of ,god4  
,and at the opposite pole we find       
,mechthild of  ,madgeburg's amorous     
conversations with her 8heavenly        
,bridegroom10 the  many mystical        
experiences connected with the          
,eucharist1 the ,sfi's  enraptured      
description of ,god as the 8,matchless  
,chalice and the  ,sovereign ,wine10 the
 narrow intensity and emotional raptures
 of  contemplatives of the type of      
,richard ,rolle4 ,we cannot refuse the  

title  of mystic to any of these2       
because in every case their aim is union
  between ,god and the soul4 ,this is   
the one essential of mysticism1 and     
there are as many ways from one term to 
the other as there are  variations in   
the spirit of man4 ,but1 on the other   
hand1 when anybody  speaking of         
mysticism proposes an object that is    
less than ,god--increase  of knowledge1 
of health1 of happiness1 occultism1     
intercourse with  spirits1 supernormal  
experience in general--then we may begin
 to suspect  that we are off the track4 
,now we come to the next group of       
essentials3 the necessary acts and      
dispositions of the mystic himself1 the 
development which takes place in        
him--the psychological facts1 that is to
 say1 which are represented by  the     
so-called 8mystic way40 ,the mystic way 
is best understood as a  process of     
sublimation1 which carries the          
correspondences of the self  with the   
,universe up to higher levels than those

 on which our normal  consciousness     
works4 ,just as the normal consciousness
 stands over  against the unconscious1  
which1 with its buried impulses and its 
primitive and infantile cravings1       
represents a cruder reaction of the     
organism to the external world2 so does 
the developed mystical life  stand over 
against normal consciousness1 with its  
preoccupations and its  web of illusions
 encouraging the animal will-to-dominate
 and animal  will-to-live4 ,normal      
consciousness sorts out some elements   
from the mass  of experiences beating at
 our doors and constructs from them a   
certain  order2 but this order lacks any
 deep meaning or true cohesion1 because 
normal consciousness is incapable of    
apprehending the underlying reality     
from which these scattered experiences  
proceed4 ,the claim of the  mystical    
consciousness is to a closer reading of 
truth2 to an  apprehension of the divine
 unifying principle behind appearance4  
8,the  ,one10 says ,plotinus1 8is       

present everywhere and absent only from 
those  unable to perceive it02 and when 
we do perceive it we 8have another  life
 444 attaining the aim of our existence1
 and our rest40 ,to know this  at first 
hand--not to guess1 believe or accept1  
but to be certain--is the  highest      
achievement of human consciousness1 and 
the ultimate object of  mysticism4 ,how 
is it done8    ,there are two ways of   
attacking this problem which may        
conceivably help  us4 ,the first        
consists in a comparison of the         
declarations of different  mystics1 and 
a sorting out of those elements which   
they have in common3  a careful watch   
being kept1 of course1 for the results  
of conscious or  unconscious imitation1 
of tradition and of theological         
preconceptions4  ,in this way we get    
some first-hand evidence of factors     
which are at any  rate usually present1 
and may possibly be essential4 ,the     
second line of  enquiry consists in a   
re-translation into psychological terms 

of these  mystical declarations2 when   
many will reveal the relation in which  
they  stand to the psychic life of man4 
,reviewing the first-hand declarations  
of the mystics1 we inevitably  notice   
one prominent feature3 the frequency    
with which they break up  their         
experience into three phases4 ,sometimes
 they regard these  objectively1 and    
speak of three worlds or three aspects  
of ,god of which  they become           
successively aware4 ,sometimes they     
regard them subjectively1  and speak of 
three stages of growth through which    
they pass1 such as  those of ,beginner1 
,proficient1 and ,perfect2 or of phases 
of spiritual  progress in which we first
 meditate upon reality1 then contemplate
  reality1 and at last are united with  
reality4 ,but among the most widely     
separated mystics of the ,east and ,west
 this threefold experience can  nearly  
always be traced4 ,there are1 of course1
 obvious dangers in  attaching absolute 
value to number-schemes of this kind4   

,numbers have an  uncanny power over the
 human mind2 once let a symbolic        
character be  attributed to them1 and   
the temptation to make them fit the     
facts at all  costs becomes             
overwhelming4 ,we all know that the     
number 8three0 has a  long religious    
history1 and are therefore inclined to  
look with  suspicion on its claim to    
interpret the mystic life4 ,at the same 
time  there are other significant       
numbers--such as 8seven0 and            
8ten0--which have  never gained equal   
currency as the bases of mystical       
formul4 ,we may  agree that the medival 
mystics found the threefold division of 
spiritual experience in ,neoplatonism2  
but we must also agree that a  formula  
of this kind is not likely to survive   
for nearly #bjjj years  unless it agrees
 with the facts4 ,those who use it with 
the greatest  conviction are not        
theorists4 ,they are the practical      
mystics1 who are  intent on making maps 
of the regions into which they have     

penetrated4    ,moreover1 this is no    
mere question of handing on one single  
tradition4  ,the mystics describe their 
movement from appearance to reality in  
many  different ways1 and use many      
incompatible religious symbols4 ,the one
  constant factor is the discrimination 
of three phases of consciousness1  no   
more1 no less1 in which we can recognize
 certain common  characteristics4       
8,there are10 says ,philo1 8three kinds 
of life3 life as  it concerns ,god1 life
 as it concerns the creature1 and a     
third  intermediate life1 a mixture of  
the former two40 ,consistently with     
this1  ,plotinus speaks of three        
descending phases or principles of      
,divine  ,reality3 the ,godhead1 or     
absolute and unconditioned ,one2 its    
manifestation as ,nous1 the ,divine     
,mind or ,spirit which inspires the     
8intelligible0 and eternal world2 and   
,psyche1 the ,life or ,soul of the      
physical ,universe4 ,man1 normally in   
correspondence with this physical  world

 of succession and change1 may by       
spiritual intuition achieve first       
consciousness of the eternal world of   
spiritual values1 in which indeed  the  
apex of his soul already dwells2 and in 
brief moments of ecstatic  vision may   
rise above this to communion with its   
source1 the ,absolute  ,one4 ,there you 
have the mystic's vision of the         
,universe1 and the  mystic's way of     
purification1 enlightenment and ecstasy1
 bringing new  and deeper knowledge of  
reality as the self's interest1 urged by
 its  loving desire of the ,ultimate1 is
 shifted from sense to soul1 from soul  
to spirit4 ,there is here no harsh      
dualism1 no turning from a bad  material
 world to a good spiritual world4 ,we   
are invited to one gradual  undivided   
process of sublimation1 penetrating ever
 more deeply into the  reality of the   
,universe1 to find at last 8that ,one   
who is present  everywhere and absent   
only from those who do not perceive     
,him40 ,what we  behold1 that we are3   

citizens1 according to our own will and 
desire1 of  the surface world of the    
senses1 the deeper world of life1 or the
  ultimate world of ,spiritual reality4 
,an almost identical doctrine appears in
 the ,upanishads4 ,at the heart of      
reality is ,brahma1 8other than the     
known1 and above the unknown40 ,his     
manifestation is ,ananda1 that spiritual
 world which is the true object  of     
sthetic passion and religious           
contemplation4 ,from its life and       
consciousness are born1 in it they have 
their being1 to it they must  return4   
,finally1 there is the world-process as 
we know it1 which  represents ,ananda   
taking form4 ,so too the mystic ,kabir1 
who represents  an opposition to the    
,vedantic philosophy1 says3 8,from      
beyond the  ,infinite the ,infinite     
comes1 and from the ,infinite the finite
 extends40  ,and again3 8,some          
contemplate the formless and others     
meditate on form1  but the wise man     
knows that ,brahma is beyond both40     

,here we have the  finite world of      
becoming1 the infinite world of being1  
and ,brahma1 the  ,unconditioned        
,absolute1 exceeding and including all4 
,yet1 as ,kabir  distinctly declares    
again and again1 there are no fences    
between these  aspects of the ,universe4
 ,when we come to the root of reality we
 find  that 8,conditioned and           
,unconditioned are but one word02 the   
difference is  in our own degree of     
awareness4    ,compare with this three  
of the great medival ,catholic mystics3 
that  acute psychologist ,richard of    
,st4 ,victor1 the ardent poet and       
contemplative ,jacopone da ,todi1 and   
the profound ,ruysbroeck4 ,richard of   
,st4 ,victor says that there are three  
phases in the contemplative             
consciousness4 ,the first is called     
dilation of mind1 enlarging and         
deepening our vision of the world4 ,the 
next is elevation of mind1 in  which we 
behold the realities which are above    
ourselves4 ,the third is  ecstasy1 in   

which the mind is carried up to contact 
with truth in its  pure simplicity4     
,this is really the universe of         
,plotinus translated into  subjective   
terms4 ,so1 too1 ,jacopone da ,todi says
 in the symbolism of his  day that three
 heavens are open to man4 ,he must climb
 from one to the  other2 it is hard     
work1 but love and longing press him on4
 ,first1 when  the mind has achieved    
self-conquest1 the 8starry heaven0 of   
multiplicity  is revealed to it4 ,its   
darkness is lit by scattered lights2    
points of  reality pierce the sky4      
,next1 it achieves the 8crystalline     
heaven0 of  lucid contemplation1 where  
the soul is conformed to the rhythm of  
the  divine life1 and by its loving     
intuition apprehends ,god under veils4  
,lastly1 in ecstasy it may be lifted to 
that ineffable state which he  calls the
 8hidden heaven10 where it enjoys a     
vision of imageless reality  and 8enters
 into possession of all that is ,god40  
,ruysbroeck says that he  has           

experienced three orders of reality3 the
 natural world1 theatre of  our moral   
struggle2 the essential world1 where    
,god and ,eternity are  indeed known1   
but by intermediaries2 and the          
super-essential world1  where without   
intermediary1 and beyond all separation1
 8above reason and  without reason10 the
 soul is united to 8the glorious and    
absolute ,one40    ,take1 again1 a      
totally different mystic1 ,jacob        
,boehme4 ,he says that he  saw in the   
,divine ,essence three principles or    
aspects4 ,the first he  calls 8the      
deepest ,deity1 without and beyond      
,nature10 and the next its              
manifestation in the ,eternal           
,light-world4 ,the third is that outer  
world  in which we dwell according to   
the body1 which is a manifestation1     
image  or similitude of the ,eternal4   
8,and we are thus10 he says1 8to        
understand  reality as a threefold      
being1 or three worlds in one another40 
,we  observe again the absence of       

water-tight compartments4 ,the whole of 
reality is present in every part of it2 
and the power of correspondence  with   
all these aspects of it is latent in    
man4 8,if one sees a right  man10 says  
,boehme again1 8he may say1 ,i see here 
three worlds standing40    ,we have now 
to distinguish the essential element in 
all this4 ,how does  it correspond with 
psychological facts8 ,some mystics1 like
 ,richard of  ,st4 ,victor1 have frankly
 exhibited its subjective side and so   
helped us  to translate the statements  
of their fellows4 ,thus ,dionysius the  
,areopagite says in a celebrated        
passage3 8,threefold is the way to ,god4
  ,the first is the way of purification1
 in which the mind is inclined to  learn
 true wisdom4 ,the second is the way of 
illumination1 in which the  mind by     
contemplation is kindled to the burning 
of love4 ,the third is  the way of      
union1 in which the mind by             
understanding1 reason and spirit  is led
 up by ,god alone40 ,this formula       

restates the ,plotinian law2 for  the   
8contemplation0 of ,dionysius is the    
8spiritual intuition0 of  ,plotinus1    
which inducts man into the intelligible 
world2 his 8union0 is  the ,plotinian   
ecstatic vision of the ,one4 ,it        
profoundly impressed the  later         
,christian mystics1 and has long been   
accepted as the classic  description of 
spiritual growth1 because it has been   
found again and  again to answer to     
experience4 ,it is therefore worth our  
while to  examine it with some care4    
,first we notice how gentle1 gradual and
 natural is the process of  sublimation 
that ,dionysius demands of us4          
,according to him1 the mystic  life is a
 life centred on reality3 the life that 
first seeks reality  without flinching1 
then loves and adores the reality       
perceived1 and at  last1 wholly         
surrendered to it1 is 8led by ,god      
alone40 ,first1 the self  is 8inclined  
to learn true wisdom40 ,it awakes to new
 needs1 is cured  of its belief in sham 

values1 and distinguishes between real  
and unreal  objects of desire4 ,that    
craving for more life and more love     
which lies  at the very heart of our    
selfhood1 here slips from the charmed   
circle of  the senses into a wider air4 
,when this happens abruptly it is called
  8conversion02 and may then have the   
character of a psychic convulsion  and  
be accompanied by various secondary     
psychological phenomena4 ,but  often it 
comes without observation4 ,here the    
essentials are a desire and  a          
disillusionment sufficiently strong to  
overcome our natural sloth1 our         
primitive horror of change4 8,the first 
beginning of all things is a  craving10 
says ,boehme2 8we are creatures of will 
and desire40 ,the divine  discontent1   
the hunger for reality1 the             
unwillingness to be satisfied  with the 
purely animal or the purely social level
 of consciousness1 is  the first        
essential stage in the development of   
the mystical  consciousness4    ,so the 

self is either suddenly or gradually    
inclined to 8true wisdom02  and this    
change of angle affects the whole       
character1 not only or indeed  specially
 the intellectual outlook1 but the      
ethical outlook too4 ,this is  the      
meaning of 8purgation40 ,false ways of  
feeling and thinking1  established      
complexes which have acquired for us an 
almost sacred  character1 and governed  
though we knew it not all our reactions 
to  life--these must be broken up4 ,that
 mental and moral sloth which keeps us  
so comfortably wrapped in unrealities   
must go4 ,this phase in the  mystic's   
growth has been specially emphasized and
 worked out by the  ,christian mystics1 
who have made considerable additions to 
the  philosophy and natural history of  
the soul4 ,the ,christian sense of sin  
and conception of charity1 the          
,christian notion of humility as a      
finding  of our true level1 an          
exchanging of the unreal standards of   
egoism for  the disconcerting realities 

of life seen from the angle of          
,eternity2 the  steadfast refusal to    
tolerate any claim to spirituality which
 is not  solidly based on moral values1 
or which is divorced from the spirit of 
tenderness and love--all this has       
immensely enriched the mysticism of the 
,west1 and filled up some of the gaps   
left by ,neoplatonism4 ,it is           
characteristic of ,christianity that1   
addressing itself to all men--not1  as  
,neoplatonism tended to do1 to the      
superior person--and offering to all    
men participation in ,eternal ,life1 it 
takes human nature as it is2 and  works 
from the bottom up1 instead of beginning
 at a level which only a  few of the    
race attain4 ,christianity perceived how
 deeply normal men are  enslaved by the 
unconscious2 how great a moral struggle 
is needed for  their emancipation4      
,hence it concentrated on the first     
stage of  purgation1 and gave it new    
meaning and depth4 ,the monastic rule of
  poverty1 chastity and obedience--and  

we must remember that the original  aim 
of monasticism was to provide a setting 
in which the mystical life  could be    
lived--aims at the removal of those     
self-centred desires and  attachments   
which chain consciousness to a personal 
instead of a  universal life4 ,he who no
 longer craves for personal possessions1
  pleasures or powers1 is very near to  
perfect liberty4 ,his attention is      
freed from its usual concentration on   
the self's immediate interests1  and at 
once he sees the ,universe in a new1    
more valid1 because  disinterested      
light4                                  
8,povertate  nulla avere                
e nulla cosa poi volere                 
ed omne cosa possedere                  
en spirito de libertade40    ,yet this  
positive moral purity which ,christians 
declared necessary to  the spiritual    
life was not centred on a lofty         
aloofness from human  failings1 but on a
 self-giving and disinterested love1 the
 complete  abolition of egoism4 ,this   

alone1 it declared1 could get rid of    
that  inward disharmony--one aspect of  
the universal conflict between the      
instinctive and the rational life--which
 ,boehme called the 8powerful           
contrarium0 warring with the soul4      
,now this 8perfect charity in life      
surrendered10 however attained1 is an   
essential character of the true mystic2 
without it1 contemplation is an         
impossibility or a sham4 ,but when we   
come to the means by which it is to  be 
attained1 we re-enter the region of     
controversy2 for here we are at  once   
confronted by the problem of asceticism1
 and its connection with                
mysticism--perhaps the largest and most 
difficult of the questions now  facing  
those who are concerned with the        
re-statement of the laws of the         
spiritual life4 ,originally regarded as 
a gymnastic of the soul1 an  education  
in those manly virtues of self-denial   
and endurance without  which the        
spiritual life is merely an exquisite   

form of hedonism1  asceticism was       
identified by ,christian thought with   
the idea of  mortification2 the killing 
out of all those impulses which deflect 
the  soul from the straight path to     
,god4 ,for the true mystic1 it is never 
more than a means to an end2 and is     
often thrown aside when that end is     
attained4 ,its necessity is therefore a 
purely practical question4  ,fasting and
 watching may help one to dominate      
unruly instincts1 and so  attain a      
sharper and purer concentration on ,god2
 but make another so  hungry and sleepy 
that he can think of nothing else4 ,thus
 ,jacopone da  ,todi said of his own    
early austerities that they resulted    
chiefly in  indigestion1 insomnia and   
colds in the head2 whilst ,john ,wesley 
found in  fasting a positive spiritual  
good4 ,some ascetic practices again are 
almost certainly disguised indulgences  
of those very cravings which they  are  
supposed to kill1 but in fact merely    
repress4 ,others--such as hair  shirts1 

chains1 and so forth--depended for their
 meaning on a medival  view of the body 
and of the virtues of physical pain     
which is  practically extinct1 and now  
seems to most of us utterly artificial4 
,no  one will deny that austerity is    
better than luxury for the spiritual    
life2 but perfect detachment of the will
 and senses can be achieved  without    
resort to merely physical expedients by 
those living normally in  the world1 and
 this is the essential thing4    ,the   
true asceticism is a gymnastic not of   
the body1 but of the mind4 ,it  involves
 training in the art of recollection2   
the concentration of  thought1 will1 and
 love upon the eternal realities which  
we commonly  ignore4 ,the embryo        
contemplative1 if his spiritual vision  
is indeed to  be enlarged1 and his mind 
kindled1 as ,dionysius says1 to 8the    
burning of  love10 must acquire and keep
 a special state of inward poise1 an    
attitude of attention1 which is best    
described as 8the state of prayer02     

that same condition which ,george ,fox  
called 8keeping in the ,universal       
,spirit40 ,if we do not attend to       
reality1 we are not likely to perceive  
it4 ,the readjustments which shall make 
this attention natural and  habitual are
 a phase in man's inward conflict for   
the redemption of  consciousness from   
its lower and partial attachments4 ,this
 conflict is  no dream4 ,it means hard  
work2 mental and moral discipline of the
  sternest kind4 ,the downward drag is  
incessant1 and can be combated only  by 
those who are clearly aware of it1 and  
are willing to sacrifice lower          
interests and joys to the demands of the
 spiritual life4 ,in this sense         
mortification is an integral part of the
 8purgative way40 ,unless the  self's   
8inclination to true wisdom0 is strong  
enough to inspire these  costing and    
heroic efforts1 its spiritual cravings  
do not deserve the  name of mysticism4  
,these1 then1 seem essential factors in 
the readjustment which the  mystics call

 purgation4 ,we go on to their next     
stage1 the so-called 8way  of           
illumination40 ,here1 says ,dionysius1  
the mind is kindled by  contemplation to
 the burning of love4 ,there is a mental
 and an emotional  enhancement1 whereby 
the self apprehends the reality it has  
sought2  whether under the veils of     
religion1 philosophy1 or                
nature-mysticism4  ,many mystics have   
made clear statements about this phase  
in human  transcendence4 ,thus the      
,upanishads invite us to 8know          
everything in the  ,universe as         
enveloped in ,god40 8,when the purified 
seeker10 says ,plato1  8comes to the    
end1 he will suddenly perceive a nature 
of wondrous  beauty4444 ,beauty         
absolute1 separate1 simple and          
everlasting40 ,his  follower ,plotinus  
says that by spiritual intuition man1   
8wrought into  harmony with the         
,supreme10 enters into communion with   
,nous1 the  8intelligible world0 of     
eternal realities--that splendour yonder

 which is  his home3 and further that   
this light1 shining upon the soul1      
enlightens  it1 makes it a member of the
 spiritual order1 and so 8transforms the
  furnace of this world into a garden of
 flowers40 ,ruysbroeck declares  that   
this eternal world 8is not ,god1 but it 
is the light in which we see  ,him40    
,jacopone da ,todi says that the self1  
achieving the crystalline  heaven1      
8feels itself to be a part of all       
things10 because it has  annihilated its
 separate will and is conformed to the  
movement of the  ,divine ,life4 ,kabir  
says3 8,the middle region of the sky1   
wherein the  ,spirit dwelleth1 is       
radiant with the music of light40       
,boehme calls it  the 8light-world      
proceeding from the fire-world02 and    
says it is the  origin of that outward  
world in which we dwell4 8,this light10 
he says1  8shines through and through   
all1 but is only apprehended by that    
which  unites itself thereto40 ,it seems
 to me fairly clear that these1 and many

  other descriptions ,i cannot now      
quote1 refer to an identical state of   
consciousness1 which might be called an 
experience of ,eternity1 but not  of the
 ,eternal ,one4 ,i say 8an experience10 
not merely a mental  perception4        
,contemplation1 which is the traditional
 name for that  concentrated attention  
in which this phase of reality is       
revealed1 is an  activity of all our    
powers3 the heart1 the will1 the mind4  
,dionysius  emphasizes the ardent love  
which this revelation of reality calls  
forth1  and which is indeed a condition 
of our apprehension of it2 for the cold 
gaze of the metaphysician cannot attain 
it1 unless he be a lover and a  mystic  
too4 8,by love ,he may be gotten and    
holden1 by thought never10  says the    
author of ,the ,cloud of ,unknowing4 ,it
 is only through the mood  of humble and
 loving receptivity in which the artist 
perceives beauty1  that the human spirit
 can apprehend a reality which is       
greater than  itself4 ,the many         

declarations about noughting1 poverty   
and 8holy  nothingness0 refer to this4  
,the meek and poor of spirit really are 
the  inheritors of ,eternity4    ,so we 
may place the attitude of selfless      
adoration1 the single-hearted  passion  
of the soul1 among the essentials of the
 mystic in the  illuminated way4 ,a very
 wide range of mystical experiences must
 be  attributed to this second stage in 
man's spiritual growth4 ,some at least  
of its secrets are known to all who are 
capable of sthetic passion2  who1 in the
 presence of beauty1 know themselves to 
stand upon the fringe  of another plane 
of being1 where the elements of common  
life are given  new colour and value1   
and its apparent disharmonies are       
resolved4 ,so1  too1 that deep sense of 
a divine companionship which many ardent
 souls  achieve in prayer is a true if  
transitory experience of illumination4  
,we  shall probably be right in assuming
 that the enormous majority of  mystics 
never get beyond this level of          

consciousness4 ,certainly a large       
number of religious writers on mysticism
 attribute to its higher and  more      
personal manifestations the names of    
8divine union0 and 8unitive  life02     
thereby adding to the difficulty of     
classifying spiritual states1  and      
showing themselves unaware of the great 
distinction which such  full-grown      
mystics as ,plotinus1 ,jacopone da ,todi
 or ,ruysbroeck describe  as existing   
between this 8middle heaven0 and the    
ecstatic vision of the  ,one which alone
 really satisfies their thirst for      
truth4 ,thus ,jacopone  at first uses   
the strongest unitive language to       
describe that rapturous  and emotional  
intercourse with ,divine ,love which    
characterized his  middle period2 but   
when he at last achieves the vision of  
the ,absolute1  he confesses that he was
 in error in supposing that it was      
indeed the  ,truth ,whom he thus saw and
 worshipped under veils4                
8,or1 parme1 fo fallanza1               

non se' quel che credea1                
tenendo non avea                        
vert senza errore40    ,thus ,ruysbroeck
 attributes to the contemplative life1  
8the inward and  upward-going ways by   
which one may pass into the ,presence of
 ,god10 but  distinguishes these from   
that super-essential life wherein 8we   
are  swallowed up1 beyond reason and    
above reason1 in the deep quiet of the  
,godhead which is never moved40    ,all 
the personal raptures of devotional     
mysticism1 all the  nature-mystic's     
joyous consciousness of ,god in         
creation1 ,blake's 8world  of           
imagination and vision10 the 8coloured  
land0 of 41 the ,sfi's  8tavern on the  
way10 where he is refreshed by a draught
 of supersensual  wine1 belong to the   
way of illumination4 ,for the ,christian
 mystic the  world into which it inducts
 him is1 pre-eminently1 the sphere of   
the  divine ,logos-,christ1 fount of    
creation and source of all beauty2 the  
hidden ,steersman who guides and upholds

 the phenomenal world3                  
8,splendor che dona a tutto 'l mondo    
luce1                   amor1 ,ies1 de  
li angeli belleza1                      
cielo e terra per te si conduce         
e splende in tutte cose tua fattezza40  
,here the reality behind appearance is  
still mediated to the mystic under      
symbols and forms4 ,the variation of    
these symbols is great2 his adoring     
gaze now finds new life and significance
 in the appearances of nature1  the     
creations of music and of art1 the      
imagery of religion and  philosophy1 and
 reality speaks to him through his own  
credal  conceptions4 ,but absolute value
 cannot be attributed to any of these1  
even the most sacred3 they change1 yet  
the experience remains4 ,thus an        
identical consciousness of close        
communion with ,god is obtained by the  
non-sacramental ,quaker in his silence  
and by the sacramental ,catholic in  the
 ,eucharist4 ,the ,christian            
contemplative's sense of personal       

intercourse with the divine as manifest 
in the incarnate ,christ is hard  to    
distinguish from that of the ,hindu     
,vaishnavite1 when we have allowed  for 
the different constituents of his       
apperceiving mass3                      
8,dark1 dark the far ,unknown and closed
 the way               ,to thought and  
speech2 silent the ,scriptures2 yea1    
,no word the ,vedas say4                
8,not thus the ,manifest4 ,how fair6 how
 near6               ,gone is our thirst
 if only ,he appear--               ,he1
 to the heart so dear40    ,so1 too1 the
 ,sfi mystic who has learned to say3 8,i
 never saw anything  without seeing ,god
 therein20 ,kabir exclaiming3 8,i have  
stilled my  restless mind1 and my heart 
is radiant2 for in ,thatness ,i have    
seen  beyond ,thatness1 in company ,i   
have seen the ,comrade ,himself20 the   
,neoplatonist rapt in contemplation of  
the intelligible world 8yonder02        
,brother ,lawrence doing his cooking in 
the presence of ,god1 reveal under      

analysis an identical type of           
consciousness4 ,this consciousness is   
the  essential2 the symbols under which 
the self apprehends it are not4         
,among these symbols we must reckon a   
large number of the secondary  phenomena
 of mysticism3 divine visions and       
voices1 and other  dramatizations of the
 self's apprehensions and desires4 ,the 
best mystics  have always recognized the
 doubtful nature of these so-called     
divine  revelations and favours1 and    
have tried again and again to set up    
tests  for discerning those which really
 8come from ,god0--i4 e4 mediate a      
valid spiritual experience4 ,personally1
 ,i think very few of these  phenomena  
are mystical in the true sense4 ,just as
 our normal  consciousness is more or   
less at the mercy of invasions from the 
unconscious region1 of impulses which we
 fail to trace to their true  origin2 so
 too the mystical consciousness is      
perpetually open to  invasion from the  
lower centres4 ,these invasions are not 

always  understood by the mystic4       
,obvious examples are the erotic        
raptures of  the ,sfi poets1 and the    
emotional1 even amorous relations in    
which many  ,christian ascetics believe 
themselves to stand to ,christ or ,our  
,lady4  ,the ,holy ,ghost saying to     
,angela of ,foligno1 8,i love you better
 than any  other woman in the vale of   
,spoleto02 the human raptures of        
,mechthild of  ,magdeburg with her      
,bridegroom2 ,st4 ,bernard's attitude to
 the ,virgin2 the  passionate love-songs
 of ,jacopone da ,todi2 the mystical    
marriage of ,st4  ,catherine of ,siena2 
,st4 ,teresa's 8wound of love02 these1  
and many  similar episodes1 demand no   
supernatural explanation1 and add       
nothing to  our knowledge of the work of
 the ,spirit in man's soul4 ,so1 too1   
the  infantile craving for a sheltering 
and protective love finds expression    
over and over again in mystical         
literature1 and satisfaction in the     
states of consciousness which it has    

induced4 ,the innate longing of the     
self for more life1 more love1 an ever  
greater and fuller experience1  attains 
a complete realization in the lofty     
mystical state called union  with ,god4 
,but failing this full achievement1 the 
self is capable of  offering itself many
 disguised satisfactions2 and among     
these disguised  satisfactions we must  
reckon at least the majority of 8divine 
favours0  enjoyed by contemplatives of  
an emotional type4 ,whatever the essence
 of  mysticism may turn out to be1 it is
 well to recognize these lapses to      
lower levels as among the least         
fortunate of its accidents4    ,we come 
to the third stage1 the true goal of    
mystic experience2 the  intuitive       
contact with that ultimate reality which
 theologians mean by  the ,godhead and  
philosophers by the ,absolute1 a contact
 in which1 as  ,richard of ,st4 ,victor 
says 8the soul gazes upon ,truth without
 any veils  of creatures--not in a      
mirror darkly1 but in its pure          

simplicity40 ,the  claim to this is the 
loftiest claim which can be made by     
human  consciousness4 ,there is little  
we can say of it1 because there is      
little  we know2 save that the vision or
 experience is always the vision or     
experience of a ,unity which reconciles 
all opposites1 and fulfils all  man's   
highest intuitions of reality4 8,be lost
 altogether in ,brahma like  an arrow   
that has completely penetrated its      
target10 say the ,upanishads4  ,this    
self-loss1 says ,dionysius the          
,areopagite1 is the ,divine ,initiation3
  wherein we 8pass beyond the topmost   
altitudes of the holy ascent1 and  leave
 behind all divine illumination and     
voices and heavenly utterances2  and    
plunge into the darkness where truly    
dwells1 as ,scripture saith1  that ,one 
,which is beyond all things40 ,some     
recent theologians have tried  to       
separate the conceptions of ,god and of 
the ,absolute3 but mystics  never do    
this1 though some of the most           

clear-sighted1 such as ,meister         
,eckhart1 have separated that           
unconditioned ,godhead known in ecstasy 
from  the personal ,god who is the      
object of devotional religion1 and who  
represents a humanization of reality4   
,when the great mystic achieves the     
8still1 glorious1 and absolute ,oneness0
 which finally satisfies his  thirst for
 truth--the 8point where all lines meet 
and show their  meaning0--he generally  
confesses how symbolic was the object of
 his  earlier devotion1 how partial his 
supposed communion with the ,divine4    
,thus ,jacopone da ,todi--exact and     
orthodox ,catholic though he was--when  
he  reached 8the hidden heaven10        
discovered and boldly declared the      
approximate character of all his        
previous conceptions of1 and communion  
with ,god2 the great extent to which    
subjective elements had entered into    
his experience4 ,in the great ode which 
celebrates his ecstatic vision of       
,truth1 when 8ineffable love1 imageless 

goodness1 measureless light0 at  last   
shone in his heart1 he says3 8,i thought
 ,i knew ,thee1 tasted ,thee1  saw ,thee
 under image3 believing ,i held ,thee in
 ,thy completeness ,i was  filled with  
delight and unmeasured love4 ,but now ,i
 see ,i was  mistaken--,thou art not as 
,i thought and firmly held40 ,so ,tauler
 says that  compared with the warm      
colour and multiplicity of devotional   
experience1  the very ,godhead is a     
8rich nought10 a 8bare pure ground02 and
  ,ruysbroeck that it is 8an unwalled   
world10 8neither this nor that40  8,this
 fruition of ,god10 he says again1 8is a
 still and glorious and  essential      
,oneness beyond the differentiation of  
the ,persons1 where there  is neither an
 outpouring nor an indrawing of ,god1   
but the ,persons are  still and one in  
fruitful love1 in calm and glorious     
unity4444 ,there is  ,god our fruition  
and ,his own1 in an eternal and         
fathomless bliss40    8,how1 then1 am ,i
 to love the ,godhead80 says ,eckhart4  

8,thou shalt love  ,him as ,he is3 not  
as a ,god1 not as a ,spirit1 not as a   
,person1 not as an  image1 but as a     
sheer pure ,one4 ,and in this ,one we   
are to sink from  nothing to nothing1 so
 help us ,god40 8,this consciousness of 
the ,one10  says ,plotinus1 8comes not  
by knowledge1 but by an actual ,presence
  superior to any knowing4 ,to have it1 
the soul must rise above knowledge1     
above all its wandering from its unity40
 ,he goes on to explain that all        
partial objects of love and             
contemplation1 even ,beauty and         
,goodness  themselves1 are lower than   
this1 springing from the ,one as light  
from  the sun4 ,to see the disc1 we must
 put on smoked glasses1 shut off the    
rays1 and submit to the 8radiant        
darkness0 which enters so frequently    
into mystical descriptions of the       
,absolute4    ,it is an interesting     
question whether this consummation of   
the mystic  way need involve that       
suppression of the surface-consciousness

 which is  called ecstasy4 ,the majority
 of mystics think that it must2 and     
probably  it is almost inevitable that  
so great a concentration and so lofty an
  intuition should for the time it lasts
 drive all other forms of  awareness    
from the field4 ,even simple            
contemplation cannot be achieved        
without some deliberate stilling of the 
senses1 a deliberate focusing of  our   
vagrant attention1 and abolishes        
self-consciousness while it lasts4      
,this is the way that our mental        
machinery works2 but this should not    
make us regard trance-states as any part
 of the essence of mysticism4  ,the     
ecstatic condition is no guarantee of   
mystic vision4 ,it is  frequently       
pathological1 and is often found along  
with other abnormal  conditions in      
emotional visionaries whose revelations 
have no ultimate  characteristics4 ,it  
is1 however1 just as uncritical to      
assume that  ecstasy is necessarily a   
pathological symptom1 as it is to assume

 that  it is necessarily a mystic state4
 ,we have a test which we can apply to  
the ecstatic2 and which separates the   
results of nervous disorder from  those 
of spiritual transcendence4 8,what fruit
 dost thou bring back from  this thy    
vision80 is the final question which    
,jacopone da ,todi addresses  to the    
mystic's soul4 ,and the answer is3 8,an 
ordered life in every  state40 ,the true
 mystic in his ecstasy has seen1 however
 obscurely1 the  key of the ,universe3  
8la forma universal di questo nodo40    
,hence he has a  clue by which to live4 
,reality has become real to him2 and    
there are no  others of whom we can     
fully say that4 ,so1 ordered            
correspondence with  each level of      
existence1 physical and spiritual1      
successive and  eternal--a practical    
realization of the proportions of       
life--is the  guarantee of the genuine  
character of that sublimation of        
consciousness  which is called the      
mystic way2 and this distinguishes it   

from the  fantasies of psychic illness  
or the disguised self-indulgences of the
  dream-world4 ,the real mystic is not a
 selfish visionary4 ,he grows in  vigour
 as he draws nearer and nearer the      
sources of true life1 and his  goal is  
only reached when he participates in the
 creative energies of  the ,divine      
,nature4 ,the perfect man1 says the     
,sfi1 must not only die  into ,god in   
ecstasy 7fana71 but abide in and with   
,him 7baqa71  manifesting ,his truth in 
the world of time4 ,he is called to a   
life more  active1 because more         
contemplative1 than that of other men3  
to fulfil  the monastic ideal of a      
balanced career of work and prayer4     
8,then only  is our life a whole10 says 
,ruysbroeck1 8when contemplation and    
work  dwell in us side by side1 and we  
are perfectly in both of them at once40 
,plotinus speaks in the same sense under
 another image in one of his most       
celebrated passages3 8,we always move   
round the ,one1 but we do not always    

fix our gaze upon ,it4 ,we are like a   
choir of singers standing round the     
conductor1 who do not always sing in    
time1 because their attention is        
diverted to some external object4 ,when 
they look at the conductor1 they  sing  
well and are really with him4 ,so we    
always move round the ,one4 ,if  we did 
not1 we should dissolve and cease to    
exist4 ,but we do not always  look      
towards the ,one4 ,when we do1 we attain
 the end of our existence and  our rest2
 and we no longer sing out of tune1 but 
form in truth a divine  choir about the 
,one40 ,in this conception of man's     
privilege and duty we  have the         
indestructible essence of mysticism4    
,,the ,,mystic ,,and ,,the ,,corporate  
,,life      ,one of the commonest of the
 criticisms which are brought against   
the  mystics is that they represent an  
unsocial type of religion2 that their   
spiritual enthusiasms are personal and  
individual1 and that they do not  share 
or value the corporate life and         

institutions of the church or  community
 to which they belong4 ,yet1 as a matter
 of fact1 the relation  that does and   
should exist between personal religion  
and the corporate  life of the church   
frequently appears in them in a         
peculiarly intense1 a  peculiarly       
interesting form2 and in their lives1   
perhaps1 more easily  than elsewhere1 we
 may discern the principles which do or 
should govern  the relation of the      
individual to the community4    ,in the 
true mystic1 who is so often and so     
wrongly called a 8religious             
individualist10 we see personal religion
 raised to its highest power4 ,if  we   
accept his experience as genuine1 it    
involves an intercourse with the        
spiritual world1 an awareness of it1    
which transcends the normal  experience1
 and appears to be independent of the   
general religious  consciousness of the 
community to which he belongs4 ,the     
mystic speaks  with ,god as a person    
with a ,person1 and not as a member of a

 group4 ,he  lives by an immediate      
knowledge far more than by belief2 by a 
knowledge  achieved in those hours of   
direct1 unmediated intercourse with the 
,transcendent when1 as he says1 he was  
8in union with ,god40 ,the certitude    
then gained--a certitude which he cannot
 impart1 and which is not  generally    
diffused--governs all his reactions to  
the ,universe4 ,it even  persists and   
upholds him in those terrible hours of  
darkness when all  his sense of         
spiritual reality is taken away4        
,such a personality as this seems at    
first sight to stand in little need  of 
the support which the smaller nature1   
the more languid religious              
consciousness1 receives from the        
corporate spirit4 ,by the very term     
8mystic0 we indicate a certain aloofness
 from the crowd1 suggest that he  is in 
possession of a secret which the        
community as a whole does not and       
cannot share2 that he lives at levels to
 which they cannot rise4 ,i think  that 

much of the distrust with which he is   
often regarded comes from  this sense of
 his independence of the herd2 his      
apparent separation from  the often     
clumsy and always symbolic methods of   
institutional religion1  and the further
 fact that his own methods and results  
cannot be  criticized or checked by     
those who have not shared them4 8,i     
spake as ,i  saw10 said ,david2 and     
those who did not see can only preserve 
a  respectful or an exasperated silence4
    ,yet this common opinion that the   
mystic is a lonely soul wholly absorbed 
in his vertical relation with ,god1 that
 his form of religious life  represents 
an opposition to1 and an implicit       
criticism of1 the corporate  and        
institutional form of religious life2   
this is decisively  contradicted by     
history2 which shows us1 again and      
again1 the great  mystics as the loyal  
children of the great religious         
institutions1 and  forces us to admit   
that here as in other departments of    

human activity  the corporate and the   
individual life are intimately plaited  
together4  ,even those who have broken  
away from the churches that reared them1
 have  quickly drawn to themselves      
disciples1 and become the centres of new
  groups4 ,surely1 therefore1 it is     
worth while to examine1 if we can1 the  
nature of the connection between these  
two factors3 to ask1 on the one  hand1  
what it is that the corporate life and  
the group-consciousness  which it       
develops give the mystic2 on the other1 
what is the real value  of the mystic to
 the corporate life of his church8      
,as to the first question3 ,what is it  
that the corporate life does for  the   
great spiritual genius8--for ,i think   
that we may allow the great  mystic to  
be that4 ,first1 and most obviously1 it 
gives him a favourable  environment4 ,he
 must have an environment3 he must be   
affected by it4  ,that is a certainty in
 the case of any living thing2 a        
certainty so  obvious that it would     

hardly be worth stating were it not that
 those who  talk about the mystic       
craving for solitude--his complete      
aloofness from  human life--seem often  
to ignore it4 ,the idea of solitude in  
any complete  sense is1 of course1 an   
illusion4 ,we are bound1 if we live at  
all1 to  accept the fact of a living    
world outside ourselves1 to have social 
relations with something2 and it only   
remains to decide what these  relations 
shall be4 ,the yogi or the hermit who   
retreats to the forest  in order to     
concentrate his mind more utterly upon  
the quest of ,god1  only exchanges the  
society of human beings for the society 
of other  living things4 ,did he        
eliminate all else1 the parasites of his
 own body1  the bacterial populations of
 his alimentary system1 would be there  
to  remind him that man cannot live     
alone4 ,he may shift his position in the
  web of life1 but its strands will     
enmesh him still4 ,so1 too1 the monk or 
nun 8buried alive0 in the cloister is   

still living a family life2 only  it is 
a family life that is governed by       
special ideals4    ,now it is plainly   
better for the mystic1 whose aim is the 
establishment  of special relations with
 the spiritual order1 that the social   
consciousness in which he is immersed1  
and from which he is taking  colour all 
the time1 should have a spiritual and   
religious tendency2  that the social    
acts in which he takes part should      
harmonize rather than  conflict with his
 own deep intuition of reality4 ,the    
difference in  degree between that deep 
intuition and the outward corporate     
acts--the  cult--which he thus shares1  
may be enormous3 for the cult is an     
expression of the crowd consciousness1  
and manifests its spiritual  crudity1   
its innate conservatism1 its primitive  
demands for safety and  personal        
rewards4 ,the inadequacy or unreality of
 the forms1 the low  level of the       
adoration which they evoke1 may distress
 and even disgust  him4 ,yet1 even so1  

it is better for him that he should be  
within a  church than outside it4       
,compared with this one fact--that he is
 a member  of a social group which      
recognizes spiritual values1 and        
therefore lives  in an environment      
permeated by religious concepts--the    
accuracy in detail  of the creed which  
that group professes1 the adequacy of   
its liturgical  acts1 is unimportant4   
,next1 the demands made and restrictions
 imposed by the community on the        
individual are good for the mystic4 ,man
 is social right through2 in  spirit as 
well as in body and mind4 ,his most     
sublime spiritual  experiences are      
themselves social in type4 ,intercourse 
of a person with  a ,person1 the merging
 of his narrow consciousness in a larger
  consciousness1 the achievement of a   
divine sonship1 a spiritual  marriage3  
these are the highest things that he can
 say concerning his  achievement of     
,divine ,reality4 ,and they all entail1 
not a narrow  self-realization1 but the 

breaking-down of barriers2 the          
setting-up of  wider relationships4 ,it 
follows that self-mergence in the common
 life is  an education for that         
self-mergence in the absolute life at   
which the  mystic aims4 ,such           
self-mergence1 and the training in      
humility1  self-denial1 obedience1      
suppleness1 which is involved in it1 is 
held by  all ascetic teachers to be     
essential to the education of the human 
soul4  ,union with1 and to a certain    
extent submission to1 the church1 to the
  family--to life1 in fact--an attitude 
of self-giving surrender3 this is  the  
best of preparations for that total     
self-naughting of the soul which  is    
involved in union with ,god2 that utter 
doing-away of the ,i1 the ,me1  and the 
,mine1 till it becomes one will and one 
love with the divine will  and love4    
,on these two counts alone--harmonious  
environment and salutary  discipline--we
 shall expect1 other things being equal1
 that the richest  and most fruitful    

types of mystical experience will arise 
within  religious institutions rather   
than outside them2 and as a matter of   
fact  this is what we do find4 ,the     
,hindu ascetic has his recognized place 
in  the ,hindu system4 ,he has but      
reached the summit of a pyramid which is
  firmly based on earth4 ,the ,sfi is a 
good ,moslem1 and commonly the  member  
of a religious confraternity which      
imposes a strict rule of life4  ,the    
,christian mystic1 too1 grows up from   
the ,christian society4 ,his  roots     
strike deep down into that favouring    
soil4 ,though his branches may  shoot up
 to the heavens1 and seem to draw thence
 all the light and heat  by which he    
lives1 yet he is really fed from below  
as well as from  above4 ,when he refuses
 to acknowledge this principle1 when he 
abjures  the discipline1 the authority1 
the support of the corporate life1 and  
regards himself as a separate           
individual1 dependent on direct         
inspiration alone2 how quickly he       

becomes unbalanced and eccentric1 how   
difficult it is for him to avoid the    
disease of spiritual megalomania4       
,refusing the support and discipline of 
organized religion1 he becomes  like a  
poet who refuses to be controlled by the
 laws of prosody2 which  seem to limit1 
but really strengthen and beautify1 his 
work4    ,it is true that right through 
the history of ,christian mysticism     
there  has been a line of insurgent     
mystics who have made this refusal2     
whose  direct vision of spiritual       
perfection has brought with it so       
overwhelming a sense of the             
imperfection1 formalism1 unreality1 the 
dreadfulness of religious institutions1 
that it has forced them into a  position
 of more or less acute revolt from the  
official church4 ,so clear  has been    
their own consciousness of the spiritual
 world that the soul's  life and growth1
 its actual and individual rebirth1 have
 shone out for  them as the only things 
that matter4 ,hence the dramatization of

 these  things in ceremonial religion1  
the effort to give spiritual values a   
concrete form1 has seemed to them like a
 blasphemous parody4 ,unable to         
harmonize the inward and the            
outward--the all-penetrating reality of 
religion as they understand it1 with its
 crude outward expression in the        
external cult1 where formal acts and    
intellectual assents so often seem  to  
take the place of inward changes--in the
 end they solve the problem by          
repudiating the external and visible    
church4 ,this rebel-type1 victims of    
exaggerated individualism1 which would  
make the special experiences of a  few  
the standard for the whole race1 has    
persisted side by side with the         
law-abiding type2 who have preserved1 if
 not always a perfect balance  between  
liberty and obedience1 at any rate a    
more reasonable proportion  between     
them4 ,often the corruption of the times
 in which he lived has  seemed to the   
mystic to make such rebellion           

inevitable4 ,this is  particularly true 
in the case of ,george ,fox1 whose      
ragings were directed  far less against 
organized religion than against unreal  
religion2 and  who might1 had he lived  
in fourteenth-century ,germany1 have    
found a  congenial career as one of the 
,friends of ,god4 ,yet1 even so1 the    
careers  of these rebels have been on   
the whole unfruitful1 compared with     
those  who remained within the          
institutional framework and effected    
their  reforms from inside4 ,they seldom
 quite escape the taint of arrogance4   
,there is apt to be a touch of          
self-consciousness in their sanctity4   
,we  have only to compare the influence 
exerted by the outstanding figures of   
the two groups1 to realize which type of
 spiritual life has had the best  and   
most enduring influence on the spiritual
 history of the race2 which1  in fact1  
best stands the pragmatic test4    ,on  
the rebel side we have1 of course1 the  
leaders of many dead heresies  and      

sects4 ,the ,montanists of the second   
century1 with their claim to  direct    
inspiration1 their cult of ecstatic     
phenomena and prophetic  speech2 the    
numerous mystical heretics and          
illuminati of the ,middle  ,ages1 often 
preaching the most extravagant doctrines
 and always claiming  for them divine   
authority--for instance1 the ,brethren  
of the ,free ,spirit1  who claimed the  
possession of the ,holy ,ghost as an    
excuse not only for  theological1 but   
also for moral aberrations4 ,later1     
there are the  ,quietists1 a            
particularly poisonous brand of         
unbalanced contemplatives2  and1        
contemporary with their revolt against  
,catholic forms and  authorities1       
innumerable mystical revolts against    
,protestant forms and  authorities1 the 
very names of whose originators are now 
almost  forgotten4 ,amongst these two   
mighty figures stand up3 ,jacob ,boehme 
and  ,george ,fox4 ,but we must remember
 as regards ,boehme that1 although he   

certainly spoke with great violence     
against the error of confusing  external
 acceptance of religion with internal   
adherence to ,god1  8historical         
,christians0 with 8new men10 he never   
disowned the ,lutheran  ,church within  
which he was born4 ,on the contrary1 it 
was that church  which persecuted and   
finally disowned him4 ,as to that great 
and strange  genius1 ,george ,fox1 who  
aimed at nothing less than a world      
religion of a  mystical type1 the free  
and conscious contact of every soul with
 the  ,spirit of ,god1 ,i believe that  
any unbiassed student of his ,journal   
must  allow that1 enormous as his       
achievement was1 it might have been far 
greater had his violent sense of        
vocation1 his remarkable spiritual      
gifts1 been disciplined and controlled  
by the corporate consciousness as       
expressed in institutional religion4    
,then some of the energy which he       
expended in denunciations of            
steeple-houses might have been employed 

in  healing the disharmony between the  
visible and invisible church2 helping   
that vision of the ,eternal by which he 
was possessed to find concrete          
expression within traditional forms4    
,here1 as elsewhere1 the ,inner ,light  
would have burned with a better and a   
truer flame had it submitted to  the    
limitations of a lamp4    ,i do not     
suggest that these people1 even the most
 extravagant of them1  were not truly   
spiritual or truly mystical4 ,the sort  
of criticism which  divides mystics into
 two groups--the orthodox1 who are      
inspired by ,god1  and the heretical1   
who are inspired by ,satan--of course   
belongs to the  dark ages of theology4  
,on the contrary1 these rebel-mystics   
most often  possessed--sometimes in a   
highly developed form--the sharp direct 
consciousness of the ,divine ,life which
 is the essential quality of the        
mystic4 ,this was to them the central   
fact2 by comparison with it they  judged
 all other things4 ,what they did not   

possess was the balancing1  equivalent  
consciousness of1 and reverence for1    
corporate human life2  that             
group-personality which is the church1  
and its value and authority4  ,they     
lacked the sense that the whole         
organism1 the whole herd1 with all  its 
imperfections1 is yet interdependent1   
and has got to move together1  urged    
from within by its more vivid spirits1  
not stung from without1 as  if by some  
enthusiastic spiritual mosquito4 ,to a  
greater or lesser  extent they failed in
 effect because they tried to be        
mystical in a  non-human instead of a   
human way2 were 8other-worldly0 in the  
bad sense  of the word4 ,they have not  
always remembered that ,christ ,himself1
 the  supreme pattern of all mystics1   
lived a balanced life of clear personal 
vision1 unmediated intercourse with ,god
 on the one hand1 and gentle and        
patient submission to the corporate     
consciousness on the other hand4        
,though severely critical of the        

unrealities and hypocrisy of current    
institutionalism1 he yet sought to form 
the group1 the 8little flock10  in which
 ,his ideas should be incorporated      
within1 and not over against1  the      
official ,jewish ,church2 and thus      
gradually to leaven the whole4    ,put  
now against these vigorous              
individualists the names of the mystics 
who have never felt that their          
passionate correspondences with the     
,eternal ,order--their clear vision of  
the adorable ,perfection of ,god and    
the imperfection1 languor1 and          
corruption of man--need involve a break 
with the corporate religious life4      
,observe how these have continued for   
centuries to be fruitful personalities1 
often not merely within their  own      
communion1 but outside it too2 how they 
have acted as salt1 as  leaven1         
permeating and transmuting the general  
consciousness of the ,body  of ,christ4 
,often these1 too1 have been            
reformers--drastic1 unrelenting         

disturbers of the established order of  
things4 ,st4 ,bernard1 ,st4             
,hildegarde1 ,mechthild1 ,jacopone da   
,todi1 ,st4 ,catherine of ,siena1       
,tauler1  were passionate in their      
denunciations of slackness1 corruption1 
and  disorder4 ,but they made their     
protests1 and brought back the general  
consciousness to a closer contact with  
reality1 from within1 and not  from     
without1 the ,christian church4         
,consider ,st4 ,bernard and ,richard of 
,st4 ,victor1 whose writings influenced 
for centuries the whole of the          
religious literature of ,europe2 ,st4   
,hildegarde1 ,st4 ,gertrude1 ,mechthild 
of ,magdeburg1 great mystics1 good      
churchwomen1 but severe denouncers of   
formalism and unreality2 ,st4 ,francis  
of ,assisi1 who removed evangelical     
poverty from the sphere of notion to the
 sphere of fact2 ,st4 ,catherine  of    
,siena1 who changed ,italian politics2  
,st4 ,joan of ,arc1 who altered         
,european history2 the soaring          

transcendentalism of ,ruysbroeck1 who   
was  yet content to be a humble parish  
priest2 the great mystical movement of  
the ,friends of ,god1 ardent ,catholics 
and ardent reformers too4 ,even our  own
 great mystical poets1 ,donne1 ,crashaw1
 ,vaughan1 ,herbert1 ,traherne1         
,coventry ,patmore and ,francis         
,thompson1 were one and all convinced   
institutionalists4 ,finally1 look at    
some of the great cloistered  mystics1  
of whom ,st4 ,teresa and ,st4 ,john of  
the ,cross are types2 and see  how1     
though they seem in the eyes of the     
world to be 8buried alive10  they are   
and remain the ardent centres of a      
spreading light1 which  perpetually     
stimulates and revivifies not only      
members of their own  order or          
communion1 but spiritually sensitive    
souls outside4    ,perhaps it is in     
those contemplatives who lived within   
and were obedient  to the rule of the   
great monastic orders1 that we can see  
most easily  the nature of the link     

between the individual soul and the     
religious  group within which it does or
 should develop2 the enormous value to  
it  of tradition1 that huge accumulation
 of tendencies1 ideals1 systems1  wisdom
 both speculative and practical1 which  
is preserved in the  corporate          
consciousness4 ,here the influence of   
the religious family1 the  rule of life1
 the ideal held out1 the severe         
education in self-control  administered 
to every novice1 can always be traced2  
conditioning1 and1 ,i  believe1 helping 
and bracing the character of that       
communion with the  ,transcendent which 
the individual mystic enjoys4 ,as the   
baby at birth  enters into a            
civilization prepared for him1 and is at
 once supported1  educated1 even clothed
 by a tradition prepared by countless   
generations  of the past2 so the novice1
 whose spiritual childhood begins within
 a  great monastic family1              
receives--supposing1 of course1 that the
 order is  true to its ideals--the      

support and benefits of a tradition     
evolved  during previous generations in 
response to the needs of other similar  
souls2 and he is by so much the better  
off than he would be were he a          
solitary1 or a deliberate rebel who     
refuses to accept the heritage of  the  
past4 ,he finds a life beautifully      
adjusted to his needs2 yet which1  being
 greater and older than his own1 keeps  
his rampant individualism in  check1    
nurtures and cultivates his growing     
spiritual consciousness1 and            
opposes--by its perpetual demands on    
humility1 obedience1 and                
unselfishness--the vice of pride which  
the mystical individualist seldom       
escapes4 ,such a mystical consciousness 
would not necessarily die without  the  
support of this corporate tradition1 any
 more than the baby would  necessarily  
die did it emerge into the conditions of
 the paleolithic  cave instead of into  
those of the modern nursery4 ,but in    
both cases the  environment would be    

unfavourable1 and the effort required to
 attain  that position into which the   
child of tradition enters at birth would
 be  an enormous drain upon the powers  
of the organism4    ,the instinct of    
many mystics for a certain measure of   
solitude is no  contradiction of this4  
,the hermits and the anchorites1 even   
such rare  and extreme types as ,st4    
,anthony of ,egypt1 who is said to have 
lived in  perfect solitude for twenty   
years1 did not withdraw from the        
,christian  society2 nor did they disown
 the validity of its external and       
institutional life4 ,they sought to     
construct or find within the  ,christian
 church an environment within which     
their special tendencies  could develop 
in a normal way2 and this not merely for
 themselves1 but  also for the sake of  
other souls4 ,such a period of          
withdrawal was felt  by them to be a    
necessary condition of their full       
effectiveness for  life4 ,so1 too1 the  
poet or the artist must retreat from his

 fellows if  he is to commune with the  
eternal loveliness and interpret her to 
other  men3 for a total concentration   
upon reality is the condition under     
which  it is revealed4 ,the ,catholic   
,church has always recognized1 and does 
still in the continued existence of the 
cloistered orders1 the  reasonableness  
of this demand4 ,we do not as a rule say
 bitter things  when a person of        
artistic or speculative genius leaves   
the family group  and goes to ,paris or 
,oxford in order that his special powers
 may be  educated and become effective  
for life2 nor should we feel resentment 
because the mystical genius sometimes   
feels that the life of the home  circle1
 or even the normal life of the         
community1 cannot give the  special     
training which he requires4 ,in a few   
cases the mystics have felt  a long     
period of complete isolation to be      
necessary to them2 but most  often they 
have been accessible to those who really
 needed them1 and  helped these all the 

more because of the long periods of     
silence in  which they listened to the  
,voice of ,god1 too often inaudible for 
them1  as for us1 in the general bustle 
of the world4 ,their point of view has  
been beautifully stated by a young      
,french mystic1 ,elizabeth de la        
,trinit1 who died a few years ago4 8,i  
want10 she says1 8to be all  silence1   
all adoration1 that ,i may penetrate    
more and more deeply into  ,god2 and    
become so full of ,him that ,i can give 
,him in my prayers to  those poor souls 
still ignorant of ,his gift40 ,she wants
 to be a channel1  a duct1 by which the 
love and power of ,god1 of which she is 
so strongly  conscious1 can flow out to 
other souls4 ,it is not for herself that
 she  is working2 it is for the world4  
,do we not find expressed there both the
  individual longing and the corporate  
responsibility of the mystic8 ,and  do  
we not touch here the intimate          
connection which should exist between   
the separate life of the great mystic   

and the corporate life of the  church8  
,on the one hand1 the highly organized  
society1 making it  possible for the    
contemplative to develop his special    
powers in a  harmonious environment and 
preventing the frittering of his        
energies2 on  the other1 that           
contemplative1 like a special organ     
developed by the  ,body of ,christ1     
gaining for the whole community contacts
 and certitudes1  which it could not    
gain in any other way4 ,news of ,god can
 only enter the  temporal order through 
some human consciousness4 ,is it        
unreasonable that  for so great an      
office certain individuals should be set
 apart--within  the community1 not over 
against it--and should live in a special
 way8    ,as a matter of fact1 the      
church has gained a thousandfold by her 
acquiescence in the special vocation of 
the mystics2 for the treasures  they won
 were never kept for themselves1 but    
always showered upon her4  ,true1 she   
has not hesitated to scrutinize and     

control them2 sometimes  her attitude   
has seemed to the enthusiasts for       
liberty to be  deliberately obscurantist
 and tyrannical4 ,yet1 even here--and   
although in  many cases there has       
clearly been ignorance1 injustice1 and  
persecution--the mystic gains more than 
he loses by submission to the           
collective judgment4 ,even in their     
harshest form1 discipline and  tradition
 are still priceless for him4 ,first1   
they school him in the  virtue of       
humility1 the very foundation of the    
,christian character2  which is seldom  
possessed by the spiritual genius who   
always leads and  never submits1 and    
whose triumphant formula1 8,god and     
myself60 too often  ends by becoming    
8,myself and ,god60                  8,o
 caritate1 vita1 ch' ogn' altro amor    
morto2                non vai rompendo  
legge2 nante1 l'observe tutto40    said 
,jacopone da ,todi2 that natural rebel  
who deliberately submitted  himself to  
an uncongenial religious authority1 and 

there found perfect  freedom4    ,next1 
the solid sense of the community1 the   
mere fact that it always  lags behind   
the more vivid spirits1 that the        
forward-moving shepherd who  sees new   
pastures has got to take account of the 
slowest sheep--all this  is a valuable  
safeguard against the notorious         
extravagances of a  mysticism unfettered
 by authority4 ,it is significant that  
the greatest  mystics in all communions 
have ever raised up their voices most   
earnestly against spiritual license2    
have been most eager to submit  their   
soaring intuitions to the witness of    
their ,scriptures or the  corporate     
feeling of their church4 ,they realize  
the fact that they owe  to this church  
the huge debt which every individual    
owes to the  tradition of his art or of 
his trade4 ,the church represents a     
complete  spiritual civilization1 a     
conserver of values2 were it not for    
her1  every new spiritual genius who    
arose would have to begin at the        

beginning1 at the ,stone ,age of the    
soul4 ,instead of that1 he finds        
himself placed within a social order    
enriched by all the contributions  of   
his great predecessors4 ,the bridges are
 built2 the roads are made and  named2  
his own experiences and discoveries are 
made more valid1 less  terrifying1 more 
comprehensible to him1 because others   
have been this  way before4 ,compare the
 clarity1 the sure-footedness as one may
 say1 of  ,ruysbroeck1 of ,st4          
,catherine of ,siena1 of ,st4 ,teresa1  
with the  entanglements1 the sense of   
wandering in beautiful but trackless    
places1  which one feels when reading   
even ,boehme1 ,fox1 or ,blake2 and      
others are  far less coherent than they4
 ,man needs a convention1 a tradition1 a
  limitation1 if he is not to waste his 
creative powers2 and this  convention   
the mystics find best and most easily in
 the forms of the  church to which they 
belong4    ,so we see that the corporate
 life of his church gives the mystic a  

good  deal4 ,what does he1 on his part1 
give to it8    ,those who see in the    
mystic chiefly one who rebels against1  
or has no  use for1 the corporate       
religious life1 and acknowledges no     
authority but  that of his own spiritual
 intuitions1 usually conceive of his    
experiences as having value for himself 
alone4 ,he cannot1 they say1            
communicate them or teach others to     
share them4 ,often1 therefore1 he is    
spoken of as useless1 selfish1          
other-worldly3 a 8lonely soul40 ,these  
phrases suggest that those who use them 
have a very narrow view of  usefulness1 
a very materialistic view of the ,body  
of ,christ1 and a very  unevangelical   
view of the relative positions of ,mary 
and ,martha4 ,as a  matter of fact1 the 
mystic1 instead of being useless1       
selfish1 and  other-worldly1 is useful1 
unselfish1 and this-worldly4 ,he is a   
creative  personality1 consecrated to   
the great practical business of         
actualizing  the eternal order within   

the temporal2 and although the pursuit  
of this  business brings him hours of   
exquisite joy1 it brings him hours of   
great  suffering too--suffering which is
 gladly and patiently endured4 ,he does 
it1 or tries to do it1 not because he   
seeks the joy1 but solely for           
love--love of ,god1 love of his         
fellow-men--for he is perpetuating in a 
certain sense the work of ,christ1      
mediating between his brethren and      
,divine ,reality4 ,hence1 where he is   
fully developed1 he will1 as            
,ruysbroeck tells us1 swing like a      
pendulum between contemplation and      
action1 between adoration of ,god and   
service of man4 ,in him life has        
evolved her most powerful spiritual     
engine2 and she uses it not for the     
next world1 but for this world1 for the 
eternalization of the here and  now1 the
 making of it more real and more divine1
 more fully charged with  the grandeur  
of ,god4 ,often the mystic's special    
work is done in a  positive and obvious 

fashion which should satisfy the most   
practical  mind1 and which is yet wholly
 actuated by his central intention1 that
 of  raising up--as he sometimes        
says--new children of the ,eternal      
,goodness1  bringing back the corporate 
life to a closer contact with ,god4 8,my
  little children1 of whom ,i travail10 
says ,st4 ,paul to his converts4  ,there
 is a typical mystic speaking of his    
life-work4 ,can we call ,st4  ,francis  
of ,assisi1 the most devoted and        
original of missionaries2 ,st4  ,joan of
 ,arc1 re-making the consciousness of   
,france by the most active of  methods2 
,st4 ,catherine of ,siena1 purifying the
 ,italian ,church2 ,st4  ,teresa1       
regenerating the whole ,carmelite       
,order1 and leaving upon it a  stamp it 
has never lost2 8lazy contemplatives08  
,or ,st4 ,catherine of  ,genoa1 the     
devoted superintendent of a great       
hospital1 who never  permitted her hours
 of ecstatic communion with ,god to     
interfere with her  duty to the sick8   

,taken as a class1 the ,christian       
mystics are distinguished by nothing so 
much as by their heroic and unselfish   
activities2 by their varied and         
innumerable services to the corporate   
life of the church4 ,from their  ranks  
have come missionaries1 preachers1      
prophets1 social reformers1  poets1     
founders of institutions1 servants of   
the poor and the sick1  patient guides  
and instructors of souls4 ,we sometimes 
forget that even  those known chiefly by
 the writings they have left behind them
 have  sacrificed to the difficult task 
of reducing their transcendent          
experience to words1 hours in           
which--were the popular idea of the     
mystic  a true one--they might have been
 idly basking in the ,divine ,light4    
,but  these practical activities1 though
 often great1 are only a part of the    
mystic's contribution to the corporate  
life4 ,if his special claim to          
communion with the ,transcendent be true
 at all--and this argument is  based on 

the assumption that there is at least   
some truth in it--then he  does really  
tap a source of vitality higher than    
that with which other  men have contact4
 ,in the language of theology1 he has   
not merely  8efficient0 but also        
8extraordinary0 grace2 a larger dower of
 life1  directly dependent on his       
larger1 more generous love4 ,this is a  
claim to  which his strange triumphs    
over circumstance1 his conquests over   
ill-fortune1 ill-health1 oppositions and
 deprivations of every kind1  give      
weight4 ,not many strong and normal     
persons would willingly face1 or  indeed
 endure1 the hardships which ,st4 ,paul1
 ,st4 ,francis1 ,st4 ,joan of  ,arc1    
,st4 ,teresa1 gladly and successfully   
embraced4    ,this larger and intenser  
vitality the mystic does not and cannot 
keep to  himself4 ,he infects with it   
all with whom he comes in contact1      
kindles  the latent fire in them3 for   
the spiritual consciousness is caught1  
not  taught4 ,under his                 

influence--sometimes from the mere      
encounter with his  personality--other  
men begin to live a more real1 a more   
eternal life4  ,ruysbroeck says that the
 ,spirit of ,god1 when it is truly      
received into a  soul1 becomes a        
spreading light2 and history confirms   
this4 ,corporate  experience of ,god    
always begins in a personal experience  
of ,god4 ,the  rise of ,christianity is 
the classic illustration of this truth2 
but  ,hindu and ,moslem religious       
history also declare it4 ,round each of 
the  great unitive mystics little groups
 of ardent disciples1 of spiritual      
children1 have grown up4 ,this is true  
both of those who remained within  and  
those who seceded from the official     
,church--for instance1 ,st4  ,bernard1  
,eckhart1 ,st4 ,francis1 ,tauler1       
,ruysbroeck1 ,st4 ,catherine of  ,siena1
 ,st4 ,catherine of ,genoa1 ,st4        
,teresa1 ,boehme1 ,fox4 ,nor did their  
influence cease with death4    ,further1
 in reckoning up the value of the       

mystics to the church as a  whole1 we   
sometimes forget the extent to which    
that church is indebted  to mystic      
intuition for the actual data upon which
 her corporate life is  based4          
,christianity1 it is true1 is           
fundamentally a historical religion2    
but it is also a religion of experience1
 and its very history deals  quite as   
much with the events which attend human 
intercourse with the  ,transcendent and 
,eternal as with concrete and visible   
happenings in  space and time4 ,the ,new
 ,testament is thick with reports of    
mystical  experiences4 ,the ,fourth     
,gospel and the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul 
depend for  their whole character on the
 soaring mystical genius their writers  
possessed4 ,had ,st4 ,paul never been   
caught up to the third heaven1 he  would
 have had a very different outlook on   
the world1 and ,christianity  would have
 been a different religion in           
consequence4 ,had the ,fourth           
,evangelist never known what it was to  

feel the sap of the ,mystic ,vine  flow 
through him1 his words would have lacked
 their overwhelming  certitude4 ,so1    
too1 the liturgies bear the stamp of    
mystical feeling1  and most of the great
 religious concepts which the church has
 gradually  added to her store come from
 the same source4 ,if we ask ourselves  
what  the history of the church would be
 without the history of her mystics1    
then we begin to see how much of her    
light and colour emanates from  them2   
how much of her doctrine represents     
their experience translated  into       
dogmatic form4 ,that communion          
with--that feeding on--the ,divine ,life
  which she offers to every believer in 
the ,eucharist is the central fact  of  
their existence4 ,from ,clement of      
,alexandria downwards1 again and  again 
they appeal to ,eucharistic images in   
order to express what it is  that really
 happens to the soul immersed in        
contemplative prayer4 8,i am  the food  
of the full-grown10 said the voice of   

,god to ,st4 ,augustine4  8,every time  
we think with love of the ,well-beloved1
 ,he is anew our meat  and drink10 says 
,ruysbroeck4 ,so1 too1 the church's     
language concerning  new birth1 divine  
sonship1 regeneration1 union with       
,christ1 and the  whole concept of      
grace1 regarded as a transcendent life  
and love  perpetually pressing in on    
humanity--all this is of mystical       
origin1 and  represents not the         
speculations but the concrete experience
 of the great  mystics4 ,they are pushed
 out1 as it were1 by the visible church 
like  tentacles1 to explore the unseen  
world which surrounds her1 and drawn    
back again to her bosom that they may   
impart to the whole body the more       
abundant life which they have found4    
,were it not for the unfailing  family  
of the mystics1 thus perpetually pushing
 out beyond the  protective edges of the
 organism1 and bringing back official   
,christianity into direct touch with the
 highest spiritual values1 and so       

constantly reaffirming the fact--by them
 felt and experienced--of the  intimate 
correspondence1 the regenerating contact
 of ,god with the soul1  the church     
would long ago have fallen victim to    
that tendency to relapse  into the      
mechanical which dogs all organized     
groups4 ,then the resistance  which she 
has sometimes offered to the freshness  
and novelty1 the  adventurous quality of
 the mystical impulse1 where it has     
appeared  without preparation and sought
 to correct by its own overwhelming     
certitude the spiritual conventions of  
the day1 would have become that         
hopeless inertia which is the precursor 
of death4    ,so we may best look upon  
the great ,christian mystic as a special
 organ  developed within the ,christian 
body for a special use4 ,his peculiar   
sensibilities1 like those which         
condition artistic genius1 are the gates
  through which messages from the       
,transcendent come to man4 ,he is       
finding  and feeling the ,infinite2 not 

for himself1 but for us4 ,his           
achievement1  bridging the gap which    
lies between the normal mind and the    
supersensuous world1 makes more valid   
and more actual to us the  assumptions  
upon which external religion is built2  
vindicating the  church's highest claim1
 and hence the soul's highest claim--the
 claim  that achievement of ,eternal    
,life1 communion with ultimate reality1 
is  possible to the spirit of man4      
,more1 since all human lives            
interpenetrate1 and isolation is        
impossible save in death1 the more we1  
the social group1 are willing to accept 
the claim of the mystic1 and  receive   
what he tells us in a spirit of humility
 instead of a spirit of  criticism2 the 
more completely he will be able to share
 his treasure  with us1 the more deeply 
we shall be able to enter into that     
consciousness which he represents1 which
 he brings in his own person  into the  
human scheme4    ,this1 of course1 the  
,christian church has said far more     

beautifully and  exactly in her doctrine
 of the ,communion of ,saints2 and that 
doctrine1  rightly understood1 is indeed
 the key to the connection between the  
great mystics and the corporate life    
within which they arise4 ,were the      
activities of these more vital spirits  
wholly hidden from us1 wholly  silent   
and supersensual--as they are not--it   
would be a grossly  materialistic and   
violently un-,christian judgment which  
concluded from  this that their lives   
were useless save to themselves4 ,how   
can a life  which aims at ,god be       
useless1 if we believe that achievement 
of ,him is  the final destiny and only  
satisfaction of every soul8 ,it would be
 an  implicit denial of the efficacy of 
prayer1 of the 8prevailing merits0 of   
sanctity1 its value to the society which
 produces it--the power of a  great and 
loving spirit to help1 infect and       
reinforce more languid  souls--did we   
agree that the life of the most strictly
 enclosed  contemplative was wasted4    

,christians1 who believe that the world 
was  redeemed from within the narrow    
limits of ,palestine1 should not thus   
confuse space with power1 or character  
with the manner of its  self-expression4
 ,without the ardent prayers of the     
mystics1 the vivid  spiritual life they 
lead1 what would the sum of human       
spirituality be8  ,how can we tell what 
we owe to the power which they liberate1
 the  currents which they set up1 the   
contacts which they make8 ,the land they
  see1 and of which they report to us1  
is the land towards which humanity  is  
going4 ,they are like the look-out men  
upon the cross-trees1 assuring  us from 
time to time that we are still upon our 
course4 ,tear asunder  their peculiar   
power and office from the office of the 
whole1 and you  will have on one side a 
society deprived of the guides which    
,god has  raised up for it2 on the      
other1 an organ deprived of its real    
perfection  and beauty1 because severed 
from the organism which it was intended 

to  serve4                              
,,mysticism ,,and ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of 
,,atonement      ,amongst the problems  
which have to be met by those who       
incline to a  mystical view of          
,christianity--that view which lays     
special emphasis on  the growth and     
experience of the individual soul1 its  
ascent to union  with ,god1 as the very 
aim and object of religion--one of the  
most  pressing is that which centres on 
the doctrine of the ,atonement4 ,it is  
clear that many people feel that such a 
mystical and empirical view of  religion
 leaves no room for this doctrine1 or   
for the idea which it  represents2 that 
they are convinced that there is here a 
real conflict  between two incompatible 
views of the ,christian faith4 ,on the  
one hand1  they see orthodox            
,christianity still centred on the      
8atoning act0 of  ,christ1 with its     
implications of reconciliation and      
vicarious suffering1  of the divine life
 humiliating itself1 in order to do     

within the  temporal order something for
 man which man cannot do for himself2 a 
doctrine which retains its attraction   
and value1 because so full of hope  and 
mercy for the sinful and the weak4 ,on  
the other hand1 they see that  demand of
 personal and individual growth1        
purification1  life-enhancement1        
progressive union with ,god--helped     
doubtless by grace1  but no less        
dependent on will--as the condition of  
attaining ,eternal  ,life1 which seems  
to be made by mystical theology4 ,the   
opposition1 in  fact1 is supposed to be 
between a concept of spiritual life in  
which  each man must himself do and be1 
achieve and actualize in his own        
person1 and not merely as the acceptor  
of a creed or the member of a           
,church--must not only accept the gift1 
but must set himself to be an  imitator1
 so far as he may1 of the ,giver--and   
one in which a special  manifestation in
 time and space of the divine power and 
love1 for  ,christians the sacrifice of 

,christ on the ,cross1 does something   
for the  man accepting it1 which he     
cannot do for himself4 ,in the one case1
 we  are saved one by one1 by effort1   
response1 growth2 in the other1 we are  
saved as members of a group4 ,here the  
individual and the corporate  ideals in 
their most intense forms face one       
another4    ,it does1 then1 seem at     
first as though we had here an          
irreconcilable  opposition4 ,yet before 
we discard either of these ideas1 it is 
worth  while to enquire whether they    
need really entail conflict1 or can be  
regarded as two sides of a greater      
whole4 ,it is true that there are       
certain extreme views of the ,atonement 
which do appear to be hopelessly        
irreconcilable with the mystical view of
 religion3 especially those  which lay  
peculiar stress1 not on the latent      
powers1 but on the  essential impotence 
of man2 centring the soul's salvation on
 8imputed  righteousness10 and finding  
the whole meaning and reason of the     

,incarnation in the one historical      
8propitiatory act0 of ,calvary4 ,there  
is real conflict between such a creed1  
centred on the idea of something  done  
once for all to the soul--to the        
world--from outside1 and that  which is 
centred on the idea of a life           
perpetually welling up in the  soul1 on 
growth1 movement1 organic change4 ,yet1 
on the other hand1 is  there not a      
curious similarity between these two    
apparently opposite  views of salvation8
 ,is not the drama of the divine life   
incarnate1  humbling and limiting itself
 to the human life to save it1          
essentially a  dramatic representation  
of that other experience1 of the divine 
life  limiting itself and mysteriously  
emerging within each soul1 to           
transmute1 regenerate1 infinitize it1   
which the mystics describe to us8  ,is  
not what theologians call 8grace0--that 
essential factor of the mystic          
life-process--a making good by the      
addition of a new dower of  transcendent

 vitality1 of the shortcomings of the   
merely human creature  regarded as an   
8inheritor of ,eternal ,life02 just as  
the historical  surrender of ,calvary is
 conceived by orthodox ,christianity to 
make good  the shortcomings of the whole
 race1 regarded as heirs of the         
,kingdom8  ,and if this be so1 then can 
the opposition between these two ideas  
of  salvation--the vital and the        
theological--be as real as it sometimes 
appears8 ,are they not both plans in    
which atonement plays a part8    ,after 
all1 both these views of the ,christian 
scheme have emerged and  diverged from  
the same source4 ,st4 ,paul1 the        
greatest of all ,christian              
mystics--soaked1 too1 in the idea of    
grace and of growth in grace1 and       
deeply impressed with the fact of the   
soul's individual  responsibility--is   
also supremely the theologian of the    
,atonement4 ,though  no doubt his       
teaching on the subject was first called
 forth by the  practical need of finding

 some meaning in the tragedy of the     
crucifixion1 it is yet a development of 
that profound conception of ,his  own   
death as a filling up to the brim of the
 cup of sacrifice and  surrender1 which 
seems to have inspired ,christ ,himself4
 ,if there were  indeed a fundamental   
inconsistency between these two ideas in
 their pure  and original form1 then    
,st4 ,paul would be inconsistent2 for he
 certainly  held them both4 ,we all know
 that the usual way of studying ,st4    
,paul's  8doctrines0 for purposes of    
edification has been to isolate each of 
his  ardent and poetic utterances1 place
 it1 as it were1 in cold storage till   
it is no longer reminiscent of the      
living mobile body from which it  came1 
and then subject it to analysis4 ,we are
 also beginning to know  that this      
method is not quite fair to a man who   
was a poet1 an artist1 a  lover1 as well
 as a constructive genius of unequalled 
power4 ,the ,pauline  utterances are    
mostly impassioned efforts to express   

something which  ,paul knows in his own 
person2 descriptions of the way in which
 the  ,christian revelation has met his 
own needs1 regenerated his own nature4  
,they are closely connected with the    
interior adventures which have  attended
 on his new spiritual existence 8in     
,christ40 ,to adopt a  well-known phrase
 of ,st4 ,bonaventura1 they come 8of    
grace1 not of  doctrine2 of desire1 not 
of intellect2 of the ardours of prayer1 
not of  the teaching of the schools40   
,to put it in another way1 they are the 
fruits of his mystical consciousness1   
which he is trying to express in        
artistic or intellectual terms4 ,if we  
accept this statement then the  fact of 
,paul's mystical experience and all that
 it means to him must  never be absent  
from our minds when we are trying to    
understand his  declarations4 ,he lives 
in that supernal atmosphere which he    
calls  8,christ-,spirit02 he speaks to  
us from that sphere4 ,nothing outside of
 it  is real to him4 ,whatever its other

 bearings may be1 his doctrine of       
,atonement is solidly real on that      
plane--the mystic's plane1 the plane of 
union--or not at all4 ,when he says he  
is 8crucified with ,christ10 8hid  in   
,god with ,christ10 he means these      
things4 ,they are not vaguely pious     
utterances1 but desperate attempts      
towards the communication of a real     
state1 really felt and known4 ,paul does
 feel himself welded together  with that
 ,transcendent ,life1 at once so        
intimate and personal1 so  infinite and 
universal1 which he identifies with the 
glorified ,jesus4  ,because of this     
union--and only because of it--the acts1
 powers1 holiness1  adventures of that  
life avail for him1 ,paul4 ,he is a bit 
of its ,body1 in  his own bold metaphor4
 ,so that the first great factor of     
salvation1 as  he sees it1 is the       
essentially mystical factor of the      
8union0 of the  soul with ,christ2 the  
8doing away of the flame of separation40
 ,the  ,atonement follows1 as it were   

almost logically1 from this4    ,the    
general content of his letters makes us 
feel that ,st4 ,paul had an  extremely  
rich1 deep view of life2 so great1      
indeed1 that it refuses to  be hammered 
into a consistent system1 and we can    
never manage to embrace  it all at once4
 ,always bits get left out1 and hence   
there is apt to be a  certain distortion
 in all our views of the ,pauline       
universe4 ,there was a  wonderful       
wholeness1 a strongly affirmative       
quality about his sense of  existence2  
subtractions and negations were         
unnatural to him4 ,any  paradoxes and   
inconsistencies which we find in his    
statements are the  inevitable result of
 an effort to express the enormous      
sweep1 the living  multiplicity1 and 7to
 borrow a word from ,william ,james7 the
 thickness of  his vision of ,reality4  
,hence it follows that he was able to   
see and  treat the soul of man1 both as 
intensely individual and responsible1   
and  at the same time as a part of the  

body of all life2 that 8mystical body   
of many members0 of which the head is   
,christ-,spirit1 the ,divine ,humanity  
which appeared in ,jesus--a corporation 
actualized in the ,christian  ,church1  
but potentially co-extensive with the   
whole of mankind4 ,these  two--the      
separate and the corporate--are aspects 
of one whole4 ,they seem  to us to      
conflict1 only because the totality to  
which they contribute is  beyond the    
focus of the mind4 ,thus ,paul could and
 did demand of the  individual1 on the  
one hand the self-mergence of faith1 the
 corporate  sense1 the humble           
acknowledgment of personal impotence2   
and on the other  hand1 could demand of 
that same man the personal industry and 
self-dependence which 8works out its own
 salvation10 8runs for an  imperishable 
garland10 and 8presses on towards the   
goal40    ,all through those passages in
 the ,epistle to the ,romans on which   
the  doctrine of the ,atonement was     
afterwards built1 ,paul seems to be     

trying  to express--often by the use of 
traditional images1 which of course     
revenge themselves upon his free        
handling of them1 as imagery so often   
revenges itself upon poets--his vision  
of something supreme1 some  enormous    
uplift to eternal levels1 some          
fundamental change1 achieved by1  for1  
in the human race4 ,he has this vision  
just because1 and in so far  as1 this   
supreme thing has been achieved by1 for1
 in him1 the mystic  ,paul4 ,behind the 
formula1 we feel the first-hand         
experience4 ,what is  this crucial      
change8 ,surely it is the fundamental   
mystical achievement1  the fundamental  
religious fact2 the human soul's        
conscious attainment of  ,god4 ,at      
bottom1 atonement is wanted simply and  
solely to help man to do  that2 to      
enable the spirit of life to reach its  
goal4 ,if we did not want  ,god1 we     
should be very well satisfied as we are3
 but we are not  satisfied--8,thou hast 
made us for ,thyself1 and our hearts    

shall find no  rest save in ,thee40 ,no 
doubt ,paul's eschatological views1 the 
whole  tendency of his time1 made him   
connect this achievement1 which he knew 
at first hand1 with the imminent coming 
of a ,liberator4 ,for him1 it was  part 
of the preparation1 the new vitality    
already given to those who  were        
destined to live the new life4 ,achieved
 in one1 it permeated the  whole 8new   
race0 of spiritual men2 but this is only
 the interpretation  which a complex of 
causes made him put upon the            
transcendent fact4 ,the  prominence     
given to ,paul's legal imagery1 its     
isolation from the general  trend of his
 life and thought1 has made us inclined 
to forget all this4  ,but if we try to  
see ,reality from his angle1 to catch   
the wild accents  of his enthusiasm and 
his love1 the theory that he seriously  
held  anything approaching what would be
 called a 8commercial0 theory of        
atonement falls to the ground at once4  
,that he should sometimes have  argued  

in this sense when cornered by          
,judaizing opponents1 is likely  enough3
 and it is characteristic of the        
mystical temperament to ignore  the     
discrepancy between such intellectual   
exercises and the fundamental  intuition
 by which it lives4 ,life and love are  
as much the key-words of  ,paul's system
 as they are of the ,fourth ,gospel     
itself4 ,he was the  noblest of souls2  
and we cannot imagine a soul with a     
spark of nobility  wanting atonement as 
a buying-off of penalty incurred1 as a  
paying by  another of a debt which it   
owes1 a mere saving of it from pain or  
any  other retribution4 ,the living1    
loving soul can only want atonement as a
  road-making act2 a bridge thrown out  
to the infinite1 on which man can       
travel to his home in ,god4 ,now1 ,paul 
had made that journey in the  spirit4   
,he knew already1 at first hand1 that   
,divine ,reality was  accessible to him1
 and that this contact was the greatest 
thing in life4  ,but he knew and felt1  

too1 that however much he1 ,paul1 had   
really  achieved this new state1 this   
fruition of ,eternity1 by difficult     
growth  from within2 yet first1 he could
 never have done it at all without the  
enormous uplift of enhancing grace1 that
 new dower of energy which was  poured  
in on him from beyond the confines of   
his own nature2 and  secondly1 great    
though the change had been1 yet it was  
nothing compared  with the immeasurable 
human possibilities achieved in ,christ4
    ,for ,paul1 these two               
achievements--the victory of ,christ and
 the victory  of the ,christian         
soul--are intimately connected4 ,true1  
one is infinitely  great1 the other very
 little4 ,except ,christ1 8all have     
fallen short of  the glory02 have failed
 to grow up to the 8fullness of the     
stature10 to  actualize the immense     
spiritual possibilities of man4 ,still1 
we are all  in the same line2 partakers 
of the same kind of life1 8grace0 or    
immanent ,spirit1 and aiming1           

consciously or unconsciously1 at the    
same  goal--union with ,god4 ,now1 total
 dependence on ,god1 the centring of our
  whole interest and attention on the   
,spiritual ,order1 is the very essence  
of union with ,him4 ,everything short of
 that total dependence1 that  supreme   
rightness of relation1 is trespass2 a   
backing of the finite  against the      
infinite4 ,in the death of ,jesus1 that 
total dependence1 that  perfect         
relation1 was completely achieved at    
last3 the supreme mystic  act1 the      
self-donation of love1 was done         
perfectly1 and in this sense  8once for 
all40 ,aleph1 it is enough4 ,the spirit 
of man1 in this 8new  man10 had overcome
 its limitations1 the downward drag of  
instinct1 and  had leapt to the heights4
 ,this was the 8redemption that is in   
,christ  ,jesus40 ,in this unique       
vindication of humanity1 this exhibition
 of  regnant spirit overcoming the      
world1 ,christ-,spirit crowned with     
splendour all the tentative efforts of  

man1 and1 because of the  corporate     
nature of humanity1 conferred that      
splendour on the race4    ,but there is 
far more in it than this4 ,and first1   
the ,christian's  achievement of ,god1  
such as it is--from that of the least of
 believers to  that of the greatest of  
the mystical saints--is really and      
practically  conditioned by the known   
fact and known character of the         
achievement of  ,christ4 ,it is the     
addition of this fact1 this distinct    
historic  happening1 to the racial      
consciousness1 which makes possible the 
specially ,christian apprehension of    
,god2 differentiates it1 say1 from  that
 of a ,hindu or a ,neoplatonic saint4 ,a
 reference to the phenomena of          
apperception will help us to understand 
this4 ,as in the world of nature  or art
 our perception of each new object is   
governed by the images and  ideas       
already dominant within the mind1 so1   
too1 in the religious  sphere4 ,if      
,christians had not got the idea of     

,calvary in their  consciousness--if the
 image of the surrender of ,jesus1 ,his 
sublime  exhibition of love and faith1  
were not there first as a clue1         
something  about which to group and     
arrange their spiritual intuitions--it  
would  make a vital difference to their 
interpretation of the relation of the   
soul to ,god2 and this means that the   
relation itself would be quite          
different for the conscious self1 other 
elements would be stressed1 and         
different results would flow from it4   
,it is only because the sacrifice  of   
,jesus is now part of the ,christian's  
8apperceiving mass0--because1  coming to
 the contemplation of the spiritual     
world1 he inevitably brings  the ,cross 
with him--that he is able to make the   
characteristically  ,christian contact  
with ,god4 ,that ,christian contact is a
 direct gift to  him1 from the historic 
,person and the historic act4 ,we       
approach the  ,transcendent ,order with 
that1 or1 as ,paul tersely puts it1 8in 

,christ02 and our fruition of ,reality  
results1 not1 as some extreme  mystics  
have liked to think1 from any 8naked    
apprehension0--for naked  apprehension  
has no meaning1 no content1 for the     
mind--but from a fusion  of that which  
we bring with us and that to which we   
ascend2 tradition  and experience1 the  
past and the present4 ,through love of  
,christ the  ,christian comes to the    
,cross1 and through the ,cross he enters
 a  spiritual region he could not reach 
in any other way4 ,so we find that  even
 for the most transcendental of         
,christian contemplatives1 still 8in    
the ,cross all doth consist40 ,it has   
for him a terror and a rapture which    
the judicious philosopher can never     
know2 and reveals to him strange        
secrets beyond the province of          
philosophy4                             
8,vocce legendo1 en croce legendo       
nel libro che c' ensanguinato           
,ca essa scrittura me fa en natura      
ed en filosofia conventato2             

,o libro signato che dentro se' aurato1 
e tutto fiorito d'amore60    ,that      
,cross gives the ,infinite a colour     
which it did not have before4 ,so1  even
 from the point of view of the most     
hardened and thorough-going             
psychologist1 ,paul's statement that    
8through one act of righteousness1  the 
free gift came unto all men0 is         
literally accurate4 ,it is true--and    
that not in any conjuring-trick sense1  
but in a sense which fulfils on  highest
 levels life's basic laws--that 8by the 
grace of one man0 8the  gift has        
abounded to the many10 entincturing and 
altering the whole  universe1 and hence 
the whole experience1 of every receptive
 soul2  atoning for the faulty attitude1
 the imperfect love1 of average man4    
,but still this is not all4 ,there are  
other laws of life gathered up in1  and 
redistributed from1 this great lens4    
,essentially the idea which the  ,christ
 of the ,gospels seems to have had of   
,his own death is the idea of  a making 

good of some general falling-short on   
life's part3 a  8filling-up of the cup0 
of sacrifice and surrender1 to balance  
the other  overflowing cup of error and 
sin4 ,it is not only man's              
unaccomplished  aim1 but ,god's         
unaccomplished aim in life1 which ,he is
 represented as  fulfilling2 and the    
fact that this conception owes a good   
deal to ,old  ,testament prophecy need  
not invalidate its mystical truth4 ,if  
we accept  this idea1 then1 as well as  
showing individual man the way to       
perfect  union with ,god--8building the 
bridge and reforming the road which     
leads  to the ,father's heart10 as ,st4 
,catherine of ,siena has it--,christ in 
,his  willing death is somehow          
performing the very object of life1 in  
the name  of the whole race4 ,the true  
business of an atoner is a constructive 
one4  ,he is called upon to heal a      
disharmony2 bridge a gap between two    
things  which1 though separate1 desire  
to be one4 ,even the sacrificed animal  

of  primitive religions seems most often
 to be a reconciling victim1 the  medium
 of union between the worshipper and his
 deity4 ,in religions of a  mystical    
type1 then1 the ,atoner or ,redeemer    
will surely be one who makes  patent    
those latent possibilities of man which 
are at once the earnests  of his future 
blessedness and the causes of his       
present unrest4 ,he will  achieve the   
completion and sublimation of our vague 
instinct for  sacrifice and love1 and   
thus bridge the space between that which
 is most  divine in humanity and that   
which is most human in divinity2 filling
 up  the measure of that 8glory10 that  
real and divine life1 of which we all   
fall short1 yet without which we can    
never be content4 ,is not this again    
what ,st4 ,paul feels that ,christ did8 
,what he seems1 at bottom1 to see in    
the ,passion--though the imagery by     
which he tries to communicate it often  
sounds harsh in our ears--is1 the       
mysterious fulfilment of all cosmic     

meanings2 the perfect surrender to      
infinite ideals of ,man1 the compound   
inhabitant of two possible orders of    
reality1 who by this painful  self-loss 
achieves perfect identification with the
 ,divine will4 ,this  fulfilment was1 as
 he distinctly says1 the duty and       
destiny of the human  soul4 ,all        
creation looks for it 8with outstretched
 neck40 ,but all have  fallen short4    
,christ1 the perfect man1 does it1 does 
what man was always  meant to do2 and   
because of the corporate character of   
humanity1 in ,his  utter transcendence  
of self-hood and of all finite          
categories ,he  inevitably lifts up1 to 
share ,his union with ,god1 all who are 
in union  with ,him4 ,the essence of the
 ,atonement1 then1 would not lie so much
 in  the sacrificial act as in the      
lift-up of the human spirit which that  
act  guarantees2 the new levels of life 
which it opens for the race4 8,much     
more1 being reconciled1 shall we be     
saved in his life10 says ,paul4    8,in 

his life0 a new summit has been         
conquered by humanity4 ,but are we to   
stop there8 ,is not the attainment of   
that same summit1 the achievement  of   
that life-giving surrender to the       
,universal ,spirit--8a life-giving      
life10 ,ruysbroeck calls it--just what  
the great mystics1 following as  well as
 they can the curve of the life of      
,christ1 try to do according to  their  
measure8 ,theirs1 after all1 is the     
vision which sees that 8there  is no    
other way to life but the way of the    
,cross10 and that the human  life of    
,christ is 8the door by which all must  
come in40 ,thus the  spiritual victory  
of the ,cross is for them not so much a 
unique1 as a  pioneer act4 ,it is the   
first heroic cutting of a road on which 
they are  to travel as far as they can2 
not merely the vicarious setting-right  
of  the balance between ,god and man1   
upset by man's wilful sin4 ,in their    
ascent towards union with ,god1 are not 
they road-makers1 or at any rate        

road-menders1 too8 ,are they not forging
 new links between two orders of        
reality1 which are separate for the     
once-born consciousness8 ,if so1 then   
we may regard each one of them as a bit 
of the slowly achieved atonement  of the
 race2 that gradual pressing-on of      
humanity into the heart of the          
,transcendent ,order4 ,for ,christians1 
this movement was initiated by  ,christ4
 ,but surely it is continued and helped 
by every soul in union  with ,him1 even 
those who knew not ,his ,name2 and      
,julian of ,norwich was  right when she 
said that she knew she was 8in the      
,cross with ,him40    ,two things are   
perpetually emphasized in modern        
presentations of  religion4 ,first1 the 
stress tends more and more to be upon   
experience4  ,nothing which authority   
tells us is done for us truly counts1   
unless we  feel and realize it as done  
in us4 ,in so far as this is so1 the    
tendency  is to a mystical concept of   
religion2 and1 speaking generally1 to   

just  the concept of religion which is  
supposed to conflict with the idea of   
atonement as usually understood4 ,but1  
secondly1 the social and corporate      
character of ,christianity is strongly  
emphasized2 and1 where this  corporate  
character is admired more than it is    
understood1 mysticism is  harshly       
criticized as the religion of the       
spiritual individualist1 a  8vertical   
relation10 the 8flight of the alone to  
the ,alone40 ,st4 ,paul's  8completing  
opposites10 in fact1 are still in the   
foreground of our  religious life2 and  
so perhaps some re-statement of the     
solution by  which he found room for    
both of them1 and hence both for        
personal  responsibility and atonement1 
may be possible and fruitful for us1    
too4    ,and first we notice that those 
enthusiasts for the corporate idea who  
condemn the mystics as religious egoists
 seem to forget that they are           
contradicting themselves2 that if their 
vision of the ,church of ,christ  as a  

mystical body be true1 then the mystic's
 ascent to ,god cannot be  a flight of  
the ,alone4 ,the poisonous implication  
of that phrase--true in  its context but
 always misunderstood--has stuck like   
mud to the white  robes of the saints4  
,but the mystic is not merely a self    
going out on a  solitary quest of       
,reality4 ,he can1 must1 and does go    
only as a member of  the whole body1    
performing as it were the function of a 
specialized  organ4 ,what he does1 he   
does for all4 ,he is1 in fact1 an atoner
 pure and  simple3 something stretched  
out to bridge a gap1 something which    
makes  good in a particular direction   
the general falling-short4 ,the special 
kind of light or life which he receives1
 he receives for the race2 and1         
conversely1 the special growth which he 
is able to achieve comes from  the race4
 ,he depends on it for his past2 it     
depends on him for its  future4 ,all are
 part of life's great process of        
becoming2 there are no  breaks4         

,although there is perfect              
individualization1 there is             
interpenetration too4 ,his attainment is
 the attainment of the whole1  pressing 
on behind him1 supporting him4 ,thus--to
 take an obvious  example--the          
achievement of peculiar sanctity by the 
member of a  religious order is the     
achievement of that order in him2 and   
this not in  a fantastic and            
metaphorical sense4 ,the support of the 
,rule1 the  conditions of the life1 the 
weight of tradition1 the special        
characters  which each religious family 
inherits from its ,patriarch1 have all  
contributed something to make the       
achievement possible2 and are factors   
governing the type which that           
achievement assumes4 ,we recognize the  
,cistercian stamp upon ,st4 ,bernard1   
the ,dominican on ,suso and ,tauler1 the
  ,carmelite on ,st4 ,john of the       
,cross4 ,each such case vindicates once 
more  the incarnational principle2 it is
 the true spirit of the community1      

flowering in this representative of     
theirs1 which we see4 ,thus1 as we  may 
regard ,christ from one point of view as
 supremely ideal ,man  incarnate--the   
8heavenly man0 as ,paul calls           
,him--summing up1 fulfilling1  lifting  
to new heights all that came before1 and
 therefore actualizing  all that        
humanity was ever intended to do1 and   
changing for ever more  the character of
 its future achievements2 so1 in a small
 way1 we may  regard ,st4 ,teresa as    
,carmel1 the ideal ,carmel1 incarnate4  
,each is a  concrete fact which atones  
for the falling-short of a whole type1  
and  yet is conditioned by that type4   
,the thought of what the ,carmelite life
  was meant to do1 the pressure of that 
idea seeking manifestation1 did         
condition ,teresa's achievement4 ,are we
 not also bound to say that the  thought
 of the ,jewish visions of an ideal     
humanity1 of the ,son of ,man  and the  
,suffering ,servant1 did condition the  
external accidents of the  life and     

death of ,christ8    ,so as to the past4
 ,still more as to the future are the   
corporate and  individual aspects of    
spiritual life inextricably twined      
together4 ,as  that done by one is an   
outbirth of the whole1 so that done to  
one may  avail for the whole4 ,only by  
staying within the circle of this       
thought--a  thought which surely comes  
very close to the doctrine of           
,atonement--can  we form a sane and     
broad idea of what the mystic1 and the  
mystic's  experience1 mean for the race4
 ,consider again the case of ,teresa4   
,as1  even in a time and place of       
considerable monastic corruption--for no
 one  who has read her life and letters 
can regard the ,convent of the          
,incarnation as a forcing-house of the  
spiritual life--still the idea of  her  
order conditioned her great and         
,godward-tending soul1 and her          
dedicated life filled up the measure of 
its glory2 yet more has ,teresa's  own1 
separate1 unique achievement conditioned

 the spirit of her order  ever since4   
,all the saints which it has nourished  
have been salted with  her salt4 ,all   
that she won has flowed out from her in 
life-giving  streams to others4 ,she has
 been a regenerator of the religious    
life1 has  achieved the ideal of        
,richard ,rolle1 and become a 8pipe of  
life0 through  which the living water   
can pass from ,god to man4 ,is not this1
 too1  rather near the idea of          
,atonement1 a curiously close and       
faithful  imitation of ,christ2         
especially when we consider the amount  
of unselfish  suffering which such a    
career entails8    ,the objective of the
 ,christian life1 we say1 is union with 
,god3 that  paradoxical                 
victory-in-surrender of love which      
translates us from finite  to infinite  
levels4 ,most of us in this present life
 and in our own  persons fall short of  
the glory of this4 ,we are not all      
equally full of  grace2 we do not all   
grow up to the full stature of the ,sons

 of ,god2 and  it is no use pretending  
that we do4 ,but the mystical saint does
 achieve  this1 and by this act of      
mediation--this 8vicarious0 achievement1
 if you  like to put it so--performed by
 a member of our social organism1 the   
gift  does really 8abound unto the      
many40 ,for what other purpose1 indeed1 
are  these apparently elect souls bred  
up8 ,what other social value can we     
attribute to them than that which we see
 them actually possessing in            
history--the value1 that is1 of special 
instruments put forth by the  race1 to  
do or suffer something which the average
 self cannot do1 but  which humanity as 
a whole1 in its ,godward ascent1 must1  
can1 and shall  do2 ducts1 too1 whereby 
fresh spiritual energy flows in to      
mankind2  eyes1 open to visions beyond  
the span of average sight2 parents of   
new  life4 ,carlyle said that a hero was
 8a man sent hither to make the divine  
mystery more impressively known to      
us0--to atone1 in fact1 for the         

inadequacy of our own perception of     
,reality1 our perpetual relapses to     
lower levels of life2 to make a bridge  
between us and the ,transcendent        
,order4 ,and when the hero as mystic    
does this1 is he not in a special  sense
 a close imitator of ,christ8    ,we    
seem to have here the highest example of
 a principle which is  operative through
 the whole of the seething complex of   
life1 for there  is a sense on which    
every great personality fulfils the     
function of an  atoner4 ,on the one hand
 he does something towards the making   
good of  humanity's 8falling short0 in  
one direction or another2 on the other  
hand1 he gives to his fellow-men--adds  
to their universe--something which  they
 did not possess before4 ,burke1        
speaking of the social contract1 has    
said that society is a partnership in   
all science1 all art1 every  virtue1 and
 all perfection2 and1 since the ends of 
such a partnership  cannot be obtained  
but in many generations1 it is a        

partnership between  the living1 the    
dead1 and the unborn4 8,each contract of
 each particular  state10 he says1 8is  
but a clause in the great primval       
contract of  eternal society1 linking   
the lower with the higher natures1      
connecting  the visible and the         
invisible world1 according to a fixed   
compact  sanctioned by the inviolable   
oath which holds all physical and all   
moral  natures each in their appointed  
place40 ,in such a partnership--linking 
higher and lower1 visible and invisible 
worlds in one--the creative  spirits in 
every department of life may properly be
 called 8atoners10  for they have a     
corporate and racial value which is in  
exact proportion  to their individual   
achievement of reality4 ,thus the great 
artist1 or  the great musician1 really  
redeems his fellows from slavery to a   
lower  level of colour1 form1 sound4 ,he
 atones for their dullness towards that 
which has always been there1 and endows 
them with new possibilities of  vision  

and hearing2 gives them1 in fact1 more  
abundant life2 is the  ,door1 the ,way1 
to a wider universe4 ,his creative acts 
open new gates to  the whole race4 ,the 
fact that he has lived and worked has   
effected a  permanent change in the     
stream of life1 which can never again be
 that  which it was before4 ,if we were 
more accustomed1 on the one hand1 to    
look at the achievements of religious   
genius from the artistic and  creative  
point of view1 and on the other hand1 to
 discern the work of  the ,holy ,spirit 
in the artistic as well as the religious
 field1 ,i  believe that we should find 
a close parallel between the work of    
supreme  personality redeeming spirit1  
and the work of the great artist        
redeeming  sense1 from servitude to old 
imperfections and disharmonies4    ,we  
might almost make it the test of true   
greatness1 this wonderful power  of     
flinging out the filaments of life in   
all directions2 this way in  which noble
 and creative personalities of every    

type seem to be so much  more than      
themselves--to count for so much more   
than themselves--to be1 in  their       
generous activities1 the servants of all
 life4 ,they appear to be  the sum of   
tendencies which preceded them2 and to  
gather those  tendencies to a focus and 
distribute them again1 enhanced and     
re-directed1 to succeeding generations  
of souls4 ,such a personality has  to   
the full the divine power of giving and 
of taking4 ,whilst he seems  specially  
original1 it is always true that the    
past1 the race1 nourishes  him to an    
enormous extent4 ,christ ,himself       
conformed to this law4 ,the  great man  
is rooted in history1 plaited up in the 
life of his own time3  absorbs from the 
human as well as from the spiritual4    
,his feet are in  ,time1 though his head
 is in ,eternity4 ,he is never isolated 
and  ring-fenced4 ,where he seems so1   
that appearance is found on examination 
to be deceptive1 as ,dr4 ,rufus ,jones  
has shown in the case of ,jacob         

,boehme1 and ,baron von ,hgel in that of
 ,george ,fox4 ,so1 again1 the  special 
act1 vision1 or experience of the       
spiritual genius never ends  with him4  
,he is a centre of divine fecundity--it 
is the mystics' own  phrase4 ,the touch 
of the divine life stimulates him to    
creation4 ,he is a  regenerator1 a      
whirlpool of new forces1 a parent of new
 things4 ,it seems  that life's         
8tendency to lag behind10 its tendency  
not to do its best1  receives its       
corrective in all such great spirits2   
and the ,christian  atonement becomes   
the supreme1 the divine manifestation of
 a vital law  which we find operative on
 every level of existence4    ,if we    
acknowledge the extent to which ,grace1 
,spirit1 ,god1 works on man  through    
personality1 through specific men--as a 
communication of  transcendent vitality 
to certain souls 78elect10 if you like7 
in order  that they may bring forth new 
life1 new vision1 new goodness1 may     
fertilize the race afresh--then shall we

 not expect to find that  ,christianity1
 being a vital1 dynamic system1 has     
exhibited and  emphasized these facts   
throughout the whole of her great       
career8 ,this  outward thrust of great  
personalities from the social organism1 
these  fresh unique saving contacts made
 by the individual in the name of the   
,all1 these sudden1 incalculable1 upward
 leaps of life1 these changes in  the   
national consciousness which the hero1  
poet1 prophet can produce--we  shall    
expect to find all this operative in the
 highest degree in the  ,christian      
,church4 ,we shall expect to find her   
claiming for her greatest  and most     
,god-achieving spirits1 not only special
 honour1 but a special  value1 a special
 redeeming power in respect of the      
corporate body to  which they belong2   
and this1 of course1 is exactly what we 
do find4 ,the  mystical saints1 in fact1
 seem to provide us with a link between 
the  doctrine of the ,atonement--of the 
special racial value of the utterly     

surrendered life in ,god1 which was     
once1 and once only1 perfectly          
achieved--and the doctrine of the       
,communion of ,saints1 or               
interpenetration and mutual help of all 
souls 8in ,christ40 ,from these  two    
ideas there follows of necessity that   
further doctrine of the  8prevailing    
merits0 of the saints1 their special    
8atoning0 value for  other men1 the     
corporate social work done by heroic    
virtue flowering in  individual souls1  
which the ,catholic ,church has always  
deduced from  them4 ,at the back of both
 ideas we find the same fact2 that ,life
 and  ,love1 when supremely evoked      
within the temporal order1 cannot keep  
themselves to themselves4 ,such life and
 such love have1 in spite of  their     
marked individuality1 a profoundly      
social character2 they are  violently   
contagious2 they spread1 they           
interpenetrate1 they transmute  all     
selves that will receive them4 ,they    
entincture the whole stream of          

duration1 make good its shortcomings1   
make widening circles of splendour      
within the flux4    ,so1 if we want to  
think of a ,celestial ,hierarchy1 actual
 to us1 founded  in history1 related    
with us by a thousand links1 it is      
surely of the  saints and the mystics   
that we ought to think2 rising as it    
were in  graduated orders1 according to 
the strength and purity of their union  
with ,god1 the fullness of their        
possession of ,eternal ,life1 towards   
the  ,cross in which their tendencies   
are perfected and gathered up4 ,these   
are  amongst the highest values which   
life has given to us4 ,the apostolic    
type2 the men of action1 dynamic        
manifestations of the ,spirit4 ,the     
prophetic type2 men of supreme vision1  
enlarging the horizons of the  world4   
,the martyr-type2 men of utter sacrifice
 and complete interior  surrender4      
,these are the three ways in which the  
mystical passion for  ,god breaks out   
through humanity4 ,these three types    

make good--atone  for--our corporate    
spiritual shortcomings2 redeem the dead 
level of that  race which has thrust    
them forth towards the ,infinite4       
,perhaps it seems to us that their      
difference from us is too great2 that   
they are cut off1 divided by a chasm    
from the common experience of man  to   
form an exclusive1 8other-worldly0 type4
 ,their life rises up like a  great     
mountain1 full of beauty and            
strangeness2 and ours is like the       
homely plain4 ,but there is no break    
between the plain and the mountain4  ,it
 is pushed out from us1 it is part of   
us2 its value is bound up with  the     
value of the whole--with our value1 as  
struggling1 growing men4 ,it1  every    
inch of it1 atones for our flatness and 
enhances the average level  of the race4
 ,we have all seen in ,catholic         
countries how a sudden hill  with a     
,calvary on its summit can glorify and  
atone for the whole  landscape--so poor 
without it1 so noble with it--from which

 it is lifted  up4 ,now the ,cross is1  
and remains1 the central feature in the 
,christian  landscape too3 but is it not
 the long slope of that hill1 going from
 the  common level to the heights1 which
 makes it so homely to us1 so           
accessible to us1 so supremely a part of
 us1 and completes its task of  linking 
humanity and divinity8    ,these are    
some of the reasons why the doctrine of 
,atonement seems to be  closely bound up
 with the mystical vision of life1 and  
hard to  understand--whether we mean by 
it a spiritual principle or a historic  
event--without that mystical vision4 ,we
 have ,christianity saying to us1  on   
the one hand1 that the utmost ideal of  
humanity1 the ideal of perfect          
self-donation to the purposes of        
,spirit1 perfect self-surrender to the  
interests of the ,all1 was completely   
and transcendently achieved in  ,jesus4 
,in ,him man leapt to the heights2 and  
this unique attainment  counts for the  
whole race4 ,but1 on the other hand1 it 

says that all who  can are called to go 
as far as they are able on the same     
road2 to 8fill  up the measure of the   
sufferings10 to 8grow to the full       
stature10 to  8press on to the high     
calling0 of the human soul4 ,through    
these more  vital personalities--the    
mystics1 the twice-born1 the saints--the
 radiance  of the spiritual streams out 
on the race2 ,god speaks to man through 
man4  ,such personalities act as        
receivers and transmitters2 they really 
and  practically distribute the flashes 
of the ,uncreated ,light4 ,their        
activities are vicarious2 they do atone 
for the disabilities of other  men4     
,therefore the social value of the      
mystics1 their place in the  organism1  
is intimately connected with the atoning
 idea4 ,were it not for  the principle  
which the doctrine of ,atonement        
expresses1 the mystics  would be        
spiritual individualists1 whose life and
 experience would be  meaningless except
 for themselves4 ,and were it not for   

the continuance  of the mystical life1  
the perpetual renewal of the mystical   
self-donation in love1 its known value  
for the race1 then the historic         
,atonement of ,jesus would be an        
isolated act1 unrelated to the great    
processes of the ,spiritual ,world1 of  
which it should form the crown4         
,,the ,,mystic ,,as ,,creative ,,artist 
,hostile criticism of the mystics almost
 invariably includes the charge  that   
their great experiences are in the      
nature of merely personal               
satisfactions4 ,it is said that they    
stand apart from the ruck of  humanity1 
claiming a special knowledge of the     
supersensual1 a special  privilege of   
communion with it2 yet do not pass on to
 others1 in any  real and genuine sense1
 the illumination1 the intuition of     
,reality1  which they declare that they 
have received4 ,st4 ,bernard's favourite
  mistranslation from ,isaiah1 8,my     
secret to myself10 has again and again  
been used against them with damaging    

effect2 linked sometimes with the       
notorious phrase in which ,plotinus     
defined the soul's fruition of          
,eternity as 8a flight of the alone to  
the ,alone40    ,it is true that these  
hints concerning a solitary and         
ineffable  encounter do tally with one  
side of the experience of the mystic2 do
  describe one aspect of his richly     
various1 many-angled spiritual          
universe1 one way in which that divine  
union which is his high objective  is   
apprehended by the                      
surface-consciousness4 ,but that which  
is here  told1 is only half the truth4  
,there is another side1 a 8completing   
opposite10 to this admittedly           
indescribable union of hearts2 a side   
which is often--and most                
ungraciously--forgotten by those who    
have  received its benefits4 ,the great 
mystic's loneliness is a consecrated    
loneliness4 ,when he ascends to that    
encounter with ,divine ,reality which   
is his peculiar privilege1 he is not a  

spiritual individualist4 ,he goes  as   
the ambassador of the race4 ,his spirit 
is not1 so to speak1 a 8spark  flying   
upwards0 from this world into that      
world1 flung out from the mass  of      
humanity1 cut off2 a little1 separate1  
brilliant thing4 ,it is more  like a    
feeler1 a tentacle1 which life as a     
whole stretches out into that           
supersensual world which envelops her4  
,life stretches that tentacle out1  but 
she also draws it in again with the food
 that it has gathered1 the  news that it
 has to tell of the regions which its   
delicate tactile sense  has enabled it  
to explore4 ,this1 it seems to me1 is   
the function of the  mystic             
consciousness in respect of the human   
race4 ,for this purpose it  is          
specialized4 ,it receives1 in order that
 it may give4 ,as the prophet  looks at 
the landscape of ,eternity1 the mystic  
finds and feels it3 and  both know that 
there is laid on them the obligation of 
exhibiting it if  they can4    ,if this 

be so1 then it becomes clear that the   
mystic's personal  encounter with       
,infinite ,reality represents only one  
of the two movements  which constitute  
his completed life4 ,he must turn back  
to pass on the  revelation he has       
received3 must mediate between the      
transcendent and  his fellow-men4 ,he   
is1 in fact1 called to be a creative    
artist of the  highest kind2 and only   
when he is such an artist1 does he      
fulfil his  duty to the race4    ,it is 
coming to be realized more and more     
clearly that it is the  business of the 
artist not only to delight us1 but to   
enlighten us3 in  ,blake's words1 to    
8,cleanse the doors of perception1 so   
that everything  may appear as it       
is--infinite40 ,artists mediate between 
the truth and  beauty which they know1  
and those who cannot without their help 
discern  it4 ,it is the function of art1
 says ,hegel1 to deliver to the domain  
of  feeling and delight of vision all   
that the mind may possess of essential  

and transcendent ,being4 ,in this       
respect it ranks with religion and      
philosophy as 8one of the three spheres 
of ,absolute ,spirit40 ,bergson1  again1
 declares that it is the peculiar       
business of art to brush aside          
everything that veils reality from us1  
in order to bring us face to face  with 
the real1 the true4 ,the artist is the  
man who sees things in their  native    
purity4    8,could reality10 he observes
 in a celebrated passage1 8come into    
direct  contact with sense and          
consciousness1 could we enter into      
immediate  communion with things and    
with ourselves--then1 we should all be  
artists4444 ,deep in our souls we should
 hear the uninterrupted melody of  our  
inner life3 a music often gay1 more     
often sad1 always original4 ,all  this  
is around and within us3 yet none of it 
is distinctly perceived by  us4 ,between
 nature and ourselves--more1 between    
ourselves and our own                   
consciousness--hangs a veil3 a veil     

dense and opaque for normal men1 but    
thin1 almost transparent1 for the artist
 and poet40 ,he might have added1  for  
the mystic too4    ,this veil1 he says  
again1 is woven of self-interest3 we    
perceive things1  not as they are1 but  
as they affect ourselves4 ,the artist1  
on the  contrary1 sees them for their   
own sakes1 with the eyes of             
disinterested  love4 ,so1 when the      
mystics declare to us that the first    
conditions of  spiritual illumination   
are self-simplification1 humility and   
detachment1  they are demanding just    
those qualities which control the       
artist's power  of seeing things in     
their beauty and truth4 ,the true mystic
 sees ,reality  in its infinite aspect2 
and tries1 as other artists1 to reveal  
it within  the finite world4 ,he not    
only ascends1 but descends the ladder of
  contemplation2 having heard 8the      
uninterrupted music of the inner life10 
he tries to weave it into melodies that 
other men can understand4    ,bergson's 

contemporary1 ,eucken1 claims--and ,i   
think it is one of his most  striking   
doctrines--that man is gradually but    
actually bringing into  existence a     
spiritual world4 ,this spiritual world  
springs up from within  through         
humanity--that is1 through man's own    
consciousness--yet at the  same time    
humanity is1 as it were1 growing up into
 it2 finding it as an  independent      
reality1 waiting to be apprehended1     
waiting to be  incorporated into our    
universe4 ,in respect of man's normal   
universe1  this spiritual world is both 
immanent and transcendent3 8,absent only
  from those unable to perceive it10 as 
,plotinus said of the ,nous4 ,we  are   
reminded of the ,voice which said to    
,st4 ,augustine1 8,i am the ,food of    
the ,full-grown40    ,this paradox of a 
wholly new order of experience thrusting
 itself up  through the race which it   
yet transcends1 is a permanent feature  
in the  teachings of the higher         
religions and philosophies1 and is      

closely  connected with the phenomena of
 inspiration and of artistic creation4  
,the artist1 the prophet1 the           
metaphysician1 each builds up from      
material  beyond the grasp of other     
souls1 a world within which those other 
souls  can live and dream3 a world1     
moreover1 which exhibits in new         
proportions  and endows with new        
meanings the common world of daily life4
 ,when we ask  what organ of the        
race--the whole body of humanity--it is1
 by and through  which this supernal    
world thus receives expression1 it      
becomes clear  that this organ is the   
corporate spiritual consciousness1      
emerging in  those whom we call1        
pre-eminently1 mystics and seers4 ,it   
is1 actually  and literally1 through    
them that this new world is emerging and
 being  built up2 as it is through other
 forms of enhanced and clarified        
consciousness1 in painters1 musicians1  
philosophers1 and the adepts of         
physical science1 that other aspects of 

the universe are made known to  men4 ,in
 all of these1 and in the mystic too1   
the twin powers of a  steadfast1        
selective attention and of creative     
imagination are at work4  ,because of   
their wide1 deep1 attention to life they
 receive more news  from the external   
world than others do2 because of the    
creative cast of  their minds1 they are 
able to weave up the crude received     
material into  a living whole1 into an  
idea or image which can be communicated 
to other  men4 ,ultimately1 we owe to   
the mystics all the symbols1 ideas and  
images  of which our spiritual world1 as
 it is thought of by the bulk of men1 is
  constructed4 ,we take its topography  
from them1 at second-hand3 and often    
forget the sublime adventures           
immortalized in those phrases which we  
take so lightly on our lips--the ,divine
 ,dark1 the ,beatific ,vision1 the      
,eternal ,beauty1 ,ecstasy1 ,union1     
,spiritual ,marriage1 and the rest4 ,the
  mystics have actually created1 from   

that language which we have evolved  to 
describe and deal with the time-world1  
another artistic world2 a               
self-consistent and spiritually         
expressive world of imaginative         
concepts1 like the world of music or the
 world of colour and form4 ,they  are   
always trying to give us the key to it1 
to induct us into its  mysterious       
delights4 ,it is by means of this world1
 and the symbols which  furnish it1 that
 human consciousness is enabled to      
actualize its most  elusive experiences2
 and hence it is wholly due to the      
unselfish labours  of those mystics who 
have struggled to body forth the        
realities by which  they were possessed1
 that we are able1 to some extent1 to   
enter into the  special experiences of  
the mystical saints2 and that they are  
able to  snatch us up to a brief sharing
 of their vision1 to make us live for a 
moment 8,eternal ,life in the midst of  
,time40    ,how1 then1 have they done   
this8 ,what is the general method by    

which any  man communicates the result  
of his personal contacts with the       
universe  to other minds8 ,roughly      
speaking1 he has two ways of doing this1
 by  description and by suggestion2 and 
his best successes are those in which   
these two methods are combined4 ,his    
descriptions are addressed to the       
intellect1 his suggestions are appeals  
to the imagination1 of those with  whom 
he is trying to communicate4 ,the       
necessities which control these  two    
ways of telling the news--oblique       
suggestion and symbolic                 
image--practically govern the whole of  
mystical literature4 ,the span of  this 
literature is wide4 ,it goes from the   
utterly formless1 yet  infinitely       
suggestive1 language of certain great   
contemplatives1 to the  crisply formal  
pictorial descriptions of those whose   
own revelations of  ,reality crystallize
 into visions1 voices1 or other         
psycho-sensorial  experiences4 ,at one  
end of the scale is the vivid1 prismatic

 imagery of  the ,christian apocalypse1 
at the other the fluid1 ecstatic poetry 
of  some of the ,sfi saints4    ,in his 
suggestive and allusive language the    
mystical artist often  approaches the   
methods of music4 ,when he does this1   
his statements do  not give information4
 ,they operate a kind of enchantment    
which dilates  the consciousness of the 
hearer to a point at which it is able to
  apprehend new aspects of the world4   
,in his descriptive passages1 on the    
other hand1 he generally proceeds1 as do
 nearly all our descriptive  efforts1 by
 way of comparison4 ,yet often these    
comparisons1 like those  employed by the
 great poet1 are more valuable for their
 strange  suggestive quality than for   
any exact parallels which they set up   
between the mystic's universe and our   
own4 ,thus1 when ,clement of            
,alexandria compares the ,logos to a    
8,new ,song10 when ,suso calls the      
,eternal ,wisdom a 8sweet and beautiful 
wild flower10 when ,dionysius the       

,areopagite speaks of the ,divine ,dark 
which is the ,inaccessible ,light1  or  
,ruysbroeck of 8the unwalled world10 we 
recognize a sudden flash of  the        
creative imagination2 evoking for us a  
truth far greater1 deeper and  more     
fruitful than the merely external       
parallel which it suggests4 ,so  too    
with many common metaphors of the       
mystics3 the ,fire of ,love1 the  ,game 
of ,love1 the ,desert of ,god1 the      
,marriage of the ,soul4 ,such phrases   
succeed because of their interior and   
imaginative appeal4    ,we have numerous
 examples of this kind of artistic      
language--the highly  charged           
imaginative phrase--in the ,bible2      
especially in the prophetic  books1 and 
the ,apocalypse4        ,ho1 every one  
that thirsteth1 come ye to the waters4  
,i will give thee treasures of darkness 
and hidden riches of secret             
places4      ,the ,lord shall be a      
diadem of beauty4      ,he showed me a  
pure river of the water of life4      ,i

 heard a voice from heaven1 as the voice
 of many waters4      ,i saw a new      
heaven and a new earth4    ,whereas the 
original prophetic significance of these
 phrases is now  meaningless for us1    
their suggestive quality--their appeal  
to the mystic  consciousness--retains   
its full force4 ,they are artistic      
creations2 and  have the enormous       
evocative power proper to all great art4
 ,later mystics  use such passages again
 and again1 reading their own           
experiences into  these traditional     
forms4 ,the classic example of this     
close alliance  between poetic readings 
of life and practical mysticism is of   
course the  mystical interpretation of  
the ,song of ,songs1 which appears in   
,christian mysticism at least as early  
as the fourth century4 ,but there  are  
many other instances4 ,thus ,st4        
,macarius finds in ,ezekiel's vision of 
the ,cherubim a profoundly suggestive   
image of the state of the deified  soul1
 8all eyes and all wings10 driven upon  

its course by the ,heavenly  ,charioteer
 of the ,spirit4 ,thus in ,the ,mirror  
of ,simple ,souls1 another  of          
,ezekiel's visions--that of the 8great  
eagle1 with great wings1 long  wings1   
full of feathers1 which took the highest
 branch of the  cedar0--becomes the     
vivid symbol of the contemplative mind1 
8the eagle  that flies high1 so right   
high and yet more high than does any    
other  bird1 for she is feathered with  
fine love1 and beholds above other the  
beauty of the sun40    ,when we pass to 
the mystical poets1 we find that nearly 
all their best  effects are due to their
 extraordinary genius for this kind of  
indirect1  suggestive imagery4 ,this is 
the method by which they proceed when   
they  wish to communicate their vision  
of reality4 ,their works are full of    
magical phrases which baffle analysis1  
yet1 as one of them has said3           
8,lighten the wave-washed caverns of the
 mind                  ,with a pale1    
starry grace40    ,many of these phrases

 are of course familiar to every one4   
,vaughan's                   8,i saw    
,eternity the other night               
,like a great ring of pure and endless  
light40    ,blake's                     
8,to see a world in a grain of sand     
,and a heaven in a wild flower1         
,hold infinity in the palm of your hand1
                      ,and eternity in  
an hour40    ,whitman's                 
8,light rare1 untellable1 lighting the  
very light40    ,thompson's             
8,ever and anon a trumpet sounds        
,from the hid battlements of ,eternity40
    ,these are artistic1 sidelong       
representations of the mystic's direct  
apprehension of the ,infinite on1 so to 
speak1 its cosmic and impersonal  side4 
,others reflect the personal and        
intimate contact with the ,divine  ,life
 which forms the opposite side of his   
complete experience4 ,thus  ,francis    
,thompson3                              
8,with his aureole                      
,the tresses of my soul                 

,are blent                              
,in wished content40    ,so1 too1 ,st4  
,john of the ,cross3                    
8,all things ,i then forgot1            
,my cheek on him who for my coming came2
                   ,all ceased1 and ,i  
was not1                     ,leaving my
 cares and shame                        
,among the lilies1 and forgetting them40
    ,best of all1 perhaps1 ,jalluddin   
,rmi3        8,in a place beyond        
uttermost place1 in a tract without     
shadow of         trace1      ,soul and 
body transcending ,i live1 in the soul  
of my loved one         anew40          
,sometimes the two aspects1 personal and
 impersonal1 are woven together  by the 
poet3 and then it is that we come       
nearest to an understanding of  the full
 experience he is trying to express4 ,a 
remarkable example of  this occurs in   
,gerard ,hopkins1 perhaps the greatest  
mystical poet of the  ,victorian era3   
8,thou mastering me             ,god6   
giver of breath and bread2              

,world's strand1 sway of the sea2       
,lord of the living and dead2           
,thou hast bound bones and veins in me1 
fastened me flesh1       ,and after it  
almost unmade1 what with dread1         
,thy doing3 and dost thou touch me      
afresh8       ,over again ,i feel thy   
finger and find thee40                  
8,i kiss my hand             ,to the    
stars1 lovely-asunder                   
,starlight1 wafting him out of it2 and  
,glow1 glory in thunder2       ,kiss my 
hand to the dappled-with-damson west3   
,since1 though he is under the world's  
splendour and wonder1           ,his    
mystery must be instressed1 stressed2   
,for ,i greet him the days ,i meet him1 
and bless when ,i understand40    ,so   
much for the poets4 ,in the prose       
writings of the mystics we find  again  
the same characters1 the same high      
imaginative qualities1 the same         
passionate effort to give the ineffable 
some kind of artistic form4 ,this       
effort includes in its span a wide range

 of literary artifices2 some            
endeavouring to recapture and represent 
in concrete symbols the  objective      
reality known2 some1 like one dominant  
art movement of the  present day1 trying
 to communicate it obliquely1 by a      
representation of  the subjective       
feeling-state induced in the mystic's   
own consciousness4  ,at one end of the  
scale1 therefore1 we have the so-called 
negative  language of mysticism1 which  
describes the supersensuous in paradox  
by  refusing to describe it at all2 by  
declaring that the entry of the soul    
upon spiritual experience is an entry   
into a ,cloud of ,unknowing1 a  nothing1
 a ,divine ,darkness1 a fathomless      
abyss4 ,the curious thing is1  that     
though here1 if anywhere1 the mystic    
seems to keep his secret to  himself1 as
 a matter of fact it is just this sort  
of language which has  been proved to   
possess the highest evocative power4    
,for many types of  mind1 this really   
does fling magic casements wide2 does   

give us a  momentary glimpse of the     
perilous seas4 ,i am inclined to think  
that1  many and beautiful as are the    
symbolic and pictorial creations of     
mystical genius1 it is here that this   
genius works most freely1 produces  its 
most magnificent results4 ,when         
,ruysbroeck speaks of the boundless     
abyss of pure simplicity1 that 8dim     
silence where all lovers lose           
themselves02 when he assures us that1   
8stripped of its very life10 the  soul  
is destined to 8sail the wild billows of
 that ,sea ,divine10 surely  he effects 
a true change in our universe4 ,so1 too1
 the wonderful series  of formless      
visions--though 8vision0 is a poor word 
for intuitive  experience of this       
sort--experienced by ,angela of         
,foligno1 far exceed in  their          
suggestive power her vividly pictured   
conversations with ,christ1  when she   
declares that she beheld 8those eyes and
 that face so gracious  and so          
pleasing40    8,i beheld10 she says of  

her ultimate experience of the          
,absolute1 8a  ,thing1 as fixed and     
stable as it was indescribable2 and more
 than this ,i  cannot say1 save what ,i 
have often said already1 namely1 that it
 was all  good4 ,and though my soul     
beheld not love1 yet when it saw that   
ineffable  ,thing it was itself filled  
with unutterable joy1 and it was taken  
out of  the state it was in1 and placed 
in this great and ineffable state4444   
,but if thou seekest to know that which 
,i beheld1 ,i can tell thee  nothing1   
save that ,i beheld a ,fullness and a   
,clearness1 and felt them  within me so 
abundantly that ,i cannot describe it1  
nor give any image  thereof3 for what ,i
 beheld was not bodily1 but as though it
 were in  heaven4 ,thus ,i beheld a     
beauty so great that ,i can say nothing 
of it  save that ,i saw the ,supreme    
,beauty1 which contains in itself all   
goodness40    ,in the end1 all that     
,angela has said here is1 8,come and    
see60 but in  saying this1 she tells us 

far more than many do who go about to   
measure  the ,city of ,contemplation4   
,here words suggest1 they do not tell2  
entice1  but do not describe4 ,reminding
 us of the solemn declaration of ,thomas
   ,kempis1 that 8there is a distance   
incomparable between those things that  
imperfect men think1 and those that men 
illumined by high revelation  behold10  
they yet extend to other minds a musical
 invitation to  intercourse with new    
orders of reality4    ,this sort of     
language1 this form of paradoxical1     
suggestive1 allusive  art is a permanent
 feature in mystical literature4 ,it is 
usually  supposed to be derived through 
,dionysius the ,areopagite from the     
,platonists1 but is really far older    
than this4 ,as it comes down the        
centuries1 it develops in depth and     
richness4 ,each successive mystic  takes
 up the imagery of negation where the   
last one leaves it--takes it1  because  
he recognizes that it describes a       
country where he too has  been--and adds

 to it the products of his own most     
secret and august  experiences4 ,as in  
the torch-race of the antique world1 the
 illuminating  symbol1 once lit1 is     
snatched from hand to hand1 and burns   
ever brighter  as it is passed on4    ,i
 take one example of this out of many4  
,nearly all the great mystics of  the   
later ,middle ,ages speak of the        
,wilderness or ,desert of ,deity2       
suggesting thus that sense of great1    
swept spaces1 8beyond the polar  circle 
of the mind0--of a plane of experience  
destitute of all the homely  furniture  
of thought--which seems to characterize 
a certain high type1 or  stage1 of      
contemplation4 ,it represents the       
emergence of the self into a  real      
universe--a 8place beyond uttermost     
place0--unrelated to the  categories of 
thought1 and is substantially the same  
experience which  ,dionysius the        
,areopagite and those mystics who follow
 him call the  ,divine ,ignorance or the
 ,dark1 and which his ,english          

interpreter names  the ,cloud of        
,unknowing1 where the soul feels itself 
to be lost4 ,but each  mystic who uses  
this traditional image of               
amazement--really the  description of a 
psychological situation1 not of an      
objective  reality--gives to it a       
characteristic touch2 each has passed it
 through  the furnace of his own        
passionate imagination1 and slightly    
modified its  temper and its form4 ,this
 place1 or state1 says ,eckhart1 is 8a  
still  wilderness where no one is at    
home40 ,it is 8the quiet desert of the  
,godhead10 says ,tauler2 8,so still1 so 
mysterious1 so desolate6 ,the great     
wastes to be found in it have neither   
image1 form1 nor condition40 ,yet1  says
 ,richard ,rolle--suddenly bringing the 
positive experience of the              
contemplative heart to the rescue of the
 baffled contemplative mind--in  this   
same wilderness consciousness does set  
up an ineffable  correspondence with    
,reality4    8,there speaks the loved to

 the heart of the lover2 as it were a   
bashful lover1 that his sweetheart      
before men entreats not1 nor            
friendly-wise but commonly and as a     
stranger kisses 444 and anon comes      
heavenly joy1 marvellously making merry 
melody40    ,here the mystic1 with an   
astonishing boldness1 weaves together   
spatial1  personal and musical imagery1 
positive and negative experience1 in    
order  to produce his full effect4      
,finally1 ,st4 ,john of the ,cross1     
great thinker1 manly and heroic mystic1 
and true poet1 effects a perfect        
synthesis of these positive and         
negative experiences--that apparent     
self-loss in empty spaces which is      
also1 mysteriously1 an encounter of     
love4    8,the soul in dim contemplation
 7he says7 is like a man who sees       
something for the first time1 the like  
of which he has never seen before  444  
hence it feels like one who is placed in
 a wild and vast solitude  where no     
human being can come2 an immense        

wilderness without limits4 ,but  this   
wilderness is the more delicious1 sweet 
and lovely1 the more it is  wide1 vast  
and lonely2 for where the soul seems    
most to be lost1 there  it is most      
raised up above all created things40    
,all this language1 as ,i have said1    
belongs to the oblique and  paradoxical 
side of the mystic's art2 and comes to  
us from those who are  temperamentally  
inclined to that pure contemplation     
which 8has no  image40 ,psychologically 
speaking1 these mystics are closer to   
the  musician than to any other type of 
artist1 though they avail themselves    
when they wish of material drawn from   
all the arts4 ,but there is another     
kind of mystic1 naturally inclined to   
visualization1 who tends to  translate  
his supersensual experience into        
concrete1 pictorial images2  into terms 
of colour and of form4 ,he uses1 in     
fact1 the methods of the  painter1 the  
descriptive writer1 sometimes of the    
dramatist1 rather than  those of the    

musician or the lyric poet4 ,he is1 ,i  
think1 as a rule much  less impressive  
than the artist of the illusive kind1   
and is seldom so  successful in putting 
us into communion with reality4 ,on the 
other  hand--and partly because of his  
more concrete method--he is the more    
generally understood4 ,for one person to
 whom ,plotinus or ,ruysbroeck          
communicates his sublime intuition of   
reality1 a hundred accept at their      
face-value1 as true 8revelations10 the  
visions of ,st4 ,gertrude or ,st4       
,teresa4    ,the picture-making         
proceedings of this type of mystical    
artist are of  two kinds4 ,sometimes    
they are involuntary1 sometimes         
deliberate4 ,often  we find both forms  
in the same individual2 for instance1 in
 ,mechthild of  ,magdeburg and in ,suso1
 where it is sometimes extremely        
difficult to find  the dividing line    
between true visionary experience       
entirely outside the  self's control1   
and the intense meditation1 or poetic   

apprehension of  truth1 which demands a 
symbolic and concrete form for its      
literary  expression4 ,in both cases an 
act of artistic creation has taken      
place2  in one below1 in the other      
above1 the normal threshold of          
consciousness4  ,in true visionaries1   
the translation of the supersensual into
 sensual  terms is uncontrolled by the  
surface intellect2 as it is indeed in   
many  artists4 ,without the will or     
knowledge of the subject1 intuitions are
  woven up into pictures1 cadences1     
words2 and1 by that which  psychologists
 call a psycho-sensorial automatism1 the
 mystic seems to  himself to receive the
 message of ,reality in a pictorial1    
verbal1  dramatic or sometimes a musical
 form--8coming in to his body by the    
windows of the wits10 as one old writer 
has it4    ,thus the rhythmic phrases in
 which the ,eternal ,wisdom speaks to   
,suso1 or  the ,divine ,voice to ,st4   
,catherine of ,siena1 verge on poetic   
composition2  but poetic composition of 

the automatic type1 uncontrolled by the 
mystic's surface-mind4 ,thus1 too1 the  
great fluid visions of the  prophets1   
the sharply definite1 often lovely1     
pictures which surge up  before the mind
 of ,suso1 the ,mechthilds1 ,st4        
,gertrude1 ,angela of  ,foligno1 of the 
great ,st4 ,teresa herself1 are symbolic
 pictures which  represent an actual    
interior experience1 a real contact with
 the  supersensual2 exhibiting the      
interpretative power inherent in the    
mystical imagination4 ,these pictures   
are seen by the mystic--sometimes1  as  
he says1 within the mind1 sometimes as  
projections in space--always in  sharp  
definition1 lit by that strong light    
which is peculiar to  visionary states4 
,they are not produced by any voluntary 
process of  composition1 but loom up1 as
 do the best creations of other artists1
  from his deeper mind1 bringing with   
them an intense conviction of  reality4 
,good instances are the visions which so
 often occur at  conversion1 or mark the

 transition from one stage of the mystic
 way to  another3 for example1 the      
mystic marriage of ,st4 ,catherine of   
,siena1 or  that vision of the ,upper   
,school of ,true ,resignation1 which    
initiated  ,suso into the 8dark night of
 the soul40 ,i believe that we may look 
on  such visions as allied to           
dream-states2 but in the case of the    
great  mystics they are the richly      
significant waking-dreams of creative   
genius1 not the confused and meaningless
 dreaming of normal men4 ,suso  himself 
makes this comparison1 and says that    
none but the mystic can  distinguish    
vision from dream4 ,in character they   
vary as widely as do  the creations of  
the painter and the poet4 ,the personal 
and intimate1  the remote and           
metaphysical1 sides of the spiritual    
life are richly  represented in them4   
,sometimes the elements from which they 
are built up  come from theology1       
sometimes from history1 legend1 nature1 
or human  life4 ,but in every case the  

8glory of the lighted mind0 shines on   
them4    ,often a particularly delicate 
and gay poetic feeling--a fary          
touch--shows  itself in the symbolic    
pictures by which these mystics try to  
represent  their encounter with the     
spiritual world4 ,coventry ,patmore once
 spoke of  a 8sphere of rapture and     
dalliance0 to which the great           
contemplatives  are raised2 and it is   
from such a sphere that these seem to   
turn back to  us1 trying1 by direct     
appeals to our sense of joy1 the most   
stunted of  our spiritual faculties1 to 
communicate their exultant experience of
  that ,kingdom of ,reality which is    
neither 8here0 nor 8there0 but          
8everywhere40    ,music and dancing1    
birds and flowers1 the freshness of a   
living1 growing  world1 all simple      
joyous things1 all airy beauties1 are   
used in the  effort to tell us of that  
vision which ,clement called the        
privilege of  love4 ,when we read these 
declarations we feel that it is always  

spring-time in those gardens of the soul
 of which they tell4 ,st4 ,john of  the 
,cross1 who described those spiritual   
gardens1 said that fragrant  roses      
brought from strange islands grew       
there--those strange islands  which are 
the romantic unexplored possibilities of
 ,god--and that  water-lilies shine like
 stars in that roaring torrent of       
supernal glory  which pours without     
ceasing through the transfigured soul4  
,this is high  poetry2 but sometimes the
 mystic imagination shows itself under  
simpler1  more endearing forms1 as when 
,st4 ,mechthild of ,hackeborn saw the   
prayers  of her sisters flying up like  
larks into the presence of ,god2 some   
soaring as high as ,his countenance and 
some falling down to rest upon  ,his    
heart4 ,an angel carried the little1    
fluttering prayers which were  not      
strong enough to rise of themselves4    
,imagery less charming than this  has   
gone to the making of many a successful 
poem4    ,between the sublime intensity 

of ,st4 ,john and the crystalline       
simplicity  of ,st4 ,mechthild1 mystical
 literature provides us with examples of
  almost every type of romantic and     
symbolic language2 deliberate or        
involuntary translation of the heavenly 
fact into the earthly image4  ,true1 the
 earthly image is transfused by a new   
light1 radiant with a new  colour1 has  
been lifted into a new atmosphere2 and  
thus has often a  suggestive quality far
 in excess of its symbolic              
appropriateness4 ,in  their search for  
such images the mystics explore the     
resources of all  the arts4 ,in         
particular1 music and dancing--joyous   
harmony1 unceasing  measured            
movement--have seemed to them specially 
significant media  whereby to express   
their intuitions of ,eternal ,life4 ,st4
 ,francis1 and  after him ,richard      
,rolle1 heard celestial melodies2       
,kabir1 the 8,unstruck  ,music of the   
,infinite40 ,dante saw the saints       
dancing in the sphere of  the sun2 ,suso

 heard the music of the angels1 and was 
invited to join in  their song and      
dance4 ,it was not1 he says1 like the   
dancing of this  world1 but was like a  
celestial ebb and flow within that      
incomprehensible ,abyss which is the    
secret being of the ,deity4 ,there is   
no need to dwell upon the remarkable way
 in which mystics of all  countries and 
periods1 from ,plotinus to ,jacob       
,boehme1 resort to the  dance as an     
image of the glad harmonious movements  
of liberated souls4 ,i  will take two   
characteristic examples1 from the ,east 
and from the ,west4  ,the first is a    
poem by ,kabir3        8,dance1 my      
heart6 dance to-day with joy4      ,the 
strains of love fill the days and the   
nights with music1 and the         world
 is listening to its melodies2      ,mad
 with joy1 life and death dance to the  
rhythm of this music4 ,the         hills
 and the sea and the earth dance4 ,the  
world of man dances in         laughter 
and tears4444      ,behold6 my heart    

dances in the delight of a hundred arts1
 and the         ,creator is well       
pleased40    ,the next is the ,german   
mystic and poetess1 ,mechthild of       
,magdeburg1 whose  writings are amongst 
the finest products of mystical genius  
of the  romantic and emotional type4    
,this ,mechthild's book1 ,the ,book of  
the  ,flowing ,light of the ,godhead1 is
 a collection of visions1 revelations1  
thoughts and letters1 written in        
alternate prose and verse4 ,the variety 
of its contents includes the most       
practical advice on daily conduct1 the  
most sublime descriptions of high       
mystical experience4 ,mechthild was an  
artist1 who was evidently familiar with 
the literary tradition and most  of the 
literary expedients of her time4 ,she   
uses many of them in the  attempt to    
impart to others that vision of ,life1  
,light and ,love which  she knew4 ,i    
take1 as an example of her genius1 and a
 last specimen of  the mystic's creative
 art1 the celebrated letter addressed to

 a  fellow-pilgrim on that spiritual    
8,love-path0 which she trod herself with
  so great a fortitude4 ,it represents  
not only the rich variety of            
,mechthild's literary resources1 but    
also those several forms of artistic    
expression which the great mystics have 
employed4 ,here1 concrete               
representation is perpetually reinforced
 by oblique suggestion2 the  imagery of 
the poet is double-edged1 evoking moods 
as well as ideas4 ,we  observe that it  
opens with a spiritual love-scene1      
closely related in  style to the secular
 and romantic literature of ,mechthild's
 time2 that  this develops to a dramatic
 dialogue between soul and              
senses--another  common artifice of the 
medival author--and this again leads by 
a  perfectly natural transition to the  
soul's great acclamation of its         
destiny1 and the crowning announcement  
of the union of lover and  beloved4     
,the movement of this mystical romance1 
then1 like the movement of  ascending   

consciousness1 goes from the concrete   
image to the mysterious  and sidelong   
apprehension of imageless facts4 ,first 
we have picture1  then dialectic1 then  
intuitive certitude4 ,here1 too1 we find
 both those  aspects of experience which
 dominate mystical literature3 the      
personal  and intimate encounter of     
love1 and the self-loss of the soul in  
an  utterly transcendent ,absolute4     
,surely the union of these 8completing  
opposites0 in one work of art must rank 
as a great imaginative  achievement4    
,mechthild tells her story of the soul's
 adventure in snatches of  freely-rhymed
 verse1 linked together by prose        
narrative passages--a form  which is not
 uncommon in the secular literature of  
the ,middle ,ages4#a  ,we are further   
reminded of that secular literature by  
the imagery which  she employs4 ,the    
soul is described as a maiden1 the      
,divine ,lover is a  fair youth whom she
 desires4 ,the very setting of the story
 is just such  a fairy landscape as we  

find in the lays and romances of        
chivalry2 it  has something of the      
spring-like charm that we feel in       
,aucassin and  ,nicolette--the dewy     
morning1 the bird-haunted forest1 the   
song and  dance4 ,it is1 in fact1 a love
 story of the period adapted with       
extraordinary boldness to the purposes  
of mystical experience4    ,when the    
virgin soul1 says ,mechthild at the     
opening of her tale1 has  endured all   
the trials of mystical purification1 she
 is very weary1 and  cries to her ,love1
 saying1 8,oh1 beautiful youth6 ,i long 
for thee4 ,where  shall ,i find thee80  
,then the ,divine ,youth answers3       
8,a gentle voice ,i hear1               
,something of love sounds there3        
,i have wooed her long and long1        
,yet not till now have ,i heard that    
song4                   ,it moveth me   
so1                   ,towards her ,i   
must go4                   ,she is the  
soul who with pain is torn1             
,and love1 that is one with the pain4   

,in the early dew of the morn1          
,in the hidden depths1 which are far    
below1                   ,the life of   
the soul is born40    ,then her vassals1
 which are the five senses1 say to the  
soul1 8,lady1  adorn thyself40          
8,we have heard the whisper clear2      
,the ,prince is coming towards thee     
here1                    ,in the morning
 dew1 in the bird's song4               
,ah1 fair ,bride1 tarry not long60      
,so the soul adorns herself with the    
virtues1 and goes out into the  forest3 
and the forest1 says ,mechthild1 is the 
company of the saints4  ,sweet          
nightingales sing there night and day of
 true union with ,god1 and  there in the
 thicket are heard the voices of the    
birds of holy wisdom4  ,but the youth   
himself comes not to her4 ,he sends     
messengers to the  intent that she may  
dance3 one by one he sends her the faith
 of ,abraham1  the aspirations of the   
,prophets1 the pure humility of our     
,lady ,saint  ,mary1 all the virtues of 

,christ1 and all the sanctity of ,his   
elect2 and  thus there is prepared a    
most noble dance4 ,and then comes the   
youth and  says to the soul1 8,maiden1  
as gladly shouldst thou have danced1 as 
mine  elect have danced40 ,but she      
replies3              8,unless thou lead
 me1 ,lord1 ,i cannot dance2            
,would'st thou have me leap and spring1 
,thou thyself1 dear ,lord1 must sing1   
,so shall ,i spring into thy love1      
,from thy love to understanding1        
,from understanding to delight4         
,then1 soaring human thought far1 far   
above1            ,there circling will  
,i dwell1 and taste encircling love40   
,so sings the ,bride2 and so the youth  
must sing1 that she may dance4 ,then    
says he3    8,maiden1 thy dance of      
praise was well performed4 ,now thou    
shalt have thy  will of the ,virgin's   
,son1 for thou art weary4 ,come at      
midday to the  shady fountain1 to the   
resting-place of love3 and with him thou
 shalt  find refreshment40    ,and the  

maiden replies3                         
8,oh ,lord1 it is too high1 too great1  
,that she should be thy chosen mate1    
,within whose heart no love can be      
,till she is quickened1 ,lord1 by thee40
    ,by this romantic1 story-telling    
method ,mechthild has appealed to the   
fancy and emotion of the reader1 and has
 enticed him into the heart of  the     
spiritual situation4 ,next1 she passes  
to her intellectual appeal2  the        
argument between the soul and the       
senses4 ,from this she proceeds1 by  a  
transition which seems to be free and   
natural1 yet is the outcome of          
consummate art1 to the supreme          
declarations of the deified spirit 8at  
home with the ,lord10 as ,st4 ,paul     
said4    ,the dialogue moves by the     
process of reduction to a demonstration 
of ,god  as the only satisfaction of the
 questing soul which has surrendered to 
the incantations of ,reality4 ,one after
 another1 substitutes for the  ,first   
and ,only ,fair are offered and         

rejected4 ,the soul says to the  senses1
 which are her vassals3 8,now ,i am for 
a while weary of the dance4  ,give      
place6 for ,i would go where ,i may     
refresh myself40 ,then say the  senses  
to the soul3 8,lady1 wilt thou refresh  
thyself in the tears of  love of ,st4   
,mary ,magdalene8 ,this may well satisfy
 thee80 ,but the soul  says3 8,hush1    
sirs1 you know not what ,i mean6 ,let me
 be1 for ,i would  drink a little of the
 unmingled wine40    ,then say the      
senses3                      8,oh       
,bride1 in virgin chastity1             
,is the ,love of ,god made ready for    
thee40    ,and the soul says3           
8,even so2 yet though high and pure it  
be1                   ,that path is not 
the highest for me40    ,and the senses3
                     8,in the blood of  
the martyred saints                     
,may'st thou refresh thy soul that      
faints40    ,and the soul3              
8,i have been martyred so many a day1   
,i cannot now tread in that way40       

,and the senses3                        
8,by the wise ,confessors' side1        
,the pure in heart love to abide40      
,and the soul3                          
8,and their counsel will ,i obey1       
,both when ,i go and when ,i stay2      
,and yet ,i cannot walk their way40     
,and the senses3                        
8,in the ,apostles' wisdom pure1        
,may'st thou find a refuge sure40       
,and the soul3                       8,i
 have their wisdom here in my heart1    
,and with it ,i choose the better part40
    ,and the senses3                8,o 
,bride1 the angels are fair and bright1 
,full of ,god's love1 full of ,god's    
light2              ,would'st thou      
refresh thee1 mount to their height40   
,and the soul3                   8,the  
angel's joy is but heartache to me1     
,if their ,lord and my ,bridegroom ,i do
 not see40    ,and the senses3          
8,in holy penance refresh thee and save1
                    ,that ,god to ,st4  
,john ,baptist gave40    ,and the soul3 

8,i am ready for pain1 ready for grief1 
,yet the combat of love is first and    
chief40    ,and the senses3             
8,o ,bride1 would'st thou refreshd be1  
,so bend thee to the ,virgin's knee1    
,to the little ,babe1 and taste and see 
,the milk of joy from the ,maid's       
breast1                   ,that the     
angels drink1 in unearthly rest40       
,and the soul3                          
8,it is but a childish love indeed1     
,babes to cradle1 babes to feed2        
,i am a fair1 a full-grown bride1       
,i must haste to my ,lover's side40     
,and the senses3                     8,o
 bride1 if thou goest thou shalt find1  
,that we are utterly dazzled and blind4 
,such fiery heat in ,god doth dwell--   
,thou thyself knowest it well--         
,that all the flame and all the glow    
,which in ,heaven above and the ,saints 
below                   ,burneth and    
shineth--all doth flow                  
,from ,god ,himself4 ,his divine breath 
,sighed by the ,spirit's wisdom and     

power1                   ,through ,his  
human lips1 born to death1              
--,who may abide it1 e'en for an hour80 
,and the soul says3             8,the   
fish in the water cannot drown1         
,the bird in the air cannot sink down1  
,gold in the fire cannot decay1         
,but shineth fairer and clearer alway4  
,to all creatures ,god doth give1       
,after their own natures to live4       
,how can ,i bind my nature's wings8     
,i must haste to my ,god before all     
things2           ,my ,god1 by ,his     
nature my ,father above1             ,my
 ,brother in ,his humanity1             
,my ,bridegroom in ,his ardent love1    
,and ,i ,his from ,eternity4            
,think ye1 that ,fire must utterly slay 
my soul8           ,nay--fierce ,he can 
scorch--then tenderly cool and console40
    8,and so did the utterly loved go in
 to the utterly lovely2 into the  secret
 chamber of the ,pure ,divinity4 ,and   
there she found the resting  place of   
love1 and the home of love1 and the     

,divine ,humanity that  awaited her40   
,and the soul said3                     
8,lord1 ,god1 ,i am now a naked soul    
,and ,thou art arrayed all gloriously3  
,we are ,two in ,one1 we have reached   
the goal1                 ,immortal     
rapture that cannot die4                
,now1 a blessed silence doth o'er us    
flow1                 ,both wills       
together would have it so4              
,he is given to her1 she is given to    
,him1--                 ,what now shall 
befall her1 the soul doth know--        
,and therefore am ,i consoled40    ,this
 is the end of all mysticism4 ,it is the
 term to which all the  artistic efforts
 of the mystics have striven to lead the
 hearts of other  men4    ,footnote #a3 
,for the verse-translations in the      
following extracts ,i am indebted to    
the great skill and kindness of ,mrs4   
,theodore ,beck1 who1 possessing a      
special talent for this difficult art1  
has most generously made for me    these
 versions of ,mechthild's poetry4       

,,the ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,spirit   
,the old mystics were fond of saying    
that 8,man is a made trinity1 like to   
the unmade ,blessed ,trinity40 ,that    
particular form of words comes to us    
from ,julian of ,norwich2 but it        
expresses a thought which we often meet 
in the spiritual writers of the ,middle 
,ages4 ,further1 these writers were     
disposed to find in man's nature a      
reflection of the three special         
characters which theology attributes to 
the ,christian ,godhead4 ,they  thought 
that the power of the ,father had its   
image in the physical  nature of man3   
the wisdom of the ,son in his reason3   
the creative vigour  of the ,holy       
,spirit in his soul4 ,some taught also  
that each of these  three aspects of    
humanity corresponded with one aspect of
 the triune  reality of the universe3   
the physical world of nature1 the mental
 world  of idea1 the ultimate world of  
spirit4 ,the sceptic of course would    
express this differently1 and see in it 

but one more illustration of the  fact  
that man always makes ,god in his own   
image4 ,but without scepticism  ,i think
 we may explain it thus3 that those who 
have pondered most deeply  on the       
,divine ,nature have most easily found  
in its richness1 and have  best         
understood1 just those attributes which 
are most clearly marked in  human       
nature4 ,man has inevitably been for    
them a key to ,god4    ,these           
speculations seem at first sight to have
 little bearing upon the  problems of   
education4 ,but they are in reality     
intimately connected with  it3 for their
 consideration leads us back to the     
central fact out of  which they have    
arisen--namely1 the abiding truth that  
man's deepest  exploration of his own   
nature gives again and again this       
threefold  result1 that he feels that   
his real self-hood and real             
possibilities are  not wholly exhausted 
by the terms 8body0 and 8mind40 ,he     
knows in his  best moments another vivid

 aspect of his being1 as strong as      
these1  though often kept below the     
threshold of his consciousness3 the     
spirit1  which informs1 yet is distinct 
from both his body and his mind4    ,now
 the question which all serious         
educationalists are called upon to  ask 
themselves is this3 ,to what extent does
 that three-fold analysis of  human     
personality influence our educational   
schemes8 ,the object of  education is to
 bring out the best and highest powers  
of the thing  educated4 ,do we1 in our  
education1 even attempt to bring out the
 best  and highest powers of the spirit1
 as we seek to develop those of the     
body and the mind8    ,the child as he  
comes to us is a bundle of physical1    
mental1 and  spiritual possibilities4   
,he is related to three distinct yet    
interpenetrating worlds2 all accessible 
to him1 since he is human1 and  all     
offering endless opportunities of       
adventure to him4                       
8,heaven lies about us in our infancy1  

,shades of the prison-house begin to    
close                   ,about the      
growing boy40    ,why should they close2
 whose fault is it that they do8 ,does  
not the  fault lie with the poor and    
grovelling outlook of those to whom this
  sensitive1 plastic thing is confided8 
,who so badly select and manipulate  the
 bundle of possibilities offered to     
them1 that they often contrive to       
manufacture a creature ruled by its own 
physical needs and appetites1  its      
mental and emotional limitations2       
instead of a free1 immortal being1      
master of its own body and mind4 ,here  
is this child1 the germ of the  future4 
,to a great extent1 we can control the  
way that germ develops2  the special    
characters of the past which it shall   
transmit4 ,we can have  a hand in the   
shaping of the history that is to be    
when we have gone3  for who can doubt   
that the controlling factor of history  
is the  physical1 mental1 or spiritual  
character of those races that dominate  

the world8 ,it is in the interplay1     
tension1 and strife of these three      
universes that history in the last      
resort consists4    ,now1 on the eve of 
a new era1 is it not worth while to     
remind ourselves  of this terrific fact8
 ,to see whether our plans are so laid  
as to bring  out all the balanced       
possibilities of the coming man2 all his
 latent  powers8 ,we recognize the fact 
that body and mind must be trained      
whilst  still in a plastic state4 ,we   
are awake to the results of allowing    
them  to atrophy4 ,where we find        
individuals with special powers in one  
of  these directions1 we aim at their   
perfect development2 at the production  
of the athlete1 scholar1 man of action4 
,but it cannot be said that we  are     
equally on the lookout for special      
qualities of spirit2 that when  found1  
we train them with the same skill and   
care4 ,yet if we do not1 can  we expect 
to get the very best out of the race8   
,to explore all its  potentialities2    

some1 perhaps1 still unguessed8 ,we know
 that the child's  reactions to life    
will be determined by the mental        
furniture with which  he is equipped4   
,his perceptions1 his choice from among 
the welter of  possible impressions     
surrounding him1 will depend on the     
character of  his 8apperceiving mass40  
,surely then it is our first duty so to 
equip  him that he shall be able to lay 
hold on those intimations of spirit     
which are woven into the texture of our 
sensual universe2 to lead him  into that
 mood of receptivity in which the       
beautiful and the  significant1 the good
 and the true1 stand out for him from   
the scene of  life and hold his         
interest4 ,a meadow which to one boy is 
merely a  possible cricket field1 to    
another is a place of romance and       
adventure1  full of friendly life4      
,the mischief is that whatever our      
theoretic beliefs1 we do not in         
practice really regard spirit as the    
chief element of our being2 the  chief  

object of our educational care4 ,our    
notions about it are shadowy1  and have 
very little influence on our educational
 schemes4 ,were it  present to us as a  
vivid reality1 we should surely provide 
our young  people with a reasoned       
philosophy of life in which it is given 
its  place3 something which can provide 
honest answers to the questions of  the 
awakening intelligence1 and withstand   
the hostile criticism which  wrecks so  
much adolescent faith4 ,for ten parents 
who study the  ,montessori system of    
sense training1 how many think of       
consulting those  old specialists who   
taught how the powers of the spirit may 
be developed  and disciplined1 and given
 their true place in human life8 ,how   
many  educationalists realize that      
prayer1 as taught to children1 may and  
should be an exercise which gently      
develops a whole side of human          
consciousness that might otherwise be   
dormant2 places it in  communication    
with a real and valid universe awaiting 

the apprehension  of man8 ,how many give
 the subject the same close1 skilled    
attention that  they give1 say1 to      
,latin grammar on one hand or physical  
culture on the  other8 ,those subjects1 
and many more1 have emerged from        
vagueness into  clarity because         
attention1 the cutting point of the     
human will1 has been  concentrated upon 
them4 ,gradually in these departments an
 ordered world  has been made1 and the  
child or young person put in            
correspondence with  that world4 ,we    
cannot say that the same has been done  
for the world of  spirit4 ,the majority 
of the 8well-educated0 probably pass    
through life  without any knowledge of  
the science of prayer1 with at best the 
vaguest  notions of the hygiene of the  
soul4 ,often our religious teachers are 
themselves no better instructed1 and    
seem unable to offer the growing  and   
hungry spirit any food more heavenly    
than practical ethics and  dogmatic     
beliefs4 ,thus a complete world of      

experience is habitually  ignored by us1
 and one great power of the human       
trinity allowed to  atrophy4    ,we are 
just beginning as educators to pay      
ordered attention to that  fringe-world 
in which sense1 intellect1 and spirit   
all have a part3 ,i  mean the world of  
sthetic apprehension4 ,it cannot be     
denied that the  result has been1 for   
many of the young people now growing up1
 an immense  enlargement and enrichment 
of life4 ,look at one of the most       
striking  intellectual characteristics  
of the last few years3 the rapid growth 
of  the taste and need for poetry1 the  
amount of it that is written1 the way   
in which it seems to supply a necessary 
outlet for young ,englishmen in  the    
present day4 ,look at the mass of verse 
which was composed1 under  conditions of
 utmost horror1 on the battlefields2    
poetry the most  pathetic in the world1 
in which we see the passionate effort of
 spirit  to find adjustment1 its        
assertion of unconquerable power1 even  

in the  teeth of this overwhelming      
manifestation of brute force4 ,there is 
the  power of the future3 the spirit of 
beauty and truth seeking for  utterance4
 ,there is that quickening spring1      
bubbling up afresh in every  generation2
 and ready1 if we will help it to find  
expression1 to  transfigure our human   
life4    ,there is a common idea that   
the spiritual life means something pious
 and  mawkish3 not very desirable in    
girls1 and most objectionable in boys4  
,it  is strange that this notion1 which 
both the ,jewish and ,christian         
,scriptures so emphatically contradict1 
should ever have grown up amongst  us4  
,the spirit1 says ,st4 ,paul1 is not a  
spirit of fearfulness2 it is 8a  spirit 
of ,power and ,love and                 
,discipline0--qualities that make for   
vigour  and manliness of the best type4 
,it is the very source of our energies1 
both natural and supernatural4 ,the     
mystics sometimes called it our         
8life-giving life10 and modern          

psychologists are beginning to discover 
that it is1 in the most literal sense1  
our 8health's eternal spring40  ,people 
say1 8,come1 ,holy ,spirit02 as if it   
were something foreign to us3  yet it   
comes perpetually in every baby born    
into the world1 for each new  human life
 entering the temporal order implies a  
new influx or1 least1 a  new            
manifestation of spirit4 ,but1 when     
spirit is thus wedded to mind and  body 
to form human nature1 it is submitted to
 the law governing human  nature3 the   
law of freedom4 ,it is ours1 to develop 
or stunt as we  please4 ,its mighty     
powers are not pressed on an unwilling  
race1 but  given us in germ to deal with
 as we will4 ,parents are responsible   
for  giving it every opportunity of     
development1 the food1 the light1 the   
nurture that all growing things         
require--in fact1 for its education3 a  
great honour1 and a great               
responsibility4    ,if we are asked     
wherein such education should consist1  

,i think we must  reply that its demands
 are not satisfied by teaching the child
 any  series of religious doctrines     
divorced from practical experience4 ,he 
is  full of energies demanding          
expression4 ,our object is so to train  
those  energies that they shall attain  
their full power and right balance2 and 
enable him to set up relations with the 
spiritual world in which he  truly      
lives4 ,the first phase in this         
education will consist in a  definite   
moral training1 which is like the       
tilling and preparation of  the earth in
 which the spiritual plant is to grow3  
and as regarding the  special objects of
 this training ,i will take the         
definition of a great  spiritual writer1
 a definition remarkable for its sanity 
and moderation3  8,if we would discover 
and know that ,kingdom of ,god which is 
hidden in  us1 we must lead a life that 
is virtuous within1 well ordered        
without1  and fulfilled with true       
charity40 ,what does that imply8 ,it    

implies the  cultivation of             
self-control1 order1 and                
disinterestedness4 ,order is a  quality 
which all spiritual writers hold in     
great esteem2 for they are  far from    
being the ecstatic1 unbalanced1 and     
mood-ridden creatures of  popular fancy4
 ,now the untrained child has all the   
disorderly ways1 the  uncontrolled and  
self-interested instincts of the        
primitive man4 ,he is a  vigorous young 
animal1 reacting promptly and completely
 to the stimulus  of fear or of greed4  
,the history of human society1 the      
gradual exchange  of license for law1   
self-interest for group-interest1       
spasmodic activity  for orderly         
diligence must be repeated in him if he 
is to take his place  in that human     
society4 ,but if we would also prepare  
in him the way of  spirit1 the aim of   
this training must be something higher  
than that  convenient social morality1  
that spirit of fair play1 truth1        
justice1  mutual tolerance1 which public

 school discipline seeks to develop4    
,that  morality is relative and         
utilitarian4 ,the morality in which     
alone the  life of the spirit can       
flourish is absolute and ideal4 ,it is  
sought1 not  because it makes life      
secure1 or promotes the greatest        
happiness of the  greatest number1 but  
for its own sake4 ,yet in spite of this1
 the social  order1 in the form in which
 the child comes in contact with it1 may
 be  made one of the best instruments   
for producing those characters demanded 
by the spiritual life4 ,for what1 after 
all1 is the exchanging of  self-interest
 for group-interests but the beginning  
of love8 ,and what is  at the root of   
the spirit of give and take but         
humility8 ,see how the  approaches to   
the spiritual kingdom are found in the  
midst of the common  life3 what easy    
opportunity we have of initiating our   
children into  these central virtues of 
the soul4 ,the spiritual writers tell us
 that  from love and humility all other 

virtues come2 that on the moral side    
nothing else is required of us4 ,and we1
 if we train wisely1 may lead the  young
 into them so gently and yet so deeply  
that their instinctive  attitude to     
existence will be that of humbleness and
 love2 and they will  be spared the     
conflict and difficult reformation of   
those who wake to  spiritual realities  
in later life4    ,now humbleness and   
love1 as understood by spiritual        
persons1 are not  passive virtues3 they 
are energetic1 and show themselves in   
mind1 will1  and heart4 ,in the mind1 by
 a constant desirous tendency to1 and   
seeking  after1 that which is best2 in  
the will by keenness1 or1 as the mystics
  would say1 by diligence and zeal2 in  
the heart1 by an easy suppleness of     
relation with our fellow men--patience1 
good temper1 sympathy1  generosity4     
,plainly the moral character which makes
 for spirituality is  a moral character 
which also makes for happiness4         
,suppose1 then1 that  our moral training

 has been directed towards this eager1  
supple state of  humbleness and love3   
what special results may we expect as   
the  personality develops8 ,spiritual   
writers tell us to expect certain       
qualities1 which are traditionally      
called the 8seven gifts of the  spirit02
 and if we study the special nature of  
these gifts1 we see that  they are the  
names of linked characters or powers1   
which together work  an enhancement and 
clarification of the whole              
personality--a tuning-up of  human      
nature to fresh levels1 a sublimation of
 its primitive instincts4  ,the first   
pair of qualities which are to mark our 
spiritual humanity are  called          
,godliness and ,fear4 ,by these are     
meant that solemn sense of  direct      
relationship with an eternal order1 that
 gravity and awe1 which  we ought to    
feel in the presence of the mysteries of
 the universe2 the  fear of the ,lord1  
which is the beginning of wisdom4 ,from 
these grow the  gifts called ,knowledge1

 that is1 the power of discerning true  
from false  values1 of choosing a good  
path through the tangled world1 and     
,strength1  the steady central control  
of the diverse forces of the self3      
perhaps  the gift most needed by our    
distracted generation4 8,through the    
gift of  spiritual strength10 says      
,ruysbroeck1 8a man transcends all      
creaturely  things and possesses        
himself1 powerful and free40 ,this is   
surely a power  which we should desire  
for the children of the future1 and get 
for them  if we can4    ,we see that the
 first four gifts of the spirit will    
govern the  adjustment of man to his    
earthly life3 that they will immensely  
increase  the value of his personality  
in the social order1 will clarify his   
mind  and judgment1 confer nobility on  
his aims4 ,the last three gifts--those  
called ,counsel1 ,understanding and     
,wisdom--will govern his intercourse    
with the spiritual order4 ,by ,counsel1 
the spiritual writers mean that  inward 

voice which1 as the soul matures1 urges 
us to leave the  transitory and seek the
 eternal3 and this not as an act of     
duty1 but as  an act of love4 ,when that
 voice is obeyed1 the result is a new   
spiritual  ,understanding2 which1 says  
,ruysbroeck again1 may be 8likened to   
the  sunshine1 which fills the air with 
a simple brightness1 and lights all     
forms and shows the distinctions of all 
colours40 ,even so does this  spiritual 
gift irradiate the whole world with a   
new splendour1 and shows  us secrets    
that we never guessed before4 ,poets    
know flashes of it1 and  from it their  
power proceeds2 for it enables its      
possessor to behold  life truly1 that is
 from the angle of ,god1 not from the   
angle of man4    8,such an one10 says   
,ruysbroeck1 8walks in heaven1 and      
beholds and  apprehends the height1 the 
length1 the depth1 and the breadth1 the 
wisdom and truth1 the bounty and        
unspeakable generosity1 which are in    
,god our ,lover without number and      

without limit2 for all this is ,himself4
  ,then that enlightened man looks down1
 and beholds himself and all other  men 
and all creatures2 and this gift1       
through the knowledge of truth  which is
 given us in its light1 establishes in  
us a wide-stretching love  towards all  
in common40    8,a wide-stretching love 
towards all in common40 ,when we think  
of this as  the ruling character of our 
future citizens1 and so the ruling      
character  of our future world1 we begin
 to see that the education of the spirit
  may represent a political no less than
 a transcendental ideal4 ,it alone  can 
bring about that regeneration1 working  
from the heart outwards1 of  which the  
prophets of every country have dreamed4 
,it seems hard to conceive anything     
beyond this4 ,but there is something4   
,to behold things as they are is not the
 end3 beyond this is that ,wisdom  which
 comes not with observation1 but is the 
fruit of intimate communion  with       
,reality4 ,understanding is perception  

raised to its highest  expression3      
,wisdom is intuition raised to its      
highest expression1 and  directed       
towards an absolute objective4 ,it is1  
so far as we know here1  the crown and  
goal of human development2 the perfect  
fruition of love4    ,we have considered
 very shortly the chief possibilities of
 the human  spirit1 as they are         
described by those who have looked most 
deeply into  its secrets4 ,these seers  
tell us further that this spirit has its
  definite course to run1 its definite  
consummation3 that it emerges  within   
the physical order1 grows1 spreads1 and 
at last enters into  perfect union or   
communion with the real and spiritual   
world4 ,how much  attention do we pay to
 this statement1 which1 if true1 is the 
transcendent fact of human history1 the 
key to the nature of man8 ,how  much    
real influence does it have on our hopes
 and plans for our  children8 ,the      
so-called phenomenon of conversion--the 
fact that so far  nearly all the highest

 and best examples of the spiritual life
 have been  twice-born types1 that they 
have had to pass through a terrible     
crisis1  in which their natural lives   
were thrown into confusion in order that
  their spiritual lives might           
emerge--all this is really a confession 
of  failure on the part of human nature3
 a proof that the plastic creature  has 
been allowed to harden in the wrong     
shape4 ,if our growth were  rightly     
directed1 the spirit would emerge and   
flower in all its strength  and         
loveliness1 as the physical and mental  
powers of normal children  emerge and   
flower4 ,what is wrong with education   
that it fails to achieve  this8 ,partly1
 ,i think1 that the values at which it  
aims are too often  relative and        
self-interested2 not absolute and       
disinterested4 ,its  intelligent gaze is
 fixed too steadily on earthly society1 
earthly  happiness4 ,we encourage our   
young people to do the best things1 but 
not  always from the best motives4 ,we  

forget the essential link between work  
and prayer3 yet this alone lifts man    
from the position of a busy animal  to  
that of the friend and helper of ,god4  
,we forget that our duties ought  to    
include the awakening of that clear     
consciousness of eternity which  should 
be normal in every human being1 and     
without which it is  impossible for any 
man to grasp the true values and true   
proportion of  life4    ,from the very  
beginning1 then1 we ought to raise the  
eyes of the young  from the             
contemplation of the earth under their  
feet to that of the  heavens above their
 heads3 to give them absolute values1   
not utilitarian  values1 to aim at4     
,there is nothing morbid or sickly in   
this3 it is  rather those who do not    
possess the broader consciousness who   
are the  morbid1 the sickly1 and the    
maimed4 ,the hope of the future is wide4
 ,we  must train our children to a wide 
stretch of faith1 of aim1 of            
imagination1 if they are to grasp it1   

and fully enter into the  inheritance   
that awaits them4    ,how1 then1 should 
we begin this most delicate of all      
tasks2 this  education of the most      
sacred and subtle aspect of human       
nature8 ,we must  be careful2 for       
difficulties and dangers crowd the path1
 cranks lie in  wait at every corner4 ,i
 have spoken of the moral preparation4  
,that is  always safe and sure4 ,but    
there are two other safe ways of        
approach2 the  devotional and sthetic4  
,these two ways are not alternative1 but
  complementary4 ,art1 says ,hegel1     
belongs to the highest sphere of spirit1
  and is to be placed in respect of its 
content on the same footing as  religion
 and philosophy2 and many others--seers 
and philosophers--have  found in the    
revelation of beauty an authentic       
witness to ,god4 ,but the  love and     
realization of beauty1 without reverence
 and devotion1 soon  degenerates into   
mere pleasure4 ,so1 too1 devotion1      
unless informed with  the spirit of     

beauty1 becomes thin1 hard and sterile4 
,but where these  two exist together1 we
 find on one hand that the developed    
apprehension  which discovers deep      
messages in nature1 in music1 in all the
 noble  rhythms of art1 makes the senses
 themselves into channels of ,spirit3   
and  this is an apprehension which we   
can foster and control4 ,and on the     
other hand the devotional life1 rightly 
understood as a vivid1 joyful           
thing--with that disciplining of the    
attention and will which is such an     
important part of it--is the most direct
 way to an attainment of that  simple   
and natural consciousness of our        
intangible spiritual environment  which 
all ought to possess1 and which the old 
mystics called by the  beautiful name of
 the 8practice of the ,presence of      
,god40    ,this linking up of the       
devotional life with the instinct for   
beauty and  wonder1 will check its      
concentration on the more sentimental   
and  anthropomorphic aspects of         

religion2 and so discourage that        
religious  emotionalism which wise      
educationalists rightly condemn4 ,hence 
these two  ways of approach1 merged as  
they should be into one1 can bring the  
self  into that simple kind of          
contemplation which is a normal         
birthright of  every soul1 but of which 
our defective education deprives so many
 men  and women2 who cannot in later    
life quicken those faculties which have 
been left undeveloped in youth4 ,as     
logic is a supreme exercise of the      
mind1 so contemplation is a supreme     
exercise of the spirit3 it  represents  
the full activity of that intuitional   
faculty which is our  medium of contact 
with absolute truth4 ,before the        
inevitable smile  appears on the face of
 the reader1 ,i say at once that ,i am  
not  suggesting that we should teach    
young children contemplation2 though ,i 
am sure that many brought up in a       
favouring atmosphere naturally  practise
 it long before they know the meaning of

 the word4 ,but ,i do  suggest that we  
should bring them up in such a way that 
their developed  spirits might in the   
end acquire this art1 without any more  
sense of  break with the normal than    
that which is felt by the developed mind
 when  it acquires the art of logic4    
,what is contemplation8 ,it is attention
 to the things of the spirit3  surely no
 outlandish or alarming practice1       
foreign to the general drift  of human  
life4 ,were we true to our own beliefs1 
it should rather be our  central and    
supremely natural activity2 the way in  
which we turn to the  spiritual world1  
and pick up the messages it sends to us4
 ,that world is  always sending us      
messages of liberation1 of hope1 and of 
peace4 ,are we  going to deprive our    
children of this unmeasured heritage1   
this  extension of life--perhaps the    
greatest of the rights of man--or leave 
their enjoyment of it to some happy     
chance8 ,we cannot read the wonderful   
records of the spiritually awakened     

without a sense of the duty that is     
laid on us1 to develop if we can this   
spiritual consciousness in the          
generation that is to be4    ,all great 
spiritual literature is full of         
invitations to a newness of  life1 a    
great change of direction2 which shall  
at last give our human  faculties a     
worthy objective and redeem our         
consciousness from its  present         
concentration upon unreal interests4 ,it
 urges us perpetually1 as  a practical  
counsel1 as something which is within   
human power and has  already been       
achieved by the heroes of the race1 to  
8put on the new  man02 to 8bring to     
birth the ,son of ,god in the soul40    
,but humanity as a  whole has never     
responded to that invitation1 and       
therefore its greatest  possibilities   
are still latent4 ,we1 the guardians of 
the future1 by  furnishing to each      
emerging consciousness committed to our 
care such an  apperceiving mass as shall
 enable it to discern the messages of   

reality1  may do something to bring     
those possibilities into manifestation4 
,,the ,,place ,,of ,,will1 ,,intellect  
,,and ,,feeling ,,in ,,prayer      ,the 
psychology of religious experience1 as  
yet so little understood1 has  few more 
important problems proposed to it than  
that which concerns the  true place and 
right use of will1 intellect1 and       
feeling in prayer4 ,this  question1     
which to some may appear merely         
academic1 really involves the  whole    
problem of the method and proportion in 
which the various powers  and activities
 of our being may best be used1 when    
they turn from the  natural world of    
concrete things to attend to the        
so-called  8supernatural0 world of      
,spirit--in fact1 to ,god1 ,who is the  
source and  sum of the reality of that  
world4 ,that problem must be of         
practical  interest to every            
,christian--more1 to every one who      
believes in the  spiritual possibilities
 of man--for it concerns itself with all

 those  responses which are made by     
human personality to the impact of      
,infinite  ,life4 ,it deals1 in         
,maeterlinck's words1 with 8the harshest
 and most  uninhabitable headlands of   
the ,divine #8know thyself1'0 and       
includes in  its span the whole region  
8where the psychology of man mingles    
with the  psychology of ,god40    ,in   
the first place1 what do we mean by     
prayer8 ,surely just this3 that  part of
 our active and conscious life which is 
deliberately orientated  towards1 and   
exclusively responds to1 spiritual      
reality4 ,the ,being of  ,god1 ,who is  
that spiritual reality1 we believe to be
 immanent in all  things3 8,he is not   
far from each one of us3 for in ,him we 
live1 and  move1 and have our being40   
,in fact1 as ,christians we must believe
 this4  ,therefore in attending to those
 visible and concrete things1 we are in 
a  way attending to that immanent ,god2 
and in this sense all honest work is    
indeed1 as the old proverb says1 a sort 

of prayer4 ,but when we speak of  prayer
 as a separate act or activity of the   
self1 we mean more than  this4 ,we mean1
 in fact1 as a rule the other aspect of 
spiritual  experience and communion2 in 
the language of theology1 attention to  
transcendent rather than to immanent    
,reality4 ,prayer1 says ,walter         
,hilton1 in terms of which the origin   
goes back to the ,neoplatonists1 8is    
nothing else but an ascending or getting
 up of the desire of the heart  into    
,god1 by withdrawing it from all earthly
 thoughts0--an ascent1 says             
,ruysbroeck1 of the ,ladder of ,love4   
,in the same spirit ,william ,law       
defines it as 8the rising of the soul   
out of the vanity of time into the      
riches of eternity40 ,it entails1 then1 
a going up or out from our  ordinary    
circle of earthly interests2 a cutting  
off1 so far as we may1  of 8the torrent 
of use and wont10 that we may attend to 
the changeless  ,reality which that flux
 too often hides4 ,prayer stretches out 

the  tentacles of our consciousness not 
so much towards that ,divine ,life      
which is felt to be enshrined within the
 striving1 changeful world of  things2  
but rather to that 8,eternal truth1 true
 ,love1 and loved  ,eternity0 wherein   
the world is felt to be enshrined2 and  
in this act it  brings to full circle   
the activities of the human soul--that  
8,swinging-wicket set between           
,the ,unseen and the ,seen40    ,the    
whole of man's life really consists in a
 series of balanced  responses to this  
,transcendent-,immanent ,reality2       
because man lives under  two orders1 is 
at once a citizen of ,eternity and of   
,time4 ,like a  pendulum1 his           
consciousness moves perpetually--or     
should move if it be  healthy--between  
,god and his neighbour1 between this    
world and that4 ,the  wholeness1 sanity1
 and balance of his existence will      
entirely depend  upon the perfection of 
his adjustment to this double situation2
 on the  steady alternating beat of his 

outward swing of adoration1 his         
homeward-turning swing of charity4 ,now1
 it is the outward swing which we  are  
to consider3 the powers that may be used
 in it1 the best way in  which these    
powers may be employed4    ,first1 we   
observe that those three capacities or  
faculties which we have  under          
consideration--the thinking faculty1 the
 feeling faculty1 the  willing or acting
 faculty--practically cover all the ways
 in which the  self can react to other  
selves and other things4 ,from their    
combination  come all the possibilities 
of self-expression which are open to    
man4 ,in  his natural life he needs and 
uses all of them4 ,shall he need and use
  all of them in his spiritual life too8
 ,christians1 ,i think1 are bound to    
answer this question in the affirmative4
 ,according to ,christianity1 it  is the
 whole self which is called to turn     
towards ,divine ,reality--to  enter the 
,kingdom--not some supposed 8spiritual0 
part thereof4 8,thou hast  made us for  

,thyself10 said ,augustine2 not1 as the 
,orphic initiate would  have said1      
8,thou hast made one crumb out of our   
complex nature for  ,thyself1 and the   
rest may go on to the rubbish heap40 ,it
 is the whole  man of intellect1 of     
feeling1 and of will1 which finds its   
only true  objective in the ,christian  
,god4    ,surely1 the real difference   
which marks out ,christianity from all  
other  religions lies just here2 in this
 robust acceptance of humanity in its   
wholeness1 and of life in its           
completeness1 as something which is     
susceptible of the ,divine4 ,it demands1
 and deals with1 the whole man1  his    
,titanic energies and warring instincts2
 not1 as did the antique  mysteries1    
separating and cultivating some supposed
 transcendental  principle in him1 to   
the exclusion of all else4 ,christians  
believe in a  ,god immanent and         
incarnate1 ,who transfuses the whole of 
the life which  ,he has created1 and    
calls that life in its wholeness to     

union with ,him4  ,if this be so1 then  
,lex credendi1 lex orandi2 our belief   
should find  its fullest expression in  
our prayer1 and that prayer should take 
up1  and turn towards the spiritual     
order all the powers of our mental1     
emotional1 and volitional life4 ,prayer 
should be the highest exercise of  these
 powers2 for here they are directed to  
the only adequate object of  thought1 of
 love1 and of desire4 ,it should1 as it 
were1 lift us to the  top of our        
condition1 and represent the fullest    
flowering of our  consciousness2 for    
here we breathe the air of the supernal 
order1 and  attain according to our     
measure to that communion with ,reality 
for which  we were made4    ,prayer so  
thought of will include1 of course1 many
 different kinds of  spiritual work2 and
 also--what is too often forgotten--the 
priceless gift  of spiritual rest4 ,it  
will include many kinds of intercourse  
with  ,reality--adoration1 petition1    
meditation1 contemplation--and all the  

shades and varieties of these which     
religious writers have named and        
classified4 ,as in the natural order the
 living creature must feed and  grow1   
must suffer and enjoy1 must get energy  
from the external world  and give it    
back again in creative acts1 if he would
 live a whole and  healthy life1 so1    
too1 in the spiritual order4 ,all these 
things--the  giving and the receiving1  
the work and the rest--should fall      
within the  circle of prayer4    ,now1  
when we do anything consciously and with
 purpose1 the transition  from inaction 
to action unfolds itself in a certain   
order4 ,first we form  a concept of that
 which we shall do2 the idea of it looms
 up1 dimly or  distinctly1 in the mind4 
,then1 we feel that we want to do it1 or
 must do  it4 ,then we determine that we
 will do it4 ,these phases may follow   
one  another so swiftly that they seem  
to us to be fused into one2 but when  we
 analyze the process which lies behind  
each conscious act1 we find  that this  

is the normal sequence of development4  
,first we think1 then we  feel1 then we 
will4 ,this little generalization must  
not be pressed too  hard2 but it is     
broadly true1 and gives us a            
starting-point from which  to trace out 
the way in which the three main powers  
of the self act in  prayer4 ,it is      
practically important1 as well as       
psychologically  interesting1 to know   
how they act or should act2 as it is    
practically  important to know1 at least
 in outline1 the normal operation of our
  bodily powers4 ,self-knowledge1 said  
,richard of ,st4 ,victor1 is the        
beginning of the spiritual life2 and    
knowledge of ones self--too often       
identified with knowledge of ones       
sins--ought to include some slight      
acquaintance with the machinery we all  
have at our disposal4 ,this  machinery1 
as we see1 falls into three divisions2  
and the perfection of  the work which it
 does will depend upon the observing of 
an order in  their operation1 a due     

balance between them1 without excessive 
development of one power at the expense 
of the others4    ,on the side of       
spiritual experience and activity1 such 
an excessive and  one-sided development 
often takes place4 ,where this          
exaggeration is in  the direction of    
intellect1 the theological or           
philosophical mood  dominates all other 
aspects of religion4 ,where the purely  
emotional and  instinctive side of the  
relation of the soul to ,god is released
 from the  critical action of the       
intelligence1 it often degenerates into 
an  objectionable sentimentality1 and   
may lead to forms of self-indulgence    
which are only superficially religious4 
,where the volitional element  takes    
command1 unchecked by humble love1 an   
arrogant reliance upon our  own powers1 
a restless determination to do certain  
hard things1 to  attain certain         
results--a sort of super-sensual        
ambition--mars the harmony  of the inner
 life4 ,any of these exaggerations must 

mean loss of balance1  loss of          
wholeness2 and their presence in the    
active life reflects back  to their     
presence in the prayerful life1 of which
 outward religion is  but the visible   
sign4 ,i think1 therefore1 that we ought
 to regard it as  a part of our         
religious education to study the order  
in which our  faculties should be       
employed when we turn towards our       
spiritual  inheritance4    ,prayer1 as a
 rule--save with those natural or highly
 trained  contemplatives who live always
 in the prayerful state1 tuned up to a  
perpetual consciousness of spiritual    
reality--begins1 or should begin1  with 
something which we can only call an     
intellectual act2 with thinking  of what
 we are going to do4 ,in saying this1 ,i
 am not expressing a merely  personal   
opinion4 ,all those great specialists of
 the spiritual life who  have written on
 this subject are here in agreement4    
8,when thou goest  about to pray10 says 
,walter ,hilton1 8first make and frame  

betwixt thee  and ,god a full purpose   
and intention2 then begin1 and do as    
well as thou  canst40 8,prayer10 says   
the writer of the ,cloud of ,unknowing1 
8may not  goodly be gotten in beginners 
or proficients1 without thinking coming 
before40 ,all medival writers on prayer 
take it as a matter of course  that     
8meditation0 comes before 8orison02 and 
meditation is simply the  art of        
thinking steadily and methodically about
 spiritual things4 ,so1  too1 the most  
modern psychologists assure us that     
instinctive emotion  does its best work 
when it acts in harmony with our        
reasoning powers4    ,st4 ,teresa1      
again1 insists passionately on the      
primal need of thinking  what we are    
doing when we begin to pray2 on         
8recollecting the mind10  calling in the
 scattered thoughts1 and concentrating  
the intellect upon  the business in     
hand4 ,it is1 in fact1 obvious--once we 
consider the  matter in a practical     
light--that we must form some conception

 of the  supernal intercourse which we  
are going to attempt1 and of the parties
  to it2 though if our prayer be real1  
that conception will soon be            
transcended4 ,the sword of the spirit is
 about to turn in a new  direction2 away
 from concrete actualities1 towards     
eternal realities4  ,this change--the   
greatest of which our consciousness is  
capable--must be  realized as fully as  
possible by the self whose powers of    
will and love  it will call into play4  
,it seems necessary to insist on this   
point1  because so much is said now1 and
 no doubt rightly said1 about the       
non-intellectual and supremely          
intuitional nature of the spiritual     
life2  with the result that some people 
begin to think it their duty to         
cultivate a kind of pious imbecility4   
,there is a notion in the air that  when
 man turns to ,god he ought to leave his
 brains behind him4 ,true1  they will   
soon be left behind of necessity if man 
goes far on the road  towards that      

,reality which is above all reason and  
all knowledge2 for  spirit in the       
swiftness of its flight to ,god quickly 
overpasses these  imperfect instruments4
 ,but those whose feet are still firmly 
planted  upon earth gain nothing by     
anticipating this moment2 they will not 
attain to spiritual intuition by the    
mere annihilation of their              
intelligence4 ,we cannot hope to imitate
 the crystalline simplicity of  the     
saints2 a simplicity which is the       
result1 not of any deliberate  neglect  
of reason1 but of clearest vision1 of   
intensest trust1 of most  ardent        
love--that is1 of ,faith1 ,hope1 and    
,charity in their most perfect          
expression1 fused together to form a    
single state of enormous activity4  ,but
 this is no reason why we should put    
imbecility1 deliberate  vagueness1 or a 
silly want of logic in the place of     
their exquisite  simpleness2 any more   
than we should dare to put an unctuous  
familiarity  in the place of their      

wonderful intimacy1 or a cringing       
demeanour in the  place of their        
matchless humility4    ,in saying       
this--in insisting that the reason has a
 well-marked and  necessary place in the
 mechanism of the soul's approach to    
,god--,i am not  advocating a religious 
intellectualism4 ,it is true that our   
perception  of all things1 even the most
 divine1 is conditioned by the previous 
content of our minds3 the 8apperceiving 
mass40 ,hence1 the more worthy  our     
thoughts about ,god1 the more worthy our
 apprehensions of ,him are  likely to   
be4 ,yet ,i know that there is in the   
most apparently foolish  prayer of      
feeling something warmly human1 and     
therefore effective2  something which in
 its value for life far transcends the  
consecrated  sawdust offered up by      
devout intellectualism4 8,by love10 said
 the old  mystic1 8,he may be gotten and
 holden2 by thought never40 ,a whole    
world  of experience separates the      
simple little church mouse saying her   

rosary1 perhaps without much            
intelligence1 yet with a humble and a   
loving faith1 from the bishop who       
preferred 8,oh1 ,great ,first ,cause0 to
  8,our ,father10 because he thought    
that it was more in accordance with     
scientific truth2 and few of us will    
feel much doubt as to the side on  which
 the advantage lies4 ,the advantage must
 always lie with those 8full  true      
sisters10 humility and love2 for these  
are the essential elements  of all      
successful prayer4 ,but surely it is a  
mistake to suppose that  these qualities
 cannot exist side by side with an      
active and disciplined  intelligence8   
,prayer1 then1 begins by an intellectual
 adjustment4 ,by thinking of ,god1  or  
of ,spiritual ,reality1 earnestly and   
humbly1 and to the exclusion of  other  
objects of thought2 by deliberately     
surrendering the mind to  spiritual     
things2 by preparing the consciousness  
for the impact of a new  order1 the     
inflow of new life4 ,but1 having thought

 of ,god1 the self1 if  it stop there1  
is no more in touch with ,him than it   
was before4 ,it may  think as long as it
 likes1 but nothing happens2 thought    
unhelped by  feeling ever remains       
exterior to its object4 ,we are brought 
up short  against the fact that the     
intellect is an essentially static      
thing3 we  cannot think our way along   
the royal road which leads to heaven4   
,yet it is a commonplace of spiritual   
knowledge that1 if the state of  prayer 
be established1 something does happen2  
consciousness does somehow  travel along
 that road1 the field of perception is  
shifted1 new contacts  are made4 ,how is
 this done8 ,a distinguished religious  
psychologist has  answered1 that it is  
done 8by the synthesis of love and      
will0--that is to  say1 by the craving  
in action which conditions all our      
essential  deeds--and ,i know no better 
answer to suggest4    ,where the office 
of thought ends1 there the office of    
will and feeling  begins3 8,where       

intellect must stay without10 says      
,ruysbroeck1 8these may  enter in40     
,desire and intention are the most      
dynamic of our faculties2  they do work4
 ,they are the true explorers of the    
,infinite1 the  instruments of our      
ascents to ,god4 ,reason comes to the   
foot of the  mountain2 it is the        
industrious will urged by the passionate
 heart which  climbs the slope4 ,it is  
the 8blind intent stretching towards    
,him10 says  the ,cloud of ,unknowing1  
8the true lovely will of the heart10    
which  succeeds at last2 the tense      
determination1 the effort1 the hard     
work1  the definite1 eager1 humble1     
outward thrust of the whole personality 
towards a ,reality which is felt rather 
than known4 8,we are nothing else  but  
wills10 said ,st4 ,augustine4 8,the     
will10 said ,william ,law1 8maketh  the 
beginning1 the middle1 and the end of   
everything4 ,it is the only  workman in 
nature1 and everything is its work40    
,experience endorses this  emphasis on  

will and desire as the central facts of 
our personality1 the  part of us which  
is supremely our own4 ,in turning that  
will and desire  towards ,spiritual     
,reality1 we are doing all that we can  
of ourselves2  are selecting one out of 
the sheaf-like tendencies of our complex
  nature1 and deliberately concentrating
 upon it our passion and our  power4    
,also1 we are giving consciously1       
whole-heartedly1 with intention1  that  
with which we are free to deal2 and     
self-donation is1 we know1 an  essential
 part of prayer1 as of all true         
intercourse4    ,now1 intellect and     
feeling are not wholly ours to give4 ,a 
rich mental or  emotional life is not   
possessed of all men2 some are naturally
 stupid1  some temperamentally cold4    
,even those who are greatly endowed with
 the  powers of understanding or of love
 have not got these powers entirely     
under their own control4 ,both feeling  
and intellect often insist on  taking   
their own line with us4 ,moreover1 they 

fluctuate from day to day1  from hour to
 hour2 they are dependent on many       
delicate adjustments4  ,sometimes we are
 mentally dull1 sometimes we are        
emotionally flat3 and  this happens more
 often1 perhaps1 in regard to spiritual 
than in regard  to merely human affairs4
 ,on such occasions it is notoriously   
useless to  try to beat ourselves up to 
a froth3 to make ourselves think more   
deeply  or make ourselves care more     
intensely4 ,did the worth of man's      
prayerful  life depend on the           
maintenance of a constant high level of 
feeling or  understanding1 he were in a 
parlous case4 ,but1 though these often  
seem  to fail him--and with them all the
 joy of spiritual intercourse fails him 
too--the regnant will remains4 ,even    
when his heart is cold and his mind  is 
dim1 the 8blind intent stretching to    
,god0 is still possible to him4  8,our  
wills are ours1 to make them ,thine40   
,the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 says the      
,gospel1 is taken by violence--that is1 

by  effort1 by unfaltering courage--not 
by cleverness1 nor by ecstatic          
spiritual feelings4 ,the freedom of the 
,city of ,god is never earned by a  mere
 limp acquiescence in those great       
currents of the transcendent order      
which bear life towards its home4 ,the  
determined fixing of the will upon      
,spiritual ,reality1 and pressing       
towards that ,reality steadily and      
without deflection2 this is the very    
centre of the art of prayer4 ,this  is  
why those splendid psychologists1 the   
medival writers on prayer1  told their  
pupils to 8mean only ,god10 and not to  
trouble about anything  else2 since 8,he
 who has ,him has all40 ,the most       
theological of thoughts  soon becomes   
inadequate2 the most spiritual of       
emotions is only a  fair-weather breeze4
 ,let the ship take advantage of it by  
all means1 but  not rely on it4 ,she    
must be prepared to beat to windward if 
she would  reach her goal4    ,in       
proportion to the strength and sincerity

 of the will1 in fact1 so  shall be the 
measure of success in prayer4 ,as the   
self pushes out  towards ,reality1 so   
does ,reality rush in on it4 8,grace and
 the will10  says one of the greatest of
 living writers on religion1 8rise and  
fall  together40 8,grace0 is1 of course1
 the theological term for that inflow   
of spiritual vitality which is the      
response made by the divine order to    
the human motions of adoration1         
supplication1 and love2 and according to
  the energy and intensity with which   
our efforts are made--the degree in     
which we concentrate our attention upon 
this high and difficult business  of    
prayer--will be the amount of new life  
that we receive4 ,the efficacy  of      
prayer1 therefore1 will be conditioned  
by the will of the praying  self4       
8,though it be so1 that prayer be not   
the cause of grace10 says  ,hilton1     
8nevertheless it is a way or means by   
which grace freely given  comes into the
 soul40 ,grace presses in upon life     

perpetually1 and awaits  our voluntary  
appropriation of it4 ,it is accessible  
to sincere and loyal  endeavour1 to 8the
 true lovely will of the heart10 and to 
nothing else4    ,so much we have said  
of will4 ,what place have we left for   
the operation  of feeling in prayer8 ,it
 is not easy to disentangle will and    
feeling2  for in all intense will there 
is a strong element of emotion--every   
volitional act has somewhere at the back
 of it a desire--and in all great  and  
energizing passions there is a          
pronounced volitional element4 ,the     
8synthesis of love and will0 is no mere 
fancy of the psychologist4 ,it is  a    
compound hard to break down in practice4
 ,but ,i think we can say  generally    
that the business of feeling is to      
inflame the will1 to give  it intention1
 gladness1 and vividness2 to convert it 
from a dull  determination into an      
eager1 impassioned desire4 ,it links up 
thought  with action2 effects1 in       
psychological language1 the movement of 

the  prayerful self from a mere state of
 cognition to a state of conation2      
converts the soul from attention to the 
,transcendent to first-hand  adventure  
within it4 8,all thy life now behoveth  
altogether to stand in  desire10 says   
the author of the ,cloud of ,unknowing  
to the disciple who  has accepted the   
principle of prayer2 and here he is     
declaring a  psychological necessity    
rather than a religious platitude1 for  
all  successful action has its origin in
 emotion of some kind4 ,though we       
choose to imagine that 8pure reason0    
directs our conduct1 in the last  resort
 we always do a thing because of the    
feeling that we have about  it4 ,not    
necessarily because we like doing it2   
but because instinctive  feeling of some
 sort--selfish or unselfish1 personal1  
social1  conventional1 sacrificial2 the 
disturbing emotion called the sense of  
duty1 or the glorious emotion called the
 passion of love--is urging us to  it4  
,instinctive emotions1 more or less     

sublimated2 ,love1 ,hatred1  ,ambition1 
,fear1 ,anger1 ,hunger1 ,patriotism1    
,self-interest2 these are the  true     
names of our reasons for doing things4  
,if this be true of our reactions to the
 physical world1 it is none the  less   
true of our intercourse with the        
spiritual world4 ,the will is moved  to 
seek that intercourse by emotion1 by    
feeling2 never by a merely  intellectual
 conviction4 ,in the vigour and totality
 with which the  heroes of religion give
 themselves to spiritual interests1 and 
in the  powers which they develop1 we   
see the marks of instinctive feeling    
operating upon the highest levels4 ,by  
8a leash of longing10 says the  ,cloud  
of ,unknowing again1 man is led to be   
the servant of ,god2 not by  the        
faultless deductions of dialectic1 but  
by the mysterious logic of  the heart4  
,he is moved most often1 perhaps1 by an 
innate unformulated  craving for        
perfection1 or by the complementary     
loathing of  imperfection--a love of    

,god1 or a hatred of self--by the       
longing for  peace1 the miserable       
sensations of disillusion1 of sin1 and  
of unrest1  the heart's deep conviction 
that it needs a changeless object for   
its  love4 ,or1 if by none of these1    
then by some other emotional stimulus4  
,a wide range of feeling states--some1  
it is true1 merely self-seeking1  but   
others high and pure--influence the     
prayerful consciousness2 but  those     
which are normal and healthy fall within
 two groups1 one of  subjective1 the    
other of objective emotion4 ,the        
dominant motive of the  subjective group
 is the self's feeling of its own       
imperfection1  helplessness1 sinfulness1
 and need1 over against the ,perfect    
,reality  towards which its prayer is   
set2 a feeling which grows with the     
growth  of the soul's spiritual         
perceptions1 and includes all the shaded
  emotions of penitence and of humility4
 8,for meekness in itself is naught     
else but a true knowing and feeling of a

 man's self as he is40 ,the  objective  
group of feelings is complementary to   
this1 and is centred on  the goodness1  
beauty1 and perfection of that ,infinite
 ,reality towards  which the soul is    
stretching itself4 ,its dominant notes  
are adoration  and love4 ,of these two  
fundamental emotions--humility and      
love--the first  lies at the back of all
 prayer of confession and petition1 and 
is a  necessary check upon the arrogant 
tendencies of the will4 ,the second is  
the energizing cause of all adoration3  
adoration1 the highest exercise  of the 
spirit of man4 ,prayer1 then1 on its    
emotional side should begin  in humble  
contrition and flower in loving         
adoration4 ,adoring love--not  mere     
emotional excitement1 religious         
sentimentality or 8spiritual            
feelings0--but the strong1 deep love1   
industrious1 courageous and  self-giving
 which fuses all the powers of the self 
into one single state  of enormous      
intensity2 this is the immortal element 

of prayer4 ,thought  has done all that  
it may when it has set the scene1       
prepared the ground1  adjusted the mind 
in the right direction4 ,will is wanted 
only whilst  there are oppositions to be
 transcended1 difficult things to be    
done4 ,it  represents the soul's effort 
and struggle to be where it ought to be4
  ,but there are levels of attainment in
 which the will does not seem to  exist 
any more as a separate thing4 ,it is    
caught in the mighty rhythms  of the    
,divine will1 merged in it and          
surrendered to it4 ,instead of its      
small personal activity1 it forms a part
 of the great deep action of the        
,whole4 ,in the higher degrees of       
prayer1 in fact1 will is transmuted into
  love4 ,we are reminded of the old     
story of the phnix3 the active busy     
will seems to be burned up and utterly  
destroyed1 but living love1  strong and 
immortal1 springs from the ashes and the
 flame4 ,when the  reasonable hope and  
the deliberate wilful faith in which    

man's prayer  began are both fulfilled1 
this heavenly charity goes on to lose   
itself  upon the heights4    ,within the
 normal experience of the ordinary      
,christian1 love should give  two things
 to prayer2 ardour and beauty4 ,in his  
prayer1 as it were1 man  swings a censer
 before the altar of the ,universe4 ,he 
may put into the  thurible all his      
thoughts and dreams1 all his will and   
energy4 ,but  unless the fire of love is
 communicated to that incense1 nothing  
will  happen2 there will be no fragrance
 and no ascending smoke4 ,these         
qualities--ardour and beauty--represent 
two distinct types of feeling1  which   
ought both to find a place in the       
complete spiritual life1  balancing and 
completing one another4 ,the first is in
 the highest degree  intimate and       
personal2 the second is disinterested   
and sthetic4    ,the intimate and       
personal aspect of spiritual love has   
found supreme  literary expression in   
the works of ,richard of ,st4 ,victor1  

of ,st4  ,bernard1 of ,thomas  ,kempis1 
of our own ,richard ,rolle1 ,hilton1 and
  ,julian of ,norwich1 and many others4 
,we see it in our own day in its  purest
 form in the living mystic who wrote    
,the ,golden ,fountain4 ,those  who     
discredit it as 8mere religious         
emotionalism0 do so because they        
utterly mistake its nature2 regarding   
it1 apparently1 as the spiritual        
equivalent of the poorest and most      
foolish1 rather than the noblest1  most 
heroic1 and least self-seeking1 types of
 human love4 8,i find the  lark the most
 wonderful of all birds10 says the      
author of ,the ,golden  ,fountain4 8,i  
cannot listen to his rhapsodies without 
being inspired 7no  matter what ,i may  
be in the midst of doing or saying7 to  
throw up my own  love to ,god4 ,in the  
soaring insistence of his song and      
passion ,i find  the only thing in      
,nature which so suggests the high      
soaring and  rapturous flights of the   
soul4 ,but ,i am glad that we surpass   

the lark in  sustaining a far more      
lengthy and wonderful flight2 and that  
we sing1  not downwards to an earthly   
love1 but upwards to a heavenly40 ,like 
real  human love1 this spiritual passion
 is poles asunder from every kind of    
sentimentality4 ,it is profoundly       
creative1 it is self-giving1 it does    
not ask for anything in exchange4       
,although it is the source of the       
highest kind of joy--though1 as  ,kempis
 says1 the true lover 8flies1  runs1 and
 rejoices2 is free1 and cannot be       
restrained0--it has yet more  kinship   
with suffering than with merely         
agreeable emotions4 ,this is the        
feeling state1 at once generous and     
desirous1 which most of all enflames    
the will and makes it active2 this it is
 which gives ardour and reality  to     
man's prayers4 8,for love is born of    
,god1 and cannot rest save in ,god1     
above all created things40    ,but there
 is another form of objective emotion   
besides this intimate and  personal     

passion of love1 which ought to play an 
important part in the  life of prayer4  
,i mean that exalted and essentially    
disinterested type  of feeling which    
expresses itself in pure adoration1 and 
is closely  connected with the sense of 
the ,beautiful4 ,surely this1 since it  
represents the fullest expression of one
 power in our nature--and that a  power 
which is persistently stretched out in  
the direction of the  ,ideal--should    
have a part in our communion with the   
spiritual1 as well as  with the natural 
world4 ,the ,beautiful1 says ,hegel1 is 
the spiritual  making itself known      
sensuously4 ,it represents1 then1 a     
direct message to  us from the heart of 
,reality2 ministers to us of more       
abundant life4  ,therefore the widening 
of our horizon which takes place when we
 turn in  prayer to a greater world than
 that which the senses reveal to us1    
should bring with it a more poignant    
vision of loveliness1 a more eager      
passion for ,beauty as well as for      

,goodness and ,truth4 ,when ,st4        
,augustine  strove to express the       
intensity of his regret for wasted      
years1 it was  to his neglect of the    
,beauty of ,god that he went to show the
 poignancy  of his feeling1 the         
immensity of his loss4 8,oh ,beauty so  
old and so new6  too late have ,i loved 
thee60    ,it needs a special training1 
,i think--a special and deliberate use  
of our  faculties--if we are to avoid   
this deprivation2 and learn1 as an      
integral  part of our communion with    
,reality1 to lay hold of the loveliness 
of the  ,first and ,only ,fair4 8,i was 
caught up to ,thee by ,thy beauty1 but  
dragged  back again by my own weight10  
says ,augustine in another place2 and   
the  weight of the soul1 he tells us1 is
 its love--the pull of a misplaced      
desire4 ,all prayer which is primarily  
the expression of our wants rather  than
 our worship1 which places the demand   
for daily bread before instead  of after
 the hallowing of the ,ineffable ,name1 

will have this  dragging-back effect4   
,now1 as the artist's passion for       
sensuous beauty finds expression in his 
work1 and urges him to create beauty as 
well as he can1 so too the  soul's      
passion for spiritual beauty should find
 expression in its work2  that is to    
say1 in its prayer4 ,a work of art1 says
 ,hegel again1 is as  much the work of  
the ,spirit of ,god as is the beauty of 
,nature2 but in  art the ,holy ,spirit  
works through human consciousness4      
,therefore man's  prayer ought to be as 
beautiful as he can make it2 for thus it
  approaches more nearly to the mind of 
,god4 ,it should have dignity as  well  
as intimacy1 form as well as colour4    
,more1 all those little magic           
thoughts--those delicate winged fancies1
 which seem like birds rejoicing  in    
,god's sight--these1 too1 should have   
their place in it4 ,we find many        
specimens of them1 as it were stuffed   
and preserved under glass shades1  in   
books of devotion4 ,it is true that     

their charm and radiance cannot  survive
 this process2 the colour now seems     
crude1 the sheen of the  plumage is     
gone4 ,but once these were the living1  
personal1 spontaneous  expressions of   
the love and faith--the inborn          
poetry--of those from whom  they came4  
,many a liturgic prayer1 which now seems
 to us impersonal and  official--foreign
 to us1 perhaps1 in its language and    
thought--will show  us1 if we have but a
 little imaginative sympathy1 the ardent
 mood1 the  exquisite tact1 the unforced
 dignity1 of the mind which first       
composed  it2 and form a standard by    
which we may measure our own efforts in 
this  kind4    ,but the beauty which we 
seek to incorporate into our spiritual  
intercourse should not be the dead      
ceremonious beauty which comes of  mere 
dependence on tradition4 ,it should be  
the freely upspringing lyric  beauty    
which is rooted in intense personal     
feeling2 the living beauty of  a living 
thing4 ,nor need we fear the reproach   

that here we confuse  religion with     
poetry4 ,poetry ever goes like the royal
 banners before  ascending life2        
therefore man may safely follow its     
leadership in his  prayer1 which is--or 
should be--life in its intensest form4  
,consider the  lilies3 those perfect    
examples of a measured1 harmonious1     
natural and  creative life1 under a form
 of utmost loveliness4 ,i cannot help   
thinking  that it is the duty of all    
,christians to impart something of that 
flower-like beauty to their prayer2 and 
only feeling of a special kind  will do 
it--that humble yet passionate love of  
the beautiful1 which finds  the perfect 
object of its adoration in ,god and     
something of ,his fairness  in all      
created things4 ,st4 ,francis had it    
strongly1 and certain other of  the     
mystics had it too4 ,in one of his      
rapturous meditations1 ,suso1 for  whom 
faith and poetry were--as they should   
be--fused in one1 calls the  ,eternal   
,wisdom a 8sweet and beautiful wild     

flower40 ,he recognized that  flowery   
charm which makes the ,gospels fragrant1
 and is included in that  pattern which 
,christians are called to imitate if    
they can4 ,now1 if this  quality is to  
be manifested in human life1 it must    
first be sought and  actualized1        
consciously or unconsciously1 in prayer2
 because it is in  the pure1 sharp air  
of the spiritual order that it lives4   
,it must spring  up from within         
outwards1 must be the reflection of the 
soul's communion  with 8that ,supreme   
,beauty which containeth in itself all  
goodness02  which was revealed to       
,angela of ,foligno1 but which 8she     
could in no wise  describe40 ,the       
intellect may1 and should1 conceive of  
this ,absolute  ,beauty as well as it   
can2 the will may--and must--be set on  
the attaining  of it4 ,but only by      
intuitive feeling can man hope to know  
it1 and only  by love can he make it his
 own4 ,the springs of the truest prayer 
and of  the deepest poetry--twin        

expressions of man's outward-going      
passion for  that ,eternity which is his
 home--rise very near together in the   
heart4                                  
,,the ,,mysticism ,,of ,,plotinus       
,in spite of his enormous importance for
 the history of ,christian  philosophy1 
,plotinus is still one of the least     
known and least  understood among the   
great thinkers of the ancient world4    
,the extreme  difficulty of his style1  
which ,porphyry well described as 8dense
 with  thought1 and more lavish of ideas
 than words10 together with the natural 
laziness of man1 may perhaps account for
 this neglect4 ,he was by choice  a     
thinker1 contemplative1 and teacher1 not
 a writer4 ,therefore the  ,enneads1    
which represent merely notes of lectures
 hastily and  unwillingly written down  
during the last fifteen years of his    
life1  offer few inducements to hurried 
readers4 ,the fact that he was a        
8mystic0 has been held a further excuse 
for failure to understand the  more     

cryptic passages of his works2 though as
 a matter of fact these are  the        
precipitations of a singularly clear and
 logical intellect1 and will  yield all 
their secrets to a sympathetic and      
industrious attention4 ,his  few        
translators have often been content to  
leave difficult phrases  unelucidated1  
or surrounded by a haze of suggestive   
words2 and though  his splendid and     
poetic rhapsodies are quoted again and  
again1 even  those later mystics who are
 most indebted to him show few signs of 
first-hand study and comprehension of   
his system as a whole4 ,thanks to  this 
same obscurity1 and the richness1       
intricacy1 and suggestive quality  of   
his thought1 most of his interpreters   
have tended to do for him that  which he
 did for his master ,plato3 they have   
re-handled him in the  interests of     
their own religion or philosophy4 ,of   
this1 the ,cambridge  ,platonists are   
the most notorious example2 but the same
 inclination is  seen in modern         

scholars4 ,thus ,baron von ,hgel seeks  
to introduce a  dualism between his     
mysticism and his metaphysics4 ,even the
 brilliant  exposition of his philosophy
 in the ,dean of ,st4 ,paul's ,gifford  
,lectures is not wholly exempt from this
 criticism4 ,a comparison of his        
analysis with those of ,baron von ,hgel 
in ,eternal ,life1 and of ,mr4          
,whittaker in ,the ,neoplatonists makes 
plain the part which temperament  has   
played in each of these works4          
,plotinus himself would probably have   
been astonished by this charge of       
obscurity4 ,his teaching had by         
declaration two aims4 ,the first was the
  definitely religious aim of bringing  
men to a knowledge of ,divine  reality2 
for he had the missionary ardour        
inseparable from the saintly  type4 ,the
 second was the faithful interpretation 
of ,platonic philosophy1  especially the
 doctrines of ,plato1 and of his own    
immediate master1 the  unknown          
,alexandrian ,ammonius3 for his academic

 teaching consisted wholly  of a        
commentary on1 and interpretation of1   
,plato's works4 ,his system1  therefore1
 is a synthesis of practical            
spirituality and formal  philosophy1 and
 will only be grasped by those who keep 
this twofold  character in mind4 ,there 
must always seem to be a conflict       
between any  closed and self-consistent 
metaphysical system and the freedom and 
richness of the spiritual life3 but     
since few metaphysicians are  mystics1  
and few mystics are able to take        
metaphysics more seriously  than the    
soldier takes the lectures of the       
armchair strategist1 these  two readings
 of reality are seldom brought into     
direct opposition4 ,in  ,plotinus we    
have an almost unique example of the    
philosopher who is also  a practical    
mystic2 and consequently of a mind that 
cannot be satisfied  with anything less 
than an intellectual system which finds 
room for the  most profound experiences 
of the spiritual life4 ,in this         

peculiarity  some scholars have found   
his principal merit2 others a source of 
weakness4 ,the position of his critics  
has been excellently stated by  ,baron  
von ,hgel in ,eternal ,life4 ,he finds  
in the ,enneads a 8ceaseless  conflict0 
between 8the formal principles of the   
philosopher0 and 8the  experiences of a 
profoundly religious soul40 ,the        
philosophy issues in an  utterly        
transcendent ,godhead without qualities1
 activity1 or being3 the  mysticism     
issues in ecstatic union1 actual        
contact1 with a ,god1 8the  atmosphere  
and home of souls0 whose richness is the
 sum of all  affirmations4 ,yet1 as a   
matter of fact1 this disharmony is only 
apparent2 and is resolved when we       
understand the formal character of the  
,plotinian dialectic as a 8way10 a      
stepping-stone1 the reduction to terms  
of reason of some aspects of a reality  
beyond reason's grasp4 ,the  discrepancy
 is like that which exists between map  
and landscape4  ,plotinus1 constantly   

passing over from argument to vision1   
speaks  sometimes the language of       
geography1 sometimes that of adventure3 
yet  both1 within their spheres1 are    
true4 ,the ,neoplatonic via negativa    
always implies an unexpressed because   
ineffable affirmation4 ,therefore  its  
,absolute1 of which reason can predicate
 no qualities1 may yet be the  8flower  
of all beauty0 as apprehended by the    
contemplative soul4    ,since the       
doctrine of ,ammonius is unknown to us1 
we have no means of  gauging the extent 
to which ,plotinus depends on him3 but  
probably we  shall not be far wrong if  
we attribute to his influence the       
peculiar  sense of reality1 the deep    
spiritual inwardness1 colour and life1  
with  which his great pupil invests the 
dogmas of ,platonism4 ,the main elements
  of the ,plotinian philosophy1 however1
 are undoubtedly ,platonic4 ,the        
,divine ,triad1 the precession of spirit
 and its return to its origin1 the      
unreal world of sense1 the universal    

soul1 the 8real0 or intelligible  world 
of the ,ideas--these and other          
ingredients of his system are a part  of
 the common stock of ,platonism4 ,his   
originality and his attraction  consist 
in the use which he makes of them1 the  
colour and atmosphere  with which they  
are endowed4 ,that which is truly his   
own is the living  vision which creates 
from these formul a vivid world both    
actual and  poetic1 answering with fresh
 revelations of reality the widening    
demands  and apprehensions of the human 
soul4 ,this spiritual world is not      
merely  arrived at by a dialectic       
process4 ,it is the world of his own    
intense  experience from which he speaks
 to us2 using his texts1 as ,christian  
mystics have often used the ,bible1 to  
support doctrines inspired by his       
personal vision of truth4 ,in spite of  
his passion for exactitude1 the         
sharpness and detail of his universe1 he
 is thrown back1 again and  again1 on   
the methods of symbol and poetry4 ,we   

must always be ready to  look past his  
formal words to the felt reality which  
he is struggling to  impart2 a reality  
which is beyond the grasp of reason1 and
 can only be  apprehended by the faculty
 which he calls spiritual intuition4 ,to
 this  we owe the richness and          
suppleness of his system1 the absence of
  watertight compartments1 the intimate 
relation with life4 ,whilst many        
philosophers have spent their powers on 
proving the necessary existence  of an  
unglimpsed universe which shall satisfy 
the cravings of the mind1  ,plotinus    
spent his in making a map1 based on his 
own adventures in 8that  country which  
is no mere vision1 but a home20 and his 
apparently rigid  contours and gradients
 are attempts to tell at least the      
characteristics  of a living land4      
,though the ,enneads are a storehouse of
 profound and subtle thought1 the  main 
principles on which their philosophy is 
based are simple1 and can  be expressed 
briefly4 ,all things1 according to      

,plotinus1 have come forth  from the    
,absolute ,godhead or ,one1 and only    
fulfil their destiny when  they return  
to their origin4 ,the real life of the  
universe consists in  this flux and     
reflux3 the outflow and self-expression 
of spirit in  matter1 the 8conversion0  
or return of spirit to the ,one4 ,with  
the rest  of the ,neoplatonists1 he     
conceives of the ,universe as an        
emanation1  eternally poured forth from 
this ,one1 and diminishing in reality   
and  splendour the further it is removed
 from its source4 ,the general  position
 is somewhat like that given by ,dante  
in the opening of the  ,paradiso3       
8,la gloria di colui che tutto move     
,per l'universo penetra1 e resplende    
,in una parte pi1 e meno altrove10      
though ,plotinus would have rejected the
 spatial implications of the last  line1
 for to him the ,one was present        
everywhere4 ,the ,divine nature is a    
trinity2 but not1 as in ,christian      
theology1 of co-equal persons4 ,its     

three descending degrees1 or hypostases1
 are the unconditioned ,one or  the     
,good--a term which implies perfection  
but carries no ethical                  
implications--the ,divine ,mind1        
,spirit1 or ,nous1 and the ,soul or     
,life of  the ,world4 ,nothing is real  
which does not participate in one or    
other of  these principles4 ,though the 
first two hypostases are roughly        
parallel  to the ,eternal ,father and   
,logos-,christ of ,christian ,platonism1
 and some  have found in the ,plotinian 
,psyche a likeness to the immanent ,holy
  ,spirit1 this superficial resemblance 
must not be pressed4 ,fatherhood  cannot
 be ascribed to the ,one save in so far 
as it is the first cause of  life1 for  
it transcends all our notions of        
personality4 ,its real  parallel in     
,christian theology is that conception  
of the  8,super-essential ,godhead1     
beyond and above the ,trinity of        
,persons10  which ,eckhart and a few    
other daring mystics took through       

,dionysius the  ,areopagite from the    
,neoplatonists4 ,the ,one is1 in fact1  
the ,absolute as  apprehended by a      
religious soul4 ,nor is the ,plotinian  
,nous a person1  in any sense in which  
orthodox ,christianity has understood   
that term1  though it is called by      
,plotinus our ,father and ,companion4   
,further1 the  triadic series does not  
involve a succession either in time1 or 
order of  generation2 but only in value4
 ,the worlds of spirit and of soul are  
co-eternal with the ,absolute1 the      
inevitable and unceasing expressions  of
 its creative activity4 ,the utterly    
transcendent ,perfect manifests as      
,mind or ,spirit 7,nous72 and this is   
the world of being4 ,mind or  ,spirit   
manifests as ,life or ,soul 7,psyche72  
and this is the reality  of the world of
 becoming4 ,the lower orders are        
contained in the higher1  which are     
everywhere present1 though each 8remains
 in its own place40  8,of all things the
 governance and existence are in these  

three40    ,whilst every image of the   
universe is deceptive1 since its true   
nature  is beyond our apprehension1     
,plotinus invites us to picture the     
,triad1 as  ,dante did1 by concentric   
circles through which radiate the energy
 and  splendour of the 8flower of all   
beauty10 the ,transcendent ,one4 8,the  
first act is the act of the ,good1 at   
rest within itself1 and the first       
existence is the self-contained         
existence of the ,good4 ,but there is   
also  an act upon it1 that of the ,nous2
 which1 as it were1 lives about it4     
,and the ,soul1 outside1 circles about  
the ,nous1 and by gazing upon it1       
seeing into the depths of it1 through it
 sees ,god0 7,i4 #h4 #b74 ,again1  8,the
 ,one is not a ,being1 but the ,source  
of being1 which is its first  offspring4
 ,the ,one is perfect1 that is1 it has  
nothing1 seeks nothing1  needs nothing2 
but as we may say it overflows1 and this
 overflowing is  creative0 7,v4 #a4 #b74
 ,yet this eternal creative action      

8beyond spirit1  sense1 and life10      
involves no self-loss4 ,it is the       
welling forth of an  unquenchable       
spring1 the eternal fountain of life4   
,as ,christian ,platonists described the
 ,son as the self-expression of the     
,father1 so ,plotinus describes his     
second ,divine ,principle as the eternal
  irradiation of the ,absolute--il ciel 
che pi della sua luce prende4  ,this    
principle he calls ,nous2 a word        
carrying many shades of meaning1  which 
the older commentators generally        
rendered as ,divine ,mind1 or           
,intelligible ,principle4 ,dean ,inge   
has shown good reason for translating   
it as 8,spirit10 thus bringing the      
language of ,plotinus into line with    
the many later mystics who derive from  
him4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,nous        
contains both meanings4 ,it is more     
spiritual than mind1 more  intellectual 
than spirit1 in the sense in which that 
word is commonly  employed4 ,those      
medival theologians who made a mystical 

identification  between the ,hebrew     
conception of the ,eternal ,wisdom as we
 find it  described in ,proverbs and    
,ecclesiasticus1 and the ,second ,person
 of the  ,trinity1 came very near the   
,plotinian concept of ,nous1 which is at
  once ,intelligence and the            
intelligible sphere1 ,spirit and the    
spiritual  universe2 the home of        
reality1 and object of religious and    
poetic  intuition4 ,it is1 in one       
aspect1 the 8,father and ,companion0 of 
the soul  7,v4 #a4 #c71 in another 8the 
,intellectual ,universe1 that sphere    
constituted by a ,principle wholly      
unlike what is known as intelligence  in
 us0 7,i4 #h4 #b74 ,this is the         
8,yonder0 to which he so often refers2  
the  8middle heaven0 of ,indian         
philosophy1 ,ruysbroeck's 8clear-shining
 world  between ourselves and ,god40    
8444 e questo cielo non ha altro dove   
,che la mente divina10    says ,dante2  
once more condensing the whole          
,neoplatonic vision in one  vivid       

phrase4    ,this rich and suggestive    
conception of the ,second ,principle1 as
 at once  ,king and ,creator of the     
world of life1 and also itself the      
archetypal  world of true values1 is the
 central fact of the ,plotinian         
philosophy4  ,its apprehension1 he says1
 is beyond ordinary human reason1 which 
is  fitted for correspondence with the  
world of life or soul4 ,it is the       
function of spiritual intuition2 8a     
faculty which all possess1 though  few  
use40 ,such communion with the world of 
supernal reality is possible1  because  
man is potentially an inhabitant of it4 
8,the ,fatherland to us is  there1      
whence we have come3 and there is the   
,father0 7,i4 #f4 #h74 ,the  8apex0 or  
celestial aspect of our soul is         
domiciled there4 ,it 8never  leaves the 
,divine ,mind2 but1 while it clings     
yonder1 allows the lower  soul1 as it   
were1 to hang down0 7,,vi4 #g4 #e74 ,man
 is1 in fact1  intermediary between the 
two ,plotinian worlds of ,spirit and    

,soul1 and  participates in both4       
,eucken1 in describing him as the       
meeting-place of  two orders of reality1
 is merely restating the doctrine of the
  ,neoplatonists4    ,as ,spirit is the 
outbirth and manifestation of the ,one1 
so ,soul1 or  ,life--the third member of
 the ,triad--is the manifestation or    
matter of  ,spirit2 and forms the link  
between the physical and the            
supersensual  worlds4 ,spirit is 8at    
once its ,father and ever-present       
,companion0 7,v4 #a4  #c74 ,soul is a   
term covering the whole vital essence   
7a7 of the world1  and 7b7 of the       
individual4 ,it has two aspects4 ,the   
celestial soul  aspires toward1 and is  
in communion with1 the spiritual order2 
the  natural soul hangs down and        
inspires the physical order1 thereby    
conferring on it a measure of reality4  
,we are not1 however1 to  understand by 
,soul merely the aggregate of           
individuals4 ,psyche is the  divine and 
eternal life of the created universe1   

comprehending its  infinite variety in a
 unity which embraces every object in   
the  sense-known scheme1 and makes it   
8like one animal0 7,,iv4 #d4 #cb74 ,it  
is3                  8,a motion and a   
spirit1 that impels                ,all 
thinking things1 all objects of all     
thought1                ,and rolls      
through all things40    ,the whole      
creation1 says ,plotinus1 in one of his 
great poetic passages1  is 8awake and   
alive at every point40 ,each thing has  
its own peculiar  life in the all2      
though we1 because our senses cannot    
discern the life  within wood and stone1
 deny that life4 8,their living is in   
secret1 but  they live0 7,,iv4 #d4 #cf74
 ,here we are reminded of the           
,logos-,christ of the                   
8,sayings0--8,raise the stone and thou  
shalt find me3 cleave the wood1 and     
there am ,i40 ,by this conception1 which
 is elaborated from the doctrine  of the
 world-soul in the ,timus1 ,neoplatonism
 bridges the gap between  appearance and

 reality1 and also solves the paradox of
 multitude in  unity4 8,we do not       
declare the ,soul to be one in the sense
 of entirely  excluding multiplicity4   
,this absolute oneness belongs only to  
the higher  nature4 ,we make it both one
 and manifold2 it has part in the nature
  which is divided among bodies1 but it 
has part also in the indivisible1  and  
so again we find it to be one0 7,,iv4   
#i4 #b74    ,soul1 which has in its     
highest manifestations many of the      
characters of  ,spirit1 is the eternal  
upholder of the world of change4        
8,things have a  beginning1 and perish  
when the soul that leads the            
chorus-dance of life  departs2 but the  
soul itself is eternal and cannot suffer
 change 444  what the soul is1 and what 
its power1 will be more manifestly1 more
  splendidly evident1 if we think how   
its counsel comprehends and conducts    
the heavens2 how it communicates itself 
to all this vast bulk and  ensouls it   
through all its extension1 so that every

 fragment lives by  the soul entire1    
which is present everywhere like the    
,father which begat  it0 7,v4 #a4 #b74  
,soul1 then1 which is in one sense the  
reality of the  world of becoming and   
immanent therein1 is also a denizen of  
eternity1  in virtue of its continuity  
with and direct dependence on ,nous4 ,an
  unbroken series of ascending values   
unites the world of living effort  with 
the ,one4 ,it is this which makes the   
system of ,plotinus a philosophy  of    
infinite adventure and infinite hope4   
,soul is the lowest of the ,divine      
hypostases4 ,below it in the scale of   
values is the material universe to which
 its lower activities give form1        
slumbering in the rocks and dreaming in 
the plants4 ,in plants1 says  ,plotinus1
 8the more rebellious and self-willed   
phase of soul is  expressed03 a doctrine
 which will find an echo in many a      
gardener's  heart4 ,the sensible beauty 
of the world is the signature of soul1  
and  points to something 8,yonder02 for 

through loveliness it participates in   
the world of spiritual values1 and we in
 apprehending beauty turn away  from    
matter to ,nous 7,i4 #h4 #d74 ,matter1  
as such1 has no reality except  as the  
stuff from which soul weaves up its     
outward vesture4 ,deprived of  soul1 it 
is in itself1 he says1 8not-being0 and  
8no-thing03 8its very  nature is one    
long want0 7,i4 #h4 #e74 ,as a picture  
is the crude and  partial condensation  
of an artist's dream--all that he can   
force his  recalcitrant material to     
express--so the physical world is but a 
fragmentary manifestation of the great  
and vivid universe of soul1 and  the    
body is the smallest part of the real   
man4 ,when we grasp this1 we  see how   
great is the sum of possibilities opened
 to us by the ,cosmos2  how easily the  
country 8,yonder0 can find room for all 
the visions and  intuitions of artists1 
poets1 and saints4    ,the ,plotinian   
doctrine of man1 which became in due    
course the classical  doctrine of       

,christian mysticism1 is the logical    
outcome of this  cosmology4 ,man1 like  
the rest of ,creation1 has come forth   
from ,god and  will only find happiness 
and full life when his true being is    
re-united1  first with the ,divine      
,mind1 and ultimately with the ,one4    
8,when the  phantasm has returned to the
 ,original1 the journey is achieved0    
7,,vi4 #i4  #aa74 ,hence 8our quest is  
of an ,end1 and not of ,ends4 ,that only
 can be  chosen which is ultimate and   
noblest1 that which calls to the        
tenderest  longings of the soul0 7,i4   
#d4 #f74 ,as the descending stages of   
reality are  three1 so the stages of the
 ascent are three4 ,they are called in  
the  ,enneads purification1 the work of 
reason1 which marks the transference  of
 interest from sense to soul2           
enlightenment--the work of spiritual    
intuition--which lifts life into        
communion with the eternal world of     
spirit2 and ecstasy1 that profound      
transfiguration of consciousness        

whereby the 8spirit in love0 achieves   
union with the ,one4 ,these stages  are 
familiar to all students of ,christian  
asceticism1 as the codified  8mystic    
way0 of purgation1 illumination1 and    
union3 a formula which  ,dionysius the  
,areopagite took from the               
,neoplatonists4 ,but it is  important to
 remember that in ,plotinus this 8way0  
is not--as it sometimes  becomes in     
medival writers--a rigid series of      
mutually exclusive  psychological       
states1 separated by water-tight        
bulkheads4 ,it is rather a  diagram by  
which he seeks to describe one undivided
 movement of life2 a  prolonged effort  
and adventure1 which has for its object 
a deeper and  deeper penetration into   
,reality1 the achievement of a true     
scale of  values1 in order that the real
 proportions of existence may be        
grasped4  ,in this movement nothing is  
left behind2 but everything is carried  
up  into a higher synthesis1 as the     
latent possibilities of humanity are    

gradually realized1 and man grows up    
into eternal life4    8,since your soul 
is so exalted a power1 so divine1 be    
confident that in  virtue of its        
possession you are close to ,god4 ,begin
 therefore with the  help of this       
principle to make your way to ,him4 ,you
 have not far to go3  there is not much 
between4 ,lay hold of that which is more
 divine than  this god-like thing2 lay  
hold of that apex of the soul which     
borders on  the ,supreme 7,nous71 from  
which the soul immediately derives0 7,v4
 #a4  #c74    ,all practical mysticism  
is at bottom a process of transcendence1
  8passing on the upward way all that is
 other than ,god0 7,i4 #f4 #g73 and     
this process1 in different temperaments1
 assumes different forms4 ,since        
,plotinus united in his own person the  
characteristics of the  metaphysician1  
the poet and the saint1 he tends to     
present it under  three aspects2 as the 
logical outcome of a reasoned           
philosophy1 as a  moral purification    

which strips us of all unreality1 and as
 a  progressive initiation into beauty4 
8,beholding this ,being1 the ,conductor 
of all existence1 the self-intent that  
ever gives and never takes1  resting    
rapt in the vision and possession of so 
lofty a loveliness1 what  beauty can the
 soul then lack8 ,for this1 the beauty  
supreme1 the  absolute and the primal1  
fashions its lovers to beauty and makes 
them  also worthy of love4 ,and for this
 the sternest and uttermost combat is   
set before these souls2 all our labour  
is for this1 lest we be left  without   
part in this noblest vision1 which to   
attain is to be blessed in  the blissful
 sight1 which to fail of is to fail     
utterly0 7,i4 #f4 #g74 ,in  the high    
place which he gives to the category of 
beauty1 which is to him  one of the     
three final attributes of ,god1 the     
strongly poetic character  of his vision
 of ,reality becomes evident4 ,he       
anticipates ,hegel in  regarding natural
 beauty as the sensuous manifestation of

 spirit and  signature of the world-soul
 8fragment as it were of the ,primal    
,beauty1  making beautiful to the       
fullness of their capacity whatsoever it
 grasps  and moulds0 7,i4 #f4 #f73 and  
those lovers1 artists1 and musicians who
 can  apprehend it have already made the
 first step towards the inner vision  of
 the ,one4 ,therefore the harsh         
other-worldliness which made some       
medival ascetics turn from visible      
loveliness as a snare1 would have       
seemed blasphemy to ,plotinus1 who would
 certainly have argued with ,st4        
,augustine that 8there is no health in  
those who find fault with any part  of  
,thy creation0 7,conf4 vii4 #ad74 ,on   
the contrary1 his doctrine gives  a     
religious sanction and a philosophic    
explanation to those special            
experiences and apprehensions of        
artists1 poets1 and so-called           
8nature-mystics0--known to many normal  
persons in moments of  exaltation--when 
8,the world is so charged with the      

grandeur of ,god               ,it must 
shine out1 like shining from shook      
foil40    ,in such hours1 he would say1 
we perceive through matter the          
inhabiting  ,psyche1 and by it reach out
 to communion with ,nous1 for 8this is  
how  the material becomes beautiful2 by 
participating in the thought which      
flows from the ,divine0 7,i4 #f4 #b74   
,he would have understood ,blake's claim
  to see the universe as 8a world of    
imagination and vision10 and accepted   
,erigena's great saying1 8every visible 
and invisible creature is a  theophany  
or appearance of ,god40    ,thus the    
whole mystic ascent can be conceived as 
a movement through  visible beauty to   
its invisible source1 and thence to 8the
 inaccessible  ,beauty1 dwelling as if  
in consecrated precincts apart from the 
common  ways0 7,i4 #f4 #h74 ,yet this   
progress is not so much a change in our 
consciousness of the world and of       
ourselves1 as a shifting of the centre  
of our being from sense to soul1 from   

soul to spirit1 whereby we come         
actually to live at new levels of       
existence4 8,for all there are two      
stages of the path1 according to whether
 they are ascending or have  already    
gained the upper sphere4 ,the first     
stage is conversion from the  lower     
life3 the second--taken by those who    
have already reached the  ,spiritual    
sphere1 as it were set a footprint      
there1 but must still  advance within   
that realm--lasts till they reach its   
extreme summit1 the  term attained ,when
 the topmost peak of the ,spiritual     
realm is won0 7,i4  #c4 #a74    ,the    
process is both intellectual and moral1 
since its goal is the  absolute ,truth  
and ,beauty no less than the absolute   
,good4 8,each must  become ,god-like and
 beautiful who cares to see ,god and    
,beauty0 7,i4 #f4  #i74 ,it involves    
deliberate effort and drastic           
purification of mind and  heart1        
8cutting away all that is excessive1    
straightening all that is  crooked1     

bringing light to all that is in shadow1
 labouring to make all  one glow of     
beauty0 7,i4 #f4 #i74 ,as 8all knowing  
comes by likeness0 7,i4 #h4  #a71 we    
must ourselves have moral beauty if we  
would see the 8,beauty  ,there40 ,but   
whether this way be conceived under     
sthetic or ascetic  symbols1 ,plotinus  
is at one with all the mystics in       
declaring that the  driving force which 
urges the soul along the pathway to     
reality is love4  ,this inspires its    
labour1 supports its stern              
purifications1 8detaches it  from the   
body and lifts it to the ,intelligible  
,world0 7,,iii4 #f4 #e71 and  gives it  
at last 8the only eye that sees the     
mighty ,beauty0 7,i4 #f4 #i74  ,love    
means for him active desire2 8the       
longing for conjunction and  rest40 ,all
 shades of spiritual and poetic passion1
 the graded meanings  of admiration1    
enthusiasm1 and worship1 are included in
 it4 ,it is 8the  true magic of the     
universe02 an attribute of ,nous1 and an

 earnest of  real life4 8,the fullest   
life is the fullest love1 and the love  
comes  from the celestial light which   
streams forth from the ,absolute ,one0  
7,,vi4  #g4 #bc74 ,it is true that the  
impersonal nature of the ,neo-platonic  
,one  gives no apparent scope to the    
intimate feeling which plays so large a 
part in ,christian devotion4 ,but the   
reality and warmth of the true  mystical
 passion for the ,absolute--its complete
 independence of  anthropomorphic       
conceptions--is strikingly demonstrated 
by those glowing  passages in which     
,plotinus allows his overpowering       
emotion1 8that  veritable love1 that    
sharp desire10 to speak2 and appeals to 
the  experience of those fellow-mystics 
who have attained the vision of 8the    
splendour yonder1 and felt the burning  
of the flame of love for that  which is 
there to know2 the passion of the lover 
resting on the bosom of  his love0      
7,,vi4 #i4 #d74 ,this passion is the    
instrument of that ecstasy in  which he 

taught that those men who have 8wrought 
themselves into harmony  with the       
,supreme0 may briefly experience the    
vision of the ineffable  ,one4 ,in it   
the spirit is burned to a white heat1   
which fuses in one  single state the    
highest activities of feeling1 thought1 
and will4  ,though the doctrine of      
ecstasy appears in ,philo1 and could    
reasonably be  deduced from ,plato      
himself1 its treatment by ,plotinus1 the
 intense  actuality and poetic fervour  
of its presentation1 are the obvious    
results of such personal experiences as 
,porphyry describes to us4 ,this        
ecstasy1 according to him--and here he  
is supported by the majority of  later  
mystics--is not a merely passive state1 
nor does it result in a  barren         
satisfaction4 ,when1 withdrawing from   
all lesser interests1 the  soul passes  
beyond all contingency 8through virtue  
to the ,divine ,mind1  through wisdom to
 the ,supreme10 and poises itself upon  
,god in a simple  state of rapt         

attention1 it receives as a reward of   
its effort not only  the beatific vision
 of the ,perfect1 but also an accession 
of vitality4  ,at this moment1 says     
,plotinus1 it 8has another life0 and    
8knows that the  ,supplier of true life 
is present40 ,the mystic1 or 8sage10 is 
not a  spiritual freak2 but the man who 
has grown up to the full stature of     
humanity and united himself with that   
,source of life which is 8present       
everywhere1 yet absent except only to   
those prepared to receive it0 7,,vi4    
#i4 #d74 ,therefore he alone can be     
trusted to be fully active2 since his   
action is not a mere restless striving  
after the discordant objects of a       
scattered attention1 but an ordered     
movement based on the contemplation  of 
,reality4    8,we always move round the 
,one4 ,if we did not1 we should be      
dissolved and  no longer exist4 ,but we 
do not always look at the ,one4 ,when we
 do1 we  attain the end of our          
existence1 and our rest2 and no longer  

sing out of  tune1 but form a divine    
chorus round the ,one0 7,,vi4 #i4 #g74  
,yet in spite of the majesty and purity 
of his vision1 the devil's  advocate is 
not without material for an attack upon 
,plotinus4 ,the charge  brought by ,st4 
,augustine against 8the books of the    
,platonists0 as a  whole--and by these  
he meant chiefly the ,enneads--is well  
known4 ,he found  in their philosophy no
 response to the needs of the struggling
 and the  imperfect4 ,in its complete   
escape from the standing religious snare
 of  anthropomorphism1 ,neoplatonism    
also escaped from the grasp of humanity4
  ,it left man everything to do for     
himself4 ,for the ,christian philosophy 
of divine incarnation1 dramatized in    
history1 and expressed in the  phrase   
8,god so loved the world10 the          
,neoplatonist substitutes 8,so the      
world loves ,god40 8,no one there10 says
 ,augustine of their school1  8hearkens 
to ,him who calleth1 ,come unto ,me all 
ye that labour40 ,the ,one  is the      

transcendent ,source and the ,magnet of 
the ,universe1 the object  and          
satisfaction of spiritual passion2 but  
not the lover1 helper1 or  saviour of   
the soul4 ,it 8needs nothing1 desires   
nothing40 ,the quality of  mercy cannot 
be ascribed to it4 ,as a term1 it is as 
attractive and  impersonal as a mountain
 peak2 and the mystic attaining it has  
something  of the aristocratic          
self-satisfaction of the successful     
mountaineer4 ,the  ,christian and ,sfi  
mystics1 even when most deeply          
influenced by  ,neoplatonism1 have      
always felt the incompleteness of this  
conception4  ,they see the soul's       
achievement of reality as the result of 
two  movements1 one human and one       
divine3 a 8mutual attraction40 8,god    
needs  me as much as ,i need ,him10 said
 ,meister ,eckhart4 8,our natural will10
  said ,julian of ,norwich1 8is to have 
,god1 and the good-will of ,god is to   
have us40    8,i was given10 says       
,angela of ,foligno1 8a deep insight    

into the humility  of ,god1 towards man 
and all other things40 8,the love of    
,god10 says  ,ruysbroeck1 8is an        
outpouring and an indrawing tide40      
,these statements  undoubtedly represent
 a normal element in spiritual          
experience2 that  sense of a response1 a
 self-giving on the part of its         
transcendent  object which--whatever    
explanation we may choose to give of    
it--is  integral to a developed         
mysticism4 ,neoplatonism1 considered as 
a  religious philosophy1 is impoverished
 by its failure to recognize and  find a
 place for this4    ,moreover1 the      
so-called social side of religion1 so   
grossly exaggerated  by the amateur     
theologians of the present day1         
certainly receives less  than justice   
from ,plotinus2 for whom the 8political 
virtues0 are merely  preparatory to the 
spiritual life1 and that spiritual life 
an exclusive  system of self-culture1   
having as its final stage a 8flight of  
the alone  to the ,alone40 ,moral       

goodness is a form of beauty1 and       
therefore 8real02  but there is no      
suggestion that goodness as such is     
dearer to the  ,absolute than beauty or 
truth4 ,the problem of evil is looked   
at1 but  left unsolved3 a weakness which
 ,plotinus shares with most mystical    
philosophers4 ,evil1 he says1 has no    
place in the 8untroubled blissful  life0
 of the three ,divine ,principles4      
,therefore it is not real1 but 8a  form 
of non-being0 7,i4 #h4 #c73 a doctrine  
which makes an unexpected  reappearance 
eleven hundred years later in the       
,revelations of ,julian of  ,norwich4   
,since the aim of the 8wise man0 is the 
transcendence of the  sense world1 there
 is1 moreover1 no adequate recognition  
of those sins1  wrongs1 and sufferings  
with which that 8half-real0 world is    
charged4  ,though effort and self-denial
 have their part in the ,plotinian      
scheme1  that transfiguration of pain   
which was the greatest achievement of   
the  ,gospel is beyond the scope of his 

philosophy4 ,its remedy for failure and 
grief is not humble consecration1 but   
lofty withdrawal to that spiritual      
sphere where the divine element of the  
soul is at home1 untroubled by  the     
conflicts1 evils1 and chances of life4  
,even the selfless sorrow of a  father  
or a patriot is to be transcended4      
,though in this his practice  was       
doubtless better than his doctrine--for 
we know that he was a good  citizen1 a  
beloved teacher1 and a loyal friend--he 
speaks in a tone of  icy contempt of    
those who allow themselves to be        
disturbed by the  world's woe4    8,if  
the man that has attained felicity meets
 some turn of fortune that  he would not
 have chosen1 there is not the slightest
 lessening of his  happiness for that4  
,if there were1 his felicity would be   
veering or  falling from day to day2 the
 death of a child would bring him down1 
or  the loss of some trivial            
possession4444 ,how can he take any     
great  account of the vacillations of   

power1 or the ruin of his fatherland8   
,verily1 if he thought any such event a 
great disaster1 or any disaster  at all1
 he must be of a strange way of         
thinking0 7,i4 #d4 #g74    ,such a      
sentence1 however we look at it1 goes   
far to justify the  description of the  
,neoplatonic saint as 8a self-sufficient
 sage02 and  explains the question with 
which ,augustine turned from the        
,enneads--8,when  would those books have
 taught me charity80    ,in spite1      
however1 of this fundamental difference 
in tone1 the wider our  reading the more
 clearly we must realize the extent to  
which the  ,christian mystics are       
conscious or unconscious disciples of   
,plotinus4  ,that unity of witness which
 is one of the most impressive facts in 
the  history of mysticism1 may          
reasonably be regarded as evidence of   
the  reality of that world of spiritual 
values which contemplatives             
persistently describe4 ,but on its      
literary side1 this same unity of       

witness depends closely upon the fact   
that these contemplatives1 however      
widely separated by time and formal     
creed1 were able to make plain their    
adventures to other men by means of     
conceptions drawn from the ,plotinian   
scheme2 which has proved itself able to 
rationalize and find room for  the      
deepest spiritual intuitions of man4 ,it
 could do this because a  great mystic  
made it4 ,hence we find it implied1 even
 where unexpressed1  in many of the     
masterpieces of later mysticism--both   
,christian and  ,mahomedan--and some    
knowledge of it is a necessary clue to  
the full  understanding of these        
writings4 ,the ,sfi ',attar1 describing 
the soul's  arrival in 8the ,valley of  
,unity where it contemplates the naked  
,godhead10 is equally its debtor with   
the ,protestant mystic ,william ,law1   
declaring that 8everything in temporal  
nature is descended out of that  which  
is eternal1 and stands as a palpable    
visible outbirth of it2 so  that when we

 know how to separate the grossness1    
death1 and darkness of  time from it1 we
 find what it is in its eternal state40 
,yet few of the  theologians and        
contemplatives who owe most to ,plotinus
 had any  first-hand acquaintance with  
the ,enneads4 ,their influence reached  
the  medival world by two main channels4
 ,the first line of descent is  through 
the works of ,victorinus and ,st4       
,augustine2 the second through  the     
philosopher ,proclus and his mysterious 
disciple ,dionysius the  ,areopagite4   
,these lines meet in the ,divina        
,commedia1 which may be  regarded in one
 aspect as the supreme poetic flower of 
,neoplatonism4    ,the dramatic         
life-history and exuberant              
self-revelations of ,st4  ,augustine    
have obscured the debt which ,christian 
philosophy owes to that  less assertive 
convert and theologian1 ,victorinus4    
,yet since ,augustinian  ,neoplatonism  
is derived from his writings and        
translations1 he is the  real link      

between ,plotinus and the mystics of the
 ,latin ,church4 ,a  celebrated man of  
letters and a professor of rhetoric1 he 
had been  formed by ,neoplatonic        
philosophy2 and is said to have been the
 author of  that ,latin translation of  
the ,enneads1 which was chief among     
those  8books of the ,platonists0 that  
provided ,st4 ,augustine's              
stepping-stones  to faith4 ,the stir1   
not to say scandal1 caused by his       
conversion--so  vividly described in the
 8,confessions0--was justified3 for the 
event was  crucial in the history of    
western ,christianity4 ,after his       
conversion1  which took the form of a   
re-interpretation1 not an abandonment1  
of his  old beliefs1 he set himself to  
the creation of a ,neoplatonic theology2
  in which the ,plotinian triad1 and    
doctrine of the soul's precession and   
return to the ,one1 appear almost       
undisguised4 ,the ,one he tries to      
identify with the transcendent and      
immutable ,father4 8,son0 and 8,spirit0 

are to him two aspects of ,nous2 the    
fount of all substantial  existence1 and
 containing from eternity all things in 
their archetypal  reality4 ,the ,son or 
,logos is 8the ,logos of all that is10  
ever gushing  forth from the 8living    
fountain0 of the ,father4 ,it was from  
,victorinus  that ,catholicism obtained 
the characteristic ,plotinian notions of
 ,deity  as 8ever active and ever at    
rest10 and of the life of reality as    
consisting in immanence1 progress1 and  
return1 which meet us again and  again  
in the writings of the mystics4    ,it  
is plain that ,st4 ,augustine1 in his   
first ,christian period1 was  deeply    
indebted to ,plotinus1 whom he knew     
through ,victorinus and  frequently     
quotes by name2 calling him 8one of     
those more excellent  philosophers0     
whose doctrine of the soul is in harmony
 with the ,prologue  of the ,fourth     
,gospel4 ,when he came to write the     
8,confessions10 the  glamour of the     
,platonic vision had begun to fade1 and 

he was able to  deal in a critical      
spirit with his own brief ,plotinian    
experience of  8that which ,is0 7,,vii4 
#ag74 ,nevertheless1 none can understand
 that book  without some knowledge of   
the ,enneads1 from which all its finest 
passages are derived1 and in more than  
one instance--especially ,book ,,vii    
and the celebrated tenth chapter of     
,book ,,ix--closely imitated4 ,in       
,augustine's invocation of 8the ,beauty 
so old and so new10 in his  description 
of the 8,country which is no vision but 
a ,father-land10 or of  8the ,light     
which never changes1 above the soul1    
above the intelligence10  we see how    
closely he had studied them1 the extent 
to which their  language had permeated  
his thought4 ,it is1 however1 in the    
tracts  composed soon after his         
conversion--e4g4 ,de ,quantitate ,anim1 
written  about ,a4,d4 #chh--that their  
influence is most strongly marked2 and  
the  ecstatic vision of the ,one is     
definitely put forward as the summit of 

,christian experience4 ,from this time  
onwards1 the main outlines of  mystical 
theology were more or less fixed3 and   
since ,st4 ,augustine was  one of the   
most widely read and deeply reverenced  
of the ,fathers1 with  an authority     
hardly inferior to that of ,scripture   
itself1 its  ,neoplatonic colour was    
never lost4 ,wherever ,christian        
mysticism passes  from the emotional and
 empirical to the philosophic1 this     
colour is  clearly seen1 and the        
concepts of ,plotinus1 more or less     
disguised1  reappear3 even in those     
medival writers who had no direct       
acquaintance  with ,greek philosophy4   
,the immense popularity of the so-called
 ,dionysian  writings1 which derive much
 of their doctrine through ,proclus from
 the  ,enneads1 helped to establish yet 
more firmly the ,neoplatonic character  
of ,christian and also of ,sfi          
mysticism4 ,through these writings the  
conceptions of the ,super-essential     
,godhead2 of successive spiritual       

spheres or emanations of descending     
splendour1 intervening between the      
,absolute and the physical world2 and of
 ecstatic union with the  transcendent  
and unconditioned ,one as the term of   
religious experience1  passed over from 
the ancient to the medival world4       
,translated from  ,greek into ,syriac in
 the fifth century1 they deeply affected
 ,sfi  philosophy4 ,they entered        
,western thought in the ninth century1  
through  ,erigena's ,latin translation4 
,it is said that by ,a4,d4 #hej         
,dionysius was  known from the ,tigris  
to the ,atlantic3 and from this time    
onwards his  influence1 and through him 
that of ,plotinus1 can be traced in the 
spiritual literature of ,christianity   
and ,islam4    ,erigena1 whose original 
works are strongly coloured by          
,neoplatonism1 is  the first medival    
writer in whom this influence appears4  
,he follows  ,plotinus and ,dionysius   
closely in teaching that the ,absolute  
,godhead is  8beyond being0 and         

therefore transcendent to the trinity of
 ,persons2 a  doctrine of doubtful      
orthodoxy1 which was of great importance
 in the  later development of mysticism4
 ,but a still closer approximation to   
the  thought1 and especially to the     
psychology of ,plotinus1 is found in    
,richard of ,st4 ,victor3 perhaps the   
greatest mystical theologian1  certainly
 one of the most influential writers1 of
 the early ,middle ,ages4  ,in the      
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries his 
works1 which are now  hardly read1      
circulated through western ,europe1 and 
shaped the  developing mysticism of     
,england1 ,germany1 and ,flanders4      
,dante1 who calls  him one 8who in      
contemplation was more than man10 places
 his radiant  soul among those of the   
great teachers in the ,heaven of the    
,sun 7,par4  ,x4 #aca74 ,abandoning     
alike the many worlds of ,dionysius and 
the crude  dualism of popular religion1 
,richard taught that three spheres are  
open  to human contemplation3           

sensibilia1 intelligibilia1 and         
intellectibilia--a series closely       
analogous to the three worlds of        
,plotinus4 ,he said that three kinds of 
contemplation on man's part             
corresponded with these worlds4 ,these  
are mentis dilatatio1 a widening  of the
 soul's vision1 which yet remains within
 the natural order3  mentis sublevatio1 
an uplifting of the illuminated mind to 
the  apprehension of 8things above      
itself0 7or1 as ,neoplatonists would    
say1  intelligibles72 and finally mentis
 alienatio or ecstasy1 in which the     
soul gazes on ,truth in its naked       
simplicity4 ,then 8elevated above itself
  and rapt in ecstasy1 it beholds things
 in the ,divine ,light at which all     
human reason succumbs40 ,this divine    
light is the lumen glori1 the  radiance 
of the spiritual or intelligible world1 
which transforms the  soul and makes it 
capable of beholding ,god2 a conception 
which became a  commonplace of medival  
theology1 was adopted by nearly all the 

mystics1  and plays an important part in
 the ,paradiso4                8,lume   
lass1 che visibile face                 
lo ,creatore a quella creatura          
che solo in lui vedere ha la sua pace0  
7xxx4 #ajj74    ,ruysbroeck--a student  
of ,dionysius and of ,richard--says of  
it in ,the  ,twelve ,bguines3 8,from the
 ,face of the ,father there shines a    
clear  light on those souls whose       
thought is bare and stripped of images1 
uplifted above the senses and above     
similitudes1 beyond and without  reason1
 in high purity of spirit4 ,this ,light 
is not ,god1 but it is the  mediator    
between the seeing thought and ,god40   
,these passages and many  like them can 
be shown to derive directly through ,st4
 ,augustine from the  ,enneads4 ,thus   
,plotinus says3 8,light is visible by   
,light4 ,the ,nous sees  itself1 and    
this light1 shining on the soul1        
enlightens it and makes it  a member of 
the spiritual world0 7,v4 #c4 #h74      
,augustine1 apparently  referring to    

this passage among others1 says3 8,often
 and in many places  does ,plotinus     
declare1 expounding the meaning of      
,plato1 that what they  believe to be   
the ,soul of the ,world has its bliss   
from the same source  as ours1 namely1 a
 ,light which it is not1 but by which it
 was created1  and from whose spiritual 
illumination it shines spiritually0 7,de
 ,civ4  ,dei4 ,x4 #b74 ,and1 of his own 
ecstatic experience1 8,i entered and    
beheld  with the mysterious eye of my   
soul the ,light that never changes1     
above  the eye of my soul1 above my     
intelligence4444 ,he who knows the truth
  knows that ,light1 and he who knows   
that ,light knows ,eternity0 7,conf4    
,,vii4 #aj74    ,from the thirteenth    
century onwards1 the majority of the    
medival  mystics show knowledge and     
appreciation of those ,plotinian ideas  
which  reached them--though in an       
attenuated form--through ,st4           
,augustine1  ,dionysius1 and ,richard of
 ,st4 ,victor4 ,even the ,franciscan and

  ,christo-centric enthusiasm of such   
contemplatives as ,jacopone da ,todi    
and ,angela of ,foligno was affected by 
these lofty conceptions4 ,thus          
,jacopone takes from the ,neoplatonists 
the three stages of spiritual           
experience1 and describes in unequivocal
 language his successive  achievements  
of that ,logos-,christ--so near the     
,plotinian ,nous--8che de  omne bellezze
 se' fattore10 and of the 8,imageless   
,good0 who cannot be  named4 ,so too1   
,angela's successive visions of the     
divine fullness and  beauty1 and of 8the
 ineffable ,thing of which nought may be
 said0 depend  for their expression on  
the same philosophy4    ,nor was its    
penetrative influence confined to the   
mystical schools4 ,st4  ,thomas         
,aquinas1 who accepts and expounds in   
the ,summa 7,i4 q4#ab4  a4#e7 the       
doctrine of the lumen glori1 is         
considerably indebted to  ,plotinus in  
several other particulars2 though he    
cites him inaccurately1  and does not   

seem to have known him at first hand4   
,in a remarkable  passage1 which        
afterwards influenced one of the finest 
rhapsodies of  ,ruysbroeck1 he has      
actually 8lifted0 the most celebrated   
phrase in the  ,sixth ,ennead1 and      
adapted it to the distinctively         
,christian and  non-,platonic view of   
divine union1 as a 8mutual act0 of ,god 
and the  soul4 8,in a wonderful and     
unspeakable manner10 says ,st4 ,thomas  
of the  soul in this place1 8she both   
seizes and is seized upon1 devours and  
is  herself devoured1 embraces and is   
violently embraced2 and by the knot of  
love she unites herself with ,god1 and  
is with ,him as the ,alone with the     
,alone40    ,it is in a later and less  
orthodox son of ,st4 ,dominic1 the      
formidable  and adventurous thinker     
,eckhart1 that the influence of         
,plotinus on the  medival mind is best  
seen3 passing through him to ,suso1     
,tauler1  ,ruysbroeck1 and other mystics
 of the fourteenth century4 ,eckhart's  

philosophy still provides one of the    
most suggestive glosses upon the        
,enneads4 ,he made that distinction     
between the absolute and  supra-personal
 ,godhead and the ,god of devotion1     
which was almost  inevitable for a      
,christian thinker trying to find a     
place in theology  for the ,neoplatonic 
,one4 ,the ,godhead1 he says1 is 8a     
non-,god1 a  non-,spirit1 a non-person1 
a non-image3 a sheer pure ,one40 ,the   
,son1 in  whom 8the ,father becomes     
conscious of ,himself10 combines the    
attributes  of the ,logos-,christ with  
those of the ,nous4 ,in ,him are the    
archetypes  of all created things4      
,there is thus an emanation from the    
,godhead1  through the ,son1 into       
creation4 ,the soul's destiny is exactly
 that  conceived by ,plotinus3 it must  
ascend to the spiritual world1 and      
through it to its origin1 the ,one1     
8flowing back into the bottom of the    
bottomless fountain from which it flowed
 forth40 ,in ,tauler and ,suso1 and     

especially in the great ,flemish        
contemplative ,ruysbroeck1 these        
ideas--though modified by their inferior
 speculative ability and more  ardent   
spirit of ,christian devotion--are still
 strongly felt3 and since  their works  
and those of their disciples nourished  
many succeeding  generations of         
contemplatives1 through them the        
mystical side of the  ,neoplatonic      
tradition was handed down4 ,in          
,ruysbroeck1 with his threefold         
division of spiritual experience into   
8the moral life1 the contemplative      
life1 and the super-essential life10 and
 his astonishing and detailed           
descriptions of the soul's achievement  
of the ,essential ,unity1 the  8death   
into the ,one through love10 the vision 
of ,plotinus is fully  baptized into the
 ,catholic ,church4 ,in ,jacob ,boehme1 
who drew through  ,schwenkenfeld and    
,weigel from ,eckhart and his school1   
the doctrine of  the three worlds which 
forms the basis of his cosmology        

contains  distinct reminiscences of the 
,plotinian ,triad4 8,these three10 he   
says1  8are nought else than the ,one   
,god in ,his wonderful works 444 and we 
are  thus to understand a threefold     
,being1 or three worlds in one another40
  ,his conception of the ,light-world1  
source of all spiritual beauty and  home
 of 8the true human essence10 is very   
near to the ,nous4 ,yet the  very       
closeness with which all these mystics  
follow those parts of the  ,neoplatonic 
doctrine which appeal to them1 makes it 
possible for us to  measure the distance
 which separates their minds1 their tone
 and temper1  from that of ,plotinus and
 his school4 ,the calm1 the austerity of
  thought1 the emphasis on beauty1 the  
clear cool light of the  ,intelligible  
,world have departed4 ,these men see    
philosophy through the  haze of         
,christian feeling4 ,their work is full 
of passionate effort2 is  centred on the
 ideas of sacrifice and of pain4 ,their 
religion is  coloured by the sharp      

,christian consciousness of sin1 and by 
the  difficulty--never squarely         
faced--of reconciling devotion to a     
personal  redeemer with the mystical    
passion for the ,absolute4 ,that the    
philosophy  of the ,enneads was able to 
enter a world so remote from its spirit1
 and  come to terms with an attitude of 
mind in many respects opposed to that   
of its creator1 is an oblique proof of  
the authenticity of its claim to        
interpret the spiritual experiences of  
man4                             ,,three
 ,,medi,,val ,,mystics                  
,i                        8,,the        
,,mirror ,,of ,,simple ,,souls0         
,i      ,the ,mirror of ,simple         
,souls--a rare work on the spiritual    
life1 of which  manuscripts exist in the
 ,british ,museum1 the ,bodleian1 and   
one or two  other public libraries--has 
so far received little or no attention  
from  students of religious literature4 
,yet it may turn out to possess great   
importance1 as one of the missing links 

in the history of ,english  mysticism3  
for it is a middle-,english translation1
 made at the close of  the fourteenth   
century or beginning of the fifteenth1  
of the lost work  of a ,french          
thirteenth-century mystic4 ,it shows1   
therefore1 that the  common ,view of    
,french medival religion as unmystical  
needs  qualification2 and further       
indicates a path by which the           
contemplative  tradition of western     
,europe reached ,england and affected   
the development  of our native mystical 
school4    ,the ,mirror of ,simple      
,souls1 as we now have it1 is a work of 
nearly  #fj1jjj words in length4 ,so far
 from being simple1 it deals almost     
exclusively with the rarest and most    
sublime aspects of spiritual            
experience4 ,its theme is the theme of  
all mysticism3 the soul's  adventures on
 its way towards union with ,god4 ,it is
 not1 like the  ,melum of ,richard      
,rolle1 or ,revelations of ,julian of   
,norwich1 a  subjective book2 the record

 of personal experiences and actual     
8conversations in heaven40 ,rather it is
 objective and didactic1 a work  of     
geography1 not a history of travel2 an  
advanced text-book of the  contemplative
 life4 ,only from the ardour and        
exactitude of its  descriptions1 its    
strange air of authority1 its defiance  
of pious  convention1 can we gather that
 it is the fruit of first-hand          
experience1  not merely of theological  
study3 though its writer was clearly a  
trained  theologian1 familiar with the  
works of ,st4 ,augustine and ,dionysius 
the  ,areopagite1 whom no mystic of the 
,middle ,ages wholly escaped1 and       
apparently with those of ,st4 ,bernard1 
,hugh and ,richard of ,st4 ,victor1  and
 other medival authorities on the inner 
life4    ,i have said that the ,mirror1 
as we have it1 purports to be the       
translation of an unknown ,french       
treatise4 ,this translation1 so far as  
we can judge from its language1 was     
probably made in the early years of  the

 fifteenth century1 perhaps at the end  
of the fourteenth4 ,its author1  then1  
lived at the close of the golden age of 
,english mysticism3 he was  the         
contemporary of ,julian of ,norwich1 who
 was still living in #adac1 and  of     
,walter ,hilton1 who died in #acie4     
,himself a mystic1 he was no servile    
translator2 rather the eager interpreter
 of the book which he wished to  make   
accessible to his countrymen4 ,our      
manuscripts begin with his  prologue3 an
 ingenuous confession of the            
difficulties of the  undertaking1 his   
own temerity in daring to touch these   
8high divine  matters10 his fear lest   
the book should fall into unsuitable    
hands and  its more extreme teachings be
 misunderstood4 ,it appears from this   
prologue that our version of the ,mirror
 is a second1 or revised  edition2 the  
first having failed to be comprehensible
 to its readers4    ,the character of   
the translator1 as disclosed for us in  
his prologue1 is  itself interesting4   

,clearly he was a contemplative2 and the
 8high  ghostly feelings0 of which he   
treats are to him the strictly practical
  objects of supreme desire1 though he  
modestly disclaims their  possession4   
,he appears before us as a gentle1      
humble1 rather timid soul3  often       
frankly terrified by the daring flights 
of his 8,french book10  which he is at  
pains to explain in a safe sense4 ,one  
would judge him1  from the peeps which  
he gives us into his mind1 a disciple of
 the devout  and homely school of       
,walter ,hilton1 rather than a          
descendant of the  group of advanced    
mystics which produced in the           
mid-fourteenth century  ,the ,cloud of  
,unknowing1 ,the ,pistle of ,private    
,counsel1 and other  profound studies of
 the inner life4 ,these books were      
written under the  strong influence of  
,dionysius the ,areopagite2 whose       
,mystical ,theology1  under the title of
 ,dionise ,hid ,divinite1 was first     
translated into  ,english by some member

 of the school4 ,but to the translator  
of the  ,mirror his author's drastic    
applications of the ,dionysian paradoxes
 of  indifference1 passivity1 and       
nescience as the path to knowledge teem 
with 8hard sayings40 ,his attitude      
towards them is that of reverential     
alarm3 he fears their probable effect on
 the mind of the hasty reader4  ,they   
seem1 as he says in one place1 8fable or
 error or hard to  understand0 until one
 has read them several times4 ,he is    
sure that their  real meaning is        
unexceptionable2 but terribly afraid    
that they will be  misunderstood4       
,here1 then1 is the prologue which sets 
forth his point of view4    8,to the    
worship and laud of the ,trinity be this
 work begun and ended6  ,amen4    8,this
 book1 the which is called ,the ,mirror 
of ,simple ,souls1 ,i1 most  unworthy   
creature and outcast of all other1 many 
years gone wrote it out  of ,french into
 ,english after my lewd cunning2 in hope
 that by the grace  of ,god it should   

profit the devout souls that shall read 
it4 ,this was  forsooth mine intent4    
,but now ,i am stirred to labour it     
again new1 for  because ,i am informed  
that some words thereof have been       
mistaken4  ,therefore1 if ,god will1 ,i 
shall declare these words more openly4  
,for  though ,love declare the points in
 the same book1 it is but shortly       
spoken1 and may be taken otherwise than 
it is meant of them that read it        
suddenly and take no further heed4      
,therefore such words to be twice       
opened it would be more of audience     
understanding3 and so by grace of  our  
,lord good ,god it shall the more profit
 to the auditors4 ,but both the  first  
time and now1 ,i have great dread to do 
it4 ,for the book is of high  divine    
matters and high ghostly feelings1 and  
cunningly and full  mystically it is    
spoken1 and ,i am a creature right      
wretched and unable  to do any such     
work3 poor and naked of ghostly fruits1 
darkened with  sins and defaults1       

environed and wrapped therein oft times1
 the which  taketh away my taste and my 
clear sight2 so that little ,i have of  
ghostly understanding and less of the   
feeling of divine love4 ,therefore  ,i  
may say the words of the prophet3 #8,my 
teeth be nought white to bite of  this  
bread4' ,but ,almighty ,jesu1 ,god that 
feedeth the worm and gives  sight to the
 blind and wit to the unwitty2 give me  
grace of wit and  wisdom in all times   
wisely to govern myself1 following alway
 ,his will1  and send me clear sight and
 true understanding well to do this work
 to  ,his worship and pleasaunce3 profit
 also and increase of grace to ghostly  
lovers that be disposed and called to   
this high election of the freedom  of   
soul40    ,he goes on to the difficulty 
which dogs all writers on mysticism2 the
  impossibility of making mystic truth  
seem real to those who have no          
experience of the mystic life4 ,it has  
been said that only mystics can  write  
about mysticism4 ,it were truer to say  

that only mystics can read  about it4   
8,oh ye that shall read this book6 do ye
 as ,david says in the ,psalter1        
,gustate et videte3 that is to say1     
#8,taste and see4' ,but why trow ye he  
said1 taste first1 e'er than he said    
see8 ,for first a soul must taste1  e'er
 it have very understanding and true    
sight2 sight of ghostly  workings of    
divine love4 ,oh full naked and dark1   
dry and unsavoury be  the speakings and 
writings of these high ghostly feelings 
of the love of  ,god to them that have  
not tasted the sweetness thereof4 ,but  
when a soul  is touched with grace1 by  
which she has tasted somewhat of the    
sweetness  of this divine fruition1 and 
begins to wade1 and draweth the draughts
 to  her-ward1 then it savours the soul 
so sweetly that she desires greatly  to 
have of it more and more1 and pursueth  
thereafter4 ,and then the soul  is glad 
and joyful to hear and to read of all   
thing that pertains to  this high       
feeling of the workings of divine love1 

in nourishing and  increasing her love  
and devotion to the will and pleasing of
 ,him that  she loves1 ,god ,christ     
,jesu4 ,thus she enters and walks in the
 way of  illumination1 that she might be
 taught into the ghostly influences of  
the divine work of ,god1 there to be    
drowned in the high flood1 and oned  to 
,god by ravishing of love1 by which she 
is all one spirit with her  ,spouse4    
,therefore to these souls that be       
disposed to these high feelings  ,love  
has made of him this book in fulfilling 
of their desire40    ,but even for those
 who have been initiated into this way  
of  illumination1 the translator        
acknowledges that many things in the    
,mirror are difficult and obscure3      
8often he leaveth the nut and the       
kernel within the shell unbroken1 that  
is to say1 that ,love in this book      
leaves to souls the touches of his      
divine works privily hid under dark     
speech1 for they should taste the deeper
 the draughts of his love and  drink2   

and also to make them have the more     
clear insight in divine  understandings 
to divine love1 and declare himself40   
,therefore he has  added his own        
explanations to the more difficult      
passages4 8,where  meseems most need ,i 
will write more words thereto in manner 
of gloss  after my simple cunning as    
meseems best4 ,and in these few places  
that ,i  put in more than ,i find       
written ,i will begin with the first    
letter of my  name ,m4 and end with this
 letter ,n4 the first of my surname40   
,he ends with a gentle complaint of the 
badness of the text from which he       
worked1 and the confession that he has  
allowed himself a certain amount  of    
editorial liberty4 8,the ,french book   
that ,i shall write after is evil       
written1 and in some places for default 
of words and syllables the  reason is   
away4 ,also in translating of ,french   
some words need to be  changed1 or it   
will fare ungoodly1 not according to the
 sentence4  ,wherefore ,i will follow   

the sentence according to the matter1 as
 near as  ,god will give me grace2      
obeying me ever to the correction of    
,holy ,kirk1  praying ghostly livers and
 clerks that they will vouchsafe to     
correct  and amend there that ,i do     
amiss40    ,so much for ,m4,n41 the     
,english mystic4 ,the prologue of the   
author1 which  comes next1 tells us all 
that we know about the anonymous ,french
 writer  of the book4 ,this person was  
of a very different temper from ,m4,n4  
,as a  ,catholic scholar has observed of
 ,st4 ,teresa1 8,l'auteur ne se faisait 
pas  illusion sur le mrite de son uvre40
 ,like ,teresa1 he believed himself  to 
have written under immediate divine     
inspiration2 a fact which  somewhat     
excuses his complacency in regard to the
 result4 ,this is a  common claim with  
the mystics1 in whom subconscious       
cerebration is  always exceptionally    
active1 and whose writings often exhibit
 an  automatic and involuntary          
character1 seeming to them the work of  

another  mind4 ,jacob ,boehme1 ,madame  
,guyon1 and ,blake are obvious cases in 
point4  ,the author of the ,mirror1     
however1 was anxious that his claim to  
inspiration should be endorsed4 ,he     
therefore--most fortunately for         
us--sent his work to various 8learned   
clerks10 persons of importance in  the  
theological world1 and chronicles their 
appreciatory remarks in the  prologue2  
which becomes in his hands a form of    
medival  8advance-notice40 ,it will be  
observed that his critics share the     
opinion  of ,m4,n41 that though full of 
8ghostly cunning0 this is a dangerous   
work  to put into the hands of the plain
 man4    ,of these critics 8,the first  
was a ,friar ,minor of great name1 of   
life of  perfection4 ,men called him    
,friar ,john of ,querayne4444 ,he said  
soothly  that this book is made by the  
,holy ,ghost4 ,and though all the clerks
 of  the world heard it1 but if they    
understand it1 that is to say1 but if   
they have high ghostly feelings and this

 same working1 they shall nought  wit   
what it means4 ,and he prayed for the   
love of ,god that it be wisely  kept3   
and that but few should see it4 ,and he 
said thus1 that it was so  high that    
himself might not understand it4 ,and   
after him a monk of  ,cisetyns ,citeaux 
read it1 that hight ,dan ,frank1        
,chantor of the ,abbey  of ,viliers3 and
 he said that it proved well by the     
,scripture that it is  all truth that   
this book says4 ,and after him read it a
 ,master of  ,divinity1 that hight      
,master ,godfrey of ,fountaynes3 and he 
blamed it  nought1 no more than did the 
other4 ,but he said thus1 that he       
counselled  nought sic that few should  
see it2 and for this cause1 for they    
might leave their own working and follow
 this calling1 to the which they  should
 never come1 and so they might deceive  
themselves1 for it is made  of a spirit 
so strong and so cutting1 that there be 
but few such or  none4444 ,for the peace
 of auditors was this proved1 and for   

your peace  we say it to you4 ,for this 
seed should bear holy fruit to them that
 hear  it and worthy be40    ,of the    
three persons here mentioned1 ,friar    
,john and ,dan ,frank still  remain     
unidentified3 but ,godfrey of           
,fountaynes is almost certainly the     
,master of ,divinity1 called ,doctor    
,venerandus1 who was a prominent member 
of the ,university of ,paris at the end 
of the thirteenth century4 ,he was  at  
the height of his fame about #abhj-abij1
 and died about #acjf4 8,grande  lumen  
studii magister ,godefridum de          
,fontanis10 he is called in a letter  of
 #acja4 ,in the great war between       
,friars and ,seculars which divided the 
,university at the end of the thirteenth
 century1 this ,godfrey was one of  the 
bitterest opponents of the ,mendicant   
,orders4 ,he wrote against them1  and   
attacked them in the ,synod of ,paris in
 #abhc4 ,we see therefore that  the     
author of the ,mirror1 in placing       
,godfrey's testimonial beside that  of  

,friar ,john1 secured with a cunning    
other than ghostly a friend in  each of 
the opposing camps4    ,there is1       
however1 one obvious and significant    
omission in this list of  patrons4      
,there is no name which emanates        
directly from the great school  of ,st4 
,thomas ,aquinas2 supreme at that moment
 in the ,university1 and the  custodian 
of orthodox philosophy4 ,there is1      
indeed1 little trace of  scholastic     
influence in the ,mirror1 which is far  
more in harmony with  the mystical      
theology favoured by ,st4 ,bonaventura1 
and continued during  the following     
century in the ,franciscan schools3 a   
fact which explains  at once the guarded
 approbation of ,friar ,john1 and the   
absence of  ,dominican patronage4 ,in   
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 
the  ,franciscans were eager students of
 and commentators on ,dionysius the     
,areopagite3 and the order which        
produced and upheld the hardy           
speculations of ,duns ,scotus might well

 look with indulgence on the most       
extravagant statements of ,the ,mirror  
of ,simple ,souls4    ,the original     
version of this book1 then1 was probably
 written in the  last quarter of the    
thirteenth century1 and certainly before
 #acjf4 ,its  writer was therefore the  
contemporary of ,eckhart and ,jacopone  
da ,todi1  the great mystical lights of 
the ,preaching and the ,minor ,friars4  
,he was  no provincial recluse1 but a   
person in touch with the intellectual   
life  of his time4 ,he had connections  
with the ,university of ,paris1 but the 
names of his patrons prove him to have  
been neither a member nor an  enemy of  
the ,mendicant ,orders4 ,it is probable 
that he was a monk1  possible that he   
was a ,carthusian2 a strictly           
contemplative order  celebrated for its 
mystical leanings1 which produced in the
 later ,middle  ,ages many students of  
the ,dionysian writings1 and many works 
upon  contemplation4 ,he was widely     
read1 and many parallels could be       

established between his doctrines and   
the classics of ,christian  mysticism4  
,his lost book is so far our only       
evidence that abstruse prose  treatises 
of this kind were already written in the
 vernacular2 and this  alone gives it   
great interest from the literary point  
of view4 ,he was1  so far as we know1   
the first ,french mystic to write in    
,french2 the  forerunner of ,st4        
,francis de ,sales1 of ,madame ,guyon1  
of ,malaval4 ,if we  except the         
semi-mystical writings of ,gerson1 we   
must wait till the  seventeenth century 
to provide him with a worthy successor4 
,,ii      ,we come next to the manner   
and content of the book4 ,the manner is 
that  of a dramatic dialogue3 an unusual
 if not unique form for works of this   
kind4 ,it consists of a debate--often a 
lively debate--between ,love1 the       
,soul1 ,reason1 and a few intervening   
characters1 of whom ,pure ,courtesy  and
 ,discretion are the chief4 ,the student
 will at once be reminded of  the       

,romaunt de la ,rose3 but he will have  
difficulty in matching this  form within
 the confines of ascetic literature4    
,duologues1 such as those  in the ,third
 ,book of the ,imitatio1 or ,suso's     
conversations with  ,eternal ,wisdom1   
are not uncommon3 but ,i know of no     
other instance of an  elaborate mystical
 doctrine presented through the mouths  
of a group of  symbolic personages4     
,the ,soul is naturally that of the     
author4 ,lady ,love is his instructress1
  and all the most beautiful passages   
are given to her4 ,reason's rle is      
interrogatory4 ,he catechises ,love     
sharply though respectfully1 and        
represents the invariable attitude of   
common sense confronted by the  claims  
of mysticism4 ,sometimes he goes too    
far2 ,love or the ,soul is  driven to   
put him in his place4 8,oh1             
understanding of ,reason60 says this    
soul noughted1 8what thou hast of       
rudeness6 ,thou takest the shell or the 
chaff and leavest the kernel or the     

grain4 ,thine understanding is so  low1 
that thou mayst not so highly reach as  
them behoves that well would  have      
understanding of the ,being that we     
speak of40 ,in general1 however1  the   
figure of ,reason is used with great art
 to elucidate the hard  sayings of      
,love4 ,the alert intelligence of the   
writer notes all possible  objections to
 his doctrine1 and states and refutes   
them out of the  mouths of his          
characters4 8,o ,lady ,love1 what is    
this that you say80 says  the shocked   
voice of ,reason whenever the argument  
becomes paradoxical or  abstruse4       
8,reason10 says ,love to this1 8,i will 
answer for the profit of  them for whom 
thou makest to us this piteous request4 
,reason10 says  ,love1 8where be these  
double words that thou prayest me to    
discuss 444  it is well asked1 and ,i   
will10 says ,love1 8answer thee to all  
thy  asking40    ,what1 then1 is the    
doctrine which these discussions put    
before us8 ,it is  the doctrine of the  

soul's possible ascent from illusion to 
reality1  from separateness to union    
with the ,divine3 the primal creed of   
all  mysticism1 here stated in its most 
extreme form1 and pressed to its        
logical conclusion4 ,it offers1 not a   
chart of the way to a distant  heaven of
 beatitude and recompense1 but          
initiation into that state of  being    
wherein we find our heaven here and now4
 8,i took ,jesus for my  heaven10 said  
,julian of ,norwich4 ,so the writer of  
the ,mirror3  8,paradise is no other    
thing than ,god ,himself 444 why was the
 thief in  ,paradise anon as the soul   
was departed from his body8444 ,he saw  
,god1  that is ,paradise2 for other     
thing is not ,paradise than to see ,god4
 ,and  this doth she the soul in sooth  
at all times that she is uncumbered of  
herself40 ,the super-essential and      
unknowable ,godhead1 whose nature is    
but partially revealed in the ,blessed  
,trinity1 is the only substance of      
reality1 and the only satisfaction of   

the soul's desire4 8,though this  soul  
had all the knowledge1 love and learning
 that ever was given1 or  shall be      
given1 of the ,divine ,trinity1 it      
should be naught as in regard  of that  
that she loves and shall love 444 for   
there is no other ,god but  ,he that    
none may know1 which may not be known40 
,the history of human  transcendence is 
the history of the soul's transmutation 
to that  condition of love in which it  
is1 as the author is not afraid to say1 
deified2 and so merged in the ,reality  
from which it came forth1 that it  is no
 longer aware of its own separate       
experience but is 8all one spirit  with 
its ,spouse40    8,i am ,god10 says     
,love1 8for ,love is ,god and ,god is   
,love4 ,and this soul  is ,god by       
condition of love1 and ,i am ,god by    
nature divine4 ,and this is  hers by    
right-wiseness of love4 ,so that this   
,precious1 loved of me1 is  learned and 
led by me out of herself1 for she is    
turned to me1 in me40    ,this process  

is set forth by the writer of the       
,mirror under three  chief heads3 those 
of ,liberty as the aim1 the ,will as the
 agent1 and  ,surrender as the method of
 the spiritual quest4    ,in the        
conception of ,liberty as the supreme   
aim of the spiritual life we  have what 
is perhaps the most original feature of 
his work3 though it is  a conception    
which is of course implicit in the ,new 
,testament4 ,where  most contemplatives 
lay emphasis on the glad servitude of   
love1 and use  the symbols of wedlock to
 express the willing subjugation of the 
soul to  its ,divine ,bridegroom1 the   
key of this book is the idea of         
spiritual  freedom2 and that freedom as 
consisting in the liberation of man's   
will  from finite desires that it may   
rejoin and lose itself within the ,will 
of the ,infinite4 ,we are to learn1 it  
says in the first chapter1  something of
 8the pure love1 of the noble love1 and 
of the high love of  the free soul2 and 
how the ,holy ,ghost has ,his sail in   

his ship40 ,with  our 8inward subtle    
understanding0--that spiritual intuition
 which is the  instrument of all real   
knowledge--we are to follow its progress
 from the  bondage of desire to the     
point at which1 purged of self-will1    
perfected  in meekness and love1        
8noughted and abased10 it reaches the   
8,seventh  ,estate of ,grace10 and      
participates in the perfect liberty of  
,pure ,being1  wherein 8the soul has    
fulhead of perception by divine fruition
 in life  of peace40 8,not-willing0 is  
the secret of liberation1 and lord of   
our  true life4 8,and this not-willing  
sows in souls the ,divine ,seed1        
fulfilled of the divine will of ,god4   
,this seed may never fail1 but few      
souls dispose them to receive this      
seed40 ,though this emancipation is     
only attained by the utter surrender of 
all personal desire and  achievement1   
yet throughout the book the dominant    
note is of glad  liberation1 of flying1 
of a rapturous ascent4 ,as we read1 we  

seem to  hear from every page 8the      
thunder of new wings40 ,the free soul is
  8six-winged like the seraphim40 ,she  
is 8the eagle that flies high3 so  right
 high and yet more high than does any   
other bird2 for she is  feathered with  
fine love1 and she beholds above other  
the beauty of the  sun1 and the beams   
and the brightness of the sun4 ,dame    
,nature10 says  she1 8,i take leave of  
you3 ,love is me nigh1 that holds me    
free of him  against all without dread4 
,then10 says ,love1 8she afraies her    
nought for  tribulation1 nor stints for 
consolation40    ,it is clear to the    
writer that only certain persons are    
capable of this  complete freedom in    
love3 and it is to them--the natural    
mystics1 the  people with a genius for  
reality--that his book is addressed4    
,they are  8of that lineage that be     
folks royal10 8called without fail of   
the  ,divine goodness10 and it is on    
their spiritual intuition1 their        
transcendent knowledge1 that 8all ,holy 

,church is founded02 a suspicious       
statement in the eyes of orthodox       
theology4 ,they possess1 or are able to 
possess1 the incommunicable gift of     
spiritual vision4    8,this gift is     
given10 says ,love1 8sometimes in a     
moment of time4 ,who  that has it1 keep 
it3 for it is the most perfect gift that
 ,god gives to  creature40 ,so removed  
is the resulting perception of reality  
from human  wisdom that no one can teach
 the illuminated soul anything4 8,now   
for  ,god10 says ,reason1 8,lady ,love1 
say what is this to say8 ,this is to    
say10  says ,love1 8that this soul is of
 so great knowing that though she had   
all the knowing of all creatures that   
ever were1 be or shall be1 she  would   
think it naught in regard of that that  
she loves40 ,yet1 true to  ,neoplatonic 
principles1 she is aware that her       
highest perceptions are  nothing1 and   
her 8right great and high words0 but    
8gabbynge0 or idle  talk1 compared with 
the ineffable reality4 ,she 8wots all   

and wots  naught10 and is content it    
should be so4 8,he only is my ,god that 
none  can one word of say1 nor all they 
of ,paradise one only point attain nor  
understand1 for all the knowing that    
they have of ,him40    ,but though the  
,transcendent ,god is unknowable1 the   
free soul1 in  singular contradiction to
 contemporary asceticism1 finds ,him    
everywhere  immanent in the world4 8,and
 for this1 that ,he is all in all1 this 
soul1  says ,love1 finds ,him over all4 
,so that for this all things are to this
  soul covetable1 for she nor finds     
anything but she finds ,god40 ,so       
,meister ,eckhart3 8,to it all creatures
 are pure to enjoy2 for it enjoyeth  all
 creatures in ,god and ,god in all      
creatures40    ,the preliminary         
discipline of the mystic1 the hard      
acquirement of that  8very charity0     
which is 8the perfection of virtues0 and
 8dwelleth always  in ,god's sight 444  
obeying to nothing that is made but to  
love0 is  little dwelt on by the author 

of the ,mirror2 who did not write for   
beginners in the contemplative life1 but
 for the mature soul whose love  has    
made him free1 and who therefore needs  
8nor masses nor sermons nor  fasting nor
 orisons1 and gives to nature all that  
he asks1 without  grudging of           
conscience0--a practical application of 
,st4 ,augustine's  dangerous saying1    
8,love1 and do what you like40 ,m4,n41  
however1  interpolates a prudent        
reminder that 8by this way and by sharp 
contricion souls must go1 or than they  
come to these divine usages40    ,the   
author's own instructions are really    
reducible to one point3 the  complete   
and loving surrender of the individual  
will to the ,primal  ,will--detachment1 
or1 as he calls it1 the 8noughting0 of  
the soul4 ,this  is that 8peace of      
charity in life noughted10 which        
constitutes the  higher life of love2 in
 contrast to the active life of virtue1 
struggling to keep unbroken its attitude
 of charity to ,god and man4 ,in  it the

 soul dwells1 as do the ,seraphim1      
within the divine atmosphere1  and has  
direct access to the sources of its     
life4 8,this is the proper  being of    
,seraphim3 there is nought mediate      
between their love and the  ,divine     
,love2 they have always its tidings     
without means4 ,so hath this  soul1 that
 seeks not the divine science amongst   
the masters of the  world1 but the world
 and herself inwardly despises4 ,ah1    
,god6 what great  difference it is      
between a gift given by means1 of the   
,loved to the  ,lover1 and the gift     
given without means of the ,loved to the
 ,lover4 ,this  book says sooth of this 
soul4 ,it says she hath six wings as    
have the  ,seraphim4 ,with two she      
covers the face of our ,lord3 that is to
 say1 the  more knowledge this soul hath
 of the ,divine ,goodness the more she  
knows  that she knows not the amount of 
a mote as in regard to ,his ,goodness1  
the which is not comprehended but of    
,himself4 ,and with two she covers  ,his

 feet3 this is to say1 the more that    
this soul hath knowledge of the         
sufferance that ,jesu ,christ suffered  
for us1 the more perfectly she  knows   
that she knows naught1 as in regard of  
it that ,he suffered for us1  the which 
is not known but of ,him4 ,and with two 
she flies1 and so dwells  in standing   
and sitting3 this is to say1 that all   
she covets and loves  and prizes1 it is 
the ,divine ,goodness4 ,these be the    
wings that she flies  with1 and so      
dwells in standing1 for she is alway in 
the sight of ,god3  and sitting1 for she
 dwells alway in the ,divine ,will4     
,whereof should  this soul have dread1  
though she be in the world8 ,an the     
world1 the  flesh1 and our ,enemy the   
,fiend1 and the four elements1 the birds
 of the  air and the beasts of the      
field1 tormented her and despised her   
and  devoured her if it might so be1    
what might she lose if ,god dwelled with
  her8 ,oh1 is he not ,almightiful8     
,yea1 without doubt3 ,he is all might1  

all  wisdom and all goodness1 our       
,father and ,brother and our true       
,friend40    8,this soul10 says ,love1  
8can no more speak of ,god2 for she is  
noughted  to all outward desires1 and of
 all the affections of the spirit4 ,so  
that  what this soul does1 she does it  
by usage of good custom1 and by         
commandment of ,holy ,church1 without   
any desire3 for will is dead1 that  gave
 her desire4444 ,who that asks these    
free souls1 sure and peaceful1  if they 
would be in purgatory1 they say nay4 ,if
 they would living be  certified of     
their salvation1 they say nay4 ,eh1 what
 would they8 ,they  have nothing of     
will1 this for to will2 and if they     
willed1 they should  descend from ,love3
 for ,he it is that hath their will4444 
,thus departs  the soul from her will   
and the will departs from this soul1 so 
she again  puts it and gives and yields 
it in ,god where it was first40 ,such a 
doctrine easily slides into the complete
 passivity or 8holy  indifference0 which

 was the ideal of the seventeenth       
century ,quietists3  and the ,mirror    
certainly does contain passages which1  
if taken alone1  would convict their    
author of a fondness for this heresy4   
8,i certify  thee that these souls that 
fine love leads1 they have as lief shame
 as  worship1 and worship as shame2 and 
poverty as riches and riches as         
poverty2 and torments of ,god and of    
,his creatures as comforts of ,god and  
of ,his creatures2 and to be hated as   
loved1 and loved as hated2 and hell  as 
paradise and paradise as hell 444 the   
free soul has no will to will  or       
unwill1 but only to will the will of    
,god and suffer in peace ,his  divine   
ordinance40    ,nevertheless1 other     
passages make it clear that active      
surrender1 not  mere passivity is the   
aim1 and that the 8noughting0 of the    
self within  the ,all is a loving       
sacrifice1 consistent with its          
achievement of  completest happiness4   
8,true love has but only one intent2 and

 that is1  that she might alway love    
truly1 for of the love of her ,lover has
 she no  doubt1 that ,he does what best 
is4 ,and she follows this3 that she does
  that that she ought to do4 ,and she   
wills nought but one thing2 and that    
is1 that the ,will of ,god be alway in  
her done4444 ,this soul10 says ,love1   
8swims in the sea of joy1 that is1 in   
the sea of delights1 streaming of       
divine influences4 ,she feels no joy1   
for she herself is joy4 ,she swims  and 
drenches in joy1 for she lives in joy   
without feeling any joy4 ,so is  joy in 
her1 that she herself is joy1 by the    
virtue of joy that has  merged her in   
,him4 ,and so is the will of the ,loved 
and the will of this  soul turned into  
one as fire and flame40    ,the teaching
 of the writer seems to be1 that so long
 as the will is  consciously active and 
desirous--however good its actions or   
desires--its  owner cannot be liberated 
from the illusions and anxieties of the 
personal life4 ,what he needs1 if he did

 but know it1 is reunion with  that     
fontal life from which he came1 to which
 he is perpetually drawn by  love4 ,here
 his separate will finds its meaning1   
and is not annihilated  but absorbed4   
8,the understanding1 that gives light1  
shows to the soul  the thing that she   
loves4 ,and the soul that receives by   
light of  understanding the nighing and 
the knitting by accord of union in      
plenteous love1 sees the ,being1 where  
that she holds to have her seat2        
receiving gladly the light of knowing   
that brings her tidings of love4  ,and  
then she would become so1 that she had  
but one will and love2 and  that is1 the
 only will of ,him that she loves40     
,the detached soul who is thus 8noughted
 in ,god0 enjoys a freedom from  stress1
 an immunity from disappointment        
incredible to those who still  live the 
individual life4 8,now shall ,i say to  
you what they be that sit  in the       
mountain above the wind and the rain8   
,these be they that have in  earth      

neither shame nor worship1 nor dread of 
anything that befalls40  ,she has1      
moreover1 passed beyond that moral      
conflict which arises from  the discord 
between conscience and desire1 and is   
the essential  character of the active  
life2 for she has within her 8the       
,master of  ,virtues1 that is called    
,divine ,love1 that has her merged in   
them all and  to ,him united40 ,thus she
 is able to say1 8,virtues1 ,i take     
leave of you  for evermore4 ,now shall  
my heart be more free and more in peace 
than it  has been4 ,forsooth1 ,i wot    
well your service is too travaillous4   
,sometime  ,i laid my heart in you      
without any dissevering3 ye wot well    
this4 ,i was  in all thing to you       
obedient4 ,o1 ,i was then your servant3 
but now ,i am  delivered out of your    
thralldom40    ,m4,n4 is quick to gloss 
this dangerous declaration3 8,i am      
stirred here to  say more to the matter 
444 when a soul gives her to perfection1
 she  labours busily day and night to   

get virtues by counsel of reason1 and   
strives with vices at every point1 at   
every word and deed 444 thus the        
virtues be mistresses and every virtue  
makes her to war with her  contrary4444 
,but so long one may bite on the bitter 
bark of the nut that  at last he shall  
come to the sweet kernel4 ,right so1    
ghostly to  understand1 it fares with   
these souls that be come to             
peacefulness4 ,they  have so long       
striven with vices and wrought by       
virtues that they be come  to the nut's 
kernel1 that is to say1 to the love of  
,god1 which is  sweetness4 ,and when the
 soul has deeply tasted this love 444   
then is she  mistress and lady over the 
virtues1 for she has them all within    
herself  444 and then this soul takes   
leave of virtues1 as of thralldom and   
painful travail 444 and now she is lady 
and sovereign and they be  subjects40   
,in the technical language of mysticism 
she has passed from the active to  the  
contemplative life1 the crucial phase in

 the evolution of man's  transcendental 
consciousness4 ,this evolution is       
described for us with  great            
psychological exactness in the ,mirror1 
under the traditional  formula of the   
8,states0 of the soul's ascent4 ,since  
few mystics have  escaped the mania for 
significant numbers1 one is not         
surprised to find  seven steps on this  
8steep stairway of love40 8,i am        
called10 says this  soul1 8of the       
touchings of ,love1 something to say of 
the ,seven ,estates  that we call       
beings3 for so it is4 ,and these be the 
degrees by which man  climbs from the   
valley1 to the top of the mountain that 
is so several  apart that it sees but   
,god40    8,the ,first ,estate is1 ,that
 a soul is touched of ,god by grace and 
dissevered from sin3 and1 as to her     
power1 in intention to keep the         
commandments of ,god40 ,this is1 of     
course1 equivalent to the conversion  or
 change of heart which begins the       
spiritual life4    8,the ,second is1    

that a soul hold what ,god counsels to  
,his special  lovers1 passing that what 
he commands4 ,and he is no good lover   
that  demenes him not to fulfill all    
that the which he wist might best please
  to his ,beloved4    8,the ,third is1  
that a soul holds the affection of love 
of works of  perfection1 by which her   
spirit is ripened by desires3 taking the
 love  of these works to multiply in    
her4 ,and what does the subtlety of her 
thought1 but makes it seem to the       
understanding of her humble affection1  
that she cannot make offering to her    
,love that might comfort her1 but of    
thing that ,he loves3 for other gift is 
not prized in love4    8,the ,fourth is 
that a soul is drawn by highness of love
 into delight of  thought by meditation1
 and relinquishes all labours outward1  
and  obedience to others1 by highness of
 love in contemplation4 ,then the soul  
is dangerous1 noble and delicious3 in   
which she may not suffer that  anything 
her touch but the touchings of pure     

delight of love1 in the  which she is   
singularly gladsome and jolly4 ,what    
marvel is it if this  soul be upheld and
 updrawed thus graciously8 ,love makes  
her all drunken1  that suffers her not  
to attend but to ,him40 ,these four     
stages have  brought the self to the    
complete practice of the contemplative  
life1 and  prepared the way for that    
second great phase in the achievement of
  reality which consists in the         
surrender of the separate will4    8,the
 ,fifth is1 that a soul beholds what    
,god is1 and ,his ,goodness1 by  ,divine
 ,light4 ,she sees the ,will1 by the    
spreading illumination of ,divine       
,light1 the which light gives her the   
will again to put in ,god this will2    
which she may not without this light    
yield1 that may not her profit  unless  
she departs from her own will4 ,thus    
departs the soul from her  will1 and the
 will departs from this soul1 so she    
again puts it and  gives and yields it  
in ,god1 where it was first4    8,now is

 this soul fallen of love into nought1  
without the which nought1  she may not  
all be4 ,the which falling is so        
perfectly fallen1 if she be  fallen     
aright1 that the soul may not arise out 
of this deepness1 nor she  ought not to 
do it4 ,within she ought to dwell4 ,and 
then leaves the soul  pride and play1   
for the spirit has become bitter1 that  
suffers her no  more to be playing nor  
jolly2 for the spirit is departed from  
her that  made her oft love in the      
highness of contemplation1 and in the   
fourth  estate fierce and dangerous40   
,here the spirit of the mystic          
experiences  that terrible and          
characteristic reaction from the exalted
 joys of  contemplation which is        
sometimes called the 8mystic death0 or  
8dark  night of the soul10 and destroys 
in it the last roots of selfhood4 ,in   
this stage she completes the abandonment
 or 8self-noughting0 which  initiate her
 into that which the ,german mystics    
called 8the ,upper ,school  of the ,holy

 ,spirit40 ,thence she passes to the    
,sixth ,estate1 of union  with the      
,divine life1 in so far as it can be    
achieved by those still in  the flesh4  
,the ,seventh is that indescribable     
state of 8glory0 or  super-essential    
life1 which constitutes the beatific    
vision of the  ,saints1 known only of   
those that 8be fallen of love into this 
being40    8,the ,sixth is1 that a soul 
sees neither her nought by deepness of  
meekness1 nor ,god by highful bounty4   
,but ,god sees it in her of ,his        
,divine ,majesty that illuminated her of
 ,him4 ,so that she sees that none  is1 
but ,god ,himself4 ,and then is a soul  
in the ,sixth ,estate of all  things    
made free1 pure and illuminated4 ,not   
glorified1 for gloryfying is  in the    
,seventh ,estate1 that we shall have in 
glory that none can speak  of4 ,but1    
pure and clarified1 she sees nor ,god   
nor herself3 but ,god sees  this of     
,him1 in her1 for her1 withouten her1   
that shows her that there  is none but  

,he4 ,nay1 she knows but ,him1 nor she  
loves but ,him1 nor she  praises but    
,him1 for there is but ,he4 ,and the    
,seventh keeps ,he within  ,him1 for to 
give us in everlasting glory4 ,if we wit
 it not now1 we shall  wit it when the  
body our soul leaves40                  
,,ii                       ,,the        
,,blessed ,,angela ,,of ,,foligno       
,it is a curious fact that in the modern
 revival of interest in the  ,franciscan
 movement1 little attention has been    
paid to the life and  works of ,angela  
of ,foligno4 ,yet1 excepting only ,st4  
,bonaventura1 this  woman has probably  
exerted a more enduring1 more           
far-reaching influence  than any other  
,franciscan of the century which        
followed the ,founder's  death4 ,in     
saying this1 ,i do not forget the claims
 of such great  ,franciscans as ,john of
 ,parma or ,jacopone da ,todi1 nor yet  
of ,st4 ,clare1  the ,founder of the    
,second ,order4 ,but the influence of   
,john of ,parma was  comparatively      

short-lived2 and that of ,jacopone's    
superb poetry1 though  great in ,italy1 
did not go beyond it4 ,his ecstasies    
could not be  translated into other     
tongues4 ,as to ,st4 ,clare1 with whom  
the feminine  aspect of the ,franciscan 
ideal first showed itself1 her vocation 
was to  the foundation of a             
contemplative order1 which should       
support by its  heavenly correspondences
 the active and missionary life of the  
,franciscan friars4 ,the business of the
 ,second ,order is the essential        
woman's business1 of keeping the fire of
 love alight upon the hearth4  ,its     
influence1 therefore1 was and is almost 
entirely confined within the  boundaries
 of the spiritual family4 ,the deepest  
wells of ,franciscan  mysticism are     
there hidden1 and must always be hidden1
 from the outer  world4    ,but the     
vocation of ,angela of ,foligno was1 in 
a sense1 more thoroughly  ,franciscan   
than this1 more broadly human1 more     
complete4 ,like that of  ,st4 ,catherine

 of ,genoa1 a mystic whom she resembles 
in certain respects1  it was a twofold  
vocation3 to the eternal and to the     
temporal1 to the  divine and to the     
human4 ,she was a great contemplative1  
but she was also  an exceedingly        
successful teacher of the secrets of the
 spiritual life3  one of the great line 
of artist-mediators between the infinite
 and the  human mind4    ,we know       
nothing of ,st4 ,clare's mystical       
experience4 ,we know of ,angela's  all  
that she was able to express2 and she   
tried hard1 though for want of  language
 she confesses that she often failed4   
,this passionate1 faulty1  very human   
woman1 who came to the ,mystic ,way from
 a disorderly life1 and  was hampered by
 a natural egotism which she transmuted1
 it is true1 but  never perhaps really  
killed1 has earned the great title of   
8,mistress of  ,theologians40 ,she      
penetrated to that world of realities   
which the  diagrams of theology1 like   
the temple built with hands1 foreshadow 

upon  earth4 ,her book of visions and   
revelations1 now so little read1        
profoundly affected the religious life  
of ,europe4 ,during the sixteenth  and  
the seventeenth century we often come   
upon its traces in ,england and  in     
,france1 as well as in ,italy itself2   
for in this period it was one of  the   
most widely circulated religious works4 
,it exerted great influence  on ,st4    
,francis de ,sales1 and also upon the   
,french ,quietists4 ,it is  quoted as an
 authority by ,madame ,guyon1 ,poiret1  
and ,malaval2 and through  the great    
,english ,benedictine1 ,augustine       
,baker1 and his pupil1 ,gertrude  ,more1
 it has left its mark on the ,english   
,catholic mysticism of the  seventeenth 
century4    ,this book is practically   
our only trustworthy source for the     
facts of  ,angela's inner and outer     
life4 ,it was written in ,latin1 at her 
dictation1 by her ,franciscan confessor 
,fra ,arnaldo2 at some date  subsequent 
to #abid1 since it dates a past event by

 the pontificate of  ,celestine ,v4 ,it 
was not printed till the sixteenth      
century1 when first  an ,italian        
translation1 and then the ,latin text   
appeared4 ,both soon  became popular2   
the translation being one of the first  
,italian books of  devotion to appear in
 the vulgar tongue4 ,it is divided into 
three parts1  which must be read in     
relation with one another4 ,first we    
have the  history of ,angela's          
conversion1 penitence1 and slow1        
difficult education  in the mystic way3 
a detailed psychological document of    
much interest4  ,secondly we have1      
grouped together1 all the visions and   
revelations  which she received in that 
way4 ,unfortunately ,fra ,arnaldo has   
seen fit  to arrange these according to 
their subjects1 and not according to the
  order in which they were experienced2 
thereby increasing their edifying       
character at the expense of their       
scientific worth4 ,last comes 8the      
evangelical doctrine of the ,blessed    

,angela02 a treatise largely made up  of
 letters addressed to her disciples1    
but1 like the writings of ,st4  ,teresa1
 full of illuminating autobiographical  
touches4    ,here1 then1 we have in one 
volume three aspects of human life as   
seen  within the limits of one          
personality3 the biographical facts1 the
  supernal vision1 and the ordered      
conclusions drawn from those facts and  
that vision1 for the instruction of     
other men4 ,all are of value to us in   
our study of her personality2 for we    
shall never understand her as a  mystic 
unless we try first to understand her as
 a human creature4    ,first as to her  
outward life4 ,angela was born of a     
prosperous ,umbrian  family in #abdh2   
twenty-two years after the death of ,st4
 ,francis1  seventeen years before the  
birth of ,dante4 ,she was one year      
younger than  ,st4 ,margaret of         
,cortona1 the other great ,franciscan   
penitent and  contemplative4 ,her life1 
covering the second half of the         

thirteenth  century1 was roughly        
contemporary with that of ,jacopone da  
,todi1 who was  twenty years her senior2
 and with those 8spiritual0 friars1 such
 as  ,conrad of ,offida and ,john of ,la
 ,verna1 who are commemorated in the    
8,little ,flowers40 ,the period1 in     
,italy1 was one of contrasted worldly   
luxury and spiritual enthusiasm1 and    
,angela's life-history appears to  have 
included experience of both extremes4   
,she married when very young  and had   
children1 but lived a thoroughly worldly
 if not an actually  immoral life3      
posing before society as an excellent   
,christian1 but  actually denying       
herself few indulgences4 ,we learn from 
the list of sins  of which she          
afterwards accused herself1 that these  
8infirmities and  diseases0 had included
 the washing of her face1 the curling1  
braiding1  washing1 combing1 and        
anointing of her hair1 wearing of       
8needless vain  and curious clothes10   
and laced shoes adorned with cut        

leather4 ,she had  also incurred the    
risk of hell by 8vain running and       
dancing and walking  about for          
pleasure10 and even by enjoying the     
scent of flowers3 a crime  which ,st4   
,francis could hardly have condemned4   
,remembering the intensely  ascetic tone
 of ,franciscan penitence and the       
puritan ideals of the  ,spiritual       
zealots1 we need not take these         
confessions too seriously1 or  interpret
 in the worst sense the 8embraces1      
touches1 and other evil  deeds0 which   
she deplores4 ,nevertheless1 the        
unregenerate ,angela in  early womanhood
 was not the kind of person whom one    
would pick out as  likely to develop    
into a saint4 ,she makes it quite clear 
to us that she  was a vain1             
self-important1 and hypocritical little 
egotist1 8painted in  false colours1 a  
dissembler within and without40         
,probably1 like many  women of the      
world1 a nominal ,tertiary1 she loved to
 make a pious  impression1 but loved    

comfort even more4 8,i diligently made  
an outward  show of being poor1 but     
caused many sheets and coverings to be  
put down  where ,i slept1 and taken up  
in the morning so that none might see   
them40  ,there was an offensive         
sanctimoniousness about her too4        
8,during the  whole of my life10 she    
says frankly1 8,i have studied how that 
,i might  obtain the fame of sanctity40 
,we do not know the date of ,angela's   
conversion1 or the circumstances  which 
brought it about2 save that it took     
place under ,franciscan  influence1     
which was of course paramount in that   
part of ,umbria in her  day4 ,it seems  
to have taken the form of a gradual     
awakening of  conscience to the         
sinfulness and hypocrisy of her life4   
,in her mental  distress she prayed to  
,st4 ,francis1 and he appeared to her in
 a dream1  the earliest of her visionary
 experiences2 the confessor to whom she 
then went for advice was a ,friar       
,minor1 and after her husband's death   

she adopted the plain habit worn by the 
more fervent ,tertiaries1 and  remained 
faithful to the ,order till her death4  
,the fixed dates in her  life are few   
and confusing4 ,her own book only gives 
two3 the date of her  final purification
 and the date of her death4 ,we gather  
from this and  other sources1 however1  
that after her widowhood she lived at   
first with  one companion in great      
retirement2 but by about #abij1 had     
formed a small  sisterhood in ,foligno4 
,its members1 who observed ,franciscan  
poverty in  its full rigour1 took the   
rule of the ,third ,order and the three 
vows of  religion1 but they were not    
cloistered4 ,they devoted themselves to 
the  care of the sick1 and other works  
of charity4    ,in this community       
,angela spent the rest of her life2     
gradually becoming  known as a teacher  
of 8,seraphic wisdom0 amongst those     
,spiritual  ,franciscans who were       
struggling to keep the ideals of ,st4   
,francis alive4  ,she seems to have been

 the centre of a group of ,franciscan   
,tertiaries of  both sexes1 for whom she
 was at once friend and prophetess1 like
 ,st4  ,catherine of ,siena in the next 
century4 ,several of her letters to     
these  8sons0 of hers are embedded in   
her book of 8,evangelical ,doctrine40   
,one  of them1 the turbulent and ardent 
friar ,ubertino da ,casale1 owed to her 
his true initiation into the spiritual  
life3 and his account of the  impression
 which she made on him helps us to      
understand the nature of  her influence4
 ,he came to her from ,paris in #abih1  
when he was  twenty-five years old2 a   
successful preacher1 but already        
conscious of  the inward call to a life 
of greater perfection4 8,she restored10 
he  says1 8a thousandfold all those     
spiritual gifts ,i had lost through my  
own sins2 so that from that time ,i have
 not been the same man that ,i was      
before4 ,when ,i had experienced the    
splendour of her radiant virtue1 she    
changed the whole face of my mind1 and  

so drove out the weakness and  languor  
from my soul and body and healed my mind
 that was torn with  distraction1 that  
no one who knew me before could doubt   
that the ,spirit  of ,christ was newly  
begotten in me through her40 ,this is   
almost our only  glimpse of ,angela as  
she was seen by contemporary eyes3 but  
it indicates  the position she came to  
occupy among the more devout ,franciscan
  zelanti4    ,she died1 surrounded by  
her spiritual children1 in the octave of
 the  ,feast of the ,holy ,innocents1   
#acji1 aged sixty-one2 and was buried in
 the  ,church of the ,franciscans at    
,foligno1 where her body still lies4 ,an
  ,office in her honour was approved by 
,gregory ,,xiv in #agja1 and her ,feast 
is kept throughout the ,franciscan      
,order on ,march #cj4    ,so much for   
the scanty outer history4 ,of greater   
interest is our  knowledge of her inner 
life2 the real life of mystics and      
contemplatives4 ,the history of this    
inner life assures us that ,angela  was 

of the stuff of which great mystics are 
made2 though not at all of  the stuff of
 which many amateurs of mysticism expect
 them to be made4  ,first great         
necessity1 she possessed a strongly     
romantic temperament2  like ,st4        
,francis1 ,suso1 ,st4 ,ignatius1        
,mechthild1 ,st4 ,teresa1 her           
companions on the highway of the soul4  
,like these1 she had also an  innate    
simplicity and ardour1 a character at   
once childlike and heroic2  that        
8all-or-none0 reaction1 the power of    
total self-giving to the  matter in     
hand1 which distinguishes the hero1     
whether as man of action1  as artist1 or
 as saint4 ,indeed1 heroism may properly
 be ascribed to a  comfortable and      
self-indulgent married woman1 who leaves
 all for the  lonely adventure of       
,sinai1 however many tumbles she may    
have upon the  road4 ,with this courage 
she combined an extreme sensibility to  
impressions1 great power of endurance1 a
 strong will2 all the  potentialities of

 a great sinner or a great saint4       
,further1 she  evidently possessed that 
peculiar1 unstable psychic makeup1 which
 the  mystic shares with other types of 
genius2 and which is seen in its full   
development in the two greatest of      
,italian saints1 ,francis of ,assisi and
  ,catherine of ,siena4 ,she experienced
 all the normal episodes of complete    
mystical development3 the phases of     
penitence and self-discipline1          
illumination and dereliction1 and at    
last that ecstatic union with the       
,divine ,nature which is the goal of the
 ,way4 ,her mysticism was deeply        
coloured by the ,franciscan atmosphere  
in which it was nurtured2 it  exhibited 
the highly emotional and enthusiastic   
character1 the tendency  to eccentric   
penances1 the concentration upon the    
,cross and ,passion of  ,christ1 which  
are found in her contemporary ,jacopone 
da ,todi1 and are  typical of the       
,franciscan mystics at their best4      
,indeed1 the many  parallels between    

,angela and ,jacopone suggest to us that
 the favourite  subjects of their       
contemplations were those in vogue in   
8,spiritual0  circles at this time2 and 
that we have in their works the         
surviving  examples of a complete school
 of mysticism1 which taught1 as         
,ubertino da  ,casale says that ,cecilia
 of ,florence did1 8the whole art of the
 higher  contemplation40    8,as ,i     
walked10 said the ,blessed ,angela1 8by 
the way of penitence1 ,i took  eighteen 
spiritual steps before ,i came to know  
the imperfections of my  life40 ,this is
 the first sentence of the book of      
,conversion and  ,penitence which       
analyses in detail the changes through  
which she passed  on her way to complete
 self-knowledge and self-adjustment4    
,those  8eighteen steps0 extended over  
many years4 ,when they began1 ,angela   
was  living luxuriously1 as a married   
woman1 in her husband's house4 ,when    
they ended1 she was a poor widow vowed  
to the religious life2 stripped  of     

every superfluity1 everything that would
 entangle her in the web of  appearance1
 apt in contemplation1 companioned by   
visions1 esteemed as a  teacher and an  
ecstatic1 and the centre of a group of  
disciples4 ,her  inner life1 during     
these years of ascent1 of hard and      
difficult growth1  seems to have been a 
life of bitter and almost continuous    
struggle4 ,even  after the preliminary  
steps of repentance were over1 and her  
visionary  powers had developed1 the new
 spiritual ideals demanded of her ever  
more  difficult renunciations4 ,we see  
her1 as we read the wonderful memoirs of
  her years of penitence1 perpetually   
flung to and fro between adoration  and 
contrition2 as first one element and    
then the other of her complex           
personality took the upper hand4 ,in her
 long and slow ascent towards the       
stars1 she alternately experienced the  
sunshine and the shade4    ,from the    
turmoil which surrounded the hard       
re-making of ,angela's  character1 there

 emerged two great principles round     
which her subsequent  life and teaching 
were to be grouped4 ,the first was      
poverty1 the second  was self-knowledge4
 ,naturally her instinct for poverty    
would be fostered  by her ,franciscan   
environment2 but it is an instinct      
implicit in the  mystical temperament1  
and not peculiar to the ,poor ,man of   
,assisi4  ,mystics know that possessions
 dissipate the energy which they need   
for  other and more real things2 that   
they must give up ownership1 the verb   
8to have10 if they are to attain the    
freedom which they seek1 and all  the   
fullness of the verb 8to be40 ,thus     
,jacopone in his great ode  expressed a 
universal spiritual law3                
8,povertate  nulla avere                
e nulla cosa poi volere2                
ed omne cosa possedere                  
en spirito de libertate40    ,it cost   
,angela many struggles before she fully 
accepted and acted upon  this truth1 and
 attained that which she calls the      

8liberty of poverty40  ,self-knowledge1 
that hard essential of the soul's       
re-education which  ,richard of ,st4    
,victor1 and afterwards ,st4 ,catherine 
of ,siena1 made the  starting-point of  
all mysticism1 she recognized from the  
first as the  true objective towards    
which her hard penances and long        
meditations must  tend4    ,the eighteen
 8steps10 then1 exhibit with            
extraordinary honesty her  gradual      
progress in these two arts of           
self-knowledge and renunciation4  ,at   
the first step1 as we have seen1 she was
 by something--we know not              
what--startled into attention to the    
real1 and terrified by the vision of    
her own naked reality stripped of its   
pleasant veils and self-deceits4  ,her  
first reaction to this vision was       
avoidance4 ,she was ashamed to look  her
 sins in the face1 or confess them4 ,but
 having prayed to ,st4 ,francis1  she   
was led by a dream--the form under which
 her unconscious mind most  frequently  

controlled her--to seek a ,franciscan   
friar and make a general  confession of 
her sins4 ,she performed his penance    
loyally1 and became  increasingly       
contrite for her faults3 the sense of   
,divine ,mercy touching  her1 and       
evoking an ever more humble and         
repentant grief4 ,by the eighth  step   
this contrition had become love1 the    
passion for perfection  triumphing over 
the hatred of imperfection4 ,by that    
contemplation of the  ,cross which was  
specially dear to ,franciscan devotion1 
and is the  subject of one of           
,jacopone's most splendid poems1 she was
 led into an  ever deeper understanding 
of the mystery of redemption by pain4   
,angela  was now definitely committed to
 the mystic way4 8,in this beholding of 
the ,cross10 she says1 8,i burned with  
the fire of love and remorse3 so  that  
standing before that ,cross ,i divested 
myself of everything and  offered myself
 to ,him 444 and the aforesaid fire     
compelled me1 and ,i had  no power to   

resist40 ,the special form which her    
renunciation took--that  of a vow of    
chastity in deed and thought--suggests  
the direction in which  her chief       
temptations lay2 and this deduction is  
made more probable by  the emotional    
quality of her visionary experience1 in 
which the  repressed ardours of her     
temperament found relief4    ,at the    
ninth step1 this instinct for           
renunciation achieved more complete     
expression4 8,enlightened and           
instructed0--doubtless by some member of
 the  spiritual group--she learned that 
nothing less than a total sacrifice of  
friends1 kindred1 possessions1 her very 
self1 would serve her if she  wished to 
tread the ,way of ,holy ,cross4 ,but in 
her acceptance of this  bitter truth we 
still see something of the vanity1      
self-importance and  narrow egotism of  
the old ,angela4 ,this is the one       
passage in all her  writings which every
 one knows1 and by which she is         
generally1 and most  unfairly1 judged4  

8,i elected to walk on the thorny path  
which is the path of tribulation4  ,so  
,i began to put aside the fine clothing 
and adornments which ,i had1  and the   
most delicate food1 and also the        
covering of my head4 ,but as  yet1 to do
 all these things was hard1 and shamed  
me1 because ,i did not  feel much love  
for ,god1 and was living with my        
husband4 ,so that it was a  bitter thing
 to me when anything offensive was said 
or done to me2 but ,i  bore it as       
patiently as ,i could4 ,in that time1   
and by ,god's will1 there  died my      
mother1 who was a great hindrance to me 
in following the way of  ,god2 my       
husband died likewise2 and in a short   
time there also died all  my children4  
,and because ,i had begun to follow the 
aforesaid way1 and  had prayed ,god to  
rid me of them1 ,i had great consolation
 of their  deaths1 although ,i also felt
 some grief2 wherefore1 because ,god had
  shown me this grace1 ,i imagined that 
my heart was in the heart of ,god  and  

,his will and ,his heart in my heart40  
,this unfortunate paragraph outweighs   
for many minds the whole of  ,angela's  
subsequent life and achievements4 ,i do 
not deny that1 taken  alone1 it appears 
to be a monument of spiritual egotism4  
,but we must  remember that it          
represents1 not ,angela the peaceful    
mystic1 but ,angela  the worried and    
storm-tossed penitent at the most       
difficult moment of  her career4 ,the   
emotional centre of her life had        
shifted4 ,an inexorable  inner voice now
 urged her to a total concentration on  
,god1 and she knew  that the way of     
penance and renunciation was her only   
hope4 ,yet living  in a thoroughly      
discordant1 thoroughly unspiritual      
environment1 hemmed  in on all sides by 
conventional existence and unsympathetic
  surroundings1 this way seemed         
impossible to follow in its             
completeness2  for she was not one of   
those who are able to harmonize the     
demands of  both worlds4 ,moreover1     

these words were written by one who had 
long  outlived the human sorrow which1  
as she says here and in another place1  
she felt at these accumulated           
bereavements4 ,now1 looking back and    
seeing  her past existence spread out   
before her1 she recognized even this    
awful  and drastic series of            
deprivations as a necessary factor in   
the life to  which she was called4      
,after all1 it is fair to acknowledge   
that family affection is not the        
strongest point in the character of the 
mystical saints4 ,in the  interests of  
their vocation1 they are always ready to
 leave father1  mother1 brothers1 and   
sisters2 and moreover there is          
evangelical  authority for this         
attitude4 ,they are specialists1 and are
 therefore  bound1 in the interests of  
the race1 to give up many things which  
other  men must develop and preserve4   
,artists are under much the same        
necessity4 ,the vitality which we       
diffuse amongst many interests and      

loves1 these must concentrate on the one
 object of their quest4 ,hence  ,st4    
,francis himself flung his family aside 
without scruple when it came  to the    
parting of the ways4 ,hence ,jacopone da
 ,todi was warned that even  spiritual  
friendships must be held lightly by the 
pilgrim on the way of  the ,cross4      
,angela was only following in their     
footsteps1 though she  doubtless        
expressed herself with unnecessary and  
ill-regulated vigour1  when she         
recognized human ties and human         
affections as possible  impediments of  
the spiritual life4 ,an easy            
capitulation to love and  friendship in 
their most engrossing aspects seems     
always to have been  her standing       
danger4 ,it caused her in later life to 
say that she 8feared  love more than all
 other things02 even regarding with     
suspicion the deep  affection which     
unites teacher and disciples1 or two    
fellow-initiates of  the contemplative  
life4    ,it was after her release from 

the duties of family life1 and her more 
complete concentration on the ascetic   
life1 that her visionary powers  began  
to develop4 ,at first they were little  
more than waking dreams of a            
commonplace kind2 imaginary pictures of 
the ,passion1 the ,crucifix1 the        
,sacred ,heart1 such as have been       
experienced by innumerable ,catholic    
saints4 ,these vivid symbolic           
presentations of ,divine love moved     
,angela  to greater and more heroic     
heights of penitential love2 and the    
passion  for complete evangelical       
poverty came on her with renewed force4 
,her  possessions enchained her1 and she
 knew it4 ,she made many efforts to     
screw herself up bit by bit to those    
heights of renunciation which ,st4      
,francis seems to have reached almost   
without effort4    8,for this           
cause--namely1 to have the liberty of   
poverty--,i journeyed to  ,rome1 to pray
 the ,blessed ,peter that he would      
obtain for me the grace of  true        

poverty4 ,it seemed to me at last that  
,i could not sufficiently do  penance   
whilst ,i was possessed of worldly      
things 444 so ,i determined to  forsake 
everything4 ,in my imagination ,i had a 
great desire to become  poor1 and such  
was my zeal1 that ,i often feared to die
 before ,i attained  this state of      
poverty4 ,on the other hand1 ,i was     
assailed by temptations1  which         
whispered to me that ,i was still young1
 that begging for alms  might lead me   
into shame and danger2 that if ,i did   
this1 ,i should die of  hunger1 cold1   
and nakedness4 ,moreover1 all my friends
 dissuaded me from  it4 ,but at last    
,divine mercy sent a great illumination 
into my heart1  which1 as ,i believed   
then and do now1 ,i shall never lose    
even in  eternity4444 ,so then ,i did   
resolve in good earnest40    ,here is   
the final1 deliberate act of will3 the  
turning once for all from  the unreal to
 the real--under whatever form the      
charms of unreality  appear to the      

growing self--which all mystics have to 
make4 ,it was  ,angela's eleventh step4 
,her mystical powers were now developing
 rapidly4  ,they showed themselves in   
visions1 dreams1 and ecstasies4 ,not all
 of  these1 it is true1 can be accepted 
as marks of spiritual growth3 for  some 
clearly represent the re-emergence under
 religious symbols of old  emotions and 
desires4 ,but the deep and vivid        
intuitions of spiritual  realities which
 came to her more and more frequently1  
show that a steady  sublimation of those
 emotions and desires was in progress1  
and that they  tended more and more     
towards supersensual ends4    ,at the   
fifteenth step1 with truly ,franciscan  
thoroughness--though1 oddly  enough1 the
 ,friars ,minor whom she consulted      
forbade her to do it--she  distributed  
the whole of her possessions amongst the
 poor4 8,because  methought ,i could not
 keep anything for myself without       
greatly offending  ,him who did thus    
enlighten me40 ,with this crucial act   

she seems to have  attained at last the 
true and full state of illumination4    
8,then10 she  says1 8,i began to feel   
the sweetness of ,god in my heart03 that
 which  other mystics have called the   
8sense of the ,presence40 ,also1 8,i    
began to  have understanding of the     
visions and the words02 a new spiritual 
lucidity running side by side with the  
symbolic pictures and imaginary  voices 
that she saw and heard with the inner   
eye and ear4 ,this1 too1 is  normal and 
characteristic4 ,from this point1 then1 
we must read the book  of ,visions and  
,consolations side by side with the book
 of ,penances  if we would understand   
,angela's inner life2 for these two     
forms of  experience1 which she has     
unfortunately chosen to treat           
separately1  alternated with one        
another4    ,in the time of her total   
acceptance of holy poverty1 ,angela     
seems to  have been living in a state of
 almost hermit-like simplicity with one 
companion1 the ,blessed ,paschalina of  

,foligno2 whom at first she found a     
8weariness10 but afterwards discovered  
to be a fellow traveller on the  ,mystic
 ,way4 ,some years had now passed since 
her conversion2 and she was  already    
accepted--perhaps indeed celebrated--as 
a religious teacher among  the members  
of the ,spiritual group4 ,definitely    
vowed to the service of  the ,franciscan
 ,order1 she seems soon to have become  
like ,st4 ,catherine  of ,siena1 ,st4   
,catherine of ,genoa1 and many other    
women mystics1 the  centre of a group of
 adoring disciples or 8spiritual sons40 
,yet her  inner life was still in a     
state of confusion1 the remaking of her 
character was still in progress4 ,she   
was flung perpetually to the  extremes  
of joy and anguish4 ,she would rise to  
great heights of mystical  passion      
8filled with the fire and fervour of    
,divine love10 only to fall  back to her
 old temptations4 ,the repressed        
instinctive life began to  take its     
revenge1 and tortured her by vicious    

suggestions which she had  never known  
before4 8,i would have chosen rather to 
be roasted than to  endure such pains40 
,also the great strain put upon her     
nervous system by  the growing spiritual
 faculties resulted in absolute physical
 illness1  as has been the case with    
many of the mystical saints4 8,the      
torments of  my body10 she says1 8were  
veritably numberless4 ,there remained   
not one  of my members that was not     
grievously tormented1 nor was ,i ever   
free  from pain1 infirmity1 or          
weariness40    ,we need not be afraid to
 recognize in this struggle a reflection
 of the  stresses and difficulties--some
 physical--which attend on the complete 
sublimation of man's psychic life2      
especially in persons of a strongly     
emotional temperament4 ,in ,angela's    
case the visions and dreams that        
accompanied it assure us of the         
character of the crisis through which   
she was passing4 ,many of her symptoms  
at this time were undoubtedly           

hysterical4 ,she cried aloud when she   
heard the name of ,god1 and fell  into a
 fever on seeing a picture of the       
,passion of ,christ4 ,her tears  were   
perpetual1 and often she longed to tear 
herself in pieces4  ,unfortunately      
,franciscan piety of the more extreme   
sort encouraged  emotional extravagances
 of this kind1 as we may see by the     
account of  ,angela's contemporaries    
given in the 8,little ,flowers10 and    
failed to  appreciate ,jacopone's       
profound distinction between ordered and
  disordered love4 ,it also gave        
unqualified approval to those public and
  grotesque acts of self-abasement which
 play so large a part in the  legend of 
his penitence2 and here again1 ,angela  
was true to type4 ,still  grieved by the
 memory of her old hypocrisies1 made    
more poignant by the  reverence she     
received from her disciples1 she went   
through the city and  open places with  
meat and fishes hanging from her neck1  
and crying1 8,i  am that woman full of  

evil and dissembling1 slave of all vices
 and  iniquities1 who did good deeds    
that she might obtain honour among men2 
and especially when ,i caused those     
bidden to my house to be told that ,i   
ate neither fish nor meat1 and--being   
the while greedy1 gluttonous1 and       
drunken--feigned to desire nought but   
what was needful40    ,those familiar   
with the lives of the mystics will      
remember many  parallels to this state  
of conflict3 the ups and downs of ,suso1
 his  alternate illumination and        
despair1 his great self-denials balanced
 by  foolish little sins3 the thirty    
years during which ,teresa--already1    
like  ,angela1 regarded as a great      
example--swayed between her mystical    
vocation  and the claims of a more      
normal life4 ,in ,angela this inward    
battle  culminated1 she says1 8some     
little while before the time of the     
pontificate of ,celestino0--that is to  
say about #abid1 when she was           
forty-six--and endured for more than two

 years4 ,in it1 in addition to  bodily  
and mental agony1 she was humiliated by 
recurrent temptations to  sensual       
indulgence4 ,her depression was extreme1
 and her intellect often  so clouded    
that she could not even recall the idea 
of ,god to her mind4  ,it was her last  
lesson in humility and                  
self-knowledge--an excellent  antidote  
to the dangers of professional          
sanctity--and answered to that  terrible
 period of final purification which     
other mystics have called  the 8,dark   
,night of the ,soul40    ,from this last
 purgation1 in which all the elements of
 her character  seemed flung back into  
the melting-pot1 she emerged into that  
condition  of spiritual equilibrium1 of 
perfect harmony with transcendent       
reality1  which is known to mystic      
writers as the ,unitive ,way4 8,a divine
 change10  she says1 8took place in my  
soul1 which neither saint nor angel     
could  describe or explain4 ,wherefore  
,i say again that it seems to me evil   

speaking or blasphemy if ,i try and tell
 of it40 ,again1 8,i came not to  this  
state of my own self1 but was led and   
drawn thereto by ,god2 so that  though  
of my own self ,i should not have known 
how to desire or ask for  it1 ,i am now 
in that state continually40 ,though the 
capacity for pain  never left her1 and  
is implied in many of her greatest      
revelations--for1  like all the great   
,catholic mystics1 she found the        
,christian paradox of  joyous suffering 
at the very centre of truth--yet the    
last twelve years  of her life seem to  
have been years of profound inward      
peace4 8,he hath  placed within my      
soul10 she said1 8a state which changes 
little1 and ,i  possess ,god in such    
fullness that ,i am no longer in the    
state in which ,i  used to be2 but ,i   
walk in such perfect peace of heart and 
mind that ,i am  content in all things40
    ,it was that state of which         
,jacopone has written3                  
8,la guerra  terminata                  

de le virt battaglia1                   
de la mente travaglia                   
cosa nulla contende4                    
,la mente  renovata                     
vestita a tal entaglia1                 
de tal ferro  la maglia                 
feruta no l'offerende40    ,angela has  
two claims to the title of a great      
mystic3 that of her life1  which we have
 briefly considered1 and that of the    
revelations and  experiences which she  
reports2 our chief evidence of the      
unique nature  of her consciousness4    
,what then was the nature of these      
visions and  revelations8 ,there are    
signs in her book that she ran through  
the whole  gamut of mystical experience4
 ,she practised1 and described1 all     
those  degrees of contemplative prayer  
which are analyzed by ,st4 ,teresa and  
,st4  ,john of the ,cross4 ,she heard   
interior voices4 ,she saw visions4 ,she 
was  an ecstatic4 ,moreover1 at least   
after her achievement of spiritual      
equilibrium--for it would be unfair to  

take into account the morbid  states    
from which she suffered during the      
period of readjustment--her  ecstasies  
were of that rare and supernal kind     
which1 far from being  signs of mental  
or nervous disease1 actually renew and  
invigorate the  physical life of those  
who experience them4 ,there is a        
beautiful passage  in the life of ,st4  
,catherine of ,genoa in which she is    
described as  coming joyous and         
rosy-faced from the ecstatic encounter  
with ,god's  love4 ,so ,angela says3    
8,because of the change in my body1     
therefore ,i was  not able to conceal my
 state from my companion1 or from other 
people  with whom ,i consorted2 because 
at times my face was all resplendent and
  rosy1 and my eyes shone like candles4 
,when the soul is assured of ,god  and  
refreshed by ,his presence1 the body    
also receives health1  satisfaction1 and
 nobility40    ,her revelations were of 
two kinds4 ,first we have a long series 
of  8imaginary visions03 pictures1 no   

doubt representing deep and imageless   
intuitions1 resulting as it were from   
some communion with reality1 but  taking
 their form--as distinct from their     
content--from the memory and            
imagination of the visionary4 ,though   
many of these must be classed as        
dreams1 and some indeed were received in
 sleep1 others were definite            
experiences2 seen1 as she says1 with the
 eyes of the mind1 far more  clearly    
than anything can be seen with the eyes 
of the body4  ,nevertheless we are bound
 to consider them less as objective     
revelations  than as vivid artistic     
reconstructions2 symbols of something   
that she  has felt and known4 ,angela's 
religious beliefs and romantic leanings 
are  both clearly reflected in them4    
,some deal with the physical accidents  
of  the ,passion--always a favourite    
subject of the medival visionary--and   
these closely resemble the series of    
,passion-pictures seen by ,julian of    
,norwich4 ,others are inspired by her   

devotion to the ,eucharist4 ,one or  two
 seem1 like the ,visions of ,st4        
,gertrude1 to anticipate the later cult 
of the ,sacred ,heart4 ,in virtue of    
these visions ,angela belongs to the    
great family of women ,catholic mystics2
 women possessing a rich  emotional     
life1 and1 largely by means of that     
emotional life1  actualizing and        
expressing their communion with the     
spiritual world4    ,we see this        
emotional character clearly in one of   
,angela's most  celebrated experiences2 
the one of all others which seems to    
have set  the seal on her career as a   
religious teacher1 and which is placed  
at  the beginning of her book of visions
 and revelations1 though there was  no  
vision involved in it4 ,i mean the      
beautiful scene in which she talked     
with the ,holy ,ghost1 walking on 8the  
narrow road which leads upward to       
,assisi1 and is beyond ,spello40 ,that  
sense of heavenly intimacy1 of  divine  
communion1 of a destiny pressed upon her

 from the spiritual  sphere1 which then 
took possession of her consciousness1   
was translated  by the surface-mind of  
the natural ,angela--whose nearest      
parallels to  such an experience were   
found amongst the emotional incidents of
 human  love--into the wonderful        
imaginary conversation in which1 as she 
climbs  the path between the vineyards1 
she is wooed by the ,holy ,spirit1 and  
assured of ,his peculiar interest and   
affection4 8,i will bear thee  company  
and speak with thee all the way10 ,he   
says to her4 8,i will make  no end to   
,my speaking1 and thou wilt not be able 
to attend to anything  save ,me40 8,then
 did ,he begin to speak the following   
words to me1 which  persuaded me to love
 after this manner1 #8,my daughter1 who 
art sweet to  ,me1 ,my daughter who art 
,my temple1 ,my beloved daughter1 do    
thou love ,me1  for ,i love thee        
greatly1 and much more than thou lovest 
,me4' ,and very  often ,he said to me1  
#8,bride and daughter6 sweet art thou to

 ,me2 ,i love  thee better than any     
other in the valley of ,spoleto4' ,these
 and other  similar things did ,he say  
to me4 ,then when ,i heard these words1 
,i  counted my sins1 and ,i considered  
my faults2 how that ,i was unworthy of  
so great a love4 ,and ,i began to doubt 
these words2 for which cause1 my  soul  
said to ,him who had spoken to it1 #8,if
 thou wert indeed the ,holy  ,spirit1   
thou wouldest not speak thus2 for it is 
not right or proper1  because ,i am weak
 and frail and might grow vainglorious  
thereat4' ,he  answered1 #8,think and   
see if thou couldst become vainglorious 
because of  the things for which thou   
art now made glad4444' ,then ,i tried to
 grow  vainglorious1 that ,i might prove
 if ,he spoke truth2 and ,i began to    
look  at the vineyards1 that ,i might   
learn the folly of my words4 ,and       
wherever  ,i looked1 ,he said to me1    
#8,behold and see6 this is ,my          
creation'3 and at  this ,i felt         
ineffable delight40    ,this is the     

poetry of mysticism1 an artistic        
reduction of supernal  intuitions1 and  
is to be interpreted in poetic terms4   
,but there is  another1 and rarer1 form 
of spiritual perception3 that imageless 
intuition of pure truth1 which ,st4     
,teresa and other mystics call          
intellectual1 but which would be better 
named metaphysical vision4  ,angela's   
real importance amongst the mystics     
comes from the fact that  she possessed 
this power in a high degree of          
development4 ,in virtue of  her         
immediate apprehensions of transcendent 
reality1 she belongs to the  rarest and 
highest type of mystic seer3 a class in 
which ,plotinus holds  perhaps the first
 place1 and of which ,ruysbroeck is the 
most conspicuous  medival example4 ,the 
poetry of ,jacopone da ,todi shows us   
that he too  knew the secret of those   
strange astounding regions1 8beyond the 
polar  circle of the mind10 where       
,angela tasted of unconditioned reality1
 and  the language in which he describes

 them often reminds us of her4 ,it is   
an interesting question1 whether these  
two great ,franciscan  contemplatives   
directly influenced one another1 or must
 be regarded as  the twin stars of a    
school of 8,seraphic wisdom0 which      
taught the deepest  mysteries of the    
spiritual life4    ,there are eight of  
these great visionary experiences       
recorded in  ,angela's book4 ,in them   
she says that she apprehended ,god      
successively  under the attributes of   
,goodness1 ,beauty1 ,power1 ,wisdom1    
,love1 ,justice2  and that after this   
she beheld the totality of the ,godhead 
8darkly0--a  way of describing her      
perceptions which is of course traceable
 to the  8,divine darkness0 of          
,dionysius the ,areopagite4 ,finally she
 beheld it1  8as clearly as is possible 
in this life40 ,all these visions seem  
to have  come to her when she was in a  
state of ecstasy or trance4 ,she speaks 
of  being 8exalted in spirit10 8rapt to 
the first elevation02 lifted to  wholly 

new levels of consciousness4 ,she       
describes them as well as she  can1 yet 
plainly she is only able to tell us a   
fraction of her  experience4 ,over and  
over again she declares the hopeless    
inadequacy of  human speech1 the        
impossibility of 8speaking as she saw40 
,her state is  like that of ,dante at   
the end of the ,paradiso1 save that her 
wings  were fitted for these flights4   
8,i beheld the ineffable fullness of    
,god2 but ,i can relate nothing of it1  
save that ,i have seen the fullness of  
,divine ,wisdom1 wherein is all         
goodness40 ,again1 8inasmuch as this was
 a supernatural thing1 ,i cannot        
express it in words40 8,many other      
things were clearly set forth to me2    
but ,i neither can nor will relate      
them40 8,all that ,i say of this1 seems 
to me to be nothing4 ,i feel as though  
,i offended in speaking of it1 for  so  
greatly does the ,good exceed all my    
words that my speech seems to be  but   
blasphemy40    ,those things1 however1  

which she does contrive to relate1 have 
an  astonishing suggestive quality1 a   
great philosophic sweep1 combined with  
an intimate appeal to our own deepest   
intuitions1 which place them1 so  far as
 mystical history is concerned1 on a    
level with some of the  greatest        
passages in ,jacopone da ,todi and in   
,ruysbroeck2 and in my  opinion far     
beyond the more celebrated intellectual 
visions of ,st4  ,teresa4    ,thus she  
says1 8the eyes of my soul were opened  
and ,i beheld the  plenitude of ,god1 by
 which ,i understood the whole world    
both here and  beyond the sea1 the      
abyss1 and all other things4 ,and in    
this ,i beheld  nothing save the ,divine
 ,power1 in a way that is utterly       
indescribable1  so that through the     
greatness of its wonder the soul cried  
with a loud  voice1 saying1 #8,the whole
 world is full of ,god4' ,wherefore ,i  
understood  that the world is but a     
little thing2 and ,i saw that the power 
of ,god  was above all things1 and the  

whole world was filled with it40        
,here we are reminded of ,julian of     
,norwich--8,he showed me a little thing1
  the quantity of an hazel nut4 ,i      
looked thereon with the eye of my       
understanding and thought2 ,what may    
this be8 and it was answered  generally 
thus3 ,it is all that is made40         
8,after ,i had seen the power of ,god1  
,his will and ,his justice10 says       
,angela1 again1 8,i was lifted higher   
still2 and then ,i no longer beheld  the
 power and will as before4 ,but ,i      
beheld a ,thing1 as fixed and  stable as
 it was indescribable2 and more than    
this ,i cannot say1 save  that ,i have  
often said already1 namely1 that it was 
all good4 ,and  although my soul beheld 
not love1 yet when it saw that          
indescribable  ,thing1 it was itself    
filled with indescribable joy1 so that  
it was  taken out of the state it was in
 before1 and placed in this great and   
ineffable state4 ,i know not whether ,i 
was then in the body or out of the      

body4 ,it is enough to say that all the 
other visions seemed to me less  great  
than this40    ,again1 8,one time in    
,lent 444 the eyes of my soul were      
opened1 and ,i saw  ,love advancing     
gently towards me1 and ,i saw the       
beginning but not the  end4 ,there      
seemed to me only a continuation and an 
eternity thereof1 so  that ,i cannot    
tell its likeness nor colour2 but       
directly this ,love  reached me ,i      
beheld all these things more clearly    
with the eyes of the  soul than ,i could
 do with the eyes of the body4 ,this    
,love came towards  me after the manner 
of a sickle4 ,not that there was any    
actual and  measurable likeness2 but    
when first it appeared to me it did not 
give  itself to me in such abundance as 
,i expected1 but a part was withdrawn4  
,therefore ,i say1 after the manner of a
 sickle4 ,then ,i was filled with  love 
and a great satisfaction1 but although  
it satisfied me1 it  generated within me
 so great a hunger that all my members  

were loosened2  and my soul fainted with
 longing to attain to the ,all40    ,i  
give one more1 particularly interesting 
to ,english students because of  its    
parallels with our own great mystical   
work1 ,the ,cloud of  ,unknowing3       
8,there was a time when my soul was     
exalted to behold ,god  with so much    
clearness that never before had ,i      
beheld ,him so distinctly4  ,but ,i did 
not here see ,love so fully2 rather ,i  
lost that which ,i had  before1 and was 
left without love4 ,afterwards ,i saw   
,him darkly1 and this  darkness was the 
greatest blessing that could be         
imagined1 and thought  can conceive     
nothing equal to this4444 ,here likewise
 ,i see all ,good4444  ,the soul        
delights unspeakably therein1 yet it    
beholds nothing that can  be spoken by  
the tongue or conceived by the heart4   
,it sees nothing yet  sees all1 because 
it beholds the ,good darkly2 and the    
more darkly and  secretly the ,good is  
seen1 the more certain it is1 and       

excellent above  all things4 ,wherefore 
all other good that can be seen or      
imagined is  doubtless less than this1  
and even when the soul sees the ,divine 
wisdom1  power and will of ,god 7which  
,i have seen marvellously at other      
times71  it is all less than this most  
certain ,good4 ,because this is the     
whole1  and those other things are but  
part of the whole4444 ,but seen thus    
darkly1 the ,good brings no smile to the
 lips1 no fervour of love to the  heart2
 for the body does not tremble or become
 moved and distressed as  at other      
times2 because the soul sees1 and not   
the body1 which rests and  sleeps1 and  
the tongue is dumb and speechless4 ,all 
the many ineffable  kindnesses which    
,god has shown me1 all the sweet words  
and divine  sayings and doings1 are so  
much less than this that ,i saw in the  
darkness1 that ,i put no hope in        
them4444 ,but to this most high power of
  beholding ,god ineffably through great
 darkness1 my spirit was uplifted  three

 times only and no more40    8,this     
cloud10 says ,the ,cloud of ,unknowing1 
of that same ,divine ,dark1  8is        
evermore between thee and thy ,god 444  
therefore shape thyself to  abide in    
this darkness so long as thou mayest1   
evermore crying after ,him  whom thou   
lovest1 for if ever thou shalt feel ,him
 or see ,him 7in such  sort as ,he may  
be seen or felt in this life7 it        
behoveth always to be in  this cloud or 
darkness40 ,so ,angela3 8,when ,i behold
 and am in that ,good1  although ,i seem
 to see nothing yet ,i see all things40 
,in this  achievement she reaches the   
goal of the mystic experience1 the      
ecstatic  communion with the ,absolute  
,one4    ,i have called her a           
,franciscan mystic4 ,if by ,franciscan  
mysticism we  mean that exquisite sense 
of the ,divine immanence in nature1 that
 poetic  temperament1 that peculiar and 
elusive charm1 which we associate with  
,st4 ,francis himself2 then1 perhaps1   
there seems little that is              

characteristically ,franciscan in       
,angela4 ,but if1 looking past the      
special character of the ,founder1 we   
try to seize the essence of that  secret
 he was seeking to impart1 then1        
allowing for the inevitable  development
 which any idea undergoes when it enters
 the world of change1  we may regard her
 as a typical ,franciscan of the second 
generation4 ,she  was indeed conditioned
 at all points by the ,franciscan       
environment in  which her religious life
 developed2 that ardent society of      
8,spirituals10  mostly recruited from   
the devout laity1 which sprang up in her
 time in  the ,italian cities4 ,this    
society1 with its advanced contemplative
  tradition1 its demand for a close     
imitation of ,christ1 was a             
forcing-house of the mystical life4     
,angela shows her close connection  with
 it in the character of her penitence1  
in her passionate devotion to  the      
,cross and ,passion1 and also in the    
metaphysical quality of her  greatest   

mystical apprehensions4 ,these three    
outstanding  characteristics1           
corresponding in a general sense to the 
three great  phases of the mystical     
life1 are again seen in the poetry in   
which her  contemporary ,jacopone       
discloses to us the stages of anguished 
contrition  and of uncontrolled fervour 
through which he moved to the heights of
  union with ,god4 ,these two great     
converts and initiates of love          
illuminate and explain one another3 for 
in them we see an identical  tradition  
of the spiritual life interpreted by    
different temperaments4  ,for each the  
,way is an education in love1 and       
,jacopone speaks for both  of them when 
he says of it3                          
8,distinguese l'amore en terzo stato3   
bono1 meglio1 sommo1 sublimato2         
lo sommo s vole essere amato            
senza compagnia40                       
,,iii                                   
,,julian ,,of ,,norwich4      ,all that 
we know directly of ,julian of          

,norwich--the most attractive1 if  not  
the greatest of the ,english            
mystics--comes to us from her book1 ,the
  ,revelations of ,divine ,love1 in     
which she has set down her spiritual    
experiences and meditations4 ,like her  
contemporaries1 ,walter ,hilton and  the
 author of ,the ,cloud of ,unknowing1   
she lives only in her vision and  her   
thought4 ,her external circumstances are
 almost unknown to us1 but  some of     
these can be recovered1 or at least     
deduced1 from the study of  contemporary
 history and art2 a source of           
information too often  neglected by     
those who specialize in religious       
literature1 yet without  which that     
literature can never wholly be          
understood4    ,julian1 who was born    
about #acdb1 in the reign of ,edward    
,,iii1 grew up  among the surroundings  
and influences natural to a deeply      
religious ,east  ,anglian gentlewoman at
 the close of the ,middle ,ages4 ,though
 she speaks  of herself as 8unlettered10

 which perhaps means unable to write1   
she  certainly received considerable    
education1 including some ,latin1 before
  her ,revelations were composed4 ,her  
known connection with the  ,benedictine 
convent of ,carrow1 near ,norwich1 in   
whose gift was the  anchorage to which  
she retired1 suggests that she may have 
been educated  by the nuns2 and perhaps 
made her first religious profession at  
this  house1 which was in her time the  
principal 8young ladies' school0 of the 
,norwich diocese1 and a favourite       
retreat of those adopting the religious 
life4 ,during her most impressionable   
years she must have seen in their       
freshness some of the greatest creations
 of ,gothic art1 for in ,norfolk  both  
architecture and painting had been      
carried to the highest pitch of         
excellence by the beginning of the      
fourteenth century4 ,the great ,east    
,anglian school of miniature painting   
had already produced its  masterpieces  
and was in its decadence4 ,but if we    

look at these  masterpieces--the        
wonderful manuscripts illuminated at    
,gorleston near  ,yarmouth1 and other   
religious houses of the district--and   
remember that  these are merely the     
surviving examples of an art which      
decorated the  walls of the churches as 
richly as the pages of its              
service-books1 we  begin to realize the 
sort of iconography1 the view of the    
,christian  landscape1 from which       
,julian's mental furniture was derived4 
,some of the  best of these manuscripts 
are in the ,british ,museum2 and those  
who wish  to understand the atmosphere  
in which the medival mystics flourished 
would do well to study ,julian's        
,revelations in their light4 ,there they
  will find expressed in design that    
mixture of gaiety and awe1 that         
balanced understanding of the natural   
and the divine1 which is one of  her    
strong characteristics4 ,she1 like these
 artists1 can afford to  wreathe her    
images of supernatural mysteries in     

homely details drawn  from the common   
life4 ,moreover1 the more pictorial her 
revelations  become1 the more closely   
they approximate to the pictures in the 
psalters and ,books of ,hours of her    
time4 ,from this source came her        
detailed visions of incidents in the    
,passion--the blood that she saw        
running down under the garland of       
thorns1 the dried1 discoloured body1    
the gaping wounds1 and 8rueful and      
wasted0 face of ,christ--and those of   
the ,blessed ,virgin as a 8little       
maiden10 as 8,mater ,dolorosa10 and as  
the  crowned ,queen of ,heaven4 ,all    
these were common subjects with the     
miniature artists and wall painters of  
the time1 and the form which they  took 
in ,julian's revelations must be        
attributed to a large extent to         
unconscious memory of those artists'    
works4    ,another more inward aspect of
 contemporary religion has also affected
  her3 the cult of the ,holy ,name of   
,jesus4 ,this beautiful devotion was    

specially characteristic of ,english    
personal religion in the late ,middle   
,ages1 and is strongly marked in the    
writings of the mystics2 especially     
,hilton and ,rolle4 ,the great          
popularity in ,england of the hymn ,jesu
  ,dulcis ,memoria1 and the many        
vernacular imitations of it current in  
,julian's day1 helped in the spread of  
this cult2 with which was  associated   
that intense and highly emotional       
preoccupation with the  physical        
accidents of the ,passion so constantly 
reflected in her  visionary experience4 
8,o good ,jesu60 cried ,rolle1 8my heart
 thou hast  bound in love of ,thy ,name 
and now ,i cannot but sing it02 and he  
spoke  not for himself only but for all 
the best religious lyrists of the early 
fourteenth century1 whose characteristic
 mood was that of personal1  intimate1  
and sorrowing love of ,jesus4           
8,sweet ,jesu1 now will ,i sing         
,to thee1 a song of love longing4       
,teach me1 ,lord1 thy love song         

,with sweet tears ever among40    ,thus1
 one of these ,middle ,english poets    
could write3                            
8,jesu1 well owe ,i to love thee        
,for that me showed the rood tree1      
,the crown of thorns1 the nails three1  
,the sharp spear that through-stong     
thee1                    ,jesu of love  
is sooth tokening                       
,thy head down-bowed to love-kissing1   
,thine arms spread to love-clipping1    
,thy side all open to love-showing40    
,of such poetry as this--with which she 
was probably familiar--,julian often    
reminds us2 and sometimes her parallels 
with it are close4 ,thus she says  in   
her tenth ,revelation3 8,then with a    
glad cheer our ,lord looked into  his   
side1 and beheld rejoicing4 ,with his   
sweet looking he led forth the          
understanding of his creature by the    
same wound into his side within4  ,and  
then he showed a fair delectable place  
and large enough for all  mankind that  
shall be saved to rest in peace and in  

love4444 ,and with  this our good ,lord 
said full blissfully3 ,lo6 how that ,i  
loved thee40 ,in  such passages as this1
 in her highly visualized meditations on
 the ,crown  of ,thorns and the         
,precious ,blood1 and in such phrases as
 8,i liked none  other heaven than      
,jesus1 who shall be my bliss when ,i am
 there10 and  other ardent expressions  
of religious love1 she is speaking the  
common  devotional language and using   
the common devotional imagery of her own
  day4 ,hence those merely visionary    
experiences with which her book opens   
and which form by far the least         
important part of it1 can be accounted  
for as the result of unconscious memory1
 weaving new vivid pictures from  the   
current religious and artistic          
conceptions in which she had been       
reared4 ,a correspondence has indeed    
been detected between the order of      
these fifteen 8showings10 and the       
fifteen prayers on the ,passion known   
as the 8,,xv ,os10 which occur in the   

,sarum ,hor4 ,they are1 in fact1  dreams
 of which any devout and imaginative    
person of that time was  capable2 and   
need not be taken too seriously when    
estimating the  character of ,julian's  
mysticism4    ,this1 then1 was the      
religious1 artistic1 and emotional      
environment in  which she grew up2 an   
environment to which new sombre colour  
and new  realization of pain had been   
given by the ,black ,death which swept  
through ,norfolk when she was a child4  
,more important1 however1 than any      
external influence1 was the part her own
 temperament played in her  special     
apprehension of ,god4 ,it is plain that 
she was from the first of  an intensely 
religious1 meditative disposition4 ,as a
 girl1 she says1 she  asked of ,god     
three things4 ,the first was1 that she  
might have a keen  realization of       
,christ's ,passion2 because although she
 had great feeling  of it1 she desired  
more1 and specially a bodily sight of   
,his pains4 ,the  second was bodily     

sickness1 much esteemed in the ,middle  
,ages as a means  of grace2 and this she
 wished to suffer at thirty years of    
age4 ,the  third was1 that as ,saint    
,cecilia was pierced by three wounds1 so
 she  might be pierced with the three   
wounds of contrition1 compassion1 and   
eager longing towards ,god4 ,the first  
two desires she forgot for a while2  but
 the three wounds she prayed for        
continually4 ,when she was thirty  years
 old1 the gift of sickness was granted  
her1 and it was exactly such  a         
sickness1 8so hard as unto death10 as   
she had asked3 a fact which  tells us a 
good deal about ,julian's mental        
make-up1 revealing her as the  possessor
 of an extremely active 8psychic        
background40 ,by the law of  association
 we may be sure that her illness brought
 back to mind the  other forgotten      
prayer1 for a deeper insight into1 and  
vision of1 the  ,passion4 ,it is        
supposed that she was at this time      
already an anchoress1  shut in that tiny

 room against the south wall of ,st4    
,julian's church at  ,norwich1 of which 
the foundations can still be traced4    
,but nothing in  her own account        
suggests this1 and the presence of her  
mother and 8other  persons0 round her   
sick bed is rather against it4 ,at the  
same time1 a  single woman of strong    
religious bent is hardly likely in that 
period to  have remained in the world   
till she was thirty4 ,julian was perhaps
 a  ,benedictine nun at ,carrow1 and    
after her vision sought a life of       
greater  seclusion and austerity at ,st4
 ,julian's1 which was the property of   
the  ,carrow convent4 ,the anchoress was
 often1 but not always1 a professed     
nun3 and though no reminiscences of     
cloister life can be traced in          
,julian's writings1 such a life would   
account in part for the theological     
knowledge and familiarity with dogmatic 
language which those writings  display4 
,julian's account of what happened in   
her illness is extremely precise1  and  

makes this part of her revelation an    
interesting psychological  document4    
,she fell ill early in ,may #acgc2 and  
on the fourth night was  thought to be  
dying and given the last sacraments4    
,for two days more she  lingered1 quite 
conscious and expecting death2 and early
 in the morning  of the third day1 lost 
all feeling in her lower limbs4 ,when   
the priest  came to help her agony she  
was already speechless2 but made her    
nurses  prop her upright in bed1 so that
 she could fix her failing eyes on the  
crucifix he held towards her4 ,this she 
could see1 though everything else  grew 
dim to her sight4 ,then her head fell on
 one side1 breath failed1  and she was  
sure that the end had come4    ,with    
this conviction and acceptance of death1
 the stress of the  involuntary struggle
 for life seems suddenly to have ended4 
,she had  passed into a new state of    
consciousness1 in which her mind was    
clear  and her body free of pain1 8as   
whole as ever before or after40 ,in this

  condition her old and forgotten       
desires came back into her mind4 ,the   
first1 for sickness1 had been granted4  
,now1 she was impelled to ask the       
other1 for a keener realization of the  
,passion2 and this buried wish1  surging
 back abruptly into consciousness1      
became the starting-point of  her       
mystical experiences4 ,we cannot deny   
that these experiences had  their       
pathological side4 ,her physical and    
psychic state were abnormal4  ,with the 
perfect candour and common sense which  
add so much to our  delight in her1 she 
confesses that she at first mistook her 
revelations  for delirium1 and said to  
the monk who afterwards visited her that
 she  had raved4 ,there are1 however1 in
 these revelations1 as in all visionary 
experience of any value1 two distinct   
sides4 ,one is the visual or  auditory  
hallucination--the vision seen1 the     
voice heard--the materials  for which   
clearly come from the unconscious mind  
of the visionary1 and  can generally be 

traced to their source4 ,the other is   
the intuitive  spiritual teaching that  
accompanies it1 and often far exceeds   
the  visionary's own knowledge or power4
 ,julian1 in her account of what        
happened to her1 keeps these two        
elements perfectly distinct4 8,all the  
blessed teaching of our ,lord ,god10 she
 says1 8was shown to me by three        
parts--that is to say1 by the bodily    
sight1 by words formed in mine          
understanding1 and by ghostly sight40   
,the bodily vision1 as she expressly    
affirms1 she did not ask for2 and  here 
she agrees with all true mystics1 who   
invariably distrust these               
quasi-physical experiences4 ,yet it was 
in such visionary hallucination  that   
her revelations began4 ,with her eyes   
still fixed on the crucifix1  and       
apparently at the point of death1 she   
suddenly saw red blood running  down    
from the ,crown of ,thorns1 as if in    
answer to her prayer for more  feeling  
of the ,passion of ,christ4 ,the ,cross 

had become for her1 as the  shining     
pewter dish did for ,jacob ,boehme1 or  
the running stream for ,st4  ,ignatius1 
a focal point on which to concentrate2  
and so a door to a  deeper state of     
consciousness4 ,spiritual insight went  
side by side with  the bodily vision1   
which was accepted without question by  
,julian as a  direct message from       
,christ to strengthen her1 8lest she be 
tempted of  fiends before she died02 for
 in spite of her intuitive philosophic  
sense1 we must remember that she lived  
in imagination in that ,gothic  world of
 concrete devils and angels which the   
cathedral sculptors  reproduced4 ,the   
double experience--outward pictures of  
the ,passion1 and  inward teachings of  
the nature of ,god--continued for five  
hours1 whilst  she lay in a state of    
trance which her mother mistook for     
death4 8,the  first began early in the  
morn1 about the hour of four2 and they  
lasted1  showing by process full fair   
and steadily1 each following other1 till

 it  was nine of the day overpassed40   
,in those five hours ,julian received   
the  whole substance of her teaching1   
afterwards divided by her into sixteen  
8revelations of love40 ,when they had   
passed1 normal consciousness  returned1 
or1 as she says1 she 8fell to herself10 
and knew that she must  live4 ,she lay  
for some time in weakness and           
depression1 tormented by  evil dreams2  
but she recovered from her sickness1 and
 lived to a great  age4 ,her careful    
account of that illness1 and of the     
psychic experiences  accompanying it1   
helps us to understand those experiences
 from the  psychological as well as the 
mystical point of view4 ,seen thus1 they
 are  not unique2 but classic examples  
of a type which turns up from time to   
time in medical history4 ,thus ,dr4     
,edwin ,ash1 in ,faith and ,suggestion1 
has described a case which strikingly   
resembles that of ,julian4 ,here1  too1 
at the crisis of an apparently hopeless 
illness1 the patient fell  into a       

death-like trance1 had visions of a     
religious type1 and emerged  cured4 ,her
 mind was far inferior to that of       
,julian1 hence her experience  had less 
beauty and significance and was of      
little value for other  souls4          
,nevertheless1 its general outline      
forces us to acknowledge that  it       
belongs to the same class1 and helps us 
to interpret the facts which  lie behind
 ,julian's words4    ,julian's          
revelations have come down to us in two 
distinct versions1  which have both been
 edited for modern readers4 ,the best   
known is the  long version1 reproduced  
in ,miss ,warrack's delightful edition3 
but our  earliest manuscript of this    
only goes back to the sixteenth century1
 at  least a hundred years after        
,julian's death4 ,another1 much shorter1
 is  found in one fifteenth-century     
manuscript in the ,british ,museum1 and 
this has been edited by ,mr4 ,dundas    
,herford1 who claims--,i think with good
  reason--that it represents ,julian's  

first account of her visions1 written   
or told while they were still fresh in  
her mind1 and before her memory  of them
 had been coloured by long meditation1  
or by the theological  learning which   
she certainly acquired in later life4   
,it briefly sets  forth her chain of    
visions1 and the 8ghostly words0 and    
inward teachings  that accompanied them4
 ,these1 she says1 she has set down for 
the help of  her fellow-,christians and 
because she saw it to be ,god's will4   
8,but10  she adds1 8,god forbid that ye 
should say or take it so1 that ,i am a  
teacher3 for ,i mean not so6 ,no6 ,i    
never meant so6 ,for ,i am a woman1     
unlearned1 feeble and frail2 but ,i know
 well that this that ,i say1 ,i  have it
 of the showing of ,him that is         
,sovereign ,teacher40 ,in the long      
version these deprecatory words are     
omitted4 ,julian no longer fears to  be 
regarded as a teacher4 ,on the contrary1
 she speaks with a gentle  authority as 
one whose position is assured4 ,she is  

now1 without doubt1  the established    
anchoress2 the devout woman whose       
special vocation is  known1 and to whom 
people come for spiritual teaching4     
,moreover1 she  tells us in this book   
that only twenty years1 less three      
months1 after  her vision was she       
inwardly taught the importance of all   
its details1  however 8misty and        
indifferent0 they seemed4 ,she was      
therefore past  fifty when she wrote or 
dictated it2 and it contains the fruit1 
not only  of her first vivid experience1
 but of all the ponderings by which the 
last atom of significance was extracted 
from it1 the 8enlightenings and         
touchings of the same ,spirit10 which   
kept the revelation fresh in after      
life4    ,as she says herself--for her  
introspective powers were               
remarkable--the  8first beginnings0 and 
subsequent 8ghostly teachings0 at last  
became so  merged in her understanding  
that she could not separate them4 ,there
 is a  parallel to this in the life of  

,boehme4 ,he says that in the abnormal  
state which was induced by gazing at the
 polished pewter dish he  8understood   
the ,being of all ,beings0--even as     
,julian 8saw ,god in a  ,point0--but    
this stupendous revelation only left him
 dazed and  inarticulate4 ,only after   
twelve years of meditation1 during which
 he  felt the seed of truth 8unfolding  
within him like a young plant10 was he  
able to describe it4    ,when we compare
 the two versions of ,julian's work1 we 
find many  differences which remind us  
of this confession4 ,although the whole 
doctrine of the long book is really     
implied in the short book--for it is1   
in ,boehme's phrase1 an unfolding of the
 plant from that one seed--we see  that 
the most beautiful and poetical passages
 are found in the long  version only4   
,they are the fruit of meditation upon  
vision4 ,the workings  of ,julian's     
unconscious mind in her trance have only
 provided the raw  material1 as the     
inspiration of the poet gives only the  

crude beginnings  of the poem4          
,moreover1 with age her character       
deepened and grew richer4  ,she used her
 talent to help other souls1 and it     
increased4 ,she studied1  too1 and found
 language of great subtlety and beauty  
in which to express  her vision of      
truth4 ,though even the first version of
 her book shows  theological knowledge  
which would put to shame most           
present-day  ,christians1 in the later  
work this knowledge is much increased4  
,reading  was part of the duty of an    
anchoress1 being regarded as an         
essential  element in the life of       
prayer2 and intelligent reading has     
clearly  nourished ,julian's deep       
meditations on the character of ,god4   
,in her  there was an almost perfect    
balance between the intellectual and the
  emotional life1 and there are few     
women mystics of ,whom we can say this4 
,the question of her literary sources is
 an interesting one4 ,a careful         
examination of her revelations makes it 

plain that even when the short  version 
was written1 she was already acquainted 
with many theological  conceptions2     
whilst the meditations with which the   
long version is  enriched1 and its      
fuller descriptions of her spiritual    
8,showings10  reveal her as possessing  
at least by middle life a considerable  
knowledge of the language of            
,augustinian theology and of the        
root-ideas  of ,christian mysticism4 ,as
 used by her1 many of these ideas have  
the  special colour which was given to  
them by ,meister ,eckhart and his       
school2 and suggest that ,julian at one 
time or another had come into  contact  
with the characteristically ,dominican  
type of mysticism which is  best known  
to us in the works of ,suso and ,tauler4
 ,in her teaching on  sin--8,i saw not  
sin1 for ,i believe it hath no substance
 nor any part of  being0--she is        
following1 indeed almost quoting1       
,eckhart's saying that  8evil is nothing
 but a privation of being2 not an       

effect1 but a defect40  ,so1 too1       
,eckhart's daring assertion that sin has
 its place in the  scheme--8,since ,god1
 in a way1 also wills that ,i should    
have committed  sins1 ,i do not wish not
 to have committed them0--appears to be 
echoed in  gentler form in ,julian's    
view of sin as a purifying scourge1 and 
of the  scars which it leaves on the    
redeemed soul as being 8not wounds but  
worships40 ,her beautiful saying that we
 are ,god's bliss1 8for in us ,he       
enjoyeth without end10 seems like a     
deduction from the ,eckhartian  paradox1
 8,god needs me as much as ,i need      
,him40 ,she has received1 perhaps  from 
the same source1 the antique mystical   
notion of the soul's  precession from   
and return to ,god4 8,the soul10 said   
,eckhart1 8is created  that it may flow 
back into the bottom of the bottomless  
fountain whence  it came forth40 8,thus 
,i understood10 says ,julian1 8that all 
,his blessed  children which be come out
 of ,him by nature shall be brought     

again into  ,him by grace02 and again1  
8all kinds that ,he hath made to flow   
out of  ,him to work ,his will shall be 
restored and brought again into ,him40  
,here1 again1 the naked ,eckhartian     
monism seems to be transmitted through  
a more human and more spiritual         
temperament4 ,she agrees1 too1 with the 
,german mystics in her doctrine of ,god 
as the 8ground of the soul40 8,our  soul
 is so deep-grounded in ,god and so     
endlessly treasured that we may  not    
come to the knowing thereof till we have
 first knowing of ,god4444  ,god is     
nearer to us than our own soul1 for ,he 
is the ground in whom our  soul         
standeth1 and ,he is the mean that      
keepeth the substance and the           
sensuality together so that they shall  
never depart40 ,so ,tauler says1 8,a    
man who verily desires to enter in will 
surely find ,god here1 for ,god  never  
separates ,himself from this ground4    
,god will be present with him  and he   
will find and enjoy eternity here40     

,julian's revelation was received in    
#acgc1 and the long text as we have  it 
was written at some date after #acic4   
,eckhart had died in #acbi1 ,tauler  in 
#acfa2 and the great ,ruysbroeck1 whose 
mysticism owes much on its  speculative 
side to ,eckhart's philosophy1 in #acha4
 ,the influence of  their teaching      
spread rapidly1 and few preaching friars
 of an inward  disposition can have     
escaped it4 ,to these preaching friars  
was committed  in the fourteenth century
 the special duty of giving solid       
theological  teaching to nuns4 ,this was
 commonly done by way of vernacular     
sermons  and instructions1 of which     
,tauler's surviving sermons are types3  
and it  was possibly through such       
instructions given in the ,carrow       
convent that  ,julian obtained that     
peculiar knowledge of ,dominican        
mysticism1 those  contacts with         
,augustinian and ,victorine thought1 on 
which the more  philosophic side of her 
revelation seems to depend4 ,the        

parallels with  her great contemporary  
,st4 ,catherine of ,siena1 which        
,professor ,edmund  ,gardner has noted1 
are probably due to the fact that both  
women drew  their ideas from some       
earlier source4 ,her likenesses to      
,ruysbroeck can  also be accounted for4 
,his ,seven ,cloisters1 ,kingdom of     
,god's ,lovers1  and ,ornaments of the  
,spiritual ,marriage were all completed 
before  #acej1 and knowledge of them    
would reach ,east ,anglia quickly1      
through the  ,flemish colony established
 at ,norwich4 ,several close            
correspondences  with him can be traced 
in ,julian's work2 especially her       
conception of  ,god's eternal thirst and
 love-longing1 so similar to            
,ruysbroeck's  8hungry yet generous love
 of ,god10 and the opening phrase of her
 ,third  ,revelation1 8,after this ,i   
saw ,god in a ,point10 which reminds us 
of the  great definition in the ,seven  
,cloisters1 8,that ,point in which all  
our  lives find their end40 ,julian thus

 represents the first emergence in      
,english literature of a stream of      
tradition which is not represented in   
the classic school of ,english mysticism
 descended from ,rolle4 ,by this  school
 she does not appear to have been       
greatly influenced2 there is  little in 
her that reminds us of it1 or of that   
group of contemplatives  who produced   
the ,cloud of ,unknowing and its        
companion works4 ,her true  affinities  
are with the ,christian ,platonism which
 ,st4 ,augustine  introduced into       
theology1 and its developments in the   
works of ,erigena  and ,eckhart4 ,but   
when we have given full weight to the   
effects upon her  work of oral teaching 
and of reading1 the true originality of 
that work  only becomes more manifest4  
,reading and teaching fed her           
speculative  mind1 and helped her to    
understand and express her own          
experience2 but  this experience in its 
essence was independent of intellectual 
knowledge4 ,it was the fruit of a deeply

 mystical and poetic nature1  brooding  
on the conception of ,god common to     
medival ,christianity4  ,julian had in a
 high degree constructive religious     
genius2 and for such  a nature an       
evocative phrase is enough to waken the 
8ghostly sight40    ,it is impossible in
 a short essay to give any full account 
of her  teaching4 ,that teaching is     
centred on her own ardent consciousness 
of  ,god1 as an all-transcending yet    
all-enclosing reality2 a conception at  
once philosophic and practical4 ,for    
,julian1 as for the ,platonists1 ,god   
is the sum of the highest spiritual     
values--8,he is all-thing that is good  
to my seeming1 and all-thing that is    
good1 it is ,he40 ,her perception of    
the ,divine ,immanence is peculiarly    
intense1 and expressed in the  strongest
 terms4 8,god is kind 7nature7 in ,his  
being3 that is to say1  that goodness   
that is in kind1 that is ,god4 ,he is   
the ground1 ,he is the  substance1 ,he  
is the same thing that is kind-head10   

and again1 8,i saw  full assuredly that 
our substance is in ,god1 and also ,i   
saw that in our  sensuality ,god is 444 
for it is ,his good pleasure to reign in
 our  understanding blissfully1 and sit 
in our soul restfully1 and to dwell in  
our soul endlessly1 us all working into 
,him40 ,but this vivid sense of  ,divine
 reality1 as the very ground of being1  
is closely bound up with  her devotion  
to the person of ,christ4 ,her          
theological path1 like her  mystical    
experience1 lay through the human to the
 ,divine1 through  emotional realization
 of the ,passion to intellectual vision 
of the  ,godhead4 ,in the first         
revelation of all we get these two      
aspects of  truth sharply contrasted2   
for there her vision of the bloodstained
 ,crown  of ,thorns1 with its intimate  
appeal to the heart1 is balanced by her 
other interior sight of 8the ,godhead   
seen in mine understanding40 ,the  long 
version of her book elaborates this     
simple intuition of the ,deity  into a  

very beautiful description of the ,holy 
,trinity--always one of  ,julian's      
favourite subjects--but the whole is    
really implied in the first  brief      
statement1 which strikes at once her    
characteristic chord of  intimacy and   
awe1 or1 as she puts it1 8the dread and 
the homeliness of  ,god40 ,in the       
,catholic doctrine of the ,trinity1     
which was never far from  her thoughts1 
she found the link between these        
personal and impersonal  apprehensions4 
,that half-,platonic notion of ,christ  
the ,eternal ,wisdom as  8,mother0 of   
the soul1 which is one of her most      
original conceptions1  here takes its   
place side by side with the other1 more 
metaphysical  intuition of that         
unconditioned ,deity in whom 8,all-thing
 hath the  ,being40 8,for all our life  
is in three3 in the first we have our   
being1  in the second we have our       
increasing1 and in the third we have our
  fulfilling3 the first is nature1 the  
second is mercy1 and the third is       

grace4 ,for the first ,i understood that
 the high might of the ,trinity is  our 
,father1 and the deep wisdom of the     
,trinity is our ,mother1 and the  great 
love of the ,trinity is our ,lord3 and  
all this we have in nature  and in our  
substantial making4444 ,all the fair    
working1 and all the  sweet kindly      
office of dearworthy motherhood is      
impropriated to the  ,second ,person 444
 and all is one ,love40    ,this blend  
of personal and metaphysical vision is  
not unique4 ,we find it  again in the   
,franciscan contemplative1 ,angela of   
,foligno4 ,but ,julian's  nature is     
richer and more mellow1 and the doctrine
 of love which she  deduced from her    
experience is more profound4 ,here1 in  
this harmonized  consciousness of the   
most human and most philosophic aspects 
of  religious experience1 she is typical
 of ,christian mysticism at its best4   
,she avoids on the one hand the         
excessive intellectualism of the        
,neoplatonist1 and on the other the     

unpleasant exuberance of the  religious 
emotionalist1 yet draws from the        
apprehensions of both the  heart and the
 head all the elements needed to feed a 
full spiritual  life4 ,the human element
 brought in by ,christianity1 with all  
the  emotional values belonging to      
it--however symbolic this side of       
contemplation must necessarily          
be--redeems philosophic mysticism from  
the  clear coldness1 the lofty          
superiority1 that ,st4 ,augustine       
condemned in  the ,platonists4 ,but1    
equally1 it is the philosophic          
background1 the  austere worship of that
 trinity of ,light1 ,life1 and ,love1 in
 whom1 as  ,julian says1 we are clad    
more closely than a body in its clothes1
 which  saves mystical fervour from its 
worst extravagances4 ,here she is and   
will ever be one of the safest guides to
 the contemplative life4    ,another    
special quality of ,julian's teaching is
 its healthy1 vigorous1  affirmative    
character4 ,the only two sins she       

sternly condemns--and she  calls them   
not sins1 but sickness--are sloth or    
lack of zest1 and  doubtful dread or    
lack of hope4 ,zest and hope she regards
 as essential  factors in the life of   
the soul4 ,the ,light1 ,life1 and ,love 
which form  her ultimate definition of  
triune ,reality--the ,mother1 ,brother1 
and  ,saviour1 which are her nearest    
images for ,christ's relation with      
man--these are conceptions which kill   
the sort of pious moods that ,r4 ,l4    
,stevenson called 8dim1 dem1 and dowie40
 ,god's attitude to man is  8courteous1 
glad1 and merry10 and we do ,him less   
honour by solemnity  than by 8cheer of  
mirth and joy40 ,to her1 only the good  
is the true1 and  evil is a void1 a lack
 of the only reality2 a ,platonic notion
 which has  always been dear to the     
mystics4 8,in this naked word ,sin10    
says ,julian1  8our ,lord brought to my 
mind generally all that is not good 444 
but ,i  saw not sin1 for ,i believe it  
hath no manner of substance nor no part 

of  being1 nor could it be known but by 
the pain it is cause of40 ,it follows   
that our attention should not be given  
to the avoidance or consideration  of   
sin1 but to the understanding and       
enjoyment of the good and the real4     
8,the beholding of other men's sins1 it 
maketh as it were a thick mist  before  
the eyes of the soul10 says ,julian4    
,her strongest condemnation is  given to
 morbid pondering of past sins and      
mistakes4 8,right as by the  courtesy of
 ,god ,he forgets our sins when we      
repent1 right so will ,he  that we      
forget our sin1 and all our heaviness   
and all our doubtful  dreads40 ,this    
world1 after all1 is only a nursery for 
heaven1 and its  inhabitants mostly     
spiritual babies who need not be taken  
too seriously4  8,i understood no higher
 stature in this life than childhood20  
and the  attitude of ,god to our infant 
souls is that of 8the kindly loving     
,mother  that witteth and knoweth the   
need of her child and keepeth it full   

tenderly as the kind and condition of   
,motherhood will40    ,no modern        
psychologist could be more emphatic than
 this  fourteenth-century recluse on the
 foolishness of worry1 the duty of      
confidence1 gaiety1 and hope4           
8,notwithstanding our simple living and 
our  blindness here1 yet endlessly our  
courteous ,lord beholdeth us in this    
working rejoicing2 and of all things we 
may please him best1 wisely and  truly  
to believe1 and to enjoy with ,him and  
in ,him40 ,she brings back the          
primitive ,christian insistence on      
joy--confident happiness--as the one    
sure sign of the spiritual life4 ,if we 
have not got this1 it is because  we    
lack the faith and common sense which   
sees life in a universal and            
disinterested light4 ,once1 ,julian     
says1 she was inclined to worry about   
,god's work in the soul of a friend whom
 she loved1 and she was answered  in her
 reason 8as it were by a friendly man10 
8,take it generally6 and  behold the    

courtesy of thy ,lord ,god as ,he shows 
it to thee1 for it is  more worship to  
,god to behold ,him in all than in any  
special thing40 ,in  those words we have
 a complete prescription for happiness  
and inward  peace4 ,all that is made1 as
 ,julian saw in her vision1 is but 8a   
little  thing the quantity of an hazel  
nut0 in comparison with the ,divine life
  that creates1 keeps1 and loves it1 and
 may be known in those sudden  glimpses 
of perfection which we call the ,good1  
the ,beautiful1 and the  ,true4 ,these1 
in her language1 are 8,god's courteous  
showings of ,himself10  and we are most 
likely to encounter them when we take   
the worlds of  nature and grace         
8generally10 and refrain from partial or
 egoistic  criticisms and demands4      
,failure in this simple rule1 she       
thinks1 is the  true cause of human     
misery and unrest4 8,this is the cause  
why we be not  all in ease of heart and 
soul2 that we seek here rest in those   
things  that are so little1 wherein is  

no rest1 and know not our ,god that is  
,all-mighty1 ,all-wise1 and ,all-good40 
,,mysticism ,,in ,,modern ,,france      
,i                       ,s,,ur         
,,th,r,,se ,,de ,l',,enfant-,j,,sus     
,that ,christian tradition of the       
spiritual life which has been specially 
developed within the religious          
orders--with its definite objective1 its
  methodical training in self-conquest  
and the art of prayer--is often         
regarded as a mere survival of          
medivalism1 lingering in odd corners but
  having no points of contact with our  
modern world4 ,yet this tradition  lives
 now1 as surely as in the days of ,st4  
,gertrude or ,st4 ,teresa4 ,it          
continues to exercise its mysterious    
attraction2 transmuting those who  give 
themselves to its influence1 and        
producing that special type of          
character and experience which is so    
clearly marked in the histories of  the 
,catholic saints4 ,in a world of change1
 this has hardly altered4  ,within the  

contemplative convents there obtains    
that same scale of  values1 that same   
contempt for the body and undivided     
attention to the  interests of the soul1
 that same avoidance of all comfort or  
pleasure  and eager acceptance of pain1 
which is revealed in the standard       
writings  of ,christian asceticism4 ,in 
these houses1 mysticism is still a      
practical  art3 the education there     
given represents the classic spiritual  
discipline of the west1 and still       
retains its transforming power4         
,through it1 souls obtain access to a   
veritable world of spirit2 and          
apprehend under symbols eternal values1 
which are unperceived by their  fellow  
men4 ,by it they are supported through  
the difficult adjustments  of           
consciousness and sublimation of        
instinct1 which are needed when the     
centre of life's interest is shifted    
from physical to supernal levels4  ,this
 is a fact which students of psychology1
 and especially of religious  experience

 in its intensive form1 should not      
ignore4 ,they need not go to  the       
,middle ,ages for their examples of the 
effect of ascetic training and          
contemplative practice1 or for          
characteristic specimens of the 8saintly
  type02 for these may be found within  
our own period1 and studied in  their   
relation to our modern world4    ,those 
who regard this saintly type as a       
hot-house plant1 raised under           
conditions which appear to defend it    
from the temptations and  distractions  
of ordinary existence1 can have little  
acquaintance either  with cloister      
ideals or with cloistered lives4 ,a     
thoroughgoing monastic  discipline is   
the most searching school of virtue ever
 invented4 ,it  withers easy-going piety
 and 8other-worldliness0 at the root4   
,it confers  a robust humility which is 
proof against all mortifications and    
disappointments4 ,it leaves no room for 
individual tastes and  preferences1     
religious or secular4 ,its pupils must  

learn to resent  nothing1 to demand     
nothing2 to thrive on humiliations1 to  
love and serve  all without distinction1
 without personal choice2 even to       
renounce the  special consolations of   
religion4 ,the common idea of the       
cloister1 as  providing a career of     
impressive religious ceremonial varied  
by plain  sewing1 pious gossip1 and     
8devotionettes0 is far from the truth4  
,on its  external side1 a well-ordered  
convent provides a busy1 practical1     
family  life of the most austere kind1  
with many duties1 both religious and    
domestic1 countless demands upon        
patience1 good-temper and               
unselfishness1 and few relaxations4 ,on 
its hidden side1 it is a device  to     
train and toughen the spirit1 develop   
its highest powers1 and help it  to     
concentrate its attention more and more 
completely on eternal  realities4 ,that 
training is still given in its          
completeness2 and the  classic1 saintly 
character is still being produced1 with 

its special  cultivation of love1       
meekness1 and self-sacrifice1 balanced  
by energy1  courage1 and strength of    
will4    ,sanctity is the orientation of
 the spirit towards supreme ,reality4   
,to  the believer in any theistic       
religion1 no attitude of the soul could 
be  simpler1 more natural than this4    
,there is nothing about it which        
deserves to be called abnormal1 archaic1
 or fantastic4 ,the complications  with 
which it is surrounded1 the unnatural   
aspect which it wears for  practical    
men1 all come from its collision with   
the entangled interests  and perverse   
ideals of the world4 ,thus1 retreat from
 this tangle of sham  interests1 the    
building up of a consistent universe    
within which the  self can develop its  
highest powers and purest loves1 is felt
 to be  imperative for those selves in  
whom this innate aptitude for ,god      
reaches  the conscious level4 ,in these 
spirits1 the 8vocation0 for the special 
life of correspondence with the         

supersensual reproduces on a higher     
plane the vocation of the artist or the 
poet4 ,all the self's best  energies and
 desires tend in this direction1 and it 
will achieve  harmonious development    
only by unifying itself about this      
centre of  interest1 and submitting to  
the nurture and discipline which shall  
assure its dominance4 ,the symbols with 
which the universe of religion is       
furnished1 the moral law which there    
obtains1 are all contributory to  the   
one end2 and find their justification in
 its achievement4    ,within the        
,christian ,church1 and especially in   
that which is technically  called the   
8religious life10 these symbols and this
 law have not varied  for many          
centuries2 nor has the type of          
personality which they develop  changed 
much since it first appeared in monastic
 history4 ,the sharp  sense of close    
communion with1 and immediate           
responsibility to1 a  personal ,god     
possessing human attributes2 the        

complete abandonment of  desire1        
combined with astonishing tenacity of   
purpose2 contempt for the  merely       
comfortable either in spiritual or      
physical affairs2 a glad and  eager     
acceptance of pain--these are the       
qualities of the ,christian saint1  and 
these are still fostered in appropriate 
subjects by the cloistered  life4 ,these
 facts have been abundantly demonstrated
 during the last  thirty years in a     
group of ,french ,carmelite mystics1 of 
whom the best  known is ,thrse ,martin1 
already the object of a widespread      
cultus  under the name of ,sur ,thrse de
 l',enfant ,jsus4 ,others who will repay
  study are ,elizabeth ,catez1 or ,sur  
,elizabeth de la ,trinit 7#ahhj-aijf7   
and ,mre ,marie-,ange de l',enfant-,jsus
 7#ahha-aiji74 ,it is clear that we     
have in these young women--for they all 
died before they were thirty  years of  
age--a genuine renaissance of           
traditional ,catholic mysticism4  ,their
 experience exhibits many close         

correspondences with that of the  great 
mystics of the past2 the same           
development of the interior life can  be
 traced in them1 and they knew at first 
hand some at least among those  forms of
 spiritual consciousness which are      
described by ,ruysbroeck1  ,angela of   
,foligno1 ,st4 ,teresa1 and ,st4 ,john  
of the ,cross4    ,the first in time and
 in importance--for the others depended 
to a greater  or less degree on her     
influence and example--was ,thrse       
,martin1 who was  born at ,alenon in    
#ahgc and died in #ahig4 ,the last nine 
years of her  life were spent in the    
,carmelite ,convent of ,lisieux in      
,normandy2 and she  there wrote the     
spiritual autobiography1 ,l'histoire    
d'une me1 which  has since been         
translated into every ,european         
language4 ,in her  life--which shows    
with exceptional clearness the reality  
and driving  power of that instinct     
which is known as religious             
vocation--and in the  incidents         

connected with her death and cultus1 we 
find many suggestive  parallels with the
 histories of the historical saints4    
,these parallels  often help us to      
determine the true meaning of statements
 in those  histories2 indicating the    
possible origin of much that now appears
  extravagant and abnormal1 and         
restoring to their real position in the 
human race men and women who dropped    
their living characteristics in         
ascending to the altars of the ,church4 
,we notice first in ,thrse the extent to
 which heredity and environment         
contributed to the formation in her of  
an exclusively religious  temperament4  
,she inherited from both parents an     
ascetic tendency4 ,her  father1 as a    
young man1 had sought without success to
 become a novice at  the ,great ,st4    
,bernard2 her mother had wished to be a 
,sister of ,charity4  ,their marriage   
had the character of a religious        
dedication2 and their  one wish was for 
children who might be consecrated to the

 service of  ,god4 ,nine were born1 of  
whom four died in infancy4 ,the five    
girls who  survived all entered the     
cloister1 for which indeed their whole  
life had  been a perfect preparation4   
,the idea of marriage seems never to    
have  occurred to any member of the     
family4 ,hence ,thrse1 the youngest     
child1  grew up in a home which was a   
veritable forcing-house of the spiritual
  life1 though full of happiness and    
warm affection2 and by it was moulded   
to that puritanism and other-worldliness
 which is characteristic of real        
,catholic piety4 ,there the conception  
of earthly existence as a 8school  for  
saints0 was taken for granted1 and the  
supremacy of religious  interests never 
questioned3 all deeds and words1 however
 trivial1 being  judged by the grief or 
pleasure they would give to ,god4 ,even 
as a tiny  child1 she was given a string
 of beads to count the 8sacrifices0 made
  each day4 ,the ,martin family lived1  
in fact1 within a dream-world1          

substantially identical with the        
universe of medival piety4 ,it was      
peopled with angels and demons1 whose   
activities were constantly noted2  its  
doors were ever open for the entry of   
the miraculous1 its human  inhabitants  
were the objects of the ,blessed        
,virgin's peculiar care1  every chance  
happening was the result of ,divine     
interference4 ,for them  this universe  
was actual1 not symbolic4 ,their minds  
instinctively  rejected every impression
 that conflicted with it2 and its       
inconsistencies with the other--perhaps 
equally symbolic and less  lovely--world
 of our daily life were unperceived4    
,the most bizarre  legends of the saints
 were literal facts2 all relics were    
authentic1 and  most were full of       
supernatural power4 ,the ,holy ,house of
 ,loretto1 the  face of ,st4 ,catherine 
of ,bologna still marked by the kiss of 
the ,infant  ,christ1 found in them     
willing and awestruck believers4 ,yet   
these crude  symbols1 thus literally    

understood1 became for them the means of
 a real  transcendence4 ,the dominant   
interests of the home were truly        
supersensual2 a vigorous spiritual life 
was fostered in it1 marked by  humility 
and love1 true goodness1 complete       
unselfishness1 a courageous  attitude   
towards misfortune and pain4    ,thus   
from birth ,thrse was protected from all
 risk of intellectual  conflict1 and    
surrounded by harmonious contributory   
suggestions all  tending to press her   
emotional life into one mould4 ,such a  
nurture could  hardly fail to create    
either the disposition of a rebel or    
that of a  saint3 but there was in      
,thrse no tendency to revolt4 ,her      
temperament--ardent1 imaginative1       
abnormally sensitive1 and psychically   
unstable--inclined her to the           
enthusiastic acceptance of religious    
ideas1  and even in childhood she showed
 a fervour and devotion exceeding that  
of her sisters4 ,when she was still a   
little girl1 the two eldest left  home  

one after the other1 in order to become 
nuns in the ,carmelite  convent of      
,lisieux4 ,the departure of the first1  
,pauline1 was a crushing  grief to      
,thrse1 at that time about nine years   
old2 and was apparently  the beginning  
of her own desire to be a nun4 ,she told
 the ,superior of  the convent that she1
 too1 intended to be a ,carmelite1 and  
wished to  take the veil at once4 ,the  
,reverend ,mother1 a woman of kindness  
and good  sense1 did not laugh2 but     
advised her to wait until she was       
sixteen1 and  then to try her vocation4 
,there is less absurdity than at first  
appears  in this childish craving2 for  
the religious type is often strangely   
precocious4 ,as the tendency to music or
 painting may appear in earliest        
childhood1 so the sense of vocation may 
awaken1 long before the  implications of
 this mysterious impulse are fully      
understood4 ,thus  ,elizabeth ,catez1   
afterwards ,sur ,elizabeth de la        
,trinit1 determined to  be a nun when   

she was seven years old1 and began at   
this age to govern  her inner life4 ,she
 and ,thrse help us to understand the   
stories and  the visions and            
self-dedication of the little ,st4      
,catherine of ,siena2 or  those of ,st4 
,catherine of ,genoa and ,madame ,guyon1
 who both wished at  twelve years old to
 enter a religious order4 ,we are faced 
in all such  cases by the strange       
phenomenon of accelerated development3  
strongly  marked in the case of ,thrse1 
who undoubtedly had1 in spite of the    
great simplicity of her nature1 a real  
genius for the spiritual life4    ,she  
had1 too1 and in a marked degree1 the   
peculiarly sensitive psychic            
organization which is observed in many  
of the historic mystics4 ,a long  and   
severe nervous illness had followed her 
sister's departure for the  cloister4   
,it was cured by a form of              
auto-suggestion for which many          
parallels can be found in the history of
 adult religious experience2  though few

 in that of children of her age4 ,this  
incident ,thrse has  described in her   
memoirs with great clearness and        
honesty4 ,at a crisis  of the sickness1 
when she was reduced to utter misery and
 weakness and  tormented by             
hallucinations and fears1 her three     
sisters came to her  room and knelt     
before the statue of the ,blessed       
,virgin1 praying for her  cure4 ,the    
sick child1 praying too as well as she  
could1 suddenly saw the  statue take    
life and advance towards her with a     
smile4 ,instantly the  prayer was       
answered1 her pains and delusions left  
her1 and she was  cured4 ,the 8vision0  
being told--and of course accepted at   
face-value as a  supernatural           
grace--marked ,thrse from this time as a
 privileged soul4  ,it certainly        
indicated in her an abnormal            
suggestibility1 comparable  with that   
which is revealed by the somewhat       
similar incident in the life  of ,julian
 of ,norwich1 and was not without       

importance for her future  development4 
,the religious transformation and       
exaltation so often experienced in      
adolescence is seen in ,thrse in its    
most intense form4 ,it was  initiated   
when she was thirteen by another nervous
 illness1  apparently brought on by a   
morbid brooding on her own supposed     
imperfections--the spiritual ailment    
well known to religious  directors as   
8scrupulosity0--and it was from this    
period that she  afterwards dated the   
beginning of her real spiritual life4   
,the  childish determination to become a
 ,carmelite had now grown in  strength1 
and when she was fourteen she broke to  
her father her own  violent             
consciousness of vocation2 a certitude  
which nothing could  shake4 ,her inner  
life was at this time astonishingly     
mature4 ,she was  not a prig1 but a     
sensitive and affectionate little girl2 
yet her  autobiography is full of       
sayings which surprise us by their depth
  and wisdom1 when we remember the age  

of the child who thought and  said them4
 ,by the constant practice of small     
renunciations1  self-denial was now     
habitual to her2 for it was by that     
which she  called the 8little pathway0  
of incessant but inconspicuous          
sacrifices and kind deeds1 and not by   
any abnormal austerities or  devotions1 
that her character was formed4 ,though  
perfectly free from  all spiritual      
pride1 she was1 moreover1 quite certain 
of her own  communion with the ,divine  
order1 and of the authority of the      
impressions which she received from it4 
8,en ce temps-l1 je n'osais rien dire de
 mes sentiments intrieurs2 la  voie par 
laquelle je marchais tait si droite1 si 
lumineuse1 que je ne  sentais pas le    
besoin d'un autre guide que ,jsus 444 je
 pensais que pour  moi1 le bon ,dieu ne 
se servait pas d'intermdiaire1 mais     
agissait  directement40    ,these are   
bold words for a young girl who had been
 reared in the most  rigid provincial   
piety1 and had been taught to distrust  

private judgment  and regard her        
director as the representative of ,god4 
,in them we see the  action of that     
strong will1 power of initiative and    
clear conception of  her own needs and  
duties1 which redeem her often emotional
 religious  fervour from insipidity4 ,it
 is true that she can and does express  
that  fervour in the sentimental        
language which is the least attractive  
element in ,french piety4 ,the sense of 
a special relationship and special      
destiny which more and more possessed   
her1 far exceeded her powers  either of 
realization or of expression2 and       
unfortunately impelled her  to describe 
herself as the 8fleurette10 the 8petite 
fiance10 even the  8jouet0 of ,jesus1   
and to note in too many casual          
happenings evidence of  8les            
delicatesses du bon ,dieu pour moi40    
,yet we cannot forget that  similar     
declarations1 equally offensive to      
modern taste1 abound in some  of the    
greatest historical mystics1 and that   

their full unpleasantness  is only      
mitigated to us by the quaint and       
archaic phrases in which they  are      
expressed4 ,whilst no doubt these       
declarations represent the invasion  of 
human desires and instincts into the    
field of spiritual experience1  its     
natural craving for protection and      
personal love2 they also witness  to the
 mystic's intense personal consciousness
 of close communion1 a  consciousness   
which far transcends the poor vocabulary
 and commonplace  symbols through which 
it must be told4    ,therefore we cannot
 dismiss ,thrse ,martin as a mere victim
 of religious  emotionalism1 because her
 mental equipment is inadequate to her  
spiritual experience4 ,when1 moreover1  
we remember the amazing vigour and      
tenacity of purpose with which1 when    
barely fifteen1 this gentle and         
home-loving child1 driven by her strong 
sense of vocation1 planned and  carried 
through a lifelong separation from the  
father she adored and the  world of     

nature she loved1 we are bound to       
acknowledge in her an element  of       
greatness1 a strong and an adventurous  
soul4 ,with a certitude of her  own duty
 which nothing could shake1 ,thrse      
interviewed on her own  behalf the      
,superior of the order1 who snubbed her1
 and the ,bishop of the  diocese1 who   
was kind but prevaricated with her2     
demanding from them  permission to take 
the veil at once1 instead of waiting    
till the usual  age of twenty-one4      
,further1 being taken by her father to  
,rome with a  party of ,french pilgrims1
 when they were all received by the     
,pope she  had the courage to address   
him directly--although the priest in    
charge of  the pilgrimage forbade       
it--and asked for his support4 ,the end 
of it was  that she at last convinced   
the authorities of her special vocation1
 and  was allowed to become a postulant 
in the most austere of all religious    
orders at the unheard-of age of fifteen4
    ,her career as a ,carmelite was far 

from being the succession of mystical   
enjoyments1 the basking in divine       
sunshine1 which some imagine the        
contemplative life to be4 ,she now      
experienced the common lot of the       
8proficient0 in the mystic way2 paying  
for her religious exaltation by         
reactions1 long periods of aridity1     
which were doubtless due in part to     
psychic exhaustion4 ,then1 in addition  
to the perpetual little  sacrifices1    
self-deprivations1 and penances which   
she imposed on  herself1 she seemed1 as 
she says1 to be plunged in a 8terrible  
desert10  a 8profound night0 of darkness
 and solitude2 and prayer itself became 
dreary and unreal4 8,tout a disparu 444 
ce n'est plus un voile1 c'est un  mur   
qui s'leve jusqu'aux cieux et couvre le 
firmament toil40 ,but an  inner life    
which was nourished on the robust       
doctrine of ,st4 ,john of the  ,cross   
could bear this deprivation with        
fortitude1 and make of inward  poverty  
itself a gain4 ,outwardly1 too1 her life

 was difficult4 ,her  superiors seem at 
once to have perceived in her that      
peculiar quality of  soul which is      
capable of sanctity2 and since it is the
 ambition of every  community to produce
 a saint1 they addressed themselves with
 vigour to  the stern task of educating 
,thrse for her destiny4 ,still a child1 
sensitive and physically delicate1 she  
was spared no opportunity of            
self-denial and mortification4 ,her most
 trifling deficiencies were  remarked1  
her most reasonable desires thwarted1   
her good points ignored4  ,when her     
health began to fail under a rule of    
life far beyond her  strength1 and the  
first signs of tuberculosis--that       
scourge of the  cloister--appeared in   
her1 the ,prioress1 in her ferocious    
zeal for souls1  even refused to        
dispense the ailing girl from attendance
 at the  night-office4 8,une me de cette
 trempe1 disait-elle1 ne doit pas tre   
trait comme une enfant1 les dispenses ne
 sont pas faites pour elle4             

,laissez-la4 ,dieu la soutient40        
,this drastic training did its work4    
,thrse had a heroic soul1 though  her   
courage and generosity found expression 
for the most part in small  and obscure 
ways4 ,she has said that she felt in    
herself the longing to  be a soldier1 an
 apostle1 a martyr2 and within the      
limits of the  cloister1 she found means
 of satisfying these desires4 8,elle    
accomplissait simplement des actes      
hroques10 said the ,superior after  her 
death4 ,determined1 in her own metaphor1
 to be a 8victime d'amour10  her brave  
spirit never faltered in its willing    
acceptance of pain4 ,she  hid her mental
 and physical sufferings1 fought her    
increasing weakness1  ate without       
hesitation the rough food which made her
 ill1 refused every  comfort and        
amelioration4 ,by this hard yet humble  
way she rose in a few  years to the     
heights of perfect self-conquest and    
moral perfection3  passing through      
suffering to a state in which love1 and 

total  self-giving for love1 was        
realized by her as the central secret of
 the  spiritual life4 8,la charit me    
donna la clef de ma vocation4444 ,enfin1
  je l'ai trouve4 ,ma vocation1 c'est   
l'amour40    ,in this completed love1   
stretching from the smallest acts of    
service to  the most secret experiences 
of the soul1 she found--as every mystic 
has  done--that unifying principle of   
action which alone gives meaning to     
life4 ,in its light all problems were   
solved1 and the meaning of all          
experiences was disclosed4 ,so ,julian  
of ,norwich1 fifteen years after her    
first revelation1 was answered in       
ghostly understanding3 8,wouldest thou  
wit thy ,lord's meaning in this thing8  
,wit it well1 ,love was his meaning4    
,who showed it thee8 ,love4 ,what showed
 he thee8 ,love4 ,wherefore showed it   
he8 ,for love4 ,hold thee therein and   
thou shalt wit and know more in the     
same2 but thou shalt never know nor wit 
therein other thing without  end40 ,to  

live in this supernatural charity is to 
introduce into the  world of succession 
the steadfast values of eternity2 hence 
this  quality1 so simple yet so         
difficult of attainment1 is the one     
essential  character of the saints4     
8,pour atteindre  la vie idale de l'me10
 said  ,elizabeth ,catez1 who so greatly
 exceeded her fellow-,carmelite in      
philosophic grasp1 though not in moral  
beauty1 8je crois qu'il faut  vivre dans
 le surnaturel1 prendre conscience que  
,dieu est au plus intime  de nous1 et   
aller  tout avec lui3 alors on n'est    
jamais banal1 mme en  faisant les       
actions les plus ordinaires1 car on ne  
vit pas en ces  choses1 on les dpasse4  
,une me surnaturelle ne traite pas avec 
les  causes secondes1 mais avec ,dieu   
seulement 444 pour elle1 tout se reduite
   l'unit40    ,threse de               
l',enfant-,jsus came to this            
consummation by way of a total  and     
generous self-abandonment in all the    
daily incidents of life2 a love  which  

consecrated 8les actions les plus       
ordinaires40 ,she took as her  favourite
 saint the ,cur d',ars1 because 8he     
loved his family so deeply1  and only   
did ordinary things40 ,this was the     
8little pathway0 to the  heart of       
,reality1 on which1 she thought1 all    
might travel and none could  miss the   
road4 8,aux mes simples1 il ne faut pas 
des moyens compliqus40  ,though the     
unquenchable thirst of her ardent nature
 for more suffering  and more love did  
more than once express itself by way of 
ecstatic  experience1 she repudiated all
 abnormal 8graces0 and special          
contemplative powers4 8,je ne suis qu'un
 pauvre petit oiseau couvert  seulement 
d'un lger duvet2 je ne suis pas un      
aigle1 j'en ai simplement  les yeux et  
le cur40 ,her spiritual practice became 
simplified as she  grew in              
understanding4 ,in the last years of her
 life the ,gospels were  her only book  
of devotion1 and her prayer became 8un  
lan du cur1 un  simple regard jet vers  

le ciel40 ,yet the love thus expressed  
was no  mere 8divine duet40 ,she was not
 a victim of that narrow fervour which  
finds its satisfaction in a vertical    
relation with the ,divine2 her  religion
 was of a distinctly social type4 8,le  
zle d'une ,carmelite doit  embrasser le 
monde10 she said2 and this zeal showed  
itself1 not only in  the passionate love
 she gave to her family1 but in radiant 
affection  towards all living           
beings--the nuns in the convent1 some of
 whom were  extremely tiresome and even 
unkind1 her friends and correspondents  
in  the outside world1 the animals and  
the birds4 ,she always had her eye on   
her fellow-creatures2 she wanted to help
 them1 to show light to them1 to  save  
them4 ,the eager service and voluntary  
mortifications of her life  closed with 
eighteen months of great physical       
suffering4 ,she died in  ,september     
#ahig1 at the age of twenty-four4       
,thrse ,martin had lived for nine years 
within the walls of a small1  strictly  

enclosed convent in a provincial town4  
,this building and its  dreary little   
chapel formed the setting of her        
religious career4 ,there  was nothing   
impressive in her surroundings1 nothing 
to satisfy those  artistic instincts    
which she certainly possessed1 to hint  
at the poetry  and mystery of the       
spiritual life4 ,her opportunities of   
action had been  limited on every side2 
her creative impulse found expression   
only in the  writing of some            
conventional religious verse1 and the   
record of her  thoughts and experiences1
 composed not for publication1 but as an
 act of  obedience to her ,superior4    
,prayer1 the teaching of novices1 the   
family  life of the community1 and a    
small amount of correspondence with     
those  in the world1 were the only      
channels through which her passionate   
love  of humanity could flow4 ,this     
record may not sound impressive4 ,its   
sequel  is amazing4 ,students of history
 have often discussed the stages and the

  circumstances through which a simple  
man or woman1 distinguished only by  a  
beautiful and humble life1 has been     
transformed by the reverence1  love1 and
 myth-making faculty of his             
contemporaries into a supernatural      
being endowed with magical powers4 ,this
 transformation has happened  within our
 own time in the person of ,thrse de    
l',enfant-,jsus4 ,this  young girl1     
whose life was marked by no bizarre     
incident1 who was  brought up in an     
obscure ,norman town1 and deliberately  
shut herself up  in a convent of        
strictest enclosure to remain--as the   
8healthy-minded0  would say--buried     
alive till her death1 is now loved and  
invoked wherever  the ,roman ,catholic  
church is established4 ,her short and   
uneventful life  has influenced and     
comforted countless other lives4 ,her   
8cause0 has been  introduced1 and       
although she is not yet canonized1 she  
is already  regarded as numbered among  
the saints4 ,to visit her grave in the  

beautiful hillside cemetery outside     
,lisieux1 and watch the endless  stream 
of pilgrims who come on every day of the
 year from all parts of  the world to   
ask her help1 to deposit letters        
explaining their needs1  and lay on her 
tomb for blessing the clothes of babies 
or the food of  the sick1 is to         
understand what the shrine of a medival 
saint must have  been like4 ,it is to   
understand also something of the        
triumphant power of  character1 and of  
the fact that the enclosing of a radiant
 personality  within the cloister is not
 burying it alive4    ,although the     
whole of her short adult life had been  
passed behind the  high garden walls of 
the convent1 and after she took the veil
 only the  members of her family had    
seen her--and this under the most       
restricted  conditions--yet at the time 
of her death ,thrse de l',enfant-,jsus  
was  already known and valued by the    
whole town4 ,that death was an event of 
importance1 evoking an extraordinary    

demonstration of affection and          
reverence4 ,the events which followed it
 are of deep interest4 ,here1 in  our   
own day1 we have the swift rise and     
diffusion of a cultus exactly  similar  
to those which followed the deaths of   
the great popular saints  of the ,middle
 ,ages4 ,every element is present2 the  
prompt setting up of a  pilgrimage1 the 
veneration of the tomb1 the distribution
 of relics--at  the ,lisieux convent    
cards are sold1 bearing splinters and   
bits of straw  from the cell of         
,thrse--countless reports of visions1   
conversions1  8supernatural perfumes10  
and miraculous answers to prayer4 ,the  
literature of the subject is already    
considerable1 and a journal is          
published giving details of 8graces0    
obtained by her help4 ,the causes  which
 lie behind such religious movements as 
this are still obscure2 but  we have in 
the cult of ,thrse ,martin a valuable   
clue by which to  interpret those       
reported from the past4 ,her 8miracles10

 in which  students of psychic phenomena
 will find much to interest them1 range 
from the cure of cancer to the          
multiplication of bank-notes1 and even  
include the restoration of dead         
geranium-cuttings4 ,many are obviously  
explained by coincidence or             
hallucination1 some are admirable       
examples  of faith-healing4 ,but a few1 
apparently supported by good evidence1  
seem  to defy rationalistic explanation4
    ,the cult quickly lost its local and
 ultimately its national character4     
,though ,french ,catholicism rightly    
claims ,thrse as its peculiar           
possession1 and devotion to her is      
probably more general in ,france than   
elsewhere1 yet she is now venerated in  
every country in the world1 and         
distributes her favours without regard  
to nationality4 ,scotland and  ,america 
in particular have numerous stories of  
her benevolent  intervention1 at least  
as evidential as much that is offered to
 us by  the exponents of spiritualism4  

,her legend is in active formation1 and 
many picturesque incidents were added to
 it during the war4 ,she is even  said  
to have appeared at the ,british        
,headquarters1 and given advice at a    
critical moment of the campaign4 ,a     
large proportion of the ,catholic       
soldiers who fought for ,france probably
 placed themselves under her            
protection1 and attribute their safety  
to her care4    ,a little time before   
her death1 she said to her sister       
,pauline1 8,une  seule attente fait     
battre mon cur2 c'est l'amour que je    
recevrai et  celui que je pourrai       
donner4444 ,je veux passer mon ciel     
faire du bien  sur la terre10 and again1
 8,je compte bien ne pas rester inactive
 au  ciel1 mon dsir est de travailler   
encore40 ,in these sayings1 so unlike   
in their vigorous activism the          
conventional aspirations of the devout1 
we have probably the germinal point of  
her cultus4 ,it has come to be  believed
 that this simple and loving spirit1 who

 passed from the body  with so many     
generous longings unfulfilled1 is indeed
 spending her  heaven in doing good2 and
 the deeds attributed to her are just   
those  practical and friendly acts of   
kindness1 through which during life she 
expressed and perfected her spirit of   
love4                                   
,,ii                                    
,,lucie-,,christine      ,those students
 of mysticism who feel that the purely  
cloistered type of  spirituality1 as    
seen in ,thrse ,martin and ,elizabeth   
,catez1 is too  remote from the common  
experience to be actual to us1 may find 
something  with which they can          
sympathize and from which they can      
learn1 in the  self-revelations of the  
remarkable contemplative who is known   
under the  pseudonym of                 
,lucie-,christine4    ,this lady1 whose 
spiritual journal was published in      
#aiab1 was a married  woman of the      
leisured class1 leading the ordinary    
life of a person of  her type and       

position4 ,she was born in #ahdd and    
married in #ahfe4 ,she had  five        
children4 ,at forty-three she became a  
widow1 and in #aijh1 after  nineteen    
years of blindness1 she died at the age 
of sixty-four4 ,nothing  could have been
 more commonplace than her external     
circumstances4 ,on the  religious side  
she was an exact and fervent ,roman     
,catholic1 accepting  without question  
the dogmas and discipline of the        
,church1 and diligent  in all the       
outward observances of conventional     
,french piety4 ,her time  was spent in  
family and social duties1 sometimes in  
,paris1 sometimes in  her country home2 
and she appeared to her neighbours      
remarkable only for  her goodness1      
gentleness1 and love of religion4 ,yet  
her inward  life--unsuspected by any but
 her parish priest1 for whom her journal
 was  written--had a richness and       
originality which entitle her to a place
  among the ,catholic mystics1 and often
 help us to understand the meaning  and 

character of the parallel experiences   
which those mystics describe4  ,the     
value for study of a contemplative who  
is at once so modern and so  classic is 
obvious4 ,this value is increased by the
 fact that for many  years              
,lucie-,christine knew nothing of       
mystical literature1 and was  ignorant  
even of the names of the spiritual      
states which her journal so  faithfully 
describes4 ,therefore in her case       
unconscious imitation1 which  accounts  
for much so-called mystical experience1 
appears to be excluded4    ,her         
journal--at present our only source of  
information--covers  thirty-eight years3
 from #ahgj to #aijh4 ,the first twelve 
years1 however1  are only represented by
 fragmentary notes1 put together in     
#ahhb2 when  ,lucie-,christine1 at the  
suggestion of her confessor1 began to   
keep a  detailed record of her religious
 life4 ,whatever view we may take of its
  theological value1 this record is     
certainly a psychological document of   

the first class4 ,it is the work of a   
woman of marked intelligence2           
temperamentally philosophic1 and with   
great intuitional gifts4 ,the short     
memoir prefixed to the ,french edition  
tells us that even as a child she       
showed unusual qualities2 was grave1    
thoughtful1 and to some extent          
8psychic10 being subject to flashes of  
clairvoyance1 and premonitions of       
important and tragic events4 ,this      
peculiarity1 which she disliked and     
never spoke of1 persisted through life2 
and its presence in her helps us  to    
understand how the many stories of      
abnormal power possessed by the  mystics
 first arose4    ,her character was by  
no means of that detached and inhuman   
type which is  supposed to be proper to 
religious exaltation4 ,she was ardent   
and  impressionable1 gave love and      
craved for it2 her qualities and faults 
were essentially of a lovable kind4 ,she
 reveals herself in her journal  as     
sensitive1 idealistic1 and affectionate2

 somewhat unpractical1 very  easily     
wounded1 tempted to irritability1 and   
inclined to worry4 8,the  excessive wish
 to be loved1 appreciated1 admired by   
those whom ,i love10  was one of the    
temptations against which1 as a young   
woman1 she felt it  necessary to pray3  
another was the longing for enjoyment1  
for personal  happiness4 ,it was only   
after eight years of intermittent       
mystical  experience that she learned   
the secret of inward peace3 to 8lose her
 own  interests in those of ,god1 and   
receive a share in ,his interests in    
exchange40 ,though the 8activity and    
practical capacity of ,martha0 never    
came naturally to her1 she was yet a    
splendid wife and mother4 ,even in  the 
years when her inner life was passed in 
almost continuous  contemplation1 she   
never neglected human duties for        
superhuman joys2 but  planned and shared
 the amusements of her boys and girls1  
wrote and  rehearsed the plays which    
they acted1 and watched with care over  

every  detail of their lives4    ,her   
spiritual life developed gradually and  
evenly4 ,there is no trace in  it of any
 psychic storm or dramatic conversion4  
,she grew up in a  religious home1 and  
even in childhood seems to have been    
attracted to  silent devotion or 8mental
 prayer40 ,as a girl she was a vital1   
impulsive  creature1 full of eager      
enthusiasms4 ,that deep1 instinctive    
longing for  ,perfection which makes one
 man an artist1 another a philosopher1  
and  another a saint1 showed itself     
early in a passionate worship of all    
beautiful things4 8,tout ce que je      
connaissais de beau me passionnait et   
entranait toute mon me4 ,la premire vue 
de la mer et des falaises  m'arracha des
 larmes4444 ,je ne pouvais trouver      
l'expression qui  traduist assez        
l'ardeur dont le beau enflammait mon    
imagination1 et je  ne voyais pas       
d'inconvnients  ces entranements        
excessifs2 au  contraire1 je m'y livrais
 de toute la force de ma volont4        

,infortune1  mon me en revenait         
cependant avec le sentiment du vide et  
de  l'insuffisance1 et c'est alors      
qu'elle rejetait son activit dvorante   
sur l'idal qui lui rservait tant de     
dangers6 ,moins altre du beau1 je  me   
fusse peut-tre contente des choses      
relles1 mais comme le coureur1  lanc    
dans un fol lan1 dpasse le but1 ainsi   
mon me s'lanait vers le  beau  peine    
aperu et cherchait encore au del40      
,in this important passage we see the   
true source of ,lucie's mysticism4  ,it 
was the craving for an absolute and     
unchanging loveliness on which to       
expend her large-hearted powers of      
adoration and self-giving1 which led    
her like the ,platonists through visible
 beauty to its invisible source4  ,she  
had1 as she says of herself in a sudden 
flash of ironic wit1 8le  cur assez mal 
plac pour trouver ,dieu plus aimable que
 le monde1 et  l'esprit assez troit pour
 se contenter de l',infini02 but it was 
not  until youth was nearly over1 and   

she had been married for eight years1   
that she found what she sought4 ,one    
day1 when she was meditating as  usual  
on a passage in the ,imitation of       
,christ1 she saw and heard  within her  
mind the words 8,dieu seul60--summing up
 and answering in one  phrase the vague 
efforts and questions of her growing    
mystical sense1  and offering to the    
hungry psyche the only satisfaction of  
desire4 ,as  ,fox was released from his 
conflict by the inner voice which cried1
  8,there is one only who can speak to  
thy condition10 so this inner voice1    
says ,lucie 7whom it greatly            
astonished71 8fut  la fois une lumire1  
un  attrait1 et une force4 ,une lumire  
qui me fit voir comment je pouvais  tre 
compltement  ,dieu seul dans le monde1  
et je vis que jusque-l je  ne l'avais   
pas bien comprit4 ,un attrait par lequel
 mon cur fut subjugu  et ravi4 ,une     
force qui m'inspira une rsolution       
gnreuse et me mit en  quelque sorte dans
 les mains les moyens de l'excuter1 car 

le propre de  ces paroles divines est   
d'oprer ce qu'elles disent40    ,we see 
at once the complete and practical      
character of her reaction to  the       
divine2 the promptitude with which she  
makes the vital connection  between     
intuition and act4 ,st4 ,teresa said    
that the object of the  spiritual       
marriage was 8the incessant production  
of work40 ,so for  ,lucie-,christine    
that sure consciousness of the ,presence
 of ,god which now  became frequent1    
8clothing and inundating0 her as she sat
 alone at her  sewing or took part in   
some social activity1 called her above  
all to  8faire les petites choses du    
dvouement journalier avec amour02       
conquering her natural irritability and 
dislike for the boredoms and            
unrealities of a prosperous existence4  
8,n'avoir jamais l'air ennuy des        
autres4 ,que de fois je manque  ceci    
avec les pauvres enfants4 ,vous tes     
ennuyeux6 ,c'est bien vite dit6 ,est-ce 
une amabilit divine80    ,more and more1

 as her mystical consciousness grew1 the
 life of  contemplation became her      
delight2 and it was plainly a real trial
 to be  distracted from it for trivial  
purposes4 ,in company1 or busied with   
household duties1 she went for hours    
with 8her soul absorbed1 its better     
part rapt in ,god40 ,she 8tried to      
appear ordinary10 and made excuses if   
her abstraction was observed2 but there 
are a few entries in her journal  which 
will give pleasure to those who condemn 
mysticism as an  8anti-social type of   
religion40 8,nous avons t nous promener1
 quatorze4  ,je remarque que d'aller    
ainsi avec plusieurs #8,marthes' hommes 
ou femmes1  cela ne fait rien4 ,on      
laisse discourir1 on met un mot de temps
 en temps1  mais1 en dfinitive1 on      
demeure bien libre et l'oraison va toute
 seule4  ,mais avec une seule ,marthe1  
que c'est terrible6 ,la tte--tte oblige 
causer presque tout le temps40    ,when 
,lucie wrote this1 ten years after her  
first illuminative  experience1 she was 

far advanced in contemplation4 ,she had 
known that  direct and ineffable vision 
of ,god 8,himself the ,true1 the ,good1 
the  ,beautiful2 all things being       
nothing save by ,him0 which is          
characteristic--though she knew it      
not--of the unitive way3 known too the  
corresponding experience of dereliction1
 when the door which had opened  on     
,eternity seemed tightly closed4 ,it    
would be tedious to analyze in  detail  
the rich profusion of mystic states     
which she had already  exhibited3 the   
degrees of contemplation1 ecstasies1    
visions and voices1  all the forms taken
 by her growing intuition of the        
,transcendent4 ,many  of these can be   
matched in the writings of the great    
mystics4 ,again and  again as we read   
her1 we are reminded of ,angela of      
,foligno1 ,ruysbroeck1  ,julian of      
,norwich1 ,catherine of ,genoa1 even of 
,plotinus3 yet  ,lucie-,christine was at
 this time ignorant of mystical         
literature1 and  only in later life     

found with amazement descriptions of her
 own  experiences in the works of the   
great contemplatives4    ,these         
experiences had a wide range4 ,some we  
are justified in regarding  as invasions
 from her deeper self2 coming to the    
rescue of the often  distracted surface 
personality1 and correcting the         
impressions of the  outer world by its  
own intimations of ,eternity4 ,thus1 in 
#ahge1 she  confesses that being        
particularly worried by a number of     
people1 the  ,divine voice said to her1 
8,ma fille1 il n'y a que toi et moi40   
,she  replied3 8,seigneur1 et les       
autres80 ,the voice said3 8,pour chaque 
me en  ce monde il n'y a que moi et     
elle1 toutes les autres mes et toutes   
choses ne sont rien pour elle que par   
moi et pour moi10 and by this  timely   
reminder of the one ,reality in whose   
life she lived1 and by and  in whom     
alone all other lives are real1 she was 
recalled to her inner  poise4    ,in    
assessing the value of this1 and many   

other of her revelations1 we  have to   
remember that ,lucie-,christine was a   
fervent and exact  ,churchwoman4 ,her   
belief was literal4 ,she felt no discord
 between  traditional ,christianity of  
the most concrete kind and the freedom  
of  her own communion with ,god4 ,the   
fruits of that communion were often     
expressed by her in theological terms1  
and the special atmosphere and          
tendencies of ,french ,catholicism      
certainly affected the form of many of  
her contemplations4 ,thus at one end of 
the scale her passionate devotion  to   
the ,person of ,christ1 and the fact    
that her religious practice  centred in 
the ,eucharist1 sometimes resulted in   
visions of a distinctly  anthropomorphic
 type4 ,in these1 her intuition of      
,god's presence  translated themselves  
into hallucinatory images of the ,face  
of ,christ1  or of ,his eyes looking at 
her2 or photisms1 which she explained to
  herself as the radiance emanating from
 ,his person4 ,as we all know1 such     

dramatizations of mystical emotion are  
comparatively commonplace4 ,the         
elements from which the self constructs 
them are by no means all of a  spiritual
 kind2 and experienced mystics agree in 
regarding them with  much suspicion4 ,a 
careful study of ,lucie-,christine's    
journal forces us  to admit1 that the   
deliberate passivity which she          
cultivated often  placed her at the     
mercy of her instinctive nature2 and    
that its hidden  wishes sometimes took a
 devotional form4 ,to this source1 too1 
we must  refer those 8obsessions and    
temptations0--in other words1 uprushes  
from  the lower centres--by which she   
was often attacked during contemplation1
  and also the occasionally sentimental 
and emotional character of her          
reactions to the ,divine4    ,these     
objections1 however1 do not apply to the
 remarkable 8metaphysical               
visions0--sharp onsets of real          
transcendental consciousness--in which  
her  innate passion for the ,absolute   

found satisfaction4 ,then1 as she says1 
,god seemed to 8put aside all           
intermediaries between ,himself and the 
soul20 and 8bathed and irradiated by the
 ,divine substance0 she became  8aware  
of the ,divine ,abyss10 or perceived1 as
 ,julian of ,norwich did1  8the         
,universe in a point10 swallowed up in  
the simple yet overwhelming  sight of   
,god4 ,here lie1 for us1 the real       
interest and value of                   
,lucie-,christine's confessions4 ,she   
shares with ,angela of ,foligno and a   
few other historical mystics the double 
apprehension of the ,divine  ,nature    
under its personal and impersonal forms2
 and as both utterly  transcendent to1  
yet completely immanent in1 the human   
soul4 ,in her  descriptions of these    
visions1 this woman unread in philosophy
 displays  a grasp of the philosophic   
basis of religion which would do credit 
to a  trained theologian4 ,thus she     
says1 8,il n'y a pas1 ce me semble1 de  
vue  intrieure qui gale celle de        

l'essence divine4 ,mon me tait comme    
environne de la substance divine en     
laquelle elle voyait ce caractre        
essentiel qui nous est rvel par le      
mystre de la ,sainte ,trinit1           
c'est--dire qu'il y a en ,dieu l'unit et
 la distinction1 le tout et le          
particulier1 et je sentais combien c'est
 folie de chercher quelque chose  en    
dehors de lui40 ,again1 8tant           
profondment unie  lui dans la ,sainte   
,communion1 je vis ,dieu en tant qu'il  
est le souverain bien1 et je  compris en
 mme temps que le mal n'est que la      
ngation du bien1 un pur  nant4444 ,dans 
cette vue intellectuelle1 je compris    
aussi combien sera  grande la confusion 
des pcheurs quand ils seront jugs1 et   
qu'ils  verront que tout le mal qu'ils  
ont aim1 prconis1 ador1 se rduit au     
nant6 ,avoir aim le nant1 avoir vcu pour
 lui1 et perdre pour lui  l',etre       
ternel60 ,here ,lucie's view of sin is  
that characteristic of all  mystics2 who
 can seldom be persuaded1 however       

orthodox they may be in  other respects1
 that anything which is not good is     
real4 ,we remember how  ,julian of      
,norwich1 also a natural contemplative  
of philosophic  temperament1 says1 8,i  
saw not sin2 for ,i believe it has no   
manner of  substance nor part of being40
    ,as an analyzer of her own          
psychological states1 ,lucie-,christine 
had  something of that genius which ,st4
 ,teresa possessed in a supreme degree2 
and she has1 perhaps1 an added value for
 us because she speaks not from  the    
past nor from the cloister1 but out of  
the ,paris of our own day4 ,we  owe to  
her one of our most vivid descriptions  
of that apprehension of  ,eternal       
,life--the immersion of our durational  
existence in the ,absolute  ,life of    
,god--which ,von ,hgel regards as the   
fundamental religious  experience4      
8,j'ai observ10 she says1 8que pendant  
l'oraison passive et  surtout dans l'tat
 d'union1 l'me perd le sentiment de la  
dure4 ,il n'y  a plus pour elle de      

succession de moments1 mais un moment   
unique1 et  j'ai cru comprendre qu'tant 
leve  cet tat1 l'me y vit selon le  mode
 de vivre de l'ternit1 o il n'y a point 
de dure1 point de pass  ni d'avenir1    
mais un moment unique1 infini40 ,we have
 again to remember  that the woman who  
wrote this had then no acquaintance with
 the classics  of mysticism4 ,it is her 
own impression which she is trying to   
register4    ,again1 consider this      
account of the state of divine union as 
she had  known it3 8,l'me va prier1 elle
 s'lance pour franchir la distance qui  
la spare de l',infini1 et cette distance
 elle ne la trouve plus6 ,elle  veut    
aller  vous1 mon ,dieu1 et vous tes en  
elle6444 ,perdue en vous1  elle oublie  
ellemme et tout le reste1 elle ne sait  
plus comment elle  vit1 ni comment elle 
aime2 elle ne voit plus que ,vous seul4 
,encore ne  peut elle pas penser qu'elle
 vous voit et vous adore2 car ce serait 
se  voir elle-mme1 et en de tels moments
 elle ne se voit pas1 elle ne voit  que 

,vous4 ,elle connat et aime par un mode 
nouveau et incomprhensible1  qui est en 
dehors et infiniment au-dessus de       
l'exercice ordinaire de ses  facults4   
,elle sent que l'opration de ,dieu a    
pris la place de la sienne  et que c'est
 ,dieu mme qui opre en elle la          
connaissance et l'amour40    ,this sense
 of complete surrender to a larger life 
and greater power1 of  which love is the
 very substance and ground1 is          
characteristic of nearly  all high      
mystical experience2 and the literature 
of contemplation would  furnish many    
parallels to all that ,lucie tells us of
 it4 ,in this state1  as she says in    
another place1 8the thirst of the spirit
 is suddenly  fulfilled by the          
,infinite10 and 8,god takes possession  
of the ground of  the soul1 without     
passage of time or feeling of space40   
,then1 the  bewilderment and unrest     
produced in us by the disharmonies of   
daily life  are healed4 8,l o tout      
raisonnement choue10 she says in one of 

her  most beautiful passages2 8o l'me   
est tellement trouble qu'elle ne        
saurait mme expliquer ce qui la trouble1
 la divine presence parat1 et  soudain  
le vertige cesse et la paix renat avec  
la lumire40  ,consciousness1 ceasing    
more or less completely its normal      
correspondences with the temporal order1
 then becomes aware of the  eternal and 
spiritual universe in which we really   
live4    ,such an attitude to ,eternity 
was a marked characteristic of          
,lucie-,christine's mysticism4 ,often1  
it produced in her the complete         
mono-ideism of ecstasy2 and she         
describes the oncoming1 content1 and    
passing of these states with a          
minuteness which makes her journal a    
valuable document for the psychologist4 
,constantly1 the intense  awareness of  
the ,divine ,presence persisted through 
the many duties and  activities of the  
day2 8like a grave and tender note1     
dominating all the  modulations of the  
keyboard of my exterior life40 ,she is  

not afraid to  use the most violent     
metaphors1 the most concrete images1 in 
her efforts  to express the intensity   
and reality of this spiritual life that 
she  leads1 this divine companionship   
that she enjoys4 8,i am nourished by    
,god's substance40 8,i breathe the      
divine essence40 8,the presence of ,god 
is so clear that faith is not faith--it 
is sight40 8,the soul plays within      
,god1 as within a limitless universe40  
8,the ,divine action penetrates and     
transforms my adoration4 ,it is the     
,divine ,being who thinks1 loves1 and   
lives within me40 ,none of the mystics  
have gone further than this in  their   
claims2 but it is significant that      
nearly all the greatest go as  far4     
,yet in all this1 ,lucie-,christine is  
strictly ,evangelical4 ,she was a       
,christian first1 and a mystic          
afterwards4 ,though her expressions may 
seem startling1 her mysticism never goes
 beyond that of ,st4 ,john and ,st4     
,paul2 and her most ,platonic utterances

 can be justified by the ,new           
,testament4 ,but the ,pauline and       
,johannine teachings on the soul's union
  with ,christ are not for her merely   
doctrinal statements4 ,they are vivid   
descriptions of states she has          
personally known1 when her consciousness
  truly penetrated to that 8rgion       
d'amour1 rgion unique1 o l'me trouve  un
 autre jour1 une autre vie1 un autre air
 respirable1 o du moins tous  ces lments
 latents se trouvent manifests1 o ,dieu 
seul apparat1 et  tout le reste rentre  
dans l'ombre40    ,such a personal and  
overwhelming consciousness of 8the      
greatness1 power1  and simplicity of    
,god0--an all-inclusive unity which the 
unity of her  spirit could              
comprehend--was the central interest of 
her life4 ,she  certainly tended to that
 which ,baron von ,hgel has called 8the 
vertical  relation0 with the ,divine4   
,nevertheless1 this theocentric         
existence did  not involve either the   
limp passivity or the spiritual         

selfishness with  which it is sometimes 
charged4 ,on the ethical side it        
committed her to a  constant moral      
discipline2 for her ardent and impulsive
 temperament  reacted too easily to     
every external stimulus4 8,i must give  
up  pleasure--never work for my own     
enjoyment40 8,my one prayer is1 that ,i 
may  not feel joy and grief so vividly3 
that ,i may feel only ,thee40 ,this     
deliberate unselfing and concentration  
on ,god so strengthened the fibres  of  
character that she was able to bear with
 quietness her many personal  sorrows1  
and the long years of blindness--a      
bitter cross for that keen  lover of    
beauty--which closed her life4 ,yet it  
did not muffle her in the  unattractive 
folds of 8holy indifference40 ,she loved
 her family  devotedly1 and felt without
 mitigation the anxieties and griefs of 
human  life4 ,her attitude to others was
 generous and sympathetic4 ,god1 she    
says1 gives ,himself to us that we may  
give ,him again4 ,his unique light  must

 pass through the soul as through a     
prism2 breaking up into the many        
colours of word and deed1 forgiveness   
and good counsel1 prayer and alms1      
self-forgetfulness and self-giving4     
,though exceedingly reserved about  her 
spiritual experiences1 which were only  
known to her confessor1 the  influence  
of these experiences was felt by those  
among whom she lived2  and her house was
 known by them as 8the house of peace40 
,moreover1 her love for the             
institutional and sacramental side of   
religion saved her from many of the     
dangers and extravagances of            
individualism4 ,it gave her a framework 
within which her own intuitions  could  
find their place2 and a valid symbolism 
through which she could  interpret to   
herself the most rarefied experiences of
 her soul4 ,she is  an example of the   
way in which the mystic seems able to   
achieve the  universal without losing or
 rejecting its particular expression3   
assimilating symbols of an amazing      

crudity without in any way impairing    
her vision of truth4 ,the conflict      
between that vision and the concrete    
objectives of popular devotion was      
ignored by her2 as it is generally      
ignored by practical mystics of the     
institutional type4 ,she1 who had       
touched the ,absolute in her            
contemplations1 was yet deeply impressed
 by  the drama of the ,church2 by its   
ceremonies1 holy places1 festivals1     
consecrations4 ,her inner life was      
nourished by its sacraments4 ,she       
displayed the power--so characteristic  
of ,christian mysticism at its  best--of
 transcending without rejecting the     
formul of belief as commonly            
understood2 of remaining within1 and    
drawing life from1 the organism1        
without any diminution in the proper    
liberty of the soul4    ,thus1 seen as a
 whole1 ,lucie-,christine's spiritual   
life has a richness  and balance which  
reflects the richness and balance of her
 own nature2  for an impoverished or    

one-sided character was never yet found 
capable  of a fully developed and       
fruitful mysticism4 ,we see her from    
girlhood  seeking to satisfy her innate 
longing for reality2 urged on the one   
hand  by the artist's craving for       
perfect loveliness1 on the other by the 
philosopher's instinct for ,eternity4   
,when the veil was lifted1 and the      
inner voice said1 8,god only60 she found
 at once the reconciliation and  the    
fulfilment of these two desires4 ,the   
long and varied experience  which       
followed was no more than an unfolding  
of the content of those  words4 ,they   
revealed to her the ,substance of all   
beauty and truth2  shining in that world
 of appearance which she loved to the   
last with an  artist's passion1 yet ever
 abiding unchanged in that world of pure
 being  which she touched in her        
contemplations 8above all feeling1      
image1 and  idea40 ,because of this     
double outlook on reality1 her mysticism
 was both  transcendental and           

sacramental4 ,it irradiated the natural 
world1 and  also the symbols of         
religion1 with that simple light of     
,eternity wherein  she found 8all       
beauties known and unknown1 all         
harmonies natural and  supernatural40   
,lucie-,christine makes clear to us1 as 
few mystics have  done1 the immense     
transfiguration of ordinary life which  
comes from such  an extension of        
consciousness2 when 8the veil suddenly  
drops1 ,god  reveals ,himself1 and the  
soul knows experimentally that which she
 knew  not before40 ,her journal is full
 of passages in which its joy and       
splendour are described4 ,i take one    
written in a time of great mental  and  
physical suffering1 when the cruel      
deprivations of blindness were  already 
closing in on her1 and the two beings   
she loved best--her husband  and her    
youngest daughter--had lately been taken
 from her by death4  8,figurez-vous un  
pauvre prisonnier au fond d'un cachot   
renferm et  obscur1 voyant tout  coup   

s'entr'ouvrir la vote de ce cachot1 et  
par  l recevant la lumire du soleil1 et 
aspirant avec force l'air du dehors  qui
 lui arrive embaum des senteurs de la   
vie et de la chaleur de  l'atmosphre    
resplendissante4 ,ainsi mon me          
s'ouvrait1 et buvait ,dieu6  444 mon me 
aspirait et buvait la vie mme de la     
,trinit ,sainte1 et se  sentait revivre1
 et n'avait plus aucun mal40            
,,iii                                   
,,charles ,p,,guy      ,in the turmoil  
and anxieties of the first weeks of the 
war1 few people  observed that ,france  
had lost upon the battle-field one of   
the greatest  of her modern poets2 a    
fearless and original thinker1 a        
constructive  mystic1 who exercised a   
unique influence over the young writers 
and  thinkers of his world4 ,yet the    
death in action of ,charles ,pguy1 who  
was  killed on ,september #e1 #aiad1 at 
the age of forty-one1 removed a striking
  figure from contemporary literature1  
and was among the chief  intellectual   

losses sustained by ,france in the war4 
,born in ,orleans in #ahgc1 of peasant  
stock1 ,pguy had many of the            
fundamental qualities of the ,french    
peasant2 the sturdy independence1  the  
frugal tastes1 the untiring industry1   
the close kinship with the  soil4 ,his  
father was a cabinet-maker2 his mother  
that familiar figure of  the cathedrals1
 the woman who lets the chairs4 ,the    
great friend of his  boyhood was an old 
republican carpenter with whom he used  
to talk1 and  to whose conversation he  
owed his first political ideas4 ,this   
heredity  and these influences gave to  
his thought and attitude a character    
which  he never lost4 ,in his mature    
work we see side by side the result of  
those two compensating elements in his  
childish environment2 the mingled       
mystery and homeliness of that medival  
and intensely national  ,catholicism    
which finds in the ,french cathedrals   
its living symbols1 the  keen sense of  
social justice1 of the need for social  

salvation1 which  inspired the popular  
republicanism of the years following the
  ,franco-,german war4 ,these           
characteristics1 which afterwards1 in a 
sublimated form1 came to dominate his   
mysticism and gave to it its  special   
colour1 its mingling of antique         
tradition with forward-looking  hope1   
can be traced back to the blend of      
,christian and of democratic            
impressions which he received as a      
child4 ,perhaps only the son of ,french 
peasants could understand and           
reinterpret as he had done the figure of
  ,st4 ,joan of ,arc1 the peasant girl  
who saved ,france2 and whose longing to 
mend and redeem1 at once so practical   
and so transcendental1 linked up  the   
objectives of social endeavour and of   
faith4    ,brought up within the        
atmosphere of provincial piety1 ,pguy   
rose from  the elementary school to the 
lyce2 and at nineteen1 through his own  
efforts and his mother's sacrifices1    
passed from ,orleans to the  ,university

 of ,paris4 ,there his vigorous mind and
 positive character soon  made him the  
centre of a group of students1 over whom
 he quickly  obtained influence4 ,there1
 too1 he made the transition--almost    
inevitable  for an ardent young man of  
his world--from ,catholic orthodoxy to  
humanitarian socialism3 the first stage 
in his spiritual pilgrimage1 and  the   
first attempt to answer that question   
which underlies all his  thought and    
act1 his poetry and                     
controversy--8,comment faut-il sauver80 
,these words1 which ,pguy puts into the 
mouth of ,st4 ,joan of ,arc1 and  shows 
to us as the mainspring of her actions1 
define too the secret  impulse of his   
own career4 ,his mysticism was not that 
of the  contemplative1 the solitary and 
,god-intoxicated devotee3 it was that of
  a strong-willed man of action1 who    
sees far off the 8mighty beauty0 and    
longs to actualize it within the common 
life4 ,he saw that common life  with the
 eyes of a poet who was also a child of 

the people2 discerning  beneath its     
surface the dignity and the beauty of   
its antique and simple  types--the      
spinner and the tiller1 the housewife1  
the mother and the  child4              
8,les armes de ,jsus1 c'est la pauvre   
famille1               ,les frres et la 
sur1 les garons et la fille1            
,le fuseau lourd de laine et la savante 
aiguille40    ,but he found in the      
,french socialism of the 'nineties a dry
 and  materialistic spirit2 which could 
not satisfy his passionate idealism1    
his instinct for a completed life1 a    
universal redemption1 that should       
harmonize soul and body and fulfil their
 needs4 ,hence1 by a process too        
gradual to be called a conversion1 he   
grew from humanitarianism into a        
somewhat anti-clerical1 original1 yet   
medival and mystical ,catholicism2  in  
which those ideals and demands which had
 dominated his humanitarian  period--the
 sense of the rights and dignity of     
mankind1 the longing to  save1 8de      

porter remde au mal universel           
humain0--reappear in a  spiritualized   
form4 ,in ,christianity he saw condensed
 the saving power of  ,spirit2 never    
letting man alone1 but redeeming him    
even in defiance of  his own will1      
contriving its victories by or in spite 
of the evils and  disharmonies of life4 
,the belief which he achieved--doubtless
 fed by  childish memories--was absolute
 and literal1 and most easily expressed 
itself in medival forms4 ,modernism     
filled him with horror2 he desired  no  
attenuation of the supernatural1 no     
reinterpretation of dogma4 ,the  faith  
which fought the crusades and built the 
,cathedrals was that in  which he felt  
at home1 and which he believed himself  
destined to bring  back to the soul of  
,france3 8,au fond1 c'est une           
renaissance ,catholique  qui se fait par
 moi40    ,yet his inner life was full  
of difficulty and unhappiness4 ,there   
were in  him two strains1 two warring   
impulses1 to which we must attribute    

many  of the griefs and disappointments 
of his life3 for his great              
accomplishment both as poet and as      
founder of the ,cahiers de la           
,quinzaine brought him little personal  
joy4 ,on one side of his nature he  was 
proud1 vehement1 combative2 full of a   
destructive energy1 an  obstinate       
fanaticism1 which found vent in his     
violent political  pamphlets1 often     
expressing with the uncouth vigour of   
the peasant his  uncompromising hates   
and loves4 ,though so ardent a          
,christian1 he was  neither meek nor    
gentle4 ,he could never resist giving   
blow for blow1 and  by his impatience   
and intolerance alienated by turns his  
socialist and  ,catholic friends4 ,about
 #aiaj1 having thus quarrelled with most
 of his  associates1 he withdrew into a 
voluntary retirement1 in which the      
spiritual side of his divided           
temperament seems at last to have had   
some  opportunity of growth4 ,his       
mystical poems--all composed between    

#aiaj and  #aiac--show to us the love   
and exaltation of which he now became   
capable2  the purity of that vision     
which had inspired his vigorous guerilla
  warfare against the shams and         
sordidness of modern life1 and which now
  became the chief factor in his        
consciousness4 ,writing in #aiab to his 
old  friend ,joseph ,lotte1 he says1    
8,mon vieux1 j'ai beaucoup chang depuis 
deux ans2 je suis devenu un homme       
nouveau4 ,j'ai tant souffert et tant    
pri4 ,tu ne peux pas savoir40 ,the      
secret of this inner conflict1 of the   
terrible months during which1 as he     
afterwards confessed1 he was unable  to 
say 8,thy will be done10 he revealed to 
none2 but hints of the way by  which he 
had passed may be found in his poems4   
,the mystical certitude  which inspires 
their most beautiful passages seems     
never to have  obtained complete control
 of his psychic being4 ,the life of     
prayer and  the life of personal        
struggle persisted side by side1 not    

fully  harmonized2 and it is doubtful   
whether he ever achieved that complete  
surrender to the divine action 8in which
 alone we do not surrender our  true    
selves10 which is characteristic of the 
developed mystic life4  8,celui qui     
s'abandonne ne s'abandonne pas1 et il   
est le seul qui ne  s'abandonne pas40   
,it was surely to himself that ,pguy    
addressed this  observation1 and it     
represents his own central need4 ,those 
profound  readjustments of character1   
that unselfing of the moral nature1     
which  must precede spiritual           
unification1 and so are the only        
foundations of  inner peace1 had never  
been accomplished in him4 ,like his     
patroness and  heroine ,st4 ,joan1 he   
combined the temperaments of fighter and
 dreamer1  but he never succeeded in    
fusing them in one4    ,we know1 too1   
something of the outward circumstances  
which added to his  difficulties4       
,married during his agnostic period to a
 freethinker1 his  intense respect for  

human freedom forbade him to force on   
his wife his  own convictions1 or even  
to bring his adored children to baptism 
against  their mother's will4 ,for this 
refusal he was himself denied access to 
the sacraments2 and hence this          
impassioned ,catholic1 for conscience'  
sake1 lived and died out of communion   
with the official ,church4 ,no one  will
 really understand ,pguy's position or  
the meaning of his poems1  unless this  
paradoxical situation1 and this constant
 element of  frustration and            
incompleteness in his experience1 be    
kept in mind4 ,he  was in one sense an  
exile1 ever gazing at the beloved       
country which he  knew and understood so
 much better than many of its citizens4 
,deeply  religious1 he lived at odds    
with his religious world4 ,capable of   
the  strangest inconsistencies and      
refusals1 though sparing himself nothing
  of the anguish they involved1 he could
 make on foot a pilgrimage to  ,chartres
 to pray for the life of his sick child2

 yet would not face the  struggle       
necessary to make those children members
 of the ,church in which  he believed4  
8,je ne peux pas m'occuper de tout4 ,je 
n'ai pas une vie  ordinaire4 ,nul n'est 
prophte en son pays4 ,mes petits ne sont
 pas  baptiss4 ,a la sainte ,vierge de  
s'en occuper60    ,himself1 he felt     
called upon to devote his powers1       
without distraction1  to that missionary
 propaganda in which the mystical and   
combative sides  of his nature found    
creative expression1 and to which his   
poetry and  much of his prose is        
consecrated4 8,il y a tant de manque4   
,il y a tant   demander10 says ,st4     
,joan to the patient nun who seeks to   
teach her  resignation3 and here she    
expresses ,pguy's deepest conviction4   
,there is  so much lacking that men     
might obtain of joy and peace and love4 
,action  no less than prayer is needed2 
every soul must take its share in       
meeting  the world's need1 for we are   
the accomplices of ill if we do nothing 

to  prevent it4 ,there was never any    
place in ,pguy's eager and restless     
heart for that 8other-worldly0 mysticism
 which achieves the love of ,god  at the
 expense of love of home and fellow-men2
 for religion in his view  was an affair
 of flesh and blood1 not of pure        
spirit--not merely  transcendental1 but 
concrete1 national1 fraternal1 even     
revolutionary4  ,on this side his       
mysticism represents the                
spiritualization of that  activist      
philosophy which was coming into        
prominence in the formative  years of   
his life1 and could not fail to exert a 
powerful influence on  him4    ,both as 
mystic and as patriot1 he had the       
reformer's passion3 a measure1  too1 of 
the reformer's violence and intolerant  
zeal4 ,he worked for a  sweeter and a   
saner world1 a restoration to man of his
 lost inheritance4  ,the modern ,france1
 he felt1 was wrong4 ,it had lost its   
hold upon  realities2 mistaken its      
professors and scientists for apostles1 

its  codes and systems for truth1 its   
political institutions for liberty1 the 
8triumphs of civilization0 for          
perdurable goods4 ,it had lost          
freshness1  navet1 hope3 had sacrificed 
beauty and joy for an imaginary progress
  and comfort4 ,in the place of the     
ancient types of human worth1 the       
primitive yet august figures of parent  
and child1 craftsman and tiller  of the 
soil1 it had produced the bemused victim
 of modern education  8avec sa tte de   
carton et son cur de bazar40 ,in this   
perversion of  life and cultivation of  
the second-best he saw the 8universal   
evil10  which poisons the sources of    
human happiness4 ,yet behind and within 
it  ,pguy1 visionary and optimist1      
discerned the possible restoration of   
good2 mankind brought back into contact 
with the real and eternal world4  ,he   
saw his beloved ,france ceasing to be   
8un peuple qui dit non10 and  becoming1 
by intensity and harmony of action and  
vision1 8une race  affirmative40 ,he    

looked past shams1 pretences1 and bad   
workmanship to a  heaven that should    
contain not only people but things3     
8,dans le paradis  tel que je le        
montrerai1 il n'y aura pas seulement des
 mes2 il y aura  des choses4 ,tout ce   
qui existe et qui est russi4 ,les       
cathdrales1 par  exemple4 ,notre ,dame1 
,chartres1 je les y mettrai40    ,it was
 such a restoration of humanity to the  
wholesome and beautiful  life for which 
it was made1 that he had at first sought
 in socialism2  and the earlier numbers 
of the ,cahiers de la ,quinzaine1 of    
which he  was the founder and editor1   
reflect this faith4 ,he saw socialism   
then in  its ideal aspect1 as a triumph 
of justice and love3 a reasonable career
  offered to the whole race4 ,for this  
triumph1 this reordering of the  common 
life1 he never ceased to work2 but a    
deeper experience taught him  that it   
could not be effected by any change     
imposed on society from  without1 or any
 readjustment between man and man4 ,the 

readjustment  needed was that between   
man and ,god2 a change of heart1 a      
rearrangement  of the values of life    
effected from within1 which should make 
possible  the complete spiritualization 
of existence4 ,therefore it was that    
,pguy  became1 in his last and most     
creative period1 a ,christian mystic of 
an  original type2 an ardent missionary1
 who opposed the intellectualism1       
materialism1 and individualism which    
,france of the early twentieth  century 
mistook for progress1 by a propaganda   
which was  anti-intellectual1           
nationalist1 and profoundly ,catholic4  
,it is to this  period that his poetry  
and much of his most vehement prose     
belongs4 ,all  is didactic in intention2
 but is saved by its author's wit1      
sincerity1  and remarkable imaginative  
genius from the usual fate of those who 
try  to turn art to the purposes of     
edification4 ,the prose is largely      
controversial1 and inevitably suffers to
 some extent from this3 for  ,pguy was  

violent and sometimes unjust when       
attacking the errors and  follies of the
 time1 and had at his disposal an       
astonishing power of  mockery1 irony1   
and scorn4 ,yet even here1 his instinct 
for beauty  constantly asserted itself3 
and in the midst of some biting attack  
upon  8progressive0 politics or         
modernist theology1 we get an abrupt    
invasion  of loveliness which transports
 us to the atmosphere of his poems4     
,these  poems fall into two groups3     
first1 the three ,mystres which he wrote
  for the #ejjth anniversary of the     
birth of ,jeanne d',arc1 8la sainte la  
plus grande aprs ,sainte ,marie10 and   
which deal with her spiritual           
preparation for the saving of ,france2  
,la ,charit de ,jeanne d',arc  7#aiaj71 
,le ,porche du ,mystre de la ,deuxime   
,vertu 7#aiaa71 ,les ,saints  ,innocents
 7#aiab74 ,these are all written in     
unrhymed irregular verse2 a  verse so   
indefinite in construction that it is   
often indistinguishable  from rhythmic  

prose4 ,they consist chiefly in long    
meditative discourses1  alternating     
between the extremes of homeliness and  
sublimity1 and put  into the mouths of  
,jeanne and of ,madame ,gervaise1 a     
,franciscan nun to  whom she tells her  
problems and her dreams--an apt device  
for the  conveyance of ,pguy's own      
religious and patriotic gospel4 ,they   
were  followed by three volumes in      
rhymed duodecasyllabic verse1 which he  
called ,tapisseries3 ,sainte ,genevive  
et ,jeanne d',arc 7#aiab71 ,notre  ,dame
 7#aiac71 and ,eve 7#aiad71 perhaps his 
finest and most sustained  single work4 
,when we examine these poems in order1  
we find that we can trace in them  the  
development of a consistent philosophy  
of life3 for1 like most of  the         
convinced opponents of intellectualism1 
,pguy was a profound  thinker1 relying  
to a far greater extent than he would   
ever have  confessed on the ungodly     
processes of a singularly acute mind4   
,the  deliberate simplicity of diction1 

the assumed ingenuousness of attitude   
are deceptive1 and conceal a deeply     
reasoned view of the universe4          
8,je n'aime pas1 dit ,dieu1 celui qui   
pense                   ,et qui se      
tourmente1 et qui se soucie             
,et qui roule une migraine perptuelle40 
,this is not the doctrine of the        
charcoal-burner2 it is the doctrine of  
the experienced philosopher1 bitterly   
conscious of the limitations of  the    
brain4    ,the foundation of his creed  
is the essentially mystical belief1 so  
beautifully expressed in ,eve1 in the   
solidarity of the ,universe4 ,as        
humanity is one and indivisible1 so too 
the human and the divine cannot  be     
separated4 8,nous sommes solidaires des 
damns ternels10 he said when  he was    
twenty3 and in his posthumous work      
,clio1 he reiterates the same  truth4   
8,jsus est du mme monde que le dernier  
des pcheurs2 et le  dernier des pcheurs 
est du mme monde que ,jsus4 ,c'est une  
communion4  ,c'est mme proprement cela  

qui est une communion4 ,et  parler vrai 
ou  plutt  parler rel il n'y a point    
d'autre communion que d'tre du mme      
monde40 ,the spiritual and eternal      
world1 then1 is not something set over  
against the natural order2 but is       
closely entwined with it1 the  neglected
 element of reality1 which alone can    
make human existence  dignified and     
sweet4                  8,car le        
surnaturel est lui-mme charnel          
,et l'arbre de la grce est racin profond
                ,et plonge dans le sol  
et cherche jusqu'au fond1               
,et l'arbre de la race est lui-mme      
ternel4                  ,et l'ternit   
mme est dans le temporel                
,et l'arbre de la grce est racin profond
                ,et plonge dans le sol  
et touche jusqu'au fond                 
,et le temps est lui-mme un temps       
intemporel48    ,what he realizes and   
points out1 therefore1 is not some      
distant  transcendental life and        
reality1 divorced from our normal1      

flowing1  changing life and reality4    
,rather he insists on the beauty and    
nobility1  the deep spiritual quality of
 this immediate life2 the supernatural  
character of nature itself1 when seen   
from the angle of ,christian  idealism4 
,the ,blessed ,virgin is herself3       
8,infiniment cleste                     
,parce qu'aussi elle est infiniment     
terrestre40    ,in ,christianity1 with  
its incarnational philosophy1 its       
balanced  cultivation of the active and 
the mystic life1 its sacramental touch  
upon all common things1 he sees the only
 perfect expression of this  principle2 
the only power capable of embracing and 
spiritualizing the  whole of the rich   
complex of existence4 ,determined to    
bring home to his  fellow-countrymen1 on
 the one hand1 the concrete and         
objective nature of  this ,christian    
life1 on the other1 the simplicity of   
soul necessary to  those who would      
understand it1 he rejects all attempts  
at religious  philosophizing or symbolic

 interpretation4 ,his treatment of      
theology is  characterized by a         
deliberate homely literalness1 a nave   
use of  tradition1 which was intensely  
exasperating to his agnostic and        
,modernist critics2 and which may be    
found distasteful by some religious     
minds1 unable to realize the intimate   
connection between gaiety and  faith4   
,to others it will seem that1 alone     
amongst modern writers1 he has          
recaptured the medival secret of        
familiarity combined with adoration3  of
 a love1 awe1 and vision1 a profound    
earnestness1 which yet leave room  for  
laughter4 ,his picture of ,god is       
shamelessly anthropomorphic4 78,je  suis
 honnte homme1 dit ,dieu2 droit comme un
 ,franais407 ,yet it is full  of grave  
beauty1 of the sense of fatherhood1 the 
mystical consciousness  of the ,divine  
desire4 ,revealed religion is ,god's    
,word1 and therefore  means what it     
says4 8,jsus n'est pas venu pour nous   
dire des amusettes10  says ,madame      

,gervaise to ,joan of ,arc4    ,the     
faith which ,pguy wished to restore to  
,france was not the religious           
rationalism of the modernist3 still less
 the morbid1 sthetic fervour of         
,huysmans4 ,it was the homely everyday  
faith of the past1 the humble yet       
assured relation with the supernatural  
order1 the courage and hope which  is   
rooted in tradition and is wholly       
independent of intellectual  subtleties4
 8,la foi est toute naturelle1 toute    
allante1 tout simple1  toute            
venante0--the great and simple          
affirmation4 ,the perfect type of  this 
faith is not the world-weary convert1   
but the healthy  unselfconscious child2 
and the child1 for ,pguy1 is the most   
holy and  most significant figure in the
 human group4 8,c'est l'enfant qui est  
plein et l'homme qui est vide40 ,only in
 the child and in those  untarnished    
human beings who retain their childlike 
simplicity of heart  do we see unspoilt 
humanity3 only in the child do we see   

incarnate hope4  8,j'clate tellement    
dans ma cration10 says ,god1 8et surtout
 dans les  enfants40               8,on 
envoie les enfants  l'cole1 dit ,dieu4  
,je pense que c'est pour oublier le peu 
qu'ils savent4             ,on ferait   
mieux d'envoyer les parents  l'cole4    
,c'est eux qui en ont besoin            
,mais naturellement il faudrait une cole
 de moi             ,et non pas une cole
 d'hommes40    ,the tenderness and charm
 of those passages in which he          
celebrates the  importance and sanctity 
of childhood1 its innocence1 its        
capacity for  growth1 its virginal      
outlook1 its freshness and power of     
response1 place  him in the front rank  
of the poets who have treated this most 
difficult  subject1 and constantly      
remind us of ,blake3        8,comme leur
 jeune regard a une promesse1 une secrte
 assurance         intrieure1 et leur   
front1 et toute leur personne4          
,leur petite1 leur auguste1 leur si     
rvrente et rvrende         personne4444 

,heureuse enfance4 ,tout leur petit     
corps1 toute leur petite personne1      
tous leurs petits gestes1 est pleine1   
ruisselle1 regorge d'une                
esprance4      ,resplendit1 regorge     
d'une innocence      ,qui est           
l'innocence mme de l'esprance40    ,this
 hope1 the childhood of the heart1 is to
 ,pguy the most precious of  human      
qualities1 and the one in which man     
draws nearest to an  understanding of   
the ,divine ,idea4 ,jesus is 8the man   
who has hoped10 and  the ,christian     
assault1 which is the assault of hope1  
can alone make a  breach in the defences
 of eternity4 ,it is 8the faith that    
,god loves  best02 the beginning of     
liberty1 the growing point of the eager 
spirit  of life4 ,faith beholds that    
which is3 ,charity loves that which is3 
,hope  alone beholds and loves that     
which shall be4 ,faith is static2 hope  
dynamic4 ,faith is a great tree2 hope is
 the rising sap1 the little1  swelling  
bud upon the spray4                     

8,la petite esprance                    
,est celle qui toujours commence0--     
the persistent element in all effort and
 all change4 ,she deceives us  twenty   
times running2 yet she is the only one  
of our leaders who never  deceives us in
 the end4 ,she gives significance to    
human toil1 beauty and  meaning to human
 suffering1 reality to human joy4 ,in   
one of his most  beautiful verses1 he   
describes the crowning of humanity with 
this  living1 budding diadem of hope4   
8,comme une mre fait un diadme de ses   
doigts allongs1 des doigts              
conjoints et affronts de ses deux mains 
fraches      ,autour du front brlant de 
son enfant      ,pour apaiser ce front  
brlant1 cette fivre1      ,ainsi une    
couronne ternelle a t tresse pour       
apaiser le front         brlant4        
,et c'tait une couronne de verdure4     
,une couronne de feuillage40            
,moreover1 8cette curieuse enfant       
,esprance0 is the motive-power of the   
spiritual order too4 ,god ,himself hopes

 for and in man3 has placed ,his        
eternal hope in man's hands1 and given  
to him1 along with the gift of  liberty1
 the terrible power of frustrating or   
achieving the purposes of  ,divine      
,love4           8,le plus infirme des  
pcheurs peut dcouronner1 peut couronner 
,une esprance de ,dieu40    ,such a     
freedom is the very condition of        
spirituality2 for faith1 hope1  and     
charity are not servile virtues1 but    
heavenward-tending impulses of  the free
 soul1 activities of the will4 ,here    
lies their value2 since only  in true   
love1 voluntary service1 deliberate     
choice1 can the  possibilities of human 
nature be fulfilled3        8,toutes les
 soumissions d'esclaves du monde1 ne    
valent pas un beau      regard d'homme  
libre40    ,therefore1 for the author of
 this gospel of freedom and hope1 the   
course  of salvation takes an exactly   
opposite course to that described by    
,huysmans and his school4 ,the typical  
soul for ,pguy is not the  8twice-born0 

exhausted and fastidious sensualist     
,durtal1 driven at last  to seek        
reconciliation by his overwhelming sense
 of sin4 ,it is the  8once-born0 simple 
and ardent peasant child1 ,joan of ,arc2
 brought  straight from the sheepfold to
 serve the heroic purposes of ,god4     
8,tenant tout un royaume en sa tnacit   
,vivant en plein mystre avec sagacit    
,mourant en plein martyre avec vivacit  
,la fille de ,lorraine  nulle autre     
pareille40    ,the typical experience is
 an experience of growth1 freshness1    
novelty2  action rightly directed1 and a
 vision which perceives beauty and      
dignity  in the antique and homely      
labours of the race4 ,the cultivator of 
the  earth and the rearer of children1  
the faithful priest1 the strong and     
loyal soldier--of these is the kingdom  
of heaven4 ,of these and by these  the  
old ,france was built up2 and through   
these ideals and virtues1 and  the      
national saints in whom they are        
expressed1 the new ,france may be       

saved4 ,with ,huysmans in our mystical  
moments we are usually inside a  church1
 assisted by incense and plain-chant of 
the best quality3 with  ,pguy1 we are in
 the open air1 in the market garden1 or 
in the nursery4  ,there his poetry1 in  
,francis ,thompson's beautiful image1   
8plays at the  foot of the ,cross40     
,even the ,holy ,innocents in heaven are
 playing at  bowling hoops with their   
palms and crowns4 8,at least1 ,i think  
so10 says  ,god1 8for they never asked  
,my permission40        8,tel est mon   
paradis4444 ,mon paradis est tout ce    
qu'il y a de plus         simple40      
,side by side with ,pguy's spiritual    
gospel1 or rather entwined with it1     
goes his practical and patriotic gospel4
 ,since for him the whole of life  was  
crammed with spiritual significance1 he 
saw in the patriotic passion  a         
sacrament of heavenly love1 and in      
earthly cities symbols of the ,city  of 
,god4 ,hence nationalism was to him1 as 
to ,dostoevsky1 essentially  religious1 

and ,joan of ,arc--                     
8,une humble enfant perdue en deux      
amours1                  ,l'amour de son
 pays parmi l'amour de ,dieu0--    was  
the perfect saint1 fusing the two halves
 of human experience in one  whole4     
,these two aspects of love he could not 
separate1 for they seemed  to him       
equally the flowers of a completed life4
 ,even ,god1 he thought1  would find it 
difficult to decide between them4       
8,dans une belle vie1 il n'est que de   
beaux jours1               ,dans une    
belle vie il fait toujours beau temps4  
,dieu la droule toute et regarde        
longtemps               ,quel amour est 
plus cher entre tous les amours4        
,ainsi ,dieu ne sait pas1 ainsi le divin
 ,matre               ,ne sait quel     
retenir et placer hors du lieu          
,et pour lequel tenir1 et s'il faut     
vraiment mettre               ,l'amour  
de la patrie aprs l'amour de ,dieu48    
,this mystical patriotism was his great 
gift to the mind of ,france2 and  it was

 to her regeneration that his work was  
really consecrated4 ,it was  the ideal  
,france1 the 8eldest daughter of ,god10 
which claimed his  devotion and inspired
 his finest verse4 ,she is the creative 
nation1  planter of gardens and sower of
 seeds1 the nation which turns all      
things  to the purposes of more abundant
 life3        8,ici1 dit ,dieu1 dans    
cette douce ,france1 ma plus noble      
cration1      ,dans cette saine         
,lorraine1      ,ici ils sont bons      
jardiniers4444      ,toutes les         
sauvageries du monde ne valent pas un   
beau jardin         franais4            
,honnte1 modeste1 ordonn4      ,c'est l 
que j'ai cueilli mes plus belles mes40  
,pguy saw ,france in the laborious and  
heroic past1 with her ancient           
traditions of culture1 liberty1 and     
order3 patient1 scrupulous1  diligent1  
tending her seedbeds and weeding her    
fields--for good work was  always in his
 eyes the earnest of a healthy soul4 ,he
 hoped for her in  the future3 a future 

to be conditioned1 not by the           
progressive character  of her political 
institutions1 but by her freshness1 her 
eternal youth2  above all1 by her spirit
 of hope4        8,peuple1 les peuples  
de la terre te dirent lger      ,parce  
que tu es un peuple prompt4444          
,mais moi1 je t'ai pes1 dit ,dieu1 et je
 ne t'ai point trouv lger4      ,o      
peuple inventeur de la cathdrale1 je ne 
t'ai point trouv lger         en foi4   
,o peuple inventeur de la croisade1 je  
ne t'ai point trouv lger en             
charit4      ,quant  l'esprance1 il vaut
 mieux ne pas en parler1 il n'en a que  
pour eux40    ,owing everything to the  
love and industry of his mother and     
grandmother--for his father died before 
his birth--it was natural that  ,pguy   
should find in faithful and laborious   
womanhood the ultimate types  of human  
truth and goodness4 ,two such types     
appear again and again in  his poems1 as
 living symbols of the national soul3   
,st4 ,genevive1  8vigilante bergre1     

aeule et paroissienne10 whose prayer and
 fortitude  saved ,paris1 and1 above    
all1 ,st4 ,joan of ,arc1 8enfant chappe 
de  pauvres familles10 in whom the dual 
love of ,god and man1 carried into      
vigorous action1 availed to change the  
history of ,france4 ,in the three       
,mystres which he wrote in her honour1  
he extols the three qualities  in which 
he found the secret of ,st4 ,joan's     
holiness1 significance1 and  power2 her 
ardent charity1 her unquenchable hope1  
the childlike  innocence of her soul4   
,charity1 the passionate longing to help
 and save1  urged her to rescue ,france 
from its miseries4 8,il y a tant de     
manque1 il  y a tant  demander40 ,in    
this profound sense of ill to be mended1
 her  mission1 and in ,pguy's view the  
mission of all ,christians1 takes its   
rise4 ,hope1 the ever-renewed belief in 
a possible perfection1 8invisible  et   
immortelle et impossible  teindre10 gave
 her courage to obey her  ,voices and   
strength to perform apparently          

impossible acts4 ,because she  was a    
child at heart1 with a child's unsullied
 outlook1 simplicity and  zest--its     
entire aloofness from the unreal        
complications of adult  existence--she  
had an assurance1 a freshness1 a power  
of initiative1  which carried her       
through and past the superhuman         
difficulties of her  task3              
8,ce grand gnral qui prenait des        
bastilles              ,ainsi qu'on     
prend le ciel1 c'est en sautant dedans1 
,n'tait devant la herse et parmi les    
redans              ,qu'une enfant      
chappe  de pauvres familles4444         
8,elle est monte au ciel ensemble jeune 
et sage              ,a peine parvenue  
au bord de son printemps                
,au bord de sa tendresse et de son jeune
 temps              ,a peine au dbarqu  
de son premier village40    ,st4 ,joan  
thus appears as the supreme example of  
the practical mystic2  rooted in the    
soil1 and agent of that saving force    
which will never rest  until it has     

resolved the discords of man's life and 
inducted him into  the kingdom of       
reality4 ,she is for ,pguy not only the 
redeemer and  incarnate soul of ,france1
 but also1 in her spirit of prayer and  
her  militant vigour1 the leader and    
patron of all those initiates of hope   
who 8seek to mend the universal ill40   
8,heureux ceux d'entre nous qui la      
verront paratre               ,le regard
 plus ouvert que d'une me d'enfant1     
,quand ce grand gnral et ce chef        
triomphant               ,rassemblera sa
 troupe aux pieds de notre matre40      
,it is easy enough to exhibit ,pguy's   
defects1 both literary and              
temperamental4 ,among the first we must 
reckon his tiresome mannerisms  and     
apparent absence of form1 his           
digressions and lapses into the         
didactic1 his exaggerated love of       
repetition3 the way in which his  verse1
 in such a poem as ,eve1 seems to       
advance by means of passionate          
reiterations1 stanza after stanza1 like 

the waves of one tide1  distinguished   
only by the smallest verbal changes4 ,on
 the temperamental  side we must        
acknowledge his intractable arrogance1 a
 complete want of  sympathy with his    
opponents' point of view1 something too 
of the morose  distrustfulness of the   
peasant3 faults which persisted side by 
side with  his real mystical enthusiasm1
 for his nature never completely unified
  itself4 ,on one side a spiritual poet1
 on the other side he was and  remained 
to the last a violent and often cruel   
pamphleteer3 carrying on  against both  
private enemies and public movements a  
guerilla warfare in  which he seemed to 
himself to be1 like his patroness1      
fighting the cause  of his ,voices and  
of the right4 ,as with most poets who   
are also  missionaries1 apostolic zeal  
sometimes got the better of artistic    
discretion4 ,in the fury of his         
invective against the folly1            
priggishness1 cowardice1 and love of    
comfort of the modern world1 he  seized 

any image that came to hand2 sometimes  
with disconcerting effect4  ,no other   
poet1 perhaps1 would have dared to      
introduce cachets of  antipyrine into   
his indignant catalogue of our          
weaknesses and crimes4  ,yet1 as against
 this1 what other poet of our day has   
achieved so wide a  sweep of emotion2   
has revealed to us so great and so      
earnest a  personality8 ,when we        
consider his range1 the tender          
simplicity of his  passages on little   
children1 the sublime ,hymn to the      
,virgin and ,address  to ,night in ,la  
,deuxime ,vertu1 the solemn yet ardent  
celebration of  8les armes de           
,jsus0--suffering1 poverty1 failure1    
death--in ,la  ,tapisserie de ,sainte   
,genevive2 and ,eve1 with its alternate 
notes of  irony and exaltation1 its     
exquisite concluding rhapsody on ,st4   
,genevive  and ,st4 ,joan of ,arc1 the  
8two shepherdesses of ,france0--then we 
forget  the sermons and the diatribes1  
and we feel that the world lost in ,pguy

  a great ,christian poet4 ,he died1 as 
we may be sure that he would have       
wished to do1 in defence of the country 
which he so passionately loved3  and a  
strangely poignant interest attaches to 
those verses in his last  published work
 which he devotes to the 8poor sinners0 
redeemed by this  most sacred of deaths3
             8,heureux ceux qui sont    
morts pour la terre charnelle1          
,mais pourvu que ce ft dans une juste   
guerre4           ,heureux ceux qui sont
 morts pour quatre coins de terre4      
,heureux ceux qui sont morts d'une mort 
solennelle4444             8,heureux les
 grands vainqueurs4 ,paix aux hommes de 
guerre4           ,qu'ils soient        
ensevelis dans un dernier silence4      
,que ,dieu mette avec eux dans la juste 
balance           ,un peu de ce terrain 
d'ordure et de poussire4                
8,que ,dieu mette avec eux dans le juste
 plateau           ,ce qu'ils ont tant  
aim1 quelques grammes de terre4         
,un peu de cette vigne1 un peu de ce    

coteau1           ,un peu de ce ravin   
sauvage et solitaire4444                
8,mre1 voici vos fils et leur immense   
arme4           ,qu'ils ne soient pas   
jugs sur leur seule misre4              
,que ,dieu mette avec eux un peu de     
cette terre           ,qui les a tant   
perdus et qu'ils ont tant aime40        
,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain ,,by   
,,richard ,,clay ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41  
,,brunswick ,,street1 ,,stamford        
,,street1 ,s4,e4 #a1 ,,and ,,bungay1    
,,suffolk4            ,transcriber's    
,notes3       ,text that was in italics 
is enclosed by underscores 7italics74   
,footnotes have been moved to follow the
 sections in which they are             
referenced4