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diff --git a/old/66820-0.txt b/old/66820-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f28e9c5..0000000 --- a/old/66820-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2703 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ruysbroeck and the Mystics, by Maurice -Maeterlinck - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Ruysbroeck and the Mystics - with selections from Ruysbroeck - -Author: Maurice Maeterlinck - -Translator: Jane T. Stoddart - -Contributor: John van Ruysbroek - -Release Date: November 25, 2021 [eBook #66820] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Mark C. Orton, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUYSBROECK AND THE -MYSTICS *** - - - - - -RUYSBROECK - - - - -The Devotional Library. - -Handsomely printed and bound, price 3s. 6d. each volume. - - -_THIRD EDITION._ - -THE KEY OF THE GRAVE. - -A Book for the Bereaved. - -By W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. - - -_SECOND EDITION._ - -MEMORANDA SACRA. - -By Professor J. RENDEL HARRIS, M.A., Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. - - -_THE GENERAL GORDON EDITION._ - -CHRIST MYSTICAL. - -By JOSEPH HALL, D.D., Bishop of Norwich. - -Reprinted, with General Gordon’s marks, from the Original Copy used by -him, and with an Introduction on his Theology By the Rev. H. CARRUTHERS -WILSON, M.A. - - -LONDON: HODDER AND STOUGHTON. - - - - - RUYSBROECK - AND THE - MYSTICS - - WITH SELECTIONS FROM RUYSBROECK - - BY - MAURICE MAETERLINCK - - TRANSLATED BY - JANE T. STODDART - - - LONDON - HODDER AND STOUGHTON - 27 PATERNOSTER ROW - - MDCCCXCIV - - - - -TRANSLATOR’S NOTE - - -The following is an authorised translation of the essay prefixed by -M. Maeterlinck to L’Ornement des Noces Spirituelles, de Ruysbroeck -L’Admirable, Traduit du Flamand par Maurice Maeterlinck, which was -published in 1891 by Paul Lacomblez of Brussels. I have added selected -passages from Ruysbroeck’s own work. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - M. MAETERLINCK’S INTRODUCTION TO HIS - TRANSLATION OF “THE ADORNMENT OF - THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE”-- - - I 1 - - II 29 - - SELECTED PASSAGES FROM “THE ADORNMENT - OF THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE” - - ON THE KINGDOM OF THE SOUL 122 - - CHRIST THE SUN OF THE SOUL 126 - - THE LESSON FROM THE BEE 129 - - THE DEW OF MID-DAY 130 - - THE LESSON FROM THE ANT 132 - - WHAT SHALL THE FORSAKEN DO? 134 - - THE SETTING OF THE ETERNAL SUN 137 - - THE NATURE OF GOD 138 - - THE DIVINE GENEROSITY 139 - - CHRIST THE LOVER OF ALL MEN 141 - - HOW CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF TO US IN THE SACRAMENT 142 - - THE SOUL’S HUNGER FOR GOD 147 - - THE LABOUR AND REST OF LOVE 150 - - THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 151 - - THE COMING OF THE BRIDEGROOM 152 - - - - - M. MAETERLINCK’S INTRODUCTION TO HIS TRANSLATION OF “THE ADORNMENT OF - THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE.” - - -I - -Many works are more correctly beautiful than this book of Ruysbroeck -L’Admirable. Many mystics--Swedenborg and Novalis among others--are -more potent in their influence, and more timely. It is very probable -that his writings may but rarely meet the needs of to-day. Looking -at him from another point of view, I know few more clumsy authors. -He wanders off now and then into strange puerilities, and the first -twenty chapters of _The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage_, although -they are perhaps a necessary preparation for what follows, contain -little more than mild and pious commonplaces. Outwardly, at least, -he has no order, no logic of the schools. He is full of repetitions, -and sometimes seems to contradict himself. He shows the ignorance of -a child along with the wisdom of one who might have returned from the -dead. Over his involved syntax I have toiled more than once in the -sweat of my brow. He introduces an image, and forgets it. There are -some of his images which the mind cannot realise, and this phenomenon, -so unusual in an honest work, can only be explained by his awkwardness -or his extraordinary haste. He knows few of the tricks of language, -and can speak only of the unspeakable. He is almost entirely ignorant -of the habits, skilled methods, and resources of philosophic thought, -and he is constrained to think only of the unthinkable. When he speaks -of his little monastic garden, he can hardly tell us enough about what -goes on there; on that subject he writes like a child. He undertakes -to teach us what transpires in the nature of God, and writes pages -which Plato could not have written. Everywhere we find a grotesque -disproportion between his knowledge and ignorance, his capacity and -desire. You must not expect a literary work; you will see only the -convulsive flight of an eagle, dizzy, blind, and wounded, over snowy -peaks. I will add one word more by way of friendly warning. It has -been my lot to read books generally considered most abstruse: _The -Disciples at Saïs_, and the _Fragments_ of Novalis, for instance; the -_Biographia Literaria_ and the _Friend_ of Samuel Taylor Coleridge; -the _Timaeus_ of Plato; the _Enneads_ of Plotinus; the _Divine Names_ -of St. Denys the Areopagite; the _Aurora_ of the great German mystic, -Jacob Böhme, with whom our author has more than one point of analogy. -I do not venture to say that the works of Ruysbroeck are more abstruse -than these works; but their abstruseness is less readily pardoned, -because we have here to do with an unknown writer in whom we have no -previous confidence. I thought it necessary to give an honest warning -to idlers on the threshold of this temple without architecture; for -this translation was undertaken only to please a few Platonists. I -believe that those who have not lived in close fellowship with Plato -and with the Neo-Platonists of Alexandria will not proceed far in -reading it. They will think they are entering the void; they will feel -as if they were falling steadily into a bottomless abyss, between black -and slippery rocks. In this book there is no common light or air; as a -spiritual abode it will be insupportable to those who come unprepared. -Do not enter here from literary curiosity; there are hardly any dainty -nick-nacks, and the botanist in search of fine images will find as few -flowers here as on the polar ice-banks. I tell them that this is a -boundless desert, where they will die of thirst. They will find here -very few phrases which one may handle and admire after the way of -literary critics; nothing but jets of flame or blocks of ice. Do not -seek for roses in Iceland. Some flower may still linger between two -icebergs--and indeed there are strange outbursts, unknown expressions, -unheard-of analogies, but they will not repay you for the time lost -in coming so far to pluck them. Before entering here one must be in a -philosophic state as different from our ordinary condition as the state -of waking is from that of slumber. Porphyry, in his _Principles of the -Theory of Intelligibles_, seems to me to have written a warning which -might fitly stand at the beginning of this book--“By our intelligence -we say many things of the principle which is higher than the -intelligence. But these things are divined much better by an absence -of thought than by thought. It is the same with this idea as with that -of sleep, of which we speak up to a certain point in our waking state, -but the knowledge and perception of which we can gain only by sleeping. -Like is known only by like, and the condition of all knowledge is that -the subject should become like to the object.” - -It is most difficult, I repeat, to understand such things without -preparation; and I believe that, in spite of our preparatory studies, -a great deal of this mysticism will seem to us purely theoretic, and -that the most of these experiences of supernatural psychology will be -accessible to us only in the character of spectators. The philosophical -imagination is a faculty which is educated very slowly. We are here, -all at once, on the confines of human thought, and far within the -polar circle of the mind. It is strangely cold here; it is strangely -dark; and yet all around there is light and flame. But to those who -come without having trained their mind to these new perceptions, this -light and these flames are as dark and cold as painted images. We -are dealing here with the most exact of sciences. We have to explore -the most rugged and least habitable promontories of the divine -“Know Thyself”; and the midnight sun hangs over the tempestuous sea, -where the psychology of man mingles with the psychology of God. We -have constantly to keep in mind that we are dealing here with a very -profound science, and not with a dream. Dreams are not unanimous; -dreams have no roots; while the glowing flower of divine metaphysic, -which is here full blown, has its mysterious roots in Persia and -in India, in Egypt and in Greece. And yet it seems unconscious as -a flower, and knows nothing of its roots. Unhappily it is almost -impossible for us to put ourselves in the position of the soul which, -without effort, conceived this science; we cannot perceive it _ab -intra_ and reproduce it in ourselves. We lack that which Emerson would -call the same “central spontaneity”; we can no longer transform -these ideas into our own substance; the utmost we can do is to take -count, from the outside, of the tremendous experiences which are -within the reach of only a very few souls during the whole existence -of a planetary system. “It is not lawful,” says Plotinus, “to inquire -into the origin of this intuitive science as if it were a thing -dependent on place and movement; for it does not approach from here, -nor set out from there, in order to go elsewhere, but it appears or -does not appear. So that we must not pursue it in order to discover -its secret sources, but wait in silence until it suddenly shines out -upon us, preparing ourselves for the sacred sight, as the eye waits -patiently for the rising of the sun.” And elsewhere he adds: “It is -not by imagination nor by reason, which is itself obliged to draw its -principles from elsewhere, that we represent to ourselves intelligible -things (that is to say, the highest of all), but rather it is by our -faculty for beholding them, the faculty which enables us to speak of -them here below. We see them therefore by awaking in ourselves, here -on earth, the same powers which we shall have to awake when we are in -the world of pure intelligence. We are like a man who, on reaching the -summit of a rock, perceives with his eyes objects which are invisible -to those who have not made the ascent along with him.” - -But although all beings, from the stone and the plant up to man, are -contemplations, they are unconscious contemplations; and it is very -difficult to rediscover in ourselves some memory of the previous -activity of the dead faculty. In this respect we resemble the eye -in the Neo-Platonic image. “It turns away from the light to see the -darkness, and by the very action it ceases to see; for it cannot see -the darkness with the light, and yet without it, it sees not at all; -and so, by not seeing, it sees the darkness as far as it is capable of -seeing it.” - -I know the judgment which most men will pronounce on this book. They -will think it the work of a deluded monk, of a pale solitary, a hermit, -dizzy with fasting and worn with fever. They will take it for a wild, -dark dream, crossed with vivid lightning flashes,--nothing more. -This is the common idea which people form of the mystics; and they -forget too often that they alone are the possessors of certainty. If -it be true, as has been said, that every man is a Shakespeare in his -dreams, we might well ask whether every man is not in this life an -inarticulate mystic, a thousand times more transcendental than those -who have confined themselves within the bonds of words. Is not the -eye of the lover or of the mother, for instance, a thousand times -more abstruse, more impenetrable, and more mystical than this book, -which is poor and easily explained, after all, like all books, for -these are but dead mysteries, whose horizon will never be rekindled? -If we do not understand this, perhaps the reason is that we no longer -understand anything. But, to return to our author, a few will recognise -without difficulty that, far from being half-maddened by hunger, -solitude, and fever, this monk possessed, on the contrary, one of the -wisest, most exact, and most subtle philosophic brains which have -ever existed. He lived, they tell us, in his hut at Grönendal, in the -midst of the forest of Soignes. It was at the beginning of one of -the wildest centuries of the middle ages,--the fourteenth. He knew -no Greek, and perhaps no Latin. He was alone and poor; and yet, in -the depths of this obscure forest of Brabant, his mind, ignorant and -simple as it was, receives, all unconsciously, dazzling sunbeams from -all the lonely, mysterious peaks of human thought He knows, though he -is unaware of it, the Platonism of Greece, the Sufism of Persia, the -Brahmanism of India, and the Buddhism of Tibet; and his marvellous -ignorance rediscovers the wisdom of buried centuries, and foresees -the knowledge of centuries yet unborn. I could quote whole pages of -Plato, of Plotinus, of Porphyry, of the Zendic books, of the Gnostics, -and of the Kabbala, the all but inspired substance of which is to be -found intact in the writings of this humble Flemish priest.[1] We find -strange coincidences and disturbing agreements. We find more, for he -seems, at times, to have presupposed with exactitude the work of most -of his unknown predecessors. Just as Plotinus begins his stern journey -at the crossroad where Plato, fearing, paused and knelt down, so we -might say that Ruysbroeck awakened from a slumber of several centuries; -not, indeed, the same kind of thought (for that kind of thought never -sleeps), but the same kind of language as that which had fallen asleep -on the mountains where Plotinus forsook it, dazzled by that blaze of -light, and with his hands before his eyes, as if in presence of an -immense conflagration. - -But the organic method of their thought differs strangely. Plato and -Plotinus are before all things princes in the sphere of dialectic. They -reach mysticism by the science of reasoning. They use the discursive -faculties of their mind, and seem to distrust their intuitive or -contemplative faculties. Reasoning beholds itself in the mirror -of reasoning, and endeavours to remain indifferent to every other -reflection. It continues its course like a river of fresh water in the -midst of the sea, with the presentiment of a speedy absorption. In our -author we find, on the contrary, the habits of Asiatic thought; the -intuitive faculty reigns alone above the discursive purification of -ideas by means of words. The fetters of the dream have fallen off. -Is it for this reason less sure? None can tell. The mirror of the -human intellect is entirely unknown in this book, but there is another -mirror, darker and more profound, which we hide in the inmost depths -of our being; no detail can be seen distinctly, and words will not -remain on its surface; the intellect would break it if it could for a -moment cast thereon the reflection of its merely secular light; but -something else is seen there from time to time. Is it the soul? is it -God Himself? is it both at once? We shall never know; yet these all -but invisible appearances are the only real rulers of the life of the -most unbelieving among us. Here you will perceive nothing but the dark -reflections on the mirror, and, as its treasure is inexhaustible, these -reflections are not like anything we have experienced in ourselves, -but, in spite of all, they have an amazing certainty. And this is why -I know nothing more terrifying than this honest book. There is no -psychological idea, no metaphysical experience, no mystical intuition, -however abstruse, profound, and surprising they may be, which it would -be impossible to reproduce if necessary, and to cause to live for a -moment in ourselves, that we might be assured of their human identity; -but here on earth we are like a blind father who can no longer recall -the faces of his children. None of these thoughts has the childlike -or brotherly look of a thought of this earth; we seem to have lost -our experience of God, and yet everything assures us that we are not -entered into the house of dreams. Must we exclaim with Novalis that -the time has passed away when the Spirit of God was comprehensible, -and that the divine sense of the world is forever lost? That of old -all things were manifestations of the Spirit, but that now we see only -lifeless reflections which we do not understand, and live entirely on -the fruits of better times? - -I believe we must humbly confess that the key of this book is not to be -found on the common pathways of the human mind. That key is not meant -to open earthly doors, and we must deserve it by withdrawing ourselves -as far as possible from the earth. One guide, indeed, we may still -meet at these lonely cross-roads, who can point out the last way-marks -towards these mysterious isles of fire, these Icelands of abstraction -and of love. That guide is Plotinus, who attempted to analyse, by -means of the human intellect, the divine faculty which here holds -sway. He experienced the same ecstasies (as we say in a word which -explains nothing) which are in their essence only the beginning of the -complete discovery of our being; and in the midst of their trouble and -their darkness, he never for one moment closed the questioning eye of -the psychologist who seeks to explain to himself the most abnormal -phenomena of his soul. He is thus like the last outwork of the pier, -from which we may understand something of the waves and the horizon of -that dim sea. He tries to extend the paths of the ordinary intellect -into the very heart of these desolations, and this is why we must -constantly revert to him, for he is the one analytical mystic. For the -sake of those who may be tempted to undertake this tremendous journey, -I give here one of the pages in which he has attempted to explain the -organism of that divine faculty of introspection:-- - -“In the intuition of the intellect,” he says, “intelligible objects -are perceived by the intellect by means of the light which the First -One spreads over them, and in seeing these objects, it sees really -the intelligible light. But, as it gives its attention to the objects -on which the light falls, it does not perceive with any exactness the -principle which enlightens them, while if, on the contrary, it forgets -the objects which it sees so as to contemplate only the brightness -which makes them visible, it sees the light itself and the principle -of the light. But it is never outside of itself that the intellect can -contemplate the intelligible light. It then resembles the eye which, -without contemplating an exterior or alien light, and indeed before -it has even perceived it, is suddenly struck by a brightness which -belongs to itself, or by a ray which darts from itself, and appears to -it in the midst of darkness: it is just the same when the eye, so as to -see no other objects, closes its lids and draws its light from itself, -or when, pressed by the hand, it perceives the light which it has in -itself. Then, although seeing no outside thing, it still sees; it sees -even more than at any other time, for it sees the light. The other -objects which it saw before, although they were luminous, were not the -light itself. So, when the intellect closes its eye in some degree to -other objects, and concentrates it on itself, then, seeing nothing, it -yet sees, not an alien light which shines in alien forms, but its own -light, which all at once shines inwardly with a pure radiance.” - -Again he says: “The soul which studies God must form an idea of Him -whom it seeks to know; being aware, moreover, to what greatness it -desires to unite itself, and persuaded that it will find blessedness -in that union, it must plunge into the depths of divinity, until, -instead of contemplating itself, or the intelligible world, it becomes -itself an object of contemplation, and shines with the brightness of -conceptions which have their source above.” - -We have here almost all that human wisdom can tell us; almost all that -the prince of transcendental metaphysicians could express; as for other -explanations, we must find them in ourselves, in the depths where all -explanation disappears in its expression. For it is not only in heaven -and earth, but above all in ourselves, that there are more things than -all philosophies can contain; and as soon as we are no longer obliged -to formulate the mysteries within us, we are more profound than all -that has been written, and greater than all that exists. - -I have translated this book, then, solely because I believe that the -writings of the mystics are the purest diamonds in the vast treasure -of humanity. A translation may indeed very easily be useless, for -experience seems to prove that it matters little whether the mystery -of the incarnation of a thought takes place in darkness or in light; -it is enough that it has taken place. But, however this may be, the -truths of mysticism have a strange privilege over ordinary truths; -they can neither grow old nor die. There is no truth which did not, -one morning, come down upon this world, lovely in strength and in -youth, and covered with the fresh and wondrous dew which lies on -things yet unspoken: to-day you may pass through the infirmaries of -the human soul, where all thoughts come day by day to die, and you -will not find there a single mystic thought. They have the immunity of -the angels of Swedenborg, who progress continually towards the spring -of their youth, so that the oldest angels appear the youngest; and -whether they come from India, from Greece, or from the North, they -have neither country nor date, and wherever we meet them, they are -calm and real as God Himself. A work grows old in exact proportion to -its anti-mysticism; and that is why this book bears no date. I know -that it is unusually obscure, but I believe that a sincere and honest -author is never obscure in the eternal sense of the word, because he -always understands himself, and in a way which is infinitely beyond -anything that he says. It is only artificial ideas which spring up -in real darkness, and flourish solely in literary epochs and in the -insincerity of self-conscious ages, when the thought of the writer is -poorer than his expression. In the former case, we have the rich shade -of a forest; in the latter, the gloom of a cavern, in which only dismal -parasites can grow. We must take into account that unknown world which -our author’s phrases were meant to enlighten through the poor double -horn-panes of words and thoughts. Words, as it has been said, were -invented for the ordinary uses of life, and they are unhappy, restless, -and as bewildered as beggars round a throne, when, from time to time, -some royal soul leads them elsewhere. And, from another point of view, -is the thought ever the exact image of that unknown thing which gave it -birth? Do we not always behold in it the shadow of a conflict like that -of Jacob with the angel, confused in proportion to the stature of the -soul and of the angel? “Woe to us,” says Carlyle, “if we have nothing -in us except that which we can express and show to others.” I know that -on these pages there lies the shadow cast from objects which we have no -recollection of having seen. The monk does not stop to explain their -use to us, and we shall recognise them only when we behold the objects -themselves on the other side of this life; but meanwhile, he has made -us look into the distance, and that is much. I know, besides, that many -of his phrases float almost like transparent icicles on the colourless -sea of silence, but still they exist; they have been separated from -the waters, and that is sufficient. I am aware, finally, that the -strange plants which he cultivated on the high peaks of the spirit are -surrounded by clouds of their own, but these clouds annoy only gazers -from below. Those who have the courage to climb see that they are the -very atmosphere of these plants, the only atmosphere in which they -can blossom in the shade of non-existence. For this is a vegetation -so subtle that it can scarcely be distinguished from the silence -from which it has drawn its juices and into which it seems ready -to dissolve. This whole work, moreover, is like a magnifying glass -turned upon darkness and silence; and sometimes we do not immediately -discern the outline of the ideas which are still steeped therein. It -is invisible things which appear from time to time, and some attention -is obviously needed for their recognition. This book is not too far -off from us; probably it is in the very centre of our humanity; it is -we, on the contrary, who are too far from the book; and if it seems -to us discouraging as the desert, if the desolation of divine love in -it appears terrible, and the thirst on its summits unendurable, it is -not that the book is too ancient, but that we ourselves are perhaps -old and sad and lacking in courage, like gray-haired men in presence -of a child. Plotinus, the great pagan mystic, is probably right when -he says to those who complain that they see nothing on the heights of -introspection: “We must first make the organ of vision analogous and -similar to the object which it is to contemplate. The eye would never -have perceived the sun, if it had not first taken the form of the -sun; so likewise the soul could never see beauty if it did not first -become beautiful itself; and all men should begin by making themselves -beautiful and divine, in order that they may obtain the sight of the -beautiful and of divinity.” - - -II - -The life of Jean von Ruysbroeck, like that of most of the great -thinkers of this world, is entirely an inner life. He said himself, “I -have no concerns outside.” Nearly all his biographers, Surius among -others, wrote nearly two centuries after his death, and their work -seems much intermixed with legend. They show us a holy hermit, silent, -ignorant, amazingly humble, amazingly good, who was in the habit of -working miracles unawares. The trees beneath which he prayed were -illumined by an aureole; the bells of a Dutch convent tolled without -hands on the day of his death. His body, when exhumed five years after -his soul had quitted it, was found in a state of perfect preservation, -and from it rose wonderful perfumes, which cured the sick who were -brought from neighbouring villages. A few lines will suffice to give -the facts which are undoubtedly authentic. He was born in the year -1274 at Ruysbroeck, a little village between Hal and Brussels. He was -first a priest in the church of Sainte-Gudule; then, by the advice of -the hermit Lambert, he left the Brabant town and retired to Grönendal -(Green Valley) in the forest of Soignes, in the neighbourhood of -Brussels. Holy companions soon joined him there, and with them he -founded the abbey of Grönendal, the ruins of which may be seen to -this day. Attracted by the strange renown of his theosophy and his -supernatural visions, pilgrims from Germany and Holland, among them the -Dominican Jean Tauler and Gerhard Groot, came to this retreat to visit -the humble old man, and went away filled with an admiration of which -the memory still lingers in their writings. He died, according to the -_Necrologium Monasterii Viridis Vallis_, on the 2nd of December 1381, -and his contemporaries gave him the title of “_L’Admirable_.” - -It was the century of the mystics and the period of the gloomy wars -in Brabant and Flanders, of stormy nights of blood and prayers under -the wild reigns of the three Johns, of battles extending into the -very forest where the saints were kneeling. St. Bonaventura and St. -Thomas Aquinas had just died, and Thomas à Kempis was about to study -God in that mirror of the absolute which the inspired Fleming had left -in the depths of the Green Valley; while, first Jehan de Bruges, and -afterwards the Van Eycks, Roger van der Weyden, Hugues van der Goes, -Thierry Bouts, and Hans Memlinck were to people with images the lonely -_Word_ of the hermit. - -Here is a list of the writings of Ruysbroeck, the sum-total of which is -very large. _The Book of the Twelve Beguines_; _The Mirror of Eternal -Salvation_; _The Book of the Spiritual Tabernacle_; _The Sparkling -Stone_; _The Book of Supreme Truth_; _The Book of the Seven Steps of -Spiritual Love_; _The Book of the Seven Castles_; _The Book of the -Kingdom of the Beloved_; _The Book of the Four Temptations_; _The -Book of the Twelve Virtues_; _The Book of Christian Faith_, and _The -Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage_. There are besides seven letters, -two hymns, and a prayer, to which Surius gave these titles, _Epistolae -septem utiles_, _Cantiones duæ admodum spirituales_, and _Oratio -perbrevis sed pia valde_, the original texts of which I have not been -able to discover in any of the Flemish manuscripts. - -Some years ago the greater number of these writings were edited with -the utmost care by a society of Flemish bibliophiles--_De Maetschappij -der Vlaemsche Bibliophilen_--and most of this translation has been made -from the excellent text of that edition. - -I shall not undertake to give here an analysis of these different -works; such an analysis would be difficult, monotonous, and useless. -All the books of our author treat exclusively of the same science: a -theosophy peculiar to Ruysbroeck, the minute study of the introversion -and introspection of the soul, the contemplation of God above all -similitudes and likenesses, and the drama of the divine love on the -uninhabitable peaks of the spirit. I shall therefore content myself -with giving some characteristic extracts from each of these writings. - -_The Book of the Twelve Beguines_, in the Latin translation of Surius, -is entitled _De vera contemplatione, opus præclarum, variis divinis -institutionibus, eo quo Spiritus Sanctus suggessit ordine descriptis, -exuberans_. This title explains more exactly the nature of the work, -but is not to be found in any of the early manuscripts. The truth is -that Ruysbroeck, following the custom of his age, seldom gave a title -to his writings, and the titles by which they are now known, as well as -the marginal rubrics of the chapters, have apparently been interpolated -by the copyists. In the edition of the _Maetschappij der Vlaemsche -Bibliophilen_ we find collected under the title, _Dat boec van den -twaelf beghinen_, first of all that treatise on the contemplative life -mentioned by Surius, next a kind of manual of symbolical astrology, -and lastly some thoughts on the passion and death of our Lord Jesus -Christ. The three works are marked off from each other with more or -less distinctness, and Ruysbroeck evidently fixes the place where he -forsakes the inner universe and descends to the visible firmament, -when he says at the end of chapter xxxi., “And after this I leave the -contemplative life, which is God Himself, and which He grants to those -who have renounced self and have followed His Spirit to where, in -eternal glory, He rejoices in Himself and in His chosen.” - -The first eight chapters of this book are written in singular and very -beautiful verses, and across their images, on the dark background of -essential love, as across the windows of a burning convent, there -flicker continually bright spiritual flames, and also frozen sadnesses, -not unlike those of Villon or of Verlaine. - -Here are some of these verses:-- - - “Contemplation is a science without mode, - Above human reason remaining evermore; - Unto our reason can it not come down, - Neither above it can reason ever rise. - Its enlightened freedom is a noble mirror, - Wherein the eternal splendour of God doth shine. - This modeless freedom hath no manner of its own, - And before it all the works of reason pale; - This modeless freedom is not God Himself, - But it is the light by which we see Him. - Those who move in this freedom unrestrained - In the light of God, - See vast prospects stretching out within them. - This modeless freedom is more high than reason, - Yet not without reason; - All things beholdeth it without surprise-- - Surprise is far beneath it - The life of contemplation is without surprise: - It sees, but knows not what is seen, - Above all things is it, and neither this nor that.” - -Afterwards, the poet, perceiving that his verses are becoming too -obscure, standing as he is on the threshold of eternal knowledge, says -suddenly and very simply-- - - “Now must I cease from versing - And speak of contemplation clearly.” - -From this point he makes use of a strange prose, dark as the fearful -void into which he is gazing, resembling that fierce cold which reigns -above all our images, with blue lights flashing over the black frosts -of abstraction. And when he descends for a moment into the regions of -similitudes, he touches only the most distant, the most subtle, and -the most unknown; he loves, too, such things as mirrors, reflections, -crystal, fountains, burning glasses, water-plants, precious stones, -glowing iron, hunger, thirst, fire, fish, the stars, and everything -that helps him to endow his ideas with visible forms--forms laid -prostrate in the presence of love on these clear summits of the -soul--and to give distinctness to those unheard-of truths which he -calmly reveals. It is needless to say more, for you shall presently -reach the threshold of that spiritual marriage, and from there behold -the still tempest of joy, reaching as far as to the eternal heart -of God. In one word, this man of all others went near to beholding -thought as it will be after death, and showed a faint shadow of its -rich growths of the future, in the midst of the incomprehensible -effluence of the Holy Trinity. I believe that this is a work which we -shall perhaps remember elsewhere and always. You shall see, too, that -the most amazing outbursts of St. Teresa are hardly to be distinguished -from the top of those unlighted, colourless, and airless glaciers to -which we climb with him “beyond surprise and emotion, above reason and -the virtues,” in the dark symphony of contemplation. - -I give a passage from the book: _De altero veræ contemplationis modo_:-- - -“After this comes another mode of contemplation. - -“Those who have raised themselves into the absolute purity of their -spirits by the love and reverence which they have for God, stand in -His presence, with open and unveiled faces. And from the splendour of -the Father a direct light shines on those spirits in which the thought -is naked and free from similitudes, raised above the senses, above -similitudes, above reason and without reason, in the lofty purity of -the spirit. - -“This light is not God, but is a mediator between the seeing thought -and God. It is a light-ray from God or from the Spirit of the Father. -In it God shows Himself immediately, not according to the distinction -and the mode of His persons, but in the simplicity of His nature and -His substance; and in it also the Spirit of the Father speaks in -thought, lofty, naked, and without similitude, ‘Behold me as I behold -you.’ At the same time the keenness of the pure eyes is revealed, -when the direct brightness of the Father falls upon them, and they -behold the splendour of the Father--that is to say, the substance or -the nature of God in an immediate vision, above reason and without -distinction. - -“This brightness and this manifestation of God give to the -contemplative spirit a real knowledge of the vision of God, as far -as it can be enjoyed in this mortal state. In order that you may -understand me clearly, I will give you an image from the senses. When -you stand in the dazzling radiance of the sun, and turn away your eyes -from all colour, from attending to and distinguishing all the various -things which the sun illuminates, if then you simply follow with your -eyes the brightness of the rays which flow from the sun, you shall be -led into the sun’s very essence; and so likewise, if you follow with a -direct vision the dazzling rays which stream from the splendour of God, -they will lead you to the source of your creation, and there you will -find nothing else but God alone.” - -I come now to the second of the works enumerated above. _The Mirror -of Eternal Salvation_ (_Die Spieghel der Ewigher Salicheit_) is, like -all the writings of the mystic, a study of the joys of introversion, -or of the return of man into himself, until he comes into touch with -God. It was sent by the admirable doctor and eminent contemplator of -the Green Valley “To the dear Sister Margaret van Meerbeke, of the -convent of the Clares at Brussels, in the year of our Lord 1359.” In -some manuscripts the work is entitled “Book of the Sacraments,” and it -is indeed the poem of eucharistic love, above all distinctions and in -the midst of the blinding effluence of God, where the soul seems to -shake the pollen from its essence and to have an eternal foreknowledge. -Here, as elsewhere, we would need, in order to realise even slightly -these terrors of love, a language which has the intrinsic omnipotence -of tongues which are almost immemorial. The Flemish dialect possesses -this omnipotence, and it is possible that several of its words still -contain images dating from the glacial epochs. Our author then had at -his disposal one of the very oldest modes of speech, in which words -are really lamps behind ideas, while with us ideas must give light to -words. I am also disposed to believe that every language thinks always -more than the man, even the man of genius, who employs it, and who is -only its heart for the time being, and that this is the reason why an -ignorant monk like this mysterious Ruysbroeck, was able, by gathering -up his scanty forces in prayers so many centuries ago, to write works -which hardly correspond to our senses in the present day. I translate -from this book the following fragment:-- - -“See now, here must our reason and all definite actions give way; for -our powers become simple in love, and are silent and bend low before -the manifestation of the Father; for the manifestation of the Father -raises the soul above reason, into nakedness without similitudes. -There the soul is simple, pure, and emptied of everything, and in -that pure emptiness the Father shows His divine brightness. Into that -brightness there can enter neither reason nor the senses, observation -nor distinction. All these things must remain underneath it, for that -measureless brightness dazzles the eyes of the spirit, so that their -lids must close under its inconceivable radiance. But the naked eye, -above reason, and in the inmost depths of intelligence, is always open, -and beholds and contemplates with naked vision that light by that light -itself. There we have eye to eye, glass to glass, image to image. -By these three things we are like unto God, and are united to Him. -For this vision which strikes upon our naked eye is a living mirror -which God has made in His image. His image is His divine brightness, -and with it He has filled to overflowing the mirror of our soul, so -that no other brightness and no other image can enter there. But this -brightness is not an intermediary between God and us; for it is the -thing which we see, and also the light by which we see, but not our eye -which sees. For although the image of God is without intermediary in -the mirror of our soul, and is united to Him, still the image is not -the mirror, for God does not become the creature. But the union of the -image with the mirror is so great and so noble that the soul is called -the mirror of God. - -“Further, that very image of God which we have received and which we -carry in our souls is the Son of God, the eternal mirror of divine -wisdom, in which we all dwell, and are continually reflected. Yet we -are not the wisdom of God, otherwise we should have created ourselves, -which is impossible and a suggestion savouring of heresy. For whatever -we are and whatever we have, we have received all from God and not -from ourselves. And although this sublimity is so great a thought for -our soul, yet is it hidden from the sinner and from many righteous -persons. And all that we can know by the light of nature is incomplete -and savourless and without emotion, for we cannot contemplate God or -find Him reigning in our souls without His aid and grace, and without -diligently exercising ourselves in His love.” - -_The Book of the Spiritual Tabernacle_ (_Dat boec van den Gheesteleken -Tabernacule_). _In Tabernaculum Mosis et ad id pertinentia commentaria, -ubi multa etiam Exodi, Levitici, Numerorum mysteria, divino spiritu -explicantur_, as Surius describes it, is the longest work of the -hermit, and contains a strange, naïve, and arbitrary interpretation of -the symbols of the ark of the covenant, and of the sacrifices of the -ancient law. I shall give somewhat copious extracts from this work, for -it shows an interesting and brotherly aspect of his Flemish soul; and -the artistic subtlety with which he labours to elucidate his emblems, -as well as his amusing and childlike delight in certain effects of -colour and of figures, reminds us now and then of his marvellous -contemporaries of the Cologne school, the old dreamy painters, Meister -Wilhelm and Lochner, and of the splendid succession of nameless -dreamers, who, in lands far off from his, gave a fixed form to the -almost supernatural reflections of the spiritual joys of that and the -following century, which passed away so near to God and so far from -earth. - -Here is what he says with regard to the offering of the poor as -commanded in the Jewish law:-- - -“And they (the doves) shall keep near streams and beside clear waters, -so that if any bird flies downwards to seize them or to do them any -injury, they may recognise him by his reflection in the water and -beware of him. The clear water is Holy Scripture, the lives of saints, -and the mercy of God. We shall reflect ourselves therein when we are -tempted, and so none shall be able to hurt us. These doves have a -loving nature, and young doves are often born of them, for whenever, to -the glory of God and for our own felicity, we think of sin with scorn -and hatred, and of virtue with love, we give birth to young doves--that -is to say, to new virtues.” - -In the following passages he pictures, with the help of these same -doves, the offering of Saint Paul:-- - -“And our Lord replied that His grace should be sufficient for him, for -virtue is perfected in the weakness of temptations. When he understood -this he offered these two doves into the hands of our Lord. For he -renounced self, and willingly became poor, and bent the necks of his -doves (that is, his desires) under the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ -and of the Holy Church. And Christ broke the necks and the wings of the -doves, and then he became incapable of desiring or of flying towards -any desire except that which was God’s will. And then Christ placed the -head (that is to say, the will, which was dead and powerless) under the -broken wings, and then the doves were ready to be consumed; and so the -holy apostle says: ‘Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my -weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’” - -Let us consider further the extraordinary interpretation of the -spiritual flowers embroidered on the hangings of the tabernacle:-- - -“On these four curtains of divers colours the Lord ordered Bezaleel -and Aholiab to weave and to embroider with the needle many ornaments. -So likewise our obedient will and our intelligence will place upon -these four colours divers ornaments of virtues. On the white colour of -innocence we shall place red roses, by evermore resisting all that is -evil. Thus we maintain purity and crucify our own nature, and these red -roses with their sweet perfume are very lovely on the white colour. -Again, upon innocence we shall embroider sunflowers, by which we mean -obedience; for when the sun rises in the east, the sunflower opens -towards its rays, and turns ever eagerly towards the sun, even until -its setting in the west; and at night it closes and hides its colours -and awaits the return of the sun. Even so will we open our hearts by -obedience towards the illumination of the grace of God, and humbly -and eagerly will we follow that grace so long as we feel the warmth -of love. And when the light of grace ceases to awaken fresh emotions, -and we feel the warmth of love but little, or feel it not at all, then -it is night, when we shall close our heart to all that may tempt it; -and so shall we shut up within ourselves the golden colour of love, -awaiting a new dawn, with its new brightness and its fresh emotions; -and thus shall we preserve innocence always in its pristine splendour. -On the blue colour, which is like the firmament, we shall embroider -birds with varied plumage; in other words, we shall keep before our -minds, with clear observation, the lives and the works of the saints, -which are manifold. These works are their varied plumage, so gracious -and so beautiful, and with this they adorned themselves and soared to -heaven. They are birds which we must observe with attention; if we are -like them in their plumage, we shall follow them to their eternal -rest. On the purple colour (that is, violet or blood-red, meaning -generosity) we shall place water-lilies, and these symbolise the free -possession of all the treasures of God. For we notice four things in -the water-lily. It keeps itself always above the water, and has four -green leaves between the air and the water; and it is rooted in the -earth, and above it is opened out to the sun; and it is a remedy for -those who are fevered. So also may we, by generosity and freedom of -spirit, possess the waves of all the riches of God. And between this -free possession by our spirit and the waves of the lavish gifts of God, -we shall have green leaves--that is to say, an earnest consideration -of the way in which the eternal liberality of God flows forth, with -ever new gifts to men, and we shall consider also how the gifts are -bestowed with discrimination, according to the nature of the beloved -ones who receive them, and how the final cause of all the gifts is -the generous outflow of divine love; and the more immediate cause the -wisdom and generosity in human creatures, which makes them resemble -God. For none can know the wealth of the gifts of God except the wise -and generous man, who, out of the treasures of God, can give wisely and -generously to all creatures. So shall we adorn generosity, and then we -shall be rooted in the soil of all the gifts--that is to say, in the -Holy Spirit, as the water-lily is rooted deep down under the water. And -we shall open our hearts in the air above, towards truth and towards -the sun of righteousness. And thus we are a remedy for all the world; -for the generous heart which possesses the treasures of God, ought to -fill, console, refresh, and cool all those who are afflicted. And it -is thus that the purple colour is adorned with the red colour--that -is to say, with burning love. On it we shall place bright stars, by -which I mean pious and devout prayer for the good of our neighbour, and -reverent and secret communion between God and ourselves. These are the -stars which illuminate with their brightness the kingdoms of heaven and -of earth, and they make us inwardly light-giving and fruit-bearing, and -fix us in the firmament of eternal life.” - -I shall next translate the whole of the “chapter on fishes,” with its -amazing analogies:-- - -“This is why the symbolic law ordered the Jews to eat clean fish, which -had scales and fins; and all other fish were unclean and were forbidden -by the law. By this we understand that our inner life ought to have a -clothing of virtues, and our inward devotions ought to be covered with -the application of our reason, just as the fish is clothed and adorned -with its scales. And our loving power should move in four different -ways:--in triumphing over our own will, in loving God, in desiring to -resist our own nature, and in seeking to acquire virtues. These are -four fins between which our inward life should swim, as fish do, in -the water of divine grace. The fish has besides, in the middle of its -body, a straight fin, which remains motionless in all its movements. -So our inward feelings, firmly centred, should be empty of everything -and without personal preference; in other words, we should allow God -to act in us and in all things, both in heaven and earth. The fourth -scale balances us in the mercy of God and in true divine peace. And so -our devotion has fins and scales and becomes for us a pure nourishment -which pleases God. But the scales which clothe and adorn our inward -exercises should be of four colours, for some fish have gray scales, -others red scales, others green scales, and others again white scales. -The gray scales teach us that the images with which we clothe our -devotions must be humble; in other words, we must think of our sins, -of our want of virtue, of the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ, and -of His mother, and of all things which may abase and humble us, and -we shall love poverty and contempt and to be unknown and despised by -everybody. This is the gray colour, which is very beautiful in the eyes -of God. - -“Further, we shall clothe our devotions with red scales--that is to -say, we shall remember that the Son of God laid down His life for love -of us, and we shall keep His passion in our memory, like a glorious -mirror before our inward eyes, so that we may remember His love and -console ourselves in all our sorrows. And we shall also think of the -many torments of the martyrs, who by their sufferings followed our Lord -into eternal life. These are red scales, set well in order, and they -are a delightful clothing for our inward emotions. - -“Then, again, we shall adorn our secret thoughts with green scales. -I mean that we shall earnestly meditate upon the noble lives of -confessors and saints, remembering how they despised the world, and by -what wonderful work and in what divers ways they honoured and served -God. Green is the colour which attracts and rejoices loving hearts and -willing eyes. Let us stir our fins, then, and follow the saints by -imitating their good works to the utmost of our power. - -“Again, we shall clothe our inward exercise with white scales; in -other words, we shall glass ourselves in the purity of virgins, and -shall observe how they fought and how they conquered flesh and blood, -by which is meant the inclination of nature. This is why they wear -the crown of gold and follow the Lamb, who is Christ, with new songs, -which none shall sing save those who have preserved chastity in soul -and body. But if we have lost purity, we may still acquire innocence -and clothe ourselves with other virtues, and so we may reach the day -of judgment shining brighter than the sun, and possess the glory of -God through an unending eternity. In this way, then, we shall cover -our inward devotion with four kinds of scales, and each kind shall -have the active fins of good-will; that is, we must desire to carry out -in good works that which we understand by our intelligence. So shall -our spiritual nourishment be clean; for knowledge and wisdom without -a virtuous life are like scales without fins; and practical virtues -without reflection are fins without scales; and so we must know, love, -and practise virtues, in order that our life may be pure; and then we -shall be nourished with clean fish which have scales and fins.” - -I give next the following passage:-- - -“Further, each lamp had a vase of gold, full of water, in which was -extinguished the fire taken away from the wicks. By this we learn -that every gift demands from our mind a desire towards every cardinal -virtue--a desire so simple that we can feel in ourselves the yearning -of love after union with God. We observe this in Jesus Christ, who -is our mirror in all things; for in every virtue which He practised, -He excelled so lovingly that He sought ardently after union with His -Father. And we shall unite all our yearnings in that loving yearning -which He felt towards His Father in all cardinal virtues. For our -loving yearnings are our golden vases, full of water--that is, of truth -and righteousness--we shall plunge into them our burning wicks, the -acts, that is, of all the virtues which we have practised; we shall -plunge them in and extinguish them, by commending ourselves to His -righteousness, and by uniting ourselves to His adorable merits; without -this the wick of all our virtues would smoke and would have an evil -savour before God and before all His saints.” - -Elsewhere, he examines the twelve jewels of the Breastplate, and -sees in them reflections of eternal symbols, as well as unsuspected, -precise, and suggestive analogies. Let us see whether it is not so. - -“In the rays of the sun, the topaz surpasses in splendour all precious -stones; and even so does the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ excel in -glory and in majesty all the saints and all the angels because of His -union with the eternal Father. And in this union the reflection of the -Divine Sun is so clear and glorious that it attracts and reflects in -its clearness all the eyes of saints and angels in immediate vision, -and those also of just men to whom its splendour is revealed. So -likewise does the topaz attract and reflect in itself the eyes of those -who behold it, because of its great clearness. But if you were to cut -the topaz it would darken, while if you leave it in its natural state -it will remain clear. And so, too, if you examine and try to penetrate -the splendour of the eternal Word, that splendour will darken and you -will lose it. But leave it as it is, and follow it with earnest gaze, -and with self-abnegation, and it will give you light.” - -Let us next consider the curious correspondences which he discovered in -other precious stones:-- - -“In this article we compare Christ to the noble sapphire, of which -there are two kinds. The first is yellow with shades of purple and -seems to be mingled with powdered gold; the other is sky-blue, and -in the rays of the sun it gives forth a burning splendour, and one -cannot see through it. And we find all this in our Lord, in this fifth -article of the creed. For when His noble soul rose to heaven, His -body lay in the tomb--yellow, because of the soul’s departure; purple, -because of His bleeding wounds; and mingled with powdered gold because -He was united to the divine nature. And His soul descended into hell, -blue as the sky, so that all his friends rejoiced and were glad in -His splendour; and in His resurrection the splendour becomes so great -and so powerful, both in body and soul, through the illumination of -the Divine Sun, that it darts forth lightnings and burning rays, and -inflames with love all things which it touches. And none can see -through that noble sapphire, Christ, because in His divine nature there -is a depth unfathomable.” - -I pass over the amethyst “from which red roses seem to flow forth,” and -as a closing passage from this work, I shall translate the last three -symbols: those of the chrysolite, the emerald, and the jasper. - -First of all, the chrysolite:-- - -“The communion of saints and the forgiveness of sins are obtained by -the _waves of the night_--that is to say, by two sacraments of the -Holy Church, baptism and penance. These are the waves which by faith -wash that night of darkness, sin. And God has sworn, even from the -time of Abraham, that He would give Himself to us and would become -our familiar friend, and because of His all-embracing and overflowing -love, He has willed to wash us in His blood. And in order that we might -believe without doubting in the oath which He sware by Himself, He has -sealed it with His own death, and has given the merits of His death -to all men in the Holy Church for the remission of sins, and to the -saints, for the adornment of their glory. That precious stone, the -chrysolite, symbolises to us that article of the creed, ‘the communion -of saints, the forgiveness of sins,’ for it is like the waves of the -sea, translucent and green, and moreover it has gleams of gold. And so -likewise all saints and just men are translucent by grace or by glory, -and they are green by their holy life, and they gleam with the gold of -divine love which shines through them. And these three adornments are -common to all saints and to all just persons, for they are the treasure -of the holy churches, here and in eternal life. And all who by penance -have put away from them the colour of the Red Sea--that is, a sinful -life--are like the chrysolite. - -“You must know that this sea is red because of its country and the -colour of its bed. It is between Jericho and Zoar, Jericho signifies -‘the moon,’ and Zoar the beast which blinds the reason. Between -the moon of inconstancy and the inclination of reason towards the -beast, there is always the Red Sea--that is to say, an impure life. -No creature can live in the Red Sea, and whatever does not live in it -sinks to the bottom; and that is why it is called the Dead Sea, because -there is no movement in it, and it is like bitumen or pitch, because it -seizes and slays whatever enters it, and in this way it very closely -resembles sin, which seizes man and puts him to spiritual death in the -sight of God, and plunges him into hell.” - -Let us see, lastly, how he applies the emerald and the jasper to the -third and sixth articles of the Apostles’ Creed:-- - -“In this article we compare to the Son of God that beautiful stone -which is called the emerald, and which is so green that neither leaves -nor grass nor any other green thing can compare with its viridity. And -it fills and feeds with its greenness the eyes of those who behold it. -Now when the eternal Word of the Father was made man, then was seen the -greenest colour ever known on earth. That union of natures is so green -and so lovely and so joyful, that no other colour can equal it; and so -in a holy vision it has filled and fed the eyes of such men as have -prepared themselves to perceive it. Nothing is more lovely and more -pleasant to the eye than the emerald when it has been cut and polished, -and everything that it reflects may be recognised and seen as in a -mirror. And so, if we examine in detail the divine being of Him who -took our nature through His love for us, we must needs admire, and we -cannot sufficiently praise its sublimity. And when we consider how He -became man, we must be ashamed of ourselves, remembering His humility, -and we cannot abase ourselves too deeply. And when we remember what His -motive was in becoming man, we cannot rejoice enough or love Him as He -deserves. - -“In these three ways we shall behold with eager desire, and we shall -polish and lovingly examine Christ our noble emerald; and so doing, we -shall find nothing more pleasant to the eyes of our reason, nothing -more attractive, for we shall find Him reflected in us, and we shall -find ourselves re-echoed in Him through His grace and a virtuous life, -and so we shall turn away from earthly things and keep this mirror ever -before our eyes. - -“In another article we compare Christ to the noble jasper, which has -a green colour, very pleasant to the eye; and it almost equals the -emerald in its greenness. And so we compare it to the ascension of our -Lord, who was green and beautiful in the eyes of the apostles, and so -pleasant that they could never forget Him during all their lives. And -we shall rightly have the same experience; we shall consider that the -noble emerald, the eternal Word, descended into our nature because of -His love for us, with an overflowing greenness, and we shall rejoice -in this above all, for this vision is full of grace. We shall further -consider that the glorious jasper, by which I mean our Lord Jesus, -ascended to heaven wearing our nature, and is seated at the right hand -of the Father, and has prepared for us the state of glory--Amen.” - -Next comes _The Book of the Twelve Virtues_, which Laurentius Surius -entitles more exactly _Tractatus de præcipuis quibusdam virtutibus_. -In it the hermit of Grönendal seems to have made a violent effort to -open his bodily eyes, and all his thoughts are intertwined with the -simplicity of divine children, in the green and blue rays of humility -and mercy, while his prose, which is usually quite impersonal, is -enlivened here with various counsels and practical matters. - -Here is a fragment on humility:-- - -“To reach the lowest place is to have no longer any desire towards -evil; and as we have always some sin to forsake, so long as we are in -this mortal life, we never reach the lowest place, for to die is to -attain, not according to the senses, but in a spiritual paradox. And if -any one were to say that to be steeped in humility is to have reached -the lowest place, I should not contradict his opinion. But it seems to -me that to bathe oneself in humility is to bathe oneself in God, for -God is the source of humility, and He is at the same height and the -same depth above and below all places. And between self-abasement and -the attainment of the lowest place, there is, to my mind, a difference. -For to reach the lowest place is to have no longer any desire towards -evil, and to experience self-abasement is to be steeped in humility, -and that is self-annihilation in God and death in God. Now, we have -always something to forsake so long as we live, and to have nothing -more to forsake is to have reached the lowest place. This is why we -cannot attain to the lowest place. For what man was ever so humble -that he could not have been more humble still? and who ever loved so -fervently that he could not have loved more fervently still? Except -Christ, assuredly not one. And so let us never be satisfied while in -this dying life, for we may always become more humble than we are -to-day. It is a most joyful thought that we have so great and good a -God that we can never give Him sufficient homage and praise. Yes, not -even if each single man could give every moment that which is given -by all men and by all angels. But if we steep ourselves in humility, -that is enough, and we please God by Himself, for in that immersion we -are _one life_ in Him, not according to nature, but by being bathed in -humility, because by humility we have descended below our creation, -and we have flowed into God, who is the source of humility. And there -we lack nothing, for we are beyond ourselves and in God, and there is -neither giving nor receiving, nor anything which can be called _there_, -for it is neither _there_ nor _here_, but I know not where.” - -From the same book I transcribe the following passage on detachment -from all things:-- - -“Now, he who has found God thus reigning in him by His grace, and who -dwells in God above the measure of his human strength, may remain -insensible to joy, to grief, and to the multitude of creatures. For -God is _essenced_ in him, and he is more disposed to introversion than -to extroversion; and this essence is recalled to him wherever man is -found; and this inclination and this essence are never forgotten, -unless the man should deliberately turn away from God; and this he -will not readily do, for he who has experienced God in this way cannot -easily turn away from Him. I do not say that this can never happen, for -no one is certain of anything in this mortal life, except of certain -revelations. - -“God takes by His divine power the man whom he has _essenced_ in -himself in this way, and enlightens him in everything, for everything -is full to him of divine enjoyment; for he who refers all things to the -glory of God, enjoys God in all things, and he sees in them the image -of God. For he takes all from the hand of God, thanks Him and praises -Him in everything, and God shines ever brightly before him, for he -watches God with close attention, and never willingly turns away to -worthless things. And as soon as he sees that he has turned towards -worthless things, he at once turns away from them with great bitterness -against himself, and bewails his unfaithfulness to God and resolves -never again to turn knowingly towards worthless things. For all is bare -and empty in which there is not either the glory of God or the good of -our neighbour or our own salvation. He who thus watches over himself is -less and less distracted, for his friend is often present with him, -and that delights him above all. He is like to one who has a burning -thirst. In his thirst he does nothing but drink. He may think of many -other things besides the thirst which consumes him; but whatever he -does, and whoever he is, or of whatever object he thinks, the image -of drink does not disappear from his mind so long as he suffers from -thirst. And the longer the thirst endures, the greater is the suffering -of the man. And it is even so with the man who loves anything so -passionately that he has no taste for aught besides, while nothing -really touches his heart except that with which he is busied, and on -which his love is set. Wherever he may be, with whomsoever he may find -himself, nothing removes from him that which he so ardently loves. And -he sees in all things the image of the beloved object; and the greater -and more powerful his love, the more vividly that image is present to -him. He does not seek repose and idleness that he may enjoy it, for no -distraction hinders him from having the image of the beloved abiding -ever with him.” - -Let us glance next at the little work on _Christian Faith_, to which -Surius gives the title _De fide et judicio, tractatulus insignis_. Its -twenty pages form a kind of catechism, splendid in its precision, from -which I take the following fragment on the happiness of the elect:-- - -“We shall behold with our inward eyes the mirror of the wisdom of -God, in which shall shine and be illumined all things which have ever -existed and which can rejoice our hearts. And we shall hear with our -outward ears the melody and the sweet songs of saints and angels, who -shall praise God throughout eternity. And with our inner ears we shall -hear the inborn Word of the Father; and in this Word we shall receive -all knowledge and all truth. And the sublime fragrance of the Holy -Spirit shall pass before us, sweeter than all balms and precious herbs -that ever were; and this fragrance shall draw us out of ourselves, -towards the eternal love of God, and we shall taste His everlasting -goodness, sweeter than all honey, and it shall feed us, and enter into -our soul and our body; and we shall be ever an hungered and athirst -for it, and because of our hunger and thirst, these delights and this -nourishment shall remain with us for ever, ever more renewed; and this -is eternal life. - -“We shall understand by love and we shall be understood by love, and -God shall possess us and we Him in unity. We shall enjoy God, and, -united to Him, we shall rest in blessedness. And this measureless -delight, in that super-essential rest, is the ultimate source of -blessedness, for we are then swallowed up in satisfaction beyond all -possibility of hunger. Hunger can have no place in it, for there is -nothing here but unity; all loving spirits shall here fall asleep in -super-essential darkness, and nevertheless they shall live and wake for -ever in the light of glory.” - -Next we come to _The Book of the Sparkling Stone, De Calculo, sive de -perfectione filiorum Dei, libellus admirabilis_, as Surius adds. Here -the subject is the mysterious stone of which the Spirit says in the -Apocalypse: _Et dabo illi (vincenti) calculum candidum, et in calculo -nomen novum scriptum, quod nemo scit nisi qui accepit_ (Rev. ii. 17). -This stone, according to the monk of the forest of Soignes, is the -symbol of Christ, given to His loved ones only, and like a flame which -images the love of the eternal Word. And then again we have glimpses -of those dark shadows of love, from which break forth uninterrupted -sobs of light, seen in awful flowers through the gradual expansions of -contemplation and above the strange verdure of an unequalled gladness. -Let us examine this passage:-- - -“And hence follows the third point, that is to say, an inward exercise -above reason and without restraint; for that union with God which every -loving spirit has possessed in love continually attracts and draws -towards the inmost centre of its essence the divine persons and all -loving spirits; and all those who love feel this attraction, more or -less, according to their love and their holy exercises. And he who -keeps guard over this attraction and clings closely to it cannot fall -into deadly sin. But the contemplative one, who has renounced his own -being and all things else, does not experience an expulsive force, -because he no longer possesses anything, but is emptied of all; and so -he can always enter naked and imageless into the secret place of his -spirit. There he sees the eternal light revealed, and in that light -he feels an eternal craving for union with God. And he himself feels -a constant fire of love which desires above all things to be one with -God. And the more he observes that attraction and that craving, the -more keenly he feels it; and the more he feels it, the more he desires -to be one with God, for he longs to pay the debt which God calls on him -to pay. This eternal craving for union with God causes the spirit to -glow evermore with love; but as the spirit uninterruptedly continues -paying its debt, a perpetual consumption goes on within it; for in -the refreshment of unity all spirits grow weary in their task, and -feel only the absorption of everything into simple unity with God. -This simple unity can be felt and possessed by none save by those who -stand before the immense brightness and before love, above reason and -without restraint. In this presence the spirit feels itself perpetually -inflamed with love; and in this glow of love it finds neither beginning -nor end. And it feels itself _one_ with that burning fire of love. -The spirit remains always on fire in itself, for its love is eternal, -and it feels itself always consumed away in love; for it is attracted -towards the refreshment of union with God, in which the spirit burns -with love. If it observes itself, it finds a distinction and a -difference between itself and God, but where it burns it is pure and -has no distinction, and that is why it feels nothing else but unity; -for the immeasurable flame of the divine love consumes and swallows up -all that it has enveloped in its essence. - -“And you may thus understand that the attracting unity of God is -nothing else save boundless love, which lovingly draws inwards, in -eternal enjoyment, the Father, the Son, and all who live in love. And -we desire to burn and be consumed in that love everlastingly, for -in it the blessedness of all spirits is found. And so we ought all -to found our lives on a fathomless abyss; we shall thus be able to -descend evermore in love, and to plunge ourselves beyond ourselves -into its unsounded depths; and by the same love we shall rise and go -beyond ourselves into its inconceivable height, and we shall wander in -that measureless love, and it will lead us away into the boundless -expanse of the love of God. And there will be a flow and outflow -beyond ourselves, in the unknown pleasure of the divine goodness and -riches. There will be an eternal fusion and transfusion, absorption and -perabsorption of ourselves in the glory of God. See how, in each of -these comparisons, I have shown to the contemplative mind its essence -and its inward exercises. But no other can understand me, for no man -can teach contemplation to his fellow. But when the eternal truth is -revealed to the spirit, it is instructed in all that is needful.” - -I ought in fairness to translate also the many strange things in -chapters vi., vii., and viii., which deal with “The difference between -the hirelings and the faithful servants of God,” “The difference -between the faithful servants and the secret friends of God,” and “The -difference between the secret friends and the hidden sons of God.” -Here it does really seem as if the anchorite of the Green Valley had -dipped into things beyond this world. But having run to such lengths -already, I can hardly attempt it I must, however, be permitted to give -the following fragment, which shall be the last from this book. It is -strangely beautiful:-- - -“Understand, now, that this is the mode of progress: in our going -towards God, we ought to carry our being and all our works before -us, as an eternal offering to God; and in presence of God we shall -surrender ourselves and all our works, and, dying in love, we shall -pass beyond all creation into the super-essential kingdom of God. There -we shall possess God in an eternal death to ourselves. And this is why -the Spirit of God says in the book of the Apocalypse, ‘Blessed are the -dead who die in the Lord.’ Rightly indeed does He call them the blessed -dead, for they remain continually dead to themselves and immersed -beyond their own nature in the gladdening unity of God. And they die -ever newly in love, by the attracting refreshment of that same unity. -Furthermore, the divine Spirit saith, ‘They shall rest from their -labours, and their works shall follow them.’ In this finite existence, -where we are born of God into a spiritual and virtuous life, we carry -our works before us as an offering to God; but in that unconditioned -life, where we die anew in God, into a life of everlasting blessedness, -our good works follow us, for they are one life with us. In our walk -towards God, God dwells within us; but in our death to ourselves and -to all things besides, we dwell in God. If we have faith, hope, and -love, we have received God, and He dwells in us with His mercies, and -He sends us out as His faithful servants, to keep His commandments. And -He calls us in as His mysterious friends, and we obey His counsels. But -above all things, if we desire to enjoy God, or to experience eternal -life within us, we must rise far above human reason, and enter into God -through faith; and there we shall remain pure, at rest, and free from -all similitudes, lifted by love into the open nakedness of thought. For -when in love we die to all things, when in ignorance and obscurity we -die to all the notice of the world, we are wrought and reformed by the -eternal Word, who is an image of the Father. And in the repose of our -spirit we receive the incomprehensible splendour which envelops and -penetrates us, just as the air is penetrated by the brightness of the -sun. And this splendour is merely a boundless vision and a boundless -beholding. What we are, that we behold; and what we behold, that we -are; for our thought, our life, and our essence are closely united with -that truth which is God, and are raised along with it. And that is why -in this pure vision we are one life and one spirit with God; and this -is what I call a contemplative life. By connecting ourselves closely to -God through love, we choose the better part; but when we thus behold -God in super-essence, we possess Him altogether. This contemplation -is united with an untrammelled inward devotion, that is to say, with -a life in which earthly things are destroyed; for when we go outside -ourselves into darkness and into unlimited freedom, the pure ray of -the brightness of God shines perpetually on us; we are fixed in the -ray, and it draws us out of ourselves into our super-essence till -we are overwhelmed in love. And this overwhelming in love is always -accompanied and followed by the free inward exercise of love. For -love cannot be idle; it longs by knowledge and taste to enter into -the immense riches which dwell in its inmost heart; and its hunger -is inappeasable. To be always receiving in this powerlessness is to -swim against the stream. We can neither leave nor take, do without nor -receive, speak nor be silent, for it is above reason and intelligence, -and higher than all created beings. And so we can neither attain nor -pursue it; but we shall look within, and there we shall feel that the -Spirit of God is leading us and drawing us on in this impatience of -love. We shall look above, and there we shall feel that the Spirit of -God is drawing us out of ourselves, and that we are lost in Him--that -is, in the super-essential love with which we are one, and which we -possess more deeply and more widely than all other things. - -“This possession is a pure and profound enjoyment of all good and of -eternal life; and we are swallowed up in this enjoyment, above reason -and without reason, in the deep calm of Godhead, which shall nevermore -be stirred. It is by experience only that we can know that this is -true. For how this is, or who, or in what place, or what, neither -reason nor inward exercise can tell us, and it is for this reason that -our inward exercise which follows must remain without mode or limit. -For we can neither conceive nor understand the unfathomable good which -we possess and enjoy; neither by our inward exercises can we go out -of ourselves to enter into it. And so we are poor in ourselves, but -rich in God; hungry and thirsty in ourselves, satiated and full of -wine in God; laborious in ourselves, in God enjoying perfect rest. And -thus we shall remain throughout eternity. For without the exercises of -love we can never possess God, and he who feels or thinks otherwise is -deceived. And thus we live wholly in God, by possessing our beatitude, -and we live wholly in ourselves by exercising our souls in love towards -God; and although we live wholly in God and wholly in ourselves, yet it -is but one life, which has two-fold and contrary sensations. For riches -and poverty, hunger and satiety, work and idleness, these things are -absolutely contrary to one another. Nevertheless, in this consists the -nobility of our nature, now and everlastingly, for it is impossible -that we should become God, or lose our created essence. But if we -remain wholly in ourselves, separated from God, we shall be miserable -and unsaved; and so we ought to feel ourselves living wholly in God and -wholly in ourselves, and between these two sensations we shall find -nothing but the grace of God and the exercises of our love. For from -the height of our highest sensation, the splendour of God shines upon -us, and it teaches us truth and impels us towards all virtues into the -eternal love of God. Without interruption we follow this splendour on -to the source from which it flows, and there we feel that our spirits -are stripped of all things and bathed beyond thought of rising in the -pure and infinite ocean of love. If we remained there continually, -with a pure vision, we should never lose this experience, for our -immersion in the enjoyment of God would be without interruption, -if we had gone out of ourselves and were swallowed up in love, so -possessing God. For if, overwhelmed in love, and lost to ourselves, we -are the possessors of God, God is ours and we are His, and we plunge -far beyond our depth, eternally and irrevocably having God as our own. -This immersion in love becomes the habit of our being, and so it takes -place while we sleep and while we wake, whether we know it or whether -we know it not. And in this way it deserves no other praise; but it -maintains us in possession of God and of all the good which we have -received from His hands. It is like unto streams, which, without pause -and without returning, flow continually into the sea, since that is -the place to which they belong. And so, if we possess God alone, the -immersion of our being through habitual love is always, and without -return, flowing into an unfathomable emotion, which we possess, and -which belongs to us. If we were always pure, and if we always beheld -with the same directness of vision, we should have such a feeling as -this. Now, this immersion in love is above all virtues, and above all -the practices of love. For it is simply an eternal going forth out of -ourselves, by a clear prevision, into a changed state, towards which -we lean out of ourselves, as if towards our beatitude. For we feel -ourselves eternally drawn outside ourselves and towards another. And -this is the most secret and the most hidden distinction which we can -experience between God and ourselves, and above it there is no more any -difference. Nevertheless, our reason remains with its eyes open in the -darkness--that is to say, in infinite ignorance--and in that darkness -the boundless splendour remains secret and hidden from us, for the -presence of its immensity blinds our reason. But it wraps us round with -its purity and transforms us by its essence, and so we are wrought -out of our personality and transformed until, overwhelmed in love, we -possess our beatitude, and are one with God.” - -Let us next look at _The Book of the Seven Steps of the Ladder of Love_ -(called by Surius _De Septem Gradibus amoris, libellus optimus_) in -which the prior of Grönendal studies seven virtues which lead from -introversion to the confines of absorption. This seems to me one of -the most beautiful works of a saint, whose works are all strange and -beautiful I ought to translate from it some rather singular passages; -among others, that in which he discusses the four melodies of heaven; -but space fails us, and this introduction is already too long. I shall -content myself with giving the following page:-- - -“The Holy Spirit cries in us with a loud voice and without words, -‘Love the love which loves you everlastingly.’ His crying is an inward -contact with our spirit. This voice is more terrifying than the storm. -The flashes which it darts forth open the sky to us and show us the -light of eternal truth. The heat of its contact and of its love is -so great that it well-nigh consumes us altogether. In its contact -with our spirit it cries without interruption, ‘Pay your debt; love -the love which has loved you from all eternity.’ Hence there arises -a great inward impatience and also an unlimited resignation. For the -more we love, the more we desire to love; and the more we pay of that -which love demands, the greater becomes our debt to love. Love is -not silent, but cries continually, ‘Love thou love.’ This conflict is -unknown to alien senses. To love and to enjoy, that is to labour and -to suffer. God lives in us by His grace. He teaches us, He counsels -us, He commands us to love. We live in Him above all grace and above -our own works, by suffering and enjoying. In us dwell love, knowledge, -contemplation, and possession, and, above them, enjoyment. Our work is -to love God; our enjoyment is to receive the embrace of love. - -“Between love and enjoyment there is a distinction, even as between -God and His grace. We are spirits when we hold fast by love, but when -He robs us of our spirit, and re-makes us by His own spirit, then we -are enjoyment. The Spirit of God breathes us out towards love and -good works, and it breathes us in to rest and enjoyment; and that is -eternal life, just as we breathe out the air which is in us and breathe -in fresh air; and in that consists our mortal life and nature. And -although our spirit should be ravished and its powers fail in enjoyment -and in blessedness, it is always renewed in grace, in charity, and in -virtues. And so what I love is to enter into a restful enjoyment, to -go forth in good works, and to remain always united to the Spirit of -God. Just as we open the eyes of the body, see, and shut them again, so -quickly that we hardly notice what we have done, even so we die in God, -we live out of God, and we remain always one with Him.” - -Next we have _The Book of the Seven Castles_, called by Laurentius -Surius _De Septem Custodiis, Opusculum longe piissimum_. It is not -without resemblance to the _Castle of the Soul_, by Saint Teresa of -Avila, which has also seven dwellings, of which prayer is the door. -The hermit of the forest of Soignes sends this work, with the _Mirror -of Eternal Salvation_, “To the holy Clare, Margaret van Meerbeke, of -the convent of Brussels,” and so the counsels on which he touches in -the prologue have a slight note of pitying sadness. For instance, he -teaches her in what way she shall go to the window of the convent -parlour, shutting out from her eyes the face of man; and speaks of -the joy of pain and the care of the sick, with pale counsels for the -sick-ward. Then there rise the seven spiritual castles of St. Clara, -the doors of which are closed by divine grace, and must no more be -opened to look into the streets of the heart. Let us hear what follows, -still on the subject of love:-- - -“And the loving soul cannot give itself wholly to God, nor perfectly -receive God, for all that it receives is but a little thing as -compared with that which it lacks, and counts as nothing in its eager -emotion. And so it is disturbed, and falls into impatience, and into -the strong passion of love; for it can neither do without God nor have -Him, reach His depth nor His height, follow nor forsake Him. And this -is the storm and the spiritual plague of which I have spoken; for no -tongue can describe the many storms and agitations which arise from -the two sides of love. For love makes a man now hot, now cold; now -bold, now timid; now joyous, now sorrowful; it brings him fear, hope, -despair, tears, complaints, songs, praises, and such things without -number. Such are the sufferings of those who live in the passion of -love; and yet this is the most spiritual and the most useful life which -man can live, each according to his own capacity. But where man’s -method fails and can reach no higher, then God’s method begins; where -man, by his sufferings, his love, and his unsatisfied desires, entwines -himself with God and cannot be united to Him, then the Spirit of our -Lord comes like a fierce fire which burns and consumes and swallows up -all things in itself, so that the man forgets his inward exercises, and -forgets himself and feels just as if he were one spirit and one love -with God. Here our senses and all our powers are silent, and they are -calmed and satisfied, for the fountain of divine goodness and wealth -has flowed over everything, and each has received more than he can -desire. - -“Next comes the third method, which we attribute to our heavenly -Father--that in which He empties the memory of forms and images, and -lifts up our naked thought to the ultimate source, which is Himself. -There man is fixed firmly at his beginning, which is God, and is -united to Him. And there is given to him strength and freedom to work -inwardly and outwardly by means of all the virtues. And he receives -knowledge and understanding in all exercises which are according to -reason. And he learns how to receive the inward working of God and the -transformation of the divine methods, which are above reason, even as -we have already said. And above all divine limits, he will understand -by the same boundless intuition, the boundless essence of God, whose -being is without limitation. For one cannot express it by words, nor -by works, nor by methods, nor signs, nor similitudes, but it manifests -itself spontaneously to the simple intuition of pure and naked thought. - -“But we may place on the road signs and similitudes which prepare -man for the sight of the Kingdom of God, and you shall imagine this -essence like the glow of a boundless fire, in which everything is -silently consumed--a red and motionless conflagration. And so it is -with the calm of essential love, which is the enjoyment of God and of -all the saints, above all limitations, and above all the works and all -the practices of virtue. This love is a wave, boundless and calmed, -of riches and joys, in which all the saints are swallowed up with God -in an unlimited enjoyment. And this joy is wild and lonely like a -wandering, for it has neither limit, nor road, nor path, nor rest, nor -measure, nor end, nor beginning, nor anything which one can show or -express by words. And this is the pure blessedness of all of us, this -divine essence, and our super-essence, above reason and without reason. -If we desire to experience it, our spirit must go forth into it, above -our created essence, towards that eternal centre in which all our lines -begin and end. And in this centre these lines lose their name and all -distinction, and are united to this centre, and become that same unity -which the centre itself is; and nevertheless in themselves they always -remain as converging lines. - -“See, then, how we shall thus always remain what we are in our created -essence, and yet by the ascent of our spirit we shall continually -pass into our super-essence. In it we shall be above ourselves, below -ourselves, beyond our breadth, beyond our length, in an eternal -wandering which has no return.” - -I shall say little of the small work entitled _Four Temptations_, which -deals with the very subtle dangers which threaten the contemplative -mind, the most formidable of them all being quietism. With the -exception of certain discoveries in the unknown psychology of prayer, -this work, which, as I have said, is very short, does not present any -very exceptionally lofty summit to our souls. - -The other little work, which is about the same length--that is to -say, about twenty pages--is called _The Book of Supreme Truth_, -or, according to Surius, _Samuel_. He adds:--“Qui alias de alta -contemplatione dicitur, verius autem apologice quorumdam sancti -hujus viri dictorum sublimium inscribi possit.” But this book is so -marvellous that one would need to translate the whole. At present I -shall make no extract from it, since we can no more divide it than we -can divide that essence whose perpetual effusion is displayed in its -unique and awful mirror. - -I come, therefore, to _The Book of the Kingdom of Lovers_, the -strangest and most abstract work of the sage of the Green Valley, in -the midst of which the soul stretches itself, and is filled with terror -in a spiritual void which is doubtless normal, and which for the mind -that does not follow it is like some dark glass bell, in which there -is neither air, nor image, nor anything that can be exactly conceived, -except uninterrupted stars in the eternal spaces. - -The work is founded on that verse in Wisdom, “Justum deduxit per vias -rectas et ostendit illi regnum Dei,” and includes the three virtues of -theology and the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost I proceed at once to -translate, and more fully than ever. - -Let us look first at this passage on the deserts of being:-- - -“The soul of man being made of nothing, which God took from nowhere, -man has followed this nothingness, which is nowhere, and he has gone -out of his ego into wanderings, by immersion in the simple essence -of God, as in his own ultimate source; and he has died in God. To -die in God is to be blessed; and, for each one according to his own -merits, it involves a great difference both in grace and glory. This -blessedness is to understand God and to be understood by God, in the -joyful unity of the divine persons, and to have flowed by this unity -into the super-essence of God. Now this unity brings joy when we look -inward, and bears fruit in our outward life, and so the fountain of -unity flows; that is to say, the Father begets the Son, the eternal -truth, who is the image of the Father, in which He sees Himself and -all things. This image is the life and cause of all creatures, for in -this image is everything, according to the divine mode of being; and -by this image all things are perfectly made, and all things are wisely -ruled upon that model; and according to this image everything is set -apart for its own end, so far as it is possible for God to do so; for -every creature has received the means of attaining blessedness. But the -reasonable creature is not the image of the Father, according to the -effluence of his created mode of being, for that effluence flows forth -in as far as it is a creature, and that is why it enjoys and loves with -measure in the light of grace or of glory. For no one possesses the -divine nature actively according to the divine mode, except the divine -persons themselves, since no creature can work according to an infinite -mode, for if it worked thus it would be God and not a creature. - -“By His own image God has made His creatures like unto Himself in -their nature, and in those who have turned to Him, He has made the -likeness even greater--higher than nature in the light of grace or of -glory, each one according to the capacity which he has by the state -of his soul or by his merits. Now all those who feel this inward -contact, who have an enlightened reason and the eagerness of love, and -to whom love’s infinite freedom has been revealed, enter into joyful -contemplation in the super-essence of God. Moreover, God is united to -His essence in a joyful manner, and contemplates that very essence -which He enjoys. According to the mode of the enjoyment, the divine -light constantly fails in the infinite essence; but in contemplation -and in a fixed and steady gaze the vision cannot be darkened, for we -shall forever behold that which we enjoy. Those for whom the light -constantly fails are those who rest in enjoyments, in the midst of -those wild solitudes where God possesses Himself in perpetual joy; -there the light grows dim in rest and in the infinitude of the sublime -essence. There God is His own throne, and all those who possess God in -grace and in glory in this degree are the thrones and the tabernacles -of God, and they have died in God in an eternal rest. - -“From this death there arises a super-essential life--that is to say, -a life of contemplation--and here the gift of intelligence begins. For -God, who without ceasing contemplates the very essence which He enjoys, -and who grants the impatience of love to those whom He makes like unto -Himself, gives also rest and enjoyment to those who are united with -Him. But where there is union of being and complete immersion, there -is no more giving or receiving. And because He grants an enlightened -reason to those whom He makes like unto Himself, He also gives a -boundless splendour to those who are united to Him. That boundless -splendour is the image of the Father. We are created in this image, -and we are capable of being united to it in a grandeur more lofty than -thrones, if we only contemplate, above our own human weakness, the -glorious face of the Father--in other words, the sublime nature of -deity. Now this unfathomed splendour is a common gift to all spirits -who rejoice in grace and in glory. It thus streams forth for all like -the splendour of the sun, and yet those who receive it are not all -equally enlightened. The sun shines more clearly through glass than -through stone, more clearly through crystal than through glass, and -each precious stone shines and shows its beauty and its power and its -colour in the light of the sun. Even so is each man enlightened both in -grace and in glory, according as he is capable of receiving so sublime -a gift; but he who is most enlightened in grace yet has less than he -who is least enlightened in glory. Nevertheless the light of glory is -not an intermediary between the soul and this unlimited splendour, but -our spiritual condition, our earthly state, and our inconstancy disturb -us, and so we have to gain merits, which those who dwell in glory have -no need to gain. - -“This sublime splendour is the simple contemplation of the Father, and -of all those who behold and rejoice, and look fixedly in one direction -by means of an incomprehensible light, each one according as the light -is bestowed upon him. For that measureless light shines ceaselessly -into all our thoughts; but the man who lives here, in this earthly -state, is often overwhelmed with images, so that he does not always -actively and steadily behold the super-essence of God by means of this -light. But in receiving this gift he virtually possesses it, and he can -contemplate whenever he wills. Since the light by which we contemplate -is unlimited, and that which we contemplate of an unfathomed depth, the -one can never reach the other; but this fixed gaze of our contemplation -remains eternally turned towards the infinite, in the joyful presence -of the sublime Majesty, where the Father, by His eternal wisdom, gazes -fixedly into the depths of His own infinite being.” - -A great part of this book on _The Kingdom of Lovers_ is written in -singular verses. The three-lined and breathlessly monotonous rhythm -is rather like that of the _Stabat Mater_, only that the third line of -every strophe reproduces the same rhyme throughout the entire work, and -rests on an abstract idea from which the two preceding lines rise, like -twin flowers of obscurity and restlessness. We can imagine this hollow -music floating through the spiritual dreams of the maids of Memlinck, -while their secret senses, their faces, and their little hands all -unite in ecstasy; but unhappily a translation cannot reproduce its -taste of darkness and of bread soaked in the night, nor catch the image -of the tear-brightened gloom, of ice mingled with fire, of oppression -without hope, which we feel throughout the work. I shall therefore -translate only one of these dark poems, the subject of which is the -“Gift of Intelligence.” - - “He who seeks that gift to light him - Must rise beyond his nature, - To the highest height of being. - Brightness without measure - There shall he perceive it - In primal purity. - Through his soul will flow - The light of heavenly truth, - And he in it shall vanish. - That universal radiance - Enlightens the pure-hearted - According to their merits. - Then can they behold - With gaze that knows no limit - The very face of joy. - For ever shall we gaze on - That which we there enjoy - And lose ourselves in vision. - Far off has gone the Lover; - We turn our eyes for ever - Towards the blessed vision. - Yet has he reached the goal - And the lover has the loved one - In the lonely realm of union. - So shall we thus remain - And ever strive to follow - To that wondrous depth divine.” - -I should have liked to translate many other passages from this -remarkable volume; but I shall close with a translation of the chapter -entitled “Of the gift of sweet-savoured wisdom”:-- - -“The seventh divine gift is that of sweet-savoured wisdom. It is -granted on the highest peak of introversion, and it penetrates the -intelligence and the will according as they are turned towards the -absolute. This savour is without source and without measure, and it -flows from within outwards, and drinks in the body and the soul (in -proportion to their respective capacity for its reception) even to -the inmost sense--that is to say, even to a physical sensation. The -other senses, like sight and hearing, take their pleasure outside, in -the marvels which God has created for His own glory and for the needs -of men. This incomprehensible savour, above the mind and in the vast -breadth of the soul, is without measure, and it is the Holy Spirit, -the incomprehensible love of God. In lower regions than the spirit, -sensation is limited. But as its powers are inherent, they overwhelm -everything. Now, the eternal Father has adorned the contemplative -spirit with joy in unity, and with active and passive comprehension -in which the self is lost, and the spirit thus becomes the throne -and the rest of God; and the Son, the eternal Truth, has adorned the -contemplative intelligence with His own brightness, so that it may -behold the face of joy. And now the Holy Spirit desires to adorn the -contemplative will, and the inherent unity of its powers, so that the -soul may taste, know, and feel how great God is. This savour is so vast -that the soul imagines that heaven, earth, and all that is in them must -dissolve and sink in nothingness before its unbounded sweetness. These -delights are above and beneath, within and without, and have entirely -enveloped and saturated the kingdom of the soul. Then the intellect -beholds the pure source from which all these delights flow forth. -This awakes the attention of the enlightened reason. It knows well, -however, that it is incapable of knowing these unimaginable delights, -for it observes by means of a created light, while this joy is entirely -without measure. Therefore the reason fails in its attention; but the -intellect, which is transformed by this illimitable splendour, beholds -without ceasing the incomprehensible joy of beatitude.” - -It remains now to say a word about the different translations of -Ruysbroeck’s work. Twenty years ago, Ernest Hello, who, with Villiers -de l’Isle Adam and Stéphane Mallarmé, is the greatest French mystic -of our time, published a brief volume in which he collected under -headings, chosen mostly as his fancy dictated, various passages of our -author, translated from a Latin translation written in the sixteenth -century by Laurentius Surius, a Carthusian monk of Cologne. This -translation of Surius, noble and subtle in its Latinity, gives with -strict and admirable care the sense of the original; but with its -over-anxiety, its prolixity, and its weakness, it resembles, when -we contrast with it the crude colours of the original Flemish, some -distant image seen through sullied panes. When his author uses one -word, Surius generally employs two or three, and even then, still -dissatisfied, he very often paraphrases once more that which he -has already translated in full. The hermit utters cries of love so -passionate that they are sometimes almost like blasphemies; Surius is -frightened as he reads them and sets down something different. There -are times when the old hermit looks outside himself, and in speaking of -God searches for images drawn from the garden, the kitchen, or from the -stars. Surius does not always venture to follow these flights, and he -tries to weaken the meaning or flatters himself that he is ennobling it. - - “He escapes me like a truant,” - -says one of the Flemish Beguines in speaking of Jesus, and others add:-- - - “Christ and I keep house together, - He is mine, I His; - Night and day His love outwears me; - He my heart hath stolen; - In His mouth He holds me, - What care have I outside!” - -Elsewhere God says to man:-- - - “I will be thy nourishment, - Thy host and thy cook. - My flesh was well roasted - On the cross for love of thee. - Shalt eat and drink with Me.” - -The translator is terrified and changes these astonishing flights -into pale circumlocutions. The wild and simple air, the vast and -savage love of the original work, most frequently disappear in a wise, -correct, copious, and monotonous conventual phraseology; the fidelity -to the meaning remaining all the while exact. It was fragments of this -translation which Ernest Hello translated in his turn, or rather, he -gathered together in chapters arranged by himself, phrases taken from -different portions of the work, and disfigured by a double translation. -He thus formed a kind of anthology, admirable in its way, almost -entirely consecutive; but in which, in spite of careful searching, I -have been unable to find more than three or four passages reproduced in -their entirety. - -As for the present translation, its one merit is its literal -exactitude. I might perhaps have been able to make it, if not more -elegant, at least more readable, and to improve the work a little from -the point of view of theological and metaphysical terminology. But -it seemed to me less dangerous and more loyal to confine myself to -an almost blind word-for-word translation. I have also resisted the -inevitable temptation to introduce unfaithful splendours, for the mind -of the old monk is constantly touching upon strange beauties, which -his discretion does not awake, and all his paths are peopled with -lovely sleeping dreams, whose slumber his humility does not venture to -disturb. - - - - - SELECTED PASSAGES FROM “THE ADORNMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE.” - - -ON THE KINGDOM OF THE SOUL - -He who desires to obtain and to preserve virtue will adorn, occupy, and -arrange his soul like to a kingdom. Free will is the king of the soul. -He is free by nature, and yet more free through divine mercy. He will -be crowned with a crown named charity. This crown and this kingdom we -shall receive from the Emperor, who is the Lord, the Ruler and the King -of kings, and we shall possess, rule, and maintain this kingdom in -His name. The sovereign, free will, shall dwell in the highest town of -the kingdom--that is to say, in the strong desires of the soul. And he -will be adorned with a robe of two parts. The right side of the robe -shall be a virtue which is called strength, so that he may be strong -and powerful to conquer every obstacle, and to dwell at last in heaven -in the palace of the great Emperor, bending his crowned head with love -and passionate self-surrender before the supreme and sovereign King. -This is the fitting work of charity. Through it we receive the crown. -Through it we adorn the crown, and through it we maintain and possess -the kingdom through all eternity. The left side of the robe shall be a -cardinal virtue, which is called moral strength. Through its aid shall -free will, the king, put down all immorality and fulfil all virtue, -and shall have the power to maintain his kingdom unto death. - -This king shall choose councillors in his country, the wisest to be -found in the land. These will be two divine virtues, knowledge and -discretion, enlightened by the grace of God. They will dwell near the -king, in a palace which is called the soul’s strength of reason; but -they will be clothed and adorned with a moral virtue which is called -temperance, so that the king may always act or refrain from acting -according to their counsels. By knowledge we shall purge the conscience -from all its faults and adorn it with every virtue; and by discretion -we shall give and take, do and leave undone, speak and be silent, fast -and eat, listen and reply; and in all things we shall act according to -knowledge and discretion, clothed with their moral virtue, which is -called temperance or moderation. - -This king, free will, shall also set up in his kingdom a judge, who -shall be called justice, a divine virtue when it springs from love; and -it is one of the highest moral virtues. This judge shall dwell in the -conscience, in the centre of the kingdom, in the strongest passions. -And he will be adorned with moral virtue, which is called prudence. For -justice cannot be perfect. This judge, justice, shall travel through -the kingdom with the power and the force of the king, accompanied by -wisdom of counsel and by his own prudence. He will promote and dismiss, -judge and condemn, kill and keep alive, mutilate, blind and restore -sight, lift up and put down, organise, punish, and chastise every sin -with perfect justice, and at last destroy all vices. - -The people of this kingdom--that is all the pure of soul--shall be -established on and in the fear of God; they shall be subject unto God -in all virtues, each according to his own capacity. He who has thus -occupied, adorned, and regulated the kingdom of his soul, has gone -forth in love and virtue towards God, himself, and his neighbour. - - -CHRIST THE SUN OF THE SOUL - -The sun shines in the east, in the centre of the world, on the -mountains; it hastens summer in that region, and creates good fruits -and potent wines, filling the earth with joy. The same sun shines in -the west, at the ends of the earth; there the country is colder, and -the power of its heat is less, yet nevertheless it produces a great -many excellent fruits; but few wines are found there. - -Those men who dwell in the west of their own being, remain in the -outward senses, and by their good intentions, their virtues, and their -outward practices, through God’s grace, they produce abundant harvests -and virtues in various ways, but they seldom taste the wine of inward -joy and of spiritual consolation. - -The man who will feel the shining of the Eternal Sun, which is Christ -Himself, will have clear vision, and will dwell on the mountains of -the east, concentrating all his energies and raising his heart towards -God, free and careless as regards joy, sorrow, and all creatures. There -Christ the Sun of Righteousness shines on the free and uplifted heart; -and these are the mountains which I have in mind. Christ, the glorious -sun and the divine brightness, shines and illumines and enkindles by -His inward coming, and the power of His Spirit, the free heart and all -the powers of the soul. - -When summer draws near, and the sun rises higher in the heavens, it -draws the moisture of the soil through the roots and the trunk of the -trees, until it reaches the branches, and hence come foliage, flowers, -and fruits. So likewise, when Christ, the Eternal Sun, rises in our -hearts, so that the summer reigns over their adornment of virtues, -He sends His light and His fire into our will, and draws the heart -from the multitude of earthly things, and creates unity and close -fellowship, and makes the heart to grow and become green through inward -love, and to bear the flowers of loving devotion and the fruits of -gratitude and affection, and preserves these fruits in the sorrow and -humility we feel because of our impotence. - - -THE LESSON FROM THE BEE - -Observe the wise bee and make it your model. It dwells in a community -in the midst of its companions, and it goes forth, not during the -storm, but when the weather is calm and still and the sun is shining; -and it flies towards all the flowers on which it can find sweetness. -It does not rest on any flower, neither in its beauty nor in its -sweetness, but it draws from each calix honey and wax--that is to say, -the sweetness and the substance of its brightness--and it bears them -back to the community in which all the bees are assembled, so that the -honey and wax may profitably bear fruit. - -The opened heart on which Christ, the Eternal Sun, is shining, grows -and flourishes under His rays, and flows with all its inner powers -into joy and sweetnesses. - -Now the wise man will act like the bee, and he will fly out in order -to settle with care, intelligence, and prudence on all the gifts and -on all the sweetness which he has experienced, and on all the good -which God has done to him; and through the rays of the sun and his own -inward observation he will experience a multitude of consolations and -blessings. And he will not rest on any flower of all these gifts, but, -laden with gratitude and praise, he will fly back again toward the home -in which he longs to dwell and rest for evermore with God. - - -THE DEW OF MID-DAY - -Sometimes in these burning days there falls the honey-dew of some false -sweetness, which soils the fruits or completely spoils them. It falls -for the most part at noon, in bright sunshine, and its great drops can -hardly be distinguished from rain. Even so there are some men who can -be caught away from their outward senses by some brightness which is -the gift of the enemy. And this brightness enwraps and envelops them, -and at that moment they behold images, falsehoods, and many kinds of -truths, and voices speak to them in different ways, and all this is -seen and received with great joy. And here there fall at times the -honey-drops of a false sweetness in which the man delights himself. He -who values it highly receives a great quantity, and so the man is often -injured, for if he holds for true such things as have no resemblance -to truth, because they have been shown or taught him, he falls into -error and the fruit of virtue is lost. But those who have climbed by -the paths which I have pointed out above, although they may indeed be -tempted by that spirit and by that brightness, will recognise them and -receive no injury. - - -THE LESSON FROM THE ANT - -I will give a brief parable to those who live in continual ebullitions -of love, in order that they may endure this disposition nobly and -becomingly, and may attain to a higher virtue. - -There is a little insect which is called the ant; it is strong and -wise, and very tenacious of life, and it lives with its fellows in -warm and dry soils. The ant works during summer and collects food and -grain for the winter, and it splits the grain so that it may not become -rotten or spoiled, and may be eaten when there is nothing more to be -found. And it does not make strange paths, but all follow the same -path, and after waiting till the proper time they become able to fly. - -So should these men do; they will be strong by waiting for the -coming of Christ, wise against the appearance and the inspiration of -the enemy. They will not choose death, but they will prefer God’s -glory alone and the winning of fresh virtues. They will dwell in the -community of their heart and of their powers, and will follow the -invitation and the constraint of divine unity. They will live in rich -and warm soils, or, in other words, in the passionate heat of love, and -in great impatience. And they will work during the summer of this life, -and will gather in for eternity the fruits of virtue. These they will -divide in two--one part means that they will always desire the supreme -joy of eternity; the other, that by their reason they will always -restrain themselves as much as possible, and wait the time that God has -appointed for them, and so the fruit of virtue shall be preserved into -eternity. They will not follow strange paths or curious methods, but -through all storms they will follow the path of love, towards the place -whither love shall guide them. And when the set time has come, and they -have persevered in all the virtues, they shall be fit to behold God, -and their wings shall bear them towards His mystery. - - -WHAT SHALL THE FORSAKEN DO? - -He shall humbly consider that he hath nothing of his own save his -misery, and shall say with resignation and self-abandonment the same -words which were spoken by holy Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath -taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And in all things he -shall yield up his own will, saying and thinking in his heart, “Lord, -I am as willing to be poor and without all those things of which Thou -hast deprived me, as I should be ready to be rich, Lord, if Thy will -were so, and if in that state I might further Thy glory. It is not -my natural will which must be done, but Thy will and the will of my -spirit. Lord, I am Thine, and I should be Thine as gladly in hell as -in heaven, if in that way I could advance Thy glory. So then, O Lord, -fulfil in me the good pleasure of Thy will.” Out of all sufferings and -all renunciations the man will draw for himself an inward joy; he will -resign himself into the hands of God, and will rejoice to suffer in -promoting God’s glory. And if he perseveres in this course, he will -enjoy secret pleasures never tasted before; for nothing so rejoices -the lover of God as to feel that he belongs to his Beloved. And if -he has truly risen to this height in the path of virtues, it is not -necessary that he shall have passed through the different states which -we have pointed out in previous chapters, for he feels in himself, in -work, in humble obedience, and in patience and resignation, the source -of every virtue. This method has therefore an everlasting certainty. - -At this season the sun enters into the sign of Libra, for the day and -night are equal, and light and darkness evenly balanced. Even so for -the resigned soul Jesus Christ is in the sign of Libra; and whether He -grants sweetness or bitterness, darkness or light, of whatever nature -His gift may be, the man retains his balance, and all things are one -to him, with the exception of sin, which has been driven out once -for all. When all consolation has been withdrawn from these resigned -ones, so that they believe they have lost all their virtues, and are -forsaken of God and of every creature; then, if they know how to reap -the various fruits, the corn and wine are ripe and ready. - - -THE SETTING OF THE ETERNAL SUN - -When the time came for Christ to gather in and bear away to the eternal -kingdom the fruits of all the virtues that ever were and ever shall be -practised upon earth, then the Eternal Sun began to set; for He humbled -Himself and gave up the life of His body into the hands of His enemies. -And in His distress he was misunderstood and forsaken by His friends, -and all consolation, from without and from within, was taken away -from His human nature, and it was overwhelmed with misery and pain, -with scorn and heaviness, and in it He paid all the debt that justice -claimed for sin. He suffered these things with humble patience, and -in this resignation He fulfilled the highest tasks of love, and so He -received and redeemed our eternal heritage. Thus was adorned the lower -part of His noble humanity, for in it He suffered this sorrow for our -sins. And this is why He calls Himself the Saviour of the world; this -is why He is now famous and glorified, exalted and seated at the right -hand of His Father, where He reigns with power. And every creature on -earth, in heaven, and in hell, bends continually the knee before His -glorious name. - - -THE NATURE OF GOD - -We must consider and examine the sublime nature of God: how it is -simplicity and purity; height that cannot be scaled and depth that -cannot be sounded; breadth without understanding and length without -end; awful silence and the savage wilderness; rest of all saints in the -union and in the common joy which He shares with His saints throughout -eternity. - - -THE DIVINE GENEROSITY - -The incomprehensible wealth and sublimity and the universality of the -gifts which flow forth from the divine nature awake wonder in the heart -of man, and above all he marvels at the universal presence of God and -of His works, a presence which is above everything, for he beholds the -inconceivable essence, which is the common joy of God and of all the -saints. And he sees that the Divine Persons send forth one common -effluence in works, in grace, and in glory, in nature and above nature, -in all states and in all times, in men and in the glorified saints, in -heaven and on earth, in all reasonable creatures, and in those which -are without reason or material, according to the merits, the needs, and -the receptivity of each. And he sees the creation of the heaven and the -earth, the sun and the moon, the four elements with all the creatures, -and the course of the heavens, which is common to all. God, with all -His gifts, is common to all, men and angels are a common gift, and the -soul with all its faculties.... - -When man thus considers the wealth and the marvellous sublimity of the -divine nature, and all the manifold gifts which He grants and offers -to His creatures, amazement is stirred up in his spirit at the sight -of so manifold a wealth and majesty; at the sight of the immense -faithfulness of God to all His creatures. This causes a strange joy of -spirit, and a boundless trust in God, and this inward joy surrounds -and penetrates all the forces of the souls in the secret places of the -spirit. - - -CHRIST THE LOVER OF ALL MEN - -Consider how Christ gave Himself to all in perfect faithfulness. His -secret and sublime prayer flowed forth towards His Father, and was -for the common good of all who desire salvation. Jesus Christ was all -things to all men in His love, in His teaching, in His reproaches, in -His consolations and sweetness, in His generous gifts, in His gracious -forgiveness. His soul and His body, His life, His death, and His -service were and are for the common good of all. His sacrament and -His gifts are for all. Christ received neither food, nor drink, nor -anything that was needful for His body, without thinking of the common -good of all those who shall be saved even until the last day. - -Christ had nothing of His own, but all was held in common, body and -soul, mother and disciples, tunic and cloak. He ate and drank for us, -He lived and toiled for us. His toil and grief and misery were indeed -His own, but the blessings and the good which flowed from them were -the common possession of all. And the glory of His merits shall be the -possession of all throughout eternity. - - -HOW CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF TO US IN THE SACRAMENT - -There is a special benefit which Christ, in the Holy Church, has left -to all the good: namely, that supper of the great feast of Passover, -which He instituted when the time had come for Him to leave His sorrow -and go to the Father, after He had eaten of the paschal lamb with His -disciples and the ancient law had been fulfilled. At the end of the -meal and of the feast, He wished to give them a special food, which -He had long desired to give. In this way He would make an end of the -ancient law and bring in the new, and so He took bread in His sacred -hands and consecrated His sacred body and afterwards His blood, and -gave them to all His disciples, and left them as a common gift to all -just men, for their eternal benefit. - -This gift and this special food rejoice and adorn all great festivals -and all banquets in heaven and on earth. In this gift Christ gives -Himself to us in three ways: He gives us His flesh and His blood -and His bodily life, glorified and full of joys and sorrows; and He -gives us His Spirit, with its supreme faculties, full of glory and of -gifts, of truth and justifying power; and He gives us His personality, -with the divine light which raises His Spirit and the spirits of all -enlightened beings into the sublime unity and joy of God. - -Christ desires that we shall remember Him whenever we consecrate, -offer, and receive His body. Consider now in what way we shall remember -Him. We shall observe and examine how Christ inclines Himself towards -us, by loving affection, by great desires, by a tender joy and warm -influence passing into our bodily nature. For He gives us that which -He received from our humanity, His flesh, His blood, and His bodily -nature. We shall likewise observe and examine that precious body, -tortured, furrowed, and wounded with love, because of His faithfulness -towards us. So shall we be adorned and nourished in the lower part -of our human nature. In this sublime gift of the Sacrament He also -gives us His Spirit full of glory, and the richer gifts of virtues and -unspeakable mercies of charity and goodness. - -By these we are nourished and adorned and enlightened in the unity of -our spirit and in our higher powers, because Christ with all His riches -dwells within us. - -In the sacrament of the altar He further bestows upon us His sublime -personality and His incomprehensible light. Through this we are united -and given up to the Father, and the Father receives His elect children -at the same time as His only begotten Son, and so we reach our divine -inheritance and our eternal felicity. - -If a man has diligently considered these things, he will meet Christ -in the same way in which Christ comes to him. He will rise to receive -Christ with eager joy in his heart, his desires, his love, and all -his powers. And it is thus that Christ Himself receives. This joy -cannot possibly be too great, for our nature receives His nature, the -glorified humanity of Christ, full of gladness and merit. Therefore I -desire that in thus receiving man shall, as it were, dissolve and flow -forth through his desires, his joys, and his pleasures, for he receives -the most lovely, the most gracious, and the kindest of the children -of men, and is made one with Him. In this union and this joy great -delights often come to men, and many mysterious and secret marvels of -divine treasures are manifested and revealed. When in so receiving a -man meditates on the torment and the sufferings of this precious body -of Christ of which he is partaking, there sometimes enters into him -a devotion so loving and a compassion so keen that he desires to be -nailed with Christ to the wood of the Cross, and to shed his heart’s -blood in honour of Christ. And he presses into the wounds and into the -open heart of Christ his Saviour. In such exercises revelations and -great benefits have often come to men. - - -THE SOUL’S HUNGER FOR GOD - -Here there begins an eternal hunger, which shall nevermore be -satisfied. It is the yearning and the inward aspiration of our faculty -of love, and of our created spirit towards an uncreated good. And as -the spirit desires joy, and is invited and constrained by God to -partake of it, it is always longing to realise joy. Behold then the -beginning of an eternal aspiration and of eternal efforts, while our -impotence is likewise eternal. These are the poorest of all men, for -they are eager and greedy, and they can never be satisfied. Whatever -they eat or drink, they can never have enough, for this hunger lasts -continually. For a created vessel cannot contain an uncreated good, and -hence that continual struggle of the hungry soul, and its feebleness -which is swallowed up in God. There are here great banquets of food -and drink, which none knoweth saving he who partakes of them; but full -satisfaction of joy is the food which is ever lacking, and so the -hunger is perpetually renewed. Yet streams of honey flow within reach, -full of all delights, for the spirit tastes these pleasures in every -imaginable way, but always according to its creaturely nature and -below God, and that is why the hunger and the impatience are without -end. If God were to grant to this man all the gifts which are possessed -by all the saints, and everything that He has to offer, but were to -deny Himself, the open-mouthed eagerness of his spirit would be still -hungry and unsatisfied. Emotion and the inward contact with God are the -explanation of our hunger and our striving; for the Spirit of God gives -chase to our spirit, and the closer the contact the greater the hunger -and the striving. This is the life of love in its highest development, -above reason and higher than all understanding; for in such love reason -can neither give nor take away, for our love is in touch with the -divine love. And I think that once this point is reached there will be -no more separation from God. The contact of God with us, so long as we -feel it, and our own loving efforts, are both created and of the nature -of the creature, and so they may grow and increase all the days of our -life. - - -THE LABOUR AND REST OF LOVE - -In one single moment and at the same time, love labours and rests in -its beloved. And the one is strengthened by the other; for the loftier -the love, the greater is the rest, and the greater the rest, the -closer is the love; for the one lives in the other, and he who loves -not rests not, neither does he who rests not know aught of love. There -are, nevertheless, some righteous men who believe that they neither -love nor rest in God. But this thought itself springs from love, and -because their desire to love is greater than their ability, therefore -it seems to them that they are powerless to love. And in this labour -they taste of love and rest, for none except the resigned, passive, and -enlightened man can understand how one may rest and also enjoy. - - -THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - -He (the believer) is hungry and thirsty, for he sees the food of angels -and the drink of heaven. He labours diligently in love, for he beholds -his rest. He is a pilgrim, and he sees his fatherland. He strives in -love for the victory, for he sees his crown. Consolation, peace, joy, -beauty, and riches, and all that the heart can desire, are shown to -the reason which is enlightened to see God in spiritual similitudes -and without measure or limit.... Those who do not possess, at the same -time, the power of rest and action, and are not exercised in both, -have not received this righteousness of the just. - - -THE COMING OF THE BRIDEGROOM - -What is this eternal coming of our Bridegroom? It is a new birth and a -new illumination which are without interruption; for the source from -which the brightness streams, and which is itself the brightness, is -living and fertile; and so the manifestation of the eternal light is -renewed without interruption, in the secret depths of the spirit.... -And the coming of the Bridegroom is so swift that He is always coming, -and that He dwells within us with His unfathomable riches, and that He -returns ever anew in person, with such new brightness that it seems as -if He had never come before. For His coming is comprised beyond all -limit of time, in an eternal _Now_; and He is ever received with new -desires and a new delight. Behold, the joys and the pleasures which -this Bridegroom brings with Him at His coming are boundless and without -limit, for they are Himself. And this is why the eyes of the spirit, by -which the loving soul beholds its Bridegroom, are opened so wide that -they will never shut again. For the contemplation and the fixed gaze -of the spirit are eternal in the secret manifestation of God. And the -comprehension of the spirit is so widely opened, as it waits for the -appearance of the Bridegroom, that the spirit itself becomes vast as -that which it comprehends. And so is God beheld and understood by God, -in whom all our blessedness is found. - - -THE END - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - - - -The Devotional Library. - -Handsomely printed and bound, price 3s. 6d. each, cloth. - - -_THIRD EDITION._ - -THE KEY OF THE GRAVE. - -A Book for the Bereaved. - -By W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. - -“This volume is a collection of brief but pregnant chapters, written -in sweet, simple English which is full of consolation and drops gently -into the reader’s heart. We give the book our warm commendation and -believe that it has a mission of comfort to perform for burdened -souls.”--_New York Independent._ - -“Dr. Robertson Nicoll has produced a unique, exquisite, and most -edifying book. We are much impressed by the delicate and profound -spiritual insight manifested on every page of this beautiful little -volume. Many a familiar passage in the Bible shines with a new, -unexpected, and immortal light. It is difficult to know what to quote -from a volume so full of delightful and memorable passages. It is -pre-eminently a book to put into the hands of the refined, sensitive, -scholarly, and devout, when they feel the awful pressure of the -greatest bereavement.”--_Methodist Times._ - - -_SECOND EDITION._ - -MEMORANDA SACRA. - -By Professor J. RENDEL HARRIS, M.A., Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. - -“Two gifts, both of the very highest, are marvellously united in -Professor Rendel Harris, and here we have the ripe fruits of one, -in most delicious flavour and most wholesome nourishment. It is not -possible to review such a book as this. Words about it do not tell -us what it is. Nor will a selection of words from it half convey its -incommunicable fragrance.”--_Expository Times._ - - -_THE GENERAL GORDON EDITION._ - -CHRIST MYSTICAL. - -By JOSEPH HALL, D.D., Bishop of Norwich. - -Reprinted, with General Gordon’s marks, from the Original Copy used by -him, and with an Introduction on his Theology - -By the Rev. H. CARRUTHERS WILSON, M.A. - -“A book which was so highly prized by so romantic and heroic a -Christian as General Gordon is sure to awaken a widespread curiosity. -This edition is not only printed from his copy, but shows the passages -which he had marked for special consideration. The treatise itself is -worthy of the place it held in his esteem. Mr. Wilson’s introduction -is entirely appropriate, and we cannot but feel that the publishers -have rendered good service by including the work in their Devotional -Library.”--_Baptist Magazine._ - -“Hall’s treatise is in itself an excellent example of the best kind of -devotional literature, and it will contribute to its appreciation by -the modern reader that its sacred teachings and appeals formed part of -the spiritual nourishment of the English nineteenth-century hero and -saint.”--_Christian World._ - - -LONDON: HODDER AND STOUGHTON. - - - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] I shall give only one example, which is elementary in both senses -of the word. Ruysbroeck distinguishes three kinds of life--the active -life, the inward life, and the super-essential life. The Gnostics -distinguish the spirit, the soul, and the material life, and divide men -into three classes--the pneumatic or spiritual men, psychic or soul -men, and hylic or material men. Plotinus also distinguishes between the -soul, the intellect, the reasonable soul, and the animal nature. The -Zohar distinguishes the spirit, the soul, and the life of the senses, -and in the two systems, as in Ruysbroeck, the relation of the three -principles is explained by a _procession_ which is of the nature of an -_irradiation_; then the theory of the divine meeting, God coming into -us from within towards without, we going to Him from without towards -within, etc. Cf. also the 5th Ennead, etc. etc. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUYSBROECK AND THE -MYSTICS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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