THE THREE CONDITIONS BY WHICH WE MAY ATTAIN TO THE CONTEMPLATIVE
LIFE
THE interior lover of God, who possesses God in joyous repose, and
possesses himself in the unity of active love, and possesses all his
life in the virtues, enters into the contemplative life, thanks to
these three points and to the secret manifestation of God; yes, it
is the internal and devout lover, whom God will choose freely and
lift him up even to a superessential contemplation in divine light
and according to the mode of God. This contemplation places us in a
purity and brightness above all intelligence, for it is a singular
ornament and a celestial crown, and at last the eternal recompense
of all the virtues and of all life. And none can arrive there by
knowledge or subtlety, nor by any exercise; but he whom God wills to
unite to His own Spirit and to illuminate by Himself, can
contemplate God, and none other can. To such an one the heavenly
Father says, in the secret and submerged part of the spirit: "See,
the Bridegroom cometh, go forth to meet Him."
I wish to analyse and explain these words, in their relation to
superessential contemplation, which is the basis of all holiness and
of the perfect life. Very few men attain to this divine
contemplation, by reason of our incapacity, and the mystery of the
light in which contemplation takes place. And this is why no one, by
his own knowledge or by any subtle examination, will understand
these ideas. For all words, and all that can be learned and
understood according to the mode of the creatures, are strangers to
the truth which I speak of, and far below it. But he who is united
to God, and illuminated in this truth, can comprehend the truth by
itself. For to conceive and understand God above all similitudes, as
He is in Himself, is to be God in God, without intermediary and
without any difference which might prove an obstacle. This is why I
desire that every man who does not understand this, nor experience
it in the joyous unity of his spirit, may not be wounded by my
words, for what I say is true. And this is why he who wishes to
understand this, must be dead to himself and alive to God, and he
will turn his face to the eternal light, at the bottom of his
spirit, where the hidden truth is manifested without intermediary.
For the heavenly Father wishes that we should be seeing; for He is
the Father of Light, and this is why He says eternally, without
interruption and without intermediary, one abysmal word and no
other. In this word He proffers Himself and all things. The word is:
"See." And it is the going forth and the birth of the Son of the
eternal light, in whom we see and recognise all our blessedness.
HOW A MAN OUGHT TO EXERCISE HIMSELF, IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE ETERNAL
LIGHT AND TO CONTEMPLATE GOD
IN order that the spirit may contemplate God by God, without
intermediary, in this Divine light, three things are necessary.
First, the man must be well governed externally in all the virtues,
and without obstacles within, and as free from all external works as
if he did them not; for if he is troubled within by any act of
virtue, he has images, and so long as they remain in him he cannot
contemplate. In the second place, he must adhere internally to God,
by the combination of intention and of love, like a burning fire,
which can never more be extinguished. At the moment when he feels
himself in this state, he can contemplate. In the third place, he
should be lost in an absence of mode, and in a darkness, in which
all contemplatives wander joyously, and can never find themselves
again according to the mode of the creatures. In the abyss of this
darkness, where the loving spirit is dead to itself, begin the
manifestation of God and of eternal life. For in this darkness is
born and shines an incomprehensible light, which is the Son of God,
in whom we see eternal life. And in this light we become seeing; and
this Divine light is given in the simple vision of the spirit, in
which the spirit receives the clearness which is God Himself,
without intermediary, and becomes without interruption this
clearness which it receives. See; this dark clearness, in which we
contemplate all that we desire, while the spirit is passive,--this
clearness is so great than the loving contemplative, in the depth
where he reposes, sees and experiences nothing save an
incomprehensible light, and according to the simple nudity which
envelopes all things, he sees and apprehends the same light by which
he sees, and nothing else. This is the first condition of becoming
seeing in the Divine light. Happy are the eyes which thus see, for
they have eternal life.
HOW THE ETERNAL BIRTH OF GOD IS RENEWED WITHOUT INTERRUPTION IN
NOBLENESS OF SPIRIT
WHEN we have thus become seeing, we can contemplate in joy the
eternal coming of the Bridegroom, and this is the second point on
which I wish to speak. What is then this coming of the Bridegroom
which is eternal? It is a new birth and a new illumination without
interruption; for the foundation out of which the clearness shines,
and which is the clearness itself, is living and fruitful; and this
is why the manifestation of the eternal light is renewed without
interruption, in the most secret part of the spirit. See; every
creaturely work, and every exercise of virtue must here submit
themselves, for God works alone in the highest part of the spirit.
There is nought here but an eternal contemplation and fixity of
light, by light, and in light. And the coming of the Bridegroom is
so swift that He comes always, and is immanent with His unfathomable
riches, and comes back ever anew, in person, with such new
splendours that He seems never to have come before. For His coming
consists in an eternal Now, transcending time, and He is always
received with new desire and new joy. The delights and joy which
this Bridegroom brings at His coming are without bottom and without
limits, for they are Himself. This is why the eyes of the spirit, by
which the lover contemplates the Bridegroom, are open so wide that
they will never more be shut. For the contemplation and fixity of
the spirit remain eternal in the hidden manifestation of God. And
the contemplation of the spirit is so widely opened, while waiting
for the coming of the Bridegroom, that the spirit itself acquires
the amplitude of that which it comprehends. And in this way, God is
seen and comprehended by God, in which all our salvation and
blessedness consists. This is the second manner in which we receive,
without interruption in our spirit, the eternal coming of our
Bridegroom.
ON THE ETERNAL GOING FORTH WHICH WE POSSESS IN THE BIRTH OF THE SON
NOW the Spirit of God saith, in the secret depths of our spirit:
"Go forth," in an eternal contemplation and joy, according to the
mode of God. All the wealth which is in God naturally, we possess in
Him by love; and God possesses it in us, by His boundless Love,
which is the Holy Spirit. For in this love all is tasted that can be
desired. And this is why, thanks to this love, we are dead to
ourselves, and have gone forth in loving liquefaction or immersion,
in the absence of mode and in darkness. There the spirit, enveloped
by the Holy Trinity, is eternally immanent in the superessential
unity, in repose and in joy. And in this same unity, according to
the mode of generation, the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the
Father, and every creature in them both. And this is above the
distinction of Persons, for here we understand by reason the
fatherhood and sonship in the lively fruitfulness of nature.
Here is born and begins an eternal going forth, and an eternal work
without beginning, for there is here a beginning without beginning.
For by means of the eternal birth of the Son, the Word of the
Father, all creatures have gone forth eternally, before they were
created in time, and God has considered and recognised them
distinctly in Himself, in lively reason, and in distinction from
Himself: but not in another mode, for all that is in God is God.
This eternal going forth and this eternal life, which we have and
are eternally in God, without ourselves, is the cause of our created
essence in time. And our created essence is immanent in the eternal
essence, and this eternal life, which we have and are in the eternal
wisdom of God, is like unto God; for they have an eternal immanence,
without distinction, in the divine essence. And they have an eternal
effluence by the birth of the Son, in a difference with distinction,
according to the eternal reason. And thanks to these two things, a
man is in this way like unto God, that he recognises himself and
reflects on himself without interruption, in this resemblance,
according to essence and according to the Persons. For though here
there is still distinction and difference, according to reason, this
resemblance is nevertheless one with the very image of the Holy
Trinity, which is the wisdom of God, and wherein God contemplates
Himself and all things in an eternal Now, without before or after.
In simple vision He regards Himself as He regards all things. And
this is the image and likeness of God, and our image and likeness,
for in it God and all things are reflected. In this divine image,
all the creatures, without themselves, have an eternal life, as in
their eternal model, and the Holy Trinity has made us in this
eternal image and likeness. And this is why God wishes that we
should go out from ourselves, in this eternal light, and that we
should pursue this image, which is our true life, supernaturally,
and possess it with Him actively and joyously, in eternal
blessedness.
For we know well that the bosom of the Father is our foundation and
origin, wherein we begin our life and our being. And from our true
foundation--that is to say, from the Father and from all that lives
in Him, beams forth an eternal radiance, which is the birth of the
Son. In this radiance, the Father manifests Himself, and all that
lives in Himself, to Himself; for all that He is, and all that He
has, He gives to the Son, except the prerogative of fatherhood,
which resides in Himself. And this is why all that lives in the
Father hidden in the Unity, lives also in the Son, and flows forth
in His manifestation; but the simple foundation of our eternal image
remains always without mode in the darkness. But the boundless
radiance which shines out thence manifests and reflects in the mode
the mystery of God. And all men who are raised above their
creatureliness into a contemplative life, are united to this divine
splendour. And they are this splendour itself, and they see,
experience, and find, thanks to this divine radiance, that they are
this same simple foundation, according to their uncreated essence,
from which shines forth, in the divine mode, this immeasurable
radiance, which, according to simplicity of essence, remains
eternally within, and without mode. This is why interior men and
contemplatives will go forth, according to the mode of
contemplation, above distinction and above their created essence, by
means of an eternal intuition. Thanks to this inborn light, they are
transformed, and are united to this same light by which they see and
which they see. In this manner contemplatives pursue the eternal
image, after which they are made, and contemplate God and all things
without distinction, by a pure vision in divine brightness. This is
the most sublime and the most useful contemplation which we can
attain in this life; for in this contemplation a man remains the
best and freest master of himself, and at each loving introversion,
above all that we can comprehend, he can advance in the sublimities
of life, for he remains free and master of himself, in unity and in
the virtues. And this contemplation in the divine light maintains
him above all inwardness, above all virtue, above all merit, for it
is the crown and recompense towards which we are striving, and which
we already have and possess in this mode, for the contemplative life
is a celestial life. But if we shall be drawn up out of this exile
and this misery, we shall be, according to our created nature, more
susceptible of this radiance, and then the glory of God would shine
through us better and more sublimely. This is the mode above all
modes, according to which we go forth in a divine contemplation and
in an eternal stability, and according to which we are transformed
and reformed in the divine radiance. This going forth of the
contemplative is also loving; for by joyous love he surpasses his
created essence, and finds and tastes the riches and delights which
are God, and which He causes to flow without interruption into the
most secret part of the spirit, into the place where he is like the
sublimity of God.
ON THE DIVINE MEETING, WHICH TAKES PLACE IN THE MOST SECRET PART OF
OUR SPIRIT
WHEN the interior man and contemplative has thus pursued his eternal
image, and possessed in this purity the bosom of the Father by the
Son, he is illuminated by the divine truth, and receives anew at
each instant the eternal birth; and he goes forth according to the
mode of light, in a divine contemplation. And here arises the fourth
and last point--that is to say, the loving meeting, in which before
all else resides our eternal blessedness.
You know that our heavenly Father, like a living foundation, is
actively inclined towards His Son, as towards His own eternal
wisdom. And this same wisdom, and all that lives therein, is
actively inclined in the Father--that is to say, in the foundation
whence it proceeds. And in this meeting arises the Third Person,
between the Father and the Son, and this is the Holy Spirit, their
mutual love, which is united to them both in the same nature. And He
envelopes and penetrates, actively and joyously, the Father and the
Son and all that lives in them with such riches and such joy, that
all the creatures must be silent thereupon eternally, for the
incomprehensible marvel of this love surpasses eternally the
intelligence of all the creatures. But where we comprehend and taste
this amazement, without being amazed, there the spirit is above
itself, and one with the Spirit of God, and it tastes and sees,
without measure, like God, the riches which He is Himself in the
unity of the living foundation, where He possesses Himself according
to the unity of His uncreated essence.
Now this delightful meeting is without interruption actively renewed
in us, according to the mode of God, for the Father gives Himself in
the Son, and the Son in the Father, in an eternal gratification and
a loving embrace, and this is renewed at every hour in the ties of
love; for even as the Father without interruption contemplates anew
all things in the birth of His Son, so all things are beloved anew,
by the Father and the Son, through the influence of the Holy Spirit.
And this is the eternal meeting of the Father and the Son, in which
we are lovingly wrapped by the Holy Spirit in eternal love.
Now this active meeting and this loving embrace are, in their
foundation, joyous and without mode, for God's infinite absence of
mode is so obscure and so destitute of mode, that it envelopes in
itself every divine mode and every work, and the individuality of
the Persons, in the rich envelopment of essential unity, and forms a
divine rejoicing in the abyss of the unnameable. And here there is a
joyous and outflowing immersion in the essential nakedness, where
all the divine names and all the modes, and all divine reason,
reflected in the mirror of the divine truth, fall into simple
ineffability, in the absence of mode and of reason. For in this
boundless abyss of simplicity, all things are enveloped in joyous
blessedness, and the abyss remains itself uncomprehended save by the
essential unity. Before this essential unity, the Persons must give
way, and all that lives in God. For here is nought but an eternal
rest, in a joyous envelopment of loving immersion, and this is the
essence, without mode, which all interior spirits have chosen above
all other things. It is the dark silence in which all lovers are
lost. But if we could prepare ourselves thus for the virtues, we
should unclothe ourselves, so to speak, from life, and should float
on the wide expanses of this divine sea, and created things would no
longer have power to touch us.
May we be able to possess, rejoicing, the essential unity, and
clearly to contemplate the Unity in Trinity; and may the divine
love, which rejects no suppliant, grant us this. Amen.
THEOLOGIA GERMANICA
SIN AND SELFISHNESS
SIN is nothing else but the turning away of the creature from the
unchangeable Good to the changeable; from the perfect to the
imperfect, and most often to itself. And when the creature claims
for its own anything good, such as substance, life, knowledge, or
power, as if it were that, or possessed it, or as if that proceeded
from itself, it goeth astray. What else did the devil do, and what
was his error and fall, except that he claimed for himself to be
something, and that something was his and was due to him? This claim
of his--this "I, me, and mine," were his error and his fall. And so
it is to this day. For what else did Adam do? It is said that Adam
was lost, or fell, because he ate the apple. I say, it was because
he claimed something for his own, because of his "I, me, and mine."
If he had eaten seven apples, and yet never claimed anything for his
own, he would not have fallen: but as soon as he called something
his own, he fell, and he would have fallen, though he had never
touched an apple. I have fallen a hundred times more often and more
grievously than Adam; and for his fall all mankind could not make
amends. How then shall my fall be amended? It must be healed even as
Adam's fall was healed. And how, and by whom, was that healing
wrought? Man could not do it without God, and God could not do it
without man. Therefore God took upon Himself human nature; He was
made man, and man was made God. Thus was the healing effected. So
also must my fall be healed. I cannot do the work without God, and
He may not or will not do it without me. If it is to be done, God
must be made man in me also; God must take into Himself all that is
in me, both within and without, so that there may be nothing in me
which strives against God or hinders His work. Now if God took to
Himself all men who are or ever lived in the world, and was made man
in them, and they were deified in Him, and this work were not
accomplished in me, my fall and my error would never be healed
unless this were accomplished in me also. And in this bringing back
and healing I can and shall do nothing of myself; I shall simply
commit myself to God, so that He alone may do and work all things in
me, and that I may suffer Him, and all His work, and His divine
will. And because I will not do this, but consider myself to be mine
own, and "I, me, and mine," and the like, God is impeded, and cannot
do His work in me alone and without let or hindrance; this is why my
fall and error remain unhealed. All comes of my claiming something
for my own. ii., iii.
THE TWO EYES
We should remember the saying that the soul of Christ had two eyes,
a right eye and a left eye. In the beginning, when the soul of
Christ was created, she fixed her right eye upon eternity and the
Godhead, and remained in the full beholding and fruition of the
Divine essence and eternal perfection; and thus remained unmoved by
all the accidents and labours, the suffering, anguish, and pain,
that befell the outer man. But with the left eye she looked upon the
creation, and beheld all things that are therein, and observed how
the creatures differ from each other, how they are better or worse,
nobler or baser; and after this manner was the outer man of Christ
ordered. Thus the inner man of Christ, according to the right eye of
His soul, stood in the full exercise of His Divine nature, in
perfect blessedness, joy, and eternal peace. But the outer man and
the left eye of the soul of Christ stood with Him in perfect
suffering, in all His tribulations, afflictions and labours; in such
a way that the inner or right eye remained unmoved, unimpeded and
untouched by all the labour, suffering, woe, and misery that
happened to the outer man. It has been said that when Jesus was
bound to the pillar and scourged, and when He hung on the cross,
according to the outer man, the inner man, a soul according to the
right eye, stood in as full possession of Divine joy and blessedness
as it did after the ascension, or as it does now. Even so His outer
man, or soul according to the left eye, was never impeded,
disturbed, or troubled by the inward eye in its contemplation of the
outward things which pertained to it. The created soul of man has
also two eyes. The one is the power of looking into eternity, the
other the power of looking into time and the creatures, of
perceiving how they differ from each other, of giving sustenance and
other things necessary to the body, and ordering and ruling it for
the best. But these two eyes of the soul cannot both perform their
office at once; if the soul would look with the right eye into
eternity, the left eye must be shut, and must cease to work: it must
be as if it were dead. For if the left eye is discharging its office
towards outward things--if it is holding conversation with time and
the creatures--then the right eye must be impeded in its working,
which is contemplation. Therefore, he who would have one must let
the other go; for no man can serve two masters. vii.
A FORETASTE OF ETERNAL LIFE
Some have asked whether it is possible for the soul, while it is
still in the body, to reach so great a height as to gaze into
eternity, and receive a foretaste of eternal life and blessedness.
This is commonly denied; and in a sense the denial is true. For
indeed it cannot come about, so long as the soul is occupied with
the body, and the things which minister to the body and belong to
it, and to time and created things, and is disturbed and troubled
and distracted by them. For the soul that would mount to such a
state, must be quite pure, entirely stripped and bare of all images;
it must be wholly separate from all creatures, and above all from
itself. Many think that this is impossible in this present life. But
St Dionysius claims that it is possible, as we find from his words
in his letter to Timothy, where he says: "In order to behold the
hidden things of God, thou shalt forsake sense and the things of the
flesh, and all that can be perceived by the senses, and all that
reason can bring forth by her own power, and all things created and
uncreated which reason can know and comprehend, and thou shalt stand
upon an utter abandonment of thyself, as if thou knewest none of
those things which I have mentioned, and thou shalt enter into union
with Him who is, and who is above all existence and knowledge." If
he did not think this to be possible in this present time, why did
he teach it and urge it upon us in this present time? But you ought
to know that a master has said, about this passage of St Dionysius,
that it is possible, and may come to a man so often that he may
become accustomed to it, and be able to gaze into eternity whenever
he will. And a single one of these glances is better, worthier,
higher, and more pleasing to God than all that the creature can do
as a creature. He who has attained to it asks for nothing more, for
he has found the kingdom of heaven and eternal life here on earth.
viii.
DESCENT INTO HELL
Even as the soul of Christ had to descend into hell, before it
ascended into heaven, so must the soul of man. And mark how this
comes to pass. When a man truly perceives and considers who and what
he is, and finds himself wholly base and wicked, and unworthy of all
the consolation and kindness that he ever received, either from God
or from the creatures, he falls into such a profound abasement and
contempt for himself, that he thinks himself unworthy to walk upon
the earth; he feels that he deserves that all creatures should rise
against him and avenge their Maker upon him with punishments and
torments; nay, even that were too good for him. And therefore he
will not and dare not desire any consolation or release, either from
God or any creature; he is willing to be unconsoled and unreleased,
and he does not lament for his condemnation and punishment, for they
are right and just, and in accordance with God's will. Nothing
grieves him but his own guilt and wickedness; for that is not right,
and is contrary to God's will: for this reason he is heavy and
troubled. This is the meaning of true repentance for sin. And the
man who in this life enters into this hell, enters afterwards into
the kingdom of heaven, and has a foretaste of it which exceeds all
the delights and happiness which he has ever had, or could have,
from the things of time. But while a man is in this hell, no one can
comfort him, neither God, nor the creatures. Of this condition it
has been written, "Let me die, let me perish! I live without hope;
from within and from without I am condemned, let no man pray for my
deliverance." Now God has not forsaken a man, while he is in this
hell, but He is laying His hand upon him, that he may desire nothing
but the eternal Good only, and may discover that this is so noble
and exceedingly good, that its blessedness cannot be searched out
nor expressed, comfort and joy, peace, rest, and satisfaction. When,
therefore, the man cares for and seeks and desires the eternal Good
and nought beside, and seeks not himself, nor his own things, but
the glory of God only, he is made to partake of every kind of joy,
blessedness, peace, rest, and comfort, and from that time forward is
in the kingdom of God.
This hell and this heaven are two good safe ways for a man in this
present life, and he is happy who truly finds them. For this hell
shall pass away, but this heaven shall abide for evermore. Let a man
also observe, that when he is in this hell, nothing can console him;
and he cannot believe that he shall ever be delivered or comforted.
But when he is in heaven, nothing can disturb him: he believes that
no one will ever be able to offend or trouble him again, though it
is indeed possible that he may again be troubled and left
unconsoled.
This heaven and hell come upon a man in such a way, that he knows
not whence they come; and he can do nothing himself towards making
them either come or depart. He can neither give them to himself, nor
take them away from himself, neither bring them nor drive them away;
even as it is written, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or
whither it goeth." And when a man is in either of these two states,
all is well with him, and he is as safe in hell as in heaven. And
while a man is in the world, it is possible for him to pass many
times from the one state into the other--even within a day and
night, and without any motion of his own. But when a man is in
neither of these two states, he holds intercourse with the
creatures, and is carried this way and that, and knows not what
manner of man he is. A man should therefore never forget either of
these states, but carry the memory of them in his heart. xi.
THE THREE STAGES
Be well assured that none can be illuminated, unless he be first
cleansed, purified, or stripped. Also none can be united to God
unless he be first illuminated. There are therefore three
stages--first, the purification; secondly, the illumination; and
thirdly, the union. The purification belongs to those who are
beginning or repenting. It is effected in three ways; by repentance
and sorrow for sin, by full confession, and by hearty amendment. The
illumination belongs to those who are growing, and it also is
effected in three ways; by the renunciation of sin, by the practice
of virtue and good works, and by willing endurance of all trials and
temptations. The union belongs to those who are perfect, and this
also is effected in three ways; by pureness and singleness of heart,
by love, and by the contemplation of God, the Creator of all things.
xiv.
THE LIFE OF CHRIST
We ought truly to know and believe that no life is so noble, or
good, or pleasing to God, as the life of Christ. And yet it is to
nature and selfishness the most bitter of all lives. For to nature,
and selfishness, and the Me, a life of careless freedom is the
sweetest and pleasantest, but it is not the best; indeed, in some
men it may be the worst. But the life of Christ, though it be the
bitterest of all, should be preferred above all. And hereby ye shall
know this. There is an inward sight which is able to perceive the
one true good, how that it is neither this nor that, but that it is
that of which St Paul says: "When that which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away." By this he signifies
that what is whole and perfect excels all the parts, and that all
which is imperfect, and in part, is as nothing compared to what is
perfect. In like manner, all knowledge of the parts is swallowed up
when the whole is known. And where the good is known, it cannot fail
to be desired and loved so greatly, that all other love, with which
a man has loved himself, and other things, vanishes away. Moreover,
that inward sight perceives what is best and noblest in all things,
and loves it in the one true good, and for the sake of the true good
alone. Where this inward sight exists, a man perceives truly that
the life of Christ is the best and noblest life, and that it is
therefore to be chosen above all others; and therefore he willingly
accepts and endures it, without hesitation or complaining, whether
it is pleasing or displeasing to nature and other men, and whether
he himself likes or dislikes it, and finds it sweet or bitter.
Therefore, whenever this perfect and true good is known, the life of
Christ must be followed, until the decease of the body. If any man
vainly deems otherwise, he is deceived, and if any man says
otherwise, he tells a lie; and in whatever man the life of Christ is
not, he will never know the true good or the eternal truth.
But let no one imagine that we can attain to this true light and
perfect knowledge, and to the life of Christ, by much questioning,
or by listening to others, or by reading and study, or by ability
and deep learning. For so long as a man is occupied with anything
which is this or that, whether it be himself or any other creature;
or does anything, or forms plans, or opinions, or objects, he comes
not to the life of Christ. Christ Himself declared as much, for He
said: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me." "And if any man hate not his father
and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." He means this: "He who
does not give up and abandon everything can never know My eternal
truth, nor attain to My life." And even if this had not been
declared to us, the truth itself proclaims it, for so verily it is.
But as long as a man holds fast to the rudiments and fragments of
this world, and above all to himself, and is conversant with them,
and sets great store by them, he is deceived and blinded, and
perceives what is good only in so far as is convenient and agreeable
to himself and profitable to his own objects.
Since then the life of Christ is in all ways most bitter to nature
and the self and the Me--for in the true life of Christ nature and
the self and the Me must be abandoned and lost and suffered to die
completely--therefore in all of us nature has a horror of it, and
deems it evil and unjust and foolish; and she strives after such a
life as shall be most agreeable and pleasant to ourselves; and says,
and believes too in her blindness, that such a life is the best of
all. Now nothing is so agreeable and pleasant to nature as a free
and careless manner of life. To this therefore she clings, and takes
enjoyment in herself and her powers, and thinks only of her own
peace and comfort. And this is especially likely to happen, when a
man has high natural gifts of reason, for reason mounts up in its
own light and by its own power, till at last it comes to think
itself the true eternal light, and gives itself out to be such; and
it is thus deceived in itself, and deceives others at the same time,
people who know no better and are prone to be so deceived.
xviii.-xx.
UNION WITH GOD
In what does union with God consist? It means that we should be
indeed purely, simply, and wholly at one with the one eternal Will
of God, or altogether without will, so that the created will should
flow out into the eternal Will and be swallowed up and lost in it,
so that the eternal Will alone should do and leave undone in us. Now
observe what may be of use to us in attaining this object. Religious
exercises cannot do this, nor words, nor works, nor any creature or
work done by a creature. We must therefore give up and renounce all
things, suffering them to be what they are, and enter into union
with God. Yet the outward things must be; and sleeping and waking,
walking and standing still, speaking and being silent, must go on as
long as we live.
But when this union truly comes to pass and is established, the
inner man henceforth stands immoveable in this union; as for the
outer man, God allows him to be moved hither and thither, from this
to that, among things which are necessary and right. So the outer
man says sincerely, "I have no wish to be or not to be, to live or
die, to know or be ignorant, to do or leave undone; I am ready for
all that is to be or ought to be, and obedient to whatever I have to
do or suffer." Thus the outer man has no purpose except to do what
in him lies to further the eternal Will. As for the inner man, it is
truly perceived that he shall stand immoveable, though the outer
man must needs be moved. And if the inner man has any explanation of
the actions of the outer man, he says only that such things as are
ordained by the eternal Will must be and ought to be. It is thus
when God Himself dwells in a man; as we plainly see in the case of
Christ. Moreover, where there is this union, which is the outflow of
the Divine light and dwells in its beams, there is no spiritual
pride nor boldness of spirit, but unbounded humility and a lowly
broken heart; there is also an honest and blameless walk, justice,
peace, contentment, and every virtue. Where these are not, there is
no true union. For even as neither this thing nor that can bring
about or further this union, so nothing can spoil or hinder it,
except the man himself with his self-will, which does him this great
injury. Be well assured of this. xxvii., xxviii.
THE FALSE LIGHT
Now I must tell you what the False Light is, and what belongs to it.
All that is contrary to the true light belongs to the false. It
belongs of necessity to the true light that it never seeks to
deceive, nor consents that anyone should be injured or deceived; and
it cannot be deceived itself. But the false light both deceives
others, and is deceived itself. Even as God deceives no man, and
wills not that any should be deceived, so it is with His true light.
The true light is God or Divine, but the false light is nature or
natural. It belongeth to God, that He is neither this nor that, and
that He requires nothing in the man whom He has made to be partaker
in the Divine nature, except goodness as goodness and for the sake
of goodness. This is the token of the true light. But it belongs to
the creature, and to nature, to be something, this or that, and to
intend and seek something, this or that, and not simply what is good
without asking Why. And as God and the true light are without all
self-will, selfishness, and self-Seeking, so the "I, Me, and Mine"
belong to the false light, which in everything seeks itself and its
own ends, and not goodness for the sake of goodness. This is the
character of the natural or carnal man in each of us. Now observe
how it first comes to be deceived. It does not desire or choose
goodness for its own sake, but desires and chooses itself and its
own ends rather than the highest good; and this is an error and the
first deception. Secondly, it fancies itself to be God, when it is
nothing but nature. And because it feigns itself to be God, it takes
to itself what belongs to God; and not that which belongs to God
when He is made man, or when He dwells in a Godlike man; but that
which belongs to God as He is in eternity without the creature. God,
they say, and say truly, needs nothing, is free, exempt from toil,
apart by Himself, above all things: He is unchangeable, immoveable,
and whatever He does is well done. "so will I be," says the false
light. "The more like one is to God, the better one is; I therefore
will be like God and will be God, and will sit and stand at His
right hand." This is what Lucifer the Evil Spirit also said. Now God
in eternity is without contradiction, suffering, and grief, and
nothing can injure or grieve Him. But with God as He is made man it
is otherwise. The false light thinks itself to be above all works,
words, customs, laws, and order, and above the life which Christ led
in the body which He possessed in His human nature. It also claims
to be unmoved by any works of the creatures; it cares not whether
they be good or bad, for God or against Him; it keeps itself aloof
from all things, and deems it fitting that all creatures should
serve it. Further, it says that it has risen beyond the life of
Christ according to the flesh, and that outward things can no longer
touch or pain it, even as it was with Christ after the Resurrection.
Many other strange and false notions it cherishes. Moreover, this
false light says that it has risen above conscience and the sense of
sin, and that whatever it does is right. One of the so-called "Free
Spirits" even said that if he had killed ten men, he would have as
little sense of guilt as if he had killed a dog. This false light,
in so far as it fancies itself to be God, is Lucifer, the Evil
Spirit; but in so far as it makes of no account the life of Christ,
it is Antichrist. It says, indeed, that Christ was without sense of
sin, and that therefore we should be so. We may reply that Satan
also is without sense of sin, and is none the better for that. What
is a sense of sin? It is when we perceive that man has turned away
from God in his will, and that this is man's fault, not God's, for
God is guiltless of sin. Now, who knows himself to be free from sin,
save Christ only? Scarce will any other affirm this. So he who is
without sense of sin is either Christ or the Evil Spirit. But where
the true light is, there is a true and just life such as God loves.
And if a man's life is not perfect, as was that of Christ, still it
is modelled and built on His, and His life is loved, together with
modesty, order, and the other virtues, and all self-will, the "I,
Me, and Mine," is lost; nothing is devised or sought for except
goodness for its own sake. But where the false light is, men no
longer regard the life of Christ and the virtues, but they seek and
purpose what is convenient and pleasant to nature. From this arises
a false liberty, whereby men become regardless of everything. For
the true light is the seed of God, and bringeth forth the fruits of
God; but the false light is the seed of the Devil, and where it is
sown, the fruits of the Devil, nay the very Devil himself, spring
up. xl.
LIGHT AND LOVE
It may be asked, What is it like to be a partaker of the Divine
nature, or a Godlike man? The answer is, that he who is steeped in,
or illuminated by, the eternal and Divine Light, and kindled or
consumed by the eternal and Divine Love, is a Godlike man and a
partaker of the Divine nature. But this light or knowledge is of no
avail without love. You may understand this if you remember that a
man who knows very well the difference between virtue and
wickedness, but does not love virtue, is not virtuous, in that he
obeys vice. But he who loves virtue follows after it, and his love
makes him an enemy to wickedness, so that he will not perform any
wicked act and hates wickedness in others; and he loves virtue so
that he would not leave any virtue unperformed even if he had the
choice, not for the sake of reward, but from love of virtue. To such
a man virtue brings its own reward, and he is content with it, and
would part with it for no riches. Such a man is already virtuous, or
in the way to become so. And the truly virtuous man would not cease
to be so to gain the whole world. He would rather die miserably. The
case of justice is the same. Many men know well what is just and
unjust, but yet neither are nor ever will be just men. For they love
not justice, and therefore practise wickedness and injustice. If a
man loved justice, he would do no unjust deed; he would feel so
great abhorrence and anger against injustice whenever he saw it that
he would be willing to do and suffer anything in order to put an end
to injustice, and that men might be made just. He would rather die
than commit an injustice, and all for love of justice. To him,
justice brings her own reward, she rewards him with herself, and so
the just man would rather die a thousand deaths than live as an
unjust man. The same may be said of truth. A man may know very well
what is truth or a lie, but if he loves not the truth, he is not a
true man. If, however, he loves it, it is with truth as with
justice. And of justice Isaiah speaks in the fifth chapter: "Woe
unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter." Thus we may understand that knowledge and light avail
nothing without love. We see the truth of this in the case of the
Evil One. He perceives and knows good and evil, right and wrong: but
since he has no love for the good that he sees, he becomes not good.
It is true indeed that Love must be led and instructed by knowledge,
but if knowledge is not followed by Love, it will be of no avail. So
also with God and Divine things. Although a man know much about God
and Divine things, and even dream that he sees and understands what
God Himself is, yet if he have not Love, he will never become like
God or a partaker of the Divine nature. But if Love be added to his
knowledge, he cannot help cleaving to God, and forsaking all that is
not God or from God, and hating it and fighting with it, and finding
it a cross and burden. And this Love so unites a man to God, that he
can never again be separated from Him. xli.
PARADISE
What is Paradise? All things that are. For all things are good and
pleasant, and may therefore fitly be called Paradise. It is also
said, that Paradise is an outer court of heaven. In the same way,
this world is truly an outer court of the eternal, or of eternity;
and this is specially true of any temporal things or creatures which
manifest the Eternal or remind us of eternity; for the creatures are
a guide and path to God and eternity. Thus the world is an outer
court of eternity, and therefore it may well be called a Paradise,
for so indeed it is. And in this Paradise all things are lawful
except one tree and its fruit. That is to say, of all things that
exist, nothing is forbidden or contrary to God, except one thing
only. That one thing is self-will, or to will otherwise than as the
eternal Will would have it. Remember this. For God says to Adam
(that is, to every man) "Whatever thou art, or doest, or leavest
undone, or whatever happens, is lawful if it be done for the sake of
and according to My will, and not according to thy will. But all
that is done from thy will is contrary to the eternal Will." Not
that everything which is so done is in itself contrary to the
eternal Will, but in so far as it is done from a different will, or
otherwise than from the Eternal and Divine Will. l.
WILL AND SELF-WILL
Some may ask: "If this tree, Self-Will, is so contrary to God and to
the eternal will, why did God create it, and place it in Paradise?"
We may answer: a man who is truly humble and enlightened does not
ask God to reveal His secrets to him, or enquire why God does this
or that, or prevents or allows this or that; he only desires to know
how he may please God, and become as nothing in himself, having no
will of his own, and that the eternal will may live in him, and
possess him wholly, unhampered by any other will, and how what is
due may be paid to the Eternal Will, by him and through him. But
there is another answer to this question. For we may say: the most
noble and gracious gift that is bestowed on any creature is the
Reason and the Will. These two are so intimately connected that the
one cannot be anywhere without the other. If it were not for these
two gifts, there would be no reasonable creatures, but only brutes
and brutality; and this would be a great loss, for God would then
never receive His due, or behold Himself and His attributes
exhibited in action; a thing which ought to be, and is, necessary to
perfection. Now Perception and Reason are conferred together with
will, in order that they may teach the will and also themselves,
that neither perception nor will is of itself, or to itself, nor
ought to seek or obey itself. Nor must they turn themselves to their
own profit, nor use themselves for their own ends; for they belong
to Him from whom they proceed, and they shall submit to Him, and
flow back to Him, and become nothing in themselves--that is, in
their selfhood.
But now you must consider more in detail something concerning the
will. There is an Eternal Will, which is a first principle and
substance in God, apart from all works and all externalisation; and
the same will is in man, or the creature, willing and bringing to
pass certain things. For it pertains to the will, to will something.
For what else does it exist? It would be a vain thing if it had no
work to do, and this it cannot have without the creature. And so
there must needs be creatures, and God will have them, in order that
by their means the will may be exercised, and may work, though in
God it must be without work. Therefore the will in the creature,
which we call the created will, is as truly God's as the eternal
will, and is not from the creature.
And since God cannot exercise His will, in working and effecting
changes, without the creature, He is pleased to do so in and with
the creature. Therefore the will is not given to be exercised by the
creature, but by God alone, who has the right to carry into effect
His own will by the will which is in man, but yet is God's will. And
in any man or creature, in whom it should be thus, purely and
simply, the will of that man or creature would be exercised not by
the man but by God, and thus it would not be self-will, and the man
would only will as God wills; for God Himself, and not man, would be
moving the will. Thus the will would be united with the Eternal
Will, and would flow into it; although the man would retain his
sense of liking and disliking, pleasure and pain. But nothing is
complained of, except what is contrary to God. And there is no
rejoicing except in God alone, and in that which belongs to Him. And
as with the will, so is it with all the other faculties of man; they
are all of God and not of man. And when the will is wholly given up
to God, the other faculties will certainly be given up too; and God
will have what is due to Him.
No one may call that which is free his own, and he who makes it his
own, doeth injustice. Now in all the sphere of freedom nothing is so
free as the will; and he who makes it his own, and allows it not to
remain in its excellent freedom, and free nobleness, and free
exercise, does it a great injustice. This is what is done by the
devil, and Adam, and all their followers. But he who leaves the will
in its noble freedom does right; and this is what Christ, and all
who follow Him, do. And he who deprives the will of its noble
freedom, and makes it his own, must necessarily be oppressed with
cares and discontent, and disquietude, and every kind of misery, and
this will be his lot throughout time and eternity. But he who leaves
the will in its freedom has contentment and peace and rest and
blessedness, through time and eternity. Where there is a man whose
will is not enslaved, he is free indeed, and in bondage to no man.
He is one of those to whom Christ said: "The truth shall make you
free"; and He adds immediately afterwards: "If the Son shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Moreover, observe that whenever the will chooses unhindered whatever
it will, it always and in all cases chooses what is noblest and
best, and hates whatever is not noble and good, and regards it as an
offence. And the more free and unhampered the will is, the more it
is grieved by evil, by injustice, by iniquity, and all manner of
sin. We see this in Christ, whose will was the purest and freest and
the least brought into bondage of any man's who ever lived. So was
the human nature of Christ the most free and pure of all creatures;
and yet He felt the deepest distress, pain, and wrath at sin that
any creature ever felt. But when men claim freedom for themselves,
in such a way as to feel no sorrow or anger at sin, and all that is
contrary to God, and say that we must take no notice of anything,
and care for nothing, but be, in this life, what Christ was after
the resurrection, and so forth, this is not the true and Divine
freedom that springs from the true and Divine light, but a natural,
unrighteous, false, deceiving freedom, which springs from the
natural, false, deceitful light.
If there were no self-will, there would be no proprietorship. There
is no proprietorship in heaven; and this is why contentment, peace,
and blessedness are there. If anyone in heaven were so bold as to
call anything his own, he would immediately be cast out into hell,
and become an evil spirit. But in hell everyone will have self-will,
and therefore in hell is every kind of wretchedness and misery. And
so it is also on earth. But if anyone in hell could rid himself of
his self-will and call nothing his own, he would pass out of hell
into heaven. And if a man, while here on earth, could be entirely
rid of self-will and proprietorship, and stand up free and at
liberty in the true light of God, and continue therein, he would be
sure to inherit the kingdom of heaven. For he who has anything, or
who desires to have anything of his own, is a slave; and he who has
nothing of his own, nor desires to have anything, is free and at
liberty, and is in bondage to no man. li.
UNION THROUGH CHRIST
Observe now how the Father draws men to Christ. When something of
the perfect good is revealed and made manifest within the human
soul, as it were in a sudden flash, the soul conceives a desire to
draw near to the perfect goodness, and to unite herself with the
Father. And the more strongly she longs and desires, the more is
revealed to her; and the more is revealed to her, the more she is
drawn to the Father, and the more is her desire kindled. So the soul
is drawn and kindled into an union with the eternal goodness. And
this is the drawing of the Father; and so the soul is taught by Him
who draws her to Himself, that she cannot become united with Him
unless she can come to Him by means of the life of Christ. liii.
[1]In his Introduction to the "Imitation of Christ," in this series.
[2]e.g. she distinguishes, as Eckhart does, between God and the
Godhead.
[3]The "three propositions" of Amalric are--1. "Deus est omnia." 2.
Every Christian, as a con-dition of salvation, must believe that he
is a member of Christ. 3. To those who are in charity no sin is
imputed.
[4]Preger is probably wrong in identifying him with a "brother
Eckhart," Prior of Frankfort, who about 1320 was delated to the head
of the Order as suspectus de malis familiaritatibus, words which can
only mean "keeping bad company" in a moral sense, not "con-sorting
with heretics," as Preger suggests. Eckhart's character, so far as
we know, was never assailed, even by his enemies, and it is
therefore probable that "brother Eckhart" was a different person.
[5]I have abridged the bull considerably, but have included all the
main accusations.
[6]See pages 13, 16.
[7]See pages 14, 15.
[8]See page 1.
[9]This is an obscure point in Eckhart's philosophy, too technical
to be discussed here; but Eckhart's doctrine of God is certainly
more orthodox and less pantheistic than those of 'Dionysius' and
Scotus Erigena.
[10]Cf. St Augustine, In Joann. Ev. Tract. xxxix. 10: praeteritum et
futurum invenio in omni motu rerum: in veritate quae manet
praeteritum et futurum non invenio, sed solum praesens.
[11]This doctrine is fully explained by St. Augustine, Epist. 237,
who follows Plotinus, Enn. vi. 4-6.
[12]This queer word occurs for the first time, I think, in Jerome's
notes to the first chapter of Ezekiel. He writes the word in Greek,
and explains it as that part of the soul which always opposes vices.
The word is common in Bonaventura and other scholastic mystics, and
is often misspelt synderesis.
[13]It must, however, be said that Preger is too ready to assume
that the logical development of Eckhart's system away from Thomist
scholasticism can be traced as a gradual process in his writings,
the order of which is very uncertain. We are not justified in saying
in a positive manner that Eckhart's philosophy passed through three
phases, in the first of which the primacy is held by the will, in
the second by the created reason, and in the third by the uncreated
reason.
[14]See pages 14, 15.
[15]C.B. Upton: "Hibbert Lectures," p. 17.
[16]A.E. Taylor: "The Problem of Conduct," PP. 464-5.
[17]See pages 71-2.
[18]See pages 12-13.
[19]See, for example, Prof. W. James' "Varieties of Religions
Experience," P. 400.
[20]Jacob Bšhme's experience is typical: "Suddenly did my spirit
break through into the innermost birth or geniture of the Deity, and
there was I embraced with love, as a bridegroom embraces his dearly
beloved bride. But the greatness of the triumphing that was in the
spirit I cannot express in speech or writing; nor can it be compared
to anything but the resurrection of the dead to life. In this light
my spirit suddenly saw through all; even in herbs and grass it knew
God, who and what He is," etc. Dr Johnson was, no doubt, right in
thinking that "Jacob" would have been wiser, and "more like St
Paul," if he had not attempted to utter the unutterable things which
he saw.
[21]The extracts from the "Theologia Germanica" will show that this
treatise represents a later and less paradoxical form of mystical
thought than Eckhart's.
[22]The maxim, however, is much older than Suso.
[23]Royce: "The World and the Individual" vol. i. p. 193.
[24]So in the "Lignum Vitae" of Laurentius Justinianus we read: "Let
self-will cease, and there will be no more hell."
[25] "The Inner Way," being thirty-six sermons by John Tauler.
Translated by A.W. Hutton, M.A.
[26]On the psychology of ecstatic mysticism see Leuba, in the Revue
Philosophique, July and November 1902.
[27] "Varieties of Religious Experience," p. 13.
[28]Maudsley: "Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings," p. 256.
[29]See Leuba: "Tendances religieuses chez les mystiques
chrétiens" in Revue Philosophique, Nov. 1902.
[30] "Theologia Germanica," translated by Susanna Winkworth.
Macmillan & Co., 1893.
[31] "Varieties of Religious Experience," 1902.
[32] "Personal Idealism," 1902.
[33] "Varieties of Religious Experience," p. 103.
[34] "In Tune with the Infinite," by R.W. Trine (Bell & Sons, 1902).
Fifty-ninth thousand. The extract appears to be a quotation from
another writer, but no reference is given.
[35]Compare Eckhart's saying that the eye with which I see God is
the same as the eye with which He sees me.
[36] "In Tune with the Infinite," pp. 58, 119.
[37]The numbers refer to pages in Pfeiffer's edition.
[38]The numbers refer to the Sermons in Hamberger's edition of 1864.
[39]The reference is to 1 Peter iii. 8.
[40]The time would, I suppose, be about half-an-hour. Many other
ecstatics have named this as the normal duration of trance.
[41]Or, "spoke the eternal Wisdom (= the Word of God) in his heart."
[42]John i. 3, 4. This punctuation, whereby the words "that which
was made" are referred to the clause which follows, and not to that
which precedes, is adopted by most of the Greek fathers, and is
still maintained by some good commentators--e.g. Bishop Westcott.
[43]Ecclus. xxiv. 19.
[44]Ecclus. xl. 20.