attributed to
Albert the Great
On Cleaving to God
attributed to
Albertus Magnus
Translator's Introduction
Chapter 1. On the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible in this life
Chapter 2. How one can cling to and seek Christ alone, disdaining everything else
Chapter 3. What the perfection of man consist of in this life
Chapter 4. How man's activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses
Chapter 5. On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things
Chapter 6. That the devout man should cleave to God with naked understanding and will
Chapter 7. How the heart should be gathered within itself
Chapter 8. How a religious man should commit himself to God in all circumstances whatsoever
Chapter 9. How much the contemplation of God is to be preferred to all other exercises
Chapter 10. That one should not be concerned about feeling tangible devotion so much as about cleaving to God with one's will
Chapter 11. How one should resist temptations and bear trials
Chapter 12. How powerful the love of God is
Chapter 13. The nature and value of prayer, and how the heart should be recollected within itself
Chapter 14. That we should seek the verdict of our conscience in every decision
Chapter 15. How contempt of himself can be produced in a man, and how useful it is
Chapter 16. How God's Providence includes everything
<H1>Chapter 6: That the devout man should cleave to God with naked understanding and will
Translator�s Introduction
This famous and much loved little treatise, On Cleaving to God, (De Adhaerendo
Deo) has always been attributed to Saint Albert the Great, who lived from about
1200 to 1280, and was one of the most respected theologians of his time. He was
moreover a voluminous writer in the scholastic tradition, and, amongst other
things, Bishop of Ratisbonne and one of the teachers of Eckhart at Paris
University. The Latin text of which this is a translation is found in volume 37
of his Opera Omnia published in Paris in 1898. However almost all modern
scholars are agreed that the work could not have been written by him, at least
certainly not in its present form. It contains many implicit references and
quotations from writers who lived well after Albert the Great. It is quite clear
from the opening words of the treatise that it is in essence the private
anthology of a contemplative or would-be contemplative, culled from many
different sources, and including thoughts of his own. From the references
included, it would seem to belong, at least in its present form to an unknown
writer of the fifteenth century. However, it has often been pointed out that the
first nine chapters seem to be of a somewhat different character to the
remaining seven. Indeed most of the directly contemplative and mystical material
in the work is contained in this first half, while the second section is
concerned largely with more general matters of ordinary Christian piety. It has
therefore been suggested that it is perhaps possible that a later hand has to
some extent reworked and extended an original, shorter text, that could perhaps
even go back to Albert the Great. Albert, we know, wrote a commentary on the
teachings of the famous St. Dionysius, and this work, particularly in the first
nine chapters is full of �Dionysian� themes. This could indicate that these
chapters at least may belong to Albert the Great, or, alternatively, it could
explain how it came to be attributed to him. The fact remains, whichever way
round, that the work stands on its own merits as a classic of Western
contemplative mysticism in the Via Negativa tradition. It has indeed been
frequently called a supplement to the Imitation of Christ. In view of all these
considerations, and in view of the fact that the work has always been attributed
to Albert the Great (and all libraries and catalogues include it under his
name), I have felt it best to leave it attached to his name, though with the
above reservations. After all, Anonymous has dozens of works attributed to him
that were actually written by someone else, so perhaps for once it is only fair
to attribute an anonymous work to an actual person. Anyone who has ever tried to
look for a work by Anonymous in a big library catalogue will, I feel confident,
be grateful to me! Like Anonymous, I lay no claims to copyright on this
translation. I commit it, and a copy of the Latin original, to the deep in sure
and certain hope that it will do its own work. John Richards
[email protected]
Chapter 1: On the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible in
this life
I have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of
complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely,
confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it fully (in so
far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since
the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God. In fact
everyone is obligated , to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for
salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the
divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes everything that is
contrary to the nature and habit of love, including mortal sin. Members of
religious orders have committed themselves in addition to evangelical
perfection, and to the things that constitute a voluntary and counselled
perfection by means of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal
which is God. The observation of these additional commitments excludes as well
the things that hinder the working and fervour of love, and without which one
can come to God, and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body
and mind, exactly as one's vow of profession entails. Since indeed the Lord God
is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, in
other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire, stripped
of all images. This is what is referred to in Matthew 6.6, 'When you pray, enter
into your inner chamber,' that is, your inner heart, 'and having closed the
door,' that is of your senses, and there with a pure heart and a clear
conscience, and with faith unfeigned, 'pray to your Father,' in spirit and in
truth, 'in secret.' This can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed
from everything else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the
presence of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded
and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the Lord its God
with its desire. In this way it pours itself forth into him in full sincerity
with its whole heart and the yearning of its love, in the most inward part of
all its faculties, and is plunged, enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him.
Chapter 2: How one can cling to and seek Christ alone, disdaining everything else
Certainly, anyone who desires and aims to arrive at and remain in such a state
must needs above all have eyes and senses closed and not be inwardly involved or
worried about anything, nor concerned or occupied with anything, but should
completely reject all such things as irrelevant, harmful and dangerous. Then he
should withdraw himself totally within himself and not pay any attention to any
object entering the mind except Jesus Christ, the wounded one, alone, and so he
should turn his attention with care and determination through him into him -
that is, though the man into God, through the wounds of his humanity into the
inmost reality of his divinity. Here he can commit himself and all that he has,
individually and as a whole, promptly, securely and without discussion, to God's
unwearying providence, in accordance with the words of Peter, cast all your care
upon him (1 Peter 5.7), who can do everything. And again, In nothing be anxious
(Philippians 4.6), or what is more, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will
sustain you. (Psalm 55.22) Or again, It is good for me to hold fast to God, (Ps.
73.28) and I have always set up God before me. (Psalm 16.8) The bride too in the
Song of Songs says, I have found him whom my soul loves, (Canticle 3.4) and
again, All good things came to me along with her. (Wisdom 7.11) This, after all,
is the hidden heavenly treasure, none other than the pearl of great price, which
must be sought with resolution, esteeming it in humble faithfulness, eager
diligence, and calm silence before all things, and preferring it even above
physical comfort, or honour and renown. For what good does it do a religious if
he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Or what is the
benefit of his state of life, the holiness of his profession, the virtue of his
habit and tonsure, or the outer circumstances of his way of life if he is
without a life of spiritual humility and truth in which Christ abides through a
faith created by love. This is what Luke means by, the Kingdom of God (that is,
Jesus Christ) is within you. (Luke 17.21)
Chapter 3: What the perfection of man consist of in this life
Now the more the mind is concerned about thinking and dealing with what is
merely lower and human, the more it is separated from the experience in the
intimacy of devotion of what is higher and heavenly, while the more fervently
the memory, desire and intellect is withdrawn from what is below to what is
above, the more perfect will be our prayer, and the purer our contemplation,
since the two directions of our interest cannot both be perfect at the same
time, being as different as light and darkness. He who cleaves to God is indeed
translated into the light, while he who clings to the world is in the dark. So
the supreme perfection of man in this life is to be so united to God that all
his soul with all its faculties and powers are so gathered into the Lord God
that he becomes one spirit with him, and remembers nothing except God, is aware
of and recognises nothing but God, but with all his desires unified by the joy
of love, he rests contentedly in the enjoyment of his Maker alone. Now the image
of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties, namely reason,
memory and will, and so long as they are not completely stamped with God, the
soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the initial creation of the soul. For
the true pattern of the soul is God, with whom it must be imprinted, like wax
with a seal, and carry the mark of his impress. But this can never be complete
until the intellect is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with
the knowledge of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused
on the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed in
turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly resting
in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved in our heavenly
homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these three faculties, it
follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection in this life.
Chapter 4: How man's activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses
Happy therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies and images,
by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally manages to dispense with
the products of the imagination, and by so doing works within, nakedly and
simply, and with a pure understanding and will, on the the simplest of all
objects, God. So eliminate from your mind all fantasies, objects, images and
shapes of all things other than God, so that, with just naked understanding,
intent and will, your practice will be concerned with God himself within you.
For this is the end of all spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord
God and rest in him with a completely pure understanding and a completely
devoted will, without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination. This
sort of exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the exterior senses,
but by that by which one is indeed a man. For a man is precisely understanding
and will. For that reason, in so far as a man is still playing with the products
of the imagination and the senses, and holds to them, it is obvious that he has
not yet emerged from the motivation and limitations of his animal nature, that
is of that which he shares in common with the animals. For these know and feel
objects by means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and no more, since
they do not possess the higher powers of the soul. But it is different with man,
who is created in the image and likeness of God with understanding, will, and
free choice, through which he should be directly, purely and nakedly impressed
and united with God, and firmly adhere to him. For this reason the Devil tries
eagerly and with all his power to hinder this practice so far as he can, being
envious of this in man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation of eternal
life. So he is always trying to draw man's mind away from the Lord God, now by
temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries and pointless cares, now by
restlessness and distracting conversation and senseless curiosity, now by the
study of subtle books, irrelevant discussion, gossip and news, now by hardships,
now by opposition, etc. Such matters may seem trivial enough and hardly sinful,
but they are a great hindrance to this holy exercise and practice. Therefore,
even if they may appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether
great or small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds. Above all
therefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said, and other such
things, must be received without adding things from the imagination, without
mental associations and without emotional involvement, and one should not let
past or future associations, implications or constructs of the imagination form
and grow. For when constructs of the imagination are not allowed to enter the
memory and mind, a man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer,
meditation, or reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritual exercise,
nor will they recur again. So commit yourself confidently and without
hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general,
to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence and in
peace, and he will fight for you. He will liberate you and comfort you more
fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you were to dream about
it all the time, day and night, and were to cast around frantically all over the
place with the futile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will
you wear out your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly
exhausting your strength. So accept everything, separately and in general,
wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence and peace, and with
an equal mind, as coming to you from a father's hand and his divine providence.
So render your imagination bare of the images of all physical things as is
appropriate to your state and profession, so that you can cling to him with a
bare and undivided mind, as you have so often and so completely vowed to do,
without anything whatever being able to come between your soul and him, so that
you can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds of his humanity into the
light of his divinity.
Chapter 5: On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things
If your desire and aim is to reach the destination of the path and home of true
happiness, of grace and glory, by a straight and safe way then earnestly apply
your mind to seek constant purity of heart, clarity of mind and calm of the
senses. Gather up your heart's desire and fix it continually on the Lord God
above. To do so you must withdraw yourself so far as you can from friends and
from everyone else, and from the activities that hinder you from such a purpose.
Grasp every opportunity when you can find the place, time and means to devote
yourself to silence and contemplation, and gathering the secret fruits of
silence, so that you can escape the shipwreck of this present age and avoid the
restless agitation of the noisy world. For this reason apply yourself at all
times to purity, clarity and peace of heart above all things, so that, so far as
possible, you can keep the doors of your heart resolutely barred to the forms
and images of the physical senses and worldly imaginations by shutting off the
doors of the physical senses and turning within yourself. After all, purity of
heart is recognised as the most important thing among all spiritual practices,
as its final aim, and the reward for all the labours that a spiritual-minded
person and true religious may undertake in this life. For this reason you should
with all care, intelligence and effort free your heart, senses and desires from
everything that can hinder their liberty, and above all from everything in the
world that could possibly bind and overcome you. So struggle in this way to draw
together all the distractions of your heart and desires of your mind into one
true, simple and supreme good, to keep them gathered within yourself in one
place, and by this means to remain always joined to things divine and to God in
your mind, to abandon the unreliable things of earth, and be able to translate
your mind continually to the things above within yourself in Jesus Christ. To
which end, if you have begun to strip and purify yourself of images and
imaginations and to simplify and still your heart and mind in the Lord God so
that you can draw and taste the well of divine grace in everything within
yourself, and so that you are united to God in your mind by a good will, then
this itself is enough for you in place of all study and reading of holy
scripture, and as demonstration of love of God and neighbour, as devotion itself
testifies. So simplify your heart with all care, diligence and effort so that
still and at peace from the products of the imagination you can turn round and
remain always in the Lord within yourself, as if your mind were already in the
now of eternity, that is of the godhead. In this way you will be able to
renounce yourself through love of Jesus Christ, with a pure heart, clean
conscience and unfeigned faith, and commit yourself completely and fully to God
in all difficulties and eventualities, and be willing to submit yourself
patiently to his will and good pleasure at all times. For this to come about you
must repeatedly retreat into your heart and remain there, keeping yourself free
from everything, so far as is possible. You must always keep the eye of your
mind clear and still. You must guard your understanding from daydreams and
thoughts of earthly things. You must completely free the inclination of your
will from worldly cares and cling with all your being to the supreme true good
with fervent love. You must keep your memory always lifted up and firmly
anchored in that same true supreme good and only uncreated reality. In just this
way your whole mind gathered up with all its powers and faculties in God, may
become one spirit with him, in whom the supreme perfection of life is known to
consist. This is the true union of spirit and love by which a man is made
compliant to all the impulses of the supreme and eternal will, so that he
becomes by grace what God is by nature. At the same time it should be noted that
in the very moment in which one is able, by God's help, to overcome one's own
will, that is to cast away from oneself inordinate love or strong feeling, in
other words so as to dare simply to trust God completely in all one's needs, by
this very fact one becomes so pleasing to God that his grace is imparted to one,
and through that very grace one experiences that true love and devotion which
drives out all uncertainty and fear and has full confidence in God. What is
more, there can be no greater happiness than to place one's all in him who lacks
nothing. So why do you still remain in yourself where you cannot stay. Cast
yourself, all of yourself, with confidence into God and he will sustain you,
heal you and make you safe. If you dwell on these things faithfully within, they
will do more to confer a happy life on you than all riches, pleasures and
honours, and above all the wisdom and knowledge of this present deceitful world
and its life, even if you were to excel in them all that ever lived.
The more you strip yourself of the products of the imagination and involvement
in external, worldly things and the objects of the senses, the more your soul
will recover its strength and its inner senses so that it can appreciate the
things which are above. So learn to withdraw from imaginations and the images of
physical things, since what pleases God above everything is a mind bare of those
sorts of forms and objects, for it is his delight to be with the sons of men,
that is those who, at peace from such activities, distractions and passions,
seek him with a pure and simple mind, empty themselves for him, and cleave to
him. Otherwise, if your memory, imagination and thought is often involved with
such things, you must needs be filled with the thought of new things or memories
of old ones, or identified with other changing objects. As a result, the Holy
Spirit withholds itself from thoughts bereft of understanding. So the true lover
of Jesus Christ should be so united through good will in his understanding with
the divine will and goodness, and be so bare of all imaginations and passions
that he does not even notice whether he is being mocked or loved, or something
is being done to him. For a good will turns everything to good and is above
everything. So if the will is good and is obedient and united to God with pure
understanding, he is not hurt even if the flesh and the senses and the outer man
is moved to evil, and is slow to good, or even if the inner man is slow to feel
devotion, but should simply cleave to God with faith and good will in naked
understanding. He is doing this if he is conscious of all his own imperfection
and nothingness, recognises his good to consist in his Creator alone, abandons
himself with all his faculties and powers, and all creatures, and immerses
himself wholly and completely in the Creator, so that he directs all his actions
purely and entirely in his Lord God, and seeks nothing apart from him, in whom
he recognises all good and all joy of perfection to be found. And he is so
transformed in a certain sense into God that he cannot think, understand, love
or remember anything but God himself and the things of God. Other creatures
however and even himself he does not see, except in God, nor does he love
anything except God alone, nor remember anything about them or himself except in
God. This knowledge of the truth always makes the soul humble, ready to judge
itself and not others, while on the contrary worldly wisdom makes the soul
proud, futile, inflated and puffed up with wind. So let this be the fundamental
spiritual doctrine leading to the knowledge of God, his service and familiarity
with him, that if you want to truly possess God, you must strip your heart of
all love of things of the senses, not just of certain creatures, so that you can
turn to the Lord your God with a simple and whole heart and with all your power,
freely and without any double-mindedness, care or anxiety, but with full
confidence in his providence alone about everything.
Chapter 7: How the heart should be gathered within itself
What is more, as is said in the book On the Spirit and the Soul (of St.
Augustine), to ascend to God means to enter into oneself. He who entering within
and penetrating his inmost nature, goes beyond himself, he is truly ascending to
God. So let us withdraw our hearts from the distractions of this world, and
recall them to the inner joys, so that we can establish them to some degree in
the light of divine contemplation. For this is the life and peace of our hearts
- to be established by intent in the love of God, and to be sweetly remade by
his comforting. But the reason why we are in so many ways hindered in the
practical enjoyment of this matter and are unable to get into it is clearly
because the human mind is so distracted by worries that it cannot bring its
memory to turn within, is so clouded by its imaginations that it cannot return
to itself with its understanding, and is so drawn away by its desires that it is
quite unable to come back to itself by desire for inner sweetness and spiritual
joy. Thus it is so prostrate among the sense objects presented to it that it
cannot enter into itself as the image of God. It is therefore right and
necessary for the mind to raise itself above itself and everything created by
the abandonment of everything, with humble reverence and great trust, and to say
within itself, He whom I seek, love, thirst for and desire from everything and
more than anything is not a thing of the senses or the imagination, but is above
everything that can be experienced by the senses and the intellect. He cannot be
experienced by any of the senses, but is completely desirable to my will. He is
moreover not discernable, but is perfectly desirable to my inner affections. He
cannot be comprehended, but can be loved in his fullness with a pure heart, for
he is above all lovable and desirable, and of infinite goodness and perfection.
And then a darkness comes over the mind and it is raised up into itself and
penetrates even deeper. And the more inward-looking the desire for it, the more
powerful this means of ascent to the mysterious contemplation of the holy
Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity in Jesus Christ is, and the more interior
the yearning, the more productive it is. Certainly in matters spiritual the more
inward they are the greater they are as spiritual experiences. For this reason,
never give up, never stop until you have tasted some pledge, as I might say, or
foretaste of the future full experience, and until you have obtained the
satisfaction of however small a first fruits of the divine joy. And do not give
up pursuing it and following its scent until you have seen the God of gods in
Sion. Do not stop or turn back in your spiritual journey and your union and
adherence to God within you until you have achieved what you have been seeking.
Take as a pattern of this the example of those climbing an ordinary mountain. If
our mind is involved by its desires in the things which are going on below, it
is immediately carried away by endless distractions and side tracks, and being
to some extent divided against itself, is weakened and as it were scattered
amongst the things which it seeks with its desires. The result is ceaseless
movement, travel without an arrival, and labour without rest. If on the other
hand our heart and mind can withdraw itself by its desire and love from the
infinite distraction below of the things beneath it, can learn to be with
itself, abandoning these lower things and gathering itself within itself into
the one unchanging and satisfying good, and can hold to it inseparably with its
will, it is correspondingly more and more gathered together in one and
strengthened, as it is raised up by knowledge and desire. In this way it will
become accustomed to the true supreme good within itself until it will be made
completely immovable and arrive securely at that true life which is the Lord God
himself, so that it can now rest in him within and in peace without any
changeability or vicissitude of time, perfectly gathered within itself in the
secret divine abode in Christ Jesus who is the way for those who come to him,
the truth and life.
Chapter 8: How a religious man should commit himself to God in all circumstances whatsoever
I am now completely convinced that you will recognise from these arguments that
the more you strip yourself of the products of your imagination and all worldly
and created things, and are united to God with your intellect by a good will,
the closer you will approach the state of innocence and perfection. What could
be better? And what could be more happy and joyful? Above all it is important
for you to keep your mind bare - without imaginations and images and free of any
sort of entanglement, so that you are not concerned about either the world,
friends, prosperity or adversity, or anything present, past or future, whether
in yourself or in others - not even your own sins. But consider yourself with a
certain pure simplicity to be alone with God outside the world, and as if your
mind were already in eternity and separated from the body so that it will
certainly not bother about worldly things or be concerned about the state of the
world, about peace or war, about good weather or rain, or about anything at all
in this world, but with complete docility will turn to God alone, be empty for
him and cleave to him. So now in this way ignore your body and all created
things, present or future, and direct the high point of your mind and spirit
directly, as best you can, naked and unencumbered on the uncreated light. And
let your spirit be cleansed in this way from all imaginations, coverings and
things obscuring its vision, like an angel (not) tied to a body, who is not
hindered by the works of the flesh nor tangled in vain and wandering thoughts.
Let your spirit therefore arm itself against all temptations, vexations, and
injuries so that it can persevere steadily in God when attacked by either face
of fortune. So that when some inner disturbance or boredom or mental confusion
come you will not be indignant or dejected because of it, nor run back to vocal
prayers or other forms of consolation, but only to lift yourself up in your
intellect by a good will to hold on to God with your mind whether the natural
inclination of the body wills it or not. The religious-minded soul should be so
united to God and should have or render its will so conformed to the divine will
that it is not occupied with any created thing or cling to it any more than
before it was created, and as if nothing existed except God and the soul itself.
And in this way it should accept everything confidently and equally, in general
and in particular, from the hand of divine providence, agreeing in everything
with the Lord in patience, peace and silence. The thing is that the most
important thing of all for a spiritual life is to strip the mind of all
imaginations so that one can be united in one's intellect to God by a good will,
and conformed to him. Besides, nothing will then be intermediary between you and
God. This obvious, since nothing external will stand between you when by the vow
of voluntary poverty you will have removed the possession of anything
whatsoever, and by the vow of chastity you will have abandoned your body, and by
obedience you will have given up your will and your soul itself. And in this way
nothing will be left to stand between you and God. That you are a religious
person is indicated by your profession, your state, and now your habit and
tonsure and such like, but whether you are only a religious in appearance or a
real one, you will find out. Bear in mind therefore how greatly you have fallen
away and sin against the Lord your God and all his justice if you behave
otherwise and cling with your will and love to what is created rather than to
the Creator himself, putting the created before the Creator.
Chapter 9: How much the contemplation of God is to be preferred to all other exercises
Now since all things other than God are the effect and work of the Creator
himself, their having ability and being is a limited power and existence, and
being as they are created out of nothing, they are circumscribed by the effects
of their nothingness, while their tendency of themselves towards nothingness
means that we receive our existence, preservation and activity moment by moment
from the Creator himself, along with whatever other qualities created things may
have, just as we receive their insufficiency to any action of themselves, both
with regard to themselves and to others, in relation to him whose operation they
are, they remain as a nothing before something which exists, and as something
finite before what is infinite. For this reason let all our actual
contemplation, life and activity take place in him alone, about him, for him and
towards him who is able and capable to produce with a single nod of his will
things infinitely more perfect than any that exist now. No contemplation and
fruition of love, whether intellectual or affective, is more useful, more
perfect and more satisfying than that which is of God himself, the Creator, our
supreme and true Good, from whom, through whom and to whom are all things. He is
infinitely satisfying both to himself and to all others, who contains within
himself in absolute simplicity and from all eternity the perfection of all
things, in whom there is nothing which is not himself, before whom and through
whom remain the causes of all things impermanent, and in whom dwell the
unchanging origins of all changing things, while even the eternal reasons of all
temporal things, rational and irrational, abide in him. He brings everything to
completion, and fills all things, in general and in particular, completely and
essentially with himself. He is more intimately and more really present to
everything by his being than each thing is to itself, for in him all things are
united together, and live in him eternally. What is more, if someone, out of
weakness or from lack of intellectual practice, is detained longer in the
contemplation of created things, this supreme, true and fruitful contemplation
may still be seen as possible for mortal man, so that there may take place an
upward leap in all his contemplations and meditations, whether about created
things or the Creator, and the appreciation of God the Creator himself, the One
and Three, may surge up within so that he come to burn with the fire of divine
love and the true life in himself and in others, in such a way as to make him
deserving of the joy of eternal life. Even in this one should bear in mind the
difference between the contemplation of faithful Catholics and that of pagan
philosophers, for the contemplation of the philosophers is for the perfection of
the contemplator himself, and consequently it is confined to the intellect and
their aim in it is intellectual knowledge. But the contemplation of the Saints,
and of Catholics, is for the love of him, that is of the God they are
contemplating. As a result it is not confined in the final analysis to the
intellect in knowledge, but crosses over into the will through love. That is why
the Saints in their contemplation have the love of God as their principal aim,
since it is more satisfying to know and possess even the Lord Jesus Christ
spiritually through grace than physically or even really but without grace.
Furthermore, while the soul is withdrawn from everything and is turned within,
the eye of contemplation is opened and sets itself up a ladder by which it can
pass to the contemplation of God. By this contemplation the soul is set on fire
for eternal things by the heavenly and divine good things it experiences, and
views all the things of time from a distance and as if they were nothing. Hence
when we approach God by the way of negation, we first deny him everything that
can be experienced by the body, the senses and the imagination, secondly even
things experienceable by the intellect, and finally even being itself in so far
as it is found in created things. This, so far as the nature of the way is
concerned, is the best means of union with God, according to Dionysius. And this
is the cloud in which God is said to dwell, which Moses entered, and through
this came to the inaccessible light. Certainly, it is not the spiritual which
comes first, but the natural, (1 Corinthians 15.46) so one must proceed by the
usual order of things, from active work to the quiet of contemplation, and from
moral virtues to spiritual and contemplative realities. Finally, my soul, why
are you uselessly preoccupied with so many things, and always busy with them?
Seek out and love the one supreme good, in which is all that is worth seeking,
and that will be enough for you. Unhappy therefore is he who knows and possesses
everything other than this, and does not know this. While if he knows everything
as well as this, it is not from knowing them that he is better off but because
of This. That is why John says, This is eternal life, to know Thee, etc. (John
17.3) and the prophet says, I will be satisfied when your glory becomes
manifest. (Psalm 17.15)
Furthermore you should not be much concerned about tangible devotion, the
experience of sweetness or tears, but rather that you should be mentally united
with God within yourself by a good will in your intellect. For what pleases God
above everything is a mind free from imaginations, that is images, ideas and the
representations of created things. It befits a monk to be indifferent to
everything created so that he can turn easily and barely to God alone within
himself, be empty for him and cleave to him. For this reason deny yourself so
that you can follow Christ, the Lord your God, in nakedness, who was himself
poor, obedient, chaste, humble and suffering, and in whose life and death many
were scandalised, as is clear from the Gospel accounts. After all, a soul which
is separated from the body pays no attention to what is done to its abandoned
body - whether it is burned, hanged, or reviled, and is in no way saddened by
the afflictions imposed on the body, but thinks only of the Now of eternity and
the One Thing which the Lord calls necessary in the Gospel. So you too should
treat your body as if you were no longer in the body, but think always of the
eternity of your soul in God, and direct your thoughts carefully to that One
Thing of which Christ said, For one thing is necessary. (Luke 10.42) You will
experience because of it great grace, helping you towards the acquisition of
nakedness of mind and simplicity of heart. Indeed this One Thing is very much
present with you if you have made yourself bare of imaginations and all other
entanglements, and you will soon experience that this is so - namely when you
can be empty and cleave to God with a naked and resolute mind. In this way you
will remain unconquered in whatever may be inflicted on you, like the holy
martyrs, fathers, the elect, and indeed all the saints who despised everything
and only thought of their souls' security and eternity in God. Armed in this way
within, and united to God through a good will, they spurned everything of the
world as if their souls were already separated from their bodies. Consider from
this how much a good will united with God is capable of, when by means of its
pressing towards God the soul is effectively separated the body in spirit and
looks on its outward man as it were from a distance, and as not belonging to it.
In this way it despises everything that is inflicted on itself or on its flesh
as if they were happening to someone else, or not to a human being at all. For
He that is united with the Lord is one Spirit, (1 Corinthians 6.17) that is with
him. So you should never dare to think or imagine anything before the Lord your
God that you would blush to be heard or seen in before men, since your respect
for God should be even greater than for them. It is a matter of justice in fact
that all your thoughts and thinking should be raised to God alone, and the
highest point of your mind should only be directed to him as if nothing existed
but him, and holding to him may enjoy the perfect beginning of the life to come.
Chapter 11: How one should resist temptations and bear trials
Now there is no one who approaches God with a true and upright heart who is not
tested by hardships and temptations. So in all these temptations see to it that
even if you feel them, you do not consent to them, but bear them patiently and
calmly with humility and long suffering. Even if they are blasphemies and
sordid, hold firmly on to this fact in everything, that you can do nothing
better or more effective against them than to consider all this sort of fantasy
as a nothing. Even if they are the most vile, sordid and horrible blasphemies,
simply take no notice of them, count them as nothing and despise them. Don't
look on them as yours or allow yourself to make them a matter of conscience. The
enemy will certainly take flight if you treat him and his company with contempt
in this way. He is very proud and cannot bear to be despised and spurned. So the
best remedy is to completely ignore all such temptations, like flies flying
around in front of your eyes against your will. The servant of Jesus Christ must
see to it that he is not so easily forced to withdraw from the face of the Lord
and to be annoyed, murmur and complain over the nuisance of a single fly, that
is, a trivial temptation, suspicion, sadness, distraction, need or any such
adversity, when they can all be put to flight with no more than the hand of a
good will directed up to God. After all, through a good will a man has God as
his defender, and the holy angels as his guardians and protectors. What is more,
any temptation can be overcome by a good will too, like a fly driven away from a
bald head by one's hand. So peace is for men of good will. Indeed we can offer
God nothing more valuable than a good will, since a good will in the soul is the
source of all good things, and the mother of all virtues. If any one is
beginning to possess that good will, he undoubtedly has what is necessary for
leading a good life. For if you want what is good, but cannot do it, God will
make good the deed. For it is in accordance with this eternal law that God has
established with irrevocable firmness that deserts should be a matter of the
will, whether in bliss or torment, reward or punishment. Love itself is a great
will to serve God, a sweet desire to please God, and a fervent wish to
experience God. What is more, to be tempted is not a sin, but the opportunity
for exercising virtue, so that temptation can be greatly to a man's benefit,
since it is held that the whole of a man's life on earth is a testing. (Job 7.1)
Chapter 12: How powerful the love of God is
All that is said above and whatever is necessary for salvation cannot be better,
more immediately and more securely achieved than by love, through which whatever
is lacking of what is necessary for salvation can be made good. In love we
possess the fullness of all good and the realisation of our highest longing is
not denied us. After all it is love alone by which we turn back to God, are
changed into God, cleave to God, and are united to God in such a way that we
become one spirit with him, and are by him and through him made blessed here by
grace and hereafter in glory. Now love is such that it cannot rest except in the
beloved, but it does when it wins the beloved in full and peaceful possession.
For love, which itself is charity, is the way of God to men and the way of man
to God. God cannot house where there is no love. So if we have love, we have
God, for God is love. Furthermore nothing is sharper than love, nothing is more
subtle, nothing more penetrating. It will not rest until it has by its very
nature penetrated the whole power, the depth and the totality of the loved one.
It wants to make itself one with the beloved, and itself, if it were possible,
to be what the beloved is too. Thus it cannot bear that anything should stand
between itself and the beloved object, which is God, but presses eagerly towards
him. As a result it never rests until it has left everything else behind and
come to him alone. For the nature of love is of a unitive and transforming power
which transforms the lover into what he loves, or alternatively, makes the lover
one with the other, and vice versa, in so far as is possible. This is manifest
in the first place with regard to the mental powers, depending on how much the
beloved is in the lover, in other words depending on how sweetly and
delightfully the beloved is recalled in the mind of the lover, and in direct
proportion, that is, with how much the lover strives to grasp all the things
that relate to the beloved not just superficially but intimately, and to enter,
as it were, into his innermost secrets. It is also manifest with regard to the
emotional and affective powers when the beloved is said to be in the lover, in
other words when the desire to please the beloved is found in the will and
established within by the happy enjoyment of him. Alternatively, the lover is in
the beloved when he is united with him by all his desire and compliance in
agreement with the beloved's willing and not willing, and finds his own pleasure
and pain in that of the beloved. For love draws the lover out of himself (since
love is strong as death), and establishes him in the beloved, causing him to
cleave closely to him. For the soul is more where it loves than where it lives,
since it is in what it loves in accordance with its very nature, understanding
and will, while it is in where it lives only with regard to form, which is even
true for animals as well. There is nothing therefore which draws us away from
the exterior senses to within ourselves, and from there to Jesus Christ and
things divine, more than the love of Christ and the desire for the sweetness of
Christ, for the experience, awareness and enjoyment of the presence of Christ's
divinity. For there is nothing but the power of love which can lead the soul
from the things of earth to the lofty summit of heaven. Nor can anyone attain
the supreme beatitude unless summoned to it by love and yearning. Love after all
is the life of the soul, the wedding garment and the soul's perfection,
containing all the law and the prophets and our Lord's teaching. That is why
Paul says to the Romans, Love is the fulfilling of the law, (Rom. 13.8) and in
the first letter to Timothy, The end of the commandment is love. (1 Timothy 1.5)
Chapter 13: The nature and value of prayer, and how the heart should be recollected within itself
Besides this, since we are incapable of ourselves for this and for any other
good action whatsoever, and since we can of ourselves offer nothing to the Lord
God (from whom all good things come) which is not his already, with this one
exception, as he has deigned to show us both by his own blessed mouth as well as
by his example, that we should turn to him in all circumstances and occasions as
guilty, wretched, poor, beggarly, weak, helpless, subject servants and sons. And
that we should beseech him and lay before him with complete confidence the
dangers that are besetting us on all sides, completely grief-stricken in
ourselves, in humble prostration of mind, in fear and love, and with
recollected, composed, mature, true and naked, shamefaced affection, with great
yearning and determination, and in groaning of heart and sincerity of mind. Thus
we commit and offer ourselves up to him freely, securely and nakedly, fully and
in everything that is ours, holding nothing back to ourselves, in such a
complete and final way, that the same is fulfilled in us as in our blessed
father Isaac, who speaks of this very type of prayer, saying, Then we shall be
one in God, and the Lord God will be all in all and alone in us when his own
perfect love, with which he first loved us, will have become the disposition of
our own hearts too. This will come about when all our love, all our desire, all
our concern, all our efforts, in fact everything we think, everything we see,
speak and even hope will be God, and that unity which now is of the Father with
the Son, and of the Son with the Father, will be poured into our own heart and
mind as well, in such a way that just as he loves us with sincere and
indissoluble love we too will be joined to him with eternal and inseparable
affection. In other words we shall be united with him in such a way that
whatever we hope, and whatever we say or pray will be God. This therefore should
be the aim, this the concern and goal of a spiritual man - to be worthy to
possess the image of future bliss in this corruptible body, and in a certain
measure experience in advance how the foretaste of that heavenly bliss, eternal
life and glory begins in this world. This, as I say, is the goal of all
perfection, that his purified mind should be daily raised up from all bodily
objects to spiritual things until all his mental activity and all his heart's
desire become one unbroken prayer. So the mind must abandon the dregs of earth
and press on towards to God, on whom alone should be fixed the desire of a
spiritual man, for whom the least separation from that summum bonum is to be
considered a living death and dreadful loss. Then, when the requisite peace has
been established in his mind, when it is free from attachment to any carnal
passion, and clings firmly in intention to that one supreme good, the Apostle's
sayings are fulfilled, Pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5.17) and, Pray in
every place lifting up pure hands without anger or dispute. (1 Timothy 2.8) For
when the power of the mind is absorbed in this purity, so to speak, and is
transformed from an earthly nature into the spiritual or angelic likeness,
whatever it receives into itself, whatever it is occupied with, whatever it is
doing, it will be pure and sincere prayer. In this way, if you continue all the
time in the way we have described from the beginning, it will become as easy and
clear for you to remain in contemplation in your inward and recollected state,
as to live in the natural state.
Chapter 14: That we should seek the verdict of our conscience in every decision
While we should strive for spiritual perfection of mind, purity and peace in
God, it will be found to be not a little beneficial to this that we should
return quietly into the inner secret place of the mind in the face of everything
said, thought or done to us. There, withdrawn from everything else and
completely recollected within ourselves, we can place ourselves in the knowledge
of the truth before us and undoubtedly discover and understand that it does us
absolutely no good, and rather the contrary, when we are praised or honoured by
others while we recognise by the knowledge of the truth about ourselves within
that we are blameworthy and guilty. And just as nothing is any help if
externally people praise someone if his conscience internally accuses him, in
the same way on the contrary it does a man no harm to be despised, maligned and
persecuted when he remains internally just as innocent, blameless and without
fault. On the contrary he has all the more good reason to rejoice in the Lord
with patience, in peace and silence. After all no adversity can do any harm
where evil is not in control, and just as no evil goes unpunished, so no good
goes unrewarded. Nor should we wish a reward with hypocrites or expect and
receive profit from men, but from the Lord God alone, not in the present, but in
the future, and not in fleeting time, but in eternity. It is clear therefore
that nothing is greater, and nothing better than to enter into the inner secret
place of the mind always and in every tribulation and occurrence, and there to
call upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself, our helper in temptations and
tribulations, and to humble ourselves there by confession of sin, and praise God
and Father himself, the giver of correction and the giver of consolation. Above
all one should accept everything, in general and individually, in oneself or in
others, agreeable or disagreeable, with a prompt and confident spirit, as coming
from the hand of his infallible Providence or the order he has arranged. This
attitude will lead to the forgiveness of our sins, the deliverance from
bitterness, the enjoyment of joy and security, the outpouring of grace and
mercy, introduction and establishment into a close relationship with God,
abundant enjoyment of his presence, and firm cleaving and union with him. But
let us not copy those who from hypocrisy and Pharisaism want to appear better
and different from what they are, and to make a better impression and appearance
before men of being something special, than they know in truth inside to be so.
For it is absolute madness to seek, hunger for and aspire to human praise or
renown, from oneself or others, when one is in spite of it all inwardly full of
cravings and serious faults. And certainly the good things we have talked about
above will flee him who chases such vanities, and he will merely bring disgrace
on himself. So always keep your faults and your own incapacity before your eyes,
and know yourself, so that you can be humbled and not try to avoid being held as
the lowest, vilest and most abject scum by everyone when you are aware of the
grave sins and serious faults in yourself. For which reason consider yourself
compared to others as dross to gold, weeds to the wheat, chaff to the grain, a
wolf to the sheep, Satan to the children of God. And do not seek to be respected
by others and given precedence before others, but rather flee with all your
heart and soul the poison of this disease, the venom of praise, the concern for
boasting and vanity, lest, as the prophet says, The wicked is praised in his own
heart's desires, (Psalm 10.4) and Isaiah, They who speak good of you, deceive
you and destroy the way of your feet, (Isaiah 3.12) and the Lord in Luke, Woe to
you when men speak well of you! (Luke 6.26).
Chapter 15: How contempt of himself can be produced in a man, and how useful it is
Furthermore the more a man recognises his own insignificance, the more he fully
and the more clearly he becomes aware to the divine majesty, and the more a man
is low in his own eyes for the sake of God, the truth and justice, the more
precious he is in the eyes of God. For this reason let us strive with the whole
strength of our desire to consider ourselves the lowest of all and to consider
ourselves unworthy of any favour. We should strive to be displeasing to
ourselves and pleasing only to God, while regarded as low and unworthy of
consideration by others. Above all not to be moved by difficulties, afflictions
and insults, and not to be upset by those who inflict such things on us, or
entertain evil thoughts against them or be indignant, but to believe steadfastly
and with equanimity in all insults, slights, blows and dereliction that it is
only appropriate. For in truth he who is really penitent and grieving before God
hates to be honoured and loved by all, and does not try to manipulate things so
as to avoid being to some degree hated, neglected and despised right to the end,
so that he can be truly humbled and sincerely cleave to God alone with a pure
heart. Indeed, for loving God alone and hating oneself more than anything, and
desiring to be despised by others we do not require external work or physical
strength, but rather physical solitude, the labour of the heart, and peace of
mind so that, as it were, by labour of the heart and the disposition of the
inmost mind, one may rise up, casting off from oneself lower and physical
things, and so soar up, ascending to things heavenly and divine. For indeed in
so doing we changed into God, and this will especially take place when without
judgement, condemnation or contempt of our neighbour, we choose rather to be
considered as scum and a disgrace by everyone and to be despised as unclean
filth by everyone than to experience all sorts of different delicacies or to be
honoured and exalted by men, or enjoy all sorts of transitory physical forms of
well-being and comfort. We should not desire any pleasure of this present,
mortal and physical life but rather to mourn, bewail and lament our offences,
faults and sins without ceasing, and to perfectly despise and annihilate
ourselves, and from day to day to be considered more and more abject by others,
while in all our insignificance we become worthless even in our own eyes, so
that we can be pleasing to God alone, love him alone, and cleave to him alone.
We should not wish to be concerned about anything except the Lord Jesus Christ
himself who alone should reside in our affections, and we should not be
concerned or anxious about anything except him on whose dominion and providence
everything in general and individually depends. So from now on it should not be
your aim to seek enjoyment but to truly mourn with all your heart. For that
reason, if you do not mourn, mourn for that, while if you do mourn, mourn
especially that you have brought the cause of your pain on yourself by your own
great offences and infinite sins. For just as a condemned man on receiving his
sentence does not concern himself about the seating of the spectators, so he who
laments and is genuinely mourning is not interested in pleasures, resentment,
fame or wrongs or things of that sort. And just as townsfolk and contemned
criminals have different accommodation, the state and position of those who are
mourning and have committed offences deserving punishment ought to be completely
different from those who are innocent and under no obligation. Otherwise there
would be no difference between the guilty and the innocent in matters of
punishment and reward. The result would be great dereliction of duty, and evil
behaviour would have more freedom than goodness. So everything must be
renounced, everything despised, everything rejected and avoided, so that we can
lay a firm foundation of penitent grieving. Then, loving Jesus Christ in
reality, yearning for him, and holding him in one's heart, in reality
experiencing pain for one's sins and faults, in reality seeking to know the
coming Kingdom, while with true faith bearing in mind the reality of the
torments and eternal judgement, and firmly and fully taking up the recollection
and fear of one's own death, we should be aware of nothing else, and not care or
be worried about anything else. For that reason, he who hurries towards the
blessed state of impassibility and towards God should reckon himself to have
experienced great loss every day that he is not insulted and despised.
Impassibility after all is freedom from vices and passions and purity of heart
and the adornment of all virtues. So consider yourself as already dead since
there is no doubt that you have got to die. And as a final thought let this be
the test for you of whether any thought, word or action of yours is of God,
whether you are made more humble because of it, more inward and more recollected
and established in God. If you find it is otherwise in yourself, you should be
suspicious about it, whether it be not according to God, unacceptable to you and
not to your benefit.
Chapter 16: How God's Providence includes everything
Certainly if we are to come directly, safely and nakedly to our Lord God without
hindrance, freely and peacefully, as explained above, and be securely joined to
him with even mind in prosperity or adversity, whether in life or in death, then
our job is to commit everything unhesitatingly and resolutely, in general and
individually, to his unquestionable and infallible providence. This is hardly
surprising since it is he alone who gives to all things their being, their
capacity and their action - that is, their strength, operation, nature, manner
and order in number, weight and measure. Especially since just as a work of art
presupposes a prior operation of nature, in the same way the operation of nature
presupposes the work of God, creating, sustaining, ordering and administering
it, for to him alone belong infinite power, wisdom, goodness and inherent mercy,
justice, truth, love, and unchanging timelessness and omnipresence. So nothing
can exist or act by its own power unless it acts in the power of God himself,
who is the prime mover and the first principle, who is the cause of every
action, and the actor in every agent. For so far as the nature of the order of
things is concerned, God provides for everything without intermediary right down
to the last detail. So nothing, from the greatest to the smallest things, can
escape God's eternal providence, or fall away from it, whether in matters of the
will, of causal events, or even of accidental circumstances outside of one's
control. But God cannot do anything which does not fall under the order of his
own providence, just as he cannot do anything which is not subject to its
operation. Divine providence therefore extends to everything, in general and in
particular, even including a man's thoughts. On which subject Scripture has this
to say, Cast all your worries upon him, for he takes care of you. (1 Peter 5.7)
And again the prophet says, Cast your care upon the Lord, and he will feed you.
(Psalm 55.22) And, Look at the nations of men, my son, and see that no one ever
put his trust in the Lord, and was disappointed. For who has been faithful to
his commandments and been abandoned? (Sirach 2.22) And our Lord himself said, Do
not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? (Matthew 6.25) So whatever and
however much we can hope from God, we shall undoubtedly receive, as Deuteronomy
says, Every place where you feet tread shall be yours. (Deuteronomy 11.24) For a
man shall receive all that he is able to desire, and so far as he can reach with
his foot of faith, even so much shall he possess. That is why Bernard says,
"God, the maker of everything is so abounding in mercy that whatever size grace
cup of faith we are able to hold out to him, we shall undoubtedly have it
filled." And so Mark has it, All that you ask in prayer believing that you will
receive it, will be given you. (Mark 11.24) So the stronger and the more
vehement our faith in God is, and the more reverently and persistently it is
offered up to God, the more surely, the more abundantly and the quicker what we
hoped for will be accomplished and obtained. Indeed if in doing this our faith
in God is weak and slow to rise to God on account of the multitude and magnitude
of our sins, we should remember this, that everything is possible with God, and
that what he wishes is bound to take place, while what he does not wish cannot
possibly happen, and that it is as easy for him to forgive and cancel countless
sins, however enormous, as to do it with a single sin. While a sinner cannot, of
himself, rise from innumerable sins, and free and absolve himself from them, and
not even from just one sin. For we are unable not only to do, but even to think
anything good, of ourselves, but this is from God. Nonetheless it is much more
dangerous, other things being equal, to be ensnared in many sins than in a
single one, since no sin is left unpunished, and every mortal sin deserves
infinite punishment, and this by the rigour of justice since any such sin is
against God who is indeed worthy of infinite reverence, dignity and honour. What
is more, according to the Apostle Paul, God knows his own (2 Timothy 2.19), and
it is impossible for any of them to perish by the whirlwinds and floods of any
error, scandal, schism, persecution, heresy, tribulation, adversity or
temptation, for he has foreseen from eternity and unchangeably the number of his
elect and the extent of their merits in such a way that everything good and bad,
what is theirs and not theirs, prosperity and adversity, all work together for
them for good, except indeed that they appear even more glorious and commendable
in adversity. So let us commit everything with full assurance, in general and in
particular, confidently and unhesitatingly to divine providence, by which God
permits however much and whatever sort of evil to happen to us. For it is good
and will lead to good, since he permits it to exist, and it would not exist
unless he permitted it to exist. Nor could it exist otherwise or more than he
permits it to, because he knows how to, has the power to, and wills to change
and convert it into something better. For just as it is by operation of
providence that all good things exist, so it is by its permission that all bad
things are changed into good. In this way in fact God's power, wisdom and mercy
are shown forth through Christ our redeemer - his mercy and his justice, the
power of grace and the weakness of nature, the beauty of everything in the
association of opposites, the approval of the good, and the malice and
punishment of the wicked. Similarly the contrition of the converted sinner, his
confession, and penitence, the kindness of God, piety, charity and his praise
and goodness (all show forth God's power and wisdom). Yet it does not always
lead to good in those who do ill, but, as is usually the case, to great danger
and extreme evil, in the loss, that is, of grace and their place in glory, and
in the incurring of guilt and punishment, sometimes even eternal punishment,
from which may Jesus Christ defend us. Amen. ___________________