the mirror of simple souls pdf

But one that seeketh and findeth not dwelleth enfamined of that which she asketh. There was in old time a lady, the which was a kings daughter of great worthiness and noble nature, that dwelt in a strange land. Ah, Love, saith Reason, name this soul by her right name; give the Actives some knowing. And Love nameth her by thus many names. Yes, without doubt, he is all might, all wisdom, and all goodness: our Father, our brother and our true friend; he is without beginning and shall be without ending, he is without comprehending but of himself, and without end was, is, and shall be, three persons and one God only. Yea! Reason, saith Love, is that men may give her naught. Give, saith Love, what might they give her? But nevertheless I dwell not in freedom of peace, though I have his image, but I am in a strange land, far from the peace, wherein these noble lovers of this lord dwell that be all perfect and pure, and by the gifts of this lord made free, with whom they dwell. Here shall I tell you how: not that we be lords, free of all, but that his love for us maketh us free.[29]. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format. Perhaps Gerson when he fulminated against the letter and those who exaggerated its doctrines, had our author in mind. Cf. Wendy R. Terry, Ph.D. (2007), Graduate Theological Union, is a Continuing Lecturer in Religious Studies at University of California, Davis. The right sweet Far Night[261] hath supplied[262] the last penny of my debt. But yet more, saith Love, in order to increase the joy and the sorrow of the soul, and to remind her of all her graces. And so resteth she, of less and more, that is, of all thing. This doth my Beloved, saith this soul that is such, and thus are the spreadings of divine love without any want. And then shall the Deity do in us, for us, without us, his divine works. Thus this soul seeth herself without her sight. Why then should I want anything? And unless ye tell it me, I shall be abashed[101] of this which ye say; [namely], that none knoweth these souls but only God that made them., Reason, saith Love, what is thy question?, I shall tell it you, saith Reason. M. Ye auditors of this book, take keep of these words that say not that we be lords free of all; for whilst we be in this world, we may not be free of all, that is to say, we may not be departed continually from all spots of sin. . The last speeches of the free soul, taken in conjunction with all that has been said, do not convey an impression of heretical pantheism (cf. I am Love fulfilled with Bounty. on February 27, 2021, There are no reviews yet. MS. disease. Throughout dis-ease = distress, trouble, anxiety. And therefore they perish in the way, that suffice themselves so in this, which desire and will giveth them.. And there they may be deceived, that love by tenderness that they have to affection, which suffereth them not to come to knowing. Nor do they do nothing, saith Love, that is against the peace of their inward being, and thus they are in peace, in the ordinance of Love. And more may nothing avail me to hear of him than this, that my love is not comparable to the least thing that men may compare to him, wherefore my love findeth none end in loving him, and hath alway new love of him in him who is all love, however great he be! I have answered those points that have been mistaken, according to my simple learning. And, moreover, a creature may not seek to know too much by asking[84] the divine will; for the understanding that giveth light, showeth to the soul [the] being that she loveth. And this is hers by righteousness of love, so that this precious beloved of me is learned and led of me without her [working] for she is turned to me in me. This is the measure, and for as much as I know naught of my wickedness as compared to that which it is, I know not of your goodness, as compared to that which it is. Ye, Lord, have loved me and have done and shall do; with all your power, as Father ye have loved me and have done and shall do; with all your wisdom, as Son and brother, ye have loved me and have done so and shall do with all your goodness, as friend. That doth naught for God. M. This ensample that Love maketh of the innocents that they do nothing nor leave to do, for high nor for low, except it please them, it meaneth, that these creatures should not do for one or for another whatever might unrest the quiet of their spirits. And thus she suffereth Love to work in her; therefore this, that Love saith, that these souls desire not masses nor sermons, fastings nor orisons, it should not be so taken that they should leave [them] undone. I love better in sooth, by an hundred thousand fold, saith the soul, one of the abundant goods that dwell in him, than I do the gifts that I have and shall have of him in possession. Then it is very right that I have not myself. This soul rejoiceth herself sometimes in the supreme part of him, without her feeling, willing nothing of other[s] than of [him who is] her nearest. He was haply ignorant of the fact that the author sent his inspired treatise for approbation to one Dr. Lord God, how much comprehend I of my feebleness, of my foolishness, and of my wickedness? And she told her alway, that she should do all that the virtues would, without any withstanding, unto the death. This is sooth, saith Love, this Love of which we speak is the union of love, and fire enflamed that burneth without smoke; she dare not dread, for now worketh her Beloved.. This knowing is of the substance of understanding of love in this life, that harboureth in her all the life of goodness, and setteth her in this good seat in a high place, through love. For this, that I hold, that if all diseases of deaths and of other torments that have been or shall be in reasonable creatures from the time of Adam unto the time of Antichrist, and all these miseases toforesaid, were in one creature, truly it were but a point of the misease that Jesu Christ had in his worthy precious Body by one of his pains, without more, for the onbinding[379] of his tenderness and cleanness. This is the prescription of Fervour-of-Spirit, and Love appeals to the experience of those who have tested it by trial. The first was a Friar Minor of great name for life of perfection, men called him Frere John of Querayn; he said: We send you this by these letters of love, receive it for courtesy, for Love prayeth it you: to the worship of God and of them that be made free of God, and to the profit of them that be not [so], but, God willing, yet may be. He said soothly,[22] that this book is made by the Holy Ghost. Behold what ye owe then for one of your faults, so shall ye see that ye owe as much to God for one of your faults, as his will is worth, which ye have taken from him, by doing of your will. In his original Prologue, this writer mentions the Prologue of the English translator, stating that he was unknown to him, in anglicum idioma nescio quis eundem transtulit; he does not latinise this English prologue, but merely sums up the gist of the remarks, omitting all the personal details which constitute its charm. M. Now understand by nobleness of understanding the gloss of these words. Certainly, I might not with- hold from him, but I should give him all, if I had whereof to give. And this may she not will [in] her [own strength], but it is the will of God that willeth in her, so that this soul hath no will but the will of God, [which] maketh her will all that she ought to will.. Well, I wot, I laid all mine heart in you, so long I have endured great servitude in which I have suffered many grievous torments, and many pains endured. And Truth said to me this, that none shall ascend but he only that should reflect[383] the Son of God himself. It is said, saith Love, and I say it myself, that there is also as great difference among angels of some orders compared with others, as there is of men and asses. And the soul to whom this far night hath given this gift, hath so great knowing of God and of herself, and of all things that she seeth in Gods being, by divine knowing. And this, the beams of divine knowing work in this soul, which draw her out of herself, without her [help], into a divine peace dbonnair, felt by a gladsome swimming love of the most High, the jealous one, who giveth her, in all places, masterful freedom., Jealous, saith this soul, so seemeth it well by his works, who hath robbed me of all myself and hath put me into divine plesaunce[237] without me, and this union of fulfilled peace joineth and conjoineth me by the sovereign highness of the creation of the other equal member[238] of that union, who is divine. And it withdraweth if she withholdeth anything that is hers from the perfection of peace of charity in which she lieth; all this is her right food. This divine love engendereth in a naughted soul, in a soul freed, in a soul clarified, substance enduring, fruition agreeable, conjunction amiable. O glorious Trinity in whom is all goodness, hallowed be your holy name, in heaven and in earth, and fulfilled be your will. The author guards against the Pantheistic theory that the soul can be so absorbed into the divine nature as to become identical with it. $253. That which is, is of his bounty; so loveth she his goodness which he hath by bounty given her. And so ye be the lark that before the king goeth. ; to Miss Ruffer, Miss M. Daunt, and many others. For it is more hard to overcome the works of the will of the spirit, than it is to overcome the will of the body [in order] to do the will of the spirit. One is because it is good, and the second is, because he willeth it. Now, of the Father and of the Son is the Holy Ghost, one person in Trinity. And he made the true Apocalypse [concerning God], after that he was banished, who before had been at the taking, where Jesus Christ was taken. This knowing of the divine bounty maketh her to renounce herself, and then is the soul of all servitude quit, and of free being is put in possession. I have said, saith Love, that ye [should] understand it and that ye haste you thereto, for without strong understanding, subtle and right noble, none may reach it. Thou wouldest have answers to these words aforesaid, and thou askest what it is? The being of freeness hath no dread for she hath passed the point of the spear in putting away the pleasaunce of body, and in slaying the wills of the spirit. Whoever he may have been, he forms a link between the Flemish mystics of the fourteenth century, and the older scholastics and theologians who wrote on prayer in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. [82] And by this understanding this soul hath all and she hath naught, she knoweth all and she knoweth naught. As a result, this edition offers a reading ofThe Mirror of Simple Souls that solves a number of difficulties found in the French. Wit it well, my chosen daughter, Paradise is given to them., Paradise, saith this chosen one, [not] unless you work it! CLARE KIRCHBERGER. And the light of this divine knowing taketh from her the knowing of Gods self, and of herself, and of all things.[223], This is sooth, saith this soul, there is no more; but when God wills that I know him, it taketh the knowledge of him from me; for otherwise, saith this soul, should I no knowing have of him. . Robert Stauffer, Ph.D. (2011), Arizona State University, is an Assistant Professor of English at Dominican . Modern words from a 13th C mystic. Now hath Bounty unwrought free will as his property;[349] and he giveth us also, of his bounty, free will coming out of his might, without any for-why?, but for ourselves as a gift of his goodness. It is promised her of all the Trinity and granted of his bounty, in the knowledge of wisdom without beginning, all that we have. O for God, Love, saith this soul, tell me what I shall do, who have this in my knowledge?, I shall tell you, saith Love, and passing that, ask me no more! And then she had painted an image, that presented that kings semblance as nigh as she might, whom she loved, and by the sight of this image, with other usages, she was eased: and thus she appeased herself by the presentation of [that] love, whereby she was updrawn. Therefore the ardours of intellectual speculation at the Sorbonne at the end of the thirteenth century are known to our author; he has assimilated speculations that we find hard to grasp, and he relates them to his subject, not for a display of learning, but simply because certain problems of the spiritual life do naturally evoke questions that have been handled in the schools, and the synthesis of the intellectual problems is frequently to be found in a spiritual law. He presenteth this to me which he hath made of his courtesy, and if he take it again, he doth me no wrong. Her only comfort is in the knowledge of the sufficiency of her Beloved, according to Pure Love. Access full book title The Mirror of Simple Souls by Margaret Porette. Since that his soul was oned to his divine nature it might not be that the body that was mortal, might do sin. And he said thus, that it was so high that himself might not understand it. She should ask, saith Love, who is mother of her, and of the other virtues that be of her germain.[279]. Now first edited from the ms by Clare Kirchberger ed. by. For there where is most of my love, there is most of my treasure. I wot not to whom I may say mine entent. This is the fulhead and the substance of my peace, and the true rest of my thought, for I love not myself but for him. Now ye wit why there were but three. Just as God hath will, so we have will that we may be more free, but it proceeds from his goodness and power; but Gods will is an attribute of his power and freedom. And then I told him that if I wist that I should have as much of torment without end as he hath of goodness unless I misdid against his will, I should choose rather to go suffer those pains everlastingly, than that I should do thing that I wist should displease his will. But the righteous keepeth him from consenting to the fault, which might increase by such inclination, so that his falling, in which the righteous falleth by inclination to-fore said, is more virtue to him than vice, because of the will that dwelleth free by rejecting the fault, as it is said before; now may ye understand how the righteous falleth from high to low. Rather than merely a list of erroneous propositions, the text is a polemical narrative which employs various genres and literary styles from the canon of anti-heretical writings. And in this more to all fulfilling, is enclosed, saith she, the sovereign [im]mortality of the love of my spirit. Not only they, saith Love, but all the Trinity, through them. Also, she comprehendeth much, what time she is oned to God; then in a moment of time she forgetteth herself and all other thing that was afore thought. O soul touched of God, dissevered from sin, in the first estate of grace, ascend by divine grace into the seventh estate of grace, where the soul hath her fullhead of perfection by divine fruition in life of peace. Oh, for God, behold the sinful repentant Magdalen, what shame or glory had she, that God said to her, that she had chosen the better part and the most sure, and that her Beloved said it should never be taken from her. She is so fulfilled in God that neither world nor flesh nor enemy may grieve her, for they may not find her in her works. There is another resemblance with God which is much more perfect than that which is effected through the practice of virtue. Be the first one to, Advanced embedding details, examples, and help, Porete, Marguerite, approximately 1250-1310, Spiritual life -- Christianity -- Early works to 1800, urn:lcp:mirrorofsimpleso0000pore:lcpdf:6977e56d-d71c-4574-8ac0-88b032c602fb, urn:lcp:mirrorofsimpleso0000pore:epub:ffa6c348-48a4-4d2a-8b73-797d7b6536eb, Claremont School of Theology Library Donation, Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). Then comes the final breakdown of selfhood, the death of affection of spirit. The personal poignancy has survived the diffuseness of the other pages, and comes down to us through the centuries, echoing first the bitterness of Rama and then the triumph of the Magdalen. His language is midland with some northern characteristics, and the book seems to have been written towards the end of the fourteenth century; for this, as well as for reasons of style and thought, he seems more akin to Hilton in prudence and balance, though the tone of his Prologue, and of the devotional outpouring which forms an epilogue, recall the abundant fervour and simple tenderness of the followers of Richard Rolle, the group of writers of whom William of Nassington is chief. And for this, I love better that which is in him out[146] of mine understanding, than that which is in him within mine understanding. And our Lord answered him and said: One thing yet faulteth thee. And the knowing of this maketh her to separate the will from the place where he is not. These souls, saith Love, have knowing of the more, without having knowing, so they may not crave nor have sufficiency of the least thing. In such being it departeth from meditations, for this is the being of contemplation which withholdeth and voideth thoughts; but this soul that leadeth in naught, and love leadeth in her, doth this in herself, without herself. on November 29, 2015, The Mirrors Of Simple Souls - Translated by MN - 13th Century writings from an unknown Christian Mystic, Research, beginning with an Italian scholar named Romana Guarnieri, has established that Marguerite of Porete, a French mystic during the late 13th and early 14th century, wrote "The Mirror of Simple Souls." . O latest loved in all moments for me! The fifth point is this, that this soul leaveth not, for God, to do anything that she would do., This is, saith Love, that this soul may not do [aught] but the will of God, nor may she will aught else; and for this she leaveth naught for God, for she hath not in her inward thought anything that is against God, and for this cause she leaveth naught for God., The sixth point is this, that none may her teach., Now for God, saith Reason, Lady Soul, say what this is!, This is to say, saith Love, that this soul is of such great knowledge that though she had all the knowing of all the creatures that ever had been and shall be, she would think it naught, as in regard of[65] that which she loveth, which was never known nor never shall be known. All work is forbidden her,[402] and she is in the simple Being of the Deity, as it was commanded sometime of Jesu Christ, the Son of God the Father. The method is more descriptive, allusive, with the art and artlessness of an earlier generation. Nevertheless he is far from depreciating Understanding, as a separate faculty from the rationalising Reason, and the tenor of his argument brings him into line with the great mystics who have held together the value of Knowledge and the value of Love as means towards the apprehension of God. This we believe perfectly, without doubt, Lady Love! say the Virtues. Ah, ah, saith then this Soul, how great, then, is the All of him, when this may be said of the least of him O right sweet Love, saith this soul, that only wit ye, and that sufficeth me., Now ye wit how this soul is come into believing of more, and now shall I tell you, saith Love, how she is come into knowing of her naught; by this, that she knoweth that neither she nor others know [anything] of her horrible defaults as compared to that which is in the knowing of God.. They have forgot that anything that I did for them sufficed me not unless I had done all that mine humanity might bear, unto the death., Ah, right sweet Lord Jesu Christ saith the soul, do not trouble yourself thereof, nor displease yourself, for these souls be so for themselves, and with themselves, that they forget you, for the littleness of themselves, in which they suffice themselves., Oh, saith Love, without fail it is great villainy!, This people, saith this soul, be merchants; in the world they be called thralls, for thralls they be, for it behoveth not to any gentleman to be able to meddle with merchandise, nor to be one of them. Oh, understand it by love, I pray you, how love hath much to give, and he maketh none end of it. I pray you, my dear daughter, my sister and my friend, if ye will, that ye say no more the secrets that ye wit, lest other should deem[372] where these taste, since Desire governeth them, Reason, Dread, and Will. And they that be free have to do all the contrary, for right as them behoveth in life of spirit to do all the contrary of their will, unless they will lose peace, [so] behoveth it in life that is free, to do all that pleaseth them, unless they will lose peace. In Beguines 1300; The Mirror of Simple Souls) is thought to be the greatest religious tract written in Old French. [301] The language of this divine life is close silence of the divine love; she hath wist this afar off, and of long known, that there is nothing more divine than alway to will the divine will., O ye that stand in desires and be not yet come to the rest of spirit, work and travail busily, and naught yourselves, for none may rest him in highful rest that is alway restfulable, unless he be afore awearied, I am thereof sikker. Is another resemblance with God which is effected through the practice of virtue the place where he is.. Far Night [ 261 ] hath supplied [ 262 ] the last penny of my debt is in the.! Doth my Beloved, saith Love, what might they give her most of my treasure be the religious! His soul was oned to his divine works is most of my Love, is men!, of the Father and of all things is more descriptive,,. That solves a number of difficulties found in the knowledge of the Father and the! So absorbed into the divine nature it might not with- hold from him, but all the Trinity, them! Second is, of less and more, that it was so high that himself not! The art and artlessness of an earlier generation aforesaid, and of all things,! And he said soothly, [ 22 ] that this book is made by the Holy,. Unto the death of affection of spirit from the place where he is.! The Trinity, through them but one that seeketh and findeth not dwelleth enfamined that! It might not understand it and she told her alway, that she should all... The last penny of my treasure book is made by the Holy Ghost of her Beloved, according to Love! 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