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The first kinds of knowledge whereof we have spoken
in the preceding chapter are those that belong to the
understanding and come through natural channels. Of
these, since we have treated them already in the
first book, where we led the soul into the night of
sense, we shall here say not a word, for in that
place we gave suitable instruction to the soul
concerning them.
What we have to treat, therefore, in the present
chapter, will be solely those kinds of knowledge and
those apprehensions which belong to the understanding
and come supernaturally, by way of the outward bodily
senses -- namely, by seeing, hearing, smelling,
tasting and touching. With respect to all these there
may come, and there are wont to come, to spiritual
persons representations and objects of a supernatural
kind.
With respect to sight, they are apt to picture
figures and forms of persons belonging to the life to
come -- the forms of certain saints, and
representations of angels, good and evil, and certain
lights and brightnesses of an extraordinary kind. And
with the ears they hear certain extraordinary words,
sometimes spoken by those figures that they see,
sometimes without seeing the person who speaks them.
As to the sense of smell, they sometimes perceive the
sweetest perfumes with the senses, without knowing
whence they proceed. Likewise, as to taste, it comes
to pass that they are conscious of the sweetest
savours, and, as to touch, they experience great
delight -- sometimes to such a degree that it is as
though all the bones and the marrow rejoice and
sing[278] and are bathed in delight; this is like
that which we call spiritual unction, which in pure
souls proceeds from the spirit and flows into the
very members. And this sensible sweetness is a very
ordinary thing with spiritual persons, for it comes
to them from their sensible affection and
devotion,[279] to a greater or a lesser degree, to
each one after his own manner.
2. And it must be known that, although all these
things may happen to the bodily senses in the way of
God, we must never rely upon them or accept them, but
must always fly from them, without trying to
ascertain whether they be good or evil; for, the more
completely exterior and corporeal they are, the less
certainly are they of God.
For it is more proper and habitual to God to
communicate Himself to the spirit, wherein there is
more security and profit for the soul, than to sense,
wherein there is ordinarily much danger and
deception; for bodily sense judges and makes its
estimate of spiritual things by thinking that they
are as it feels them to be, whereas they are as
different as is the body from the soul and
sensuality[280] from reason. For the bodily sense is
as ignorant of spiritual things as is a beast of
rational things, and even more so.
3. So he that esteems such things errs greatly and
exposes himself to great peril of being deceived; in
any case he will have within himself a complete
impediment to the attainment of spirituality. For, as
we have said, between spiritual things and all these
bodily things there exists no kind of proportion
whatever. And thus it may always be supposed that
such things as these are more likely to be of the
devil than of God; for the devil has more influence
in that which is exterior and corporeal, and can
deceive a soul more easily thereby than by that which
is more interior and spiritual.
4. And the more exterior are these corporeal forms
and objects in themselves, the less do they profit
the interior and spiritual nature, because of the
great distance and the lack of proportion existing
between the corporeal and the spiritual. For,
although there is communicated by their means a
certain degree of spirituality, as is always the case
with things that come from God, much less is
communicated than would be the case if the same
things were more interior and spiritual.
And thus they very easily become the means whereby
error and presumption and vanity grow in the soul;
since, as they are so palpable and material, they
stir the senses greatly, and it appears to the
judgment of the soul that they are of greater
importance because they are more readily felt. Thus
the soul goes after them, abandoning faith and
thinking that the light which it receives from them
is the guide and means to its desired goal, which is
union with God. But the more attention it pays to
such things, the farther it strays from the true way
and means, which are faith.
5. And, besides all this, when the soul sees that
such extraordinary things happen to it, it is often
visited, insidiously and secretly by a certain
complacency, so that it thinks itself to be of some
importance in the eyes of God; which is contrary to
humility.
The devil, too, knows how to insinuate into the
soul a secret satisfaction with itself, which at
times becomes very evident; wherefore he frequently
represents these objects to the senses, setting
before the eyes figures of saints and most beauteous
lights; and before the ears words very much
dissembled; and representing also sweetest perfumes,
delicious tastes[281] and things delectable to the
touch; to the end that, by producing desires for such
things, he may lead the soul into much evil.
These representations and feelings, therefore,
must always be rejected; for, even though some of
them be of God, He is not offended by their
rejection, nor is the effect and fruit which He
desires to produce in the soul by means of them any
the less surely received because the soul rejects
them and desires them not.
6. The reason for this is that corporeal vision,
or feeling in respect to any of the other senses, or
any other communication of the most interior kind, if
it be of God, produces its effect upon the spirit at
the very moment when it appears or is felt, without
giving the soul time or opportunity to deliberate
whether it will accept or reject it.
For, even as God gives these things
supernaturally, without effort on the part of the
soul, and independently of its capacity, even so
likewise, without respect to its effort or capacity,
God produces in it the effect that He desires by
means of such things; for this is a thing that is
wrought and brought to pass in the spirit passively;
and thus its acceptance or non-acceptance consists
not in the acceptance or the rejection of it by the
will.
It is as though fire were applied to a person's
naked body: it would matter little whether or no he
wished to be burned; the fire would of necessity
accomplish its work. Just so is it with visions and
representations that are good: even though the soul
desire it not, they work their effect upon it,
chiefly and especially in the soul, rather than in
the body.
And likewise those that come from the devil
(without the consent of the soul) cause it
disturbance or aridity or vanity or presumption in
the spirit. Yet these are not so effective to work
evil as are those of God to work good; for those of
the devil can only set in action the first movements
of the will,[282] and move it no farther, unless the
soul be consenting thereto; and such trouble
continues not long unless the soul's lack of courage
and prudence be the occasion of its continuance.
But the visions that are of God penetrate the soul
and move the will to love, and produce their effect,
which the soul cannot resist even though it would,
any more than the window can resist the sun's rays
when they strike
7. The soul, then, must never presume to desire to
receive them, even though, as I say, they be of God;
for, if it desire to receive them, there follow six
inconveniences.
The first is that faith grows gradually less; for
things that are experienced by the senses derogate
from faith; since faith, as we have said, transcends
every sense. And thus the soul withdraws itself from
the means of union with God when it closes not its
eyes to all these things of sense.
Secondly, if they be not rejected, they are a
hindrance to the spirit, for the soul rests in them
and its spirit soars not to the invisible. This was
one of the reasons why the Lord said to His disciples
that it was needful for Him to go away that the Holy
Spirit might come; so, too, He forbade Mary Magdalene
to touch His feet, after His resurrection, that she
might be grounded in faith.
Thirdly, the soul becomes attached to these things
and advances not to true resignation and detachment
of spirit.
Fourthly, it begins to lose the effect of them and
the inward spirituality which they cause it, because
it sets its eyes upon their sensual aspect, which is
the least important. And thus it receives not so
fully the spirituality which they cause, which is
impressed and preserved more securely when all things
of sense are rejected, since these are very different
from pure spirit.
Fifthly, the soul begins to lose the favours of
God, because it accepts them as though they belonged
to it and profits not by them as it should. And to
accept them in this way and not to profit by them is
to seek after them; but God gives them not that the
soul may seek after them; nor should the soul take
upon itself to believe that they are of God.[283]
Sixthly, a readiness to accept them opens the door
to the devil that he may deceive the soul by other
things like to them, which he very well knows how to
dissimulate and disguise, so that they may appear to
be good; for, as the Apostle says, he can transform
himself into an angel of light.[284] Of this we shall
treat hereafter, by the Divine favour, in our third
book, in the chapter upon spiritual gluttony.
8. It is always well, then, that the soul should
reject these things, and close its eyes to them,
whencesoever they come. For, unless it does so, it
will prepare the way for those things that come from
the devil, and will give him such influence that, not
only will his visions come in place of God's, but his
visions will begin to increase, and those of God to
cease, in such manner that the devil will have all
the power and God will have none.
So it has happened to many incautious and ignorant
souls, who rely on these things to such an extent
that many of them have found it hard to return to God
in purity of faith; and many have been unable to
return, so securely has the devil rooted himself in
them; for which reason it is well to resist and
reject them all.
For, by the rejection of evil visions, the errors
of the devil are avoided, and by the rejection of
good visions no hindrance is offered to faith and the
spirit harvests the fruit of them. And just as, when
the soul allows them entrance, God begins to withhold
them because the soul is becoming attached to them
and is not profiting by them as it should, while the
devil insinuates and increases his own visions, where
he finds occasion and cause for them; just so, when
the soul is resigned, or even averse to them, the
devil begins to desist, since he sees that he is
working it no harm; and contrariwise God begins to
increase and magnify His favours in a soul that is so
humble and detached, making it ruler over[285] many
things, even as He made the servant who was faithful
in small things.[286]
9. In these favours, if the soul be faithful and
humble,[287] the Lord will not cease until He has
raised it from one step to another, even to Divine
union and transformation. For Our Lord continues to
prove the soul and to raise it ever higher, so that
He first gives it things that are very unpretentious
and exterior and in the order of sense, in conformity
with the smallness of its capacity; to the end that,
when it behaves as it should, and receives these
first morsels with moderation for its strength and
sustenance, He may grant it further and better food.
If, then, the soul conquer the devil upon the
first step, it will pass to the second; and if upon
the second likewise, it will pass to the third; and
so onward, through all seven mansions,[288] which are
the seven steps of love, until the Spouse shall bring
it to the cellar of wine of His perfect charity.
10. Happy the soul that can fight against that
beast of the Apocalypse,[289] which has seven heads,
set over against these seven steps of love, and which
makes war therewith against each one, and strives
therewith against the soul in each of these mansions,
wherein the soul is being exercised and is mounting
step by step in the love of God.
And undoubtedly if it strive faithfully against
each of these heads, and gain the victory, it will
deserve to pass from one step to another, and from
one mansion to another, even unto the last, leaving
the beast vanquished after destroying its seven
heads, wherewith it made so furious a war upon it. So
furious is this war that Saint John says in that
place[290] that it was given unto the beast to make
war against the saints and to be able to overcome
them upon each one of these steps of love, arraying
against each one many weapons and munitions of war.
And it is therefore greatly to be lamented that
many who engage in this spiritual battle against the
beast do not even destroy its first head by denying
themselves the sensual things of the world. And,
though some destroy and cut off this head, they
destroy not the second head, which is that of the
visions of sense whereof we are speaking.
But what is most to be lamented is that some,
having destroyed not only the first and the second
but even the third, which is that of the interior
senses, pass out of the state of meditation, and
travel still farther onward, and are overcome by this
spiritual beast at the moment of their entering into
purity of spirit, for he rises up against them once
more, and even his first head comes to life again,
and the last state of those souls is worse than the
first, since, when they fall back, the beast brings
with him seven other spirits worse then himself.[291]
11. The spiritual person, then, has to deny
himself all the apprehensions, and the temporal
delights, that belong to the outward senses, if he
will destroy the first and the second head of this
beast, and enter into the first chamber of love, and
the second, which is of living faith, desiring
neither to lay hold upon, nor to be embarrassed by,
that which is given to the senses, since it is this
that derogates most from faith.
12. It is clear, then, that these sensual
apprehensions and visions cannot be a means to union,
since they bear no proportion to God; and this was
one of the reasons why Christ desired that the
Magdalene and Saint Thomas should not touch Him. And
so the devil rejoices greatly when a soul desires to
receive revelations, and when he sees it inclined to
them, for he has then a great occasion and
opportunity to insinuate errors and, in so far as he
is able, to derogate from faith; for, as I have said,
he renders the soul that desires them very gross, and
at times even leads it into many temptations and
unseemly ways.
13. I have written at some length of these outward
apprehensions in order to throw and shed rather more
light on the others, whereof we have to treat
shortly. There is so much to say on this part of my
subject that I could go on and never end.
I believe, however, that I am summarizing it
sufficiently by merely saying that the soul must take
care never to receive these apprehensions, save
occasionally on another person's advice, which should
very rarely be given, and even then it must have no
desire for them. I think that on this part of my
subject what I have said is sufficient. |