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The reason for which it is necessary for the soul, in
order to attain to Divine union with God, to pass
through this dark night of mortification of the
desires and denial of pleasures in all things, is
because all the affections which it has for creatures
are pure darkness in the eyes of God, and, when the
soul is clothed in these affections, it has no
capacity for being enlightened and possessed by the
pure and simple light of God, if it first cast them
not from it; for light cannot agree with darkness;
since, as Saint John says: Tenebrae eam non
comprehenderunt.[86] That is: The darkness could not
receive the light.2. The reason is that two
contraries (even as philosophy teaches us) cannot
coexist in one person; and that darkness, which is
affection set upon the creatures, and light, which is
God, are contrary to each other, and have no likeness
or accord between one another, even as Saint Paul
taught the Corinthians, saying: Quae conventio luci
ad tenebras?[87] That is to say: What communion can
there be between light and darkness? Hence it is that
the light of Divine union cannot dwell in the soul if
these affections first flee not away from it.
3. In order that we may the better prove what has
been said, it must be known that the affection and
attachment which the soul has for creatures renders
the soul like to these creatures; and, the greater is
its affection, the closer is the equality and
likeness between them; for love creates a likeness
between that which loves and that which is loved.
For which reason David, speaking of those who set
their affections upon idols, said thus: Similes illis
fiant qui faciunt ea: et omnes qui confidunt in eis.[88]
Which signifies: Let them that set their heart upon
them be like to them. And thus, he that loves a
creature becomes as low as that creature, and, in
some ways, lower; for love not only makes the lover
equal to the object of his love, but even subjects
him to it.
Hence in the same way it comes to pass that the
soul that loves anything else becomes incapable of
pure union with God and transformation in Him. For
the low estate of the creature is much less capable
of union with the high estate of the Creator than is
darkness with light. For all things of earth and
heaven, compared with God, are nothing, as Jeremias
says in these words: Aspexi terram, et ecce vacua
erat, et nihil; et coelos, et non erat lux in eis.[89]
'I beheld the earth,' he says, 'and it was void, and
it was nothing; and the heavens, and saw that they
had no light.' In saying that he beheld the earth
void, he means that all its creatures were nothing,
and that the earth was nothing likewise.
And, in saying that he beheld the heavens and saw
no light in them, he says that all the luminaries of
heaven, compared with God, are pure darkness. So that
in this way all the creatures are nothing; and their
affections, we may say, are less than nothing, since
they are an impediment to transformation in God and
the privation thereof, even as darkness is not only
nothing, but less than nothing, since it is privation
of light.
And even as he that is in darkness comprehends not
the light, so the soul that sets its affection upon
creatures will be unable to comprehend God; and,
until it be purged, it will neither be able to
possess Him here below, through pure transformation
of love, nor yonder in clear vision. And, for greater
clarity, we will now speak in greater detail.
4. All the being of creation, then, compared with
the infinite Being of God, is nothing. And therefore
the soul that sets its affection upon the being of
creation is likewise nothing in the eyes of God, and
less than nothing; for, as we have said, love makes
equality and similitude, and even sets the lover
below the object of his love. And therefore such a
soul will in no wise be able to attain to union with
the infinite Being of God; for that which is not can
have no communion with that which is.
And, coming down in detail to some examples, all
the beauty of the creatures, compared with the
infinite beauty of God, is the height of
deformity[90] even as Solomon says in the Proverbs:
Fallax gratia, et vana est pulchritudo.[91] 'Favour
is deceitful and beauty is vain.' And thus the soul
that is affectioned to the beauty of any creature is
the height of deformity in the eyes of God.
And therefore this soul that is deformed will be
unable to become transformed in beauty, which is God,
since deformity cannot attain to beauty; and all the
grace and beauty of the creatures, compared with the
grace of God, is the height of misery[92] and of
uncomeliness. Wherefore the soul that is ravished by
the graces and beauties of the creatures has only
supreme[93] misery and unattractiveness in the eyes
of God; and thus it cannot be capable of the infinite
grace and loveliness of God; for that which has no
grace is far removed from that which is infinitely
gracious; and all the goodness of the creatures of
the world, in comparison with the infinite goodness
of God, may be described as wickedness. 'For there is
naught good, save only God.'[94]
And therefore the soul that sets its heart upon
the good things of the world is supremely evil in the
eyes of God. And, even as wickedness comprehends not
goodness, even so such a soul cannot be united with
God, Who is supreme goodness.
5. All the wisdom of the world and all human
ability, compared with the infinite wisdom of God,
are pure and supreme ignorance, even as Saint Paul
writes ad Corinthios, saying: Sapientia hujus mundi
stultitia est apud Deum.[95] 'The wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God.' Wherefore any soul
that makes account of all its knowledge and ability
in order to come to union with the wisdom of God is
supremely ignorant in the eyes of God and will remain
far removed from that wisdom; for ignorance knows not
what wisdom is, even as Saint Paul says that this
wisdom seems foolishness to God; since, in the eyes
of God, those who consider themselves to be persons
with a certain amount of knowledge are very ignorant,
so that the Apostle, writing to the Romans, says of
them: Dicentes enim se esse sapientes, stulti facti
sunt. That is: Professing themselves to be wise, they
became foolish.[96]
And those alone acquire wisdom of God who are like
ignorant children, and, laying aside their knowledge,
walk in His service with love. This manner of wisdom
Saint Paul taught likewise ad Corinthios: Si quis
videtur inter vos sapiens esse in hoc saeculo,
stultus fiat ut sit sapiens. Sapientia enim hujus
mundi stultitia est apud Deum.[97] That is: If any
man among you seem to be wise, let him become
ignorant that he may be wise; for the wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God. So that, in order to
come to union with the wisdom of God, the soul has to
proceed rather by unknowing than by knowing; and all
the dominion and liberty of the world, compared with
the liberty and dominion of the Spirit of God, is the
most abject[98] slavery, affliction and captivity.
6. Wherefore the soul that is enamoured of
prelacy,[99] or of any other such office, and longs
for liberty of desire, is considered and treated, in
the sight of God, not as a son, but as a base slave
and captive, since it has not been willing to accept
His holy doctrine, wherein He teaches us that whoso
would be greater must be less, and whoso would be
less must be greater. And therefore such a soul will
be unable to attain to that true liberty of spirit
which is attained in His Divine union. For slavery
can have no part with liberty; and liberty cannot
dwell in a heart that is subject to desires, for this
is the heart of a slave; but it dwells in the free
man, because he has the heart of a son. It was for
this cause that Sara bade her husband Abraham cast
out the bondwoman and her son, saying that the son of
the bondwoman should not be heir with the son of the
free woman.[100]
7. And all the delights and pleasures of the will
in all the things of the world, in comparison with
all those delights which are God, are supreme
affliction, torment and bitterness. And thus he that
sets his heart upon them is considered, in the sight
of God, as worthy of supreme affliction, torment and
bitterness; and thus he will be unable to attain to
the delights of the embrace of union with God, since
he is worthy of affliction and bitterness. All the
wealth and glory of all creation, in comparison with
the wealth which is God, is supreme poverty and
wretchedness. Thus the soul that loves and possesses
creature wealth is supremely poor and wretched in the
sight of God, and for that reason will be unable to
attain to that wealth and glory which is the state of
transformation in God; for that which is miserable
and poor is supremely far removed from that which is
supremely rich and glorious.
8. And therefore Divine Wisdom, grieving for such
as these, who make themselves vile, low, miserable
and poor, because they love the things in this world
which seem to them so rich and beautiful, addresses
an exclamation to them in the Proverbs, saying: O
viri, ad vos clamito, et vox mea ad filios hominum.
Intelligite, parvuli, astutiam, et insipientes,
animadvertite. Audite quia de rebus magnis locutura
sum. And farther on he continues: Mecum sunt divitae,
et gloria, opes superbae et justicia. Melior est
fructus meus auro, et lapide pretioso, et genimina
mea argento electo. In viis justitiae ambulo, in
medio semitarum judicii, ut ditem diligentes me, et
thesauros eorum repleam.[101]
Which signifies: O ye men, to you I call, and my
voice is to the sons of men. Attend, little ones, to
subtlety and sagacity; ye that are foolish, take
notice. Hear, for I have to speak of great things.
With me are riches and glory, high riches and
justice. Better is the fruit that ye will find in me
than gold and precious stones; and my generation --
namely, that which ye will engender of me in your
souls -- is better than choice silver. I walk in the
ways of justice, in the midst of the paths of
judgment, that I may enrich those that love me and
fill their treasures perfectly. -- Herein Divine
Wisdom speaks to all those that set their hearts and
affections upon anything of the world, according as
we have already said. And she calls them 'little
ones,' because they make themselves like to that
which they love, which is little.
And therefore she tells them to be subtle and to
take note that she is treating of great things and
not of things that are little like themselves. That
the great riches and the glory that they love are
with her and in her, and not where they think. And
that high riches and justice dwell in her; for,
although they think the things of this world to be
all this, she tells them to take note that her things
are better, saying that the fruit that they will find
in them will be better for them than gold and
precious stones; and that which she engenders in
souls is better than the choice silver which they
love; by which is understood any kind of affection
that can be possessed in this life. |