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It is necessary that, in each of these books, the
reader should bear in mind the purpose of which we
are speaking. For otherwise there may arise within
him many such questions with respect to what he is
reading as might by this time be occurring to him
with respect to what we have said of the
understanding, and shall say now of the memory, and
afterwards shall say of the will. For, seeing how we
annihilate the faculties with respect to their
operations, it may perhaps seem to him that we are
destroying the road of spiritual practice rather than
constructing it.2. This would be true if we were
seeking here only to instruct beginners, who are best
prepared through these apprehensible and discursive
apprehensions. But, since we are here giving
instruction to those who would progress farther in
contemplation, even to union with God, to which end
all of these means and exercises of sense concerning
the faculties must recede into the background, and be
put to silence, to the end that God may of His own
accord work Divine union in the soul, it is necessary
to proceed by this method of disencumbering and
emptying the soul, and causing it to reject the
natural jurisdiction and operations of the faculties,
so that they may become capable of infusion and
illumination from supernatural sources; for their
capacity cannot attain to so lofty an experience, but
will rather hinder it, if it be not disregarded.
3. And thus, if it be true, as it is, that the
soul must proceed in its growing knowledge of God by
learning that which He is not rather than that which
He is, in order to come to Him, it must proceed by
renouncing and rejecting, to the very uttermost,
everything in its apprehensions that it is possible
to renounce, whether this be natural or supernatural.
We shall proceed with this end in view with regard to
the memory, drawing it out from its natural state and
limitations, and causing it to rise above itself --
that is, above all distinct knowledge and
apprehensible possession -- to the supreme hope of
God, Who is incomprehensible.
4. Beginning, then, with natural knowledge, I say
that natural knowledge in the memory consists of all
the kinds of knowledge that the memory can form
concerning the objects of the five bodily senses --
namely: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch -- and
all kinds of knowledge of this type which it is
possible to form and fashion. Of all these forms and
kinds of knowledge the soul must strip and void
itself, and it must strive to lose the imaginary
apprehension of them, so that there may be left in it
no kind of impression of knowledge, nor trace of
aught soever, but rather the soul must remain barren
and bare, as if these forms had never passed through
it, and in total oblivion and suspension.
And this cannot happen unless the memory be
annihilated as to all its forms, if it is to be
united with God. For it cannot happen save by total
separation from all forms which are not God; for God
comes beneath no definite form or kind of knowledge
whatsoever, as we have said in treating of the night
of the understanding. And since, as Christ says, no
man can serve two masters,[481] the memory cannot be
united both with God and with forms and distinct
kinds of knowledge and, as God has no form or image
that can be comprehended by the memory, it follows
that, when the memory is united with God (as is seen,
too, every day by experience), it remains without
form and without figure, its imagination being lost
and itself being absorbed in a supreme good, and in a
great oblivion, remembering nothing. For that Divine
union voids its fancy and sweeps it clean of all
forms and kinds of knowledge and raises it to the
supernatural.
5. Now there sometimes comes to pass here a
notable thing; for occasionally, when God brings
about these touches of union in the memory, the brain
(where memory has its seat) is so perceptibly upset
that it seems as if it becomes quite inert, and its
judgment and sense are lost. This is sometimes more
perceptible and sometimes less so, according to the
strength of this touch, and then, by reason of this
union, the memory is voided and purged, as I say, of
all kinds of knowledge. It remains in oblivion -- at
times in complete oblivion -- so that it has to put
forth a great effort and to labour greatly in order
to remember anything.
6. And sometimes this oblivion of the memory and
suspension of the imagination reach such a point,
because of the union of the memory with God, that a
long time passes without the soul's perceiving it, or
knowing what has taken place during that period. And,
as the imaginative faculty is then in suspension, it
feels naught that is done to it, not even things that
cause pain; for without imagination there is no
feeling, not even coming through thought, since this
exists not. And, to the end that God may bring about
these touches of union, the soul must needs withdraw
its memory from all apprehensible kinds of knowledge.
And it is to be noted that these suspensions come not
to pass in those that are already perfect, since they
have attained to perfect union, and these suspensions
belong to the beginnings of union.
7. Someone will remark that all this seems very
well, but that it leads to the destruction of the
natural use and course of the faculties, and reduces
man to the state of a beast -- a state of oblivion
and even worse -- since he becomes incapable of
reasoning or of remembering his natural functions and
necessities. It will be argued that God destroys not
nature, but rather perfects it; and that from this
teaching there necessarily follows its destruction,
when that which pertains to morality and reason is
not practised and is forgotten, neither is that which
is natural practised; for (it will be said) none of
these things can be remembered, as the soul is
deprived of forms and kinds of knowledge which are
the means of remembrance.
8. To this I reply that, the more nearly the
memory attains to union with God, the more do
distinct kinds of knowledge become perfected within
it, until it loses them entirely -- namely, when it
attains to the state of union in perfection. And
thus, at the beginning, when this is first taking
place, the soul cannot but fall into great oblivion
with respect to all things, since forms and kinds of
knowledge are being erased from it; and therefore it
is very negligent concerning its outward behaviour
and usage -- forgetting to eat or drink, and being
uncertain if it has done this or no, if it has seen
this or no, if it has said this or no -- because of
the absorption of the memory in God.
But when once it attains to the habit of union,
which is a supreme blessing, it no longer has these
periods of oblivion, after this manner, in that which
pertains to natural and moral reason; actions which
are seemly and necessary, indeed, it performs with a
much greater degree of perfection, although it
performs them no longer by means of forms and manners
of knowledge pertaining to the memory. For, when it
has the habit of union, which is a supernatural
state, memory and the other faculties fail it
completely in their natural functions, and pass
beyond their natural limitations, even to God, Who is
supernatural.
And thus, when the memory is transformed in God,
it cannot receive impressions of forms or kinds of
knowledge. Wherefore the functions of the memory and
of the other faculties in this state are all Divine;
for, when at last God possesses the faculties and has
become the entire master of them, through their
transformation into Himself, it is He Himself Who
moves and commands them divinely, according to His
Divine Spirit and will; and the result of this is
that the operations of the soul are not distinct, but
all that it does is of God, and its operations are
Divine, so that, even as Saint Paul says, he that is
joined unto God becomes one spirit with Him.[482]
9. Hence it comes to pass that the operations of
the soul in union are of the Divine Spirit and are
Divine. And hence it comes that the actions of such
souls are only those that are seemly and reasonable,
and not those that are ill-beseeming. For the Spirit
of God teaches them that which they ought to know,
and causes them to be ignorant of that which it
behoves them not to know, and to remember that which
they have to remember, with or without forms, and to
forget that which they should forget; and it makes
them love that which they have to love, and not to
love that which is not in God. And thus, all the
first motions of the faculties of such souls are
Divine and it is not to be wondered at that the
motions and operations of these faculties should be
Divine, since they are transformed in the Divine
Being.[483]
10. Of these operations I will give a few
examples. Let this be one. A person asks another who
is in this state to commend him to God. This person
will not remember to do so by means of any form or
kind of knowledge that remains in his memory
concerning that other person; if it be right that he
should recommend him to God (which will be if God
desires to receive a prayer for that person), He will
move his will and give him a desire to pray for him;
and if God desires not such prayer, that other person
will not be able nor will desire to pray,' though he
make great efforts to do so; and at times God will
cause him to pray for others of whom he has no
knowledge nor has ever heard.
And this is because, as I have said, God alone
moves the faculties of these souls to do those works
which are meet, according to the will and ordinance
of God, and they cannot be moved to do others; and
thus the works and prayers of these souls are always
effectual. Such were those of the most glorious
Virgin Our Lady, who, being raised to this high
estate from the beginning, had never the form of any
creature imprinted in her soul, neither was moved by
such, but was invariably guided by the Holy Spirit.
11. Another example. At a certain time a person in
this state has to attend to some necessary business.
He will remember it by no kind of form, but, without
his knowing how, it will come to his soul, at the
time and in the manner that it ought to come, and
that without fail.
12. And not only in these things does the Holy
Spirit give such persons light, but also in many
others, relating both to the present and to the
future, and even, in many cases, as regards those
absent from them; and although at times this comes to
pass through intellectual forms, it frequently
happens without the intervention of any forms that
can be apprehended, so that these persons know not
how they know. But this comes to them from the Divine
Wisdom; for, since these souls exercise themselves in
knowing and apprehending nothing with the faculties,
they come in general, as we have said in the
Mount,[484] to know everything, according to that
which the Wise Man says: 'The worker of all things,
who is Wisdom, taught me all things.'[485]
13. You will say, perhaps, that the soul will be
unable to void and deprive its memory of all forms
and fancies to such an extent as to be able to attain
to so lofty a state; for there are two things so
difficult that their accomplishment surpasses human
ability and strength, namely, to throw off with one's
natural powers that which is natural, which is hard
enough,[486] and to attain and be united to the
supernatural, which is much more difficult -- indeed,
to speak the truth, is impossible with natural
ability alone.
The truth, I repeat, is that God must place the
soul in this supernatural state; but the soul, as far
as in it lies, must be continually preparing itself;
and this it can do by natural means, especially with
the help that God is continually giving it. And thus,
as the soul, for its own part, enters into this
renunciation and self-emptying of forms, so God
begins to give it the possession of union; and this
God works passively in the soul, as we shall say, Deo
dante, when we treat of the passive night of the
soul. And thus, when it shall please God, and
according to the manner of the soul's preparation, He
will grant it the habit of perfect and Divine union.
14. And the Divine effects which God produces in
the soul when He has granted it this habit, both as
to the understanding and as to the memory and will,
we shall not describe in this account of the soul's
active purgation and night, for this alone will not
bring the soul to Divine union. We shall speak of
these effects, however, in treating of the passive
night, by means of which is brought about the union
of the soul with God.[487]
And so I shall speak here only of the necessary
means whereby the memory may place itself actively in
this night and purgation, as far as lies in its
power. And these means are that the spiritual man
must habitually exercise caution, after this manner.
All the things that he hears, sees, smells, tastes,
or touches, he must be careful not to store up or
collect in his memory, but he must allow himself to
forget them immediately, and this he must accomplish,
if need be, with the same efficacy as that with which
others contrive to remember them, so that there
remains in his memory no knowledge or image of them
whatsoever.
It must be with him as if they existed not in the
world, and his memory must be left free and
disencumbered of them, and be tied to no
consideration, whether from above or from below; as
if he had no faculty of memory; he must freely allow
everything to fall into oblivion as though all things
were a hindrance to him; and in fact everything that
is natural, if one attempt to make use of it in
supernatural matters, is a hindrance rather than a
help.
15. And if those questions and objections which
arose above with respect to the understanding should
also arise here (the objections, that is to say, that
the soul is doing nothing, is wasting its time and is
depriving itself of spiritual blessings which it
might well receive through the memory), the answer to
this has already been given, and will be given again
farther on, in our treatment of the passive night;
wherefore there is no need for us to dwell upon it
here. It is needful only to observe that, although at
certain times the benefit of this suspension of forms
and of all knowledge may not be realized, the
spiritual man must not for that reason grow weary,
for in His own time God will not fail to succour him.
To attain so great a blessing it behoves the soul to
endure much and to suffer with patience and hope.
16. And, although it is true that hardly any soul
will be found that is moved by God in all things and
at all times, and has such continual union with God
that, without the mediation of any form, its
faculties are ever moved divinely, there are
nevertheless souls who in their operations are very
habitually moved by God, and these are not they that
are moved of themselves, for, as Saint Paul says, the
sons of God who are transformed and united in God,
are moved by the Spirit of God,[488] that is, are
moved to perform Divine work in their faculties. And
it is no marvel that their operations should be
Divine, since the union of the soul is Divine. |