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Now the simple view of contemplation is performed in
one of these three ways.
Sometimes we regard only some one of God's
perfections, as for example his infinite goodness,
not thinking of his other attributes or virtues; like
a bridegroom, who simply stays his eye upon the
beautiful complexion of his bride, and by this means
truly sees all her countenance, forasmuch as her
colour is spread over almost all the parts of it, and
who yet at the same time would not be attending to
the features, expression, and other points of beauty:
for, in like manner, sometimes the mind, considering
the sovereign goodness of the divinity, although
withal it sees in it justice, wisdom, power, yet is
only attentive to its goodness, to which the simple
view of its contemplation is addressed.
Sometimes also we attentively behold in God
several of his infinite perfections, yet with a
simple view and without distinction, as he who with
one glance, passing his eyes from the head to the
feet of his richly dressed spouse, would attentively
have seen all in general, and nothing in particular,
not well discerning what neck-jewels, or gown, she
wore, nor what countenance she bore, nor what
expression she had, nor what her eyes were saying,
but only that all was fair and agreeable: for so in
contemplation we often cast one single regard of
simple contemplation over several divine greatnesses
and perfections together, and we could not describe
anything in particular, but only say that all is
perfectly good and lovely.
And finally we at other times consider neither
many nor only one of the divine perfections, but only
some divine action or work, to which we are
attentive; as for example to the act of mercy by
which God pardons sins, or the act of creation, or
the resurrection of Lazarus, or the conversion of S.
Paul: as a bridegroom who might not regard the eyes,
but only the sweetness of the looks which his spouse
casts upon him, nor take notice of her mouth, but
only of the sweetness of the words uttered by it.
And here, Theotimus, the soul makes a certain
outburst of love, not only upon the actions she
considers, but upon him from whom they proceed: Thou
art good; and in thy goodness teach me thy
justifications.(1) His throat (that is, the word
which comes from it) is most sweet, and he is all
lovely.(2) Ah! How sweet are thy words to my palate,
more than honey to my mouth;(3) or with S. Thomas: My
Lord and my God; and with S. Magdalen: "Rabboni, Ah!
my master!"
But take which of these three ways you will,
contemplation has still this excellency that it is
made with delight, for it supposes that we have found
God and his holy love, that we enjoy it and delight
in it, saying: I found him whom my soul loveth: I
held him: and I will not let him go.(4)
In which it differs from meditation, which almost
always is performed with difficulty, labour and
reasoning; our mind passing in it from consideration
to consideration, searching in many places either the
well-beloved of her love, or the love of her
well-beloved. Jacob labours in meditation to obtain
Rachel, but in contemplation he rejoices with her,
forgetting all his labour.
The divine lover like a shepherd, and indeed he is
one, prepared a sumptuous banquet according to the
country fashion for his sacred spouse, which he so
described that mystically it represented all the
mysteries of man's redemption. I am come into my
garden, said he, O my sister, my spouse, I have
gathered my myrrh, with aromatical spices; I have
eaten the honey-comb with my honey, I have drunk my
wine with my milk; eat, O friends, and drink, and be
inebriated, my dearly beloved!(5)
Theotimus, Ah! when was it, I pray you, that our
Saviour came into his garden, if not when he came
into his mother's purest, humblest and sweetest womb,
replenished with all the flourishing plants of holy
virtues? And what is meant by our Saviour's gathering
his myrrh with his perfumes, except that he joined
suffering to suffering until death, even the death of
the cross, heaping by that means merit upon merit and
treasures upon treasures, to enrich his spiritual
children?
And how did he eat his honey-comb with his honey,
but when he lived a new life, reuniting his soul,
more sweet than honey, to his pierced and wounded
body, with more holes than a honeycomb? And when
ascending into heaven he took possession of all the
surroundings and dependencies of his divine glory,
what other thing did he if not mix the exhilarating
wine of the essential glory of his soul, with the
delightful milk of the perfect felicity of his body,
in a more excellent manner than hitherto he had done?
Now in all these divine mysteries, which contain
all others, there is food provided for dear friends
to eat and drink well, and for dearest friends to be
inebriated. Some eat and drink, but they eat more
than they drink and so are not inebriated: the others
eat and drink, but drink more than they eat, and
those are they who are inebriated.
Now to eat is to meditate, for in meditating a man
doth chew, turning his spiritual meat hither and
thither between the teeth of consideration, to
bruise, break and digest it, which is not done
without some labour. To drink is to contemplate,
which we do without labour or difficulty, yea with
pleasure and tranquillity. But to be inebriated is to
contemplate so frequently and so ardently as to be
quite out of self to be wholly in God.
O holy and sacred inebriation, which, contrarily
to corporal inebriation, does not alienate us from
the spiritual sense, but from the corporal senses;
does not dull or besot us, but angelicizes and in a
sort deifies us; putting us out of ourselves, not to
abase us and rank us with beasts, as terrestrial
drunkenness does, but to raise us above ourselves and
range us with angels, so that we may live more in God
than in ourselves, being attentive to and occupied in
seeing his beauty and being united to his goodness by
love!
Now whereas to attain unto contemplation we stand
ordinarily in need of hearing the word of God, of
having spiritual discourse and conference with
others, like the ancient anchorites, of reading,
praying, meditating, singing canticles, conceiving
good thoughts, for this reason, holy contemplation
being the end and aim of all these exercises, they
are all reduced to it, and those who practise them
are called contemplatives, as also the occupation
itself is called a contemplative life.
This is on account of the action of our
understanding, by which we regard the truth of the
divine beauty and goodness with an amorous attention,
that is, with a love which makes us attentive, or,
with an attention which proceeds from love, and
augments the love which we have for the infinite
sweetness of our Lord.
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