He had none other beholding in that doing, but the will of God his Father solely. Himself saith in the Gospel: Whoever believeth in me, he shall do such works as I do, and yet more greater shall he do. And this point he hath assured me of without doubt by his pure bounty. But this lady was so far from this great lord, in whom she had laid her love, that she might neither have him nor see him. And the knowing of this maketh her to separate the will from the place where he is not. And when I will anything, saith this soul, then am I with myself so, and have I lost freedom, but when I will naught, and have all lost out of my will, then faileth me nothing; free-being is my maintainer. 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." But this, that they save themselves by faith without works, and that they can no more work, it is not meant that they cease from all good works for evermore, and never do any work, but sit in sloth and idleness of soul and body; for those who take it so, they misunderstand it; but it is thus. And they that thus die be folks who live by grace. The text reveals a vibrant evangelical-mystical spirituality, making it an authentic treatise of perfection. And of the two causes that maketh her to say that she will say the sum of her demands, CHAPTER VII: What a soul oweth to God for one default, and whereto it is brought by a default, CHAPTER VIII: What art it is that giveth science in creatures and of the ravishing of love, and of the peace of naught willing, CHAPTER IX: of this bounty of God and the working thereof, CHAPTER X: How we must draw within us all the life that our lord Jesus Christ himself led and preached, according to our power; and whereto we shall come by it, CHAPTER XI: Whether a creature may dwell in life and be alway without her. And these be the degrees by which men ascend from the valley to the top of the mountain that is so separate that it seeth God only. Pure is that which is of him, in love. This soul, saith Love, is free and right free, surmounted free of tree, crop and root, and of all its branches. Thus prayeth she not. What is art that giveth science in creatures? saith this soul that seeketh. If she be nakedly naught, this being[397] may not be., This is sooth, saith this free soul; in this point I am, by naughting, myself, for when I leave and naught myself perfectly, then his miracles give me very knowing of his divine gifts. At what time that it be, let them not ever refuse what love sendeth, for to do the message of the will of love, by letters ensealed of his signet. So then, heretics may not it attain, for their sensuality will not suffer it. 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. N. I will no more, saith this soul to God, hear gab of your divine goodness, if I have life to fulfil the takings[70] of this book, of which Love is mistress, that biddeth me that I determine all my takings, for as oft as I ask anything for myself of Love, by that, shall I be with me in life of spirit in the shadow of the sun, where may not be seen the subtle imaginations of the drawings of the divine love of the divine generation., Oh, what say I? saith this soul, all it is naught though I all had, in comparison with that I love in him, which he giveth to none but himself, which he must withhold for his divine righteousness. For if I be discomforted of that which I lack, I am recomforted againward, in that he lacketh nothing. And our Lord answered him and said: One thing yet faulteth thee. And then I beheld who these should be that should ascend to heaven. The chapters of the last three Divisions are amongst the finest in the whole work and may be considered autobiographical. Oh soothly she hath enough of faith without work to believe that God is good, without comprehending. And the second staff, on the right side, is the upraised knowledge of the Deity that this soul receiveth and keepeth firmly. Ah, Sire, without fail I may, for your courtesy oweth it me and your noblesse, since you have peace, that I should have it also. The Mirror of Simple Souls is a treatise of some 60,000 words, on the progress of the soul from the earlier stages of the spiritual life to its highest and rarest experiences. Love maketh her all drunken and suffereth her not to attend to any but him, by which strength in love she delighteth her so, that the soul may none other being hold precious,[363] for the great light of love hath covered her, that suffereth her not to see passing love. Ah, soul, alas! saith Love, what evil ye have for little gain! O thou Lord God! saith this soul, my sins may none know in this world, as they be, in hideous figure, save you. So may not Dread, nor Discretion, nor Reason, wit it forsooth nothing gain-sayeth Love. You have given to my soul the vision of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, that my soul shall see without end. We take the service of the four elements in all the manners that nature hath need, without grudging of reason, as we do other things. And that she is less than naught under them, without any comparison, as between herself and them, so much evil is of her [nature] and of her works. And this is the fulfilling of her pilgrimages. Thus think the free naughted [souls] and arrayed with delights, that see by themselves, the servitude of the others; for the very sun shineth in the light of them, so they see the motes within the sunbeam, by the brightness of the sun and of the beam. MS. disease. Throughout dis-ease = distress, trouble, anxiety. For God threw out of her seven fiends. Sooth, saith Love, Holy-Church-under-this-Holy-Church! Sun and darkness and seas be fulfilled. And that I be of him so beloved, as he is Who Is; and as naked as I was when I was that which I am not. Thus they lead as they did in work of youth, and dwell so long in works till[395] they have affection of spirit.. This being is the Holy Ghost himself, that is the love of the Father and of the Son. We shall seek it less in any close sequence of the divisions and chapters than in a certain interior rhythm. These folk be but cowards that so do. M. This is an usage in Loves game, by which these souls have then so clear sight in divine beholdings, that it seemeth to them that all which they or others say, it is but gabbings in respect of the high goodness and great nobleness that is in God; which may not be known except by himself for the magnitude of greatness. Thus Love, that is, God the Holy Ghost, worketh graciously in these persons, in whom he holdeth his school and arrayeth them so with fair flowers of his high noblesse, that there may no spots nor blemishes[55] in them abide. If I say great things or mean these things, or though I have by all, of all, in all, my full sufficiency, my Beloved is great, who great gifts giveth and maketh it all at his will. Yea! And these folks, that we speak of, that be, and shall be, wit it well, know altogether that they be of the lineage. He cannot, therefore, have been an outstanding personality in the Carthusian Order. For this, that I am the greatness and the sum of all evils. Meditation of pure love knoweth well more- over that she ought not to occupy herself[131] so, but to follow his work:[132] that is, to will perfectly the will of God. 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. And then holdeth the soul that there is none higher life than to have this, of which she hath lordship; for love hath so greatly fed her with his delights that she wot not that God hath any greater gift nigh to give to the soul than this love, which Love, by love, hath within her spread. As to the accusation of Quietism, we may probably safely take the humorous comment of Richard Methley in his later translation of the passage descriptive of the last stages of the souls journey (p. 293). In all things it behoveth to have discretion, except in love. I say this, for this: rather than that I should do thing that were his displeasaunce. You say sooth in this, saith Love, but in the understanding lieth the mystery; for therein lieth the winning of divine love., We believe it, Love! say the Virtues, but this is not of our office, that we should understand it. When none of the nine orders wot it not, what wit ye. MS. as of that that is of her: possibly for, with regard to all that is of her nature.. All this must be qualified by comparison with other passages. Now soul, saith this soul to herself, if ye have all this that this writing deviseth, say we not more, but all is his by debt, ere I be quit of this one debt alone. This soul desireth not despite nor poverty, nor tribulation nor dis-ease, nor masses nor sermons, nor fastings nor orisons, and she giveth to nature all that she asketh without grudging of conscience.. Vat. It is realised when not only does he no longer will other than- God wills, but is so advanced in love that he is not able to will other than God wills. They should beg as much as he does . This is to be understood, that God wot all, and whoso consenteth to do sin, he taketh from God his will; this is sooth, for he doeth that which God willeth not, and is against his divine bounty., Now, saith this soul, behold the debt of one only misdoing; for in sooth, she oweth of twain who hath twice fallen into sin.. I have none other usage nor none other usage may have, so overcometh me this knowledge continually.. Another life [there] is that we call peace of charity in life naughted. Without their witting, these folks be meeked of God himself, who is Almight., I promised, saith this soul, concerning the takings of love to say some things of the seven estates that we call Beings, for so it is. Now these folks have, of all the orders, the most high mention for the spirit, and the most noble complexion[322] by nature, when they are sanguine or choleric; that is, not melancholic nor phlegmatic; for of the gifts of fortune, these be the best to have; yet they hold all to be best, according to their will and their necessity, for themselves and for their even-Christian, without anxiety of conscience. . But when she took love, she sought him by desire of will, in feeling of her spirit. Why so? saith Reason. No, soothly ye say nothing, but sit in peace, where Reason hath no lordship. Here the dialogue is between Love (the judge and master of ceremonies in the disputation), this Free Soul, and Reason; and the point at issue is the freedom of the soul from fettering conditions in the highest stages of the spiritual life. I am deficient[316] and naught may take, saith this soul that wrote this book. No, and God will, saith Love, she hath been servant long enough, now [is she] to become free from this time forward., Eh, Love, saith Reason, when was she servant?, When she took the lead[45] in love and in the obedience of thee and of other virtues, saith Love. And in this more to all fulfilling, is enclosed, saith she, the sovereign [im]mortality of the love of my spirit. And if it please you to wit what I am, I shall tell it you by pure courtesy. This is the end,saith this soul, of my work, always naught to will. And what shame or glory hath St Peter for this, that God raised the dead by his work, though he had denied him three times? What he owed to Dionysius Areopagita came to him through the Victorines; but he is, on the whole, untouched by the new scholasticism that was formulated by St Thomas, and had not as yet dominated the thought of the schools. Who is ancestor[281] to this feeling? MS. Bod. It has been pointed out that St John of the Cross has in these matters been influenced by scholastic theology, but our author lived in the day when St Thomas was still lecturing and writing, and it must have been shortly after his death that the Mirror was sent to Godfrey of Fountains for censorship. The country of virtues that the marred work in is full far from the country of forgetting and all-naked, naughted, or clarified souls, that be in the most high being. Then is his bounty mine by the cause of my necessity and for the justice of his pure bounty. This is the life [of the first] of them, who in all, mortify the body, in doing works of charity. Even so, I tell you, they who keep the commandments and be in that feeling, they have the name of soul, and not of spirit. Their right name is soul, for these folks be full far from the life of spirit. Camaioni notes that the 1536 Capuchin Constitutions are much more than a juridical text or a spiritual commentary on the Rule (1223) of Francis. This mini-thesis is soteriological and sets about to provide an appreciative critique of Marguerite Porete's doctrine of salvation (albeit annihilation in her own words) in the Mirror of Simple . If a king give to one of his servants that truly hath served him a great gift, by which the servant were rich all the days of his life after, and never [had] to do service more, why should a wise man marvel at this, or why should he blame the king for his gift, and the freedom of the gift?, Nay, saith Courtesy, a wise man marvelleth not of thing that is done, that pertaineth to be done, but alloweth it and praiseth it and loveth it; and if he marvel, he showeth in that, that he doeth that which he ought not to do. And she must let God work and be disposed[133] to his will, for they that have a will that God should do their will, willing to feel his comforts, they trust not perfectly in his sole bounty, but in the gifts of his riches that he hath to give., Without fail, saith this soul, he that loveth well, he thinketh not either of taking nor of asking, but of giving, without anything withholding, that he may love truly. For if they will, by this they may be and shall come to the being that we have spoken of, and shall yet be lords of themselves and of heaven and earth.. He loveth not the spiritual things, who loveth temporalities. Read More Christian mysticism In Christianity: Western Catholic Christianity continuing to disseminate her book, The Mirror of Simple Souls. [82] And by this understanding this soul hath all and she hath naught, she knoweth all and she knoweth naught. And when they have tasted of these sweet draughts of heavenly influences, it savoureth them so well that they attend fully thereto. All is one to me concerning him that is one; and this point maketh me one or else I should anon be twain. Thus then speaketh this soul, abashed by naught-thinking, by this far night of night; who in peace delighteth herself. It appears to follow the same version as the British Museum copy, is divided into large sections, but though the occurrence of many illuminated capitals might indicate chapter heads, these are not specifically numbered or analysed, nor do they correspond wholly with the Bodleian arrangement. The one of these two staffs that this soul resteth on to keep her from her is that she keepeth the gifts of her riches, that is, the true knowledge that she hath of the poverty of herself. And how they that have the feelings of this book must keep it secret, and a little touching of the seventh state, CHAPTER VI: What this far night is, and of the knowing that it giveth to the soul, CHAPTER VII: Of the three deaths by the which these souls come to the life aforesaid, CHAPTER I: Who be they that sit in the mountain, and what things shame, dread, and reason do to this soul, CHAPTER II: What power the freedom of love hath, and whereof this soul is most glad, CHAPTER III: Of the country that this soul is in, CHAPTER IV: How the usage of reason is full of travail, and where this free soul refresheth her, CHAPTER V: [In] what manner they seek god that governed by reason, and where this soul seeketh him, and what this soul is, CHAPTER VI: How this soul doeth no more work for God, nor for herself, nor for her even-Christian, and how this is meant, CHAPTER VII: Of the mischief that Lucifer and they that accorded to him came to, by reason of their evil will, CHAPTER VIII: Why love hath called these souls in this book by the name of soul; to whom the name of souls properly pertaineth; and to whom the name of spirit; and of the surmounted life and who be perfected in it; and what is the proper name of this soul, CHAPTER IX: Of the transfiguration of our Lord, and why he did it but before three of his disciples; and why it was done in the mountain, and why he bade them not show it till his resurrection, CHAPTER X: Of Mary Magdalen and St Peter and St John, and how god worketh yet in souls as he did in them, that well dispose them thereto, CHAPTER XI: How they that will come to peace and freedom must ever be ready and able to receive the sending of grace; and what it is to them if they refuse it, CHAPTER I: A great rebuke that love giveth to them that refuse the sending of God, and how they be therefore encumbered of themselves all their lifetime, and how they might have been unencumbered, and by what means and for how little, CHAPTER II: Of certain means whereby they that be marred and in life of spirit may come over to the being that is next the being of this soul which hath attained the highest being; and in what case the soul is in the time of that being, CHAPTER III: How these souls be never feeble nor encumbered of themselves, CHAPTER IV: How this soul hath perceived the coast of the country where she ought to be, CHAPTER V: Of the debts of this soul, and how they be paid, and by whom, and who is his next neighbour, CHAPTER VI: How this soul is a spring of divine love, and how she seeth that she is naught, and how this naught giveth her all, CHAPTER VII: Of two things that this soul doeth not, which maketh her to have peace; and how she is no more encumbered of things that she doeth without her, than if she did it not; and who be perfectly free, CHAPTER VIII: Of four costs that this soul is made free of; how she hath lost her name by union of love and is turned about to love, and how yet there is more high than this; how none may understand this book but they that love hath made it for, CHAPTER IX: Of the rudeness of them that be governed by reason, and how this soul will no more follow their counsel, CHAPTER X: How this soul is free and consumed by mortality, and brent in the burning fire of charity; and how this soul seeketh no more God by outward works. 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