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    "slug": "vol-1-00-the-life-of-blessed-henry-suso-by-himself",
    "title": "The Life of Blessed Henry Suso, By Himself",
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    "text": "## The Life of Blessed Henry Suso, By Himself\n\n\nBLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nBY HIMSELF\n\nTRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN\nBY\n\nTHOMAS FRANCIS KNOX\n\nPRIEST OF THE ORATORY\n\nWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY\nW. R. INGE, D.D.\n\nDEAN OF ST PAUL'S\n\nproperty. of.\none\nLon\n\nPlease retum to\n\nGradenin Riccio\n\nUnion Liorary\n\nMETHUEN €9 CO. LTD.\n36 ESSEX STREET W.C.\nLONDON\n\nThis Translation first Published by Burns & Oates in 1865\nThis Edition was first Published by Methuen & Co. Ltd. in 1913\n\nsi\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nBy THE DEAN oF ST PAuL's\n\nr \"HE fourteenth century is the classical age\nof Christian mysticism. In it flourished\nseveral of the greatest names in religious\n\nliterature. The first quarter of the century is\n\nilluminated by the genius of Dante and Eckhart,\nthe one the author of that wonderful poem in which\nthe symbolic systems of many earlier mystics are\ngathered in and fused into a single majestic vision\nof the unseen; the other the acknowledged founder\nof German idealistic philosophy, and the interpreter\nof neo-Platonism to the medieval world. Among\n\nEckhart's pupils two at least achieved greatness,\n\nJohn Tauler of Strassburg, a great preacher and\n\nspiritual guide, one of those who by their direct\n\nappeal to the inner light and personal religion\npaved the way for the Reformation—and Henry\n\nSuso, ascetic and poet, whose autobiography is here\n\npresented to the British public. The anonymous\n\nTheologia Germanica belongs to the same generation,\n\nand is among the most precious gems of devotional\n\nliterature. John Ruysbroeck, the Fleming, a man of\n\nvi LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nreal genius, also belongs to the school of Eckhart ;\nhis long life covers more than four-fifths of the\ncentury. Even in England there was at this time\na notable mystical movement, which inspired some\nbooks which are now beginning to be valued as\nthey deserve. These are the writings of Richard\nRolle of Hampole; the Scale of Perfection, by\nWalter Hylton; and the exquisite Revelatzons of\nLove, by Julian of Norwich No other period has\nbeen so rich in this particular flower of human genius.\n\nIt is perhaps useless to speculate on the causes of\nthis spiritual awakening, occurring simultaneously in\nseveral countries. The history of German mysticism\nreally began a century earlier, with a group of re-\nmarkable women who were at once social reformers,\nvisionaries, and saints ; and contemporary with them\nwas the great Italian saint, Francis of Assisi, whose\nbiographer Bonaventura (1221-1274) was himself\none of the most influential of medieval theologians,\nand an authority much revered by Catholic mystics.\nThe fourteenth century, when the revival of spiritual\nreligion was at its height, was one of the most\nmiserable periods that Europe had seen since the\nbreak-up of the Roman Empire of the West. The\n\n1 In my Christian Mysticism (1899) I followed my authorities in\nmaking Julian die later than 1443, at the age of at least a hundred.\nBut Mr Dundas Harford has traced this surprising statement to an\nerror of Blomefield. The manuscript which he copied has ''yitt ys\non lyfe, anno dni millmo cccexiii'\"' (not xlii).\n\nINTRODUCTION vii\n\ngreat structure of the Latin Church, with its over-\npowering prestige and authority, was threatened\nwith disruption and ruin. From 1309 to 1377 the\nso-called Babylonish Captivity, during which the\nPopes were at Avignon, under the power of the\nFrench kings, shocked the conscience of Europe ;\nand no sooner had the Supreme Pontiff returned\nto his capital, than a double election to the Papacy\ninaugurated \"the great schism\" which rent the\nChurch for nearly forty years. These events seemed\nto the mind of the age a sure token of the wrath\nof God. But Germany had to suffer domestic woes of\na moreterrible kind. In 1314 there was an emperor\nand a rival emperor, and the Pope, supporting the\nAustrian faction, laid under an interdict all districts\nwhich favoured his Bavarian antagonist. The entire\ncessation of religious offices over a considerable part\nof Germany spread terror and consternation among\nthe people. The awful plague called the Black\nDeath decimated (the word is probably far too\nweak) the population of Western Europe between\n1347 and 1349. Tocrown these calamities, violent\nearthquakes, rare in those countries, seemed to show\nthat some supernatural catastrophe was impending.\nMisery and terror lay heavily upon the peoples of\nCentral Europe.\n\nAmid all this anxiety and confusion, it is not\nsurprising that a religious revival occurred. But\n\nvii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthe movement in Germany took a very peculiar\nform. Small societies of men and women were\nformed in several places far away from each other,\ngrouped round some honoured leader, and kept in\ntouch with other similar groups by wandering\nprophets, who for the most part claimed to have\nreceived a direct revelation, The leaders of the\nmovement visited each other, and exchanged letters.\nThey were all mystics of a pronounced type, and\nmost of them had come under the influence of\nEckhart, whose philosophy determined the specu-\nlative part of their teaching. These \"Friends of\nGod,\" as they were called, included all the celebrated\nmystics who have been mentioned above as belong-\ning to the school of Eckhart, and also the authors of\nsome remarkable anonymous treatises, ascribed to\n\"The Friend of God from the Oberland,\" a mys-\nterious personality which may conceal the name of\nRulman Merswin. The movement was spontaneous,\nand appeared almost simultaneously in many differ-\nent places. It was a layman's movement, and\nremained very independent of the hierarchy ; though\nit would be a mistake to suppose that any kind of\nrevolt against Church authority was contemplated\nby its adherents. The \"Friends of God\" had\nno sympathy with the vagaries of the anarchic\n\"Brethren of the Free Spirit,\" and uttered un-\nequivocal warnings against \"the false light\" and its\n\nINTRODUCTION ix\n\nfollowers. These warnings are especially prominent\nin the Theologia Germantca.\n\nThe fourteenth century mystics belong entirely to\nthe middle ages. Even the speculative philosophy\nof Eckhart, which finds a place in histories of modern\nmetaphysics, is simply a restatement, by a master-\nmind, of the neo-Platonic tradition, which the pseudo-\nDionysius had consecrated as Christian doctrine.\nThe great schoolmen had indeed reawakened the\nslumbering intellect of Europe, and had erected, in\ntheir ponderous tomes, monuments not only of patient\nerudition but of the keenest logical acumen; but\ntheir materials were miserably scanty, and the\nChurch compelled them to work in shackles. In\nmost fields of human thought and knowledge, the\nperiod was almost inconceivably ignorant, super-\nstitious, and barbarous. It is therefore a mistake to\njudge its devotional literature from a modern stand-\npoint. There is very much that we shall look for in\nvain if we search Thomas a Kempis, Suso, or the\nTheologia Germanica for practical guidance in modern\nsocial life. And there is much, especially in Suso,\nwhich will repel us, in the violent asceticism which\nin him is pushed to so grievous an extremity. This\ncruel self-buffeting was part of the discipline which\nthe Friends of God generally, and not Suso only\naccepted and practised. In the middle ages, re-\nligious reform always brought with it an increase\n\nx LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nin ascetical practices, which in consequence became\nmore and more violent. In particular, self-flagella-\ntion, which, though not unknown in antiquity, was,\nas an institution, a medieval innovation, was exalted\nalmost to the rank of a sacrament. This was the age\nof the half insane bands of Flagellants.\n\nThe origin and meaning of self-torture is one of\nthe most difficult problems which the philosophical\nanthropologist has to encounter. It is frequently\nsaid that asceticism came into Christianity from the\nlater Greek philosophy, since neither in Jewish\npractice nor in the precepts of the New Testament\nis there any precedent for it. It is true that the\nlater Platonists, Pythagoreans, Stoics, and Cynics\nlaid stress on self-discipline as a means to make\nthe soul independent of the body and mistress in\nher own house; but their reasonable methods of\nhardening the frame and strengthening the will\nseem generically different from such austerities as St\nSimeon Stylites and Suso inflicted on themselves.\nWe must be content to say that the desire for self-\ntorture has an obscure psychological origin, and that\nit appears spontaneously among populations in\nlow stages of culture, being associated for the most\npart with strong religious excitement. The object,\nprobably, is not so much to increase self-mastery, as\nto intensify and perpetuate religious impressions and\nmoral resolutions by branding them, as it were, upon\n\nINTRODUCTION xi\n\nthe flesh, and connecting them with the memory of\nsevere pain. It was not usual for the aspirant after\nholiness to continue these extreme austerities all his\nlife; after a few years a \"voice\" from heaven gave\nhim permission to discontinue or relax them. Suso's\ncase is typical of many others. Modern civilization\nhas almost eradicated asceticism of this type, which\ncan now be studied only in India, among certain\nobscure sects in Russia, and among some half-savage\ntribes. The Roman Church to-day does not en-\ncourage self-flagellation, nor voluntary incarceration\n(znclusto) in an anchorite's cell. The somewhat per-\nfunctory rules of self-denial which are still practised\nby Catholics are either mere survivals, or exercises in\nwill-culture. An imitator of Suso to-day would\nalmost certainly be sent to a lunatic asylum. The\ndifference between the fourteenth century and the\ntwentieth in this respect may be gauged by com-\nparing Suso's terrible self-punishments with William\nJames' advice: \" Keep the faculty of effort alive in\nyou by a little gratuitous exercise every day. That\nis, be systematically ascetic or heroic in little un-\nnecessary points.\" For instance, we may take a\ntepid bath when we should prefer a hot one!\n\nSuso's asceticism is not the only feature of his life\nwhich is strange and unpleasing to the modern\nreader. The Friends of God were mystics of the\nmedieval Catholic type. That is to say, they were\n\nxii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsteeped in supernaturalism. All through his life,\nSuso believed that he received direct guidance from\nDivine voices and monitions. This is indeed a very\ncommon belief among mystics at all times. The\nmystic is a man of unusually vivid emotions. He\nfeels intensely, and the vague intuitions, which it\nis just now the fashion to associate with the \" sub-\nconscious self,\" burst out into his consciousness with\na sudden explosive force which he can only account\nfor as the irruption of some external power. When\nan idea or a resolution takes possession of his mind\nin this abrupt overmastering fashion, he believes that\nGod has spoken to him, and he describes his ex-\nperience in the naive manner which his crude and\nunscientific training has made natural to him. With\nthese locutions are associated what the Roman\nChurch calls \"mystical phenomena,\" miraculous\nfavours of which the hagiology of mysticism is full.\nThus Suso on one occasion tells us that a light\nstreamed forth from his heart, on which appeared\na cross of gold, wrought with precious stones, which\ngave forth in brilliant light the name of Jesus. At\nother times, he saw in a vision his guardian angel,\nand was surrounded by a group of heavenly spirits.\n\"A certain holy person\" had a vision of Suso him-\nself, \"arrayed in a vesture of resplendent love,\" while\nDivine grace kept dropping on his soul like dew.\nBehind him were angelic children, who embraced\n\nINTRODUCTION xiii\n\nhim lovingly. At other times, the experience was\nof sound, not sight. He heard the heavenly spirits\nintoning beautiful music. Sometimes he fell into\na trance or rapture: one of these suspensions of\nconsciousness lasted an hour and a half. The\nmodern reader cannot help asking: How far are\nthese narratives poetry, and how far history? Are\nthey consciously pictorial images of mental states,\nor did Suso believe in the objective reality of what\nhe tells us that he saw and heard? This question,\nhowever, cannot be answered. The medieval mind,\nin its exalted states, drew no distinction between\nsubjective and objective. Imagination and percep-\ntion were fused in a manner which would be\nimpossible for us. The visions are all coloured by\nthe warm poetical fancy of the narrator; but there\nis no deliberate embroidery of what he thought he\nsaw and felt. Suso's supernaturalism is indeed very\nsober and restrained in comparison with the stories\nabout Christina and other visionaries among his\ncontemporaries. For us, these stories are poetry\nonly ; but whereas in many other saintly biographies\nthey are merely grotesque, puerile, and unpleasant,\nin Suso's life they are beautiful prose lyrics, such as\ncould only proceed from a sweet and pure mind.\nOne of the most surprising features in the mysti-\ncal writings of the fourteenth century is the delicate\nand graceful style which seems to come naturally to\n\nxiv LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsome of them. The culture of the age was, as has\nbeen said, deplorably narrow and meagre. The best\nclassical models were not accessible to the authors\nof this period. The more wonderful is it that such\nan age should have produced the Revelations of\nJulian, the Zzfe of Suso, and (at its close) the\nImitation of Christ+ There is much in common\namong these writers. A certain charming naiveté,\nunstudied grace and dignity, and a limpid clearness\nof expression, are to be found in them all. They\nare undistracted by a multiplicity of mental images.\nTheir life has been simplified to the point of empti-\nness ; but the inner drama of their spiritual conflicts\nand consolations palpitates with intensely realized\nemotions, and they find a compensation for their\nrenunciation of external interests in the vividness\nof their mental pictures. Absolute sincerity of out-\nlook goes a long way to produce great literature.\nEven the beauties of the romantic tale of love are\nto be found in them. Read Chapter vi of the Life,\nand say whether the \"sweet still melody in the\nsoul\" cannot sing as movingly of love and joy as\nany amatory poetry.\n\nThe psychologist will find much to interest him\nin Suso's artless narrative of his religious experiences.\nHe was \"converted\" in his eighteenth year. Mr\nStarbuck, in America, has conducted elaborate re-\n\n1 Thomas a Kempis lived from about 1380 to 1471.\n\nINTRODUCTION XV\n\nsearches into the psychology of conversion. He\nfinds that the years which immediately precede and\nfollow physical maturity are those in which sudden\nconversions most frequently occur. His inquiries,\nlimited unduly, it would appear, to certain Protestant\nbodies in which sudden conversion is regarded as\na normal phenomenon, are not in accordance with\nthe results which would emerge from a similar in-\nvestigation among Anglicans or Roman Catholics.\nBut his conclusion that conversion, when it occurs,\nis usually a phenomenon of adolescence, seems to be\nwell established.\n\nIn the case of Suso, as in those of St Augustine,\nLuther, George Fox, and several others, the call\ncame through a verse of Holy Scripture. \" Forsake\nall,\" were the words that sounded like the voice of\na trumpet in the ears of Suso. It has been said\nthat it is easier to surrender everything at one blow\nthan to give half and keep half. Suso certainly\nmade no reserves. He began at once to practise\nthat \"withdrawal from the creatures\" which from\nthe time of the neo-Platonists has been the first\n'summons to him who wishes to be \" perfect.\" For\nthe more philosophical mystics, this means only that\nwe must withdraw our minds and affections from the\ntransitory and external aspects of experience, and\nfix them upon the spiritual meaning, the eternal\ntruth, which underlies the flux of phenomena, the\n\nxvi LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\n\"Soul\" which in fact has created and moulded the\nphenomenal world, giving it all the truth and reality\nwhich it possesses. The detachment in this case is\nnot from life in the world, but from a world which\nhas forgotten its origin and its goal. It is a re-\nnunciation of the superficial aspects of existence,\nin order to seize the deeper and more essential\naspects which are concealed by the \"vain shadows \"\nof earth, This, no doubt, is the kind of detachment\nat which we ought to aim. It is compatible with\ndelight in and reverence for the natural order; it\nencourages us to look for the traces of God's handi-\nwork in the world which surrounds us, and to co-\noperate with what we believe to be the will of God\nin the course of events. The violent, external\ndetachment of the medieval ascetic seems to us\nbarbarous and mistaken. And yet we must re-\nmember that for those who talk of \"spiritual\" or\n\"inner\" detachment, the danger of self-deception lies\nvery near; there isa fierce sincerity about the self-\nmacerating monk, which deserves our respect and\nshames our lukewarmness. Suso tells us, with his\nusual simplicity, that he had some little partialities\nin the matter of food, which it cost him something\nto overcome. But the habit of always starving and\ncontradicting his natural inclinations soon became\nalmost a pleasure, so strange a thing is human\nnature. (Chapter ii, end.) Another interesting\n\nINTRODUCTION xvii\n\npoint is that Suso made a practice of symbolical\ngestures, such as kneeling down and kissing the\nground, and lifting his goblet to invite his Lord\nto taste it first. This, it seemed, helped him to\nvisualize his devotional thoughts better than the\nself-induced hypnotic trance which some mystics\nhave valued. The exquisite meditation on \"Sursum\nCorda\" (Chapter xi) shows that he could share\nin the thought, so dear to St Francis, of inviting\nall the creatures to join him in hymns of praise to\nGod.\n\nIt is a relief to the reader when he comes to the\ncrisis in Suso's life, the time when, at the age of\nforty, he received a command to discontinue his\nextreme austerities. But it was the belief of \"the\nServitor\" himself that this relaxation was only\ngranted him because God willed to inflict upon\nhim more grievous sufferings from without. In\nfear of this, he resolved to shut himself up in his\nmonastery, never going out either into the town\nor into the country. The result was that he was\ntormented by diabolical visitations, and heavy de-\npression of spirit. A partial cause of this was that\nhis turning away from the creatures to God had been\ncarried out with such excessive speed and rapidity\nthat his bodily health had suffered greatly from it.\nThis trial lasted for eight years (Chapter xxiii).\nAt last he very wisely resolved no longer to \" practise\n\nb\n\nxviii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsolitude,\" but to \"go forth to succour and save his\nneighbour.\" But from the first his excursions into\nthe outer world were attended with mishap. He\nwas accused by a little child of sacrilegious theft ;\nand soon after of playing a trick on the credulity of\nthe townsfolk by pricking his finger and rubbing\nthe blood on a stone crucifix, to simulate a miracle.\nHe believed that in consequence of this a price was\nput upon his head, a notion which does not sound\nvery probable. Then he was reprimanded by his\nOrder for writing heretical books.\n\nTroubles followed each other closely in the career\nof the unhappy \"Servitor.\" He had been successful,\nin one instance, in restoring to the paths of virtue\na fallen \"sister,\" who had been his disciple and\nfriend. (The story is beautifully told in Chapter\nxxvi.) His second attempt of the same kind led\nto the greatest trial of his life. The unworthy woman\nwhom he was attempting to rescue continued in\nsecret her evil courses, and when Suso discovered\nthis and rebuked her, she tried to destroy his re-\nputation by telling the neighbours that he was the\nfather of her child. With the extraordinary simple-\nness that belonged to his character, he took charge\nof the abandoned infant (probably thus saving its\nlife), without regarding the construction which the\nworld was sure to put upon his action, There are\nfew more touching scenes in all literature than Suso's\n\nINTRODUCTION xix\n\ndescription of the tender affection which he, a celi-\nbate recluse, lavished upon the helpless infant, for\nwhom, very fortunately for its prospects of survival\nin this world, he was soon able to find a nurse of\nthe other sex. It is surprising, even when we re-\nmember his noble imprudence, that the tainted\nevidence of the child's mother was so widely believed\nagainst him that even his friends forsook him. Per-\nhaps he exaggerated the effect of the calumnies ; for\nhis own Order was slow to take official notice of\nthem. At last, an inquiry was ordered, rather, we\nmay conjecture, to bring the slander to an end, than\nbecause the Prelate of the German Province and the\nGeneral of the Order suspected that it might be true.\nAfter a brief investigation, Suso's moral character\nwas declared to beirreproachable. \" After this, God\ngladdened the sufferer in return for all his sufferings\nwith inward peace of heart, still repose, and bright\nilluminations of grace; so that he praised God with\nall his heart for his past suffering, saying that he\nwould not take the whole world not to have suffered\nat all. Moreover, it was given to him to see clearly\nthat by this crushing blow he had been in a more\nnoble fashion drawn out of himself and transported\ninto God than by all the manifold sufferings which\nhe had endured from his youth upwards until then\"\n(Chapter xl).\n\nThis episode in Suso's life, happily a brief one,\n\nxx LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsuggests a comparison with the parallel case of\nScupoli, a saintly Italian priest of the sixteenth\ncentury, whose book, Zhe Spzritual Combat, written\nin disgrace and retirement, has been one of the most\npopular of all devotional treatises. Scupoli was\nassailed by calumny of the same kind as that which\ninjured Suso, when he had already reached the age\nof fifty-five, and at the very time when he had come\nto Genoa to succour those suffering from the plague.\nFor Scupoli the cloud never lifted ; he was obliged\nto give up pastoral work, and to confine himself to\nhis cell, where he lived in the patient endurance of\nobloquy for twenty-one years, and there composed\nthe meditations which were to bring him fame after\nhis death, and to benefit far more souls than he\ncould ever have touched in the discharge of his\nactive duties as a priest.\n\nThe later years of this much-tried servant of God,\nafter the rehabilitation of his character, were much\nhappier. His saintliness and lovableness were now\ngenerally recognized ; he was surrounded by ardent\ndisciples; his spiritual ministrations were widely\nsought for and greatly blessed ; and the brethren of\nhis convent paid him the embarrassing compliment\nof electing him their Prior. Times were so bad that\nthe monks were in danger of being starved for want\nof food; and it was the business of the Prior to\ncater for them. Suso's expedient was to ring the\n\nINTRODUCTION XX\n\nchapel bell, and order the brethren to pray to \" dear\nSt Dominic.\" \" Now there were two of the brothers\nsitting side by side in the Chapter, one of whom\nwhispered to the other very scornfully :—See what a\nfoolish man this Prior is, that he bids us to turn to\nGod in our need. Does he fancy that God will\nopen heaven and send us down meat and drink?\nThe other answered :—He is not the only fool. We\nare all fools for having made him Prior, though we\nknew well beforehand that he is quite ignorant about\nearthly things, and does nothing but gape upwards\ncontinually to heaven.\" But \"a certain rich Canon\"\ncame to the convent next morning, and, after calling\nthe Prior, said to him :—\" Dear sir, you have no\nexperience in temporal things; but I have been in-\nwardly admonished by God last night to help you\nin His stead, and accordingly I have brought you\ntwenty pounds weight of Constance pennies for a\nbeginning.\" Help of this kind, a tribute, no doubt,\nto the saintliness of this most incompetent bursar,\nflowed in during the whole time that he was Prior,\nso that \"the Convent never wanted for provisions of\nany kind\" (Chapter xlvi).\n\nThe later portion of the Zz/e consists largely of\ndiscourses held by \"the Servitor\" with his spiritual\ndaughter, Elizabeth Staglin, \"of the Order of Friars\nPreachers, in an enclosed convent at Tosse\" (in\nSwitzerland), This friendship was the great delight\n\nxxii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nof Suso's later years, and it is to it that we owe the\nLife, which closes, quite naturally, with a_ brief\naccount of Elizabeth's death. She died about five\nyears before her teacher; and, as in some other\ninstances, Suso was privileged to see her in a vision,\n\" clad in snow-white garments shining with a dazzling\nwhiteness, and full of heavenly joy.\" She showed\nhim \"in what noble fashion she had passed away\ninto the pure Godhead.\" Suso's beautiful reflections\non this vision are the last words of the Lz/e.\n\nThe instructions which he sent to this spiritual\ndaughter throw much light on his character, and\nalso on the good and evil sides of medieval mon-\nasticism. He begins by sending her a long list of\nmaxims culled from ancient authorities on the\nmonastic life. Suso would have us believe that they\nwere not taken from his common-place book, but\nread to him ina vision by an angel. \"Sit in thy\ncell; it will teach thee all things,\" is a maxim which\nappropriately precedes another :—\"A fish out of\nwater and a monk out of his monastery will equally\ncome to grief.\" \"A pale complexion, a wasted\nbody, and a lowly bearing well beseem a spiritual\nman.\" \"I have often repented of having spoken,\nbut never of having kept silence.\" And who but a\nmonk would have met the confidences of a spiritual\ndaughter with the following anecdote? \"A woman\nbesought the ancient father Arsenius to remember\n\nINTRODUCTION XXiil\n\nher before God. He answered, 'I pray God to blot\nout thine image from my heart!'\" But Suso is\nmuch better than these maxims. When he finds\nthat Elizabeth has been mangling herself with whips\nand nails, he bids her to refrain. \"Such austerities\nsuit not the weakness of thy sex, nor thy well-\nordered frame. The dear Jesus did not say, Take\nmy cross upon you; but He said to each, Take up\nthy cross.\" Such are the amiable inconsistencies of\na gentle and loving nature, entangled in the meshes\nof a harsh dualistic creed. We may even suspect\n(see Chapter li) that \"the Servitor\" is anxious to\nsave his spiritual daughter from mistakes which he\nfeels that he has made himself. The detachment\nwhich spiritualizes is not to be gained by violently\nwrenching oneself away from \"the cheerful ways of\nmen.\" Ecstasy, too, is transitory, and so of small\nvalue. When Paul came to himself again, he found\nhimself the same Paul (Chapter lii). This is\nperhaps not quite true; for impressions received in\na state of trance are both potent and durable, as\nhypnotists are now aware. But the virus of\nthe false monkish tradition breaks out in such\ncounsels as, \"When thou art with men, pay\nno heed to what thou seest or hearest.\" There is\nno hint of any perception of the fundamental truth\nabout human personality, namely, that it cannot be\nshut up in itself without atrophy of those \" organic\n\nxxiv LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfilaments\" which, in linking it with the wider\nspiritual life of the great world, perfect the soul's\nown individuality, and make it for the first time\ntruly personal. A windowless soul is a prisoner in a\ndark dungeon. The paradoxical maxim, \" Wilt thou\nbe of use to all creatures, turn thyself away from all\ncreatures,\" is only true in this sense, that we do our\nbest work when we are looking upward, to find in\nwhat God reveals to us of His own mind the \" form\"\nwhich He wishes to impress upon the moving and\nchanging world. As Plotinus says, musicians soon\nbegin to play out of time if they watch their notes\ninstead of looking at the conductor. But this is\nvery different from the lamentable and unchristian\ncounsel, \" Live as if there were no creature on the\nearth but thyself\" (Chapter liii). In the very next\nchapter Suso contradicts his own advice, breaking\nforth into a beautiful hymn on the glories of nature.\n\"Ah, gentle God, if Thou art so lovely in Thy\ncreatures, how exceedingly beautiful and ravishing\nThou must be in Thyself!\" Here speaks the\nPlatonist and poet, not the monk who has just\ndeclared that when we walk abroad, we should cast\nour eyes down and try to see nothing! There\nfollows a very instructive story of how \"the\nServitor\" was once interrupted in the midst of con-\ntemplation by a woman who wanted to confess to\nhim. Suso refused to see her; upon which \" God\n\nINTRODUCTION RXV\n\nvery quickly withdrew from him the delights of\nsensible grace, and his heart became hard as a\nflint; and when he sought to know the meaning of\nthis, God answered him: As thou hast driven from\nthee uncomforted this poor woman, with her burdened\nheart, even so I have withdrawn from thee my —\ndivine consolations\" (Chapter liv).\n\nElizabeth Staglin was interested in philosophy,\nand put questions to Suso which he answered like a\ndisciple of Eckhart, the master who had died in the\ndisfavour of the Church, but for whom the loyalty of\nhis pupil never wavered. Quite early in the Life\nSuso tells us that he had a vision of \"the blessed\nMaster Eckhart, in which the Master signified to\nhim that he was in exceeding glory, into which his\nsoul was quite transformed, and made godlike in\nGod.\" . The Master added, in answer to a question,\nthat \"no words can tell the way in which persons\nare taken up into the modeless abyss of the divine\nessence.\" So in reply to Elizabeth's questions, Suso\ntells her that the Absolute Being is naked, simple\npurity, a divine darkness, though itself the brightest\nof all brightness, the most perfect simplicity, from\nwhich nothing can be taken away, and to which\nnothing can be added. God is altogether in all\nthings, and altogether outside all things. He is a\ncircular ring, whose centre is everywhere and his\ncircumference nowhere (Chapter lv). The maiden\n\nxxvi LIFEOF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwas enraptured by this exposition, and exclaimed, \" I\nswim in the Godhead like an eagle in the air!\"\nAn explanation of the mystery of the Trinity fol-\nlows, in which Suso mainly follows St Thomas\nAquinas, though in Chapter lvi he again borrows\nfrom Eckhart. The whole discussion should be\ncarefully studied by those who are interested in the\nspeculative side of fourteenth-century mysticism, For\nthese mystics never allowed themselves to fall into\nthe abyss of unbalanced and irrational emotionalism\nwhich has engulfed many later visionaries. They\nwere earnest and honest thinkers. Even Julian of\nNorwich, who professes herself an ignorant and\nunlettered woman, was no tiro in philosophy; and\nEckhart's sermons, addressed, in part at least, to the\ninmates of religious houses, astound us by their\ndifficulty, and by the amount of metaphysical know-\nledge which they assume in their hearers. Suso\ntakes this opportunity of giving us the outline of his\nmystical philosophy ; it is of course possible that he\ndid not answer Elizabeth's questions quite in this\nform. The long chapter ends with a quotation from\nthe pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, whose treatises,\nwritten in the fifth century and ascribed to the first,\nhave been the most successful of all literary forgeries,\nIn the next chapter there is more discussion of the\nsame mysteries, which end with the important\ncaution: \"And now, daughter, remember that all\n\nINTRODUCTION XXVil\n\nthese figures and images, with their interpretations,\nare as remote from and as unlike the formless\nTruth as a black Moor is unlike the beautiful\nsun,\"\n\nThe mysticism of the fourteenth century, with\nits fresh spiritual beauty and courageous speculative\nfreedom, was the first stage in the process by\nwhich the nations of Northern Europe came to\nself-consciousness, and evolved a form of Chris-\ntianity more suited to the Teutonic genius than Latin\nCatholicism ever had been or could be. Never-\ntheless it was, as we have seen, still medieval\nboth in thought and practice; and while it helped\nto awaken the dormant German aptitude for\npoetry, sentiment, and idealistic metaphysics, it\nwas, during the fourteenth century, too much cut\noff from human interests, too unpractical as the\nworld judges practicality. This limitation it grad-\nually outgrew. It was most proper that a move-\nment which in Eckhart had been predominantly\nintellectual, and in Ruysbroeck and Suso_ had\nappealed mainly to the feelings, should at the end\nof the fourteenth century take the forms of prac-\ntical service and church reform. This work was\nthe special object of the \" Brethren of the Common\nLife,\" who often called their movement \"The New\nDevotion.\" Their founder was Gerard Groote, a\npupil of Ruysbroeck, and a contemporary of Tauler\n\nxxviii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nand Suso. He instituted his new brotherhood\nafter being silenced by the hierarchy for a too\ntrenchant denunciation of the Papal court, with\nits horde of covetous ecclesiastics. His mysticism\nis a mild and practical religion of experience, with\nespecial emphasis on the following of Christ's\nexample. The world-famous book of Thomas a\nKempis proceeded from this group in the next\ngeneration. The \"Imitation of Christ,' with all\nits unique charm and loveliness, does not do justice\nto the practical and social interests of the later\nGerman mysticism, but in its gentle piety, simple\ninwardness, and personal devotion to Christ it\nshows admirably the real tendencies of the move-\nment of which it is the crown and chief glory.\n\nThis historical Introduction may be of some use\nto the reader who wishes to know something of\nthe circumstances in the midst of which Suso lived.\nBut no preface is necessary to our enjoyment of\nthe book. The great mystical literature is uni-\nversal in its appeal. It belongs to no age and\nno country; or rather it is rightfully claimed by\nkindred spirits in all ages and all countries. \"A\nbook only grows old,\" says Maeterlinck, \"in con-\nsequence of its anti-mysticism.\" This \" Minnesinger\nof the Divine Love\" touches our hearts as surely\nas if he were our contemporary. He is one of the\nmost lovable of God's saints. And if we almost\n\nINTRODUCTION Xxix\n\nshudder at the strange path by which he travelled\nto inward peace at last, there is never anything\ninhuman about the man himself. There may be\nsome, even to-day, who are called to be actors in\nsuch a heroic tragedy of the inner life as his.\nThere are many paths up the hill of the Lord.\n\nAs men from men\nDo, in the constitution of their souls\nDiffer, by mystery not to be explained ;\nAnd as we fail by various ways, and sink\nOne deeper than another, self-condemned,\nThrough manifold degrees of guilt and shame ;\nSo manifold and various are the ways\nOf restoration, fashioned to the steps\nOf all infirmity, and tending all\nTo the same point, attainable by all—\nPeace in ourselves, and union with our God.\n\nW. R. INGE\n\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE\n\nHE Blessed Henry Suso was born at\nUeberlingen, near Constance, on St Bene-\ndict's Day, A.D. 1300. He was of ancient\n\nand nobie descent both on his father's and mother's\nside. Out of devotion to his mother, who was\na person of eminent holiness, he called himself by\nher maiden name of Seuss, Latinised into Suso,\ninstead of taking his father's surname, Von Berg.\nHis baptismal name was Henry; but many years\nlater, when he had attained to great holiness, God\nchanged his name into Amandus, or Beloved. The\nBlessed Henry did not make this known to anyone\nso long as he lived, but a record of it was dis-\ncovered among his papers after his death. At the\nage of thirteen he entered the novitiate of the\nDominican Convent at Constance, where he was\nadmitted to the vows of religion, and after some\nyears was sent to the convent of his Order at\nCologne, to pursue his studies at that University.\nWhile there he made such great progress in learn-\ning that he was about to be promoted to the\ndegree of doctor in theology. But he was for-\nbidden to accept this honour by a voice from God\nwithin him saying:—Thou knowest well enough\nalready how to give thyself to God and to draw\nother men to Him by thy preaching. From that\n\nXXX1\n\nxxxii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntime forth he began to preach with great zeal and\nfervour, and to devote himself to the conversion of\nsinners and the guidance of souls along the highest\npaths of mystical perfection. At length, after many\nyears of unceasing labours and sufferings, he died\nat Ulm, on the feast of the Conversion of St Paul,\nA.D. 1365, and was buried in the cloister of the\nDominican Convent in that city. Two hundred\nand forty-eight years after this, when Ulm had\nbecome Protestant, the Blessed Henry's body was\naccidentally discovered A.D. 1613 by some work-\nmen who were digging the foundations for a new\nbuilding. It was quite incorrupt, and lay there\nclothed in the habit of the Order, and emitted a\nfragrant odour. The workmen went in alarm to\ninform the burgomaster, who bade them fill up the\ngrave and say nothing about it, adding that he had\nalways heard that the dead should be allowed to\nrest in peace. Meanwhile, during the absence of\nthe workmen, a devout person went down into the\ngrave and cut off part of the black mantle and\nwhite scapular, portions of which were afterwards\ndistributed as relics among different Catholics,\nOne of these relics came into the possession of\nHenry Murer, who has given an account of the\ndiscovery of the body in his Helvetia Sancta,\npublished at Luzern A.D, 1648. At a later period,\nwhen Ulm was occupied by the French during\none of their campaigns, they caused excavations\nto be made in the hope of discovering the sacred\nremains, but without success. The Blessed Henry\nhas never been formally beatified, but his feast is\n\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE xxxiii\n\nkept by the Dominican Order on March 2nd, with\nthe approbation of Gregory XVI, granted 16 April,\n\nSuch are the main outlines of Blessed Henry's\nexternal life and history. The details of the picture\nmust be sought for in the brief record which he has\nhimself left us of his experiences in the ways of God.\n\nThe following translation has been made from the\nedition of the B. Henry Suso's Life and Works, edited\nby Cardinal Diepenbrock, Prince Bishop of Breslau,\nin 1828. The text of the life is based upon a manu-\nscript of the end of the fourteenth century from the\nRoyal Library at Munich, which the editor carefully\ncollated with the earliest printed copies published at\nAugsburg, A.D. 1482 and A.D. 1512.\n\nSurius, the Carthusian, translated the Lzfe and\nWorks from the German into Latin. The first\nedition, dedicated to the Venerable Abbot Blosius,\nappeared at Cologne A.D. 1555. The rendering is\nsingularly graceful and accurate, so far as the\ndifferent genius of the two languages and the\noccasional imperfections of the German text used\nby Surius, principally in the last nine chapters,\nwould permit.\n\nA French translation by the Carthusian Le Cerf\nwas published at Paris in 1586, and an Italian one\nby the Dominican Del Nente at Rome in 1651.\nThe latter has been frequently reprinted, but it does\nnot in any sense merit the name of a translation, as\nit is nothing more than a mere epitome or condensed\nabridgment of the original. Cartier has recently\ntranslated Del Nente's work into French, under the\n\nE\n\nxxxiv LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntitle of Guvres du B. Henri Suso. The second\nedition appeared in 1856.\n\nAs the chief object of the present translator has\nbeen to provide a book of spiritual reading for the\ndevout, he hesitated for some time whether or not\nto omit the last nine chapters, which treat for the\nmost part of deep points of mystical theology in\nlanguage which, from its antiquated character and\nexcessive conciseness, is sometimes obscure, and is\nalways difficult to translate into intelligible English\nwithout indulging in paraphrase. Surius has rele-\ngated these chapters to another part of the volume,\nunder the title of \"Appendix of certain sublime\nquestions.\" Still, as Cardinal Diepenbrock observes,\nthey really belong to the Life, and form part of it in\nthe earliest manuscript and printed editions. On the\nwhole, it seemed better to include these chapters in\nthe present translation. They contain several pas-\nsages of wonderful beauty which every one will read\nwith pleasure. They are, moreover, a protest against\nthe errors of pantheism and quietism, to which a\nspirit of false mysticism naturally tends, and against\nwhich the Blessed Henry often raisedhis voice in warn-\ning. Lastly, their absence would leave one side of\nthe Blessed Henry's life wholly unrepresented. For\nthey serve to remind us that if his personal and experi-\nmental acquaintance with mystical theology was\ngreat, he was no less conversant with it as a science,\nand could treat with learning and accuracy the many\ndeep and subtle questions which it suggests.\n\nTHE ORATORY, LONDON,\nFeast of St Richard, 1865.\n\nCONTENTS\n\nINTRODUCTION ;\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE\n\nPROLOGUE\n\nCHAP,\n\nA\nIl.\nIll.\nLV.\n\nV.\n\nVi.\n\nVil.\n\nIntroductory\nOf the Preliminary Combats of a Beginner .\nOf a Supernatural Rapture which befell him\n\nHow he spiritually espoused the Eternal\nWisdom\n\nHow he Inscribed upon his Heart the\nGracious Name of Jesus\n\nOf the Foretaste of Divine Consolations, with\nwhich God sometimes allures Beginners\n\nHow one, who had begun well, was Drawn\nOnward in his Search after Divine\nConsolation\n\n. Of certain Visions\n\n. Of the Way in which he went to Table\n. How he Began the New Year\n\n. Of the Words \" Sursum corda\"\n\n. How he Kept the Feast of Candlemas\n. How he Spent the Carnival time .\n\n. How he Began the Month of May\n\nIt\n\nxxxvi LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAP.\n\nXV.\n\nXVI.\nXVII.\nXVIII.\n\nXIX.\nXX.\nXXI.\n\nXXII.\nXXIII.\nXXIV.\n\nXXV.\nXXVI.\n\nXXVII.\n\nXXVIII.\nXXIX.\nXXX,\n\nXXXI,.\n\nXXXII.\n\nOf the Sorrowful Way of the Cross, which he\nmade with Christ when He was being\nled forth to Death\n\nOf the useful Virtue called Silence\n\nOf the Chastisement of his Body\n\nOf the Sharp Cross which he Bore upon his\nBack d\n\nOf his Bed\n\nHow he Broke himself from Drink\n\nHow he was directed to the Rational School,\nin which the Art of True Detachment is\nTaught\n\nHow Painful it is to Die Interiorly\n\nOf Interior Sufferings\n\nHow he went forth to Succour and to save\nhis Neighbour\n\nConcerning Manifold Sufferings . :\nOf the great Suffering which befell him\nthrough his Sister .\n\nOf the Grievous Suffering which befell him\nthrough a Companion\n\nOf a Murderer\nOf Perils by Water\n\nOf a Short Interval of Rest which God once\ngranted him\n\nHow he once entered into a Loving Account\nwith God\n\nHow his Sufferings once ae him \"nigh\nto Death\n\nPAGE\n\nCHAP.\n\nXXXIV.\n\nXXXV.\nXXXVI.\nXXXVII.\n\nXXXVIII.\n\nXXXIX.\n\nXL.\n\nALI.\nXLII.\n\nXLIII.\n\nXLIV.\n\nXLV.\n\nXLVI.\n\nCONTENTS\n\nHow a Man should Offer up his Sufferings to\nthe Praise and Glory of God.\n\nOf the Joys with which God recompenses in\nthis Present Life those who Suffer for\nHim ; ; A ; :\n\nOf the Servitor's Spiritual Daughter\n\nOf the First Beginnings of a Beginner .\n\nOf the First Lessons and Examples which\nare suitable fora Beginner, and how he\nshould regulate his Exercises with Dis-\ncretion\n\nOf certain Devout Practices of a Mies\nBeginner in his Early Years\n\nHow he Drew Light-Minded Persons to\nGod, and Comforted those who were in\nSuffering\n\nOf a Grievous Suffering which befell him\nwhile thus Occupied\n\nOf Interior Sufferings\n\nWhat Sufferings are the most useful to Men,\nand bring most Glory to God?\n\nHow he Drew certain Hearts from Earthly\nLove to the Love of God\n\nHow God Multiplied Drink for His Friends\n\nOf certain Sufferers, who were attached to\nthe Servitor by special ties of Friendship\nand Affection : : 5 ,\n\nHow Christ appeared to him under the form\nof a Seraph, and taught him how to\nSuffer\n\nPAGE\n\nxxxviii LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAP,\n\nXLVII.\n\nXLVIII.\n\nXLIX,\nL.\n\nLI.\n\nLLY.\n\nLIM:\n\nLIV.\n\nLV.\n\nLVI.\n\nLVII.\n\nHow steadfastly he must fight who would win\nthe Spiritual Prize\n\nHow the Servitor's Face was once seen to\nShine with Light while he was Preaching\n\nOf the lovely Name of Jesus\n\nA Good Distinction between a true and false\nuse of Reason noticeable in certain\nPersons\n\nHow to Distinguish between a well-ordered\nReason and one which is all Flowers\nand Glitter\n\nA Good Distinction between true and false\nDetachment\n\nMaxims conformable to right Reason, for the\nGuidance of an Exterior Man into his\nInterior .\n\nOf the high Questions which the well-\nexercised Daughter put to her Spiritual\nFather\n\nAn Explanation where and how God is\n\nOf the very highest Flight of a Soul ex-\nperienced in the Ways of God\n\nThe conclusion of the Contents of this Book\nin a few simple Words\n\nPAGE\n\nTHE LIFE OF\nBLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nTHE LIFE OF\nBLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nPROLOGUE!\n\nHE following book speaks throughout in\n\nan instructive manner of the life of a\n\nbeginner, and contains, for those who look\nbeneath the surface, information respecting the\nproper way in which a beginner should order his\nouter and inner man so as to be in harmony with\nGod's all-lovely will. And since good works are\nundoubtedly a better guide, and sometimes shed\na brighter light into a man's heart than mere words,\ntherefore the book recounts, as examples, many\ndifferent holy actions, which really and truly took\nplace just as they are related. The book also tells\nof a man's progress in holiness; that is, how, by\navoiding things, by sufferings, and by exercises, hé\nmay break through his unmortified animal nature,\nand arrive at great and exalted dignity. Moreover,\nsince there are some men who, with courageous\nhearts, strive to grasp at what is highest and best,\nand yet, from want of the necessary knowledge to\n\n1 The following passages are taken from the Prologue prefixed\nby the B. Henry Suso to a manuscript copy of his Life and\nWritings. They contain all in it that relates to the Life. The\nPrologue is to be found in the ancient printed copies, and is quoted\nby Diepenbrock in his preface.\n\nT |\n\n2 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndiscriminate, go astray and miss the road, therefore\nthis book gives instruction how to distinguish rightly\nbetween a true and false use of reason in spiritual\nthings ; and it teaches the orderly and proper course\nby which a man may attain to the unalloyed truth\nof a blessed and perfect life.\n\nIt should be also mentioned that the pages of\nthis book lay for many years locked up in secret,\nawaiting the Servitor's death; for he was in very\ntruth reluctant to disclose himself to anyone by\nmeans of them, so long as he lived. At length,\nhowever, his reason told him that, in these days\nof the decline of the human race, it would be better\nand safer that the book, by God's permission, should\nbe submitted to his superiors while he was still\nliving, and could answer for its truth in all points,\nthan after his death. And this, moreover, even\nthough it should fall out that certain ignorant men,\nwhose words are in no way worthy of account,\nshould pass false and perverted judgments upon it,\neither because they would not regard the Servitor's\ngood intention in the matter, or because they were\nunable, from want of spiritual refinement, to com-\nprehend anything higher than what they had\nexperienced in themselves. Besides, it was quite\npossible that the book might, after his death, come\ninto the possession of lukewarm and _ unspiritual\nmen, who would not give themselves the trouble to\ncommunicate it for God's glory to those who would\nreceive it eagerly ; and in this way the book might\nperish without fruit. Or again, it might chance to\nfall into the hands of men intellectually blind or\n\nPROLOGUE 3\n\nmorally bad, who from their sinful dislike of it\nmight suppress it, as has often happened in other\ncases. Therefore, with the divine assistance, he\ntook courage, and extracted from this book the\nsublimest thoughts and the most elevated teaching\nwhich it contains, and himself gave these extracts\nto a learned doctor, named Master Bartholomew,\nto read ; a man richly endowed by God with virtues\nand graces, and of approved experience in spiritual\nscience, and furthermore a Prelate with supreme\njurisdiction over the order of Friars Preachers\nthroughout Germany. The Servitor humbly gave\nhim up the book, and he read it through with great\nsatisfaction of heart, and pronounced that it was,\nall of it, as it were, a kernel of hidden truth drawn\nfrom Holy Writ for all clear-sighted men.\n\nAfterwards, when the ordinary teaching had been\nadded to it, in order that every man might find there\nwhat would suit him, and the Servitor was about to\nlay this part also before the Prelate, the good God\nwithdrew from hence this noble Master. The Servitor,\non hearing of his death, was exceedingly afflicted,\nfor he knew not what to do. He therefore betook\nhimself with great earnestness to the Eternal Wisdom,\nand prayed that it might be shown him what was\nthe best thing to do in this affair. After a time his\nprayer was heard, and the aforenamed Master ap-\npeared to him in a bright vision, and told him that\nit was God's good will that the book should be hence-\nforth communicated to all good-hearted men, who\nwith a right intention and an eager longing might\ndesire to have it.\n\n4 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nHe then who wishes earnestly to become a good\nand blessed man, and who longs after special inti-\nmacy with God, or who has received a token of\nGod's love in heavy sufferings, as God's way is with\nHis peculiar friends,—such a man will find this\nbook a help and comfort. It will also serve asa\nguide for good-hearted men to divine truth, as well\nas teach men of reason the right road to supreme\nbliss.\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nINTRODUCTORY\n\n'i was a Friar Preacher in Germany,\nby birth a Swabian,—may his name be\nwritten in the Book of the Living !—whose\ndesire was to become and to be called a Servitor of\nthe Eternal Wisdom. Now it happened that he\nbecame acquainted with a holy and illuminated\nperson, who was in poverty and suffering as regards\nthis worid. This poor sufferer was a woman ; and\nshe used to beseech the Servitor to tell her some-\nthing about suffering from his own experience, that\nher suffering heart might gather strength from it.\nAnd she acted thus towards him for a long time.\nWhen he came to see her, she drew from him by\nconfidential questionings the manner of his beginning\nand progress in the interior life, as well as certain\nexercises and sufferings which he had passed through:\nall which he told her in spiritual confidence. Asshe\nfound comfort and direction in these things, she wrote\nthem down, to be a help for herself and others ; and\nshe did this by stealth, so that he knew not of it.\nLater on, when he found out this ghostly theft, he\nreproved her for it, and, forcing her to give up to\nhim the writing, he burnt all of it that was there.\n\nWhen, however, the rest of it was given to him, and\n\n6 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhe was going to treat it in like manner, he was\nstopped by a heavenly message from God forbidding\nit. Thus what follows remained unburnt, for the\nmost part just as she had written it with her own\nhand. Many good instructions were also added to\nit by him, after her death, in her name.\n\nThe first beginning of the Servitor's perfect con-\nversion to God took place when he was in his\neighteenth year. And though he had worn the\nreligious habit for the five previous years, his soul\nwas still dissipated within him; and it seemed to\nhim, that if God only preserved him from weightier\nsins, which might tarnish his good name, there was\nno need to be over-careful about ordinary faults.\nNevertheless, he was so kept by God the while, that\nhe had always an unsatisfied feeling within him,\nwhenever he turned himself to the objects of his\ndesires, and it seemed to him that it must be some-\nthing quite different which could bring peace to his\nwild heart, and he was ill at ease amid his restless\nways. He felt at all times a gnawing reproach\nwithin, and yet he could not help himself, until the\nkind God set him free from it, by turning him. His\ncompanions marvelled at the speedy change, wonder-\ning how it had come over him; and one said this,\nand another that, but as to how it was, no one either\nguessed or came near to guessing it; for it was a\nsecret illumination and drawing sent by God, and it\nwrought in him with speed a turning away from\ncreatures.\n\nCOMBATS OF A BEGINNER 7\n\nCHAPTER II\nOF THE PRELIMINARY COMBATS OF A BEGINNER\n\nOON after this impression had been made\nSe his soul by God, there began within\nhim certain preliminary combats, in which\nthe enemy sought to lead him astray from his\nsalvation. The inward impulse, which he had re-\nceived from God, urged him to turn away entirely\nfrom everything which might be a hindrance to him.\nThe tempter met this with the suggestion: Bethink\nthee better. It is easy to begin, but it is hard to\nbring to completion. The voice within put forward\nGod's might and aid. The opposing voice replied,\nthat God's power was beyond doubt, but that His\nwillingness was doubtful. This, however, was clearly\nproved to him; for the kind God had vouched for it\nin the good promise, which He uttered with His\ndivine mouth, that He would verily and indeed help\nall those who should begin this work in His name.\nWhen grace had gained the victory in him in this\ncombat, there came a hostile thought in friendly form,\ncounselling him thus :—It may be all right, that thou\nshouldst amend thy life; but do not set about it so\nimpetuously. Begin with such moderation, that thou\nmayest be able to bring it to completion. Thou\nshouldst eat and drink heartily, and treat thyself\nwell; and at the same time be on thy guard against\nsins. Be as good as thou pleasest within thyself,\nand yet with such moderation that the world without\n\n8 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nmay not take fright at thee, as the saying is. Is\nthe heart good, all is good. Surely thou mayest be\nmerry with people, and still be a good man. Others\ntoo wish to go to heaven, and yet do not lead a\nlife of exercises such as thine. These and the like\ntemptations pressed him hard. But the Eternal\nWisdom overthrew for him these deceitful counsels\nthus :—The man who tries to hold by the tail that\nslippery fish, the eel, and to begin a holy life luke-\nwarmly, will be deceived in both cases; for when\nhe thinks he has them, they will have slipped from\nhim. He too, who seeks with tender treatment to\nget the better of a pampered and refractory body,\nwants common sense. He who would possess this\nworld, and yet serve God perfectly, tries for what is\nimpossible, and seeks to falsify God's own teaching.\nWherefore, if thou art minded to forsake all, do\nso to good purpose. He tarried somewhat long in\nthese thoughts; but at last taking courage, he\nturned himself away from everything with all his\nmight.\n\nHis untamed spirit had in the beginning to die\nmany deaths in breaking away from frivolous com-\npanions. Sometimes nature overcame him, and he\nwould go to them to cheer himself; but it com-\nmonly fell out, that he went to them merry, and left\nthem sad; for their talk and sports were no\npleasure to him, and his were unendurable to them.\nAt times, when he came to them, they would try\nhis patience with such words as these. One would\nsay :—What strange ways thou hast taken up!\nAnother would answer :—An ordinary life is the\n\nA SUPERNATURAL RAPTURE 9\n\nsafest. While a third would add :—lIt will never\ncome to a good end. Thus they passed him on\nfrom one to another. But he kept silence, as one\ndumb, and he thought within himself :—Ah, gentle\nGod, there is nothing better to be done than to flee\nfrom them. If thou hadst not heard these cruel\nwords, they could have done thee no hurt.\n\nOne thing was a sore suffering to him. He had\nno one to whom he could pour out his grief, and\nwho pursued the same end in the same way, that\nhe had been called to pursue it. Therefore he went\non his way in wretchedness, pining for love; and\nwith mighty efforts he withdrew himself from\ncreatures,—a practice which afterwards became very\nsweet to him.\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nOF A SUPERNATURAL RAPTURE WHICH BEFELL HIM\n\nthat he came into the choir on St Agnes'\n\nDay, after the midday meal of the convent\nwas ended. He was there alone, and he stood at\nthe lower stalls, on the right-hand side of the choir.\nIt was, moreover, a time at which he was more than\nusually crushed down by a heavy weight of sorrow.\nNow it came to pass, that as he stood there all\ndesolate, and with none to help or shield him, his\nsoul was caught up in ecstasy, whether in the body\nor out of the body, and he saw and heard what no\n\nI: happened once in the time of his beginnings,\n\n10 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntongue can tell. It was without form or mode, and\nyet it contained within itself the entrancing de-\nlightfulness of all forms and modes. His heart was\nathirst, and yet satisfied ; his mind was joyous and\nblooming ; wishes were stilled in him, and desires\nhad departed. He did but gaze fixedly on the\ndazzling effulgence, in which he found oblivion of\nhimself and all things. Was it day or night, he\nknew not. It was a breaking forth of the sweet-\nness of eternal life, felt as present in the stillness\nofunvarying contemplation. He said afterwards :—\nIf this be not heaven, I know not what heaven is;\nfor not all the sufferings, which a man could suffer\nhere below, could ever merit for him in justice to\npossess a joy like this throughout eternity. This\noverpowering rapture lasted about an hour and a\nhalf; but whether his soul stayed in his body, or\nwas parted from it, he knew not. When he came\nto himself again, he was altogether like a man who\nhas come from another world. His body was in\nsuch anguish from the brief moment, that he had\nnever deemed it possible to suffer so much in so\nshort a time, even at death. He came to himself\nwith a deep groan, and his body sank to the\nground, in spite of him, as if he were in a faint.\nHe cried aloud piteously, and, deeply groaning,\nexclaimed :—Woe is me, my God! Where was I?\nWhere am I now? Adding:—Ah, Thou, who art\nmy heart's good! never can this hour pass from my\nheart! He went on his way in body, and no one\nsaw, or took note of anything in him outwardly ;\nbut his soul and mind were full within of heavenly\n\nTHE ETERNAL WISDOM II\n\nmarvels. The heavenly glances came again and\nagain in his innermost interior, and it seemed to\nhim as if he were floating in the air. The powers\nof his soul were filled full of the sweet taste of\nheaven; just as, when a choice electuary has been\npoured out of a box, the box still keeps the good\nflavour of it. This heavenly taste remained with\nhim for a long time afterwards ,and gave him a\nheavenly yearning and longing after God.\n\nCHAPTER 1V\n\nHOW HE SPIRITUALLY ESPOUSED THE ETERNAL\nWISDOM\n\nHE course of life, which he pursued for a\n\nlong time after this, in regard to interior\n\nexercises, was a ceaseless striving after\n\nactual recollection in interior union with the Eternal\n\nWisdom. How he first began this, may be learned\n\nfrom his Little Book of the Eternal Wisdom, in\n\nGerman and Latin, which God moved him to\ncompose.\n\nHe had from youth up a loving heart. Now the\nEternal Wisdom is represented in Holy Scripture\nunder a lovely guise, as a gracious loving mistress,\nwho displays her charms with the intent to please\neveryone; discoursing the while tenderly, in female\nform, of the desire she has to win all hearts to herself,\nand saying how deceitful all other mistresses are, and\n\n12 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhow truly loving and constant she is. This drew\nhis young soul to her; and it fared with him as\nwith the wild beasts of the forest whom the panther\nattracts to itself with the sweet smell that it sends\nforth. In this winning way she full often wooed\nhim to her spiritual love, especially in the books\ncalled the books of Wisdom. When these were\nread at table, and he listened to the endearing\nwords as they were read out, his heart was right\nglad within him, and he began to feel a yearning\nin his loving soul, and thoughts would come to him\nlike these :—Truly thou shouldst make trial of thy\nfortune, whether perchance this high mistress, of\nwhom thou hast heard tell such marvels, will\nbecome thy love; for in truth thy wild young heart\ncannot long remain without a love.\n\nIn these things he observed her closely, and she\npleased him well in heart and soul.\n\nIt happened, as he sat at table another morning,\nthat she cried aloud in the person of Solomon, say-\ning :—\" Audi fili mi!\" etc. Hearken, my child, to\nthe high counsel of thy father. Wilt thou pursue\nexalted love, then take thee for thy most sweet love\nthe Eternal Wisdom ; for she gives to all her lovers\nyouth and virtue, nobility and riches, honour and\nprofit, mighty power and an everlasting name. She\nmakes him who loves her gracious to all; she\nteaches him courteous bearing, and secures him\npraise before the world, and fame among the multi-\ntudes. She makes him dear and of high esteem to\nGod and men. By her the earth was created, the\nheavens were made fast, and the foundations of the\n\nTHE ETERNAL WISDOM 13\n\nabyss were laid. He who possesses her walks\nsecurely, sleeps quietly, and lives in safety (Prov.\ni.-iv.).\n\nWhen he heard this beautiful discourse read out,\nstraightway the thought came to his longing heart :\n—Ah me! what a love is this! Could she but\nbecome mine, I were indeed well off. These\nthoughts were met with contrary suggestions such\nas these :—Shall I love what I have never seen, nor\neven know what it is? A handful in possession is\nbetter than a houseful in prospect. They who raise\nlofty buildings and love venturesomely, have but a\nhungry time of it. Truly this loving dame were a\ngood mistress, did she let her servant treat his body\nwell and tenderly. But far from this, she says :—\nHe who seeks good food, strong wine, and long\nsleep, can never win Wisdom's love (Prov. xxi. 17).\nWas there ever a suitor subjected to such hard terms\nas these? A thought from God answered :—By\nancient right, love and suffering go together. There\nis no wooer but he is a sufferer; no lover but he is\namartyr. Therefore it is not unjust that he who\naims so high in love should meet with some things\nrepugnant to him. Remember all the mishaps and\nthe vexations which earthly lovers suffer, whether\nwith their will or against it. He was greatly\nstrengthened to persevere by good inspirations of\nthis sort. And the like of this often happened to\nhim. Sometimes he had a good will, while at other\ntimes he would let his heart go after perishable love.\nNevertheless, to whatever side he turned, he always\nfound something in every object which would not\n\n14. LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nlet him give his heart to it without reserve, and\nwhich drove him back from it.\n\nOne day, the reading at table was about Wisdom,\nand his heart was stirred and set on fire by it.\nWisdom spoke thus :—As the lovely rose-tree is full\nof bloom, and the lofty uncut Libanus yields its\nfragrance, and the pure balsam sends forth its\nodours (Ecclus. xxiv.), even so I am a blooming,\nfragrant, and pure love, without anger and bitter-\nness, a very abyss of loving sweetness. All other\nmistresses have sweet words, but a bitter recom-\npense. Their hearts are deadly nets, their hands\nare manacles, their discourse honied poison, and\ntheir pastime infamy (Eccles, vii.27). He thought :\n—How true is this! And then he said to himself\njoyfully :—Yes, it must be so. She must indeed\nbe my love and I will be her servant. And the\nthought came to him :—Ah, God, if I might but once\nsee my love! IfI might but once converse with her !\nAh! what is the form of my beloved, in whom so\nmany delightful things lie hid? Is she God or of\nhuman kind? woman or man? art or cunning? or\nwhat can she be? While he thus strove to see her,\nso far as she could be seen with the soul's eyes in\nwhat Holy Scripture has made known concerning\nher, she showed herself to him in this wise. She\nfloated high above him in a choir of clouds; she\nshone like the morning star, and her radiance was\ndazzling as the rising sun ; her crown was eternity ;\nher vesture bliss ; her words sweetness ; her embrace\nthe fullness of every delight ; she was far, yet near ;\nhigh, yet lowly; she was present, yet hidden; she\n\nTHE ETERNAL WISDOM 15\n\nforbade not to converse with her, yet no one can\ncomprehend her. She reaches above the summit of\nthe heavens, and touches the depths of the abyss;\nshe spreads herself from end to end mightily, and\ndisposes all things sweetly. When at one moment\nhe thought he saw in her a beautiful maiden, forth-\nwith she appeared to him as a noble youth. Some-\ntimes she showed herself as one rich in wisdom; at\nother times as overflowing with love. She drew\nnigh to him lovingly, and greeted him full smilingly,\nand sweetly said to him :—\" Prebe, fili mi, cor tuum\nmihi! Give me thy heart, my child!\" (Prov. xxxiii.\n26). Thereupon he bowed himself to her feet, and\nthanked her from his inmost heart out of the depths\nof his lowliness. This was what was then granted\nto him, and no more than this could he obtain.\n\nAfterwards, when he dwelt in thought upon the |\n\nall-lovely one, he used commonly to put the question |\nto himself, and ask his love-sick heart :— Ah, |\n\nmy heart! from what source do all love and\n\ngraciousness flow? Whence come all tenderness, |\n\nbeauty, joyousness, and lovableness? Comes it\nnot all from the outbursting fountain-head of the\n\npure Godhead? Up then, my heart, my senses, my |\nmind; up then, and cast yourselves into the fathom- |\nless abyss of all lovely things. Who shall keep me |\n\nfrom Thee now? Ah! I embrace Thee still to-day |\n\nwith the longings of my burning heart. And then |\nthere pressed itself, as it were, into his soul, the |\n\nprimal outflow of all good, and in it he found in |\nspiritual fashion all that is beautiful, lovely, and |\n\ndesirable, for all was there in a way ineffable.\n\n16 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nThus it grew into a habit with him, whenever he\nheard songs of praise, or the sweet music of stringed\ninstruments, or lays, or discourse about earthly love,\nimmediately to turn his heart and mind inwards, and\ngaze abstractedly upon his loveliest love, whence\nall love flows. It were impossible to tell how often\nwith weeping eyes, from out the unfathomable depth\nof his outspread heart, he embraced this lovely\nform, and pressed it tenderly to his heart. And\nthus it fared with him as with a sucking child, which\nlies encircled by its mother's arms upon her breast.\nAs the child with its head and the movement of its\nbody lifts itself up against its tender mother, and by\nthese loving gestures testifies its heart's delight, even\nso his heart many a time leapt up within his body\ntowards the delightful presence of the Eternal\n_Wisdom, and melted away in sensible affections.\nAt such moments the thought would come to\nhim :—Ah, Lord! were only a Queen my spouse, it\nwould make my heart rejoice. Ah me! and Thou\nart now my heart's Empress, Thou, the giver of every\ngrace! In Thee I have wealth enough, and all the\npower I want. As for what earth contains, I wish\nfor it no longer. Amid these contemplations his\ncountenance became all joyous, his eyes Godlike,\nand his heart full of jubilee, while all his interior\nsenses sang \"Super salutem,\" etc. (Wisd. vii. 10).\nAbove all good fortune, and above all beauty art\nThou, O my heart's good fortune and beauty ; for\ngood fortune has followed me with Thee, and I\npossess with Thee and in Thee every good.\n\nTHE GRACIOUS NAME OF JESUS 17\n\nCHAPTER 'V\n\nHOW HE INSCRIBED UPON HIS HEART THE\nGRACIOUS NAME OF JESUS\n\nT this season there came down into his soul\nA: flame of intense fire, which made his\n\nheart all burning with divine love. Now\none day that this feeling was strong within him and\nhe was suffering exceedingly from the torments of\ndivine love, he went into his cell to his place of\nretirement, and, rapt in loving contemplation, spoke\nthus :—Ah, sweet Lord! Would that I could\ndevise some love-token, which might be an everlast-\ning sign of love between me and Thee, as a\nmemorial that I am Thy beloved, and Thou art my\nheart's only beloved; a sign which no oblivion\nmight be ever able to efface. In this fervour of\ndevotion, he threw back his scapular, and, baring his\nbreast, took in his hand a style; then, looking at\nhis heart, he said:—Ah, mighty God! give me\nto-day strength and power to accomplish my desire ;\nfor Thou must be burnt to-day into my very inmost\nheart. Thereupon he set to work, and thrust the\nstyle into the flesh above his heart, drawing it\nbackwards and forwards, up and down, until he had\ninscribed the Name of Jesus upon his heart. The\nblood flowed plenteously out of his flesh from the\nsharp stabs, and ran down over his body into his\nbosom ; but this was so ravishing a sight to him\nthrough the ardour of his love, that he cared little\n\n18 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfor the pain. When he had finished, he went thus\ntorn and bleeding from his cell to the pulpit under\nthe crucifix, and kneeling down said :—Ah, Lord!\nmy heart and soul's only love! look now upon my\nheart's intense desire. Lord, I cannot imprint Thee\nany deeper in myself; but do Thou, O Lord, I\nbeseech Thee, complete the work, and imprint Thy-\nself deep down into my very inmost heart, and so\ninscribe Thy Holy Name in me, that Thou mayest\nnevermore depart from my heart.\n\nThus he bore upon him for a long time love's\nwound, until at length it healed up; but the Name\nof Jesus remained upon his heart, as he had wished,\nand the letters were about the breadth of a smooth\nstalk of corn, and the length of a joint of the little\nfinger. In this way he bore the name upon his\nheart until his death, and at every beat of his heart\nthe Name moved with it, When newly made, it\nwas very visible. He bore it secretly, so that no one\never saw it, except a companion of his, to whom\nhe showed it in spiritual confidence. Thenceforth\nwhen any trouble befell him, he used to look at the\nlove-token, and his trouble became lighter. It was\nhis wont also at times to say within himself fond\nwords like these :—See, Lord, earthly lovers write\ntheir beloved's name upon their garments ; but I have\nwritten Thee upon the fresh blood of my heart.\n\nOnce upon a time, after matins, when he had\nfinished praying, he went into his cell, and sitting\ndown upon his chair, he placed the book of the\nlives of the ancient Fathers under his head for a\npillow. Thereupon he was rapt in ecstasy, and it\n\nFORETASTE OF CONSOLATIONS 19\n\nseemed to him that a light streamed forth from his\nheart ; and as he looked, there appeared upon his\nheart a cross of gold, and there were worked into it\nin noble fashion many precious stones, which gave\nforth in brilliant light the Name of Jesus.\n\nThen the Servitor took his mantle, and drew it\nover his heart, intending, if he could, to cover up\nthe bright light which streamed from it, so that no\none might behold it. But the fiery radiance shone\nforth so ravishingly that all his attempts to hide it\nwere of no avail against the power of its loveliness.\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nOF THE FORETASTE OF DIVINE CONSOLATIONS,\nWITH WHICH GOD SOMETIMES ALLURES\nBEGINNERS\n\nmatins, and sitting down upon his chair to\n\ntake a little rest. He sat there but a short\ntime, until the watchman announced the break of\nday ; when, opening his eyes, he used to fall at once\non his knees, and salute the rising morning star,\nheaven's gentle Queen, with this intention that, as\nthe little birds in summer greet the daylight, and\nreceive it joyously, even so did he mean to greet\nwith joyful longings her, who brings the light of the\neverlasting day; and he did not merely say these\nwords, but he accompanied them with a sweet still\nmelody in his soul.\n\nI: was his custom to go into his chapel after\n\n20 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nOnce at this time, while he sat thus at rest, he\nheard within him something which rang so tenderly,\nthat his whole heart was stirred by it. The voice\nsang in tones sweet and loud, as the morning star\nuprose, these words :—\" Stella maris Maria hodie\nprocessit ad ortum: Mary the morning star has\nrisen to-day.\" This strain resounded in him with\nsuch unearthly sweetness, that it filled his whole\nsoul with gladness, and he sang with it joyously.\nAfter they had thus sung together, he was embraced\nin a way ineffable, and it was said to him at the\ntime:—-The more lovingly thou embracest me,\nand the more spiritually thou kissest me, so much\nthe more ravishingly and lovingly shalt thou be\nembraced by my glory. Upon this he opened his\neyes, and, the tears rolling down his cheeks, he saluted\nthe rising morning star according to his custom.\nWhen this first salutation was ended, he next saluted\nwith a veniat the gentle Eternal Wisdom in the\nwords of the prayer, beginning \" Anima mea desi\nder avit te,' etc. This was followed by a third\nsalutation, with another vezza, which he addressed\nto the highest and most fervent of the Seraphim,\neven to the one who flames upwards in hottest and\nfieriest love towards the Eternal Wisdom, and this\nhe did with the intention that the spirit should so\ninflame his heart with divine love, that he might\nboth be on fire himself and enkindle the hearts of\nall men with his loving words and teaching. These\nwere the salutations which he made every morning.\n\nOne night in the carnival time, when he had\n\n* A monastic term, which means to kneel down and kiss the ground.\n\nFORETASTE OF CONSOLATIONS 21\n\nprolonged his prayer until the watchman's horn\nannounced the daybreak, the thought came to him:\n—Sit a little ionger, before thou greetest the bright\nmorning star. Thereupon, his senses being thus for\na short time lulled to rest, it seemed to him that\nthe heavenly spirits began with loud voice to intone\nthe beautiful responsory, \"Surge et illuminare,\nJerusalem (Isaiah Ix. 1) :—Arise and be illuminated,\nJerusalem\"; and it rang with exceeding sweetness\nin his soul. They had scarcely sung a little, when\nhis soul became so full of the heavenly strain, that\nhis frail body could bear no more, and, opening his\neyes, his heart overflowed, and the burning tears\nstreamed down his cheeks.\n\nOnce at this time, as he was sitting thus, it seemed\nto him in a vision that he was carried into another\nland, and that his Angel stood there before him full\ntenderly at his right hand. The Servitor sprang up\nat once, and, embracing his dear Angel, clung round\nhim, and pressed him to his soul as lovingly as he\ncould, so that there was naught between them, as it\nappeared to him. Then in sorrowful accents and\nwith weeping eyes he exclaimed out of the fullness\nof his heart:—-O my Angel, whom the faithful God\nhas given me for my consolation and guard, I pray\nthee, by the love thou hast for God, not to leave\nme. The Angel answered him and said:—Canst\nthou not trust God? Behold, God has so lovingly\nembraced thee in His eternity that He will never\nleave thee.\n\nIt came to pass once, after the time of his\nsufferings was over, that early one morning he was\n\n22 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsurrounded in a vision by the heavenly spirits.\nWhereupon he besought one of the bright princes\nof heaven to show him the manner of God's secret\ndwelling in his soul. The Angel answered thus :—\nCast, then, a joyous glance into thyself, and see how\nGod plays His play of love with thy loving soul.\nHe looked immediately, and saw that his body over\nhis heart was clear as crystal, and that in the centre\nof his heart was sitting tranquilly, in lovely form, the\nEternal Wisdom; beside whom there sat, full of\nheavenly longing, the Servitor's soul, which, leaning\nlovingly towards God's side, and encircled by God's\narms, and pressed close to His divine heart, lay thus\nentranced and drowned in love in the arms of the\nbeloved God.\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nHOW ONE, WHO HAD BEGUN WELL, WAS DRAWN\nONWARD IN HIS SEARCH AFTER DIVINE\nCONSOLATION\n\nE had made anew for himself certain bands,\nH which he was accustomed to chastise\n\nhis body. Now, on the night before the\nfeast of All Angels, it seemed to him in a vision that\nhe heard angelic strains and sweet heavenly melody ;\nand this filled him with such gladness that he forgot\nall his sufferings. Then one of the angels said to\nhim :—Behold, with what joy thou dost hear us sing\nthe song of eternity ; even so, with like joy, do we\n\nSEARCH AFTER CONSOLATION 23\n\nhear thee sing the song of the venerable Eternal\nWisdom. He added further :—This is a portion of\nthe song which the dear elect saints will sing joyously\nat the last day, when they shall see themselves con-\nfirmed in the everlasting bliss of eternity. At another\ntime, on the same festival, after he had spent many\nhours in contemplating the joys of the angels, and\ndaybreak was at hand, there came to him a youth,\nwho bore himself as though he were a heavenly\nmusician sent to him by God; and with the youth\nthere came many other noble youths, in manner and\nbearing like the first, save only that he seemed to\nhave some pre-eminence above the rest, as if he\nwere a prince-angel. Now this same angel came up\nto the Servitor right blithely, and said that God had\nsent them down to him, to bring him heavenly joys\namid his sufferings ; adding that he must cast off all\nhis sorrows from his mind and bear them company,\nand that he must also dance with them in heavenly\nfashion. Then they drew the Servitor by the hand\ninto the dance, and the youth began a joyous ditty\nabout the infant Jesus, which runs thus :—\"In dulci\njubilo,' etc. When the Servitor heard the dear\nName of Jesus sounding thus sweetly, he became\nso blithesome in heart and feeling, that the very\nmemory of his sufferings vanished. It was a joy\nto him to see how exceeding loftily and freely they\nbounded in the dance. The leader of the song\nknew right well how to guide them, and he sang\nfirst, and they sang after him in the jubilee of their\nhearts, Thrice the leader repeated the burden of\nthe song, \"Ergo merito,\" etc. This dance was not\n\n24 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nof a kind like those danced in this world; but it\nwas a heavenly movement, swelling up and falling\nback again into the wild abyss of God's hiddenness.\nThese and the like heavenly consolations were\ngranted to him innumerable times during these\nyears, but especially at the times when he was\nencompassed with great sufferings, and they made\nit all the easier for him to bear them.\n\nOnce upon a time it was shown in a vision to\na certain holy person, when the Servitor had gone\nto the altar to say Mass, how that he was gloriously\narrayed with a vestment of resplendent love, and\nthat divine grace kept dropping upon his soul like\ndew, and that he was one with God. Behind him\nthere were seen standing at the altar a multitude of\nkindly-looking children with burning candles, one\nbehind the other. The children stretched out their\narms, each one severally, and embraced him as\nlovingly as they could, and pressed him to their\nhearts, The person in amazement asked who they\nwere, and what they meant. They answered :—We\nare your brethren and we praise God with joy in\neternal bliss, and are beside you and take care of you\nat all times. The holy person said to them in the\nvision :—Dear angels, what mean you by embracing\nthis man so lovingly? They answered :—He is so\nvery dear to us, that we have much to do with him ;\nand know this: God works unspeakable marvels in\nhis soul, and whatever he asks of God earnestly, God\nwill never deny him.\n\nOF CERTAIN VISIONS 25\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nOF CERTAIN VISIONS\n\nE had at this time very many visions of\nHi« and hidden things, and God gave\n\nhim an experimental knowledge, so far\nas was possible, of how things were in heaven, hell,\nand purgatory. It happened to him commonly,\nthat many souls appeared to him upon their leaving\nthis world, and told him how it had fared with\nthem, what sins were the cause of their purgatory,\nhow they could be helped, or what was their reward\nfrom God. Among others there appeared to him\nthe Blessed Master Eckart, and the holy brother\nJohn der Fucrer of Strasburg. The Master signified\nto him, that he was in exceeding glory, into which\nhis soul was quite transformed, and made godlike\nin God. Upon this the Servitor besought him to\ntell him two things. The first was, the manner\nin which those persons dwell in God, who with real\nand genuine detachment have sought to rest in the\nsupreme Truth alone? To this he answered, that\nno words can tell the way in which these persons\nare taken up into the modeless abyss of the divine\nessence. The second thing was: what exercise is\nmost calculated to help forward him, whose earnest\ndesire is to arrive at this state? The Master\nreplied, that he must die to himself by deep\ndetachment, receive everything as from God\nand not from creatures, and establish himself in\n\n26 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nunruffled patience towards all men, however wolfish\nthey may be.\n\nThe other brother, John, also showed him in a\nvision the ravishing beauty with which his soul was\nglorified, and of him too he asked the explanation\nof another point. The question was: which among\nall spiritual exercises is the most painful, and at\nthe same time the most profitable? The brother\nanswered, that there is nothing more painful, and\nyet more profitable for a man, than, when forsaken\nby God, to go out of himself by patience, and thus\nto leave God for God.\n\nThe Servitor's own father, who had led a very\nworldly life, appeared to him after death, and with a\nwoeful aspect showed him his agonizing purgatory,\nand the chief sins for which he had incurred it, and\nexplained to him distinctly how he was to help him.\nThe Servitor did this, and afterwards his father\nappeared to him, and told him that he had been set\nfree. His holy mother also, in whose heart and\nbody God worked many marvels in her lifetime,\nappeared to him in a vision, and made known to him\nthe great reward which she had received from God.\nThe like happened to him in the case of numberless\nother souls; and it was a source of pleasure to him,\nand during a long time it gave him instruction and\nsupport in the course which he was then pursuing.\n\nTHE WAY HE WENT TO TABLE 27\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nOF THE WAY IN WHICH HE WENT TO TABLE\n\nHEN the time came for him to go to\ntable, he used to kneel down in loving\ncontemplation before the Eternal Wis-\n\ndom, and beseech Him very earnestly to go with\nhim to table and eat with him, saying :—Most sweet\nJesus Christ, I invite Thee with the longing desire\nof my heart, and I pray Thee, even as Thou dost\nbountifully feed me, to grant me also to-day Thy\ngentle presence. Then, on sitting down to table,\nhe would place opposite to him, as his table-\ncompanion, the dear guest of pure souls, and he\nwould look at Him very tenderly, and often bow\nhimself towards Him on the side of His heart. At\neach course that was set before him, he used to lift\nup the plate towards his divine host, that He might\ngive His holy blessing to it, and he would often\nsay to Him, with a loving familiarity :-—O my Lord,\nbless what is before us, and eat with Thy servant.\nSuch were the words of tenderness with which he\nwould address Him. Again, before he drank he\nwould lift up the goblet and ask Him to drink first\nof it. At table he used to drink five draughts, and\nhe drank them out of the five wounds of his dear\nLord; and because water and blood flowed from\nthe divine side, he drank the last draught in two.\nHe ate the first and the last mouthful in union with\nthe love of the most loving heart which earth could\n\n28 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\npossibly produce, and with the hottest love of the\nhighest of the seraphim, desiring the while that his\nheart might have a full share in this love. He used\nto dip the food which he disliked into the wounded\nheart of his beloved in firm trust that it could then\nno longer hurt him.\n\nHe had a fondness for fruit, but God would not\nlet him indulge it. He had once a vision, in which\nit seemed to him that some one offered him an apple,\nsaying :—Take this; it is what thou art so fond\nof. He answered:—Nay! All my fondness is for\nthe lovely Eternal Wisdom. The other replied to\nhim that this was not true, seeing that he took too\nmuch delight in fruit. This made him feel ashamed\nof himself, and for two years he ate no more fruit,\nmuch though he longed for it all the time. When\nthe two years were ended, and the next year the\nfruit crop had failed, so that the convent was without\nany, the Servitor, having now after many combats\ngained the mastery over himself, and wishing to be\nno longer singular at table about fruit, besought\nAlmighty God, if it was His will that he should eat\nfruit, to supply the whole convent with it. And it\ncame to pass accordingly ; for when it was morning,\nan unknown person arrived with a large quantity of\nnew pennies for the convent, and desired that fresh\napples might be bought up everywhere with them.\nThis was done, and thus the convent had fruit\nenough for a long time, and the Servitor began\nagain to eat fruit with thankfulness.\n\nHe used to divide the large fruit into four parts ;\nthree of which he ate in the Name of the Holy\n\nHOW HE BEGAN THE YEAR 29\n\nTrinity, and the fourth in union with the love with\nwhich the heavenly Mother gave her gentle Child\nJesus a little apple to eat. This last part he ate\nwithout cutting it, because little children usually eat\nit in this way, uncut. From Christmas Day, for\nmany days following, he did not eat the fourth part,\nbut he offered it in contemplation to the gentle\nMother, praying her to give it to her dear little Son,\nfor whose sake he would meanwhile go without it.\n\nIf sometimes he began eating or drinking too\neagerly, the presence of his venerable companion\nwould make him ashamed of himself, and he would\ngive himself a penance for it.\n\nOnce there came to him from another city a good\nperson, who told him that God had said these words\nto him in a vision :—If thou wouldest learn how to\nconduct thyself at table as is meet, go to My Servitor\nand bid him tell thee all his ways.\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nHOW HE BEGAN THE NEW YEAR\n\nnative country, for the young men to go out\n\nin their folly on New Year's Night, and beg\nfor May wreaths: that is to say, they sing ditties\nand recite pretty verses, and do all they can, with\nsuch-like courtesies, to make their sweethearts give\nthem garlands. Now, when he heard of this, the\nthought came at once to his young and loving heart,\n\n: is the custom in certain parts of Swabia, his\n\n30 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthat he too would go on that same night to his\nEternal Love, and beg a May wreath. Accordingly,\nbefore break of day he went to the image of the\nmost pure Mother which represents her holding in\nher arms, and pressing to her heart, her gentle\nChild, the beautiful Eternal Wisdom ; and, kneeling\ndown before it, he began with the sweet voiceless\nmelody of his soul to sing a sequence to the Mother,\npraying her leave to beg a garland from her Child,\nand, should he fail to obtain this, that she would\nhelp him in his suit. And so earnest was his\nprayer, and so little could he restrain himself from\nweeping, that the hot tears kept rolling down his\ncheeks. When his song was ended, he turned him\nto his heart's love, the Eternal Wisdom, and bowing\ndown at His feet, greeted Him from the very bottom\nof his heart, and praised and celebrated Him as one\nwho far surpasses all this world's fairest maidens in\ncomeliness, nobility, virtue, gentleness, and freedom,\nunited with everlasting majesty. And this he did\nwith songs and words, with thoughts and longings,\nas best he could; and much he wished that he\ncould be, in a spiritual sense, the forerunner of all\nlovers and loving hearts, and the inventor of all\ntender thoughts, words, and sentiments, that the\nmost worthy One might be lauded with due love\nby His unworthy Servitor. Then at length he broke\nforth into words like these :—Ah, my beloved !\nThou art indeed an Easter Day of joy to me.\nThou art the bliss of summer to my heart, and the\nhour of my delight. Thou art the loved One, whom\nalone my young heart loves and thinks upon and\n\nTHE WORDS \"«\"SURSUM CORDA\" 31\n\nfor whom it has scorned all earthly love. Let this\navail me now, my heart's beloved, and let me obtain\na garland from Thee to-day. Ah, gentle heart! do\nthis for Thy divine virtue's sake, and for Thy innate\ngoodness, and let me not depart from Thee with\nempty hands this New Year's Day. Ah! how well\nthis will beseem Thee, O sweet sweetness! Re-\nmember that one of Thy dear servants has told us\nof Thee, that in Thee there is not nay and yea, but\nonly yea and yea (2 Cor. i. 19). Therefore, my\nheart's beloved, say to me to-day a loving yea in\nregard to Thy heavenly gift, and as foolish lovers\nobtain a garland from their loves, so let my soul\nreceive to-day, as a New Year's gift, some special\ngrace, or some new light from Thy fair hand,\nmy own sweet love, O Divine Wisdom. These\nand the like prayers he used to offer up there,\nand he never went away thence with his prayer\nungranted.\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nOF THE WORDS \"SURSUM CORDA\"\n\nE was once asked what was the subject of\nH« contemplation when he sang Mass\n\nand intoned the words \"Sursum_corda,\"\nat the beginning of the preface before the Canon.\nNow these words mean in the vulgar tongue, \" Lift\nup all hearts on high to God\" ; and they came forth\nfrom his mouth with such an expression of ardent\n\n32 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndesire, that it may well have moved to peculiar\ndevotion those who heard them. He answered this\nquestion with a deep sigh, saying :—When I sing\nthese adorable words in the holy Mass, it usually\nhappens that my heart and soul are melted with a\nyearning and longing after God which carry away\nmy heart out of itself at that moment; for three\ndifferent intentions commonly present themselves to\nme then, and lift me up on high—sometimes one\nalone, sometimes two, and sometimes all three\ntogether—and they bear me upwards into God, and\nwith me all creatures.\n\nThe first intention, that darts like a ray of light\ninto my mind, is this:—I place before my inward\neyes myself with all that I am—my body, soul, and\nall my powers—and I gather round me all the\ncreatures which God ever created in heaven, on\nearth, and in all the elements, each one severally\nwith its name, whether birds of the air, beasts of the\nforest, fishes of the water, leaves and grass of the\nearth, or the innumerable sand of the sea, and to\nthese I add all the little specks of dust which glance\nin the sunbeams, with all the little drops of water\nwhich ever fell or are falling from dew, snow, or rain,\nand I wish that each of these had a sweetly sound-\ning stringed instrument, fashioned from my heart's\ninmost blood, striking on which they might each\nsend up to our dear and gentle God a new and lofty\nstrain of praise for ever and ever. And then the\nloving arms of my soul stretch out and extend\nthemselves towards the innumerable multitude of all\ncreatures, and my intention is, just as a free and\n\nTHE WORDS \"SURSUM CORDA\" 33\n\nblithesome leader of a choir stirs up the singers of\nhis company, even so to turn them all to good\naccount by inciting them to sing joyously, and to\noffer up their hearts to God. \" Sursum corda.\"\n\nHis second intention, he said, was this :—I put\nbefore myself in thought my own heart and the\nhearts of all men, and I consider on the one hand\n_what joy and pleasure, what love and peace they\nenjoy who give their hearts to God alone, and, on\nthe other, what hurt and suffering, what sorrow and\nunrest perishable love brings to those over whom it\nrules ; and then I cry out with earnest desire to my\nown heart, and the hearts of all men, wheresoever\nthey be, from one end of this world to the other :—\nCome forth, ye captive hearts, from the strait bonds\nof perishable love! Come forth, ye sleeping hearts,\nfrom the death of sin! Come forth, ye frivolous\nhearts, from the lukewarmness of your slothful and\ncareless lives! Lift yourselves up by turning wholly\nand unreservedly to the living God. \"Sursum\ncorda.\"\n\nHis third intention was a friendly call to all well-\ndisposed but undetached men, who go astray in their\ninterior life, and cling closely neither to God nor to\ncreatures, because their hearts are distracted and\ndrawn to one side or the other at every moment.\nThese men, and myself among their number, I then\ninvite to make a bold venture of ourselves, by turn-\ning away entirely from ourselves and every creature\nunto God. Such was the subject of his contempla-\ntion in the words \" Sursum corda.\"\n\n34 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER Ait\n\nHOW HE KEPT THE FEAST OF CANDLEMAS\n\nOR three days before our Lady's feast of\nCandlemas, he used to get ready with\n\nprayer a candle for the heavenly Mother ;\nand he formed the candle of three twisted tapers in\nthis manner :—The first taper was in token of her\nstainless and virginal purity ; the second, of her un-\nfathomable humility ; and the third, of her maternal\ndignity—three prerogatives which are hers alone\nabove all creatures. And he made ready this\nspiritual candle every day with three magnificats.\nNow, when the day of the blessing of the candles\nwas come, he went early in the morning, before any\none had gone into the Church, to the high altar, and\nwaited there in contemplation the coming of the\naugust Mother with her heavenly treasure. When\nshe drew nigh the outer gate of the city, he ran to\nmeet her with the multitude of all souls that love\nGod, and he outran them all with the longings of\nhis heart. Then running in front of her in the\nstreet, he prayed her to tarry a while with her\nattendants until he had sung something in her\nhonour. Thereupon, with a spiritual voiceless\nmelody, so that his lips moved, but no one heard\nhim, he began to sing as lovingly as he could the\nprose, \"Inviolata,\" etc. (O spotless one, etc.), and\nhe bowed himself down before her as he sang, \"O\nbenigna! O benigna!\" (O gracious one! O gracious\n\nTHE FEAST OF CANDLEMAS 35\n\none !), and he prayed her to show forth her gracious\nkindliness towards a poor sinner. Then rising up,\nhe followed her with his spiritual candle in the desire\nthat she would never permit the burning flame of\ndivine light to be extinguished in him. After this,\non coming up to the multitude of all-loving souls,\nhe began to sing \" Adorna thalamum,\" etc. (Make\nready the bridal bed, etc.), and he called upon them\nto receive the Saviour with love, and fervently to em-\nbrace His Mother ; and thus he led them with songs\nof praise as far as the temple. Then drawing near\nto the Mother before she entered in and gave the\nSaviour to Simeon, he knelt down in front of her,\nand with uplifted hands and eyes prayed her to\nshow him the Child, and to suffer him also to kiss\nIt. When she kindly offered It to him, he spread\nout his arms to the boundless quarters of the wide\nworld, and received and embraced the Beloved One\na thousand times in one hour. He contemplated\nIts beautiful little eyes; he looked upon Its little\nhands; he kissed Its tender little mouth; and he\ngazed again and again at all the infant members of\nthe heavenly treasure. Then lifting up his eyes, he\nuttered a cry of amazement in his heart, that He\nwho bears up the Heavens is so great and yet so\nsmall, so beautiful in heaven and so childlike upon\nearth; and as the Divine Infant moved him so\ndid he act towards It,—now singing, now weeping,\nwith other spiritual exercises, until at last he\ngave It back to Its Mother, and, going in with her\ninto the temple, remained there till all was fully\naccomplished.\n\n36 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nHOW HE SPENT THE CARNIVAL TIME\n\nHEN the Carnival was close at hand, on\n\nWw the evening that the Alleluias are left\n\noff, and the foolish people of this world\nbegin to abandon themselves to merriment, he set\nabout keeping in his heart a heavenly carnival, in\nthis wise :—In the first place he considered how\nshort-lived and hurtful the pleasure of this earthly\ncarnival is, and how some persons with a momentary\njoy purchase for themselves long suffering; and\nthen he said a \" Miserere \" to the adorable God for all\nthe sins and the dishonour which would be offered to\nHim at this time of dissipation. This carnival he\ncalled the peasants' carnival, as befitting those who\nknew nothing better. His other carnival consisted\nin a contemplation of that which is the prelude of\neternity, namely, how God makes merry with His\nchosen friends, while still clothed in this mortal body,\nthrough the heavenly consolation which He gives\nthem ; and he recounted with praises and thanks-\ngiving those which he had himself received, and he\nwas full of joy in the Almighty God.\n\nAt this same season of his beginnings, God once\ngave him a spiritual carnival, and it was in this\nwise. It was the carnival time, and he had gone\nbefore compline into a warm little room to warm\n\n1 The eve of Septuagesima Sunday, when the Alleluias are left off\nin the divine office. They are not resumed until Easter,\n\nHOW HE SPENT CARNIVAL TIME 37\n\nhimself, for he was miserably cold and hungry, and\nyet this did not cause him so much pain as the\nthirst from which he suffered. Now when he saw\nthem eating meat there and drinking good wine,\nwhile he was hungry and thirsty, he was so affected\nby it interiorly that he soon went out again and\nbegan to lament himself, and to sigh from the very\nbottom of his heart. That same night it seemed to\nhim in a vision that he was in an infirmary, and\nthat outside the room he heard some one singing a\nheavenly song, and the tones rang so sweetly that\nno earthly harp ever sent forth the like; and it was\nas if a little schoolboy of twelve years old was sing-\ning there alone. The Servitor forgot all about the\nbody's food as he listened to the sweet melody, and\nhe exclaimed with longing heart :—Ah me! what is\nit that is singing there? Never on earth heard I\ntones so sweet. A noble-looking youth, who stood\nby,answered him and said: —Thou shouldst know that\nthis Boy who sings so well is singing for thee, and\nthat thou art the object of His song. The Servitor\nreplied :— Alas! Godhelp me! Ah, heavenly youth,\nbid Him sing more. The Boy sang again, so that it\nresounded high in the air, and he sang about three\nheavenly canticles from the beginning to the end.\nWhen the song was ended, it seemed as though the\nsame Boy who sang so sweetly came through the\nair to the little window of the room, and presented\nthe youth with a pretty basket filled with red fruit,\nlike ripe red strawberries, and they were large in\nsize. The youth took the basket from the Boy and\noffered it joyfully to the brother, saying :—Look,\n\n38 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ncomrade and brother! this red fruit is sent thee by\nthy friend and heavenly Lord, the delightful Boy,\nthe Son of the heavenly Father, who has been sing-\ning to thee. Ah, how very dear thou art to Him!\nAt this the brother's face became all on fire and red\nwith joy, and he received the basket longingly,\nsaying :—Ah, it is well with me. This is indeed a\nlovely gift for me from the delightful heavenly Boy.\nMy heart and soul shall ever rejoice in this. Then\nhe said to the youth and the other heavenly beings\nwho were there :—Ah, dear friends, is it not meet that\nI should be enamoured of this heavenly Boy, who is\nso full of graces? Yes, verily it is meet that I\nshould be enamoured of Him, and whatever I shall\nknow to be His dearest will that I will always do.\nThen turning to the aforenamed youth, he said :—Tell\nme, dear youth, am I not right? The youth smiled\nsweetly, and said :—Yes, thou art right. It is meet for\nthee to be enamoured of Him; for He has regarded\nand honoured thee more than many other men.\nTherefore love Him very dearly; and I tell thee\nthou must also suffer more than any other men.\nWherefore make thyself ready for it. The Servitor\nanswered :—Ah, this I will do right gladly ; but, I\npray thee, help me to see Him and to thank Him\nfor His beautiful gift. The youth replied :—Go then\nto the little window and look out. The Servitor\nopened the window, and there he saw standing\nbefore the window the tenderest and loveliest little\nboy that eye has ever seen; and when he tried to\nforce himself through the window to get at Him,\nthe boy turned lovingly towards him, and inclining\n\nHOW HE BEGAN MAY 39\n\nHimself sweetly to him, with a friendly blessing,\nvanished from his sight. Thus the vision departed,\nand when the Servitor came to himself again, he\nthanked God for the good carnival which He had\nbestowed upon him.\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nHOW HE BEGAN THE MONTH OF MAY\n\na spiritual May-bough, and to do it honour\n\nevery day for a long space of time. Among all\nthe beautiful branches that ever grew he could find\nnone more like to a lovely May-bough than the\ndelightful bough of the Holy Cross, which is more\nblooming with graces, virtues, and ornaments of\nevery kind than any May-bough that ever was.\nUnder this May-bough he made six prostrations\n(venzas), and at each prostration he desired in his\ncontemplation to adorn the spiritual May-bough\nwith some one of the loveliest things which the\nsummer might bring forth; and he sang before it\ninteriorly the hymn, \"Salve crux sancta,\" etc., in\nthis wise: Hail, Heavenly May-bough of the\nEternal Wisdom, on which has grown the fruit of\neverlasting bliss! First, I offer thee to-day as an\neternal adornment, in place of all red roses, a heart-\nfelt love; secondly, for every little violet, a lowly\ninclination; thirdly, for all tender lilies, a pure\nembrace; fourthly, instead of all the beautifully\n\nI: was his custom on May-day Eve to set up\n\n40 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ncoloured and brilliant flowers, which heath or down,\nforest or plain, tree or meadow has brought forth\nthis lovely May, or which have ever been or will be\nbrought forth, my heart offers thee a spiritual kiss ;\nfifthly, for the songs of all the blithesome little birds\nwhich ever sang merrily on any May-day flight, my\nsoul offers thee praises without end; sixthly, for\nevery ornament with which a May-bough has ever\nbeen adorned, my heart magnifies thee to-day with a\nspiritual song; and I pray thee blessed May-bough,\nto help me so to praise thee in this short time of\nlife that I may feed upon thy living fruit throughout\neternity. Thus it was that he began the month of\nMay.\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nOF THE SORROWFUL WAY OF THE CROSS, WHICH\nHE MADE WITH CHRIST WHEN HE WAS\nBEING LED FORTH TO DEATH\n\nT first for a long time the Servitor was, as it\nAc spoiled by God with heavenly con-\n\nsolations ; and he was so eager after them,\nthat all subjects of contemplation which had refer-\nence to the Divine Nature were a delight to him ;\nwhereas, when he should have meditated upon our\nLord's sufferings, and sought to imitate Him in\nthem, this seemed to him a thing hard and bitter,\nHe was once severely rebuked by God for this, and\nit was said to him: Knowest thou not that I am\n\nSORROWFUL WAY OF THE CROSS a1\n\nthe door through which all true friends of God must\npress in, if they would attain to true bliss? Thou\nmust break thy way through My suffering Humanity,\nif thou wouldst verily and indeed arrive at My naked\nDivinity. The Servitor was struck with consterna-\ntion at this, and it was a hard saying to him; never-\ntheless, he commenced meditating upon it, much\nthough it went against him, and he began to learn\nwhat till then he knew not, and he gave himself up\nto practise it with detachment.\n\nHe now began every night after matins at his\nusual place, which was the chapter-room, to force\nhimself into a Christlike feeling of sympathy with\nall that Christ, his Lord and God, had suffered for\nhim. He stood up and moved from corner to\ncorner, in order that all sluggishness might leave\nhim, and that he might have throughout a lively and\nkeen sensitiveness to our Lord's sufferings. He\ncommenced this exercise with the Last Supper, and\nhe accompanied Christ from place to place, until he\nbrought Him before Pilate. Then he received Him\nafter He had been sentenced at the tribunal, and he\nfollowed Him along the sorrowful way of the cross\nfrom the court-house to beneath the gallows. The\nfollowing was the manner in which he made the\nway of the cross :—On coming to the threshold of\nthe chapter-house, he kneeled down and kissed the\nprint of the first step which the Lord took, when, on\nbeing sentenced, He turned Him round to go forth\nto death. Then he began the psalm which de-\nscribes our Lord's passion, \"Deus, Deus meus,\nrespice,\" etc. (Ps. xxi.), and he went out by the door\n\n42 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ninto the cloister, repeating it. Now there were four\nstreets through which he accompanied Him. He\nwent with Him to death along the first street, with\nthe earnest desire and will to go forth from his\nfriends and all perishable goods, and to suffer, for\nChrist's glory, misery without consolation, and volun-\ntary poverty. In the second street he proposed to\nhimself to set aside all perishable honour and dignity,\nand voluntarily to despise this present world, con--\nsidering how the Lord had become \"a worm and\nthe outcast of the people.\" At the beginning of\nthe third street he kneeled down again, and, kiss-\ning the ground, willingly renounced all needless\ncomfort, and all tender treatment of his body, in\nhonour of the pains of Christ's tender body ; and he\nset before his eyes, what is written in the psalm, how\nthat all Christ's strength was dried up, and His\nnatural vigour brought nigh to death, as they drove\nHim onwards thus pitiably ; and he thought how\nfitting it is that every eye should weep and every\nheart sigh on account of it. When he came to the\nfourth street, he kneeled down in the middle of the\nroad, as if he were kneeling in front of the gate\nthrough which the Lord must pass out; and then\nfalling on his face before Him, he kissed the ground,\nand crying out to Him, prayed Him not to go to\ndeath without His servant, but to suffer him to go\nalong with Him. Then he pictured to himself as\nvividly as he could that the Lord was obliged to\npass quite close to him, and when he had said the\nprayer, \" Ave, rex noster, fili David!\" (Hail, our\nKing, son of David!) he let Him move onwards.\n\nSORROWFUL WAY OF THE CROSS 43\n\nAfter this he knelt down again, and greeted the\ncross with the verse, \"O crux ave, spes unica!\"\n(Hail, O cross, our only hope!), and then let it go\npast. This done, he kneeled down once more before\nthe tender Mother Mary, Heaven's Queen, as she\nwas led past him in unfathomable anguish of heart,\nand he observed how mournfully she bore herself,\nand noted her burning tears, sad sighings, and\nsorrowful demeanour; and he addressed her in the\nwords of the \"Salve Regina\" (Hail, O Queen}),\nand kissed her footsteps. Then he stood up and\nhastened -after his Lord, until he came up with\nHim. And the picture was sometimes so vividly\npresent to his mind, that it seemed to him as if he\nwere in body walking at Christ's side, and the\nthought would come to him, how that when King\nDavid was driven from his kingdom his bravest\ncaptains walked around him and beside him, and\ngave him loving succour (2 Kings xv.). At this\npoint he gave up his will to God's will, desiring\nthat God would do with him according to His good\npleasure. Last of all, he called to mind the epistle,\nwhich is read in Holy Week, from the prophecy of\nIsaias, beginning \"Quis credidit auditui nostro\"\n(Is. liii.), and which so exactly describes how the\nLord was led forth to death, and meditating upon\nit, he went in by the door of the choir, and so up\nthe steps into the pulpit, until he came beneath the\ncross, and then he besought the Lord that neither\nlife nor death, weal nor woe, might separate his\nservant from Him.\n\nThere was another mournful way of the cross that\n\n44 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhe used to make, and it was in this wise :—While\nthe \"Salve Regina\" was being sung at compline, he\ncontemplated in his heart the pure Mother as at that\nmoment still standing beside her dear Child's grave,\nwith all a mother's grief for her buried child, and\nthat it was time for her to be led home again, and\nthat he was to lead her home. Accordingly, he\nmade three prostrations (venzas) in his heart, and\nwith them he led her home again in his contempla-\ntion. The first was at the sepulchre. As soon as\nthe \"Salve Regina\" began, he bowed down his soul\nbefore her, and supporting her in spiritual fashion\nwith his arms, bewailed her tender heart, which was\nat that time so full of bitterness, outrage, and deadly\nsorrow, and he sought to comfort her by reminding\nher that on account of all this she was now a queen\nin dignity, our hope and our sweetness, as it stands\nin the hymn. Then, when he had brought her\nunder the gateway into Jerusalem, he went on before\nher into the street, and, looking back upon her, as\nshe came along in wretchedness, all bloodstained\nwith the hot blood which had dropped upon her, as\nit streamed forth from the bursting wounds of her\npierced Son, he marked how forsaken she was and\nbereaved of all her consolation. Then he received\nher again with a second interior prostration, at the\nwords, \" Eia ergo advocata nostra!\" (Hail then, our\nadvocate !), meaning by them that she should be of\ngood cheer, since she is the worthy advocate of us\nall; and he besought her with that love which shone\nforth amid her anguish to turn to him her merciful\neyes, and to grant him, when this miserable life is\n\nTHE VIRTUE CALLED SILENCE 45\n\nover, lovingly to behold her august Son, according\nto the wish expressed in the prayer. He made the\nthird interior prostration before the door of her\nmother St Anne's house, whither he had led her in\nher sorrows, and, as he did this, he commended him-\nself to her gentleness and loving sweetness, in the\ndevout words, \"O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo\nMaria!\" (O gentle, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary !),\nand he prayed her to receive his wretched soul at its\nlast passage, and to be its guide and defender from\nits evil enemies, through the gates of heaven to\neverlasting bliss.\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nOF THE USEFUL VIRTUE CALLED SILENCE\n\n4 \"HE Servitor had an interior drawing to\nstrive after true peace of heart, and it\nseemed to him that silence would be of\n\nservice towards attaining it. He therefore kept so\n\nstrict a guard over his mouth, that for thirty years\nhe never broke silence at table, except once, when\nhe was returning from a chapter with many other\nbrothers, and they ate on board ship. On that\noccasion he broke it. In order to have greater\nmastery over his tongue, and to stop himself from\ngiving way too readily to talk, he made choice in\nhis mind of three masters, without whose special\nleave he resolved never to speak, and these were the\nholy patriarchs St Dominic, St Arsenius, and St\n\n46 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nBernard. Whenever he wished to speak he went in\nthought from one to the other, and asked leave,\nsaying, \"Jube, domne, benedicere\" (Bid me, O\nmaster, speak); and if it was the right time and\nplace to speak, he received permission from the\nfirst master; and if there was no external reason to\nprevent him speaking, he had leave from the second ;\nand if it was not likely to do him an injury in-\nteriorly, he considered that he had leave from all\nthree ; and after that he spoke; but if it was not\nso, it-seemed to him that he ought to keep silence.\nWhenever he was called to the door of the convent\nhe applied himself to these four things; first, to\nreceive every one with kindliness; secondly, to\ndispatch the matter with brevity; thirdly, to send\nthe person away consoled; fourthly, to go back\nagain free from attachment.\n\nCHAPTER UX Vil\n\nOF THE CHASTISEMENT OF HIS BODY\n\nE was in his youth of a temperament full\nH: fire and life; and when this began to\n\nmake itself felt, and he perceived what a\nheavy burden he had in himself, it was very bitter\nand grievous to him; and he sought, by many\ndevices and great penances, how he might bring his\nbody into subjection to his spirit. He wore for a\nlong time a hair shirt and an iron chain, until the\nblood ran from him; so that he was obliged to\n\nCHASTISEMENT OF HIS BODY 47\n\nleave them off. He secretly caused an under-garment\nto be made for him; and in the under-garment he\nhad strips of leather fixed, into which a hundred and\nfifty brass nails, pointed and filed sharp, were driven,\nand the points of the nails were always turned\ntowards the flesh. He had this garment made very\ntight, and so arranged as to go round him and\nfasten in front, in order that it might fit the closer\nto his body, and the pointed nails might be driven\ninto his flesh; and it was high enough to reach\nupwards to his navel. In this he used to sleep at\nnight. Now, in summer, when it was hot, and he\nwas very tired and ill from his journeyings, or when\nhe held the office of lecturer, he would sometimes,\nas he lay thus in bonds, and oppressed with toil,\nand tormented also by noxious insects, cry aloud,\nand give way to fretfulness, and twist round and\nround in agony, as a worm does when run through\nwith a pointed needle. It often seemed to him as\nif he were lying upon an ant-hill from the torture\ncaused by the insects; for if he wished to sleep, or\nwhen he had fallen asleep, they vied with each other\nin biting and sucking him. Sometimes he would\ncry to Almighty God out of the fullness of his heart :\n—Alas! gentle God, what a dying is this! When\na man is killed by murderers or strong beasts of\nprey, it is soon over ; but I lie dying here under the\ncruel insects, and yet cannot die. The nights in\nwinter were never so long, nor was the summer so\nhot, as to make him leave off this exercise. On\nthe contrary, in order that he might get still less\nrest amid these torments, he devised something\n\n48 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfurther. He bound a part of his girdle round his\nthroat, and made out of it with skill two leather\nloops, into which he put his hands, and then locked\nhis arms into them with two padlocks, and placed\nthe keys on a plank beside his bed, where they\nremained until he rose for matins and unlocked\nhimself. His arms were thus stretched upwards, and\nfastened one on each side his throat, and he made\nthe fastenings so secure that even if his cell had\nbeen on fire about him he could not have helped\nhimself. This practice he continued until his hands\nand arms had become almost tremulous with the\nstrain, and then he devised something else.\n\nHe had two leather gloves made for him, such as\nlabourers usually wear when they gather briars, and\nhe caused a brazier to fit them all over with sharp-\npointed brass tacks, and he used to put them on at\nnight. This he did in order that, if he should try\nwhile asleep to throw off the hair under-garment, or\nendeavour in any other way to relieve himself from\nthe gnawings of the vile and hateful insects, the\ntacks might then stick into his body. And so it\ncame to pass. If ever he sought to help himself\nwith his hands in sleep, he drove the sharp tacks\ninto his breast and tore himself, making horrible\nrents, as if a bear had torn him with its sharp claws,\nso that his flesh festered at the arms and about the\nheart. When after many weeks the wounds had\nhealed, he tore himself again and made fresh\nwounds. He continued this tormenting exercise\nfor about sixteen years, At the end of this time,\nwhen his blood was now chilled, and the fire of his\n\nTHE CROSS WHICH HE BORE 49\n\ntemperament destroyed, there appeared to him in a\nvision on Whit-Sunday a messenger from heaven,\nwho told him that God required this of him no\nlonger. Whereupon he discontinued it, and threw\nall these things away into a running stream.\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nOF THE SHARP CROSS WHICH HE BORE UPON\nHIS BACK\n\nBOVE all his other exercises, he had a\nA exe desire to bear upon his body\n\nsomething which might betoken a sensible\nsympathy with the painful sufferings of his crucified\nLord. To this end he made for himself a wooden\ncross, in length about a man's span, and of corre-\nsponding breadth, and he drove into it thirty iron\nnails, intending to represent by them all his Lord's\nwounds and love-tokens. He placed this cross\nupon his bare back between his shoulders on the\nflesh, and he bore it continually day and night in\nhonour of his crucified Lord. Afterwards, in the\nlast year, he drove into it besides seven needles, so\nthat their points passed a long way through the\ncross, and remained sticking in it, while the other\nends were broken off close to the wood. He bore\nthe wounds made by these pointed needles in\nhonour of the piercing anguish of God's pure Mother,\nby which her heart and soul were wounded through\nand through so utterly at the hour of her Son's\n\n50 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nagonizing death. The first time that he stretched\nout this cross upon his back his tender frame was\nstruck with terror at it, and he blunted the sharp\nnails very slightly upon a stone. But very soon\nrepenting of this unmanly cowardice, he pointed and\nsharpened them all again with a file, and placed the\ncross once more upon him. It furrowed his back\nwhere the bones are, and made it bloody and seared.\nWhenever he sat down or stood up, it was as ifa\nhedgehog-skin lay upon him. If any one touched\nhim unawares, or pushed against his clothes, it tore\nhim. To make this painful cross more bearable, he\nchiselled on the back of it the saving Name of\nJesus. For a long time he took two disciplines every\nday with this cross, in the following manner. He\nstruck behind him with his fist upon the cross, and\nthus drove the nails into his flesh, and made them\nstick in it, so that he had to take off his clothes to\nget them out again. He used to strike these blows\nupon the cross so secretly that no one could have\nobserved it. He took the first discipline on arriving\nin his contemplation at the pillar where our beau-\ntiful Lord was so barbarously scourged, and he\nprayed our Lord to heal His servant's wounds with\nHis own. He took the second discipline when he\nhad come in contemplation beneath the cross, and\nthe Lord had been nailed to it, and then he nailed\nhimself to his Lord, never more to part from Him.\nHe did not take the third discipline every day, but\nonly when he had been too indulgent with himself,\nor had given way to inordinate pleasure in eating\nand drinking, or such like.\n\nTHE CROSS WHICH HE BORE 51\n\nOnce upon a time he had been so much off his\nguard as to take into his hands the hands of two\nmaidens, who were sitting beside him in a public\nassembly, though without any bad intention. He\nsoon repented of this unguardedness, and he con-\nsidered that this inordinate pleasure must be\natoned for by penance. As soon as he left the\nmaidens, and had come into his chapel to his place\nof privacy, he struck himself upon the cross for this\nmisdeed, so that the pointed nails stuck into his\nback. He moreover laid himself under an interdict\nfor this fault, and would not allow himself to go\nafter matins into the chapter-room, his usual place\nof prayer, to meet the heavenly spirits, who were\nwont to appear to him there during his contempla-\ntion. At length, desiring to atone completely for\nthe misdeed, he summoned courage and fell at the\nJudge's feet, and took a discipline in His presence\nwith the cross; and then going round and round\non every side before the saints, he took thirty\ndisciplines, till the blood ran down his back. In\nthis way he atoned very bitterly for the inordinate\npleasure which he had allowed himself.\n\nAfter matins had been sung, he went into the\nchapter-room, to his place of privacy, and kissed\nthe ground a hundred times prostrate with out-\nstretched arms, and a hundred times kneeling, each\ntime with a special object of contemplation. This\ncaused him very great pain on account of the cross.\nFor as it was fastened tightly upon him, and driven\ncloser to his body than a hoop is to a cask—such\nbeing his custom at this period—each time that he\n\n52 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nflung himself on the ground in making the hundred\nprostrations the nails stuck into him through the\nfall. When he got up again he writhed them out\nof him. But at the next fall they stuck into\nfresh holes, and this was a sore pain to him. If,\nhowever, they stuck into the same holes it was\nendurable.\n\nThere was another penitential exercise which he\nhad previously practised. It was this: He made\nfor himself a scourge out of a leather thong, and\nhad it fitted with pointed brass tacks as sharp as a\nstyle, in such a way that the ends of each tack\nstood out on either side of the thong, and each of\nthe ends had a triple point, which caused wounds in\nwhatever part of the body they struck. Such was\nthe kind of scourge which he made for himself; and\nhe used to get up before matins, and go into the\nchoir in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and there\ndiscipline himself with it severely. He practised\nthis penance for a long time, until at last the\nbrothers became aware of it, upon which he dis-\ncontinued it.\n\nOnce, on St Clement's Day, at the beginning of\nwinter, he made a general confession, and that same\nevening, when it became dusk, he shut himself up in\nhis cell, and stripping himself naked to his horse-\nhair under-garment, he took out the scourge with\nthe pointed tacks, and struck himself with it over\nthe body and about the arms, till the blood ran\ndown just as when one is cupped. The chief cause\nof this was a bent tack on the scourge, in shape like\na little hook which tore away all the flesh on which\n\nTHE CROSS WHICH HE BORE 53\n\nit caught. He struck himself so hard that the\nscourge broke into three pieces, and while one little\npiece remained in his hand, the rest with the points\nflew against the walls. As he stood there all\ncovered with blood, and looked at himself, the\nspectacle which he presented was a most miserable\none, and he resembled in some degree Christ, our\nLord, when He was barbarously scourged. There-\nupon, being moved to pity for himself, he began to\nweep from his very heart, and kneeling down all\nnaked and bleeding in the frosty cold, he besought\nGod so to blot out all his sins that His merciful eyes\nmight no more behold them.\n\nAnother time, on Quinquagesima Sunday, he\nwent, as he had done before, into his cell, when the\nbrothers were at table; and after having stripped\nhimself naked he gave himself very cruel blows, so\nthat the blood streamed down his body. But just\nas he was about to strike himself still harder, there\ncame thither a brother, who had heard the noise,\nso that he was obliged to leave off. Then he took\nvinegar and salt, and rubbed them into his wounds,\nthat the pain might be rendered greater.\n\nOn St Benedict's feast, the day on which he was\nborn into this miserable world, he went at breakfast\ntime into his chapel and making fast the door,\nstripped himself as before, and taking out the\nscourge, began to strike himself with it. A blow\nfell on his left arm, and hit the vein called mediana,\nor another vein near it. And as the stroke was a\nvery severe one, the blood burst forth, and ran\ndown in a stream upon his foot between the toes,\n\n54 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nand lay in a pool upon the pavement. His arm\nimmediately swelled up to a great size, and turned\nblue; and this so frightened him, that he did not\ndare to go on striking. Now at this very time, and\nat the selfsame hour in which he thus struck him-\nself, there was at another place in a certain castle a\nholy maiden, named Anna, praying, who seemed to\nherself to be carried in a vision to the spot where\nhe was taking the discipline. And when she saw\nthe hard blows which he was giving himself, it so\nmoved her to compassion that, going up to him just\nas he had raised his arm, and was on the point of\nstriking, she intercepted the blow, and received it\non her own arm, as it seemed to her in the vision.\nWhen she came to herself again, she found the\nmark of the blow on her arm in black wales, as if\nshe had been hit by a scourge. These marks\nremained visible upon her for a long time, and they\nwere accompanied with great pain.\n\nCHAP TH ATX\n\nOF HIS BED\n\nT this same period the Servitor procured\nA: old castaway door, which he placed upon\nhis bedstead in his cell, and he used to lie\nupon it at night without any bedclothes to make\nhim comfortable. He also made for himself a very\nthin mat of rushes, which he laid upon the door,\n\nand which reached only to his knees. He put under\n\nOF HIS BED 55\n\nhis head for a bolster a small sack filled with pea-\nstalks, and upon it a very small pillow. He had\nno bed-covering over him, and he lay at night just\nas he was clothed during the day ; except only that\nhe took off his shoes, and wrapped a thick cloak\nround him. He thus secured for himself a most\nmiserable bed ; for the hard pea-stalks lay in lumps\nunder his head, the cross with the sharp nails stuck\ninto his back, his arms were locked fast in bonds,\nthe horsehair under-garment was round his loins,\nand the cloak too was very heavy, and the door\nhard. Thus he lay in wretchedness, afraid to stir,\njust like a log. Whenever he attempted to turn,\nthe pain it caused him was very great; and if he\nfell back at all heavily upon the cross when asleep,\nthe nails ran into his bones; and he would then\nsend up many a sigh to God.\n\nIn winter he suffered very much from the frost,\nfor if he stretched out his feet in sleep, as people\ndo, they lay quite bare upon the door, and froze\nwith the cold; and if he drew them in again, and\nkept them gathered up, the blood became all on fire\nin his legs, and this was great pain to him. His\nfeet were full of sores; his legs swelled, as if they\nwere growing dropsical ; his knees were bloody and\nsmeared ; his loins were covered with scars from the\nhorsehair under-garment ; his back was wounded\nby the cross; his body wasted from excessive\nausterity ; his mouth parched with intense thirst ;\n'and his hands tremulous from weakness. Amid\nthese torments he spent his days and nights; and\nhe endured them all out of the greatness of the love\n\n56 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwhich he bore in his heart to the Divine and\nEternal Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, whose\nagonizing sufferings he sought to imitate.\n\nAfter a time he gave up this penitential exercise\nof the door, and instead of it he took up his abode\nin a very small cell, and used the bench, which was\nintended for a seat, as his bed. This bench was so\nnarrow and short that he could not stretch himself\nout upon it. In this hole, and upon the above-\nmentioned door, he lay at night, in his usual bonds,\nfor about eight years. It was also his custom\nduring the space of five-and-twenty years, provided\nhe was staying in the convent, never to go after\ncompline in winter into any warm room, or to the\nconvent-stove to warm himself, however cold it\nmight be, unless he was obliged to do so for other\nreasons. Throughout all these years he never took\na bath, either a water or a sweating bath; and this\nhe did in order to mortify his comfort-seeking body.\n\nFor a long time he only ate once a day, both in\nsummer and winter; and he not only fasted from\nmeat, but also from fish and eggs. He practised\nduring a long time such rigid poverty that he would\nneither receive nor touch a penny either with leave\nor without it. Fora considerable space of time he\nstrove to attain to such a high degree of purity that\nhe would neither scratch nor touch any part of his\nbody, save only his hands and feet.\n\nBROKE HIMSELF FROM DRINK 57\n\nCHAPIER XX\n\nHOW HE BROKE HIMSELF FROM DRINK\n\nNOTHER afflictive exercise, which he once\nAes! was to limit himself to an exceed-\ningly small measure of drink; and that he\nmight not transgress this measure either at home or\nabroad he caused a little cup to be made of the exact\nsize, and carried it with him whenever he went out.\nIn times of great thirst it was no more than enough\nto cool his parched mouth, just like what is given to\nrefresh a sick person in a burning fever. For a long\ntime he drank no wine at all, save only on holy\nEaster Day, and he drank it then in honour of the\nhigh festival. On one occasion, after he had long\nendured great thirst, and from a spirit of mortifica-\ntion was resolved not to quench his thirst with\nwater or wine, he looked upwards to God in the exces-\nsive anguish of his soul, upon which God answered\nhim interiorly in this wise:—Mark and see how\nthirsty I was in My death-agony, with nothing but\na little vinegar and gall to drink ; and yet all the\ncool fountains upon this earth were Mine, for I have\ncreated them all, as well as all things else, and\nordained them all for man's support. Wherefore\nthou also must endure patiently privation and want,\nif thou wouldst imitate Me.\nIt happened once before Christmas that the\nServitor had utterly renounced and put from him\nall bodily comforts, and moreover had taken upon\n\n58 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhimself three penitential exercises in addition to the\nordinary practices which he had long pursued. The\nfirst of these was, that he remained after matins until\ndaybreak standing on the bare stones before the\nhigh altar, and this too at a time when the nights\nwere at the longest, and the bell for matins rang\nvery early. The second practice was, that he\navoided going to any warm place, either by day or\nnight, and never warmed his hands over the chafing-\ndish at the altar;! in consequence of which his\nhands became horribly swollen, because the cold at\nthat time was exceeding great. When compline\nwas ended, he used to go, all cold as he was, to\nsleep upon his bench, and after matins he stood\nbefore the altar on the bare stones till daybreak.\nThe third practice was to abstain altogether from\ndrinking during the day, however great his thirst\nmight be. He only drank in the morning at table,\nand at that time he was not thirsty. When, how-\never, it drew towards evening, his thirst became so\nexcessive that his whole frame panted for drink ;\nnevertheless he bore it all perseveringly, though the\npain of it was bitter and intense. His mouth, inside\nand out, was as dry as that of a sick person ina\ndistemper, and his tongue was so cracked that for\nmore than a year afterwards it would not heal.\nWhen he stood in choir at compline thus parched\nwith thirst, and the holy water was sprinkled around\naccording to custom, he would eagerly open his\n\n1 Tt was the custom to place a chafing-dish upon the altar when the\n\ncold was very great, in order that the priest might warm his fingers\nat it.\n\n\"BROKE HIMSELF FROM DRINK 59\n\nparched mouth, and gape wide towards the sprink-\nling-brush, in the hope that a little drop of water\nmight fall upon his dried-up tongue and cool it a\nlittle. Again, when he used to push away the wine\nfrom him at the supper-table, all athirst though he\nwas, he would sometimes lift up his eyes and say :—\nAh, heavenly Father, receive this cool drink as an\noffering of my heart's blood, and give Thy Child to\ndrink of it in that thirst wherewith He thirsted in\nHis death-agony upon the cross. Sometimes also,\nwhen he was very thirsty, he would go opposite the\nfountain and gaze at the tinkling water in the tinned\nbasin, and then he would look upwards to God and\nsigh deeply. At other times he was so utterly\novercome by his sufferings that he would cry out\nfrom the depths of his heart :—Alas, O everlasting\nGood, how hidden are Thy judgments! Ah me!\nthat the broad lake of Constance is so nigh, and the\nclear Rhine flows all around me? and yet one single\ndrink of water is too dear for me to purchase! This\nis indeed a misery.\n\nThis state of things continued until the time\nwhen the Gospel was read at Mass about how our\nLord God changed water into wine. That same\nSunday night he sat in misery at table, for through\nexcess of thirst he had no desire to eat. As soon\nas grace was read he hurried quickly to his chapel,\nfor he was so overcome with agony that he could no\nmore contain himself, and, bursting into a flood of\n\n1 The Dominican Convent in which Blessed Henry Suso lived stood\non a small island at the point where the Rhine flows out of the lake of\nConstance, It is now a manufactory.\n\n60 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nbitter tears, he exclaimed :—O God, Thou alone\nknowest what sorrow and anguish of heart are.\nWherefore was I born into this world so utterly\npoor and destitute that in the midst of all abundance\nI must endure such grievous need? While he was\nuttering these lamentations, it seemed to him as\nthough a voice spoke within his soul, saying :—Be\nof good courage ; God will soon rejoice and comfort\nthee. Weep not, brave knight ; bear thyself well.\nThese words brought fresh life to his heart, so that\nhe stopped lamenting and tried to leave off weeping\naltogether. But the pain he suffered would not let\nhim feel quite joyful, and his tears continued falling,\nthough something inwardly forced him to smile, as\nthough at some pleasant adventure close at hand\nwhich God would ere long send him. In this state\nhe went to compline. His mouth sang while his\nheart trembled, and it seemed to him the while that\nhe should soon be recompensed for all his sufferings.\nAnd so it came to pass not long afterwards, and\neven that very night he received part payment in the\nfollowing manner: It appeared to him in a vision\nas though our dear Lady, God's Mother, came to him\nwith the little Child Jesus in the form He wore on\nearth when seven years old. The Child carried in\nHis hand a small goblet of fresh water. The goblet\nwas glazed all over, and was a little larger than one\nof the convent-mugs. Then our dear Lady took\nthe goblet in her hand, and gave it to the Servitor\nto drink. He received it with great eagerness, and\nquenched his thirst to his heart's content.\n\nOne day, as he was walking in the country, he\n\nBROKE HIMSELF FROM DRINK 61\n\nhappened to meet, on a narrow pathway, a poor,\nrespectable woman; and when the woman drew\nnear him, he gave up to her the dry path and went\nhimself into the wet at the side, in order to let her\ngo by. The woman, turning round, said to him :—\nDear master, how comes it that you, a gentleman\nand a priest, give way so humbly to me, a poor\nwoman, who ought much more fittingly to have\ngiven way to you? He _ replied:—Ah, dear\nwoman, it is my custom to pay willing deference\nand honour to all women for the sake of the gentle\nMother of God in heaven. At this she lifted up\nher eyes and hands to heaven and spoke thus :—I\nbeseech this same august Lady that you may not\ndepart this world until you have received some\nspecial grace from her whom you honour in all of\nus women. He answered :—May the pure Maiden\nMary in heaven obtain me this.\n\nIt happened soon afterwards that, though there\nwas abundance of every kind of drink before him,\nhe left the table, according to his custom, with a\nthirsting mouth. That same night when he lay\ndown to rest, there came and stood before him, in\na vision, a beautiful heavenly form, which thus\naddressed him :—It is I, the Mother, who gave thee\nto drink from the little goblet the other night: and,\nsince thou art so exceeding thirsty I will in pity\ngive thee once more to drink. To this the Servitor\nmade answer very wisely :—Ah, purest one! but\nthou hast nothing in thy hand out of which to give\nme drink. She replied :—I will give thee to drink\nof that healthful drink which flows from my heart.\n\n62 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nHe was so terrified at this that he could not answer\nher, for he knew well how unworthy of it he was.\nThen she said to him, with great kindliness :—\nInasmuch as Jesus, the treasure of heaven, has\ncome down so lovingly into thy heart, and since\nthy parched mouth has so dearly earned this grace,\nI will bestow it on thee for thy special consolation ;\nand it is not a corporeal drink which I will give\nthee, but a healthful, spiritual, and excellent drink\nof real and true purity. Then he let it be as she\nhad said, and he thought within himself:—Thou\nshalt now drink thy full, and be able to quench thy\ngreat thirst. When he had well drunk of this\nheavenly drink, there remained something in his\nmouth like a little soft lump. It was white, and of\nthe nature of manna; and he kept it in his mouth\nfor a long time, as a voucher for the truth of what\nhad taken place. Afterwards, he began to weep\nfrom his very heart, and he thanked God and His\ndear Mother for the great grace that they had\nvouchsafed him.\n\nThat same night our dear Lord appeared to a\nholy person in another town, and said :—Go and\ntell my Child's Servitor from me what is written of\nthe great doctor, John Chrysostom of the golden\nmouth, how that one day, when he was still a\nscholar, as he was kneeling before an altar, on\nwhich the heavenly Mother was represented in\ncarved wood giving the Child in her arms to drink,\nas mothers do, the image of the Mother bade her\nChild stop awhile, and allowed the aforenamed\nscholar likewise to drink from out her heart. This\n\nBROKE HIMSELF FROM DRINK 63\n\nsame grace the Servitor also has received from me\nin a vision, and, as a voucher for its truth, mark\nthis: that from this time forth the teaching which\nwill proceed from his holy mouth will be much\nmore fervent and pleasanter to hear than it has\never been before. When the Servitor heard this,\nhe lifted up his hands, heart, and eyes, saying :—\nPraised be the vein of the outflowing Godhead, and\npraised beyond praise be the sweet Mother of all\ngraces by me, poor worthless man, for this heavenly\ngift.\n\nThe same holy person made answer, saying,—\nOne thing more I have to tell you. Know, then,\nthat our dear Lady, with her dear Child, appeared\nto me last night in a vision, and our Lady had in\nher hand a beautiful drinking-vessel of water. The\nChild and the Lady spoke loving words about you,\nand then she held the vessel of water to the Child,\nand prayed Him to pronounce His blessing over it.\nHe pronounced His holy blessing upon the water,\nand immediately the water became wine ; and He\nsaid :—It is enough. My will is that the brother\nshould no longer mortify himself by abstaining from\nwine. Let him henceforward drink wine for his\nwasted frame's sake. From that time forth, now\nthat God allowed it to him, the Servitor drank wine\nas he had done before.\n\nAt this same period, when the Servitor had\nbecome very ill, owing to the excessive burden of\nthe afore-mentioned exercises which he had so long\npractised, our dear Lord appeared to a holy friend\nof God, holding in His hand a box. She said to\n\n64 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhim :—Lord, what meanest Thou by the box? He\nanswered :—I mean to cure my Servitor with it, for\nhe is sick, Then our Lord went to the Servitor\nwith the box, and opened it, and in the box there\nwas fresh blood. He took out some of the blood,\nand spread it over the Servitor's heart, so that it\nbecame all bloody, and after that He spread it over\nhis hands and feet and all his limbs. Upon this,\nshe said to Him:—Ah, Lord! Why dost Thou\nmark him thus? or is Thy will to impress upon\nhim Thy five love-marks? He answered :—Yes.\nI will lovingly mark his heart and all his frame\nwith sufferings, and I will heal him, and restore him\nto health, and I will make of him a man after My\nwhole heart.\n\nAt length, after the Servitor had led, from his\neighteenth to his fortieth year, a life of exercises,\naccording to the outer man—such as have been in\npart described above—and when his whole frame\nwas now so worn and wasted that nothing remained\nfor him except to die or leave off these exercises,\nhe left them off; and God showed him that all this\nausterity and all these practices were nothing more\nthan a good beginning, and a breaking through his\nuncrushed natural man; and he saw that he must\npress on still further in quite another way, if he\nwished to reach perfection.\n\nTHE RATIONAL SCHOOL 65\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nHOW HE WAS DIRECTED TO THE RATIONAL SCHOOL,\nIN WHICH THE ART OF TRUE DETACHMENT IS\nTAUGHT\n\nNE day the Servitor was sitting on his\n() 2 after matins, and while he was\n\nabsorbed in meditation his bodily senses\nbecame abstracted, and it seemed to his inward\nvision that a noble youth came down from above,\nand, standing before him, addressed him thus :—\nThou hast been long enough in the lower schools,\nand hast exercised thyself sufficiently in them, and\nart now full-grown. Up then with me. I will take\nthee to the highest school which is to be found in\nthis world ; and thou shalt diligently learn there the\nhighest of all crafts, which shall establish thee in\ndivine peace, and bring thy holy beginnings to a\nblissful end. The Servitor was rejoiced at this, and\nstood up; upon which, the youth took him by the\nhand and carried him, as it appeared to him, into a\nland above the ken of sense. There was a beautiful\nhouse there, which looked as if it were the abode of\nreligious men, and those who practised the afore-\nnamed craft dwelt in it. When he entered the\nhouse, they received him kindly and greeted him\nlovingly, and then they went in haste to the Master\nSuperior, and told him that one had come who also\nwished to be his disciple, and to learn the craft. He\nanswered :—I will look at him and see how he\npleases me. When he saw the Servitor, he smiled\nupon him very kindly and said :—Be assured that\n\n66 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthis stranger may become an excellent professor of\nthis high craft, if he will patiently submit to the\nstrait stocks, in which he must be inwardly confined.\nBut the Servitor understood not these obscure\nwords; so he turned him to the youth who had\nbrought him thither, and asked him,saying:——Tell me,\ndear comrade, what is the highest school, and what\nis the craft taught there of which thou spokest to\nme? The youth answered :—The highest school,\nand the craft which is taught there, consist simply\nin an entire and perfect detachment from self; that\nis to say, how a man may attain to such an abiding\nspirit of self-renunciation, that, no matter how God\ntreats him, either directly by Himself, or indirectly\nthrough creatures, or how he feels, whether joyful or\nsad, the one object of his strivings shall ever be to\ncontinue always the same by a perpetual giving up\nof self, as far as human frailty will allow, and to\nmake God's honour and glory his sole aim, just in\nthe way that the dear Christ acted towards His\nheavenly Father. When the Servitor heard this, he\nwas well pleased at it, and he resolved to study the\ncraft, and it seemed to him that he could meet with\nno difficulties so great as to make him turn aside\nfrom this intention. Moreover, he wished to build\na house there, and to undertake much active work.\nThe youth prevented him from doing this, saying:\n—This craft requires a complete cessation from\nactivity. The less a man does here, the more he\nhas really done.}\n\n1 He alluded in this to that mode of acting in which a man is a\nhindrance to himself, and does not seek God's honour purely.\n\nTHE RATIONAL SCHOOL 67\n\nImmediately after this discourse the Servitor\ncame to himself again, and he continued to sit still\nas before. Then he began to reflect deeply upon\nthis discourse, and he observed that it was the same\npure and simple truth which Christ Himself has\ntaught. Thereupon he proceeded to hold converse\nwith himself interiorly, saying:—Look inwards,\nfriend, and thou wilt find thyself still really there,\nand wilt perceive that, notwithstanding all thy out-\nward practices, in which thou didst of thy own\nchoice exercise thyself, thou art still undetached\nfrom self in what relates to contradictions at the\nhands of others. Thou art still like a timid hare,\nwhich lies hidden in a thicket, and is terrified at\nevery rustling leaf. Even so is it with thee too.\nThou art terrified every day at the sufferings which\ncome upon thee, The sight of thy enemies makes\nthee lose colour. When thou shouldst let thyself\nbe humiliated, thou takest to flight. When thou\nshouldst expose thyself to the blow, thou hidest.\nWhen thou art praised, thou laughest. When thou\nart blamed, thou mournest. It may well be true\nthat thou needest a higher school. Then sighing\ninwardly, he looked up to God, and said :—O God,\nhow nakedly has this truth been shown me! Woe\nis me! When shall I ever become a truly detached\n\nman?\n\n68 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nHOW PAINFUL IT IS TO DIE INTERIORLY\n\nOW that the Servitor had been released by\nNe: from exterior penances of the kind\n\ndescribed above, by which his life had\nbeen imperilled, his worn-out frame was so rejoiced\nat this, that he used to weep for joy whenever he\ncalled to mind his penitential bonds, and all the\ncruel sufferings and combats which he had passed\nthrough. And he said within himself :—Hence-\nforth, dear Lord, I will lead a quiet life and enjoy\nmyself, I will quench my thirst fully with wine\nand water, and I will sleep unbound on my straw\nbed. Oh! how often and how earnestly I have\nlonged that this comfort might be mine before I\ndied! I have been long enough wearing myself\naway. Henceforth the time is come for me to rest.\nSuch were the presumptuous thoughts and fancies\nwhich then floated before his mind. Alas! he\nknew not yet what God had decreed concerning\nhim.\n\nWhen he had spent several weeks very pleasantly\nin these agreeable thoughts, it happened one day\nthat, as he was sitting according to custom on the\nbench which was his bed, he began to contemplate\nthat true saying of the suffering Job, \"militia est\nvita hominis super terram\" (Job vii. 1). The\nlife of man in this world is nothing else but a\nknight's life of warfare. As he meditated on these\n\nPAINFUL TO DIE INTERIORLY 69\n\nwords, his senses became abstracted, and it seemed\nto him that there came in a comely youth, of very\nmanly form, who brought him a pair of knight's\nshoes, of excellent quality, with other clothing such\nas knights are wont to wear. The youth went up\nto the Servitor, and vested him in the knight's attire,\nsaying :—Hearken, Sir Knight. Hitherto thou hast\nbeen a squire: God wills thee now to be a knight.\nThe Servitor looked at himself in the knight's shoes,\nand marvelling greatly in his heart, exclaimed :—\nWonderful, O God! What has happened to me?\nWhat have I become? Must I be a knight? I\nhad much rather lead a comfortable life than this.\nThen he said to the youth :—Well, since God wills\nme to be a knight, if only I had been made one\ngloriously in a battle, I should have preferred it.\nThe youth turned half aside, and, with a laugh,\nanswered :—Be not anxious. You shall have fight-\ning enough. He who resolves to bear himself\nundauntedly as God's knight in this spiritual warfare\nwill meet with much harder conflicts than ever fell\nto the lot of the famed heroes of olden times, whose\nknightly prowess the world loves to recount in song\nand tale. Thou fanciest that God has taken thy\nyoke off thee, and that He has cast away thy bonds,\nso that thou canst now attend to thy comfort. But\nit is not so, as yet. It is not God's will to take thy\nbonds from off thee. He will only change them,\nand make them far heavier than they ever were\nbefore. The Servitor was struck with terror at this,\nand said :—Alas, my God! What art Thou about\nto do with me? I fancied that all was at an end,\n\n70 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\njust as itis going to begin. My straits are only\nnow commencing, as it seems to me. Ah, Lord of\nheaven! what mean Thy dealings with me? Am I\nalone a sinner, and are all other men just, that Thou\ndost in this wise use Thy rod on me, poor wretch,\nand sparest many others? Thou hast acted thus\nwith me since my childhood's days, when Thou\ndidst crucify my youthful frame with heavy and\nweary sicknesses. I fancied that I had had enough by\nthis time. He answered—No! it is not yet enough.\nThou must be tried and proved to the very bottom\nin all things, if it is to go well with thee. The\nServitor said :—Lord! show me how much suffer-\ning I have still before me. He answered:—Look\nupwards at the heavens above thee, and if thou canst\ncount the countless multitude of the stars, thou\ncanst count also the sufferings which still await thee ;\nand as the stars seem small, and yet are great, even\nso thy sufferings are small in seeming to the eyes\nof unexercised men; while, judged of by thy own\nfeelings, they will prove great for thee to bear.\nThe Servitor said:—Ah, Lord! show me _ the\nsufferings beforehand, that I may know them. He\nanswered :—No, it is better for thee not to know\nthem, lest thou shouldst lose heart beforehand.\nNevertheless, among the countless sufferings which\nawait thee, I will tell thee three.\n\nThe first is this. Hitherto thou hast struck\nthyself with thy own hands, and left off striking\nwhen thou wouldst, and hast had pity upon thy-\nself. But now I will myself take hold of thee, and\ngive thee over quite defenceless into the hands of\n\nPAINFUL TO DIE INTERIORLY 71\n\nstrangers, and thou shalt suffer publicly the loss of\nthy good name, through the means of certain blinded\nmen, This will press upon thee more painfully\nthan the sharp cross on thy wounded back did ; for\nin thy former exercises thou wast held in high repute\namong men, whereas now thou shalt be beaten down\nand brought to naught in the sight of all.\n\nThe second suffering is this. Many as have been\nthe bitter deaths which thou hast inflicted on thy-\nself, nevertheless this has always remained to thee\nby God's providence, that thy disposition is an\naffectionate and love-seeking one. Now it shall\nbefall thee, that in those very quarters where thou\nshalt look for special love and faithfulness thou\nshalt meet with great unfaithfulness, sufferings, and\naffliction. And this shall happen in such manifold\nways, that those who shall continue more than\nordinarily true to thee will have to suffer with thee\nfrom compassion,\n\nThe third suffering is this. Hitherto thou has\nbeen like an unweaned sucking child, and thou hast\nfloated in divine sweetness, as a fish in the sea. I\nwill now withdraw this from thee, and let thee\nstarve and wither; and thou shalt be forsaken both\nby God and the world, and be openly despised by\nfriends and foes. In a word: whatever thou shalt\ntake in hand in order to delight or comfort thee,\nshall come to naught.\n\nThe Servitor was struck with such consternation\nat these words that his whole frame trembled ; and\nspringing up impetuously, he fell down upon the\nground in the form of a cross, and calling upon God\n\n72 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwith a cry of agony from his very heart, besought\nHim by His kind fatherly goodness to take away\nfrom him, if it were possible, this great misery ; or,\nif this could not be, to let the heavenly will of His\neternal ordinance be accomplished in him.\n\nAfter he had lain a good while in this extremity\nof anguish, something spoke within him thus :—Be\nof good cheer. I Myself will be with thee, and I\nwill aid thee graciously to overcome in all these\nunusual trials. Thereupon he arose, and gave him-\nself up entirely into God's hands. Now when it\nbecame morning, and he was sitting sorrowfully in\nhis cell after Mass, thinking over these things, and\nfrozen with cold, for it was winter, he heard a voice\nwithin him, saying :—Open the window of the cell,\nand look out and learn. He opened the window,\nand looked out, and he beheld a dog running about\nin the middle of the cloister with a worn-out foot-\ncloth in its mouth. The dog was acting very\nstrangely with the foot-cloth, for he kept tossing it\nup and down, and tearing holes in it. Thereupon\nthe Servitor looked up to heaven, sighing deeply,\nand it was said to him:—Even so shalt thou be in\nthy brethren's mouths. Then the thought came to\nhim :—Since it cannot be otherwise, resign thyself\nto it; and, as the foot-cloth suffers itself to be\nmaltreated in silence, even so do thou. He went\ndown into the cloister, and, taking up the foot-cloth,\npreserved it for many years as a jewel most dear to\nhim ; and as often as he felt inclined to break out\ninto impatience, he used to bring it forth, that he\nmight recognize himself in it and keep silence in\n\nPAINFUL TO DIE INTERIORLY 73\n\nregard to all men. If it sometimes happened that\nhe half turned away his face in anger from some of\nthose who persecuted him, he was inwardly rebuked\nfor it, and it was said to him:—Remember that J,\nthy Lord, turned not away My beautiful face from\nthose who spat upon Me. Then he would bitterly\nrepent of what he had done, and turn himself to\nthem again very lovingly.\n\nIn the beginning, when he met with any suffering,\nthe thought would come to his mind :—O God, that\nthis suffering were at an end, that I might have\ndone with it! Thereupon the Child Jesus appeared\nto him in a vision on our Lady's feast of Candlemas,\nand rebuked him, saying :—Thou dost not yet know\nhow to suffer; but I will teach thee: Behold!\nwhen thou art in any suffering, thou shouldst not\nlook onwards to the end of that suffering, fancying\nthat thou wilt then be at rest; but so long as the\nsuffering lasts, thou shouldst be getting thyself\nready to accept with patience another suffering,\nwhich is sure to follow in its train. Thou shouldst\ndo like a maiden picking roses. When she has\npicked one rose from the rose-bush, this does not\nsatisfy her, but she resolves to pick many more from\nit. Even so dothou. Make up thy mind for this\nbeforehand, that, when one suffering comes to an\nend, another will forthwith meet thee.\n\nAmong other friends of God who foretold to him\nthe new sufferings which were hanging over him,\nthere came to him a person of eminent sanctity,\nwho said that, on the Angel's festival, after matins\nshe had prayed to God for him with exceeding ©\n\n74 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nearnestness ; and that it seemed to her in a vision\nthat she was carried to the place where he then was,\nand that she beheld a beautiful rose-tree grow up\nover him, and spread itself on all sides far and wide.\nIt was of a ravishing form, and full of lovely red\nroses. On looking up to heaven it seemed to her\nthat the sun rose all beautiful, without a cloud and\nwith much splendour. Now there stood in the sun's\nradiance a lovely Child in the form of a cross ; and\nshe saw a ray come forth from the sun to the\nServitor's heart, and it was so mighty that it set on\nfire all his veins and limbs. But the rose-tree bowed\nitself between, and did its best with its thick boughs\nto shut out the sunshine from his heart. Neverthe-\nless it could not succeed in this, for the outstreaming\nrays were so powerful that they pierced through all\nthe boughs and shone down right into his heart.\nThen she saw the Child come forth from the sun,\nand she said to him :—Dear Child, whither art Thou\ngoing? He answered :—I am going to My beloved\nServitor, Upon which she said:—Sweet Child,\nwhat means the sun's brightness in Thy Servitor's\nheart? He replied :—I have made his loving heart\nthus bright and glorious, that the reflection of its\nradiance, streaming forth from out his heart, may\ndraw lovingly the hearts of all men to Me. The\nthick rose-tree, which represents the manifold suffer-\nings that await him, cannot hinder this, but right\nnobly it shall be accomplished in him.\n\nInasmuch as seclusion is profitable to a beginner,\nthe Servitor resolved to remain for more than ten\nyears secluded in his monastery from all the world.\n\nPAINFUL TO DIE INTERIORLY 75\n\nWhen he went from table he used to shut himself\nup in his chapel and remain there. He refused to\nhold any long conversations at the convent door or\nelsewhere with women, or even with men, nor would\nhe look at them. He fixed a short limit for his\neyes, beyond which he suffered them not to look,\nand the limit was five feet. He remained always\nat home, and would never go out either into the\ntown or the country. His one aim was to practise\nsolitude. All this watchfulness, however, served\nhim nothing ; for during these years there fell upon\nhim exceeding grievous sufferings ; and they crushed\nhim down so heavily that he became an object of\npity to himself and others,\n\nIn order that his prison-house might be more\nagreeable to him during the ten years which he had\nresolved to spend in voluntary confinement in his\nchapel, he directed a painter to draw for him the\nholy fathers of olden time with their sayings, as well\nas other devout pictures, calculated to encourage a\nsufferer to patience under afflictions. But God\nwould not let this be according to his wish; for\nwhen the painter had sketched out the ancient\nfathers with charcoal on the chapel walls, his eyes\nbecame so bad that he could no longer see to draw.\nHe therefore begged permission to depart, saying\nthat the work must wait until he got well again.\nThe Servitor turned to the painter, and inquired\nhow long it would take him to get well. The\npainter answered :—Twelve weeks. Upon this the\nServitor told him to set up again the ladder, which\nhe had taken down, against the outlines of the\n\n76 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nancient fathers on the wall; and when this was\ndone, he mounted the ladder, and, after rubbing his\nhands upon the pictures, stroked the painter's suffer-\ning eyes, saying :—In the might of God, and through\nthe holiness of these ancient fathers, I bid you,\nmaster, come back here to-morrow morning with\nyour eyes quite cured. Early next morning the\npainter came back joyous and well, and he thanked\nGod and the Servitor for his cure. The Servitor,\nhowever, did not ascribe it to himself, but to the\nancient fathers, on whose pictures he had rubbed his\nhands.\n\nDuring this same period it seemed as if God had\ngiven leave to the evil spirits and to all men to\ntorment him. Innumerable were the sufferings\nwhich he then endured from the evil spirits, who,\nin horrible assumed forms and with savage cruelty,\ncaused him so much pain and grief, day and night,\nawake and asleep, that his sufferings from this source\nwere exceeding great.\n\nOnce upon a time he was tempted with a great\nlonging to eat meat, for he had passed many years\nwithout touching meat. Now, after he had eaten\nthe meat, and had scarcely finished satisfying his\nlonging, there came and stood over against him,\nin a vision, a monstrous hellish figure, who, after\nrepeating the verse \" Adhuc escz eorum erant in ore\nipsorum, et ira Dei descendit super eos\" (Ps, Ixxvii.\n30; Numb. xi. 33),—As yet the morsel was in their\nmouth, and the wrath of God came down upon them,\n—cried out in a barking voice to those who stood\nby :—This monk is guilty of death, and I will\n\nOF INTERIOR SUFFERINGS 7\n\nexecute the sentence on him. But when they\nwould not suffer this, he drew forth a horrible auger,\nsaying :—Since I may not do anything else to thee,\nI will at least torture thy body with this auger; and\nI will bore it into thee through thy mouth in such a\nmanner, that the anguish which thou shalt suffer will\nbe as great as the pleasure thou didst take in eating\nthe meat. And having said this, he drove the auger\nin cruel fashion against the Servitor's mouth. Where-\nupon immediately his chin-bones and teeth swelled\nup, and his mouth became so swollen that he could\nnot open it, and for three days he could not eat\nmeat or anything else, except only what he could\nsuck up through his teeth.\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nOF INTERIOR SUFFERINGS\n\nMONG his various sufferings, there were\nA= interior ones which caused him great\n\ntorment. One of these was impious\nimaginations against the faith. Thus, there would\ncome into his mind the thought :—How was it\npossible for God to become man? with many other\nthoughts of that kind. The more he fought against\nthem, the more perplexed he became. God suffered\nhim to remain under these temptations about nine\nyears, during which he ceased not with wailing\nheart and weeping eyes to cry to God and all the\nSaints for help. At last, when God deemed that\nthe time was come, He set him entirely free from\n\n78 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthem, and bestowed upon him great steadfastness\nand clearness of faith.\n\nThe second interior suffering was an inordinate\nsadness. He had such a continual heaviness of\nspirit that it was as if a mountain lay upon his\nheart. A partial cause of this was, that his turning\naway from creatures to God had been carried out\nwith such excessive speed and severity, that his\nbodily frame had suffered greatly from it. This\ntrial lasted for eight years.\n\nThe third interior suffering was a temptation\nwhich assailed him, that it would never be well with\nhis soul hereafter, but that he must be damned\neternally, no matter how rightly he should act, or\nhow many spiritual exercises he should practise ;\nfor all this would be of no avail to place him among\nthe saved, and it all seemed to him lost labour from\nthe beginning. His mind was saddened with this\nthought day and night; and when he had to go\ninto choir, or to do any other good work, the\ntemptation presented itself:—What does it profit\nthee to serve God? Then he would say to himself,\nvery mournfully :—Surely there is nothing but a\ncurse for thee. Never will it be well with thee.\nGive it all up, then, betimes. Thou art lost, do\nwhat thou wilt. Then he would think within\nhimself :—Alas, utterly wretched that I am, whither\nshall I betake myself? If I quit the Order, hell\nwill be my lot; and if I remain in it, nothing but\nmisery awaits me. Alas, Lord God! was there ever\na man worse off than I am? Sometimes he would\nstand deep sunk into himself and groan many times\n\nHE WENT FORTH TO SUCCOUR 79\n\nheavily, while the tears ran down his cheeks. Then\nhe would beat his breast and say :—Alas, O God!\nam I then never to be saved? Oh! what a mourn-\nful thing is this! Must I be miserable here and\nhereafter? Woe is me, that I ever came forth from\nmy mother's womb.\n\nThis temptation fell upon him through an\ninordinate fear. It had been told him that his\nadmission into the Order had been connected with\nthe bestowal of temporal goods, and from this comes\nthe sin called simony, which consists in the purchase\nof something spiritual with something temporal.\nWhat he heard sunk deep into his heart, until at\nlength he was quite overpowered by the anguish\nthat it caused him.\n\nAfter this terrible suffering had lasted about ten\nyears, all which time he never looked upon himself\nin any other light than as one damned, he went to\nthe holy Master Eckart, and made known to him\nhis suffering. The holy man delivered him from it,\nand thus set him free from the hell in which he had\nso long dwelt.\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nHOW HE WENT FORTH TO SUCCOUR AND TO SAVE\nHIS NEIGHBOUR\n\nFTER he had spent many years in attend-\nAw: to his interior life, God urged him, by\nmanifold revelations, to apply himself also\nto the salvation of his neighbour. The great\n\n80 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsufferings which befell him in this work were beyond\nnumber and measure. But how many souls were\nsuccoured by him was once shown by God to one\nof His chosen friends named Anna, who was, more-\nover, a spiritual daughter of the Servitor. She was\none day rapt in ecstasy at prayer, and she saw the\nServitor saying Mass upon a lofty mountain. An\ninnumerable multitude of children were hanging in\nand on him, but each differently from the rest; for\nthe more anyone had of God, the more firmly he\nrested on the Servitor; and the more inwardly he\nwas drawn into the Servitor, the more perfectly God\nturned Himself to him. She saw, moreover, that\nthe Servitor was praying earnestly for them all to\nthe everlasting God, whom he held in his priestly\nhands. Upon this, she besought God to make\nknown to her what the vision meant. And God\nanswered her in this wise :—-The innumerable multi-\ntude of children who hang upon him are all those\nwho are his penitents or disciples, or are in other\nways bound to him by ties of special love and\nfaithfulness. All these he has commended to Me\nin such sort, that I will guide their life to a good\nend, and they shall never be parted from My glad-\nsome countenance. Whatever heavy sufferings may\non this account befall him, shall be all fully made\nup to him by the joys which I will give him,\n\nBefore the above-named noble maiden became\nacquainted with the Servitor of the Eternal Wisdom,\nshe had received from God an interior drawing and\ndesire to see him. Now it happened once that she\nwas rapt in ecstasy, and in the vision a voice bade\n\nHE WENT FORTH TO SUCCOUR 81\n\nher go to the place where the Servitor then was, and\nsee him. She answered:—I do not know him\namong the multitude of the brothers. The voice\nreplied :—It is easy to know him among the others.\nHe has around his head a green ring, entwined\nround and round with red and white roses, like a\ngarland of roses. The white roses signify his purity,\nand the red roses his patience amid the manifold\nsufferings which he must endure; and just as the\nring of gold, which it is the custom to paint round\nthe heads of Saints, represents the everlasting bliss\nwhich they now possess in God, even so the ring of\nroses indicates the multiplicity of sufferings which\nGod's dear friends must bear while they are still\nserving Him in this world with knightly exercises.\nThen the angel led her in the vision to where he\nwas, and she soon recognized him by the ring of\nroses which was round his head.\n\nDuring this same period of suffering, the Servitor's\ngreatest interior support came from the continued\nhelp which the holy angels gave him.\n\nOnce upon a time, when his outward senses were\nabsorbed in ecstasy, it seemed to him in a vision\nthat he was carried to a place in which there was a\nvery great number of the angelic host, and that one\nof those who stood nearest to him said :—Put forth\nthy hand and look. He put forth his hand and\nlooked: and out of the middle of his hand there\nsprung up a beautiful red rose, with lovely green\nleaves. The rose was so large that it covered his\nhand to his fingers, and it was so beautiful and\nresplendent that it gave great pleasure to his eyes,\n\n82 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nHe turned his hand round outside and inside, and\non both sides it was ravishing to look at. Greatly\nmarvelling in his heart at this, he said :—Dear\ncomrade, what means this vision? The youth\nanswered :—It means sufferings upon sufferings,\nand over again sufferings upon sufferings, which God\nintends to give thee. This is what is signified by\nthe four roses on thy two hands and thy two feet.\nThe Servitor, with a deep sigh, said :—Alas, gentle\nLord! it is a singular ordinance of God _ that\nsufferings should cause such pain to men, and yet\nbe so beautiful an adornment to them spiritually.\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nCONCERNING MANIFOLD SUFFERINGS\n\nNCE upon a time he came to a small town,\n() and near the town there was a wooden\n\nimage, a crucifix, which stood in a little\nhouse, as the custom is; and it was the popular\nbelief that many miracles were wrought there, on\nwhich account people used to bring thither wax\nfigures and much wax in honour of God. When he\narrived opposite the crucifix, he went up and knelt\nbefore it; and then, after he had spent some time in\nprayer, he arose and proceeded with his companion\nto the inn. This kneeling and praying of his before\nthe crucifix had been seen by a little girl, a child of\nseven years old. Now, the night following, there\ncame thieves to the image, and they broke open the\n\n¥\n\nMANIFOLD SUFFERINGS 83\n\ndoors, and stole all the wax which they found there.\nAs soon as it was day, the news came into the town,\nand was carried to the citizen who had the charge\nof the image. He inquired into the matter, in\norder to discover who had committed this great\nrobbery. Upon which, the above-mentioned child\nsaid that she knew well who had done it. And\nwhen she was pressed to make it known, and to\npoint out the villain, she said :—No one is guilty of\nthe crime except the brother, meaning by this the\nServitor; for, she added:—I saw him yesterday\nkneel before the image, and then go into the town.\n\nThe citizen took these words of the child as\ntruth, and repeated them on all sides, so that the\ncalumny concerning the brother spread through the\ntown, and he was charged with the crime on these\nslight grounds; and many an evil judgment was\npassed upon him, how that he ought to be killed,\nand, as a wicked man, to be put out of the world.\n\nWhen the Servitor heard all this, he was filled\nwith consternation, though he well knew that he was\nguiltless, and, with a deep groan, he said to God :—\nAlas, Lord! since it is my lot to suffer, and I must\nneeds suffer, if Thou wouldst but give me ordinary\nsufferings, such as would not bring me to disgrace,\nI would bear them joyfully ; but by destroying my\ngood name Thou dost strike me to the heart in\nthose things which of all others are the sorest to me.\nHe remained in this town until the people ceased to\ntalk about it.\n\nIt came to pass, in another town, that there arose\na great outcry concerning him, so that the whole\n\n84. LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntown and neighbourhood was full of it. There was\na monastery in this town, in which there was a stone\ncrucifix, of the exact size, it was said, of Christ\nHimself. Now, one day during Lent, fresh blood\nwas observed on the crucifix, just beneath the wound\non the side. The Servitor ran thither with the\nothers to behold the wonder, and when he saw the\nblood, he went up and received it on his finger, in\nthe sight of all who stood around. The concourse\nof people from every part of the town soon became\nvery great, and they forced him to stand forward\nbefore them all, and relate what he had seen and\ntouched. He did this, adding at the same time the\ncaution, that he pronounced no judgment about the\nmatter, whether it was from God or man, but that\nhe left this to others.\n\nThis story resounded far and wide throughout\nthe country, and each person added to it what he\npleased, and it was given out that the Servitor had\npricked himself in the finger and rubbed the blood\nupon the crucifix, in order that it might be supposed\nthat the crucifix had bled of itself, and that he had\ndevised this through covetousness, with a view to\ndraw a crowd of people thither, that he might plunder\nthem of their property. The same evil report was\nspread abroad about him in other towns also.\n\nAs soon as the citizens of the town heard this\ncalumnious tale, there was nothing left for him but\nto escape by night out of the place, and they pursued\nhim, and would have killed him, if he had not gone\naway. They even offered a large sum of money to\nwhoever would bring him in alive or dead. Evil\n\nMANIFOLD SUFFERINGS 85\n\nrumours of this kind were circulated in abundance\nconcerning him; and wherever these tales reached,\nthey were received as truth; and his name was\ngreeted with many revilings and curses, and many\nan unjust judgment was passed upon him. Some\npersons, indeed, who knew him, were more reason-\nable; but, if they ventured to assert his innocence,\nthey were so savagely put down, that they were\nforced to hold their peace, and let him perish in the\nworld's esteem.\n\nAn honourable lady, a citizen of the town, when\nshe heard all the marvellous sufferings which the\npoor innocent man had undergone, came to him out\nof compassion, in the midst of his distress, and\nadvised him to procure from the town a sealed\ntestimonial of his guiltlessness, that he might take it —\nwith him wherever he went, for every one in the town\nknew well that he was innocent. He replied :—-Ah,\ndear lady! if this were my only suffering, and if it\nwere God's intention to lay no other affliction upon\nme but this, I would apply for the testimonial ; but\nas things are, so much suffering of this kind falls to\nmy lot every day, that I must leave it to God and\nbear it.\n\nAt another time he set forth on a journey to the\nNetherlands, to be present at a chapter, and he\nfound sufferings ready waiting for him on his arrival,\nfor there came thither to attack him two persons of\nhigh position in the Order, who were very active in\ntheir endeavours to bring him into great trouble.\nWith quaking heart, he was put upon his trial, and\nmany things were laid to his charge, among which\n\n86 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwas the following :—They said that he had written\nbooks containing false doctrine, which had defiled\nthe whole country with heretical filth. In conse-\nquence he was harshly and severely reprimanded,\nand he was threatened with heavy punishment,\nthough God and the world knew that he was\nguiltless in the matter.\n\nThese crushing trials did not satisfy God, but He\nmade their number still greater. He sent the\nServitor a sickness on his journey home, and caused\nhim to be attacked by a violent fever. Besides this,\na dangerous abscess gathered inwardly, close to his\nheart ; so that, what with interior anguish and out-\nward sufferings, he came so near to death that his\ncompanion often looked at him to see whether the\nmoment had not come for his soul to take its\ndeparture.\n\nAs he lay thus utterly wretched in a strange\nconvent in bed, and could not sleep at night from\nthe straits to which his grievous sickness had reduced\nhim, he began to enter into account with God in this\nwise :—Woe is me, O just God, that Thou hast so\nexceedingly overburthened my sick frame with bitter\nsuffering, and wounded my heart through and\nthrough with the great dishonour and shame that\nhas been done me, and that I am thus encompassed\nwith bitter anguish from without and from within!\nWhen wilt Thou cease afflicting me, O gentle\nFather? When wilt thou deem it enough? Then\nhe set before his mind the death-agony which Christ\nendured on the Mount of Olives, and while con-\ntemplating this, he crawled from his bed to the\n\nMANIFOLD SUFFERINGS 87\n\nbench which stood beside it, for he could not bear to\nlie down, owing to the abscess.\n\nWhile he sat thus in misery, it seemed to him in\na vision that there came into the chamber a great\ncompany of the heavenly host to comfort him, and\nthat they began to sing one of the songs of heaven,\nwhich rang so sweetly in his ears that his whole\nbeing was transformed by it. As they sang thus\njoyously, and the sick Servitor sat there so full of\nsorrow, a youth came to him, and said very lovingly :\n—wWherefore art thou silent? Why singest thou\nnot with us? And yet thou knowest right well the\nsong of heaven. The Servitor, with a sigh from his\nsorrowful heart, made answer, saying :—Alas! seest\nthou not how full of woe I am? Whenever\ndid a dying man rejoice? Do you want me to\nsing? Iam singing now the wail of suffering. If\nI have ever sung joyously, that is all over now, for I\nam waiting only for the hour of my death. To this\nthe youth replied right joyfully :—\" Viriliter age.\"\nBe of good cheer. Be joyous. Nothing of this\nkind shall befall thee. Thou shalt yet sing in thy\nlifetime such a song that God in His eternity shall\nbe glorified, and many a sufferer consoled by it.\nUpon this, his eyes ran over, and he burst into\ntears, and at the same instant the abscess within\nhim broke, and departed from him, and he was\nrestored to health upon the spot.\n\nAfterwards, when he reached home, there came\nto him a blessed friend of God, saying :—Dear sir,\nthough it is true that on this journey you were\nmore than a hundred miles away from me, never-\n\n88 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntheless, what you suffered during it was quite present\nto me. I saw one day with my soul's eyes the\nDivine Judge sitting upon His throne, and, by His\npermission, two evil spirits were let loose, who\npersecuted you by means of the two prelates who\ncaused your sufferings. Then I cried to God,\nsaying :—Alas, gentle God! how canst Thou bear\nto let Thy friend be in such great and _ bitter\nsuffering ! Upon which God answered me in this\nwise :—It is for this end that I have chosen him\nfor Myself, that by means of these sufferings he\nmay be fashioned after the image of My only\nbegotten Son. Nevertheless) My justice must\navenge the great wrong that has been done him,\nby the speedy death of the two who have tormented\nhim. This came to pass in very truth soon after-\nwards, and in such a way that many persons became\naware of it.\n\nCHATIER <x Ve\n\nOF THE GREAT SUFFERING WHICH BEFELL\nHIM THROUGH HIS SISTER\n\nHE Servitor had a sister who was under the\nobedience of the religious life. Now, it\nhappened that, while the brother was\n\nliving elsewhere, she began to throw aside restraint\nand attach herself to evil company. On one\n\noccasion, when she had gone out with these\ncompanions, she went astray and fell into sin, and\n\nGREAT SUFFERING 89\n\nthen, through grief and wretchedness at what had\nbefallen her, left her convent, and ran away he\nknew not whither. When he returned home, the\nmiserable tale was being whispered about, and\nsome one came and told him what had taken place.\nOn hearing it, he became like a stone from sorrow,\nand his heart died within him, and he went about\nlike one out of his mind. He asked where she\nwas, but no one could tell him where. Then the\nthought came to him :—A new suffering is quite\nright, but that it should be here! Well! lose not\nheart. See whether thou mayst not be able to\nbring back again the poor ruined soul, and offer at\nonce the sacrifice of thy worldly honour to the\nmerciful God. Cast aside all human shame, and\nspring into the deep gulf to her and lift her up.\nWhen the brothers stood in the choir at office,\n\nand he had to pass up through the choir, all his\ncolour left him, and he felt as if his hair was\nstanding on end. He had not courage to go up\nto any one, for all were ashamed of him, and those\nwho had formerly been his companions fled from\nhim. If he sought counsel of his friends, they\nturned away their faces from him contemptuously.\nThen he called to mind poor Job, and said:—Well!\nthe compassionate God must needs comfort me,\nsince I am abandoned by all the world.\n\nHe inquired on all sides whither he should go,\nthat he might bring speedy help to the forsaken\nsoul. At last he was directed to a certain place,\nand he set out for it. It was St Agnes' Day, and\nthe weather was cold, and there had been a pouring\n\n90 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nrain throughout the night, so that the brooks were\nmuch swollen. On trying to jump over a brook, he\nfell into it from weakness. He got up as soon as\nhe could, but his inward distress was so excessive\nthat he heeded little this outward mishap. After\nhe had gone some distance farther, his sister was\npointed out to him in a small cottage. He went up\nto it in anguish of soul, and going in, found her\nthere. As soon as he saw her, he sank down upon\nthe bench on which she was sitting, and twice his\nsenses left him. When he came to himself again,\nhe began to cry aloud piteously, and to lament and\nweep and beat his hands together above his head,\nsaying :—Alas, my God, how hast Thou forsaken\nme! Then his eyes failed him, and his mouth\nbecame fixed, and his hands stiffened, and he lay\nthus unconscious for awhile in a faint. But as soon\nas he came to himself again, he took his sister into\nhis arms, and said:—Alas, my child! Alas, my\nsister! What have I lived to see in thee? Alas,\ngentle maiden, Saint Agnes, how bitter has thy\nfeast-day become to me! Then he sank down\nagain, and his senses left him.\n\nUpon this, his sick sister stood up and fell at his\nfeet, with great and bitter tears, and in a voice of\nlamentation addressed him thus:—Alas, my Lord\nand Father! what a sad day was that which\nbrought me into the world, since I have lost God\nand caused you such great suffering. Alas, true\nbrother and rescuer of my lost soul! though I am not\nworthy that you should speak to me or answer me,\nstill take me to your true heart, and call to mind\n\nGREAT SUFFERING gI\n\nthat in nothing can you be more true to God and\nact more like Him than in what you do for a cast-\naway sinner and an overburdened heart. Since\nGod has made you full of pity for all pitiable things,\nhow will you refuse to pity me, a poor castaway\nsinner, who am become an object of pity to God\nand all the world, now that my grievous sin has so\nspeedily and thoughtlessly made me vile in the\neyes of everyone? What all reject and disdain,\nyou seek out. When all are justly ashamed of me,\nyou go openly to the cause of your suffering and\ndisgrace, and seek me out. Oh! I beseech you\nwith an anguish of heart which knows no rest,\nprostrate and bowed down beneath your feet,\nreverence God in me, poor fallen sinner, and forgive\nme altogether this crime and wrong which I have\ndone you, to the hurt of my poor soul. Call to\nmind, I pray you, that if in this world I have\nlessened your honour and harmed your person and\nlife, you will receive instead singular honour and\nconsolation in eternity ; and refuse not to pity me,\nfor I am the poor maid who has fallen into the\nsnare, and I must bear this loss in time and eternity,\nin heart and soul for evermore, and, besides all, be\na burden to myself and every one. Oh! let me\nthen be your poor needy child in this world and the\nnext. Nothing higher does my heart desire than\nthat I may have no longer the right to be, or to be\ncalled, your sister. Only let me in pity be your\nlost sister, and by right your found and well-earned\nneedy one, This comes so truly from the very\nbottom of my heart, that when anyone calls me\n\n92 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nyour sister, or points me out as such, it is a peculiar\nbitterness to my heart; and I pity you when you\nare where you see me in your presence and must\nneeds suffer from it, for I know that you cannot\nhelp suffering all the shame which a heart naturally\nfeels at such times. Anything further in common\nbetween us there neither ought to be henceforth,\nnor do I desire it, for your eyes and ears must be\nfilled with shame and horror at me, All these\npainful things I will endure, and offer them up to\nGod for my shameful sin, in the hope that you will\nmercifully pity me, poor sinner, and faithfully satisfy\nfor me, and help my poor soul to find grace again\nbefore God.\n\nWhen the brother came to himself again, he\nanswered her sorrowful lament in this wise :—Alas,\nthe hot tears, burst forth from a full heart which\ncan no longer contain itself for anguish! Alas, my\nchild! Thou, my heart and soul's only joy from my\nchildhood up, in whom I had dreamed to find joy\nand comfort throughout life, come hither and let me\npress thee to this dead heart of thy wretched\nbrother. Let me water my dear sister's face with\nthe bitter tears of my eyes. Let me wail and weep\nover my dead child. Oh, a thousand deaths of the\nbody, how slight a woe! Oh, the death of the soul\nand of honour, how great a woe! Oh, sorrow and\nsufferings of my wretched heart! O God, merciful\nGod, what have I lived to see! O my child! come\nhither to me. Since I have found my child, I will\nweep and lament no more; and I will receive thee\nto-day with the same grace and pity with which I\n\nGREAT SUFFERING 93\n\npray the merciful God to receive me, a sinful\ncreature at my departure; and I will gladly forgive\nthee altogether the exceeding pain and sorrow which\nI have suffered through thee, and must go on\nsuffering to my life's end ; and I will help thee with\nall my might to expiate and correct thy sin in the\nsight of God and of the world.\n\nAll those who saw and heard these lamentations\nof the two were so moved to pity thereby, that they\ncould none of them restrain themselves, but were\nforced to weep. Thus, by his sorrowful bearing\nand his loving consolations, he so softened her, that\nshe became willing to return at once to religious\nobedience.\n\nLater on, after he had with unspeakable shame,\nand great toil and labour, brought back in his arms\nto the merciful God this lost sheep, God so ordered\nit that she was received into a far more satisfactory\nplace than where she was before. And her earnest-\nness in God's service became so great, and her holy\nand well-guarded manner of life showed such per-\nseverance in all virtues until her death, that the\nbrother was well repaid in the sight of God and of\nthe world for all the pain and suffering which he\nhad ever had on her account.\n\nWhen the true-hearted brother saw that his\naffliction had turned out so exceedingly well, it gave\nhim pleasure and joy, and he called to mind how\nGod secretly orders all things so that they turn to\ngood for the good ; and then He looked up to God\nwith great thankfulness, and his heart melted within\nhim in praise of God.\n\n94 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\nOF THE GRIEVOUS SUFFERING WHICH BEFELL\nHIM THROUGH A COMPANION\n\nNCE upon a time, when he was about to\n()=: forth upon a journey, there was assigned\n\nto him for his companion a_ lay-brother\nwho was not quite right in his head. He received\nthis brother very reluctantly, for he had continually\nbefore his mind the sufferings which he had on\nformer occasions undergone through the ill-behaviour\nof his companions. Nevertheless, he submitted\nhimself, and took the brother with him.\n\nNow, it so happened that they arrived before\nbreakfast at a village in which an annual fair was\nbeing held on that day, and a very great number of\npeople of all sorts were collected together. The\nServitor's companion, having been wet with the rain,\nwent into a house to a fire, and declared that he\nwould not go about with him anywhere, adding that\nthe brother must do whatever he had to do without\nhim, and that he would wait for him there. The\nbrother had scarcely left the house when _ his\ncompanion rose up, and seated himself at table with\na set of rough fellows and dealers who had travelled\nto the fair. When these men perceived that the\nwine had got well into his head, and he had left\nthe table, and was standing under the yard-door\ngaping about him, they set upon him, saying that\nhe had stolen a cheese from them.. Now at that\n\nGRIEVOUS SUFFERING 95\n\nvery moment, when these wicked people were\ntreating him in this cruel manner, there came up\nfour or five good-for-nothing soldiers, who also fell\nupon him, exclaiming that the scoundrel monk was\na poisoner; for it was just then that there was the\noutcry about poisoning. Upon this, they laid hold\nof him, and made a great uproar, so that there was\na general rush to the place.\n\nWhen the lay-brother saw what course things\nhad taken, and that he was a prisoner, he wished\nvery much to get free, and, turning round, he said\nto them :—Stop a moment. Only stand still and\nlet me speak, and J will confess it all to you, and\ntell you how things are. They stood still, and\neverybody listened ; upon which, he began thus :—\nLook at me now ; you cannot help seeing that I am\na fool and a witless man, and no one makes any\naccount of me; but my companion is a man of\nconsummate wisdom, and the Order has entrusted\nhim with little bags of poison to throw into the\nwells between this place and Alsace, whither he is\nnow journeying ; and his intention is to defile every\nplace to which he comes with vile poison. But see\nthat you make haste and seize him, or he will have\ndone a murderous deed which can never be healed ;\nfor he has just now taken out a little bag of poison\nand cast it into the village well, and all those who\nhave come here to the fair and shall drink of the\nwell may die without fail. This is why I stayed\nbehind, and would not go out with him, for it is a\ngreat grief to me. And asa voucher that I speak\nthe truth, you must know that he has a great bag\n\n96 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfor books, full of little bags of poison and a quantity\nof florins, which he and the Order have received\nfrom the Jews for carrying out this murderous\ndesign.\n\nWhen the wild crew, and all those who had\nforced their way into the house, heard these words,\nthey became mad with rage, and with loud yells\nthey shouted out :—Quick after the murderer, that\nhe escape us not! And one seized a pike, and\nanother a battle-axe, each one taking what he could,\nand they rushed about in a state of frenzy, forcing\nopen the houses and the closets, where they fancied\nthey might find him, and stabbing with their naked\nswords through the beds and the straw, until the\nwhole fair ran together, on account of the uproar.\n\nAmong the crowd there were strangers from\nother districts, honourable men, who knew the\nServitor well, when they heard his name. These\npersons came forward and told the others that they\nwere wronging him, for that he was a very pious\nman, who would be very sorry to commit such a\ncrime. At length, as they could not find him, they\ngave over the search, and carried his companion as\na prisoner to the village magistrate, who ordered\nhim to be shut up in a cell.\n\nThe Servitor knew nothing of all this trouble;\nbut when he thought the time for breakfast had\ncome, and that his companion had quite dried\nhimself at the fire, he set out for the Inn, intend-\ning to breakfast there. When he reached the Inn,\n. they began to tel] him the sad news, and related to\nhim all that had happened. Upon which, he ran\n\nGRIEVOUS SUFFERING 97\n\nstraightway in terror to the house where the\nmagistrate and his companion were, and besought\nthe magistrate to release him. The magistrate\nreplied that this could not be, for that he intended\nto confine him in a tower as a punishment for his\noffence. This seemed hard and unbearable to the\nServitor, and he ran hither and thither seeking\nhelp ; but he could find no one to aid him in this\nmatter. After he had busied himself in this way\nfor a long time, he at length, with much shame and\nbitterness, obtained his companion's release, though\nat great cost to himself.\n\nHe now fancied that his sufferings were at an\nend; but they were only just beginning. For he\nhad no sooner got free from the authorities with\ntrouble and loss, than his life was exposed to\nimminent danger. When he left the magistrate,\nabout vesper-time, a cry was raised among the\ncommon people and the mob that a poisoner was\nthere ; and they yelled at him as at a murderer, so\nthat he dared not pass along in front of the village.\nThey pointed at him, saying :—That is the poisoner.\nHe shall not escape us. He must be killed. We\nwill not let him off for money, like the magistrate.\nWhen he tried to escape by slipping away into the\nvillage, they yelled still more fiercely after him.\nSome of them said :—We ought to drown him in\nthe Rhine; which ran past the village. The others\nanswered :—No; the filthy murderer will defile all\nthe water: we should burn him. A huge peasant,\nin a sooty jerkin, snatched up a pike and, forcing\nhis way through to the front, cried out :—Hear me,\n\n98 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nmy masters, all of you. There is no more shameful\ndeath to which we can put this heretic than if I\nrun him through with this long pike, just as we\nstick a poisonous toad. Even so in like manner let\nme spit this poisoner naked on this pike, and then\nlift him up backwards, and drive him so firmly into\nthis stout fence that he will not be able to fall\noff. There let his foul carcass be dried by the\nwinds, that all who go by may have a view of the\nmurderer and curse him after his vile death; that\nso his misery may be the greater in this world and\nthe next, for richly has this utter miscreant deserved\nthis fate.\n\nThe Servitor heard these words with such terror\nthat he groaned deeply, and the great tears rolled\ndown his face from anguish.\n\nAll those who stood round the ring and sought\nhim wept bitterly; and some beat their breasts\nthrough pity, and struck their hands together above\ntheir heads; but no one dared to say anything in\npresence of the infuriated people, for they were\nafraid of being attacked themselves.\n\nWhen night began to fall, he went up and down\nwith weeping eyes, entreating that some one, for\nGod's sake, would pity him and give him shelter ;\nbut they repulsed him cruelly. Some kind-hearted\nwomen would have gladly taken him in but they\ndared not. At length, when the wretched sufferer\nwas thus in the straits of death, and all help from\nman had failed him, and they were only waiting for\nthe moment to fall upon him and kill him, he sunk\ndown beside a fence through anguish and fear of\n\nOF A MURDERER 99\n\ndeath, and, lifting up his miserable and swollen eyes\nto the Heavenly Father, exclaimed :—O Father of\nall pity, when wilt Thou bring me help to-day in\nmy great need? O kind heart, how hast Thou\nforgotten Thy great kindness towards me? O\nFather, O true, kind Father, help me, poor wretch,\nin these great straits! I cannot resolve in my\nheart, which is already dead, whether it be more\ntolerable for me to be drowned, or to be burned, or\nto die upon a pike, for one of these deaths must\nnow be mine. I commend my wretched spirit to\nThee to-day, and I pray Thee to show me pity in\nmy miserable death, for they are nigh unto me who\nare resolved to kill me.\n\nThis sorrowful plaint was overheard by a priest,\nwho, running thither, snatched him by force out of\ntheir hands, and brought him home into his house ;\nand, after keeping him during the night, that nothing\nmight happen to him, set him on his way next\nmorning early, safe out of all his troubles.\n\nCHAPrinERk AAVITT\n\nOF A MURDERER\n\nNCE upon a time, when the Servitor was\n( ) corns from the Netherlands, his road\n\nlay upon the Rhine. He had with him a\ncompanion who was young, and a good walker.\nNow, it happened one day that he could not keep\nup with his swift companion, for he had become\nvery tired and ill, and in consequence the companion\n\n100 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhad gone ahead of him about halfa mile.! The\nServitor looked back to see if any one was following\nin whose company he might go through the forest,\nat the skirts of which he had arrived, for it was late\nin the day. The forest, moreover, was extensive,\nand of ill repute, for many persons had been\nmurdered in it. The Servitor therefore stopped at\nthe outskirts of the forest, and waited to see whether\nany one was coming.\n\nAt length two persons approached at a very rapid\npace; the one was a young and pretty woman, the\nother a tall, ferocious-looking man, carrying a spear\nand a long knife, and he had on a black jerkin. The\nServitor was struck with dread at the terrible appear-\nance of the man, and he looked round tosee if there was\nany one following; but he sawnoone. He thought\nwithin himself :—-O Lord! what kind of people are\nthese? How amI to go through this great forest,\nand how will it fare with me? Then he made the\nsign of the cross over his heart and ventured it.\nWhen they were already deep in the forest, the\nwoman came forward to him, and asked him who he\nwas and what was his name. As soon as he had\ntold her his name, she answered :—Dear sir, I know\nyou well by name. I pray you to hear my con-\nfession. Then she began to confess, saying :—Alas,\nworthy sir! it is with sorrow I tell you my sad lot.\nDo you see the man who follows us? He is by\ntrade a murderer, and he murders people here in this\nwood and elsewhere, and takes from them their\nmoney and clothes. Henever spares any one. He\n\n1A German mile is about four English miles and a half.\n\nOF A MURDERER IOI\n\nhas deceived me and carried me off from my friends,\nwho are persons of good repute, and I am forced to\nbe his wife.\n\nThe Servitor was so terrified by these words that\nhe nearly fainted, and he cast a very sorrowful look\nall round him, if haply there were any one in sight\nor hearing, or any mode of escape. But there was\nno one to be seen or heard in the dark forest coming\nafter them, except the murderer. Then he thought\nwithin himself :—If, weary as thou art, thou triest\nto flee, he will soon overtake and kill thee; and if\nthou criest out, no one will hear thee in this wilder-\nness, and death again will be thy lot. He looked\nupwards very woefully and said :—-O my God, what\nis to become of me to-day? O death, how nigh\nthou art to me!\n\nWhen the woman had finished confessing, she\nwent back to the murderer, and besought him\nprivily, saying :—-Come now, dear friend, go forward,\nand make thy confession also; for it is a pious\nbelief among my people that whoever confesses to\nhim, however sinful he may be, will never be\nabandoned by God. Do it, then; that God may\nhelp thee, for His sake, at thy last hour.\n\nWhile the two were thus whispering to each other,\nthe Servitor's terror knew no bounds, and the\nthought came to him :—Thou art betrayed! The\nmurderer was silent, and went forward. Now, when\nthe poor Servitor saw the murderer advancing upon\nhim, spear in hand, his whole frame quivered with\ndread, and he thought within himself:—Alas, now\nthou art lost! For he knew not what they had been\n\n1o2 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntalking about. At this point it happened that the\nRhine ran close to the wood, and the narrow path\nlay along the bank. Moreover, the murderer so\ncontrived it that the brother was forced to walk on\nthe side next the water, while he walked next the\nwood. As the Servitor went along in this manner\nwith trembling heart, the murderer began to confess,\nand revealed to him all the murders and crimes\nwhich he had ever committed. Especially he spoke\nof a horrible murder, which struck terror into the\nServitor's heart, and which he thus described :—I\ncame once into this wood to rob and murder, as I\nhave done to-day, and meeting with a venerable\npriest, I confessed to him, while he was walking\nbeside me at this very spot, just as you are doing ;\nand when the confession was over, I drew forth this\nknife and ran him through with it, and then thrust\nhim from me over the bank into the Rhine.\n\nThese words, and the gestures with which the\nmurderer accompanied them, made the Servitor turn\npale, and terrified him so exceedingly that the cold\nsweat of death ran down his face upon his breast,\nand he shook with fear, and became speechless, and\nall his senses failed him, and he kept looking every\nmoment at his side, expecting that the same knife\nwould be thrust into him, and that he would then\nbe pushed over into the river. Now just as he was\non the point of falling down through agony of mind\nand utter inability to advance a step, he cast an\nexceeding piteous look all round him, like a person\nlonging to escape death. The murderer's damsel\ncaught sight of his woe-stricken face, and, running\n\nOF PERILS BY WATER 103\n\nup, received him in her arms as he was falling, and\nholding him fast, said :—Good sir, be not afraid.\nHe will not kill you. The murderer added :—Much\ngood has been told me concerning you, and you\nshall have the benefit of it to-day, for I will let you\nlive. Beg of God to help and favour me, a poor\ncriminai, at my last hour, for your sake.\n\nIn the meantime they had come out of the forest,\nand the Servitor's companion was sitting there under\na tree waiting for him. The murderer and his\npartner passed on. But the Servitor, calling to his\ncompanion, sank down on the ground, while his\nheart and his whole body trembled, as in an attack\nof ague, and he lay thus motionless for a long time.\nAt length, on recovering himself, he rose up and went\non his way; and he besought God earnestly and\nwith deep inward sighings for the murderer, that He\nwould let him have the benefit of the pious confidence\nwhich he had conceived towards the Servitor, and not\nsuffer him to be damned at his last hour. God gave\nthe Servitor such an inward assurance of this, that it\nwas impossible for him to doubt that the murderer\nwould be saved.\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\nOF PERILS BY WATER\nN one occasion when he had travelled to\nStrasburg, according to his custom, and\nwas on his return home, he fell into a\ngreat stream of water, caused by an overflow of the\n\n104 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nRhine, and he had with him the new little book\nwhich he had just finished, and with which the foul\nfiend was very wrath. As he was being swept\nhelplessly along by the current, at the peril of his\nlife, the faithful God so ordered it, that at that very\nmoment there came up by chance from Strasburg a\nyoung, newly made Prussian knight, who, venturing\ninto the turbid and raging water, saved the Servitor\nand his companion from a miserable death.\n\nOnce upon a time he set forth on a journey under\nobedience, when the weather was cold; and after\ntravelling on a carriage the whole day through until\nevening without food in the cold wind and frosty\nweather, he arrived at a troubled piece of water,\nwhich was deep and rapid, owing to the great\nquantity of rain which had fallen. The man who\ndrove him went too near the bank through careless-\nness, and the carriage turning over, the brother was\nshot out of it and fell into the water on his back.\nThe carriage fell over on him, so that he could not\nturn himself in the water either to this side or to\nthat, nor yet help himself at all; and in this state he\nand the carriage floated down for some distance\ntowards a mill. The driver and others ran thither,\nand jumping into the water seized hold of him, and\ntried their best to draw him out; but the heavy\ncarriage lay upon him and pressed him down.\nWhen at last they succeeded with great labour in\nlifting the carriage off him, they drew him out to\nland dripping wet, and he had not been long out of\nthe water before his clothes froze upon him from the\nexcessive cold. He began to tremble with cold, so\n\nOF PERILS BY WATER 105\n\nthat his teeth chattered, and in this miserable plight\nhe stood still for a long time, and then looking up\nto God, exclaimed :—O my God, what am I to do?\nWhat course am I to adopt? It is late and night\nis at hand, and, if there is no town or village near,\nwhere I can warm and refresh myself, I must die;\nand what a wretched kind of death this will be!\nHe looked around on all sides, until at last he espied\nfar away upon a hill a very small hamlet. He\ncrawled thither, all wet and frozen as he was, and\nby the time he reached it, night had set in. He\nwent up and down, begging for shelter in God's\nname; but he was driven away from the houses,\nand no one would take pity on him. Then the\nfrost and fatigue began to attack his heart, and put\nhim in fear for his life; upon which he cried with\na loud voice to God :—O Lord! O Lord! it would\nhave been better hadst Thou let me be drowned, for\nthen there would have been an end of it, instead of\nmy being frozen to death in this street.\n\nThese words of lamentation were overheard by a\npeasant, who had before this driven him away, but\nwho now, touched with compassion, took him in his\narms and brought him into his house, where he\nspent a miserable night.\n\n106 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER AXX\n\nOF A SHORT INTERVAL OF REST WHICH GOD\nONCE GRANTED HIM\n\nOD had accustomed him to this, that as\n(S= as one suffering left him another was\n\nready at hand to take its place; and in\nthis way God played with him unintermittingly.\nOnce only He allowed him an interval of rest; but it\ndid not last long.\n\nDuring this season of inaction he came to a\nnunnery, and, being asked by his spiritual children\nhow things went with him, he replied :—I fear they\nare going very ill with me at present, and for this\nreason. It is now four weeks since anyone has\nattacked me in my person or my good name, quite\nunlike what used to happen to me; so that I fear\nlest God has forgotten me. Now he had not sat\nlong with them at the grate when there came a\nbrother of the Order, who called him out, and said :—\nI was a little while ago at a Castle, and the Lord of\nit asked after you, where you were, and he did this\nvery savagely. And then he lifted up his hands,\nand swore before every one that wherever he found\nyou, he would run a sword through you. The same\nthing was also done by several fierce soldiers, his\nkinsmen, and they have been searching for you in\ndifferent monasteries round about in order to execute\ntheir evil designs upon you. Be warned, therefore,\nand take care of yourself, as you love your life.\n\nA LOVING ACCOUNT WITH GOD 107\n\nThe Servitor was struck with terror at these\nwords, and said to the brother:—I shall be very\nglad to hear what I have done to deserve the penalty\nof death. He answered :—The Lord of the Castle\nhas been told that you have misled his daughter,\nas well as many other persons, into a particular kind\nof life, to which the name of spirit is given, and that\nthose who follow it are called spirits; and he has\nbeen assured that they are the most abandoned set\non the face of the earth. But more than this.\nThere was another ferocious man there, who said of\nyou:—He has robbed me of a dear wife. She\ndraws her veil down now, and will no longer look at\nme. She will only look inward. He is the cause\nof this, and he shall pay for it.\n\nWhen the Servitor heard this tale, he replied :-—\nPraised be God! And hastening back immediately\nto the grate, said to his daughters:—Be of good\ncheer, my children. God has been mindful of me,\nand has not forgotten me. Then he told them the\ncruel tale, how that men were seeking to return him\nevil for the good that he had done.\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\n\nHOW HE ONCE ENTERED INTO A LOVING\nACCOUNT WITH GOD\n\nURING this season of the Servitor's\n]) :«= and in the places where he then\nlived, if he sometimes happened to go\ninto the Infirmary to give a little refreshment to\n\n108 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhis sick body, or if he sat silent at table according\nto his custom, he was sorely tried by mocking\ndiscourse and unseemly words ; and this at first was\na great suffering to him, and made him feel such\npity for himself that the hot tears would often run\ndown his cheeks, and force their way with what he\nate or drank into his mouth. At such times he\nused to look up silently to God, and, groaning\ninwardly, exclaim :—Alas, O God! art not Thou\ncontent with the misery which I suffer day and\nnight? Must even my scanty food at table be\nmingled with great persecution? This happened to\nhim oftentimes and abundantly.\n\nOnce on leaving table he could restrain himself\nno longer, and, going into his place of privacy, he\nsaid to God :—Dear God, Lord of the whole world,\nbe gentle and gracious to me, poor man, for I must\nenter into account with Thee to-day. I cannot\nhelp doing it; and though in truth Thou owest no\nman aught, and art bound to no one by reason of\nThy high sovereignty, nevertheless it well beseems\nThy infinite goodness graciously to suffer a full heart\nto seek refreshment in Thee, when it has no one else\nto whom it can make its plaint or who can comfort\nit. O Lord, I call Thee to witness, who knowest all\nthings, that from my mother's womb all my life\nthrough I have had a tender heart. I never yet\nsaw any one in pain or sadness but I had a heart-\nfelt pity for him; and I never willingly gave ear to\ntalk which would grieve anyone, whether behind his\nback or in his presence. All my companions must\nallow that it has been seldom heard of me that I\n\nA LOVING ACCOUNT WITH GOD io9\n\never by my words made worse the case of any\nbrother, or of anyone else, either to the prelate or to\nothers; but I made every one's case better, so far as\nI was able; and when I could not do this, I was\nsilent, or I fled away that I might not hear it. Out\nof pity I showed all the more friendship towards\nthose who were wounded in their honour, that they\nmight more easily recover their good repute. I was\ncalled the faithful father of the poor. I was a\nspecial friend of all God's friends. All who ever\ncame to me in sorrow, or aggrieved, always received\nsome good counsel from me, which made them leave\nme joyful and consoled; for I wept with those who\nwept, and I sorrowed with those who were in sorrow,\nuntil, like a mother, I brought them round again,\nNo one ever caused me any suffering, however great,\nbut if he only smiled kindly on me afterwards, it\nwas all past and over in God's name, as if it had\nnever been. O Lord, I will say no more about\nmankind, for I could not even see or hear the needs\nand sorrows of all the little birds and beasts and\nother creatures of God without being pierced to the\nheart thereby, and I used to pray the kind Lord of\nall to help them. Whatever lived on earth met\nwith favour and tender treatment from me. And\nyet Thou, O kind Lord, sufferest some, of whom\ndear Paul speaks, calling them false brethren, to\nbehave to me so exceeding cruelly, as Thou knowest\nwell, O Lord, and it is manifest enough. Alas,\nkind Lord! Look at this, and console me for it\nwith Thyself.\n\nAfter he had spent a long time in thus refreshing\n\n110 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhis heart with God, there came upon him a stillness\nof repose, and he was inwardly illuminated by God\nin this wise :—The childish account which thou hast\nentered into with Me comes from this, that thou\ndost not always keep before thee the words and\nways of the suffering Christ. Thou must know that\nGod is not satisfied with the mere kindliness of heart\nwhich thou professest ; He wants still more from\nthee. What He wants is, that when thou art\nopenly ill-treated by anyone in words or behaviour,\nthou shalt not only bear it patiently, but shalt die\nto self so utterly as not to go to sleep that night\nuntil thou hast sought out thy persecutor, and, as\nfar as possible, calmed his incensed heart with thy\nsweet words and ways; for with such meek lowliness\nthou wilt take from him sword and knife, and make\nhim powerless in his malevolence. See, this is the\nold and perfect way which the dear Christ taught\nHis disciples, when He said, \" Behold, I send you as\nlambs among the wolves \" (Luke x. 3).\n\nWhen the Servitor came to himself again, this\nperfect way seemed to him too burdensome, and it\nwas grievous to him to contemplate it, and still more\ngrievous to follow it. Nevertheless he submitted\nhimself thereto, and began to learn it.\n\nNow it happened one day after this that a lay\nbrother spoke very insolently to him, and abused\nhim openly. The Servitor bore it patiently in\nsilence, and he would gladly have let it rest there.\nBut he was inwardly admonished that he must do\nsomething better than this. Accordingly, when it\nbecame evening and the brother was eating in the\n\nA LOVING ACCOUNT WITH GOD 111\n\ninfirmary, the Servitor went and stood in front of\nthe infirmary, waiting for him to come out. As\nsoon as he came out, the Servitor fell on his knees~\nbefore him, and addressed him in words of humble\nentreaty :—I pray thee, dear worthy father, honour\nGod in me, poor man, and if I have troubled you,\nforgive me, for God's sake. The brother stood still,\nand, looking up in amazement, exclaimed, with a\nloud cry :—Ah me! what a marvellous thing you\nare doing! and yet you never injured me, nor anyone\nelse. It is I who have openly outraged you by my\nvillainous words. You must indeed forgive me, I\nentreat you. In this way his heart was stilled and\nrestored to peace.\n\nOnce upon a time, as he sat at table in the\nguest-house, a brother insulted him with scornful\ntalk. Upon which the Servitor turned towards\nhim very lovingly, and smiled upon him, as though\nhe had just received a precious jewel from him.\nThe brother was so moved by this, that he became\nsilent, and turned his face again in kindliness\ntowards the Servitor. When the meal was ended,\nthe brother spoke of it in the town, saying :—I have\nnever been so grossly insulted as I was to-day at\ntable ; for, after I had treated the Servitor with\nopen rudeness at table, he bowed his face towards\nme so very sweetly, that I became red with shame ;\nand it shall always be a good lesson to me.\n\n112 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\n\nHOW HIS SUFFERINGS ONCE BROUGHT HIM NIGH\nTO DEATH\n\nthat the moment he awoke from sleep some-\n\nthing began to repeat in him the psalm of\nour Lord's sufferings, \"Deus, Deus meus, respice\nin me\" (Ps. xxi.). This psalm was spoken by\nChrist on the gallows of the cross, when He was\nforsaken in His distress by His Heavenly Father\nand by every one. The Servitor was struck with\nconsternation at this continual interior whispering\nwhen he awoke, and weeping bitterly, he cried to\nChrist upon the cross in these words :—Alas, my\nLord and my God! if it be meet and necessary\nthat I should once more suffer a new crucifix with\nThee, accomplish, I beseech Thee, Thy pure and\ninnocent death in me, poor man, and be with me,\nand help me to come forth victorious over all my\nsufferings.\n\nWhen this cross arrived, as had been foreshown\nhim, sufferings of no ordinary kind, and of whose\nnature nothing is here said, began to increase con-\ntinually upon him, and to multiply from day to day,\nuntil at last they became so great, and weighed\ndown the sick man so heavily, that they brought\nhim to the very extremity of death. One evening\nwhen he was away from the monastery, and had\ngone to his bed to rest, there fell on him such an\n\nI: happened to him once during many nights,\n\nHIS SUFFERINGS 11-3\n\nutter prostration of strength, that he thought he\nmust now inevitably die of faintness, and he lay\nthere quite motionless, so that there was no pulse\nin any of his veins. When this was observed by\na faithful and good-hearted man who tended him,\nand whom he had won to God at great cost to\nhimself, the man ran to him in bitter grief, and\npressed his hand against his heart, to try whether\nthere was still life there. But his heart was without\nmovement, and beat no more than that of a dead\nman would. At this he sank to the ground in great\nsorrow, and while the tears streamed down his face,\nhe cried aloud with piteous lamentations :—O God!\nalas for this noble heart, which many a day has\nborne Thee, O merciful God, so lovingly within it,\nand has told of Thee so pleasantly by word and\nwriting, in every land, to so many erring men for\ntheir consolation—how has it perished to-day! O\nwhat evil tidings is it that this noble heart must rot,\nand cannot live a long time yet for Thy glory and\nthe consolation of many! Thus piteously lamenting\nwith streaming eyes, he bent over the Servitor and\ntouched his heart and mouth and arms, to see\nwhether he still lived or was dead. But there was\nno motion there. His face was deadly white, his\nmouth black, and all sign of life had vanished, as\nfrom a dead man laid out upon his bier, This\nlasted as long as it would take to walk a mile.\nMeanwhile the object of his soul's contempla-\ntion, while he lay thus in seeming death, was\nnaught else but God and the Godhead, the True and\nthe Truth, in indwelling, everlasting oneness. It\n\n114 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhappened, indeed, that before he became so very\nweak, and was carried out of himself in ecstasy,\nhe began to speak in his heart fond words to God\nin this wise:—Ah, everlasting Truth, Thy deep\nabysses are hidden from every creature. I, Thy\npoor Servitor, see clearly that there is now an end\nof me, as my departed strength betokens. I speak\nnow at my life's verge to Thee, mighty Lord, whom\nno one can deceive, because all things are manifest\nto Thee. Thou alone knowest how things stand\nbetween me and Thee. Therefore I seek grace of\nThee, faithful Heavenly Father; and wheresoever,\nalas, I have broken out into unlikeness and deflec-\ntion from the supreme Truth, I grieve for it, and\nrepent me of it with all my heart, and I beseech\nThee to blot it out with Thy precious Blood\naccording to Thy graciousness and my necessity.\nRemember that all the days of my life I have\ncelebrated and exalted as highly as I could Thy\npure and innocent Blood, and it must now at my\ndeparture wash me clean from all my sins. Oh,\nkneel down, I entreat you, all ye Saints, especially\nthou, my kind and gracious lord, St Nicholas, and\nlift up your hands and help me to beseech the Lord\nfor a good end. O pure, gentle, kind Mother Mary!\nreach me thy hand to-day, and at this my last hour\ngraciously receive my soul beneath thy shelter, for\nthou art my heart's joy and consolation. O Lady\nand Mother mine, into thy hands I commend my\nspirit. O dear Angels, be mindful that, all my life\nthrough, my heart has ever laughed within me, when\nI only heard you named, and forget not how often\n\nHIS SUFFERINGS 115\n\nyou have brought me in my sorrows heavenly joys,\nand guarded me from my foes. O gentle Spirits, it\nis only now that my greatest straits are come, and\nthat I most need your help. Aid me, then, and\nshield me from the horrible sight of my foes, the\nevil spirits. O Lord of heaven, I praise Thee for\nhaving bestowed on me at my death-hour such\nentire consciousness; and I go hence in the full\nChristian faith without a doubt and without fear ;\nand I forgive all those who have ever made me\nsuffer, as Thou upon the cross forgavest those who\nslew Thee. Lord, Lord, Thy divine sacramental\nBody, which I received to-day at Mass, ill though\nI was, must be my guardian and my convoy to Thy\ndivine countenance. My last prayer which I make\nnow at this my end, gentle Lord of heaven, is for\nmy dear spiritual children, who whether by special\nbonds of faithfulness, or by confession, have lovingly\nattached themselves to me in this miserable world.\nO merciful God, as Thou at Thy departure didst\ncommend Thy dear disciples to Thy Heavenly\nFather, even so in that selfsame love let these be\ncommended to Thee, and grant them also a good\nand holy end. And now I turn myself away\naltogether from all creatures, and I turn me wholly\nto the pure Godhead, the primal fountain-head of\neverlasting bliss.\n\nAfter he had held much discourse within his\nheart in this fond, loving fashion, he was transported\nout of himself in ecstasy and fell into the faint\ndescribed above. At length, when he and others\nfancied that he must have departed, he came to\n\n116 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhimself again, and his affrighted heart began to\nrevive, and his sick limbs to recover strength, and\nhe got well and returned to life again, as before.\n\nCHAPTER XXXIIlI\n\nHOW A MAN SHOULD OFFER UP HIS SUFFERINGS\nTO THE PRAISE AND GLORY OF GOD\n\nHEN the suffering Servitor had deeply\n\nW meditated upon this long and weary\n\nwarfare, and moreover had come to see\nin it God's hidden marvels, he turned one day to\nGod, sighing inwardly, and said :—-Alas, Lord, these\nsufferings are in their outward aspect like sharp\nthorns which pierce through flesh and bone. There-\nfore, gentle Lord, cause some sweet fruit of good\ninstruction to issue forth from these sharp thorns of\nsufferings, that we, poor men, may suffer more\npatiently, and be better able to offer up our sufferings\nto Thy praise and glory.\n\nAfter he had continued for a long time earnestly\nbeseeching God for this, it came to pass one day\nthat he was rapt in ecstasy, and his bodily senses\nbeing abstracted, it was sweetly said to him within\nhis soul :—I will show thee to-day the high nobility\nof My life, and how a sufferer should offer up his\nsufferings to the praise and glory of the loving God.\n\nAt these sweet interior words his soul was melted\nwithin him, and his bodily senses being stilled in\necstasy, the arms, as it were, of his soul stretched\n\nSUFFERINGS 117\n\nthemselves forth, out of the unfathomable fullness of\nhis heart, to the far-off ends of the universe, even\nto heaven and earth; and he thanked God with a\nboundless, heartfelt yearning, saying :—Hitherto, O\nLord, I have praised Thee in my musings with the\naid of all that is pleasant and delightful in all\ncreatures ; but now I must joyously break forth into\na new song, and a strange kind of praise, which I\nknew not before, since I have only now come to\nknow it by suffering. And it is this: I pray from\nmy heart's bottomless depths that all the sorrow and\npain which I have ever suffered, as well as the woes\nand agonies of every human heart, the smarts of all\nwounds, the anguish of all the sick, the groans of all\nsad souls, the tears of all weeping eyes, the misery\nof all the oppressed, the distress of all needy widows\nand orphans, the pining want of all the poor and\nhungry, the outpoured blood of all martyrs, the\ncrushing of self-will in all who are young and bloom-\ning, the afflictive exercises of all God's friends, and\nall the secret and open pains and sorrows, which I\nor any other poor sufferer ever endured in body,\ngoods, or honour, in weal or woe, or which any one\nwill ever have to suffer from now to doomsday,—all\nthese I pray may be an everlasting source of praise\nto Thee, O Heavenly Father, and an eternal honour\nto Thy only-begotten, suffering Son from everlasting\nto everlasting. And I, Thy poor Servitor, desire\nto-day to be the faithful representative of all sufferers\nwho perchance have been unable to turn to full\naccount their sufferings, by patient thanksgiving and\npraise of God for them; and I wish in their place\n\n118 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nto offer up their sufferings in praise of God, however\nthey may have borne them; and I now offer them\nup to Thee in their stead, just as if I myself alone\nhad suffered them all in my body and in my heart,\nas it is my heart's wish to do; and I tender them\nall this day to Thy only-begotten, suffering Son,\nthat they may be an everlasting praise to Him, and\nthat the sufferers may be comforted, whether they\nare still here in this vale of sorrow, or in the next\nworld in Thy hand.\n\nO all ye who suffer with me, look at me and give\near to what I say to you! We, poor members,\nought to console ourselves and rejoice in our\nvenerable Head, God's lovely, only-begotten Son,\nthat He has suffered for us, and never passed one\npleasant day on earth. Behold! if there is only\none rich man in a poor family, the whole family\nrejoices in him. Ah, venerable Head of us all, Thy\nmembers, be gracious to us, and where through\nhuman frailty true patience fails us in any affliction,\ndo Thou make it up for us before Thy Heavenly\nFather. Bethink Thee how Thou camest once to\nthe help of one of Thy servants, and when his\ncourage was all but failing him through suffering,\nThou saidst to him :—Be of good cheer and look at\nMe. I was noble and poor, I was tender and in\nmisery ; I was born from out the fullness of all joys,\nand yet I was full of sorrow. Therefore, as valiant\nknights of our imperial Lord, let us not lose heart;\nas noble followers of our venerable Leader, let us be\nof good cheer, and rejoice to suffer ; for if there were\nno other profit and good in suffering, than that we\n\nSUFFERINGS 119\n\nbecame more like the fair, bright mirror Christ, the\nmore closely that we copied Him in this, our suffer-\nings would be well laid out. It seems to me in\ntruth, that even if God meant to give the same\nreward hereafter to those who suffer and to those\nwho do not suffer, we ought still to choose suffering\nfor our lot, were it only to be like Him; for love\nproduces likeness and devotion to the beloved, so far\nas it can and may. But oh! how dare we presume\nto take upon ourselves that we ought to resemble\nThee, O noble Lord, in our sufferings! Thy suffer-\nings and our sufferings, how unlike they are! O\nLord, Thou alone art the sufferer who hast never\ndeserved to suffer. But where is he, alas, who can\npride himself that he has never given cause for\nsufferings? For if on the one hand he is guiltless\nin that for which he suffers, on the other he deserves\npunishment on other counts. Therefore we place\nourselves, I mean all we who have ever suffered, in a\ngreat wide ring round and round; and we place\nThee, our dear, gentle Lover, in the midst of us,\neven in the ring of us suffering mortals, and we\nspread out far and wide our thirsty veins with great\nlonging towards Thee, the rich, outbursting fountain\nof all grace. Behold and marvel. Just as the\nearth which is most cracked with drought takes in\nbest the stormy streams of watery rain, even so we\nheavily-laden men, the more guilty we are towards\nThee, the more closely do we clasp Thee to us with\noutspread hearts, and our longing desire is that,\ncome what may, according to the promise of Thy\ndivine mouth, we may be washed in Thy streaming\n\n120 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nand trickling wounds, and be set free thereby from\nevery sin ; for all which Thou shalt receive everlast-\ning praise and honour from us, and we shall obtain\ngrace from Thee, since all unlikeness will be removed\nfrom us by Thy almightiness.\n\nAfter the Servitor had remained sitting without\nmovement for a long time, during which all this was\nrevealed to him with great solemnity in the inner-\nmost interior of his soul, he rose up joyfully and\nthanked God for the grace which he had received,\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV\n\nOF THE JOYS WITH WHICH GOD RECOMPENSES\nIN THIS PRESENT LIFE THOSE WHO SUFFER\nFOR HIM\n\nN a joyful Easter Day the Servitor was once\n() in very blithesome mood, and as he sat for\n\na short time, according to his custom, in the\nrepose of contemplation, he desired earnestly to hear\nfrom God what meed of delights they shall receive\nfrom Him in this life who have borne manifold\nsufferings for His sake. Whereupon, being rapt in\necstasy, a light shone into his soul from God to this\neffect :—Let all who suffer with detachment rejoice,\nfor their patience shall be gloriously rewarded ; and\nas they have been here below an object of pity to\nmany, even so shall many rejoice eternally at the\ndeserved praise and everlasting honour which shall\nbe theirs. They have died with Me, and they shall\n\nJOYS 121\n\nalso rise again with Me in gladness. Three special\ngifts I will give them, so precious that no one can\nreckon up their value. First, I will give absolute\npower to their wishes in heaven and on earth,\nso that whatever they wish shall come to pass.\nSecondly, I will give them My divine peace, which\nneither angel, nor devil, nor man, nor any other\ncreature can take away from them. Thirdly, I will\nso inwardly kiss them through and through, and so\nlovingly embrace them, that I in them and they in\nMe, and we together, shall abide eternally, one un-\ndivided unity for ever. And since long waiting and\npraying are painful to restless hearts, this love shall\nnot be withheld from them during this short present\nhour of life, which lasts but for a moment, but it\nshall begin even now, and be enjoyed eternally, so\nfar as man's mortal nature can in each case more\nor less support it.\n\nThese glad tidings filled the Servitor with joy;\nand when he came to himself again, he sprang up,\nand began to laugh so heartily that the chapel in\nwhich he was re-echoed to the sound, and he said\nwithin himself joyously :—Let him who has suffered\ncome forward and complain. God knows, I can\ndeclare that as to myself, methinks I have never\nhad anything at all to suffer. I know not what\nsuffering is ; but I know well what joy and bliss are,\nPower to wish and to obtain is given me: a thing\nwhich many erring hearts must be without. What\nwant I more? Then he turned his thoughts to the\neternal Truth, and said :_-Ah! eternal Truth, show\nme now this hidden mystery, so far as words can\n\n122 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntell it, for it is a truth of which many blinded men\nare altogether ignorant.\n\nThis mystery was inwardly manifested to him\nthus :—Mark those who have paid due attention\nto the breaking away from creatures,—in other\nwords, to that death to self and all things with\nwhich a man must begin. Alas! there are not\nmany such. The mind and thoughts of these men\nhave so passed away into God, that they know\nnothing, as it were, of themselves, save only that\nthey view themselves and all things in their primal\nfountain-head ; and therefore they have the same\npleasure and complacency in each several thing\nwhich God does, as if God stood by unconcerned\nwith it and inactive, and it were granted to them to\ncarry out each thing according to their own mind ;\nand thus it is that their will is absolute in might, for\nheaven and earth serve them, and every creature is\nsubject to them, in what each does or leaves undone.\nSuch persons feel no sorrow of heart about any-\nthing ; for I only call that pain and sorrow of heart\nwhich the will with full deliberation wishes to be\nfreed from. Externally, indeed, they have a sense\nof pleasure and pain like other people, and it is more\nintense perhaps in them than others, because of their\ngreat tenderness ; but in their inmost souls it finds\nno abiding-place, and exteriorly they remain firm\nagainst impatience. They are filled to the full even\nin this life, so far as this is possible, owing to their\ndetachment from self, and hence their joy is complete\nand stable in all things. For in the divine essence,\ninto which their hearts have passed away and become\n\nJOYS 123\n\nmerged,—that is, supposing they have not gone\nastray from the right path,—neither pain nor sorrow\nfinds place, but only peace and joy. If, however,\nthy own frailty entices thee to commit sin, from\nwhich pain and sorrow justly spring up for the\nsinner, and if thou committest sin, then, and then\nonly, thou wilt find a flaw in thy happiness. But\nif thou avoidest sin, and goest out of thyself in this\nrespect, and passest away into that in which thou\ncanst have neither suffering nor sorrow—-since pain\nis not pain to thee there, nor suffering suffering, but\nall things are unmingled peace—then it is well with\nthee in very truth. All this comes to pass because\ntheir self-will is lost and gone. For these persons\nare of themselves driven onward with a longing thirst\ntowards God's will and His justice; and they find\nsuch a sweet savour in God's will, and they so\ndelight in it, and take such pleasure in all that He\nordains concerning them, that they have no wish\nnor desire for anything else. This, however, must\nnot be understood as if they were forbidden to ask\nthings of God and to pray to Him ; for it is God's\nwill that we pray to Him. But it is to be under-\nstood of the due and rightful going forth out of our\nown judgment into the will of the supreme Godhead,\nas has been said. Now there lies in this a hidden\ndifficulty, against which many stumble, and it is this.\nWho knows, they say, whether it is God's will? See\nnow. God is a superessential good,and He is more\ninteriorly present to every individual thing than that\nthing can be to itself; and against His will nothing\ncan happen, nor can anything exist for an instant.\n\n124 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nTherefore they must be miserable who are always\nstruggling against God's will and desiring to do their\nown will, if they could. They have the kind of peace\nwhich is in hell, for they are always in sadness and\nheaviness. On the contrary, a soul stripped of self\nhas God and peace at all times present to it, in\nadversity as well as in prosperity ; for if He is truly\nthere who does all and is all, how can the sight of\ntheir own sufferings be grievous to them, since in\nthem they see God, find God, make use of God's\nwill, and know nothing of their own will? not to\nspeak of the consoling illuminations and heavenly\ndelights with which God often secretly sustains His\nsuffering friends. These persons are, as it were, in\nheaven. What happens to them or does not happen\nto them, what God does in all creatures or does not\ndo, all turns to their advantage. And thus he who\ncan bear suffering well, receives in this world a portion\nof the reward of his sufferings; for he finds peace\nand joy in all things, and after death everlasting\nlife awaits him.\n\nCHAPTER XXXV\n\nOF THE SERVITOR'S SPIRITUAL DAUGHTER\n\ne ILIA CONFIDE,'—Be of good heart,\n| oer (Matt. ix. 22) The Servitor\nhad at this time a spiritual daughter, of\n\nthe Order of Friars Preachers, in an enclosed con-\nvent at Tosse.\" Her name was Elizabeth Staglin,\n\n? Thoss, near Winterthur, in Switzerland.\n\nHIS SPIRITUAL DAUGHTER 125\n\nand she lived a very holy life exteriorly, and was of\nan angelic disposition within. The noble and\nenergetic way in which she turned herself with her\nwhole heart and soul to God set her free entirely\nfrom all those vain things which cause so many\npersons to neglect their eternal salvation. All her\ndiligence was directed towards obtaining spiritual\ninstruction, that she might thus be guided to a\nblessed and perfect life, the one end and object of\nall her wishes. She wrote down whatever she met\nwith that pleased her, and seemed calculated to aid\nherself and others in the acquisition of divine\nvirtues ; and she acted in this like the industrious\nbees, which bring back sweet honey collected from\nmany different flowers.\n\nIn the convent where she lived among the sisters\nas a mirror of every virtue, she composed, not-\nwithstanding her bodily infirmities, a large book,\ncontaining, among other things, an account of the\nblessed lives which the deceased holy sisters had\nled, and the great marvels God had wrought in\nthem. It is a book well suited to excite good-\nhearted persons to devotion.?\n\nThis blessed daughter came to hear of the Ser-\nvitor of the Eternal Wisdom, and God inspired her\nwith great devotion to his manner of life and teach-\ning. She drew from him secretly the way in which\nhe broke through created things to arrive at God,\nand she wrote it down, as has been already related.\n\nAt the first beginning of her conversion to God\n\n1 Henry Murer has extracted many of these lives from the Chronicles\nof the Convent at Thoss, and inserted them in his Helvetia Sancta.\n\n126 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nshe came across a great many deep intellectual views\nregarding the pure Godhead, the nothingness of all\nthings, detachment from self, abstractions of the\nmind from all sensible forms, and such-like high\nthings; and they were clothed in beautiful lan-\nguage, and were very pleasant to reflect upon. But\nthere lay concealed beneath them something hurtful\nto simple-minded beginners like her, for she was\nquite innocent of the necessary distinctions which\nought to be made, inasmuch as the words were\ncapable of being taken in a spiritual or a natural\nsense, according to the disposition of those who\nused them. These doctrines were good in them-\nselves, but they were insufficient for her instruction.\nShe therefore wrote to the Servitor asking him to\nhelp her, and guide her along the right path.\nNevertheless, as she had already tasted of the\npleasure which is to be found in these doctrines,\nshe prayed him to pass over the common ordinary\nkind of instruction, and to write to her something\nabout the above-mentioned high subjects.\n\nThe Servitor answered her thus :—Good daughter,\nif thou askest me concerning high things through\ncuriosity, in order to become acquainted with them,\nand to be able to talk well about spiritual matters,\nwhat I have to say to thee will need but a few\nwords. Take not too much pleasure in them, for\nthey may easily lead thee into dangerous errors,\nTrue bliss lies not in beautiful words, but in good\nworks. If, however, thou askest about these things\nin order to put them in practice, my answer is, Let\nalone for the present these deep questions, and\n\nHIS SPIRITUAL DAUGHTER 127\n\nattend to those only which are suitable for thee.\nThou seemest to me to be as yet a young, unexercised\nsister, and therefore it will be more profitable to\nthee, and the like of thee, to hear about the first\nbeginnings of the spiritual life, both how it ought to\nbe begun and what exercises are appropriate to it ;\nand also about good and holy examples, as, for\ninstance, how this and that friend of God, who\nbegan in the same way, first of all exercised them-\nselves in imitating Christ's life and sufferings; what\nkind of things they had to suffer continually ; how\nthey bore themselves in their sufferings interiorly\nand exteriorly ; whether God drew them onwards by\nsweetness or by severity ; and when and how they\nwere set free from sensible forms and images. This\nis the way in which a beginner is spurred on and\nguided to perfection ; for, though it is true that God\ncan give all this to a person in an instant, it is not\nHis way to do so, but it is to be obtained ordi-\nnarily only by hard labour and many conflicts.\n\nOn receiving this letter, the daughter replied to\nhim as follows :—What I long for is not wise words\nbut a holy life; and this I have the courage truly and\nhonestly to strive after until I attain it, whatever\npain it may entail upon me, and no matter what I\nmay have to give up or suffer, or die to, or what-\never else may be needful to bring me to perfection ;\nfor all this I must and will undergo. And fear not\non account of the weakness of my nature; for\nwhatever you have the courage to command me,\nwhich is painful to nature, I have the courage to\naccomplish with the help of God's might. Begin\n\n128 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfirst with the lowest things, and guide me in them,\njust as a little school child is first taught what is\nadapted to its childish years, and then afterwards\nreceives more and more instruction, until it becomes\nat last a master in the art. One only prayer I\nmake to you, and this you must grant me, for\nGod's sake, in order that I may not only be\ninstructed by you, but may be also strengthened\nagainst all the trials which I may have to en-\ncounter. He asked what this request might be. She\nanswered :—Sir, I have heard say that the pelican\nis of such a nature that it bites itself, and, from\nnatural love, feeds with its own blood its young\noffspring in the nest. Ah, sir, what I ask is, that\nyou will act thus towards your needy child, and feed\nher with the spiritual food of your good teaching ;\nand that you will not seek for this from afar, but\ntake it from yourself; for the nearer it has been to\nyou in the way of experience, the more deeply it\nwill come home to my longing soul.\n\nThe Servitor wrote thus to her in answer :—\nThou showedst me a little while ago some high\nthoughts which thou hadst thyself culled from the\nsweet teaching of the holy Master Eckart, and\nwhich, as is just, thou valuedst highly; and I\nmarvel much that, after thou hast drunk of the\nnoble drink of this high Master, thou declarest\nthyself so thirsty for the coarse drink of the lowly\nServitor. Nevertheless, when I consider it well, I\nnote with joy thy great wisdom in this matter,\nnamely, that thou art so busy in thy questionings\nabout what is the first beginning of a high and\n\nBEGINNINGS OF A BEGINNER 129\n\nsecure life, and what are the exercises which must\nbe first practised in order to attain it.\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI\n\nOF THE FIRST BEGINNINGS OF A BEGINNER\n\n[Ls beginnings of a holy life, said the\nServitor to the daughter, are various,\nOne person begins in one way, and\n\nanother in another; but as regards the beginning,\n\nto which your questions refer, I will tell you about\nit. I know a man in Christ, who, when he began\nto give himself to God, first cleared out his con-\nscience by a general confession ; and he spared no\npains to make this confession well, by exposing\nevery sin that he had committed to a prudent\nconfessor, in order that he might go pure and clean\nfrom the confessor, who sits in God's place, and that\nall his sins might be forgiven him, as happened to\n\nMary Magdalen, when, with penitent heart and\n\ntearful eyes, she washed Christ's feet, and God\n\nforgave her all her sins. Such was the first begin-\nning of this man's turning to God.\n\nThe daughter laid this example very much to\nheart, and she wished to lose no time in imitating\nit, and she conceived a great desire to make her\nconfession to the Servitor, thinking that he would\nbe the one best suited for her; and it was her\nintention also, in doing this, to become thereby his\nspiritual daughter, and so to have a greater claim\nupon his godly care.\n\n130 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nNow it so happened that the confession could not\nbe made by word of mouth, She therefore passed\nin review her whole life, which, in very truth, had\nbeen a pure and innocent one; and whatever sins it\nseemed to her that she had committed, she wrote\ndown on a large waxen tablet, which she then\nfastened up and sent to him, begging him to pro-\nnounce absolution over her sins.\n\nWhen he had read through the confession, he\ncame to the following words at the bottom of the\ntablet :—-Gracious sir, I, a sinful creature, fall down\nnow at your feet and beseech you, with your true\nand faithful heart, to bring me back again into\nGod's heart, and to let me be called your child in\ntime and in eternity. The daughter's confiding\ndevotion touched him very much, and, turning to\nGod, he said :—-Merciful God, what answer is Thy\nServitor to make to this? Shall I drive her from\nme? I should not like to treat a dog thus. O\nLord, if I did this, it might reflect ill upon Thee,\nmy Lord and Master; for she seeks the Lord's\nwealth in His servant. O gentle Lord, I cast myself\nat Thy holy feet, and beseech Thee, kind Lord, to\nhear her. Let her have the benefit of her good\nfaith and hearty confidence, for she cries after us.\nHow didst Thou treat the heathen woman? Ah!\nkind Heart, see how far and wide the fame of Thy\nunfathomable bountifulness has spread amongst us,\nO kindly Goodness, turn Thy gentle eyes towards\nher, and say to her one single little word of con-\nsolation. Say then, \"confide filia, fides tua et\nsalvam fecit,\"—Be of good heart, daughter; thy\n\nBEGINNINGS OF A BEGINNER 131\n\nfaith has saved thee. And bring Thou it to pass\nin my stead ; for I have done what rests with me,\nand I have wished her a full absolution from all\nher sins.\n\nHe wrote back the following answer to her by\nthe same messenger :—What thou hast asked of\nGod through the Servitor has come to pass, and\nthou must know that it was all shown to him by\nGod beforehand. Early this very morning, when\nhis prayer was ended, he sat down for a brief\nmoment of repose; and his bodily senses being\nstilled in ecstasy, many divine mysteries were mani-\nfested to him. Among other things, he was en-\nlightened to understand how God has made diversity\nof form to be the individualizing principle of the\nangelic nature, and has given to each angel a special\nproperty which distinguishes him from the rest ; all\nwhich it is impossible for him to express in words.\nAfter he had spent a good space of time in heavenly\nrecreation with the angelic spirits, and was in very\njoyous mood through the exceeding wonderment\nwhich his soul had felt, it seemed to him, in the\nsame vision, that thou didst come in and stand\nbefore him where he sat among the heavenly\ncompany, and then, kneeling down with great\nearnestness in front of him, didst bow thy face\nupon his heart, and continue kneeling thus with\nthy face bowed upon his heart, so that the angels\nwho stood by beheld it. The brother marvelled at\nthy boldness, and yet thy bearing was so holy that\nhe graciously permitted it. What manner of graces\nthe Heavenly Father bestowed on thee, whilst thou\n\n132 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwert bowed down upon the suffering heart, thou\nknowest right well, and they were visible upon thee ;\nfor when after a good while thou didst raise up\nthyself, thy countenance was so joyous and full of\ngrace, that it was quite evident God had bestowed\nsome special grace upon thee ; and He will do still\nmore for thee through the same heart, that He may\nbe glorified in it, and thou consoled,\n\nThe like happened also to a maiden named\nAnna, a noble and godly person, who dwelt in the\nCastle, and who, moreover, led a life of pure un-\nmingled suffering. God wrought great marvels in\nher from her youth up until her death. Before she\nknew the Servitor, or had ever heard of him, she\nwas one day rapt in ecstasy at her devotions, and\nshe saw how the Saints gaze upon and praise God in\nthe court of heaven. Upon this she prayed her\ndear Apostle St John, to whom she had a special\ndevotion, to hear her confession. He answered her\nvery lovingly :—I will give thee a good confessor in\nmy place. God has granted him full authority\nover thee, and he can comfort thee well in thy\nmanifold sufferings. She asked who and where he\nwas, and what was his name: all which St John\nmade known to her. She thanked God, and, rising\nearly in the morning, went to the Monastery which\nGod had shown her, and asked for him. He came\nto her to the outer gate, and inquired of her\nwhat her business was. Upon this she made her\nconfession to him, and when he had heard the\nheavenly message, he consented, and fulfilled it,\n\nThis holy daughter also told him, that she had\n\nLESSONS AND EXAMPLES | 133\n\nonce seen in spirit a beautiful rose-tree, richly\nadorned with red roses, and on the rose-tree there\nappeared the little Child Jesus, with a garland of\nred roses. Beneath the rose-tree she saw the\nServitor sitting. The little Child broke off many of\nthe roses, and threw them upon the Servitor, so\nthat he became all covered and bestrewed with\nroses. Upon this she asked the Child what the\nroses meant, and He answered :—The great quantity\nof roses signifies the manifold sufferings which God\nwill send him, and which he must lovingly accept at\nGod's hands, and bear with patience.\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII\n\nOF THE FIRST LESSONS AND EXAMPLES WHICH\nARE SUITABLE FOR A BEGINNER, AND HOW\nHE SHOULD REGULATE HIS EXERCISES WITH\nDISCRETION\n\nT the first beginning of the Servitor's\nAine life, after he had purified his soul\n\nproperly by confession, he marked out for\nhimself, in thought, three circles, within which he\nshut himself up, as in a spiritual entrenchment. The\nfirst circle was his cell, his chapel, and a choir.\nWhen he was within this circle, he seemed to himself\nin complete security. The second circle was the\nwhole Monastery as far as the outer gate. The\nthird and outermost circle was the gate ; and here it\nwas necessary for him to stand well upon his guard.\n\n134 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nWhen he went outside these three circles, it seemed\nto him that he was in the plight of some wild\nanimal which is outside its hole, and surrounded by\nthe hunt, and therefore in need of all its cunning\nand watchfulness.\n\nHe had, moreover, in his beginnings, made choice\nof a chapel as a place of retirement, in which he\nmight satisfy his devotion by means of pictures,\nNow it should be observed that, in his youth, he\nhad caused to be painted for himself, upon parch-\nment, a picture of the Eternal Wisdom, who rules\nsupreme over heaven and earth, and far surpasses all\ncreated things in ravishing beauty and loveliness of\nform ; for which reason, when he was in the bloom\nof youth, he had chosen Wisdom for his beloved.\nHe carried this lovely picture with him when he\njourneyed to the place of studies, and he always set\nit before him in the window of his cell, and used to\nlook at it lovingly with heartfelt longings. He\nbrought it back home with him on his return, and\ncaused it to be transferred to his chapel-wall asa\ntoken of affection. What other kinds of symbolical\nrepresentations were there, bearing upon the interior\nlife, and adapted to himself and other beginners,\nmay be learned from the pictures and sayings of the\nancient fathers painted on the walls. A part of\nthese sayings, translated into the vulgar tongue,\nfollows below, exactly as they were inscribed upon\nthe chapel :—\n\nThe ancient father Arsenius asked the angel what\nhe must do to be saved. The angel answered :—\nThou must flee, and be silent and sit still.\n\nLESSONS AND EXAMPLES 135\n\nAfterwards, in a vision, the angel read these\nwords to the Servitor out of the book of the ancient\nfathers :—A well-spring of all bliss is to keep thyself\nquiet and in solitude,\n\nAbbot Theodore. To keep thyself pure and spot-\nless will advance thee more in knowledge than study\nwill.\n\nAbbot Moses. Sit in thy cell: it will teach thee\nall things,\n\nAbbot John, Keep thy outward man still, and thy\ninward man pure.\n\nThe Same. A fish out of water and a monk out\nof his monastery will equally come to grief.\n\nAnthony. Bodily mortification, interior devotion,\nand seciusion from men beget chastity.\n\nThe Same. Wear no garment in which vanity\ncan be discerned. The first battle of a beginner is\nboldly to resist sins.\n\nThe Shepherd. Be wroth with no one, until he\ntries to pluck out thy right eye.\n\nIsidore. A wrathful man is displeasing to God,\nhowever great may be the miracles which he\nworks,\n\nIpericius. It is a less sin to eat meat when it\nshould have been avoided than to backbite thy\nneighbour.\n\nPior. It is very wicked to bring forward the sins\nof others, and to keep back our own,\n\nZachary. A man must suffer great humiliation if\nhe is to arrive at perfection.\n\nNestor. Thou must first become an ass, if thou\nwouldst possess heavenly wisdom.\n\n136 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nAn Ancient. Thou shouldst be immovable in\nweal and woe, like one dead.\n\nHelius. A pale complexion, a wasted body, and\na lowly bearing beseem well a spiritual man.\n\nHilarion. A wanton horse and an unchaste body\nshould have their provender cut down.\n\nAn Ancient. Take away from me wine, for the\ndeath of the soul lies hidden in it.\n\nThe Shepherd. He who still complains, and\ncannot keep from anger and much talking, will\nnever become a spiritual man.\n\nCasstan, As the dying Christ bore Himself\nupon the cross, so should our manner of life be\nfashioned.\n\nAnthony said to a brother :—O man, help thy-\nself; otherwise neither God nor I will ever help\nthee.\n\nA woman besought the ancient father Arsenius to\nremember her before God. He answered :—I pray\nGod to block out thy image from my heart.\n\nMacarius. \\ inflict many hardships on my body,\nbecause I have many temptations from it.\n\nJohn, the father, said:—I have never done my\nown will, and I never taught anything in words\nwhich I had not first practised in deeds.\n\nAn Ancient. Many words without deeds are\nvain ; like the tree which bears many leaves, but\nno fruit. é\n\nNdlus. He who must have much intercourse with\nthe world must needs also receive many wounds.\n\nAn Ancient. If thou canst do nothing else, keep\nguard at least over thy cell for God.\n\nLESSONS AND EXAMPLES 137\n\nIperictus. He who keeps himself chaste will be\nhonoured here, and crowned by God hereafter.\n\nApollonius. Resist beginnings, and stop the\nserpent by the head.\n\nAgathon. 1 have carried a stone in my mouth\nfor three years, that I might learn silence.\n\nArsenius. I have often repented of having spoken,\nbut never of having kept silence.\n\nAn ancient father was asked by a disciple how\nlong he should keep silence. The father answered:\n—-Until thou art asked a question.\n\nSt Syncletica. If thou art sick, rejoice thereat, for\nGod has been mindful of thee.\n\nThe Same. \\f thou art sick, do not ascribe it to\nthy fasts, for those also fall sick who do not fast.\n\nThe Same. \\f thou art tried by temptations of the\nflesh, rejoice, for thou mayest become a second\nPaul,\n\nNestor, a good brother, said:—-The sun never\nshone upon me eating.\n\nAnother called John added:—Nor upon me\nangry.\n\nAnthony. The greatest virtue is to be able to\nobserve moderation in all things.\n\nPaphnutius. It is no use to begin well, unless\nthou dost carry it through to a good end.\n\nAbbot Moses. Avoid whatever would deprive thee\nof purity of soul, however good it may appear.\n\nCassian, The term of all perfection is attained,\nwhen the soul, with all its powers, is gathered up\ninto one only object, God.\n\nThe Servitor sent these examples and sayings of\n\n138 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthe ancient fathers to his spiritual daughter, who\ndrank them all in, and applied them to herself, as\nthough he had meant her also to exercise her body\nwith severe chastisements, after the austere fashion\nof the ancient fathers. And she began accordingly\nto mortify and torment herself with hair-shirts, and\ncords, and cruel bands set round with sharp iron\nnails, and many other such-like instruments of\npenance.\n\nBut when the Servitor became aware of this, he\nwrote to her as follows:—Dear daughter, if thy\npurpose is to order thy spiritual life according to my\nteaching, as was thy request to me, cease from all\nsuch austerities, for they suit not the weakness of\nthy sex, and thy well-ordered frame. The dear\nJesus did not say, Take My cross upon you ; but He\nsaid to each, Take up thy cross. Thou shouldst\nnot seek to imitate the austerity of the ancient\nfathers, nor the severe exercises of thy spiritual\nfather. Thou shouldst only take for thyself a\nportion of them, such as thou canst practise easily\nwith thy infirm body, to the end that sin may die in\nthee, and yet thy bodily life may not be shortened.\nThis is a very excellent exercise, and the best of all\nfor thee.\n\nShe wished to know from him why he himself\nhad practised such great austerities, and yet would\nnot advise her or others to practise them. Upon\nthis he referred her to the holy writings, saying :—\nIt is written that, in former times, some among the\nancient fathers led a life of such superhuman and\nincredible austerity, that the very mention of it is a\n\nLESSONS AND EXAMPLES 139\n\nhorror to certain delicate persons of the present day ;\nfor they know not what burning devotion can\nenable a man, by the divine aid, to do and suffer for\nGod. One who is filled with such fervour finds all\nimpossible things become possible of accomplishment\nin God; just as David says, that with God's help\nwe will go through a wall (Ps. xvii. 30). It is also\nwritten in the book of the ancient fathers, that some\nof them would not treat themselves with such great\nseverity as others did, and yet they were all striving\nto reach the self-same end. St Peter and St John\nhad not the same training. Who can fully explain\nthis marvel, unless it be that the Lord, who is\nwonderful in His Saints, wills, by reason of His high\nsovereignty, to be glorified in many different ways ?\nBesides this, our natures are not all alike, and what\nis suitable to one, suits not another. Therefore it\nmust not be thought that, if perchance a man has\nnot practised such great austerities, he will be\nthereby hindered from arriving at perfection. . At\nthe same time, those who are soft and delicate\nshould not despise austerities in others, or judge\nthem harshly. Let each look to himself, and see\nwhat God wants of him, and attend to this,\nleaving all elsealone. Speaking generally, it is much\nbetter to be moderate rather than immoderate in the\npractice of austerities. | But as the mean is hard to\nfind, it is wiser to keep a little under it than to\nventure too high above it; for it often happens\nthat, ifa man mortifies his bodily frame to excess, he\nwill have afterwards to indulge it to excess ; though\ncertainly many great Saints have forgotten them-\n\n140 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nselves in this point through the fervour of their\ndevotion. Such austerity of life, and the examples\nwhich have been mentioned, may be of use to those\nwho are too tender with themselves, and to their\nown injury give too much rein to their rebellious\nbodies ; but this concerns not thee, nor the like of\nthee. God has many kinds of crosses with which\nHe chastens His friends. I look for Him to lay\nanother sort of cross upon thy shoulders, which will\nbe far more painful to thee than these austerities.\nAccept this cross with patience when it comes to\nthee.\n\nNot long afterwards God afflicted the Servitor's\nspiritual daughter with long and weary illnesses, so\nthat she continued sickly in body until her death.\nShe sent him word that it had come to pass with her\nas he had predicted. Upon which he wrote in answer\nthus :—Dear daughter, God has not only afflicted\nthee according to my words, but He has also\nwounded me in thee; for I have now no one left\nwho will help me with the same diligence and godly\nfaithfulness to complete my little book, as thou\ndidst when thou wert well. Therefore the Servitor\nbesought God earnestly on thy behalf, that it might\nbe His good will to give thee back thy health ; and\nwhen God would not forthwith hearken to his prayer,\nhe was angered against Him with a loving anger,\nand was minded that he would write no more books\nabout the faithful God, and would likewise leave off\nhis usual morning greeting through ill-humour, unless\nGod made thee well again. Now when he had sat\ndown in the disquiet of his heart, according to\n\nPRACTICES OF A BEGINNER 141\n\ncustom, in his chapel, his senses were absorbed in\necstasy ; and it seemed to him that a company of\nangels came before him in the chapel, and sang to\ncomfort him a heavenly song, because they knew\nthat at that time he was in peculiar sorrow; and\nthey asked him why he looked so sad and did not\nsing with them. Then he told them how he had\nbehaved in his excess to the dear God, because He\nwould not hearken to his prayer for thy recovery.\nAnd they counselled him to desist from it, and not\nact thus ; for that God had ordained this sickness\nfor the best and it would be thy cross in this world,\nand through it thou wouldst earn great grace here,\nand a manifold reward in heaven. Therefore be\npatient, my daughter, and receive it simply as a\nloving gift from the faithful God.\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII\n\nOF CERTAIN DEVOUT PRACTICES OF A YOUNG\nBEGINNER IN HIS EARLY YEARS\n\nNCE upon a time the sick spiritual daughter\n\n() besought the Servitor, who had come to\n\nsee her in her illness, to tell her something\n\nabout spiritual things, not of too grave a kind, but\n\nyet such as a goodly soul would hear with pleasure.\n\nUpon which he told her about his devout practices\nin early life, in the following words :—\n\nAs the Servitor was in his youth of a lively\n\ntemperament, he made it a practice for a long time,\n\n142 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwhenever he was bled, to turn in spirit to God\nunder the cross, and, lifting up his wounded arm,\nto say, with an inward sigh:—Ah, Friend of my\nheart! remember that it is the way with lovers to\ngo to their beloved ones at the time of blood-letting,\nin order that the new blood may be good. But\nThou knowest well, dear Lord, that I have no\nbeloved one save Thee alone, and therefore I come\nto Thee to bless my wound and make my blood\ngood.\n\nAt this same season of his youth, when his face\nwas still in its fresh bloom and beauty of colour, it\nwas his practice, as often as he shaved himself, to\ngo to the Lord, and say :—Ah, sweet Lord, if my\ncountenance and mouth were as rosy as the hue of\nall red roses, Thy Servitor would keep them for\nThee, and give them to no one else; and though\nThou lookest only to the heart, and regardest little\nwhat is outward, nevertheless, dearest Lord, my\nheart offers Thee herein a love-token in testimony\nthat it turns to Thee, and to none but Thee.\n\nWhen he put on a new tunic or cloak, he would\nfirst go to his usual place of prayer and beseech the\nLord of heaven, who had provided him with this\ngarment, to wish him luck and happiness in it, and\nto help him to wear it out in the fulfilment of His\nall-lovely will.\n\nBefore this, in his childhood, it had been his\ncustom, when the beautiful summer came and the\ntender flowrets first began to spring up, never to\npluck or touch a flower until he had greeted with\nthe gift of his first flowers his spiritual love, the\n\nPRACTICES OF A BEGINNER 143\n\nsweet, blooming, rosy maid, God's Mother. When\nit seemed to him that the time for doing this had\ncome, he picked the flowers with many loving\nthoughts, and, carrying them to his cell, made a\ngarland of them; and then he went into the choir,\nor into our Lady's chapel, and, kneeling down very\nhumbly before our dear Lady, placed the garland\nupon her image, in the hope that, as she was the\nfairest of all flowers, and the bliss of summer to his\nheart, she would not disdain to accept these first\nflowers from her Servitor.\n\nOnce upon a time, when he had thus crowned\nthe all-lovely one, it seemed to him in a vision that\nheaven was opened, and he saw the bright angels\nascending and descending in shining garments.\nHe heard likewise in the court of heaven the\nblissful attendants singing the loveliest song which\nwas ever heard. But chiefly they sang a song about\nour dear Lady, which rang so sweetly that his soul\nmelted within him from excess of rapture, and it\nwas like what is sung of her in the sequence on\nAll Saints' Day, \" Illic regina virginum, transcendens\nculmen ordinum,\" etc.; which means, that the pure\nQueen soars high above all heavenly host in honour\nand dignity. He too began to sing with the\nheavenly company, and it left behind in his soul a\ngreat savour of heaven and longing after God.\n\nOnce, at the beginning of May, he had, according\nto his custom, placed with great devotion a garland\nof roses upon his loveliest heavenly Lady ; and that\nsame morning early, as he had come from a distance\nand was tired, he intended to allow himself a longer\n\n144 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsleep, and to omit his usual greeting to the Virgin\nat the proper hour. Now when the time had come\nfor him to greet her, as he was wont to do, and he\nshould have got up, it seemed to him as if he were\nin the midst of a heavenly choir, and that they\nwere singing the Magnificat in praise of God's\nMother. When it was ended, the Virgin came\nforward, and bade the brother begin the verse, \"O\nvernalis rosula,\" etc.; which signifies, O thou lovely\nlittle rose of summer. He thought within himself\nwhat she could mean by this, and yet, wishing to\nobey her, he began in joyous mood, \"O vernalis\nrosula.\". Whereupon immediately three or four\nyouths of the heavenly company, who were standing\nthere in choir, began to sing with him, and then\nthe rest of the choir took up the strain, as if in\nrivalry, and they sang so merrily, that the sound\nrang out as sweetly as if all stringed instruments\nwere resounding there together. But his mortal\nframe could not bear this excess of melody, and he\ncame to himself again.\n\nOn the day after our Lady's feast of the\nAssumption, he was once more shown a vision of\ngreat joy in the court of heaven. But no one was\nallowed to enter in who was not worthy to be\npresent there. Now when the Servitor was very\nanxious to press in, there came a youth who caught\nhim by the hand, saying :—It is not for thee to enter\nin at present. Thou hast done wrong, and must\nexpiate thy misdeed, before thou wilt be allowed to\nhear the song of heaven. Then he led him by a\ncrooked path into an underground hole, which was\n\nPRACTICES OF A BEGINNER 145\n\ndark and desolate, and very miserable to look at.\nThe Servitor could not move in it either to the one\nside or to the other; but he lay there like a man\nin a dungeon, who cannot see either the sun or the\nmoon. This was a sore suffering to him, and he\nbegan to bemoan and lament himself on account of\nhis imprisonment. Soon afterwards the youth came\nback, and asked him how it fared with him. The\nServitor answered :—Very ill, Then the youth\nsaid to him :—Know thou that the sovereign Queen\nof Heaven is angry with thee on. account of the\nfault for which thou art lying here in prison. The\nServitor was greatly terrified at this, and said :—\nWoe is me! utterly miserable that I am, what have\nI done to her? He answered :—She is angry with\nthee for being so unwilling to preach about her on\nher festivals, and because yesterday on her great\nfestival thou didst refuse thy superior's request,\nsaying that thou wouldst not preach about her.\nThe Servitor made answer :—Alas, my friend and\nmaster! it seems to me in truth that she is worthy\nof far greater honour than what I can give her, and\nthat I am of too little account to undertake this\noffice. Therefore I yield it up to those who are\nold and worthy; for methinks they can preach\nmore worthily about her than I, poor man, can,\nTo this the youth replied :—Know that it pleases\nher to receive this honour from thee, and it is an\nacceptable service from thee in her eyes. Therefore\nrefuse no more. The Servitor began to weep, and\nsaid to the youth :—Ah, dearest youth! make my\npeace with the pure Mother, for I promise thee by\n\n146 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nmy troth that it shall not happen again. The\nyouth smiled, and consoled him lovingly, and led\nhim home out of the prison, saying:—I have\nobserved, from the kindly way in which the Queen\nof Heaven looked at and spoke of thee, that she\nwill lay aside her anger against thee, and will\nalways love thee with a mother's faithful love.\n\nIt was the Servitor's practice when he left his cell,\nor returned to it, to pass through the choir before the\nSacrament; for he thought within himself that he\nwho has a very dear friend anywhere upon his road,\nis very glad to make his journey a little longer in\norder to hold some loving converse with him.\n\nA man once asked God to bestow upon him a\nheavenly carnival, as he did not wish for an earthly\none from creatures. And while his senses were still\nin ecstasy, it seemed to him as if the dear Christ\ncame in, under the form which He wore when He\nwas thirty years of age, and signified to him that\nHe would grant him his request, and make for him\na heavenly carnival Then He took up a cup of\nwine in His hand, and presented it to three men,\nwho were sitting there at table, one after the other.\nThe first sank down powerless; the second also\nbecame a little faint; but the third was not affected\nby it. Upon this the Lord explained to him the\ndifference between a beginner, a proficient, and a\nperfect man,—how unlike they are in the way in\nwhich they bear themselves in spiritual sweetness.\n\nWhen the Servitor had finished conversing with\nhis spiritual daughter about these and such-like\ndivine endearments, she wrote it all down secretly,\n\nHE DREW PERSONS TO GOD 147\n\nand then placed it in a box, which she locked up for\nconcealment and security.\n\nNow one day there came to her a good sister, to\nwhom she had given the box in charge, saying :—\nDear sister, what is this marvellous heavenly secret\nwhich thou hast in thy box? I dreamed this night\nthat there was in thy box a young heavenly boy, and\nthat he had a sweet-stringed instrument in his hands,\nfrom which he drew such ravishing spiritual melodies,\nthat it filled many a one with spiritual delight. I\npray thee bring forth for us what thou hast locked\nup, that we too may read it. But she kept silence,\nand would not speak to her about it, for it had been\nforbidden her.\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX\n\nHOW HE DREW LIGHT-MINDED PERSONS TO GOD,\nAND COMFORTED THOSE WHO WERE IN SUFFERING\n\nik Servitor had once been a long time\nwithout sending any message to his\nspiritual daughter. Upon this she wrote\na letter to him, telling him that she was in great\nneed of a message from him to cheer her suffering\nheart, and adding :—The poor find a little consola-\ntion when they see those who are poorer than\nthemselves, and sufferers draw a little courage from\nhearing that some among their neighbours have been\nin greater straits than they are, and have been helped\nout of them by God.\n\n148 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nThe Servitor wrote thus to her in answer :—In\norder that thou mayest be more patient in thy\nsufferings, I will tell thee for God's glory something\nabout suffering. I know a man on whom by God's\nappointment there fell cruel suffering in regard to\nhis good name in this world. This man's unceasing\ndesire was to love God from the very bottom of his\nheart, and to win all persons to the same love of\nGod, and to withdraw them from all vain affection ;\nand he brought this about in the case of many, both\nmen and women. Since, however, by doing this he\nestranged from the devil those who had been his,\nand brought them back to God, the evil spirit took\nit ill, and appeared to certain holy persons, and\nthreatened that he would avenge himself on the\nServitor.\n\nIt happened once that the Servitor came to a\nmonastery belonging to a certain Order in which\nthe religious men are accustomed to have a special\ndwelling-place for themselves, and the religious\nwomen of the Order likewise a special dwelling-\nhouse for themselves. Now in this monastery there\nwere two religious, a man and a woman, who were\nbound to each other by closest ties of great affection\nand hurtful intimacy ; and the devil had so disguised\nit to their blinded hearts, that they looked upon the\nmisdeed as if it were no fault or sin, but a thing\npermitted to them by God. When the Servitor\nhad privately asked whether they could go on in\nthis way without being in opposition to God's will,\nhe answered :—No, by no means; and he told them\nthat their view of the matter was false and contrary\n\nHE DREW PERSONS TO GOD 149\n\nto Christian doctrine ; and he succeeded in making\nthem leave off their intimacy, and live thenceforward\nin purity. Whilst he was occupied about this matter,\na holy person named Anna was rapt in spirit when\nshe was at prayer, and she saw a great band of devils\ngathered together in the air above the Servitor, and\nthey all cried aloud with one voice :—Death, death,\nto the wicked monk! and they reviled and cursed\nhim for having driven them forth by his good\ncounsels from that place which was so pleasant to\nthem; and they all swore, with horrible gestures,\nthat they would never let him alone until they had\nrevenged themselves upon him; and that if they\nwere not allowed to touch him in his person or his\ngoods, they would at least inflict cruel injury upon\nhis good name and honour in men's eyes, by laying\nshameful things to his charge; and, however care-\nfully he might avoid giving any cause for it, they\nwould by falsehood and cunning bring it about.\nThe holy woman Anna was greatly terrified at this,\nand she besought our dear Lady to come and help\nhim in his impending straits. Upon which the kind\nMother said to her lovingly :—-They can do nothing\nto him without my Child's ordinance. What He\nordains concerning him will be the best and the\nmost profitable for him. Bid him therefore be of\ngood cheer.\n\nWhen she told this to the brother, he began to\nfeel great alarm at this hostile assembling of the\nevil spirits; and, as he often used to do in his\ndistresses, he ascended the hill on which a chapel\nstands dedicated to the holy angels, and he went\n\n150 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nnine times round this chapel, according to his\ncustom, saying prayers in honour of the nine\nchoirs of the heavenly host, and he besought them\nearnestly to be his helpers against all his enemies.\nEarly that same morning he was carried in a\nspiritual vision to a beautiful plane, and he saw\nthere all round him an exceeding great company of\nangels, who stood ready to help him, and they\ncomforted him, saying :—God is with thee, and will\nnever leave thee in any of thy straits. Cease not,\nthen, to draw worldly hearts to the love of God.\nThis confirmed him in his purpose, and he busied\nhimself all the more diligently in bringing back\nboth the wild and the tame to God.\n\nHe had succeeded by his good words in coming\nround a ferocious man, who had been eighteen\nyears without confession. This man was inspired\nby God with confidence in the Servitor, and con-\nfessed to him with such great contrition, that they\nboth began to weep. He died soon afterwards, and\nmade a happy end.\n\nHe once converted twelve sinful women from\ntheir evil life. It is impossible to tell how much he\nsuffered from them. In the end, however, only two\nof them persevered.\n\nThere were at that time up and down the country\nmany persons of the female sex, both secular and\nreligious, who from the frailty of their disposition\nhad fallen openly into sinful practices. These poor\nwomen through shame dared not confess to any\none their hearts' anguish; so that from agony and\ndistress of mind they were often assailed by the\n\nHE DREW PERSONS TO GOD 151\n\ntemptation to destroy themselves. Now when\nthese persons heard that the Servitor had a tender\nheart for all who were in suffering, they took\ncourage and came to him,—each one at the time\nwhen her distress lay heavy upon her,—and dis-\nclosed to him their anguish, and the straits in which\nthey were held captive. When he saw these poor\nhearts in such misery and suffering, he used to weep\nwith them and console them lovingly. He often\nrisked his good name in this world in order to help\nthem to recover their souls and their reputation ;\nand he let malicious tongues pass what judgment\non him they pleased.\n\nAmong others there was a lady of high birth,\nwhose contrition for her fall was very great. One\nday our Lady appeared to her and said :—Go to\nmy chaplain; he will set thee right again. She\nanswered :—Alas, Lady, I know him not. The\nMother of Compassion replied :—-Look here beneath\nmy mantle, where I keep him under my guard, and\nnote well his face, that thou mayest know him\nagain. He is a help in need and a comforter of all\nwho suffer. He will comfort thee. The lady came\nto the Servitor from a foreign land, and she recog-\nnized his face as she had seen it before in spirit,\nand she prayed him to bring her back to grace, and\ntold him what had befallen her. He received her\nvery kindly, and set her right again to the best of\nhis ability, according as the Mother of Compassion\nhad enjoined him.\n\n152 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER XL\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING WHICH BEFELL\nHIM WHILE THUS OCCUPIED\n\nmany persons who were in suffering. But\n\nthe good work cost him dear, owing to the\nmartyrdom of sufferings which fell upon him in\nconsequence. And God showed him these afflictions\nwhen they were still future, in the following vision.\nOnce when he was travelling he arrived one evening\nat an inn; and just before daybreak it seemed to\nhim in a vision that he was taken to a place where\nMass was going to be sung, and that he had to sing\nit, for the lot had fallen upon him. The singers\nbegan the Mass of martyrs, \"Multe tribulationes\njustorum\"; that is, Many are the sufferings of\nGod's friends. He was not pleased at hearing this,\nand would have been very glad to change it,\nsaying :—How strange! Why are you deafening\nus with the martyrs? Why do you sing to-day the\nMass of martyrs? We are not keeping any martyr's\nfeast to-day. They looked at him, and pointing at\nhim with their fingers, said :—-God has His martyrs\nnow at this time, as He has ever had. Get ready,\nthen, and sing for thyself.\n\nHe turned over the pages of the Missal which lay\nbefore him, and would much rather have sung the\nMass of confessors, or any other one except that of\nthe suffering martyrs; but though he turned the\n\nGe was the way in which the Servitor aided\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 153\n\nbook over and over again, it was all full of Masses\nof martyrs. When he saw that it could not be\notherwise, he sang with them, and his singing rang\nforth exceeding mournfully. After a little while he\nbegan again, and said to them:—This is very\nsingular. One would much rather sing Gaudeamus\n(Let us rejoice) about joyful things, than sing as\nwe are doing about sorrowful things. They\nanswered :—Good friend, thou dost not understand\nit yet. This song about the martyrs goes first, and\nthen when the proper time has come the joyous\nsong Gaudeamus follows after it.\n\nWhen he came to himself again his heart\ntrembled within him because of the vision, and he\nsaid :—Alas, O God! must I once more suffer\nmartyrdom? In consequence of this his demeanour\nbecame so sorrowful as he journeyed onwards, that\nhis companion asked him, saying:—Ah! father,\nwhat is the matter with you, that you look so\nexceeding sorrowful? He answered :—Alas! dear\ncompanion, I have to sing here the Mass of\nmartyrs. Meaning, that God had made known to\nhim that he had a martyrdom to suffer. But his\ncompanion understood him not; so he remained\nsilent, and kept it all within himself.\n\nOn his arrival at the town, which took place in\nthe dark days before Christmas, he was, as usual,\nso sorely visited with bitter sufferings that it seemed\nto him, as the saying is, that his heart within his\nbody must break, if such a thing has ever happened\nto those in sorrow. For these sufferings hedged\nhim round on all sides, and it was his sad lot to\n\n154 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhave everything taken from him which had been a\nsupport to him in the way of service, consolation, or\nhonour, and which was of a nature calculated to\ncomfort a man here below. This bitter suffering\nwas of the following kind: Among those persons\nwhom he had tried to lead to God there came to\nhim a deceitful, crafty woman, who under an\noutwardly good life concealed a wolfish heart,\nwhich she hid so well that the brother for a very\nlong time did not perceive it. She had before this\nfallen into great sin with a man, and had added to\nher crime by attributing the offspring to a different\nperson from the guilty man, who protested his own\ninnocence in the matter.\n\nThe Servitor did not reject the woman on account\nof her misdeeds ; but he heard her confessions, and\nhelped her in all needful and proper ways, more\nthan it was the custom of the other religious of the\ncountry, who are called Terminerer (mendicants), to\ndo. After this had gone on for a long time, it\ncame to the knowledge of the Servitor, and of other\nreliable persons, that she was still secretly continuing\nthe same evil practices as before. He said nothing\nabout it, and would have gladly avoided making\nit known; at the same time he gave up his relations\nwith her and ceased to help her. When the woman\nbecame aware of this, she sent him word not to\nact thus; and threatened him that, if he left off\ngiving her the same assistance as heretofore, he\nshould suffer for it; for that she would father\nupon him a child, which she had had by a\nsecular man, and he would thus be put to shame\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 155\n\nby means of the child and be covered with infamy\neverywhere.\n\nThe Servitor was filled with consternation at\nthese words, and stood motionless; then, sighing\ninwardly, he spoke thus within himself :—Anguish\nand distress surround me on all sides, and I know\nnot which way to turn ; for if I act in this way, woe\nis me, and if I do not act thus, still woe is me; and\nI am so girt round on all sides by distress and woe\nthat I am like to sink under it. And thus, with\nterror in his heart, he waited for whatever God\nmight allow the devil to bring upon him. At last,\nafter taking counsel with God and himself, he came\nto the conclusion, that of these two miserable alter-\nnatives it was better for him in soul and body to\nabandon the wicked woman altogether, let the\nconsequences to his good name be what they might ;\nand so he did.\n\nThis inflamed her fierce heart with such rage\nagainst him, that, running hither and thither to\necclesiastics and seculars, she strove with more than\nhuman wickedness to defame herself, in order to\nbring suffering upon the poor man, and she told\nevery one that she had had a child, and that it was\nby the brother. All who believed her words were\ngreatly scandalized at it, and the scandal was the\ngreater the wider the reputation of his holiness had\nspread, All this pierced him through to his very\ninmost heart and soul, and, being thus encompassed\non every side by anguish and distress, he lived\nabsorbed in himself, and the days seemed to him\nlong and the nights miserable, and his short sleep\n\n156 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwas mingled with panic frights. He used to look\nupwards sorrowfully to God, and with deep groans\nexclaim :—Alas, O God! my hour of woe is come.\nHow shall I, or how can I, bear this agony of heart ?\nAlas, O God, would that I had died before I ever\nsaw or heard of this misery! Lord, behold, I have\nhonoured Thy venerable Name all the days of my\nlife, and I have taught many persons far and wide\nto love and honour it. And wilt Thou bring\nmy name to such great dishonour? This is a\nsore thing that I complain of. Behold how the\nvenerable Order of Preachers must now be brought\nto disgrace through me. I grieve for this, and shall\nalways grieve for it. Woe is me, by reason of the\nstraits into which my heart has come! All good\npersons, who before held me in great honour as a\nholy man—a thing which gave me courage to\npersevere—now, alas! regard me as a wicked\ndeceiver of the world; and this pierces and wounds\nmy heart through and through.\n\nWhen the poor sufferer had spent much time in\nthese lamentations, and his body and vital powers\nwere wasting away, there came to him a woman,\nsaying :—Good sir, why do you wear yourself away\nthrough this excessive grief? Be of good cheer.\nI will give you such counsel and assistance, that, if\nyou will follow my advice, your good name will\nremain uninjured. Therefore take courage. He\nlooked up and said to her :—Dear lady, how will\nyou bring this to pass? She answered :—I will\ntake away the child by stealth under my cloak, and\neither bury it alive at night, or stick a needle into\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 157\n\nits brain so that it will die. Thus the vile slander\nwill fall to the ground, and you will keep your good\nname, He answered in a voice of fury :—Woe is\nme, wicked murderess! alas for thy murderous\nheart! Wouldst thou thus kill the guiltless babe ?\nWhat matter that its mother is a wicked woman?\nWouldst thou bury it alive? No, no; God forbid\nthat such a crime should ever be committed through\nme. See, the very worst that can befall me in this\nmatter is the loss of my worldly honour; but if the\nworldly honour of a whole country depended on me,\nI would rather sacrifice it to-day to the everlasting,\nglorious God than let this innocent blood thus perish.\nShe replied :—And yet it is not your child. Why\nthen trouble yourself about it? Upon which she\ndrew forth a sharp-pointed knife, and said :—Let\nme take it away out of your sight, and I will wring\nits neck, or stick this knife into its little heart. It\nwill be dead at once, and you will be at peace again.\nHe answered :—Silence, thou unclean and wicked\ndevil. Be it whose child it may on earth, it is still\nformed after God's image, and has been full dearly\npurchased with the most precious and innocent\nBlood of Christ. Therefore I will not that its\nyoung blood be shed in this way. The woman\nmade answer to him impatiently :—-If you will not\nlet it be killed, at least let me carry it secretly into\nthe church some morning, that it may fare with it\nas with other deserted foundlings ; else you will be\nput to great expense and annoyance, until the child's\nbringing up is finished. He replied :—I trust in\nthe rich God of heaven, who has always provided\n\n158 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfor me hitherto, that He will provide henceforth for\nboth of us. And then he added :—Go and bring\nme the babe very secretly, that I may see it.\n\nWhen he took the babe into his bosom and\nlooked at it, the babe smiled at him. Upon which,\nfetching a deep sigh, he said :—Should I then kill a\npretty babe that smiles at me? No, in truth! |\nwill gladly suffer whatever may befall me through it.\nThen, turning to the babe, he said:—Alas, thou\nhapless, tender babe! thou art indeed a poor orphan ;\nfor thy own false father has denied thee, and thy\nmurderess mother has sought to fling thee away, like\nan ugly, good-for-nothing whelp. Well; since God's\nprovidence has given thee to me, in such a way that\nI cannot help being thy father, I will gladly act as\none towards thee, and I will receive thee from God\nand from no one else; and even as He is dear to\nme, so shalt thou too be dear to me, my own sweet\nbabe. Ah, child of my heart! thou sittest in my\nsorrowful lap, and lookest up at me so lovingly, and\nyet canst not speak. Alas! and I too look at thee\nwith wounded heart and tearful eyes, and mouth\nthat kisses thee, and I bedew thy infant face with\nthe stream of my hot tears.\n\nWhen the pretty boy felt the great tears of the\nweeping man fall so fast upon his little eyes, he too\nbegan to weep heartily with him ; and they both\nwept together. But when the Servitor saw the babe\nthus weeping, he pressed it tenderly to his heart,\nand said :—Be still, my darling! Alas, child of my\nheart! should I kill thee because thou art not my\nchild, but must cost me dear? Alas, my beautiful,\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 159\n\ndear, tender child! I would not hurt thee; for thou\nmust be my child and God's child ; and so long as\nGod provides me with but one single mouthful, I\nwill share it with thee, to the glory of the good God ;\nand I will bear patiently whatever may befall me\nthrough thee, my own sweet child.\n\nWhen the cruel-hearted woman who had before\nwished to kill the babe heard him speak thus tenderly\namid his tears, she was so deeply moved by it to\ngreat pity, and broke out into such loud cries and\nweeping, that he was obliged to quiet her, lest some\none should come and the whole thing be known. At\nlength, when she had wept her full, he gave her back\nthe babe, and blessed it, saying :—-May the loving\nGod bless thee, and the holy angels guard thee from\nall evil! And he bade her provide it with what\nwas needful at his cost. Afterwards the wicked\nwoman, the child's mother, set to work again ; and\nas she had already greatly slandered the brother, so\nshe continued to do whenever she had an oppor-\ntunity of injuring him ; on which account he became\nan object of pity to many pure and virtuous souls,\nand they often wished that the just God would take\nher away out of the world.\n\nIt happened once that one of the Servitor's kins-\nmen came to him and said :—Alas, sir, for the great\ncrime which this wicked woman has committed\nagainst you! God knows, I will avenge you on her.\nI will secretly station myself on the long bridge\nwhich goes over the water ; and when the sacrilegious\nwretch passes that way, I will throw her over and\ndrown her; and her great crime shall be avenged\n\n160 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nupon her. He answered :—No, my friend; God\nforbid that any living being should be put to death\non my account. God, who knows all hidden things,\nknows that she has done me wrong about the child.\nTherefore I leave the matter in His hand, either to\nslay her or to let her live, according to His will.\nAnd I tell thee that, even if I were willing to dis-\nregard my soul, by conniving at her death, I would\nstill honour in her the dignity of all pure women,\nand allow her the benefit of it. The man answered\nvery angrily :—-As for me, I would as soon kill a\nwoman as a man, if she had behaved to me so\nvillainously. He replied :—Nay; for that would be\nan act of most unreasonable and blameworthy fero-\ncity. Think no more about it, and let all the suffer-\nings fall upon me which God wills me to suffer.\n\nAs the Servitor's afflictions were continually on\nthe increase, it seemed to him one day, through\ninfirmity of soul, that his distress had reached such\na point that he must needs go forth in quest of\nsomething to support and cheer him in his sufferings.\nAccordingly he went out to seek for consolation, and\nhe hoped to meet with it especially at the hands of\ntwo of his friends, who, while he still sat on the\nupper side of fortune's wheel, had treated him as\nthough they were his true friends and comrades. It\nwas from them that he now sought consolation for\nhis suffering heart. Alas! God showed him in them\nboth that no dependence is to be placed in creatures ;\nfor he was more cruelly humiliated by them and\nthose about them than he ever was by ordinary\npeople. One of these friends received the afflicted\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 161\n\nbrother very harshly, and turning away his face from\nhim in anger, behaved to him ina very insulting\nmanner, with cutting words. Among other offensive\nexpressions which he used he told the Servitor to\ncease in future from all familiarity with him ; for that\nhe was ashamed of his company, Alas! this pierced\nthe Servitor's inmost heart ; and he answered mourn-\nfully :—O dear friend, if by God's ordinancethou hadst\nfallen into the miry pool, as I have done, verily I\nwould have sprung in after thee, and lovingly helped\nthee out of it. O misery! it is not enough for thee\nto see me lying before thee deep in the mire, but\nthou must needs trample on me besides. Of this I\nmake my plaint to the sorrowful Heart of Jesus\nChrist. His friend bade him be silent, and said\nto him insultingly :—There is an end of you now.\nNot only your preaching, but your books too which\nyou have written, ought to be treated with contempt.\nThe Servitor answered him very sweetly, and, looking\nup to heaven, said:—I put my trust in the good\nGod of heaven that my books will be still more\nvalued and loved than they have ever been, when the\nappointed time shall come. Such was the mournful\nconsolation which he received from his best friends.\n\nHitherto in this town his necessities had been\nfully supplied by kind-hearted persons. But when\nthese lying and slanderous tales were carried to them,\nthose who believed the false talemongers withdrew\nfrom him their help and friendship, until at length,\nthe truth having been manifested to them by God,\nthey returned to him and acknowledged that he was\nguiltless.\n\n162 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nOne day, when he had sat down to take a little\nrest, his bodily senses were stilled in ecstasy, and it\nseemed to him that he was carried into a land above\nthe ken of sense. Then he heard something say in\nthe very depths of his soul :—Hearken, hearken, to\na word of consolation which I will read to thee.\nHe did as bidden, and listened attentively. Upon\nwhich the voice began to read in Latin the following\nwords from the chapter at none of the Vigil of\nChristmas, 'Non vocaberis ultra derelicta,\" etc.\n(Is. lxii. 4) ; that is, Thou shalt no more be called\nthe forsaken of God, and thy land shall not be called\nthe wasted land. Thy name shall be, God's will is\nin thee, and thy land shall be cultivated; for the\nheavenly Father is well pleased with thee. When\nthe voice had finished reading these words, it began\nagain to read the same words over and over again\nfull four times.\n\nThe Servitor in astonishment said :—Dear friend,\nwhat meanest thou by repeating these words so\noften? The voice answered:—I do this to\nstrengthen thy confidence in God, who will provide\nfor the land of His friends—that is, for their mortal\nbodies—all things needful to them ; and when what\nthey require is withdrawn from them on one side,\nHe will make it up to them on another. In this\nfatherly way the almighty and everlasting God will\ndeal with thee. And in truth this all came to pass\nso manifestly, that many a heart laughed for joy at it,\nand the almighty and everlasting God was praised\nby those who had before shed many tears from great\ncompassion.\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 163\n\nIt fared with this suffering man as with some\ndead animal which has been knocked about and torn\nin pieces by wild beasts, and yet has some marrow\nleft in it. Last of all, the hungry flies and other\ninsects settle upon it, and strip bare the gnawed\nbones, and carry away with them into the air the\nmarrow which they have sucked out. Even so the\n_Servitor was miserably pulled to pieces, and his\nshame was carried far and wide into distant lands by\npersons of seeming piety; and they did this with\ngood words, and under the cover of regrets, and\nwith outward show of friendship, which was nothing\nbut faithlessness within. In consequence of this,\nevil thoughts like these would sometimes dart\nacross the Servitor's mind :—Alas, dear God! he\nwho only suffers at the hands of Jews, and heathen,\nand open sinners, may contrive to bear it; but\nthese persons who are tormenting me so grievously\nhave the appearance of being Thy good friends, and\ntherefore it is so much more painful.\n\nBut when he came to himself, and took a\nreasonable view of it, he excused them from all fault,\nand acknowledged that it was God who had done it\nthrough them, and that it was fitting he should\nsuffer thus, and that Almighty God often orders\nthings for His friends' good by means of His\nenemies.\n\nOnce especially, when he was suffering from these\nthoughts, it was said to him interiorly :— Remember\nthat Christ the Lord would not only have His\nbeloved disciple John and His faithful St Peter in\nHis pure company, but He willed also to endure the\n\n164 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwicked Judas at His side. And dost thou desire to\nimitate Christ, and yet will not endure thy Judas?\nA thought in answer flashed at once across his\nmind :—Alas, Lord! if a suffering friend of God\nhad only one Judas, it would be bearable; but in\nthese times every corner is full of Judases, and when\none departs four or five spring up. To this there\ncame the following reply within him :—A man who\nis what he ought to be, should not look on any Judas\nas a Judas; but he should regard him as God's\nfellow-worker, by whom he is to be trained and\npurified for his good. When Judas betrayed Christ\nwith a kiss, Christ called him His friend, saying :—\nMy friend, wherefore art thou come?\n\nThe sufferings of this poor man had now lasted a\nlong time; but there was one very little ground of\ncomfort to which he clung, and which was all his\nsupport—namely, that the burden which weighed\nhim down had not been brought before the judges\nand prelates of the Order. This little comfort was\nspeedily withdrawn from him by God; for the\nMaster-General of the whole Order and the Master\nof the German province both came together to the\ntown in which the wicked woman had slandered the\npious Servitor of God. When the poor man, who\nwas living in another place, heard this news, his\nheart died within him utterly, and he said to\nhimself :—If perchance the Masters give credence to\nthe wicked woman against thee, thou art dead; for\nthey will condemn thee to such a penitential prison,\nthat it were better for thee to die. He remained\nunder the weight of this anguish twelve days and\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 165\n\nnights continuously, and during this time he was in\nconstant expectation of this agonizing penance, as\nsoon as they should arrive there.\n\nOne day, overcome by the state of misery in\nwhich he was, he broke out, through human frailty,\ninto unseemly gestures and behaviour; and in this\nsad condition of his outer and inner man he went\napart from every one into a place of secrecy, where\nnone could hear or see him and he gave way at\nintervals to deep and repeated groans. The tears\nstood in his eyes, and then streamed down his\ncheeks. His distress was so intense that he could\nnot remain still, but he would sit down on a sudden,\nand then spring up again and run up and down the\nroom like a man wrestling with grief and anguish.\nThen there shot through his heart a thought which\ntook the form of a remonstrance, thus :—Alas! O\neverlasting God, what is Thy purpose with me?\nMeanwhile, when he was in this sad, disordered state,\na voice from God spoke within him, saying :—\nWhere is now thy detachment and that evenness of\nsoul in weal and woe which thou hast so often and\nso joyously counselled to others, whilst thou didst\nlovingly point out to them how entirely a man\nshould abandon himself to God, and hold fast by\nnothing ?\n\nTo this he answered with many tears :—Askest\nthou me where my detachment is? Rather do thou\ntell me where is God's unfathomable pity for His\nfriends? For in spite of it I am waiting here in\nutter desolation, like a man condemned to forfeit his\nlife, property, and honour. I had fancied that God\n\n166 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwas kind. I had fancied that He was a good and\ngracious Lord to all who ventured to abandon\nthemselves to Him. Woe is me! God has failed\nme! Alas! that vein of kindness whose com-\npassionate streams never yet ran dry has run dry\nfor me, poor man. Alas! the kind Heart whose\nkindness the whole world proclaims has deserted me,\npoor man, miserably. He has turned away from\nme His beautiful eyes and His gracious countenance,\nO thou divine Countenance! O thou kind Heart!\nI had never deemed of Thee that Thou wouldst\nhave cast me off so utterly. O fathomless abyss,\ncome to my aid, for I am altogether undone. Thou\nknowest that all my consolation and reliance is in\nThee alone, and in no one else on earth. Oh,\nhearken to me this day for God's sake, all ye\nsuffering hearts! See that no one take scandal at\nmy disordered state ; for so long as detachment was\nin my mouth it was sweet to me to speak of it;\nbut now my whole heart is wounded through and\nthrough, and the inmost core of all my veins and\nbrain is transpierced with anguish, and there is not\na limb of my body which is not tortured and\nwounded in every part of it. How can I then be\ndetached ?\n\nWhen he had spent about half a day in this\ndisordered state, and his brain was quite shattered,\nhe sat still at last, and, turning from himself to God,\ngave himself up to God's will in these words :— May\nit not be otherwise? \"Fiat voluntas Tua\" (Thy\nwill be done.)\n\nAs he sat thus, with his senses rapt in ecstasy, it\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 167\n\nseemed to him in a vision that there came and\nstood before him one of his holy spiritual daughters,\nwho when she was yet alive had often told him that\nhe would have many sufferings, but that the ever-\nlasting God would help him out of them. She\nnow appeared to him, and tried lovingly to comfort\nhim ; but he received her consolations angrily, and\ncharged her with untruthfulness. She smiled at\nthis, and drawing near, offered him her holy hand,\nsaying :—Accept my Christian troth, in God's stead,\nthat He will not forsake you, but will help you to\ncome out victorious from these and all other suffer-\nings. He answered :—See, daughter! The weight\nof my afflictions is so great, that I can no longer\ncredit thee, unless thou givest me some token that\nthy words are true. She replied:—God Himself\nwill manifest your innocence to all good and pure\nhearts. As for wicked hearts, things look to them\naccording to the colour of their own wickedness. A\nwise friend of God heeds them not. Moreover, the\nOrder of Preachers which you bewail shall be the\nmore pleasing to God and all reasonable men on\nyour account. And as a sign that these words are\ntrue, note this. The everlasting God will soon\navenge you, and will let fall His wrathful hand\nupon the wicked heart which has thus troubled you.\nMoreover, all those who have specially abetted her\nby their malicious slanderings will soon feel His\nvengeance. Be sure of this. The brother was\nmuch comforted by these words, and waited stead-\nfastly in expectation of how God would bring this\nmatter to an end.\n\n168 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nVery soon afterwards, it all came to pass exactly\nas she had said. For the monster who had thus\ntormented him died, and she died too by a sudden\ndeath. And many others also among those who\nhad been the chief causes of his sufferings were\nsnatched hence by death; some of them dying\ninsensible, and others without confession and\ncommunion.\n\nOne of these persons, who had been a prelate,\nand had caused very great suffering to the Servitor,\nappeared to him in a vision after death, and told\nhim that it was on this account God had cut short\nhis life and term of office, adding that he would\nhave to waste and wither in purgatory for a long\ntime as a penance for it.\n\nMany persons who knew what had happened,\nand were favourably disposed towards the Servitor,\non seeing this unusual vengeance, and the deaths\nwhich God sent so suddenly upon his adversaries,\npraised Almighty God, saying :—Of a truth God is\nwith this good man; and we see well that wrong\nhas been done him, and it is but just that he should\nhenceforth be of more account in the eyes of\nreasonable men, and be looked upon as higher in\nholiness than if God had not visited him with these\nsufferings.\n\nMoreover, the prelate of the German province\nexculpated him, saying that he and the Master-\nGeneral of the Order had held a strict visitation\nabout him, as was fitting, and had found nothing\nagainst him, save that a wicked woman, who was\nunworthy to be believed, had spoken maliciously of\n\nOF A GRIEVOUS SUFFERING 169\n\nthe honest man; a thing which might very well\nhappen, if people would give ear to wicked tongues.\n\nThus the kind God succoured the Servitor, and\nvery graciously caused this terrible storm of suffer-\ning to subside and pass away, according as the holy\ndaughter in the vision had told him for his consola-\ntion. And he often thought within himself :—Ah,\nLord, how true the words are which are said of\nThee : He to whom God wishes well can be harmed\nby no one!\n\nThe friend, also, who behaved to him in such an\nunfriendly way was shortly afterwards taken hence\nby God. After his death, when all the hindrances\nwhich had delayed him from beholding God face to\nface had been removed, he appeared to the Servitor\nin golden garments radiant with light, and embracing\nhim lovingly, pressed his face tenderly against his\ncheeks and besought his pardon for all the wrong\nhe had done him, and prayed him that a true\nheavenly friendship might continue between them\neverlastingly. The Servitor accepted this proposal\nwith joy, and embraced him in turn very lovingly ;\nupon which he vanished out of sight, and entered\nagain into the bliss of God.\n\nAfterwards, when the appointed time had come,\nGod gladdened the sufferer in return for all his suffer-\nings with inward peace of heart, still repose, and bright\nilluminations of grace; so that he praised God with\nall his heart for the past suffering, saying that he\nwould not take the whole world not to have suffered it\nall. Moreover, it was given to him to see clearly that\nby this crushing blow he had been in a more noble\n\n170 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfashion drawn out of himself and transported into\nGod than by all the manifold sufferings which he\nhad endured from his youth upwards until then.\n\nCHAPTER XLT\n\nOF INTERIOR SUFFERINGS\n\nHEN the Servitor's spiritual daughter\nW had read the account of the grievous\nsufferings just related, and had _ shed\nmany tears over it through pity, she prayed him\nto explain to her in the next place what is the\nnature of interior sufferings? He answered :—I\nwill tell you two things about interior sufferings.\nThere was a man of high position in a certain\nReligious Order on whom God had laid an interior\nsuffering ; and the poor brother's heart and spirits\nwere so overwhelmed by it, that he ceased not night\nand day from tears and cries and lamentations. At\nlength he came with great devotion to the Servitor\nof the Eternal Wisdom, and told him his distress,\nand besought him to pray to God for him that he\nmight be delivered.\n\nEarly one morning, when the Servitor was sitting\nin his chapel and praying for the brother, he saw the\nevil spirit come and stand before him, under the form\nof a hideous Moor, with eyes of fire and a terrific,\nhellish look, and with a bow in his hand. The\nServitor said to him :—I adjure thee by the living\nGod to tell me who thou art, and what thou wantest\n\nOF INTERIOR SUFFERINGS 171\n\nhere. He answered in a very fiendish fashion:\n—I am \"Spiritus Blasphemie\" (the Spirit of\nBlasphemy), and thou shalt soon know what I\nwant.\n\nThe Servitor turned towards the door of the\nchoir, and, as he did this, the suffering brother\ncame in by the same door on his way to the\nchoir for Mass. Thereupon the evil spirit drew\nhis bow and shot a fiery arrow into the brother's\nheart, so that he almost fell backwards, and could\nnot come into the choir. The Servitor was greatly\npained at this, and severely reproved the devil for\nit. On which the proud fiend became exceeding\nwroth with him, and drawing the bow once more,\nwith a fiery arrow upon it, tried to shoot him also\nthrough the heart. But the Servitor turned quickly\nto our dear Lady for help, saying :——\" Nos cum prole\npia benedicat Virgo Maria\" (O Virgin Mary, bless\nus with thy gentle Babe); and immediately the\ndevil's strength left him, and he vanished out of\nsight.\n\nWhen morning came, the Servitor related what\nhe had seen to the suffering brother, and consoled\nhim, and at the same time told him the remedies\nwhich would be of avail, as they are set forth in the\nsermon of his which begins :—\"Lectulus noster\nfloridus,\" etc.\n\nAmong the many persons afflicted with interior\nsufferings who sought his help, there once came\nto him a secular man from a foreign country,\nsaying :—Sir, I have within me the greatest of all\nsufferings which a man ever had, and no one can\n\n172 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhelp me. A little while ago I despaired of God,\nand I was so despondent, that through excess of\nanguish I resolved to destroy myself, and kill both\nbody and soul. In this agony of mind, just as I\nwas on the point of springing into a raging torrent,\nand had already taken a run with the deliberate\npurpose of drowning myself, I heard a voice above\nme say, \"Stop! stop! Put not thyself to this\nshameful death: seek a friar preacher.\" And the\nvoice named you to me by your name, which I\nhad never heard before, and it said, \"He will help\nyou and set you right.\" I was full of joy at this,\nand gave up the thought of killing myself; and I\nhave sought you out by asking after you, as I was\nbidden. When the Servitor saw the miserable state\nin which the man was, he turned lovingly to the\npoor sufferer, and comforting him, made his heart\nlight, and taught him what to do in order to avoid,\nby God's help, falling again into such a temptation.\n\nCHAPTER XLIt\n\nWHAT SUFFERINGS ARE THE MOST USEFUL TO\nMEN, AND BRING MOST GLORY TO GOD?\n\nHE holy daughter asked him, saying :—\nI would gladly know what kind of suffer-\nings are, above all others, most useful to\nmen, and bring most glory to God. He answered\n\nas follows :—Thou must know that there are many\nkinds of sufferings by which a man is disciplined\n\nWHAT SUFFERINGS USEFUL? 173\n\nand set forward on the road to bliss, if only he can\nuse them rightly. Sometimes God sends heavy\nsufferings on a man without any fault of his, either\nto try how firm he stands, or to show him what he\nis in himself, as we often read in the Old Testament ;\nor, again, merely to manifest His only glory, as is\nrelated in the Gospel about the man born blind\nwhom Christ the Lord declared to be without fault\nand restored to sight.\n\nOn the other hand, there are some sufferers who\nwell deserve their sufferings, as the thief did who\nwas crucified with Christ the Lord, and to whom\nChrist gave everlasting bliss because of his true\nconversion to Him amid his sufferings. There are\nothers, again, who are guiltless in regard to the\nparticular things for which they are at the moment\nsuffering, but yet there is something else faulty in\nthem, on account of which God makes them suffer ;\njust as it often happens that Almighty God crushes\nhaughty arrogants, and brings persons of this descrip-\ntion to themselves by letting their pride and super-\nciliousness meet with a heavy fall in things in which,\nperhaps, they are wholly and entirely free from guilt.\nAgain, God sometimes sends sufferings upon men\nout of special love for them, to save them in this\nway from a still greater suffering, as is the case with\nthose to whom God gives their purgatory in this life\nby sicknesses, poverty, or such like, that so they may\nbe delivered from sufferings in the life to come; or\nwith those whom He permits to be tried and exer-\ncised by fiendish men, that they may thus be saved\nfrom the sight of the foul fiend at death, There\n\n174 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nare others also who suffer from burning love, like\nthe martyrs, whose joy it was by the manifold\ndeaths, whether of body or soul, which they endured,\nto show forth to the dear God their love.\n\nBesides all this, we find in this world many\nsufferings which are vain and without consolation ;\nsuch, for example, as are undergone by those who\nmake it their aim to please the world in worldly\nthings. These persons purchase hell at a very dear\nprice, while, on the contrary, those who suffer for\nGod find help in their tribulations, Again, there\nare some persons who are often inwardly admonished\nby God to give themselves to Him without reserve,\nbecause He wishes to admit them to His intimacy.\nNow, if they resist the call through negligence, God\ndraws them to Him by sufferings ; and to whichever\nside they turn in their endeavours to escape Him,\nthe faithful God sends upon them temporal mis-\nfortunes and discomfort, and thus holds them by\nthe hair, that they cannot get away from Him.\n\nThere are many others also to be met with who\nhave no sufferings except those which they make for\nthemselves, by estimating too highly what is not\nworthy of being taken into account at all. Once\nwhen a man who was heavily laden with afflictions\nchanced to pass by a certain house, he heard a\nwoman within uttering very great lamentations.\nThe thought came to him:—Go in and comfort\nthe woman in her sufferings. Accordingly he went\nin and said :—Dear lady, what has happened to\nyou, that you are bewailing yourself thus? She\nanswered :—I have let a needle drop, and cannot\n\nWHAT SUFFERINGS USEFUL? 175\n\nfind it anywhere. He turned round, and thought\nto himself as he went out :—O foolish woman, if\nthou hadst my burden on thee thou wouldst not\nweep for a needle! In this way some soft-natured\npersons make for themselves sufferings in a multitude\nof things where there is nothing to suffer.\n\nBut the noblest and best kind of suffering is after\nthe pattern of Christ's sufferings—I mean those\nwhich the heavenly Father gave to His only-begotten\nSon, and which he still gives to His dear and\nchosen friends. This must not be taken as if\nanyone were altogether without fault, except indeed\nthe dear Jesus Christ, who never sinned; but it\nis to be understood of the example of patience\nwhich 'Christ gave us when He bore Himself in His\nsufferings like a gentle little lamb among wolves.\nHence it is that He sometimes gives great sufferings\nto some of His dear and chosen friends, that we,\nwho are so impatient under suffering, may learn\npatience from these blessed men, and in every case\nby sweetness of heart to overcome evil with good.\nAll this thou shouldst consider, my daughter, and\nbe ready to suffer without reluctance; for from\nwhatever quarter sufferings come they can be turned\nto profit, if only the sufferer accepts them all as\nsent by God, and refers them back again to God,\nand so gets the mastery over them with His help.\n\nThe daughter answered :—The noblest kind of\nsuffering, of which you spoke last, 1 mean when a\nperson suffers innocently, is the lot of few. There-\nfore I would gladly hear how those who for their\nsins have deserved to suffer can, by God's help,\n\n176 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ncome forth victorious from their sufferings ; for such\npersons have a twofold source of pain: they have\nangered the Almighty God, and they are tormented\nfrom without.\n\nHe replied :—I will tell you. I knew a man who,\nwhenever he fell into a sin through human frailty,\nused to do like a good washerwoman, who takes the\nclothes, when she has steeped and softened them, to\nthe pure spring, and there by washing makes every-\nthing clean and fresh which before was dirty. Even\nso this man would never rest until some of the\ninnocent, down-trickling Blood of Christ, which the\nLord shed with unspeakable love, that it might be a\nhelp and comfort to all sinners, had been spiritually\npoured forth in sufficient measure upon him: and\nin this hot Blood he washed himself and all his\nstains away, and he bathed himself in the healthful\nbrook of Blood as a little child is bathed in a warm\nwater-bath ; and this he did with heart-felt devotion\nin a well-grounded Christian faith that this Blood\nmust and would wash away all his sins, and cleanse\nhim from all guilt by its almighty power. In this\nway, however things might be, whether he was guilty\nor free from guilt, he always referred them ultimately\nto the good God.\n\nTHE LOVE OF GOD 177\n\nCHAPTER XLII\n\nHOW HE DREW CERTAIN HEARTS FROM EARTHLY\nLOVE TO THE LOVE OF GOD\n\nHILE the Servitor was occupied in draw-\n\nW ing souls from earthly love to God, he\nremarked that in certain monasteries\n\nthere were persons who, though they wore the\nreligious habit, had worldly hearts beneath it.\nAmong others there was one who had steadfastly\nfixed her heart upon a perishable affection, of a kind\nwhich goes by the name of \" Sponsiren,\" and is a\nvery poison to all happiness in religion. The Servitor\ntold her that if she wished to lead a godly and quiet\nlife, she must renounce this practice, and in place of\nher earthly lover take the Eternal Wisdom for her\nbeloved. This was a hard thing for her to do; for\nshe was in the bloom of youth, and completely\nentangled in this kind of company. Nevertheless,\nhe brought her thus far, that she formed the good\nresolution to do it. When, however, she broke this\ngood resolution again, through the influence of her\nfriends, he said to her:—Daughter, leave off this\npractice; for I tell thee that if thou wilt not do it\ncheerfully, thou wilt have to do it sorrowfully. As\nshe would not be converted by his friendly counsels,\nhe prayed to God very earnestly to withdraw her\nfrom this affection, cost her what it might. One\nday he went up into the pulpit under the crucifix, as\nhis wont was, and he took a severe discipline on his\n\n178 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nbare back, so that the blood streamed from it, and\nhe besought God for her that she might be tamed.\nAnd so it came to pass; for immediately upon\nher return home there grew an ill-shaped hump\nupon her back, which made her look hideous, and\nthus necessity obliged her to give up what she had\nrefused to renounce for God.\n\nIn the same unenclosed monastery, there was a\nyoung, beautiful, and noble maiden, who having\nbeen caught in the same devil's net, had been for\nmany years wearing away her heart and her time in\nfrivolous light-mindedness with all kinds of persons ;\nand she had become so infatuated in these practices,\nthat she always fled like a wild animal from the\nServitor of the Eternal Wisdom, because she feared\nthat he would order her to give up the kind of life\nwhich she was leading. Now the sister of this\nmaiden besought the Servitor to try his luck with\nher, and see whether he could not bring her back\nfrom her ruinous courses to the everlasting God.\nThis seemed to him an impossible request, and he\nmade answer that, in his opinion, it would be more\npossible for the sky to fall than for her to give up\nthis practice ; and that only death could take it from\nher. The sister, however, was very urgent with him\nin her entreaties, saying that it was her firm belief\nthat whatever he asked of the everlasting God with\nearnestness, God never refused to him. At length\nshe overcame him by her importunities, and he\npromised her to undertake it.\n\nAs the maiden always fled from him, so that he\ncould never come to words with her, he took note\n\nTHE LOVE OF GOD 179\n\none day, about the time of St Margaret's feast, that\nshe had gone out with the other young sisters into a\nfield to pick flax. He stole after them, and went\nround the field, and in this way managed to come\ngently up to her.\n\nWhen she perceived that he was drawing near to\nher, she turned her back upon him very insolently,\nand, with her face all on fire with anger, cried out\npassionately to him :—Sir monk, what mean you by\ncoming out here to me? Keep to your own road, I\nadvise you; for you have nothing to do with me.\nI tell you that I would rather have my head cut off\nthan confess to you, and I would sooner be buried\nalive than obey you and give up my practices\n(\" Sponsiren \"),\n\nHer playmate, who stood next her, tried to quiet\nher ; and reproved her, saying that the Servitor had\nonly done it out of kindness. But she, tossing up\nher head in fury, answered :—See, I will not deceive\nhim ; I will show him by my words and ways what\nI have in my heart. The Servitor was so horror-\nstruck by these insolent words and unseemly gestures,\nthat he blushed with shame and kept silent ; for he\ncould not speak. The other sisters, who heard her\noutcries against him, were grieved at it, and chid her\nsharply. He soon withdrew on one side and left\nher; and then looking upwards, he began to sigh\ndeeply, and would have given up the attempt; only\nthat there still remained in him a kind of interior\nimpulse from God, reminding him that he who wishes\nto accomplish anything either for God or for the\nworld must not give up so soon. This took place\n\n180 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nafter midday. On the evening of that same day,\nafter supper, the sisters went in a body into the\ncourtyard to pill the flax which they had gathered,\nand the afore-mentioned sister went with them.\nNow they were obliged to pass by the guest-\nquarters, in which the Servitor was staying. He,\ntherefore, besought one of the maiden's playmates\nto contrive to bring her to him, and then to leave\nthe room again herself. This was managed, though\nwith difficulty.\n\nAs soon as she came into the room where the\nbrother was, and had seated herself near him under\nthe window, he fetched a deep sigh from his full\nheart, and said :—Ah! beautiful and gentle maiden,\nGod's chosen one! how long will you abandon your\nbeautiful lovely body and your tender heart to the\nvile and wicked devil? And yet you are so richly\nadorned by the everlasting God with every grace,\nthat it is indeed an evil tale that such a well-formed,\nnoble, and angelic maiden should be the beloved of\nany other save the All-adorable One alone. Who\nhas a greater right to pluck the fair and tender rose\nthan He whose own it is? No, dear, lovely maiden,\nopen your bright falcon-eyes, and think of that\nbeautiful, chosen love, which begins here and lasts\nfor ever and ever. Think, too, what sorrow and\nunfaithfulness, what pain and suffering in body and\ngoods, in soul and honour, they must needs endure,\nwillingly or unwillingly, who pursue earthly love ;\nonly they are so blinded by the honeyed poison that\nthey forget the great hurt which thence results to\nthem in time and in eternity. Come, then, thou\n\nTHE LOVE OF GOD 181\n\nangelic form, thou loving, noble heart, and turn thy\nnature's high nobility to Him who is noble from\neternity, and cease from this. I promise thee, by\nmy troth, that God will take thee for His darling,\nand will be altogether true to thee, and love thee\nright well, here and hereafter, everlastingly.\n\nThe moment was propitious. These fiery words\nshot, as it were, through her heart, and softened her\nso exceedingly, that, at once lifting up her eyes and\nsighing very deeply, she said to him these deter-\nmined and courageous words :—Ah, sir, my father !\nI surrender myself this day to God and you; and\nfrom this hour I will have done with my wild,\nunbridled life, and, by your counsel and help, I\nwill give myself to the loving God, to be His own,\nand will serve Him only until my death. He\nanswered :—This is an hour of gladness. Praised\nbe the kind Lord, who is ready to receive back\nagain with joy all those who return to Him.\n\nWhile the two were thus conversing together in\nprivate about God, her playmates whom she had\nleft stood outside the door, and they were vexed at\nthe length of the discourse, for they feared lest she\nshould abandon their light-minded society. So they\ncalled out to her to finish with him. Upon this\nshe rose up, and went away with them, saying :—\nMy playmates, God bless you! I bid you now\nfarewell—you and all our comrades, with whom,\nalas, I have wasted my time so frivolously; for\nhenceforth I will have no one but the faithful God,\nand all else I will let go.\n\nFrom that time the maiden began to avoid all\n\n182 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhurtful company, and to keep herself retired ; and\nthough in after times the attempt was often made\nto bring her back to her old life, nothing ever came\nof it; and her conduct continued such, that, in\nthe enjoyment of an honourable reputation and the\npractice of every virtue, she remained firmly and\nsteadfastly attached to God until her death.\n\nOnce, later on, the Servitor set forth from home\nto visit his new daughter, that he might confirm\nher in a good and holy life, and console her lovingly,\nif she were in any sorrow; and he put himself to\nmuch suffering by undertaking the journey at a\ntime when he was ill. As he walked along in this\nstate through the deep mire, and climbed over lofty\nmountains, he often lifted up his eyes to the living\nGod, and said :—Merciful God, be mindful of the\npainful steps which Thou didst take for man's\nsalvation, and keep safe my child. His companion,\non whom he leant from time to time, said to him\nin pity:—It well beseems God's goodness that\nmany souls should be kept safe through you.\n\nWhen he had gone on until he could go no fur-\nther, but was quite exhausted, his companion said\nto him once more :-—Ah, father! God should have\nconsidered how very ill you are, and He should\nhave sent you a horse to ride upon, until you come\nto where people are. He answered :—Well, if we\nboth ask God for it, I have confidence that He\nwill let me have the benefit of thy virtue, and that\nit will come to pass.\n\nThen the Servitor looked round about him, and\nhe saw there on the right hand, coming forth out\n\nTHE LOVE OF GOD 183\n\nof a wood, a handsome horse, properly bridled and\nsaddled, and it was coming along alone. His\ncompanion joyfully exclaimed :—See, dear father,\nhow God will not forsake you! He answered :—\nSon, look round about on all sides of this broad\nplain, and observe whether there is any one to\nwhom it can belong. He looked far and near, and\ncould see no one, but only the horse trotting up to\nthem. Then he said:—Of a truth, father, God\nhas sent it to you; sit upon it and ride. He\nanswered :—Well, comrade, if the horse stop still\nwhen it comes to us, I trust in God that He has\nsent it hither for our necessity. The horse came\nup quietly, and stood still before him. He said :—\nSo be it, in God's name. Then his companion\nhelped him on the horse and made him ride upon\nit, and walked by his side for some distance, until\nhe was well rested. When they came near the\nvillage the Servitor got off, and laying the reins\nupon the horse's neck, let it go its way to the place\nfrom which it came. But whence it came, or whose\nit was, he never could discover afterwards.\n\nWhen the Servitor had arrived at his journey's\nend, it happened one evening that he was sitting\nwith his spiritual children speaking to them in\ndisparagement of perishable love, while at the same\ntime he praised and celebrated to them the excel-\nlence of eternal love. When they left him, his\nheart was greatly inflamed with Divine love through\nthe ardour of his discourse; for it seemed to him\nthat his Beloved, whom he both loved himself and\nadvised others to love, was infinitely better than all\n\n184 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nearthly objects of love. While he meditated on\nthis his senses were stilled in ecstasy, and it\nappeared to him in a vision that he was carried to\na beautiful green heath, and that by his side there\nwent a heavenly youth of comely form and noble\nbearing, who led him by the hand. Then the\nyouth began to sing in the brother's soul a song\nwhich rang forth so joyously that all his senses took\nto flight before the mighty power of that sweet\nmelody, and it seemed to him that his heart became\nso exceeding full of burning love and longing after\nGod that it began to leap and rage within his\nbody, as if it were on the point of breaking, from\nthe intense strain that was put upon it; and he\nwas forced to lay his right hand upon his heart as\na relief, and his eyes became so full that the tears\nran down his cheeks.\n\nWhen the song was ended, a picture was placed\nbefore him, with the intent to teach him this song\nin such a way that he might not forget it. He\nlooked, and saw there Our Lady pressing her Child,\nthe Eternal Wisdom, to her maternal heart. Over\nthe Child's head the beginning of a song was written\nin beautiful and well-formed letters, and yet the\nwriting was so concealed that it was not every one\ncould read it. Only those who had gained the\nknowledge of it by experience and spiritual exer-\ncises read it well; and the writing was, \" Heart's\ndarling.\"\n\nThe Servitor read the writing rapidly ; and then\nthe Babe looked up and gazed at him with love;\nupon which he felt in his inmost soul how true it is\n\nDRINK FOR HIS FRIENDS 185\n\nthat the Divine Babe alone is our heart's darling—\nthe sole object of all our joy and sorrow. Then he\npressed the Babe to the very centre of his heart, and\nbegan to sing with the youth this song from end to\nend. In these burning sentiments of heartfelt love\nhe came to himself again, and he found his right\nhand lying upon his heart, just as he had placed\nit there as a relief when his heart was agitated so\nviolently.\n\nCHARTER ALIV\n\nHOW GOD MULTIPLIED DRINK FOR HIS FRIENDS\n\nNCE upon a time the Servitor, having\n() seis to a distance, became very tired,\n\nand on arriving in the evening at a hermit-\nage, where it was proposed to spend the night, no\nwine was to be found either in the village or the\nhermitage ; until at length, a certain good woman\ncame and said that she had a small bottle of wine\nleft, about half a quart, adding, \"But what is this\namong so many?\" For they were in number about\ntwenty persons, good children, together with those\nwho had come thither desiring to hear the word of\nGod from his mouth, The Servitor told her to\nbring the bottle and place it on the table, and they\nprayed him to pronounce a blessing from God upon\nit. He did this in the mighty power of the loving\nName of Jesus, and then began to drink of it, for he\nwas very thirsty from the journey ; after which he\n\n186 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\noffered it to the others, and they all drank together.\nThe bottle was placed upon the table openly, in the\nsight of every one, and no more wine or water was\npoured into it, for there was no other wine there.\nThey continued drinking again and again out of the\nsame bottle; and they were so eager to hear from\nhim the word of God, that no one took note of the\ndivine miracle. At last, when they came to them-\nselves, and saw God's almighty power so manifestly\ndisplayed in the multiplication of the drink, they\nbegan to praise God, and wished to attribute the\nmiracle which had taken place to the Servitor's\nholiness. But he would not on any account suffer\nthis, saying :—-Children, this is not my doing. God\nhas permitted this pure company to reap the benefit\nof their good faith, and has given them drink both\nbodily and spiritually.\n\nCHAPTER XLV\n\nOF CERTAIN SUFFERERS, WHO WERE ATTACHED\nTO THE \"SERVITOR BY- \"SPECIAL STIbS Son\nFRIENDSHIP AND AFFECTION\n\neminent holiness, both intimate friends of the\nServitor, The one stood in high repute before\nthe people, and abounded in divine sweetnesses,\nThe other was held in no esteem, and God exercised\nhim continually with sufferings.\nAfter they were both dead, the Servitor wished\n\nI: a certain town there were two persons of\n\nOF CERTAIN SUFFERERS _ 187\n\nmuch to know what was the difference between\ntheir rewards in the next world, inasmuch as the\nroads by which they had been led in this life were\nso unlike. Early one morning, the one who had\nbeen held in such esteem here below appeared to\nthe Servitor, and told him that he was still in\npurgatory ; and when asked how this could be, he\nreplied that the only sin for which he had to suffer\nwas a certain spiritual pride which had assailed him,\nthrough the high esteem in which he had been held,\nand which he had not driven away quickly enough.\nHe added that his sufferings would soon be at\nan end. The other, whose life had been full of\nhumiliations and sufferings, passed at once without\nany hindrance to God.\n\nThe Servitor's mother was all the days of her life\na very great sufferer. This arose from the painful\ndissimilarity which there was between her and her\nhusband. She was full of the Almighty God, and\nher whole desire was to live a spiritual life. But\nher husband was full of the world, and opposed her\nwith great harshness and severity ; and through this\nshe had much to suffer.\n\nIt was her custom to cast all her sorrows into the\nbitter sufferings of Jesus Christ, and in this way to\nget the mastery over them. Before her death she\nconfessed to the Servitor that for thirty years\nshe had never assisted at Mass without weeping\nbitterly from heartfelt compassion for the torments\nof our dear Lord and His faithful Mother. She\ntold him also that, from the excessive love which\nshe felt for God, she had once fallen ill, and kept her\n\n*\n\n188 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nbed for twelve weeks, longing and pining for God so\nardently that the physicians clearly perceived it and\nwere edified by it.\n\nOnce, at the beginning of Lent, she went to the\nCathedral, where the taking down of the Lord Jesus\nfrom the cross is represented in carved wood over\nan altar. While she was before this image she\nexperienced sensibly the great anguish which the\ntender Mother felt beneath the cross ; and so intense\nwas the agony which it caused this good woman,\nthrough compassion, that her heart became sick\nwithin her body, and she sank down fainting to the\nground, and could neither see nor speak. She was\nhelped home, and lay there sick until Good Friday at\nnone, and died while the Passion was being read.\n\nHer son, the Servitor, was at this time at Cologne,\nengaged with his studies. She appeared to him\nthere in a vision, and said to him with great joy :—\nAh, my child! love God and trust Him well, for He\nwill never forsake thee in any trouble. See, I have\ndeparted from this world, and yet I am not dead.\nI shall live everlastingly in the presence of the ever-\nlasting God. She kissed him in motherly fashion\nupon his mouth, and blessed him lovingly, and then\ndisappeared. He began to weep, and cried out after\nher, saying :—-O my true-hearted, holy mother, be\ntrue to me in God's presence! and thus weeping\nand sighing, he came to himself again.\n\nIn his young days, when he was at the place of\nstudies, God provided him once with a dear and\nholy companion. On one occasion, when they were\nalone, and had conversed together much and tenderly\n\nOF CERTAIN SUFFERERS _ 189\n\nabout God, the companion besought the Servitor by\nthe sincerity of their friendship to show him the\nlovely Name cf Jesus which was engraven over his\nheart. The Servitor was reluctant to do this ; never-\ntheless, when he saw his companion's great devotion,\nhe granted his request, and drawing aside his habit\nwhere it covered his heart, let him look at this jewel\nof his heart as much as he would. The companion\nwas 'not content with this; but when he saw the\nsweet Name standing out visibly in the middle over\nthe Servitor's heart, he put out his hand and face,\nand after passing his hand across it, laid his mouth\nupon it, and began to weep so heartily from devotion\nthat the tears ran down over the heart. After this\nthe Servitor covered up the Name, and he never\nwould allow anyone else to see it, save only one of\nGod's chosen friends, to whom this was permitted by\nthe everlasting God ; and this person also contem-\nplated it with the same devout feelings as the other.\n\nWhen these two dear companions had spent many\nyears together in spiritual companionship, and the\ntime was come for them to separate, they blessed\neach other lovingly, and made a compact between\nthem, that whichever of them might die first, the\nsurvivor should, as a token of their mutual friend-\nship, say for his departed friend two Masses weekly\nduring a year; the one to be a Requiem Mass on\nthe Mondays, and the other a Mass of our Lord's\nPassion on the Fridays. Many years passed away\nafter this, until at length the Servitor's dear com-\npanion died before him; but the Servitor had\nforgotten the promise about the Masses, though,\n\n190 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwithout reference to it, he faithfully remembered\nhis friend's soul to God. One morning, as he sat\nin ecstasy in his chapel, his companion appeared to\nhim in a vision, and said to him very piteously :—\nAlas, friend, how great is thy unfaithfulness! How\nhast thou forgotten me! The Servitor answered :\n—And yet I remember thee every day in my Mass.\nHis companion replied :-—That is not enough. Fulfil\nwhat we promised about the Masses, that some of\nthe sinless Blood may thus come down upon me\nand quench the severity of my purgatory. In this\nway I shall soon be set free. The Servitor accom-\nplished this with affectionate fidelity, grieving much\nfor his forgetfulness, and his companion was soon\nreleased.\n\nCHAPTER XLVI\n\nHOW CHRIST APPEARED TO HIM UNDER THE FORM\nOF A SERAPH, AND TAUGHT HIM HOW TO\nSUFFER\n\nNCE upon a time, when the Servitor had\n( ) ss: to God with great fervour, be-\n\nseeching Him to instruct him how to\nsuffer, there appeared to him in a vision a likeness\nof Christ upon the cross in the form of a Seraph:\nand the Seraph had six wings: with two he covered\nhis head, with two his feet, and with two he flew.\nOn the two lowest wings was written, \"Receive\nsufferings willingly\"; on the two middle wings,\n\nCHRIST APPEARED TO HIM 101\n\n\"Bear sufferings patiently\"; and on the two\nhighest wings, \"Learn to suffer after Christ's\npattern.\"\n\nHe told this vision of love to one of his intimate\nfriends, who was a very holy person. The answer\nwhich he received was :—Be assured that God has\nonce more prepared for you new sufferings, which\nyou will have to suffer. He asked what kind of\nsufferings these might be. He was answered :—\nYou will be raised to the dignity of a prelate, in\norder that those who are disaffected to you may be\nthe better able to strike you, and may humble you\nso much the more deeply. Therefore stablish your-\nself in patience, as has been shown you under the\nfigure of the Seraph. He fetched a sigh, and looked\nout for the coming of a new storm; and so in\ntruth it came to pass as the holy person had foretold\nhim.\n\nIt happened at this time that there were several\nyears of scarcity, and no one gave alms of bread or\nwine to the Convent in which he then was; so that\nthe Convent fell greatly into debt. The brothers\nresolved in common to elect the Servitor prior\nduring the great scarcity, notwithstanding his sorrow\nand, repugnance; for they well understood that\nherein new sufferings were prepared for him.\n\nOn the first' day he caused the bell to be rung\nfor chapter, and he exhorted the community to call\nupon the dear St Dominic, inasmuch as he had\npromised his brothers that if they called upon him\nwhen they were in need, he would, with God's\npermission, come and help them. Now there were\n\n192 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntwo of the brothers sitting side by side in the\nchapter, one of whom whispered to the other very\nscornfully :—See what a foolish man this prior is,\nthat he bids us turn to God in our need. Does he\nfancy that God will open heaven, and send us down\nmeat and drink? The other answered :—He is not\nthe only fool. We are all fools for having made\nhim prior, though we knew well beforehand that he\nis quite ignorant about earthly things, and does\nnothing but gape upwards continually to heaven.\nMany a contemptuous judgment of this kind was\npassed upon him. When morning came, he ordered\na Mass of St Dominic to be sung, that the Saint\nmight provide for them what they needed. Now,\nwhile he was standing in the choir deep sunk in\nthought, the porter came and called him out toa\nrich canon, who was his particular friend. The\ncanon said to him :—Dear sir, you have no experi-\nence in temporal things; but I have been inwardly\nadmonished by God last night to help you in His\nstead, and accordingly I have brought you twenty\npounds weight of Constance pennies for a beginning.\nPut your trust in God. He will not forsake you.\nThe Servitor was filled with joy, and, taking the\nmoney, ordered wine and corn to be bought with it.\nMoreover, God and St Dominic so helped him\nduring the whole time that he was prior, that the\nConvent never wanted for provisions of any kind;\nand besides this, he paid off all the debt.\n\nThe above-mentioned canon, when he lay upon\nhis death-bed, made large bequests for his soul's\nhelp to various objects towards which he had a\n\nCHRIST APPEARED TO HIM 1093\n\ndevotion. Afterwards he sent for the Servitor, who\nwas then prior, and intrusted him with a consider-\nable number of florins, bidding him distribute them\nin other places among poor friends of God who had\nworn out their strength in austere exercises. The\nServitor was reluctant to undertake this, for he\nfeared that he would have to suffer for it afterwards,\nas in fact happened. At last he was over-persuaded\nto take the money, and he went out into the\nneighbouring country and distributed the sum, as he\nhad promised, here and there where he believed that\nit would be most beneficial to the donor's soul; and\nhe took proper receipt for it, and gave account of it\nall to his superiors. A heavy tribulation, however,\nfell upon him in consequence of this,\n\nThe canon had an ill-conditioned natural son,\nwho, after squandering away what his father had\ngiven him, abandoned himself to profligate and\nruinous courses. This man was very anxious to\nobtain possession of the money in question, and, as\nhe could not succeed in this, he sent word to the\nServitor, under a solemn oath, that wherever he fell\nin with him he would kill him. No one could\nappease this man's enmity, however often the\nattempt was made. Nothing would do but he must\nkill him. The poor Servitor was for a long time in\nanguish and distress, and he did not venture to\ntravel about from place to place, for fear of being\nmurdered by the reprobate man. He used to lift\nup his eyes to God, and with many sighs exclaim :—\nAlas, O God! what miserable kind of death hast\nThou ordained for me! His distress was all the\n\n194 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ngreater because a short time before a brother of\ngood repute had been cruelly murdered in another\ntown for the same sort of thing. The poor Servitor\nfound no one who had the will or the courage to\nundertake to shield him from the ferocity of this\nsavage man. So he betook himself to the Sovereign\nLord of all who sets him free from his persecutor,\nand cut short his young and vigorous life by death.\n\nTo these afflictions was added another bitter\nsuffering. There was a certain ecclesiastical com-\nmunity which had received great gifts from the\ncanon. But this did not satisfy them, and they all\nfell upon the brother with great indignation because\nhe would not let all the above-mentioned money\ncome to them.\n\nHe was sadly insulted on this account, and they\naccused him before seculars and ecclesiastics ; and\nthe slanderous tale, making him out guilty by a\nperversion of the facts, was carried far and wide\nthroughout the country, and he had to bear the loss\nof his good name among men for things in which\nhe was guiltless in the eyes of God.\n\nAt this time the deceased canon appeared to him\nin a vision clothed in a beautiful green vestment\nworked all over with red roses. He told the\nServitor that it was well with him in the other\nworld; and he entreated him to bear patiently\nthe great wrong which was being done him, for that\nGod would make it all up to him abundantly. The\nServitor asked him what his beautiful vestment\nsignified. He answered :—The red roses on the\ngreen ground represent your patient suffering, with\n\nTHE SPIRITUAL PRIZE 195\n\nwhich you have richly clothed me; and for this God\nwill clothe you with Himself everlastingly.\n\nCHAPTER XLVII\n\nHOW STEADFASTLY HE MUST FIGHT WHO\nWOULD WIN THE SPIRITUAL PRIZE\n\nT the first beginning of the Servitor's con-\nAw he desired with all his heart to be\n\nsingularly and pre-eminently well-pleasing to\nthe loving God, but he expected to accomplish this\nwithout labour and suffering.\n\nNow it happened once, when he went out into\nthe country to preach, that he embarked on board a\npassenger ship on the Lake of Constance, and he\nobserved there, sitting among the other passengers,\na comely youth, gaily attired. He drew near the\nyouth and asked him what manner of man he was.\nThe youth answered :—I am an esquire errant, and\nI bring the gentle folk together, and arrange tourna-\nments in which they tilt and fight and pay homage\nto fair ladies; and he who proves himself to be the\nbest of all carries off the honour and the reward.\nThe Servitor said:—And what is the reward?\nThe esquire replied :—The most beautiful of the\nladies present places a gold ring upon his finger.\nThe Servitor asked further :—But tell me, dear\nfriend, what must one do to carry off the honour and\nthe ring? He answered :—He who proves to be\nthe best at bearing sword-strokes and assaults, and\nwho shows no faint-heartedness in this, but behaves\n\n196 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhimself courageously and manfully, and sits firm,\nand bears up against the blows—he it is who\nreceives the prize. The Servitor asked once\nmore :—Tell me; if a man were only bold in the\nfirst onset, would that be enough? He replied :—\nNo; he must remain firm to the very end of the\ntournament; and though the blows which he\nreceives bring sparks of fire into his eyes, and make\nthe blood burst from his mouth and nose, he must\nendure them all, if he is to obtain the glory of\nvictory. The Servitor replied :—But, dear comrade,\nmay he not weep or look mournful when he gets\nsuch terrible blows? He answered:—No; and\nthough his heart sinks within him, as happens to\nmany, he may not do anything of the kind; but he\nmust bear himself joyously and bravely, otherwise\nhe will become a laughing-stock, and lose the glory\nand the ring.\n\nThis discourse made the Servitor enter into\nhimself, and fetching a sigh from the depths of his\nheart, he said :—Ah, glorious Lord God! must the\nknights of the world endure so much suffering for\nsuch a small reward, which is in itself a very\nnothing! How fitting then it is that much greater\nlabours should be undergone for the everlasting\nprize! O sweet Lord, would that I were worthy\nto be Thy spiritual knight! O lovely Eternal\nWisdom, who art rich in graces beyond aught in\nany land, would that my soul might receive a ring\nfrom Thee! To win it, I would suffer whatever\nmight be Thy will! And he began to weep from\nthe great fervour which he felt.\n\nTHE SPIRITUAL PRIZE 197\n\nWhen he arrived at the place to which he was\ngoing, God sent him great and cruel sufferings in\nsuch plenty that the poor Servitor nearly lost all his\ntrust in God; and many eyes became wet with\ntears through pity for him. He had forgotten all\nhis knightly daring and his promise, and he became\nmelancholy and peevish with God, wondering within\nhimself what God could have against him that He\nhad sent him such great sufferings. In the\nmorning, at daybreak, there came a calm over his\nsoul; and his bodily senses being stilled in\necstasy, a voice spoke within him :—Where is now\nthy knightly prowess? What a knight of straw,\nand a scarecrow of a man he must be, who is so\ndaring in prosperity, and so despairing in adversity ?\nThis is not the way to win the everlasting ring,\nfor which thou longest. He replied :—O Lord!\nthe jousts of the interior life, which must be borne\nfor Thee are far too long and wearisome. To this\nthere came an answer:—Therefore the glory, and\nthe honour, and the ring of My knights, who\nreceive honour from Me, are stable and everlasting.\nUpon this the Servitor, entering into himself, said\nvery humbly :—Lord I am in the wrong. Only\npermit me to weep while I suffer, for my heart is\nvery full. The answer came:—Alas for thee!\nDost thou want to weep like a woman and disgrace\nthyself before the court of Heaven? Wipe thy\neyes, and bear thyself joyously, so that neither God\nnor men may perceive that thou hast wept on\naccount of sufferings. The Servitor began to laugh,\nand yet at the same time the tears were running\n\n198 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndown his cheeks, and he promised God that he\nwould no more wish to weep, that so he might\nobtain from Him the spiritual ring.\n\nCHAPTER XLVI\n\nHOW THE SERVITOR'S FACE WAS ONCE SEEN\nTO SHINE WITH LIGHT WHILE HE WAS\nPREACHING\n\nNCE when the Servitor was preaching at\nC ) cricer with great fervour, there sat\n\namong his hearers a beginner in the\nspiritual life, who had been recently converted to\nGod. Now while this beginner was attending\ndiligently to the preacher, he saw with the eyes of\nhis soul that the preacher's face began to be trans-\nfigured with a ravishing brightness, and three times\nit became like the radiant sun when its splendour\nis at the highest; and the face, moreover, was so\npure, that the beginner saw himself reflected in it.\nThis vision brought him very great consolation in\nhis sufferings, and confirmed him in a holy life.\n\nCHAPTER XLIX\nOF THE LOVELY NAME OF JESUS\nHE Servitor of the Eternal Wisdom once\nmade a journey from the upper country\nto Aix-la-Chapelle to visit our dear\nLady. And on his return, our dear Lady appeared\n\nTHE NAME OF JESUS 199\n\nto a holy person, and said :—Behold, my Child's\nServitor has come hither and he has carried about\nHis sweet Name of Jesus far and wide, with the\nsame ardent desire with which His Apostles of old\ncarried it; and just as their desire was to make all\nmen know this Name through the preaching of the\nfaith, even so all his strivings have been to set all\ncold hearts on fire with new love for this Name of\nJesus. Therefore he shall receive, after his death,\nan everlasting reward with them.\n\nAfterwards, this holy person saw our dear Lady\nholding a beautiful candle in her hand, and it\nburned so beautifully that its light shone throughout\nthe whole world; and all round and round the\ncandle the Name of Jesus was written. Then our\ndear Lady said to this person :—Behold, this\nburning candle signifies the Name of Jesus, because\nHe in very truth illuminates the hearts of all who\nreceive His name with devotion, and pay it honour,\nand bear it lovingly about with them. To this end,\nmy Child has chosen out His Servitor, that devotion\nto His Name may be lit up through him in the\nhearts of many, and that these may be helped\nonwards by him to everlasting bliss.\n\nWhen this holy maiden, of whom mention has\nbeen made above, perceived that her spiritual father\nwas so devout to, and had such firm faith in, the\nloving Name of Jesus, which he bore upon his\nbreast over his heart, she conceived a great and\npeculiar love for it, and out of devotion she marked\nthe Name of Jesus in red silk on a little piece of\ncloth, in the following form: I.H.S., and wore it\n\n200 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsecretly upon herself. She also made an almost\ncountless number of similar Names, and persuaded\nthe Servitor to lay them on his bare heart, and then\nsend them, with a blessing from God, to his spiritual\nchildren in different parts. Moreover, it was revealed\nto her by God that those who bore the Name upon\nthem, and said daily with devotion an \"Our Father\"\nin honour of it, would be treated lovingly by God\nin this world, and would find grace before Him at\ntheir last passage.\n\nSuch were the austere exercises and such the\ngodly examples of Jesus Christ and His dear\nfriends, according to which the beginnings of this\nholy maiden's spiritual life were fashioned.\n\nCHAPTER L\n\nA GOOD DISTINCTION BETWEEN A TRUE AND\nFALSE USE OF REASON NOTICEABLE IN\nCERTAIN PERSONS\n\n'* As the eagle enticing her young to fly.\" —(DEUT. xxxiii. 11.)\n\nHEN this holy daughter, by the good\n\nWV instructions of her spiritual father, had\nbeen thoroughly fashioned after the out-\n\nward man to every branch of holiness which can\nbe taught by examples, just as a piece of soft wax\nbefore the fire takes the form of the seal which is\nimpressed upon it, and when she had been for a\nlong time regularly trained in the imitation of the\nmirror-like life of Christ, which is the surest way,\n\nA TRUE AND FALSE REASON 201\n\nshe received the following letter from her spiritual\nfather, the Servitor:—Daughter, the time is now\ncome for thee to aim at something higher, and to\nfly upwards out of the nest of forms and images,\nand the consolations which proceed from them. Do\nlike a young, newly-fledged eagle, and soar upwards\non thy well-grown pinions—I mean thy soul's\nhighest powers—to the heights of that noble con-\ntemplation which belongs to a blissful and perfect\nlife. Knowest thou not what Christ said to His\ndisciples, who clung so closely to His sensible\npresence P—It is expedient for you that I go away\nfrom you, if you are to receive the Holy Ghost\n(John xvi. 7). The former exercises have been a\ngood preparation to bring thee onwards through the\nwilderness of an animal and unconscious life, into\nthe promised land of a pure and quiet heart, where\nbliss begins in this world, and will continue ever-\nlastingly in the next. But that thou mayest better\nunderstand this high intellectual way, I will cause\nto shine before thee the light of a good distinction,\nwhich, if thou clearly comprehendest it, will save\nthee from all error, however high thou mayest soar\nwith thy mind.\n\nObserve this then. Two courses are to be met\nwith among apparently good persons. Some pursue\na course in harmony with reason, and others a\ncourse at variance with it. The first are those who\nmake it their aim to shape all their thoughts, actions,\nand omissions according to the rule of sound dis-\ncretion, in harmony with the sentiments of holy\nChristendom, to God's glory, and the peace and\n\n202 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nquiet of all other men; while at the same time they\nkeep diligent watch over their words and ways,\nso as to give scandal to no one, unless indeed a\nperson takes scandal at them through his own fault,\nas often happens. Now the very name and nature\nof reason admonish us to pursue a guarded walk\nand manner of life like this. And the reason of\nthese persons is after the fashion of the Divine\nreason, and worthy of praise, for its light shines\ninwards in itself in a true though hidden way, just\nas the heavens shine in the bright stars. On the\ncontrary, in those apparently good persons who\nfollow a course at variance with reason, and with an\nunmortified nature make self their aim, and only gaze\nintently upon objects with their reason after the\nmanner of contemplation, and are able to discourse\nabout them overbearingly before the unlearned,\nwhile by word and deed they testify contempt for\nevery unfavourable judgment passed upon them :—\nin such persons the intellectual light streams out-\nwards, and not inwards; and just as decayed wood,\nfrom the glimmer it sends forth at night, seems to\nbe something, and yet is nothing, even so the inward\nlight and outward walk of these persons show them-\nselves to be in all respects unlike that which they\nought to resemble.\n\nWhat these persons are may be easily gathered\nfrom the free and unweighed maxims which they\nput forth. We will only take one of these maxims,\nand by it we can estimate all the rest. The\nfollowing words occur in a poem by one of them,\n\"The just needs shun no obstacle.\" This saying,\n\nA TRUE AND FALSE REASON 203\n\nand others like it, have an air of importance in the\neyes of certain dim-sighted persons, but will meet\nwith no praise from those who see well and under-\nstand what they really mean. This is evident in\nthe case of the saying just quoted, \"The just needs\nshun no obstacle.\" For what is \"the just,' and\nwhat is an \"obstacle\"? \"The just,' according to\nthe usual meaning of the term, is a just man\nregarded as actually existing in creation. For the\nquality \"just\" has no existence by itself, but needs\na subject in which it can exist, and this subject in\nthe present case is the just man. Again, what is an\n\"obstacle\"? It is sin which separates a man from\nGod. Is a just man, then, to shun no obstacle—\nthat is to say, is he to avoid or shun no sin? Such\nan assertion would be simply false, and at variance\nwith all reason. It is true, indeed, that the just\nman, and all other things, when viewed antecedently\nto their coming into being and their creation, as\nexisting ideally from everlasting in God's essential\nreason, are all one and the same, without any formal\ndifference, and therefore the saying, if understood in\nthis sense, may be allowed to pass. But then it\nmust be remembered that the just man, regarded as\nexisting only in this simple super-essential basis, is\nnot the corporeal man ; for there is nothing corporeal\nin the Godhead, neither is there any obstacle there.\nBut it is outside this basis that each man finds\nhimself to be this or that individual man; for\noutside of it he is mortal, and within it he is\nimmortal: and it is outside of it that he now exists\nin his frail created nature, in which he has great\n\n204 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nneed to shun every hurtful obstacle. If, then, I\nwere to try to regard myself in my own mind as\nnon-existent, and in this way to know nothing of\nmyself; and if, without distinguishing between\nmyself and God, I were to do all corporeal actions\nas though the uncreated Being did them—this\nwould be a crime above all crimes.\n\nFrom this we see, that such maxims as these\nhave really nothing rational in them. In saying\nthis, however, it is not meant to condemn rational\ndoctrine or rational well-weighed maxims and poems,\nby which men are refined, and guided towards\nintellectual truth, even though they are not under-\nstood by everybody. For it is manifestly true, that\nno one can speak with sufficient clearness to be\nunderstood by those who are grossly blind, and as\nignorant as brute beasts.\n\nThe daughter answered :—Praised be God for\nthis good distinction! But I should also be very\nglad to hear the distinction between a well-ordered\nreason and one which is all flowers and outward\nshow, as well as between true and false detachment.\n\nA WELL-ORDERED REASON 205\n\nCHAPTER LI\n\nHOW TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A WELL-ORDERED |\nREASON AND ONE WHICH IS ALL FLOWERS\nAND GLITTER\n\nr- [ =: Servitor replied as follows :—At the\nend of the first combats, which have for\ntheir object to bring flesh and blood into\n\nsubjection, a man arrives at a deep sea in which\n\nmany perish; and this is a use of reason which is\nall glitter and external show. Now what is meant\nby this? The following is what I mean by a use of\nreason which is all glitter and outward show :—\nWhen a man has been emptied interiorly of the\ngrossness caused by sin, and his mind is free from\nthe forms and images which used to cling to it, and\nhe is able to soar upwards joyously above time and\nspace, which till then held him in bondage, so that\nhe could not use his nature's noble powers—at such\na time, when he has already begun to open his soul's\neyes and to taste a new and better pleasure, even\nthat which springs from the perception of truth, the\nenjoyment of divine bliss, the gazing into the now\nof eternity which lies before him, and such like, and\nwhen, moreover, his created reason begins to\nrecognise in itself and in all things a portion of the\neverlasting and uncreated reason, it comes to him as\nsomething wondrous strange, when, for the first time,\nhe sees himself as he was before and as he is now,\nand he discovers that he was before like a poor,\n\n206 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ngodless, needy creature, both blind and far from\nGod ; whereas now it seems to him that he is full of\nGod, and that there is nothing which is not God, nay,\nmore, that God and all things are absolutely one.\nAnd he catches at this view too hastily, and in an\nunseasonable way, and his mind runs wild, like new\nwine which is still fermenting and has not settled,\nand he seizes upon that which is present to his\nthoughts, or which is suggested to him, without the\nneedful distinction, by some One, who is Himself\nthat very One to whom alone he should give ear,\nand to no one else ; and then he resolves according\nto his self-satisfied judgment to dismiss from his\nthoughts every thing created, and he regards no\nlonger hell or heaven, devil or angel, in their own\ncreated nature ; nay, he disdains also Christ's suffer-\ning Humanity as soon as he has beheld God in it.\nYet for all this, he has not gone to the bottom in\nhis knowledge of things; namely, in regard to their\ndistinctions, and what is permanent and what is\ntransient in them. It fares, in fact, with such men\nas with the honey bees. When the bees are fully\ngrown, and for the first time burst forth out of the\nhive, they fly at random on this side and on that,\nthey know not whither ; and some go astray in their\nflight and are lost, while others return again in due\ncourse to the hive. The same thing happens with\nthese persons when, with their undisciplined reason,\nthey try to behold God as all in all, and endeavour,\naccording to their imperfect intelligence, to let go\nthis and that, they know not how. _ It is true, indeed,\nthat every thing must be let go by him who would\n\nA WELL-ORDERED REASON 207\n\nattain perfection ; but they do not understand how\nthis letting-go of things is to be managed, and they\ntry to let go this and that without discretion, and\nto rid themselves of all things without attending to\nthe necessary distinctions. This fault arises either\nfrom unlearned simplicity or unmortified craftiness.\nHence many a one imagines that he has attained\neverything if only he can go forth out of himself in\nthis way, and detach himself from himself. But it\nis not so. For he has only slunk over the outer\nditch of the still unstormed fortress, under cover of\nthe screen behind which he skilfully and secretly\nconceals himself, and he cannot yet, by the orderly\nannihilation of his spiritual being, pass away into a\nveritable poverty of spirit, in which every foreign\nobject is in a certain sense let go, and to which the\npossession of the everlasting and simple Godhead\ncorresponds, now that all human activity has come\nto an end, as will be shown hereafter with the\nrequisite distinctions.\n\nBehold, this is the point where some persons,\nwithout knowing it, stick fast for many years, and\ncan neither come in nor go out. But I will show\nthee, by the help of a distinction, the right road, so\nthat thou mayest not be able to go astray.\n\n208 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER LII\n\nA GOOD DISTINCTION BETWEEN TRUE AND FALSE\nDETACHMENT\n\nNOW, then, that there are three kinds of\nKoss away. The first is a complete\n\npassing away. This takes place when a\nthing passes away so entirely that it ceases to exist ;\nas a shadow passes away and is no more. In this\nsense of the word, the spirit of a man, to which we\ngive the name of a rational soul, does not pass away\nat its going forth, but it continues for ever, in virtue\nof the high nobility of its rational nature and god-\nlike powers. For God, after whose image it is\nfashioned, is a superessential reason, and therefore\nit is impossible for the soul to cease to exist, as the\nmortal body does.\n\nAnother kind of passing away may be termed a\nhalf passing away, and has its own hour and time.\nThis is the case with those who are rapt in contemp-\nlation into the pure Godhead, as Paul was ; or again,\nin another way, when a man becomes abstracted in\nthought, as often happens, and thus passes away out\nof himself. This kind, however, is transitory ; for\nwhen Paul came to himself again, he found himself\nthe same Paul, a man as before.\n\nThe third kind may be called a metaphorical\npassing away. This takes place when a man, by\nthe renunciation of his freewill, abandons himself to\nGod at each moment that he finds himself, just as if\n\nTRUE & FALSE DETACHMENT 209\n\nhe knew nothing about himself, and God alone was\nlord and master. This kind of passing away cannot\nbe complete and perpetual, so long as the body and\nsoul are united; for at the very moment when a\nman has detached himself from himself, and fancies\nthat he has so entirely passed away into God that\nhe will never resume himself, so far as his lower or\nsensual nature is concerned, all at once, in an instant,\nhe and his perverse self are back again, and he is\nthe same that he was before, and has to forsake\nhimself again and again. To think, then, that in\nthis imperfect state of detachment a man may law-\nfully do just whatever he pleased, would be a simple\ndelusion. Though certainly it is true, that the more\nany one estranges himself from himself, and passes\naway out of himself into God, the more completely\nhe is established in the very truth.\n\nThou must know further that there are two kinds\nof detachment from self. The one is called ante-\ncedent, and the other subsequent detachment.\nThou wilt understand this better from an example.\nA thief feels in himself through the wickedness of\nhis nature an impulse and craving to steal. But\nhis conscience opposes this, saying :— Thou shouldst\nnot steal, for it is a sin. Now if the thief went out\nof himself and obeyed his conscience, this would be\nantecedent detachment, and the nobler of the two,\nfor he would remain in his innocence. If, however,\nhe will not detach himself from himself in this\nmatter, but resolves to satisfy his wicked propen-\nsities—later on, when he has been caught and he sees\nthat he must hang for it, the subsequent detachment\n\n210 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ncomes, moving him to yield himself patiently to\ndeath, since it cannot be otherwise. This kind of\ndetachment is good and saves the man's soul, but\nthe other is beyond comparison nobler and better.\nHence we ought not to be so daring as to abandon\nourselves to sin, according to the sentiments of some\nfoolish persons, who say that he who would arrive at\nperfect detachment must wade through all sins.\nThis is false; for a man would be a fool to throw\nhimself wantonly into a filthy pool in order that he\nmight afterwards become more beautiful.\n\nTherefore the most pious of God's friends earnestly\ndesire to be brought to naught, and to abide stead-\nfastly in antecedent detachment, without ever resum-\ning themselves in any thing so far as human frailty\nwill permit ; and whenever they fail in this, it is a\nsource of lamentation to them. It is true, indeed,\nthat they have this advantage over other men, that\nthey can rid themselves more speedily of the obstacle\n(ze. of the sin which stands between them and\nGod); for out of their lamentation itself springs up at\nonce a subsequent detachment, which replaces them\nquickly where they were before, and this happens\nwhen a man, finding himself still a man, bears with\nhimself as such for God's glory.\n\nMoreover, this subsequent detachment becomes in\na certain sense profitable to them, through the self-\nknowledge which results from it; and here their\nlamentation ceases to be a lamentation, and they\nare born again into their former state of simplicity\nand become once more what they were before. If,\nhowever, a man who is incomplete were to try by\n\nTRUE & FALSE DETACHMENT a11\n\nsubtlety to help himself, alleging, What harm can it\ndo a man if he resumes himself in what is only\naccidental, and thereby commits some sin exteriorly,\nprovided that the essence of the man remains as it\nwas, without being resumed in any point? To this\nI answer, that he neither understands himself nor\nwhat he says. And all learned doctors will agree\nto this, if only they understand what the term\naccident means. For the name of accident is given\nto that which may be added to or taken from the\nsubstantial essence without destroying the substance,\nas colour ona board. But here the case is different ; _\nfor the soul and body, which in their ignorance they\nterm accidents, are two essential parts which make\nup a man's essence, and do not belong to him as\naccidents. Therefore every man, however perfectly\nhe may be able to detach himself from himself, and\nto bring himself back again, has still that in him by\nwhich he can act virtuously or sinfully. For the\nannihilation of the spirit, its passing away into the\nsimple Godhead, and all its nobility and perfection,\nare not to be regarded as a transformation of man's\ncreated essence into God, in virtue of which all that\nhe is is God, only that he does not perceive it\nthrough his grossness, or, in other words, that he\nhas become God, and his own essence is annihilated ;\nbut they are to be understood of a going out of self,\nand a contempt for self, such as has been described.\nAnd thus it is that the spirit of a man is taken out\nof itself and passes away duly and rightfully, and\nthen for the first time it is well with him, For.God\nhas now become all things to him, and all things\n\n212 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhave become, as it were, God to him ; for all things\npresent themselves to him now in the manner in\nwhich they are God, and yet they all remain each\none what it is in its own natural essence. This\nis what those who are blindly ignorant and unexer-\ncised in reasoning cannot or will not admit into\ntheir bewildered minds according to the above true\ndistinction.\n\nThou mayest now, with the help of this good\ndistinction, proceed to consider the following rational\nmaxims and instructions, which have for their object\nto free men from their grossness of spirit, and to lead\nthem onwards to their highest bliss.\n\nCHAPTERC LIAM\n\nMAXIMS, CONFORMABLE TO RIGHT REASON, FOR\nTHE GUIDANCE OF AN EXTERIOR MAN\nINTO HIS INTERIOR,\n\nET thy walk be an interior one, and be not\ngiven to break out either in words or in\nthy walk.\n\nAct according to the truth in simplicity, and,\nwhatever happens, be not helpful to thyself; for he\nwho helps himself too much will not be helped by\nthe Truth.\n\nWhen thou art with men pay no heed to what\nthou seest or hearest, and cleave to that alone\nwhich has shown itself to thee (ze. remember God\nalone who has shown Himself to thee under these\noutward things).\n\nMAXIMS 213\n\nBe careful that in thy actions thy reason goes\nfirst ; for when the sensual appetite gets the start,\nevery evil comes of it.\n\nGod wishes not to deprive us of pleasure; but\nHe wishes to give us pleasure in its totality; that\nis to say, all pleasure.\n\nThe more mightily thou humblest thyself, the\nhigher thou shalt be exalted.\n\nHe who wishes to dwell in his inmost interior,\nmust rid himself of all multiplicity. We must\nhabitually reject all that is not the one thing.\n\nWhere the sensual appetite is the moving prin-\nciple of a man's actions, there is toil, suffering, and\nmental darkness.\n\nWhat greater pleasure is there than to find\nmyself the one thing that I ought to be, and the\nwhole thing that I ought to be? (ze. one with God,\nwho is one and all).\n\nA man should remain steadfast in his state of\nfreedom from mental images, and of self-restraint.\nHerein lies the greatest delight.\n\nIn what does a truly detached man exercise\nhimself? In annihilating himself.\n\nWhen our love is given to a sensible image or\nperson, it is accident, loving accident, and this we\nhave no right to do; nevertheless I bear with\nmyself in this until I get quit of it. It is, however,\nan interiorly simple act, when a man does not love\nthe image, which is present to him, but when all\nthings are to him one, and that one is God.\n\nWhen a man detaches himself from himself with-\nout allowing the sensual appetite to break out, he\n\n214 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndestroys self. If he acted otherwise, he would be\nhelping himself by means of his sensual appetite.\n\nKeep thy feelings within thee both in weal and\nwoe; for a man who does this loves more in one\nyear than one who lets his feelings break out loves\nin three,\n\nWilt thou be of use to all creatures, turn thyself\naway from all creatures.\n\nIf a man cannot comprehend the matter, let him\nbe passive, and the matter will comprehend him.\n\nTake heed not to break out exteriorly in a way\nunlike the (divine and interior) pattern.\n\nA man should be on his guard against the in-\nclination which leads him to catch at everything\nwhich may save him from having to yield to the\ninvitations of the simple Truth. If thou wilt not\nsubmit to be simple, thou wilt have to submit to be\nmanifold.\n\nLive as if there were no creature on earth but thee.\n\nSay to creatures:—What thou art to me I will\nnot be to thee (Res zzbz, te Deo).\n\nNature loves nature and makes itself its aim.\nSome men's nature has not been sufficiently crushed,\nand when this happens, they continue exterior.\n\nThe power of refraining from things gives a man\nmore power than the possession of the things would.\n\nOne deflection from the right course brings along\nwith it another.\n\nSee that nature in thee is unburdened, and that\nthy outward man is conformable to thy inward man.\n\nLook well to the inward man; for on this\ndepends thy exterior and interior life,\n\nMAXIMS 215\n\nIt belongs to perfect detachment to keep nature\nat all times bridled.\n\nA man should never lose sight of himself, lest\nnature should run away.\n\nThou lamentest that thou art still too active,\nundetached, and impatient. Nevertheless despair\nnot. The more keenly thou feelest this the better.\n\nPerishable love is a root of all vices, and a\ncloak of all truth.\n\nThe setting of the sensual nature is the rising of\nthe truth, When the powers of the soul have\nceased to work, and the elements have been purified,\nthe powers remain fixed upon their eternal object,\nif they have been directed towards it according to\ntheir ability.\n\nAll the powers have one object and one work,\nand this is to be conformed to the eternal Truth.\n\nThere is nothing pleasurable save what is uniform\nwith the most inmost depths of the Divine nature.\n\nSome men are to be met with who have had an\ninterior drawing from God, and have not followed it.\nThe interior and exterior of these men are far apart,\nand it is in this that many fail.\n\nOur nature in its present state is richly endowed.\nThe more it goes out of itself, the further it is from\nGod ; and the more it turns inwards, the nearer to\nHim it is.\n\nHe who has attained to the purification of the\nsenses in God performs so much the better all the\noperations of the senses.\n\nIf a man subjects his nature, when it has been\npurified, to the Truth, his nature is guided in such\n\n216 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsort that it performs much more perfectly all\nexterior actions. Otherwise it wastes itself upon\ntemporal matters, and can do nothing really well.\n\nPurity, intelligence, and virtue give a feeling of\nwealth to those who possess them. When the\nsensible possession of these virtues is withdrawn\nfrom such persons by God, it sometimes happens\nthat they die to all creatures. Those who profit by\nthis withdrawal are brought nigher to God by it.\n\nWhat is that which drives a man to pursue evil\ncourses? It is the craving for something which\nmay satisfy him. Yet we can only find this in\nabnegation, and not in evil courses.\n\nThe reason why some men so often fall into a\nfaulty sadness is that they do not at all times keep\nan eye upon themselves to avoid in everything\ndoing what deserves punishment.\n\nTo be worsted is to gain the victory in the\nestimation of God's friends (Matt. v. 39).\n\nAbide within thyself. The plea of seeking things\noutside thee presents itself as a necessity ; but it is\nonly a way of helping self.\n\nIt is bad to begin many things and to bring none\nto an end.\n\nWe should not move until we have observed\nwhether it be God or nature that is working in us,\n\nTake care that nature works in thee its works\nfrom out itself without the concurrence of other\ncauses.\n\nA truly detached man should attend to four\nthings. First, he should be very virtuous in his\nwalk, that things may flow from him without him.\n\nMAXIMS 217\n\nSecondly, he should also be virtuous and quiet with\nregard to his senses, and not carry tales hither and\nthither, for this is calculated to fill his mind with\nimages. Thus his interior senses will be able to\nact inactively. Thirdly, he should not be given to\nattach himself; and he should take care that there\nis nothing heterogeneous in him. Fourthly, he\nshould not be contentious, but he should behave\nlovingly to those by whom God may be pleased\nto purify him.\n\nRemain steadfastly in thyself until thou art drawn\nout of thyself without any act of thine.\n\nObserve whether the intimacy between good\npeople arises from inclination or from simplicity.\nThe first is far too common.\n\nOffer not thyself too much to anyone. Those\nplease least who offer most.\n\nAn interior humble walk beseems thee. When a\nthing acts in opposition to its nature, it is always\nunbecoming to it.\n\nHappy the man whose words and ways are few.\nThe more words and ways there are in any man.\nthe more there is of what is accidental. Stay\nwithin thyself, and be not like such men, otherwise\nthou wilt suffer for it.\n\nSome men act from their sensible feelings both in\nsuffering and in joy; but a man should not look to\nhimself in this.\n\nIn the spiritual annihilation of self the final\nconsummation is attained. When Christ had said\n\"Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit,\" He added\nimmediately, \"It is consummated.\"\n\n218 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nGod and the devil are in man. He who guides\nhimself and he who forsakes himself discover the\ndifference (z.e. the self-willed find in themselves hell,\nand the detached heaven).\n\nHe who desires to have rest at all times must be\non his guard against himself in this as in every thing\nelse (ze. this desire is a species of self-seeking).\n\nHe who is interior amid exterior things is much\nmore interior than he who is only interior when\nwithin himself.\n\nIt is good for a man to guide himself in nothing ;\nand he is on the right road who contemplates under\nthe forms of things their eternal essences,\n\nThere are many more reasoning men than simple\nmen. Those are called reasoning men in whom\nreason rules. But the simple man, through his\ninaction, is freed from the multiplicity of images\nwhich are generated by sensible objects, and he does\nnot contemplate things as sensible, for simplicity has\nbecome his nature, and he is like a vessel (full of God)\nand like a child.\n\nHe who wishes to possess all things must become\nas nothing to himself and all things.\n\nHow happy is the man who abides steadfast\nagainst multiplicity! What a sensible entrance\nhe has into familiar intercourse with heaven!\n\nA good intention often impedes true union.\n\nOur eyes should not look outwards, except to rid\nourselves of interior images.\n\nWe should bear as regularly with that part of us\nwhich comes from Adam (ze. the consequences of the\nfall) as with that by which we attain eternal bliss.\n\nMAXIMS 219\n\nA detached man is always interiorly alike.\n\nWhen a man still complains and is impatient, all\nthis springs from imperfection. It must therefore\nbe got rid of.\n\nAll those who allow themselves a wrong liberty\nmake themselves their own aim and object.\n\nA detached man must be unformed from the forms\nand images of creatures; he must be formed upon\nChrist, and transformed into the Godhead.\n\nHe who regards himself in Christ lets all things\nfollow their rightful course.\n\nWhen a man has died to self and begun to live\nin Christ, it is well with him.\n\nWhen a man strives by turning inwards to con-\nform himself to the Truth, it is clearly brought home\nto him that he has gone forth out of himself, and he\nobserves that there is still something of the creature\nin him, on which the attraction acted. In this he\nbears with himself, and perceives that he has not\nyet ceased from all action. Now, thus to bear with\nself is to become simple. The going out of self\nproduces a kind of weariness; but when he has\nturned away from creatures this weariness passes off.\n\nWhat is a truly detached man's object in all\nthings? It is to die to himself; and when he dies\nto himself all things die to him.\n\nWhat is the least obstacle? It is a thought.\nWhat is the greatest obstacle? It is when the soul\nabides in the obstinacy of its self-will.\n\nA detached man should not let any moment pass\naway unmarked.\n\nA detached man should not be always looking to\n\n220 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nsee what he needs, but he should be always looking\nto see what he can do without.\n\nIf a detached man wishes to conform himself to\nthe Truth, he must in the first place be diligent in\nturning inwards from things of sense, for God is a\nspirit. Secondly, he must take note whether he has\nattached himself to any obstacle (ze. anything which\nstands between him and God). Thirdly, he must\nobserve whether he is his own guide in anything,\nowing to the sensual appetite having got the start.\nFourthly, he must, in the light which fills his soul,\nconsider the presence of the all-penetrating Divine\nessence in him, and that he is one of Its vessels.\n\nThe more a man turns away from himself and all\ncreated things, the more perfect are the union and\nbliss to which he attains.\n\nWouldst thou be a detached man? Take care\nthat, however God may act towards thee, whether\ndirectly by Himself or indirectly by His creatures,\nthou abidest always the same, by a complete\nrenunciation of what is thine.\n\nKeep thy senses closed to every image which may\npresent itself' Be empty of everything which the\noutward-gazing mind selects, which takes captive\nthe will, and which brings earthly joy or delight into\nthe heart.\n\nRest on nothing which is not God.\n\nIf thou art where a sin or imperfection is com-\nmitted, add not aught of thine to it, and have nothing\nto do with it.\n\nHe who always dwells with himself becomes\npossessed of very ample means.\n\nMAXIMS 221\n\nThe recreation which a detached man grants to\nhis nature should be confined to strict necessity, and\nit should be taken in harmless occupations, from\nwhich he can readily and without attachment turn\naway to God.\n\nThe more or less detachment a man has, the more\nor less will he be disturbed by transitory things.\n\nIt happened once to a half-detached man that, on\na certain occasion when he had been too self-\nconscious in suffering, it was said to him :—Thou\nshouldst be so attentive to Me and so forgetful of\nthyself, that when thou knowest it is well with Me\nthou shouldst care nothing how it fares with thee.\n\nIn the case of a detached man who draws his\nsenses inwards from external objects and establishes\nhimself in the inner castle of his soul, the less he\nfinds within to cling to, the more painful are his\ninterior sufferings, and the more quickly he dies, the\nmore swiftly he bursts through to God.\n\nTo give the senses a wide field withdraw the man\nfrom his interior.\n\nSee that thou undertakest nothing which will\ncarry thee out of thyself.\n\nIf things come in search of thee, let them not find\nthee.\n\nBe quick in turning inwards into thyself.\n\nNatural life shows itself in movement and in the\noperations of the senses. He who detaches himself\nfrom himself in this, and dies to himself in stillness,\nbegins a supernatural life.\n\nSome persons find no hindrance in going out of\nthemselves, but they want steadfastness in this state.\n\n222 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nEstablish thyself in absolute detachment ; for an\nunbounded longing, even for what is divine, when it\nis excessive, may become a secret obstacle.\n\nA detached man should keep the powers of his\nsoul under such restraint that, on looking within,\nthis is apparent to him.\n\nA detached man remains always inactive as regards\nhimself, just as if he were unconscious of himself ;\nfor in that object, which is God, all things are well\nand harmoniously ordered in him.\n\nGive heed also to thy outward man that it be at\none with thy inward man, by the subjection of all\nfleshly appetites.\n\nTo return again into God by detachment is often\nmore pleasing to Him than a self-satisfied stability.\n\nGather together and draw in thy soul from the\nexternal senses, through which it has dissipated\nitself upon the multiplicity of outward things,\n\nGo in again, and return over and over again into\nunity, and enjoy God.\n\nBe steadfast, and never rest content until thou\nhast obtained the now of eternity as thy present\npossession in this life, so far as this is possible to\nhuman infirmity.\n\nWELL-EXERCISED DAUGHTER 223\n\nCHAPTER \"EIV\n\nOF THE HIGH QUESTIONS WHICH THE WELL-\nEXERCISED DAUGHTER PUT TO HER SPIRITUAL\nFATHER\n\nFTER the introduction of the outward into\nA« inward man had taken place in a way\n\nconformable to right reason, high thoughts\narose in the daughter's mind, and she inquired\nwhether she might yet venture to ask questions\nabout them. The Servitor replied :—Yes ; if thou\nhast been duly led through the proper intermediate\nstages, it is quite lawful now for thy spiritual\nintelligence to ask about high things. Ask what\nthou wilt. She made answer :—Tell me what is\nGod? and where is God? and how is God? I\nmean how He is single and yet three-fold ?\n\nThe Servitor replied :—-God knows, these are\nhigh questions. As to the first—what is God p—\nthou must know that all the learned doctors who\never were cannot fully explain it ; for God is above\nall sense and reason. And yet a diligent man, by\nhard seeking, gains some knowledge of God, though\nin a very far-off way ; and it is in this knowledge\nthat man's supreme bliss consists. Thus it was that\nin days of old certain virtuous heathen doctors\nsought after God, especially the intellectual Aristotle.\nHe pried minutely into the course of nature, in\norder to discover who he is who is Lord of nature.\nHe searched after Him diligently, and found Him.\n\n224 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nHe proved, from the well-ordered course of nature,\nthat there must necessarily be one only prince and\nlord of all creatures, and that is what we mean by\nthe name God.\n\nOf this God and Lord we know thus much:\nThat he is a substantial being; that he is everlast-\ning, without before or after; that he is simple and\nunchangeable ; an unembodied and essential Spirit ;\nwhose being is to live and work ; whose essential\nreason knows all things in itself and by itself;\nwhose being's fathomless delight is in itself; and\nwho is to Himself, and to all who shall enjoy\nHim in the way of contemplation, a supernatural,\nunspeakable, and entrancing bliss.\n\nThe daughter looked upwards and said :—This\nis good to hear, for it stirs the heart and lifts the\nsoul sursum, on high above itself. Therefore, dear\nfather, tell me more about it.\n\nHe answered :—Behold, then. The divine\nessence, of which it is said that it is a rational\nsubstance, of such nature that no mortal eye can see\nit in itself, may nevertheless be discerned in its\neffects, just as we trace a good craftsman in his\nworks. For, as Paul says, creatures are like a\nmirror which reflects God. And this mode of\ngaining knowledge we term reflection (speculzren),\n\nBut let us pause here awhile, and reflect upon the\nhigh and venerable Master as mirrored in his works.\nLook above thee and around thee to the four\nquarters of the universe, and see how wide and high\nthe beautiful heaven is in its swift course, and how\nnobly its Master has adorned it with the seven\n\nWELL-EXERCISED DAUGHTER 225\n\nplanets, each of which, not to reckon in the moon,\nis much bigger than the whole earth, and how\nHe has decked it with the countless multitude of\nthe bright stars. Oh! when in summer time the\nbeautiful sun bursts forth unclouded and serene, what\nfruitfulness and blessings it bestows unceasingly\nupon the earth! See how the leaves and grass\nshoot up, and the lovely flowers smile ; how forest,\nheath, and meadow ring again with the sweet song\nof nightingales and other little birds ; how all those\nlittle creatures, which stern winter had shut up, issue\nforth rejoicing, and pair together; and how men\ntoo, both young and old, entranced with joy, disport\nthemselves right merrily. Ah, gentle God, if Thou\nart so lovely in Thy creatures, how exceeding\nbeautiful and ravishing Thou must be in Thyself!\nBut look again, I pray thee, and behold the four\nelements—earth, water, air, and fire, with all the\nwondrous things which they contain in manifold\nvariety—men, beasts, birds, fishes and sea-monsters;\nand mark how they all cry aloud together, Praise and\nhonour be to the unfathomable immensity that is in\nThee! Who is it, Lord, that sustains all this?\nWho feeds it all? It is Thou who providest for all,\neach in its own way; for great and small, for rich\nand poor. It is Thou, O God, who doest this.\nThou, O God, art God indeed !\n\nCome daughter, thou hast now found thy God,\nwhom thy heart has so long sought after. Look\nupwards, then, with sparkling eyes and radiant\nface and bounding heart, and behold Him and\nembrace Him with the infinite outstretched arms of\n\n226 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthy soul and thy affection, and give thanks and praise\nto Him, the noble Prince of all creatures. See how,\nby gazing on this mirror, there springs up speedily, in\na soul susceptible of such impressions, an intense\ninward jubilee ; for by jubilee is meant a joy which\nno tongue can tell, but which pours itself with\nmight through heart and soul. Alas! I feel now\nwithin me that, be it painful or pleasant, my soul's\nclosed mouth is opened to thee, and I must needs tell\nthee, for God's glory, somewhat of my hidden secret,\nwhich I 'never yet have told to anyone. See, I\nknew a friar preacher who, at the beginning of his\nconversion, used commonly to receive from God twice\nevery day, morning and evening, during ten years,\nan outpouring of grace like this, and it lasted for\nabout the space of two nocturns! At these\nmoments he was so utterly absorbed in God, the\nEternal Wisdom, that he could not speak of it.\nSometimes he would lovingly converse with God\nwithin him, while at other times he would sigh\npiteously, or weep longingly, or again smile silently.\nIt often seemed to him as if he were floating in the\nair, and swimming between time and eternity in the\ndeep sea of God's unfathomable marvellousness.\nAnd his heart became so full through this, that he\nwould at times lay his hand upon it, as it beat\nwildly, saying :—Alas, my heart, how will it fare\nwith thee to-day? One day it seemed to him that\nthe Eternal Father's heart was, in a spiritual and\nineffable manner, pressed tenderly, and with naught\nbetween them, upon his heart, as it lay open over\n1 About half an hour,\n\nWELL-EXERCISED DAUGHTER 227\n\nagainst the Father's heart in longing desire, and it\nappeared to him that the Father's heart, in a way\nof love transcending all forms and images, spoke in\nhis heart the uncreated Word, the Eternal Wisdom.\nThen he began to exclaim joyously in spiritual\njubilee :—Behold now, my loveliest love! Thus do\nI lay bare to Thee my heart, and in simplicity and\nnakedness with regard to all created things I\nembrace Thy formless Godhead. Alas, my love!\nThou who art far above all other loves! Earthly\nlovers, however greatly they may love, must needs\nbear to be distinct and separate from each other ;\nbut Thou, O unfathomable fulness of all love,\nmeltest away into Thy beloved's heart, and, in virtue\nof Thy being absolutely all in all, pourest Thyself\nso utterly into the soul's essence that no part of Thee,\nthe loved One, remains outside, and is not lovingly\nmade one with Thy beloved.\n\nThe daughter answered :—Ah, God! What a\ngreat grace it is for any one to be thus caught up\ninto God in jubilee. But I would fain know\nwhether this is the most perfect kind of union or\nnot. The Servitor replied:—No; it is only a\npreliminary preparation for arriving at an essential\nmode of being taken up into God. She answered :—\nWhat mean you by essential and non-essential ?\nHe replied :—I call him an essential man who, by\nthe good and persevering exercise of all the virtues,\nhas so completely mastered them, that the practice\nof them in their highest perfection has become\npleasant to him, and that they dwell in him\nabidingly, as the sunshine in the sun, On the\n\n228 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nother hand, I call him a non-essential man in whom\nthe light of virtue shines in a borrowed, unsteadfast,\nand imperfect way, as the moonlight in the moon.\nThe sweet abundance of sensible grace which |\nhave just described is such a dainty treat to the\nspirit of a non-essential man, that he would fain\nalways have it; and as its presence begets in him\ndelight, even so its withdrawal causes in him undue\nsadness, as I will now show you by an example. It\nhappened once, when the Servitor had gone into\nthe Chapter-house, and his heart was full of heavenly\njubilee, that the porter came and summoned him\nto the door to a woman who wanted to confess to\nhim. The Servitor tore himself unwillingly from\nhis interior joys, and receiving the porter harshly,\nreplied, that the woman must send for someone else,\nas he would not confess her then. Now she had a\nburdened and sinful heart, and her message was,\nthat she had a particular drawing to seek consolation\nfrom him, and that she would confess to no one\nelse. But when she heard that he would not come\nto her, she began to weep from grief of heart, and\ngoing aside into a corner, sat down there in\nwretchedness, and wept long and bitterly. Mean-\nwhile God withdrew very quickly from the Servitor\nthe delights of sensible grace, and his heart became\nas hard as a flint; and when he sought to know\nthe meaning of this, God answered him :—As thou\nhast driven from thee uncomforted the poor woman\nwith her burdened heart, even so I have withdrawn\nfrom thee My divine consolations. The Servitor\nsighed deeply and beat his breast, and ran with\n\nAN EXPLANATION 229\n\nspeed to the door, and, as he did not find the\nwoman there, was in great distress. The porter\nran about in every direction looking for her, and\nwhen at last he found her, where she was sitting\nweeping, he brought her back with him to the\ndoor, and the Servitor, receiving her with great\nkindness, graciously consoled her repentant heart.\nThen he went back from her to the Chapter-house,\nand immediately in an instant the kind Lord was\nthere again with His divine consolations, just as\nbefore.\n\nThe daughter answered:—He may well bear\nsufferings to whom God gives such rapturous\njubilee. The Servitor replied :—Oh! it had all to\nbe paid for afterwards with great suffering, as has\nbeen already related. At length, however, when\nall this had passed away, and God's appointed time\nhad come, this same grace of jubilee returned, and\nwas with him in an abiding manner both at home\nand abroad, in company and when alone. Ofttimes\nin the bath or at table the same grace was with\nhim; but its working was now interior, and no\nlonger broke forth into exterior manifestations.\n\nCHAPTER: LV\nAN EXPLANATION WHERE AND HOW GOD IS\nHE good daughter said :—Sir, I have now\nindeed found out what God is; but I\nwould fain know also where God is. He\nanswered :—Thou shalt hear this. The learned\n\n230 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndoctors say that God has no where, but that He is\nall in all, Open then the inward ears of thy soul\nand give good heed. These same doctors tell us\nin the art of logic, that we come to know what a\nthing is through its name. Now, one doctor says\nthat being is the first name of God. Turn, then,\nthine eyes to being in its pure and naked simplicity,\nand take no note of this or that partial being.\nConsider only being in itself, unmixed with all\nnon-being. For as all non-being is the negation of\nall-being even so being in itself is the negation of\nall non-being. A thing which has yet to be, or\nwhich once was, is not now at this moment in\nactual being. Moreover, we can have no knowledge\nof mixed being or non-being, unless we take into\naccount that which is all-being. For if we would\nunderstand what any thing is, the first point which\nour mind meets with in it is being, and this is a\nbeing which is the efficient cause of all things. It\nis not the partial and particular being of this or\nthat creature; for partial being is always mixed\nwith some other element, and has a capacity for\nreceiving something new into it. Therefore, the\nnameless Divine Being must be in itself a being\nthat is all-being, and that sustains all particular\nbeings by its presence.\n\nIt is a proof of the singular blindness of man's\nreason, that it cannot examine into that which it\ncontemplates first before everything, and without\nwhich it cannot perceive any thing. It is with the\nreason as with the eye. When the eye is intent\nupon observing a variety of coloured objects, it\n\nAN EXPLANATION 231\n\ndoes not notice the light which enables it to see\nall these objects, and even if it looks at the light, it\nstill does not see it. Thus, too, is it with our\nsoul's eye; when it looks at this or that particular\nbeing, it takes no heed of the being, which is\neverywhere one, absolute and simple, and which\nenables it to apprehend all other things. Hence a\nwise doctor says, that the eye of our intelligence,\nowing to its infirmity, is affected towards that being\nwhich is in itself the most manifest of all beings as\nthe eye of a bat or a night-owl towards the bright\nlight of the sun; for particular beings distract and\ndazzle the mind, so that it cannot see the Divine\ndarkness, which is in itself the brightest of all\nbrightness.\n\nOpen now thy inward eyes and gaze as best thou\ncanst on being in its naked simple purity, and thou\nwilt see at once that it comes from no one, and has\nno before nor after, and no capacity of change,\neither from within or from without, because it is a\nsimple being. Thou wilt note, too, that it is the\nmost actual, the most present, and the most perfect\nof all beings, without flaw or alteration, because it is\nabsolutely one in naked simplicity. And this truth\nis so evident to an enlightened reason that it is\nimpossible for it to think otherwise; for one point\nproves and implies the other. Thus, because it is a\nsimple being, it must needs be the first of beings,\nand without origin and everlasting ; and because it\nis the first and everlasting and simple, it must be\nthe most present. It is at the very highest summit\nof perfection and simplicity, to which nothing can\n\n232 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nbe added and from which nothing can be taken\naway. If thou canst understand what I have just\ntold thee about the pure Godhead, thou wilt have\nbeen guided a long way into the incomprehensible\nlight of God's hidden truth. This pure and simple\nbeing is the first and highest cause of all beings which\nhave a cause (created beings), and by its peculiar\npresence it encloses, as the beginning and end of all\nthings, whatever comes into being in time. It is\naltogether in all things, and altogether outside all\nthings. Hence a certain doctor says:—God is a\ncircular * ring, whose centre is everywhere and\ncircumference nowhere.\n\nThe maiden answered :—Praised be God, I have\nbeen shown, as far as can be, what God is and where\nGod is. I would fain now learn how, if God is so\nexceeding simple, He can be at the same time\nthreefold.\n\nThe Servitor replied :—Each several being, the\nmore simple it is in itself} the more manifold it is in\nits productive efficacy. That which has nothing\ngives nothing, and that which has much can give\nmuch. Now, I have already spoken of that inflow-\ning and overflowing fountain-head of good which\nGod is in Himself, and of God's unfathomable super-\nnatural goodness which constrains Him not to keep\nall this to Himself, but to communicate it joyfully\nboth within and without Himself. But the highest\nand most perfect outpouring of the supreme Good\nmust of necessity take place within itself, and this\ncan be none other than a present, interior, substantial,\npersonal, and natural outpouring, necessary, yet\n\nAN EXPLANATION 233\n\nwithout compulsion, alike infinite and perfect. All\nother outpourings which take place in time and in\ncreatures are but a reflection of the eternal out-\npouring of the unfathomable Divine goodness, And\nlearned doctors say that, in the outflow of creatures\nfrom their primal fountain-head, there is a circular\nreturn-movement of the end to the beginning ; for\nas the outflowing of the Person from God is an\nimage and representation of the origin of creatures,\nso also it foreshadows the flowing back again of\ncreatures into God.\n\nNow, observe the difference between the creature's\noutpouring and God's outpouring. Inasmuch as a\ncreature is only a partial being, its giving and its\noutpouring is also partial and in measure. Thus a\nhuman father gives his son, when he begets him,\nonly a part of his own being; he does not give him\nwholly and entirely all that he is, for he himself is\nbut a partial good. But since the Divine outpour-\ning is manifestly of a far more interior and nobler\nkind than the creature's outpouring, in proportion to\nthe greatness of the good which God is in Himself\nand His immeasurable superiority over all other\ngoods, it follows as a necessary consequence from\nthis that the outpouring must be like the being ; and\nthis cannot be unless God pours out His being\naccording to the personal relations.\n\nIf now with cleansed eye thou canst look into\nand gaze upon the most pure goodness of the\nsupreme Good, which goodness is of its own nature\na present active principle of the natural and\nspontaneous love with which the supreme Good\n\n234 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nloves itself, thou wilt behold the exuberant super-\nnatural outpouring of the Word from the Father, by\nwhich act of begetting and speaking all things are\nspoken forth and produced; and thou wilt see too\nin the supreme Good and in the highest outpouring\nthe divine Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,\nnecessarily bursting forth. And if it be that from\nthe supreme essential goodness the highest and\nmost perfect outpouring gushes forth, it follows that\nthere must be in the aforenamed Trinity the most\nsupreme and intimate community of being, as well\nas the most perfect similarity and identity of that\nbeing, which the Persons possess in the jubilee of\ntheir outpouring, without any division or partition of\nthe substance and the almightiness of the three\nPersons of the Godhead.\n\nThe maiden exclaimed :—O wonderful! I swim\nin the Godhead as an eagle in the air. He answered:\n— It is impossible to express in words how the Trinity\nof the Divine Persons can subsist in the unity of\none essence. Nevertheless, to say what can be said\nabout it, St Augustine lays down that the Father is\nthe fountain-head of all the Godhead of the Son and\nof the Holy Ghost, personally and essentially. St\nDenys says, that in the Father there is an outflowing\nof the Godhead, and that this outflowing or stream\npours itself out naturally in the outrunning Word,\nwho is the Son by nature. He also pours Himself\nout according to the loving bountifulness of the will\ninto the Son, and the Son in turn pours Himself out\naccording to the lovingness of the will into the\nFather, and this is called a reciprocal love, and is\n\nAN EXPLANATION 235\n\nthe Holy Ghost. The hidden meaning of this is\ndisclosed and proved to us by that bright light the\ndear St Thomas, the teacher, who speaks thus :—\nIn the outpouring of the Word from the Father's\nheart and reason, it must needs be that God, with\nHis luminous intellect, contemplates Himself, bend-\ning back, as it were, upon His Divine essence; for\nif the reason of the Father had not the Divine\nessence for its object, the Word conceived would be\na creature and not God, which would be false. But\nin the way described, the Word is a Divine being\nfrom a Divine being. Again, this backward look\nupon the Divine essence in the reason of the Father\nmust take place in a manner productive of a natural\nlikeness, otherwise the Word would not be the Son.\nHere, then, we have unity of essence with diversity\nof Persons; and, as a good attestation of this\ndistinction, the high-soaring eagle, St John, has\nsaid :—\" The Word was in the beginning with\nGod.\"\n\nWith regard to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,\nthou shouldst know that the substance of the Divine\nintellect is an act of cognition (z#tellectzo), and this,\nmoreover, must have an inclination for its object\nunder the form in which it has been received into\nthe intellect. This inclination is the will, and the\nlonging of the will is to seek after pleasure as best\nit can. Thou shouldst also observe that the object\nloved is not in the person loving under the likeness\nof its natural form, as is the case with the object of\nthe intellect in the light of the cognition, Now,\ninasmuch as the Word flows out from the looking\n\n236 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nforth of the Father according to the form of the\nnature, without confusion of Persons, this outpouring\nof the Father is called a begetting. But since this\nmode of procession does not occur in the outflowing\nof the will and of the love, which is the third Person,\nwho is poured forth like a stream of love by the Father,\nand also by His express image the Son, from out His\nvery inmost depths, therefore this outflowing cannot\nbe termed a Son or begotten. And since this love is\nin the will after an intellectual or spiritual fashion,\nlike an inclination or love-bond present inwardly in\nthe lover towards the object of his love, the third\nPerson in the procession, who proceeds according\nto the loving manner of the will, fittingly receives\nthe name of Spirit. But when a man has reached\nthis point he is transformed by the Divine light in\nthat mysterious way which they only can understand\nwho have experienced it.\n\nThe daughter said :—-Ah, sir, this is indeed a\nsublime fulness of Christian doctrine. Nevertheless,\nthere are to be met with certain intellectual men\nwho deny what has been just said about God, and\nwhose view is, that he who would attain to perfect\nunion will find the contemplation of God a hurtful\nimpediment. He should, on the contrary, according\nto them, divest himself of God and of the spirit, and\ncast behind him all visions, and turn himself only to\nthe inwardly-shining truth, which he is himself.\n\nHe answered :—This doctrine is false if the words\nare taken in their ordinary sense. Therefore keep\nclear of it, and hearken to what the Christian faith\nteaches on this point. The common view which\n\nAN EXPLANATION 237\n\nmen take of God is that He is the Lord and Creator\nof the whole world, who suffers no wickedness to\npass unpunished, and no good deed unrewarded.\nHe, then, who commits sin regards God as a terrible\nGod; as the good Job said, \"I have always feared\nGod as shipmen fear the great waves\" (Job. xxxi.\n23). He also who serves God for reward has a\ngreat and munificent God, able to recompense him\nabundantly. But a well-exercised and experienced\nman, who by manifold dyings has rid himself of the\nsinful things which God hates, and who serves God\nat all times with burning love, this man loves God\nin his heart, and not after the aforementioned\nfashion. And he has in a certain sense divested\nhimself of God, and he loves Him as his heart's own\nloved one; for servile fear has passed from him, as\nSt Paul says. Thus to the spiritual man God\nremains truly God and Lord, and yet at the same\ntime he has emptied himself of God, according to\nthe grosser acceptation of the term, for he has\nattained to a more perfect conception of Him.\nNow.as to the way in which a man should be\ndivested of the spirit, hearken to the true account of\nit. When a man at the outset of his interior life\nbegins to observe that he is a creature composed of\nbody and soul, and that his body is mortal, but that\nhis soul is an everlasting spirit, he gives his body\nand all his animal nature their dismissal, and cleaves\nto the spirit, and brings his body into subjection to\nit; and everything he does is interiorly in thought\ndirected to this one end, how he may discover the\nsuper-essential Spirit, and how lay hold of It, and\n\n238 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nhow unite his spirit with It. A man of this kind is\ncalled a spiritual and holy man. Now, supposing\nthat all goes right with him, after he has exercised\nhimself in this for a long time, and yet the super-\nessential Spirit, though ever playing as it were\nbefore him, has always eluded his grasp, his created\nspirit begins at last to realise its own helplessness,\nto abandon itself by an utter renunciation of self to\nthe everlasting Divine might, and to turn away\nfrom itself, with contempt for what comes from the\nsenses, to the immensity of the Supreme Being. In\nthis taking-up of the spirit into God it attains toa\nforgetfulness and loss of self, of which St Paul\nspeaks, \"I live, but not I\" (Gal. ii. 20); and of\nwhich Christ has said, \" Blessed are the poor in\nspirit\" (Matt. ii. 3). Thus it is that a man's spirit,\nwhile it remains what it was as to its essence, is\nnevertheless divested of itself in regard to the\npossession of itself through the senses,\n\nI will also explain to you the difference between\npure truth and doubtful vision. To gaze without\nany medium upon the unveiled Godhead is\nundoubtedly absolute and unmingled truth; and\nthe more intellectual and unimaginary a vision is,\nand the more nearly it approaches to the unveiled\ncontemplation, the more noble is its character.\nSome of the prophets had imaginary visions, as\nJeremias and others. And such imaginary visions\nare still often granted to God's intimate friends,\nsometimes when asleep and sometimes when awake,\ntheir outward senses being at the time stilled to\nrest and abstracted. A learned doctor says, that\n\nAN EXPLANATION 239\n\nangelic appearances happen to some persons oftener\nin sleep than when awake, and for this reason:\nbecause a man in sleep is in a state of greater\nquietude with regard to the multiplicity of his\nexternal operations than when awake, But when it\nis that a vision which takes place in sleep may and\nought to be deemed a true vision—as the dream in\nthe Old Testament which King Pharaoh had about\nthe seven fat and seven lean kine, and many similar\ndreams mentioned in Holy Writ—and also how the\ntruth of such visions is to be discerned—for dreams\nare usually deceptive, though undoubtedly they\nsometimes announce the truth — all this thou\nmayest learn from what St Augustine writes about\nhis holy Mother. God, she told him, had given her\nthis gift: and when He showed her anything in\nsleep or half-sieep, she received at the same time\nthe inward power of discerning whether it was\nmerely a common dream, which she should dis-\nregard, or an imaginary vision, to which she should\nattend. Those persons who have this gift from\nGod can all the better explain to themselves how\nthis is. But no one can communicate it to another\nby word. Those only understand it who have had\nexperience of it.\n\n240 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nCHAPTER LVI\n\nOF THE VERY HIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL\nEXPERIENCED IN THE WAYS OF GOD\n\n\"4HE wise daughter said :—There is nothing\nwhich I would more gladly learn from\nScripture than the answer to this deep and\n\npregnant question, where and how a well-exercised\n\nperson's understanding may arrive at its highest end\nand aim in the deepest abyss of the Godhead, in such\n\na manner that what is absolute experience will har-\n\nmonize with the teaching of Holy Writ?\n\nThe Servitor drew from Scripture an answer\nconformable to right reason, and its purport accord-\ning to its hidden meaning was as follows. Every\none who has attained to the true nobility of spirit\nponders in simplicity and inactivity the pregnant\nword which the Eternal Son spoke in the Gospel,\n\"Where I am, there also shall My servant be\"\n(John xii, 26). Now he who has not shrunk from\nfollowing the Son to that bitter where, on which\naccording to His manhood He took post in death\nupon the cross, has, in virtue of this promise, the\nright and the possibility of enjoying, after a blissful\nand intellectual manner, in time and in eternity, the\ndelightful where of the Son's pure Godhead, so far\nas this is possible more or less. But where is the\nwhere of the Son's pure Godhead? It is in the\nform-pregnant light of the Divine Unity—a light\nwhich may be termed in its unnameableness a\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 241\n\nnothingness ; in its inward concentration, an essential\nstillness ; in its indwelling outflow, a triune nature ;\nin its peculiar property, a self-comprehending light ;\nin its uncreated creativeness, an existence which\nmakes things to be. And in the modeless darkness\nof this light all multiplicity ceases, and the spirit\nloses itself as self, and comes to an end as regards\nits own activity. This is the highest aim and the\nendless where, in which the spirituality of all spirits\nfinds its end. Ever to lose oneself in this is\neverlasting bliss.\n\nThou must know, moreover, in order to under-\nstand this better, that in the form-pregnant light\nof the Divine Unity, there is an indwelling, out-\nspringing impulse by which the Persons are poured\nforth out of the almighty and eternal Godhead.\nFor the Trinity of the Persons is in the Unity of\nthe nature, and the Unity of the nature is in the\nTrinity of the Persons. The Unity has its actuality\nin the Trinity, and the Trinity has its potentiality\nin the Unity ; according to what St Augustine says\nin his book about the Trinity—-namely, that the\nTrinity of the Persons contains in itself the Unity\nas Their nature and essence, and hence it is that\neach Person is God, and according to the simplicity\nof the nature so also is the Godhead. Now the\nUnity shines forth in the Trinity after a divided\nfashion ; but the Trinity, viewed as tending inwards\nand as in-dwelling, shines forth in the Unity after a\nsimple fashion, just as the three Persons contain in\nthemselves the Unity after the same simple fashion.\nThe Father is the Fountain-head of the Son, and\n\n242 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nthe Son is an outflowing of the Father, gushing\nforth from Him eternally as regards the Personality,\nand dwelling in Him as regards the being or essence.\nThe Father and the Son pour forth Their Spirit ;\nand the Unity, which is the being of the primal\nFountain-head, is the being of all the three Persons.\nBut as to how the Trinity is one, and the Trinity in\nthe Unity of the nature is one, while nevertheless\nthe Trinity comes forth from the Unity, this cannot\nbe expressed in words, owing to the simplicity of\nthat deep abyss. Hither it is, into this intellectual\nwhere, that the spirit spiritualizing itself, soars up\nnow flying on the summitless heights, now swimming\nin the bottomless depths of the sublime marvels of\nthe Godhead. Nevertheless, the spirit retains there\nits own nature as a spirit, while it enjoys the co-\neternal, co-omnipotent, indwelling and outflowing\nPersons and high above the clouds and bustle of\nthings below contemplates with fixed gaze the\nDivine marvellousness. For what greater marvel\ncan there be than the pure Unity, into which the\nTrinity of the Persons merges itself in simplicity,\nand in which all the multiplicity of sensible objects\nceases. And this is to be understood in the sense\nthat the outflowing of the persons poured forth is\nalways tending back again into the Unity of the\nself-same essence, and that all creatures in regard to\ntheir indwelling outflow (ze. their ideal procession)\nare from eternity in this one essence, and have in\nit an existence identical with God's life, God's\nknowledge, and God's essence, according to the\nwords in the beginning of St John's Gospel, \" That\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 243\n\nwhich was made, was in Him life from everlasting,\" 1\nThis pure unity is a dark stillness and an inactive\ninactivity, which no one can understand save he\nalone whom the Unity in itself illumines, Out of\nthis still inactivity there shines forth freedom\nwithout any admixture of wickedness, for freedom\nis the fruit of the new birth of self-annihilation ;\nand there shines forth likewise deep hidden truth\nwithout speck of falsehood, and this truth is born of\nthe unveiling of the veiled Divine purity; for now\nat length, after the revelation of these things, the\nspirit is unclothed of that dusky light which has\nhitherto followed it, and in which it has till now\nviewed objects in a human and earthly way. And\nit finds that it has now become, strictly speaking,\nanother, and something quite different from what it\ntill then understood itself to be according to its\nprevious light ; as St Paul has said, \"I live, but not\nI\" (Gal. ii. 20); and in this manner it is unclothed\nand simplified in the modeless simplicity of the\nDivine Essence, which makes its light to shine into\nall things in simplicity and stillness. In this simple\nand modeless contemplation the spirit takes no note\nof the permanent distinction of the Persons, viewed\nas separate. For, as Christian doctrine teaches, it\nis not the Person of the Father, taken by itself,\nwhich produces bliss, nor the Person of the Son,\ntaken by itself, nor the Person of the Holy Ghost,\n\n1 Quod factum est, in ipso vita erat (Joan i, 3, 4). According to\nthis deeply-suggestive reading, the clause guod factum est is referred to\nthe words that follow instead of to those which precede. Many of\nthe Fathers read the passage thus.\n\n244 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ntaken by itself; but it is the three Persons, in-\ndwelling in the Unity of the essence, that is\neternal bliss. And this is the being itself of the\nPersons by nature, and it is that which gives being\nto creatures by grace, and it contains in itself the\nform and idea of all things in simplicity and\nessentially. Now, just as this form-pregnant light\nsubsists as being, even so all things subsist in it\naccording to their essential being, and not according\nto their accidental character; and since, moreover,\nit pours itself as light into all things, therefore its\nproperty is to subsist as light. And hence it is that\nall things shine forth in this absolute being in\ninterior stillness, without detriment to its simplicity.\nThis intellectual wheve, in which, as has been just\nset forth, the tried servant of God should dwell with\nthe eternal Son, may be regarded as the essentially\nexisting unnameable Nothingness. And here it is\nthat the spirit arrives at the naught of the Unity;\nand this Unity is termed naught because the spirit\ncannot discover any mode of being under which to\nframe a conception of what it is. Nevertheless the\nspirit clearly feels that it is contained by another,\nquite different from what it is itself; for which\nreason that which contains it deserves more properly\nthe name of-something than naught, though it seems\nto the spirit naught because it cannot find any mode\nof conceiving what it is. Now when the spirit, by\nthe loss of its self-consciousness, has in very truth\nestablished its abode in this glorious and dazzling\nobscurity, it is set free from every obstacle to union\nand from all its individual properties, as St Bernard\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 245\n\nsays ; and this takes place less or more according as\nthe spirit remains in the body or goes out of it when\nit passes away out of itself into God. And this loss\nof the spirit's self is after that Divine manner in\nwhich all things, so to speak, have come to be for it,\nas the Scripture says (1 Cor. xv. 28).\n\nIn this merging of itself in God the spirit passes\naway, and yet not wholly; for it receives indeed |\\\n\nsome attributes of the Godhead, but it does not\nbecome God by nature. What befalls it is all of\ngrace, for it is still a something which has been\ncreated out of nothing, and continues to be this\neverlastingly. Thus much then we may say: When\nthe spirit has passed away out of itself and has been\ntaken up into God, it is rid of that wondering\ndoubt which it felt while losing itself, and it ceases\nto exist in regard to the sense, so far as its own\nknowledge of itself is concerned. For, to use\nordinary language, the spirit is drawn upwards by\nthe might of the all-luminous Divine Essence above\nits natural capacity into the purity of the Divine\nnaught, in which it is unclothed of all created\nmodes, though without ceasing to retain its own\nproper mode of existence as a creature. This\nmodeless mode is the being of the Persons, which\nthey contain within Them as their nature in absolute\nsimplicity and perfection. And it is by gazing\nupon this that the spirit is divested of itself, as has\nbeen said ; and this takes place in the naught of the\nUnity, when the spirit ceases to be conscious of its\nown proper name and existence, in the perfect\nknowledge of this naught to which it has attained ;\n\n\\\n\n|\n\\\n\n246 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nfor in it the spirit loses itself in a forgetfulness of\nself and all things; and this happens to it the\nmoment it turns away from itself and all created\nthings to the purity of the uncreated naught. On\nthis wild mountain range of the Divine were there is\nan abyss, perceptible to all pure spirits, disporting\nitself, so to speak, before them, and opening itself out\nto their gaze. Here it is they enter into the hidden\ndepths of that which is unnameable and into that\nwild estrangement; and this is the fathomless abyss\nof all creatures which naught but itself can fathom,\nand which lies hid from all that is not God, save\nonly from those to whom God pleases to reveal it.\nAnd these persons must seek it in detachment, and\nin a certain sense they must behold it with God\nHimself; according to the words of Scripture, \" We\nshall know then, even as we are known\" (1 Cor.\nitt, F251 John iis).\n\nThe spirit has not this knowledge from its own\nself, for the Unity and the Trinity brought it up\ninto Itself—that is to say, into the spirit's true\nsupernatural dwelling-place, in which it dwells above\nitself in that which has drawn it up thither. Here\nthe spirit dies, and yet is all alive in the marvels of\nthe Godhead. The dying of the spirit consists in\nthis: That when it has passed away into God it no\nlonger takes any note of any distinction between\nindividual existences ; nevertheless, as regards the\noutpouring of the Person and of creatures, it holds\nfirmly the distinction between the three Persons,\nand also the separate existence of every creature, as\nis explained in the Servitor's short treatise concern-\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 247\n\ning Truth. Observe, moreover, that when the spirit\nhas passed out of itself in the way described above,\nthere shines forth out of the Unity a simple light,\nand this modeless light streams out from the three\nPersons into the purity of the spirit. When this\nlight falls upon the spirit, it sinks down out of itself\nand all that belongs to self, the activity of all its\npowers comes to an end, and it is divested of its\noperations and its self-existence. This arises from\nthe entering in of the spirit into God, when it has\npassed away out of itself as regards the sense, and is\nlost in the stillness of the glorious dazzling obscurity\nand of the naked simple Unity. It is in this mode-\nless where that the highest bliss is to be found.\n\nThe maiden exclaimed :—Oh, wonderful! But\nhow is one to enter into it? He answered :—I\nleave the answer of this question to that bright light\nSt Denys, who speaks thus to his disciple -—If thou\nwouldst enter into the hidden mysteriousness mount\nboldly upwards; and disregarding thy outer and\ninner senses, and the workings of thy reason in\nitself, and all things visible and invisible, and all\nthat is and is not, mount upwards to the simple\nUnity. Into this thou must press forward without\nknowing it, even into that silence which is above all\nbeing and above all science, with a purity and\nsimplicity of a mind utterly abstracted from every\ncreature, right into the very splendours of the\nDivine darkness. Here thou must let go every\nhold, and part with every thing created ; for in the\nsuper-essential Trinity of the God-transcending God-\nhead, on that mysterious, incomprehensible, all-\n\n248 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\ndazzling pinnacle of pinnacles marvellous things are\nheard from out the low whispering silence, and\nmarvellous things are felt, new and yet unchange-\nable, amid the splendours of that dark obscurity,\nwhich is the fullness of light and glory manifested,\nwherein all that is shines forth, and which fills\nto overflowing the sightless mind of the beholder\nwith its incomprehensible, invisible, and effulgent\nluminousness.\n\nCHAPTER LVII\n\nTHE CONCLUSION OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS\nBOOK IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS\n\n\"| \"HE daughter said:—Ah, Sir, you speak\nwith so much Christian learning, both\nfrom your own experience and from Holy\n\nWrit, concerning the mystery of the pure Godhead,\n\nand the flowing forth and the flowing in again of\n\nthe spirit, could you not draw out for me this\nmysterious teaching, as you understand it, under\nthe form of a similitude, that I may be the better\nable to comprehend it? And I should also be\nvery glad if you would gather together in a short\ndiscourse, and illustrate by figures, all the sublime\ndoctrines which you have handled at length, that\nthey may be more firmly fixed in my weak\nmind.\n\nHe answered :—How can one express in figures\nwhat has no figure, and set forth in words what has\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 249\n\nno mode of being, seeing that it is above the ken of\nsense and human reason? For everything to which\nit may be likened is a thousand times more unlike\nthan like it. Nevertheless, in order to expel from\nyour imagination figures by figures, I will try, so far\nas is possible, to image forth for you in similitudes\nthese form-transcending thoughts, as in truth they\nmay be termed, and thus conclude a long discourse\nin a few words,\n\nHearken then. It is said by a learned doctor\nthat God, in regard to His Godhead, is like a\nvery wide ring, whose centre is everywhere, and\ncircumference nowhere. Now picture to your\nimagination what follows. If a stone is flung\nwith violence into the centre of a sheet of still\nwater, a ring is formed in the water and this ring\nby its own might makes a second ring, and the\nsecond makes a third; and in proportion to the\nforce of the first fling will be the breadth and width\nof the circles; and the force of the fling might be\neven great enough to pass beyond the limit of the\nwater. Imagine now that the first ring represents\nthe infinite might of the Divine nature in the\nFather. This produces a second ring like it,\naccording to the Person, and this ring is the Son,\nand the two produce the third, which is the Spirit\nof both, co-eternal and co-omnipotent with them.\nThus the three circles signify Father, Son, and Holy\nGhost. In this deep abyss, the Divine nature in the\nFather is everlastingly speaking forth and begetting\nthe Word as to the personality, and dwelling in Him\nas to the essence—that self-same Word, I mean,\n\n250 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nwho has taken upon Him human nature. If any\none wishes to picture this to his imagination, let\nhim figure to himself a man, from the depths of\nwhose heart a form like the man's own springs\nforth, yet in such a way as to be always gazing\nfixedly upon and returning back again into him\nout of whom he sprang. This spiritual super-\nessential begetting of the Divine Word is the full\nand entire cause of the bringing forth of all\ncreatures and spirits into their natural state of\nexistence. The supreme super-essential Spirit has\nennobled man, by illuminating him with a ray\nfrom His eternal Godhead ; and this is God's image\nin the rational soul, which also is everlasting.\nHence from out the great ring, which represents\nthe eternal Godhead, there flow forth, to carry on\nthe metaphor, little rings, which may be taken to\nsignify the high nobility of rational creatures.\n\nNow there are some persons who, to their own\nhurt, turn away from this nobility of their reason,\nand, plastering over the radiant image of God\nwithin them, turn themselves to the bodily pleasures\nof this world; and when they fancy that they\npossess the joy which they are pursuing, stern\ndeath comes and puts an end to them. But a man\nwho acts conformably to reason turns away from\nthe bright spark of his soul to that which is\neternal, and out of which the spark came forth;\nand he gives all creatures their dismissal, and pleads\nto the eternal Truth alone. Attend, likewise, to the\nright and orderly way in which the flowing back\nagain of the spirit into God should take place, as\n\nHIGHEST FLIGHT OF A SOUL 251\n\nset forth in the following instruction :—The first\nthing which a man should do is to turn away\nentirely and with all his might from the pleasures\nof the world, and from sinful practices, to God, with\npersevering prayer, seclusion, and virtuous discreet\nexercises, in order thus to bring his body into\nsubjection to the spirit. The second thing is to\noffer himself willingly and patiently to bear the\ncountless multitude of contradictions which may\ncome upon him from God or creatures. The third\nthing is to take the sufferings of Christ crucified\nas the model on which to form himself, and to copy\nHim in His sweet teaching, gentle walk, and pure\nlife, which He proposed to us as our example, and\nin this manner to press onwards through Him, The\nfourth thing to be done is to divest himself of exterior\noccupations, and to establish himself in a stillness\nand repose of soul by an energetic detachment from\nall things, as if he were dead to himself, and could\nnot guide himself, and had no other thought but for\nthe honour and glory of Christ and His Heavenly\nFather. To this he should add an humble bearing\ntowards all men, whether friends or foes. After a\nman has passed through these exercises, the next\npoint at which he arrives is, that his outward senses,\nwhich until then were much too actively employed\non exterior objects, cease from action ; and his spirit's\nhighest powers, dying to their natural operation,\nacquire a supernatural sensitiveness.\n\nHere it is that the spirit, having parted with\neverything of nature which had clung to it, presses\nfurther in through the ring, which signifies the\n\n252 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\neternal Godhead, and arrives at spiritual perfection.\nThe sublimest wealth of the spirit in its own proper\nform consists in this: that being now freed from the\nweight of sin, it soars upwards in the might of\nGod into its divinely illuminated reason, where it\nenjoys a perpetual influx of heavenly consolations.\nIt can now behold the secret relations of things,\nand interpret them according to reason with true\ndiscrimination, and it is duly set free from bondage\nby the Son in the Son, It still, however, continues\nto view things in their outflow from God, and to\ncontemplate them as existing each one in its own\nproper nature. This may be called the transport of\nthe spirit, for it is now lifted up above time and\nplace, and has passed away by intense loving\ncontemplations into God. Now, he who can clear a\nway for himself still further, and to whom God is\npleased to give great and special help by drawing\nhim away mightily from creatures, as He did to\nSt Paul, and may possibly still do to others,\naccording to what St Bernard says—this man finds\nhis created spirit seized upon by the super-essential\nSpirit, and drawn into that which it never could\nhave attained to in its own strength. This entry of\nthe spirit into God strips it of all images, forms, and\nmultiplicity, and it loses consciousness of itself and\nall things, and becomes merged with the three\nPersons in the abyss of their indwelling simplicity,\nand enjoys there its highest and truest bliss. Here\nall striving and seeking cease, for the beginning and\nthe end have become one, and the spirit, being\ndivested of itself, has become one with them, as is\n\nCONCLUSION OF CONTENTS. 253\n\nexplained elsewhere with the help of figures! But\nas to how a man can pass away in this life, either\npermanently or transiently, and how, while he is still\nin time, he can be caught up above time, more or\nless, and be drawn out of himself and transported\ninto the formless Unity—all this I have already set\nforth with the necessary distinctions. And now,\ndaughter, remember that all these figures and\nimages, with their interpretations, are as remote from\nand unlike the formless Truth as a black Moor is\nunlike the beautiful sun; and this comes from the\nformless and incomprehensible simplicity of the\nTruth.\n\nThe maiden looked upwards, and said :—Praised\nbe the eternal Truth for the beautiful instruction\nwhich I have received from your wise words\nconcerning the first entry of a beginner into the\ninterior life, the hindrances which he will meet with\nas he advances, the things which he will have to\navoid, his sufferings and his exercises, as well as the\nhidden mystery of the pure and absolute Truth,\naccording to the good distinctions which you have\nlaid down. Glory be to God eternally for this.\n\nNow, when this holy maiden had been thus nobly\nguided by her spiritual father, with the help of good\ndistinctions and in accordance with the whole\nChristian truth, along all the ways which end in\nsupreme bliss, and when she had well mastered it,\nas far as is possible in this life, he wrote to her in\nhis last letter thus:—Come now, daughter; give\ncreatures their dismissal, and leave off thy question-\n\n1JIn the Treatise on Truth.\n\n254 LIFE OF BLESSED HENRY SUSO\n\nings. Give ear, and listen for thyself to what God\nwill say within thee. Thou mayest well rejoice\nthat thou hast obtained that which to many a one is\nwanting. Painfully as thou hast earned it, all this\nis now past and over. Henceforth there is nothing\nmore for thee to do except to possess Divine peace\nin still repose, and joyfully to await the moment\nwhen thou shalt pass away from this life into the\nfullness of everlasting bliss.\n\nIt came to pass soon afterwards that the holy\nmaiden died; and her end was a blessed one, even\nas her life had been! After her death she appeared\nin a vision to her spiritual father clad in snow-white\ngarments, shining with a dazzling brightness, and\nfull of heavenly joy. She drew nigh to him, and\nshowed him in what noble fashion she had passed\naway into the pure Godhead. He saw and heard\nthis with delight, and the vision filled his soul with\nheavenly consolation. When he came to himself\nagain, he sighed deeply, and thought within\nhimself :—Ah, God! how blessed is the man who\nstrives after Thee alone! He may well be content\nto suffer whose sufferings Thou rewardest thus.\nGod help us to rejoice in this maiden and in all His\ndear friends, and to enjoy His Divine countenance\neternally. Amen.\n\n1 Elizabeth Staglin died in the convent of Thiss, near Winterthur,\nA.D, 1360, five years before her spiritual father.\n\nTHE END.\n\nTURNBULL AND SPEARS,\n\nEDINBURGH\n\n4,\n\n7 SELECTION OF BOOKS\nEU BEISE ED. BY METHUEN\nPoe OS TTD LONDON\n26 oor SUREE |\nW.C.\n\nCONTENTS\n\nPAGE PAGE\nGeneral Literature . Mees 2 Little Quarto Shakespeare . 20\nAncient Cities . . - 13 Miniature Library . . . 20\nAntiquary's Books . . 13 New Library of Medicine . 21\nArden Shakespeare. . . es New Library of Music . . 21\nee tne sare Oxford Biographies. . . 2x\n\n'Complete' Seri cee . z\n. foe s Four Plays. . ; * 5 21\n\nConnoisseur's Library . 5 15\n= States of Italy . ee: 21\n\nHandbooks of English Church\n\nHistory ; : : 76 Westminster Commentaries . 22\nHandbooks of Theology . 2 16 SVoussseSeries® => Fe. 22\n'Home Life' Series. : c 16 Shilling Library , 3 F 22\nIllustrated Pocket Library of Books for Travellers 4 . 23\n\nPlain and Coloured Books . 16\nie Some Books on Art. «. Z 23\n\nLeaders of Religion 6 4 17\nLibrary of Devotion s 17 Some Books.on Italy, .ue- is 24\nLittle Books on Art Oph ees 18 Fiction . : ' ie YE 25\nLittle Galleries fo ep 18 Books for Boys and Girls . 30\nLittle Guides- .._.-. 5. ..; 18 Shilling Novels. . . .- 30\nLittle Library . Paes, : 19 Sevenpenny Novels. . - 31\n\nSEPTEMBER 1913\n\nA SELECTION' OF\n\nMessRS. METHUEN'S\nPAB. rCA TTONS\n\nIn this Catalogue the order is according to authors. An asterisk denotes\nthat the book is in the press.\n\nColonial Editions are published of all Messrs. Meruuen's Novels issued\nat a price above 2s. 6d., and similar editions are published of some works of\nGeneral Literature. Colonial Editions are only for circulation in the British\nColonies and India.\n\nAll books marked net are not subject to discount, and cannot be bought\nat less than the published price. Books not marked net are subject to the\ndiscount which the bookseller allows.\n\nMessrs. METHUEN's books are kept in stock by all good booksellers. If\nthere is any difficulty in seeing copies, Messrs. Methuen will be very glad to\nhave early information, and specimen copies of any books will be sent on\nreceipt of the published price A/ws postage for net books, and of the published\nprice for ordinary books.\n\nThis Catalogue contains only a selection of the more important books\npublished by Messrs. Methuen. A complete and illustrated catalogue of their\n\npublications may be obtained on application.\n\nAbraham (G. D.). MOTOR WAYS IN\n\nLAKELAND. Illustrated. Demy 8vo.\n7s. 6d. net.\nAdcock (A. St. John'. THE BOOK-\n\nw LOVER'S LONDON. Illustrated. Cy.\n\n8v0. 6s. net.\n\n*Ady (Cecilia M.). PIUS II.: Tue\nHumanist Pops. Illustrated. Dewy 8vo.\n\ntos. 6d. net.\n\nAndrewes (Lancelot) PRECES PRI-\nVATAE. Translated and edited, with\nNotes, by F. E. BRIGHTMAN. Cr. 8v0. 6s.\n\nAristotle) THE ETHICS. Edited, with\nan Introduction and Notes, by JoHN\nBuRNET. Demy 8vo. 105. 6d. net.\n\nAtkinson (GC. T.). A HISTORY OF GER-\nMANY, 1715-1815. Demy 8v0. 125. 6d. net.\n\nAtkinson (T. D.)} ENGLISH ARCHI-\nTECTURE. Illustrated. Third Edition.\nFicap. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\nA GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN\nENGLISH ARCHITECTURE. | Illus-\ntrated. Second Edition. Feap. 8vo. 35. 6d.\n\nnet.\nENGLISH AND WELSH CATHE.\nDRALS. Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d.\nnet.\n\nBain (F. W.). A DIGIT OF THE MOON:\nA Hinpvoo Love Srory. Tenth Edition.\nFeap. 8v0. 35. 6d. net.\n\nTHE DESCENT OF THE SUN: ACyc.Lz\noF BirrH. Fifth Edition. Heap. 8vo.\n\n3s. 6d. net,\n\nA HEIFER OF THE DAWN. Seventh\nEdition. Feap. 8vo. 25. 6d. net.\n\nIN THE GREAT GOD'S HAIR. Fifth\nEdition. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.\n\nA DRAUGHT OF THE BLUE. #i/th\nEdition Fcap. 8vo. 25s. 6a. net.\n\nAN ESSENCE OF THE DUSK. Third\nEdition. Feap. 8vo. 25s. 6d. net.\n\nAN INCARNATION OF THE SNOW.\nThird Edition. Feap. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\nA MINE OF FAULTS. Third Edition.\nLicap. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\nTHE ASHES OF AGOD. Second Edition.\ncap. 8vo. 38. 6d. net.\n\nBUBBLES OF THE FOAM.\n\nLicap. 4to.\n5s. net. Also Feap. 8vo.\n\n38. 6d. net.\n\nBalfour (Graham). THE LIFE OF\nROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Illus-\ntrated. Lleventh Edition. In one Volume.\nCr. 8v0o. Buckram, 6s.\n\nAlso Fcap. 8vo. 15. net.\n\nBaring (Hon. Maurice). LANDMARKS\nIN RUSSIAN LITERATURE. Second\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. net.\n\nRUSSIAN ESSAYS AND STORIES.\nSecond Edition. Cr. 8vo. 55. net.\n\nTHE RUSSIAN PEOPLE. Devt 8v0.\n15S. net,\n\nGENERAL LITERATURE 3\n\nBaring-Gould (S.).. THE LIFE OF\nNAPOLEON BONAPARTE. Illustrated.\nSecond Edition. Royal 8vo. 10s. 6a. net.\n\nTHE TRAGEDY OF THE CASARS:\nA Svrupy oF THE CHARACTERS OF THE\nCSARS OF THE JULIAN AND CLAUDIAN\nHouses. Illustrated. Seventh Edition.\nRoyal 8vo. 105. 6d. net.\n\nTHE VICAR OF MORWENSTOW. With\na Portrait. Third Edition. Cr.8vo. 35. 6d.\nAlso Feap. 8vo. 1s. net.\n\nOLD COUNTRY LIFE, Illustrated. Fifth\nEdition. Large Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nAlso Feap. 8vo. 15. net.\n\nA BOOK OF CORNWALL. Illustrated.\n\nThird Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nA BOOK OF DARTMOOR. | Illustrated.\nSecond Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nA BOOK OF DEVON. Illustrated. Third\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 65s.\n\nBaring-Gould (S.) and Sheppard (H. Fleet-\nwood), A GARLAND OF COUNTRY\nSONG. English Folk Songs with their\nTraditional Melodies. Demy 4to. 6s.\n\nSONGS OF THE WEST. Folk Songs of\nDevon and Cornwall. Collected from the\nMouths of the People. New and Revised\nEdition, under the musical editorship of\nCeci: J. SHarp. Large Imperial 8vo.\n5s. net.\n\nBarker (E.). THES POLITICAL\nTHOUGHT OF PLATO AND ARIS-\nTOTLE. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.\n\nBastable (C. F.)) THE COMMERCE OF\nNATIONS. Szath Edition. Cr. 8vo.\n2s. 6d.\n\nBeckford (Peter). THOUGHTS ON\nHUNTING. Edited by J. Orno Pacer.\nIllustrated. Third Edition. Devzy 8vo. 6s.\n\nBelloc (H.). PARIS. Illustrated Third\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nHILLS AND THE SEA. fourth Edition.\nFicap. 8vo. 55.\nAlso Feap. 8vo, 15. net.\n\nON NOTHING AND KINDRED SUB-\nJECTS. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 55.\nON EVERYTHING. Third Edition. Feap.\n\n8vo. 55S.\nON SOMETHING. Second Edition. Feap.\n\n8uv0. 5S.\nFIRST AND LAST. Second Edition.\n\nFcap. 8vo. 58\nTHIS AND THAT AND THE OTHER.\n\nSecond Edition. Fcap. 8vo._ 55.\nMARIE ANTOINETTE. Illustrated.\nThird Edition. Demy 8vo. 155. net.\nTHE PYRENEES. Illustrated. Second\nEdition. Demy 8vo. 75. 6d. net.\n\nBennett (Arnold). THE TRUTH ABOUT\nAN AUTHOR. Crown 8vo. 6s.\n\nBennett (W. H.) A PRIMER OF THE\nBIBLE. Fifth Edition. Cr. 8vo. 25. 6d.\n\nBennett (W. H.) and Adeney (W. F.). A\nBIBLICAL INTRODUCTION. With a\nconcise Bibliography. Sixth Edition. Cr.\n8vo. 75.6d. Also in Two Volumes. Cr.\n8u0o. Each 35. 6d. net.\n\nBenson (Archbishop).\nCommunion Addresses.\nFeap. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\n*Berriman (Algernon E.). AVIATION.\nIllustrated. C7. 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.\n\nBicknell (Ethel E.). PARIS AND HER\nTREASURES. Illustrated. cag. 8v0.\nRound corners. 5s. net.\n\nBlake (William). ILLUSTRATIONS OF\nTHE BOOK OF JOB. With a General\nIntroduction by LAURENCE Binyon. Illus-\ntrated. Quarto. 21s. net.\n\nBloemfontein (Bishop of), ARA CC&LI:\nAn Essay in Mysticat THEOLOGY.\nFifth Edition. Cr. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\nFAITH AND EXPERIENCE. § Second\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d. net.\n\n*Boulenger (G. A.)) THE SNAKES OF\nEUROPE. Illustrated. Cr. 800. 6s.\n\nBowden (E. M.). THE IMITATION OF\nBUDDHA. Quotations from Buddhist\nLiterature for each Day in the Year. Sixth\nEdition. Cr. 160. 2s. 6d.\n\nBrabant (F. G.). RAMBLES IN SUSSEX.\nIllustrated. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nBradley (A. G.) THE ROMANCE OF\nNORTHUMBERLAND. Illustrated.\nThird Edition. Demy 8vo. 75. 6d. net.\n\nBraid (James). ADVANCED GOLF.\nIllustrated. Seventh Edition. Demy 8vo.\n10s. 6a. net.\n\nBridger (A. E.). MINDS IN DISTRESS.\nA Psychological Study of the Masculine\nand Feminine Minds in Health and in Dis-\norder, Cr. 8v0. 25. 6d. net.\n\nBrodrick (Mary) and Morton (A. Ander-\nson) A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF\nEGYPTIAN ARCHAOLOGY. A Hand-\n\nGOD'S BOARD.\nSecond Edition.\n\nbook for Students and Travellers. Illus-\ntrated. Cr. 8vo. 35. 6d.\nBrowning (Robert) PARACELSUS.\n\nEdited with an Introduction, Notes, and\nBibliography by MarGaret L. Ler and\nKATHARINE B. Locock. Feap. 8vo0. 35. 6d.\nnet.\n\nBuckton (A. M.) EAGER HEART: A\nCHRISTMAS MystErRy-Piay. Elevenih Edi-\ntion. Cr. 8vo.. 15. net.\n\nBull(Paul). GOD AND OUR SOLDIERS.\nSecond Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nBurns (Robert) THE POEMS AND\nSONGS. Edited by ANpDREw LanG and\nW. A. Craiciz. With Portrait. Third\nEdition. Wide Demy 8vo 6s.\n\n4 METHUEN AND COMPANY LIMITED\n\nTHE LIFE OF\nCRUSTACEA. Illustrated. Cr. 8v0, 6s.\n\nCarlyle (Thomas) THE FRENCH\nREVOLUTION. Edited by C. R. L.\nFLEeTcHEeR. Three Volumes. Cr.8vo. 185.\n\nTHE LETTERS AND SPEECHES OF\nOLIVER CROMWELL. With an_In-\ntroduction by C. H. Firtu, and Notes\nand Appendices by S. C. Lomas. Three\nVolumes. Demy 8vo. 18s. net.\n\nCaiman (W. T.).\n\nChambers (Mrs. Lambert), LAWN\nTENNIS FOR LADIES. _ Illustrated.\nSecond Edition. Cr. 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.\n\nChesser (Elizabeth Sloan). PERFECT\nHEALTH FOR WOMEN AND CHIL-\nDREN. C>. 8vo. 35. 6d. net.\n\nChesterfield (Lord) THE LETTERS OF\nTHE EARL OF CHESTERFIELD TO\nHIS SON. Edited, with an Introduction by\nC. STRACHEY, and Notes by A. CALTHROP.\nTwo Volumes. Cr. 8vo. 125.\n\nChesterton (G. K.). CHARLES DICKENS.\nWith two Portraitsin Photogravure. Highth\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nAlso Fcap. 8v0. 15. net.\n\nTHE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE.\nFourth Edition. Feap. 8vo. 55.\n\nALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Seventh\nEdition. Feap. 8vo. 55.\n\nTREMENDOUS TRIFLES.\ntion. Icap. 8vo. 55.\n\nALARMS AND DISCURSIONS. Second\nEdition. Feap. 8vo. 55.\n\nA MISCELLANY OF MEN.\nEdition. Fcap. 8vo. 55.\n\n*Clausen (George). ROYAL ACADEMY\nLECTURES ON PAINTING. Illustrated.\nCr. 8vo. 58. net.\n\nFifth Edi-\n\nSecond\n\n(Joseph) THE MIRROR OF\nSEA: Memories and Impressions.\nFourth Edition. leap. 8vo. 55.\n\nConrad\nTHE\n\nCoolidge (W. A. BB.) THE ALPS: IN\nNATURE AND HISTORY. Illustrated.\nDemy 8vo. 75. 6d. net.\n\nCorreyon (H.) ALPINE FLORA. Trans-\nlated and enlarged by E. W. CLavrorru.\nIllustrated. Sguare Demy 8vo. 16s. net.\n\nCoulton (G. G.). CHAUCER AND HIS\nENGLAND. Illustrated. Second Edition.\nDemy 8vo. 1058. 6d. net.\n\nCowper (William). POEMS. Edited, with\nan Introduction and Notes, by J. C. Batiey.\nIllustrated. Demy 8vo. tos. 6d. ned.\n\nCox (J. ©.) RAMBLES IN SURREY\n\nIllustrated. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s\nRAMBLES IN KENT. Illustrated. Cx»\n8v0. 6s.\n\nCrawley (A. E.). THE BOOK OF THE\nBALL: An Account oF WuHaT IT DoEs AND\nWhy. Illustrated. Cy. 8vo. 35. €d. net.\n\nCrowley (H. Ralph). THE HYGIENE\nOF SCHOOL LIFE. Illustrated. C7.\n8vo. 38. 6d. net.\n\nDavis (H. W. ©.) ENGLAND UNDER\nTHE NORMANS AND ANGEVINS:\n1066-1272. Third Edition. Deny 8vo.\ntos. 6d. net.\n\nDawbarn (Charles). FRANCE AND\nTHE FRENCH. Illustrated. Demy 8v0.\ntos. 6d. net.\n\nDearmer (Mabel) A CHILD'S LIFE OF\nCHRIST. Illustrated. LarzgeCr. 8v0. 6s.\n\nDeffand (Madame du). LETTRES DE\nLA MARQUISE DU DEFFAND A\nHORACE WALPOLE. Edited, with In-\n\ntroduction, Notes, and Index, by Mrs.\nPacet ToynBEE. Three Volumes. Demy\n8v0. £3 35. net.\n\nDickinson (G. L.) THE GREEK VIEW\nOF LIFE. Zighth Edition. Cr. 8vo.\n2s. 6a. net.\n\nDitchfield (P. H.).\nPARSON. Illustrated.\nDeny 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.\n\nTHE OLD ENGLISH COUNTRY\nSQUIRE. Illustrated. Dezzy 8vo. tos. 6d.\nnet.\n\nDowden (J.)) FURTHER STUDIES IN\nTHE PRAYER BOOK. C>. 8vo0. 6s.\n\nDriver (S. R.)) SERMONS ON SUB.-\nJECTS CONNECTED WITH THE\nOLD TESTAMENT. C*>. 80. 6s.\n\nDumas (Alexandre). THE CRIMES OF\nTHE BORGIAS AND OTHERS. With\nan Introduction by R. S. Garnett. Illus-\ntrated. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nTHE CRIMES OF URBAIN GRAN-\nDIER AND OTHERS. Illustrated. Cr.\n8vo. 65.\n\nTHE CRIMES OF THE MARQUISE\nDE BRINVILLIERS AND OTHERS.\nIllustrated. Cr. 80. 6s.\n\nTHE CRIMES OF ALI PACHA AND\n\nTHE OLD-TIME\nSecond Edition.\n\nOTHERS. Illustrated. Cx 8v0. 6s,\nMY PETS. Newly translated by A. R.\nAv.rinson. Illustrated. Cr. 8v0.- 6s.\n\nDunn-Pattison (R. P.).\nMARSHALS.\nEdition.\n\nNAPOLEON'S\nIllustrated. Second\nDemy 8vo. 125. 6d. net.\n\nGENERAL LITERATURE 5\n\nIllustrated.\n7s. 6d. net.\n\nTHE BLACK PRINCE.\nSecond Edition. Dery 8vo.\n\nDurham (The Earl of. THE REPORT\nON CANADA. With an Introductory\nNote. Demy 8vo. 45. 6d. net.\n\nEgerton (H. E.) A SHORT HISTORY\nOF BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY.\nThird Edition. Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.\n\nEvans (Herbert A.). CASTLES. OF\nENGLAND AND WALES. Illustrated.\nDemy 8vo. 125. 6d. net.\n\nBeater (Bishop of) REGNUM DEI.\n(The Bampton Lectures of 1901.) A Cheaper\nEdition. Démy 8vo. 75. 6d. net.\n\nEwald (Carl). MY LITTLE BOY.\nTranslated by ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE\nMarros. Illustrated. cap. 8v0o. 55.\n\nFairbrother (W. H.). THE PHILO-\nSOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. Second\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 35. 6d.\n\nffoulkes (Charles) THE ARMOURER\nAND HIS CRAFT. Illustrated. Royal\n4to. £2 2s. net.\n\n*DECORATIVE IRONWORK. From the\nxIth to the xvmith Century. Illustrated.\nRoyal 4to. £225. net.\n\nFirth (C. H.)} CROMWELL'S ARMY.\nA History of the English Soldier during the\nCivil Wars, the Commonwealth, and the\nProtectorate. Illustrated. Second Edition.\nCr. 8v0. 6s.\n\nFisher (H. A. L.) THE REPUBLICAN\nTRADITION IN EUROPE. C». 8vo0.\n6s. net.\n\nFitzGerald (Edward). THE RUBA'IYAT\nOF OMAR KHAYYAM. Printed from\nthe Fifth and last Edition. With a Com-\nmentary by H. M. Batson, and a Biograph-\nical Introduction by E. D. Ross. Cr. 8vo.\n6s.\n\n*Also Illustrated by E. J. Surrivan. (>.\n4to. 158. net.\n\nFlux (A. W.). ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES.\nDemy 8v0. 7s. 6d. net.\n\nFraser (E.) THE SOLDIERS WHOM\nWELLINGTON LED. Deeds of Daring,\nChivalry, and Renown. Illustrated. C7\n\n8v0. 58. net.\n\n*THE SAILORS WHOM NELSON LED.\nTheir Doings Described by Themselves.\nIllustrated. Cr. 8vo. 55. net.\n\nROUND THE WORLD\n\nFraser (J. F.).\nIllustrated.\n\nON A WHEEL.\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 68.\n\nFifth |\n\nMEMORIES OF\n\na seats Francis).\nThird Edition,\n\nLIFE. Illustrated.\nFie 8vo. 10s. 6a. net.\n\nGibbins (H. de B.).) INDUSTRY IN\nENGLAND: HISTORICAL OUT-\nLINES. With Maps and Plans. Seventh\nEdition, Revised. Demy 8vo. 0s. 6d.\n\nTHE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF\nENGLAND. With 5 Maps and a Plan.\nNineteenth Edition. Cr. 8v0. 35.\n\nENGLISH SOCIAL REFORMERS.\nThird Edition. Cr. 8vo. 258. 6d.\n\nGibbon (Edward), THE MEMOIRS OF\nTHE LIFE OF EDWARD GIBBON.\nEdited by G. Birkseck HILL. C7. 8v0. 6s.\n\nTHE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE\nROMAN EMPIRE. Edited, with Notes,\n\nAppendices, and Maps, by J. Bury,\nIllustrated. Seven Volumes. Demy 8vo.\nIllustrated. ach ics. 6d. net. Also in\n\nSeven Volumes. Cr. 8vo. 6s. each.\n\nGlover (T. R.) THE CONFLICT OF\nRELIGIONS IN THE EARLY ROMAN\n\nEMPIRE. Fourth Edition. Demy 8vo.\n7s. 6d. net.\n\nVIRGIL. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. 7s.\n6d. net.\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN TRADITION AND\nITS VERIFICATION. (The Angus Lec-\nture for 1912.) Cr. 8v0. 35. 6d. net.\n\nGodley (A. D.). LYRA FRIVOLA. Fourth\n\nEdition. Fcap. 8vo. 25. 6d.\nVERSES TO ORDER. Second Edition.\nFcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.\n\nSECOND STRINGS. cap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.\n\nGostling (Frances M.). AUVERGNE\nANDITS PEOPLE. Illustrated. Demy\n8v0. 10s. 6d. net.\n\nGray (Arthur), CAMBRIDGE. Llustrated.\nDemy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.\n\nGrahame (Kenneth) THE WIND IN\nTHE WILLOWS. Seventh Edition. Cr.\n\n8v0. 65.\n*Also Illustrated. Cv. 4f0. 75. 6d. net.\n\nmehee ne (Frank) HISTORICAL SOCI-\nOLOGY: A Text-Book oF Potirics.\nCr. 8v0. 35. 6d. net.\n\n*Gretton (M. Sturge).\nTHE COTSWOLDS.\n8v0. 7s. 6d. net.\n\nA CORNER OF\nIllustrated. Demy\n\nGrew (Edwin Sharpe) THE GROWTH\nOFAPLANET. Illustrated. Cx 8v0. 6s.\n\nGriffin (W. Hall) and Minchin (H. G.).\nTHE LIFE OF ROBERT BROWNING.\nIllustrated. Second Edition. Demy 8vo.\n125. 6d. net.\n\n6 METHUEN AND COMPANY LIMITED\n\nHEALTH THROUGH\n\nHaig (K. G.).\nD f ; Cr. 8v0. 35. 6d.\n\nIET. Second Edition.\nnet.\n\nHale (J. BR.) FAMOUS SEA FIGHTS:\nFrom SALAMIs TO Tsu-SHIMA. I Ilustrated.\nSecond Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. net.\n\nHall (H.R.). THE ANCIENT HISTORY\nOF THE NEAR EAST FROM THE\nEARLIEST TIMES TO THE BATTLE\nOF SALAMIS. Illustrated. Second Ed?-\ntion. Demy 8vo. 155. net.\n\nHannay (D.) A SHORT HISTORY OF\nTHE ROYAL NAVY. Vol. I., 1217-1688.\n\nVol. II., 1689-1815. Demy 8v0. Each\n7s. 6d.\n'Hare (B.). THE GOLFING SWING\n\nSIMPLIFIED AND ITS MECHANISM\nCORRECTLY EXPLAINED. Third\nEdition. Feap.8vo. 1s. net.\n\nHarper (Charles G.). THE AUTOCAR\nROAD - BOOK. With Maps. Four\nVolumes. Cr. 8vo. Each 7s. 6d. net.\n\nVol. I.—SouTH oF THE THAMES.\n\nVol. II.—NortuH and SoutH WALES\nAND West MIDLANDs.\n\nVol. I1].—Easr ANGLIA AND East Mip-\nLANDS.\n\n*Vol. 1V.—Tue Norru oF ENGLAND AND\nSouTH oF SCOTLAND.\nHarris (Frank).\n\nTHE WOMEN OF\n\nSHAKESPEARE. Demy 8vo. 75s. 6d. net.\n\nHassall (Arthur). THE LIFE OF\nNAPOLEON. Illustrated. Demy 8v0.\n7s. 6d. net.\n\nHeadley (F. W.) DARWINISM AND\nMODERN SOCIALISM. Second Edition.\nCr. 8v0. 55. net.\n\nHenderson (M. Sturge).\nMEREDITH: NOVELIST,\nREFORMER. With a Portrait.\nEdition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nHenley (W. E.) ENGLISH LYRICS:\nCHAUCER TO POE. Second Edition.\nCr. 8v0. 25. 6a. met.\n\nHill (George Francis) ONE HUNDRED\nMASTERPIECES OF SCULPTURE.\nIllustrated. Demy 8v0. tos. 6d. net.\n\nHind (C. Lewis) DAYS IN CORNWALL.\nIllustrated. 7hird Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s.\n\nHobhouse (L. T.) THE THEORY OF\nKNOWLEDGE. Dewmzy 8v0. 10s. 6d: net.\n\nHobson (J. A,). INTERNATIONAL\nRADE: AN AprLicaTIOn oF EcoNoMIc\nTuHrorY. 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Pett Ridge.\n\nPrinted by Morrison & Gisp Limiten, Edinburgh\n\nGAYLORD\n\nPRINTED IN U.S.A\n\nBV 21676\n\nS85 The life of Blessed\nA313 Henry Suso /\n\n1913 :\n\nGraduate Theological Union Library\n2400 Ridge Road\n\nporkiey, WITHDRAWN",
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