John, Ascent Carmel 3 40
Which continues to direct the spirit to interior recollection with referenceto what has been said.
1 THE reason, then, why some spiritual persons never enter perfectly into thetrue joys of the spirit is that they never succeed in raising their desirefor rejoicing above these things that are outward and visible. Let such takenote that, although the visible oratory and temple is a decent place setapart for prayer, and an image is a motive to prayer, the sweetness and delightof the soul must not be set upon the motive or the visible temple, lest thesoul should forget to pray in the living temple, which is the interiorrecollection of the soul. The Apostle, to remind us of this, said: 'See thatyour bodies are living temples of the Holy Spirit, Who dwelleth in you.'(672)And this thought is suggested by the words of Christ which we have quoted,namely that they who truly adore God must needs adore Him in spirit and intruth.(673) For God takes little heed of your oratories and your places setapart for prayer if your desire and pleasure are bound to them, and thusyou have little interior detachment, which is spiritual poverty and renunciationof all things that you may possess.
2. In order, then, to purge the willfrom vain desire and rejoicing in this matter, and to lead it to God in yourprayer, you must see only to this, that your conscience is pure, and yourwill perfect with God, and your spirit truly set upon Him. Then, as I havesaid, you should choose the place that is the farthest withdraw and the mostsolitary that you can find, and devote all the rejoicing of the will to callingupon God and glorifying Him; and you should take no account of those whimsabout outward things, but rather strive to renounce them. For, if the soulbe attached to the delight of sensible devotion, it will never succeed inpassing onward to the power of spiritual delight, which is found in spiritualdetachment coming through interior recollection.
Of certain evils into which those persons fall who give themselves to pleasurein sensible objects and who frequent places of devotion in the way that hasbeen described.
1 MANY evils, both interior and exterior, come to the spiritual person whenhe desires to follow after sweetness of sense in these matters aforementioned.For, as regards the spirit, he will never attain to interior spiritualrecollection, which consists in neglecting all such things, and in causingthe soul to forget all this sensible sweetness, and to enter into truerecollection, and to acquire the virtues by dint of effort. As regards exteriorthings, he will become unable to dispose himself for prayer in all places,but will be confined to places that are to his taste; and thus he will oftenfail in prayer, because, as the saying goes, he can understand no other bookthan his own vil lage.
2. Furthermore, this desire leads such persons intogreat inconstancy. Some of them never continue in one place or even alwaysin one state: now they will be seen in one place, now in another; now theywill go to one hermitage, now to another; now they will set up this oratory,now that. Some of them, again, wear out their lives in changing from onestate or manner of living to another. For, as they possess only the sensiblefervour and joy to be found in spiritual things, and have never had the strengthto attain spiritual recollection by the renunciation of their own will, andsubmitting to suffering inconveniences, whenever they see a place which theythink well suited for devotion, or any kind of life or state well adaptedto their temperament and inclination, they at once go after it and leavethe condition or state in which they were before. And, as they have comeunder the influence of that sensible pleasure, it follows that they soonseek something new, for sensible pleasure is not constant, but very quicklyfails.
Of three different kinds of place for devotion and of how the will shouldconduct itself with regard to them.
1 I CAN think of three kinds of place by means of which God is wont to movethe will to devotion. The first consists in certain dispositions of the groundand situation, which, by means of a pleasing effect of variety, whether obtainedby the arrangement of the ground or of trees, or by means of quiet solitude,naturally awaken devotion. These places it is beneficial to use, if theyat once lead the will to God and cause it to forget the places themselves,even as, in order to reach one's journey's end, it is advisable not to pauseand consider the means and motive of the journey more than is necessary.For those who strive to refresh their desires and to gain sensible sweetnesswill rather find spiritual aridity and distraction; for spiritual sweetnessand satisfaction are not found save in interior recollection.
2. When they are in such a place, therefore, they should forget it and strive to be inwardlywith God, as though they were not in that place at all. For, if they be attachedto the pleasure and delight of the place, as we have said, they are seekingrefreshment of sense and instability of spirit rather than spiritual repose.The anchorites and other holy hermits, who in the most vast and pleasingwildernesses selected the smallest places that sufficed for them, built therethe smallest cells and caves, in which to imprison themselves. Saint Benedictwas in such a place for three years, and another -- namely, Saint Simon(674)-- bound himself with a cord that he might have no more liberty nor go anyfarther than to places within its reach; and even so did many who are toonumerous ever to be counted. Those saints understood very clearly that, ifthey quenched not the desire and eagerness for spiritual sweetness and pleasure,they could not attain to spirituality.
3. The second kind is of a more specialnature, for it relates to certain places (not necessarily deserts, but anyplaces whatsoever) where God is accustomed to grant to a few special personscertain very delectable spiritual favours; ordinarily, such a place attractsthe heart of the person who has received a favour there, and sometimes giveshim great desires and yearnings to return to it; although, when he goes there,what happened to him before is not repeated, since this is not within hiscontrol. For God grants these favours when and how and where He pleases,without being tied to any place or time, nor to the free-will of the personto whom He grants them. Yet it is good to go and pray in such places at timesif the desire is free from attachment; and this for three reasons. First,because although, as we said, God is not bound to any place, it would seemthat He has willed to be praised by a soul in the place where He has grantedit a favour. Secondly, because in that place the soul is more mindful togive thanks to God for that which it has received there. Thirdly, because,by remembering that favour, the soul's devotion is the more keenly awakened.
4. It is for these reasons that a man should go to such places, and not becausehe thinks that God is bound to grant him favours there, in such a way asto be unable to grant them wheresoever He wills, for the soul is a fitterand more comely place for God than any physical place. Thus we read in HolyScripture that Abraham built an altar in the very place where God appearedto him, and invoked His holy name there, and that afterwards, coming fromEgypt, he returned by the same road where God had appeared to him, and calledupon God there once more at the same altar which he had built.(675) Jacob,too, marked the place where God had appeared to him, leaning upon a ladder,by raising there a stone which he anointed with oil.(676) And Agar gave aname to the place where the angel had appeared to her, and prized it highly,saying: 'Of a truth I have here seen the back of Him that seeth me.'(677)
5. The third kind consists of certain special places which God chooses thatHe may be called upon and served there, such as Mount Sinai, where He gavethe law to Moses.(678) And the place that He showed Abraham, that he mightsacrifice his son there.(679) And likewise Mount Horeb, where He appearedto our father Elias.(680)
6. The reason for which God chooses these placesrather than others, that He may be praised there, is known to Himself alone.What it behoves us to know is that all is for our advantage, and that Hewill hear our prayers there, and also in any place where we pray to Him withperfect faith; although there is much greater opportunity for us to be heardin places dedicated to His service, since the Church has appointed and dedicatedthose places to that end.
Which treats of other motives for prayer that many persons use -- namely,a great variety of ceremonies.
THE useless joys and the imperfect attachment which many persons have tothe things which we have described are perhaps to some extent excusable,since these persons act more or less innocently with regard to them. Butthe great reliance which some persons place in many kinds of ceremoniesintroduced by uninstructed persons who lack the simplicity of faith isintolerable. Let us here disregard those which bear various extraordinarynames or use terms that signify nothing, and also other things that are notsacred which persons who are foolish and gross and mistrustful in spiritare wont to interpolate in their prayers. For these are clearly evil, andinvolve sin, and many of them imply a secret compact with the devil; by suchmeans these persons provoke God to wrath and not to mercy, wherefore I treatthem not here.
2. I wish to speak solely of those ceremonies into which entersnothing of a suspicious nature, and of which many people make use nowadayswith indiscreet devotion, attributing such efficacy and faith to these waysand manners wherein they desire to perform their devotions and prayers, thatthey believe that, if they fail to the very slightest extent in them, orgo beyond their limits, God will not be served by them nor will He hear them.They place more reliance upon these methods and kinds of ceremony than uponthe reality of their prayer, and herein they greatly offend and displeaseGod. I refer, for example, to a Mass at which there must be so many candles,neither more nor fewer; which has to be said by the priest in such or sucha way; and must be at such or such an hour, and neither sooner nor later;and must be after a certain day, neither sooner nor later; and the prayersand stations must be made at such and such times, with such or such ceremonies,and neither sooner nor later nor in any other manner; and the person whomakes them must have such or such qualities or qualifications. And thereare those who think that, if any of these details which they have laid downbe wanting, nothing is accomplished.
3. And, what is worse, and indeedintolerable, is that certain persons desire to feel some effect in themselves,or to have their petitions fulfilled, or to know that the purpose of theseceremonious prayers of theirs will be accomplished. This is nothing lessthan to tempt God and to anger Him greatly, so much so that He sometimesgives leave to the devil to deceive them, making them feel and understandthings that are far removed from the benefit of their soul, which they deservebecause of the attachment that they show in their prayers, not desiring God'swill, rather than their own desires, to be done therein; and thus, becausethey place not their whole confidence in God, nothing goes well with them.(681)
Of the manner wherein the rejoicing and strength of the will must be directedto God through these devotions.
1 LET these persons, then, know that, the more reliance they place on thesethings and ceremonies, the less confidence they have in God, and that theywill not obtain of God that which they desire. There are certain personswho pray for their own ends rather than for the honour of God. Although theysuppose that a thing will be done if it be for the service of God, and nototherwise, yet, because of their attachment to it and the vain rejoicingwhich they have in it, they multiply a large number of petitions for a thing,when it would be better for them to substitute others of greater importanceto them, such as for the true cleansing of their consciences, and for a realapplication to things concerning their own salvation, leaving to a much laterseason all those other petitions of theirs which are not of this kind. Andin this way they would attain that which is of the greatest importance tothem, and at the same time all the other things that are good for them (althoughthey might not have prayed for them), much better and much earlier than ifthey had e xpended all their energy on those things. For this the Lord promised,through the Evangelist, saying: 'Seek ye first and principally the Kingdomof God and His righteousness, and all these other things shall be added untoyou.'(682)
2. This is the seeking and the asking that is most pleasing toGod, and, in order to obtain the fulfilment of the petitions which we havein our hearts, there is no better way than to direct the energy of our prayerto the thing that most pleases God. For then not only will He give that whichwe ask of Him, which is salvation, but also that which He sees to be fittingand good for us, although we pray not for it. This David makes clear in apsalm where he says: 'The Lord is nigh unto those that call upon Him intruth,(683) that beg Him for the things that are in the highest degree true,such as salvation; for of these he then says: 'He will fulfill the will ofthem that fear Him, and will hear their cries, and will save them. For Godis the guardian of those that truly love Him.'(684) And thus, this nearnessto God of which David here speaks is naught else than His being ready tosatisfy them and grant them even that which it has not passed through theirminds to ask. Even so we read that, because Solomon did well in asking Godfor a thing that was pleasing to Him -- namely, wisdom to lead and rule hispeople righteously -- God answered him, saying: 'Because more than aughtelse thou didst desire wisdom, and askedst not victory over thine enemies,with their deaths, nor riches, nor long life, I will not only give thee thewisdom that thou askest to rule My people righteously, but I will likewisegive thee that which thou hast not asked -- namely, riches and substanceand glory -- so that neither before thee nor after thee shall there be anyking like unto thee.'(685) And this He did, giving him peace also from hisenemies, so that all around him should pay tribute to him and trouble himnot: We read of a similar incident in Genesis, where God promised Abrahamto increase the generation of his lawful son, like the stars of Heaven, evenas he had asked of Him, and said to him: 'Likewise I will increase the sonof the bondwoman, for he is thy son.'(686)
3. In this way, then, the strengthof the will and its rejoicing must be directed to God in our petitions, andwe must not be anxious to cling to ceremonial inventions which are not usedor approved by the Catholic Church. We must leave the method and manner ofsaying Mass to the priest, whom the Church sets there in her place, givinghim her orders as to how he is to do it. And let not such persons use newmethods, as if they knew more than the Holy Spirit and His Church. If, whenthey pray in their simplicity, God hears them not, let them not think thatHe will hear them any the more however many may be their inventions. ForGod is such that, if they behave towards Him as they should, and conformablyto His nature, they will do with Him whatsoever they will; but, if they actfrom selfish ends, they cannot speak with Him.
4. With regard to further ceremonies connected with prayer and other devotions, let not the will beset upon other ceremonies and forms of prayer than those which Christ taughtus.(687) For it is clear that, when His disciples besought Him that He wouldteach them to pray, He would tell them all that is necessary in order thatthe Eternal Father may hear us, since He knew the Father's nature so well.Yet all that He taught them was the Pater Noster, with its seven petitions,wherein are included all our needs, both spiritual and temporal; and He taughtthem not many other kinds of prayer, either in words or in ceremonies. Onthe contrary, He told them that when they prayed they ought not to desireto speak much, since our heavenly Father knows well what is meet for us.He charged them only, but with great insistence, that they should perseverein prayer (that is, in the prayer of the Pater Noster), saying elsewhere:'It behoves us always to pray and never to fail.'(688) But He taught nota variety of petitions, but rather that our petitions should be repeatedfrequently and with fervour and care. For, as I say, in them is containedall that is the will of God and all that is meet for us. Wherefore, whenHis Majesty drew near three times to the Eternal Father, He prayed all thesethree times, using those very words of the Pater Noster, as the Evangeliststell us, saying: 'Father, if it cannot be but that I must drink this cup,Thy will be done.'(689) And the ceremonies which He taught us to use in ourprayers are only two. Either we are to pray in the secret place of our chamber,where without noise and without paying heed to any we can pray with the mostperfect and pure heart, as He said in these words: 'When thou shalt pray,enter into thy chamber and shut the door and pray.'(690) Or else He taughtus to go to a solitary and desert place, as He Himself did, and at the bestand quietest time of night. And thus there is no reason to fix any limitof time, or any appointed days, or to set apart one time more than anotherfor our devotions, neither is there any reason to use other forms, in ourwords and prayers, nor phrases with double meanings, but only those whichthe Church uses and in the manner wherein she uses them; for all are reducedto those which we have described -- namely, the Pater Noster.
5. I do not for this reason condemn -- nay, I rather approve -- the fixing of days onwhich certain persons sometimes arrange to make their devotions, such asnovenas, or other such things. I condemn only their conduct as concerns thefixity of their methods and the ceremonies with which they practise them.Even so did Judith rebuke and reprove the people of Bethulia because theyhad limited God as to the time wherein they awaited His mercy, saying: 'Doye set God a time for his mercies?' To do this, she says, is not to moveGod to clemency, but to awaken His wrath.(691)
Which treats of the second kind of distinct good, wherein the will may rejoicevainly.
1 THE second kind of distinct and delectable good wherein the will may rejoicevainly is that which provokes or persuades us to serve God and which we havecalled provocative. This class comprises preachers, and we might speak ofit in two ways, namely, as affecting the preachers themselves and as affectingtheir hearers. For, as regards both, we must not fail to observe that bothmust direct the rejoicing of their will to God, with respect to this exercise.
2. In the first place, it must be pointed out to the preacher, if he is tocause his people profit and not to embarrass himself with vain joy andpresumption, that preaching is a spiritual exercise rather than a vocal one.For, although it is practised by means of outward words, its power and efficacyreside not in these but in the inward spirit. Wherefore, however lofty bethe doctrine that is preached, and however choice the rhetoric and sublimethe style wherein it is clothed, it brings as a rule no more benefit thanis present in the spirit of the preacher. For, although it is true that theword of God is of itself efficacious, according to those words of David,'He will give to His voice a voice of virtue,'(692) yet fire, which has alsoa virtue -- that of burning -- will not burn when the material is not prepared.
3. To the end that the preacher's instruction may exercise its full force,there must be two kinds of preparation: that of the preacher and that ofthe hearer; for as a rule the benefit derived from a sermon depends uponthe preparation of the teacher. For this reason it is said that, as is themaster, so is wont to be the disciple. For, when in the Acts of the Apostlesthose seven sons of that chief priest of the Jews were wont to cast out devilsin the same form as Saint Paul, the devil rose up against them, saying: 'JesusI confess and Paul I know, but you, who are ye?'(693) And then, attackingthem, he stripped and wounded them. This was only because they had not thefitting preparation, and not because Christ willed not that they should dothis in His name. For the Apostles once found a man, who was not a disciple,casting out a devil in the name of Christ, and they forbade him, and theLord reproved them for it, saying: 'Forbid him not, for no man that has doneany mighty works in My name shall be able to speak evil of Me after a briefspace of time.'(694) But He is angry with those who, though teaching thelaw of God, keep it not, and, which preaching spirituality, possess it not.For this reason God says, through Saint Paul: 'Thou teachest others and teachestnot thyself. Thou who preachest that men should not steal, stealest.'(695)And through David the Holy Spirit says: 'To the sinner, God said: "Why dostthou declare My justice and take My law in thy mouth, when thou hast hateddiscipline and cast My words behind thee?"'(696) Here it is made plain thatHe will give them no spirituality whereby they may bear fruit.
4. It is a common matter of observation that, so far as we can judge here below, thebetter is the life of the preacher, the greater is the fruit that he bears,however undistinguished his style may be, however small his rhetoric andhowever ordinary his instruction. For it is the warmth that comes from theliving spirit that clings; whereas the other kind of preacher will producevery little profit, however sublime be his style and his instruction. For,although it is true that a good style and gestures and sublime instructionand well-chosen language influence men and produce much effect when accompaniedby true spirituality, yet without this, although a sermon gives pleasureand delight to the sense and the understanding, very little or nothing ofits sweetness remains in the will. As a rule, in this case, the will remainsas weak and remiss with regard to good works as it was before. Although marvelousthings may have been marvellously said by the preacher, they serve only todelight the ear, like a concert of music or a peal of bells; the spirit,as I say, goes no farther from its habits than before, since the voice hasno virtue to raise one that is dead from his grave.
5. Little does it matterthat one kind of music should sound better than another if the better kindmove me not more than the other to do good works. For, although marvellousthings may have been said, they are at once forgotten if they have not firedthe will. For, not only do they of themselves bear little fruit, but thefastening of the sense upon the pleasure that it finds in that sort ofinstruction hinders the instruction from passing to the spirit, so that onlythe method and the accidents of what has been said are appreciated, and thepreacher is praised for this characteristic or for that, and followed fromsuch motives as these rather than because of the purpose of amendment oflife which he has inspired. This doctrine is well explained to the Corinthiansby Saint Paul, where he says: 'I, brethren, when I came to you, came notpreaching Christ with loftiness of instruction and of wisdom, and my wordsand my preaching consisted not in the rhetoric of human wisdom, but in theshowing forth of the spirit and of the truth.'(697)
6. Although the intentionof the Apostle here, like my own intention, is not to condemn good styleand rhetoric and phraseology, for, on the contrary, these are of great importanceto the preacher, as in everything else, since good phraseology and styleraise up and restore things that are fallen and ruined, even as bad phraseologyruins and destroys good things . . .(698)
"the greatest of all mystical theologians"
Thus has Thomas Merton described St. John of the Cross, echoing the consideredjudgment of most authorities on the spiritual life; and here in this volumeis the great mystic's most widely appealing work. Ascent of Mount Carmelis an incomparable guide to the spiritual life -- because its author haslived his own counsel. Addressed to informed Christians who aspire to growin union with God, it examines every category of spiritual experience, thespurious as well as the authentic. With rare insight into human psychologyit not only tells how to become more closely united with God, but spellsout in vivid detail the pitfalls to avoid. In his Apostolic Letter proclaimingSt. John of the Cross a Doctor of the Church, Pope Pius XI wrote that he"points out to souls the way of perfection as though illumined by light fromon high, in his limpidly clear analysis of mystical experience. And although(his works) deal with difficult and hidden matters, they are neverthelessreplete with such lofty spiritual doctrine and are so well adapted to theunderstanding of those who study them that they can rightly be called a guideand handbook for the man of faith who proposes to embrace a life of perfection."This translation by E. Allison Peers was hailed by the London Times as "themost faithful that has appeared in any European language."
ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS was perhaps the greatest mystical writer the worldhas ever known. Bossuet's famous tribute -- that his writings "possess thesame authority in mystical theology as the writings of St. Thomas possessin dogmatic theology" -- remains the most fitting testimonial to his augustplace among spiritual writers. John was born in Castile in 1542 -- eve ofSpain's century of greatness, to which he himself was to add such lustre.He studied under the Jesuits and worked for six years in a hospital. Enteringthe Carmelites in 1563, he was professed a year later and sent to the greatUniversity of Salamanca. He was ordained in 1567 but, shrinking from theapostolate of a priest in the world, considered entering the Carthusians,a hermitical order. Then came the turning point in his life. He met St. Teresaof Avila, who was pursuing her epic work of restoring the pristine, stricterobservance of the Carmelite rule. John and two other members of the ordertook the vows of the Discalced (or reformed) Carmelites the following year,binding themselves to a more rigorous way of life which included daily (andnightly) recitation of the Divine Office in choir, perpetual abstinence frommeat, and additional fasting. Yet his religious vows were but a part of therigors John was to undergo. The main branch of the order, the Calced Carmelites,so opposed the Reform that they twice had John kidnapped and jailed --providentially, so it proved, for much of his writing was done in prison.The greater part of his twenty-three years as a Discalced Carmelite, however,was spent in filling a number of important posts in the order, among themRector of two colleges, Prior, Definator, and Vicar-Provincial. But it wasin one of his lesser offices that he was to spend the most decisive yearsof his life: he was confessor to the Carmelite nuns at Avila, where St. Teresawas Superior. The secret of St. John's unique contribution to mystical theologywas not simply his mysticism, for there have been other mystics; not evenhis profound grasp of Scripture, dogma, Thomism, and spiritual literature,for there have also been learned mystics. What sets him apart is hisextraordinary poetic vision. To write of mystical experience is to try toexpress the inexpressible. Because he was a great poet St. John of the Crosswas able, in the realm of mysticism, to push the frontiers of human expressionbeyond where any writer has succeeded in venturing before or since. Thispoetic intensity is found even in his prose, the major works of which areAscent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul, Spiritual Canticle, and LivingFlame of Love. St. John of the Cross died in 1591, was beatified less thana century later in 1675, was canonized in 1726, and was named a Doctor ofthe Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926.
Footnotes
(542) Qo 1,14. (543) Qo 5,9. (544) Qo 5,12. (545) Lc 12,20. (546) Ps 48,17-18 (A.V., xlix, 16-17). (547) Mt 16,26.(548) 2 Kings (A.V. 2 Samuel) xiv, 25. (549) Mt 23,15.(550) Qo 2,2. (551) Qo 7,5. (552)Qo 7,4. (553) Qo 7,3. (554) 1Co 7,27.(555) 1Co 7,29-30. (556) (Lit., 'bring it no profit.') (557)(Lit., 'for this is.') (558) (Lit., 'that can be told in this case.') (559)Dt 32,15. (560) Sg 4,12. (561) Ex 23,8 (562)Ex 23,21-2. (563) 1 Kings (A.V., 1 Samuel) xii, 3. (564) Dt 32,15. (565) Is 1,23. (566) Dt 32,15. (567) Lc 16,8. (568) Jr 2,13. (569) ('They have passed into the affectionof the heart.') Ps 72,7 (A.V. lxxiii, 7). (570) Dt 32,15.(571) Col 3,5. (572) Nb 22,7. (573) Ac 8,18-19.(574) Qo 5,11-12. (575) ('He delivered them up to a reprobatesense.') Rm 1,28. (576) Ps 46,17-18 (A.V., xlix, 16-17). (577)Lc 16,10. (578) (The word 'sin' is not in the original of this sentence,which reads 'the small . . . the great . . .' etc.) (579) Ps 61,11 (A.V.,lxii, 10). (580) 2Co 6,10. (581) Mt 19,29. (582) Lc 12,20.(583) Ap 18,7 (584) Pr 31,30. (585) Ps 101,27 (A.V., cii, 26-7). (586) Qo 2,2. (587) Is 3,12.(588) (Lit., 'the great.') (589) Ap 12,4. (590) Lm 4,1-2.(591) Ap 17,3-4. (592) Da 9,27. (593) Jg 16. (594)(Lit., 'since it was through this they fell into the vile abysses.') (595)Pr 23,31-2. (596) (Lit., 'free and clear.') (597) Mt 16,24. (598) Ps 67,5 (A.V., lviii, 4-5). (599) Sg 1,5
(600) Isaias lxiv, 4; 1 Corinthians ii, 9. (601) (Lit., 'that is not inrenunciation . . .') (602) Lc 16,19. (603) (Lit., 'to the quantity.')(604) (Lit., 'and gain continually.') (605) . (606) 1Co 2,9-14. (607) Mt 19,29. (608) Jn 3,6 (609) 2Co 4,17.(610) (Lit., politica, the 'political' virtue of Aristotleand St. Thomas -- i.e., the 'social,' as opposed to the 'moral,' 'intellectual'and 'theological' virtues. P. Silverio glosses the word as meaning 'goodgovernment in the commonweal, courtesy and other social virtues.') (611)Sg 7,22. (612) 3 Kings (A.V. 1 Kings) iii, 11-13. (613) Lc 18,11-12. (614) Lc 18,11. (615) Mt 28,5. (616) Mt 6,2. (617) (Lit., 'are adoring.') (618) (Lit., 'to present their alms orthat which they do.') (619) Mt 6,2. (620) Mt 6,3. (621)Jb 31,27-8. (622) Qo 10,1. (623) Mi 7,3. (624) Jb 40,16 (A.V., xl, 21). (625) Jr 49,16. E.p. adds the translation:'Thy arrogance hath deceived thee.' (626) (Lit., 'will not give place tothe weight of reason.') (627) Lc 8,12. (628) Mt 5,3.(629) 1Co 12,9-10. (630) 1Co 12,7. (631) (Lit., 'givethanks and gifts to God.') (632) (traspasar: lit., 'go over,' 'go through.')(633) 1Co 13,1-2. (634) Mt 7,22-3. (635) Lc 10,20. (636) Nb 22,22-3. (637) Lc 9,54-5. (638) Jr 23,21. (639) Jr 23,32. (640) Jr 23,26. (641) (Lit.,'the awful Body.') (642) Ac 4,29-30. (643) 1 Kings (A.V., 1 Samuel) xxviii,7, ff. (644) 'Nec fides habet meritum cui humana ratio praebet experimentum.'St. Gregory, Hom. 26 in Evang. (Migne, Vol. LXXVI, p. 1,137).(645) (Lc 24,6 Jn 20,2) (646) (Rm 10,17) (647) (Jn 20,15). (648) Lc 24,15. (649) (Lc 24,25) (650) Jn 20,29. (651) Jn 4,48. (652) Lc 10,20. (653) Ps 43,7(A.V., lxiv, 6-7). (654) Ps 44,11 (A.V., xlvi, 10).(655) Ps 62,3 (A.V., lxii, 1-2). (656) (Lit., 'thing.') (657) (In spite of this promise,the Saint does not return to this subject at such length as his languagehere would suggest.) (658) Jg 18,22-4. (659) Gn 31,34-7.(660) (In this and the next paragraph the Saint is more than usually personalin his approach to the reader. The word tu(you) is repeated many times, andplaced in emphatic positions, in a way which cannot be exactly reproducedin English.) (661) (Lit., 'awakens.' Cf. the use of the same metaphor below.)(662) Lc 4,24. (Rather Mt 13,58 Mc 6,5) (663)(Again the Saint begins, repeatedly and emphatically, to employ the pronountu. Cf. Bk. III, chap. xxxvi, Sect. 7, above.) (664) Mt 21,9(Cf. Lc 19,41) (665) Ex 32,7-28. (666) Lv 10,1-2.(667) Mt 22,12-13. (668) Mt 15,8 (Lit., 'they serveMe without cause.') (669) (Lit., 'that spin more finely' -- a common Spanishmetaphor.) (670) (Lit., 'their palate.') (671) Jn 4,23-4. (672) 1Co 3,16.(673) Jn 4,24. (674) E.p. omits: 'namely, SaintSimon.' The allusion is, of course, to Saint Simon Stylites. (675) Gn 12,8 Gn 13,4. (676) Gn 26,13-19 (677) Gn 16,13 (678)Ex 24,12. (679) Gn 22,2. (680) 3 Kings (A.V., 1Kings) xix, 8. (681) With the last word of this chapter, which is also thelast word of the page in Alc., the copy of P. Juan Evangelista comes to anend. The remainder of Alc. comes from another very early copy which, in thetime of P. Andres, existed at Duruelo (cf. Outline of the Life of St.Johnof the Cross, above). (682) Mt 6,33 (683) Ps 143,18 (A.V.,cxlv, 18). (684) Ps 143,19-20 (A.V., cxlv, 19-20). (685) 2 Paralipomenon(A.V., 2 Chronicles) i, 11-12. (686) Gn 21,13. (687) Lc 11,1-4 (688) Lc 18,1 (689) Mt 36,39 (690) Mt 6,6 (691) Jdt 8,11-12. (692) Ps 64,34 (A.V., lxviii, 33).(693) Ac 19,15 (694) Mc 9,38. (695) Rm 2,21. (696) Ps 44,16-17 (A.V., l, 16-17). (697) 1Co 2,1-4 (698) E.p. adds: 'End of the Ascent of Mount Carmel.' The treatise thus remains incomplete,the chapter on the preacher being unfinished and no part of any chapter uponthe hearer having come down to us. Further, the last two divisions of thefour mentioned in Chap. xxxv, Sect. 1 are not treated in any of the MSS.or early editions. The fragments which P. Gerardo (Obras, etc., I, 402-10)added to the Ascent, forming two chapters, cannot be considered as a continuationof this book. They are in reality a long and admirable letter (Letter XIin The Complete Works of John of the Cross: Vol. III, p. 255), written to a religious, who was one of the Saint's spiritual sons, and copied byP. Jeronimo de San Jose in his History of John of the Cross (Bk. VI,Chap. vii). There is not the slightest doubt that the letter which was writtenat Segovia, and is fully dated, is a genuine letter, and not an editor'smaltreatment of part of a treatise. Only the similarity of its subject withthat of these last chapters is responsible for its having been added to theAscent. It is hard to see how P. Gerardo could have been misled about a matterwhich is so clear. (This question was re-opened, in 1950, by P. Sobrino (seeVol. III, p. 240), who adds TG and a codex belonging to the Discalced CarmeliteFathers of Madrid to the list of the MSS. which give the fragments as partof the Ascent, making six authorities in all, against which can be set onlythe proved and admitted reliability of P. Jeronimo de San Jose. P. Sobrino,who discusses the matter (Estudios, etc., pp. 166-93) in great detail, hazardsa plausible and attractive solution, which he reinforces with substantialevidence -- that of a 'double redaction.' According to this theory, the Saint,in writing to the religious of Letter XI, made use, for the substance ofhis instruction, of two fragments which were to have gone into the Ascent.Considering how often in his writings he doubled passages, to say nothingof whole works, it is quite understandable that he should have utilized twouninco rporated, and indeed unfinished, passages for a private letter.)
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