John, Ascent Carmel 3 1
1 THE first faculty of the soul, which is the understanding, has now beeninstructed, through all its apprehensions, in the first theological virtue,which is faith, to the end that, according to this faculty, the soul maybe united with God by means of the purity of faith. It now remains to dolikewise with respect to the other two faculties of the soul, which are memoryand will, and to purify them likewise with respect to their apprehensions,to the end that, according to these two faculties also, the soul may cometo union with God in perfect hope and charity. This will briefly be effectedin this third book. We have now concluded our treatment of the understanding,which is the receptacle of all other objects according to its mode of operation;and in treating of this we have gone a great part of the whole way. It istherefore unnecessary for us to write at equal length with respect to thesefaculties; for it is not possible that, if the spiritual man instructs hisunderstanding in faith according to the doctrine which has been given him,he should not, in so doing, instruct the other two faculties in the othertwo virtues likewise; for the operations of each faculty depend upon theothers.
2. But since, in order to follow our manner of procedure, and inorder, too, that we may be the better understood, we must necessarily speakof the proper and determinate matter, we shall here be obliged to set downthe apprehensions proper to each faculty, and first, those of the memory,making here such distinction between them as suffices for our purpose. Thiswe shall be able to deduce from the distinction between their objects, whichare three: natural, imaginary and spiritual; according to which there arelikewise three kinds of knowledge which come from the memory, namely: naturaland supernatural,(480) imaginary and spiritual. 3. All these, by the Divinefavour, we shall treat here in due course, beginning with natural knowledge,which pertains to the most exterior objects. And we shall then treat of theaffections of the will, wherewith we shall conclude this third book of theactive spiritual night.
Which treats of the natural apprehensions of the memory and describes howthe soul must be voided of them in order to be able to attain to union withGod according to this faculty.
1 IT is necessary that, in each of these books, the reader should bear in mindthe purpose of which we are speaking. For otherwise there may arise withinhim many such questions with respect to what he is reading as might by thistime be occurring to him with respect to what we have said of the understanding,and shall say now of the memory, and afterwards shall say of the will. For,seeing how we annihilate the faculties with respect to their operations,it may perhaps seem to him that we are destroying the road of spiritual practicerather than constructing it.
2. This would be true if we were seeking hereonly to instruct beginners, who are best prepared through these apprehensibleand discursive apprehensions. But, since we are here giving instruction tothose who would progress farther in contemplation, even to union with God,to which end all of these means and exercises of sense concerning the facultiesmust recede into the background, and be put to silence, to the end that Godmay of His own accord work Divine union in the soul, it is necessary to proceedby this method of disencumbering and emptying the soul, and causing it toreject the natural jurisdiction and operations of the faculties, so thatthey may become capable of infusion and illumination from supernatural sources;for their capacity cannot attain to so lofty an experience, but will ratherhinder it, if it be not disregarded.
3. And thus, if it be true, as it is,that the soul must proceed in its growing knowledge of God by learning thatwhich He is not rather than that which He is, in order to come to Him, itmust proceed by renouncing and rejecting, to the very uttermost, everythingin its apprehensions that it is possible to renounce, whether this be naturalor supernatural. We shall proceed with this end in view with regard to thememory, drawing it out from its natural state and limitations, and causingit to rise above itself -- that is, above all distinct knowledge andapprehensible possession -- to the supreme hope of God, Who is incomprehensible.
4. Beginning, then, with natural knowledge, I say that natural knowledgein the memory consists of all the kinds of knowledge that the memory canform concerning the objects of the five bodily senses -- namely: hearing,sight, smell, taste and touch -- and all kinds of knowledge of this typewhich it is possible to form and fashion. Of all these forms and kinds ofknowledge the soul must strip and void itself, and it must strive to losethe imaginary apprehension of them, so that there may be left in it no kindof impression of knowledge, nor trace of aught soever, but rather the soulmust remain barren and bare, as if these forms had never passed through it,and in total oblivion and suspension. And this cannot happen unless the memorybe annihilated as to all its forms, if it is to be united with God. For itcannot happen save by total separation from all forms which are not God;for God comes beneath no definite form or kind of knowledge whatsoever, aswe have said in treating of the night of the understanding. And since, asChrist says, no man can serve two masters,(481) the memory cannot be unitedboth with God and with forms and distinct kinds of knowledge and, as Godhas no form or image that can be comprehended by the memory, it follows that,when the memory is united with God (as is seen, too, every day by experience),it remains without form and without figure, its imagination being lost anditself being absorbed in a supreme good, and in a great oblivion, rememberingnothing. For that Divine union voids its fancy and sweeps it clean of allforms and kinds of knowledge and raises it to the supernatural.
5. Now theresometimes comes to pass here a notable thing; for occasionally, when Godbrings about these touches of union in the memory, the brain (where memoryhas its seat) is so perceptibly upset that it seems as if it becomes quiteinert, and its judgment and sense are lost. This is sometimes more perceptibleand sometimes less so, according to the strength of this touch, and then,by reason of this union, the memory is voided and purged, as I say, of allkinds of knowledge. It remains in oblivion -- at times in complete oblivion-- so that it has to put forth a great effort and to labour greatly in orderto remember anything.
6. And sometimes this oblivion of the memory and suspensionof the imagination reach such a point, because of the union of the memorywith God, that a long time passes without the soul's perceiving it, or knowingwhat has taken place during that period. And, as the imaginative facultyis then in suspension, it feels naught that is done to it, not even thingsthat cause pain; for without imagination there is no feeling, not even comingthrough thought, since this exists not. And, to the end that God may bringabout these touches of union, the soul must needs withdraw its memory fromall apprehensible kinds of knowledge. And it is to be noted that thesesuspensions come not to pass in those that are already perfect, since theyhave attained to perfect union, and these suspensions belong to the beginningsof union.
7. Someone will remark that all this seems very well, but thatit leads to the destruction of the natural use and course of the faculties,and reduces man to the state of a beast -- a state of oblivion and even worse-- since he becomes incapable of reasoning or of remembering his naturalfunctions and necessities. It will be argued that God destroys not nature,but rather perfects it; and that from this teaching there necessarily followsits destruction, when that which pertains to morality and reason is not practisedand is forgotten, neither is that which is natural practised; for (it willbe said) none of these things can be remembered, as the soul is deprivedof forms and kinds of knowledge which are the means of remembrance.
8. To this I reply that, the more nearly the memory attains to union with God,the more do distinct kinds of knowledge become perfected within it, untilit loses them entirely -- namely, when it attains to the state of union inperfection. And thus, at the beginning, when this is first taking place,the soul cannot but fall into great oblivion with respect to all things,since forms and kinds of knowledge are being erased from it; and thereforeit is very negligent concerning its outward behaviour and usage -- forgettingto eat or drink, and being uncertain if it has done this or no, if it hasseen this or no, if it has said this or no -- because of the absorption ofthe memory in God. But when once it attains to the habit of union, whichis a supreme blessing, it no longer has these periods of oblivion, afterthis manner, in that which pertains to natural and moral reason; actionswhich are seemly and necessary, indeed, it performs with a much greater degreeof pection, although it performs them no longer by means of forms and mannersof knowledge pertaining to the memory. For, when it has the habit of union,which is a supernatural state, memory and the other faculties fail it completelyin their natural functions, and pass beyond their natural limitations, evento God, Who is supernatural. And thus, when the memory is transformed inGod, it cannot receive impressions of forms or kinds of knowledge. Whereforethe functions of the memory and of the other faculties in this stat e areall Divine; for, when at last God possesses the faculties and has becomethe entire master of them, through their transformation into Himself, itis He Himself Who moves and commands them divinely, according to His DivineSpirit and will; and the result of this is that the operations of the soulare not distinct, but all that it does is of God, and its operations areDivine, so that, even as Saint Paul says, he that is joined unto God becomesone spirit with Him.(482)
9. Hence it comes to pass that the operations ofthe soul in union are of the Divine Spirit and are Divine. And hence it comesthat the actions of such souls are only those that are seemly and reasonable,and not those that are ill-beseeming. For the Spirit of God teaches themthat which they ought to know, and causes them to be ignorant of that whichit behoves them not to know, and to remember that which they have to remember,with or without forms, and to forget that which they should forget; and itmakes them love that which they have to love, and not to love that whichis not in God. And thus, all the first motions of the faculties of such soulsare Divine and it is not to be wondered at that the motions and operationsof these faculties should be Divine, since they are transformed in the DivineBeing.(483)
10. Of these operations I will give a few examples. Let this be one. A person asks another who is in this state to commend him to God.This person will not remember to do so by means of any form or kind of knowledgethat remains in his memory concerning that other person; if it be right thathe should recommend him to God (which will be if God desires to receive aprayer for that person), He will move his will and give him a desire to prayfor him; and if God desires not such prayer, that other person will not beable nor will desire to pray,' though he make great efforts to do so; andat times God will cause him to pray for others of whom he has no knowledgenor has ever heard. And this is because, as I have said, God alone movesthe faculties of these souls to do those works which are meet, accordingto the will and ordinance of God, and they cannot be moved to do others;and thus the works and prayers of these souls are always effectual. Suchwere those of the most glorious Virgin Our Lady, who, being raised to thishigh estate from the beginning, had never the form of any creature imprintedin her soul, neither was moved by such, but was invariably guided by theHoly Spirit.
11. Another example. At a certain time a person in this statehas to attend to some necessary business. He will remember it by no kindof form, but, without his knowing how, it will come to his soul, at the timeand in the manner that it ought to come, and that without fail.
12. And not only in these things does the Holy Spirit give such persons light, but alsoin many others, relating both to the present and to the future, and even,in many cases, as regards those absent from them; and although at times thiscomes to pass through intellectual forms, it frequently happens without theintervention of any forms that can be apprehended, so that these personsknow not how they know. But this comes to them from the Divine Wisdom; for,since these souls exercise themselves in knowing and apprehending nothingwith the faculties, they come in general, as we have said in the Mount,(484)to know everything, according to that which the Wise Man says: 'The workerof all things, who is Wisdom, taught me all things.'(485)
13. You will say,perhaps, that the soul will be unable to void and deprive its memory of allforms and fancies to such an extent as to be able to attain to so lofty astate; for there are two things so difficult that their accomplishment surpasseshuman ability and strength, namely, to throw off with one's natural powersthat which is natural, which is hard enough,(486) and to attain and be unitedto the supernatural, which is much more difficult -- indeed, to speak thetruth, is impossible with natural ability alone. The truth, I repeat, isthat God must place the soul in this supernatural state; but the soul, asfar as in it lies, must be continually preparing itself; and this it cando by natural means, especially with the help that God is continually givingit. And thus, as the soul, for its own part, enters into this renunciationand self-emptying of forms, so God begins to give it the possession of union;and this God works passively in the soul, as we shall say, Deo dante, whenwe treat of the passive night of the soul. And thus, when it shall pleaseGod, and according to the manner of the soul's preparation, He will grantit the habit of perfect and Divine union.
14. And the Divine effects which God produces in the soul when He has granted it this habit, both as to theunderstanding and as to the memory and will, we shall not describe in thisaccount of the soul's active purgation and night, for this alone will notbring the soul to Divine union. We shall speak of these effects, however,in treating of the passive night, by means of which is brought about theunion of the soul with God.(487) And so I shall speak here only of the necessarymeans whereby the memory may place itself actively in this night and purgation,as far as lies in its power. And these means are that the spiritual man musthabitually exercise caution, after this manner. All the things that he hears,sees, smells, tastes, or touches, he must be careful not to store up or collectin his memory, but he must allow himself to forget them immediately, andthis he must accomplish, if need be, with the same efficacy as that withwhich others contrive to remember them, so that there remains in his memoryno knowledge or image of them whatsoever. It must be with him as if theyexisted not in the world, and his memory must be left free and disencumberedof them, and be tied to no consideration, whether from above or from below;as if he had no faculty of memory; he must freely allow everything to fallinto oblivion as though all things were a hindrance to him; and in facteverything that is natural, if one attempt to make use of it in supernaturalmatters, is a hindrance rather than a help.
15. And if those questions and objections which arose above with respect to the understanding should alsoarise here (the objections, that is to say, that the soul is doing nothing,is wasting its time and is depriving itself of spiritual blessings whichit might well receive through the memory), the answer to this has alreadybeen given, and will be given again farther on, in our treatment of the passivenight; wherefore there is no need for us to dwell upon it here. It is needfulonly to observe that, although at certain times the benefit of this suspensionof forms and of all knowledge may not be realized, the spiritual man mustnot for that reason grow weary, for in His own time God will not fail tosuccour him. To attain so great a blessing it behoves the soul to enduremuch and to suffer with patience and hope.
16. And, although it is true thathardly any soul will be found that is moved by God in all things and at alltimes, and has such continual union with God that, without the mediationof any form, its faculties are ever moved divinely, there are neverthelesssouls who in their operations are very habitually moved by God, and theseare not they that are moved of themselves, for, as Saint Paul says, the sonsof God who are transformed and united in God, are moved by the Spirit ofGod,(488) that is, are moved to perform Divine work in their faculties. Andit is no marvel that their operations should be Divine, since the union ofthe soul is Divine.
Wherein are described three kinds of evil which come to the soul when itenters not into darkness with respect to knowledge and reflections in thememory. Herein is described the first.
1 TO three kinds of evil and inconvenience the spiritual man is subject whenhe persists in desiring to make use of all natural knowledge and reflectionsof the memory in order to journey toward God, or for any other purpose: twoof these are positive and one is privative. The first comes from things ofthe world; the second, from the devil; the third, which is privative, isthe impediment and hindrance to Divine union caused and effected in the soul.
2. The first evil, which comes from the world, consists in the subjectionof the soul, through knowledge and reflection, to many kinds of harm, suchas falsehoods, imperfections, desires, opinions, loss of time, and many otherthings which breed many kinds of impurity in the soul. And it is clear thatthe soul must of necessity fall into many perils of falsehood, when it admitsknowledge and reasoning; for oftentimes that which is true must appear false,and that which is certain, doubtful; and contrariwise; for there is scarcelya single truth of which we can have complete knowledge. From all these thingsthe soul is free if the memory enters into darkness with respect to everykind of reflection and knowledge.
3. Imperfections meet the soul at everystep if it sets its memory upon that which it has heard, seen, touched, smeltand tasted; for there must then perforce cling to it some affection, whetherthis be of pain, of fear, of hatred, of vain hope, vain enjoyment, vainglory,etc.; for all these are, at the least, imperfections, and at times aredownright(489) venial sins; and they leave much impurity most subtly in thesoul, even though the reflections and the knowledge have relation to God.And it is also clear that they engender desires within the soul, for thesearise naturally from the knowledge and reflections aforementioned, and ifone wishes only to have this knowledge and these reflections, even that isa desire. And it is clearly seen that many occasions of judging others willcome likewise; for, in using its memory, the soul cannot fail to come uponthat which is good and bad in others, and, in such a case, that which isevil oftentimes seems good, and that which is good, evil. I believe thereis none who can completely free himself from all these kinds of evil, saveby blinding his memory and leading it into darkness with regard to all thesethings.
4. And if you tell me that a man is well able to conquer all thesethings when they come to him, I reply that, if he sets store by knowledge,this is simply and utterly impossible; for countless imperfections and folliesinsinuate themselves into such knowledge, some of which are so subtle andminute that, without the soul's realization thereof, they cling to it oftheir own accord, even as pitch clings to the man that touches it; so thatit is better to conquer once for all by denying the memory completely. Youwill say likewise that by so doing the soul deprives itself of many goodthoughts and meditations upon God, which are of great profit to it and wherebyGod grants it favours. I reply that to this end purity of soul is of thegreatest profit, which means that there clings to the soul no creature affection,or temporal affection, or effective advertence; which I believe cannot butcling to the soul because of the imperfection which the faculties have intheir own operations. Wherefore it is best to learn to silence the facultiesand to cause them to be still, so that God may speak. For, as we have said,in order to attain to this state the natural operations must be completelydisregarded, and this happens, as the Prophet says, when the soul comes intosolitude, according to these its faculties, and God speaks to its heart.(490)
5. And if you again reply, saying that the soul will have no blessing unlessit meditates upon God and allows its memory to reflect upon Him, and thatmany distractions and negligences will continually enter it, I say that itis impossible, if the memory be recollected with regard both to things ofthe next life and to things here below, that evils or distractions shouldenter it, nor any other follies or vices (the which things always enter whenthe memory wanders), since there is no exit or entrance for them. This wouldcome to pass if, when we had shut the door upon considerations and reflectionsconcerning things above, we opened it to things below; but in this statewe shut the door to all things whence distraction may come,(491) causingthe memory to be still and dumb, and the ear of the spirit to be attentive,in silence, to God alone, saying with the Prophet: 'Speak, Lord, for Thyservant heareth.'(492) It was thus that the Spouse in the Songs said thathis Bride should be, in these words: 'My sister is a garden enclosed anda fountain sealed up'(493) -- that is to say, enclosed and sealed up againstall things that may enter.
6. Let the soul, then, remain 'enclosed,' withoutanxieties and troubles, and He that entered in bodily form to His discipleswhen the doors were shut, and gave them peace,(494) though they neither knewnor thought that this was possible nor knew how it was possible, will enterspiritually into the soul, without its knowing how He does so, when the doorsof its faculties -- memory, understanding and will -- are enclosed againstall apprehensions. And He will fill them with peace, coming down upon thesoul, as the prophet says, like a river of peace,(495) and taking it fromall the misgivings and suspicions, disturbances and darknesses which causedit to fear that it was lost or was on the way to being so. Let it not growcareless about prayer, and let it wait in detachment and emptiness, for itsblessings will not tarry.
Which treats of the second kind of evil that may come to the soul from thedevil by way of the natural apprehensions of the memory.
1 THE second positive evil that may come to the soul by means of the knowledgeof the memory proceeds from the devil, who by this means obtains great influenceover it. For he can continually bring it new forms, kinds of knowledge andreflections, by means whereof he can taint the soul with pride, avarice,wrath, envy, etc., and cause it unjust hatred, or vain love, and deceiveit in many ways. And besides this, he is wont to leave impressions,(496)and to implant them in the fancy, in such wise that those that are falseappear true, and those that are true, false, And finally all the worst deceptionswhich are caused by the devil, and the evils that he brings to the soul,enter by way of knowledge and reflections of the memory, Thus if the memoryenter into darkness with respect to them all, and be annihilated in its oblivionto them, it shuts the door altogether upon this evil which proceeds fromthe devil, and frees itself from all these things, which is a great blessing.For the devil has no power over the soul unless it be through the operationsof its faculties, principally by means of knowledge, whereupon depend almostall the other operations of the other faculties. Wherefore, if the memorybe annihilated with respect to them, the devil can do naught; for he findsno foothold, and without a foothold he is powerless.(497)
2. I would that spiritual persons might clearly see how many kinds of harm are wrought byevil spirits in their souls by means of the memory, when they devote themselvesfrequently to making use of it, and how many kinds of sadness and afflictionand vain and evil joys they have, both with respect to their thoughts aboutGod, and also with respect to the things of the world; and how many impuritiesare left rooted in their spirits; and likewise how greatly they are distractedfrom the highest recollection, which consists in the fixing of the wholesoul, according to its faculties, upon the one incomprehensible Good, andin withdrawing it from all things that can be apprehended, since these arenot incomprehensible Good. This is a great good (although less good resultsfrom this emptiness than from the soul's fixing itself upon God), simplybecause it is the cause whereby the soul frees itself from any griefs andafflictions and sorrows, over and above the imperfections and sins from whichit is freed.
Of the third evil which comes to the soul by way of the distinct naturalknowledge or the memory.
1 THE third evil which comes to the soul through the natural apprehensionsof the memory is privative; for these apprehensions can hinder moral goodand deprive us of spiritual good. And, in order that we may first of allexplain how these apprehensions hinder moral good in the soul, it must beknown that moral good consists in the restraining of the passions and thecurbing of disorderly desires, from which restraint there come to the soultranquillity, peace and rest, and moral virtues, all of which things aremoral good. This restraining and curbing of the passions cannot be trulyaccomplished by the soul that forgets not and withdraws not itself from thingspertaining to itself, whence arise the affections; and no disturbances everarise in the soul save through the apprehensions of the memory. For, whenall things are forgotten, there is naught that can disturb peace or thatmoves the desires; since, as they say, that which the eye sees not the heartdesires not.
2. This we are constantly learning by experience; for we observethat, whenever the soul begins to think of any matter, it is moved and disturbed,either much or little, with respect to that thing, according to the natureof its apprehension. If it be a troublesome and grievous matter, the soulfinds sadness in it; if pleasant, desire and joy, and so forth. Whereforethe result of the changing of that apprehension is necessarily disturbance;and thus the soul is now joyful, now sad; now it hates, now loves; and itcannot continue in one and the same attitude (which is an effect of moraltranquillity save when it strives to forget all things. It is clear, then,that knowledge greatly hinders the good of the moral virtues in the soul.
3. Again, what has been said clearly proves that an encumbered memory alsohinders spiritual good; for the soul that is disturbed, and has no foundationof moral good, is to that extent incapable of spiritual good, which impressesitself only upon souls that are restrained and at peace. And besides this,if the soul pays attention and heed to the apprehensions of the memory --seeing that it can attend to but one thing at a time -- and busies itselfwith things that can be apprehended, such as the knowledge of the memory,it is not possible for it to be free to attend to the incomprehensible, whichis God. For, in order to approach God, the soul must proceed by not comprehendingrather than by comprehending; it must exchange the mutable and comprehensiblefor the immutable and incomprehensible.
Of the benefits which come to the soul from forgetfulness and emptiness ofall thoughts and knowledge which it may have in a natural way with respectto the memory.
1 FROM the evils which, as we have said, come to the soul through the apprehensionsof the memory, we can likewise infer the benefits which are contrary to themand come to the soul as a result of its forgetting them and emptying itselfof them. For, as natural philosophy puts it, the same doctrine which servesfor one thing serves likewise for the contrary. In the first place, the soulenjoys tranquillity and peace of mind, since it is freed from the disturbanceand the changeableness which arise from thoughts and ideas of the memory,and consequently, which is more important, it enjoys purity of conscienceand soul. And herein the soul has ample preparation for the acquiring ofDivine and human wisdom, and of the virtues.
2. In the second place, it isfreed from many suggestions, temptations and motions of the devil, whichhe infuses into the soul by means of thoughts and ideas, causing it to fallinto many impurities and sins, as David says in these words: 'They have thoughtand spoken wicke dness.'(498) And thus, when these thoughts have been completelyremoved, the devil has naught wherewith to assault the soul by natural means.
3. In the third place, the soul has within itself, through this recollectionof itself and this forgetfulness as to all things, a preparedness to be movedby the Holy Spirit and taught by Him, for, as the Wise Man says, He removesHimself from thoughts that are without understanding.(499) Even if a manreceived no other benefit from this forgetfulness and emptiness of the memorythan being freed thereby from troubles and disturbances, it would be a greatgain and good for him. For the troubles and storms which adverse things andhappenings arouse in the soul are of no use or help for bringing peace andcalm;(500) indeed, as a rule, they make things worse and also harm the soulitself. Wherefore David said: 'Of a truth every man is disquieted in vain.'(501)For it is clear that to disquiet oneself is always vain since it brings profitto none. And thus, even if everything came to an end and were destroyed,and if all things went wrong and turned to adversity, it would be vain todisturb oneself; for such disturbance hurts a man rather than relieves him.Whereas to bear everything with equable and peaceful tranquillity not onlybrings the soul the profit of many blessings, but likewise causes it, evenin the midst of its adversities, to form a truer judgment about them andto find a fitting remedy.
4. For this reason Solomon, being well acquaintedboth with the evil and with the benefit of which we are speaking, said: 'Iknew that there was naught better for man than to rejoice and to do goodin his life.'(502) By this he meant that, in everything that happens to us,howsoever adverse it be, we should rejoice rather than be disturbed, so thatwe may not lose a blessing which is greater than any kind of prosperity --namely, tranquillity and peace of mind in all things, which, whether theybring adversity or prosperity, we must bear in the same manner. This a manwould never lose if he were not only to forget all kinds of knowledge andput aside all thoughts, but would even withdraw himself from hearing, sightand commerce with others, in so far as was possible for him. Our nature isso frail and unstable that, however well it be disciplined, it will hardlyfail to stumble upon the remembrance of things which will disturb and changea mind that was in peace and tranquillity when it remembered them not. Forthis cause said Jeremias: 'With memory I will remember, and my soul willfail me for pain.'(503)
John, Ascent Carmel 3 1