Of the hurt and hindrance resulting from intellectual apprehensions supernaturally produced through the instrumentality of the exterior senses. How the soul is to be guided under such circumstances.

The first notions, mentioned in the foregoing chapter, are those which relate to the intellect in the order of nature. I shall not-speak of them now, because I have discussed them in the first book, while showing how the soul is to be led into the night of sense, where I have given fitting directions concerning them. And therefore the subject of the present

chapter will be those notions and apprehensions which relate to the intellect solely in the supernatural order, in the way of the outward bodily senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching. With respect to these, spiritual men are occasionally liable to representations and objects, set before them in a supernatural way. They sometimes see the forms and figures of those of another life, Saints, or Angels good and evil, or certain extraordinary lights and brightness. They hear strange words, sometimes seeing those who utter them, and sometimes not. They have a sensible perception at times of most sweet odours, without knowing whence they proceed. Their sense of taste is also deliciously affected; and that of the touch so sweetly caressed at times that the bones and the marrow exult and rejoice, bathed, as it were, in joy. This delight is like to that which we call the Union of the Spirit, flowing from Him through all the senses of simple souls. And this sensible sweetness is wont to affect spiritual persons, because of that sensible devotion, more or less, which they feel, every one in his own measure.

Still, though the bodily senses may be thus affected in the way of God, we must never rely on these emotions, nor encourage them; yea, rather we must fly from them, without examining whether they be good or evil. For, inasmuch as they are exterior and in the body, there is the less certainty of their being from God. It is more natural that God should communicate Himself through the spirit — wherein there is greater security and profit for the soul — than through the senses, wherein there is usually much danger and delusion, because the bodily sense decides upon, and judges, spiritual things, thinking them to be what itself feels them to be, when in reality they are as different as body and soul, sensuality and reason. The bodily sense is as ignorant of spiritual things, as a beast of the field is of the

things of reason. He who makes much of these emotions mistakes his way, and exposes himself to the great danger of delusions; and, at least, places a great obstacle on his road to true spirituality. For all these bodily sensations bear no proportion to spiritual things.

There is always ground for fear that these proceed from the devil rather than from God; for the devil has more influence in that which is exterior and corporeal, and can more easily deceive us therein than in what is more interior. And these bodily forms and objects, the more exterior they are, the less do they profit the interior spiritual man, by reason of the great distance and disproportion subsisting between the corporeal and the spiritual. For, although these things communicate some spirituality, as is always the case when they proceed from God, yet it is much less than it would have been, had they been more spiritual and interior; and thus they become more easily and readily occasions of error, presumption, and vanity. As they are so palpable and so material they excite the senses greatly, and the soul is led to consider them the more important, the more they are felt. It runs after them and abandons the secure guidance of Faith, thinking that the light they give is a guide and means to that which it desires, union with God. Thus the soul, the more it makes of such things, the more it strays from the perfect way and means, that is, Faith. Besides, when the soul perceives itself subject to these extraordinary visitations, self-esteem very frequently enters in, and it thinks itself to be something in the eyes of God, which is contrary to humility. The devil also knows too well how to insinuate into the soul a secret, and sometimes an open, self-satisfaction. For this end he frequently presents to the eyes the forms of Saints, and most beautiful lights; he causes voices well dissembled to strike the ear, and delicious odours the smell; he produces sweetness in the mouth, and thrills of pleasure in the sense of touch;

and all to make us long for such things that he may lead us astray into many evils.

For this reason, then, we must always reject and disregard these representations and sensations. For even if some of

them were from God, no wrong is offered to Him, because

the effect and fruit, which He desires to bring forth in the soul, is not the less accomplished when that soul rejects them and seeks them not. The reason is this: all corporeal visions or emotions of the senses—the same is true of all other interior communications — if from God, effect their chief object at the moment of their presence, before the soul has time to deliberate whether it shall entertain or reject them. For as God begins them in a supernatural way without effort on the part of the soul, and without respect to any capacity for them; so the effect, which He desires to produce by means of them, is wrought without reference to any effort or capacity of the soul; for it is perfected and brought to pass in the spirit passively without its free consent, and therefore does not depend on the will in any way. It is as if a person quite naked came into contact with fire: it matters not whether he wills to be burned or not, the fire necessarily performs its own proper functions.

This is the case with good visions and apparitions: even if the soul wills it not, they produce their effects, chiefly and specially in the soul rather than in the body. So also the visions, which are the work of the devil — without the consent of the soul — bring forth trouble or dryness of spirit, vanity, or presumption, although they are not so effectual for evil, as the visions of God are for good. Diabolic visions do not proceed beyond the primary motions, neither can they influence the will, provided it seeks them not; and the disquiet which they occasion does not last long, unless the soul be negligent and irresolute when they occur. But the visions of God penetrate into the inmost parts of the soul,

and produce their effects, a quickened zeal and overpowering joy, which enable and dispose it to assent freely and lovingly to good. Still, even when these outward visions and impressions come from God, if the soul cleaves to them and accepts them readily, six inconveniences follow.

1. The perfect guidance of faith is lessened; because the experience of sense derogates from faith; for faith, as I have said, surpasseth all sense, and thus the soul, by not closing its eyes against every object of sense, turns away from the means of union with God.

2. They are hindrances in the way of the spirit, if they are not rejected; for the soul rests upon them, and does not regard the invisible. This, too, was one of those causes, of which our Lord spoke to His disciples, that it was expedient for them that He should go away that the Spirit might come. Neither did He permit Mary Magdalene to

‘kiss His feet, after His resurrection, that she, as well as the

disciples in the former case, might be the more grounded in faith.

3. The soul clings selfishly to them, and does not advance to true resignation and detachment of spirit.

4. The soul loses the good effect of them and the interior spirit they produce, because it has regard to the sensible part of them, which is the least important. Thus the spirit, which is the proper fruit, is not so abundantly received; because it is most deeply impressed in the soul when we deny ourselves in all things of sense, as they are most at variance with the pure spirit.

5. The soul loses the gifts of God, because it assumes them for its own, and does not profit rightly by them. To assume them for our own and not to profit by them, is to seek them and to occupy ourselves with them. God does not send them for this end; neither should we easily believe that they come from God.

6. The ready admission of them opens the door to the devil, that he may deceive us by others like them; he knows well how to dissemble and disguise his own visions so that they shall seem to be good; for Satan transformeth himself ‘into an angel of light.’* I shall treat this question hereafter, by the grace of God, when I come to describe spiritual gluttony in the first book of the Obscure Night.

It is therefore expedient that the soul should close its eyes and reject them, come they whence they may. For

unless we do so we shall make way for those of the devil, and give him so much power over us, that not only will the evil visions come in the place of those which are Divine, but, when the latter cease, they will also become so numerous, that the devil will have every influence over us, and God none, as it has happened to many incautious and ignorant souls. They so relied on their visions, that many of them had great difficulty in returning to God in pureness of faith, and many never returned at all; so widely and so deeply had the roots of the devil grown within them. For this reason it is good to shut our eyes against these visions and to fear them all. By withdrawing from the evil visions we escape the delusions of the devil; and by withdrawing from those which are good we put no obstacles in the way of faith, and the

spirit still derives fruit from them.

When the soul gives admission readily to these visions God withholds them, because it cleaves to them and does not duly profit by them; the devil also insinuates himself and multiplies his own visions, because the soul makes room for them. But when the soul is resigned and not attached to such visions the devil retires, seeing that he cannot injure us then; and, on the other hand, God multiplies His graces in the humble and detached soul, placing it over many

* 2 Cor. xi. 14,

things, like the good and faithful servant to whom it is said,

‘Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will

place thee over many things.’* The soul that is faithful

amid these visitations God will not leave, till He shall raise it upsstep by step, to the Divine union and transformation. This is the way our Lord tests and elevates the soul:

He visits it first in the senses according to its capacity; so

that, having conducted itself then as it ought to do, receiving

in all temperance these first morsels for its own strength and nourishment, He may admit it to the better and more abundant feast. If the soul shall overcome the devil in the first combat it shall then pass on to the second; and if it shall be victorious there also, it shall then pass on to the third; and then through the seven mansions, the seven degrees of ‘love,

until the Bridegroom shall bring it to ‘ the cellar of wine’ f

of perfect Charity.

Blessed is that soul which knoweth how to fight against the beast with seven heads,{ which he opposes to the seven degrees of love. The beast fighteth against each of these degrees with his seven heads; and with each one of them against the soul in all the seven mansions, wherein the soul is tried and gains each degree of the love of God. And, beyond all doubt, if the soul shall faithfully fight against every one of these heads and obtain the victory, it will deserve to pass on from one degree to another, or from one mansion to the next, until it shall have reached the highest, having destroyed the seven heads by which the beast waged so furious a war against it. So fearful is this war that the Apostle says, ‘It was given unto him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them,’§ arraying his weapons and munitions of war over against each of these degrees of love,

* S. Matth. xxy. 21. t Cant. ii. 4. t Apoc. xiii. 1. Bee arog § Ibid. 7.

ro Many, alas, there are who enter the battle of the spiritual life against the beast, who do not cut off even the first head, py self-denial in the sensible objects of this world. Others, - more successful, cut off the first, but not the second —the visions of sense—of which I am speaking. But what is more painful still is, that some who, having cut off not only the first and second, but the third head also, which relates to the interior senses and the passage from the state of meditation into a higher one, are overcome by the beast, when ‘they should enter into the purity of the spirit. Then it is that he returns to the assault with his heads restored to life, and renders ‘ their latter state worse than the first,’ for he bringeth with him ‘seven other spirits more wicked than himself.’* The spiritual man must therefore reject all these apprehensions, together with the corporeal satisfactions to which the exterior senses are liable, if he will destroy the first and second head of this beast, by entering into the first and second mansion of love by a living faith, not laying hold of, nor being embarrassed by, the impressions of the exterior senses; for these present the greatest impediment to the spiritual night of Faith. It is now clear that these visions and apprehensions of sense cannot be the means of the Divine union, for they bear no proportion to God. And this is one of the reasons why Christ would not suffer Mary Magdalene to touch Him, and: yet allowed it, as the better and more perfect course, in §. Thomas. The devil greatly rejoices when a soul seeks after revelations and is ready to accept them; for such conduct furnishes him with many opportunities of insinuating delusions, and derogating from faith as much as he possibly ean; for such a soul becomes rough and rude, and falls frequently into many temptations and unseemly habits.

* §. Luke xi, 26.

I have dwelt at some length on these exterior communications in order to throw greater light on the others, which I have soon to discuss. But I have so much to say’on this Matter that it appears impossible to have done with it. I might sum up what I have said in this single sentence; that these visions should never be admitted, unless in certain rare instances, after examination by a learned, spiritual, and experienced director, and even then there must be no desire for them.