Of imaginary apprehensions supernaturally represented to the fancy.

They cannot be proximate means of union with God. AND now having treated of those impressions which the soul receives in the order of nature, and which exercise the imagination and.the fancy, it is necessary to discuss those which are supernatural, called imaginary visions, and which also, inasmuch as they are images, forms, and figures, appertain to this sense, like those which are in the order of nature. Under the designation of imaginary visions, I include every-

* Pa, xty, 14

thing which may be supernaturally represented to the imagination by images, forms, figures, or impressions, and these of the most perfect kind, which represent things, and influence us more vividly and more perfectly than it is possible in the natural order of the senses. For all these impressions and images which the five senses represent to the soul, and which establish themselves within in a natural way, may also have their place there in a way that is supernatural, represented therein without any intervention whatever on the part of the outward senses. The sense of fancy and memory is, as it were, a storehouse of the intellect, where all forms and objects of the intellect are treasured up; and thus the intellect considers them and forms judgments about them.

We must, therefore, remember that as the five outward senses propose and represent to the interior senses the images and pictures of their objects; so in a supernatural way, without the intervention of the outward senses, may be represented the same images and pictures, and that much more vividly and perfectly. And thus by means of images God frequently shows many things to the soul, and teaches it wisdom, as we see throughout the Holy Scriptures. He showed His glory in the cloud which covered the tabernacle;* and between the Seraphim which covered their faces and their feet with their wings.t To Jeremias He showed ‘a rod watching;’{ and to Daniel a multitude of visions.

The devil, also, with visions of his own, seemingly good, labours to delude the soul. We have an instance of it in the history of the kings of Israel, where we read that he deceived the prophets of Achab, by representing to them the figure of

horns, by which the king was to push Syria till he destroyed

it.§ Yet all was a delusion. Such also was the vision of

* Exod, xl. 33, t Is. vi. 4. } Jer. i. 11, § 3 Kings xxii. 11, 12.

the

May from devil,

Pilate’s wife concerning the condemnation of Christ, and many others.

In the case of those who have made some spiritual progress, visions of the imagination are of more frequent occurrence than bodily and exterior visions. There is no difference between them and those of the outward senses, considered as images and representations; but there is a great difference in the effect they produce, and in their perfectness: they are more pure, and make a deeper impression on. the soul, inasmuch as they are supernatural and at the same time more interior than the exterior supernatural visions, still, notwithstanding, some bodily exterior visions produce a greater effect, for this depends on the will of God; but I am speaking of them as they are in themselves, as being more interior.

The sense of fancy and imagination is ordinarily that to which the devil applies himself with all his cunning, because it is the portal of the soul, and there too the intellect takes up, or leaves, its wares as in a repository. For this reason,

therefore, God and the devil too come hither with images and

forms to be presented to the intellect; though God does not make use only of this means to instruct the soul, seeing that He dwells substantially within it, and is able to do so directly by Himself, and by other methods. I shall not stop here to explain how it may be known whether certain visions are from God or not, for that is not my object now, my sole purpose being to direct the intellect, so that, in the way of union with the Divine Wisdom, it shall not be embarrassed or impeded by those which are good, nor deluded by those which are evil.

I say therefore with respect to all these impressions and imaginary visions, and others of whatever kind they may be, which present themselves under forms or images, or any particular intelligible forms, whether false as coming from the devil, or known to be true as coming from God, that the

intellect is not to perplex itself about them, nor feed itself

upon them; the soul must not willingly accept them, nor

rest upon them, in order that it may be detached, naked, pure, and sincerely simple, which is the condition of the Divine union. The reason of this is that all these forms are never represented so as to be laid hold of but under certain ways and limitations, and the Divine Wisdom to which the intellect: is to be united admits of no such limitations or forms, neither can it be comprehended under any particular image, because it is all pureness and simplicity. However, if two extremes are to be united together, such as the soul and the Divine Wisdom, it is necessary that they should meet under a certain kind of mutual resemblance; and hence the soul must be also pure and simple, unlimited, not adhering to any particular intelligence, and unmodified by any forms, figures, or image. As God is not comprehended under any form, or likeness, or particular conception, so the soul also, if it is to be united to Him, must not be under the power of any particular form or conception. God has no form or likeness, as the Holy Ghost tells us: ‘ You heard the voice of His words, but you saw not any form at all.’* But He also says, ¢ That there was darkness, and a cloud, and obscurity,’ f which is the obscure night in which the soul is united to God. He says further on, ‘ You saw not any similitude in the day that the Lord God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire.’ t:

The soul can never attain to the height of the Divine union, so far as it is possible in this life, through the medium of any forms or figures. This truth is set before us by the same Spirit of God in the book of Numbers, where we read of the rebuking of Aaron and Mary, because they had murmured against their brother. God then would have them

* Deut. iv. 12. + Ib. iv. 11. t Ib. iv. 15.

understand the high estate of union and friendship with Himself to which He had raised Moses. ‘If there be among you,’

said God, ‘a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in

a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream; but it is not so

with My servant Moses who is most faithful in all My house,

for I speak to him mouth to mouth and plainly, and not by

riddles and figures doth he see the Lord.’* It is evident

from this, that in the high estate of the union of love, God

does not communicate Himself to the soul under the disguise

of imaginary visions, similitudes, or figures, neither is there

place for such, but mouth to mouth; that is, it is in the pure

and naked Essence of God, which is as it were the mouth of

God in love, that He communicates Himself to the pure and

union naked essence of the soul, through the will which is the mouth of the soul in the love of God.

The soul, therefore, that will ascend to this perfect union with God, must be careful not to lean upon imaginary visions, forms, figures, and particular intelligible objects, for these things can never serve as proportionate or proximate means towards so great an end: yea, rather they are an obstacle in the way, and thereforé to be guarded against and rejected. For if in any case we are to admit these visions and esteem them, that must be for the profit and good effects which true visions have on the soul; but it is not necessary, to secure these good effects, that we should admit the visions; yea, rather it is always necessary to reject them that we may profit the more by them. The fruit of these imaginary visions, and also of the exterior bodily visions, is the communication of intelligence, love, or sweetness, but it is not necessary for this result that we should admit them willingly. For as I have already said, when these visions are present to the imagination they infuse into the

* Num, xii. 6, 7, 8.

soul that intelligence, love, or sweetness, according to the

good pleasure of God; and thus the soul passively receives

their quickening effects without being able on its own part to

hinder them any more than it could acquire them, notwithstanding its previous efforts to dispose itself for that end.

The soul in some respects resembles a window, which cannot repel the rays of the sun striking against it, but which is disposed for the reception thereof, and is passively illuminated thereby, without care or effort on its own part. Thus the soul cannot but receive the influx and communications of these representations, because the will, negatively disposed, cannot, in its state of humble and loving resignation, resist the supernatural influence; though, no doubt, its impureness and imperfections are an impediment, as stains in the glass obscure the light.

It is clear from this, then, that the soul, the more it is detached in will and affections from the stains of impressions, images, and representations, in which the spiritual communications are involved, not only does not deprive itself of these communications, and the blessings of which they are the cause, but is thereby the more disposed for their reception, and that in greater abundance, clearness, liberty of spirit, and singleness of mind; all the impressions, veils, and shadows, which hide the deeper spirituality within, being cast aside. If we feed upon them, sense and spirit are so filled, that spiritual communication cannot freely and in simplicity be made to us; for while we are occupied with the exterior covering, the intellect is not free to receive the substance within, If the soul will admit, and make much of, these impressions, the result will be embarrassment, and resting satisfied with that which is of least importance in them, namely, with all that it can grasp and comprehend, the form, the representation, and the particular conception. The chief part of them, the spiritual part infused, eludes its grasp, and

Fruit vine in to

ment

them.

is beyond its comprehension; the soul cannot discern or explain it, because it is wholly spiritual. That only can it perceive, which is of least value, namely the sensible forms which are within the reach of its own understanding; and for this cause I maintain that the soul, passively, without

any intellectual effort, and without knowing how to make

any such effort, receives through these visions what it can neither understand nor imagine.

For these reasons, therefore, the eyes of the soul must be continually turned aside from these visible and distinctly intelligible things, communicated through the senses, which form neither the foundation nor the security of Faith, and be fixed on the invisible, not on the things of sense but on those of the Spirit which are not cognisable by sense; for it is this that lifts up the soul to: union in faith which is the proper medium. And thus these visions will subsequently profit the soul in the attainment of faith when it shall have perfectly renounced all that sense and intellect find in them; and when it shall have duly applied itself to that end which God had in view when He sent them, by detaching itself from them.

Because, as I have said before with regard to bodily visions, _

God does not send them that the soul may admit them and set its affections upon them.

But here arises this doubt; if it be true that these supernatural visions are sent from God, not for the purpose of being received, clung to, and prized by the soul, why then are they sent at all? They are the source of many errors and dangers, and are at least inconveniences, hindering our further advancement. This objection is specially true, for God is able to communicate spiritually to the very substance of the soul that which He thus communicates through the interior senses in visions and sensible forms.

I shall reply to this doubt in the following chapter. The doctrine on this subject is most important, and in my

opinion exceedingly necessary as well for spiritual persons as for those who have the direction of them. I shall therein explain the way of Godin them, and the end He has in view, the ignorance of which renders many unable to control themselves, or to guide others through these visions along the road of union. They imagine, the moment they have ascertained the visions to be true and from God, that they may lean upon them and cleave to them; not considering that the soul will find in them that which is natural to itself, that it will set its affections upon them and be embarrassed by them, as by the things of this world, if it does not repel them as it repels these. In this state of mind they will think it right to accept the visions, and to reject worldly things, thereby exposing themselves and the souls they direct to great dangers and vexations in discerning the truth or falsehood of these visions. God does not bid them to undertake this labour, nor to expose simple and sincere souls to this hazard; for He has given them the sound and safe teaching of Faith, whereby to direct their steps, which cannot be followed without shutting our eyes against every object of sense, and of clear and particular perception. §S. Peter was perfectly certain of that vision of glory which he saw when our Lord was transfigured, yet after relating it, he bids us walk by faith, saying: ‘ We have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place. * This comparison involves the doctrine which I am teaching. For in saying that we should look to Faith of which the Prophets spoke, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, he bids us remain in darkness, shutting our eyes to all other light, and tells us that this darkness of faith, which is also obscure, ought to be the only light to which we should trust. For if we rely on other lights, clear

* 2S. Pet. i. 19.

and distinct, of the understanding, we have ceased to rely on the obscurity of faith, which has therefore ceased to shine in the dark place of which the Apostle speaks. This place is the intellect, which is the candlestick to hold the light of faith. In this life, the intellect must therefore be dark, until the day of our transformation and union with Him, towards Whom ‘the soul is travelling; or until the day of the clear

Vision of God shall have dawned in the next life.

are