Of the purely Spiritual Apprehensions of the Intellect.

I HAVE been somewhat concise in the discussion of those intellectual apprehensions which are derived from the senses, if we regard the abundance of the matter, and I am unwilling to pursue it at greater length; because, so far as my purpose is concerned—which is the extrication of the intellect from them, and the direction of it into the Night of Faith— I think I have said more than enough. I shall now, therefore, enter on the discussion of the other four apprehensions of the intellect, which, in the tenth chapter, I said were purely spiritual—namely, Visions, Revelations, Locutions, and Spiritual Impressions. I call these purely spiritual, because they do not reach the intellect, like those which are corporeal and imaginary, by the way of the senses of the body; but because they reach it independently of every bodily sense, interior or exterior, clearly and distinctly in a supernatural way, and passively; that is, irrespectively of, at least, any active operation on the part of the soul itself.

Speaking generally, we may say that these four apprehensions may be called visions of the soul; for we say that the soul sees when it understands. And inasmuch as all these apprehensions are intelligible to the intellect, we say that they are spiritually visible; and therefore the particular intelligence of them, formed in the intellect, may be called intellectual vision. And as all the objects of the senses—of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching—in so far as

they are true or false, are objects of the intellect, it follows that, as all that is bodily visible is an occasion of corporeal visions to the bodily eyes; so all that is intelligible is an occasion of spiritual vision to the spiritual eye of the soul, which is the intellect; for, as I have said, to understand is to see. And thus, speaking generally, these four apprehensions may be called visions. The other senses, however, cannot be thus applied, for not one of them is capable of receiving, as such, the subject-matter of another.

But as these apprehensions are represented to the soul in the same manner as to all the senses, it follows, to use the proper and specific terms, that all which the intellect receives by the way of seeing—for it can see spiritually, as the eyes see bodily —-may be called Vision; that which it receives by apprehending and perceiving new things, Revelation; that which it receives by the way of hearing, Locution; and that which it receives in the way of the other senses, such as spiritual odour, taste, and delectation, of which the soul is supernaturally conscious, may be called Spiritual Impressions. From all this the intellect elicits an act of intelligence or spiritual vision, as I have said, without perceiving any form, image, or figure whatever of the natural imagination or fancy, which could furnish any foundation for it: for these things are communicated directly to the soul by a supernatural operation and by supernatural means.

The intellect, therefore, must be extricated from these things also — precisely as from the corporeal and imaginary apprehensions—by being guided and directed into the spiritual Night of Faith to the Divine and. substantial Union of the love of God. For if this be not effected, the intellect will be perplexed and rude; and that solitude and detachment from them, which is requisite for travelling on the Way of Union, will be prevented. For, admitting that these apprehensions are more exalted, more profitable and safe,

than those which are corporeal and imaginary — inasmuch as they are interior, purely spiritual, and less liable to the intrusions of Satan — because they are communications of God to the soul, in the greatest pureness and subtlety, independent of, at least, any active operations of the soul or of the imagination; still the intellect may be not only embarrassed by them, but, by its incautiousness, greatly deluded.

I might now finish with these four apprehensions together, by giving advice common to them all, as I have already done with the others — namely; let no man seek them or desire them: still, inasmuch as-a different course will enlighten us how to do so, and as there is something still to be said with reference to them, I think it well to treat of each one of them in particular. With this view I now proceed to speak of the first of them—Spiritual or Intellectual Visions.