The Ladder of Monks

Translation and Online Text © 2024, eCatholic2000

Introduction

This work, also know as the Scala Claustralium or Scala Paradisi is the earliest introduction to Lectio Divina.

"The Ladder of Monks" was written by Guigo II, a Carthusian monk, around the year 1150 AD. The book is a significant work in the tradition of Christian mysticism and spiritual literature.

Lectio divina is a practice that involves four steps:

• Lectio (Reading): Reading the Scriptures attentively.
• Meditatio (Meditation): Reflecting on the text to understand its deeper meaning.
• Oratio (Prayer): Responding to God through prayer based on the meditation.
• Contemplatio (Contemplation): Resting in God's presence.

Guigo II - The Author

Guigo II, also known as Guigo the Carthusian or Guigo the Angelic, was born around 1083 AD and became the ninth prior of the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the Carthusian order, in 1121 AD. He held this position until his death in 1136 AD.

The Carthusian Order, founded by Saint Bruno in 1084 AD, is known for its strict asceticism and emphasis on solitary contemplation. Guigo II’s work emerged from this monastic context, reflecting the Carthusian commitment to a life of prayer and seclusion.

Significance of "The Ladder of Monks"

"The Ladder of Monks" became highly influential in the development of Western Christian spirituality. Guigo's clear and practical description of the contemplative life provided a roadmap for monks and laypeople alike, emphasizing the transformative power of divine reading and prayer. His method has endured through the centuries and continues to be practiced in monastic communities and by individuals seeking a deeper spiritual life.

Guigo II's influence extended beyond his lifetime, as his writings were widely circulated and appreciated by subsequent generations of mystics and theologians. The simplicity and depth of his approach to spiritual reading and prayer have made "The Ladder of Monks" a timeless guide for those aspiring to grow in their relationship with God.

LETTER OF DOM GUIGO THE CARTHUSIAN - English Translation

To his beloved brother GERVASE, brother GUIGO, greeting in the Lord. I am bound to love you out of duty because you first began to love me: and I am compelled to write back to you because your letters first invited me to write. Therefore, I have decided to send you some things I had thought about concerning the spiritual exercise of monks: so that you who have learned such things better by experience than I by writing, may be the judge and corrector of my thoughts. And I justly offer these first fruits of my labor to you, so that you may gather the first fruits of the new plantation: since, by a laudable theft, you have taken yourself from the slavery of Pharaoh into the orderly array of the camp; you have prudently grafted into the olive tree a branch skillfully cut from the wild olive tree.

CHAPTER ONE

1. One day, while I was occupied with manual labor, I began to think about the exercise of the spiritual man, and four spiritual degrees suddenly presented themselves to my mind: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. This is the Ladder of Monks, by which they are lifted from earth to heaven; distinguished indeed by few steps, yet of immense and incredible height. Its lower part rests on the earth; its upper part penetrates the clouds and explores the secrets of heaven. These steps are distinguished both by their names and numbers, as well as by their order and function. If anyone carefully examines what each of them accomplishes around us, how they differ from and excel each other, whatever labor or study he spends on them, he will consider brief and easy, given the greatness of their usefulness and sweetness. Reading is the attentive inspection of the Scriptures with the mind. Meditation is the diligent action of the mind, investigating the knowledge of hidden truth by the guidance of reason. Prayer is the devoted turning of the heart to God for the removal of evil and the acquisition of good. Contemplation is the elevation of the mind suspended in God, tasting the joys of eternal sweetness.

CHAPTER TWO

2. Having assigned the descriptions of the four degrees, it remains to see their offices. Reading seeks the sweetness of a blessed life, meditation finds it, prayer asks for it, contemplation tastes it. Hence the Lord Himself says: Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). Seek by reading, and you will find by meditating; knock by praying, and it will be opened to you by contemplating. Reading places solid food in the mouth: meditation chews and breaks it down: prayer acquires its flavor: contemplation is the very sweetness that delights and refreshes. Reading is on the surface; meditation digs deep; prayer asks for desire; contemplation enjoys the sweetness attained. To make this clearer, I will give one example out of many. In reading, I hear: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Behold, a brief word, but filled with sweet and manifold meaning. It presented a grape to the soul's nourishment, which after careful inspection, the soul says to itself: There may be something good here. I will return to my heart and try to understand and find this purity. For this is a precious and desirable thing, whose possessors are called blessed, to whom is promised the vision of God, which is eternal life, praised by so many testimonies of Sacred Scripture. Desiring to explain this more fully to itself, it begins to chew and break it down, and places it as if in a press: then it excites reason to inquire what this purity is and how it can be obtained.

CHAPTER THREE

3. Therefore, diligent meditation does not remain outside, nor does it stick to the surface, but plants its foot further within. It penetrates the innermost parts, examines everything: it attentively considers that it did not say, Blessed are the pure in body, but in heart: because it is not enough to have hands free from evil work, unless we are cleansed from evil thoughts in the mind. This is confirmed by the authority of the prophet who says: Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4). Likewise, it considers how much this purity of heart was desired by the same prophet, who praying said, Create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10): again, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalm 66:18). It thinks how solicitous was the blessed Job in this custody, who said, I made a covenant with my eyes, that I should not think upon a maid (Job 31:1). Behold how strictly the holy man constrained himself, who closed his eyes so that he might not see vanity, lest he might carelessly look upon something he would later unwillingly desire. After considering these and similar things about the purity of the heart, it begins to think about its reward, how glorious and delightful it is to see the desired face of the Lord, who is beautiful beyond the sons of men; to be no longer abject and vile, having no form or comeliness, as his mother Synagogue clothed him; but clothed in the garment of immortality, crowned with the diadem with which his Father crowned him on the day of his resurrection and glory, the day which the Lord has made. It thinks that in that vision there will be that satisfaction, of which the prophet says: I shall be satisfied when I awake with your likeness (Psalm 17:15). Do you see how much liquid came forth from a single grape; how much fire arose from this spark; how much this little mass, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8), has been extended on the anvil of meditation? But how much more it could still be extended, if someone experienced in such things would approach? For I feel that the well is deep: but I, still a raw novice, have barely found these few things to draw.

4. Inflamed by these torches of the soul, incited by these desires, the soul begins to sense the sweetness of the perfume, not yet by taste, but as by the sense of smell. It gathers from this how sweet it would be to experience this purity, whose meditation it knows to be so delightful. But what shall it do? It burns with the desire of having it, but does not find in itself how it can have it: and the more it seeks, the more it thirsts. As it applies meditation, it applies sorrow: because it thirsts for the sweetness that meditation shows to be in the purity of the heart, but does not taste it. For it is not for the one reading and meditating to feel this sweetness, unless it is given from above. For reading and meditating are common to both good and bad. Even the philosophers of the Gentiles, through the guidance of reason, discovered where the sum of true good consisted: but because, knowing God, they did not glorify him as God (Romans 1:21), and boasting of their own strength, said, We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? (Psalm 12:4), they did not deserve to receive what they could see. They became vain in their imaginations (Romans 1:21), and all their wisdom was devoured (Psalm 107:27), which human study had conferred upon them, not the spirit of wisdom, which alone gives true wisdom; that is, a sweet knowledge that delights and refreshes the soul to which it clings with inestimable savor. And it is said of this: Wisdom shall not enter into a malicious soul (Wisdom 1:4). But this is only from God. For the Lord granted the office of baptizing to many: but the power and authority in Baptism to remit sins, he retained for himself alone. Hence John, distinctively and exclusively, said of him: This is he who baptizes (John 1:33). Thus we can say of him: This is he who gives the flavor of wisdom, and makes the soul tasteful. Speech is indeed given to many, but wisdom to few; which the Lord distributes to whom he wills, and as he wills.

CHAPTER FOUR

5. Seeing then that the soul cannot by itself attain to the desired sweetness of knowledge and experience, and the more it approaches the heart of the matter, the more God is exalted (Psalm 63:7-8); it humbles itself, and resorts to prayer, saying: Lord, who are seen only by pure hearts, I have investigated by reading and sought by meditating how true purity of heart might be obtained: so that, through it, I might at least partially know you. I sought your face, O Lord, your face I sought (Psalm 27:8). I have long meditated in my heart, and in my meditation, a fire was kindled, and a greater desire to know you (Psalm 39:3). As you break the bread of the Scriptures for me, in the breaking of bread there is great knowledge (Luke 24:30-31): and the more I know you, the more I desire to know you, not now in the shell of the letter, but in the sense of experience. Nor do I ask this, O Lord, for my merits, but for your mercy. For I confess that I am unworthy and sinful: but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table (Matthew 15:27). Give me, O Lord, a pledge of future inheritance, at least a drop of heavenly rain, with which I may refresh my thirst; for I burn with love.

CHAPTER FIVE

6. By these and similar burning words, it inflames its desire: thus it shows its affection. By these incantations, it calls the Spouse. But the Lord, whose eyes are upon the righteous, and whose ears are not only to their prayers but also to their very prayers (Psalm 34:15), does not wait until they finish their speech; but interrupting the middle course of prayer, hastens to them, and meets the desiring soul, surrounded with heavenly dew of sweetness, anointed with the best ointments: he refreshes the weary soul, feeds the hungry, fattens the dry; and makes it forget earthly things, wonderfully fortifying, vivifying, and inebriating it with the memory of himself, and making it sober. And just as in certain carnal offices the soul is so overcome by carnal desire that it loses all use of reason, and becomes almost entirely carnal: so in this heavenly contemplation the carnal motions are so consumed and absorbed by the soul that the flesh in no way contradicts the spirit; and the man becomes almost entirely spiritual.

CHAPTER SIX

7. But, O Lord, how shall we know when you do these things, and what is the sign of your coming? Are sighs and tears the witnesses and messengers of this consolation and joy? If so, this is a new antithesis and unusual signification. For what agreement is there between consolation and sighs; between joy and tears? If, however, these are to be called tears, and not rather the abundant overflow of the interior dew infused from above, and the external purging of the exterior man as a sign of the interior purification: so that just as in the Baptism of infants the external washing signifies and figures the interior washing of the soul; so here, on the contrary, the external washing precedes the interior purification. O happy tears, through which inner stains are washed away, through which the fires of sins are extinguished! Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). In these tears, recognize, O soul, your Spouse, embrace the desired one. Now be inebriated with the torrent of his pleasures, suck from the breast of his consolation milk and honey. These are the wonderful gifts and consolations which your Spouse has given you, namely, sighs and tears. He brings you drink in these tears in measure. These tears are your bread day and night; indeed, bread that strengthens the heart of man, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. O Lord Jesus, if these tears which are excited by the memory and desire of you are so sweet, how sweet will be the joy that will be taken from the manifest vision of you! If it is so sweet to weep for you, how sweet will it be to rejoice in you! But why do we bring such secret conversations into the public? Why do we try to express in common words ineffable and inexpressible affections? The inexperienced do not understand such things, unless they read them more clearly in the book of experience, which the anointing itself teaches. Otherwise, the external letter does not benefit the reader at all. The external reading of the letter is scarcely palatable unless it takes the gloss and inner sense from the heart.

CHAPTER SEVEN

8. O soul, we have long drawn out our discourse. For it was good for us to be here, to contemplate the glory of the Spouse with Peter and John, and to stay long with him, if he wished to make here, not two, not three tabernacles (Matthew 17:1,4), but one, in which we might be together and delight together. But now the Spouse says: Let me go, for the dawn has risen, now you have received the light of grace and the visitation you desired. Having given his blessing, with the nerve of the thigh mortified and the name changed from Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:25, 31), the long-desired Spouse withdraws for a while, quickly departed. He withdraws himself both from the aforesaid vision and from the sweetness of contemplation: yet he remains present as to guidance.

CHAPTER EIGHT

9. But do not be afraid, O Spouse, do not despair, do not think that you are despised if the Spouse withdraws his face from you for a while. All these things work together for your good, and you gain from both his coming and his going. He comes for consolation, he withdraws for caution, lest the greatness of the consolation lift you up; lest, if the Spouse is always with you, you begin to despise your companions, and attribute this constant visitation not to grace but to nature. But this grace the Spouse gives to whom he wills, and when he wills; it is not possessed as by a hereditary right. There is a common saying that too much familiarity breeds contempt. Therefore he withdraws, lest he be too familiar and be despised, and being absent, he may be desired more, being desired he may be sought more eagerly, being long sought, he may be more gratefully found. Moreover, if this consolation, which in comparison to the future glory that will be revealed in us is enigmatic and partial, never failed here, we might perhaps think we have a lasting city here and less seek the future one. Therefore, lest we reckon exile for the homeland, the pledge for the sum of the price, the Spouse comes and goes alternately; now bringing consolation, now changing our whole bed in sickness. For a little while, he allows us to taste how sweet he is, and before we fully sense it, he withdraws: and thus, as if hovering over us with expanded wings, he provokes us to fly. As if to say: Behold, you have tasted a little how sweet I am and delightful; but if you want to be fully satiated with this sweetness, run after me in the fragrance of my ointments, having your hearts lifted up, where I am at the right hand of God the Father. There you will see me, not through a glass in a riddle, but face to face; and your heart will rejoice fully, and your joy no one will take from you.

CHAPTER NINE

10. But beware, O Spouse: when the Spouse withdraws, he does not go far; and if you do not see him, yet he always sees you, full of eyes before and behind. You can never hide from him. He also has his messengers around you, spirits as most sagacious scouts, to see how you behave in the absence of the Spouse, and to accuse you before him if they find any signs of wantonness and levity in you. This Spouse is jealous. If you should receive another lover, if you should try to please others more, he will immediately depart from you, and will adhere to other young maidens. This Spouse is delicate, noble, and rich, beautiful beyond the sons of men; and therefore, he deigns to have only a beautiful Spouse. If he sees any spot or wrinkle in you, he immediately turns away his eyes. He cannot endure any impurity. Therefore, be chaste, be modest, and humble; so that you may merit frequent visits from your Spouse. I fear that this discourse has detained us too long; but this fertile and sweet material compelled me, which I did not willingly prolong; but I was somehow involuntarily drawn by its sweetness.

CHAPTER TEN

11. Therefore, that what has been said at length may be better seen together, let us gather the sum of the foregoing by recapitulating. As noted in the examples above, it can be seen how the aforementioned degrees are connected, and as they precede each other in time, so also in causality. For reading, as it were the foundation, first presents itself, and given the material, sends you to meditation. Meditation more diligently investigates what is to be desired, and as if digging, finds and shows the treasure. But since it cannot obtain it by itself, it sends us to prayer. Prayer, raising itself with all its might to the Lord, obtains the desired treasure, the sweetness of contemplation. And when this comes, it rewards the labor of the previous three, inebriating the thirsty soul with the heavenly dew of sweetness. Therefore, reading is according to the external exercise: meditation, according to the inner understanding: prayer, according to desire: contemplation, beyond all sense. The first degree is for beginners, the second for those advancing, the third for the devout, the fourth for the blessed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

12. These degrees are so linked together, and serve each other with mutual help, that the preceding ones without the following either avail little or nothing: the following ones without the preceding can rarely or never be obtained. For what does it profit to occupy time with continuous reading, running through the deeds and writings of the saints, unless we also chew and ruminate on them, and swallow them into the depths of the heart: so that we carefully consider our state from these, and strive to do the works of those whose deeds we desire to read? But how shall we think on these things, or how shall we beware lest, by meditating on false or vain things, we transgress the boundaries set by the holy fathers, unless we are first instructed on such matters by reading or hearing? For hearing in some way pertains to reading. Hence, we are accustomed to say that we have read not only the books which we read ourselves or read to others, but also those which we heard from teachers. Again, what does it profit a man if he sees what ought to be done through meditation, unless by the help of prayer and the grace of God he grows strong to obtain them? For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17), without whom we can do nothing: but he works the works in us, yet not wholly without us. For we are God’s fellow workers, as the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 3:9). For God wills that we should help him, and that we should open the bosom of our will to him when he comes and stands at the door, and consent to him. He required this consent from the Samaritan woman when he said: Call your husband. As if to say: I want to pour grace into you, you apply your free will. He required prayer from her when he said: If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me a drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water (John 4:10). Hearing this, as if instructed by reading, she meditated in her heart that it would be good and useful for her to have this water. Therefore, being inflamed with the desire of having it, she turned to prayer, saying: Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw (John 4:15). Behold, the hearing of the Lord’s word and the subsequent meditation on it incited her to pray. For how would she have been solicitous to ask, unless meditation had first inflamed her? Or what would preceding meditation have availed her unless subsequent prayer had obtained what it showed was to be desired? Therefore, for meditation to be fruitful, it must be followed by the devotion of prayer, whose effect is the sweetness of contemplation.

CHAPTER TWELVE

13. From these we can gather: that reading without meditation is dry; meditation without reading is erroneous; prayer without meditation is tepid; meditation without prayer is unfruitful: prayer with devotion acquires contemplation; the attainment of contemplation without prayer is either rare or miraculous. God, whose power has no number or limit, and whose mercy is over all his works, sometimes raises up children to Abraham from stones, compelling the hard and unwilling to acquiesce so that they may will: and thus, as if prodigally, as the saying goes, he draws the ox by the horn when uncalled, he infuses himself. But though we sometimes read that this happened to some, like Paul and others, yet we should not therefore presume on divine things, as if tempting God, but do what pertains to us: namely, to read and meditate on the law of God; to pray to him that he may help our infirmity and see our imperfection: which he teaches us to do, saying, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). For now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12). Behold, from the distinctions previously noted, the properties of the forementioned degrees can be seen, how they are linked together, and what each of them accomplishes in us.

14. Blessed is the man whose soul, free from other business, always desires to be engaged in these four degrees: who, having sold all he had, buys that field in which lies the desirable treasure, namely to be free, and to see how sweet the Lord is: who is exercised in the first degree, circumspect in the second, devout in the third, lifted up above himself in the fourth, by these ascents, which he has set in his heart, will go from strength to strength until he sees the God of gods in Zion. Blessed is he who is granted to stay even a little while in this supreme degree, who can truly say: Behold, I feel the grace of the Lord; behold, with Peter and John I contemplate his glory on the mountain; behold, with Jacob I am often delighted with Rachel’s embraces. But let him beware lest after this contemplation, by which he has been lifted up to the heavens, he fall down into the abyss by an inordinate fall, and after seeing God, turn to the lascivious acts and carnal allurements of the world. When the human mind's weak sight can no longer sustain the illumination of true light, let it descend gently and orderly to one of the three degrees by which it had ascended: and alternately, sometimes in one, sometimes in another, according to the mode of free will, for the reason of place and time, let it stay, now nearer to God, as it is further from the first degree. But alas! Fragile and miserable human condition! Behold, with the guidance of reason and the testimonies of the Scriptures, we clearly see that in these four degrees is contained the perfection of a good life, and in them the exercise of the spiritual man should be engaged. But who is there that holds this path of life? Who is this, and we will praise him. Many are willing, but few are able. And would that we were of these few.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

15. There are four causes that often withdraw us from these degrees: namely, unavoidable necessity, the utility of honest action, human infirmity, worldly vanity. The first is excusable; the second, tolerable; the third, pitiable; the fourth, culpable. For those whom this last cause withdraws from the holy purpose, it would have been better not to have known the glory of God, than after knowing it to turn back. What excuse will this one have for sin? Will not the Lord justly say to him, What could I have done for you, that I did not do? (Isaiah 5:4). You were not, and I created you: you sinned, and made yourself a slave of the devil, and I redeemed you: you were running in the world with the wicked, and I chose you. I gave you grace in my sight, and I wanted to make a dwelling with you: but you despised me; and not only my words but me, you cast behind you, and walked after your desires. But, O good God, sweet and gentle, sweet friend, prudent counselor, strong helper, how inhuman, how rash is he who rejects you, who repels such a humble, gentle guest from his heart! O how unhappy and ruinous an exchange! To reject his Creator, and receive perverse and harmful thoughts! That secret chamber of the Holy Spirit, that secret of the heart, which a little while ago was inclined to heavenly joys, so suddenly to surrender to impure thoughts and sins to be trampled upon! The Spouse’s footsteps are still warm in the heart; and already adulterous desires are introduced? It is not fitting, and it is indecent, for ears that have just heard words which it is not lawful for a man to speak, so soon to incline to hear fables and detractions; for eyes, which have just been baptized with sacred tears, suddenly to turn to see vanities; for the tongue, which has just sung the sweet marriage song, which by its burning and persuasive words has reconciled the Spouse with the bride and brought her into the wine cellar, to turn again to vain speeches, to scurrilities, to contrive deceits, to detractions. Far be it from us, Lord! But if perchance we fall into such things from human weakness, let us not therefore despair, but run again to the merciful Physician, who raises up the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dung heap (Psalm 113:7), and who does not desire the death of a sinner: he will heal us again.

16. It is time to put an end to this letter. Let us pray to God that he may mitigate in the present the obstacles that withdraw us from his contemplation and entirely remove them in the future: that he may lead us through the aforesaid degrees from virtue to virtue until we see the God of gods in Zion: where the elect will not receive the sweetness of divine contemplation in drops, not intermittently, but filled with the torrent of pleasure without end, they will have joy that no one will take from them, and unchangeable peace, peace unto itself. Therefore, you, my brother Gervase (27), if ever it is granted to you from above to ascend the height of the aforesaid degrees, remember me: and pray for me when it is well with you; that thus one curtain may draw another, and whoever hears may say: Come.

(27) The manuscript so has it; not Geoffrey, as previously read.

EPITSTOLA DOMNI GUIGONIS CARTHUSIENSIS

Ad fratrem Gervasium, de vita contemplativa,

Dilecto fratri suo GERVASIO, frater GUIGO, delectari in Domino. Amare te ex debito teneor, quia prior me amare incoepisti: et rescribere tibi compellor, quia litteris tuis ad scribendum me prius invitasti. Quaedam ergo, quae de spirituali exercitio claustralium excogitaveram, transmittere proposui: ut qui talia experiendo melius, quam ego tractando, didicisti, mearum iudex sis cogitationum et corrector. Et merito haec nostri laboris initia tibi primitus offero, ut novellae plantationis primitivos fructus colligas: quoniam de servitute Pharonis, te delicta solitudine laudabili furto surripiens, in ordinata castrorum acie collocasti; ramum de oleastro artificiose execisum prudenter inserens in oliva.

CAPUT PRIMUM

1. Cum die quadam, coporali manuum labore occupatus, de spiritualis hominis exercitio cogitare coepissem, quatuor spirituales gradus animo cogitanti se subito obtulerunt: scilicet, lectiō, meditatio, oratio, et contemplatio. Hae est Scala Claustralium, qua de terra in coelum sublevantur; gradibus quidem distincta paucis, immensae tamen et incrediblis magnitudinis. Cuius extrema pars terrae innixa est; superior vero nubes penetrat, et secreta coelorum rimatur. Hi gradus sicut nominibus et numero, ita ordine et munere sunt distincti. Quorum proprietates et officia quidem singula quid circa nos efficiant, quomodo inter se invicem differant et praeemineant, si quis diligenter inspiciat, quidquid laboris aut studii impenderit in eis, breve reputabit et facile, prae utilitatis et dulcendinis magnitudine. Est autem lectio, sedula Scripturarum cum animi intentione inspectio. Meditatio, est studiosa mentis actio, occultae veritatis notitiam ductu propriae rationis investigans. Oratio, est devota cordis intentio in Deum pro malis amovendis, et bonis adipiscendis. Contemplatio, est mentis in Deum suspensae elevatio, aeternae dulcendinis gaudia degustans.

CAPUT II

2. Assignatis ergo quatuor graduum descriptiōnibus, restat ut eorum officia videamus. Beatae igitur vitae dulcendinem lectiō inquirit, meditatiō inventit, oratiō postulat, contemplatiō degustat. Unde ipse Dominus dicit: Quaerite, et invenietis, pulsate, et aperietur vobis (Matth. VII, 7). Quaerite legendo, et invenientis meditando: pulsate orando, et aperietur vobis contemplando. Lectiō quasi solidum cibum ori apponit: meditatio masticat et frangit: oratio saporem acquirit: contemplatio est ipsa dulcedo quae iucundat et reficit. Lectio, in cortice: meditatio, in adipe; oratio, in desiderii postulatione; contemplatio, in adeptae dulcendinis delectatione. Quod ut expressius videri possit, unum de multis supponam exemplum. In lectione audio: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Id. V, 8). Ecce breve verbum, sed suavi et multiplici sensu refertum. Ad pastum animae quasi uvam minstravit, quam postquam anima diligenter inspexit, dicit intra se: Potest aliquid boni esse. Redibo ad cor meum, et tentabo si forte intelligere et invenire potero munditam hanc. Pretiosa enim et desiderabilis est res ista, cuius possessores beati dicuntur, quibus visio Dei, quae est vita aeterna, promittiur, quae tot sacrae Scripturae testimoniis collaudatur. Hoc ergo sibi plenius explicari desiderans, incipit hanc unam masticare et frangere, eamque quasi in torculari ponit: deinde excitat rationem ad inquirendum quid sit, et quomodo haberi possit haec adeo pretiosa et desiderabilis munditia.

CAPUT III

3. Accedens ergo sedula meditatio, non remanet extra, non haeret in superficie, ulterius pedem figit. Interiora penetrat, singula rimatur: attente considerat quod non dixit, Beati mundo corpore; sed, corde: quia non sufficit manus habere innoxias a malo opere, nisi a pravis cogitationibus mundemur in mente. Quod auctoritate prophetae confirmatur dicentis: Quis ascendet in montem Domini? Aut quis stabit in loco sancto eius? Innocens manibus et mundo corde (Psal. XXIII, 3, 4). Item considerat quantum hanc cordis munditiam optabat idem propheta, qui orans dicebat, Cor mundum, inquit, crea in me, Deus (Psal. L, 12): item, Si aspexi iniquitatem in corde meo, non exaudiet Dominus (Psal. LXV, 18). Cogitat quam sollicitus erat in hac custodia beatus Job, qui dicebat: Pepigi foedus cum oculis meis, ne cogitarem quidem de virgine (Job XXXI, 1). Ecce quantum arctabat se vir sanctus, qui claudebat oculos suos ne videret vanitatem, ne forte incautus respiceret quod postea invitus desideraret. Postquam haec et huiusmodi de cordis munditia pertractavit, incipit cogitare de eius praemio, quam gloriosum et delectabile est videre faciem desideratam Domini, speciosi forma prae filiis hominum; non esse iam abiectum et vilem, non habentem speciem qua vestivit eum mater sua Synagoga: sed stola immortalitatis indutum, et coronatum diademate quo coronavit eum Pater suus in die resurrectionis et gloriae, die quam fecit Dominus. Cogitat quod in illa visione erit satietas illa, de qua dicit propheta: Satiabor, cum apparuerit gloria tua (Psal. XVI, 15). Videsne quantum liquoris emanavit ex minma uva; quantus ignis ex hac scintilla ortus est; quantum haec modica massa, Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V, 8), in incude meditationis extensa est? Sed quantum adhuc posset extendi, si accederet aliquis talia expertus? Sentio enim quod puteus altus est: sed ego adhuc rudis tiro, in quo pauca haec haurirem vix inveni.

4. His anima facibus inflammata, his incita desideriis, fracto alabastro suavitatem unguenti praesentire incipit, necdum gustu, sed quasi narium odoratu. Et hoc colligit quam suave esset huius munditiae sentire experientiam, cuius meditationem novit adeo esse iucundam. Sed quid faciet? Habendi desiderio aestuat, sed non invenit apud se quomodo habere possit: et quanto plus inquirit, plus sitit. Dum apponit meditationem, apponit et dolorem: quia sitit dulcendinem quam in cordis munditia meditatio esse monstrat, sed non praegustat. Non enim est legentis atque meditantis hanc sentire dulcendinem, nisi data fuerit desuper. Legere enim et meditari tam bonis quam malis commune est. Et ipsi philosophi gentium, in quo summa veri boni consisteret, ductu rationis invenerunt: sed quia cum Deum cognovissent, non sicut Deum glorificaverunt (Rom. I, 21), et de suis viribus praesumentes dicebant, *Linguam nostram magnificabimus, labia nostra a nobis sunt: quia noster Dominus est? (Psal. XI, 5.) non meruerunt percipere quod potuerunt videre. Evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis (Rom. I, 21), et omnis eorum sapientia devorata est (Psal. CVI, 27), quam eis contulerat humanae studium disciplinae, non spiritus sapientiae, qui solus dat veram sapientiam; sapidam scilicet scientiam, quae animam, cui inhaesit, inaestimabili sapore iucundat et reficit. Et de illa dictum est: Sapientia non intrabit in malevolam animam (Sap. I, 4). Haec autem a solo Deo est. Officium enim baptizandi Dominus concessit multis: potestatem vero et auctoritatem in Batismo remittendi peccata, sibi soli retinuit. Unde Joannes antonomastice et discretive de eo dixit: Hic est qui baptizat (Joan. I, 33). Sic de eo possumus dicere: Hic est qui sapientae saporem dat, et sapidam animam facit. Sermo siquidem datur multis, sed sapeintia paucis; quam distribuit Dominus cui vult, et quomodo vult.

CAPUT IV

5. Videns autem anima quod ad desideratam cognitationis et experientiae dulcedinem per se non possit attingere, et quanto magis ad cor altum accedit, tanto magis exaltatur Deus (Psal. LXIII. 7,8); humilitat se, et confugit ad orationem, dicens: Domine, qui non videris nisi a mundis cordibus, investigavi legendo, meditando quaesivi quomodo haberi possit vera cordis munditia: ut ea mediante, vel ex modica parte possem te cognoscere. Quaerebam vultum tuum, Domine, vultum tuum requirebam (Psal. XXVI, 8). Diu meditatus sum in corde meo, et in meditatione mea exarsit ignis, ac desiderium amplius cognoscendi te (Psal. XXXVIII, 4). Dum panem sacrae Scripturae mihi frangis, in fractione panis magna cognitio est (Luc. XXIV, 30, 31): et quanto plus te cognosceo, plus te cognoscere desidero, non iam in cortice litterae, sed in sensu experientiae. Nec hoc peto, Domine, propter merita mea, sed pro tua misericordia. Fateor enim quia indigna et peccatrix sum: sed et catelli edunt de micis quae cadunt de mensa dominorum suorum (Matt. XV, 27). Da mihi, Domine, arrham haerenditatis futurae, saltem guttam coelestis pulviae, qua refrigerem sitim meam; quia amore ardeo.

CAPUT V

6. His et huiusmodi ignitis eloquiis suum inflammat desiderium: sic ostendit suum affectum. His incantationibus advocat sponsum. Dominus autem, cuius oculi super iustos, et aures eius non solum ad preces (Psal. XXXIII, 16), sed ipsas preces eorum non exspectat, donec sermonem finierint; sed medium orationis cursum interrumpens, festinus ingerit se, et animae desideranti festinus occurit coelestis rore dulcedinis circumfusus, unguentis optimis delibutus: animam fatigatam recreat, esurientem reficit, aridam impinguat; et facit eam terrenorum oblivisci, memoria sui eam mirabiliter fortificando, vivificando, et inebriando, ac sobriam reddendo. Et sicut in quibusdam carnalibus officiis anima adeo vincitur carnali concupiscentia, quod omnem usum rationis amittit, et fit homo quasi totus carnalis: ita merito in hac superna contemplatione ita consumuntur et absorbentur carnales motus ab anima ut in nullo caro spiritui contradicat; et fiat homo quasi totus spiritualis.

CAPUT VI

7. Sed, o Domine quomodo comperiemus quando haec facis, et quod signum adventus tui? Nunquid huius consolationis et laetititae testes et nuntii sunt suspiria et lacrymae? si ita est, nova est antisphrasis ista, et significatio inusitata. Quae enim conventio consolationis ad suspiria; laetitiae ad lacryrmas? Si tamen istae dicendae sunt lacrymae, et non potius roris interioris desuper infusi superfluens abundantia, et ad interioris ablutationis indicium exterioris hominis purgamentum: ut sicut in Baptismo puerorum per exteriorem ablutionem significatur et figuaratur interior animae ablutio; ita hic e contra exteriorem ablutionem interior praecedat purgatio. O felices lacrymae, per quas maculae interiores purgantur, per quas peccatorum incendia exstinguuntur! Beati qui sic lugentis, quia ridebitis (Matth. V, 5). In his lacrymis agnosce, o anima, sponsum tuum amplectere desideratum. Nunc torrente te voluptatis inebria, suge ab ubere consolationis eius lac et mel. Haec sunt miranda munuscula et solatia quae dedit tibi sponsus tuus, gemitus scilicet et lacrymae. Adducit tibi potum in his lacrymis in mensura. Hae lacrymae sunt tibi panes die ac nocte; panes utique confirmates cor hominis, et dulciores super mel et favum. O Domine Jesus, si adeo sunt dulces istae lacrymae quae ex memoria et desiderio tui excitantur, quam dulce erit gaudium quod ex manifesta tui visione capietur! Si adeo dulce est flere pro te, quam dulce erit gaudere de te! Sed quid huiusmodi secreta colloquia proferimus in publicum? Cur ineffabiles et inenarrabiles affectus verbis communibus conamur exprimere? Inexperti talia non intelligunt, nisi ea expressius legant in libro experientiae, quos ipsa doceat unctio. Aliter autem littera exterior non prodest quidquam legenti. Modicum sapida est lectio exterioris litterae, nisi glossam et interiorem sensura sumat ex corde.

CAPUT VII

8. O anima, diu protraximus sermonem. Bonum enim erat nos hic esse, cum Petro et Joanne contemplari gloriam sponsi, et diu manere cum illo, si vellet hic fieri, non duo, non tria tabernacula (Ibid. XVII, 1,4), sed unum, in quo essemus simul et simul delectaremur. Sed iam dicit sponsus: Dimitte me, iam enim ascendit aurora, iam lumen gratiae et visitationem quam desiderabas accepisti. Data ergo benedictione, mortificato nervo femoris et mutato nomine de Jacob in Israel (Gen. XXXII, 25, 31), paulisper secedit sponsus diu desideratus, cito elapsus. Subtrahit se tam a praedicta visione quam a dulcendine contemplationis: manet tamen praesens quantum ad gubernationem.

CAPUT VIII

9. Sed ne timeas, o sponsa, ne desperes, ne existimes te contemni, si paulisper tibi subtrahit sponsus faciem suam. Omnia ista cooperantur tibi in bonum, et de accessu et recessu lucrum acquiris. Tibi venit, tibi et recedit. Venit ad consolationem, recedit ad cautelam, ne magnitudo consolationis extollat te; ne, si semper apud te sit sponsus, incipias contemnere sodales, et hanc continuam visitationem non iam gratiae attribuas, sed naturae. Hanc autem gratiam cui vult, et quando vult sponsus tribuit; non quasi iure haereditario possidetur. Vulgare proverbium est, quod nimia familiaritas parit contemptum. Recedit ergo, ne forte nimis assiduus contemnatur, et absens magis desideretur, desideratus avidius quareratur, diu quaesitus, diu quaesitus tandem gratius inveniatur. Praetera si nunquam deesset hic consolatio (quae respectu futurae gloriae, quae revelabitur in nobis, aenigmatica est et ex parte), putaremus forte hic habere civitatem manentem et minus inquireremus futuram. Ne ergo exislium deputemus pro patria, arrham pro pretii summa. Venit sponsus, et recedit vicissim; nunc consolationem afferens, nunc universum stratum nostrum in infirmitatem commutans. Paulisper nos permittit gustare quam suavis est, et antequam plene sentiamus, se subtrahit: et ita quasi alis expansis supra nos volitans, provocat nos ad volandum. Quasi dicat: Ecce parum gustatis quam suavis sum et dulcis; sed si vultis plene saturari hac dulcedine currite post me in odore ungeuentorum meorum, habentes sursum corda, ubi ego sum in dextera Dei Patris. Ibi videbitis me, non per speculum in aenigmate, sed facie ad faciem; et plene gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis.

CAPUT IX

10. Sed cave tibi, o sponsa: quando absentat se sponsus, non longe abibit; et si non vides eum, ipse tamen videt te semper, plenus oculis ante et retro. Nunquam potes eum latere. Habet etiam circa te nuntios suos spiritus, quasi sagacissimos exploratores, ut videant quomodo absente sponso converseris, et accusent te coram ipso, si aliqua signa lasciviae et scurrilitiatis in te deprehenderint. Zelotypus est sponsus iste. Si forte alium amatorem receperis, si aliis magis placere studueris statim discendet a te, et aliis adhaerebit adolescentulis. Delicatus est sponsus iste, nobilis et dives est, speciosus forma prae filiis hominum; et ideo non nisi speciosam dignatur habere sponsam. Si viderit in te maculam sive rugam, statim avertit oculos. Nullam enim immunditiam potest sustinere. Esto ergo casta, esto verecunda et humilis; ut sic a sponso tuo merearis frequenter visitari. Timeo ne diutius detinuerit nos sermo iste; sed ad haec compulit me materia fertilis pariter et dulcis, quam ego non protrahebam spontaeneus; sed nescio qua eius dulcedine trahebar invitus.

CAPUT X

11. Ut ergo quae diffusius dicta sunt, simul iuncta melius videantur, praedictorum summam recapitulando colligamus. Sicut in praedicitis exemplis praenotatum est, videri potest quomodo praedicti gradus cohaereant, et sicut temporaliter, ita et causaliter se praecedant. Lectio enim quasi fundamentum primo occurrit, et data materia mittit vos ad meditatiorem. Meditatio vero quid appetendum sit diligentius inquirit, et quasi effodiens thesaurum invenit et ostendit. Sed cum per se obtinere non valeat, mittit nos ad orationem. Oratio, se totis viribus erigens ad Dominum, impetrat thesarum desiderabilem, contemplantionis suavitatem. Haec autem adveniens, praedictorum trium laborem remunerat, dum coelestis rore dulcedinis animam sitientem inebriat. Lectio ergo est secundum exterius exercitium: meditatio, secundum interiorem intellectum: oratio, secundum desiderium: contemplatio, super omnem sensum. Primus gradus est incipientium, secundus est proficientium, tertius est devotorum, quartus beatorum.

CAPUT XI

12. Hi autem gradus ita concatenati sunt, et vicaria ope sibi invicem deserviunt, quod praecedentes sine subsequentibus aut parum aut nihil prosunt: sequentes vero sine praecedentibus aut raro aut nunquam haberi possunt. Quid enim prodest lectione continua tempus occupare, sanctorum gesta et scripta legendo transcurrere, nis ea etiam masticando et ruminando succum eliciamus; et transglutiendo usque ad cordis intima transmittamus: ut ex his diligenter consideremus statum nostrum, et studeamus eorum opera agere, quorum facta cupimus lectitare? Sed quomodo haec cogitabimus, aut quomodo cavere poterimus ne, falsa aut inania quaedam mediatando, limites a sanctis patribus consistutos transeamus, nisi prius circa huiusmodi ante ex lectione aut ex auditu fuerimus instructi? Auditus enim quodam modo pertinet ad lectionem. Unde solemus dicere, non solum libros ipsos nos legisse quos nobis ipsis vel aliis legimus, sed illos etiam quos a magistris audivimus. Item quid prodest homini si per meditationem quae agenda sunt videat, nisi orationis auxilio et Dei gratia ad ea obtinenda convalescat? Omne siquidem datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum (Jacob. I, 17), sine quo nihil possumus facere: sed ipse in nobis facit opera, non tamen omnino sine nobis. Cooperatores enim Dei sumus, sicut dicit Apostolus (I. Cor. III, 9). Vult siquidem Deus ut eum adiuvemus, et ut ei, advenienti et praestolanti ad ostium, aperiamus sinum voluntatis nostrae, et ei consentiamus. Hunc consensum exigebat a Samaritana, quando dicebat: Voca virum tuum. Quasi diceret: Volo tibi infundere gratiam, tu applica liberum arbitrium. Orationem exigebat ab ea, cum dicebat: Tu si scires donum Dei, et quis est qui dicit tibi, Da mihi bibere: forsitan petiisses ab eo aquam viam. Hoc audito, quasi ex lectione mulier instructa, meditata est in corde suo bonum sibi fore et utile habere hanc aquam. Accensa ergo habendi desiderio, convertit se ad orationem, dicens: Domine, da mihi hanc aquam, ut non sitiam amplius, neque veniam huc haurire aquam (Joan. IV. 16, 10, 15). Ecce auditus verbi Domini, et sequens super eo meditatio incitaverunt eam ad orandum. Quomodo namque esset sollicitia ad postulandum, nisi prius eam accendisset meditatio? Aut quid ei praecedens meditatio contulisset, nisi quae appetenda monstrabat, sequens oratio impetrasset? Ad hoc ergo ut fructuosa sit meditatio, oportet ut sequatur orationis devotio, euius quasi effectus est contemplationis dulcedo.

CAPUT XII

13. Ex his possumus colligere: quod lectio sine meditatione arida est; meditatio sine lectione, erronea; oratio sine meditatione est tepida; meditatio sine oratione, infructousa: oratio cum devotione contemplationis acquisitiva; contemplationis adeptio sine oratione, aut rara, aut miraculosa. Deus cuius potentiae non est numerus vel terminus, et cuius misericordia super omnia opera eius, quandoque ex lapidibibus suscitat filios Abrahae, dum duros et nolentes acquiescere cogit ut velint: et ita quasi prodigus, ut vulgo dici solet, bovem cornu trahit, quando non vocatus se infundit. Quod etsi quandoque aliquibus legimus contigisse, ut Paulo et quibusdam aliis, non tamen ideo debemus nos, quasi Deum tentando, divina praesumere, sed facere quod ad nos pertinet: legere scilicet et meditari in lege Dei; orare ipsum ut adiuvet infirmitatem nostram et videat imperfectum nostrum: quod ipse docet nos facere, dicens, Petite, et accipietis; quaerite, et inveniestis; pulsute, et aperiertur vobis (Matth. VII, 7). Nunc enim regnum coelorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud (Id. XI, 12). Ecce ex praesignatis distintionibus perspici possunt praedictorum graduum proprietates, quomodo sibi cohaereant, et quid singuli in nobis efficiant.

14. Beatus homo cuius animus, a caeteris negotiis vacuus, in his quatuor gradibus versari semper desiderat: qui, venditis universis quae habuit, emit agrum illum in quo latet thesaurus desiderabilis, scilicet vacare, et videre quam suavis est Dominus: qui in primo gradu exercitatus, in secundo circumspectus, in tertio devotus, in quarto supra se levatus, per has ascensiones, quas in corde suo disposuit, ascendet de virtute in virtutem, donec videat Deum deorum in Sion. Beatus cui in hoc supremo gradu vel modico tempore conceditur manere, qui vere potest dicere: Ecce sentio gratiam Domini; ecce cum Petro et Joanne gloriam eius in monte contemplor; ecce cum Jacob plerumque Rachelis amplexibus delector. Sed caveat sibi iste ne post contemplationem istam, qua elevatus fuerit usque ad coelos, inordinato casu corruat usque ad abyssos, nec post Dei visionem ad lascivos mundi actus et carnis illecebras convertatur. Cum vero mentis humanae acies infirma veri luminis illustrationem diutius sustinere non poterit, ad aliquem trium graduum, per quos ascenderat, leviter et ordinate descendat: et alternatim modo in uno, modo in altero, secundum modum liberi arbitrii, pro ratione loci et temporis demoretur, tanto iam Deo vicinior, quanto a primo gradu remotior. Sed heu! Fragilis et miserabilis humana conditio! Ecce ductu rationis et Scripturarum testimoniis aperte videmus in his quatuor gradibus bonae vitae perfectionem contineri, et in eis spiritualis hominis exercitium debere versari. Sed quis est qui hunc vivendi tramitem teneat? Quis est hic? Et laudabimus eum. Velle multis adiacet, sed perficere paucis. Et utinam de istis paucis essemus.

CAPUT XIII

15. Sunt autem quatuor causae, quae retrahunt nos plerumque ab istis gradibus: scilicet inevitabilis necessitas, honestae actionis utilitas, humana infirmitas, mundialis vantias. Prima est excusabilis; secund, tolerabilis; tertia, miserabilis; quarta culpabilis. Illis enim quos huiusmodi novissima causa a sancto proposito retrahit, melius erat gloriam Dei non cognoscere, quam post agnitam retroire. Quam utique excusationem habebit iste de peccato? Nonne ei iuste potest dicere Dominus, Quid debui tibi facere, et non feci? (Isai. V, 4). Non eras, et creavi te: peccasti, et diaboli servum te feceras, et redemi te: in mundi circuitu cum impiis currebas, et elegi te. Dederam tibi gratiam in conspectu meo, et volebam facere apud te mansionem: tu vero despexisiti me; et non solum sermones meos, sed me ipsum proiecisiti retrorsum, et ambulasti post concupiscentias tuas. Sed, o Deus bone, suavis et mitis, amicus dulcis, consiliarius prudens, adiutor fortis, quam inhumanus, quam temerarius est qui te abiicit, qui tam humilem, tam mansuetum hospitem a suo corde repellit! O quam infelix et damnosa commutatio! Creatorem suum abiicere, et pravas noxiasque cogitationes recipere! Illud etiam secretum cubile Spiritus sancti, secretum cordis, quod paulo ante coelestibus gaudiis intendebat, tam subito immundis cogitationibus et peccatis tradere conculcandum! Adhuc in corde calent sponsi vestigia; et iam intromittuntur adulterina desideria? Male conveniens et indecorum est, aures quae modo audierunt verba quae non licet homini loqui, tam cito inclinari ad fabulas et detractiones audiendas; oculos, qui sacris lacrymis modo baptizati erant, repente converti ad videndas vanitates; linguam, quae modo dulce epithalamium decantaverat, quae ignitis et persuasoriis eloquiis suis cum sponso reconciliaverat sponsam et introduxerat eam in cellam vinariam, iterum converti ad vana eloquia, ad scurrilitates, ad concinnandum dolos, ad detrationes. Absit a nobis, Domine! Sed si forte ex humana infirmitate ad talia dilabimur, non ideo desperemus, sed iterum recurramus ad clementem Medicum, qui suscitat de terra inopem, et erigit de stercore pauperem (Psal. CXII, 7), et qui non vult mortem peccatoris: iterum curabit et sanabit nos.

16. Iam tempus est ut epistolae finem imponamus. Oremus ergo Deum ut impedimenta, quae nos ab eius contemplatione retrahunt, in praesenti nobis mitiget, in futuro nobis penitus auferat: qui per praedictos gradus de virtute in virtutem nos perducat, donec videamus Deum deorum in Sion: ubi electi non guttatim, non interpolatim percipient divinae contemplationis dulcedinem, sed torrente voluptatis indesinenter repleti, habebunt gaudium quod nemo tollet ab eis, et pacem incommutabilem, pacem in id ipsum. Tu ergo, frater mi Gervasi (27), si quando datum tibi fuerit desuper praedictorum graduum celsitudinem consecendere, memento mei: et ora pro me, cum bene fuerit tibi; ut sic cortina cortinam trahabt, et qui audit, dicat: Veni.

(27) Sic habet manuscriptus; non Gofrede, uti hactenus lectum.

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