Libro Primero — Capítulo 8
The Twofold Purgation
The author introduces the concept of the dark night as a twofold purgation of the senses and the spirit, distinguishing between the common experience of beginners and the rare path of the advanced.
In which the first verse of the first stanza is explained, and the explanation of this dark night begins 1. This night, which we call contemplation, causes two kinds of darkness—or purgations—in spiritual people, corresponding to the two parts of the human person: the sensory and the spiritual. And so one night or purgation will be sensory, by which the soul is purged according to the senses, adapting them to the spirit; and the other is a spiritual night or purgation, by which the soul is purged and stripped according to the spirit, adapting it and preparing it for union of love with God. The sensory night is common and happens to many, specifically beginners, whom we will discuss first; the spiritual night is for very few, specifically those who are already practiced and advanced, whom we will discuss later. 2. The first purgation, or night, is bitter and terrible for the sense, as we will now explain. The second is incomparable, because it is dreadful and terrifying for the spirit, as we will discuss later. Because the sensory night comes first in order, we will briefly address it first—since it is a more common experience and more has been written about it. This will allow us to move on to treat the spiritual night more carefully, as there is very little language about that night, whether in speech or in writing, and even very little from experience.1
Weaning the Soul
God leads the soul into the night of the senses by withdrawing spiritual consolations, effectively weaning the beginner from their reliance on sensory pleasure in prayer.
3. So then: since the way beginners walk the path of God is still low and borders closely on their own self-love and pleasure, as has already been explained above, and since God wants to lead them further—to draw them out of this low kind of love into a higher degree of love for God, free them from the low exercise of the senses and discursive reasoning by which, as we have said, they go seeking God so sparingly and with so many drawbacks, and set them in the exercise of the spirit, where they can communicate with God more abundantly and freer from imperfections—once they have practiced for some time on the path of virtue, persevering in meditation and prayer, and through the savor and pleasure they have found there have become detached from the things of the world and gained some spiritual strength in God, with which they have somewhat restrained their appetites for creatures, so that they can bear for God a little burden and dryness without turning back—at the very best moment, when they are walking with the most savor and pleasure in these spiritual exercises, and when the sun of the divine favors seems to them to shine most clearly, God darkens all that light for them and shuts the door and the spring of the sweet spiritual water they used to taste in God whenever they wanted and for as long as they wanted; because, since they were weak and tender, no door was shut against them, as Saint John says in the Apocalypse (3:8).✦ He leaves them so much in the dark that they don't know where to turn with their imagination or discursive reasoning, because they can't take a step in meditation as they used to—their interior sense is drowned in these nights. He leaves them so dry that not only do they find no joy or pleasure in the spiritual things and good exercises where they once found their delights, but they actually find distaste and bitterness in those same things. As I've said, God senses they have grown somewhat, so to strengthen them and help them leave their swaddling clothes behind, He weans them from the sweet breast and, lowering them from His arms, trains them to walk on their own feet. They feel a great strangeness in this, because everything has been turned upside down for them. 4. This commonly happens more quickly to recollected people, after they begin, than to everyone else, because they are freer from occasions to turn back and reform more promptly their appetites for the things of the world—which is what is required if they are to begin to enter this blessed night of the senses. Ordinarily, it doesn't take long after they begin for them to enter this night of the senses; most of them do enter it, because you'll commonly see them fall into these drynesses.
The Commonality of the Night
The author notes that the sensory night is a common experience attested to throughout Scripture and personal spiritual life.
5. Of this kind of sensory purgation, since it is so common, we could bring in here a great number of authorities from Holy Scripture, where at every turn—especially in the Psalms and the Prophets—many are found. I don't want to spend time on this, because for anyone who can't find them there, the common experience people have of it will be enough.2
Read the original Latin
En que se declara el primer verso de la primera canción y se comienza a explicar esta noche oscura
1. Esta noche, que decimos ser la contemplación, dos maneras de tinieblas causa en los espirituales o purgaciones, según las dos partes del hombre, conviene a saber, sensitiva y espiritual.
Y así, la una noche o purgación será sensitiva, con que se purga el alma según el sentido, acomodándolo al espíritu; y la otra es noche o purgación espiritual, con que se purga y desnuda el alma según el espíritu, acomodándole y disponiéndole para la unión de amor con Dios. La sensitiva es común y que acaece a muchos, y éstos son los principiantes, de la cual trataremos primero; la espiritual es de muy pocos, y éstos ya de los ejercitados y aprovechados, de que trataremos después.
2. La primera purgación o noche es amarga y terrible para el sentido, como ahora diremos. La segunda no tiene comparación, porque es horrenda y espantable para el espíritu, como luego diremos. Y porque en orden es primero y acaece primero la sensitiva, de ella con brevedad diremos alguna cosa primero, porque de ella, como cosa más común, se hallan más cosas escritas, por pasar a tratar más de propósito de la noche espiritual, por haber de ella muy poco lenguaje, así de plática como de escritura, y aun de experiencia muy poco.
3. Pues, como el estilo que llevan los principiantes en el camino de Dios es bajo y que frisa mucho con su propio amor y gusto, como arriba queda dado a entender, queriendo Dios llevarlos adelante, y sacarlos de este bajo modo de amor a más alto grado de amor de Dios y librarlos de bajo ejercicio del sentido y discurso, con que tan tasadamente y con tantos inconvenientes, como habemos dicho, andan buscando a Dios, y ponerlos en el ejercicio de espíritu, en que más abundantemente y más libres de imperfecciones pueden comunicarse con Dios; ya que se han ejercitado algún tiempo en el camino de la virtud, perseverando en meditación y oración, en que con el sabor y gusto que allí han hallado se han desaficionado de las cosas del mundo y cobrado algunas espirituales fuerzas en Dios, con que tienen algo refrenados los apetitos de las criaturas, con que podrán sufrir por Dios un poco de carga y sequedad sin volver atrás, al mejor tiempo, cuando más a sabor y gusto andan en estos ejercicios espirituales, y cuando más claro a su parecer les luce el sol de los divinos favores, oscuréceles Dios toda esta luz y ciérrales la puerta y manantial de la dulce agua espiritual que andaban gustando en Dios todas las veces y todo el tiempo que ellos querían; porque, como eran flacos y tiernos, no había puerta cerrada para éstos, como dice san Juan en el Apocalipsis (3, 8). Y así, los deja tan a oscuras que no saben dónde ir con el sentido de la imaginación y el discurso, porque no pueden dar un paso en meditar como antes solían, anegado ya el sentido interior en estas noches, y déjalos tan a secas que no sólo no hallan jugo y gusto en las cosas espirituales y buenos ejercicios en que solían ellos hallar sus deleites y gustos, mas, en lugar de esto, hallan por el contrario sinsabor y amargura en las dichas cosas; porque, como he dicho, sintiéndolos ya Dios aquí algo crecidillos, para que se fortalezcan y salgan de mantillas los desarrima del dulce pecho y, abajándolos de sus brazos, los veza a andar por sus pies; en lo cual sienten ellos gran novedad porque se les ha vuelto todo al revés.
4. Esto a la gente recogida comúnmente acaece más en breve, después que comienzan, que a los demás, por cuanto están más libres de ocasiones para volver atrás y reformar más presto los apetitos de las cosas del siglo, que es lo que se requiere para comenzar a entrar en esta dichosa noche del sentido. Ordinariamente no pasa mucho tiempo, después que comienzan, en entrar en esta noche del sentido; y todos los más entran en ella, porque comúnmente les verán caer en estas sequedades.
5. De esta manera de purgación sensitiva, por ser tan común, podríamos traer aquí grande número de autoridades de la Escritura divina, donde a cada paso, particularmente en los Salmos y en los Profetas, se hallan muchas. Por tanto, no quiero en esto gastar tiempo, porque el que allí no las supiere mirar, bastarle ha la común experiencia que de ella se tiene.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rev.3.8 — I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. You have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Notes
- 1 ↩sensitiva: the sensory / sense-level night (purgation of the sense), as opposed to the spiritual night of the spirit; kept as “sensory night” for consistency with the chapter’s technical pair sensitiva / espiritual.
- 2 ↩Archaic Spanish 'bastarle ha' = modern 'le bastará' (will be enough for him/her). 'No las supiere mirar' = cannot recognize/find those scriptural authorities there.
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