What knetteth Jhesu to mannys soule and what looseth Hym therfro.
The Knot of Divine Love
The soul is bound to Jesus through a steady desire for Him, which serves as the primary test for discerning whether a spiritual experience is of God or the enemy.
Jesus is knit and fastened to a person's soul through a good will and a deep desire for Him alone—to love Him, to possess Him, and to see Him in His bliss. The more spiritually a person desires, the more tightly Jesus is knit to the soul; the less they desire, the more loosely He is knit. So, any spirit or feeling that lessens this desire and draws it away from a mind steadily fixed on Jesus Christ—or away from the natural inclination toward Him—to focus it instead on itself, will unknit and undo Jesus from the soul; therefore, it is not from God, but is the work of the enemy.1 Nevertheless, if a spirit, feeling, or revelation increases this desire, knits the knot of love and devotion to Jesus more tightly, opens the soul's sight to spiritual understanding more clearly, and makes it more meek, then this spirit is of God.
Beyond Sensible Comforts
True contemplation requires moving beyond bodily feelings and sweetnesses to root oneself in the spiritual knowledge of God's attributes.
You can see the principle here: you must not willingly let your heart rest or delight entirely in any physical feelings, comforts, or sweetnesses, even if they are good. Instead, you should view them as nothing, or very little, compared to spiritual desire, and not set your heart too much upon them. You should always seek to arrive at a spiritual sensing of God—that is, that you might know the wisdom of God, His endless might, and His great goodness in Himself and in His creatures.2 For this is contemplation, and the other is not.3 As Saint Paul says: "Rooted and grounded in love, that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and the breadth, the height and the depth" (Ephesians 3:17–18). Be rooted and grounded in love, so that you may know—as he says—not the sound of the ear, nor the sweet taste in the mouth, nor any such bodily thing, but that you might know and feel with all the saints the length of God's endless being, the breadth of God's wonderful love and goodness, the height of His almighty majesty, and the bottomless depth of God's wisdom.✦4
Read the original Latin
The knyttyng and the festenynge of Jhesu to a mannys soule is bi good wille and a greet desire to Hym oonli, for to love and for to have Hym and see Him in His blisse. The more goostli that he desireth, the fastere is Jhesu knyt to the soule; and the lesse that he desireth, the lousere He is knyt. Than what spirit or what felyng that it be that leeseth this desire and wolde drawe hit doun fro stable mynde of Jhesu Crist, and from the kyndeli stiynge up to Hym, for to sette it upon himsilf, thys spirit wole unknytten and undo Jhesu from the soule, and therfore it is not of God, but it is of the wirkynge of the enemye. Neverthelees, yif a spirit, or a felynge, or revelacion maketh his desire more, knytteth the knotte of love and of devocion to Jhesu fastere, openeth the sight of the soule into goostli knowynge more cleerli, and maketh it more meke in itsilf, this spirit is of God. Here mai thu see sumwhat that thu schalt not suffre thyn herte wilfulli for to reste, ne for to delite hooli, in no bodili thynge of sich maner felinge, confortes or swettenessis, though thei were gode; but thou schalt holde hem in thyn owen sight as thei were right nought or litil in regard of gostli desire, ne sette not to mykil thyn herte upon hem. But thou schalt ay seke that thou myght come to goostli feelynge of God; and that is that thou myght knowe the wisdom of God, the eendelees myght of Hym, the grete goodnesse of Hym in Hymsilf and in His creatures. For this is contemplacion and that othir is noon. Thus seith Seynt Poul: In caritate radicati, et fundati, ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis, que sit longitudo, et latitudo, sublimitas, et profundum (Ephesians 3:17-18).
Be ye rootid and groundid in charité, that ye may knowe, he seith, neither the sound of the eere, ne the swete savour in the mouth, ne siche bodili thyng, but that ye myght knowe and fele with alle halewes, whiche is the lengthe of the eendelees beynge of God, the brede of the wondirful charité and goodnes of God, the heighte of the almyghti magesté of Hym, and the groundlees depnesse of the wisdom of God.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Eph.3.17-Eph.3.18 — that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith Eph.3.18 — rooted and grounded in love, that you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
Notes
- 1 ↩"kyndeli stiynge up" rendered as natural rising/ascent of the soul toward Christ — Hilton's sense of the soul's proper, connatural upward motion, not mere biology.
- 2 ↩"goostli feelynge" rendered as spiritual sensing/apprehension, not mere emotion; Hilton means experiential spiritual knowing of God.
- 3 ↩"that othir" points back to bodily feelings, comforts, and sweetnesses (s5), contrasted with spiritual knowing of God (s6).
- 4 ↩enm charité renders Paul's caritas (Eph 3:17); modern default is "love" for the theological virtue, not almsgiving.
Scala Perfectionis (The Scale of Perfection) companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent