That a soule schulde not seke withoute, but aske withinne of Jhesu, al that it
Turning Inward to the King
The soul is exhorted to abandon outward worldly distractions and instead seek the spiritual riches and wine of contemplation within the heart, where Jesus dwells.
needs.1 It's a shame for you to do that. So turn back home into yourself, stay within, and stop looking outside—especially not for swine's food. If you must be a beggar, ask and crave within from your Lord Jesus; He is rich enough, courteous and generous enough, and more glad to give than you are to ask.2 And don't run out anymore like a beast of the flock, like a worldly man or woman who has no other delight but in the bodily senses. If you do this, your Lord Jesus will give you all you need, for He can lead you into His wine cellar and let you taste His wines; He has many casks of whatever you like best. Thus a chosen soul, rejoicing in Holy Scripture, says to our Lord: Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam (Canticle 2:4).✦ A king led me into his wine cellar. And that means: insofar as I forsook the drunkenness of fleshly lusts and worldly pleasures, which are bitter as wormwood, therefore the King of bliss, our Lord Jesus, led me in — that is to say, first into myself to behold and know myself, and afterward He led me into His cellar, that is, above myself by passing over only into Him, and gave me a taste of His wine, that is, a taste and a likeness of spiritual sweetness and heavenly joy.3 These aren't my words—I, a wretched captive living in sin—but the words of our Lord's spouse in Holy Scripture. I’m telling you this so you can pull your soul away from outward things and follow as best you can.4
Read the original Latin
nedeth.
This is a schame to thee for to do so. And therfore turne agen hom into thisilf, and holde thee withinne and seke no more withouten, and nameli swynes mete; for yif thou algate be a beggere, aske and crave withinne of thi Lord Jhesu, for He is riche inow, curtais and free inow, and gladliere wole gyve thanne thou wolt aske. And renne no more out as a beest of the flook, as a wordli man or woman that hath no nothir delite but in his bodili wittes. And yif thou do thus, thy Lord Jhesu wole gyve thee al that thee nedeth, for He mai lede thee into His wyne seler and make thee to assaie of His wynes, for He hath many tonnes, whiche thee liketh best. Thus a chosen soule, joiynge in Holi Writ, seith to oure Lord: Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam (Canticle 2:4). A kynge ledde me into his wyne seeler. And that is for to sai: In as moche as I forsook the dronkennesse of flesschli lustes and wordli likynges, whiche aren bittere as wormode, forthi the kynge of blisse, oure Lord Jhesu ledde me in; that is to saie, first into mysilf for to biholde and knowe mysilf, and aftir He ladde me into his seler, that is to seie, above mysilf bi overpassynge oonli into Hym, and gaf me assaie of His wyne, that is to saie, a taast and a liknesse of goostli swettenesse and heveneli joie. Thise aren not wordes of me, a wrecchid caitif lyvynge in synne, but thei aren the wordes of the spouse of oure Lord in Hooli Writte.
And thise wordes I seie to thee, that thou myght drawe in thi soule fro withoutin and folwe aftir as as thou may.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Song.2.4 — He brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.
Notes
- 1 ↩This printed unit is only the Middle English verb nedeth (needs / is needful). It completes the chapter title’s unfinished clause ‘al that it’ as ‘all that it needs,’ rather than standing as an independent sentence.
- 2 ↩swynes mete: swine's food/fodder, the outward, base fare of a soul that begs outside itself rather than from Christ within; echoes the Prodigal Son among the swine.
- 3 ↩overpassynge oonli into Hym: contemplative overpassing / excessus into Christ alone; rendered as 'passing over only into Him' to keep the mystical ascent sense without pseudo-archaic diction.
- 4 ↩Source has doubled 'as as' in 'folwe aftir as as thou may'; treated as dittography and rendered once as 'as best you can'.
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