The twelfthe chapitre. That by vertewe of this werk sinne is not only distroied, bot also vertewes ben getyn.
The Unceasing Dart of Longing Love
The author urges the reader to persist in the work of the cloud of unknowing, striking with love, and explains that this work alone destroys the root of sin, far surpassing any bodily penance.
And so, if you want to stand and not fall, never stop your intention, but keep beating always on this cloud of unknowing that is between you and your God with a sharp dart of longing love. And be unwilling to think of anything less than God. And don't leave that place for anything that happens.1 For this alone, by itself, is the work that destroys the ground and root of sin. No matter how much you fast, how long you keep vigil, how early you rise, how hard a bed you lie on, how rough a hair shirt you wear — yes, and if it were lawful to do (as it is not), even if you put out your eyes, cut your tongue out of your mouth, stopped up your ears and your nose as tightly as you could, even if you cut away your private parts and did to your body every pain you could think of: none of this would help you at all.2 Yet the stirring and rising of sin will still be in you.
The Better Part of Mary
Even devout practices like weeping for sins or meditating on heaven are of little profit without this blind stirring of love, which is Mary's better part.
Yes—and what's more! No matter how much you weep in sorrow for your sins or for the Passion of Christ, or no matter how much you keep the joys of heaven in your mind—what good does it do you? Certainly it will get you much good, much help, much profit, and much grace; but compared to this blind stirring of love, what it does—or can do—without this is only a little.3 This by itself is Mary's better part, apart from these others.4 Without it, they profit little or nothing.
Virtue Rooted in God Alone
The work not only destroys sin but also gains all virtues, for true virtue is an ordered affection directed solely to God, exemplified by meekness and charity.
It destroys not only the ground and the root of sin, as far as that can happen here, but it also gains virtues. For if it is truly conceived, all virtues will be subtly and perfectly conceived and felt as if they are contained within it, without any mixing of intention.5 And even if a person has many virtues without it, they are all mixed with some crooked intention, and that is why they are imperfect. For virtue is nothing other than an ordered and measured affection, plainly directed to God for Himself. For He Himself is the pure cause of all virtues—to such an extent that if anyone is moved to any virtue by any other cause mixed with Him, even if that other cause is the primary one, that virtue is still imperfect.6 This can be seen, for example, in one or two virtues standing in for all the others. And these two virtues might well be meekness and charity, for anyone who could gain these two would clearly need no more, because then he would have them all.7
Read the original Middle English
And therfore, yif thou wilt stonde and not falle, seese never in thin entent, bot bete evermore on this cloude of unknowyng that is bitwix thee and thi God with a scharpe darte of longing love. And lothe for to think on ought under God. And go not thens for thing that befalleth. For this is only bi itself that werk that distroieth the grounde and the rote of synne. Fast thou never so mochel, wake thou never so longe, rise thou never so eerly, ligge thou never so harde, were thou never so scharp, ye, and yif it were leveful to do -- as it is not -- puttest thou oute thin yghen, cuttest thou oute thi tonge of thi mouth, stoppedest thou thin eren and thi nose never so fast, though thou schere awei thi prevé membres and dedest al the pine to thi body that thou mightest think: alle this wolde help thee right nought. Yit wil stering and rising of synne be in thee.
Ye, and what more! Wepe thou never so moche for sorow of thi sinnes or of the Passion of Criste, or have thou never so moche mynde of the joies of heven, what may it do to thee? Serkirly moche good, moche helpe, moche profite, and moche grace wol it gete thee; bot in comparison of this blinde steryng of love, it is bot a litil that it doth, or may do, withouten this. This bi itself is the best partye of Mary, withouten thees other. Thei withouten it profiten litel or nought. It distroieth not only the grounde and the rote of sinne, as it may be here, bot therto it geteth vertewes. For and it be treuly conceyvid, alle vertewes scholen be sotely and parfitely conceyvid and felid comprehendid in it, withouten any medeling of the entent. And have a man never so many vertewes withouten it, alle thei ben medelid with sum crokid entent, for the whiche thei ben inparfite.
For vertewe is not elles bot an ordeinde and a mesurid affeccion, pleinly directe unto God for Himself. For whi He in Himself is the clene cause of alle vertewes; insomochel that yif any man be sterid to any o vertewe by any other cause medelid with Him -- ye thof al it be the cheef -- yit that vertewe is than inparfite. As thus, bi ensaumple, may be seen in o vertewe or two in stede of alle the other. And wel may theese two vertewes be meeknes and charité, for whoso might gete theese two, cleerly him nedid no mo: for whi he had alle.
Notes
- 1 ↩thens = thence/from there: the cloud-work / intent fixed on God, not a physical location.
- 2 ↩were ... scharp = wear a sharp/rough penitential garment (hair shirt); rendered as 'rough a hair shirt' for clarity.
- 3 ↩Source 'Serkirly' is taken as ME sikerly/certeynly ('certainly'); the spelling looks variant/corrupt but the intended sense is clear.
- 4 ↩'Best partye of Mary' echoes the Gospel saying that Mary chose the better/best part; rendered to keep that recognizable cadence while staying modern.
- 5 ↩'Withouten any medeling of the entent' means without admixture or divided aiming in the will's intention; the virtues are held whole within the single work of love.
- 6 ↩"clene cause" rendered as "pure cause": unmixed/sole originating cause, not merely moral purity.
- 7 ↩"charité" rendered as "charity" (theological virtue), not generic kindness or almsgiving; "love" is an allowed alternate.
The Cloud of Unknowing 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
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