The fiftene chapitre. A schort profe agens theire errour that seien that ther is no parfiter cause to be mekid under then is the mynde of a mans owne wrechidnes.
The Perfect Humility of Grace
The author affirms that perfect humility can be reached by grace and states his purpose to refute those who think the remembrance of sin is the only cause.
And trust firmly that there is such a perfect humility as I speak of, and that it can be reached through grace in this life. And I say this to confound their error—those who say that there is no more perfect cause of humility than the one raised by the remembrance of our wretchedness and our past sins.
Two Causes for Humility
The writer distinguishes between the necessary humility that comes from remembering one's sins, and the far higher humility that arises for those called to contemplation, who are like the blessed Virgin.
I freely grant that for those who have lived in habitual sins — as I myself am and have been — it is the most needful and helpful cause for being humbled: the remembrance of our wretchedness and of the sins we have committed before, until the great rust of our sin has been largely rubbed away, as our conscience and our counsel bear witness.1 But for others who are, so to speak, innocents—who never sinned mortally with a lasting will and deliberate purpose, but only through frailty and ignorance—and who set themselves to become contemplatives—and for both of us, if our counsel and our conscience witness our lawful amendment in contrition, confession, and making satisfaction according to the statute and ordinance of all Holy Church, and if, what's more, we feel ourselves stirred and called by grace to be contemplatives as well—there is then another cause under which to be humbled, as far above this cause as the life of our Lady Saint Mary is above the life of the most sinful penitent in Holy Church, or as the life of Christ is above the life of any other person in this life, or else as the life of an angel in heaven—who never felt frailty, and never will—is above the life of the frailest person here in this world.2
The Humility of Christ and the Saints
The author argues that there must be a perfect cause of humility beyond the awareness of sin, since Christ, Mary, and the saints have no sin yet are perfectly humble, and he closes with the gospel call to be perfect by grace.
If it were true that there's no perfect reason to be humbled except by seeing and feeling wretchedness, then I'd ask those who say that: what reason are they humbled by who never see or feel—and never will have in them—any wretchedness or stirring of sin, as is true of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lady Saint Mary, and all the saints and angels in heaven? To this perfection, and to all others, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself calls us in the Gospel, where He bids that we should be perfect by grace as He Himself is by nature.3
Read the original Middle English
And trist stedfastliche that ther is soche a parfite meeknes as I speke of, and that it may be comen to thorow grace in this liif. And this I sey in confusion of theire errour, that seyen that ther is no parfiter cause of meeknes then is that the whiche is reysid of the mynde of oure wrechidnes and oure before-done synnes.
I graunte wel that to hem that han ben in customable sinnes, as I am myself and have ben, it is the moste needful and speedful cause: to be mekyd under the mynde of oure wrechidnes and oure before-done synnes, ever to the tyme be that the grete rust of oure sinne be in grete party rubbid awey, oure consience and oure counsel to witnes.
Bot to other that ben as it were innocentes, the whiche never sinned deedly with an abidyng wil and avisement, bot thorou freelté and unknowyng, and the whiche setten hem to be contemplatyves -- and to us bothe, yif oure counsel and oure concience witnes oure laweful amendement in contricion and in confession and in aseethmakyng after the statute and the ordinaunce of alle Holy Chirche, and, therto, yif we fele us sterid and clepid bi grace to be contemplatives also -- ther is than another cause to be mekyd under, as fer aboven this cause as is the levyng of oure Lady Seint Marye aboven the levyng of the sinfulest penaunt in Holy Chirche, or the levyng of Criste aboven the levyng of any other man in this liif, or elles the levyng of an aungel in heven, the whiche never felid -- ne schal fele -- freelté, is aboven the liif of the frelest man that is here in this woreld.
For yif it so were that ther were no parfite cause to be mekyd under, bot in seyng and felyng of wrechidnes, then wolde I wite at hem that seien so what cause thei ben mekid under, that never seen ne felen -- ne never schal be in hem -- wrechidnes ne steryng of synne, as it is of oure Lorde Jhesu Criste, oure Lady Seinte Marye, and alle the seintes and aungelles in heven. To this perfeccion, and alle other, oure Lorde Jesu Criste clepith us Himself in the Gospel, where He biddeth that we schuld be parfite by grace as He Hymself is by kynde.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME "counsel" paired with conscience likely means a spiritual advisor or director (as in the next section), not merely private deliberation.
- 2 ↩Middle English aseethmakyng is the third part of sacramental penance (satisfaction/reparation); rendered as "making satisfaction" to keep the classical triad with contrition and confession.
- 3 ↩kynde here means nature (as opposed to grace), not kindness.
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
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent