The nine and twenty chapitre. That a man schuld bidingly travaile in this werk, and suffre the pine therof, and deme no man.
The Call to Patient Labor
Everyone must labor in the contemplative work and endure its pain, but sinners bear a greater burden than the innocent.
And therefore, whoever longs to recover the purity he lost through sin, and to reach that blessed state where all sorrow is gone, must patiently keep laboring at this work and endure the pain of it—no matter who he is, whether he's been a habitual sinner or not. Everyone has to work at this—both sinners and the innocent who have never committed great sins. But those who have been sinners have a much harder task than those who haven't, which makes perfect sense.1
Grace Reverses Human Expectations
God's merciful grace often brings habitual sinners to perfection sooner, and on Judgment Day the despised will be honored while the seemingly holy may be humbled.
Still, it often happens that some who have been horrible, habitual sinners come sooner to the perfection of this work than those who have not been sinners at all. And this is the merciful miracle of our Lord, who gives His grace so especially, to the wonder of all the world. Now truly, I hope Judgment Day will be a fair sight, when God will be seen clearly, and all His gifts.2 Then some who are now despised and counted as little or nothing—treated as common sinners—and perhaps some who are now horrible sinners, will sit most fittingly with the saints in His sight; while some of those who now seem fully holy and are honored by people as angels, and some of those, perhaps, who have never yet sinned mortally, will sit full of sorrow among hell's calves.3
Judge Deeds, Not Persons
Because of the hidden judgments of God, we must not judge people but only their actions.
By this you can see that no one should be judged by another here in this life, neither for the good nor for the evil that they do. Nevertheless, deeds may lawfully be judged, but not the people, whether they are good or evil.4
Read the original Middle English
And therfore, whoso coveitith to come to clennes that he lost for synne, and to wynne to that welthe ther alle wo wantith, him bihovith bidingly to travayle in this werke, and suffre the pyne therof, whatsoever that he be, whether he have ben a customable sinner or none.
Alle men han travayle in this werke, bothe synners and innocentes that never synnyd greetly. Bot fer gretter travayle haven thoo that have ben synners then they that have ben none; and that is greet skyle.
Nevertheles, oftymes it befallith that somme, that have ben orrible and customable synners, comen sonner to the perfeccion of this werk then thoo that ben none. And this is the mercyful myracle of oure Lorde, that so specyaly gevith His grace, in wondryng of alle this woreld. Now trewly I hope that on Domesday schal be fayre, when that God schal be seen cleerly and alle His giftes. Thanne schal somme that now ben dyspisid and sette at lytil or nought as comon synners, and paraventure somme that now ben horrible synners, sitte ful seemly with seyntes in his sight; when somme of thoo that semen now ful holy and ben worschepid of men as aungelles, and somme of thoo yit paraventure that never yit synned deedly, schul sitten ful sory amonges helle calves.
Herby maist thou see that no man schuld be demyd of other here in this liif, for good ne for yvel that they do. Nevertheles dede may levefully be demyd, bot not the men, whether thei ben good or yvel.
Notes
- 1 ↩Middle English skyle can mean reason, cause, or sound judgment; rendered as 'makes good sense' for natural contemporary cadence while preserving the claim that the harder labor of former sinners is well-founded.
- 2 ↩ME 'fayre' can mean beautiful/splendid or just/equitable; rendered as 'a fair sight' to keep both the visual and judicial coloring with Domesday revelation of God and His gifts.
- 3 ↩ME 'helle calves' is a vivid Cloud idiom for the damned; kept literally rather than flattened to 'the damned.'
- 4 ↩Rendered lawfully in the sense of what is permitted/licit; rightly would also be faithful.
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