The six and thritty chapitre. Of the meditacions of hem that contynuely travailen in the werk of this book.
The Sudden Notions of the Devout Worker
Those who work at this book experience meditations as sudden, blind feelings of their own wretchedness or God's goodness, learned more readily from God than from man.
But it's not so with those who continually work at the work of this book. For their meditations are like sudden notions and blind feelings of their own wretchedness, or of the goodness of God, without any means of reading or hearing coming beforehand, and without any special contemplation of anything under God.1 These sudden notions and these blind feelings are learned more readily from God than from man.
The Simple Word of Sin and God
The author advises using only the words 'sin' and 'God' without analytical reasoning, holding them whole, and experiencing sin as a lump that is oneself, leading to a deep, settled restfulness.
I wouldn't mind if nowadays you had no other meditations on your own wretchedness, or on the goodness of God — I mean if you feel yourself stirred this way by grace and by counsel — except such as you can have in this word sin and in this word God, or in such other words as you please; not breaking apart or explaining these words with clever curiosity of the mind, examining their qualities as if by that examination you'd increase your devotion. I believe it would never be that way in this case and in this work.2 But keep these words entirely whole; and mean by sin a lump — you never know what — nothing other than yourself. It seems to me that in this blind beholding of sin, thus congealed in a lump (nothing other than yourself), there'd be no need to restrain a wilder creature than you would be at this time.3 And yet, perhaps, whoever looked at you would think you very soberly composed in body, without any change of countenance — only sitting, or walking, or lying, or leaning, or standing, or kneeling, whichever you were, in a deep, settled restfulness.4
Read the original Middle English
But it is not so with hem that contynuely worchen in the werk of this book. For theire meditacions ben as thei were sodein conseites and blynde felynges of theire owne wrechidnes, or of the goodnes of God, withoutyn any menes of redyng or heryng comyng before, and withoutyn any specyal beholdyng of any thing under God. Thees sodeyn conseytes and thees blynde felynges ben sonner lernyd of God then of man.
I maad no force, thof thou haddest nowondayes none other meditacions of thin owne wrechidnes, ne of the goodnes of God -- I mene yif thou fele thee thus steryd by grace and by counseyl -- bot soche as thou mayst have in this worde synne and in this worde God, or in soche other, whiche as the list; not brekyng ne expounyng thees wordes with coryousté of witte, in beholdyng after the qualitees of thees wordes, as thou woldest by that beholdyng encrees thi devocion. I trowe it schuld never be so in this caas and in this werk. Bot holde hem alle hole theese wordes; and mene synne a lump, thou wost never what, none other thing bot thiself. Me think that in this blynde beholdyng of synne, thus conjelyd in a lumpe (none other thing than thiself) it schuld be no nede to bynde a woder thing then thou schuldest be in this tyme. And yit, paraventure, whoso lokid apon thee schuld think thee ful sobirly disposid in body, withoutyn any chaunging of contenaunce; bot sittyng, or going, or liggyng, or lenyng, or stondyng, or knelyng, whether thou were in a ful sad restfulnes.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'conseites'/'conseytes' here means sudden interior notions or flashes of conception, not vanity; rendered as 'notions' to keep that force without archaic 'conceits'.
- 2 ↩Antecedent of 'so' is the preceding claim that clever analysis of the words would increase devotion; rendered as that outcome never holding in this contemplative work.
- 3 ↩ME 'woder' taken as 'wilder'; 'bynde' as 'restrain/bind'. Sense: the interior intensity of this blind regard would already make you as stirred as any wild thing that needs binding.
- 4 ↩ME 'sad' here means steadfast/settled rather than sorrowful; rendered as 'deep, settled restfulness'.
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