The eight and thritty chapitre. How and whi that schort preier perceth heven.
The Four Dimensions of Prayer
The author explains that a short prayer of one syllable pierces heaven because it is prayed with the full spirit in height, depth, length, and breadth, corresponding to God's might, wisdom, everlastingness, and love, and thus any soul that prays in this way is heard by God.
And why does this short little prayer of a single syllable pierce heaven? Surely because it's prayed with a full spirit, in the height and in the depth, in the length and in the breadth of the spirit of the one who prays it. It is in the height, because it's with all the might of the spirit. It is in the depth, because in this little syllable are contained all the faculties of the spirit.1 It is in the length, because if it could forever feel as it feels, it would forever cry as it cries. It is in the breadth, because it wills for all others the same that it wills for itself. It is in this moment that a soul has comprehended, after the teaching of Saint Paul, with all the saints—not fully, but in a manner and in part, as befits this work—which is the length and the breadth, the height and the depth of everlasting and all-loving, almighty and all-wise God.2 The everlastingness of God is His length; His love is His breadth; His might is His height; and His wisdom is His depth. It's no wonder that a soul so closely conformed by grace to the image and likeness of God, its Maker, is soon heard by God. Yes—even if it is a thoroughly sinful soul that is like an enemy to God—and even if through grace it could come to cry so small a syllable in the height and depth, length and breadth of its spirit, still, because of the terrible noise of this cry, it would always be heard and helped by God.3
The Example of Mercy
Using the analogy of a person who helps even an enemy in distress, the author argues that God will have even greater mercy on a soul that cries out in the four dimensions of the spirit, since what is by nature is nearer than what is by grace.
Consider an example. The one who is your deadly enemy — and you hear him so terrified that he cries out from the height of his spirit this little word "fire," or this word "out" — yet, without any regard for him because he is your enemy, but from pure pity in your heart, stirred and raised by the sorrow of this cry, you rise up — yes!4 Even if it's the middle of a winter night, you help him put out the fire or calm him and ease his distress.5 Ah, Lord! Since a person can be made so merciful in grace as to have so much mercy and so much pity for an enemy, notwithstanding that enmity, what pity and what mercy will God then have for a spiritual cry in the soul, made and wrought in the height and the depth, the length and the breadth of his spirit — He who has by nature all that a person has by grace, and much more? Surely, beyond all comparison, He will have much more mercy; since what is possessed by nature is closer to everything than what is possessed by grace.6
Read the original Middle English
And whi peersith it heven, this lityl schort preier of o litil silable? Sikirly for it is preyed with a fulle spirite, in the height and in the depnes, in the lengthe and in the breed of his spirit that preieth it. In the height it is, for it is with al the might of the spirit. In the depnes it is, for in this lityl silable ben contyned alle the wittis of the spirit. In the lengthe it is, for might it ever fele as it felith, ever wolde it crie as it crieth. In the brede it is, for it wilnith the same to alle other that it wilnith to itself. In this tyme it is that a soule hath comprehendid, after the lesson of Seynte Poule, with alle seyntes -- not fully bot in maner and in partye, as it is acordyng unto this werk -- whiche is the lengthe and the breed, the height and the depnes of Everlastyng and Allovely, Almighty and Alle-witty God. The everlastyngnes of God is His lengthe; His love is His breed; His might is His height; and His wisdam is His depnes.
No wonder thof a soule, that is thus nigh confourmyd bi grace to the ymage and the licnes of God, his maker, be sone herde of God. Ye, thof it be a ful synful soule -- the whiche is to God as it were an enmye -- and it might thorow grace com to for to crye soche a lityl silable in the height and the depnes, the lengthe and the breed of his spirit, yit he scholde for the hidous noise of this crye be alweis herde and holpen of God.
Se by ensaumple. He that is thi deedly enmye, and thou here him so afraied that he crye in the height of his spirit this lityl worde fiir, or this worde oute: yit, withoutyn any beholdyng to hym for he is thin enmye, bot for pure pité in thin herte stirid and reisid with the doelfulnes of this crie, thou risist up -- ye! thof it be aboute midwintirs night -- and helpist hym to slecke his fiir, or for to stylle hym and rest hym in hys disese. A, Lorde! sithen a man may be maad so mercyful in grace, to have so moche mercy and so moche pité of his enmye, not agenstonding his enmité, what pité and what mercy schal God have than of a goostly crye in soule, maad and wrought in the height and the depnes, the lengthe and the breed of his spirit, the whiche hath al by kynde, that man hath by grace, and moche more? Sekirly withoutyn comparison moche more mercy wil he have; sithen so is that that thing that is so had by kynde is nerer to iche a thing then that the whiche is had by grace.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME wittis rendered as faculties (powers of the mind/spirit); also possible as wits or powers.
- 2 ↩Alle-witty rendered as all-wise (ME witty = knowing/wise), not witty in the modern clever sense.
- 3 ↩ME hidous means frightful/dreadful in force, not merely ugly; rendered as 'dreadful' to keep the intensity of the cry without modern 'hideous' connotations.
- 4 ↩ME 'oute' is the short cry 'Out!' (as in danger/distress), parallel to the one-syllable prayer-word elsewhere in the chapter; rendered as the spoken cry, not as a directional adverb.
- 5 ↩ME 'disese' means distress/trouble here, not medical disease; 'slecke' = quench/slake.
- 6 ↩The claim is that what belongs by nature (kynde) stands nearer to a being than what belongs only by grace; applied a fortiori to God's natural mercy versus human mercy received by grace.
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