The five and fourty chapitre. A good declaring of somme certein disseites that mowen falle in this werk.
The Danger of Deception
The author warns that a young disciple can be easily deceived in this work, and that the root of such deception is pride, fleshliness, and curiosity of mind.
But I'll tell you one thing: in this work, a young disciple who hasn't yet been well practiced and proven in spiritual work can very easily be deceived—and unless he's soon on guard and has the grace to stop and humble himself to counsel, he may well be ruined in his bodily powers and fall into fantasy in his spiritual senses. And all of this comes from pride and from fleshliness and curiosity of mind.1
How Deception Takes Hold
The author describes the process of deception: a novice hears spiritual teaching but misinterprets it fleshly, strains bodily, and falls into false heat and false knowing, which the devil exploits, leading to hypocrisy and error.
And this is how this deception can happen. A young man or woman, just beginning the school of devotion, hears about this sorrow and this desire being read and spoken of — how a person should lift up their heart to God and continually desire to feel the love of their God. And right away, out of intellectual curiously, they take these words not spiritually, as intended, but fleshly and bodily, and they strain their fleshly hearts excessively in their chests.2 And what with the lack of grace that they deserve, and pride and curiosity in themselves, they strain their veins and their bodily powers so beastly and so roughly that within a short time they fall either into weariness and a kind of listless feebleness in body and in soul, which makes them go outside themselves and seek some false and some vain fleshly and bodily comfort from without, as if for the recreation of body and of spirit.3 Or else, if they don't fall into this, then — for spiritual blindness and for fleshly heating of their bodily temperament in their breasts during this feigned beastly and not spiritual working — they deserve to have their breasts either inflamed with an unnatural heat of temperament, caused by mismanaging their bodies or by this feigned working, or else they conceive a false heat wrought by the fiend, their spiritual enemy, caused by their pride and their fleshliness and their curiosity of wit.4 And yet, perhaps, they think it's the fire of love, received and kindled by the grace and goodness of the Holy Spirit. Truly, from this deceit and from its branches spring many evils: much hypocrisy, much heresy, and much error. For immediately after such a false feeling comes a false knowing in the devil's school, just as after a true feeling comes a true knowing in God's school. For I tell you truly that the devil has his contemplatives, just as God has His. This deceit of false feeling, and of the false knowing that follows from it, has diverse and astonishing variations, depending on the different states and subtle conditions of those who are deceived, just as the true feeling and knowing of those who are saved does.5
A Personal Warning
The author narrows the focus to the reader, stating he will only discuss deceptions that may attack them personally, and urges them to be on guard in their own practice.
But I'm not listing any more deceptions here, except the ones I believe you'll be attacked with if you ever set yourself to practice this work. For what good would it do you to know how those great scholars, and men and women of other ranks than yourself, are deceived?6 Surely nothing at all. And so I'm telling you nothing more, except those that fall on you if you labor at this work. And that's why I'm telling you this: so that you'll be on guard against them in your working, if you're attacked by them.
Read the original Middle English
Bot o thing I telle thee: that in this werk may a yong disciple, that hath not yit ben wel used and provid in goostly worching, ful lightly be disceyvid, and, bot he be sone war and have grace to leve of and meek hym to counsel, paraventure be distroied in his bodily mightes, and falle into fantasie in his goostly wittes. And alle this is longe of pride and of fleschlynes and coriousté of witte.
And on this maner may this disceite befalle. A yong man or a womman, newe set to the scole of devocion, hereth this sorow and this desire be red and spokyn, how that a man schal lift up his herte unto God, and unseesingly desire for to fele the love of here God. And as fast in a curiousté of witte thei conceyve thees wordes not goostly, as thei ben ment, bot fleschly and bodily, and travaylen theire fleschly hertes outrageously in theire brestes. And what for lackyng of grace, that thei deserven, and pride and curiousté in hemself, thei streyne here veynes and here bodily mightes so beestly and so rudely, that withinne schort tyme thei fallen outher into werynes and a manner of unlisty febilnes in body and in soule, the whiche makith hem to wende oute of hemself and seke sum fals and sum veyne fleschly and bodily counforte withoutyn, as it were for recreacion of body and of spirite. Or elles, yif thei falle not in this, elles thei deserve -- for goostly blyndnes and for fleschly chaufyng of theire compleccion in theire bodily brestis in the tyme of this feinid beestly and not goostly worchyng -- for to have theire brestes outher enflaumid with an unkyndely hete of compleccion, causid of misrewlyng of theire bodies or of this feinid worching, or elles thei conceyve a fals hete wrought by the feende, theire goostly enmye, causid of theire pride and of theire fleschlines and theire coriousté of wit.
And yit, paraventure, thei wene it be the fiir of love, getyn and kyndelid by the grace and the goodnes of the Holy Goost. Treuly of this disceite, and of the braunches therof, spryngyn many mescheves: moche ypocrisie, moche heresye, and moche errour. For as fast after soche a fals felyng cometh a fals knowyng in the feendes scole, right as after a trewe feling cometh a trewe knowing in Gods scole. For I telle thee trewly that the devil hath his contemplatyves, as God hath His. This disseite of fals felyng, and of fals knowyng folowyng theron, hath diverse and wonderful variacions, after the dyversté of states and the sotyl condicions of hem that ben disceyvid, as hath the trewe felyng and knowyng of hem that ben savid.
Bot I sette no mo disceites here bot thoo with the whiche I trowe thou schalt be assailid, yif ever thou purpose thee to worche in this werk. For what schuld it profite to thee to wite hou thees greet clerkis, and men and wommen of other degrees then thou arte, ben disceyvid? Sikirly right nought. And therfore I telle thee no mo, bot thoo that fallyn unto thee, yif thou travayle in this werk. And forthi I telle thee this, that thou schalt bewar therwith in thi worching, yif thou be assailyd therwith.
Notes
- 1 ↩enm 'longe of' = 'is owing to / comes from'; rendered as causal 'comes from'. 'coriousté of witte' = restless intellectual curiosity, not mere inquisitiveness.
- 2 ↩curiousté of witte: intellectual inquisitiveness / clever curiosity of the mind, not harmless wonder.
- 3 ↩unlisty febilnes: dull, appetite-less feebleness (un-lusty), not mere physical tiredness alone.
- 4 ↩compleccion rendered as bodily temperament (humoral constitution); unkyndely = unnatural, against kind/nature.
- 5 ↩ME 'wonderful' here means astonishing / to be wondered at, not praiseworthy; rendered 'astonishing' to avoid a falsely positive modern sense.
- 6 ↩ME 'clerkis' rendered as 'scholars' (learned persons); could also mean clerics/churchmen.
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.
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