The eight and fourty chapitre. How God wol be servid bothe with body and with soule, and reward men in bothe; and how men schul knowe when alle thoo sounes and swetnes that fallen into the body in tyme of preier ben bothe good and ivel.

I'm not saying this because I want you to stop at any time, if you're stirred to pray with your mouth, or to burst out from the abundance of devotion in your spirit, to speak to God as to a person, and say some good word as you feel yourself stirred — such as these: "Good Jesus! Fair Jesus! Sweet Jesus! and all these others. No — God forbid you take it that way! For truly, I don't mean that. And God forbid that I should separate what God has joined, the body and the spirit; for God will be served with body and with soul, both together, as is fitting, and will reward a person their reward in bliss both in body and in soul. As a pledge of that reward, He will sometimes inflame the body of His devout servant here in this life—not just once or twice, but perhaps quite often, as it pleases Him—with truly wonderful sweetness and comfort.¹ Some of these don't come from outside into the body through the windows of our senses, but from within, rising and springing from an abundance of spiritual gladness and true devotion in the spirit.² Such a comfort and such a sweetness should not be regarded with suspicion; and, to put it briefly, I believe that anyone who feels it cannot regard it with suspicion. But all other comforts, sounds, gladness, and sweetness that come suddenly from outside, and you never know where from — I ask you to regard them with suspicion. For they can be both good and evil: produced by a good angel if they are good, and by an evil angel if they are evil. And this can in no way be evil if their deceits of intellectual curiosity and disordered striving of the fleshly heart are removed, as I teach you — or better yet, if you can do better.³ And why is that? Surely because of the cause of this comfort: that is, the devout stirring of love, which dwells in pure spirit. It is brought about by the hand of Almighty God without any intermediary; and therefore it must always be far from any fantasy or any false opinion that may happen to a person in this life.⁴ And as for those other comforts and sounds and sweetnesses—how you should know whether they're good or evil—I don't mean to tell you that at this time. And that's because I think there's no need; for you can find it written elsewhere in another man's work a thousand times better than I can say or write. And so you may find what I've set down here far better than it stands here.⁵ But what of that? Therefore I will not hold back, nor will it trouble me to fulfill the desire and the stirring of your heart, which you have shown yourself to have toward me before this time in your words, and now in your deeds. But this much I can tell you about those sounds and that sweetness that come in through the windows of your senses, which can be both good and evil. Keep yourself continually in this blind, devout, and eager stirring of love that I'm telling you about; and then I have no doubt that it will know well how to tell you about them.⁶ And if you're still partly bewildered by them at first—and that is because they are unfamiliar—still this is what it will do for you: it will bind your heart so firmly that you will in no way be able to give them full, great trust until the time comes when you are either wonderfully assured of them within by the Spirit of God, or else outwardly by the counsel of some discreet father.⁷

Read the original Middle English

I sey not this for I wil that thou leve any tyme, yif thou be stirid for to preie with thi mouth, or for to brest oute, for habundaunce of devocion in thi spirit, for to speke unto God as unto man, and sey som good worde as thou felist thee sterid, as ben thees: "Good Jhesu! Faire Jhesu! Swete Jhesu!" and alle thees other. Nay, God forbede thou take it thus! For trewly I mene not thus. And God forbede that I schuld departe that God hath couplid, the body and the spirit; for God wil be servid with body and with soule, bothe togeders, as seemly is, and rewarde man his mede in blis bothe in body and in soule.

And in erles of that mede, sumtyme He wil enflaume the body of a devoute servaunt of His here in this liif -- not onys or twies, bot paraventure right ofte, and as Him likith -- with ful wonderful swetnes and counfortes. Of the whiche, som beth not comyng fro withoutyn into the body bi the wyndowes of oure wittys, bot fro withinne, risyng and spryngyng of habundaunce of goostly gladnes, and of trewe devocion in the spirit. Soche a counforte and soche a swetnes schal not be had suspecte; and, schortly to sey, I trowe that he that felith it may not have it suspecte.

Bot alle other counfortes, sounes, and gladnes, and swetnes, that comyn fro withoute sodenly, and thou wost never whens, I prey thee have hem suspecte. For thei mowe be bothe good and yvel; wrought by a good aungel, yif thei ben good, and by an yvel aungel, yif thei ben yvel. And this may on no wise be yvel, yif theire deseites of coriousté of witte and of unordeynd streynyng of the fleschely herte be remowed, as I lere thee, or betyr yif thou betir maist. And whi is that? Sekirly for the cause of this counforte: that is to sey, the devoute steryng of love, the whiche woneth in pure spirit. It is wrought of the hande of Almighty God withouten mene; and therfore it behovith alweys be fer fro any fantasie, or any fals opynion that may befal to man in this liif.

And of the tother counfortes and sounes and swetnes, how thou schuldest wite whether thei ben good or ivel, I think not to telle thee at this tyme. And that is for me think that it nedith not; for whi thou mayst fynde it wretyn in another place of another mans werk a thousandfolde betir than I kan sey or write. And so maystow this that I set here, fer betir than it is here. Bot what therof? Therfore schal I not lette, ne it schal not noye me to fulfille the desire and the steryng of thin herte, the whiche thou hast schewed thee to have unto me before this tyme in thi wordes, and now in thi dedes.

Bot this may I sey thee of thoo sounes and of thoo swetnes that comen in by the wyndowes of thi wittes, the whiche mowe be bothe good and ivel. Use thee contynowly in this blynde and devoute and this listy steryng of love that I telle thee; and than I have no doute that it ne schal wel kun telle thee of hem. And yif thou yit be in partye astonied of hem at the first tyme, and that is bicause that thei ben uncouthe, yit this schal it do thee; it schal bynde thin herte so fast that thou schalt mowe on no wise geve ful grete credence to hem, er the tyme be that thou be either certefied of hem withinne wonderfuly by the spirite of God, or elles withouten by counsel of sum discrete fader.

Notes

1 ↩ME "erles" is earnest-money: a pledge or down payment on the future reward of bliss for body and soul named in the previous sentence.
2 ↩"wyndowes of oure wittys" = the sensory openings (the five wits/senses), not intellectual cleverness.
3 ↩ME 'this' resumes the trusted interior comfort after the contrast with exterior consolations; 'deseites of coriousté of witte' is Cloud jargon for the deceit of restless intellectual curiosity, and 'unordeynd streynyng of the fleschely herte' for forced, flesh-bound effort.
4 ↩'withouten mene' rendered as 'without any intermediary' (immediate divine action, not through a created medium).
5 ↩Elliptical Middle English: 'maystow this' continues the find-verb of the previous sentence ('fynde it'); rendered as 'you may find what I've set down here.'
6 ↩ME 'listy steryng' rendered as 'eager stirring': listy = eager/ready from desire (list), not merely attentive listening.
7 ↩ME 'discrete fader' kept as 'discreet father' for a wise spiritual director; not a biological father.

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

Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →