The seven and fifti chapitre. How thees yong, presumptuous dissiples misunderstonden this other worde UP; and of the deseites that folowen theron.
The Misunderstanding of 'Upward'
Presumptuous disciples mistake the spiritual call to lift the heart for a literal, bodily stretching toward the sky, leading them into wild fantasies.
No more of these for now; but on with our subject: how these young, presumptuous spiritual disciples misunderstand this other word, UP. For if it happens that they either read, or hear read or spoken, how people should lift up their hearts to God, at once they stare at the stars as if they meant to be above the moon, and listen for when they might hear any angels singing out of heaven. These men will sometimes, with the curiosity of their imagination, pierce the planets and make a hole in the firmament to look in through it.1 These men will make a God as they please, and clothe him very richly in clothes, and set him on a throne far more elaborately than he was ever painted on this earth.2 Such people will make angels in bodily likeness, set them all around, each with varied music, far more elaborate than anything ever seen or heard in this life.3
The Danger of Deceit
The devil exploits this bodily literalism with counterfeit spiritual experiences—false dew, sounds, lights, and smells—that leave the soul empty.
The devil will deceive some of these men in astonishing ways. For he will send a kind of dew—they suppose it is angels' food—as if it were coming out of the air and falling softly and sweetly into their mouths; and so they make a habit of sitting with their mouths open as if they meant to catch flies.4 In truth, all of this is nothing but deceit, no matter how holy it may seem, because in this state their souls are completely empty of any true devotion. There is much vanity and falsehood in their hearts, caused by their overcurious working—so much so that the devil often invents strange sounds in their ears, strange lights and shining in their eyes, and marvelous smells in their noses; and all of it is nothing but falsehood.5
True Spiritual Direction
The author refutes scriptural and saintly examples used to justify bodily looking upward, affirming that spiritual work must be entirely inward and immaterial.
And yet they don't think so; for it seems to them that they have Saint Martin's example for this upward looking and working—he who by revelation saw God clothed in his mantle among his angels—and Saint Stephen's, who saw our Lord standing in heaven, and many others'; and Christ's, who ascended bodily into heaven while his disciples looked on. And therefore they say that we should keep our eyes upward. I grant readily that in our bodily observance we should lift up our eyes and our hands if we are stirred in spirit. But I say that the work of our spirit should not be directed either upward or downward, nor to one side or the other, nor forward or backward, as it is with a bodily thing. For our work should be spiritual, not bodily, nor wrought in a bodily manner.
Read the original Middle English
No more of thees at this tyme now; bot forthe of oure mater, how that thees yonge presumptuous goostly disciples misunderstonden this other worde up.
For yif it so be that thei outher rede, or here redde or spoken hou that men schuld lift up here hertes unto God, as fast thei stare in the sterres as thei wolde be aboven the mone, and herkyn when thei schul here any aungelles synge oute of heven. Thees men willen sumtyme with the coriousté of here ymaginacion peerce the planetes, and make an hole in the firmament to loke in therate. Thees men wil make a God as hem lyst, and clothen hym ful richely in clothes, and set hym in a trone, fer more curiously than ever was he depeynted in this erthe. Thees men wil maken aungelles in bodely licnes, and set hem aboute ich one with diverse minstralsie, fer more corious than ever was any seen or herde in this liif.
Somme of thees men the devil wil disceyve wonderfuly. For he wil seende a maner of dewe -- aungelles foode thei wene it be -- as it were comyng oute of the eire, and softely and sweetly fallyng in theire mowthes; and therfore thei have it in costume to sitte gapyng as thei wolde kacche flies. Now trewly alle this is bot disceyte, seme it never so holy; for thei have in this tyme ful emty soules of any trewe devocion. Moche vanitee and falsheed is in theire hertes, causid of theire corious worchyng, insomoche that oftetymes the devil feyneth queinte sounes in theire eres, queynte lightes and schinyng in theire ighen, and wonderful smelles in theire nosen; and al is bot falsheed.
And yit wene thei not so; for hem think that thei have ensaumple of Seynte Martyn of this upward lokyng and worching, that sawe by revelacion God clad in His mantel amonges His aungelles, and of Seinte Steven that sawe oure Lorde stonde in heven, and of many other; and of Cryste, that assendid bodily to heven, seing His discyples. And therfore thei sey that we schul have oure ighen upwardes. I graunte wel that in oure bodely observaunce we schul lifte up oure ighen and oure hondes yif we ben steryd in spirit. Bot I sey that the werke of oure spirit schal not be directe neither upwardes ne donwardes, ne on o syde ne on other, ne forward ne bacward, as it is of a bodely thing. For whi oure werke schuld be goostly, not bodely, ne on a bodely maner wrought.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME coriousté here means restless, over-clever inquisitiveness of the imagination, not mere modern 'curiosity' as mild interest.
- 2 ↩ME curiously = with elaborate, over-ingenious craft of the imagination, not 'strangely' or 'inquisitively' in the modern sense.
- 3 ↩ME corious again marks over-elaborate imaginative inventiveness; minstralsie = musical entertainment/performance.
- 4 ↩"Angels' food" (aungelles foode) echoes the traditional name for manna; here it names what the deceived disciples take the sensory dew to be, not a true gift.
- 5 ↩"Corious worchyng" is rendered "overcurious working": the imaginative, ingenious upward effort condemned in this chapter, not mere inquisitiveness.
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