The two and sixty chapitre. How a man may wite when his goostly werk is bineeth him or withouten him, and when it is even with him or withinne him, and when it is aboven him and under his God.
The Hierarchy of Created Being
The author explains the spiritual meaning of words to show how all bodily things are beneath the soul, angels and souls are level by nature, the soul's powers are within, and only God is above by nature.
And because you'll better understand how these words, spoken in bodily terms, should be conceived spiritually, I mean to explain to you the spiritual meaning of some words that belong to spiritual work—so that you can know clearly, without error, when your spiritual work is beneath you and outside you, when it is within you and level with you, and when it is above you and under your God. Every kind of bodily thing is outside your soul and beneath it in nature. Indeed, the sun, the moon, and all the stars—though they are above your body—are nonetheless beneath your soul.1 All angels and all souls, though they are shaped and adorned with grace and virtues—which is why they are purer than you—are still only equal to you by nature. Within yourself, by nature, are the powers of your soul, which are these three principal ones: mind, reason, and will; and secondary, imagination and sensuality. Above your own nature there is nothing at all except God alone.
Discerning the Worth of Your Work
The author clarifies that 'yourself' refers to the soul, and teaches that the value of spiritual work is judged by whether its object is beneath, within, or above the soul.
Wherever you find "yourself" written about in spiritual matters, it's always understood to mean your soul, and not your body. And then, entirely according to what that thing is on which the powers of your soul are working, the worth and condition of your work will be judged by that: whether it is beneath you, within you, or above you.
Read the original Middle English
And forthi that thou schalt kun betir wite how thei schul be conceyved goostly, thees wordes that ben spoken bodely, therfore I think to declare to thee the goostly bemenyng of somme wordes that fallyn to goostly worching; so that thou mayst wite cleerly withouten errour when thi goostly werke is benethe thee and withoutyn thee, and when it is within thee and even with thee, and when it is aboven thee and under thi God.
Alle maner of bodely thing is withouten thi soule and benethe it in kynde. Ye, the sonne and the mone and alle the sterres, thof al thei be aboven thi body, nevertheles yit thei ben benethe thi soule.
Alle aungelles and alle soules, thof al thei be conformed and anowrnid with grace and with vertewes, for the whiche thei ben aboven thee in clennes, nevertheles yit thei ben bot even with thee in kynde.
Withinne in thiself in kynde ben the mightes of thi soule, the whiche ben thees thre principal: minde, reson, and wille; and secundary, ymaginacion and sensualité.
Aboven thiself in kynde is no maner of thing bot only God.
Evermore where thou fyndest wreten thiself in goostlines, than it is understonden thi soule, and not thi body. And then, al after that thing is on the whiche the mightes of thi soule worchyn, therafter schal the worthines and the condicion of thi werke be demid: whether it be binethe thee, withinne thee, or aboven thee.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'Ye' here is the affirmative particle (yea/yes), not the plural pronoun; rendered as 'Yes' to keep the affirming force.
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