The seventy chapitre. That right as bi the defailing of oure bodely wittes, we bigine redeliest to kom to knowing of goostli thinges, so by the defailing of oure goostly wittes we biginne moste redeliest to com to the knowing of God, soche as is possible bi grace to be had here.
Abandon the Senses for the Cloud
The author calls us to labor in the nothing and nowhere of contemplative prayer, leaving behind the bodily senses because they can only perceive physical qualities, not spiritual realities.
So work hard at this nothing and this nowhere, and set aside your outward bodily senses and everything they engage with; for I tell you truly that this work cannot be grasped by them. For by your eyes you can't conceive of anything except by its length and breadth, its smallness and greatness, its roundness and squareness, its distance and nearness, and its color. Your ears can perceive nothing but noise or some kind of sound. Your nose can perceive nothing but stench or scent. Your sense of taste can perceive nothing but what is sour or sweet, salty or fresh, bitter or pleasant. Your sense of touch can perceive nothing but what is hot or cold, hard or tender, soft or sharp. In truth, neither God nor spiritual things possess any of these qualities or quantities. And therefore leave your outward senses, and don't work with them, neither within nor without. For all those who set themselves to be spiritual workers within, and think that they will either hear, smell, or see, taste or feel spiritual things, either within themselves or without, are surely deceived and work wrongly against the course of nature.
Knowing Through Failing
The author explains that the natural limitation of the bodily senses—their inability to perceive spiritual things—actually teaches us to recognize those things as spiritual, and this same principle applies to the spiritual faculties, where the failure of understanding leads to the highest knowledge of God through unknowing, as affirmed by Saint Denis.
By nature, they are designed so that through them people should have knowledge of all outward, physical things, but in no way reach the knowledge of spiritual things through them. I mean by how they function. By their failing we can, in this way: when we read or hear talk of certain things, and then realize that our outward senses cannot tell us by any quality what those things are, then we can be truly assured that those things are spiritual things, and not bodily ones. In the same way, spiritually, it takes place within our spiritual faculties when we labor at knowing God Himself. For no matter how much spiritual understanding a person may have in knowing all created spiritual things, he can still never, by the working of his understanding, come to know an uncreated spiritual thing—which is nothing but God.1 But by that failing, it can; for what it fails at is nothing else but God alone. And that is why Saint Denis said: "The most excellent knowing of God is that which is known by unknowing."2
A Closing Word on Authority and Belief
The author affirms his alignment with Saint Denis, declines to pile up citations out of humility, and concludes with a scriptural call for those who have ears to hear and believe.
And truly, anyone who will look into Denis's books will find that his words clearly affirm everything I've said or will say, from the beginning of this treatise to the end. I don't care to cite him in any other way than this, nor any other doctor for myself at this time.3 For once people thought it humility to say nothing from their own heads unless they backed it with Scripture and the doctors' words; and now it's turned into curiosity and a showing off of learning.4 You don't need it, and so I don't do it. For anyone who has ears, let them hear, and anyone who is stirred to believe, let them believe—for otherwise they won't.
Read the original Middle English
And therfore travayle fast in this nought and this noughwhere, and leve thin outward bodely wittes and alle that thei worche in; for I telle thee trewly that this werk may not be conceyvid by hem.
For by thin ighen thou maist not conceyve of any thing, bot yif it be by the lengthe and the breed, the smalnes and the gretnes, the roundnes and the swarenes, the fernes and the neernes, and the colour of it. And bi thin eren, not bot noise or sum maner of soun. By thin nose, not bot either stynche or savour. And by thi taast, not bot either soure or swete, salt or fresche, bittyr or likyng. And bi thi feling, not bot outher hote or colde, hard or tendre, soft or scharpe. And trewly neither hath God ne goostly thinges none of thees qualitees ne quantitees. And therfore leve thin outward wittes, and worche not with hem, neither withinne ne withouten. For alle thoo that setten hem to be goostly worchers withinne, and wenen that thei scholen outher here, smel, or see, taast or fele goostly thinges, outher withinne hem or withouten, sekerly thei ben deceyved and worchen wronge ayens the cours of kynde.
For kyndely thei ben ordeynid that with hem men schuld have knowyng of alle outward bodely thinges, and on no wise by hem com to the knowing of gostely thinges. I mene bi theire werkes.
By theire failinges we may, as thus: when we rede or here speke of sum certeyn thinges, and therto conceyve that oure outward wittys kon not telle us bi no qualitee what thoo thinges ben, than we mowe be verely certefied that thoo thinges ben goostly thinges, and not bodely thinges.
On this same maner goostly it farith within in oure goostly wittys, when we travailen aboute the knowyng of God Himself. For have a man never so moche goostly understondyng in knowyng of alle maad goostly thinges, yit may he never bi the werk of his understondyng com to the knowyng of an unmaad goostly thing, the whiche is nought bot God. Bot by the failyng it may; for whi that thing that it failith in is nothyng elles bot only God. And herfore it was that Seynte Denis seyde: "The most goodly knowyng of God is that, the whiche is knowyn bi unknowyng."
And trewly, whoso wil loke Denis bookes, he schal fynde that his wordes wilen cleerly aferme al that I have seyde or schal sey, fro the biginnyng of this tretis to the ende. On none otherwise then thus list me not alegge him, ne none other doctour for me at this tyme. For somtyme men thought it meeknes to sey nought of theire owne hedes, bot yif thei afermid it by Scripture and doctours wordes; and now it is turnid into corioustee and schewyng of kunnyng. To thee it nedith not, and therfore I do it nought. For whoso hath eren, lat hem here, and whoso is sterid for to trowe, lat hem trowe; for elles scholen thei not.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME maad / unmaad rendered as created / uncreated, preserving the Cloud's contrast between made spiritual creatures and God as the sole unmade spiritual reality.
- 2 ↩ME most goodly can mean most excellent/fitting; in this Dionysian echo it may also carry a godly/divine sense. Rendered as most excellent for plain modern English.
- 3 ↩Middle English 'list me not alegge' is impersonal desire: 'it does not please me to cite/allege.' Rendered as 'I don't care to cite' to keep the author's restrained refusal of piled-up authorities.
- 4 ↩'Corioustee' here is not wholesome wonder but vain intellectual curiosity; 'schewyng of kunnyng' is display of learning.
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