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← The Sparkling Stone (Vanden blinkenden steen)/Book 1 · Vanden blinckenden steen
Chapter 5BlinckSteen.1.5

Tweede deel — I. Genade en medewerking in het godschouwende leven

The Sparkling Stone of Contemplation

The author introduces the 'sparkling stone' from Revelation as a symbol for Christ and the contemplative life, highlighting its properties of humility, roundness, and lightness.

For this reason, the Spirit of our Lord speaks in the book of God's mysteries written by Saint John: "To the one who conquers," he says—meaning the one who conquers and overcomes himself and all things—"I will give," he says, "hidden heavenly bread," which is an inward, hidden savor and heavenly joy; "and I will give him," he says, "a sparkling little stone, and in that stone a new name written, which no one knows except the one who receives it."1 This little stone is called a pebble because of its smallness, for even if a person treads it underfoot, it doesn't hurt him; this little stone is sparkling clear and red like a fiery flame, and it is small and round and smooth all around and very light.✦2 By this sparkling little stone, we understand our Lord Jesus Christ; for in his divinity, he is the radiance of eternal light, the shining of God's glory, and a spotless mirror in which all things live. So, whoever overcomes all things and rises above them is given this sparkling stone; in it, they receive clarity, truth, and life.✦3 This stone is also like a fiery flame; for the fiery love of the eternal Word has filled the whole earth with love, and wants to burn all loving spirits to nothing in love. This little stone is also so small that a person hardly feels it even when he treads it under his feet. For that reason, it is called a calculus—a pebble underfoot.4 And this is what Saint Paul means for us, where he says that the Son of God emptied himself and made himself small, and took the form of a servant, and was obedient to the death of the cross.5 He speaks through the prophet’s mouth: "I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and an outcast of the people." And he made himself so small in time that the Jews trod him under their feet, and they did not feel it; for if they had known him as God's Son, they would not have dared to crucify him. He remains small and disregarded in the hearts of all who do not love him. This noble little stone I'm talking about is perfectly round and smooth on every side. The stone's roundness teaches us that divine truth has no beginning and no end. The evenness all the way around means that he will weigh all things evenly and give to each according to what that person deserves; and the gift will be eternal for him.6 The final quality I want to mention about this stone is that it is remarkably light.7 For the eternal Word of the Father has no weight, and yet he bears heaven and earth by his power. And it is equally near to all things, yet no one can overtake it, because it rises above and goes before every creature, and it will reveal itself to whom it wills and where it wills.8 And in his lightness, our heavy humanity has climbed above all the heavens and sits crowned at the right hand of his Father.9 Look, this is the sparkling stone given to the person who contemplates, and on this stone a new name is written that no one knows except the one who receives it.

The Call to Union and the Five Parties of Sinners

God calls all people to union, but sinners are divided into five categories based on their response to this invitation and their state of soul.

You should know that all spirits are named in their return to God, and each one in particular according to the nobility of his service and the height of his love—except only the first name of innocence, which we receive in baptism and which is adorned with the merits of our Lord.✦10 When we lose this name of innocence through sin, if we still desire to be obedient to God—especially in the three works he wants to perform in us—then we are baptized a second time in the Holy Spirit, and there we receive a new name that remains with us forever.✦✦11 Now, understand the free works of our Lord, which he performs in all people who are willing to prepare themselves for them.12 The first work God does in everyone is to call them all equally and invite them into union with himself.13 And as long as the sinner stays away from this call, he must go without all the other gifts of God that would follow after it. B.14 Of five groups of sinners.15 I have observed that all sinners fall into five groups. The first group is all those who are careless about good works—who want to live for the comfort of the body and the pleasure of the senses, in the unrest of the world and with divided hearts. These people are unfit to receive the grace of God; and even if they had received it, they couldn't keep it.16 The second group consists of those who have fallen into mortal sins willingly and knowingly, yet who still do good works, always fear and revere God, love good people, and long for their prayers and place their hope in them. Still, as long as their turning away and their pleasure in sin overpower and weaken their love and their turning toward God, they remain unworthy of God's grace.1718 The third group of sinners are all unbelieving people, or those who go astray in the faith. No matter what good works they do or what way of life they lead, they cannot please God without faith; for true faith is the foundation of all holiness and all virtue.✦ The fourth group is those who lie in mortal sins without fear and without shame, and who care neither for God nor for his gifts, nor have any regard for virtue; instead they take all spiritual life for hypocrisy or deception. And whatever one may say to them about God or about virtues, they are unwilling to hear; for they have fixed it in their minds as if neither God nor hell nor the kingdom of heaven existed. For this reason, they want to know nothing beyond what they currently feel and possess. See, these people are all rejected and despised by God, for they sin against the Holy Spirit. Still, they can convert—though it happens only with great difficulty and rarely. The fifth group of sinners are the hypocrites: people who do outwardly good works, not for the honor of God or for their own salvation, but for a name of holiness or for some fleeting things. Though they look good and holy on the outside, they are false on the inside and turned away from God, and they lack the grace of God and every virtue. You see, I've identified five types of sinners who are all called to unity with God. But as long as the sinner wants to give himself over to the service of sin, he remains deaf and blind, and unable to taste or feel any of the good that God wants to work in him.

The Path of Grace and Obedience

Conversion requires a free turning toward God, where grace flows into the obedient soul, enabling them to serve God as either hired or faithful servants.

But when the sinner comes to himself and takes notice of himself, if his sinful life then displeases him, he draws near to God.✦ If he wants to be obedient to God's call and invitation, he must freely resolve to leave his sins and do penance; in this way, he becomes of one mind and one will with God and receives God's grace.19 For this reason, we should first regard God in this way: through His free goodness, He calls and invites everyone without distinction to union with Him—both the good and the wicked—leaving no one out.✦20 Second, we experience God's goodness in this way: it flows out with grace to everyone who obeys God's call. Third, we will clearly discover and understand within ourselves that we can become one life and one spirit with God—if we renounce ourselves completely and follow God's grace to the highest place she wants to lead us. For God's grace works in an ordered way in every person, according to the measure and manner of that person's receptivity.✦ For this reason, through the common interior working of God's grace, every sinner receives the wisdom and strength to leave sin behind and turn toward virtue—if they are willing. Through the hidden cooperation of God's grace, every good person can overcome all sins, resist every temptation, practice every virtue, and stand firm in the highest perfection—provided they are obedient to God's grace in all things. Everything we are, and everything we have received from both within and without, are free gifts from God; we must thank Him for them and use them to serve Him if we want to please Him.✦ But they are gifts of God that help and occasion the good toward the virtues, and help and occasion the wicked toward sins—such as health, beauty and wisdom, riches and the honor of the world.21 These are the lowest and least valuable gifts of God, which He commonly gives for use to both His friends and His enemies, to the wicked and the good alike.✦22 The good use these gifts to serve God and His friends, while the wicked use them to serve their own flesh, the devil, and the world. You might also notice that some people receive God's gifts as hired servants, while others receive them as faithful servants.23 And these are opposed to each other in all inward works—that is, in loving and in intending, in feeling, and in all the inward works and practices of life.24

Distinctions in the Spiritual Life

The author contrasts the self-seeking nature of unfaithful servants with the faithful servants of the active life and the secret friends of the contemplative life.

Now notice: all those people who love themselves so disorderedly that they will serve God only for their own gain and their own reward separate themselves entirely from God and keep themselves unfree and locked in self-possession; for they seek and aim at themselves in everything they do.25 And for this reason, with all their prayer and with all their good works they seek temporal things or eternal things that they choose for their own comfort and their own advantage. These people are joined to themselves in a disordered way; and for that reason they always remain alone with themselves, because they lack true love, which would unite them with God and with all those he loves. And although they seem to keep the law and the commandments of God and of the holy Church, they don't keep the law of love. For everything they do, they do out of necessity and not out of love—so that they will not be condemned. And because they are unfaithful in their inward life, they dare not trust God; instead, all their interior life is doubt and fear, toil and misery.26 For they look to the right side and see eternal life, and they fear losing it; and they look to the left side and see the eternal pains of hell, and they fear coming into them. All the prayer and all the labor and all the good works they may do to drive away this fear—none of it helps; for the more they love themselves in a disordered way, the more they dread hell.27 And from this you can see that the fear of hell comes from the self-love they have toward themselves. The prophet speaks now—and the book of wisdom as well: “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.”✦ But that is the fear practiced on the right side, where people dread losing their eternal blessedness.28 This fear comes from the natural inclination everyone has within to be blessed—that is, to behold God. And for this reason: even if a person is unfaithful to God, if he takes notice of himself from within, he feels himself drawn out of himself toward the blessedness that is God.29 And he fears to lose this blessedness, because he loves himself more than God; and he loves the blessedness in a self-seeking way, for his own sake, and for that reason he doesn't dare trust God.30 Still, it holds that the fear of our Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a law for God's unfaithful servants; for it drives a person to leave sin, desire virtue, and do good works, and these things prepare a person outwardly to receive God's grace and become a faithful servant.31 But at the very hour when, with God's help, he can overcome his self-will—that is, when he becomes so empty of himself that he dares to trust God for everything he needs—see, by this same work he so pleases God that God gives him His grace; and through that grace he feels true love, and that love drives out doubt and fear, and makes the person trust and hope.✦32 And so he becomes a faithful servant, and comes to love and intend God in all his works.33 Look, this is the difference between faithful servants and those who are unfaithful. We can also see that there is a great difference between faithful servants and the intimate friends of God.34 Through God's help and grace, faithful servants choose to keep God's commandments—that is, to be obedient to God and to the holy Church in every form of virtue and good conduct. This is called an outward life, or an active life. But God's secret friends choose, along with the commandments, to keep God's living counsels—that is, a loving interior clinging to God for his eternal glory, with a willing renunciation of everything one might possess outside of God with pleasure and with love.35 God calls and invites such friends inward, and teaches them discernment in interior practices, and many hidden ways of the spiritual life. But he sends his servants outward, so that they may be faithful to him and to his household in every service and every kind of outward good work.36 See, then: God gives his grace and his help according to each person's capacity—that is, according to every way in which the person is of one mind with God, whether in outward good works or in inward good exercises of love.37 But no one can practice or experience interior exercises unless they are completely turned inward to God; as long as a person is divided at heart, they look outward and remain unstable in their mind, easily moved by the pleasures and pains of temporal things, because those things still live within them. And even if he keeps God's commandments, he always remains inwardly unenlightened and untaught; for interior practice is unknown to him, and how one ought to practice it. But in this—that he knows and feels that he intends God and desires to fulfill God's dearest will in all his works—he lets himself be content, because he finds himself sincere in his intention and faithful in his service. And through these two points he is pleased with himself, and it seems to him that exterior good works done with right intention are holier and more useful than interior practice; for through God's help he has chosen an outgoing way.38 And for this reason he cultivates exterior works with more careful discrimination than he gives to the One for whom he works with inward love.39 And this is why he is more filled with images of the works he does than of God, for whom he works.40 And through this being filled with images in his working, he remains an exterior person, and is not fit enough for God's counsel.41 For his practice is more exterior than interior, more sensory than spiritual. And though he is a faithful servant of our Lord in outward service, what the secret friends of God experience remains hidden and unknown to him. And this is why such crude, outward-turned people are always judging and reproaching the inward-turned: because it seems to them that those who have turned inward are idle. And this was why Martha complained to our Lord about her sister Mary—because she wasn't helping her serve; for it seemed to her that she was doing great service and great good, and that her sister sat idle for nothing.42 But our Lord passed judgment on them both. He didn't rebuke Martha for her service, because that service was good and useful. But he reproved her for her anxious care, and because she was oppressed and troubled by the multiplicity of outward works.43 He praised Mary for her interior practice, saying that one thing was needful and that she had chosen the best part, which would not be taken from her.44 The one thing everyone needs is divine love.✦ The best part is an interior life of loving attachment to God.✦45 Mary Magdalene had chosen that, and the intimate friends of our Lord still choose it.✦46 But Martha chose a sincere outward life of work; that is the other part, in which people serve God—though it isn't as perfect or as good.✦47 Faithful servants still choose this part out of love for our Lord.

Friends, Sons, and the Model-less Passage

The author distinguishes between the secret friends of God and the hidden sons, who experience a modeless passage into the superessential love of God.

But now you find certain dry people who want to be so inward and so empty that they will neither work nor serve when their fellow Christian is in need.48 Look, these people are neither secret friends nor faithful servants of our Lord; they are entirely false and deceived. For no one can satisfy God's counsel who won't keep His commandments.✦49 And for this reason the secret friends of our Lord are always faithful servants wherever there is need. But not all faithful servants are secret friends, because the practice that belongs to that is unknown to them.50 So you have the distinction between the secret friends and the faithful servants of our Lord. There is also a higher and closer distinction: that between the secret friends and the hidden sons of God. Yet both groups stand equally elevated in their inward practice before the presence of God. But the friends possess their interior life with self-ownership, for they choose that loving clinging to God as the best and highest state they can reach or desire.51 For this reason, they cannot move beyond themselves or their works into an imageless bareness, because they are mediated and filled with images by themselves and their own works.52 Even though they feel union with God in their loving clinging, they still always find a distinction and otherness within that union between themselves and God. For the simple passage into bareness and into the mode-less is unknown to them and unloved by them.53 And for this reason their highest interior life always remains in reason and in modes.54 Even though they have a clear understanding and discernment of all rational virtues, that simple gazing with an open mind into divine clarity remains hidden from them. And even though they feel themselves lifted toward God in a strong fire of love, they hold onto their own selfhood; they aren't consumed or burned away to nothing in the unity of love.55 And even though they always want to live in God's service and please Him forever, they don't want to die in God to every selfhood of the spirit and bear a life made one with Him.56 And even though they count little and weigh lightly every comfort and rest that may come from outside, they value the gifts of God as great, along with the inward works, comfort, and sweetness they feel from within. So they rest along the way and don't die completely in order to win the highest victory in bare, modeless love.57 And even if they could practice and know with discernment all that loving clinging and all the inward ascending ways one may practice before the presence of God, the modeless passage and that rich losing of oneself in the superessential love—where one can never find end or beginning, mode or manner—would still remain hidden and unknown to them.58 And for this reason, there's a great difference between the secret friends of God and his hidden sons. For the friends feel nothing else in themselves than a loving, living ascent in modes; and above that, the sons feel a simple dying passage into modelessness. The interior life of the friends of our Lord is a practice of love that constantly ascends, and they always want to remain in it with self-possession; yet they feel nothing of how one possesses God above every practice, through pure love in emptiness.5960 But they are always climbing toward God in true faith, waiting for God and their eternal blessedness with right hope, and they cling to God, anchored in Him through perfect charity. For this reason, things have gone well for them, because they please God, and God is pleased with them in return. Even so, they aren't assured of eternal life, because they haven't yet wholly died in God to themselves and to all selfhood.61 But all who remain and persevere in their practices and in that turning toward God which they have chosen—God has chosen them all in eternity, and their names, with their works, were eternally written in the living book of God’s providence.62 But those who choose other things, turn their inward face away from God toward what is contrary to him and into sins, and stay there: even if their names had been written and known by God according to the righteousness they had earlier practiced and held by title, because they do not persevere until death, their names are wiped out and uprooted from the book of life, and they can never again taste God or any fruit that comes from the virtues.63 That’s why it’s necessary for all of us to take earnest care of ourselves, adorning our turning toward God inwardly with deep love and outwardly with good works; then we can wait in hope and joy for the judgment of God and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we could renounce ourselves and all self-ownership in our works, then with our bare, imageless spirit we would pass beyond all things.64 And in that bareness we would be worked upon without intermediary by the Spirit of God, and there we would feel the certainty that we were perfect sons of God—for those who are worked upon by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, says God's apostle Saint Paul.65 Still, you should know that all faithful good people are sons of God. For they are all born of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God lives in them, and he moves and drives each one in particular, according to his capacity, toward the virtues and the good works in which he is pleasing to God.66 But because of the differences in how they turn toward God and in their practices, I call some people faithful servants, others intimate friends, and some hidden sons.6768 Still, they are all servants, friends, and sons; for they all serve, love, and intend one God, and they all live and work from the free Spirit of God. God permits, or rather endures, his friends to do anything that doesn't go against his commandments.69 For those who are bound to God's counsel, that counsel is a commandment to them.70 For this reason, no one is disobedient or contrary to God except the one who doesn't keep his commandments; for all the things God commands or forbids in Scripture, in the holy Church, or in our conscience—all those things we must do or leave undone, or else we are disobedient and lose the grace of God.71 But when we fall into daily failings, God endures that in us, and our reason does too, because we cannot fully guard ourselves.72 And for this reason, such failing doesn't make us disobedient, for it doesn't drive out the grace of God, nor our interior peace either. Even so, we should always lament such failings, no matter how small, and guard against them with everything we have. In this account, I’ve made clear what I said at the beginning: everyone must necessarily be obedient in all things to God, to Holy Church, and to their own reason, because I don’t want anyone to take wrongful offense at my words. With this, I leave everything that has been said.

Read the original Latin

Ende hier-omme spreect die gheest ons heeren inden boeke der heimelijcheit gods dien sinte Jan bescrijft: ‘Den verwennenden,’ spreect hi, dat es die-gheene die hem-selven ende alle dinc verwint ende overclemt, ‘dien sal ic gheven,’ spreect hi, ‘verborghen hemels broot,’ dat es inwindighen verborghenen smaec ende hemelsce vroude; ‘ende ic sal hem gheven,’ spreect hi, ‘een blinckende steenken, ende in dien steenken eenen nuwen name ghescreven, die niemen en weet dan diene ontfeet.’

Dit steenken es ghenoemt een terdelinc om sine cleynheit, want al terdet die mensche onder sine voete, het en doet hem niet wee; dit steenken es blinckende claer ende roet alse een vierighe vlamme, ende het es cleyne ende ront ende effene alomme ende herde licht.

Met desen blinckenden steenken verstaen wij onsen heere jhesum cristum; want na sire godheit soe es hi een blic des eewichs lichts ende een schijn der gloriën gods, ende een spieghel sonder vlecke daer alle dinghe in leven. Soe wie dat alle dinc verwint ende overclemt, hem wert dese blinckende steen ghegheven; ende daer-inne ontfeet hi claerheit, waerheit, ende leven.

Dese steen es oec ghelijc eenre vierigher vlammen; want die vierighe minne des eewichs words heeft al eertrijcke vervult met minnen, ende wilt alle minnende gheeste te niete in minnen verberen.

Dit steenken es oec soe cleyne, dats de mensche cume ghevoelt al tert hijt onder sine voete. Ende hier-omme eest gheheeten calculus, dat es een terdelinc. Ende dit bediet ons sinte pauwels, daer hi spreect dat de sone gods hem selven heeft vernieut ende cleyne ghemaect, ende heeft eens knechts forme aen-ghenomen, ende heeft ghehoorsam gheweest tot der doot des crucen. Ende hi spreect selve dore des propheten mont: ‘Ic ben een worm ende niet een mensche, lachter der menschen ende een verworpenisse des volcs’. Ende hi maecte hem-selven alsoe cleyne inder tijt, dattene die joden onder haer voete torden, ende si en ghevoeldens niet; want hadden sine gods sone bekint, si en haddene niet dorren crucen. Noch es hi cleyne ende ongheacht in alre menschen herten diene niet en minnen.

Dit edele steenken daer ic af spreeke dat es al ront ende ghelijc effene al-omme. Die rontheit des steens leert ons dat die godlijcke waerheit beghin noch inde en heeft. Die effenheit al-omme, dat hi alle dinc eeffene weghen sal, ende yeghewelcke na sine verdiente gheven; ende die ghichte sal hem eewich sijn.

Die leste eyghenscap die ic segghen wille van desen steene, dat es dat hi sonderlinghe licht es. Want dat eewighe wort des vaders en heeft gheene waghe, nochtan dreghet hemel ende eerde in sire cracht. Ende het es allen dinghen even na, nochtan en maecht niemen hervolghen, want het es onthoghende ende voergaende allen creatueren, ende dient wilt ende daert wilt salt hem oppenbaren. Ende in sijnre lichtheit heeft onse sware menscheit overclommen alle hemele, ende sidt ghecroent ter rechter handt sijns vaders.

Siet dit es die blinckende steen die den scouwenden menschen ghegheven werdt, ende in desen stene eenen nuwen name ghescreven, die niemen en weet dan dien ontfeet.

Ghi zult weten dat alle gheeste ghenaemt werden in haren wederkeere te gode, ende yegewelc sunderlinge na eedelheit sijns dients ende na hoocheit sijnre minnen, sonder alleene die eerste name der onnoselheit dien wij inden doopen ontfaen, die es ghechiert metter verdienten ons heeren. Ende alse wij desen namen der onnoselheit verliesen overmids sonde, eest dat wij noch gode ghevolsaem sijn willen, sonderlinghe in driën werken die hi in ons werken wilt, soe werden wij anderwerf ghedoept inden heilighen gheeste, ende daer ontfaen wi eenen nuwen name die ons ewelijc blijft. Nu verstaet die vrye werke ons heeren, die hi in alle menschen werct die hem daer-toe voeghen willen.

Dat eerste werc dat god ghemeinlijc werct in allen menschen, dat es dat hise alle ghemeinlijc roept ende noodt te sijnre eeninghen. Ende alsoe langhe alse de sondare desen roepene ontblijft, soe moet hij darven alle der ander gaven gods die daer-na volghen souden. B. Van vive partiën van sonderen. Nu hebbe ic ghemerct dat alle sondaren sijn ghedeilt in vijf partiën.

Die eerste partie dat sijn alle die-ghene die onachtsam sijn goeder werke; die leven willen na gherieve des lichaems ende na lost der senne in onleden der werrelt ende in menichfuldicheiden van herten. Dese sijn alle onheblijc die gracie gods te ontfane; ende al hadden si se ontfaen, si en moghen se niet behouden.

Die andere partie dat sijn die-gheene die willens ende wetens in dootzonden ghevallen sijn, ende daer-mede oec goede werke werken, ende altoes gode vreesen ende ontsien, ende goede liede lief hebben ende haers ghebeds begheren ende daer-inne hopen. Nochtans, alsoe langhe alse die avekeer ende die ghenoechte ter zonden verwent ende verweecht die minne ende den toekeer te gode, also langhe sijn si onweerdich der graciën gods.

Die derde partie der zondaren dat sijn alle onghelovighe menscen, ochte die dolen inden ghelove. Wat si goeder werke werken, ochte wat wisen dat si voeren, si en moghen gode niet behaghen sonder ghelove; want ghewarich ghelove es een fundament alre heilicheit ende alre doechde.

Die vierde partie dat sijn die-gheene die sonder vreese ende sonder sceemte in dootzonden ligghen, ende gods noch sire gaven niet en roken, noch gheenre doechde en achten; maer al gheestelijc leven houden si vore gheveistheit ochte bedrieghenisse. Ende al datmen hem van gode segghen mach ochte van doechden, horen si node; want si hebben in haren moede alsoe gheset, alse ochte noch god noch hille noch hemelrijcke en ware. Ende hier-omme en willen si niet weten dan dat si nu ghevoelen ende jeghenwordich hebben. Siet dese liede sijn alle van gode verworpen ende versmaet, want si zondighen inden heiligen gheeste. Nochtans moghense bekeeren, maer dat comt swaerlijc toe, ende selden.

Die vijfste partie van sondaren dat sijn die gheveynsde menschen, die uutwendighe goede werke werken, niet omme die eere gods noch omme haers selfs salicheit, maer omme eenen name van heilicheiden ochte omme eenighe verganckelijcke dinghe. Al schinen si van buten goet ende heilich, si sijn van binnen valsch ende ave-ghekeert van gode, ende si darven der ghenade gods ende alre doechde.

Siet aldus hebbe ic u ghenoemt vijf partiën van sondaren die alle werden ingheroepen ter eeningen gods. Maer alsoe langhe alse die sondare hem ute-gheven wilt inden dienste der sonden, soe blijft hi doef ende blint, ende onheblijc te smakene ochte te gevoelen alle dies goeds dat god in hem werken wilt.

Maer wanneer dat die sondere tot hem-selven comt ende sijns-selfs waerneemt, eest dat hem dan sijn sondighe leven meshaecht, soe naket hi gode. Maer wilt hi den roepene ende den noedene gods ghehoersam sijn, soe moet hi vrijlijc begripen te latene die zonden ende penitencie te doene, ende also wert hi eendrachtich ende eenwillich met gode ende ontfeet die ghenade gods. Ende hier-omme, inden eersten, sele wij aldus gode anesien, dat hi overmids sine vrye goetheit alle menschen sonder ondersceet roept ende noot te sijnre eeningen, beide goede ende quade, ende niemenne uutghelaten.

Ten anderen male selen wij der goetheit gods aldus ghevoelen, dat si uutvloeit met ghenaden in alle menschen die den roepen gods ghehoorsam sijn.

Ten derden male soe sele wij claerlijck in ons bevinden ende verstaen, dat wij moghen werden één leven ende één gheest met gode, eest die wij ons-selfs vertiën in alre wijs, ende volghen der ghenaden gods in dat hoochste daer si ons wisen wilt; want die ghenade gods werct ordenlijc in yeghelijcken mensche, na mate ende na wise sijnre ontfanclijcheit.

Ende hier-omme, overmids dat ghemeyne inwerken der graciën gods, soe ontfeet yeghelijc sondare wijsheit ende cracht die sonde te latene ende ter doecht te keerne, eest dat hi wilt.

Ende overmids dat verborghene medewercken der graciën gods soe mach yeghelijc goet mensce alle sonden verwinnen, ende alle becoringe wederstaen, ende alle doechde volvoeren, ende inde hoochste volcommenheit volstaen, eest dat hi in allen dinghen der graciën gods ghevolchsam es.

Want al dat wij sijn ende al dat wij hebben ontfaen van buten ende van binnen dat sijn alle die vrië gaven gods daer wij hem ave dancken selen, ende daer wij hem mede dienen moeten, selen wij hem behagen. Maer het sijn gaven gods die den goeden sijn hulpe ende ocsuin ten doechden, ende den quaden sijn hulpe ende ocsuin ten sonden, alse ghesonde, scoenheit ende wijsheit, rijcdom ende eere der werelt. Dit sijn die nederste ende onwertste gaven gods, die god ghemeenlijc gheeft om orbore sinen vrienden ende sinen vianden, den quaden ende den goeden. Ende hier-mede dienen die goede menschen gode ende sinen vrienden, ende die quade haren vleesche ende den duvel ende der werelt. Oec moechdi merken dat selcke menschen die gave gods ontfaen alse ghehuerde knechte gods, ende selke andere alse ghetrouwe knechte. Ende dese sijn onderlinghe contrarie in allen inwindighen werken, dat es in minnen ende in meynighen, in ghevoelene, ende in allen inwindighen wercken ende oefeninghen van levene.

Nu merct: alle die menschen die hem-selven also onordelijc minnen dat si gode anders niet dienen en willen dan omme haer eyghen ghewin ende omme haer eyghen loen, die sceden hem alle van gode ende behouden hem-selven onvry ende in eyghenheiden; want si soeken ende meinen hem-selven in al hare werken. Ende hier-omme, met al haren ghebede ende met al haren goeden werken soeken si tijtelijcke dinghe ochte eewighe dinghe die si verkiesen omme hare gherief ende omme haers selfs orbore.

Dese menschen sijn tot hem-selven ghevoecht onordelijcke; ende hier-omme bliven si altoes met hem-selven alleene, want hem ghebreect gherechte minne diese vereenighen soude met gode ende met alle sinen gheminden. Ende al schinen dese menschen houdende die wet ende die ghebode gods ende der heiligher kercken, si en houden niet die wet der minnen. Want al dat si doen, dat doen si van noode ende niet van minnen: op-dat si niet verdoemt en werden. Ende omme-dat si onghetrouwe sijn in haerre inwindicheit, soe en dorren si gode niet ghetrouwen, maer al haer inwindighe leven es twifel ende vaer, arbeit ende ellende. Want si aensien ter rechter siden dat eeuwighe leven, ende dat vreesen si te verliesene; ende si aensien ter slincker side die eewighe helsche pine, ende die vresen si te vercrighene. Al dat ghebet ende alle dien arbeit ende alle die goede wercke die si werken moghen omme dese vreese te verdrivene, dat en hulpt niet; want soe hi hem-selven meer minnen onordelijc, soe si die helle meer ontsien. Ende hier-ane moechdi merken dat die helsche vreese comt van eyghenre minnen die si tot hem-selven hebben.

Nu spreect doch die prophete ende oec die boeck der wijsheit: ‘Dat beghin der wijsheit dat es die vreese gods.’ Maer dat es die vreese die gheoefent wert ter rechter siden, daermen ontsiet te verliesene sine eewighe salicheit. Want dese vreese comt ute naturlijcker neyghinghen die elc mensce in hem heeft salich te sine, dat es gode te scouwene. Ende hiereomme: al es die mensche gode onghetrouwe, eest dat hi sijns selfs van binnen waer-neemt, hi ghevoelt hem gheneyghet ute hem selven tot der salicheit die gode es. Ende dese zalicheit vreest hi te verliesen, want hi mint hem-selven meer dan gode; ende hi mint die salicheit avetreckende, omme sijns selfs wille, ende hier-omme en dar hi gode niet ghetrouwen. Nochtans heedt dat die vreese ons heeren die beghin es der wijsheit, ende eene wet der onghetrouwer knechten gods; want si dwinct den mensce die sonden te latene ende die doechde te begherne ende goede werke te werkene, ende dese dinghe bereiden den mensche van buten die gracie gods te ontfane ende een ghetrouwe knecht te werden.

Maer inder selver uren dat hi metter hulpen gods sine eyghenheit verwinnen mach, dat es, dat hi sijns-selfs alsoe ledich wert dat hi gode ghetrouwen dar alle dies hem noot es, siet, met desen selven werke behaecht hi gode also, dat hi hem sine ghenade gheeft; ende overmids die ghenade ghevoelt hi gherechter minnen, ende die minne verdrijft twifel ende vreese, ende doet den mensche ghetrouwen ende hopen. Ende alsoe wert hi een ghetrouwe knecht ende wert minnende ende meynende gode in alle sinen werken.

Siet, dit es dat onderscheet tuscen die ghetrouwe knechte ende die onghetrouwe. Noch moghen wij merken dat groot ondersceet es tuschen die ghetrouwe knechten ende die heimelijcke vriende gods.

Want, overmids hulpe ende die gracie gods, soe verkiesen die ghetrouwe knechte die ghebode gods te houdene, dat es, ghehorsam te sine gode ende der heiligher kerken in allen manieren van duechden ende van goeden seden. Ende dit heet een uutwendich leven ochte een werkende leven. Maer die heimelijcke vriende gods si verkiesen, met den gheboden, te houdene die levende rade gods, dat es, een minlijc inwindich ane-cleven ane gode te sijnre eewigher eeren, met eenen willighen vertyene alle dies datmen buyten gode met loste ende met liefden besitten mochte. Alsulcke vriende roept ende noedt god inweert, ende leert hem onderscheet in inwindigher oefeninghen, ende menighe verborghen wise gheestelijcs levens. Maer sine knechte sendt hi uutwert opdat si hem ghetrouwe sijn, ende sire familiën, in allen dienste ende in allen manieren van uutwendighen goeden werken.

Siet aldus gheeft god sine ghenade ende sine hulpe na yeghelijcs menschen hebleecheit, dat es na alre wijs dat die mensche met gode eendrachtich es, in uutwindighen goeden werken ochte in inwindigher goeder oefeninghen van minnen.

Maer niemen en mach inwindigher oefeninghen pleghen noch ghevoelen, hi en si gode gheheel ende te-male inghekeert; want alsoe langhe alse die mensche van herten ghedeilt es, soe es hi uutsiende ende onghestadich in sinen ghemoede, ende wert licht beweecht van lieve ende van leede tidelijcker dinghen, want si leven noch in hem. Ende al leeft hi de ghebode gods, hi blijft altoes van binnen onverlicht ende ongheleert; want innighe oefeninghe es hem ontkont, ende hoemen haers pleghen sal. Maer in dien, dat hi weet ende ghevoelt dat hi gode meint ende sinen liefsten wille begheert te volbringhene in alle sinen werken, hiermede laet hi hem ghenoeghen want hi vint hem-selven ongheveinst in sijnre meyninghen ende ghetrouwe in sinen dienste. Ende overmids dese twee poente behaecht hi hem-selven, ende dunct hem dat uutwendighe goede werke met rechter meyninghen heiligher ende orborlijcker sijn dan inwindighe oefeninghe; want hi heeft overmids die hulpe gods eene uutgaende wise vercoren. Ende hieromme oefent hi meer uutwendighe werke met ondersceede, dan den-ghenen daer hi om werct met innigher liefden. Ende dit es de sake dat hi meer verbeelt es met den werken die hi werct, dan met gode daer hi omme werct. Ende overmids dese verbeeltheit in sinen werkene, soe blijft hie een uutwendich mensche, ende en es niet hebbelijc den rade gods ghenoech te sine. Want sine oefeninghe es meer uutwindich dan inwindich, meer senlijc dan gheestelijc.

Ende al es hi een ghetrouwe knecht ons heeren in uutwindighen dienste, dat die heimelijcke vriende gods ghevoelen, dat blijft hem verborghen ende onbekint.

Ende hier-omme eest dat selke grove uutghekeerde menschen altoes ordeelen ende berespen die inghekeerde menschen, omme-dat hem dunct dat die inghekeerde ledich sijn. Ende dit was die sake dat martha claghede onsen heere over haer suster mariën, omme-dat si hare niet en halpt dienen; want haer dochte dat si groten dienst ende groten orbor dede, ende dat haer suster ledich sat te vergheefs. Maer onze heere die gaf sentencie ende oordeel van hem beiden. Ende hi berespte marthen niet van haren dienste, want die dienst was goet ende orborlijc. Maer hi berespte se van haerre sorchvoldicheit, ende omme dat si bedruct ende bedrueft was overmids menichfuldicheit uutwendigher wercke. Ende hi prijsde mariën van harer inwindigher oefeninghen, ende sprac: dat eens dincs een noet ware, ende dat si dat beste deel vercoren hadde, dat haer niet ghenomen en soude werden.

Dat een dinc dies noot es alle menschen, dat es godlijcke minne. Dat beste deel dat es een inwindich leven met minlijcken aenclevene ane gode. Dat hadde maria maegdelena vercoren, ende dat verkiesen noch die heimelijcke vriende ons heeren. Maer martha die vercoes een ongheveynst uutwendich werkende leven; ende dat es dat ander deel daer men gode inne dient, dat soe volcomen noch soe goet niet en es. Ende dit deel verkiesen noch die ghetrouwe knechte omme die minne ons heeren.

Maer nu ventmen selcke dorre menschen die alsoe innich ende alsoe ledich willen sijn, dat si noch werken noch dienen en willen in node haers evenkerstens. Siet, dese menschen en sijn noch heimelijcke vriende noch ghetrouwe knechte ons heeren, maer si sijn te-male valschs ende bedroghen; want niemen en mach den rade gods ghenoech sijn die sine ghebode niet houden en wilt.

Ende hier-omme sijn die heimelijcke vriende ons heeren altoes ghetrouwe knechte daers noot es. Maer die ghetrouwe knechte en sijn alle niet heimelijcke vriende, want die oefeninghe die daer toebehort die es hem ombekint.

Aldus hebdi dat onderscheet tusschen de heimelijcke vriende ende die ghetrouwe knechte ons heeren. Noch vendt men hogher ende nader onderscheet, ende dat es tusschen die heimelijcke vriende ende die verborghene sonen gods. Nochtan staen dese twee partiën ghelijc opgherecht met innigher oefeninghen vore die jeghenwordicheit gods. Maer die vriende besitten hare inwindicheit met eyghenscap; want si verkiesen dat minlijcke aencleven ane gode vore dat beste ende vore dat alderhoochste daer si toe comen moghen ochte comen willen. Ende hier omme en moghen si hem-selven noch hare werke niet doerliden in eene onghebeelde bloetheit; want si sijn vermiddelt ende verbeelt met hem-selven ende met haren werken. Ende al eest dat si ghevoelen in haren minlijcken aenclevene eeninghe met gode, nochtan vinden si altoes onderscheet ende anderheit inder eeninghen tuschen hem ende gode. Want die eenvuldighe overganc in bloetheiden ende in onwisen die es van hem ombekint ende onghemint. Ende hier-omme blijft hare hoochste inwindighe leven altoes in redenen ende in wisen.

Ende al hebben si claer verstaen ende ondersceet van allen redelijcken duechden, dat eenvoldighe staren met openre gedachten in godlijcker claerheit, dat blijft hem verholen. Ende al ghevoelen si hem-selven opgherecht te gode in starken brande van minnen, si behouden eyghenheit haers-selfs, ende en werden niet verteert noch verberent te niete in eenicheit der minnen. Ende al eest dat si altoes in gods dienste willen leven ende hem eewelijc behaghen, si en willen in gode alre eyghenheit van gheeste niet sterven ende een eenformich leven met gode draghen. Ende al eest dat si clene achten ende weghen allen troost ende alle raste die comen mach van buten, si achten groot de gaven gods, ende hare inwindighe werke, troost ende soeticheit die si ghevoelen van binnen. Ende aldus rasten si inden weghe ende en volsterven niet om te vercrighen den hoochsten seghe in bloter wiseloser minnen. Ende al mochten si oefenen ende bekinnen met ondersceede al dat minlijcke aencleven ende alle die innighe opgaende weghe diemen oefenen mach vore die jeghenwordicheit gods, nochtan bleve hem verborghen ende ombekint die wiselose overganc ende dat rijcke verdolen in die overweselijcke minne daermen nemmermeer eynde noch beghin, wise noch maniere vinden en mach.

Ende hier-omme es groot ondersceet tusschen die heimelijcke vriende ende die verborghene sonen gods.

Want die vrienden en ghevoelen anders niet in hem dan eenen minlijcken levenden opganc in wisen; ende daer-boven ghevoelen die sonen eenen eenvuldighen stervenden overganc in onwisen.

Dat inwendighe leven der vriende ons heeren dat es opgaende ufeninghe van minnen, daer si altoes in bliven willen met eyghenscape; maer hoemen boven alle oefeninghe gode besit met bloter minnen in ledicheiden, des en gevoelen si niet. Maer sij sijn altoes opclemmende te gode in ghewarighen ghelove, ende si ontbeiden gods ende haerre eewigher salicheit met rechter hope, ende sij sijn ane-clevende ende gheankert in gode overmids volcomene karitate; ende hier-omme es hem wel gheschiet, want si behaghen gode, ende god behaecht hem weder.

Nochtan en sijn si niet versekert eewichs levens, want si en sijn noch niet temale in gode ghestorven haers selves ende alre eyghenscap. Maer alle die-ghene die bliven ende volstaen in hare oefeninghen ende in dien toekeer dien si vercoren hebben te gode, die heeft god alle inder eewicheit vercoren, ende haer namen met den werken waren eewelijc ghescreven inden levenden boeke der voersienicheit gods.

Maer die ander dinghe verkiesen, ende hare inwindighe aenschijn van gode keeren in contrariën ende in sonden, ende daer-inne bliven: al waren haer namen ghescreven ende bekint van gode na titelijcker gherechticheit die si vore gheoefent hebben, omme-dat si niet en volstaen tot inde doot, soe werden haer namen verdelijt ende ave-gheplant vanden boeke des levens, ende nemmermeer en moghen si ghesmaken gods ochte eenighe vrocht die van doechden comt.

Ende hieromme eest ons allen noot dat wij ons-selfs met ernste waer-nemen, ende onsen toekeer te gode van binnen cieren met innigher liefden, ende van buten met goeden werken: so moghen wij in hopen ende in vrouden ontbeiden dat oordeel gods ende die toecomst ons heeren jhesu cristi.

Maer consten wij ons selfs vertyen ende alre eyghenscape in onsen werken, soe souden wij met onsen bloten onghebeelden gheeste overliden alle dinc. Ende in dier blootheit souden wij ghewracht werden sonder middel vanden gheeste gods, ende daer souden wij sekerheit ghevoelen dat wij waren volcomene sonen gods; want die ghewracht werden vanden gheeste gods, dat sijn die sonen gods spreect die apostel gods sinte pauwels.

Nochtan seldi weten dat alle ghelovighe goede menschen die sonen gods zijn.

Want si werden alle gheboren uten gheeste gods, ende die gheest gods levet in hem, ende hi beweecht ende drijft yeghewelcken sonderlinghe, na sine heblijcheit, ten duechden ende ten goeden werken daer hi gode in behaecht. Maer omme die onghelijcheit haers toekeers ende hare oefeninghen, soe noeme ic selcke menschen ghetrouwe knechte, ende selcke heetic heimelijcke vriende ende selcke verborghene sonen. Nochtan sijnse alle knechte, vriende ende sonen; want si dienen ende minnen ende meynen alle eenen god, ende si leven ende werken alle uten vriën gheeste goids. Ende god gheorlooft ochte hi ghedoghet sinen vrienden te doene alle dinghe die jeghen sine gheboden niet en vallen. Want die ten rade gods ghebonden sijn, die raedt es hem een ghebod. Ende hier-omme en es niement gode onghehoorsam noch contrarie dan die sine ghebode niet en houdet; want alle die dinge die god ghebiedt ochte verbiedt inder scriftueren ochte inder heiliger kerken ochte in onser conzienciën, alle die dinghe die moeten wij doen ende laten, ocht wij sijn onghehoorsam ende verliesen die gracie gods. Maer hoe wij vallen in daghelijcs ghebrec, dat ghedoocht ons god ende oec onse redene, want wij en moghen ons niet ghehoeden. Ende hier-omme, alsulc ghebrec en maect ons niet onghehorsam, want het en verdrijft niet die gracie gods noch oec onsen inwindigen vrede.

Nochtan selen wij al sulke ghebreke, hoe cleine si sijn, altoes claghen, ende hoeden ons daer vore, met allen dien dat wij vermoghen.

Ende in deser redenen hebbic u verclaert dat ic vore seide inden beghinne, dat was, dat elc mensche van node ghehoorsam moet sijn in allen dinghen gode, ende der heiligher kercken, ende sijnre eyghenre redenen want ic en wille niet dat hem yement ane mine woorde tonrechte stote. Ende hier-mede latic sijn al dat gheseghet es.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rev.2.17 — The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it.
  2. ↩Rev.2.17 — The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it.
  3. ↩Rev.2.17 — The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it.
  4. ↩Acts.1.5 — For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
  5. ↩Rev.2.17 — The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written that no one knows except the one who receives it.
  6. ↩Heb.11.6 — And without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
  7. ↩Luke.15.17 — But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired workers have bread enough to spare, and here I am perishing of hunger!'
  8. ↩Matt.22.9-Matt.22.10;1Tim.2.4 — Go therefore to the main roads, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding feast. Matt.22.10 — And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 1Tim.2.4 — who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
  9. ↩1Cor.6.17 — But the one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
  10. ↩1Cor.4.7 — For who makes you different? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you had not received it?
  11. ↩Matt.5.45 — so that you may become sons of your Father who is in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
  12. ↩Prov.9.10;Ps.111.10 — The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Ps.111.10 — The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD; good understanding belongs to all who do his works. His praise endures forever.
  13. ↩1John.4.18 — There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
  14. ↩Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
  15. ↩Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
  16. ↩Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
  17. ↩Luke.10.38-Luke.10.42 — Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. Luke.10.39 — She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his word. Luke.10.40 — But Martha was distracted by much service. She came up and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." Luke.10.41 — But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.' Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
  18. ↩John.14.15 — If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Middle Dutch boeke der heimelijcheit gods is the usual vernacular designation of the Apocalypse/Revelation ("the book of God's hidden things").
  2. 2 ↩Middle Dutch terdelinc (from terden, ‘to tread’) names a tiny stone you can step on underfoot; rendered here as ‘pebble’ to keep both the size and the treading image.
  3. 3 ↩overclemt (overklimmen): rendered as 'rises above' for mystical surmounting of all things; could also be 'climbs over' or 'surmounts'.
  4. 4 ↩Middle Dutch terdelinc (from treden, "to tread") names a small stone one steps on; calculus is the Latin term Ruusbroec glosses here.
  5. 5 ↩vernieut is rendered as emptied himself (kenosis), paired with cleyne ghemaect (made himself small), matching the Philippians self-emptying sense rather than mere physical reduction.
  6. 6 ↩Middle Dutch ‘verdiente’ is desert/merit; rendered as ‘what that person deserves’ to keep plain modern English while preserving retributive force. ‘hi’ continues the stone/Christ–God referent of the chapter’s figure.
  7. 7 ↩Middle Dutch licht can mean weightless/light or luminous; the following contrast with waghe (weight) and sware menscheit (heavy humanity) supports primarily lightness of weight, though the sparkling-stone image also admits brightness.
  8. 8 ↩onthoghende is rendered as rises above / transcends (ont- + hoghen); voergaende as goes before / precedes. hervolghen is overtake/catch up with, not mere moral following.
  9. 9 ↩onse sware menscheit is the assumed human nature of Christ: heavy flesh elevated in the Word's lichtheit (lightness), now enthroned.
  10. 10 ↩Middle Dutch onnoselheit here means baptismal innocence (not modern Dutch 'foolishness'). gheeste names spiritual persons/souls in their return to God.
  11. 11 ↩anderwerf ghedoept inden heilighen gheeste is spiritual re-baptism / renewal in the Spirit after loss of baptismal innocence, not a second sacramental water baptism. The three works are introduced in the following material.
  12. 12 ↩vrye werke = God's free (ungrudging, uncoerced) operations of grace, not human works done freely. voeghen = to join/dispose oneself toward that action of grace.
  13. 13 ↩Middle Dutch eeninghen is Ruusbroec’s term for union with God (mystical uniting), not mere social fellowship.
  14. 14 ↩Structural subdivision marker in the source (heading letter), not prose content; left as the letter designation.
  15. 15 ↩partiën means groups/divisions of people (parties), not political parties; rendered as 'parties' to keep the source’s classifying sense, which s5 continues.
  16. 16 ↩onheblijc rendered as 'unfit' (unable/unworthy to receive); Middle Dutch can shade toward both incapacity and unworthiness.
  17. 17 ↩avekeer / toekeer: paired Middle Dutch terms for aversion from God and turning toward God; rendered as 'turning away' and 'turning toward' to keep the directional contrast.
  18. 18 ↩verwent ende verweecht: taken as 'overpower and weaken' (the turning-away and pleasure in sin as subject acting on love and conversion).
  19. 19 ↩vrijlijc begripen te latene: 'begripen' here is volitional 'undertake/resolve,' not mere intellectual grasp; 'vrijlijc' marks free cooperation with grace.
  20. 20 ↩eeningen preserves Ruusbroec's technical sense of union/oneness with God, not mere fellowship; 'noot' pairs with 'roept' as call-and-invite (cf. noedene in s2).
  21. 21 ↩Middle Dutch ocsuin is Latin occasio: occasion/opportunity that can incline either toward virtue or toward sin, depending on the receiver.
  22. 22 ↩onwertste rendered as 'least valuable' (lowest in worth), not merely 'worthless,' since they remain real gifts of God.
  23. 23 ↩ghehuerde knechte = hired/wage servants (mercenary service for pay), contrasted with ghetrouwe knechte = faithful servants; the contrast is moral-spiritual, not merely occupational.
  24. 24 ↩meynighen rendered as 'intending' (inner aim/motive), the standard Ruusbroec sense of meyninge as spiritual intention rather than mere opinion.
  25. 25 ↩Middle Dutch eyghenheiden is Ruusbroec's technical term for proprietary selfhood—holding oneself as one's own rather than free in God; rendered here as 'self-possession' (with 'unfree' for onvry).
  26. 26 ↩onghetrouwe can mean both 'unfaithful' and 'untrusting'; in Ruusbroec's servant language it often marks those who do not trust God as a faithful servant would. Rendered 'unfaithful' to keep the later contrast with the 'faithful servant,' while the following clause ('dare not trust God') carries the trust sense.
  27. 27 ↩Source shifts from plural si to singular hi ('soe hi hem-selven meer minnen') then back to si. Treated as a generic singular for the same class of people and rendered consistently as 'they' for modern readability.
  28. 28 ↩‘ter rechter siden’ continues the previous section’s left/right contrast (eternal life vs. hellish pain); ‘salicheit’ rendered as blessedness rather than mere safety, matching the contemplative sense of beatitude.
  29. 29 ↩‘die salicheit die gode es’ can mean blessedness that is God himself (identity) or blessedness that belongs to God; the appositive reading fits Ruusbroec’s beatitude language and is preferred here.
  30. 30 ↩‘avetreckende’ (af-trekkend) marks love that pulls the good toward self-interest rather than toward God; rendered ‘in a self-seeking way’ to keep the technical force without archaic jargon.
  31. 31 ↩‘heedt dat’ taken as ‘it holds / it is the case that’; ‘van buten’ as ‘outwardly’ (exterior preparation for grace), contrasting the interior distrust described above.
  32. 32 ↩Middle Dutch eyghenheit is Ruusbroec's technical term for self-centered ownness/self-will (the clinging proprietariness of the self before God). Rendered here as 'self-will'; the appositive 'empty of himself' carries the same interior sense.
  33. 33 ↩meynen is intention/aim (pure intention toward God), not mere opinion. Rendered as 'intend' to keep Ruusbroec's intentional sense.
  34. 34 ↩heimelijcke vriende gods: Ruusbroec’s technical contrast to ghetrouwe knechten; heymelijk means secret/hidden/intimate. Rendered “intimate friends of God” for modern readability while preserving the interior, hidden friendship next section develops.
  35. 35 ↩levende rade gods: 'living counsels of God' — the classic contrast with gheboden (commandments); in Ruusbroec this marks the deeper evangelical path of the secret friends, not mere moral advice.
  36. 36 ↩familiën: rendered as 'household' (God's familia / household of faith), not nuclear family.
  37. 37 ↩Middle Dutch hebleecheit (hebbelijkheid) = fitness/aptitude/capacity; rendered as capacity for the measure of receptivity to grace.
  38. 38 ↩"uutgaende wise" is Ruusbroec's technical contrast to the inward/contemplative way: a life oriented outward into active works rather than interior recollection.
  39. 39 ↩"met ondersceede" can mean with discrimination, distinction, or careful sorting among works; the comparison is that exterior works receive more of that careful attention than God, the One for whom the person works.
  40. 40 ↩"verbeelt" is Ruusbroec's technical term for being occupied or formed by mental images, as opposed to a bare, imageless turning to God.
  41. 41 ↩"hebbelijc den rade gods ghenoech te sine" means not sufficiently fit/capable for God's counsel; "raad Gods" can mean God's counsel, plan, or guiding will.
  42. 42 ↩orbor rendered as 'good'/'useful benefit' (service that profits); Middle Dutch orbor = use, benefit, profit.
  43. 43 ↩sorchvoldicheit rendered as 'anxious care' (solicitude/busyness of heart), not mere diligence; pairs with bedruct ende bedrueft (oppressed and distressed).
  44. 44 ↩inwindigher oefeninghen rendered as 'interior practice' (spiritual exercise of the inward life), not generic physical exercise.
  45. 45 ↩minlijcken aenclevene: loving clinging/adherence; rendered as 'loving attachment' to keep Ruusbroec's affective union without sounding erotic or casual.
  46. 46 ↩heimelijcke vriende: in Ruusbroec, the 'secret/intimate friends' of the Lord (contemplatives), contrasted with the 'faithful servants' in s5.
  47. 47 ↩ongheveynst: unfeigned/sincere—Martha's active life is genuine service, not hypocrisy; still ranked below the contemplative 'better part.'
  48. 48 ↩Middle Dutch ledich can mean idle, vacant, or empty of activity/images; here it names a pretended contemplative emptiness that excuses refusal of works of charity.
  49. 49 ↩Rendered as 'satisfy God's counsel': raad is counsel/will; ghenoech sijn means to be enough for / equal to / adequate to it—not mere intellectual agreement, but living up to what God counsels.
  50. 50 ↩oefeninghe: interior spiritual practice/exercise proper to the secret friends, not mere outward work.
  51. 51 ↩eyghenscap = proprietary selfhood: still holding the interior life as one's own rather than wholly surrendered; not mere selfishness.
  52. 52 ↩onghebeelde bloetheit = imageless bareness/nakedness of spirit; doerliden = pass through/beyond; vermiddelt ende verbeelt = still held by intermediaries and mental forms.
  53. 53 ↩onwisen = without modes/ways (Ruusbroec's mode-less state beyond discursive manner); eenvuldighe overganc = simple, undivided passage over.
  54. 54 ↩in redenen ende in wisen = within discursive reason and formed manners/modes, not yet beyond them into bare mode-less life.
  55. 55 ↩eyghenheit haers-selfs = selfhood / own-ness of self: Ruusbroec's proprietorship of the interior person, not mere individuality.
  56. 56 ↩eenformich leven = life of one form / uniform life with God: unitive conformity, not mere moral sameness.
  57. 57 ↩bloter wiseloser minnen = bare modeless love: Ruusbroec technical pair (bloot / wiseloos) for love beyond images and modes of practice.
  58. 58 ↩overweselijcke minne = superessential love (above created being); rijcke verdolen = rich losing-oneself / rich wandering-lost in love, not ordinary confusion.
  59. 59 ↩Middle Dutch eyghenscape: proprietary holding of the spiritual state as one's own, as opposed to bare love that no longer clings to exercise or mode.
  60. 60 ↩Middle Dutch ledicheiden: restful spiritual emptiness or vacancy beyond active practice, not mere idleness.
  61. 61 ↩Middle Dutch eyghenscap is Ruusbroec’s technical term for the proprietary self—claiming oneself and one’s works as one’s own. Rendered here as ‘selfhood,’ not mere selfishness.
  62. 62 ↩toekeer is the inward turning/orientation toward God (conversion of face and will), not a single decision moment only.
  63. 63 ↩Middle Dutch 'titelijcker gherechticheit' is Ruusbroec’s technical term for a righteousness held by title/claim of prior practice (not yet sealed by final perseverance). Rendered as 'the righteousness they had earlier practiced and held by title' to keep both the prior exercise and the provisional claim.
  64. 64 ↩Middle Dutch bloot / onghebeeld is Ruusbroec’s technical pair for a spirit stripped of images and forms (bare, imageless), not mere physical nakedness; eyghenscape is self-claim or possessiveness in works, not legal property.
  65. 65 ↩ghewracht werden is rendered ‘worked upon’ (not the usual English ‘led’) to keep the Dutch passive of divine operation; sonder middel means without intermediary/means, not ‘without purpose’.
  66. 66 ↩heblijcheit rendered as capacity (aptitude/ability); could also be read as fitness or readiness for a given call.
  67. 67 ↩toekeers rendered as turning toward God (orientation/conversion of the will); oefeninghen as spiritual practices or exercises.
  68. 68 ↩heimelijcke vriende is intimate/secret friends; verborghene sonen is hidden sons — Ruusbroec's graded spiritual states, not a denial of common sonship (see next sentence).
  69. 69 ↩gheorlooft ochte hi ghedoghet: permit or endure/tolerate — both senses kept; ghedoghet stresses patient forbearance rather than mere license.
  70. 70 ↩raedt/raade is counsel (evangelical counsel / divine counsel), not mere advice; for the bound soul it carries the force of a command.
  71. 71 ↩doen ende laten rendered as do or leave undone (the traditional pair of what must be performed and what must be refrained from).
  72. 72 ↩hoe can mean when/as or however; here it introduces the ordinary fact of daily shortcoming. ghebrec is failing/defect, not mortal sin (clarified by the next sentence).

The Sparkling Stone (Vanden blinkenden steen) 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) →