De la convenance qui est entre Dieu et l'homme
The Natural Affinity of the Soul for God
The human heart possesses an inherent, secret affinity for God, rooted in our creation in His image and reflected in the structure of our own souls.
As soon as a person thinks even a little carefully about the Godhead, he feels a certain sweet stirring of the heart that bears witness that God is the God of the human heart; and our understanding never has so much delight as in this thought of the Godhead, the least knowledge of which, as the prince of the philosophers says, is worth more than the greatest knowledge of other things—just as the least ray of the sun is brighter than the greatest ray of the moon and the stars together. And if some mishap terrifies our heart, it turns at once to the Godhead, acknowledging that when everything goes badly, the Godhead alone is good to it, and that when it is in danger, the Godhead alone, as its sovereign good, can save and protect it. This pleasure, this trust the human heart naturally places in God, can only come from the fitness between this divine Goodness and our soul: a great fitness, yet a secret one; a fitness everyone knows, but few understand; a fitness no one can deny, yet no one can fully penetrate. We are created in the image and likeness of God: what does that mean, if not that we have an extreme fitness with his divine Majesty? Our soul is spiritual, indivisible, and immortal; it understands, it wills, and it wills freely; it can judge, reason, know, and possess virtues—and in this, it resembles God. It dwells entirely within the whole body, and entirely within each of the body’s parts, just as the Divinity is entirely in the whole world, and entirely in every part of the world. A human being knows and loves himself through acts produced and expressed by his understanding and his will; and those acts, though they proceed from understanding and will as distinct powers, nonetheless remain inseparably united in the soul and in the faculties from which they come. In the same way, the Son proceeds from the Father as his expressed knowledge, and the Holy Spirit as the love breathed forth and produced by the Father and the Son—both Persons distinct from each other and from the Father, yet inseparable and united, and thus one same, sole, simple, and most unique indivisible Divinity.1
The Meeting of Abundance and Need
God’s infinite goodness finds its greatest expression in communicating itself to our needy humanity, much like a mother’s desire to nourish her child.
But beyond this fitness of likeness, there is a matchless correspondence between God and man for their mutual perfection—not that God can receive any perfection from man, but because, just as man can only be perfected by the divine Goodness, so the divine Goodness cannot so fittingly exercise its perfection outside itself as toward our humanity: the one has great need and great capacity to receive good, and the other has great abundance and great inclination to give it. Nothing is so suited to want as a generous abundance; nothing so pleasing to a generous abundance as a needy want; and the more abundance the good has, the stronger is its inclination to pour itself out and communicate itself; the more needy the one in want is, the more eager he is to receive, like a void eager to be filled.2 So the meeting of abundance and want is a sweet and desirable one; and you could hardly say who has more contentment—the abundant good in pouring itself out and communicating itself, or the failing and needy good in receiving and drawing—if Our Lord had not said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now, where there is more happiness, there is more satisfaction; the divine Goodness therefore takes more pleasure in giving its graces than we do in receiving them. Mothers sometimes have breasts so full and abundant that they cannot go on without giving them to a child. Though the child nurses with great eagerness, the mother gives it even more ardently—the child nursing, pressed by its need, and the mother nursing it, pressed by her fruitfulness. The sacred Bride had longed for the holy kiss of union: "Oh," she said, "let him kiss me with a kiss of his mouth!" But is there enough fitness, O beloved of the Beloved, between you and the Bridegroom for you to reach the union you desire?3 "Yes," she says, "give it to me—this kiss of union—O dear friend of my soul, for your breasts are better than wine, fragrant with excellent perfumes." New wine bubbles and heats within itself by the force of its goodness and cannot keep itself in the casks; but your breasts are still better: they press your chest with continual surges, driving out their overflowing milk as if begging to be relieved; and to draw the children of your heart to come nurse at them, they pour out a fragrance more alluring than all the scents of perfumes. So, Theotimus, our deficiency needs the divine abundance out of want and necessity; but the divine abundance needs our poverty only because of the excellence of its own perfection and goodness—a goodness that doesn't become better by communicating itself, for it gains nothing by pouring itself out. On the contrary, it gives. But our poverty would remain wanting and miserable if the abundance of goodness didn't come to its aid.4
The Restless Heart Seeking Its Source
Because nothing in this world can satisfy the soul's infinite capacity, we are drawn to unite with the sovereign Good who created us.
Our soul, then, considering that nothing satisfies it completely and that its capacity cannot be filled by anything whatever in the world—seeing that its understanding has an endless pull to know always more, and its will an insatiable appetite to love and find what is good—doesn't it have good reason to cry out: Ah, then, I was not made for this world! There is some sovereign Good on which I depend, and some infinite Craftsman who has stamped in me this endless desire to know and this appetite that can never be satisfied: that is why I must stretch and reach out toward him, to unite and join myself to his goodness, to which I belong and in which I have my being.5 This is the fitness we have with God.6
Read the original Latin
Si tost que l'homme pense un peu attentivement a la Divinité, il sent une certaine douce esmotion de coeur, qui tesmoigne que Dieu est Dieu du coeur humain; et jamais nostre entendement n'a tant de playsir qu'en cette pensee de la Divinité, de laquelle la moindre connoissance, comme dit le prince des philosophes, vaut mieux que la plus grande des autres choses, comme le moindre rayon du soleil est plus clair que le plus grand de la lune et des estoiles ensemble. Que si quelqu'accident espouvante nostre coeur, soudain il recourt a la Divinité, advoüant que quand tout luy est mauvais, elle seule luy est bonne,et que quand il est en peril, elle seule, comme son souverain bien, le peut sauver et garentir.
Ce playsir,cette confiance que le coeur humain prend naturellement en Dieu, ne peut certes provenir que de la convenance qu'il y a entre cette divine Bonté et nostre ame: convenance grande, mais secrette; convenance que chacun connoist, et que peu de gens entendent; convenance qu'on ne peut nier, mais qu'on ne peut bien penetrer. Nous sommes creés a l'image et semblance de Dieu:qu'est-ce a dire cela, sinon que nous avons une extreme convenance avec sa divine Majesté?
Nostre ame est spirituelle, indivisible, immortelle; entend, veut, et veut librement; est capable de juger, discourir,sçavoir et avoir des vertus: en quoy elle ressemble a Dieu. Elle reside toute en tout son cors, et toute en chacune des parties d'iceluy, comme la Divinité est toute en tout le monde, et toute en chaque partie du monde. L'homme se connoist et s'ayme soy mesme par des actes produitz et exprimés de son entendement et de sa volonté,qui procedans de l'entendement et de la volonté distingués l'un de l'autre, restent neanmoins et demeurent inseparablement unis en l'ame et es facultés desquelles ilz procedent. Ainsy le Filz procede du Pere, comme sa connoissance exprimee, et le Saint Esprit,comme l'amour expiré et produit du Pere et du Filz;l'une et l'autre Personnes distinctes entre elles et d'avec le Pere, et neanmoins inseparables et unies, ainsi plustost une mesme, seule, simple et tres unique indivisible Divinité.
Mais, outre cette convenance de similitude, il y a une correspondance nompareille entre Dieu et l'homme pour leur reciproque perfection; non que Dieu puisse recevoir aucune perfection de l'homme, mais parce que, comme l'homme ne peut estre perfectionné que par la divine Bonté, aussi la divine Bonté ne peut bonnement si bien exercer sa perfection hors de soy qu'a l'endroit de nostre humanité: l'une a grand besoin et grande capacité de recevoir du bien,et l'autre a grande abondance et grande inclination pour en donner. Rien n'est si a propos pour l'indigence qu'une liberale affluence, rien si aggreable a une liberable affluence qu'une necessiteuse indigence; et plus le bien a d'affluence, plus l'inclination de se repandre et communiquer est forte,plus l'indigent est necessiteux,plus il est avide de recevoir, comme un vuide de se remplir. C'est donq un doux et desirable rencontre que celuy de l'affluence et de l'indigence, et ne sçauroit-on presque dire qui a plus de contentement, ou le bien abondant a se respandre et communiquer, ou le bien defaillant et indigent a recevoir et tirer, si Nostre Seigneur n'avoit dit que c'est chose plus heureuse de donner que de recevoir. Or,ou il y a plus de bonheur, il y a plus de satisfaction; la divine Bonté a donq plus de playsir a donner ses graces que nous a les recevoir. Les meres ont quelquefois leurs mammelles si fecondes et abondantes,qu'elles ne peuvent durer sans les bailler a quelqu'enfant; et bien que l'enfant succe le tetin avec grande avidité, la nourrice le luy donne encor plus ardemment; l'enfant tettant, pressé de sa necessité, et la mere l'allaitant,pressee de sa fecondité.
L'Espouse sacree avoit souhaité le saint bayser d'union: O, dit-elle, qu'il me bayse d'un bayser de sa bouche! Mais y a-il asses de convenance, o la bienaymee du Bienaymé, entre vous et l'Espoux, pour parvenir a l'union que vous desires? Oui, dit-elle, donnes-le moy, ce bayser d'union, o le cher ami de mon ame, car vous aves des mammelles meilleures que le vin, odorantes de parfums excellens. Le vin nouveau bouïllonne et s'eschauffe en soy mesme par la force de sa bonté, et ne se peut contenir dans les tonneaux, mais vos mammelles sont encores meilleures, elles pressent vostre poitrine par des eslans continuelz, poussant leur laict qui redonde, comme requerant d'estre dechargees: et pour attirer les enfans de vostre coeur a les venir tetter,elles respandent une odeur attrayante plus que toutes les senteurs des parfums. Ainsy, Theotime, nostre defaillance a besoin de l'abondance divine par disette et necessité,mays l'afffluence divine n'a besoin de nostre indigence que par excellence de perfection et bonté: bonté qui neanmoins ne devient pas meilleure en se communiquant, car elle n'acquiert rien en se respandant hors de soy, au contraire elle donne; mays nostre indigence demeureroit manquante et miserable si l'abondance de la bonté ne la secouroit.
Nostre ame donques, considerant que rien ne la contente parfaittement et que sa capacité ne peut estre remplie par chose quelconque qui soit au monde, voyant que son entendement a une inclination infinie de sçavoir tous-jours davantage, et sa volonté un appetit insatiable d'aymer et treuver du bien, n'a-elle pas rayson d'exclamer: Ah, donques je ne suis pas faite pour ce monde! Il y a quelque souverain bien duquel je depens, et quelque ouvrier infini qui a imprimé en moy cet interminable desir de sçavoir et cet appetit qui ne peut estre assouvi: c'est pourquoy il faut que je tende et m'estende vers luy,pour m'unir et joindre a sa bonté a laquelle j'appartiens et suis. Telle est la convenance que nous avons avec Dieu.
Notes
- 1 ↩French expiré is the classical spiration image: the Spirit as love breathed forth, not “expired” in the modern sense of ending.
- 2 ↩Source has both 'liberale' and 'liberable' affluence in parallel; treated as the same sense (generous/liberal abundance).
- 3 ↩convenance keeps the chapter's sense of mutual fitness/correspondence between God and the soul, not mere social propriety.
- 4 ↩n'a besoin ... que par excellence de perfection et bonté means divine abundance 'needs' our poverty only insofar as its superabundant perfection and goodness incline it to give, not because it lacks anything.
- 5 ↩«j'appartiens et suis» is compressed: the soul both belongs to God's goodness and has its existence in relation to it. Rendered as "belong and in which I have my being" rather than a bare "belong and am."
- 6 ↩«convenance» is the chapter's key term (fitness/suitability/correspondence between God and the human soul). Kept as "fitness" to match the chapter title register rather than looser "kinship" or "affinity."
Treatise on the Love of God 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