St. John of the Cross - Ascent of Mount Carmel

8/9/2019 St. John of the Cross - Ascent of Mount Carmel

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" th e grea test of a ll myst ica l theologian s"Thus h a s Thoma s Mert on d escribed St . J ohn of t he Cr oss, echoing th e consideredjudgment of most a ut horities on t he spiritua l life; a nd here in th is volume is the

grea t my stic's most widely appealing work.Ascent of M oun t Car m el is anincompa ra ble guide to the spiritua l life -- beca use its a uth or ha slived his owncounsel. Addressed to informed C hrist ian s w ho aspire to grow in union w ith G od, itexamines every cat egory of spiritu a l experience, th e spurious a s w ell a s th ea uth entic. With r a re insight into huma n psychology it n ot only t ells how t o becomemore closely united w ith G od, but spells out in vivid deta il the pitfa lls to avoid.

In his Apostolic Letter proclaiming St . J ohn of the C ross a D octor of theCh urch, P ope Pius XI w rote tha t he " points out to souls the w a y of perfection asth ough illumined by light from on high, in his limpidly clear a na lysis of myst ica lexperience. And a lthough [his w orks] deal w ith d ifficult a nd hidden m a tt ers, theya re nevert heless replete with such lofty spiritua l doctrine an d ar e so w ell a da pted tothe understa nding of those who study them t ha t t hey ca n rightly be ca lled a guidea nd h a ndbook for t he ma n of fait h w ho proposes to embra ce a life of perfection."This tra nsla tion by E. Allison P eers w a s ha iled by theL ondon T im es a s " themost faithful tha t ha s appea red in an y European langua ge."


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ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS wa s perhaps the greatest myst ica l writer the world ha sever known. B ossuet's fa mous tribut e -- th a t his w ritings " possess the sam ea uth ority in myst ica l theology a s the w ritings of St. Thoma s possess in dogma ticth eology" -- rema ins the most fitt ing testimonia l to his a ugust pla ce a mong spiritua lwriters.

J ohn w a s born in C a stile in 1542 -- eve of Spa in's cent ury of grea tn ess, towh ich he himself wa s to add such lustre. He studied under t he J esuits a nd w orkedfor six years in a hospita l. Ent ering the Ca rmelites in 1563, he wa s professed a y earlat er and sent to the great U niversity of Sa lama nca. He w a s orda ined in 1567 but,shrinking from th e apostolat e of a priest in t he world, considered entering th eCa rthu sians, a hermitica l order.

Then cam e the t urn ing point in h is life. He met S t. Teresa of vila, w ho wa spursuing h er epic work of restoring t he pristine, str icter observan ce of th eCa rmelite rule. J ohn an d tw o oth er members of the order took the vow s of theDiscalced (or r eformed) Ca rmelites t he follow ing yea r, binding th emselves to a morerigorous w a y of life w hich included da ily (a nd night ly) recita tion of the D ivine Officein choir, perpetua l a bstinence from m eat , a nd a dditiona l fast ing.

Yet his religious vow s were but a par t of the rigors J ohn w a s to undergo. Thema in bra nch of the order, th e Ca lced Ca rmelites, so opposed the Reform t ha t t heytw ice ha d J ohn kidna pped a nd ja iled -- providentia lly, so it proved, for m uch of hiswr iting wa s done in prison.

The great er part of his tw enty-th ree yea rs a s a D isca lced Ca rmelite, how ever,w a s spent in filling a n umber of importa nt posts in t he order, a mong th em Rector oftw o colleges, P rior, D efina tor, a nd Vica r-P rovincial. B ut it w a s in one of his lesseroffices tha t he w a s t o spend t he most decisive years of his life: he w a s confessor t othe Ca rmelite nuns a t vila , where St . Teresa wa s Superior.

The secret of St . J ohn's uniqu e contribut ion t o mystical t heology w a s notsimply his myst icism, for t here ha ve been other m yst ics; not even his profound

gra sp of Scripture, dogma , Thomism, and spiritu a l litera tur e, for th ere have a lsobeen lear ned myst ics. Wha t sets h im a par t is his extra ordina ry poetic vision. Tow rite of myst ica l experience is t o try to express t he inexpressible. Becau se he wa s agreat poet St . J ohn of the Cross wa s a ble, in the realm of mysticism, to push th efrontiers of huma n expression beyond wh ere any w riter ha s succeeded in venturingbefore or since. This poetic inten sity is found even in h is prose, th e ma jor w orks ofwh ich a reAscent of M oun t Car mel , Dar k N ight of the Soul , Spir i tua l Cant icle , andL ivin g Flame of L ove .

St . J ohn of the Cross died in 1591, wa s beat ified less th a n a century la ter in1675, wa s ca nonized in 1726, an d w a s na med a Doctor of the Ch urch by P ope PiusXI in 1926.


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ASCE NT OF

MOU NT CARME L

by

Sai nt J ohn of th e Cr oss DOCTOR OF THE CHU RCH

T H I R D R E VI S E D E D I T I O N

Tr anslated and edi ted,wi th a General In tr oduction, by

E. ALLISON P EERS

fr om the crit ical edi ti on of

P . SI LVERI O DE SANTA TER ES A, C.D.

NIH IL OB STAT: CEORG IVS SMI TH, S.T.D., PH .D.

CENSOR DEPVTATVS

IMP RIMATVR: E. MORROGH BE RNARD

VICARIVS G ENE RALIS

WESTMONASTERII: DIE XXIV SEPTEMBRIS MCMLII


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TO THE

DIS CALCE D C ARMELI TES OF CASTILE ,

WITH ABID ING MEMORIES OF THE IR H OSP ITALITY AND K INDNE SS

IN MADRID, AVILA AND B URG OS,

BUT ABOVE ALL OF THEIR DEVOTION TO

SAINT J OHN OF THE CROS S,

I DEDICATE THIS TRANSLATION


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CONTENTS

PREFACETO TH E ELECTONICEDITIONTRANSLATOR'S PRE FACE TO TH E F IRST EDITION

TRANSLATOR'S PRE FACE TO TH E SECOND EDI TIONPRINCIPALABBREVIATIONSAN OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF ST. JOHN OF THE CROSSGENERALINTRODUCTION TO THEWORKS OFST. JOHN OF THE CROSS

AS CE NT OF MOU NT CARME L

INTRODUCTIONARGUMENTPROLOGUE

B OOK I CHAPTER I.--Set s dow n th e first st a nza . Describes two different night s thr ough

w hich spiritua l persons pass, a ccording t o th e tw o par ts of ma n, the low era nd t he higher. E xpounds t he sta nza which follows

CHAPTER II .--Explains the na ture of this dar k night t hrough which the soul sa ystha t i t h a s passed on th e roa d to union

CHAPTER III .--Spea ks of the first ca use of this night , wh ich is tha t of the privat ionof the desire in a ll things, a nd gives the rea son for which it is ca lled night

CHAPTER IV.--Wherein is declar ed how necessa ry it is for t he soul tru ly t o pa ssth rough t his da rk night of sense, w hich is mort ificat ion of desire, in ordertha t i t ma y journey to union with G od

CHAPTER V.--Wherein th e a forement ioned subject is t rea ted a nd cont inued, a nd it isshown by pa ssa ges and figures from Holy Scriptur e how n ecessar y it is forth e soul to journey to God thr ough this da rk night of the mortificat ion ofdesire in a ll th ings

CHAPTER VI.--Wherein a re t rea ted t w o serious evils ca used in t he soul by th edesires, the one evil being priva tive a nd t he other positive

CHAPTER VII.--Wherein is s hown how t he desires t orment th e soul. This is provedlikew ise by comparisons an d quota tions

CHAPTER VIII.--Wherein is shown h ow th e desires da rken a nd blind t he soulCHAPTER I X.--Wherein is described h ow t he desir es defile t he soul. This is proved by

compa risons a nd quota tions from H oly ScriptureCHAPTER X.--Wherein is described how t he desires w ea ken t he soul in virt ue a nd

ma ke it lukewa rmCHAPTER XI.--Wherein it is proved necessar y th a t t he soul tha t w ould a tt a in to


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Divine union should be free from desires, however slight th ey beCHAPTER XII.--Which trea ts of th e answ er to another q uestion, explaining w ha t t he

desires are t ha t su ffice to cause th e evils aforementioned in t he soulCHAPTER XIII .--Wherein is described the ma nner a nd w a y w hich the soul must

follow in order to enter t his night of senseCHAPTER XIV.--Wherein is expound ed t he second line of the s ta nzaCHAPTER XV.--Wherein a re expound ed th e rema ining lines of th e a forem ent ioned

s tanza

B OOK IICHAPTER ICHAPTER II .--Which begins t o trea t of t he second pa rt of cause of th is night , w hich

is faith. P roves by tw o a rguments how it is darker tha n the first a nd then thethird

CHAPTER III .--H ow fa ith is da rk night to the soul. This is proved with a rgum entsa nd quota tions a nd figures from S cripture

CHAPTER IV.--Trea ts in genera l of how th e soul likew ise must be in da rkness, in sofar a s this rests w ith itself, to the end tha t i t ma y be effectively guided byfa ith t o th e highest cont emplat ion

CHAPTER V.--Wherein is described w ha t is mea nt by un ion of th e soul w ith G od. Acompa rison is given

CHAPTER VI.--Wherein is described how it is th e th ree th eological virt ues th a tperfect th e thr ee fa culties of th e soul, an d how t he sa id virtues produceemptiness and da rkness within them

CHAPTER VII .--Wherein is described how st ra it is the w a y th a t lea ds to eterna l lifea nd h ow completely deta ched a nd disencumbered must be those that willw a lk in it. We begin to speak of th e deta chment of th e understa nding

CHAPTER VIII.--Which describes in a genera l wa y how n o crea tur e an d noknowledge tha t can be comprehended by the understa nding can serve as aproxima te mea ns of Divine union with G od

CHAPTER IX.--H ow fa ith is t he proxima te a nd proport iona te mea ns of th eunderst a nding w hereby the soul ma y a tt a in to the Divine union of love. Thisis proved by passa ges an d figures from D ivine Scriptur e

CHAPTER X.--Wherein distinction is m a de betw een a ll a pprehensions a nd ty pes ofknowledge wh ich can be comprehended by the underst a nding

CHAPTER XI.--Of the hindra nce a nd ha rm t ha t m a y be ca used by apprehensions ofthe understa nding wh ich proceed from t ha t w hich is superna tura llyrepresent ed to the outw a rd bodily senses; an d how t he soul is to conduct it selftherein

CHAPTER XII.--Which trea ts of na tu ra l ima gina ry a pprehensions. Describes th eirna ture a nd proves tha t t hey ca nnot be a proportiona te means of a tt a inmentto union w ith G od. Shows th e har m w hich results from ina bili ty to deta ch oneself from t hem


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CHAPTER XIII .--Wherein a re set down th e signs w hich the spiritua l person w ill findin himself whereby he ma y know a t w ha t sea son it behoves him t o leavemeditat ion a nd rea soning a nd pass t o the stat e of contemplat ion

CHAPTER XIV.--Wherein is proved t he fitn ess of th ese signs, a nd t he rea son is givenwh y t ha t which ha s been sa id in spea king of them is necessa ry t o progress

CHAPTER XV.--Wherein is expla ined how it is s ometimes w ell for pr ogressives w hoa re beginning to enter upon this genera l know ledge of contemplat ion t o makeuse of nat ura l reasoning a nd the w ork of the na tura l faculties

CHAPTER XVI.--Which trea ts of th e ima gina ry a pprehensions th a t a resuperna tura lly represented in t he fancy. Describes how t hey cannot serve thesoul as a proximat e means t o union w ith G od

CHAPTERXVII .--Wherein is described th e purpose a nd m a nn er of G od in H iscommu nicat ion of spiritu a l blessings t o the soul by m ean s of the senses.Herein is answ ered t he question w hich ha s been referred t o

CHAPTER XVIII .--Which t reat s of the ha rm t ha t certa in spiritua l ma sters ma y do to

souls wh en th ey direct t hem not by a good meth od w ith r espect to the visionsa forement ioned. D escribes a lso how th ese visions ma y ca use deception eventh ough they be of G od.

CHAPTER XIX.--Wherein is expoun ded a nd proved how, a lth ough visions a ndlocutions w hich come from G od a re tr ue, we ma y be deceived a bout th em.This is proved by quota tions from Divine S criptu re

CHAPTER XX.--Wherein is proved by passa ges from Scriptur e how t he sa yings a ndwords of G od, though alw a ys true, do not a lwa ys rest upon sta ble ca uses.

CHAPTER XXI.--Wherein is explained how a t t imes, alt hough G od answ ers th eprayers th a t a re addressed to Him, H e is not plea sed tha t w e should use suchmethods. It is also shown how, a lthough H e condescend to us a nd a nswer us,H e is oftent imes wroth

CHAPTER XXII.--Wherein is solved a difficult y -- na mely, w hy it is n ot la w ful, und erthe law of grace, to a sk anyt hing of God by superna tura l mea ns, as i t w a sunder t he old law . This solution is proved by a pa ssa ge from S a int P a ul

CHAPTER XXIII .--Which begins to tr eat of the a pprehensions of th e underst a ndingtha t come in a purely spiritual w a y, an d describes their na ture

CHAPTER XXIV.--Which tr ea ts of tw o kinds of spiritua l vision t ha t comesupernaturally

CHAPTER XXV.--Which trea ts of revela tions, describing t heir na tur e a nd m a king a

distinction betw een th emCHAPTER XXVI.--Which trea ts of the int uition of na ked tru th s in t he underst a nding,explaining h ow th ey a re of tw o kinds a nd how th e soul is to conduct it selfw ith respect t o th em

CHAPTER XXVII .--Which tr ea ts of th e second kind of revela t ion, na mely, t hedisclosure of hidden secrets. D escribes the wa y in w hich these ma y a ssist t hesoul towa rd union wit h G od, and t he wa y in which th ey may be a hindra nce;a nd how t he devil ma y deceive the soul greatly in t his ma tt er

CHAPTER XXVIII.--Which treats of interior locutions that may come to the spirit


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supernatura l ly. Sa ys of wha t kinds they areCHAPTER XXIX.--Which t rea t s of th e first kin d of w ords th a t t he recollected spirit

sometimes forms w ithin it self. Describes the cause of these a nd t he profit a ndthe ha rm w hich there ma y be in them

CHAPTER XXX.--Which tr eat s of the int erior w ords th a t come t o the spirit forma llyby supernat ura l mea ns. Wa rns the reader of the ha rm w hich they ma y doa nd of the caution tha t is necessa ry in order tha t t he soul ma y not bedeceived by t hem

CHAPTER XXXI.--Which trea ts of the subst a nt ial w ords t ha t come int eriorly t o thespirit. Describes the difference betw een th em a nd forma l words, an d theprofit wh ich th ey bring and t he resigna tion and r espect which the soul mustobserve with regard to them

CHAPTER XXXII .--Which tr eat s of the a pprehensions r eceived by th e underst a ndingfrom interior feelings wh ich come superna tu ra lly to th e soul. Describes theirca use, and t he ma nner w herein t he soul must conduct i tself so tha t t hey ma ynot obstruct i ts road to union w ith G od

BOOK II ICHAPTER ICHAPTER II .--Which trea ts of the na tu ra l a pprehensions of the memory a nd

describes how th e soul must be voided of th em in order to be a ble to a tt a in tounion with G od a ccording t o th is faculty

CHAPTER II I.--Wherein a re described t hr ee kinds of evil which come to th e soulw hen it ent ers not into dar kness wit h respect t o knowledge and r eflections inth e memory. H erein is described t he first

CHAPTER IV.--Which t rea t s of the second kin d of evil th a t m a y come t o the soul fromthe devil by w a y of the na tura l apprehensions of the memory

CHAPTER V.--Of the t hird evil which comes to th e soul by w a y of the distinct na tu ra lknowledge of the memory

CHAPTER VI.-Of th e benefit s w hich come t o th e soul from forgetfuln ess a ndemptiness of all thoughts a nd knowledge which it ma y ha ve in a na tura l wa yw ith respect t o th e memory

CHAPTER VII.--Which t rea t s of the second kind of a pprehension of the m emory --na mely, ima gina ry a pprehensions -- a nd of superna tur a l know ledge

CHAPTER

VIII .--Of th e evils w hich ma y be ca used in t he soul by th e knowledge ofsuperna tura l things, if it r eflect upon t hem. Sa ys how ma ny t hese evils a reCHAPTER IX.--Of t he second kind of evil, w hich is t he peril of fa lling int o self-esteem

a nd va in presumptionCHAPTER X.--Of the t hird evil tha t m a y come to th e soul from t he devil, th rough th e

ima gina ry a pprehensions of the memoryCHAPTER XI.--Of th e fourt h evil tha t comes to the soul from the dist inct

superna tura l a pprehensions of the memory, w hich is th e hindran ce tha t i tint erposes t o union


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CHAPTER XII.--Of the fifth evil tha t ma y come to the soul in superna tu ra l ima gina ryforms a nd a pprehensions, wh ich is a low a nd unseemingly judgment of God

CHAPTER XII I.--Of th e benefits w hich th e soul receives t hrough ba nishing fromitself th e apprehensions of the imagina tion. This cha pter a nsw ers a cert a inobjection a nd describes a difference which exists betw een a pprehensions t ha t

are ima ginar y, na tura l and supernatura lCHAPTER XIV.--Which trea ts of spiritua l knowledge in so far a s it m a y concern th e

memoryCHAPTER XV.--Which sets down th e genera l meth od wh ereby th e spiritua l person

must govern himself with respect t o th is senseCHAPTER XVI.--Which begins t o trea t of t he da rk n ight of t he w ill. Ma kes a division

betw een t he a ffections of the w illCHAPTER XVII .--Which begins t o tr ea t of th e first a ffection of th e will. Describes th e

na ture of joy a nd ma kes a distinction betw een t he things in w hich t he willcan rejoice

CHAPTER XVII I.--Which tr ea ts of joy wit h respect t o tem pora l blessings. Describeshow joy in t hem mu st be directed to God

CHAPTER XIX.--Of th e evils th a t ma y befa ll the soul w hen it sets it s rejoicing upontempora l blessings

CHAPTER XX.--Of th e benefits t ha t come t o the soul from it s w ithdr a w a l of joy fromtempora l things

CHAPTER XXI.--Which describes how it is v a nit y t o set t he rejoicing of the w ill uponth e good th ings of na tu re, an d how t he soul must direct it self, by mean s ofthem, to G od

CHAPTER XXII.--Of th e evils w hich come t o the soul wh en it set s t he rejoicing of itsw ill upon t he good th ings of na tur e

CHAPTER XXIII .--Of th e benefit s w hich th e soul receives from not set tin g itsrejoicing upon th e good t hings of na tur e

CHAPTER XXIV.--Which tr eat s of the t hird kind of good t hing w hereon t he w ill ma yset t he a ffection of rejoicing, w hich kind pert a ins to sense. Indica tes w ha tthese good th ings are a nd of how ma ny kinds, and how the w ill has to bedirected t o God a nd pur ged of this rejoicing

CHAPTER XXV.--Which tr ea ts of th e evils th a t a fflict t he soul wh en it desires t o setth e rejoicing of its w ill upon t he good t hing s of sense

CHAPTER XXVI.--Of t he benefit s t ha t come t o the s oul from self-denia l in r ejoicinga s to things of sense, which benefits a re spiritua l a nd t empora l

CHAPTER XXVII .--Which begins t o trea t of the fourt h kin d of good -- na mely, t hemora l. Describes wherein this consists, a nd in w ha t m a nner joy of th e willtherein is la wful

CHAPTER XXVII I.--Of seven evils int o w hich a ma n ma y fa ll if he set t he rejoicing ofhis w ill upon m ora l good

CHAPTER XXIX.--Of the benefits w hich come to the soul through t he w ithdr a w a l ofits rejoicing fr om mora l good


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CHAPTER XXX.--Which begins t o tr ea t of the fifth kind of good thing w herein t hew ill ma y rejoice, w hich is the super na tu ra l. Describes the na tur e of thesesuperna tura l good th ings, and how they a re distinguished from t he spiritua l,a nd h ow joy in them is t o be directed t o God

CHAPTER XXXI.--Of th e evils wh ich come t o the soul w hen it sets th e rejoicing of t he

w ill upon t his kin d of goodCHAPTER XXXII.--Of tw o benefits w hich a re derived from t he renun cia tion of

rejoicing in t he ma tt er of the superna tura l gra cesCHAPTER XXXII I.--Which begins t o trea t of th e sixth kind of good wh erein t he soul

ma y rejoice, Describes its na tur e and m a kes the first d ivision under t his headCHAPTER XXXIV.--Of th ose good t hing s of the spirit w hich ca n be dist inctly

a pprehended by th e understan ding a nd t he memory. Describes how t he willis to beha ve in the ma tt er of rejoicing in t hem

CHAPTER XXXV.--Of th e delecta ble spirit ua l good thin gs w hich can be distin ctlya pprehended by t he w ill. Describes the kinds of these

CHAPTER XXXVI.--Which cont inues t o tr ea t of ima ges, a nd describes t he ignora ncew hich certa in persons ha ve with r espect to them

CHAPTER XXXVII.--Of how t he rejoicing of th e will mu st be directed, by w a y of theimages, to God, so tha t t he soul ma y not go astra y beca use of them or behindered by them

CHAPTER XXXVIII .--Cont inues t o describe motive good. S peak s of ora t ories an dplaces dedica ted t o pra yer

CHAPTER XXXIX.--Of th e w a y in wh ich ora tories an d churches should be used, inorder t o direct th e spirit t o God.

CHAPTER XL.--Which cont inues t o direct th e spirit to int erior recollection w ithreference to wha t h a s been sa id

CHAPTER XLI.--Of cert a in evils into wh ich those persons fa ll wh o give th emselves toplea sure in sensible objects a nd w ho frequent pla ces of devotion in t he w a ytha t ha s been described

CHAPTER XLII .--Of th ree different kin ds of pla ces of devotion an d of how t he w illshould conduct itself wit h rega rd t o th em

CHAPTER XLII I.--Which trea ts of oth er motives for pra yer t ha t ma ny persons use --na mely, a grea t va riety of ceremonies

CHAPTER XLIV.--Of the ma nner w herein the rejoicing a nd st rengt h of the w ill mustbe directed t o God th rough t hese devotions

CHAPTERXLV.--Which t rea t s of the second kin d of distinct good, w herein t he w illma y r ejoice va inly


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PREFACE TO TH E ELECTONICEDITION

This electronic edition (v 0.9) ha s been sca nn ed from a n u ncopyrigh t ed 1962Ima ge Books th ird edition of th eAscent a nd is t herefore in t he public domain. Theent ire text a nd some of the footnotes ha ve been reproduced. Nea rly 1000 footnotes(a nd pa rt s of footn otes) describing va ria tions am ong ma nuscripts ha ve beenomitt ed. P a ge num ber references in the footnotes ha ve been cha nged to chapt er an dsection where possible. This edition has been proofread once, but additional errorsma y rema in.

Ha rry Plant ingaU niversity of P [email protected] uly 1, 1994.


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TRANSLATOR'S P RE FACETO TH E FIR ST EDITION

FOR a t least t wenty y ears, a n ew tr a nslat ion of the works of St. J ohn of the Crossha s been a n urgent necessity. The tr a nsla tions of the individua l prose works now ingenera l use go ba ck in t heir origina l form to the eighteen-sixties, and, t hough th elat er editions of some of them ha ve been subm itt ed to a cert a in degree of revision,nothing but a complete retra nsla tion of the works from their origina l Spa nish couldbe satisfactory. For t his there a re tw o rea sons.

First , the existing tra nsla tions were never very exact renderings of th eorigina l Spa nish text even in the form w hich held th e field wh en they w ere firstpublished. Their great merit w a s extr eme reada bleness: ma ny a disciple of theSpa nish mystics, who is una cqua inted with t he langua ge in w hich th ey wrote, owesto these tra nslat ions the compar a tive ease with w hich he has ma stered the mainlines of St . J ohn of the C ross's tea ching. Thus for the genera l read er th ey were ofgreat util ity; for the student, on th e other ha nd, they ha ve never been entirelya dequa te. They par a phra se difficult expressions, omit or a dd t o par ts of individua lsentences in order (as it seems) to facilita te comprehension of th e genera l drift ofthe passa ges in w hich t hese occur, a nd frequently retra nslat e from t he Vulgat e theSa int 's Spa nish quota tions from Holy S cripture instead of turning into En glish t hequota tions themselves, using the text actu a lly before them.

A second a nd more import a nt r eason for a n ew tr a nsla tion, how ever, is th ediscovery of fresh ma nuscripts a nd t he consequent improvement s w hich ha ve beenma de in the S panish t ext of the w orks of St. J ohn of the Cross, during t he presentcent ury. S event y yea rs a go, the text chiefly used wa s tha t of th e collection known a sthe B i bl i oteca d e Autores Espaoles (1853), wh ich itself wa s ba sed, as w e sha ll lat ersee, upon a n edit ion going ba ck as fa r a s 1703, published before modern m eth ods of

editing w ere so much as imagined. Both t he text of the B .A.E. edition a nd t heunimporta nt commenta ry w hich a ccompan ied it were highly unsa tisfactory, yetunt il th e beginning of the present cent ury nothing a ppreciably bett er wa sat tempted.

In t he last t went y years, however, we ha ve had t wo new editions, ea ch ba sedupon a close study of the extan t m a nuscripts an d each representing a great a dvan ceupon th e editions preceding it . The t hr ee-volum e Toledo edit ion of P . G era rdo deSa n J ua n de la Cruz, C .D. (1912-14), wa s th e first a tt empt ma de to produce a na ccura te text by modern critical methods. Its execution wa s perha ps less la uda bleth a n its conception, and fau lts w ere pointed out in it from th e time of itsa ppeara nce, but i t served as a new st a rting-point for S panish scholars a ndstimulat ed them t o a new interest in St . J ohn of the Cross's w ritings. Then,

sevent een y ear s la ter, ca me t he ma gnificent five-volume edition of P . Silverio deSanta Teresa, C.D. (Burgos, 1929-31), which forms the basis of this presenttr a nsla tion. So superior is it, even on th e most ca sua l exa mina tion, to a ll itspredecessors t ha t to eulogize it in deta il is superfluous. It is founded upon a lar gernumber of texts tha n ha s previously been known a nd it colla tes them w ith grea terskill tha n th a t of any ea rlier editor. It ca n ha rdly fail to be the stan da rd edition ofth e works of St . J ohn of th e Cross for genera tions.

Tha nks t o th e labours of these Ca rmelite schola rs a nd of oth ers wh osefindings they ha ve incorporat ed in th eir editions, Spa nish student s ca n now a pproach the work of the great Doctor with the reasonable belief tha t t hey ar e


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reading, as nea rly as ma y be, wha t he a ctua lly wr ote. English-reading students,however, who ar e una ble to ma ster sixteenth-century S panish, ha ve hitherto had n ogrounds for such a belief. They cann ot t ell w heth er, in a ny pa rt icula r passa ge, th eya re face to fa ce with the Sa int 's own words, with a tra nslat or 's free para phrase ofth em or wit h a gloss ma de by some lat er copyist or ear ly editor in t he supposedinterests of ort hodoxy. Indeed, they ca nnot be sure tha t some whole par a gra ph isnot one of the num erous interpola tions wh ich ha s its rise in an ear ly printed edition-- i.e., the t imorous q ua lificat ions of sta tement s w hich ha ve seemed t o theinterpola tor over-bold. Even some of the m ost distinguished w riters in E nglish onSt . J ohn of th e Cross ha ve been misled in th is wa y a nd it ha s been impossible fora ny but t hose who read S panish with ease to ma ke a systema tic a nd relia ble studyof such a n import a nt quest ion a s th e alleged dependence of Spa nish qu ietists uponthe S a int, wh ile his teaching on the mystical l ife has quit e unwitt ingly beendistorted by persons w ho would least wish t o misrepresent i t in a ny pa rticula r.

It wa s when w riting the chapter on St . J ohn of the Cross in th e first volumeof my Stu di es of the Spani sh M ysti cs (in w hich, as it w a s published in 1927, I ha dnot the a dva nt a ge of using P . Silverio's edition) th a t I first rea lized th e extent of theha rm caused by the la ck of an a ccura te a nd modern tr a nslat ion. Making my ownversions of a ll the passa ges quoted, I ha d sometimes occa sion t o compa re them w iththose of other t ra nslat ors, wh ich a t their w orst were a lmost un recognizable asversions of th e sam e origina ls. Then a nd t here I resolved tha t, w hen t ime allow ed, Iwould make a fresh tra nslat ion of the works of a sa int to whom I ha ve long ha dgrea t devotion -- to wh om, indeed, I ow e more th a n t o a ny other w riter outside theScriptures. J ust a t t ha t t ime I ha ppened to visit t he Disca lced Car melites at B urgos,wh ere I first met P . Silverio, a nd found, to my gra tifica tion, th a t his edition of St.J ohn of the Cross wa s much nea rer publica tion th a n I ha d imagined. Arra ngementsfor sole permission to tra nsla te th e new edition w ere quickly ma de an d work on th eear ly volumes wa s begun even before the la st volume wa s published.

I IThese prelimina ry notes w ill expla in w hy my chief preoccupa tion t hroughout

th e performa nce of this ta sk ha s been to present a s accura te a nd reliable a versionof St . J ohn of the C ross's w orks as it is possible to obta in. To keep the tr a nsla tion,line by line,au pi ed d e la lettr e , is, of course, impra ctica ble: a nd such const a nt lyoccurring Spa nish habits a s the use of abstr a ct nouns in the plura l and t he verba lconstruction 'i r + present par ticiple' intr oduce sha des of mean ing wh ich can nota lwa ys be reproduced. Yet w herever, for st ylistic or other rea sons, I ha ve depa rt edfrom t he Spa nish in an y w a y th a t could conceivably ca use a m isundersta nding, Iha ve scrupulously indica ted th is in a footn ote. Furt her, I ha ve tr a nsla ted, not onlythe text, but th e varia nt r eadings a s given by P. S ilverio,1 except w here they a re duemerely to slips of t he copyist's pen or w here th ey differ so slightly from th e rea dingsof the t ext th a t it is impossible to render the differences in En glish. I beg studentsnot to th ink th a t some of the sm a ller cha nges noted a re of no import a nce; closerexa minat ion w ill often show tha t, however slight they ma y seem, they a re, inrelat ion t o th eir cont ext, or t o some par ticular a spect of the Sa int's teaching, of rea linterest; in other places th ey help to give th e reader a n idea, w hich may be useful tohim in some crucial pa ssa ge, of the genera l cha ra cteristics of the ma nuscript oredition in q uestion. The editor's notes on the m a nuscripts a nd ea rly editions wh ich

1The footn otes ar e P. S ilverio's except wh ere they a re enclosed in squa re bra ckets.


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he ha s collat ed will also be found, for the sa me rea son, to be summ a rized in theintr oduction to each w ork; in consulting t he var ian ts, t he Eng lish-rea ding stud entha s th e ma ximum a id to a judgment of the relia bili ty of his aut horities.

Concent ra tion upon t he a im of obta ining t he most precise possible renderingof the t ext ha s led me to sacrifice stylistic elegance to exa ctness wh ere the tw o ha vebeen in conflict; it h a s sometimes been difficult t o bring oneself to reproduce th eSa int's often un ga inly, th ough often forceful, repetitions of w ords or h is long,cumbrous par entheses, but t he tempta tion t o take refuge in gra ceful para phrasesha s been stea dily resisted. In t he same interest, a nd a lso in tha t of spa ce, I ha vema de certa in omissions from, and a bbreviat ions of, oth er par ts of th e edition tha nth e text. Two of P. S ilverio's five volumes a re entirely filled w ith comment a ries a nddocument s. I ha ve selected from the document s th ose of out sta nding int erest torea ders wit h no deta iled knowledge of Spa nish religious history a nd ha ve beencont ent t o summ a rize the editor's intr oductions t o th e individua l works, as w ell a shis longer footn otes t o th e text, a nd t o omit such part s a s would interest onlyspecialists, w ho are a ble, or a t lea st sh ould be obliged, to study t hem in th e origina lSpanish.

The decision t o summa rize in these places has been ma de the less relucta nt lybeca use of the frequent unsuit a bility of P . Silverio's sty le to English rea ders. Liketha t of many S pania rds, i t is so discursive, and a t t imes so bar oque in its w ealth ofepithet a nd its profusion of ima gery, tha t a l itera l tra nslat ion, for ma ny pa gestogether, w ould seldom ha ve been a ccepta ble. The sa me criticism w ould ha ve beena pplica ble to an y litera l tra nsla tion of P . Silverio's biogra phy of St . J ohn of th eCr oss w hich sta nds a t th e hea d of his edition (Vol. I, pp. 7-130). There w a s a furt herrea son for omitt ing t hese biogra phica l cha pters. The long a nd fully document edbiogra phy by the Fr ench Ca rmelite, P . B runo de J sus-Mar ie, C.D., writt en from t hesam e sta ndpoint a s P . Silverio's, has recently been tra nslat ed into English, and a nya tt empt t o riva l this in so short a space would be foredoomed to failure. I ha veth ought , how ever, tha t a brief outline of the principal events in St . J ohn of th e

Cr oss's life would be a useful prelimina ry to th is edition; t his ha s t herefore beensubstit uted for the biogra phica l sketch referred to.In la ngua ge, I ha ve tried to reproduce th e at mosphere of a sixteenth -cent ury

text a s far a s is consistent w ith clarit y. Though follow ing the pa ra gra ph divisions ofmy origina l, I ha ve not scrupled, wh ere this ha s seemed to facilita te understa nding,to divide into shorter sent ences th e long a nd sometimes str a ggling periods in w hichthe S a int so frequently indulged. Some at tempt ha s been ma de to show the contr a stbetw een the highly ad orned, poetica l langua ge of much of the commenta ry on the'Spiritu a l Ca nt icle' a nd t he more closely shorn a nd eminent ly pra ctica l, thougha lwa ys somewha t discursive style of theAscent and Dark Ni gh t . Tha t t he L i v i n g F lame occupies an interm ediat e position in th is respect should a lso be clear fromthe style of the tr a nslat ion.

Quota tions, whet her from th e Scriptures or from other sources, ha ve been leftstrictly as St . J ohn of the Cross made th em. Where he quotes in La tin, the La tin ha sbeen reproduced; only his q uota tions in Spa nish ha ve been tur ned into En glish. Thefootnote references ar e to th e Vulga te, of wh ich t he D oua i Version is a directtra nslat ion; if the Authorized Version differs, a s in t he P salms, t he varia tion ha sbeen sh ow n in sq ua re bra ckets for t he convenience of th ose wh o use it.

A word ma y not be out of place regar ding th e tra nsla tions of the poems a sth ey a ppea r in t he prose comment a ries. Obviously, it w ould ha ve been impossible touse the compa ra tively free verse renderings w hich appear in Volume II of th istr a nsla tion, since th e comment a ries discuss ea ch line and often each word of th e


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poems. A litera l version of the poems in t heir origina l verse-lines, however, st ru ckme as being ina rt istic, if not repellent, a nd a s inviting cont inua l compa rison w ithth e more polished verse renderings w hich, in spirit, come fa r n ear er t o the poet'sa im. My first intent ion w a s to tra nsla te th e poems, for th e purpose of thecomment a ries, into prose. But lat er I hit upon th e long a nd metr ica lly unfett eredverse-line, suggestive of B iblical poetr y in its E nglish dr ess, wh ich I ha ve employedth roughout . I believe th a t, a lthough th e renderings often suffer art istically fromtheir necessa ry li teralness, they are from the a rtistic stan dpoint a t least tolerable.

I I I

The debts I ha ve to acknow ledge, though few, a re very la rge ones. Mygra tit ude to P . Silverio de Sa nt a Teresa for telling me so much a bout h is editionbefore its publica tion, gra nt ing my publishers th e sole tr a nsla tion rights a nddiscussing w ith m e a nu mber of crucial pa ssa ges ca nnot be disjoined from the ma nykindnesses I ha ve received during my w ork on the Spa nish my stics, which is stillproceeding, from himself and from his fellow-Carmelites in the province of Castile.In dedica ting t his tra nslat ion t o them, I think par ticula rly of P . Silverio in B urgos,of P . Florencio del Nio J ess in Ma drid, a nd of P. C risgono de J essSa cra menta do, together w ith t he Fa thers of the 'Convento de la Sa nta ' in vila .

The long a nd w ear y process of revising t he ma nuscript a nd proofs of thistr a nsla tion ha s been grea tly lightened by th e co-operat ion a nd compa nionship of P .Edmun d G urdon, P rior of the Ca rtuja de Miraflores, near B urgos, with w hom I ha vefreely discussed a ll kinds of difficulties, both of substa nce and style, a nd w ho ha sbeen good enough to read par t of my proofs. From th e quiet libra ry of his mona stery,a s well as from his gra cious compa nionship, I ha ve dra w n not only knowledge, butstrength, pa tience an d perseverance. And w hen a t length, a fter each of my visits, weha ve had t o par t, w e have cont inued our la bours by correspondence, sha king ha nds,a s it w ere, 'over a va st' an d embra cing 'from th e ends of opposd winds.'

Fina lly, I ow e a r eal debt t o my publishers for a llow ing me to do th is workw ithout imposing an y such limita tions of time as often a ccompa ny litera ryundert a kings. This an d oth er considera tions which I ha ve received from t hem ha vema de tha t pa rt of the w ork w hich ha s been done outside the study unusua llypleasa nt a nd I a m correspondingly grat eful.

E. ALLISON PE ERS .

University of Liverpool.Feast of St . J ohn of the Cross,November 24, 1933.

NOTE . -- Wherever a comment a ry by St . J ohn of th e Cross is referred to, itstit le is given in it a lics (e.g.Spir i tua l Cant icle ); w here t he corr espondin g poem ismea nt , it is placed betw een q uota tion ma rks (e.g. 'Spiritu a l Ca nt icle'). Thea bbreviat ion 'e.p. ' sta nds foredi ti o pr i nceps t hroughout.


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TRANSLATOR'S P RE FACETO TH E S E COND E DI TION

DU RING th e sixteen year s wh ich ha ve elapsed since the publica tion of the first

edition, severa l reprint s ha ve been issued, a nd t he dema nd is now such a s to justifya complete resett ing. I ha ve ta ken adva nt a ge of this opport unity t o revise th e textth roughout , an d hope tha t in some of the more difficult pa ssa ges I ma y ha ve comenea rer th a n before to th e Sa int's mind. Recent resear ches ha ve necessita ted aconsidera ble a mplificat ion of intr oductions a nd footn otes and g rea tly increa sed thelength of th e bibliogra phy.

The only modificat ion w hich ha s been ma de consistent ly th roughout th e thr eevolumes relat es to St. J ohn of the Cross's quota tions from S cripture. In tr a nslat ingth ese I st ill follow h im exactly, even w here he himself is inexact, but I ha ve used theDouia Version (instea d of the Aut horized, a s in th e first edition) a s a ba sis for a llScriptura l quota tions, as well as in the footn ote references a nd th e Scriptur a l indexin Vol. III .

Fa r more is now known of the life and times of St . J ohn of the Cross tha nwh en this tra nslat ion of theCompl ete Work s w a s first published, tha nks principa llyto the H istori a del Car m en D escal zo of P . Silverio de Sa nt a Teresa, C .D, now G enera l of his Order, a nd t o the admira bly documented Life of the Sa int w ritten byP . Crisgono de J esus Sa cra menta do, C.D., a nd published (inVi da y Obr as de San J uan de la Cruz ) in th e year a fter his unt imely deat h. This increa sed know ledge isreflected in ma ny a dditional notes, an d a lso in th e 'Outline of the Life of St . J ohn ofth e Cr oss' (Vol. I, pp. xxv-xxviii), w hich, for th is edition, ha s been ent irely reca st .References a re given to myH and book to th e L i fe and T im es of St. T er esa an d St .J ohn of t he Cross , w hich provides much ba ckground t oo full to be reproduced infootnotes a nd too complica t ed t o be compressed. TheHandbook a lso cont a insnumerous references t o cont empora ry event s, omitted from th e 'Outline' a s beingtoo remote from t he ma in th eme to justify inclusion in a summ a ry necessarily socondensed.

My t ha nks for help in r evision a re due t o kindly correspondent s, toonumerous to na me, from m a ny pa rts of the w orld, who ha ve made suggestions forth e improvement of the first edition; to the Rev. P rofessor D a vid Knowles, ofCa mbridge University, for w hose continuous practica l interest in th is tra nslat ion Icann ot be too gra teful; to Miss I.L. McClelland, of G lasg ow U niversity, w ho has rea da lar ge part of th is edition in proof; to Dom P hilippe Ch evallier, for ma teria l wh ich Iha ve been a ble to incorpora te in it; t o P. J os Ant onio de Sobrino, S.J ., for a llow ingme t o quote freely from his r ecently publishedEstudios ; an d, most of all, to M.R.P .Silverio de Sa nta Teresa, C .D., and t he Fa thers of the Int ernat iona l Ca rmeliteCollege at Rome, whose lear ning a nd experience, ar e, I hope, faint ly reflected in th isnew edit ion.

E.A.P.

J un e 30, 1941.


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P RINCI P AL ABB REVIATIONS

A.V.--Authorized Version of the Bible (1611).

D .V.--Doua i Version of the B ible (1609).

C.W.S.T.J .--T he Com pl ete Wor ks of Sa i nt T er esa of J esus , t ra nslat ed andedited by E . Allison P eers from t he critica l edition of P . Silverio de Sa nt a Teresa,C.D . London, Sh eed a nd War d, 1946. 3 vols.

H .-E . Allison P eers:H and book to th e L i fe and T im es of St. T er esa and St.J ohn of t he Cross . London, B urns Oa tes a nd Wa shbourne, 1953.

LL.--T he Letter s of Sai nt T er esa of J esus , tra nsla ted a nd edited by E. AllisonP eers from th e critical edition of P . Silverio de Sa nt a Teresa, C .D. London, B urn sOa tes a nd Wa shbu rn e, 1951. 2 vols.

N.L.M.--Na tiona l Libra ry of Spain (B iblioteca Na ciona l), Ma drid.

Obras (P. Sil v .)--Obras de San J uan d e la Cr uz , Doctor de la I glesia , edita da sy a nota da s pot el P . Silverio de Sa nt a Teresa, C .D. B urgos, 1929-31. 5 vols.

S.S.M .--E . Allison P eers:Stu di es of th e Spani sh M ysti cs . Vol. I, London,Sh eldon P ress, 1927; 2nd ed., L ondon, S.P .C.K ., 1951. Vol. II , London, Sh eldonP ress, 1930.

S obrino.-J os Ant onio de Sobrino, S.J .:Estud i os sobr e San J uan de l a Cru z y nuevos textos de su obr a . Ma drid, 1950.


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AN OUTLINE OF TH E L IF E OF S T. J OHNOF THE CROS S2

1542. B irth of J ua n de Yepes a t Fontiveros (H ont iveros), nea r vila.The da y genera lly ascribed to this event is J une 24 (St . J ohn Ba ptist 's Da y).No documenta ry evidence for it, h ow ever, exists, t he par ish registers ha vingbeen dest royed by a fire in 1544. The chief evidence is an inscription, da t ed1689, on t he font of th e par ish church a t Fontiveros.

? c. 1543. Dea th of J ua n's fa th er. 'After some year s' th e mother removes, with herfa mily, to Arva lo, an d lat er to Medina del Ca mpo.

? c. 1552-6. J ua n goes to school a t t he Colegio de los Nios de la D oct rina , Medina .c. 1556-7. Don Ant onio lva rez de Toledo ta kes him int o a H ospita l to w hich he h a s

retired, wit h th e idea of his (J ua n's) tr a ining for H oly Orders under hispatronage.

? c. 1559-63. J ua n a tt ends t he College of th e Society of J esus a t Medina.c. 1562. Lea ves th e Hospita l an d th e pat rona ge of lva rez de Toledo.1563. Ta kes the C a rmelite ha bit a t S t. Anne's, Medina del Ca mpo, a s J ua n de Sa n

Mata s (Sa nto Mata) .The da y is frequent ly assu med (wit hout a ny founda tion) to ha ve been thefea st of St. Ma tt hias (Februa ry 24), but P . Silverio postula tes a da y in Augustor S eptember and P . Crisgono thinks Februa ry definitely improbable.

1564. Ma kes his profession in t he sa me priory -- proba bly in August or Sept embera nd certa inly not ear lier tha n May 21 a nd not later th a n October.

1564 (November). Ent ers the U niversity of Sa lam a nca a s a nart is ta . Ta kes a t hree-yea r cour se in Art s (1564-7).

1565 (J a nua ry 6). Mat riculat es at the U niversity of Sa lama nca.1567. Receives priest's order s (proba bly in th e sum mer).1567 (? September). Meets S t. Teresa a t Medina del Ca mpo. J ua n is th inking of

tra nsferring to the Ca rth usian Order. St . Teresa a sks him to join herDiscalced Reform a nd t he projected first founda tion for fria rs. H e ag rees to doso, provided t he founda tion is soon m a de.

1567 (November). Return s to the U niversity of Sa lam a nca, w here he ta kes a yea r'scours e in t heology.

1568. Spends pa rt of the Long Vaca tion a t Medina del Ca mpo. On August 10,a ccompa nies St. Teresa t o Vallad olid. In S eptember, retu rns t o Medina a ndlat er goes to Avila a nd D uruelo.

1568 (November 28). Ta kes th e vow s of the Reform D ur uelo a s S t. J ohn of the C ross,together w ith Ant onio de Heredia (Ant onio de J esus), P rior of the C a lcedCa rmelites at Medina , and J os de Cristo, another Ca rmelite from Medina .

2Cf. Tra nslat or's P reface to the First Edition, II .


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1570 (J une 11). Moves, wit h t he Du ruelo commun ity , to Ma ncera de Aba jo.1570 (October, or possibly Februa ry 1571). St a ys for a bout a month a t P a str a na ,

returning t hence to Mancera .1571 (? J a nua ry 25). Visits Alba de Tormes for t he ina ugura tion of a new convent

there.1571 (? April). G oes t o Alcal de H ena res a s Rector of th e College of t he Reform a nd

directs t he Ca rmelite nuns.1572 (shortly a fter April 23). Recalled to P a str a na to correct t he rigours of the n ew

novice-ma ster, Angel de Sa n G a briel.1572 (betw een Ma y a nd S eptember). G oes t o vila a s confessor t o the C onvent of

th e Incar na tion. Remains t here till 1577.1574 (Ma rch). Accompan ies St . Teresa from vila to S egovia , a rr iving on Ma rch 18.

Retur ns to vila a bout t he end of the month.1575-6 (Wint er of: before F ebrua ry 1576). Kid na pped by t he C a lced a nd im prisoned

a t Medina del Ca mpo. Freed by the intervent ion of the P a pal Nuncio,Ormaneto.1577 (December 2 or 3). Kidn a pped by th e Ca lced a nd ca rr ied off to th e Ca lced

Ca rmelite priory a t Toledo a s a prisoner.1577-8. Composes in prison 17 (or perha ps 30) st a nza s of th e 'Spir itu a l Ca nt icle'

(i .e., as far a s the sta nza: 'Daught ers of J ewry'); the poem with the refrain'Although 'tis night'; and th e sta nza s beginning 'In principio era t verbum .' H ema y a lso ha ve composed the para phra se of the psalmSuper f lum ina and thepoem 'Da rk Night . ' (Note : All th ese poems, in verse form, w ill be found in Vol.II of th is edition.)

1578 (August 16 or sh ort ly a fterw a rds). Esca pes to the convent of th e Ca rmelitenuns in Toledo, a nd is t hence ta ken to his house by D. P edro Gonz lez deMendoza , C a non of Toledo.

1578 (October 9). Att ends a meet ing of the D iscalced superiors a t Almodva r. I s sentto El Ca lvar io a s Vicar, in t he a bsence in Rome of the P rior.

1578 (end of October). St a ys for 'a few da ys' a t B eas de S egura , near El C a lvar io.Confesses the nuns a t t he Ca rmelite Convent of B eas.

1578 (November). Arr ives a t E l Ca lva rio.1578-9 (November-J une). Rema ins a t E l Ca lvar io a s Vicar. F or a par t of this t ime

(probably from t he beginnin g of 1579), goes w eekly to th e convent of B ea s t ohea r confessions. D uring th is period, begins his comment a ries entitled

T he Ascent of M oun t Car m el (cf. pp. 9-314, below) andSpir i tua l Cant icle (tr a nsla ted in Vol. II).

1579 (J une 14). Founds a college of th e Reform a t B a eza . 1579-82. Resides a t B a ezaa s Rector of the C a rmelite college. Visits t he B eas convent occa siona lly.Writes more of the prose w orks begun a t E l Ca lvar io a nd t he rest of thesta nza s of the 'Spiritu a l Ca nt icle' except the last five, possibly with t hecommenta ries to the sta nza s.

1580. Death of his mother.


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1581 (Ma rch 3). Att ends t he Alcal Ch a pter of th e Reform . Appoint ed ThirdDefinitor an d P rior of the G ra na da house of Los M rtires. Ta kes up th e latt eroffice only on or a bout th e time of his election by t he commu nity in Ma rch1582.

1581 (November 28). La st meeting w ith S t. Teresa, a t vila. On t he next da y, sets

out w ith tw o nuns for B eas (December 8-J a nua ry 15) a nd G ra na da.1582 (J a nua ry 20). Arrives a t Los Mr tires.1582-8. Mainly a t G ra na da . Re-elected (or confirmed) as P rior of Los M rt ires by

th e Ch a pter of Almodvar, 1583. Resides a t Los Mr tires m ore or lesscont inuously till 1584 a nd int ermitt ently a fterw a rds. Visits th e Bea s conventocca siona lly. Writes t he last five sta nza s of the 'Spiritu a l Ca nt icle' during oneof th ese visits. At Los Mr tires, finishes theAscent of M oun t Car mel a ndcomposes his r ema ining prose trea tises. WritesL ivin g Flam e of L ove a bout1585, in fifteen days, a t t he request of Doa Ana d e Pea losa .

1585 (Ma y). Lisbon C ha pter a ppoint s him S econd Definit or a nd (till 1587) Vicar -P rovincial of Anda lusia. Ma kes the follow ing founda tions: M lag a , Februa ry17, 1585; C rdoba, M a y 18, 1586; La Ma nchuela (de J a n), October 12, 1586;Ca ra va ca, D ecember 18, 1586; B ujala nce, J une 24, 1587.

1587 (April). Ch a pter of Va lla dolid re-a ppoint s him P rior of Los Mr tir es. He ceasesto be Definitor a nd Vica r-P rovincial.

1588 (J une 19). Att ends t he first C ha pter-G enera l of th e Reform in Ma drid. Iselected First Definitor and aconsiliario .

1588 (Augu st 10). B ecomes P rior of Segovia , th e cent ra l house of th e Reform a nd t heheadqua rters of the Consulta . Acts a s deputy for t he Vica r-G enera l, P. D oria,during the latter's absences.

1590 (J une 10). Re-elected F irst Definit or a nd aconsiliario

a t t he Chapter-G eneralExtra ordinary, Ma drid.

1591 (J une 1). The Ma drid C ha pter -G enera l deprives him of his offices a nd r esolvesto send him to Mexico. (This la tt er decision w a s la ter r evoked.)

1591 (Augu st 10). Arr ives a t L a P euela .1591 (September 12). Att a cked by fever. (September Lea ves La P euela for beda.

(December 14) Dies a t beda.J a nua ry 25, 1675. B eat ified by Clement X.December 26, 1726. Canonized by Benedict XIII.August 24, 1926. Declared D octor of the C hurch U niversa l by P ius XI.


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G E NE RAL INTROD U CTION TO TH E WORK S OF ST. J OHN OFTHE CROS S

I

DATES AND ME THOD S OF COMP OSI TION.GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

WITH r egar d to the times a nd places at w hich the works of St . J ohn of th e Crosswere writt en, and a lso with regard t o the number of these works, there haveexisted, from a very ea rly da te, considera ble differences of opinion. Of int erna levidence from the Sa int's own w ritings t here is pra ctica lly none, and su ch externa ltest imony a s ca n be found in cont empora ry document s needs very ca refulexamination.

There w a s no period in t he life of St . J ohn of th e Cross in w hich he devotedhimself entirely to writ ing. He does not, in fact, a ppea r t o ha ve felt an y inclina tionto do so: his books were w ritt en in response to the insistent a nd repeat ed dema ndsof his spiritua l children. He wa s very much add icted, on th e oth er ha nd, to thecomposition of a poth egms or ma xims for t he use of his penitents a nd t his custom heprobably began a s early a s the da ys in w hich he w a s confessor t o the Convent of theIncarn a tion a t vila , th ough his biogra phers ha ve no record of an y ma xims butthose written a t B eas. One of his best beloved daught ers however, Ana Mar a deJ ess, of the Convent of th e Incar na tion, decla red in her deposition, during t heprocess of the S a int's ca nonizat ion, th a t h e wa s a ccustomed to 'comfort t hose w ithw hom he had t o do, both by h is words a nd by his lett ers, of which this w itnessreceived a num ber, an d a lso by cert a in papers concerning holy t hings w hich thisw itness would great ly value if she still had t hem.' Considering, the number of nunsto whom the S a int w a s director a t vila , i t is to be presumed tha t M. Ana Mar aw a s not t he only person w hom he favoured. We ma y sa fely conclude, indeed, tha tthere were many others who shared the sam e privileges, and t ha t, ha d we a ll these'papers, ' they w ould comprise a lar ge volume, instea d of the few pag es reproducedelsewhere in t his tra nslat ion.

There is a w ell-known story, preserved in t he document s of the ca nonizat ionprocess, of how , on a December night of 1577, St. J ohn, of the C ross wa s kidna ppedby the Ca lced Ca rmelites of vila a nd car ried off from the Inca rna tion to th eirpriory.3 Realizing tha t he ha d left behind him some import a nt pa pers, he cont rived,on t he next morning, to esca pe, a nd retur ned to the Incar na tion t o destroy themwh ile there wa s time to do so. He wa s missed a lmost immediately a nd he ha dha rdly ga ined his cell w hen his pursuers were on his heels. In th e few moments t ha tremained to him he ha d t ime to tear up these pa pers a nd sw a llow some of the mostcompromising. As th e origina l assa ult h a d not been unexpected, though t he time ofit w a s uncert a in, they w ould not ha ve been very nu merous. It is genera lly supposedtha t they concerned the business of the infa nt Reform, of which t he surviva l wa s a ttha t t ime in gra ve doubt. B ut i t seems at lea st equa lly likely tha t some of themmight ha ve been these spiritu a l ma xims, or some more extensive instr uctions w hichmight be misinterpreted by any w ho found them. It is remar kable, a t a ny ra te, tha t

3[H., III, ii.]


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w e have none of the Sa int's writing s belonging t o th is period wh a tever.All his biogra phers tell us tha t h e wrote some of the sta nza s of the 'Spiritu a l

Ca nt icle,' together w ith a few other poems, w hile he wa s imprisoned a t Toledo.'When he left th e prison,' sa ys M. Ma gda lena d el Espritu S a nt o, 'he took w ith h im alittle book in w hich he ha d w ritt en, wh ile th ere, some verses based upon the G ospelI n pri ncipio erat V erbu m , together w ith some couplets w hich begin: "H ow well Iknow the fount tha t freely flows, Although 't is night," a nd t he sta nza s orl i r a s t h a tbegin "Whither ha s vanishd?" a s far a s the sta nzas beginning "D a ughters ofJ ewry." The remainder of them t he Sa int composed la ter w hen he wa s Rector of theCollege at B a eza. Some of the expositions were wr itten a t B eas, a s a nswers toquestions put t o him by t he nuns; others a t G ra na da . This l it t le book, in which theSa int w rote wh ile in prison, he left in t he Convent of B eas a nd on var ious occasionsI w a s comm a nded t o copy it . Then s omeone t ook it from my cell -- w ho, I n everknew. The freshness of the w ords in t his book, togeth er wit h t heir beaut y a ndsubtlety, caused me grea t w onder, and one day I a sked the S a int if God gave himth ose words w hich were so comprehensive an d so lovely. And h e a nsw ered:"D a ughter, sometimes G od gave them to me and a t other t imes I sought t hem."'4

M. Isa bel de J ess Mara , wh o wa s a novice at Toledo when th e Sa int esca pedfrom his imprisonment th ere, wr ote t hus fr om Cuerva on November 2, 1614. 'Iremember, too, tha t, a t t he time we ha d him hidden in the church, he recited t o ussome lines w hich he had composed a nd kept in his mind, a nd t ha t one of the nun sw rote th em down a s he repeat ed th em. There w ere thr ee poems -- a ll of th em uponth e Most H oly Trinity , a nd so sublime an d devout t ha t t hey seem to enkindle thereader. In t his house at Cuerva we ha ve some wh ich begin:

"Fa r a wa y in the beginning,Dw elt the Word in G od Most H igh."'5

The frequent references to keeping his verses in his hea d a nd t he popular

exa ggerat ion of the hardships (great though these were) wh ich t he Sa int ha d toendure in Toledo ha ve led some wr iters to a ffirm th a t h e did not in fa ct wr ite thesepoems in prison but committ ed them t o memory a nd t ra nsferred th em to paper atsome lat er da te. The evidence of M. Magd a lena, however, w ould a ppea r t o bedecisive. We know , too, tha t t he second of St. J ohn of the Cr oss's ga olers, Fra y J ua nde Sa nta Mar a, w a s a kindly ma n w ho did a ll he could to lighten his ca ptive'ssufferings; and h is superiors w ould proba bly not ha ve forbidden him w ritingma teria ls provided he wr ote no lett ers.6

It seems, t hen, tha t t he Sa int w rote in Toledo th e first sevent een (or perha psthirt y) sta nzas of the 'Spiritua l Ca nticle,' the nine part s of the poem 'Fa r a wa y inth e beginning . . . ,' th e pa ra phra se of the psalmSuper f l um ina B abylonis and thepoem 'H ow w ell I know t he fount . . . ' This w a s rea lly a considera ble output of w ork,

4M. Magda lena is a very r eliable witness, for she was n ot only a most discreet and a ble woma n, butwa s a lso one of those who were very near to the sa int a nd ga ined most from his spiritua l direction.The qu ota tion is from MS . 12,944.5MS. 12,738, fol. 835. Ft. J ernimo de S. J os, too, says th a t t he nuns of Toledo also copied certa inpoems from the S aint 's dictat ion. M. Ana de S . Alberto hear d him say of his imprisonment: 'G odsought to try m e, but His m ercy forsook me not. I ma de some sta nza s there w hich begin: "Whitherha st va nishd, Beloved"; a nd a lso those other verses, beginning "F ar above the many r ivers Tha t inB abylon abound." All these verses 1 sent to Fra y J os de J ess Mara , who told me tha t he wa sinterested in them an d wa s keeping them in his memory in order to write them out. '6[H., III, ii.]


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for, except perha ps wh en his ga oler a llow ed him t o go into a nother room, he ha d nolight but t ha t of a sma ll oil-lam p or occasiona lly the infiltr a tion of day light t ha tpenetra ted a sma ll interior w indow.

Apart from t he sta tement of M. Magda lena a lready quoted, li t t le more isknown of wha t t he Sa int w rote in El C a lvario than of wha t h e wrote in Toledo. Froma n a mplifica tion ma de by herself of the sentences to w hich we ha ve referred ita ppears t ha t a lmost th e whole of wha t she ha d copied wa s ta ken from her; as th eshort extra cts t ra nscribed by her a re very similar t o pa ssages from t he Sa int 'swr itings we ma y perha ps conclude tha t m uch of the other ma terial w a s alsoincorpora ted in t hem. In t ha t ca se he ma y w ell ha ve completed a fa ir proport ion ofthe Ascent of M ount Car m el before lea ving B eas.

I t wa s in El Ca lvario, too, and for the nuns of Bea s, that the Sa int drew theplan called the 'Mount of P erfection' (referred to by M. Ma gda lena7 and in theAscent of Mount C a rmel a nd r eproduced a s t he frontispiece to this volume) of w hichcopies were aft erwa rds mult iplied a nd distribut ed among Discalced houses. Itsa uthor wished it to figure at the head of all his trea tises, for i t is a gra phicalrepresent a tion of the entire myst ic wa y, from t he sta rt ing-point of the beginner toth e very summ it of perfection. His first sketch, wh ich st ill survives, is arudiment a ry a nd imperfect one; before long, however, as M. Ma gda lena t ells us, heevolved a nother th a t w a s fuller an d more comprehensive.

7MS. 12,944. 'He a lso occa sionally w rote spiritua l thin gs th a t w ere of grea t benefit. There, too, hecomposed theMount a nd drew a copy with h is own ha nd for each of our breviaries; later, he add ed tothese copies and made some changes.'


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J ust a s we owe to PP . Gr a cin a nd Sa laza r ma ny precious relics of St. Teresa,so we owe oth ers of St . J ohn of the Cr oss to M. Magda lena. Among t he mostva lua ble of th ese is her own copy of the 'Mount , ' w hich, after h er deat h, w ent t o th e'Desert'8 of Our La dy of the S nows esta blished by t he Discalced province of UpperAnda lusia in the diocese of G ra na da . It wa s found t here by P . Andrs de laEncar na cin, of wh om w e shall presently speak, a nd w ho immediat ely ma de a copyof it, legally cert ified as a n exact one a nd now in th e Nat iona l Librar y of Spa in (MS.6,296).

The superiorit y of the second pla n over th e first is ver y evident . The firstconsist s simply of thr ee pa ra llel lines corresponding t o t hr ee different pa t hs -- oneon eith er side of th e Mount , ma rked 'Roa d of t he spirit of imperfection' a nd one inth e centr e ma rked 'P a th of Mount Ca rmel. Spirit of perfection.' In t he spacesbetw een th e pa ths a re writt en the celebra ted ma xims which a ppear in B ook I,Ch a pter xiii, of theAscent of M oun t Car m el , in a somewha t different form, t ogetherwith certa in others. At the t op of the dra wing a re the w ords 'Mount Ca rmel,' wh icha re not found in t he second plan, a nd below th em is th e legend: 'There is no roa dhere, for t here is no law for t he right eous ma n,' together w ith other t exts fromScripture.

The second plan r epresents a num ber of gra ded heights, t he loftiest of wh ich

8[See, on this t erm,S.S.M ., II, 282, andCath olic E ncyclopedi a, sub . 'Carmelites.']


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is plan ted w ith t rees. Three pat hs, a s in the first sketch, lead from th e base of themount, but they a re tra ced more art istica lly a nd ha ve a more deta iled ascetic andmystical application. Those on either side, which denote the roads of imperfection,a re broa d a nd somewh a t t ortuous an d come to an end before the higher sta ges of themount a re reached. The centr e roa d, tha t of perfection, is at first very na rrow butgra dua lly broadens an d lea ds right up to the summit of the mounta in, which onlythe perfect a tt a in a nd w here they enjoy th eiu ge convi vi um -- th e hea venly feast .The different zones of religious perfection, from which spring various virtues, areportr a yed with much greater deta il tha n in t he first plan . As we ha ve reproducedth e second plan in t his volume, it need not be described m ore fully.

We know th a t S t. J ohn of the Cross used the 'Mount ' very, frequently for allkinds of religious inst ruction. 'B y m ean s of this d ra w ing,' test ified one of hisdisciples, 'he used to tea ch us th a t, in order t o a tt a in to perfection, w e must notdesire the good t hings of eart h, nor those of Hea ven; but tha t we m ust desire naughtsa ve to seek a nd st rive aft er th e glory a nd honour of G od our Lord in a ll things . . .a nd t his "Mount of Perfection" t he said holy fat her himself expounded to thisWitness when he w a s his superior in t he said priory of Gr a na da . '9

It seems not improbable tha t t he Sa int continued wr iting cha pters of theAscent and the Spir i tua l Cant icle while he wa s Rector a t B aeza,10 w hether in theCollege itself, or in E l Ca stellar , wh ere he wa s a ccustomed often t o go into retrea t.It w a s certa inly here tha t he wrote the rema ining sta nza s of theCanticle (a s M.Ma gda lena explicitly t ells us in words a lready quoted), except t he last five, wh ich hecomposed rat her lat er, at G ra na da . One likes to think tha t these loveliest of hisverses were penned by t he banks of the Gua da lima r, in the w oods of the G ra nja deSa nta Ann, w here he wa s in the ha bit of passing long hours in communion withG od. At a ll events t he sta nzas seem more in harm ony w ith such an a tmospheretha n w ith tha t of the College.

With rega rd t o the last five sta nza s, we ha ve definite evidence from a B easnun, M. Fr a ncisca de la Ma dre de Dios, wh o test ifies in the B eat ificat ion process

(April 2, 1618) as follows:And so, w hen th e said holy fria r J ohn of th e Cross w a s in this convent

one Lent (for h is grea t love for it brought h im here from t he sa id city ofG ra na da, w here he wa s prior, to confess the nuns a nd preach to them) he wa sprea ching t o them one da y in t he parlour, a nd t his witn ess observed tha t ontw o sepa ra te occasions he wa s ra pt a nd lifted up from t he ground; a nd w henhe cam e to himself he dissembled a nd sa id: 'You sa w how sleep overca me me!'And one da y he a sked th is witness in wha t h er prayer consisted, a nd shereplied: 'In considering t he beaut y of God an d in rejoicing t ha t H e ha s suchbea uty. ' And the S a int w a s so pleased with t his tha t for some days h e said themost sublime th ings concerning t he bea ut y of God, at w hich all ma rvelled.And t hus, un der t he influence of th is love, he composed five sta nza s,beginning 'B eloved, let us sing, And in t hy beaut y see ourselves port ra y'd.'And in a ll this he showed t ha t t here wa s in his brea st a great love of G od.

From a lett er which this nun w rote from Bea s in 1629 to P . J ernimo de Sa nJ os, we gat her tha t the s tanzas w ere actual ly wri t ten at G ra nada a nd brought toB eas, where

9Fra y Ma rtin de Sa n J os in MS. 12,738, fol. 125.10[H., IV, i.]


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. . . wit h every w ord tha t w e spoke to him w e seemed to be opening a door t othe fruition of the great trea sures and riches which G od ha d stored up in hissoul.

If t here is a discrepan cy here, how ever, it is of sma ll import a nce; there is no doubta s to the a pproxima te da te of th e composition of these sta nza s a nd of th eir closeconnection with Beas.

The most fruitful litera ry yea rs for S t. J ohn of th e Cross w ere those w hich hespent a t G ra na da . Here he completed theAscent a nd wr ote a ll his rema iningtrea tises. Both M. Magda lena a nd the Sa int 's closest disciple, P . J ua n Eva ngelista,bea r w itness to this. The la tt er writes from G ra na da t o P . J ernimo de San J os, thehistoria n of the Reform:

With rega rd t o ha ving seen our venera ble fat her w rite th e books, I saw him w rite them a ll; for, a s I h a ve said, I wa s ever a t h is side. TheAscen t of M ount Carmel and the Dark N igh t he wrote here a t G ra na da , li t t le by lit t le,cont inuing th em only w ith ma ny brea ks. The

L ivin g Flam e of L ove he also

w rote in th is house, when he wa s Vica r-P rovincial, at th e request of DoaAna de Pea losa, a nd he wrote it in fifteen da ys wh en he wa s very busy herewith a n a bundan ce of occupat ions. The first t hing tha t h e wrote wa sWhither hast van i shd? a nd tha t t oo he wrote here; the sta nzas he ha d wri t t en in theprison at Toledo.11

In a nother lett er (Februa ry 18, 1630), he w rote to th e sa me correspondent :

With r egar d to our holy fat her's ha ving w ritt en his books in this home,I w ill say wh a t is undoubtedly true -- na mely, tha t h e wrote here thecommenta ry on the sta nzasWhi th er ha st van i shd? and the L ivin g Flame of

Love , for he began a nd ended th em in my t ime. TheAscent of M oun t Car mel Ifound ha d been begun when I cam e here to take the ha bit , which w a s a yeara nd a ha lf after th e founda tion of this house; he ma y ha ve brought i t fromyonder already begun. But theDark Ni gh t he certa inly wr ote here, for I sa w him writing a part of it , a nd this is certa in, beca use I saw it .12

These and other t estimonies might with a dvan ta ge be fuller a nd moreconcrete, but a t least they place beyond doubt t he facts tha t w e have a lready setdown . Summa rizing our tota l findings, we may a ssert tha t pa rt of the 'SpiritualCa nticle,' with perha ps the 'Da rk Night, ' and the other poems enumerat ed, werew ritt en in the Toledo prison; th a t a t t he request of some nuns he w rote at ElCa lva rio (1578-79) a few cha pter s of th e Ascent a nd comm ent a ries on some of th esta nza s of th e 'Ca nt icle'; tha t h e composed furth er sta nza s a t B a eza (1579-81),perha ps with t heir respective comment a ries; a nd th a t, fina lly, he completed theCanticle and the Ascent a t G rana da a nd wrote the whole of theDark Ni gh t a nd ofthe Li v ing F lame -- th e lat ter in a fort night . All these last w orks he w rote before theend of 1585, the first y ear in w hich he w a s Vicar-P rovincial.

Other w ritings, most of them brief, are a tt ributed to St. J ohn of the Cross;th ey will be discussed in th e third volume of this edition, in which w e sha ll publish

11MS. 12,738, fol. 1,431. The letter is unda ted a s to th e year .12MS. 12,738, fol. 1,435.


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th e minor works w hich we a ccept a s genuine. The a ut horship of his four m a jor prosew orks -- t he Ascent , Dark Ni gh t , Spir i tua l Cant icle and L ivin g Fl ame - - no one ha sever a tt empted to question, even t hough t he lack of exta nt a utographs a nd t he largenumber of copies ha ve ma de it d ifficult to esta blish correct t exts. To this q uestionwe shall return la ter.

The cha ra cteristics of the wr itings of St . J ohn of th e Cross a re so str iking tha tit w ould be difficult t o confuse them w ith t hose of a ny other w riter. H is litera rypersona lity sta nds out clearly from tha t of his Spa nish cont empora ries who w rote onsimilar su bjects. B oth his sty le a nd his met hods of exposition bear th e ma rks of astrong individuality.

If some of these derive from his nat ive genius an d tempera ment , oth ers a reund oubtedly r eflections of his educa tion a nd experience. The Aristotelia n-Thomist icphilosophy, t hen a t t he height of its splendour, wh ich he lear ned so thoroughly inthe classrooms of Sa lama nca U niversity, chara cterizes t he w hole of his w ritings,giving them a gra nite-like solidity even wh en their th eme is such as t o defy huma nspecula tion. Though the precise extent of his debt to this Sa lam a ncan t ra ining inphilosophy ha s not yet been definitely a ssessed, t he fa ct of its influence is evident toevery reader. It gives ma ssiveness, har mony a nd unity t o both the a scetic a nd t hemyst ica l work of St . J ohn of the Cross -- th a t is t o sa y, to all his scientific w riting.

Deeply, however, a s St . J ohn of th e Cross drew fr om th e Schoolmen, he wa sa lso profoundly indebted t o ma ny other w riters. H e wa s distinctly eclectic in hisrea ding a nd q uotes freely (th ough less tha n some of his Spa nish cont empora ries)from the Fa th ers an d from th e media eval myst ics, especially from St . Thoma s, St.B ona ventur a , Hugh of St . Victor a nd t he pseudo-Areopag ite. All tha t h e quotes,however, he ma kes his own, w ith t he result tha t his chapters a re never a m a ss ofcita tions loosely strung t ogether, a s a re those of ma ny other S pan ish myst ics of histime.

When w e study his tr eat ises -- principally t ha t gr eat composite w ork known

as the Ascent of M oun t Car m el and t heDark Ni gh t - - w e ha ve th e impression of ama ster-mind t ha t ha s scaled the heights of mystica l science and from t heir summitlooks down upon a nd dominat es the pla in below a nd t he pat hs leading upwa rd. Wema y well wonder wha t a vast contribution to the subject he w ould have ma de hadhe been a ble to expound a ll the eight sta nza s of his poem since he covered so muchground in expounding no more tha n tw o. Observe with wh a t a ssuran ce a nd w ha tma stery of subject a nd meth od he defines his th emes and divides his argu ment s,even w hen tr eat ing th e most a bstru se and cont roversia l questions. The mostobscure phenomena he a ppea rs t o illumine, a s it w ere, with one light ning fla sh ofundersta nding, as th ough th e explana tion of them w ere perfectly nat ura l and ea sy.His solutions of difficult problems a re not t imid, questioning a nd loaded w ithexceptions, but clear , definite an d virile like the ma n w ho proposes them. Noscientific field, perha ps, has so ma ny zones which a re a pt t o become va gue an dobscure a s ha s tha t of mystica l theology; an d th ere are those among the Sa int 'spredecessors w ho seem to ha ve ma de their perma nent a bode in them. They give theimpression of at tempt ing t o cloa k va gueness in verbosity, in order t o avoid beingforced int o giving solutions of problems w hich th ey find insoluble. Not so St . J ohn ofthe Cross. A scientific dictator, if such a person were conceivable, could hardlyexpress himself w ith grea ter clarit y. His phra ses have a decisive, almost a chiselledqua lity; w here he errs on th e side of redunda nce, it is not wit h t he intent ion ofcloa king uncert a inty , but in order th a t he ma y drive home wit h double force th etr ut hs w hich he desires to impress.


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No less adm ira ble are, on the one han d, his synt hetic skill a nd t he logic of hisa rguments, a nd, on t he other, his subtle a nd discriminat ing an a lyses, which weighth e finest sha des of thought a nd dissect ea ch subject w ith a ll th e accura cy ofscience. To his an a lytical genius w e ow e those finely ba lan ced st a tement s, ort hodoxyet bold a nd fear less, w hich have caused clumsier intellects to misundersta nd him.It is not rema rkable tha t this should ha ve occurred. The ease with wh ich t heunskilled can misint erpret genius is shown in t he history of ma ny a heresy.

H ow m uch of all th is St . J ohn of the Cross ow ed to his studies of schola sticphilosophy in th e University of Sa lam a nca, it is difficult t o sa y. If we exam ine thehistory of th a t U niversity a nd rea d of its severe discipline we sha ll be in no da ngerof under-estima ting t he effect w hich it must ha ve produced upon so agile a nd a lerta n intellect. F urth er, we note the consta nt para llelisms an d t he compar a tivelyinfrequent (th ough occa siona lly import a nt ) divergences betw een t he doctr ines of St .J ohn of th e Cross and S t. Thoma s, to sa y nothing of th e close agr eement bet weenth e views of St . J ohn of the C ross an d t hose of the S choolmen on such subjects a sth e pa ssions a nd a ppetit es, th e nat ure of the soul, the rela tions betw een soul an dbody. Yet w e must not forget th e student t a g:Quod n atur a non dat , Salamti ca non

praestat . Nothing but na tura l genius could impa rt the vigour a nd t he clarity wh ich

enhance all St . J ohn of the Cross's a rguments a nd nothing but his own deep a ndva ried experience could ha ve ma de him w ha t h e ma y w ell be termed -- th e great estpsychologist in t he hist ory of mysticism.

Em inent, t oo, wa s St . J ohn of the Cr oss in sa cred theology. The close na tu ra lconnection th a t exists betw een dogma tic and my stical th eology a nd th eir cont inua linterdependence in pra ctice ma ke it impossible for a Ch ristia n t eacher t o excel inthe lat ter a lone. Indeed, more tha n one of the heresies tha t h a ve had t heirbeginnings in my sticism would never ha ve developed ha d t hose who fell into thembeen w ell grounded in dogmat ic th eology. The one is, as it w ere, the lan tern th a tlights th e pa th of the oth er, as S t. Teresa rea lized wh en she began to feel th e

cont inua l necessity of consulting th eologica l tea chers. If St . J ohn of th e Cross is ableto climb t he great est heights of mysticism a nd rema in upon t hem w ithout stumblingor dizziness it is because his feet a re invar iably w ell shod with t he tru th s ofdogmat ic theology. The grea t myst eries -- th ose of th e Trinity , th e Cr eat ion, t heInca rna tion an d th e Redemption -- a nd such dogmas a s th ose concerning gra ce, thegifts of the S pirit, th e th eologica l virtues, etc., w ere to him guide-posts for t hose whoa tt empted to sca le, a nd t o lead others to sca le, th e symbolic mount of sa nctity .

It w ill be remembered tha t t he Sa int spent but one yea r upon his theologica lcourse at the U niversity of Sala ma nca, for w hich rea son ma ny ha ve been surpriseda t th e evident solidity of his att a inments. But , apar t from the fact tha t a mind sokeen and retent ive a s tha t of Fra y J uan de Sa n Mat as could a bsorb in a year w hatoth ers would ha ve failed to imbibe in th e more usua l tw o or t hree, we must ofnecessity a ssume a fa r longer tim e spent in priva te stu dy. For in one year he couldnot ha ve studied all th e trea tises of wh ich he clear ly demonst ra tes his knowledge --to say nothing of ma ny others which he must ha ve known. His own works, apar tfrom a ny extern a l evidence, prove him t o have been a th eologian of distinction.

In both fields, the dogmat ic a nd t he mystica l he wa s great ly aided by hisknowledge of Holy Scripture, wh ich he stu died cont inua lly, in t he last yea rs of hislife, to the exclusion, a s it w ould seem, of a ll else. Much of it he knew by hea rt ; th esimple devotiona l ta lks tha t he wa s a ccustomed t o give were inva riably studdedwith texts, an d he ma de use of passa ges from the B ible both to justify an d toillustra te his t eaching. In t he myst ica l interpreta tion of Holy S cripture, as every


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stud ent of mysticism knows, h e ha s ha d few equa ls even a mong his fellow Doctors ofthe Church Universal.

Testimonies to his ma stery of the Scriptur es ca n be found in a bunda nce. P .Alonso de la Ma dre de D ios,el A stu r i cense , for exam ple, wh o w a s persona llya cqua inted with him, sta ted in 1603 tha t 'he had a great gift a nd facili ty for theexposition of the S a cred S criptur e, principally of t he S ong of S ongs, E cclesia sticus,Ecclesiastes, the P roverbs and t he P salms of David. '13 H is spir itua l daughter, thatsam e Magda lena del Espritus Sa nto to whom we ha ve several t imes referred,a ffirms t ha t S t. J ohn of the Cross would frequently rea d th e Gospels to the nuns ofB eas a nd expound th e letter a nd the spirit t o them.14 Fra y J uan E vangel is ta sa ys ina w ell-known pa ssa ge:

H e wa s very fond of rea ding in the Scriptur es, and I n ever once saw him read a ny other books tha n t he B ible,15 a lmost a ll of wh ich he knew byheart , St . AugustineContr a H aer eses and t heFl os Sanctoru m . Whenocca siona lly he preached (wh ich w a s seldom) or ga ve informa l a ddresses[pl t i cas ], a s he more commonly did, he never rea d from a ny book sa ve theB ible. His conversation, whether a t recreat ion or a t other t imes, wa scont inua lly of G od, a nd h e spoke so delight fully tha t, w hen he discoursedupon sa cred things a t r ecreat ion, he would ma ke us all laugh a nd w e usedgrea tly to enjoy going out . On occasions w hen w e held cha pters, he w ouldusua lly give devotiona l add resses (pl ti cas di vi na s ) a fter supper, a nd henever failed to give a n a ddress every night .16

Fra y P ablo de Sant a Mara , w ho had a lso hear d the Sa int 's a ddresses, wrote thus:

He w a s a ma n of the most enkindled spiritua lity a nd of great insightinto all tha t concerns m ystica l theology a nd ma tt ers of pray er; I consider itimpossible tha t h e could ha ve spoken so well a bout a ll the virtues if he ha d

not been most proficient in t he spiritu a l life, a nd I r eally th ink he knew t hew hole B ible by hea rt , so far a s one could judge from th e var ious B iblicalpassa ges which he w ould quote a t cha pters an d in the refectory, without a nygreat effort , but a s one wh o goes where the S pirit leads h im.17

Nor w a s th is adm ira tion for t he expository a bility of St . J ohn of the C ross confinedto his fellow -fria rs, w ho might ea sily enough ha ve been led int o hero-w orship. Weknow tha t he wa s th ought highly of in this respect by th e Un iversity of Alca l deHena res, where he w a s consult ed as a n a uth ority. A Dr . Villegas, Ca non of SegoviaCa thedra l, has left on record his respect for him. And F ra y J ernimo de Sa n J osrela tes the esteem in wh ich he wa s held a t t he University of Ba eza, which in his da y

13MS. 12,738, fol. 3. Cf. a letter of April 28, 1614, by th e sa me fria r (ib id ., fol. 865), which describesthe Saint's knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and skill in expounding them, as 'inspired' and 'Divine.'14Ib id ., fol. 18.15J ernimo de la Cr uz (ib id ., fol. 639) describes the Sa int on his journeys a s 'frequent ly rea ding t heB ible' as he w ent a long on his 'beast . '16MS. 12,738, fol. 559. P . Alonso wr ites simila rly in a letter t o Fr a y J ernimo de Sa n J os: 'And inthis ma tter of speaking of God a nd expounding passa ges from S cripture he ma de everyone marvel,for t hey never a sked him about a passa ge which he could not explain in great detail, a nd sometimesat recreat ion th e whole hour and m uch more went by in t he explana tion of passa ges about whichth ey a sked h im' (fol. 1,431).17Ib id ., fol. 847.


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enjoyed a considera ble reputa tion for B iblical st udies:

There were at tha t t ime at the U niversi ty of Ba eza ma ny lea rned andspiritua lly minded persons, disciples of tha t gr eat fat her a nd a postle J ua n devila.18 . . . All these doctors . . . w ould repair t o our venera ble fa th er a s to a nora cle from heaven a nd w ould discuss wit h him both t heir ow n spiritua lprogress and t ha t of souls committ ed to their char ge, with t he result t ha tth ey w ere both edified a nd a stonished a t h is skill. They w ould a lso bring himdifficulties a nd delica te points connected w ith D ivine lett ers, an d on these,too, he spoke with extra ordina ry energy a nd illumina tion. One of th esedoctors, w ho ha d consulted h im a nd listened t o him on va rious occasions, saidtha t, a lthough he had r ead deeply in St. Augustine and S t. J ohn Chr ysostoma nd other sa ints, and ha d found in them great er heights a nd depths, he hadfound in none of them t ha t pa rt icula r kind of spiritua lity in exposition whichthis great fat her applied to Scriptura l pa ssages.19

The Scriptura l knowledge of St . J ohn of the Cross wa s, a s th is passage ma kesclea r, in no wa y merely a cademic. B oth in his l itera l an d his mysticalinterpreta tions of the B ible, he has w ha t we ma y call a 'B iblica l sense, ' wh ich sa veshim from such exa ggera tions a s we find in oth er expositors, both ear lier a ndcont empora ry. One would not claim, of course, tha t a mong the ma ny hun dreds ofa pplica tions of Holy Scripture ma de by th e Ca rmelite Doctor there a re none tha tcan be objected t o in t his respect; but th e sam e ca n be sa id of St . August ine, St.Ambrose, St . Gr egory or St. B ernar d, and n o one would a ssert t ha t, either w iththem or w ith him, such insta nces a re other t ha n most exceptiona l.

To the th ree sources alrea dy ment ioned in w hich St . J ohn of the C ross foundinspirat ion w e must a dd a fourt h -- th e works of ascetic a nd myst ica l writ ers. It isnot yet possible to assert w ith a ny exactness how far the S a int ma de use of these;

for, though pa rt ial stu dies of th is question ha ve been a tt empted, a complete andunbiased trea tment of i t ha s sti l l to be underta ken. Here we ca n do no more tha ngive a few indica tions of wha t rema ins to be done a nd summ a rize the presentcont ent of our kn owledge.20

We may suppose tha t, during his novitiat e in Medina, t he Sa int rea d anumber of devotional books, one of which w ould a lmost cert a inly ha ve been t heI mi tat ion of Chri st , an d others would ha ve included works which w ere tra nslat edinto Spa nish by order of Ca rdina l Cisneros. The dema nds of a U niversity coursewould not keep him from pursuing such studies a t Sa lama nca; th e friar w ho chose acell from the w indow of wh ich he could see th e Blessed Sa cram ent, so tha t h e mightspend hours in its company , w ould ha rdly be likely to neglect his devotiona lrea ding. B ut w e have not a syllable of direct externa l evidence as t o th e titles of an yof th e books know n t o him .Nor, for t ha t m a tt er, ha ve we much more evidence of this kind for an y otherpart of his l ife. B oth his early C a rmelite biogra phers a nd t he numerous w itnessesw ho gave evidence during t he ca nonizat ion process describe at grea t lengt h hisextra ordinar y penan ces, his love for places of retrea t bea ut ified by Nat ure, the long

18[Cf. S.S.M ., II, 123-48.]19Vida , B k. IV, Chap. xiv, 1.20[On th is subject cf. P . Cr isgono de J ess Sa cramenta do:San Juan d e la Cruz , Madrid, 1929, Vol.II, pp. 17-34 et pa ssi m .]


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hours t ha t he spent in prayer a nd t he tongue of a ngels w ith w hich he spoke onth ings spiritua l. But of his reading t hey sa y nothing except to describe hisa tt a chment t o th e Bible, nor ha ve we an y record of th e books cont a ined in th elibrar ies of the religious houses tha t h e visited. Yet if, a s we ga th er from t heprocess, he spent little more tha n t hree hours nightly in sleep, he must h a ve readdeeply of spiritua l things by night a s well as by da y.

Some clues to the na ture of his rea ding ma y be ga ined from h is own wr itings.It is true tha t t he clues a re slender. He cites few works apa rt from t he B ible andth ese a re generally liturgical books, such a s the B reviar y. Some of his quota tionsfrom S t. Augustine, St. G regory a nd other of the Fa thers a re tra ceable to thesesources. Neverth eless, we ha ve not r ead St . J ohn of the C ross for long before w e findourselves in t he full curr ent of myst ica l tra dition. It is not by m ean s of more or lesslitera l quota tions t ha t the S a int produces this impression; he ha s studied hisprecursors so th oroughly tha t h e absorbs the subst a nce of their doctr ine an dincorpora tes it so intima tely in his own th a t it becomes flesh of his flesh. Everyt hingin his wr itings is fully ma tu red: he ha s no juvenilia . The mediaeva l myst ics wh omhe uses a re t oo often va gue a nd u ndisciplined; th ey need someone t o select fromthem a nd unify them, to give them clarity a nd order, so tha t t heir tr eat ment ofmyst ica l theology ma y ha ve the solidity a nd subst a nce of scholast ic th eology. Toha ve done th is is one of th e achievement s of St . J ohn of the C ross.

We a re convinced, t hen, by a n int erna l evidence which is chiefly of a kind inwh ich no cha pter an d verse ca n be given, tha t S t. J ohn of the Cross read widely inmedia eval myst

St. John of the Cross - Ascent of Mount Carmel

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