CHAPTER VIII.

Of other sufferings which distress the soul in this state.
Another source of much affliction and distress to the soul in this state is that, as the dark night hinders the exercise of the faculties and affections, it cannot lift up the heart and mind to God as before, nor pray to Him.
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It thinks itself to be in that state described by Jeremias when he said, 4 Thou hast set a cloud before Thee, that prayer may not pass/* This is the meaning of the words quoted beforet — 4 He hath shut up my ways with square stones/* If at any time it prays, it prays with so much aridity, and without sweetness, so as to' think that God neither hears nor regards it ; as the prophet tells us in the same place, saying, 4 Yea, and when I shall cry, and ask, He excludeth my prayer/§ And, in truth, this is the time for the soul, in the words of Jeremias, to put its 4 mouth in the dust/|| suffering in patience this purgation.
2. It is God Himself Who is now working in the soul, and the soul is therefore powerless. Hence it comes that it cannot pray or give much attention to divine things. Neither can it attend to temporal matters, for it falls into frequent distractions, and the memory is so profoundly weakened, that many hours pass by with- out its knowing what it has done or thought, what it is doing or is about to do ; nor can it give much heed to what it is occupied with, notwithstanding all its efforts, rj. Inasmuch, then, as not only the understanding is purified from its imperfect perceptions, and the will from its affections, but the memory, also, from all its Knowledge and reflections, it is necessary that the soul
* Lam. iii. 44. f Ch. vii. § 2. { lb. iii. 9.
§ lb. iii. 8. || lb. iii. 29.
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should be annihilated herein, that the words of the Psalmist, when he was in this purgation may be fulfilled :
‘ I am brought to nothing, and I knew not/* This ‘knowing not* extends to these follies and failures of the memory. These wanderings and failures of the memory are the result of interior recollection, by which the soul is absorbed in contemplation. For in order to prepare the soul, and temper it divinely in all its powers for the divine union of love, it must, first of all^be absorbed with all its powers in the divine ^fid dim spiritual light of contemplation, and be thus detached from all affection for, and apprehension of, created things. This continues ordinarily in proportion to the intensity of its contemplation.
4. Thus, then, the more pure and simple the divine^ light when it beats on the soul, the more does it darken it, empty it, and annihilate it, as to all itfs apprehensions and affections, whether they regard heavenly or earthly things. And also, the less pure and simple the light, the less is the soul darkened and annihilated. It seems strange to say, that the purer and clearer the super- natural and divine light the more is it in the soul, and that it is less so when less pure.
5. But this may be easily explained ; if we keep in mind the saying of the philosopher that supernatural things are more dark to the understanding the more
* Ps. Ixxii. 22.
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clear and evident they are in themselves. Thus the ray
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of high contemplation, transcending as it does the natural powers, striking the soul with its divine light, makes it dark, and deprives it of all the natural affections and apprehensions which it previously entertained in its own natural light. Under these circumstances, the soul is left not only in darkness but in emptiness also, as to its powers and desires, both natural and spiritual, and in this emptiness and darkness is purified and enlightened by the divine spiritual light, but it does not ^imagine that it has it ; yea, rather, it thinks itself to be in darkness.
6. As a ray of light, if pure, and if there be nothing to reflect it, or against which it strikes, is almost invisible, and is by reflection better seen, so the spiritual light, which beats on the soul is, of itself, neither visible nor perceptible, because it is so pure, but when it beats upon anything that reflects it, that is, upon any matter of perfection which presents itself to the understanding or a decision to be made as to the truth or falsehood of anything, the soul sees it at once, and understands the matter more clearly than it ever did before it entered into this darkness. In the same way the soul discerns the spiritual light which is given it that it may easily recognize its own imperfection ; thus, when a ray of light is of itself not so visible, but when the hand or any other object is held before it, the hand is seen
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forthwith, and the light of the sun is known to be there.
7. Then, because this spiritual light is so clear, pure and diffused, neither confined to, nor specially related to, any particular matter of the understanding — seeing that with respect to all such matters the powers of the soul are empty and as if they did not exist — the soul in great ease and freedom discerns and searches into every thing high or low, that is presented to it ; and for that reason the Apostle said, i The Spirit searcheth all things, even the profundities of God ; ’* for it is of this pure and diffused wisdom that we are to understand that which the Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of the wise man, i Wisdom reacheth everywhere by reason of her clearness ;'f that is, because not connected with any particular object of the understanding or affection. The characteristic of a mind purified and annihilated as to all particular objects of affection and of the understanding, is to have no pleasure in, or knowledge of, anything in particular ; to abide in emptiness and darkness ; to embrace all things in its grand com- prehensiveness, that it may fulfil mystically the words of the Apostle, 4 having nothing and possessing all things/}: for such poverty of spirit merits such a blessing.
* 1 Cor. ii. 10. t Wisd. vii. 24. { 2 Cor. vi. 10.
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