PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS

PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWSSource: 14th Century English Mystics Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 2 (June 1982), pp. 72-85Published by: Penn State University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20716384 .

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Footnotes:

1. C. S. Lewis. The Allegory of Love (Oxford:

University Press, 1948),Cap. 1.

2. Vide citation from Sir Edmund Gosse in Derek Patmore's preface to Selected Poems of Coventry Patmore (London: Chatto and Windus, 1931).

3. W. Butler-Bowdon. The Book of Margery

Kempe (New York: Devon-Adair Co., 1944), 33. All quotations are taken from this text.

PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS :

General:

W. Norris Clarke* "The Natural Roots of Reli

gious Experience." Religious Studies, 17 (1981), 511-23. Clarke identifies four basic natural roots of mystical experience: 1) the innate drive of the

spirit in quest of the infinite; 2) the secret simili tude of the soul to God, though the likeness is an

obscure and imperfect image; 3) the permanent presence of the divine in the depths of the human being; and 4) a self-awareness which makes it possible to be

conscious of the self-manifesting action of the di

vine presence in the human spirit. The author finds a fundamental bond among all mystical traditions, and notes that, toward the end of his life, Thomas

Merton found a spiritual brother in the Tibetan Bud dhist, the Dalai Lama.

Ronald R. Cromwell. "Mysticism Through Obedi ence." Contemplative Review, 14 (Fall, 1981), 22-5. A resonant contemplation on the nature of obedience

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as "an attitude, an intention, a way." To understand

the language of mysticism which embodies the Being of the mystical life, one must first understand what

it is to be a mystic. The path of obedient devotion is one of darkness in light, and pain in joy, and is

ultimately positive.

The entire issue of Cross Currents, 31 (1981) explores the theme of "Spirituality in Secularized Society: The Maritain-Merton Symposium", held in

September, 1980. In an impassioned essay Raimundo

Panikkar examines the contemplative mood in modern

times. Quoting from Ramon Llull, he affirms that contemplation reveals the fullness of everything that is. Beatrice Bruteau argues that in contempla tion the "dominus" paradigm of society gives way to

the "amicus" model. The true identity of the Self is thus discovered and expressed as the image of

God ? as "a circumincession of loving creative

energies." Paul F. Knitter recounts how Thomas

Merton overcame the somewhat unconscious dualism of

his Christian viewpoint through dialogue with Bud dhism* Brooke Williams cautions that "although mystical language has traditionally used sexual im

agery to signify union with the Absolute, the ex

perience itself is captive neither to sexuality nor

to language." As a whole the papers affirm the unity between the contemplative experience and a full in^ volvement in the world.

The Winter, 1982 issue of Daedalus ? Religion

?

is the third and last volume of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mysticism is discussed only briefly. Mary Douglas, "The Ef fects of Modernization on Religious Change," notes

that the two prototypes of religious experience, the East Asian and the West, have their typical forms of

mysticism, and that each tradition is inimical to the mystical teachings of the other. Louis Dupre, "Spiritual Life in a Secular Age," includes the

73



Rhineland mystics, Eckhart, and the Cloud of Unknow

ing in his survey, but oversimplifies his sources

when he groups most of the religious experience of

the past under the heading of the "mysticism of nega tion."

Joel Giallanza. "On the Experience of Prayer: A Collection of Texts." Contemplative Review, 14

(Fall, 1981), 10-14. An interesting collection of

quotes and sources concerning the nature of the

personal experience of prayer from a diverse group of spiritual masters, including, among the leading

mystics of several centuries, Catherine of Siena

and Thomas Merton.

William F. Hogan. "The Contemplative Dimension."

Contemplative Review, 15 (Spring, 1982), 35-9. In support of removing the dichotomy between interior life and activity, Hogan defines and discusses con

templation "as a way of life founded on a vision"

that is a stance toward the immanence of spirit in

all of reality. For Hogan, contemplation and serv

ing God in this world go hand in hand.

Ernest Larkin. Silent Presence: Discernment as Process and Problem. Dimension Books, 1981.

Pp. 63. $4.95. After the wholesale rejection of the

mystical tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries, the New Testament and patristic teaching on the role of the spirit is again available as a basis for

studies in discernment. This excellent treatise is a rethinking of discernment in theological terms, with the help of insights from psychology and socio logy. Central to Larkinfs approach is that discern

ment "is to put or keep us in touch with God in the concreteness of life-in-the-world."

John E. Smith. "The Tension Between Direct Ex

perience and Argument in Religion." Religious

Studies, 17 (1981), 487-97. Smith argues that

74



neither direct experience nor rational argument can

stand on its own as proof for the existence of God.

Rather, he believes that "presence" and logical

language can and must be reconciled. He illustrates

his case by tracing what he considers a successful

reconciliation of experience and logic in an essay

by Charles S. Pierce, entitled "A Neglected Argument for the Reality of God."

Robert A. Straus. "The Social-Psychology of

Religious Experience: A Naturalistic Approach.11 Sociological Analysis, 42 (Spring, 1981), 57-67. Straus avers that the sociology of religion must come

to grips with the central mystery of religion ? the transcendental experience. Such religious experi ences present a paradox: though they all are un

mediated encounters with the Absolute, they retain nevertheless details and imagery related to the par ticular personality and situation of the mystic. The sociology of religion deals with these differences, and examined how the subject moves through biograph ical experience towards the episode which is seen as

mystical. Also in this issue, William H. Swatos. "Church

Sect and Cult: Bringing Mysticism Back In." 17-26. Swatos finds that Max Weber's asceticism-mysticism

typology, rather than a ahurch-sect typology, is a

fruitful ground for understanding the emergence of

cultic movements. This article contains a useful

bibliography.

Mary Jo Weaver. "Thomas Merton and Flannery O'Connor: The Urgency of Vision." Religion in Life, 48 (1979), 449-61. O'Connor and Merton were both plagued by the anguish of the world, but not, Weaver holds, in the manner of the existentialist authors whose angst derives from their inability to grasp everything. On the other hand, O'Connor and Merton were more interested in the problem of being grasped by God. They learned the connection between contem

plation and community, and perceived that if, in

75



addition to peace, the mystic experiences union with

God, then the place of the world becomes even more

crucial: The mystic is led back to the community by the logic of love and by the ability (grace) to see the presence of God everywhere.

George Abbott White, ed. Simone Weil; Interpre tations of a Life. Amherst: University of Massachu

setts Press. 1980. Reviewed by Lawrence S. Cunning ham in Cross Currents, 31 (1981). Cunningham points out: "In a bibliographical addendum to this col

lection of essays, George E. White dismisses most

writing on Weil's mysticism as mushy and misplaced. Some of it undoubtedly is, but one hopes that such a lacuna will be filled by further research and coher ent explication. It does not seem an impossible task*" Cunningham cites valid approaches to Weil's

spirituality contained in E. W. F. Tomiin's Simone

Weil (1954), as well as in some fine French studies and American doctoral dissertations which should soon be reaching larger audiences. Cunningham joins White in expressing the great need for a uniform

edition of Weil's works.

The first two issues of The Whittemore Newslet

ter, edited by Prof. A. W. Sadler, Sarah Lawrence

College, have now arrived and more than fulfill the

publication's stated intention of honoring and making known Fr. Allan Griffith Whittemore (1890-1960), the noted Anglican mystic, by publishing seriatim ex cerpts from his Spiritual Journal and letters, along with remembrances of those who knew him. 1/1, in

the spirit of alpha and omega, contains Whittemore's

account of his origins, youth and early struggles, and his mature reflections on his mature years, his

missionary work, and his heading an order of monks.

1/2 presents two moving accounts of his contemplative life and experiences, encompassing the entire range of the via mystlca. Based on these two issues, Fr.

Whittemore's Journal, which is being published post

76



humously at his request, bears witness to his parti

cipation in the continuum of Christian mysticism which extends from the earliest Christian era to our

own age. Prof. Sadler is to be commended for publish

ing this extraordinary mystical work, which is strong ly recommended to all of our readers.

East-West Dialogue:

Diana M. Law. "Flight or Dialog?" The Eastern

Buddhist, N.S. 12 (1979), 150-2. Law cites Toynbee's view that future historians, looking back on our age, will probably not be concerned with wars and ideol

ogies but with "what happened when for the first time Christianity and Buddhism began to penetrate each

other deeply." Law finds that some book reviews of

William Johnston's The Inner Eye of Love miss an es

sential element in this dialogue ? readiness to

listen attentively to each other. Since we do not

yet have comparative mystical treatises to facilitate

this listening, she finds Johnston's work is valu

able as an introductory comparative mystical treatise, and holds that he should not be blamed for not doing more than this.

Henri Le Saux, Swami Abhishiktananda. Le Pas seur entre deux rives, ed. M. M. Davy. Paris: Cerfs, 1981. This work in the T?moins spirituels d'au jourd'hui series, is the Diary of Henry Le Saux

(1910-1973), a Benedictine at the Abbey of Kergonan, who went to India as a missionary in 1948. There, with Fr. Jules Monchanin, he founded the Ashram of

Shantivanam, and became deeply immersed in Indian

metaphysics. He became a wandering monk (sanyasi), and lived in caves, especially those in Mt. Aruna

chala, where he preached retreats. Owing to his fas

cination with the mystery of advalta (non-duality), he gradually came to question his own Christian faith and the mystery of the Trinity, but emerged from this

spiritual trial more deeply Christian. His Diary,

77



therefore, is a record of his spiritual experiences of the Self and illumination.

Two articles in Christianity Today, 33 (1981) treat of the East-West interchange. J. Clement Vas,

"Yoga and Christian Spirituality," 150-8, draws par allels between yoga practices and Christian spiritual tradition. Paul J. Philibert, "Zen Spirit in Chris

tian Contemplation," 159-71, describes gradations of

the significance of the word. The third step is a

mystical encounter with reality through the media

tion of the word, followed by the word-God, which

determines the meaning of existence.

Robert Aitken. "The Cloud of Unknowing and the Mumonkan; Christian and Buddhist Meditation Methods."

and Masaaki Honda, "The Cloud of Unknowing and the

Logic of Not-Two," in Christian-Buddhist Studies, 1

(1981), 87-91 and 94-6 respectively. Both studies explore the apophatic mysticism of the Cloud and Mahay?na Buddhism. Aitken examines 9 points of inter

change in m?dit?tional procedure, and concludes: "It may be asked why, if the Cloud so closely paral lels the way of Zen, earnest Catholics should seek

support from something foreign. I think the reason lies in the lack of teachers in contemporary Cathol icism. ... It seems also that those Catholics who are attracted to Zen Buddhism find its unified ex pression of the spiritual and the phenomenal appeal

ing." Honda investigates the logical structure of "neither one, nor two" in the Cloud, and finds that "God and the self seem most properly to be in the re

lationship of not-one, not-two, the colncidentia op

positorum: fone, but not identical1, ?different, but

not separate'." Roger Corless, who provided an edi torial introduction to these two studies, notes: "A point not developed ... is the distinction be tween the Cloud of Forgetting and the Cloud of Un

knowing. Corless suggests that this two-fold nega tion is perhaps comparable to the negative ascesis

78



of TherSvada ? . ? and Hinayana and the positive ascesis of S?nyavada." Corless also reports that

Aitken has become more interested in the content

rather than the method of meditation, and in this regard feels that Meister Eckhart would provide more

of a basis than the Cloud author.

Women and Mysticism:

Gail Ramshaw Schmidt. "De Dlvlnis Wominlbus:

The Gender of God." Worship. 56 (1982), 117-31. Naming God is related both to the metaphors of Christian imagery and to the reasoned discourse of

systematic theologians. Christian poets and mystics have a rare ability to talk to and of God in unique ways but their vision is a private one. Dionysius' via negativa and Julian of Norwich's praise of Jesus as Mother have had little place in public prayer. In order to rid the naming of God of dominant male

overtones, Schmidt feels it is necessary to achieve a renewed perception of God, and also that analogical

language about God needs to be explicated with theo

logical sensitivity.

Joan Chamberlain Engelsman. The Feminine Dimen

sion of the Divine. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979. A very lucid historical analysis of the repres sion of the female archetype and of its return into modern consciousness. Engelsman begins with a care

ful definition of the female archetype as it appears in the psychology of Jung, Neumann, and Freud. She

then proceeds to analyze the Hellenistic goddesses Demeter and Isis, Sophia, the figure of Wisdom in Hellenistic Judaism, and Mary in the Christian tra

dition.

79



English Mystics:

The following articles are found in Kart?user

mystik und -Mystiker, Band 2, Analecta Cartusiana

55, Salzburg, 1981, which contains part of the proceedings of the Third International Congress on

Carthusian History and Spirituality, held in September, 1981:

1) A. I. Doyle. "Carthusian Participation in

the Movement of Works of Richard Rolle between England and Other Parts of Europe in the 14th and 15th Cen turies." 109-20. Dr. Doyle's article evinces his usual meticulous scholarship and wide knowledge of

medieval manuscripts, their content, and dissemination

patterns. Enlarging on the findings of Hope Emily Allen (Writings Attributed to Richard Rolle Hermit of Hampole and Materials for his Biography) and Michael Sargent ("The Transmission of the English Carthusians of Some Late Medieval Spiritual Writings," and "Contemporary Criticism of Richard Rolle" ? See

FCEMN, III/3, 16-17 and VII/4, 196), Doyle assesses the circulation of Rolle*s works under Carthusian

sponsorship, shares Sargent's caution regarding the derivation of Rolle's Latin writings in Continental

copies, and points to the necessity of considering comparative dating, localization, and textual affili ations before estimating Carthusian interest and in

fluence.

2) James Hogg. "The Scola Amorls Languid! of

Richard Methley of Mount Grace Charterhouse," 138-65. A transcription of the text contained in Trinity College Cambridge MS. 0.2.56. [Ed. Note: Dr. Hogg is working on a critical edition of all of Methley's canon.]

3) Michael Sargent. "The Self-Verification of

Visionary Phenomena: Richard Methley's Experimentum

80



yerltatis," 121-37? Sargent analyzes Methley's con cern with the discretion of spirits and stirrings, whereby "the individual contemplative, his spiritual advisors and religious superiors, and the world at

large could verify the truth or falsehood of angelic apparitions, voices and prophecies?"and appends a

transcription of the text of the work contained in

London, Public Record Office MS. SP 1/239?

J. P. H. Clark. Julian of Norwich and the

Monastic Tradition. Pamphlet of the Catholic League, available from the Church Literature Assn., Faith

House, 7 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QN. An insight ful treatment of Julian both as a true contemplative, steeped in the monastic tradition, and as a creative

theologian, stressing her importance for today's world.

Continental Mystics:

Roger Ellis. "The Visionary Universe of St.

Bridget of Sweden.'1 Proceedings of the 1981 I.R.I.S.

Colloquium, Lyon, 1982, 77-96. A discussion of the

Epistola Solitaril of Alphonse of Jaen, as a guide to his editing of Bk. IV, Cap. 52 of the Liber Celestis, from the dual focus established by Al

phonse of the theoretical, consisting of Biblical and patristic teaching on visions, and the practical, represented by the particular record of St. Bridget's experiences in the Liber. Ellis also makes compara tive references to the writings of the Middle English mystics, especially Julian of Norwich.

Margaret R. Miles. "The Mystical Method of

Meister Eckhart." Studia Mystica, 4 (Winter, 1981), 57-69. Miles clarifies what she considers only ap

parent contradictions in Meister Eckhart1s thought, and remaps what she calls the whole process of his "method of mystical apprehension of God and self."

81



Francis Ruello* "Bulletin d'Histoire des Idees

Medievales." Recherches de Science Religieuse (1980), 111-56. Two books which discuss the mysticism of

Eckhart can profitably be studied in conjunction with each other: Barbara Paes de Mottoni. Il Platonismo

medioevale (Torino, 1979), and Jeanne Ancelet

Hustache, ed. and trans. Maitre Eckhart, Sermons

(Paris, 1979). Jean Dechanet's Guillaume de Saint

Thierry, aux sources d'une pens?e. Theologie histor

ique, no. 59 (Paris, 1978)supplements in some ways Mottoni's study of the influence of Platonism and

Neo-Platonism in the West.

Thomas Kane. "Gentleness in John of the Cross," Part II. Contemplative Review, 15 (Spring, 1982), 20-24. Continuing his discussion of the Dark Night and Ascent of John of the Cross [v. FCEMN, VIII/1, 37], Kane focusses on the moment of confluence be tween "the passive night of sense" and "the active

night of spirit." For Kane, this confluence occurs when a person, moving toward God, chooses the gentle ness of love over the desire to control.

Otilio Rodriguez. "Saint Teresa and Death" and Camille Anne Campbell. "Creation-Centered Carmelites: Teresa end John", Spiritual Life, 28

(1982), 2-14 and 15-25 respectively. Rodriguez discusses St. Teresa's early brushes with death, the death of her relatives and friends, and her at tude toward death as union with God. He divides her life into three periods: the Christian, the Asceti

cal, and the Mystical. Campbell examines the empha sis on imagery of creative union with God in Teresa

and John. She also considers Meister Eckhart's "fourfold path" in the light of a movement from cre

ation through detachment to "love, justice, and com

passion. This path is not linear but rather more like "interconnected spirals or as concentric rings."

82



Dissertations:

Gerald Claud Heard. "The Mystical and the Ethical." Ph.D. Diss. Univ. of Tennessee, 1979. This study undertakes to determine the meaning and

relationship of mystical and ethical experiences to the Divine. From a study of philosophers and other

writers, the author takes the position that the mysti cal and the ethical are two kinds of experiences

through which a person acquires divine love. It

is possible that either of these experiences may serve as a basis for the other.

Ute Stargardt. "The Influence of Dorothea Von

Montau on the Mysticism of Margery Kempe." Ph.D.

Diss. University of Tennessee, 1981. This investigation examines the influence of

Dorothea von Montau, the Patroness of Prussia and the Teutonic Knights, on the mysticism of Margery Kempe.

Dorothea was born near Danzig in Prussia in 1347, married in 1363, and after her husband's death in 1391, moved to Marienwerder, where she lived as

Prussia's first anchoress until her death in 1394. To secure her speedy canonization, her confessor, the Dominican canon Johannes von Marienwerder, be tween 1395 and 1400, wrote a series of Latin accounts of Dorothea's life, visions, and revelations for the

papal legates in charge of the canonization inquiry. For the local populace and the Teutonic Knights, he

prepared a vernacular spiritual biography, which in

1492 furnished the text for the first book to be printed in Prussia.

The life and spiritual career of Margery Kempe of Lynn, as they are described in The Book of Margery

Kempe, bear such a striking resemblance to the life

of Dorothea, as it is recorded in Marienwerder's

vernacular biography Des Leben der zeligen frawen Doroth?e clewsenerynne in der thumkyrchen czu Marlen

werdlr des landes czu Prewszen, as to raise the

83



question of whether Margery knew about Dorothea and

consciously or unconsciously patterned her own mysti cism on Dorothea's example.

The focus of this study, a close textual analysis of both The Book of Margery Kempe and Dorothea's

Leben, establishes the probability of Dorothea's hav

ing served as an important model and inspiration for

Margery Kempe, and of Johannes Marienwerder's bio

graphy having influenced the pattern and content of Margery's own spiritual autobiography. The close mer

cantile ties which Lynn and Danzig enjoyed under the auspices of the Hanseatic League, Margery's lifelong association with Germans and her abiding interest in German affairs, and her visit to Danzig in her later

years indicate the channels through which Dorothea's influence could have reached Margery.

This investigation concludes that Margery was

probably familiar both with Marienwerder's popular vernacular biography and with the many accounts of Dorothea's miracles which circulated in Danzig and

throughout Prussia after her death. It also con cludes that the style and content of The Book of

Margery Kempe, which differ so greatly from those of the writings of other English mystics, are in debted to the accounts of continental female mystics and especially to Marienwerder's biography of Dorothea von Montau.

Patricia Mary Vinje. "An Understanding of Love According to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich." Ph.D. Diss. Marquette Univ. 1981.

This dissertation investigates Julian of Norwich's Book of Showings, a text based on a series of pri vate revelations which she received in May, 1373f and focusses on the theme of love which is central to the work. The process of understanding Julian's doctrine of love is not as easy as it may seem. Part of the

difficulty arises from the contrast between Julian's

theological methodology and contemporary scholarly procedures. Julian's method of teaching springs from an apparently simple use of metaphor and imagery,

84



but her deceptive simplicity is one of the most difficult features to surmount in assessing her Book.

In order to understand Julian's methodology and terminology, this study investigates the histori cal and religious settings that shaped Julian's in

tellectual and spiritual growth, and the educational resources of her period, It also demonstrates the

way medieval authors focussed on key words and images to develop their doctrine, and explains the process of understanding Julian's doctrine necessitates an

in-depth exploration of her words and images.

Accordingly, this dissertation bears the herme

neutical responsibility of trying to understand the creative imagination that uses images and allegories to talk about the indescribable relationship between humanity and divinity. In addition to studying the themes of divine homeliness, courtesy and compassion, it looks at the allegory of the Lord and the Servant, the images of the City of God, and the Motherhood of Jesus. By means of historical exposition and textual

analysis, it becomes evident that Julian adapted the

methodology of the medieval scriptural scholars, and

developed an original style of lectio divina in the course of recording her mystical visions.

Once Julian's selection of words and imagery are placed within the framework of the traditional

"senses of scripture," it is easier to understand how

her colorful description of God's homeliness and her

detailed elaboration of the divine motherhood motif are creative demonstrations^ of a development of a

precise, Christian doctrine of love.

85



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