The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works (Classic, Modern, Penguin)
by Anonymous
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Book Summary Information
Author: AnonymousTranslator: A. C. Spearing
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-01-29
ISBN: 0140447628
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works (Classic, Modern, Penguin)
Book Review: A brilliant work of Christian mysticism
Summary: 5 Stars
The Cloud of Unknowing, along with the other works by this humble contemplative, is certainly one of my favourite works in contemplative Christian mysticism, and in itself is also a lovely work of medieval English literature.
The writer of the 'Cloud' also wrote several other works, including a translation of Dionysius the Aeropagite's 'Mystical Theology' and other works written for a monk starting his novitiate at the writer's monastary. The writer was probably a Carthusian monk, and also the spiritual director (or perhaps even the abbot) of a Cathusian monastary in medieval England.
The writer had a standard though thorough education and he was influenced by St Thomas Aquinas, Richard of St Victor, and also by Dionysius the Aeropagite. The writer is an enthusiastic advocate of what is now called the 'via negativa' or the form of theology or mystical contemplation which emphasis the unknowability and 'darkness' of God.
The writer counsels his 'spiritual friend in God' to discard any images he has of God, as well as consoling visions and feelings. The writer urges his student to put a 'cloud of forgetting' between himself and God, and between all creatures and God. When asked 'What is God' the writer replies 'I don't know' but carefully emphasis while God's essence cannot possibly be known by the human mind, God can be understood and grasped by a 'sharp dart of love' aimed at God.
The rest of the writer's works unfold outlining and expanding on these themes, in a brilliantly lucid fashion which avoids any ornaments of rhetoric, condescending spiritual pride, and unneccessary displays of cleverness and erudition. The Cloud author in fact attacks such people quite strongly, saying they have more in common with the devil than with God, merely learning in order to puff themselves up while completely forgetting their own creator and his amazing gifts.
I think the Cloud author is one of the finest mystics in the Christian tradition and all Christians can read this work with enjoyment, and without fear that the mystical is connected with weird ideas of the occult or of pantheistic union with God. The author takes great pains to attack those who indulge in occult speculations (as perhaps theosophists might today) or in outbursts of hysterics or unbalanced emotion, like Margary Kempe and many other English mystics (and also others in Europe also) sometimes indulged in. As Thomas Merton wisely said, the mystical path is a calling for all Christians but also an extremely dangerous one; the journey into our interior can easily lead us astray, either by our own self-deceptions, or else through those of the devil. The author is also careful to emphasize our union with God (unlike Eckhart or Quietists like Margaret Porete) is not one of substance but of loving wills and natures, and there is no fusion of the divine which involves the total and final annihalation of our own being.
The tradition the Cloud author follows is firmly rooted in the via negativa. While this approach and also mysticism generally has come under severe criticism from many quarters recently, I think the Cloud author is certainly one of the most sober and 'safe' mystics in the Christian tradition, and avoids many of the excesses other mystics have fallen into.
While some of what the Cloud author says will no doubt have similarities to other religions like Buddhism (especially in meditation), it should be emphasized the Cloud author is firmly Christian in his approach and frequently mentions the necessity of following Christ and also other things like the liturgy and sacraments. He also frequently refers back to the Bible, and while his biblical references are not as common as those of John of the Cross, 'Biblical' Christians will find this author is careful to keep his ideas within Christian bounds, and to exclude any elements which are clearly foreign to the Christian tradition. He certainly tones down or ignores for example many of the Neo-Platonic spiritual elements which exist in the system of Denys the Aeropagite.
So far as contemplation goes, this little work is a beautiful clear gem, to be treasured as well as admired across the ages. Certainly when I read this I often feel like the Cloud author is also talking to me, and whenever a writer can do this, you know you have a great writer in your hands.
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