A SEQUEL 
 
 TO 
 
 MANY VOICES* 
 
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME. 
 
 MANY VOICES. 
 
 A Volume of Extracts from the Religious Writers of 
 Christendom, from the First to the Sixteenth Century, 
 with Biographical Sketches. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 5^. 
 
 In preparation. 
 
 FRENCH JANSENISTS. 
 
 With Extracts from their Writings. 
 
SPANISH MYSTICS 
 
 A SEQUEL TO ^ MANY VOICES' 
 
 BY THE SAME WRITER 
 
 ' If any man hear My voice, and open the door, 
 
 I will come in to him ' 
 
 jRev. iii. 20 
 
 LONDON 
 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO., i PATERNOSTER SQUARl- 
 
 1886 
 

 ! 
 
 ' Blessed are the ears which vibrate to the pulses of 
 the Divine Whisper '—Thomas a Kempis 
 
 These have sweet life in different degrees, 
 By feeling more or less the Eternal Breath ' 
 
 Dante, Paradise (Canto IV,) 
 
 {The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved) 
 
The following extracts have been selected from the works 
 of Spanish Mystics of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies, whose writings are perhaps less known to the English 
 reader than the works of our own religious writers of the 
 same period. 
 
 • Tres-pauvre de substance, je ne me croyais propre 
 qu'aux travaux de compilation.' 
 
 250310 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 Mysticism has been termed ' the natural produce of the 
 soil of Spain.' ^ It breathes not only in her theology, but 
 in her Hterature and in her fine arts. 
 
 Sharp contrasts of climate, tastes, and habits are to be 
 found in the different provinces of the Iberian Peninsula, 
 but to the student of Spanish history one prevailing element 
 pervades the whole and seems to unite the opposing forces. ^ 
 It is this religious sentiment which is ever^nvhere predomi- 
 nant, and which has ever formed an integral part of the 
 national character. 
 
 In the early annals of Spain the nation was not exempt 
 from the taint of Arianism ; but when, in the sixth 
 century, under her Gothic king, Recared, she renounced 
 its errors and accepted the orthodox faith preached by 
 Leander and Isidore, ever}- power was thenceforth devoted 
 to the maintenance of that Catholic faith with which her 
 greatness became indissolubly united. The wars which 
 she waged were in defence of orthodoxy. To defend her 
 
 • See History of Spanish Literature (Ticknor). 
 - See Les Mystiques espagnols (Paul Rousselot). 
 
 *A4 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 religion was to defend herself. The faith which she upheld 
 enabled her to reconquer her soil from the infidel, and 
 under the sacred banner of the Cross she drove forth both 
 the Moor and the Jew. It followed almost of necessity 
 that intolerance became a Christian virtue in the eyes of 
 the Spaniard. In vain had Isidore, the saintly Archbishop 
 of Seville, denounced the use of force as contrary to the 
 spirit of Christianity ; the demon of persecution was let 
 loose in the land, and stalked abroad seeking whom to 
 devour. 
 
 The Jews were the first victims to this religious zeal * 
 but in the eighth century the Gothic rule came to an end. 
 The Arabs entered Spain from the south ; Roderic, the last 
 of the Gothic kings, vanquished at the battle of Guadalete, 
 fled from the scene of his disaster to perish ignobly in the 
 waters of the Guadalquivir. ^ 
 
 The persecuted Jews took part with the Moslems. 
 Through their help Granada, Cordova, and Toledo (the 
 royal city) fell into the hands of the invaders, and those 
 Christians who would not submit to the yoke of the 
 Moslem took refuge in the mountains and fastnesses of the 
 northern provinces. ^ But, though forced to retreat before 
 the intruding Moors, these Christian Spaniards never sub- 
 mitted to their infidel foes. Pent up in the mountains of 
 the Pyrenees, they looked back with longing gaze on the 
 vineyards and olive gardens of which they had been 
 despoiled. Led on by their priests, and with the name of 
 St. lago, the patron saint of Spain, as their war-cry, they 
 
 ' See Decline and Fall (Gibbon). 
 
 "^ Some even made their way to Ireland, and Galway still bears 
 testimony to this fact. See Ferdinand and Isabella (Prescott). 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 made constant incursions into the conquered provinces, so 
 that in the succeeding century they had won back a con- 
 siderable portion of Castile. Toledo was recovered in 
 1085, and the Moors were thrust back into the southern 
 provinces. Jews and Moslems were now alike odious to 
 the Spaniard, and the renowned Cid, the national hero of 
 the eleventh century, is still enshrined in the hearts of his 
 countrymen not only as the defender of the faith, but as 
 the despoiler of the Jew. Granada — the last stronghold of 
 the Moors — was captured in 1492 ; but with this landmark 
 in Spanish history is associated the spread of that terrible 
 instrument of intolerance, the Spanish Inquisition. It had 
 already existed for two centuries in Aragon and Catalonia ; 
 in 1478 it had been admitted into Castile ; ^ it was now 
 extended by Sixtus IV. to the fair lands of the South. 
 Granada, Valencia, and all the Moorish provinces were 
 placed under its jurisdiction at the request of Isabella—' as 
 a pious gift to her people ' — and every mosque was destroyed 
 or converted into a Christian church. 
 
 From early ages the Church had been accepted in Spain 
 as the governing power of the State. Superior in learning 
 and in the art of government, she held both kings and 
 nobles under her sway. Submission to her dictates was a 
 law engraven on the hearts of all devout Spaniards, and the 
 establishment of the Inquisition had increased her power 
 tenfold. The discovery of the new world by Columbus, 
 which quickly followed the conquest of Granada, gave 
 untold wealth to Spain, but the influx of gold deteriorated 
 the national character. Rapacity and inhumanity marked 
 
 ' It was instituted by Gregory IX. in 1232. See British and 
 Foreign Review^ No. 15, 1 839. 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Spanish conquests, and left an indehble stain on the 
 nation. 
 
 After the death of Cardinal Mendoza in 1494, Ximenes, 
 the ascetic Franciscan monk, became Primate and Prime 
 Minister of Spain, and on the demise of Ferdinand the 
 Catholic, he was named Regent of Castile and Aragon 
 during the short minority of Ferdinand's grandson, the 
 future Emperor Charles V. 
 
 Rank vices and abuses had sprung up in the Church, 
 and Ximenes, whilst with the one hand he fought the 
 Barbary Moors, with the other strove to check the growing 
 immorality of the monastic orders. He instituted rigorous 
 reforms among the Franciscans, of which order he was 
 Provincial, and expelled from the monasteries the refractory 
 monks who refused to turn from their evil w^ays.^ The 
 ignorance of the clergy was another evil with which Ximenes 
 had to cope, and to him Spain owes the first impulse given 
 in this century to sacred learning. He revived the study 
 of Greek and Hebrew, long neglected in her schools, and 
 to his munificence his countrymen are indebted for the 
 University of Alcala, built at his expense and richly endowed 
 with valuable manuscripts. 
 
 He especially encouraged Biblical study, and from Alcala 
 issued forth in 15 14 the famous Polyglot Bible, known as 
 the Complutensium.- The invention of printing in the 
 preceding century had opened the flood-gates of know- 
 ledge : hidden treasures were now revealed to the world, 
 and the intellectual movement which followed spread with 
 
 ' '^&^ Cloister Life of Charles V. (Stirling). 
 
 "^ The Complutensium was printed in 1514, but the publication was 
 delayed till 1522. It was designed after the Hexapla of Origen. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 rapid strides throughout Europe. But whilst in other lands 
 mental vigour was fast developing, in Spain its progress was 
 stayed by the strong arm of the Inquisition. Lutheran 
 tracts had made their way into the Peninsula, and the 
 minds of men were astir. But the whole power of the State 
 and of the Holy Office was at once exerted to crush the 
 seeds of ' heresy ' before they could take root in Spanish 
 soil. 
 
 Men of learning were especially regarded with jealousy 
 and suspicion. Intellectual freedom was trampled under 
 foot. Stringent orders were given to search out all heretical 
 books ; no works were suffered to be pubhshed or imported 
 without the sanction of the Holy Office ; and the penalty of 
 death was decreed against those who should disseminate 
 ' the new doctrines.' 
 
 ' Cut out this root of evil,' had been the counsel of 
 Charles V. a few months before his death at Yuste in 1558, 
 and the fires and dungeons of the Inquisition did the work 
 effectually.^ Lutheranism was extinguished in Catholic 
 Spain, but with it had perished some of the best and wisest 
 of the land, and all freedom of thought Spanish literature 
 thus received its death-blov\-, whilst that of other nations 
 was acquiring fresh vitality. In the words of a great 
 French writer, ' Not genius, but hberty, was wanting in 
 Spain.' - 
 
 The need of reform in the Church had long been felt in 
 the Peninsula. From many a lowly cell prayers had been 
 breathed forth for a spiritual and moral renovation. Lay- 
 men and ecclesiastics had alike rebuked with voice and 
 
 ' See Cloister Life of Charles V. (Stirling). 
 2 M. R. Saint-Hilaire. 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 pen the immorality which prevailed in the various orders of 
 the Church.^ Here and there men had arisen and esta- 
 blished partial reforms in the orders to which they belonged, 
 but the evil was not cast out. The demoralised state of 
 the Spanish clergy, both regular and secular, was a national 
 disgrace. The education of the young was committed to 
 the monastic orders, but the cloister had lost its purity. 
 The evil contracted within the walls of the convent spread 
 but too often to the family, and parents sighed over the 
 pernicious influence to which their children were exposed, 
 but none devised a remedy.^ 
 
 - Then arose Teresa of Avila — high-souled, impassioned, 
 heroic — who beheved that Divine love in the heart could 
 alone stem the tide of sin, and by her — one of the leading 
 spirits of her country in the sixteenth century — was accom- 
 plished a revival of religion and virtue in the. Spanish 
 Church. Her appearance marked a new spiritual epoch. 
 Like Deborah of old, she raised a cry which awoke the 
 nation from its death-like slumber. The reform of the 
 Catholic Church through the reform of the cloister was the 
 great end ever before her, and the special work which 
 Teresa undertook was the reform of the CarmeHte Order, to 
 which she herself belonged. The fervour of her piety and 
 the devotion ot her life soon kindled a flame which spread 
 from heart to heart. She collected together the forces 
 which were to fight the battle of the Lord — men who had 
 the witness of the Spirit within themselves, and whose 
 weapons were not carnal, but mighty through God to the 
 
 * See Cloister' Life of Charles V. 
 
 - See OEjivres trh-completes de Ste. Therese, &c. (Abbe Migne). 
 
INTRO D UCTION. xiii 
 
 pulling down of strongholds. In the power of a life filled 
 and possessed by the Spirit of God her missionaries went 
 forth to bring hght to lands where there was only darkness, 
 and to proclaim the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel ot 
 Christ to souls degraded and enslaved by sin. But this 
 was not all. Within the walls of the cloister, where a moral 
 plague had lately infected the whole atmosphere, a mighty 
 change was wrought. Purity of conventual hfe was restored, 
 and in those sanctuaries where profane talk and secular 
 amusements had filled up the greater portion of the daily 
 life, the voice of prayer now ascended continually for the 
 spiritual and moral reform of the Church and the world. 
 
 This was the mission accomplished by Teresa. In her, 
 Spanish Mysticism found its most ardent exponent. She 
 arrested the spreading evil of formalism in religion by 
 teaching her followers to seek God within, in that hidden 
 sanctuary where the soul finds its Divine Lord and enters 
 into spiritual contact and union with Him. 
 
 In an age when words were weighed and sifted, and 
 all liberty of speech was repressed, this secret life — called 
 Mysticism — opened to men a safe and silent retreat. In 
 that inner chamber of the soul, where ' they might turn the 
 key, and none could enter,' they were still free. They were 
 able — ' unheard by all but angel ears ' — to pour forth their 
 pent-up thoughts and feelings to that Divine Lord whose 
 living personal Presence was to them a reality ; and as earth 
 receded they were given ecstatic moments, when heaven 
 opened to their gaze and they were admitted to the Beatific 
 Vision. 
 
 As our minds dwell on these enraptured saints and 
 
 *A7 
 
xiv INTRODUCTJOA. 
 
 Mystics, we cannot but feel that there are heights and 
 depths in the spiritual life which confound the wisdom of 
 the wise and set at nought the understanding of the prudent. 
 They saw what many have desired to see and have not 
 seen, and heard what many have desired to hear and have 
 not heard ; and we, seeing as yet but through a glass 
 darkly, must be content to wait and watch in meekness and 
 patience till for us also ' the day break and the shadows 
 flee away.' 
 
 xR 
 
 March \i 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. San Pedro de Alcantara i 
 
 ^ 2. Juan de Avila 5 
 
 jL 3. Luis de Granada .»^ . . . , . . .22 
 ^4. Santa Teresa de Jesus de Avila y^ . . . . 34 
 
 5. Diego de Estella S7 
 
 ^ 6. Juan de los Angelos - 91 
 
 V 7, Luis Ponce de Leon . K 92 
 
 \ 8. Pedro Malan de Chaide loi 
 
 ; 'C'g. St. Juan de la Cruz . .^ 104 
 
 10. Juan Falconi 113 
 
 11. Miguel de MoLiNOs 114 
 
SPANISH MYSTICS 
 
 SAN PEDRO BE ALCANTARA. 
 
 B. 1499. D. 1562. 
 
 ' Let him who desires to advance on the road to virtue not 
 start without the spur of devotion ; for otherwise he will 
 altogether fail to make his stumbling, ill-conditioned beast 
 hold up.' 
 
 'It is as necessary to regulate the heart before prayer 
 and meditation as to tune the guitar before playing it.' 
 
 ' In prayer the soul renews its youth and regains its 
 freshness.' 
 
 ' Beware of spending so much time in devotional reading 
 as thereby to hinder devout meditation, this last being a 
 more fruitful exercise, inasmuch as those things on which 
 we attentively reflect sink deeper and produce greater 
 results.' 
 
 ' In meditation let the person rouse himself from things 
 temporal, and let him collect himself within himself— \\\dX is 
 to say, within the very centre of his soul, where lies im- 
 pressed the image of God. Here let him hearken to the 
 voice of God as though speaking to him from on high, yet 
 present in his soul, and as though there were no other in the 
 world save God and himself 
 
2 ' SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 * In meditation we must act like a wise gardener who, 
 when he watereth a plot of ground, waiteth a while after the 
 first sprinkling of water until it be soaked in, and then 
 sprinkleth again, so that the earth may be thoroughly wet 
 and thus become more fruitful' 
 
 ' We must use special caution in speaking to others of 
 those hidden consolations with which Almighty God hath 
 been pleased to refresh our souls. Even as that mellifluous 
 doctor — St. Bernard — was wont to advise everyone to have 
 these words in large letters written in his room, " My secret 
 
 Pedro de Alcantara was so named from his birthplace, 
 the ancient town of Alcantara, in the province of Estrema- 
 dura. Once a frontier stronghold of the great military 
 order of Alcantara, it is now desolate and deserted. Ruined 
 walls and towers and what was once a stately convent still 
 crown the craggy height overlooking the Tagus, but with the 
 old Benedictine knights its glory has departed. 
 
 The father of Pedro was governor of Murcia in the reign 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella the CathoHc, and both he and 
 his wife being devout persons, they trained up their son 
 from early years in the fear of God. Pedro studied for 
 some time at Salamanca, but at fourteen he returned to his 
 home, and the divine germ implanted in his soul in child- 
 hood sprang up into vigorous life. The boy seemed to be 
 filled with the love of God, and from that time forth he 
 renounced the distinction which the world held forth to 
 him and applied his whole mind to the attainment of 
 heavenly wisdom. He longed for retirement and total 
 
 seclusion, so that 
 
 . . . separate from the world, his breast 
 Might duly take and strongly keep 
 The print of Heaven.^ 
 
 * Christian Year (13th Sunday after Trinity). 
 
SAN PEDRO DE ALCANTARA. 3 
 
 Accordingly, at the early age of sixteen he entered the 
 lonely Franciscan convent of Manjarez, placed amidst the 
 rugged peaks which rise between Castile and Portugal. There 
 he practised the severest austerities. He restricted his sleep 
 to two hours ; he passed whole days without food. Like 
 the hermits of the Thebaid, he sought to bring his body 
 into complete subjection to the spirit. To lead a life of 
 ceaseless communion with the Unseen, to be for ever con- 
 sciously enfolded within the Divine Presence — this was his 
 one desire. And in that rocky solitude he waited and 
 watched ; he prayed and fasted till the poor earthly frame 
 of the young devotee grew weak and emaciated, whilst the 
 inner man became luminous with the hght of God's counte- 
 nance.^ 
 
 When he made his profession, he received from his 
 superior the order to go forth and preach. Anointed with 
 spiritual unction, and inspired by Divine love, the young 
 preacher's sermons powerfully affected his hearers, and 
 through his fervour and eloquence many were led to forsake 
 an evil course and hve a godly life. At the age of twenty- 
 three he was removed from the convent of Manjarez, and 
 was made superior of his order at Badajoz. It was in the 
 convent of Bellaviz, near Badajoz, after passing long hours 
 in contemplation, that he first received those spiritual mani- 
 festations, those revelations of the Lord, which have given 
 him a place among Spanish Mystics. His intense love of 
 seclusion made him request leave to retire to a distant con- 
 vent at Lapa, near Soriana, where he wTOte his book on 
 Prayer, named 'The Golden Book.' 
 
 He was deeply versed in Holy Scripture, searching its 
 pages diligently and with extreme reverence. His rule vras 
 
 * Pedro is said by his contemporaries to have been so withered and 
 feeble in appearance that he could scarcely drag himself along. 
 
 L2 
 
4 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 to spend three hours of each day in prayer and meditation, 
 and he was often found rapt in ecstasy, holding blessed 
 communion with his Lord. 
 
 The solicitations of John III. of Portugal induced him 
 for a while to leave his retreat and become the king's spiri- 
 tual director, but he escaped as soon as possible from a post 
 of honour coveted by so many but distasteful to himself, 
 and returned to Spain, where he was appointed Provincial 
 of his order in Estremadura. He saw with sorrow that all 
 religious enthusiasm had died out among his brethren ; that 
 cold formalism had taken its place, lying like a dead weight 
 on the souls of men ; that they had forsaken the rules of 
 their founder, and had fallen into habits of ease and luxury 
 opposed to the primitive discipline. In 1 5 5 5 Pedro resolved 
 to commence the work of reform. He drew up a plan 
 which should restore the strict Franciscan rule, and having 
 obtained the sanction of Pope Paul IV. and the consent of 
 his order, he was able to carry out his great scheme, and 
 found the new order of Franciscan friars, called Bare-footed, 
 who should follow closely in the footprints of St. Francis, 
 espousing poverty, and leading lives of the severest self- 
 denial. 
 
 When the Emperor Charles V. was established at Yuste, 
 he desired to make Pedro de Alcantara his confessor ; but 
 the holy man begged to be left undisturbed in the devotional 
 life which he had adopted. The reform which he instituted 
 among the Franciscans suggested to Teresa of Avila the 
 course which she afterwards adopted with the Carmelites. 
 By her he was ever entitled ' that blessed friar.' She sought 
 his counsel and guidance in her spiritual difficulties, and 
 derived more comfort from him than from any other of her 
 directors. It was to Teresa that Pedro de Alcantara wrote, 
 < I hold them to be poor in spirit who are broken in will.' 
 
SAN PEDRO DE ALCANTARA. 5 
 
 He also told her that one of the greatest trials was the con- 
 tradiction of good people, and though she had borne much, 
 yet more trouble was in reserve for her.' 
 
 In the record of her own life, St. Teresa recounts some 
 of the visions and ecstasies of this holy man, and his super- 
 natural appearance to her when he was at the point of 
 death. 1 
 
 Pedro died in the convent of Mount Areno. It is said 
 that the hour of his death was revealed to him, so that he 
 was able to announce it to those around him. 
 
 He received the Holy Sacraments of the Church, and 
 breathed his last devoutly kneeling, and repeating with holy 
 joy the words of the Psalmist : 
 
 ' I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the 
 house of the Lord.' ^ 
 
 He was canonised by Clement IX. 1669. 
 
 JUAN DE A VILA. 
 
 B. 1500. D. 1569. 
 
 ' Love touches the heart far more than benefits, because 
 to do good to others is only giving something of what we 
 possess, whereas in loving we give ourselves' 
 
 'Live not in such blindness as to measure the large 
 
 * Pedro de Alcantara is said not only to have appeared, but to have 
 addressed these words to her : ' O felix pcenitentia, quce tantam mihi 
 promeruit gloriam.' 
 
 - Teresa, in her Life, declares that ' she received even more help and 
 consolation from his ministrations after his entrance into the Heavenly 
 City than when he was on earth.' 
 
6 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 band of God by the niggard rule of your own poor narrow 
 heart.' 
 
 ' Lament your own misery in the sight of His mercy.' 
 
 ' It is wholly impossible for a man to be gathering figs 
 from the hand of God whilst he is sowing thorns with his 
 neighbour.' 
 
 ' Serve not God with a soured heart and drooping wings.' 
 
 ' To be mightily enraged for every little offence which 
 may be offered us is, as it were, to be giving stabs to our 
 own souls.' 
 
 ' What marriage is so unhappy as for a man to be wedded 
 to his own will ? ' 
 
 ' The enemy that men are to overcome, the city w^hich 
 they are to subdue, is their own self-will. Let them place 
 that before them, and against that let them level all 
 their shot. Let them say to it, "Thou art the enemy of 
 God, since thou desirest that which is contrary to Him, 
 and therefore thou art my enemy, for I belong wholly to 
 God."' 
 
 ' The man who is careful to recollect himself and who 
 puts his confidence in God is ofttimes more recollected in 
 streets and public places than he who remains shut up in 
 his cell.' 
 
 ' Woe to that soul which presumes to think that he can 
 approach God in any other way than as a sinner asking 
 mercy. Know you yourself to be wicked, and God M'ill 
 wrap you up warm in the mantle of His goodness.' 
 
 ' Know that the man who of all others is most recom- 
 mended to thy care is thyself. For it will profit thee but 
 
JUAN DE A VILA. 7 
 
 little, though thou shouldest draw all the world out of the 
 mud, if the while thou thyself remainest therein.' ^ 
 
 ' If thou desirest to build a house in thy soul for so 
 mighty a Lord, know thou that not the high, but the humble 
 heart is His habitation. Therefore let thy first care be to 
 dig deep down into the earth of thy littleness till, having 
 freed thyself from all self-esteem, thou comest at last to 
 the firm Rock— to God Himself — upon which Rock, and 
 
 ' This was written by Juan de Avila to Juan de Dios of Granada, 
 the founder of the order of the ' Caridad,' who had been converted by 
 the preaching of Avila. Juan de Dios was born in Portugal in 1490. 
 His parents were very poor, but they were pious, and brought up their 
 child religiously. When old enough he was sent into the fields to tend 
 the sheep, and would often kneel down and pray as he watched the 
 fiock. He grew up and left his home to enlist as a soldier in the army 
 of the Emperor Charles V., and his early thought of God was lost in 
 the strife of the world. Years rolled on, and it was not till he was 
 forty that his conscience awoke from its long torpor. Stung with 
 remorse he resolved to return to his forsaken home in Portugal, and 
 devote the remainder of his days to his parents, and to the service of 
 the poor. He found that his father and mother were dead, and had 
 mourned his loss to the last ; therefore he again wandered forth, and 
 thought to make amends for the past by setting sail for Africa to 
 succour those in slavery. After three years he returned to Spain and 
 settled at Granada. On a certain day, having attended the service of 
 the church, he heard a sermon preached by Juan de Avila, which so 
 profoundly touched him that he burst into tears and cried aloud for 
 mercy as a lost sinner. He was looked upon as mad, and taken to an 
 asylum, from which he was only released through the interference of 
 the great preacher, who perceived that he was not mad, but that his 
 heart had been touched and aroused by the Spirit of God. Avila led 
 him, broken and contrite in spirit, to the Saviour, and peace flowed into 
 Juan's soul. He now hired a small house, and made it a refuge for the 
 sick and destitute. All day long he waited on them, and at night he 
 would go forth and fetch home others, sometimes carrying them on his 
 back. He died in 1550, through plunging into the river Xenil to save 
 a drowning child. The numberless Homes and Refuges which are now 
 to be seen throughout Christendom date from this house of charity 
 founded by Juan de Dios. In the Hospital of the ' Caridad ' in Seville 
 there is a picture by Murillo of Juan de Dios bearing home on his 
 back, in a stormy night, a dying beggar. 
 
8 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 not upon thine own shifting sand, thou art to build thy 
 house.' 
 
 ' Know that He who drew thee out of darkness into His 
 marvellous light, and of an enemy made thee a friend, and 
 of a slave a child, and of a creature that was worthless an 
 acceptable being in His sight, know, I say, that He who 
 did this is God ; and the reason why He did it was not any 
 former desert of thine, nor any regard which He could 
 have to the service which thou mightest afterwards perform, 
 but it was solely of His own goodness and by the merit of 
 our only Mediator Jesus Christ. . . . Acknowledge then 
 thyself to be a debtor to Him and to His grace. Hearken 
 to that which our Lord said to His beloved disciples, and 
 through them to you, "You chose not Me, but I you." 
 
 ' Lodge this, then, in thy heart, that as thou hadst thy 
 bei7zg from God, without any cause to give glory to thyself, 
 so also thou hast thy wellbeijig from God, and that thou 
 boldest both the one and the other for His glory. 
 
 ' Carry, therefore, in thy heart and utter with thy tongue 
 what St. Paul saith, " By the grace of God I am what 
 I am." ' 
 
 ' Some think that because St. Paul said, " I would have 
 men pray in every place," it is therefore unnecessary to pray 
 in any particular place, but that it suffices to interlace our 
 prayer with the rest of our works. And a good thing it is 
 to pray in all places, but that will not suffice us if we would 
 imitate Jesus Christ our Lord, and practise that which His 
 saints have done in regard to prayer. For be thou well 
 assured that no man will be able to pray with profit in every 
 place unless first he have learnt to pray in ?i particular place 
 and to employ some space of time therein.' 
 
 ' " And the Lord said unto Moses, What is that in thine 
 hand ? And he said, A rod. And He said unto him. Cast 
 it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it 
 became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it " (Exodus 
 iv. 2, 3). What doth this teach us ? but that as Moses fled 
 
JUAN DE AVILA. 9 
 
 from the serpent's fang, so do men naturally shrink from the 
 touch and sight of suffering. But God commanded Moses 
 to return towards that from which he had fled, and not only 
 to return, but " to take it up in his hand ; " and he, obeying 
 the voice of God, found in those hands of his no longer a 
 serpent with poisonous fang, but a staff to uphold and 
 support him. So is it with men who in the time of affliction 
 obey the will of the Lord who hath sent it, and humbly 
 " take hold " of the sorrow— it may be with trembling hands 
 — to find comfort, support, and strength under it.' 
 
 THOUGHTS FOR CHRISTMAS. 
 
 ' God loved us when He made us after His Image ; but 
 a far greater work was it to make Himself after our image. 
 He abases Himself to us, that He may exalt us to Himself 
 
 'Provide a cradle wherein you may rock the Infant 
 Christ to rest. Yea, take care to nurse Him in your heart, 
 that He suffer not from cold.' 
 
 ' As soon as Christ is born in your heart, take ye care to 
 nurse Him.' 
 
 ' He comes as a Stranger, and in great poverty. Give 
 Him your heart to rest in, that He may say in the last day, 
 " I was a stranger and ye took Me in." ' 
 
 THOUGHTS FOR HOLY WEEK, 
 
 ' There is no book so efficacious towards the instructing 
 of a man in all virtue, and in abhorrence of all sin, as the 
 Passion of the Son of God. . . . 
 
 ' Employ then a part of each day in meditating on the 
 Passion of our Lord, and in giving Him thanks for the bene- 
 fits which are come to thee thereby, crying out from thine 
 inmost heart, " I will never forget Thy benefits, for through 
 them Thou hast given me life." 
 
 ' Cast thyself upon thy knees . . . and do thou beseech 
 
lo SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 the Lord that He will send thee the light of the Holy 
 Spirit, to impart unto thee a tender compassionate feeling 
 for all that the Lord in the fulness of His love did suffer 
 for thee. Be very importunate in thy prayer. Then place 
 before thy mind's eye that mystery of the Passion on which 
 thou wouldest meditate. Count that He is present, and let 
 the eyes of thy soul rest at the foot of the Cross. Draw 
 near to Him, beholding with all reverence that which passeth 
 as though thou wast present at it. . . . Humble thyself 
 before Him with a simple kind of affection, as a poor little 
 child would do. For to love, is the end why we are to think 
 and meditate. . . .' 
 
 ' The course then which thou shalt pursue is this : 
 
 ' On Monday, think on the prayer of our Lord in His 
 agony ; how He was taken in the garden of Gethsemane, 
 and follow in thought that which took place in the house of 
 Annas and Caiaphas. 
 
 ' On Tuesday, meditate on the accusations which were 
 presented against Him ; the processions from judge to judge, 
 and the cruel scourgings which He endured, bound to the 
 pillar. 
 
 ' On AVednesday, think of Him crowned with thorns, and 
 with what scorn He was treated ; how they drew Him forth 
 arrayed in a scarlet robe, and with a reed in His hand, that 
 all the people might " Behold the Man." 
 
 ' On Thursday, revert to that most holy mystery, when 
 the Son of God, with profound humility, washed the feet 
 of His disciples, and afterwards gave them His body and 
 blood for food of life, commanding both them and all, that 
 they should do the sam.e in memory of Him. 
 
 ' On Friday, think of our Lord before the Roman 
 governor, sentenced to death, bearing His cross upon His 
 back, and afterwards crucified upon it. Meditate upon all 
 which there passed till He commended His spirit into the 
 hands of His Father and died. ... 
 
JUAN DE AVILA. li 
 
 ' Behold now how much He loved thee ! 
 
 ' Come hither and gaze into the heart of thy Lord. If 
 thou hadst the eyes of an eagle, here is whereon to gaze ; 
 nay, even these could not enable thee to see in its intensity 
 the burning flame of love which dwelt in His most holy 
 soul. . 
 
 ' They bound His hands with ropes, but understand thou 
 that it was wtihi?i that He w^as bound — bound by the 
 meshes of mighty love, as immeasurably stronger than those 
 ropes as chains of iron are beyond threads of flax. 
 
 ' There stretched He out His arms to be nailed to the 
 cross, in token that love had opened wide His heart to all. 
 The mighty beams of that love went forth from the centre 
 of His heart to every man, past, present, and to come, 
 oftering up His life for the salvation of all. 
 
 'On Saturday, let thy thoughts rest on His sacred 
 body . . taken down from the cross and laid in the 
 sepulchre, and do thou in spirit accompany His soul to the 
 place of departed spirits and be present at their joy. 
 
 ' Let Sunday be set apart for the consideration of the 
 Resurrection and the blessedness of those who have entered 
 within the veil into heaven. 
 
 ' If with quiet thinking of these things the Lord do give 
 thee tears and compassion and other devout affections of 
 mind, thou art to accept them imder this condition . . . 
 that no exterior signs, no outward show is made of what 
 thou hast felt within. . . . 
 
 ' For the end of thy meditation on the Passion is to be 
 the imitation of Christ— //z^ fulfdling of the law of the 
 Lord. . . . 
 
 ' Even as we read of Moses, who, having been forty days 
 and forty nights on Mount Sinai in continual communion 
 
12 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 with the Most High, when he descended from the mount to 
 converse with men spoke not of visions or of revelations 
 or of hidden mysteries ; but there was a radiant light visible 
 on his face. And in his hands he bore the two tables of stone. 
 
 ' If some httle spark of the fire of love to Christ be 
 enkindled in our hearts, let us take great care that the wind 
 blow it not out, since it is but so httle a spark. Let us cover 
 it with the ashes of humility ; let us hold our peace and hide 
 it, and so we shall not lose it. And let us daily add some 
 wood to it, as God commanded His priests to do, that the 
 fire might be kept alive on His altar, which signifies to us 
 the doing of good works ; and, above all things, we must 
 draw near to the True Fire, which will kindle and en- 
 flame us, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, in the Blessed 
 Sacrament.' 
 
 Juan de Avila, called the Apostle of Andalusia, was 
 born at Almadovar del Campo, in the diocese of Toledo, 
 on the Festival of the Epiphany, in the year 1500. His 
 mother, like Hannah of old, had prayed for a child, and 
 after many years a son was given her — destined to be the 
 spiritual father of many saints in his native land. 
 
 He was the only child of his parents, who were devout 
 and wealthy, and from them he received his first religious 
 impressions. From childhood he was remarkable for his 
 love of prayer and his self-denial. At fourteen he was sent 
 to Salamanca to prepare himself for the legal profession ; 
 but he did not long pursue his forensic studies ; a vocation 
 higher than the law was ever present to his mind. He 
 therefore returned to his parents and made known to them 
 his desire to dedicate his hfe to the service of God — a 
 desire which met with their full approval ; and permission 
 was given him to dwell in a small secluded corner of his 
 old home, and there commence a life of retirement and 
 
JUAN DE A VILA. 13 
 
 devotion. Two years were thus passed when a Franciscan 
 monk, struck with the profound reverence with which the 
 boy knelt before the altar and received the Holy Sacrament, 
 asked his histor}^ and strongly advised his parents to send 
 him to the University of Alcala, that he might study 
 theology and prepare for the ecclesiastical state for which 
 he was so manifestly destined. This counsel was adopted, 
 and Juan commenced his studies at Alcala under Dominic 
 del Soto, distinguished at that time for his commentaries on 
 St. Thomas Aquinas.^ 
 
 When Avila left college both his parents had been re- 
 moved by death, and he immediately gave up all his patri- 
 mony to charitable purposes, and entered Holy Orders. 
 His life was one of entire consecration to God, ever dying 
 to his own will, and seeking to follow the law of Christ. 
 From three to five o'clock every morning he was engaged 
 in prayer and meditation, and two more hours were thus 
 passed before he lay down to rest at night. 
 
 This was the secret of that serenity for which he was so 
 remarkable. Juan's great desire was to go out as a mis- 
 sionary to America, and to preach the glad tidings of the 
 
 ' Dominic del Soto became the confessor of the Emperor Charles V. 
 He was of great authority at the Council of Trent, but his highest 
 honour is that he is said to have been the fi7'si writer who condemned 
 the African slave trade. In a lecture dehvered at Salamanca, he 
 says : * It is affirmed that the unhappy Ethiopians are by fraud or force 
 carried away and sold as slaves. If this is true, neither those who 
 have taken them, nor those who purchased them, nor those who hold 
 them in bondage, can ever have a quiet conscience till they emancipate 
 them, even if no compensation should be obtained.' In the words of 
 Sir Arthur Helps, ' The r^-discover}' of America by Columbus and 
 the introduction of slavery may be said to go together.' The native 
 Indians, exterminated by the cruelties inflicted on them by their Spanish 
 conquerors, were replaced by unhappy Africans kidnapped from their 
 homes, whose cause was thus nobly espoused by Del Soto, and by the 
 devoted missionary Las Casas. 
 
14 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Gospel to the unhappy Indians. The cry, ' Come over and 
 help us,' which had stirred the soul of the great Apostle of 
 the Gentiles, struck a chord of compassion in the heart of 
 Juan ; but his archbishop refused to let him depart, and 
 Andalusia — not America — was to be the scene of his mis- 
 sionary labours. 
 
 He had great facility of utterance, and his power of touch- 
 ing the hearts of his hearers when he preached was such that 
 he seemed as one inspired. A young priest on one occa- 
 sion asked him by what means he could learn to preach 
 with power, to which Avila replied, ' There is no other way, 
 but ardent love of God.' 
 
 He was ever distrustful of himself and of his own abih- 
 ties ; but he unceasingly prayed for the gift of the Spirit, 
 that he might preach Christ to men, fully and faithfully. 
 
 On the day consecrated to the Magdalen, Juan was 
 ordered to preach for the first time, in the cathedral of 
 Seville, before his archbishop. He had no sooner ascended 
 the pulpit, and beheld the vast crowd of people standing 
 below gazing up at him, than he became so confused and 
 abashed that, for a few moments, all power of utterance 
 forsook him. He did not venture to lift his eyes again to- 
 wards his hearers, but fixed them on the Crucifix before 
 him, and silently prayed the Lord, in remembrance of His 
 Shame and Humiliation when denuded, to succour His poor 
 servant in this distress and perplexity, and to accord him 
 the grace of one soul that day. 
 
 Immediately all fear left him, and he preached with so 
 much unction that his auditors were filled with admiration 
 of his eloquence. 
 
 Thus his career as a great preacher opened, and he soon 
 became famous, not only as a preacher, but as a director of 
 the conscience. 
 
JUAN DE A VILA. 15 
 
 Pie had an insatiable thirst for the salvation of souls, 
 and he never entered the pulpit without praying that the 
 Life-giving Spirit would bring the words uttered home to 
 the hearts of his hearers. 
 
 Men felt, as they hstened to him, that their souls were 
 precious in his sight, that he had a still and secret power, 
 an anointing from the Holy One, which gave to his words 
 an indescribable warmth and fervour, and marvellous were 
 the conversions which resulted from his preaching. 
 
 His sermons were followed up by spiritual letters to his 
 converts — letters which have been translated into many 
 languages, and which have ever been regarded as models of 
 spiritual guidance. If at any time one of his spiritual chil- 
 dren relapsed into sin, it was to Avila as though he himself 
 had fallen. He humbled and afflicted himself, and ' wept 
 with the angels ' over him for whom Christ had died, and 
 who had thus dishonoured his Lord afresh. 
 
 When he rebuked, it was never with harshness, always 
 with tenderness and compassion, out of the abundance of a 
 heart filled with gentleness and humility. It was said ' that 
 he had a separate heart for each of those he loved, so that 
 each one beheved himself to be the best beloved.' 
 
 Juan de Dios, Francis Borgia, Teresa de Avila, and 
 Luis de Granada regarded him as their spiritual father, and 
 sat at his feet for instruction in the Divine Life. He en- 
 joined meditation on the Passion as the sure way to attain 
 a life of union with the Lord ; and it was his custom to 
 keep especially sacred the night of Thursday and the Friday 
 in each week, in remembrance of the midnight agony in the 
 Olive Garden and the Cross on Calvary. 
 
 It was a sermon preached by Avila in the cathedral of 
 Granada, on the death of the Empress Isabella, wife of 
 Charles V., which led Francis Borgia to lay open to him his 
 
i6 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 conscience, smitten and stirred with emotion by one look at 
 the ravages of death. Francis Borgia, Duke of Gandia, 
 was 'the star and pride of the Spanish nobiUty.' He was 
 nearly related to the royal houses of Spain and Portugal, 
 and was the trusty friend and favourite of the Emperor 
 Charles V. He was Master of the Horse to the Empress 
 Isabella, and on her death the duty devolved upon him of 
 attending the body of his royal mistress from Toledo, where 
 she died, to the burial-place of the kings of Spain at 
 Granada. 
 
 The coffin had then to be opened, that he might swear 
 to the identity of the body before it was laid in the vault ; 
 but the beautiful and well-known features were no longer to 
 be recognised. Horror-stricken at the sight, he from that 
 moment resolved to turn from earth to heaven, and his 
 newly awakened soul found guidance and consolation from 
 Juan de Avila. 
 
 A few years later, and Borgia withdrew from the world, 
 and became Father Francis of the Company of Jesus. 
 
 The name of Avila was loved and revered throughout 
 Spain, and known to the whole Christian world. His writ- 
 ings, however, did not escape the censure of the Inquisition, 
 and in 1534 he was cast into prison at Seville. He had to 
 appear before the tribunal and reply to questions respecting 
 his faith and teaching. He was accused of having in his 
 sermons ' shut the rich out of the kingdom of heaven ' by 
 his denunciations of their vices and luxury. He bore all 
 with perfect equanimity, never losing his serenity. 
 
 When in prison he was visited by Luis de Granada, and 
 revealed to him the consolations he had received during his 
 incarceration. Fresh light on the mysteries of Redemption 
 had been poured into his soul, and he seemed overflowing 
 with joy, in the consciousness of a closer union with Christ 
 
JUAN DE A VILA. 17 
 
 — a consciousness which gave him strength and courage for 
 every trial. 
 
 He was at length set at liberty, but the Inquisitors for- 
 bade him to preach, still insisting that some of his views 
 were erroneous. 
 
 When finally his orthodoxy was established and he was 
 permitted to appear in the pulpit at Seville, so great was the 
 enthusiasm and joy of the whole city, that trumpets were 
 sounded in triumph by the people. Some years afterwards 
 one of his books was actually prohibited, and placed on the 
 ' Index ; ' nevertheless he was selected by the Holy Office 
 to examine and report upon certain views put forth in a 
 work by Teresa of Avila, a work which he approved, but 
 which he admitted to be unsuited to the general reader, 
 certain passages needing to be well weighed, and others 
 to be explained. 
 
 Avila fully acknowledged the good which the devout 
 soul might derive from visions and spiritual revelations ; but 
 he deemed that great discernment and caution were neces- 
 sary, and that no one should seek them, as they were but too 
 often perilous illusions suggested by pride and self-seeking, 
 and should only be accepted in so far as they tended to 
 spiritual edification, rendering the person more humble and 
 more devout. 
 
 St. Francois de Sales, in his ' Vie Devote,' recommends 
 the writings of Avila as a help to devotion in these words : 
 *Read these works with as much attention as if a saint from 
 heaven had sent them to you, to teach you the way, and 
 encourage you in walking in it' 
 
 Many of the extracts in this volume have been taken 
 from his work entitled 'Audi, filia,' which was addressed 
 to a young girl named Sancha de Carillo, the daughter 
 of a Spanish grandee, Don Luis Fernandez de Cordova. 
 
 G 
 
i8 SPANISH MYSTICS. ' 
 
 Appointed to be maid of honor, Sancha suddenly renounced 
 the world, and entreated Juan de Avila to direct her. 
 
 In these letters his great object was to impress upon 
 her that it was not distaste for worldly amusements which 
 should be her constraining motive, but the love of God, 
 and the heartfelt desire to consecrate herself to His 
 service. 
 
 In a sermon which he preached in the cathedral — once 
 the mosque — of Cordova, he chose for his text 2 Kings 
 iv. 40 : ' There is death in the caldron, O man of God, 
 there is death in it.' At the conclusion he addressed him- 
 self specially to anyone present who might be living in open 
 sin, and in a voice full of pathos exclaimed, ' Poor unhappy 
 one, death is in that caldron from whence thou drawest 
 thy subsistence. Cast away from thee the poisonous food ; 
 cast it away now and for ever for the love of Him who gave 
 His life to save thy soul, for in it is death. And why will 
 ye die ? ' 
 
 This sermon touched so profoundly the heart of one 
 kneeling there, that, filled with contrition, she at once 
 resolved to break from the sinful connection which had 
 for years bound her to a Spanish noble. Children, home, 
 earthly prosperity — all were renounced in that solemn 
 hour. She had heard the Divine call, and at whatever cost 
 she would arise and go to Him who came to seek and to 
 save her soul. Great difficulties presented themselves, and 
 very hindrance was offered to prevent the execution of her 
 design. But Avila was resolved not to leave this precious 
 soul in peril. So violent, however, was the opposition, that 
 he was forced at length to have recourse to the strong arm 
 of the law, and being provided with an escort, he succeeded, 
 in spite of menaces and resistance, in consigning his con- 
 vert from Cordova to a place of security in Granada, where 
 
JUAN DE AVILA. 19 
 
 for thirty years she led an exemplary life, and passed away 
 from earth to heaven in the fulness of joy and peace. 
 
 Juan de Avila endeavoured to raise the condition, both 
 moral and intellectual, of the clergy ; for this purpose he 
 established classes in the different towns of Andalusia for 
 their instruction. He also founded a theological college at 
 Baeza, the professors being all men whom he had trained. 
 It grieved Juan to the heart to see the low estate to which 
 the clergy had fallen, and he was shocked at the ease and 
 indifference with which men took upon themselves the 
 sacerdotal state. 'They seemed,' he says, 'altogether to 
 lose sight of the solemn duties and responsibilities of the 
 ecclesiastical hfe, and merely to look to the possible 
 emoluments and advantages which it opened up to them.' 
 
 The honour and dignity of the priesthood for its own 
 sake were utterly disregarded. 'What a fearful abuse,' he 
 exclaims, ' to approach the altar of sacrifice with the domi- 
 nant thought of material subsistence. . . . Assuredly it is 
 far better for a man to embrace any other profession — to 
 work in hospitals serving the sick, to teach in schools, or, in 
 fact, gain a livelihood, working with your hands in any 
 humble way, as many saints have done in time past — rather 
 than have the effrontery and audacity to stretch forth the 
 hand towards heavenly things for the sake of securing the 
 earthly. Appreciate the honour of waiting upon the sick, 
 be content to take the lowest place and remain there, unless 
 by unmistakable signs the Holy Spirit makes it clear to 
 your inmost soul that your elevation to the priesthood is 
 distinctly for the glory of God.' 
 
 Avila studied the Bible with great diligence ; he knew 
 by heart all the epistles of St. Paul. He advised preachers 
 to follow the example of keen sportsmen, who, when about 
 to fly the falcon, carefully avoid feeding him, that he may 
 
 c 2 
 
20 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 pursue his prey with greater eagerness and vivacity ; so 
 should preachers enter the pulpit, hungering for souls to 
 be won to Christ, which hunger of the soul can only be 
 attained by prayer and abstinence. 
 
 Avila constantly visited the hospitals and schools, and 
 would gather men together in public places and preach to 
 them the Gospel. His intercourse with young priests was 
 most beneficial. One of his most frequent injunctions to 
 those who sought his counsel was this, ' Go to prayer rather 
 to hearken than to speak. Bend humbly and lovingly before 
 God, expecting.^ 
 
 His mode of preparation for the Holy Sacrament is thus 
 described in a letter to a young priest. 
 
 ' During the previous night let your inward ear hearken to 
 the cry, " The Bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet Hiviy 
 When any great earthly personage is about to visit you, 
 consider with what care, what solicitude you prepare before- 
 hand for his reception. With what anxiety you study to 
 receive him with all due marks of honour. With how much 
 greater reason should the thought of this Guest, who is of 
 such infinite majesty, absorb our hearts. He that cometh 
 to us is adored by the angelic host. He is the King of 
 kings, and yet He deigns to call us His brethren. As you 
 lie upon your bed think what it is for a poor sinful creature 
 of this earth to be admitted to familiar converse with his 
 
 God. 
 
 ' Call to remembrance St. Peter, who felt unworthy to be 
 even in the same vessel with his Divine Lord. Think of 
 the centurion, who ventured not to come to the house 
 where the Lord was,^ and let these thoughts deepen your 
 reverence and awe before approaching so great a majesty. 
 Remember that the Holy Sacrament is as a reproduction of 
 ^ St. Luke vii. 7. 
 
JUAN DE AVI LA. 21 
 
 the life and death of the Saviour. It mirrors forth to us 
 the work of the Son when — sent by His Father — He entered 
 the Virgin's womb for the salvation of men. He comes now 
 to apply to our souls afresh the remedy which He obtained 
 for us by His cross and passion. Receive Him, then, with 
 the same holy joy as the Virgin experienced at the Incar- 
 nation. 
 
 ' At the conclusion of the i\Iass retire for a while, and 
 render humble thanks to the Lord for the honour He has 
 conferred upon you in deigning to enter within such an un- 
 worthy abode. Ask pardon for your imperfect preparation 
 and reception, and pray Him to free you from all sin and to 
 bestow upon you of His boundless love grace for grace.' 
 
 Avila's perfect serenity was most striking ; however mul- 
 tifarious his occupations, however uncongenial the persons 
 with whom his duties brought him in contact, he was ever 
 serene. He seemed always as though he had just issued 
 forth from a long and fervent prayer, and 'his ver>^ look,' it 
 was said, ' was enough to edify men.' He refused all court 
 favour and all church preferment. Paul III. wished to 
 make him a cardinal, but, true to his early choice, he 
 remained a missionary throughout his life. His last years 
 were spent in great bodily suffering. "When dying, the 
 rector of his college approached him and said, 'What joy it 
 must be to you to think of meeting the Saviour ! ' ' Ah ! 
 rather do I tremble,' replied the dying saint, ' at the thought 
 of my sins.' 
 
 He asked for the last Sacrament, and, holding the 
 crucifix in his hand, repeatedly kissed the wounded feet, 
 and passed away with the name of his Lord and ^Master on 
 his lips, and a visage, calm and serene, sealed with the seal of 
 God's peace. Avila was buried in the church of the Jesuits 
 at Montilla, in Andalusia, where his epitaph is to be seen. 
 
2^ SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 LUIS DE GRANADA. 
 
 E. 1504. D. 1582. 
 
 ' To think only of self is egotism; to think first of others 
 is charity.' 
 
 ' Look at the young sparrows perched on the top of the 
 belfry. As soon as the bells begin to ring, away they fly, 
 terrified. The old sparrows, on the contrary, who, long 
 accustomed to the sound, know by experience that it brings 
 no harm to them, remain in their nooks, perfectly uncon- 
 cerned. So is it with those who for a long period have 
 been in the habit of idly listening to the sound of the 
 Gospel. Accustomed, like the old sparrows, to these tones, 
 they are no longer in the least moved by them. And so it 
 comes to pass that this fatal habit bars the door to their 
 reception of eternal salvation.' 
 
 ' In illumining others, the torch consumes itself. 
 ' Such is the image of a Christian.' 
 
 ' He who hearkens to the evil speaker, sins not less than 
 he who speaks.' 
 
 *Love thy friends in God, and thine enemies for the 
 love of God.' 
 
 'As thou shouldest avoid speaking evil of another, so 
 shouldest thou shun speaking good of thyself.' 
 
 ' Patience under injuries is the touchstone of true 
 humihty.' 
 
 ' If thou shrinkest from humiliation thou wilt never be ' 
 humble.' 
 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA. 23 
 
 ' Learn to thrust back the word ready to start to thy Hps, 
 if thou feelest that it causeth thy blood to mount ever so 
 httle.' 
 
 ' It is impossible that the love of God should grow in us 
 without an evident increase of love towards our neighbour, 
 as both are from the same source, and are like two branches 
 growing out of the same trunk.' 
 
 ' Suffer God to rule thee, to direct thee, and to work in 
 thee what pleaseth Him, and let thy hand be directed by 
 His Hand, as a pen in the hand of a writer which resisteth 
 not.' 
 
 ' Do not demand in everything zvhy God thus made this 
 and that ; for this word ivhy is the word of the serpent and 
 the beginning of our destruction. Shut the eyes of Reason 
 and open the eyes of Faith, for Faith is the instrument by 
 which alone Divine things are to be contemplated and 
 searched into.' 
 
 ' Even as from the circumference of a circle there are 
 many lines tending to the centre, so there are many vrays 
 by which Christ leadeth His people to Heaven, which is the 
 common centre of every one's fehcity.' 
 
 '"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, 
 Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the Reconciliation 
 for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the 
 whole world " (i St. John ii.) Why, then, dost thou suffer 
 doubt and distrust to hinder thee, o'ershadowed as thou art 
 by His wings, and covered by the merits of so great an 
 Intercessor ? All the sins in the world, in comparison with 
 the infinite merits of Christ, are but as light chaff Cast into 
 the fire. Why, then, dost thou discourage thyself, seeing that 
 such a full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction has been thus 
 freely offered unto thee ? Thou wilt say. Because I offend 
 every day and every hour, neither do I ever entirely amend 
 myself. Tell me, if Christ should daily suffer for thy sins 
 
24 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 which thou daily committest, would there be any reason 
 that thou shouldest despair? Thou wilt answer, No. 
 Therefore assuredly persuade thyself that that Death so 
 long ago suffered for thee is no less efficacious than if it 
 were daily offered, for the Apostle saith that by One Obla- 
 tion once offered upon the Cross hath the Great High 
 Priest cleansed and sanctified us for ever.' 
 
 ' As fire removed from the furnace immediately goeth 
 out, except care be taken to feed and maintain it by ofttimes 
 adding wood, even so hath the fire of love to God the like 
 need of fuel to nourish it in a world where it is, as it were, 
 a stranger and a pilgrim. And the fuel wherewith this holy 
 love must be kept alive is meditation — meditation on the 
 benefits and blessings bestowed on us by Almighty God and 
 on His perfections. For to meditate on any one of these 
 things acts even as a fagot or firebrand, kindling the fire of 
 love, and causing this holy flame to blaze up brightly within 
 our hearts. Let us therefore be watchful in maintaining 
 this fire, according to the word of Almighty God, " Upon 
 mine altar" (which is the heart of the just man) "the fire 
 shall ever be burning" (Lev. vi, 12). So that the words of 
 the Psalmist may be fulfilled in us, "Whilst I was thus 
 musing the fire kindled" (Ps. xxxix. 4), even the fire of 
 Divine love.' 
 
 ' One of the great miseries of man's heart is that it is so 
 quickly inflamed by the things of this world, and so slowly 
 kindled into warmth by the things appertaining to Almighty 
 God. To the one it is as a perfectly dry reed, ready to 
 blaze up in an instant, whilst to the other it is as green 
 wood which cannot be set light to save with the greatest 
 difficulty.' 
 
 ' Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the 
 issues of life.' 'As the intemperateness of the air doth 
 put a lute or a harp out of tune, much more without doubt 
 is the tenderness and sensitiveness of man's heart troubled 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA, 25 
 
 for lesser cause. Even as the sight of the eyes is hurt by 
 a small thing entering in, and the brightness of a mirror is 
 dimmed and obscured by a httle breath, so a much less 
 hurt and a much lighter cause is sufficient to dim and dull 
 the brightness of our heart, to darken the eyes of our soul, 
 and to disturb, together with our devotion, all our good 
 affections. Therefore we must endeavour with great dili- 
 gence, and with all our strength, to keep carefully and safely 
 a treasure so precious and which is so easily lost.' 
 
 ' Even as our fleshly eyes cannot behold the stars, nor 
 the beauty of heaven, when it is cloudy and overcast, so 
 neither can the eyes of our souls contemplate the Eternal 
 Light when they are obscured by the clouds and passions 
 of this life.' 
 
 'As sweet perfume standing in an open vessel, having 
 no cover, doth forthwith lose the sweetness and fragrance 
 of the scent ; so the sweet and precious ointment of devo- 
 tion doth lose all virtue and efficacy when the mouth is 
 loosed, and the tongue doth lavish and superabound in 
 religious talk. Therefore it is best to be silent, and if at 
 any time it be needful to speak, yet speedily, like the dove, 
 return into the ark, lest thou perish in the deluge of words.' 
 
 ' As they that have the charge and keeping of a clock 
 are wont every day to wind up the plummets, for they of 
 their own proper motion do, by httle and httle, descend 
 and draw towards the ground ; so they that desire to keep 
 their souls upright and well ordered ought, at the least twice 
 a day, to lift up the weights ; seeing that our wretched nature 
 is so inclinable to things below, that it always endeavoureth 
 to sink downwards. ... He therefore that would always 
 have the clock of his hfe well ordered and governed, must 
 always have a special regard to wind up the plummets and 
 weights of it.' 
 
 * A man without prayer and without spiritual exercise is 
 
26 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 as vSamson without his hair, so that he remaineth feeble 
 and weak Uke other men, and is in great danger of falhng 
 into the hands of his soul's enemies.' 
 
 ' If at any time thou dost stumble and fall, and, through 
 weakness, dost faint, do not discourage thyself, nor cast 
 away thy hope ; but albeit thou fall a thousand times in a 
 day, rise again, and be renewed a thousand times in a day ; 
 and in what place thy thread was broken, knit it together 
 again, and go not back to the beginning.' 
 
 ' As with a harp, we must be careful that the strings be 
 neither stretched too tight nor loosened too slack (for then 
 they are either broken or yield an inharmonious sound), so 
 in regard to celestial music, it is necessary that the body be 
 neither macerated by too much fasting, nor fatted by too 
 much plenty ; for both of these bring very much hurt to the 
 exercise of devotion. For this cause God commanded in 
 the old Law that salt should be sprinkled upon all the sacri- 
 fices, that He might teach us that none of our sacrifices, 
 however great, are acceptable unto Him unless they be 
 seasoned with salt — that is, with the savour of discretionx 
 
 ' I have lost, thou sayest, a son, a brother, a husband, 
 the partner of my solitude, the staff of my old age, the com- 
 fort of my widowhood, my all ! Without him I am as one 
 at sea without a compass ; and who can help me in this my 
 sore distress, bereft of all ? 
 
 ' If thou hast confidence in thy Lord, if thou dost cling 
 to Him, if thou dost implore His help, putting in Him all 
 thy trust. He will be to thee a father, a brother, a sister, a 
 husband. If Elkanah could say to Hannah, his wife, 
 " Hannah, why weepest thou ? Why is thy heart grieved ? 
 Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" (i Sam. i. 8) 
 with how much greater reason may not the Lord hold this 
 language to the faithful, loving soul ? For what may we not 
 expect from Him who is the source of all blessings, the 
 refuge and strength not only of widows, but of all the deso 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA. 27 
 
 late, all the unhappy, all that walk in darkness and have no 
 light?' 
 
 * Learn from the mystery of the Pool of Bethesda that 
 as only he who arose and went in speedily after the moving 
 of the water received the blessing, so should those who have 
 tasted the sweetness of divine things, whenever inwardly 
 moved towards a spiritual colloquy, at once respond to the 
 call of the Heavenly Bridegroom ; otherwise, by negligence 
 and delay, they may altogether lose the proffered grace of a 
 Divine Visitation. This we learn also from the Canticles, 
 for when the Bride, after long delay, at length opened to 
 the Bridegroom, who had knocked in vain at her door, she 
 found Him not, she had opened to Him too late.' 
 
 ' As oil has this especial quality among liquids, that it 
 always rises to the surface, and claims the highest place : so 
 the love of Christ, the thought of Heaven, should dominate 
 over all, should rise above all, and never yield its place.' 
 
 'The Creator has given such a property to the load- 
 stone that iron, when rubbed by it, turns constantly towards 
 the pole, where only it has full repose, and, when given 
 another direction, is in continual agitation. So has He 
 given to the human soul such a nature that it can only find 
 rest when turned towards Himself, and, apart from Him, is 
 ever troubled and disquieted, even though possessed of all 
 earthly things.' 
 
 ' God manifested to man His great love, not only under 
 the law of grace and mercy, but also under the Mosaic lavr, 
 at a time when love had less rule than fear. In proof of 
 this, remember the name which He gives to that place which 
 He chose as His dwelling. He called it not by the name of 
 Tribunal, nor of Palace, nor of Throne. He called it the 
 Mercy Seat ... as if to take away from us all fear and 
 distrust, and to draw us near to Him by the hope of mercy 
 and pardon.' 
 
28 SPANISH MYSTICS, 
 
 ' " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 
 What must be the Beatitude to which so great a reward is 
 promised ? What felicity so great as to behold the radiance 
 of the Divine beauty ? If you would partake of this, seek 
 purity of heart as the end and aim of your life. This virtue 
 consists, not merely in keeping the soul free from the de- 
 filement of sin, but free also from earthly cravings, and 
 those impressions which are produced on the soul by carnal 
 thoughts. As then it is by the door of the senses that 
 these penetrate into the soul, it behoves him who would 
 keep jealous guard over the purity of his heart to watch 
 with vigilance over the senses, for, should he allow them to 
 wander on all objects around, the purity of his soul will 
 assuredly receive some taint, some stain. He could not do 
 better than to imitate the sportsman, who covers with a 
 hood the head of the falcon which he holds on his wrist, 
 that it may not be excited by the sight of some bird or other 
 object. By this means the sportsman prevents its struggling 
 and attempting to take flight ; thus it is made subservient to 
 his will, and is only permitted to fly when he deems it fit.' 
 
 Twelve years before the birth of Luis, Granada — the 
 fast stronghold of the Moors, the glorious city of ' running 
 rivers and fountains ' — had surrendered after a long siege to 
 the Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 
 Boabdil, El Zogobi (the luckless one), the last Moorish 
 king, with his band of warriors left the city through the 
 gateway of Los Siete Suelos ^ as distant shouts of triumph 
 announced that the Christian hosts had entered the Alham- 
 bra by the grand gateway of the Torre de Justicia. 
 
 An inscription on the highest tower of the citadel marks 
 the date of this event — January 2, 1492. On the morning of 
 
 * This gateway of Los Siete Suelos (or the Seven Stories) has been 
 closed ever since. 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA. .29 
 
 that day Mendoza, the Cardinal Primate of Spain, followed 
 by a glittering train of knights, ascended to the Torre de la 
 Vela and planted upon its battlements a silver cross, in 
 token that Granada was now a Christian city, and that the 
 infidel power in Spain was for ever overthrown. 
 
 As the symbol of Christian faith rose to view, gleaming 
 in the cloudless sky, the whole Spanish army, encamped in 
 the plains below, bent the knee before the sacred emblem, 
 and with one voice chanted the solemn anthem, ' Te Deum 
 Laudamus.' But no deeds of Christian mercy marked the 
 entrance of the conquerors into the captured city. The 
 solemn engagement made by Ferdinand and Isabella that 
 * no Moor should be forced to embrace the Christian religion 
 against his will ' was at once set aside as ' incompatible with 
 the glory and security of the Christian community.' ^ Bap- 
 tism or exile was the alternative offered alike to Jew and 
 Moslem, and thousands left houses and lands and exchanged 
 wealth for penury rather than forsake the faith of their 
 fathers. 
 
 Among those who watched that silver cross as it slowly 
 rose above the towers of the Alhambra was Christopher 
 Columbus, who, before another year had passed, gave a new 
 world to Castile and Leon. 
 
 In this fair city of Granada, Luis, the great Dominican 
 preacher, was born. His family name was Sarras, but he 
 adopted in its stead that of his birthplace, by which he is 
 commonly known. He is described by Ticknor as among 
 the most prominent of the Spanish mystics.^ His father 
 died when Luis was five years old, leaving his widow in 
 great poverty. She earned a scanty hving as laundress to 
 a Dominican convent ; but her means often failed, and she 
 
 * Si^Q Briiish and Foreign Review, No. 15, 1839. 
 '^ See History of Spanish Literature. 
 
30 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 had to depend upon the alms given her by the friars. Luis 
 was sent to school, and in the courts of the beautiful 
 Alhambra he and his schoolfellows were wont to play. 
 On one occasion their sport ended in rude rough blows, 
 and the shouts of the boy combatants reached the ears of 
 the Spanish governor, the Count de Tendilla, the first alcaide 
 of the Alhambra, who sharply rebuked them for their noisy 
 violence. Luis, however, came boldly forward to justify 
 his conduct, and defended himself with so much ability 
 that the Count de Tendilla, struck with the boy's language 
 and manner, ordered that inquiries should be made as to 
 his history, and finally appointed him page to his young 
 son, with whom he was henceforth educated. His natural 
 eloquence, fostered by instruction, quickly developed into 
 great oratorical powers. Theology was his favourite study? 
 and it is said that when a mere lad he would gather the 
 youth of Granada together and preach to them in the open 
 air. As he grew in years so there grew within him an 
 intense desire to enter the ecclesiastical state, but no other 
 opening presenting itself, he became an acolyte in the royal 
 chapel of Granada. 
 
 The daily services of the Church were his delight. He 
 resolved to dedicate himself wholly to God, and when nine- 
 teen he entered the Dominican convent of Santa Cruz. 
 
 The thought of his mother was ever present to him, and 
 he asked permission from his superior to share with her the 
 small portion of food allotted to himself. His request was 
 granted, and his mother was given the half of the daily 
 meal of her son without ever knowing to whom she owed 
 it. Throughout his life his filial love and veneration 
 remained unchanged. 
 
 From Santa Cruz, Luis was admitted to the college of 
 San Gregorio, at Valladolid, where his talents had procured 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA. 31 
 
 him a fellowship. On his return to Granada he commenced 
 his duties as a preacher. He diligently prepared himself 
 by prayer and the study of the Scriptures. He also made 
 numerous extracts from the writings of the Fathers of the 
 Church and from classical authors, whose words he fre- 
 quently quoted in his discourses. Crowds thronged to 
 listen to him, and so powerfully were the consciences of his 
 hearers affected, that we are told ' those who came to hear 
 went home to pray.' 
 
 Pure, humble, holy in life, his example gave additional 
 force to his words, and before long a moral reformation was 
 effected in his convent. 
 
 He was appointed by the general of the Dominicans 
 prior of the convent of Scala Coeh, a deserted building hish 
 up in the rugged mountains above Cordova and supposed 
 to be haunted by evil spirits. Nothing could exceed the 
 dreariness and loneliness of the place, but Granada was in 
 no way discouraged. To restore a convent once renowned 
 for its sanctity was a task worthy of his zeal. He chose for 
 his fellow-workers men earnest as himself, and animated 
 with the same desire of re-establishing this decayed monas- 
 tery and bringing glory to God by preaching the Gospel 
 to the mountaineers dwelling in the wild region around. 
 Success crowned their efforts, and the fame of Scala Cceli 
 revived. 
 
 Luis de Granada at times descended to Cordova, 
 preaching in the wondrous mosque which had now become 
 a Christian sanctuary. On one of these occasions he be- 
 came known to Juan de Avila, whose opinion was asked 
 respecting the sermon delivered by Granada. Granada 
 waited anxiously his judgment. For some time Avila made 
 no reply. At length he spoke : ' No sermon contents me 
 where Christ crucified is not preached.' 
 
32 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 The words made deep impression on Granada, and from 
 that day forth he chose Avila as his spiritual director and 
 guide. Avila's advice to him was, ' Sti7if thyself.'' Luis did 
 not understand what these words imphed, and asked for 
 further explanation. Avila replied, 'Hunger and thirst only 
 for the conversion of souls. Let there be no hungering for 
 the praise of men. Let self-love be starved, then will God 
 give thee plenteous result.' 
 
 Some years afterwards Granada said to Avila, before 
 many witnesses, ' I owe more to you and to your counsel 
 than to years of study, and therefore I acknowledge you 
 before all men to be my master.' Avila stopped him. ' The 
 true master is God, unto whom all honour is due.' 
 
 After eight years spent at Scala Coeli, Granada was re- 
 moved to Badajoz to assist in the foundation of a Domini- 
 can convent, and here he composed his ' Sinners' Guide,' a 
 work which he wrote after perusing Alcantara's 'Golden 
 Book.' For fourteen years the ' Sinners' Guide ' was pro- 
 hibited by the Inquisition, and Granada himself was brought 
 under suspicion of heresy. The book nevertheless made 
 its way throughout Spain, and was translated into every 
 European language. ^ 
 
 To avoid further molestation, Granada prudently with- 
 drew from his native country. He became head of the 
 Dominican order, or Order of Preaching Monks, in Portugal, 
 where he enjoyed the protection and friendship of Queen 
 Catherine, sister of the Emperor Charles V., who made him 
 her confessor. She was most desirous of conferring upon 
 
 > The Guide for Sinners was placed on the ' Index Expurgatorius ' 
 the very year after it was published, but after fourteen years' prohibition 
 the Holy Office withdrew the censure, and proclaimed special indul- 
 gences to whomsoever should read a chapter of the once condemned 
 work. 
 
LUIS DE GRANADA. 33 
 
 him the archbishopric of Braga, but Luis steadily refused 
 the offer. 
 
 The latter part of his life was spent at Lisbon, in the 
 convent of St. Dominic, devoting himself to the reforma- 
 tion of his order, with occasional visits to a lonely monastery 
 where he retired for solitude and meditation. 
 
 When at Lisbon he preached frequently before the court. 
 He was ready at all times to receive those who came to him 
 for comfort or for counsel, but other visitors were cour- 
 teously dismissed. His practice was to rise at four in the 
 morning, and devote two hours to mental prayer. He never 
 missed the daily celebration, and enjoined this rule upon 
 others as the greatest spiritual help and sustenance. His 
 whole life may be said to have been one long prayer, so 
 constant was his converse with his Lord and Master in the 
 midst of his varied occupations. His sight had always 
 been weak, and after a night spent in preparation of a ser- 
 mon to be preached on the following day, he suddenly 
 became blind of one eye. He preached, notwithstanding, 
 with his usual unction as though nothing had occurred to 
 disturb him. 
 
 When he felt that his end was near, he begged to be left 
 for a while perfectly alone. He afterwards desired that the 
 Passion of our Lord should be read to him before receiving 
 the last Sacrament. 
 
 He died in the same year as St. Teresa. ' ' ^ ^^ 
 
 The first Spanish translation of the ' Imitation of Christ' 
 was made by Luis de Granada, and his ' Meditation on 
 Prayer ' was a favourite book of Charles V. at Yuste. 
 
^ 
 
 34 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 SANTA TERESA DE JESUS DE A VILA. 
 
 B. I515. D. 1582. 
 
 ' The love of God has this advantage over all other loves, 
 viz. that in loving Him we are sure that He loves us' 
 
 ' Do all things as if you verily saw God Himself present 
 before you ; for in this way the soul makes rapid progress.' 
 
 'Try never to dwell on the imperfections of others, but 
 n their virtues 2,XiAyour own imperfections.' 
 
 ' Let that soul never give up prayer which has once be- 
 gun it. Be the life ever so sinful, prayer is the way to amend 
 it ; therefore let not Satan tempt the soul to cease from it 
 on pretence of humility, but let us rather believe His word 
 who has said, that if we truly repent and resolve to lead a 
 . new hfe, He will receive us again into His favour, and give 
 us fresh grace, yea, even greater grace, it may be, if our 
 repentance be deep and earnest.' 
 
 'The love and the fear of God are like two strong 
 fortresses, from whence we wage war against the world and 
 the devil.' 
 
 ' Let us learn to contradict our own will.' 
 
 ' To repeat the Lord's Prayer well, we must remain near 
 the Divine Master, who will teach it us.' 
 
 'Believe me, you gain much more by leisurely saying 
 one sentence of the Lord's Prayer, than by frequently re- 
 peating the whole hurriedly, without letting it sink in.' 
 
 ^T ' It is an admirable custom to shut the eyes in prayer ; it 
 * ' v^ forcing ourselves not to behold things outward.' 
 
 Jj' Be gentle to all, and to' yourself severe.' 
 
 ' Since you find words to speak to others, why should 
 you lack them to speak to God? Accustom yourself to 
 
SANTA TERESA. 35 
 
 speak openly to Him, and words will not be wanting. If 
 we cease for a long period from converse with a person, we 
 feel a sort of estrangement, and an ignorance as to how we 
 should speak. It almost seems at last as if we did not 
 know the person, even though he be a near relation ; for 
 kindred and friendship are soon lost sight of for want of 
 communion and intercourse.' 
 
 ' Great, indeed, is the mercy of our God ! What friend 
 shall we find so patient ? When a breach once takes place 
 between two intimate friends, it is never entirely forgotten. 
 They are never again such trustful friends as they were be- 
 fore. But how many times have we broken our friendship 
 with God ; and what years has He not waited for us to turn 
 and repent ! ' 
 
 ' Believe firmly in the love which the Lord has for you, 
 for it is no small happiness and encouragement to a scholar 
 to know that his master loves him.' 
 
 'The devil tries to make us think we have humility 
 when in reality he is trying to make us distrust God. When 
 you find yourself discouraged and cast down, avoid, as much 
 as possible, dwelhng on your own sinfulness and misery, 
 and meditate rather on His great mercy, on the love He 
 bears you, and on all He suffered for you.' 
 
 ' If you hear anyone much praised, rejoice more at this 
 than if you yourself were praised. This, indeed, should not 
 be difficult, for, where there is true humility, praise gives 
 pain.' 
 
 ' Fix your eyes on your Crucified Lord, and ever>'thing 
 will seem easy to you.' 
 
 'If you prick a living person with a needle, however 
 slightly, is it not felt? or with a thorn, however small it 
 may be. does it not give pain ? So the soul, if it be not 
 dead, but living unto God, must, by His grace, feel grieved 
 
 D 2 
 
36 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 for anything said or done, however small, which is contrary 
 to Christian profession.' 
 
 ' It is a dangerous peace, and beware of it when anyone 
 commits the same fault again and again, esteeming it as no- 
 t/wig, having no remorse of conscience, and making no 
 attempt to correct it.' 
 
 ' Suffer not a fault to take root, for then it will be eradi- 
 cated with much difficulty, and it may even happen that 
 from it may spring many suckers. If we were to water 
 every day a noxious plant in our garden, it would grow so 
 large that, after a time, it would require a spade or mattock 
 to dig it up. Such is the result, also, when we daily commit 
 the same fault, however little it may be, without attempting 
 to correct it. If, on the contrary, it be checked at once, 
 the work will be easy.' 
 
 ' Let not those who have been called to an active life in 
 Christ's service envy those who have been led to a life of 
 contemplation. . . . Remember that there must be some to 
 wait at His table, and let those account themselves happy 
 who are called to serve with Martha. For what can anyone 
 desire more than to resemble that blessed woman, who we 
 may believe often entertained the Lord in her house. Had 
 she been like blessed Mary — always absorbed in devotion — 
 there would have been no one to provide food for the Divine 
 Guest' 
 
 ' True humility is chiefly shown in being ready and con- 
 tented to do whatsoever the Lord shall be pleased to ap- 
 point, ever counting ourselves as unworthy to be called His 
 servants.' 
 
 * Consider what St. Augustine says, viz. " That he sought 
 God in many places, and came at last to find Him in him- 
 self." Do you think that it is but of little importance to 
 recognise this truth ; to know that we need not mount to 
 
SANTA TERESA. 37 
 
 heaven to speak with our Eternal Father? nor need we 
 speak aloud, for, however low our voice, He is so near that 
 He will hear us. Neither do we require wings to fly and 
 seek Him, for we have but to be still and to quiet ourselves 
 to behold Him zuWmi ourselves. ... Let us not then slight 
 so gracious a Guest, but reflect how much it concerns us to 
 recognise this great truth, viz. that God dwells within us, 
 and that there we should dwell with Him. ... It is in this 
 recolhctedness that the soul gathers together or re-collects all 
 its faculties, and, entering within itself, has communion with 
 the Divine Lord.' 
 
 ' Figure to yourself that ivithin yon there is a palace . . . 
 and that in this palace the Great King dwells who has 
 been pleased to become your Guest, and that He sits there 
 on a throne of infinite value, which is your heart. 
 
 'This may at first sound foolish or extravagant, yet it 
 may be of great help to make us understand that there is 
 within lis something beyond comparison more precious than 
 all which we see outwardly. 
 
 ' If we did but remember that we have within us such a 
 Guest, it would be impossible for us to be so fond of the 
 things of this world, for we should feel how trivial and base 
 they are in comparison with those treasures we possess 
 within. . 
 
 ' All this was at one time obscure to me. I knew welll 
 that I had a soul \ but I understood not the dignity of this ' 
 soul, nor knew Who dwelt within it ; because my eyes being 
 blinded by the vanities of this life, I was prevented from 
 seeing Him. Had I then known, as I do now, that in this 
 palace of my soul so great a King dwells, I should not have 
 neglected Him and left Him so often, but should have 
 stayed with Him, and have been more anxious to prepare 
 Him a fit dwelling. . . . The great point lies in our giving 
 up this palace to Him as His own with a full and perfect 
 surrender, that He may abide there, and place or take away 
 from thence whatsoever He pleases — as it is His own. . . . 
 
3B SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Refuse it not to Him, for He will not force our will, He 
 will only take what we give Him. But He gives not Him- 
 self entirely to us till we thus give ourselves up entirely to 
 Him. And He only works thoroughly within that soul 
 (__which offers no'^ hindrance, hit is wholly His. But if, on the 
 contrary, we crowd this palace of the soul with other guests, 
 with rabble and with rubbish, what room is there for the 
 Lord to enter in ? 
 
 ' It is very useful for us to remember that we have a 
 Guest to entertain within us ; and that we should be con- 
 scious of His presence and abide with Him ; seeing Him 
 with the inward eye and speaking to Him ; never turning 
 our backs upon Him ; which is, methinks, what we do 
 when we remain on our knees discoursing to all appearance 
 with our Divine Lord, whilst at the same time we let our 
 thoughts run on a thousand vanities. All this evil arises 
 from our not properly apprehending that He is near us ; 
 within us.^ 
 
 'By little and little obtain the mastery over your own 
 selves. Lose not the spirit of recollectediiess for mere trifles, 
 but learn to recall your senses within you. When about to 
 pray, remind yourself that you are about to hold converse 
 with One within you. Wait and listen that you may hear 
 what the Lord God will say unto you ; and as you hearken, 
 remember that you are waiting to hear One who speaks not 
 audibly but to the inmost soul. 
 
 * If possible let this holy exercise be frequent in the 
 course of the day ; but if this cannot be, at least let it be -a 
 daily devotion and practice. When you have accustomed 
 yourself to it, you will gradually find yourself gaining greatly 
 from it ; and when our Lord shall have granted unto you 
 the grace of holy fellowship, you will find that you would 
 not exchange it for any earthly treasure.' 
 
SANTA TERESA. 39 
 
 ' Have no fear of death, but look upon it as a sweet 
 trance.' 
 
 ' Let nothing disturb you. 
 Let nothing alarm you. 
 All things pass away. 
 God is unchangeable. 
 Patience gains ever}'thing. 
 He who possesses God lacks nothing. 
 God alone is All-sufficient' ^ 
 
 In the mediaeval city of Avila, a city of Old Castile, 
 founded in 1088, shut in from the outer world by granite 
 walls and towers of vast strength and height, Teresa, the 
 great Spanish saint of the sixteenth century, first saw the 
 
 In a book filled with family memorials in the hand- 
 writing of her father, Don Alfonso Sanchez de Cepeda, the 
 day of the birth of Teresa of Avila is thus carefully noted : 
 
 'This day, Wednesday, March 28, 1515, my daughter Teresa was 
 born, about half-past five in the morning, at the first streak of dawn.' 
 
 The bells of the different churches in the old city were 
 sounding the first Angelus, but one rung on that day with a 
 longer and more joyous peal than the rest. It was the bell 
 of the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation, which was 
 but just completed, and March 28 had been appointed for 
 the inauguration of the Chapel. A celebration of the Holy 
 Sacrament was announced by this glad peal, but it likewise 
 unconsciously proclaimed the birth of one destined to be 
 the great Saint and Reformer of the Carmelite Order.'- 
 
 ' St. Teresa carried these words in her breviary as her * signet.' 
 2 See Hisioire de Ste. Therhe d'apres les Bollandistes, 
 
40 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 A memorable era had already commenced. 
 
 The discovery of the art of printing in the preceding 
 century had brought forth treasures which had long lain 
 hidden in manuscript. Cardinal Ximenes, ever eager to 
 advance learning among his countrymen, had in 15 14 (the 
 year before Teresa's birth) given to Spain a polyglot Bible in 
 the Hebrew, Greek, Chaldee, and Latin text, known as the 
 ' Complutensium ' ^ — a work through which an immense 
 impulse was imparted to Biblical research ; and when the 
 tutelar saint of Spain was but two years old, Martin Luther, 
 in his righteous indignation at the sale of indulgences, 
 affixed his theses to the gate of the cathedral of Wittem- 
 berg, and the contest began which rent asunder the unity 
 of the Latin Church. 
 
 The father of Teresa, Alfonso Sanchez de Cepeda, was 
 descended both on his father's and his mother's side from 
 old and distinguished CastiUan families, and his life was 
 worthy of his high lineage. He married twice. The early 
 death of his first wife left him a widower with three children. 
 He wedded secondly Beatrix Davila de Ahumada, the 
 mother of Teresa and eight other children. ^ 
 
 Teresa describes her father as truthful, virtuous, and 
 full of compassion, and her mother as gentle, retiring, and 
 unconscious of her great beauty. Their home was one of 
 peace, undisturbed by worldly intercourse. Such influence 
 could not be without effect on the minds of their children. 
 ' All except myself (says Teresa in her humility) ' resembled 
 our parents ; ' but in truth in early childhood none were 
 affected in the same degree as herself by the hallowing 
 
 ' Spain was thus possessed of an edition of the New Testament in 
 the original Greek two years before the Greek Testament of Erasmus 
 made all Europe ring with his fame. 
 
 - Teresa adopted the surname of her mother. 
 
SANTA TERESA. 41 
 
 influence which surrounded them. Th% child loved to 
 listen to her mother's prayers, and to her brother Rodriguez 
 she imparted some of her religious fervour. They read 
 together the lives of the saints, and the cruel martyrdoms 
 they endured for the love of Christ so excited the imagi- 
 nation of the two children that they resolved, when Teresa 
 'was but seven years old, to steal forth on a mission to 
 convert the Moors or die in the attempt. It was an attempt 
 at which the world may smile, but, as it has been well said, 
 -' it was a fit beginning for a life of passionate devotion. ' With 
 little hands outstretched to grasp the martyr's palm they left 
 their home together, and had made their way beyond the old 
 gates of Avila, when they were met by their uncle as he was 
 returning to the city, and the disappointed missionaries were 
 conducted home. 
 
 Foiled in their great enterprise, the two children fell 
 back upon the hermit life, and made themselves cells for 
 devotion in their father's orchard. This childish enthusiasm 
 in Teresa's case was not of long duration. As she grew 
 older her religious zeal waxed faint. When she was thirteen ' 
 her mother died, and a time of peril followed for the 
 motherless girl. As she advanced to womanhood she be- 
 came conscious of the beauty she had inherited, and was 
 not indifferent to the admiration she excited. Her vivacity 
 and natural eloquence added to her charm ; her sprightliness 
 made her a delightful companion, and the desire to shine in 
 the society of her companions became a ruling passion. 
 She speaks with humiliation of this period of her Ufe— of -, 
 her vanity and selfishness. The lives of the saints— her i 
 early study— no longer interested her ; exciting romances, 
 stories of chivalry, were her delight, and to this baneful 
 reading she traces ' the beginning of her lukewarmness in ^ 
 all good desires.' ' 
 
42 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Three years passed away without much xhan^e in 
 Teresa : her father had not failed to observe with pain that 
 his favourite child turned away from books of devotion and 
 went less frequently to church. He spoke to her on the 
 subject with some severity, but Teresa would fly into his 
 arms with endearing caresses and excuses which he was 
 only too ready to accept. 
 
 But the marriage of an elder sister led to a change in 
 Teresa's life. She was placed by her father in a convent at 
 Avila under the care of pious Augustinian nuns. She was 
 the joy and sunbeam of her father's home, and it was a hard 
 sacrifice to separate her from himself, but he felt that it was 
 needful for his child's welfare now that she was deprived of 
 the watchful eye of her sister. Convent hfe seemed at first 
 very dreary to Teresa. The discipline, slight as it was, 
 chafed and wearied a nature impatient of restraint ; but 
 gradually the habits and feehngs of her earlier years revived, 
 and she grew reconciled to the monotony and silence of 
 the cloister, but without any thoughts as yet of becoming 
 a nun. 
 
 She had been in the convent about eighteen months 
 when a severe illness caused her removal to her father's 
 house. To while away the tedious hours she had again 
 recourse to devotional reading, and she became impressed 
 by the works of the Fathers of the Church. The words of 
 St. Jerome, St. Gregory, and St. Augustine sank deep into 
 her mind. It chanced that a little picture was hung in 
 her room which represented our Lord and the woman of 
 Samaria at the well. This picture greatly affected Teresa, 
 and before she lay down at night she would look at it and 
 say with the poor sinner, ' Domine, da mihi banc aquam ' — 
 a prayer which she afterwards used through Hfe. -By 
 degrees her heart warmed and responded to the touch of 
 
SANTA TERESA. 43 
 
 Divin.e.graee ; but, remembering the past, and conscious gfi 
 her own weakness, she resolved to flee from the temptations ' 
 of the world and take refuge in the Carmelite Monastery of 
 the: Incarnation. To aid her in this design, Teresa had 
 within the walls of the monastery a friend — Juana Suarez — 
 whose prayers had been continually directed to this end. ■ 
 She was not yet nineieen, and when she made known her 
 wishes to her father he refused his consent. Nothing 
 daunted, she resolved again to steal away from her home as 
 she had done once before. It was not without a pang that 
 she left her father, and in company with one of her brothers 
 went forth at an early hour on All Souls' Day, November 2, 
 1533, and presented herself at the gate of the monastery 
 which stood outside the city walls. She was received by 
 the prioress and her friend Juana, and taking leave of her 
 brother, she was at once admitted into the chapel of the 
 Incarnation. It was the day of commemoration of the dead, 
 and the solemn requiem was sounding as Teresa bade fare- 
 well to the world, and, with hair shorn and clothed in the 
 dress of a novice, took the lowest place among her future 
 companions. When informed of her flight, her father gave 
 an unwilling consent to the step she had taken. 
 
 The year of her novitiate was on the whole a happy one ; 
 but she was accustomed to praise, and there were times 
 when a want of response or a cold look from her com- 
 panions would chill her, and then came a passionate yearn- 
 ing for home aff'ections and sympathy— a longing to be 
 again petted and cherished as she had been in her father's 
 house. But if the thought arose, ' Should she withdraw 
 from conventual life and return to home duties?' she 
 thrust it aside. She had put her hand to the plough, and 
 she resolved not to look back.^ 
 
 ' See Histoire de Ste. Therese, 
 
44 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 She had reached her twentieth year,when she made her 
 formal profession as a nun. All the chief famiUes of Avila 
 crowded to the monastery to witness the ceremony, and her 
 father, who had reluctantly yielded up his favourite child to 
 the cloister, came to see her consummate the act of self- 
 immolation. 
 
 But their separation at this time was not for long. 
 Teresa's health soon began to fail, and -symptoms .of ^para- 
 lysis forced her to leave the monastery and return home, 
 where for three years she led a life of suffering. 
 
 It was during this period that she_commenced that 
 method of mental prayer with which her name became 
 'associated, and which she describes as ' shutting herself up 
 within herself.' 
 
 Her health was at length re-established, and in 1539 
 she went back to her convent. But with the return of youth- 
 ful strength and vigour of body came spiritual decay, and 
 the conventual life as then constituted was little calculated 
 to raise her in heart and mind. Never were religious houses 
 in a more neglected condition. They were indeed only 
 religious in name. No rules were prescribed for guidance 
 and help in the spiritual life ; no works of mercy or benevo- 
 lence were enjoined, and beyond the formal offices no occu- 
 pation was provided for the nuns, who, instead of renouncing 
 the world for a life of usefulness and devotion, had only 
 exchanged their home life with its duties and occupations 
 for a life of idleness, ease, and frivolity. It was not indeed 
 wholly without distraction from the outer world. When the 
 daily offices were duly said, visitors were admitted to the 
 convent. With the visitors came the brothers and other 
 relations of the nuns, and these social gatherings, which 
 must have been their chief resource and recreation, became 
 the occasion for idle gossip and scandal. Teresa's ready wit 
 
SANTA TERESA. 45 
 
 and liveliness made her the centre of these meetings, but 
 she soon felt that this talk of the lips brought penury to 
 the soul, and so far from attaining to that separation from 
 the world and complete consecration of spirit for which she 
 had fled from her home, she found that ' the garden of her 
 soul had ceased to be inclosed,'^ and that every passer-by 
 was permitted to pluck the fruit. As her love waxed cold, 
 secret prayer was neglected, and meditation was relinquished. 
 In the bitterness of her soul she says, ' On the one side God 
 called me, on the other the world drew me, and I followed 
 the world' Her life became 'a daily heart-break and 
 humiliation, a perpetual falling, and rising to fall again.' 
 She strove to reconcile God and the world, and her spirit 
 grew restless and dissatisfied in the attempt. 
 
 In this state she hstened to the suggestions of the great 
 enemy of souls, and gave up secret prayer altogether, 
 which she only resumed after the death of her father. She 
 had nursed him through his la?t illness, which aroused her 
 to higher thoughts, and she resolved to resume mental 
 prayer. She did so, but she could not make up her mind 
 to forsake all that held her back and which her conscience 
 condemned. She tried to pray, but the light of God's 
 countenance seemed hidden from her ; she felt as though 
 shut out from the Divine Presence. Thus was she for 
 fourteenjears, \nthout consolation, straitened and desolate 
 within herself. But that which she had striven for in vain 
 in her own strength, she obtained by one ray of light from 
 on high. ' The Lord whom she sought came suddenly to 
 His temple,' revealing to her inmost soul His infinite love. 
 We are told that during Lent 1555, when she was forty 
 years old, she one day withdrew, sad and weary in spirit, 
 to a small oratory, where she was wont to resort. A sacred 
 * Canticles iv. 12. 
 
46 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 picture had recently been placed there without her know- 
 ledge. It represented Christ , bound to a column and 
 scourged.^ As she gazed on the stricken form, her heart 
 was moved within her, and the thought of how little return 
 she had made for such love, touched her to the quick. 
 With a sudden pang of grief she threw herself on the ground 
 and burst into tears, crying aloud, ' O my Lord, I will not let 
 Thee go except Thou bless me.' It was the awakening of 
 her soul to a recognition of her sinfulness before God, and 
 of the depth of Divine love. Soon after this ' The Con- 
 fessions of St. Augustine' fell into her hands. She had 
 never met with this book, and in her ' Life ' she tells us that 
 she doubted not that it was given her at this time to fulfil 
 some special purpose of God. As she read, she seemed to 
 see herself. It was a revelation to her of her own heart, 
 with all its infirmities and errors; and when she came to 
 the account of Augustine's conversion, it was as if she too 
 heard the voice of the Lord speaking to her innermost soul 
 and opening to her a new and higher calling. Hitherto she 
 had counted her life as her own; now she surrendered 
 her whole being to God. She had passed from death unto 
 life, and the words of the Bride in the Canticles were ever 
 sounding on her inward ear, 'My Beloved is mine, and 
 I am His.' 2 
 
 Day by day the love enkindled within her soul blazed 
 with intenser, purer light. She resumed the old method of 
 prayer, * shutting herself up tvithin herself; ' but with it came 
 a power and vitality hitherto unknown. From henceforth 
 a new phase commenced in her existence — an epoch of 
 
 ' At the present day there is upon the altar of the chapel at 
 Avila an ivory figure representing Christ scourged, which belonged to 
 Teresa. 
 
 2 See Histoire de Sle. Therese. 
 
SANTA TERESA. 
 
 47 
 
 transition. She passed insensibly from the outer court of 
 devotion and entered within the veil. 
 
 Her prayers were now^ communings with the Lord, and 
 she had a distinct personal consciousness of union with 
 Him. She loved to dwell on the mysteries of the Passion, 
 especially on His desertion and betrayal. She would medi- 
 tate on His agony in the olive garden, placing herself in 
 spirit beside Him, tarrying with Him in His loneliness, 
 gazing upon Him in His sorrow. She beheld Him, she 
 tells us, not with the eyes of the flesh, but by an act of 
 living faith as present to her soul. To abide evermore in 
 His presence was her one great object, and she teaches us 
 that ' the soul which thus looks constantly on Him becomes 
 inflamed with His love, ever turning to Him for counsel, 
 crying to Him in time of need, complaining to Him in time 
 of sorrow, and rejoicing with Him in time of joy.' 
 
 Visions and revelations of the unseen were accorded to 
 her, but these she regarded at first with fear and misgiving. 
 She dreaded to become the victim of delusions like Magda- 
 len of the Cross, the nun of Cordova, whose confessions 
 had lately scandahsed the Church.^ 
 
 Teresa herself fully believed that the special graces 
 vouchsafed to her in prayer were from above ; but doubtful 
 of the light and experience she possessed, she desired 
 earnestly to be guided by the judgment of others better 
 skilled than herself in the mysteries of the spiritual life. 
 
 She had recourse to Caspar Daza, a learned priest, who 
 came at her request to the monastery, accompanied by an 
 old and devout friend of Teresa's family, Don Francisco de 
 Salcedo. Teresa revealed to them her spiritual state, and 
 described her experiences in prayer. 
 
 The result of the interview was adverse to her hope, and 
 ' See Mystiques espagnols (Rousselot), 
 
48 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 the decision a painful one. Both men were convinced that, 
 so far from being special graces, her experiences were~tlie 
 "work of the Evil One, and mental prayer. was by their deci- 
 sion to be put aside. 
 
 Teresa's anguish was extreme. She remembered how 
 her soul had languished in former years, when she had re- 
 linquished mental prayer, and what consolations she had 
 since received on returning to her old method. Was she 
 now to be debarred from this spiritual comfort ? Were the 
 experiences she had thought so blessed in very truth a 
 snare of the devil? In her distress she called to her help 
 a Jesuit father, a course recommended to her by Don 
 Francisco. This Jesuit was Father Padranos. He had 
 been lately sent on a mission to Avila by Francis Borgia — 
 a name which inspired Teresa with confidence. The Padre 
 received his new penitent gravely, but kindly. To him she 
 made a full confession, revealing to him all that weighed 
 upon her heart. He at once understood the character with 
 which he had to deal. Her extreme humility, her truthful- 
 ness and candour, her tenderness of heart, and ardent faith 
 — these were forthwith apparent to him, but beyond these 
 were supernatural gifts, marvels of grace bestowed upon 
 her by God, which filled him with joy and amazement. 
 Padranos had come to the monastery forewarned by Don 
 Francisco, and anxious as to her state ; he came thinking 
 to deliver a poor visionary from Satan's wiles, and he found 
 himself in the presence of a saint. ^ 
 
 Teresa was greatly reassured by his consoling words ; 
 he desired her on no account to give up mental prayer, and 
 thus frustrate the work of grace in her soul, for who could 
 say what an instrument for good she might become in the 
 hands of God to the souls of others, if obedient now to the 
 * See Histoire de Ste. Therese. 
 
SANTA TERESA. 49 
 
 heavenly calling? He bade her put away the thought of 
 delusion, and thank God for His abundant grace, casting 
 herself vnth. confidence on His infinite love. But he pre- 
 scribed an all-important rule : she was each day to take for 
 the subject of her devotion some one mystery of the Passion 
 of the Lord, and to draw from it some practical resolve. 
 He also told her ?iever to seek any sensible joy or emotion in 
 prayer, but rather to mortify self in this. Who can describe 
 the peace and repose of mind brought to Teresa by these 
 words.' 
 
 It was soon after this, when reciting the ' Veni Creator 
 Spiritus,' that the grace of ecstasy was first vouchsafed to 
 her, and she became entranced, or, as she describes, ' car- 
 ried Qut of herself.' She had an intuitive consciousness 
 that ^Jesus was^always by her side^a witness of all that she 
 did.' "She relates that ' she saw no form, no similitude, but 
 that she heard within her soul a Voice making her sensible 
 of the Divine presence.' In Him was her life, and most 
 surely the key-note of Teresa's spiritual history may be 
 found in the aspiration of the Apostle, that he might ' know 
 Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship 
 of His sufferings.' But there were those who then, as now, 
 doubted the possibility of ' knowing God ' in this life as it 
 was given to Teresa to know Him. Her friends still re- 
 garded her as deluded by Satan. Padranos had quitted 
 Avila, and her new confessor, Father Alvarez, a man of 
 eminent piety and austere virtue, seems to have thought it 
 desirable that she should be less alone, and that she should 
 abstain from frequent communion, as her most enraptured 
 hours were connected with the Holy Sacrament. 
 
 Distracted by contrary directions, distrustful of her- 
 self, Teresa lifted up her troubled soul to the Lord, praying 
 Him to undertake for her, and to deliver her fiom the 
 
 E 
 
50 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 snares of the Evil One, saying, ' O my Lord, although all 
 rise up against me, all created things persecute me, demons 
 torment me, desert not one who putteth her sole trust in 
 Thee.' 
 
 Immediately it seemed as though a Voice whispered 
 to her innermost heart, 'Fear not, my daughter, // is I. 
 Be not afraid ; I will not leave thee.' In a moment, 
 she tells us, she found herself strong and tranquil. She 
 knew that Christ had spoken to her soul, and she felt em- 
 boldened to declare before all the world what He had done 
 for her. 
 
 For two more years Teresa had to bear the rebukes and 
 reproaches which fell upon her, for all Avila grew to regard 
 her as one possessed. Her confessor, Alvarez, alone^de- 
 fended her ; but the arrival of a man revered throughout 
 Spain put an end to these trials and perplexities. 
 
 This was Peter of Alcantar% perhaps one of the most 
 contemplative and enlightened of the band of saintly men 
 who strove in this century to carry out a reform within the 
 Spanish Church, and to revive its ancient fervour. 
 
 His presence in Avila was hailed with delight, and 
 Teresa found in him the support she needed. Clothed in 
 the coarsest raiment, bare-headed and bare-footed, regard- 
 less of sun or rain, heat or cold, enfeebled by age and aus- 
 terities, Peter of Alcantara, with slow and wearied step, 
 entered the gate of Avila. To Teresa, he was as the mes- 
 senger from the Most High, the appointed means of bring- 
 ing before her mind the great task to which her life was 
 henceforth to be devoted — the Reform of her Order. They 
 quickly understood one another ; she told him all thatiiSd^ 
 disturbed her, whilst his long experience in those gifts which 
 are supernatural, and his deep mystical knowledge, enabled 
 him to uphold and strengthen her faith. He bade her ' rest 
 
SANTA TERESA. 51 
 
 in the full assurance that it was the work of God.' His 
 sympathy was shown in his humbly admitting to her that he 
 himself had felt ' the contradiction of good people one of 
 the hardest trials,' but it was one to which she must accus- 
 tom herself. To this holy old man she described the 
 s ymbo lic vision, which has since been so often represented 
 in Christian art — the Angelic Messenger piercing her heart 
 with the dart of Divine love. He bade her not be perplexed 
 by these visions, but to 'continue her prayer with confi- 
 dence, neither wishing nor asking for extraordinary graces, 
 but accepting them when they came as from the hand of 
 the Lord.' 
 
 The visit of Peter of Alcantara stirred within her a \ \ 
 vehement desire to bring others nearer to God, and this 
 was intensified by a strange and terrible vision, which she 
 afterwards regarded as ' one of the Lord's greatest mercies 
 to her.' 
 
 In this vision the anguish of a lost soul, the inward fire 
 of remorse and despair, the outer darkness — all for a moment 
 seemed revealed to her ; ' the pains of hell gat hold upon 
 her,' and, when she came to herself, she was filled with a 
 profound sense of her unworthiness, of ' the poverty of her 
 outer life,' and of the infinite compassion of the Lord in 
 delivering her soul from death. It was a call to her to arise 
 and win other souls to God. 
 
 But the nuns of the Monastery of the Incarnation could 
 not understand Teresa. When she spoke to them of mental 
 prayer and of a higher life she was to them as a visionary 
 — an enthusiast carried away by wild notions, unsuited to 
 the ideas and habits of the age. They were content to 
 remain as they were ; they saw no necessity for change or 
 reform, and her words seemed to fall unheeded to the 
 ground. But from this seed, apparently so insignificant 
 
 E2 
 
52 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 and trodden under foot, there arose a widespread moral 
 reform in the Church of Spain, and a fresh spring of 
 spiritual life, known as Catholic Mysticism. 
 
 Teresa's conventual experience had opened -her eyes to 
 the fact that vocal prayer — that is to say, the recital of 
 prayers however thoughtfully repeated — could not satisfy 
 the soul. She felt that there should be greater freedom ; 
 the little child must cast itself without restraint into the 
 Father's arms, speaking to Him in its own untutored 
 language. 
 
 Mental prayer was therefore early adopted , by Teresa, 
 and — though, as we have seen, often interrupted for long 
 intervals— became the germ of the mystical theology of 
 which she was destined to be so great an exponent. 
 
 She divided mental prayer into four distinct stages : the 
 I stage of recollectedness, the stage of quietude, the stage of 
 ' union, and the stage of ecstasy or rapture. 
 
 To illustrate her meaning, she compares the renewed 
 soul to a garden — ' the planting of the Lord '—but the soil, 
 being by nature ungrateful, requires much weeding atid 
 watering. The Divine Master has sown good seed and 
 planted goodly fruit trees, and we, as fellow-labourers with 
 Him, must weed this garden and ' water the soil carefully, 
 that it may produce fragrant blossom and fruit, so that 
 He may often come and visit the garden which He hath 
 planted, and find dehght therein.' She describes four ways 
 of watering the soil of this garden, corresponding with each 
 of the four stages of prayer. 
 
 The first is with water drawn with difficulty from a deep 
 well. The second is with water raised by a wheel and 
 distributed by pipes over the soil. Thirdly, it may be 
 watered by a running stream or brook. And fourthly, by 
 balmy showers. 
 
SANTA TERESA. 53 
 
 The first m ode is laborious, an d requires great patience 
 and ^trefigffiT We must in no wise rest till the Water of Life 
 \\'hTCh God gives springs up within us. .This represents the 
 prayer of recollected2i£s^._\\hich. is the first step in mental 
 "^Sevotion. It requires great earnestness, and an entire 
 "concentration of the thoughts, the soul meanwhile ' looking 
 and waiting for the Lord.' 
 
 The beginner may have to wait long before he becomes 
 conscious of the Divine Presence ; dryness and weariness 
 will at times almost overpower him ; the weakness of the 
 body will often weigh down the soul, • but if he has the 
 courage to persevere in mental prayer he will surely have 
 his reward ; the dry and thirsty land will become as a 
 watered garden by the influx of the Spirit, and deep within 
 the soul will spring up a devout sense of God's immediate 
 Presence, and he will say with the patriarch of old, ' Surely 
 God is in this place, and I knew it not.' 
 
 Courage and perseverance were ever insisted upon by 
 Teresa ; but she also says, ' Before thou prayest, prepare 
 thyself.' This must be done by devout meditation on the 
 life of our Lord. We must hold ourselves in His Presence ; 
 continuing in prayer in spite of dryness, languor, or feeble 
 faith. ' The kingdom of Heaven is taken by force.' Like 
 Jacob wresthng with the angel we must wrestle in prayer, 
 saying, ' I will not let Thee go until Thou bless me.' 
 
 The second stage is that of quietude — or co7itemJ>lation^ as 
 it is sometimes called. 
 
 Once more Teresa bids all who would enter upon this 
 second stage 'to turn again and again before prayer to 
 the Source of all good — meditation on the Passion of our 
 Lord, for the nearer we draw unto God, the deeper will 
 be our humifity.' 
 
 She likens this stage of quietude to the work ofllie 
 
54 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 labourer, who, by means of a wheel- and wat€^^-»fiipg,s, 
 is able to draw more water for his garden and distribute 
 it with far less fatigue, not having to work continuously, 
 but being able to rest from time to time. The soul 
 does not now require the same effort to concentrate the 
 thoughts, but has a profound sense of the Divine Pre- 
 sence within and around. To use her words, ' the soul 
 is now touching upon something which is supernatural. 
 All its powers are gathered up within itself, yet these 
 powers are neither suspended nor asleep ; but the will 
 alone acts, and without knowing how, the soul surrenders 
 itself, and is led captive by the love of God.' It is like the 
 holy repose of Mary at Bethany, sitting calm and still and 
 reverent at the feet of Jesus, looking upon Him and hearing 
 His word. 
 
 It is listening rather than speaking ; ' I will hearken to 
 what the Lord God wnll say unto me,' desiring only to be 
 drawn more and more out of self into union with Him. 
 ' This state of blessed repose is not of long duration. Like 
 St. Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, the soul would 
 make here a tabernacle, but it is soon disturbed, and has 
 to descend from the Mount. Indeed, any efforts in our 
 own strength to prolong this state of quietude would be like 
 laying logs of wood on a little spark — the spark would be 
 extinguished. Let us simply understand that all we have 
 to do at those seasons when the soul is raised to this stage 
 of prayer is to be quiet and humble, laying on a few straws 
 — little acts of humility or words of love, and self-abandon- 
 ment, nothing more — and the spark of Divine love en- 
 kindled within the heart will become a great fire.' 
 
 The third stage is that of union. Of this Teresa herself 
 says that she can tell us but little, as she coufcTnever 
 explain nor under sfandr it ; but, she'adds,~''the higheT any- 
 
SAXTA TERESA. 55 
 
 one has ascended, the greater reason has he to fear and lose 
 "atl::??^- confidence. ' 
 
 She compares this, prater of union to * a running stream 
 from"^ brook or river by which the garden is abundantly- 
 watered, the labourer having only to turn the stream into 
 the proper channels. But now he is amazed to behold the 
 Divine Master taking upon Himself the whole labour : " I, 
 the Lord, do water it." He it is who now directs the 
 stream, so that the labourer has but to rest and enjoy the 
 celestial flowers which are beginning to appear and to put 
 forth their fragrance.' In this prayer the soul receives a 
 fresh baptism of the Spirit ; it is renewed in strength and 
 deepened in humility ; it enters into a state of profound 
 calm, ' resting in the Lord.' This is described by Teresa 1 
 as a blissful sleep. ' I sleep, but my heart waketh — a sleep | 
 full of sweetness and delight, infinitely greater than in the / 
 former stages of prayer. The soul seems to die to all ' 
 earthly things and to be athirst only for God, yea, even 
 for the living God . . . like as the hart panteth after the ' 
 water brooks, so longeth the soul after God.' The faculties 
 of the mind are still ; the mysteries of Divine grace cannot * 
 be fathomed. The soul has entered into the secret place 
 of the Most High ; it is abiding under the shadow of the 
 Almighty, and its language is, ' Whom have I in heaven 
 but Thee, and there is none upon earth to be desired be- 
 sides Thee.' 
 
 The fourth stage is ecstasy or rapture. 
 
 Teresa likens this to a gracious rain- which" corrietir 
 down froW heaven and refresheth the earth. It fills and 
 saturateTin- itG ab i mdance the whole soil of the garden. 
 It usually comes unexpectedly ; the labourer is taken by 
 surprise, and sees the once dry land converted as by a 
 miracle into a blooming paradise. 
 
56 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 At these seasons, she says, ' the Divine Spirit floods the 
 soul with grace ; it hath a desire to enter within the courts 
 of the Lord— a longing that mortality may be swallowed 
 up of life. Even as a flame mounts upwards, so, inflamed 
 with Divine ardour, the soul seems to ascend above itself, 
 and before the thoughts can be collected, by a power which 
 is felt to be irresistible, it falls into a state of trance, as 
 though passing away, as though caught up in a cloud. 
 The first sensation is that of fear : the flesh and the heart 
 fail. Even as at the Transfiguration, the disciples feared 
 as they entered into the cloud, so the soul on the verge 
 of ecstasy is affrighted. But God is the strength of the 
 heart. It hears the voice saying, Fear not, it is I. An 
 absolute surrender of the whole being is made to Him, and 
 the soul wings its flight into the unseen, where fear is lost in 
 fruition.' 
 
 This state cometh 'not of him that willeth, nor of him 
 that runneth, but of God who giveth the increase.' 
 
 Teresa's life until 156 1 was especially marked by the 
 frequency of her visions. In that year began a new phase 
 of her existence — the life of action — when she commenced 
 her great work of reform, a labour of love which she pur- 
 sued with untiring energy for twenty_years-4n spite of 
 poverty, ill-health, calumny, and persecution. 
 
 The disorder and immorality which prevailed, especially 
 in religious houses, disgraced the Church ; and to renovate 
 the whole Church through the reformation of the monastic 
 orders — to kindle the dying embers of spiritual devotion by 
 drawing men and women into closer communion with the 
 Lord and with the unseen world — this was the holy mission 
 undertaken by Teresa of Avila. 
 
 July 16 was a high day at the Convent of the Incarna- 
 
SANTA TERESA. 57 
 
 tion ; it was the great Festival of the Carmelites, and was 
 observed with much pomp and ceremony. The chapel had 
 been thronged throughout the day, and it was only as the 
 shadows of evening were closing round that the crowd 
 gradually dispersed. After the excitement of the Festival, 
 Teresa would gladly have found herself alone, but she had 
 no sooner retired to her cell than a group gathered there 
 eager to converse with her. Among the number was her 
 old friend Juana de Suarez and two nuns who had but 
 lately taken the veil. With them came two girls, whose 
 rich attire contrasted strangely with the sombre habit of the 
 rest. These were Maria de Ocampo and her sister, cousins 
 of Teresa. They had been educated in the monastery, and 
 although now seemingly separated from Teresa by the 
 divergence of their pursuits and tastes, they continued to 
 be deeply attached to her, whilst she with disquietude 
 watched the inroads which the world and its vanities had 
 already made on their youthful hearts. The conversation 
 turned on the events of the day, on the crowds of people 
 present at the offices. Gradually they began to speak of 
 the various hindrances to the religious Hfe, the difficulty of 
 maintaining a spirit of recollectedness whilst living in so 
 large a community as that of the Incarnation, encompassed 
 and disturbed as it was by so many visitors. 
 
 Maria de Ocampo listened eagerly to the conversation. 
 Suddenly she broke in, exclaiming, 'Why should not we 
 who are gathered here clear away these hindrances, and 
 begin elsewhere another kind of life like that of the hermits 
 of old? If indeed you possess the courage to follow in 
 the track of the bare-footed Franciscans, why not found a 
 new convent ? ' Teresa could hardly repress her astonish- 
 ment. Could this indeed be Maria de Ocampo, hitherto 
 absorbed by worldly pleasures, who spoke thus, and who was 
 
58 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 the first openly to suggest to them all a higher life? To prove 
 the sincerity of her words, Maria at once offered a thousand 
 ducats of her own inheritance towards the foundation of 
 this new convent, where only a few nuns should be admitted. 
 All were delighted with the project. Teresa, tremulous 
 with joy, foresaw her long-cherished desire fulfilled, and 
 before they parted for the night plans were made, and a re- 
 formed convent already arose in their imagination. Funds 
 were immediately collected. The Primitive Carmelite rule 
 — long fallen into disuse — was to be restored, and a life of 
 prayer, poverty, and self-sacrifice, which Teresa held to be 
 the true imitation of Christ, was to be inaugurated in the 
 new convent. 
 
 To gather together a few who would lead such a life, she 
 regarded as the surest means of raising her order from its 
 low estate, and causing it again to shine forth as a light in 
 the surrounding darkness. The Provincial of the Carmelites 
 was consulted and gave the attempt his approval, promising 
 to acknowledge the new convent. Peter of Alcantara, whose 
 work of reform among the Franciscans had first suggested 
 the thought to Teresa, sanctioned it on all points, and 
 shortly afterwards, 'with the help of many prayers,' a house 
 was purchased, the necessary funds being unexpectedly pro- 
 vided by Teresa's eldest brother Lorenzo, who had been 
 for the last twenty years in Peru. He had had no commu- 
 nication from his sister, and had no knowledge whatever 
 consequently of her design ; but it had suddenly come into 
 his mind to send her a certain sum of money as a present, 
 and this reached her precisely in time to defray the expense 
 incurred in the purchase and necessary arrangements of the 
 house. 
 
 Teresa did not fail to see the hand of God in this un- 
 looked-for help in a moment of extreme difficulty. 
 
SANTA TERESA. 59 
 
 The love of Teresa for her family had never slackened : 
 her natural tenderness of heart had been intensified by her 
 religion, so that it has been said, ' it seemed as though her 
 human affections, passing through the heart of Jesus, had 
 drawn forth a double vitality.' It was therefore an intense 
 delight to her to be aided thus by her brother in the founda- 
 tion of her little monastery. 
 
 But when the project of a new foundation got rumoured 
 abroad, it caused such excitement and opposition that the 
 Provincial withdrew his consent, and for some months the 
 work was stayed. 
 
 Teresa's patience was sorely tried. Not only was the 
 outer world adverse to her scheme, but the nuns of her 
 community were deeply offended by what they considered 
 presumption on her part. 
 
 The_Monastery of the Incarnation dated from about the 
 time of Teresa's birth. The nuns therefore had known no 
 other rule btit that which was called the ' tnitigated,' a milder 
 rule which had been conceded to the Carmelite Order in 
 the preceding century by Pope Eugenius IV. To return 
 now to the hard lines of the primitive rule, as Teresa pro- 
 posed, was met by a storm of indignation. 
 
 Their present convent was commodious and filled with 
 jilHhe comforts of the time. The nuns were allowed full 
 liberty and enjoyment ; they were not bound by the stringent 
 fasts and abstinences enjoined in former years, and they 
 now resolutely set themselves against any change. ' Reform 
 was a condemnation of the laxity which existed ; and this 
 was resented by the lukewarm, whilst to the rest it appeared 
 like temerity.' 
 
 Teresa meekly bent her head to the storm. ' To one 
 who walks with eyes fixed on eternity the adversities of 
 time give but little disquiet.' There was one characteristic 
 
6o SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 especially remarkable in Teresa— this was her good sense^ 
 which never failed her. She possessed an extraordinary 
 amount of tact and power of persuasion, and these are ex- 
 hibited in every instance where she met with opposition. 
 She accustomed herself never to complain of those who 
 rose up against her, but on the contrary made excuses for 
 them ; and thus she softened the hearts of her opponents, 
 and in the end generally won them over to her cause. 
 Teresa's friends did not desert her in this emergency, and it 
 was determined to apply to the Holy See and obtain, if 
 possible, a Brief in favour of the new convent. 
 
 In the meanwhile the building was continued and the 
 little chapel" nearly finished, when a sudden order arrived 
 which-Fem<>ved'Tefesa"from-Avila. Though looked upon 
 with suspicion and even contumely at this time by many in 
 her native city, the holy life of Teresa, and the extraordinary 
 gifts bestowed upon her, had become known in other parts 
 of Spain. Francis Borgia and Peter of Alcantara had 
 borne witness to her fervent devotion, and to the intense 
 reality of her faith. 
 
 Teresa's fame had reached the ears of Dona Luisa, 
 Duchess de la Cerda, a young widow, overwhelmed with 
 grief at the early death of her husband. Insensible alike 
 to the caresses of her child and the devotion of her brother, 
 her one desire in the midst of her desolation was that Teresa 
 of Avila might be summoned to console her. In December 
 156 1 an order was accordingly obtained from the Provincial 
 of the Carmehtes, in obedience to which Teresa started at 
 once for Toledo. There a great change awaited her. She 
 who longed for a life of poverty and simplicity found her- 
 self lodged in a palace, surrounded by a princely retinue, 
 and treated with the utmost homage by all. She was re- 
 ceived as an angel of consolation, sent to bring healing to 
 
SANTA TERESA. 6i 
 
 the sorrow-stricken widow. For six months Teresa remained 
 at Toledo, and before she left, her persuasive eloquence 
 and tender sympathy had the effect of arousing the con- 
 science as well as soothing the sorrow of Luisa de la Cerda, 
 who arose from the state of depression in which Teresa had 
 found her, resolved to devote the remainder of her life to 
 the service of God. 
 
 Whilst at Toledo, Teresa, by order of her spiritual di- 
 rector,* wrote the history of her inner life — a task most uncon- 
 genial to one who would gladly have put aside all thought 
 of self ; but, in obedience to him, she was forced to retrace 
 her past hfe, step by step, analysing all her acts, and giving 
 a faithful record of the whole course of her experience. 
 
 In June ^.15.62, Teresa received permission from the 
 Provincial of the Carmelites to return to Avila ; and, the 
 very night^of her arrival, the long-expected Brief was re- 
 ceived from Rome. By this Brief, Pope Pius IV. ^ sanctioned 
 the establishment jD^.the- new monastery of St. Joseph under 
 primitive CarmeHte rule. But it was to be subject to the 
 Bishop of Avila, not to the Provincial of the Carmelites. 
 Teresa being a nun of the Incarnation, her name did not 
 appear ; she was still in subjection to the Superior of that 
 house. Some fresh difficulties arose as to revenue, but, 
 fortunately for Teresa, Peter of Alcantara was at this critical 
 moment in Avila, and it was ' the approbation of this holy 
 old man,' Teresa says, ' and the great trouble he took, 
 which did the whole work ; ' for, through his good offices, 
 the Bishop was won over to accept the new foundation 
 without revenue. ' It seemed,' she adds, ' as though Peter 
 of Alcantara's hfe had been preserved till this affair was 
 ended ; for he had been ill for more than two years, and 
 died almost immediately after.' 
 
 ' Father Ibanez. - Cardinal de Medici. 
 
62 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 _ It was privately decided that there should be no further 
 delay in opening the monastery, and on August 24, 1562 — 
 being the Festival of St. Bartholomew — mass was cdebrated 
 for the first time in the little chapel by direction of the. 
 Bishop, Teresa being present. Four dowerless orphans 
 were arrayed in the religious habits which she had pro- 
 vided for them, and these four composed the community. 
 The dress consisted of a coif and veil of coarse white 
 linen, and a white woollen cloak over a petticoat of the 
 natural colour of the wool. 
 
 The ' Te Deum Laudamus ' was chanted by those who 
 assisted at the simple ceremony, and the Httle bell of St. 
 Joseph's rang out vigorously, revealing to the inhabitants of 
 Avila the secret of the inauguration, and announcing to the 
 astonished nuns of the Incarnation the unwelcome birth of 
 the new monastery. The consternation and excitement 
 were intense. A crowd gathered in the streets of Avila, 
 threatening to pull down the new building, and ready to 
 stone the foundress. 
 
 A messenger was immediately despatched to St. Joseph's 
 by the Prioress of the Incarnation, requiring Teresa at 
 once to return to her own convent. She maintained her 
 outward calmness, but doubt and discouragement took 
 hold upon her. As a nun of the Incarnation, she was 
 bound to obey the order of the Prioress, but she dreaded 
 being detained at the monastery, and for ever separated 
 from her newly formed convent. She was fully aware 
 that she had incurred the anger of both the Provincial 
 and the Prioress — the inauguration having been accom- 
 plished without their knowledge and consent — and her 
 spirit became full of heaviness and forebodings of evil. 
 But in this dark hour her watchword came home with 
 power — 
 
SANTA TERESA. 63 
 
 Let nothing disturb thee. 
 Let nothing alarm thee. 
 All things pass away. 
 God is unchangeable. 
 
 She obeyed the summons of the Prioress, and passed on 
 foot through the town of Avila, unmoved by the tumult and 
 threatening looks of the people collected in the streets. 
 
 On arriving at the Convent of the Incarnation she was 
 led as a culprit into the presence of the Prioress, who was 
 surrounded by her nuns. The Provincial of the Carmelites 
 was to pass judgment upon her. He reprimanded her 
 severely ; she abstained from all attempt at self-justification, 
 but knelt down and humbly asked his forgiveness. The 
 Provincial was touched by her humility, and, remembering 
 that he had himself at first encouraged her in the foundation 
 of the new monastery, he was the more disposed tow^ards in- 
 dulgence. But the exasperated nuns renewed their charges, 
 saying 'that she "Was setting up novelties, and causing scan- 
 dals the -city:'' 
 
 Still Teresa was silent, until ordered by the Provincial to 
 declare openly before the whole community her motives for 
 the course she had taken. Simply and calmly she narrated 
 what had passed, and how she had been led to found the 
 new monastery. Impressed by her words, neither the Pro- 
 vincial nor those present found just reason for condemna- 
 tion. 
 
 The authorities of the city were not so easily appeased ; 
 the Governor of Avila demanded that the new monastery 
 should be closed and the novices dismissed. In spite of 
 the Papal Brief and the consent of the Bishop, the city 
 authorities refused to allow a religious house without revenue 
 to be established in Avila. In the end, however, Teresa^ 
 triumphed ; the Monastery of St. Joseph was not closed. 
 
64 SPAJVISH MYSTICS. 
 
 and in Lent 1563 she received permission M. retum-therg, 
 accompanied by four nuns of the Incarnation,- . 
 
 The tide of popular feehng turned ; those who had been 
 her most vehement opponents became her warmest sup- 
 porters, and from this period dates the beginning of that 
 great work of rehgious reform which has made the name of 
 Teresa venerated in Spain, and honoured throughout Chris- 
 tendom. 
 
 For five happy years Teresa never quitted the Monastery 
 of St. Joseph ;'thesT~were~sKe "says, ' the -mnsttranquil^f 
 her life, the calm and rest of which she often missed in after 
 years.' 
 
 The-number of nuns was limited to thirteen.^ At the 
 Incarnation there had been one hundred and eighty, and 
 the largeness of the community had been regarded by 
 Teresa as a great hindrance to advancement in the religious 
 life. Her desire, therefore, was to draw together a few 
 devout sisters who would give themselves to prayer, not 
 merely for themselves, but for the Church of God, and who 
 would pray especially for those wanderers who never prayed 
 for themselves. The one great object which she proposed to 
 her nuns was constant intercessory prayer. ' Help me, my 
 sisters,' she said, ' in praying for others. It is for this end 
 that you have been brought together by the Lord. This is 
 your vocation. It may seem hard to some of you to pray 
 for others rather than for yourselves, but what prayer is better 
 in the sight of God than intercessory prayer ? ' 
 
 The new Carmelites being strictly cloistered had no 
 external work ; it was the more necessary, therefore, that 
 they should be few in number, so that within the cloister 
 there should be sufficient employment to call forth all their 
 energies. There were no lay sisters ; all the household 
 ' It was afterwards raised to twenty. 
 
t 
 
 NTA TERESA. 65 
 
 work was therefore done by the nuns, Teresa herself taking 
 her share of the labour. Wherever her work, she felt that 
 ' this was her appointed place, and here she would meet the 
 Lord as surely as in her cell.' 
 
 Teresa knew well how to make the life of recollectedness 
 and prayer a life of pleasantness as well as of peace. They 
 lived as one family, having all things in common, joys and 
 sacrifices — ever ready to help each other in the daily life — 
 by love serving one another. At the hour for recreation 
 Teresa encouraged gYeat gaiety of heart, and gave the 
 example. She was so persuaded that it was impossible to 
 keep up at all times the same degree of restraint, and that 
 if attempted it would have disastrous effects on both soul 
 and body, that she regarded these seasons of recreation as 
 most important, and expected each one of the community 
 to do her best to enliven the others. ' Do not imitate,' 
 she said, ' those persons who no sooner become somewhat 
 devout than they assume a sour and severe look, as if afraid 
 to talk lest their devotion should take wing.' 
 
 It was thus that Teresa led her sisters in the way of holy 
 charity. She was strict with them, but gentle, simple and 
 practical in all things. To win their confidence she would 
 descend to their level, as though she were but a babe in 
 spiritual attainments, her soul the meanwhile continually 
 rejoicing in the full consciousness of the Lord's presence 
 and of His Divine guidance. 
 
 She recalls in her description of the Lord's dealings with 
 her those words spoken of Israel's lawgiver : ' The Lord spake 
 unto him face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend/ 
 'I know,' she says in her 'Vita,' 'that although He is the 
 Lord, I can commune with Him as with a frie7id. He is 
 not like the princes of this earth, who maintain their dignity 
 by state and grandeur. He is God, yet is He man, and 
 
 F 
 
66 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 our weaknesses excite no surprise in Him who knows our 
 nature, and that our frail flesh is Hable to frequent falls. ... 
 We need no one to introduce us ceremoniously into His 
 presence, for freely and without restraint does He let us 
 approach Him.' 
 
 The little chapel of the new monastery was always filled, 
 and among the crowd of women who gathered there day by 
 day to attend the office none was more constant than Maria 
 de Ocampo. She placed herself as close as possible to the 
 grating which shut in the nuns, as though she would gain 
 something by closer contact. She knelt there richly dressed 
 and radiant in beauty, her eyes moist with tears, whilst she 
 listened to the slow solemn chant of the Carmelites. It 
 was, however, but a passing emotion, for no sooner had she 
 left the chapel than the world drew her back within its 
 alluring net. 
 
 But in a few months the prayer of Teresa and her nuns, 
 which had been constantly offered up for her, was fully 
 answered. Maria came, and, throwing herself at Teresa's 
 feet, asked for the coarse cloth dress of a Carmehte. She 
 was received as a novice. All her jewels and her fortune 
 were offered to the convent, but Teresa would not accept 
 the proffered wealth. 'She would take no gain of money.' 
 Poverty was the rule of the house, and it was a treasure she 
 would not part with. 
 
 It was at this time that Teresa was directed by her 
 confessor to continue the record of her life which she had 
 begun whilst at Toledo. He also required her to write out 
 a summaiy of her daily instructions to the nuns, and thus it 
 was that the 'Way of Perfection ' was produced.^ 
 
 It was about the end of the year 1566 that a new object 
 
 ' Her other works are the Book of the Foundations, The Interior 
 CasiL:, an Exposition of the Canticles (the greater part of which, how- 
 
SAXTA TERESA. 67 
 
 was presented to Teresa's religious energy. A Franciscan 
 monk of the name of Maldonado, a missionary but lately 
 returned from the Spanish Indies, arrived at St. Joseph's 
 and asked for an interview with the Prioress. 
 
 Teresa was greatly moved by his account of the misery 
 and ignorance he had witnessed in these distant Spanish 
 .possessions, where the name of Christ was almost unknown 
 and the unhappy natives treated with the greatest cruelty. 
 The compassion and enthusiasm of Teresa were excited to 
 the highest pitch. Her mind was filled with the thought of 
 these 'dark places of the earth, full of habitations of cruelty,' * 
 and she resolved to aid to the utmost of her power in dis- 
 pelling the darkness by sending to the oppressed natives the 
 blessed light of the Gospel. 
 
 To her there appeared no other way of effecting this 
 object except through the establishment of friars of the 
 Reformed Carmelite rule — men who should be trained to 
 mission work, full of burning zeal and devotion, who would 
 gladly peril their lives to bring these poor heathen souls 
 into Christ's fold. 
 
 Teresa and her nuns ceased not to pray that a way 
 might be opened for carrying out this design, but six months 
 passed without any result. In the following spring (1567) 
 Teresa was somewhat disturbed by learning that the General 
 of the Carmehtes, who always resided in Rome, was ex- 
 pected shortly at Avila. She felt that he might be dis- 
 pleased at the withdrawal of her new convent from his 
 jurisdiction ; she herself, by her early vows, was still subject 
 to his authority, and she dreaded lest he should order her 
 back to the Monastery of the Incarnation. To remove all 
 prejudice from his mind was her first object, and to this 
 
 ever, was burnt by her confessor), her Constitution^ and Exclamations of 
 the ^oul to God. * Psalm Ixxiv. 20. 
 
 F 
 
68 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 end, having obtained the permission of her Bishop, she 
 adopted the well-conceived plan of inviting him at once to 
 honour her convent with a visit. Accordingly, Fra Giovanni 
 Battista Rubeo — the Father- General of the Carmehtes — on 
 reaching Avila came immediately to St. Joseph's. She narrated 
 to him all the circumstances of the foundation, and, far from 
 blaming her, he, to her great joy, approved of all that she 
 had done, and only regretted that, through the vacillation 
 of the Provincial, the convent had been placed under the 
 Bishop of the diocese. 
 
 Fra Rubeo proved to be as desirous of reform in the 
 Carmelite order as Teresa herself, and great was his satis- 
 faction to find in Avila one who had successfully commenced 
 the work which he had so much at heart. Through Teresa's 
 instrumentality Father Rubeo now looked for a widespread 
 revival of spirituality throughout Spain, and she received 
 from him the command not only to found other convents 
 for women, but also to form two monasteries in Castile for 
 men of the Reformed rule. Before returning to Rome an 
 arrangement was also made with the Bishop of Avila, by 
 which the Monastery of St. Joseph was again placed under 
 the jurisdiction of the General of the Carmelites. 
 
 Teresa was now fifty-two years old, but '■ the spark of 
 that first deathless fire yet buoyed her up,' and without 
 hesitation she bade farewell to her peaceful home and life 
 of seclusion at St. Joseph's, to sally forth again into the 
 outer world, to encumber herself with business, and devote 
 all her energies to the newly appointed task. 
 
 She met with no encouragement from her friends ; the 
 same difficulties which she had encountered in the founda- 
 tion of the Monastery of St. Joseph, had again to be over- 
 come, but she made light of all these troubles, and before 
 lon^i a new convent for women was founded at Medina del 
 
SANTA TERESA. 69 
 
 Campo. Her mind, however, was especially occupied with 
 the thought of that other work confided to her — the founda- 
 tion of two monasteries for men. An unexpected friend was 
 raised up at Medina in the Prior of the Carmelites of the 
 Mitigated rule — Fra Antonio de Heredia. She spoke to 
 him in private of her design, and learnt that he himself 
 had felt called to a Hfe of higher devotion, and earnestly 
 begged to be received as her first Reformed friar. 
 
 Heredia was no longer young, and Teresa hesitated ; 
 but finally consented, insisting, however, on his submitting 
 to a year's probation. 
 
 A few days afterwards she met with the man whose 
 name was to be ever associated with hers in the work of 
 reform— this was Juan de la Cruz, the most mystical of 
 Spanish Mystics, and whom she at once accepted as the first 
 friar of the new Order. 
 
 In 1568 the first monastery for friars of the Primitive 
 Carmelite rule was formed at Durvelo, and as no work of 
 Teresa's reflects greater honour upon her name, so none 
 brought upon her greater trials. Monaster}^ after monastery 
 arose for women. Her utter want of means to carry out 
 her work excited continual remonstrance from her friends 
 but the question of money never weighed upon Teresa. 
 She had implicit trust that God would supply all her need. 
 When at Toledo she possessed but three ducats wherewith 
 to begin the new convent. In vain her friends expostu- 
 lated. She cheerfully replied, ' Teresa and three ducats are 
 indeed Jiotlmig ; but God^ Teresa, and three ducats can 
 accomplish it.' 
 
 A second Reformed Monastery for men was formed at 
 Pastrana. The house was presented to her by Ruy Gomez, 
 Prince of Eboli, who was high in favour at the Court of 
 Philip 11. On the arrival of Teresa at Pastrana, she was 
 
70 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 received with every mark of deference by Ruy Gomez. 
 The Princess of Eboli was desirous of founding also a 
 convent for Reformed Carmehte nuns ; both these houses 
 were established at Pastrana. But in the midst of success 
 there were not wanting elements of trouble. Difficulties 
 arose with the Princess of Eboli. She had by some means 
 become aware that Teresa had written a private account of 
 her own spiritual life, and nothing would satisfy the Princess 
 but to read it. Her curiosity would not be restrained. 
 For a long time Teresa resisted her importunity, and only 
 at length reluctantly yielded at the request of the Prince, 
 and on the condition that what she had written should be 
 shoivn to no one else. But the Princess was as indiscreet as 
 she was wilful. The book was read by everyone in the 
 palace, where it excited much gossip and criticism, and was 
 ultimately brought under the notice and suspicion of the 
 Inquisition. The labour which Teresa underwent in found- 
 ing religious houses was cheerfully, even joyfully borne. 
 She made light of all privations, though often suffering from 
 ill-health. But her most difficult task, she says, was to 
 adapt herself to the various tempers with which she came 
 in contact. The Princess of Eboli was one of those who 
 tried her patience to the utmost ; but Teresa possessed an 
 intuitive insight into character, and her extraordinary gift of 
 tact, joined to her gentleness and large-heartedness, seldom 
 failed to win over those who were at first most troublesome 
 and contradictory. 
 
 New monasteries arose at Salamanca_and— Al¥a-^de 
 Tbrmes ; the last-named, after a few more years of toil, 
 became her burial-place, where to this day Spanish devotees 
 kneel before her shrine. 
 
 About this time Pope Pius V. appointed two new visitors 
 to inspect the Carmehte monasteries in Spain. In Anda- 
 
SANTA TERESA. 7^ 
 
 lusia great disorder prevailed among the Mitigated friars. 
 The visitation of Father Rubeo— the General of the Carme- 
 lites — seven years previous to this, had been without effect. 
 The unruly friars withstood all reformatory regulations. 
 On the present occasion two Dominicans were chosen. 
 Father Vargas was sent to Andalusia, and Father Her- 
 nandez to Castile. The latter was a man of much pru- 
 dence as well as piety. Reforms were instituted with great 
 judgment. His authority extended over the whole order in 
 Castile — Mitigated and Primitive — and so impressed was he 
 by the sanctity of those houses under Teresa's rule, that he 
 recommended a further extension of these establishments — 
 the number for men having been hitherto limited to two by 
 Father Rubeo, and those two in Castile. He also appointed 
 Teresa Prioress of the Incarnation, with the hope that a 
 reform might be effected in that monastery through her 
 wise intervention. 
 
 Nothing could have been more uncongenial to Teresa 
 than this appointment, or less welcome to the nuns over 
 whom she was to rule, for they stoutly maintained their old 
 opposition to any * novelties.' 
 
 She remained at the Incarnation for three years, during 
 which time she never sought to impose upon the nuns the 
 austerities of the Primitive rule which she herself followed, 
 but to which they were not bound, but simply sought to in- 
 fuse the spirit of love into their observance of the Mitigated 
 rule. After a while her gentle words, and the commanding 
 influence of a holy life, bore fruit ; gradually and imper- 
 ceptibly the nuns turned from worldly things, and dedicated 
 themselves anew to the service of God. 
 
 A great change had taken place in Teresa since she was 
 herself a nun in the Monastery of the Incarnation. Her 
 spiritual life was no longer marked by the visions and 
 
72 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 ecstasies of former years. Such manifestations were _not 
 needed now, and they had become rare. Profound peace 
 reigned within the soul possessed hyChxhi'y the hfe of self 
 was dead, and she could say with the Apostle, ' Mihi enim 
 vivere Christus est' No longer absorbed in contempla- 
 tion, it seemed as though she had been recalled to earth, 
 endued with more than human ardour to work for God, and 
 to bring others to labour in His vineyard with the same 
 deep living sense of His Presence. 
 
 At Veas, where she had gone to found a new monastery 
 for nuns, she met for the first time Jerome Gratian, whose 
 life was destined to be closely interwoven with hers in the 
 trials and difficulties which beset her latter years. 
 
 Gratian had been for three years a friar of her order. 
 He had won the hearts of his brethren at Pastrana by his 
 piety and humihty ; added to this he had great eloquence 
 and a remarkable talent for administration. The Discalced 
 friars had been introduced into Andalusia by Father Vargas, 
 the apostolic visitor for that province, and the intelligence 
 and address of Gratian had so won his esteem, that in spite 
 of Gratian's opposition, Vargas unwisely determined to 
 make him his deputy in the important office of visitor to 
 the Carmelite monasteries throughout Andalusia ; an act of 
 imprudence which raised grave disputes between the Miti- 
 gated and Discalced friars, and imperilled the reform insti- 
 tuted by Teresa. Gratian was but thirty years old, and 
 ^grievous oifence was given by the elevation of so young and 
 inexperienced a man to so important a post 
 
 In spite of all the tact and consideration displayed by 
 Gratian, the Mitigated friars took alarm and wrote to Rome 
 to the General of the Carmelites, acquainting him with the 
 undue partiality shown by Vargas to the Discalced friars, and 
 assuring him that their rule was menaced by the appointment 
 
SAXTA TERESA. 73 
 
 of Gratian to the office of visitor. Father Rubeo's wrath was 
 kindled. His desire for reform throughout the order was 
 sincere, but he did not desire that it should be effected by 
 forcing the rule of the Discalced friars on those of the 
 Mitigated rule. He now looked with suspicion on a move 
 ment which bordered on schism, and which bid fair to en- 
 danger the peace and prosperity of the whole order. 
 
 He therefore obtained a brief from Pope Gregory XHI. 
 revoking the powers bestowed on the two apostolic visitors ; 
 but Ormaneto, the Pope's Nuncio in Spain, was equally 
 determined to retain them. He reinstated Vargas as visitor 
 in Andalusia, and appointed Gratian as his coadjutor, writ- 
 ing at the same time to the Papal See a full account of all 
 the circumstances. The result was that Ormaneto, being on 
 the spot, was given full liberty to act as he deemed best. 
 
 Teresa's foundations had hitherto been confined to 
 Castile, by order of Rubeo ; but at this critical time she 
 was urged by Gratian to found a new monaster}' at Seville 
 and in an evil hour obeyed. It was to her the commence- 
 ment of the way of sorrows. It at once brought upon her 
 the charge of disobedience from Father Rubeo. 
 
 In May 1575 she set out for Seville, accompanied by six 
 of her nuns. Cordova, the ancient capital of Moorish Spain, 
 ' the Gem of the South,' was reached on Whitsun eve. At 
 an early hour the following morning, that they might be seen 
 by no one, Teresa and her nuns made their way over the 
 old bridge which still crosses the Guadalquivir, and, passing 
 through the narrow streets, reached the church to which 
 they had been directed as the most retired in Cordova. 
 But, being a day of Festival, they found to their dismay an 
 immense crowd already assembled outside. At the ap- 
 proach of Teresa and her nuns, clad in their white woollen 
 cloaks, with veiled faces and sandalled feet, the crowd 
 
74 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 became greatly excited, so much so that Teresa tells us that 
 'these were some of the worst moments she ever ex- 
 perienced, for there was such a tumult at their appearance, 
 that it was as though an entry of bulls had taken place for 
 the national sport' 
 
 Seville was reached towards the end of May, when earth 
 and sky were bright with the glory of a southern spring. 
 Teresa and her Httle company alighted at a small hired 
 house in the Calle de las Armas, where the harassing fact 
 was made known to her that no permission had been ac- 
 corded by the Archbishop of Seville for the foundation of 
 the new monastery ; and that, moreover, he had instituted a 
 rule by which no religious establishment could be admitted 
 within Seville without sufficient funds to make it self-sup 
 porting. A month passed without the required hcence, but 
 at length a letter from Gratian induced the Archbishop to 
 visit Teresa, and the cause of the Carmelites was won. As 
 it had been with others, so was it with the Archbishop, he 
 could not resist the spell of Teresa's influence. He left her, 
 bidding her ' do what she Hked, and as she liked, for the 
 glory of God.' That very day the house was consecrated as 
 a cloistered building. 
 
 It was a close and incommodious dwelling, and the 
 whole community, unaccustomed to the heat of southern 
 Spain, suffered much from the overcrowding ; but fortu- 
 nately at this juncture Teresa's brother, Lorenzo de Cepeda, 
 arrived from the Indies with his family. He had given 
 Teresa unexpected aid some years previously, and he now 
 again came forward to help her. A suitable house was pur- 
 chased by him at once, to which he added a chapel. 
 
 In May 1576 the convent was ready for occupation. 
 Teresa would have taken possession quietly, but the Arch- 
 bishop determined otherwise. The streets of Seville were 
 
SANTA TERESA. 75 
 
 gaily decorated, and a procession formed by all the clergy 
 and confraternities of the city, whilst the Archbishop him- 
 self carried the Holy Sacrament. At the threshold of the 
 convent Teresa knelt to receive his benediction ; but he, in 
 the presence of all, bent down and asked her to bless him. 
 
 Teresa, about this time, had the satisfaction of learning 
 that the record of her life, which had so long been under 
 the scrutiny of the Inquisition, had at length received a 
 favourable verdict. But this triumph was followed by a far 
 more severe ordeal. Her orthodoxy was again brought in 
 question, and false reports were circulated as to the obser- 
 vances of the new convent. A foohsh novice, who had been 
 dismissed, accused Teresa of 'confessing the nuns,' and 
 this charge, taken up by a credulous priest, was made the 
 ground for again denouncing her to the Inquisition. 
 
 Unusual pubhcity was given to the proceedings against 
 her. The whole city was in a stir. The gates of the con- 
 vent were closely guarded, no egress was permitted. The 
 crowded streets, through which the Inquisitors had to pass 
 on their way to the convent, were lined with horsemen — 
 emissaries of the Holy Office. Through all the turmoil 
 Teresa remained calm and serene. She was minutely ques- 
 tioned, but her answers were clear and satisfactory. 
 
 The Inquisitors declared that she had been unjustly 
 accused, and the carriages which had been brought to convey 
 Teresa and the nuns away as prisoners, returned empty. 
 But the matter did not rest here. The Inquisitors wished 
 to investigate further Teresa's method of prayer, and her 
 instructions to her nuns. She therefore drew up two docu- 
 ments, in which she gave a full account of the different stages 
 of prayer through which she herself had passed, and also 
 the simple method of devotion which she had adopted for 
 her nuns. The Inquisitors expressed themselves satisfied, 
 
'76 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 \ 
 
 v- and not only ceased from all further proceedings against 
 
 Teresa, but publicly censured the priest who had denounced 
 
 , her. From henceforth there was peace with the Holy Office ; 
 
 Cy but another struggle, longer and more painful, was before her. 
 
 ->!'' All this time the conflict had been going on with in- 
 
 creasing violence between the Mitigated and Reformed friars. 
 A general Chapter had been held by Father Rubeo at Pia- 
 
 <;> cenza, where severe decrees were fulminated against ' those 
 rebels who, under the name of Discalced Carmelites, had 
 founded monasteries without the consent of the General of 
 the Order.' A Portuguese friar, of the name of Tostado, 
 was also despatched to Spain, with full power to put an end 
 to ' the anarchy which prevailed among the Carmehtes, 
 through the revolt of these innovators.' The Discalced friars 
 were to be driven out of their monasteries, whilst serious ac- 
 cusations were brought against Xeiesa herself. She was for- 
 bidden to make any further foundations, and was ordereSjo 
 retire into one of her monastexies, and not to leave it^jonany 
 pretext whatever. This was, in other words, imprisonmenjt. 
 Teresa submitted without remonstrance. She had a 
 peace within which nothing could disturb — 'a communion 
 with God, rich and deep, drowning every sorrow and provo- 
 cation in its calm, mighty depths.' 
 
 Toledo was fixed upon as her place of detention. She 
 had long foreseen that there was but one way by which 
 peace could be secured to the Carmelite Order. This was 
 by the formation of a separate province for the Reformed 
 friars. To attempt any amalgamation whilst the feeling of 
 hostility was so strong would be utterly futile. Ormaneto 
 (the Pope's Nuncio) was entirely in favour of this arrange- 
 ment ; all the necessary regulations were on the point of 
 being settled ; peace seemed about to be attained, when 
 the Nuncio died (1577). 
 
 V 
 
SANTA TERESA. 77 
 
 His s iccessor, ^Monsignor Sega, took a totally different 
 view of the case. He determined at once to suppress all 
 the Reformed monasteries. He regarded Teresa as a rest- 
 less busybody, intractable and contumacious, as well as a 
 despiser of the Apostohc precept, which permits not women 
 to teach. His first act was to require Gratian to resign the 
 office of visitor bestowed upon him by Ormaneto, and this 
 not being complied with, harsher measures followed. All 
 the leaders of the Reform movement had to fly from Anda- 
 lusia, and Teresa, by direction of Gratian, was removed 
 from Toledo to Avila. She was again in her native city, in 
 her beloved IMonastery of St. Joseph, but no longer free. 
 Antonio de Heredia and Jerome Gratian were seized and 
 imprisoned by order of Sega. In the midst of this perse- 
 cution the office of Prioress of the Incarnation became 
 vacant, and, to the indignation of Tostada, the nuns im- 
 mediately elected Teresa. He insisted on another election, 
 but the nuns persisted in voting for their old Prioress. As 
 each separate suffrage was brought to the Provincial, he 
 angrily tore it up and burnt it before the eyes of the offending 
 nun, pronouncing her to be 'excommunicate and accursed' 
 It required Teresa herself to intervene before they would ac- 
 cept another Prioress erett as Teresa's deputy. In revenge, 
 Tostada seized and imprisoned Juan de la Cruz, the 
 confessor of the nuns. Everywhere the Discalced friars 
 were oppressed ; all seemed over with the Reform ; but, 
 when others were cast down and dismayed, ' the spirit of 
 Teresa alone enjoyed serenity and confidence.' 'We must 
 suffer troubles,' were her words, 'but this Order will not 
 perish.' 
 
 The end of the struggle was in truth approaching 
 though the recall of Tostado to Rome and the death of 
 Fatl:er Rubeo in 1578 had brought no respite. 
 
78 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Several prelates now interfered, and represented to 
 Monsignor Sega that his severity was excessive. Among 
 those who took up the cause of reform was Hernandez — 
 the former apostolic visitor in Castile — and the Nuncio was 
 startled to find that he himself was censured by so many 
 men of high repute for the course he had pursued. 
 
 After a careful review of all that had taken place, he 
 was led to admit the mistakes into which he had fallen. 
 The decree by which the Reformed monasteries had beea 
 abolished was rescinded, Gratian was restored to his office, 
 Juan de la Cruz and Heredia set free, and Teresa released 
 from her detention at St. Joseph's. Finally, in 1580, a 
 Brief was obtained from the Pope (Gregory XIII.) by 
 which the Discalced were separated from the Mitigated 
 Carmelites. Their monasteries were thenceforth formed 
 into separate provinces, governed by a provincial of their 
 own rule, and by this means peace was at length restored to 
 the whole Order. 
 
 Old age with its infirmities had sapped the strengtli-of 
 Teresa, and she had had a stroke of paralysis in 1580, yet she 
 continued to obey the calls made upon her for new founda- 
 tions. 
 
 She lived to see founded fifteen houses of Reformed 
 friars and seventeen of nuns, her friars being sent forth as 
 missionaries to all parts of the world, preaching the Gospel 
 to the ignorant and oppressed. 
 
 The end was near at hand. She spent the first day of 
 the year 1582 at Avila, at her first Reformed Monastery of 
 St. Joseph ; the following day she left it never to return. 
 No relaxation was hers in this life. Feeble in body but 
 strong in will, she started, regardless of the intense cold, for 
 Burgos, there to found a new monastery for nuns. Whilst 
 in that city she was in great danger from an inundation of 
 
SANTA TERESA. 79 
 
 the river Arlanzon, on the banks of which the new convent 
 was built. The continual rains had caused the river to over- 
 flow, and the turbid sluggish stream suddenly became a 
 rushing mighty torrent. Trees were uprooted, and fell 
 with a fearful crash ; houses tottered, whilst, like a surging 
 sea, the swollen river held on its course, bearing along with 
 it the wreckage it had made. 
 
 The inhabitants hastened up to the heights above the 
 city, crying to the Carmelites to follow them. But it was 
 too late. Teresa and her nuns took refuge in the highest 
 chamber of the convent, whither they had carried the Holy 
 Sacrament, and passed the anxious hours in prayer, without 
 food, and in momentary expectation that the house would 
 fall. In the night the waters abated, and an attempt was 
 made by the people of Burgos to save the nuns. Certain 
 men of the city swam to the convent, and breaking the 
 doors made a way for the pent waters to flow out, and the 
 Carmelites were rescued from the peril which threatened 
 them. The calmness and intrepidity shown by Teresa 
 during the inundation became quickly noised abroad, and 
 she received a perfect ovation wherever she appeared. But 
 she shrank from notice ; praise had become distasteful to 
 the aged saint, and she rebuked with severity those who 
 ventured to tell her that the rapid subsidence of the flood 
 was regarded by the populace as a miracle wrought by her 
 presence. From flattering words and marks of deference 
 she would turn away, and say in low tones, ' Spare me, I 
 pray you.' Her humility increased with her years, and by 
 degrees she was given such a profound contempt for the 
 honour which cometh from man, that she ceased to observe 
 when at any time it was lacking. 
 
 She was never free now from suffering, and though 
 partiallypuralysed, made light of all her ailments. It was 
 
8o SPANISH MYSTICS, 
 
 her maxim that ' the less attention paid to these things the 
 better one found oneself.' Her tenderness towards other 
 sufferers was most touching to witness. She would drag 
 herself to the infirmary in the night to soothe and calm by 
 her words any who were in pain. ' The longer I live,' she 
 wrote, ' the more clearly do I see that love must be the 
 ruling principle. I do not govern now with the same 
 severity as formerly. I know not whether it is that my 
 nuns never give me occasion to exercise it, or whether 
 experience has proved to me that the way of love is the best' 
 
 The slightest service, the least token of interest or 
 affection, drew forth her gratitude, and she never failed to 
 remember in her prayers those who had shown her kind-' 
 ness, ever asking God to reward them tenfold. 
 
 But the special trait in her character was her forbear- 
 ance towards those who had injured her. 
 
 ' To enjoy to the full the good graces of Mother Teresa,' 
 said one of the Cardinals, ' one must have spoken ill of her, 
 or caused her pain.' 
 
 She quitted Burgos at the end of July 1582, glad to 
 escape from the veneration of which she had been the 
 object, and to retire to the seclusion of St. Joseph's Monas- 
 tery, where her young niece, Teresita — whom she had 
 educated — was to make her profession. By order of the 
 Father Provincial, however, she was obliged first to inspect 
 the convents established at Palencia, Valladolid, and Medina 
 del -Ompo. , Her increasing debihty occasioned alarm to 
 her nuns,' and they watched wuth anxiety her faltering steps 
 as she passed from her cell to the choir. 
 
 At Medina she was met by Fra Antonio de Heredia, 
 one of her first two friars, who came with a message from 
 the Duchess of Alva, urgently requesting her to visit Alva. 
 She again yielded up her own wishes, and being placed in a 
 
SANTA TERESA, 8l 
 
 litter was carried to Alba de Torme?. She endured great 
 privations during the journey, which lasted five days — food 
 being scarce in the villages through which they passed — 
 and her weakness became so great, that at times she 
 swooned away. A carriage was sent by the Duchess when 
 she heard of Teresa's illness, but when, on the evening of 
 September 20, they reached Alba de Tormes, she was so 
 exhausted that it was found impossible to proceed further, 
 the palace of the Duchess being at a considerable height 
 above the town. She was therefore conveyed to the con- 
 vent, where she was received with every mark of loyalty and 
 love. To the surprise of all, she rose early the next morning, 
 and attended mass. The power of her will was unabated, 
 though weighed down by bodily infirmity, and she insisted 
 upon going over the convent, expressing pleasure at the 
 order which prevailed. For some days she appeared to 
 rally, and exhibited the most extraordinary energy, accom- 
 panying the nuns each morning to chapel, reciting the office 
 and communicating ; but on September 29 — the Festival of 
 St. Michael and All Angels — after assisting at mass, she 
 became so faint and feeble, that she had to be carried from 
 the chapel. She directed the nuns to place her in a room 
 where through a grated window the choir could be seen, 
 and the office heard. She remained calm and silent 
 throughout the remainder of the day, laid on the bed from 
 which she was never more to rise. 
 
 ' Love's blessed race ' was run — the desired haven was 
 at hand, 'when she would pass out of exile,' and be for ever 
 with her Lord. 
 
 Tears were on every face, grief in every heart but hers, 
 for Heaven was opening to her gaze, and her eye was ht up 
 with joyful expectation. 
 
 All through the night she was holding communion with 
 
 G 
 
82 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 the unseen ; and it was only by a smile of thanks to those 
 who gave her the prescribed remedies that she seemed to 
 return to earth. At break of day on October 2, after a 
 sleepless night spent in prayer, Teresa sent for Father 
 Antonio that he might hear her confession. He implored 
 her to pray that she might yet be spared to them for some 
 years. ' Be not troubled, my brother,' she replied, ' I am 
 no longer needed here.' 
 
 The next evening at sunset, on the Vigil of St. Francis 
 Teresa asked for the sacred Viaticum. The nuns gathered 
 around her, waiting for the afnvai of Father Antonio and 
 anxiously hoping for a word of farewell, or a last counsel 
 from those lips so soon to be silent. Teresa's eyes were 
 closed and her hands clasped together in supplication ; her 
 lips moved in prayer, and the words of the ' Miserere ' were 
 faintly heard : ' Cor contritum et huiniliatuDi^ Deus, ?ion de- 
 spicies^ ' Cor mu7idui)i crea in me, Deus' 
 
 At length she gazed around her, and extended her hands 
 to the kneeling nuns, whilst with eyes moist with tears she 
 prayed them ' to forgive her the evil example she had but 
 too often given them, for she'was a great sinner.' She bade 
 them ' avoid her faults, and strive to follow out exactly and 
 entirely the rule and constitutions of their order.' Sobs 
 were the only response. 
 
 The sound of the bell now announced that the priest 
 had come. As soon as he entered her cell with the Holy 
 Sacrament, Teresa, in spite of her pam and extreme weak- 
 ness, raised herself up without help, and knelt on her bed. 
 Her face became bright and radiant with joy, and out of the 
 abundance of her heart she burst forth in these^wgrds : 
 'O my beloved Lord and my Spouse, the desired hgur^so 
 long wished for is come ! the time is come for me to meet 
 Thee, to behold Thee, and to depart from this life. Blessed 
 
SANTA TERESA. 83 
 
 be this hour ! Happy and prosperous may the journey 
 -prm-er' Thy will, O Lord, be done. The hour is at hand 
 when I shall pass out of this exile and go forth to Thee, to 
 be united to Thee, to enjoy that Presence for which I have 
 so long panted.' 
 
 Often in lone night watches she had thought of the hour 
 when she would hear His voice, saying, 'Rise up, and come 
 away ; ' and now the glad summons had come. ' Behold, 
 the Bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet Him : ' and she 
 arose to receive the symbol of His love before departing 
 hence, and beholding face to face Him Whom her soul 
 loved. Deep joy was given her, but with it was ever blended 
 the undertone of humihation. ' A broken and contrite 
 heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.' These were words 
 uttered again and again by the dying saint. 
 
 Often, too, she dwelt on her being ' a daughter of the 
 Church.' ' I die a daughter of the Church ; ' but deeper 
 still lay the glorious foundation of her faith. She brought 
 no other plea for her acceptance than the redemption through 
 the precious blood of Christ. All the good works of her 
 life which had won the praise of men, all that by the grace 
 of God she had dofze, seemed to have faded now from her 
 memory. They were as shifting sand in that supreme hour. 
 She built not upon these, but prayed those around her to 
 ask God to pardon all her sins, for her hope of salvation 
 rested solely on the merits of her Divine Lord.' ' 
 
 As night set in, she asked for the Sacrament of extreme 
 unction,^ and joined with the nuns in the Penitential Psalms 
 and Litany. "When the ceremony was concluded. Father 
 Antonio asked her whether she desired that her body after 
 death should be carried to Avila ? This question seemed 
 to grieve her. She only answered, ' Is it for me to decide ? 
 
 * Hisioire de Sainte Therese, tome ii. p. 429. 
 
 o 2 
 
84 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Will they not in charity give me here a little corner of earth?' 
 Throughout that night the pains of death encompassed her, 
 and she was heard softly whispering the name of Jesus. 
 That Name was to her as ointment poured forth, and she 
 called upon Him to soothe and help her in her extremity. 
 
 The prayer of her youthful days was also murmured 
 forth, 'Domine, da mihi hanc aquam.' Soon she would 
 reach the river's brink, and take of the Water of Life freely. 
 When at daybreak, on October 4, clean white linen sleeves 
 and a fresh coif were brought her, she smiled sweetly ; it 
 seemed like arraying her for the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb to which she was called; and she tenderly em- 
 braced the sister, laying her head on her shoulder, as if to 
 thank her. 
 
 As the day wore on she seemed absorbed in contem- 
 plation; her head was supported by the sister who for 
 thirteen years had been her constant companion. In her 
 hand she held a crucifix, grasping it firmly to the end. 
 
 No words were uttered to those around her, but she 
 appeared to be listening to a Voice inaudible to all but her- 
 self, to which she was responding. At times there was a 
 look of wonder on her face, and then one of ineffable de- 
 light as she drew near to the eternal shore. 
 
 Reverently the priest and nuns knelt around her bed ; 
 hushed was every sound. That poor cell was to them 
 transformed into the gate of Heaven,^ for to those sad 
 watchers it seemed as though 
 
 the place was bright 
 With something of Celestial light. ^ 
 
 So calm and peaceful was the end, that only a gentle 
 
 ' See Histoire de Sainte Therese, tome ii. p. 431. 
 
 2 See Christian Year (Visitation and Communion of the Sick). 
 
SANTA TERESA. 8$ 
 
 sigh revealed to them the moment when the immortal spirit 
 entered into rest. 
 
 On Thursday, October 4, on the Festival of St. Francis, 
 at nine o'clock in the evening, Teresa of Avila passed away 
 from this earth. ' She came into this world in the spring- 
 tide, at the first streak of dawn, March 15 15, and the Lord 
 called her unto Himself on the evening of an autumn day, 
 October 1582.' ^ 
 
 Ever the richest tenderest glow 
 
 Sets round the autumnal sun — 
 But there sight fails ; no heart may know 
 
 The bliss when life is done.- 
 
 The room where Teresa was born is now a chapel, richly 
 decorated, attached to the church dedicated to Nuestra 
 Serafica Madre Santa Teresa de Jesus. Over the altar is a 
 statue of the saint in ecstasy. The artist ^ has selected the 
 moment when in a vision she beheld the Lord suffering grief 
 and scorn — wounded for her transgressions — and when her 
 soul was filled with anguish and remorse. The site of the 
 garden where she and her brother formed hermitages, in 
 which they might dwell in prayer and solitude, is still shown. 
 Among her relics is a small ivory figure, representing the 
 Saviour scourged, which is placed on the altar ; the rosary 
 and staff used by Teresa are also carefully preserved. 
 
 But the decree which in 1836 abolished all the monas- 
 teries for men in Spain reduced also the number of nun- 
 neries, and the convent adjoining the church, which was 
 erected in honour of Teresa's home, has shared the evil 
 fortune of the day ; only a few secularised Carmelites re- 
 main to serve the offices of the church, which is still the 
 glory of Avila. 
 
 ' See Histoire de Sainte Therise, note, p. 433. 
 
 2 Keble's Christian Year (Second Sunday after Epiphany). 
 
 ' Hernandez. 
 
86 SPANISH MYSTICS, 
 
 In the Monastery of St. Joseph, on August 24, there is 
 still an annual commemoration of the reform established by 
 Teresa dating from this day. The clergy of the cathedral 
 officiate, and the singing of Spanish airs after the mass by 
 the Carmelite nuns is described as one of the most touch- 
 ing parts of the ceremony. On this anniversary also a 
 picture of Teresa is carried in procession to all the cells 
 to remind the nuns of their foundress ; and old-fashioned 
 instruments, in use in her day — tambourines and timbrels — 
 are played by four novices in memory of the first four 
 orphans who were adopted by Teresa. 
 
 The body of Teresa was interred at first in the Carmelite 
 convent at Alba de Tormes, but after a while was removed 
 from thence to St. Joseph's at Avila ; finally, however, by a 
 decree of Pope Sixtus V. the body of the saint was brought 
 back to Alba, and her humble desire fulfilled, that ' a Httle 
 corner of earth ' should be there allowed her. 
 
 In the Convent of the Incarnation the chapel continues 
 to this day unaltered. The stalls for the nuns are regarded 
 with veneration as having been occupied in turn by Teresa, 
 and in that which was reserved for her as prioress, a wooden 
 statue is placed, representing her with her hand on the 
 breviary, giving the signal for the office to commence. 
 
 The parlour of the convent also remains as in those 
 days when visitors were permitted to flock in, and when 
 Teresa's ready wit and powers of conversation charmed all 
 who came.^ 
 
 By the earnest request of the Spanish Church and nation 
 Teresa was canonised in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. at the 
 same time as Isidore the labourer, Ignatius Loyola, Francis 
 Xavier, and Philip Neri. 
 
 See Souvenirs dn Paysdc Saint e Therese (Abbe Plasse). 
 
DIEGO DE ESTELLA. 87 
 
 DIEGO, DE ESTELLA. 
 
 B. 1524. D. 1598.' 
 
 ' Who possesseth much ? Even he that desireth Httle.' 
 
 ' Kill thine enemy, St?t, when he is yet but little; for when 
 he is grown up to his full size, for sparing him, he will murder 
 thee.' 
 
 ' As ashes do keep and preserve the fire, so doth humilit}- 
 preserve the grace of the Holy Ghost.' 
 
 * Happy is he who seeketh with his whole soul the love 
 of God and things invisible ; he exchanges small for great, 
 transitory for eternal, vile for precious, base for glorious, 
 miserable for most comfortable, sour for sweet, and, in a 
 word, nothing for all things.' 
 
 ' There are certain precious stones which if they touch 
 some metals lose their virtue, whilst, again, by contact with 
 others their virtue increaseth. Now love, being a most 
 precious stone, doth lose its virtue if fastened upon thyself, 
 but if fixed upon God, it groweth and increaseth mightily.' 
 
 'It is the custom of those who are appointed to be 
 judges in single combats to measure the weapons of those 
 who are to fight together in the lists. So God, Who is the 
 righteous Judge, doth take just measure of our spiritual 
 weapons, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that we 
 are able to bear.' 
 
 'He that snuffeth the candle with his bare fingers 
 defileth his fingers, but the candle burneth the brighter 
 thereby. So he which decryeth and defameth the good 
 man defileth his own soul and conscience, but the good 
 man shines all the more brightly in God's sight.' 
 
 ' M. Rousselot, in Les Mystiques espagnols, gives 1598 as the date 
 of death of Diego de Estella. Ticknor gives 1578. 
 
88 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 ' One of the plagues of Egypt was the plague of frogs, 
 and one of the plagues of the world is the plague of evil 
 speakers ; they sit like frogs all day in the mire of their own 
 sinfulness, and when it waxeth dark croak out with a loud 
 voice their neighbours' defects.' 
 
 ' God made not thy tongue of bone, nor of any other 
 hard substance, but of tender flesh, to put thee in mind 
 that thy words should be gentle and soft, and not rough or 
 sharp.' 
 
 * If thou wouldest enjoy the sweetness of prayer and be 
 refreshed by heavenly contemplation, thou must lift up the 
 whole force of thy will unto God. Some exercise them- 
 selves only in the intellectual part of the will, and not in 
 that part which touch eth the affections. Such seek not to 
 be enkindled with the love of God, but rather to attain 
 some hidden knowledge of the nature of God ; therefore 
 they occupy themselves in pondering in what manner our 
 Lord was born, in what manner He subsisted, in what 
 manner He suffered, in what manner He rose again from 
 he dead, and other such like considerations, supposing that 
 in such inquiries the contemplative life consists. But true 
 contemplation consisteth not in speculations concerning 
 these mysteries of the Divine Being, but in fixing the anchor 
 of thy thoughts in the deep sea of God's infinite love to 
 man, with whom in heart and mind thou must be united 
 and incorporated, so as by and through His love to be 
 purified and perfected.' 
 
 ' Ever regard it as lost time curiously to remark what 
 men say of thee.' 
 
 ' Let not thy personal beauty puff thee up, and be not 
 enamoured with the vain shadow thereof, lest thou fall into 
 destruction and lose thy life, as did Narcissus by contem- 
 plation of his beauty. Remember that Absalom's goodly 
 locks of hair served but as a halter to hang himself. 
 
DIEGO DE E STELLA. 89 
 
 * Abide not in the contemplation of the outward bark, 
 but rather consider the root ; and labour to beautify and 
 adorn thy soul, for all other beauty is but vain, corruptible, 
 and transitory, which time consumeth and bringeth to 
 naught.' 
 
 St. Luke — ' Did not our hearts burn within us whilst He 
 talked with us by the way^ and opened unto us the Scriptures ? ' 
 * Thine heart will be well disposed to receive the print of 
 the image of the Eternal King if thou dost warm and soften 
 it with the heat of God's own Word.' 
 
 ' The beasts of the field which God created for the earth 
 do carr}' their heads downwards, and go on all fours, looking 
 always towards the ground ; but man, created for heaven, 
 standeth upright, that he may look heavenward and not 
 downward, minding earthly things.' 
 
 Diego de Estella was born in Portugal,^ but his parents 
 were natives of Navarre. He entered the order of St. 
 Francis, and was a noted orator in his day, and confessor to 
 the celebrated Anthony Perrenot, Bishop of Arras, after- 
 wards known as Cardinal Granvelle. 
 
 Little has come down to us relating to Estella, or Stella, 
 as he is sometimes called. It is said by Schottus that he 
 became a Bishop, but this is discredited by Nicholas 
 Antonio. 
 
 There is great divergence with regard to the date of his 
 death. He wrote a Latin commentary on the Gospel of 
 St. Luke, which appeared in 1578, having been published 
 at Alcala ; but, like many other works of devotion in the 
 sixteenth century, it was immediately placed on the Roman 
 ' Index,' and was severely censured by many Spanish theo- 
 
 ' The kingdom of Portugal was seized by Philip II. and annexed 
 to Spain in 1580. 
 
go SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 logians. It, however, appeared again in an amended form in 
 1582 from the Venetian press. His work on 'The Vanity 
 of the World ' was written in the vernacular, and went 
 through several editions ; but that which has made his name 
 as a devotional writer, and which has stamped him as a 
 Spanish Mystic, is his ' Meditation on the Love of God,' 
 which was also composed in Spanish, and which has been 
 translated into several languages. This work was highly 
 appreciated by Saint Fran9ois de Sales, who himself wrote 
 a treatise bearing the same title. 
 
 It strikes the reader as incongruous that so saintly a 
 man should have been the director of the conscience of 
 one so infamous as Cardinal Granvelle. How long he re- 
 mained in that position is not known, afid it is probable 
 that he never accompanied the Cardinal to the Netherlands, 
 where his worst acts were committed. 
 
 Note. — Anthony Perrenot (famous as Cardinal Granvelle) 
 was a native of Burgundy. His father was a favourite with 
 Charles V., and the son became hkewise the trusted servant 
 and adviser of the Emperor. His natural talents were early 
 developed. He possessed a vast amount of learning, and 
 had acquired a habit of observation which gave him quick 
 insight into the character of the men with whom he came 
 in contact. He entered the ecclesiastical state, and through 
 the court interest of his father was elevated at an early age 
 to the Bishopric of Arras. He was afterwards made Arch- 
 bishop of Mechlin, in virtue of which appointment he be- 
 came Primate of the Netherlands. 
 
 In 156 1 Pope Pius IV. gave him a cardinal's hat. 
 Granvelle is described by his biographers as ' selfish, crafty, 
 and unscrupulous,' and whilst feigning complete subservience 
 obtained absolute mastery over his superiors. He stood 
 high in the counsels of Philip IL, whose cold calculating 
 brain brooded long and silently over his sinister designs — 
 
DIEGO BE ESTELLA. 9^ 
 
 designs which were hatched into being, and became terrible 
 realities under the vigorous agency of his minister. Gran- 
 velle was at the head of both civil and ecclesiastical affairs 
 in the countr)^, and through his instrumentality the Inquisi- 
 tion was established in the Netherlands. The laws against 
 heresy which had lain dormant during the first two years of 
 Philip's reign were enforced with remorseless severity. The 
 prisons were crowded, and every week men laid down their 
 lives for conscience' sake. 
 
 Granvelle had at fiist been the trusted adviser of the 
 Regent Margaret of Parma ; he had also ingratiated himself 
 with the Flemish nobles ; Orange and Egmont both regarded 
 him for a time with favour, but in the end he became so 
 distrusted and detested by all estates of men in the Nether- 
 lands that Philip was forced to recall him. In 1564, to the 
 joy of all men, the Cardinal took leave of Brussels, never 
 more to return.^ 
 
 JUAN DE LOS ANGELOS. 
 
 FLOURISHED ABOUT I54O-7O. 
 
 ' The Name of Christ illumines, for He is the true Light 
 which illumines every man. There is nothing which arrests 
 the vehemence of a man's wrath, nothing which abates the 
 swelling of his pride, nothing which sustains the soul in 
 weariness, which restrains the flow of luxury, which tempers 
 the thirst of avarice, and puts to flight all unseemly things 
 like the preaching of the Name of Jesus. 
 
 'The very thought of Jesus brings peace; nothing so 
 comforts the spirit, nothing so heals, nothing so strengthens 
 the soul in goodness and holiness and chaste affection, as 
 meditation on the life and death of Jesus. All spiritual 
 life is dried up if not anointed with this oil, and without 
 savour if not salted with this salt.'- 
 
 ' See Dutch Republic (Motley), and Don Johji of Austria (Sir 
 William Stirling Maxwell). 
 
 2 On the Canticles (John of the Angels). 
 
92 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Juan flourished about the middle of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, and was the contemporary and friend of Francis Borgia, 
 the well-known saint of the Jesuit order. But httle is known 
 of the history of Juan, beyond the fact that he belonged to 
 the Franciscan order, and was the confessor of the Infanta 
 Juana, the daughter of Charles V., who was Princess Regent 
 of Spain during the last year of her father's reign, and the 
 first years of the reign of her brother Philip II. 
 
 Juan belonged to the school of Spanish Mystics. He 
 became Provincial of the Franciscan order, and it was pro- 
 bably through his influence that the Princess Juana founded 
 the nunnery of barefooted Franciscans at Madrid, to which 
 she retired at the age of twenty-three on resigning the 
 Regency of Spain. ^ 
 
 LUIS PONCE DE LEON 
 
 B. 1528. D. I59I. 
 
 * Patience does not consist in insensibility to pain nor 
 in silent repression of grief, but in its uncomplaining en- 
 durance in the spirit of loving obedience.' 
 
 ' It is an acknowledged truth that whilst the testator yet 
 lives the will or testament is of no effect ; therefore Thou, 
 O my God, in Thy bounteous generosity didst give Thyself 
 to die that all might be fulfilled.' 
 
 * Juana was married when seventeen to her cousin Juan, Prince of 
 Brazil, heir-apparent to the crown of Portugal — the only son of John 
 III. and oF Catherine, the sister of Charles V. After thirteen months 
 of happy married life Prince Juan died, leaving his wife pregnant. To 
 the joy of the whole nation a son was bom in whom were centred the 
 hopes of the Portuguese, and whose romantic history has made the 
 name of Sebastian dear to his countrymen. In 1578 Don Sebastian 
 was killed in battle by the Barbary Moors at the age of twenty-four, and 
 ere long Portugal fell under the dominion of Philip II. 
 
LUIS POXCE DE LEON. 93 
 
 ' The best and truest science is to know much of Christ, 
 and verily this is the most high and the most Divine of all 
 sciences. To understand this is to understand all the 
 treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge which (in the 
 words of St. Paul) " are hid in Him." It is to comprehend 
 God's infinite love to man, His greatness, His majesty, His 
 power, and the fulness of those glorious perfections which 
 shine forth more especially in the mystery of Christ, the 
 God-man. Now all, or the greater part, of these perfections 
 would be better understood if we apprehended the meaning 
 and force of those names which the Holy Spirit gives to 
 Christ in Holy Scripture — names which are as abbreviations, 
 wherein are hidden by God's Spirit all the marvels which it 
 is possible for the human mind to receive.' 
 
 ' To give way to vice is to degrade oneself, and descend 
 step by step, till one falls into absolute nothingness.' 
 
 ' \Mio, Holy Lord, that has heard within his soul Thy 
 harmonies will not be henceforth deaf to the discordant 
 sounds of Earth ? ' 
 
 {On the harmo7iy and order of the celestial bodies,)^ 
 
 ' Even if Reason could not prove it, and even if we could 
 in no other way understand how gracious a thing is Peace, 
 yet would this fair show of the Heavens over our heads and 
 this harmony in all their manifold fires sufficiently bear 
 witness to it. For what is it but Peace, or, indeed, a perfect 
 image of Peace, that we now behold and that fills us with 
 such deep joy ? 
 
 ' Since, if Peace is, as St. Augustine with the beauty of 
 truth declares it to be, a quiet order or the inai7ite?ia?ice of a 
 "well-regulated tranquillity in whatever order de7na?ids, then 
 what we now witness is surely its true and faithful image. 
 For while these hosts of stars, arranged and divided into 
 their several bands, shine with such surpassing splendour, 
 and while each one of their multitude inviolably maintains 
 
 * Names of Christ, Christ as the Prince of Peace (Luis de Leon). 
 
94 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 its separate station, neither pressing into the place of that 
 next to it, nor disturbing the movements of any other, nor 
 forgetting its own, none breaking the Eternal and Holy Law 
 which God has imposed on it, but all rather bound in one 
 brotherhood, ministering one to another and refiectiiig their 
 light one to another^ they do surely show forth a mutual love 
 and as it were a mutual reverence, tempering each other's 
 brightness and strength into a peaceful unity and power, 
 whereby all their different influences are combined into one 
 holy and mighty Harmony, universal and everlasting. 
 
 * And therefore may it be truly said not only that they 
 do all form a fair and perfect model of Peace, but that they 
 all set forth and announce in clear and gracious words what 
 excellent things Peace contains within herself, and carries 
 abroad whithersoever her power extends.' ^ 
 
 Luis Ponce de Leon was born at Belmonte, in La 
 Mancha,^ and was of an old and distinguished family. His 
 father was attached to the Spanish Court, but Luis mani- 
 fested at an early age such a decided inclination for the 
 cloister that his wishes were not opposed by his father. On 
 leaving Valladolid, where his education had commenced, 
 Luis was sent to Salamanca to study scholastic theology. 
 His course was brilliant, and it was at this university that 
 he acquired his first knowledge of Hebrew and other 
 learned languages, in which he afterwards became so pro- 
 ficient. From Salamanca he went to Alcala, where, in spite 
 of the persecutions which assailed the most distinguished of 
 its professors, Biblical learning was at its height, and Luis 
 de Leon turned with eager delight from the dryness of 
 scholastic theology to the study of the Living Word in the 
 original tongues. At seventeen years old he entered the 
 
 1 See History of Spanish Literature (Ticknor). 
 
 2 See Mystiqiies espagnols (Paul Rousselot). Ticknor, however, 
 names Granada as the birthplace of Luis. 
 
LUIS PONCE DE LEON, 95 
 
 order of St. Augustine, to which Luther had belonged, and 
 the course of Luis de Leon's hfe was thenceforth fixed ; 
 ' he never ceased to be a monk, and he never ceased to be 
 attached to the university where he was bred.' ^ 
 
 In 1560 he became doctor of divinity, and two years 
 afterwards, when only thirty-four years of age, he was raised 
 to the chair of St. Thomas Aquinas at Salamanca, an 
 honour which he won for himself in public competition, 
 and which excited much enmity against him, especially 
 from the rival order of St. Dominic. Luis was deservedly 
 regarded as one of the most illustrious masters in the 
 University of Salamanca ; he was not only profoundly 
 versed in several learned languages, but he had also made 
 himself acquainted with art and science. Distinguished 
 as a scholar and as a linguist, he was also distinguished 
 as a Spanish Mystic. He had been a disciple of Luis de 
 Granada, who had early instructed him in the mysteries of 
 the spiritual life, and imbued him with that mysticism which 
 opposed itself to the formahsm of the age. Its aim was 
 nothing less than ' a re-formation of the inner man by the 
 unfettered movement of the Spirit of God within the soul.' - 
 Men were no longer to rest in the outer camp, but, filled 
 with spiritual unction, they were to enter within the veil, 
 into that close vital union with the Lord in which is 
 the perfection of worship. This was the theology of the 
 Spanish Mystics, and it was the secret of that intense devo- 
 tion which marked their lives. 
 
 In 1572 Luis de Leon was appointed to the chair of 
 Sacred Literature ; this afforded him full scope for the re- 
 searches in which he delighted, both as a devout man and 
 
 ' See History of Spanish Literature (^Ticknor). 
 2 See Revue germ^nique (I Janvier, 1863), Etude sur Fray Luis 
 de Leon (M. Guaidia). 
 
96 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 a scholar, and he threw himself with enthusiastic ardour 
 into the critical interpretation of the Scriptures. The in- 
 fluence of Luis over his auditors was immense ; his words 
 struck a sympathetic chord in their hearts and at the same 
 time aroused their intelligence. So remarkable was his 
 gift of utterance that he went by the name of ' the Christian 
 Cicero.' His courage equalled his eloquence, and he boldly 
 used his oratorical powers to denounce ignorance and pride 
 as the two great crying evils of the age. His views on 
 intellectual culture were far in advance of those of most of 
 his contemporaries ; he held ignorance to be inimical to 
 the true faith— a discredit to the Church, and he regarded 
 as a scandal the presumption of those who, disdaining the 
 study of the sacred writings, yet as ' ?naestros teologos ' 
 arrogated to themselves the right of instructing the people.^ 
 The popularity of Luis grew mightily, and the jealousy and 
 suspicion of the secular clergy was aroused. His Biblical 
 learning was an offence to them ; his regard for Rabbinical 
 interpretations of Scripture proved, they said, that he was of 
 Hebrew blood ; and when in his lectures he upheld Biblical 
 criticism as serving to elucidate the text ('many significa- 
 tions being inclosed in the simphcity of one and the same 
 thought '), and advocated a fresh translation of the sacred 
 Scriptures, their animosity at once detected Lutheranism in 
 his teaching. His enemies were on the watch, and ere 
 long, through the treachery of a servant, it was discovered 
 that, at the request of a friend, he had made a translation 
 of the Canticles into the vernacular, to which he had added 
 a commentary. This at once brought him within the grasp 
 of his enemies — all such productions being contrary to an 
 edict of the Holy Office. He was denounced to the tribunal 
 of the Inquisition, and cast into prison. 
 
 ' See Mystiques espagnols (Paul Rousselot). 
 
LUIS PONCE DE LEON. 97 
 
 To accuse a man of heresy was to destroy him, and the 
 great theologian, the fearless professor, would doubtless 
 have perished, but for his marvellous energ}- and presence 
 of mind. All men trembled before that fearful engine of 
 domination. Absolute obedience was enforced, and, in- 
 flexible in rigour, it crushed alike those whom it suspected 
 of heresy, and those who ventured to assert any intellectual 
 freedom ; ^ ' the human mind was held captive, weighed 
 down by the chains of intolerance.' All w^ho laboured to 
 raise the minds of men out of the moral lethargy into which 
 they had fallen, and to win them to a higher and spiritual 
 life, knew the perils which beset their path ; the w^heel and 
 the faggot would probably have to be confronted if the 
 charge of heresy could be fastened upon them.^ 
 
 The courage and freedom of thought of Luis de Leon, 
 joined to the frankness of his nature, exposed him to 
 dangers already foreseen by Teresa of Avila, when she 
 warned Gratian, the Provincial of her new order, ' Be very 
 careful as to what you say in your preaching.' 
 
 In his criticisms on the translations of the Bible, Luis 
 rested on this principle — that the translators were merely 
 interpreters, not prophets ; their work was a human work, 
 consequently not absolutely perfect. 
 
 The Council of Trent had declared that the "^^ulgate 
 contained no errors, and had approved of it as the best 
 translation existing, and the only one to be used by the 
 Church. Luis fully admitted that it was neither erroneous 
 nor falsified, if by these terms it was understood that the 
 translators had not wilfully put therein anything erroneous ; 
 but if, further than this, it was asserted that there were no 
 
 ' See Revtie germanipue {Etude stir Fray Lttis de Leon, M. Guardia). 
 2 See History of Spanish Literature (Ticknor), and Cloister Life cf 
 Charles V. (Stirling). 
 
 H 
 
98 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 passages altered, through the carelessness of copyists or edi- 
 tors, and that the Vulgate was exempt alike from omissions 
 and interpolations, he hesitated not to affirm that it had 
 many such defects. Several of these interpolations he had 
 pointed out to the Theologians of Louvain, through his friend 
 Arias Montanus, ^ as proving the need of revisal ; and in the 
 long list of accusations against Luis which followed, these 
 * offensive propositions,' as they were designated — were pro- 
 minently put forth as subversive of the faith of the Church. 
 
 In 1558 a brief had been granted by Pope Pius IV- 
 authorising the tribunals of the Inquisition to proceed 
 against all persons, lay and clerical, and of whatsoever rank, 
 supposed to be infected with the new belief — a power 
 which, taken in all its relations, was more formidable to the 
 progress of intellectual improvement than had ever before 
 been granted to any body of men, civil or ecclesiastical. - 
 In virtue of this brief, Cazalla, the favourite chaplain of the 
 Emperor Charles V, who for ten years had ministered to 
 him, was seized, and miserably put to death — some seven 
 months after the demise of his imperial master — with four- 
 teen other 'heretics.' 
 
 The prisons became crowded with victims of all ranks. 
 Shepherds and muleteers, knights and noble ladies, were 
 associated in suffering, and died bravely — a noble band of 
 martyrs— at Valladolid, in October 1559, in the presence of 
 Philip II.3 
 
 Carranza also, Archbishop of Toledo, and Primate of 
 Spain, who had attended the Emperor on his deathbed, 
 was seized, and for eighteen years languished in captivity. 
 
 * See Mystiques espagnols. 
 
 2 See History of Spanish Literature (Ticknor). 
 
 « See Cloister Life of Charles V. (Stirling). In 1781 the last 
 victim perished at the stake, and in 1808 the Inquisition was sup- 
 pressed in Spain. 
 
LUIS PONCE DE LEON. 99 
 
 * Thraldom of mind and heart was the aim of the Inqui- 
 sition. DiscipHne and Formahsm were employed to reduce 
 men to the state of mere Ufeless machines.' ^ 
 
 Even in the sohtude of the cloister ' an invisible eye ' 
 pursued men, and marked not only their acts and words, 
 but even their supposed thoughts and intentions. 
 
 For five years Luis de Leon was imprisoned in the 
 dungeons of the Inquisition, having to answer interminable 
 interrogations. Innocence made him bold, and his faith 
 grew stronger under trial. 
 
 His sagacity and presence of mind never left him ; he 
 threaded his way through the darkest labyrinth without 
 stumbling. Alone, amid unknown accusers, and deprived of 
 all human aid, he clung with a firmer grasp to the hand ot 
 the Divine Dehverer, and strength flowed into him from 
 that invisible touch. The consciousness of this vital union, 
 this Divine fellowship, sustained him, and enabled him with 
 consummate wisdom and perfect self-possession to avoid 
 the traps laid to entangle him, and to ward ofi" the attacks of 
 his enemies. The delay in the final sentence was always a 
 point of calculation on the part of the Inquisitors, as a 
 means of wearing out the powers of mind and body of 
 the accused ; but Luis bore all with unfaltering patience. 
 ' Meditation and prayer were his resource against the aridity 
 of controversy.'^ 
 
 His one request on being arrested was that he might be 
 permitted to take with him to prison Luis de Granada's 
 ' Treatise on Prayer,' and he protested afterwards that he 
 had learnt more from this little volume than from all the 
 theology of the schoolmen. Means were found secretly to 
 convey to him a Hebrew Bible, and in the study of the 
 Word of Life his soul received refreshment. 
 
 ' See Revue germanique {Etude sur Fray Luis de Leon), 2 /^/^^ 
 
 H 3 
 
jco SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 He found solace also in composing a work entitled ' The 
 Names of Christ,' which he wrote — not in Latin for the sole 
 benefit of the learned, but in Spanish — for the benefit of all 
 Christian souls hungering after Divine Love and Truth. 
 His expositions of the Book of Job, and of ' The Virtuous 
 Woman ' in the Book of Proverbs, were likewise written 
 during his captivity. 
 
 He was at length released, and when he reappeared with 
 unsullied fame in his university, and was reinstated in the 
 chair of Sacred Literature, before an assembly eager to 
 hear and full of sympathy with his sufferings, he simply 
 took up his theme where he had left off, five years before, 
 beginning ' Deciamos ahora,' without a single allusion to 
 himself, and as though all he had undergone had al- 
 ready faded from his memory. He lived nearly fourteen 
 years after his release, but his health never recovered 
 the privations he had undergone in the cells of the In- 
 quisition. 
 
 He died in 1591, engaged in the work of monastic reform, 
 and at the head of his own order. Arias Montanus, the great 
 Bibhcal scholar, was his intimate friend, and had likewise 
 incurred the censure of the Holy Office, his works having 
 been for a time under interdict. During the imprisonment 
 of Luis de Leon he was falsely told that Arias was dead, 
 with the hope that he would betray the views of his 
 friend, whom the Inquisitors feared and wished to destroy. 
 Luis de Leon is described as not only the best Hebrew critic 
 and the most eloquent preacher, but also as the poet of 
 Mysticism. His poems were not published till after his 
 death, but they were regarded as masterpieces by Cervantes 
 and Lope de Vega. A short time before his death, Luis de 
 Leon commenced a life of Teresa of Avila, of which, how- 
 ever, he was able to write little more than the preface. 
 
LUIS PONCE DELEOIW loi 
 
 In the cloister of the Augustinians at Salamanca, in 
 what is called ' The Corner of Saints,' the body of Luis 
 Ponce de Leon reposes. 
 
 PEDRO MALAN DE CHAIDE. 
 
 B. 1530. D. 1592. 
 
 ' There is no sinner, however fallen, in whom there is 
 not so?nething by which God can deliver him from the claws 
 of the devil, if only he himself be willing to co-operate with 
 God.' 
 
 ' Man has salvation close at his hand, if he will but 
 accept it.' 
 
 'The Eternal Father has begotten Him Who is the 
 mirror of Himself, His Son, His Lamb, the express Image 
 of His Person, in Whom dwells the fulness of His Being, 
 and to Him He refuses nothing.' 
 
 'Where I cannot apprehend, I believe, reverence, and 
 adore.' 
 
 Pedro Malan de Chaide was born at Cascante, in the 
 province of Navarre.^ He was educated at the university 
 of Salamanca, and was theological professor both at Sara- 
 gossa and Huesca. He entered the Augustinian order, and 
 
 ' Navarre was annexed to Castile in 15 12 by Ferdinand the Catholic, 
 partly by force and partly by fraud ; the rightful heir, Jean d'Albret, 
 being abandoned by his French allies, who profited by his ruin, as the 
 territory was partitioned ; Ferdinand seizing all south of the Pyrenees, 
 while the northern portion ultimately passed with Henri IV. to the 
 Crown of France. Pedro Malan de Chaide, therefore, was a Spaniard 
 by birth. 
 
102 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 belongs to the school of Spanish Mystics. Though a con- 
 temporary of St. Teresa, he does not seem to have known 
 her or to have been influenced by her writings. 
 
 He was popular as a preacher, and in his works rebukes 
 the formalism and irreligion of professing Christians. He 
 graphically describes the customs of the day, the corruption 
 and luxury which prevailed. 'Women present themselves 
 in God's sanctuary to attend mass, loaded with jewels, 
 bedizened as for a marriage, with more rings than fingers, 
 their faces with more colouring than the rainbow, and pros- 
 trate themselves before Him who was stripped, scourged, 
 crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross for their redemp- 
 tion. Men likewise, whose days are spent in folly and 
 dissipation, approach the confessional, followed by a page 
 bearing a cushion, on which the Hidalgo kneels for fear of 
 fatigue, and if the priestly confessor censures his dissolute 
 habits, he rises, exclaiming that a personage of his rank 
 cannot lead the life of a monk, and departs self-com- 
 placent.' 
 
 Such was the moral torpor into which Spain had fallen 
 in the sixteenth century, under the tutelage of the Inquisi- 
 tion. 
 
 Pedro Malan de Chaide's treatise on ' Divine Love, or 
 the Conversion of the Magdalen,' is a representation of the 
 soul which has sinned and forgotten God ; and the love of 
 Christ shed abroad in the heart is shown to be the life-giving 
 power which overcomes sin. 
 
 This work was not published till after his death in 1592, 
 though the prologue was written some years earlier. He 
 was a poet of some merit, and 'The Conversion of the 
 Magdalen' contains some of his verses. Ticknor says of 
 this work that it is ' written with so much richness of lan- 
 guage, and is often so eloquent, that it was much read when 
 
PEDRO MALAN DE CHAIDE. 103 
 
 it first appeared, and has not, even in recent times, ceased 
 to be reprinted and admired.^ 
 
 :Malan de Chaide and Luis de Leon were of the same 
 order ; both were Augustinians, both belonged to the Uni- 
 versity of Salamanca ; they had also another point of union 
 — both of them upheld the use of the Spanish language in 
 preaching and writing in preference to the Latin. ^Lalan 
 de Chaide declared that to write in the vernacular was no 
 innovation, but a return to primitive custom, ' for in what 
 tongue,' he asks, ' spake and wTote Moses and the prophets ? 
 Plato and Aristotle WTOte in their vernacular, why should 
 theologians be denied the licence conceded to philosophers?' 
 He goes on indignantly to demand 'whether it could be 
 regarded as just that those who were ignorant of Latin 
 should be deprived of the help of religious books written 
 in their native tongue. The most impure Spanish romances 
 and poems were to be found in the pocket of every young 
 girl. Was the Spanish language only to be used for works 
 of extravagance and folly, such as " Amadis of Gaul," (S:c. ? 
 What were such pernicious books in the hands of the young, 
 but like a knife in the hands of a fool ? ' 
 
 It is easy to understand why words of such freedom, 
 such severe reprehension of the spirit of the age, were kept 
 locked in the portfolio of the writer, and only saw the light 
 when he was no longer under dread of the familiars of the 
 Holy Office. 
 
 * History of Spanish Literaiitre, 
 
I04 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ. 
 
 B. 1542. D. I59I. 
 
 ' Faith is the handmaiden who introduces us to the throne 
 of the Lord.' 
 
 'All our goodness is a loan ; God is the owner.' 
 
 ' God reigns only in that soul which is tranquil and de- 
 void of self-seeking.' 
 
 'He who through distraction loses the thread of his 
 prayer, is like one who lets a bird escape which he held in 
 his hand. He will recover it with difficulty.' 
 
 ' As a man dragging a heavily laden cart up hill, so is 
 that soul on its way to God which does not deny self and 
 cast aside the cares of this life.' 
 
 ' Earthly desires are to the soul like the suckers which 
 sprout from the tree ; they sap its strength and destroy its 
 fertihty.' 
 
 ' Our anxiety to possess impoverishes us more than the 
 want of things.' 
 
 ' Do not be depressed by all the evil that happens in the 
 world, for you know not the good which God will extract 
 from it.' 
 
 'When the soul seeks consolation /ww God only, God is 
 ready at once to bestow it.' 
 
 ' As we clothe with garments the poor and naked one, 
 so the Lord will clothe and adorn with His purity. His 
 meekness, and His spirit, the soul which has stripped itself 
 of its passions and desires.' 
 
 ' He who obeys not his passions will mount readily in 
 spirit towards God ; even as a bird flies freely which has its 
 wings undipped.' 
 
 ' It is certain that not to advance in the spiritual life by 
 
ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ. 105 
 
 overcoming self is to fall back, and not to increase is to lose 
 even that which we formerly possessed.' 
 
 ' It matters not whether the wire which holds the bird 
 be thick or slight, since it equally prevents its taking wing ; 
 so likewise is it of no moment whether the sin which holds 
 us captive be great or small, since it equally prevents the 
 soul's rising towards perfection and union with God.' 
 
 ' We must not seek to adjust our trials to ourselves, but 
 we must adjust ourselves to our trials.' 
 
 ' When a vessel is full of Uquid the least crack suffices, 
 unless it be stopped, to let every drop leak out ; so if the 
 soul, however filled with virtue and grace, close not up the 
 aperture which a little sin has made, grace will ooze out 
 little by little until all is spent.' 
 
 ' Accept as a fact throughout your religious life that you 
 are to be shaped, chiselled, and pohshed through the medium 
 of others ; look therefore upon all persons as instruments 
 of God to train you by divers ways, and consider this 
 training (ofttimes grievous) as designed to make you holy.' 
 
 ' As the sun, rising in the morning, shines into thy 
 house if thou dost but open thy windows, so God, the 
 unsleeping King, will shine in upon the soul which unfolds 
 itself to Him ; for God, like the sun above us, is ready to 
 enter within each of us if we open unto Him.' 
 
 Canticles v. 8. ' Tell Him: 
 
 ' The soul here does no more than represent its necessities 
 to the Beloved ; for he who loves wisely is not eager to ask 
 for that which he wants or desires ; he is satisfied with simply 
 making known his necessities, so that the Beloved may do 
 what shall seem to Him good. Thus the Blessed Virgin at 
 the marriage feast of Cana asked not of her Divine Son, but 
 meekly told Him " They have no wine ; " so also the sisters 
 of Lazarus sent to our Lord not to implore Him to heal 
 their brother, but only to say, " Lord, behold he whom Thou 
 loves t is sick:' | 
 
io6 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 * Co7ne^ O south wind, thou that awakeiiest love' (Canticles). 
 
 ' By the south wind is here meant the Holy Ghost, who 
 awakeneth love ; for when the Divine Breath breathes into 
 the soul, it so influences and refreshes it, that it may truly be 
 said to quicken or awaken the love which before lay dead 
 or asleep.' 
 
 The name of Juan de la Cruz will ever be associated 
 with that of Teresa of Avila, by whom he is described as 
 ' one of the purest souls in the Church of God.' He was 
 undoubtedly the most remarkable among the friars of her 
 Reformed order, and ranks high in the school of Spanish 
 Mystics. His family history is not without its romance. 
 
 His father, Gonzalez de Yepez, belonged to an ancient 
 Castilian race, boasting the purest Spanish blood. Gonzalez 
 lived with a rich uncle in the city of Toledo, and seemed 
 destined to a brilliant fortune. But all his worldly prospects 
 were ruined by his marriage with Catarina Alvarez, a poor 
 village girl endowed only with great beauty. By this step 
 he forfeited the support and regard of his proud relations, 
 who at once and for ever cast him off ; but he had great 
 happiness in the love of his lowly-born wife, and never 
 regretted the sacrifice he had made for her sake. 
 
 They lived in the little hamlet of Fontiveros, lying 
 between Salamanca and Medina del Campo. It was 
 Catarina's native village, and there Gonzalez worked with 
 his hands for their daily bread, following the trade of a 
 weaver. Three sons were born to them. After the birth of 
 Juan, the third child, and the subject of this sketch, Gonzalez 
 sickened and died, leaving his wife and children without 
 means of support. Catarina, widowed and destitute, removed 
 to Medina del Campo, a thriving commercial town, where she 
 hoped to procure work more easily than in her native village. 
 
ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ. 107 
 
 Here her distress became known to a benevolent man 
 named Alvarez. He was no relation to her, though bearing 
 the same name. Through his kindness Juan was placed in 
 a hospital at Medina, to which his protector devoted his 
 time and his fortune. Alvarez took a deep interest in the 
 boy, and was pleased with the evident joy it gave him to be 
 allowed to help in waiting on the sick and infirm. He sent 
 him afterwards to the Jesuits' College for his education, and 
 when old enough to choose a profession, Alvarez purposed 
 that he should become chaplain of the hospital ; but this was 
 not to be Juan's vocation. 
 
 When he was about to receive minor orders he told his 
 protector that he felt irresistibly dra^vn to the monastic life. 
 A Divine Voice, which he believed he had heard in prayer, 
 had already called him to be the reformer of an ancient 
 order, and his one desire was to live under the strictest 
 religious rule, in complete renunciation of the world. He 
 accordingly, at the age of twenty-one, offered himself as a 
 lay brother to the Carmelite friars of St. Anne at Medina 
 del Campo. He was received, and was sent soon after to 
 the University of Salamanca to complete his religious 
 education. He had great talent, and the success which 
 attended his career at the University would have been 
 gratifying to most men. In Bibhcal knowledge and theo- 
 logy he had been especially distinguished. But academical 
 triumphs gave no pleasure to Juan, rather were they dis- 
 tasteful to his sensitive nature. He cared only to have the 
 testimony within that God was well pleased, and he gladly 
 turned away from the distracting praise of men to the 
 seclusion of the Carmelite convent. He made his profession 
 as a friar in 1564. From henceforth the Scriptures and the 
 works of the early Fathers were his chief study, and his one 
 aim was to promote a higher religious tone among his 
 
io3 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 brethren. His fervour and ardent zeal induced him to 
 adopt the primitive Carmelite rule in all its austerity, but 
 the laxity and indifference of his brother friars baffled all 
 his endeavours after reform. The flame of Divine love 
 which burnt brightly within his own soul had apparently 
 kindled no warmth in others ; and he, who had thought 
 himself set for the revival of spiritual life in his order, felt 
 chilled and disheartened by the coldness with which he was 
 met. One man alone during these three years had evinced 
 any sympathy with Juan ; this was the prior of the convent, 
 Antonio de Heredia. He had long been disquieted by the 
 laxity of discipline which prevailed in the convent, and he 
 had tried in vain to bring about a change, for Heredia 
 himself earnestly desired to lead a life of closer consecration. 
 The fervour of Juan had powerfully stirred his mind, and 
 the two friends, animated by the same desire and hopeless 
 of effecting any reform among their brethren, decided to 
 withdraw from the Carmelites and to seek admission into 
 the more rigid order of the Carthusians. 
 
 It was the turning-point in their lives, for at this juncture 
 (1567) they met for the first time Teresa of Avila, who was 
 passing through Medina del Campo to inspect another 
 monastery. Teresa was now fifty-two years old, Juan 
 twenty-five. He was preparing for priest's orders, and the 
 ascetic monk — full of intelligence and religious ardour, 
 feeble in body but strong in spirit, seeking a stricter rule 
 and a life of greater mortification — at once made a profound 
 impression upon Teresa. She had heard of him already, 
 but when she saw him she felt that she had met a kindred 
 spirit, a soul on fire with the love of God. Surely this was 
 the man of whom she was in quest, who was to accomplish 
 her reform ! In spite of his youth she never doubted for a 
 moment his fitness, and he at once promised to be her first 
 
57: JUAN DE LA CRUZ. 109 
 
 friar, on condition that ' she did not make him wait too 
 long.' I 
 
 In the following year (1568) the first monastery of men 
 of the Reformed Carmelite rule was established 'for him, 
 and by him ' at Durvelo. Here he was, after two months, 
 joined by his friend, Antonio de Heredia, who had resigned 
 the office of Prior at Medina. 
 
 The ardent heart of Juan was lifted up in praise and 
 thanksgiving. He had clung with unswerving faith to his 
 early conviction that the Voice he had heard in prayer was 
 none other than the Voice of God. This belief had shaped 
 his course in life ; it had stimulated his zeal and sustained 
 him in disappointment. And now the appointed time had 
 come, and the word spoken to his inward ear in his boy- 
 hood was about to be fulfilled. 
 
 Durvelo was a retired hamlet, lying between Medina and 
 Avila, where a small farmhouse had been placed at Teresa's 
 disposal, to be used as a monaster)^ for her Discalced friars. 
 Nothing could exceed the ^\Tetchedness of the place. Te- 
 resa had gone to inspect it, and she sighed as she thought 
 of Heredia. How could the worthy Prior, no longer young, 
 and weak in health, accustomed to his clean cell, and the 
 company of his books, endure to live in so squalid a dwelling ? 
 But both Heredia and Juan at once agreed to take possession, 
 and in Advent 1568 the first mass was said in the porch of 
 the building, now converted into a church. Two low cabins 
 filled with straw were their only shelter at night. And — 
 
 As of old, by two and two 
 
 His herald Saints the Saviour sent — 
 
 so from the hut of Durvelo these first two friars of the 
 Reformed rule went forth, day by day, preaching the Gospel 
 
 ' See Les Mystiques es^agnols (Rousselot), and Life of Saint 
 Teresa. 
 
no SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 of Christ to the neighbouring peasants. In the winter they 
 often walked many leagues barefooted through the snow 
 to reach some distant hamlet. They sought out the simple 
 and rude, the untaught and the ignorant, and gathered them 
 together to hear the Word. They disregarded hardships, 
 for, in all their labours, they were possessed with the courage 
 and enthusiasm of men working for One whom they knew 
 and loved. 
 
 Teresa visited them in the following Lent on her way to 
 Toledo. She arrived unexpectedly, and found Fra Antonio 
 busily sweeping the floor of their little church. ' What is 
 this, father ? ^ she exclaimed. ' What has become of your 
 dignity ? ' 'I hate the day when I had any,' was his re- 
 joinder. 
 
 In 1570 the two friends removed to Mancera, where a 
 church and a small monastery had been built for Discalced 
 Carmelites. 
 
 The excessive austerities they practised somewhat dis- 
 turbed Teresa. She thought that their self-imposed pe- 
 nances might impede their usefulness. But she found it 
 always more difficult to control her friars than her nuns ; 
 and, as the number of these religious establishments gra- 
 dually increased, she sorrowfully admitted that it was more 
 easy to turn haughty Castilians into heroes and martyrs, 
 than to mould them into peaceful and submissive saints. 
 These two first friars of her order, however, were to her a 
 never-failing source of consolation : sharing with her every 
 burden, following where she led, often hindered like herself 
 in their labours of love, and persecuted by the Mitigated 
 Carmelites with all the greater animosity, because they had 
 forsaken them for Teresa's Reformed rule. When therefore, 
 in 1577, open hostihty was declared by the Mitigated 
 Carmelites, these two men were the first to suffer. Both 
 
ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ. iii 
 
 were imprisoned, but on Juan was inflicted the severest 
 treatment. 
 
 He had been appointed spiritual director of the nuns of 
 the Incarnation at Avila, who, although they were not of 
 the Reformed rule, had chosen Teresa as their Prioress. 
 Juan lived with another friar in a small hermitage near the 
 convent, keeping perfectly aloof from all disputes, and lead- 
 ing a life of prayer and contemplation. He did not attempt 
 to force the Reformed rule upon others. His own desire 
 was ' to make Christ as vividly real to all with whom he was 
 brought in contact, as He was to his own soul.' For this he 
 lived, and he had won the love and respect of all around 
 him. But his holy self-denying life was a reproach to the 
 unreformed friars, and at midnight the door of his cell was 
 forced open ; he was seized and bound like a criminal ; all 
 his papers were confiscated, and he himself dragged to a 
 convent of Mitigated friars, where he was shut up and 
 beaten. He was then removed to Toledo, where, for nine 
 months, he was incarcerated in a close dark cell, so confined 
 in space that he could hardly move or breathe for want of air, 
 and which in the heat of summer became almost insup- 
 portable. He could not read for want of light ; he was fed 
 on bread and water, and scourged thrice in the week. But, 
 though his persecutors might starve him, he had meat to 
 eat which they knew not of ; they could place him in dark- 
 ness, but he had that inner light which cometh down from 
 heaven ; so that, in his cruel captivity, he was able to say, 
 ' The soul of one who serves God always swims in joy, al- 
 ways keeps holiday, always dwells in the palace of jubilation, 
 ever singing, with fresh ardour and fresh pleasure, a new 
 song of joy and love.' 
 
 At the expiration of nine months his escape was accom- 
 plished, and he took refuge in a Reformed monastery at 
 
112 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Almadovar. After a time he became Superior of a small 
 convent in a desert place, far removed from any habi- 
 tation, known as 'the Calvary.' In 1579 he founded the 
 Convent of Baeza for Discalced friars, and afterwards that of 
 Segovia. Two years later he was made Prior of Granada, 
 and, in 1585, Vicar Provincial of Andalusia. 
 
 In 1 591, having opposed some harsh measures of the 
 Chapter, he was treated with great cruelty — dismissed from 
 all his offices, and banished to the solitary convent of Peg- 
 nela in the Sierra Morena. It was here that he wrote his 
 Mystical treatises — ' The Obscure Night,' and the ' Ascent 
 of Mount Carmel.' In the former he describes the spiritual 
 desolation through which he had passed. In the language 
 of the Psalmist, ' the enemy persecuted his soul ; his life 
 was smitten down to the ground ; and he was laid in dark- 
 ness as one long dead.' The spirit of joy and gladness had 
 given place to the spirit of sadness, and ' his heart within 
 him was desolate.' It is sad to read of his self-inflicted 
 penances. He did not live long ; strength failed him ; he 
 was about to leave the body which he had treated with 
 such severity, and after four months of intense suffering, he 
 expired. When he felt that death was at hand, he begged 
 to be left alone with one friar. The Crucifix was in his 
 hand, which he kissed repeatedly. Light gleamed in upon 
 his darkness, the spirit of heaviness was exchanged for that 
 of praise, and a Divine calm and peace again filled his soul. 
 
 He turned to his companion, and, with a radiant look 
 upon his face, said, ' Believe me, brother, the love of God 
 makes death welcome, and most sweet to a soul.' He had 
 come to the water's edge, the dark river lay before him, but 
 he looked to the shore beyond, where there was no darkness 
 to dismay him, but the light of the glory of God to rejoice 
 his soul. 
 
ST. JUAN DE LA CRUZ. 113 
 
 About nine in the evening, after receiving the last Sacra- 
 ments, he inquired the hour, and, on being told, exclaimed 
 with joyful accents, ' Blessed be God, the next matins will 
 be in heaven ! ' 
 
 He begged to have the Psalms read to him. The friars 
 now returned to his cell, and asked for his pardon and 
 blessing. ' I am no longer your Superior,' was his reply ; 
 ' it is not for me to bless.' But, on their entreaties and the 
 command of the Superior, he made the sign of the Cross, 
 and blessed them. At midnight he passed away, his last 
 words being, ' Into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' ^ 
 
 JUAN FALCONL 
 
 B. 1596. D. 1638. 
 
 * If you were to give a diamond to your friend, and had 
 once placed it in his hands, you would not say, and reiterate 
 day after day, that you give him this ring, that you make him 
 a present of it; you would simply leave it in his hands, 
 never recalling your gift, because as long as you do not 
 withdraw it, and have no thought or desire to do so, it is a 
 present which you have made him and which you do not 
 revoke. So in like manner, when once you have given 
 yourself absolutely into the Hands of our Lord by a loving 
 Self-surrender, you have only to abide there. Refrain from 
 disquietude, from all strenuous effort to make fresh acts of 
 Surrender, and from all attempt to increase sensible emotion. 
 
 ' These only disturb the godly simplicity of the Spiritual 
 Act already performed by your Will. That which is most 
 important is this — 7iot to take away from God that whicJi you 
 have give?! to Him.' 
 
 ' Vie de Saint Jean de la Crcix, par le R. P. Dorothee de Saint 
 Alexis. 
 
 I 
 
114 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 Juan Falconi was born at Fifiana, in Spain. He entered 
 the order of ' Our Lady of Mercy,' founded in the thirteenth 
 century by San Pedro Nolasco for the redemption of slaves 
 and captives. He was a Mystic writer, a man of most de- 
 vout hfe, whose works have been translated from the Spanish 
 into French, Italian, and German. His chief work is entitled, 
 in Italian, ' Alphabeto per saper leggere in Christo.' 
 
 MIGUEL DE MO LI NO S,^ 
 
 B. 1627. D. 1696. 
 
 ' It is certain that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Guide, the 
 Door, and the Way. And before the soul can be fit to enter 
 into the Presence of the Divinity, and to be united with the 
 Divine Nature, it must be washed with the precious Blood 
 of the Redeemer, and adorned with the rich robes of His 
 Passion. . . . 
 
 * Let the soul, then, when it would enter into recoUected- 
 ness, place itself at the gate of Divine Mercy, which is the 
 sweet and blessed remembrance of the Cross and Passion 
 of the Word that was made Flesh, and died for the love of 
 man. Let the soul stand there with humility, resigned to 
 the Will of God in whatsoever it pleases the Divine Majesty 
 to do with it . . . continuing silent and quiet in the Presence 
 of the Lord.' 
 
 ' The way of inward peace is in all things to be conformed 
 to the pleasure and disposition of the Divine Will. . . . This 
 conformity is the sweet yoke that introduces us into the 
 regions of internal peace and serenity. Hence we may 
 know that the rebellion of our will is the chief occasion of 
 our disquiet, and that, because we will not submit to the 
 
 * Miguel de Molinos must not be confounded with Luis Molina^ a 
 Spanish Jesuit, born 1535, died 1600), whose followers were called 
 Molinists, Those of Miguel de Molinos were called Quietists. 
 
MIGUEL DE MOLJNOS, 115 
 
 sweet yoke of the Divine Will, we suffer so many streights 
 and perturbations. 
 
 ' O soul ! if we submitted our own to the Divine WiH, 
 and to all His disposition, what tranquillity should we 
 feel ! what sweet peace ! what inward serenity ! what supreme 
 felicity and earnest of bliss ! ' 
 
 *Ever remember that thy soul is the Habitation and 
 Kingdom of God. ... If a man hath a safe fortress he is 
 not disquieted, though his enemies pursue him, because by 
 retreating within this fortress they are disappointed of their 
 prey and overcome. 
 
 ' The strong Castle that will enable thee to triumph over 
 all thine enemies, visible and invisible, and over all snares 
 and tribulations which may beset thee, is thine own soul, 
 because within that soul dwells the Divine Aid and Sove- 
 reign Succour. Retreat within that sanctuary, and all will be 
 quiet, secure, peaceable and calm. It should be thy chief 
 and continual exercise to pacify thy heart, which is God's 
 throne, that the Supreme King may rest therein. The way 
 to pacify it is to enter within thyself by means of internal 
 recollectedness. All thy safeguard is to be Prayer and a 
 loving habitual recollection of the Divine Presence.' 
 
 * Would it not be deemed impertinent and disrespectful 
 if, being in the presence of a king, thou shouldest every 
 now and then say to him, " Sire, I believe your majesty is 
 here present ? " Surely it is the very same with regard to 
 the Divine Presence ? By the eye of pure faith the soul 
 sees God, believes in Him, and is in His Presence, and there- 
 fore has no need to say ''My God, Thou art here," but to 
 believe it, and let Faith guide and conduct the soul onwards 
 into contemplation.' 
 
 ' Remember that it is always good to speak like one that 
 learns, and not hke one that knows.' 
 
 It 
 
ii6 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 I^.Iiguel de Molinos was a Spaniard of noble descent. 
 His parents were rich and honourable, living at Minozzi, in 
 the diocese of Saragossa in Aragon. Miguel was born on 
 St. Thomas's Day, 1627. He was educated for the eccle- 
 siastical state at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, 
 where he took his theological degree. 
 
 He neither obtained nor sought any kind of preferment ; 
 satisfied with priestly orders, he dedicated himself to the 
 service of the Church without designing any advantage 
 whatever to himself. 
 
 After a career of some distinction in his own country, 
 where he had devoted much time to the study of the 
 Scriptures and of the writings of Sl Teresa and other 
 Spanish Mystics, MoUnos, unhappily for himself, went to 
 Rome, where he acquired a wonderful popularity as a 
 spiritual director, and introduced that mystical theology 
 with which he was deeply imbued, and which had wrought 
 such a spiritual revival in his own land. In Rome he led a 
 blameless life, and was honoured as a man of great learning, 
 piety, and disinterestedness. In 1675 he published a book 
 entitled, ' II Guida Spirituale.' Four members of the Inqui- 
 sition and a Jesuit father named Esparsa (greatly esteemed 
 at that time in Rome) gave the book their cordial approval. 
 It had even the sanction of the Pope himself ^ and of his 
 cardinals, and so popular did the 'Guida' become that in 
 less than six years it had passed through twenty editions 
 and had been translated into several languages. In Spain, 
 where mysticism may be said to have been indigenous, the 
 book met with especial favour. The reputation of Molinos 
 was heightened and his influence extended by the success 
 of his work. Many earnest and devout men in Rome re- 
 sorted to him for spiritual counsel, and a great revival of 
 ' lanocent XL (Odescalqlii). 
 
MIGUEL DE MOLLXOS. 117 
 
 religion followed his teaching. The key-note of his theo- 
 logy was ' the union of man's will with the Divine Will.' 
 
 It was no new theory. Ruysbrock and the German 
 iMystics of the fourteenth century had taught the same truth, 
 that the spiritual life is none other than a life of conscious 
 union with God, and 
 
 'tis essential to this blest estate 
 To keep the will within the \\111 Divine. ^ 
 
 Mohnos dwelt much on the cultivation of a devout habit of 
 mind — a spirit of contemplation and inward communion 
 with the Unseen ; but he did not insist — as was customary 
 with spiritual directors^on the practice of bodily morti- 
 fication and a multiphcity of ceremonial observances. 
 
 His followers made no outward demonstration of in- 
 creased devotion ; they led a more quiet retired life ; their 
 works of charity were more abundant, but they were per- 
 formed with greater secrecy. They raised no loud cr}' for 
 reform ; but a deep silent movement was gathering strength 
 day by day within the Church, and before long the Jesuits 
 took alarm. The friendship of Molinos was sought by the 
 most illustrious in Rome ; he was a frequent guest within 
 the Vatican, and men from all parts of Europe who had 
 read the ' Guida ' corresponded with him. Among the 
 religious orders none joined more heartily in his views than 
 the fathers of the Oratory,- three of whom — Coloredi, Ciceri, 
 and Petrucci — were his especial friends ; all these became 
 cardinals. Many other members of the Sacred College 
 courted him, but there was one above all the rest who 
 sought the society of Molinos, and with whom he formed 
 a close intimacy. This was Cardinal d'Estrees, a man of 
 great learning and a doctor of the Sorbonne, who professed 
 
 ' Paradiso (canto iii.) 
 
 - Founded by Saint Philip Neri. 
 
ii8 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 himself eager to reform certain abuses which had crept 
 into the Roman Church. He was at that time the am- 
 bassador of Louis XIV. to the Papal Court, and he hoped, 
 by means of Molinos and through this higher teaching, to 
 free the Church from some superstitious practices which 
 were scoffed at by the world, and which he thought led 
 many into infidelity. 
 
 But there were other followers of Molinos led by a 
 different motive ; among these were priests and monks of 
 the different monastic orders, who sought through this ' new 
 method ' to undermine the influence of the Jesuits and 
 check their aggressions. Molinos in his * Method ' had 
 indeed asserted the need of a spiritual director, but he had 
 not enforced confession as necessary on all occasions before 
 partaking of the Holy Eucharist. He pressed upon his 
 disciples of the laity the infinite p7-ivilege of daily commu- 
 nion as an inward application of the soul to Christ Himself 
 in the showing forth of His death in the Holy Sacrament. 
 But the only condition on which he insisted was ' to be free 
 f7'o?n mortal sin.' This at once struck a deadly blow at the 
 power wielded by the Jesuits in the confessional. 
 
 Thus threatened, the whole energy and sagacity of the 
 order was directed against the man whom they deemed 
 their opponent. The ruin of Molinos was determined 
 upon. Whispered reports to his disadvantage began to be 
 circulated ; he was said to be of Jewish race and to hold 
 some of the tenets of his early faith. They did not venture 
 to attack him openly, his popularity being so great, but by 
 covert means they hoped to gain their ends. 
 
 For this purpose Father Segneri, a Jesuit of some 
 repute, was directed to compose a treatise on the principles 
 of Quietism, the name given to the teaching of Molinos. 
 Segneri took a dexterous mode of decr}dng the * Guida.' 
 
MIGUEL DE MO LINOS. 119 
 
 He began by insidious praise, greatly commending the 
 book, and blaming those who had said anything to detract 
 from its merit. He magnified the contemplative state as 
 infinitely superior to all others, but very few, he said, were 
 capable of attaining it. The ' Guida ' was, therefore, a book 
 for saints, not for ordinary mortals. 
 
 It enjoined a state of passivity^ of absolute quietude, in 
 which the soul neither reasons nor reflects, but simply 
 surrenders itself to God and receives. 
 
 Who in this world of strife could hope to attain such 
 abstractedness ? For a few 7fiome7its, indeed, it might be 
 possible for some few to reach such an exalted state, but to 
 suppose that it was open to any ?nan to rise to this state of 
 quietude was an error utterly to be deprecated. He pro- 
 ceeded to censure some of the expressions used in the 
 * Guida,' without, however, naming Molinos, and insisted 
 that the quietude therein described was a favour from on 
 high so rare and extraordinary that no humble-minded 
 Christian would venture to ask it of God. 
 
 Segneri's treatise — evidently inspired by hatred of 
 Molinos — was received with general indignation. It was 
 brought before the Inquisition, and the author was con- 
 demned and his work placed on the ' Index ' of prohibited 
 books. 
 
 But this failure only increased the enmity of the Jesuits. ' 
 They continued to inveigh against a system which tended, 
 they said, to the subversion of all discipline, and a culpable 
 neglect of appointed means of grace. These assertions made 
 so much noise, and aroused such discussion, that at length 
 the 'Guida' was brought under a new and closer scrutiny. 
 There were, undoubtedly, passages in it liable to misconstruc- 
 tion ; but Molinos and his devoted follower, Petrucci, having 
 been examined by the Inquisitors, justified themselves so 
 
I20 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 completely from all suspicion of heresy, that their accusers 
 were again discomfited, and severely censured by the In- 
 quisitors for their calumnious assertions. Petrucci, indeed, 
 gained so much credit by his answers to the interrogations 
 put to him, that he was made Bishop of Jessi by the Pope. 
 
 Foiled in their attempts, the Jesuits resolved to secure 
 their object by other and more subtle means, Pere la 
 Chaise, a Jesuit, was at that time Confessor to Louis XIV., 
 at once the most profligate, the most bigoted, and the most 
 powerful sovereign in Europe. Pope Innocent XI. was 
 known to regard with favour the Austro-Spanish party in 
 Rome, which was opposed to France. The Jesuits were 
 not slow to take advantage of this. It was easy to arouse 
 the jealousy of the French king, who resented any policy, 
 on the part of the Holy See, adverse to his own. With the 
 view, therefore, of harassing the Pope, Pere la Chaise, with 
 consummate craft, incited his royal penitent to make it a 
 formal reproach to the Holy See that, whilst he, the eldest 
 son of the Church, was striving to extirpate heresy by purg- 
 ing the soil of France from Jansenists and Huguenots, the 
 Head of the Church was himself cherishing it in his own 
 palace, by favouring and entertaining as an honoured guest 
 one who was corrupting the doctrine, or at least the devotion, 
 of that body of which he was the Sacred Head. 
 
 Innocent XL was a man remarkable for his mildness 
 and humility, and of great purity of life. He is described 
 by Ranke as the first Pope who absolutely abstained from 
 nepotism, fulfilling all the duties of his high office with in- 
 flexible integrity.^ He received the insulting address of the 
 French king with much dignity and composure ; but the 
 audacity of the Jesuits, thus supported by Louis, knew no 
 bounds. They affected to lament the bhndness of the Pope 
 * See Lives of the Popes (Ranke). 
 
MIGUEL DE MOLIXOS. 121 
 
 and Cardinals, and openly denounced, as the most dan- 
 gerous foe to the faith of Christendom, the man whose 
 reputation for sanctity had stood unblemished for twenty 
 years, and who had long enjoyed the friendship of the Head 
 of the Church. 
 
 To accomplish his ruin, the Jesuits dared at length to 
 question the orthodoxy of the Sovereign Pontiff. Even the 
 triple crown could not shield the protector of .MoUnos from 
 suspicions of heresy, and Innocent, who had been elected, 
 like another St. Ambrose, by the acclamations of the people, 
 was now upbraided by the populace as a traitor to the faith, 
 Molinos was again summoned to appear before the Inqui 
 sition, but he defended himself with such skill and courage 
 that the accusations against him fell to the ground, and 
 were condemned as false and libellous. 
 
 To the dismay of the Jesuits at this time, another of 
 their society was found to support Molinos. This was Ap- 
 piani, one of the most eminent men in the Roman College. 
 Esparsa had already been withdrawn from Rome. Appiani 
 was at once silenced by imprisonment. Treachery was then 
 employed to support fresh charges against the persecuted 
 Molinos. Orders were despatched from Versailles, requir- 
 ing Cardinal d'Estrees to urge, with all possible vigour, the 
 prosecution of this enemy of the faith. D'Estrees did not 
 hesitate ; he obeyed the king, and sacrificed his friend. 
 There was no evidence against ]Molinos ; but D'Estrees, the 
 man in whom he trusted, who had been his famihar friend, 
 supplied the defect, and came forward as his accuser before 
 the Inquisition. He scrupled not to assert that he had 
 suspected Mohnos of heresy from the first, and had only 
 sought his friendship to unmask his errors. 
 
 Mohnos, true and loyal himself, had opened his heart 
 unreservedly to this man, and, through his instrumentality, 
 
122 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 a correspondence on spiritual matters had been carried on 
 for many years with men of note in France. All the letters 
 found in the possession of Molinos were seized and sifted to 
 extract some evidence against him. It is said that 'sus- 
 picious documents' were discovered, and it is not impos- 
 sible that in this vast correspondence ^ were found some 
 letters from Jansenist writers. 
 
 The views of the great Arnauld, as set forth in his work 
 on ' La Frequente Communion,' differed widely from those 
 of Molinos, but we know that Molinos had read and con- 
 troverted some passages in Arnauld's book,^ and he may 
 have interchanged letters with the Jansenist leader. 
 
 If such were the case, it would afford another weapon of 
 attack against the accused. 
 
 He was not permitted to speak in self-defence, and was 
 cast into prison,^ where he lay for nearly two years without 
 trial. The Pope was powerless to protect the man whom 
 he had thought of making a Cardinal ; but he sent Cardinal 
 Petrucci to visit him secretly ; what passed between them 
 did not transpire, but the Pope always maintained, in spite 
 of all the charges brought against Molinos, ' that, although 
 he might have erred in doctrine, his life was spotless.' He 
 was almost forgotten by the multitude, when suddenly, in 
 1687, seventy of his followers were cast into the dungeons 
 of the Inquisition. Their only crime was pursuing a method 
 of devotion which had once been lauded throughout Italy 
 as 'sublime.' 
 
 A circular letter was addressed to the Italian bishops, 
 apprising them ' that secret assemblies were held in their 
 dioceses, where inadmissible and dangerous errors were 
 
 ' It is said that 20,000 letters were collected by the Inquisitors. 
 
 ^ See Letter from Rome (Bishop Burnet). 
 
 ' May 1685, ihe year of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
 
MIGUEL DE MOLINOS. 123 
 
 taught, under the pretence of inculcating higher experi- 
 mental doctrines.' It was consequently enjoined upon them 
 * to forbid and disperse these assemblies, and to pursue to 
 justice such as should be found adopting novelties, which 
 the Catholic Church regarded as heretical and criminal.' 
 
 The prisons of the Holy Office were soon crowded with 
 Quietists. It was sufficient for anyone to lead a retired life, 
 to appear but seldom at confession, and he was immediately 
 suspected; and if the informer were an enemy, suspicion 
 was soon followed by conviction.^ 
 
 Among the suspected were men and women of high 
 birth, good Churchmen, and great scholars. 
 
 The Count and Countess Vespiniani — personal friends 
 of the Pope's nephew, Don Livio, Duke of Ceri — were 
 seized and imprisoned, and he himself was not without 
 fear of arrest. When summoned before the Inquisitors the 
 Countess Vespiniani bravely defended herself She said that 
 ' it was to her confessor alone that she had spoken of her 
 method of prayer; he therefore must have revealed what 
 had been confided to him under the seal of confession. 
 Who would confess if confession were made an engine of 
 persecution, and placed you at the mercy of a betrayer? 
 Henceforth she would confess to God alone.' ^ 
 
 Her bold words, joined to her high rank, produced effect, 
 and the Inquisitors fearing to proceed further against them, 
 she and her husband were released. Some of the accusa- 
 tions were that ' the Quietists did not lean as formerly on 
 their directors for guidance, and some who were laymen 
 and married, communicated daily — an ominous sign, daily 
 communion being a privilege reserved for the clerg)-.' ^ 
 
 The Carmelites and other religious orders were com- 
 
 ' See Hours rvilh the Mystics (Vaughan). 
 2 Ibid, 3 ihid. 
 
124 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 manded to give up the ' Guida ' and any other books of 
 devotion of a similar character, and to resume the use of 
 the Rosary, their former mechanical mode of prayer. The 
 Inquisitors drew up nineteen articles from the ' Guida ' which 
 they declared to be heretical. Every sort of infamous re- 
 port was spread abroad against Molinos, branding him not 
 only with heresy, but with impurity of life. These false- 
 hoods were believed by the credulous Roman populace, so 
 that when at length he was brought forth from his dungeon 
 to receive the judgment of the Inquisition, the rage of the 
 mob was so excited, that they shouted, ' M fuoco, al fuoco ! ' 
 and would themselves have torn him in pieces had he not 
 been well guarded by the Sbirri. In order to secure a large 
 attendance at the trial, and to give it as much as possible 
 the appearance of a popular manifestation against the accused 
 and his followers, it had been notified that plenary indulgence 
 would be accorded to all who should assist at the ceremony. ^ 
 
 To all except the accused the day of trial was a fete day 
 in Rome. The streets adjacent to the church of Santa 
 Maria sopra Minerva were filled with an exultant populace. 
 The church itself was thronged from an early hour with an 
 eager crowd to hear the condemnation of a man long re- 
 garded with the deepest veneration. The stalls were filled 
 by nobles and prelates. The Cardinals had special places 
 on a raised dais, and facing them sat the Grand Inquisitor, 
 surrounded by the famifiars of the Holy Office. 
 
 Once before the Minerva had been the scene of a notable 
 trial. Within the walls of its convent GaHleo had been 
 constrained to give his famous repudiation of the truth he 
 had discovered ; and now another victim was to be sacrificed 
 to the tyranny and hatred of the Inquisition. 
 
 Dressed in priestly robes, with lighted taper thrust be- 
 ' See Molinos the Qtdetist (Bigelow). 
 
MIGUEL DE MO LINOS. 125 
 
 tween his chained hands, Molinos slowly walked to the place 
 assigned to him. One of the Dominican fathers read aloud 
 his accusation, and as each separate charge was heard the 
 excited mob within and without the church, stirred to a 
 frenzy of fanaticism, cried, * Al fuoco, al fuoco ! ' 
 
 Through the long ceremony of excommunication, 
 Molinos maintained his accustomed serenity. As he looked 
 round on the crowd of infuriated faces, the only words he 
 was heard to utter were, ' Infamato, ma pentito.' Some few 
 greeted him sadly, to whom he meekly bowed in recogni- 
 tion. He was sentenced to be confined for hfe in the prison 
 of the Holy Office. 
 
 With perfect tranquillity he entered the cell which he 
 was to leave no more till death released him, calling it his 
 '■piccola stafiza ' — words which recall the saying of Tertullian, 
 ^ Au-ay with the name of prison; let us call it a retirefnenf 
 
 Then turning to the priest who accompanied him, 
 Molinos said, ' Addio, padre ! We shall meet again at the 
 Day of Judgment, and then it will appear on which side is 
 truth, whether on my side or on yours. '^ 
 
 He hved nine years longer, and died on Holy Innocents' 
 Day, December 28, 1696, in the seventieth year of his age. 
 
 How those nine years were passed, what suffering and 
 cruelty he may have endured, can never be known. 
 
 A modern French writer, speaking of the Spanish 
 Mystics recognised by the Church, says, ' If circumstances 
 had permitted them, they would perhaps have sought to 
 
 ' Reports were spread that he had abjured his opinions, but in an 
 extant letter of Father Segneri, his Jesuit opponent, written after the 
 trial, he deplores ' the obstinacy of the unhappy Molinos ' as ' the extreme 
 of wickedness: Had Molinos abjured, Segneri would not have alluded 
 to his obstinacy. 
 
126 SPANISH MYSTICS. 
 
 achieve more than the reform of their convents. We may 
 suppose without improbability that their action would have 
 been less circumscribed without the sombre supervision of 
 the Inquisition. This very supervision seems to indicate 
 it. . . . Had the Spanish Mystics been more free, they 
 might have taken a wider range, without, however, abjuring 
 Catholicism. . . . They would gladly have been reformers, 
 though after the manner of St. Bernard. Most gladly would 
 they have re-established the Church in her primitive purity, 
 but without striking at her unity. 
 
 * Their ambition did not go beyond that ot the monk of 
 Clairvaux, who asked that "before dying, it might be given 
 him to see the Church of God as in the first days, when the 
 Apostles spread their nets to take, neither gold nor silver, 
 but men."' 1 
 
 The name of Miguel de Mohnos has no place in the 
 Roman Calendar, but he cannot be omitted from the roll 
 of Spanish Mystics. The * Quietism ' which he taught had 
 many advocates in France, and among those who were per- 
 secuted for holding his views on the contemplative life were 
 Madame Guyon and the saintly Fenelon, Archbishop of 
 Cambrai. 
 
 Two worlds are ours ; 'tis only sin 
 
 Forbids us to descry 
 The mystic heaven and earth within, 
 
 Plain as the sea and sky. — Keble. 
 
 See Les Mystiqtces espagnols (Paul Rousselot). 
 
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