William of St. Thierry (1080–1148)

This little 12th-century Cistercian treatise is one of the best-ever works on contemplation from a Christian source. Record of its authorship was dimmed for centuries, and it found itself erroneously attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, Guigo the Carthusian, and Bonaventure.

Never officially impeached on any count, this document was instead consistently praised for the practical use of a spiritual elite. Yet it sometimes strikes notes surprisingly reminiscent of Valentinian gnosis, such as the show more division of men into groups governed by their animal, rational, and spiritual principles.

"To refuse to be perfect is to be at fault. Therefore the will must always be fostered with this perfection in view and love made ready. The will must be prevented from dissipating itself on foreign objects, love preserved from defilement. For to this end alone were we created and do we live, to be like God; for we were created in his image." (II.XVI.259)

William counsels a moderated asceticism with respect to diet and sleep, but a surpassing discipline of individual activity to train the will, and a rejection of external images in favor of inward contemplation. And at the last, real spiritual attainment must be kept secret. show less

I read this closely several years ago and its impression stays with me. This is the Shewring translation of 1930. Nearly one-hundred years later, it is often laborious or difficult to find the correct sense or meaning of the text. Nonetheless, a few amenable passages of William manage to shine out with more clarity. Indeed, this must be due to the high quality of William of Saint-Thierry's writings, as attested by Gilson among others. William remains one of my favourites and the 1954 show more Mowbrays translation of his Meditations is at once satisfactory and memorable. show less

Meditation I is entitled, 'The soul contemplates the Foreknowledge of God, and ponders the mystery of Predestination and of Reprobation.' Herein lies perhaps the most ferocious and powerful language that William of Saint-Thierry uses against a (hypothetical) soul (the 'earthen vessel') who is not only proud but who has misused her free-will. On pride, William comments, 'Pride, therefore, is at once the thing that merits reprobation and the sign of it, just as humility is that which both show more deserves election and denotes it.' And on free-will, 'Ask Me no more, "Why didst Thou not give me humility?" I gave you a greater gift than that—free-will. And you have waxed mighty in iniquity by the use of that very gift; you have loved malice more than kindness.' Pp. 16–17 (Mowbrays, 1954). show less

INDEX; BIBLIOGRAPHY