John of Ruysbroeck
excerpts
from
THE ADORNMENT
OF THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE
translated by
Evelyn Underhill
BOOK I THE ACTIVE LIFE
CHAPTER XII
HOW HUMILITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL
OTHER VIRTUES
Now consider this: as we have
laid down humility as a foundation, so therefore we shall speak of humility
first.
Humility, that is lowliness or
self-abasement, is an inward bowing down or prostrating of the heart and of
the conscience before God's transcendent worth. Righteousness demands and
orders this, and through charity a loving heart cannot leave it undone.
When a lowly and loving man considers that God has served him so humbly, so
lovingly, and so faithfully; and sees God so high, and so mighty, and so
noble, and man so poor, and so little, and so low: then there springs up
within the humble heart a great awe and a great veneration for God. For to
pay homage to God by every outward and inward act, this is the first and
dearest work of humility, the most savoury among those of charity, and most
meet among those of righteousness. The loving and humble heart cannot pay
homage enough, either to God or to His noble manhood, nor can it abase
itself as much as it would. And that is why a humble man thinks that his
worship of God and his lowly service are always falling short. And he is
meek, reverencing Holy Church and the sacraments. And he is discreet in
food and drink, in speech, in the answers which he makes to everybody; and
in his behaviour, dress, and lowly service he is without hypocrisy and
without pretence. And he is humble in his devotions, both outwardly and
inwardly, before God and before all men, so that none are offended because
of him. And so he overcomes and casts out Pride, which is the source and
origin of all other sins. By humility the snares of the devil, and of sin,
and of the world, are broken, and man is set in order, and established in
the very condition of virtue. And heaven is opened to him, and God stoops
to hear his prayers, and he is fulfilled with grace. And Christ, that
strong rock, is his foundation. Whosoever therefore grounds his virtues in
humility, he shall never err.
CHAPTER XIII
OF OBEDIENCE
FROM this humility there springs
obedience, for none can be inwardly obedient save the humble man.
Obedience means an unassuming,
submissive, and pliable humour, and a will in readiness for all that is
good. Obedience makes a man submit to the biddings, the forbiddings, and
the will of God; it subjects the senses and the animal powers to the higher
reason, so that a man may live decently and reasonably. And it makes men
submissive and obedient to Holy Church, to the sacraments, to the prelates
and their teaching, to their commandments and their counsels, and to all the
good customs practised by Holy Christendom. It also makes a man ready and
supple in his intercourse with other men, in deed and counsel, in ghostly
and bodily business, with prudent discretion, according to the needs of
each.
And it casts out disobedience,
that daughter of pride, more to be abhorred than venom or poison. To be
obedient in will and deed adorns and enlarges and reveals the humility of a
man. It makes peace in the cloister. If it is in the prelate, as it ought
to be, it will draw to him all those whom he rules. It makes for peace and
unanimity between equals; and he who has it is loved by his superiors and by
those who are set over him; whilst by God he is advanced, and enriched with
His gifts, which are eternal.
CHAPTER XIV
OF THE RENUNCIATION OF SELF-WILL
FROM this obedience there
springs the renunciation of one's own will and one's own opinion, for none
can submit his own will in all things to the will of another, save the
obedient man: though one may obey in outward things and yet remain
self-willed.
The forsaking of one's own will
causes a man to live without preference for either this or that, in doing or
leaving undone, in those things which are strange and special in the saints,
in their precepts and in their practice; but it makes him to live always
according to the glory and the commandments of God, and the will of his
prelates, and in peace with all men in his neighbourhood, so far as true
prudence permits.
By renouncing self-will in
doing, in leaving undone, and in suffering, the material and occasion of
pride are wholly cast out, and humility is made perfect in the highest
degree. And God becomes the Lord of the man's whole will; and the man's
will is so united with the will of God that he can neither will nor desire
in any other way. This man has put off the old man, and has put on the new
man, who is renewed and made according to the dearest will of God. Of
all such Christ says: BLESSED
ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT—that is to say, those who have renounced
self-will—FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (4).
