Part III. The Theme of the Book. lv

IV. "REVELATIONS OF DIVINE LOVE":-- (_editorial account_) i. A List of Contents, called "A Particular of the Chapters". 1 ii.-iii. Autobiographical. 3 iv.-ix. _The First Revelation_: The Trinity is shewn, through the Suffering of Christ, as Goodness, or Love all-working. 8 x. _The Second Revelation_: Man's Sight of God's Love is but partial because of sin's darkness. 21 xi. _The Third Revelation_: All Being is Being of God and is good: Sin is no Being. 26 xii. _The Fourth Revelation_: The stain of sin through lacking of human love is cleared away by the Death of Christ in His Love. 29 xiii. _The Fifth Revelation_: By Love's Sacrifice, in Christ, the evil suffered, for Love's Increase, to rise, is overcome for ever. 30 xiv. _The Sixth Revelation_: The travail of Man against evil on earth is a glory accepted by Love in Heaven. 33 xv. _The Seventh Revelation:_ It is of God's Will, for our learning, that on earth we change between joy of light and pain of darkness. 34 xvi.-xxi. _The Eighth Revelation:_ Of the oneness of God and Man in the Passion of Christ, through Compassion of the Creature with Christ and of Christ with the Creature. All compassion in men is Christ in men. 36 xxii.-xxiii. _The Ninth Revelation_: Of the worshipful entering of Man's soul into the Joy of Love Divine in the Passion. 46 xxiv. _The Tenth Revelation_: Of the thankful entering of the soul into the Peace of _the Endless Love_ opened up for Man in the time of the Passion. 51 xxv. _The Eleventh Revelation:_ Of Christ's Raising, Fulfilling Love to the souls of men, as beheld in the love between Him and His Mother. 52 xxvi. _The Twelfth Revelation:_ All that the soul lives by and loves is God, through Christ. 54 xxvii.-xl. _The Thirteenth Revelation:_ Man's finite love was suffered by Infinite Love to fail, that falling thus through sin into pain and death of darkness, the creature therein might more deeply know his need and more highly know, in its succouring strength, the Creator's Love, as the Saviour's; that so being raised, and for ever held clinging to that through the grace of the Holy Ghost, he might rise to fuller and higher and endless oneness with God. 55 xli.-xliii. _The Fourteenth Revelation:_ Beginning on earth, Prayer makes the soul one with God. 84 xliv.-lxiii. Regarding these Revelations and the Christian Life of Love's travail on earth against sin. 93 lxiv.-lxv. _The Fifteenth Revelation_ (Closing): Of Love's Fulfilment in Heaven. 159 lxvi. Autobiographical: The fall through frailty of nature, by self-regarding, into doubt of the Shewing of Love; the rescue by mercy; the assaying of faith and the overcoming by grace. 164 lxvii.-lxviii. _The Sixteenth Revelation_ (Confirming): The Indwelling of God In the Soul, now and for ever. "_Thou shalt not be overcome._" 167 lxix. Autobiographical: The second assaying of faith, through the horror of spiritual darkness; the overcoming by virtue of the Passion of Christ, with help from the Common Belief of the Christian Fellowship. 170 lxx.-lxxxv. The Life of Faith is kept by Charity, led on by Hope 172 lxxvi. The Meaning of the Whole. Of learning more on earth and In Heaven of the One thing taught in the Revelation: _the Endless Love_; in Which Life is everlasting. 201 V. POSTSCRIPT BY AN EARLY TRANSCRIBER OF THE MANUSCRIPT. 204 VI. GLOSSARY. 205 _The Title-page is from a design by Phoebe Anna Traquair._ NOTES ON MANUSCRIPTS AND EDITIONS This English book exists in two Manuscripts: No. 30 of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (_Bibliotheca Bigotiana_, 388), and No. 2499 _Sloane_, in the British Museum. The Paris Manuscript is of the Sixteenth Century, the Sloane is in a Seventeenth Century handwriting; the English of the Fourteenth Century seems to be on the whole well preserved in both, especially perhaps in the later Manuscript, which must have been copied from one of mixed East Anglian and northern dialects. This manuscript has no title-page, and nothing is known as to its history. Delisle's catalogue of the _Biblioth. Bigot._ (1877) gives no particulars as to the acquisition of No. 388. The two versions may be compared in these sentences:-- Chap. II., _Paris_ MS.: "This revelation was made to a Symple creature unlettyrde leving in deadly flesh the yer of our Lord a thousande and thre hundered and lxxiii the xiii Daie of May." _Sloane_: "These Revelations were shewed to a simple creature that cowde no letter the yeere of our Lord 1373 the xiij day of may." Chap. LI., _Paris_ MS.: "The colour of his face was feyer brown whygt with full semely countenaunce. his eyen were blakke most feyer and semely shewyng full of lovely pytte and within hym an heyward long and brode all full of endlesse hevynlynes. And the lovely lokyng that he lokyd on his servant contynually. And namely in his fallyng ÷ me thought it myght melt oure hartys for love. and brek them on twoo for Joy." _Sloane_: "The color of his face was faire browne, with ful semely features, his eyen were blak most faire and semely shewand ful of lovely pety and within him an heyward long and brode all full of endles hevyns, and the lovely lokeing that he loked upon his servant continuly and namely in his fallyng me thowte it myte molten our herts for love & bresten hem on to for joy." The Sloane MS. does not mention the writer of the book, but the copyist of the Paris version has, after the _Deo Gratias_ with which it ends, added or transcribed these words: _Explicit liber Revelationem Julyane anatorite_ [sic] _Norwyche cujus anime propicietur Deus_. Blomefield, in his _History of Norfolk_ (iv. p. 81), speaks of "an old vellum Manuscript, 36 pages of which contained an account of the visions, etc.," of the Lady Julian, anchoress at St. Julian's, Norwich, and quotes the title written by a contemporary: "Here es a Vision shewed by the godenes of God to a devoute Woman: and her name is Julian, that is recluse at Noryche, and yett is on life, Anno Domini mccccxlii. In the whilke Vision er fulle many comfortabyll words, and greatly styrrande to alle they that desyres to be Crystes Looverse"--greatly stirring to all that desire to be lovers of Christ. This Manuscript, possibly containing the writing of Julian herself, was in the possession of the Rev. Francis Peck (1692-1743). The original MSS. of that antiquarian writer went to Sir Thomas Cave, and ultimately to the British Museum, but his general library was sold in 1758 to Mr T. Payne (of Payne & Foss), bookseller, Strand, and this old Manuscript of the "Revelations," which has been sought for in vain in the catalogues of public collections, may perhaps have been bought and sold by him.[1] It may be extant in some private library. Tersteegen, who, in his _Auserlesene Beschreibungen Heiliger Seelen_, gives a long extract from Julian's book (vol. iii. p. 252, 3rd ed. 1784), mentions in his preface that he had seen "in the Library of the late Poiret" an old Manuscript of these Revelations. Pierre Poiret, author of several works on mystical theology, died in 1719 near Leyden, but the Manuscript has not found its way to the University there. Poiret himself refers thus to Julian and her book in his _Catalogus Auctorum Mysticorum_, giving to her name the asterisk denoting greatness: "_Julianae Matris Anachoretae, Revelationes de Amore Dei. Anglice. Theodidactae, profundae, ecstaticae._" (_Theologiae Pacificae itemque Mysticae_, p. 336. Amsterdam, 1702.) The earliest printed edition of Julian's book was prepared by the Benedictine Serenus de Cressy, and published in 1670 by permission of his ecclesiastical Superior, the Abbot of Lambspring, under the title of _Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love_. It agrees with the Manuscript now in Paris, but the readings that differ from the Sloane Manuscript are very few and are quite unimportant. This version of de Cressy's is in Seventeenth Century English with some archaic words, which are explained on the side margins; it was re-printed in 1843. A modernised version taken from the Sloane MS. was published, with a preface, by Henry Collins in 1877 (T. Richardson & Sons). These three, the only printed editions, are now all of great rarity. For the following version, the editor having transcribed the Sloane MS., divided its continuous lines into paragraphs, supplied to many words capital letters, and while following as far as possible the significance of the commas and occasional full stops of the original, endeavoured to make the meaning clearer by a more varied punctuation. As the book is designed for general use, modern spelling has been adopted, and most words entirely obsolete in speech have been rendered in modern English, though a few that seemed of special significance or charm have been retained. Archaic forms of construction have been almost invariably left as they are, without regard to modern grammatical usage. Occasionally a word has been underlined for the sake of clearness or as a help in preserving the measure of the original language, which in a modern version must lose a little in rhythm, by altered pronunciation and by the dropping of the termination "en" from verbs in the infinitive. Here and there a clause has been put within parentheses. The very few changes made in words that might have any bearing on theological or philosophical questions, any historical or personal significance in the presentment of Julian's view, are noted on the margin and in the Glossary. Where prepositions are used in a sense now obscure they have generally been left as they are (_e.g., of_ for _by_ or _with_), or have been added to rather than altered (_e.g., for_ is rendered by the archaic but intelligible _for that_, rather than by _because_, and _of_ is amplified by words in square brackets, as [_by virtue_] _of_, [_out_] _of_ rather than changed into _through_ or _from_). The editor has desired to follow the rule of never omitting a word from the Manuscript, and of enclosing within square brackets the very few words added. It may be seen that these words do not alter the sense of the passage, but are interpolated with a view to bringing it out more clearly, in insignificant references (_e.g._ "in this [Shewing]"), and once or twice in a passage of special obscurity (see chap. xlv). [1] v. Nichol's _Literary Anecdotes_, vol. iii. p. 653. NOTE AS TO THE LADY JULIAN, ANCHORESS AT ST JULIAN'S, AND THE LADY JULIAN LAMPET, ANCHORESS AT CARROW In _Carrow Abbey_, by Walter Rye (privately printed, 1889), is given a list of Wills, in which the name of the Lady Julian Lampet frequently occurs as a legatee between the years 1427 (Will of Sir John Erpingham) and 1478 (Will of William Hallys). Comparing the Will of Hallys with that of Margaret Purdance, which was made in 1471 but not proved till 1483, and from which the name of Lady Julian Lampet as a legatee is stroked out, no doubt because of her death, we find evidence that this anchoress died between 1478 and 1483. As even the earlier of these dates was a hundred and thirty-six years after the birth of the writer of the "Revelations," who in May 1373 was over thirty years of age, the identity of the "Lady Julian, recluse at Norwich," with the Lady Julian Lampet, though it has naturally been suggested, is surely an impossibility. There were anchorages in the churchyards both of St Julian's, Conisford (which belonged to the nuns of Carrow in the sense of its revenues having been made over to them by King Stephen for the support of that Priory or "Abbey"), and of St Mary's, the Convent Church of the nuns. See the Will of Robert Pert--proved 1445--which left "to the anchoress of Carhowe 1s., to ditto at St Julian's 1s.," and that of the Lady Isobel Morley, who in 1466 left bequests to "Dame Julian, anchoress at Carrow, and Dame Agnes, anchoress at St Julian's in Cunisford"--no doubt the same Dame Agnes that is mentioned by Blomefield as being at St Julian's in 1472. This Agnes may have been the immediate successor of Julian the writer of the "Revelations," who is spoken of as "yet in life"--as if in great age--in 1442, when she would be a hundred years old. Perhaps the almost invariable use of the surname of the Carrow Dame Julian (who was, no doubt, of the family of Sir Ralph Lampet--frequently mentioned by Blomefield and in the _Paston Letters_) may go to establish proof that there had been before her and in her earlier years of recluse life another anchoress Julian, who most likely had been educated at Carrow, but who lived as an anchoress at St Julian's, and was known simply as Dame or "the Lady" Julian. * * * * * From Blomefield's _History of Norfolk_, vol. iv. p. 524: "Carhoe or Carrow stands on a hill by the side of the river, about a furlong from Conisford or Southgates, and was always in the liberty of the City [of Norwich].... Here was an ancient Hospital or Nunnery, dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint John, to which King Stephen having given lands and meadows without the South-gate, Seyna and Lescelina, two of the sisters, in 1146 began the foundations of a new monastery called Kairo, Carrow, Car-hou, and sometimes Car-Dieu, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John, and consisted of a prioress and nine (afterwards twelve) Benedictine black nuns.... Their church was founded by King Stephen and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and had a chapel of St John Baptist joined to its south side, and another of St Catherine to its north; there was also an anchorage by it, and in 1428 Lady Julian Lampet was anchoress there." ... "This nunnery for many years had been a school or place of education for the young ladies of the chief families of the diocese, who boarded with and were educated by the nuns." From Dr Jessopp's _Visitations of the Diocese of Norwich_, 1492-1532,