Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich
wise of himself; and also his will is over-laid. In | | this time he is in tempest, and in sorrow, and in | woe: and the cause is blindness, for he seeth not | i God ; for if he saw God continually, he should have | no mischievous feeling, ne no manner stirring, nor | i sorrowing that serveth to sin. Thus saw I, and felt | 1 in the same time; and methought that the sight | | and the feeling was high, and plentuous, and | | gracious, in regard that our common feeling is in | this life; but yet methought it was but low and | small, in regard of the great desire that the soul | hath to see God: for I felt in me five manner of | workings, which be these; enjoying, mourning, | desire, dreed, and true hope. Enjoying, for God | gave me understanding, and knowing that it was | himself that I saw ; mourning, and that was for fail- | ing; desire, that was that I might see him for ever | more and more; understanding and knowing, that | we shall never have full rest, till we see him clearly and verily in heaven. Dreed was, for it seemed to me in all that time, that sight should fail, and I to | be left to myself. True hope, was in the endless love that I saw, that I should be kept by his mercy, and brought to the bliss. And the joying in his - sight, with this true hope of his merciful keeping, . made me to have feeling and comfort: so that | mourning and dreed were not greatly painful. And i yet in all this, I beheld in the chewing vf God, that | 114 - :
THE FORTY-€IGHTH CHAPTER,
this manner sight of him may not be continuant in this life; and that, for his own worship, and for increase of our endless joy. And therefore we fail oftentimes of the sight of him: and anon we fall into our self, and then find we feeling of right naught but the contrarious that is in our self. And that, of the old root of our first sin, with all that followeth of our own continuance: and in this we be travelled and tempted, with feeling of sin and of pain in many diverse manner, ghostly and bodily, as it is known to us in this life.
The Forty-eighth Chapter
Bur our good Lord the Holy Ghost, which is endless life dwelling in our soul, full truly keepeth us, and worketh therein a peace, and bringeth it to ease by grace, and maketh it buxom, and accordeth it te God. And this is the mercy and the way that our good Lord continually leadeth us in, as long as we be in this life, which is changeable: for I saw no wrath but on mans party, and that forgiveth he iu us: for wrath is not else but a frowardness, and a contrariousness to peace and love. And either it cometh of failing of might, or of failing of wisdom, or of failing of goodness: which failing is not of God, but it is in our party: for we by sin and wretehednuess have in us a wrath, sud a con- 115
THE FOURTEENTH REVELATION.
tinuant contrariousness to peace and to love. And that shewed he full oft in his lovely chear of ruth and pity: for the ground of mercy is in love, and the working of mercy is our keeping in love: and this was shewed in such a manner, that I could not perceive of the property of mercy otherwise, but as it were all love in love; that is to say, as to my sight, mercy is a sweet gracious working in love, medled with plenteous pitty ; for merey worketh, us keeping; and mercy worketh turning to us all thing to good: mercy for love suffereth us to fail by measure, and in as much as we fail, in so much we fall; and in as much as we fall, in so much we die: for us behooveth needs to die, in as much as we fail sight and feeling of God, that is our life. Our failing is dreadful, our falling is shameful; and our dying is sorrowful, But yet in all this the sweet eye of pity and love departeth never from us, ne the working of mercy ceaseth not: for I beheld the property of mercy, and I beheld the property of grace, which have two manner of working in one love: mercy is a pitiful property, which longeth to mother-hood in tender love: and grace is a worshipful property which longeth to royal lordship in the same love. Mercy worketh, keeping, suffering, quickening, and healing, and all is of tenderness of love: and grace worketh with mercy. raising, rewarding, endlesly over-passing
p. 116
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THE FORTY-NINTH CHAPTER
wise of himself; and also his will is over-laid. In | | this time he is in tempest, and in sorrow, and in | woe: and the cause is blindness, for he sees not | i God ; for if he saw God continually, he should have | no mischievous feeling, ne no manner stirring, nor | i sorrowing that serves to sin. Thus saw I, and felt | 1 in the same time; and methought that the sight | | and the feeling was high, and plentuous, and | | gracious, in regard that our common feeling is in | this life; but yet methought it was but low and | small, in regard of the great desire that the soul | has to see God: for I felt in me five manner of | workings, which be these; enjoying, mourning, | desire, dreed, and true hope. Enjoying, for God | gave me understanding, and knowing that it was | himself that I saw ; mourning, and that was for fail- | ing; desire, that was that I might see him for ever | more and more; understanding and knowing, that | we shall never have full rest, till we see him clearly and verily in heaven. Dreed was, for it seemed to me in all that time, that sight should fail, and I to | be left to myself. True hope, was in the endless love that I saw, that I should be kept by his mercy, and brought to the bliss. And the joying in his - sight, with this true hope of his merciful keeping, . made me to have feeling and comfort: so that | mourning and dreed were not greatly painful. And i yet in all this, I beheld in the chewing vf God, that | 114 - :
THE FORTY-€IGHTH CHAPTER,
this manner sight of him may not be continuant in this life; and that, for his own worship, and for increase of our endless joy. And therefore we fail oftentimes of the sight of him: and anon we fall into our self, and then find we feeling of right naught but the contrarious that is in our self. And that, of the old root of our first sin, with all that follows of our own continuance: and in this we be travelled and tempted, with feeling of sin and of pain in many diverse manner, ghostly and bodily, as it is known to us in this life.
The Forty-eighth Chapter
Bur our good Lord the Holy Ghost, which is endless life dwelling in our soul, full truly keeps us, and works therein a peace, and brings it to ease by grace, and makes it buxom, and accords it te God. And this is the mercy and the way that our good Lord continually leads us in, as long as we be in this life, which is changeable: for I saw no wrath but on mans party, and that forgives he iu us: for wrath is not else but a frowardness, and a contrariousness to peace and love. And either it comes of failing of might, or of failing of wisdom, or of failing of goodness: which failing is not of God, but it is in our party: for we by sin and wretehednuess have in us a wrath, sud a con- 115
THE FOURTEENTH REVELATION.
tinuant contrariousness to peace and to love. And that showed he full oft in his lovely chear of ruth and pity: for the ground of mercy is in love, and the working of mercy is our keeping in love: and this was showed in such a manner, that I could not perceive of the property of mercy otherwise, but as it were all love in love; that is to say, as to my sight, mercy is a sweet gracious working in love, medled with plenteous pitty ; for merey works, us keeping; and mercy works turning to us all thing to good: mercy for love suffers us to fail by measure, and in as much as we fail, in so much we fall; and in as much as we fall, in so much we die: for us behoovs needs to die, in as much as we fail sight and feeling of God, that is our life. Our failing is dreadful, our falling is shameful; and our dying is sorrowful, But yet in all this the sweet eye of pity and love departs never from us, ne the working of mercy ceases not: for I beheld the property of mercy, and I beheld the property of grace, which have two manner of working in one love: mercy is a pitiful property, which longs to mother-hood in tender love: and grace is a worshipful property which longs to royal lordship in the same love. Mercy works, keeping, suffering, quickening, and healing, and all is of tenderness of love: and grace works with mercy. raising, rewarding, endlesly over-passing
p. 116
[eor a terrent oPd verre S ert BER Herr Ir GAME Ard REB cen ee OEG A citm deep
EBEN
THE FORTY-NINTH CHAPTER
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