The Ascent of Mount CarmelChapter XXIII. Of the purely spiritual apprehensions of the understanding

I HAVE been somewhat concise in the discussion of those intellectual apprehensions which are derived from the senses, if we regard the abundance of the matter, and I am unwilling to pursue it at greater length; because, so far as my purpose is concerned—which is the extrication of the understanding from them, and the direction of it into the night of faith—I think I have said more than enough. I shall, now, therefore, enter on the discussion of the other four apprehensions of the understanding, which, in the tenth chapter, I said were purely spiritual —namely, visions, revelations, locutions, and spiritual impressions. I call these purely spiritual, because they

N.2 do not, like those which are bodily and imaginary, reach the understanding by the way of the senses of the body; but because they reach it independently of every bodily sense, interior or exterior, clearly and distinctly in a supernatural way, and passively; that is, irrespectively of, at least, any active operation on n the nae of the ‘soul itself. : . eg

2. Speaking generally, we may say that these four apprehensions may be called visions of the soul; for we say that the soul sees when it understands. And inasmuch as all these apprehensions are intelligible to the understanding, we say that they are spiritually visible; and therefore the particular intelligence of them, formed in the understanding, may be called intellectual vision. And as all the objects of the senses—of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching—in so far as they are true or false, are objects of the understanding, it follows that, as all that is bodily visible is an occasion of corporeal visions to the bodily eyes, so all that is intelligible is an occasion of spiritual vision to the spiritual eye of the soul, which is the understanding; for, as I have said, to understand is to see. And thus, speaking generally, these four apprehensions may be called visions. The other senses, however, cannot be thus applied, for not one of them is capable of receiving, as such, the —subject-matter of another. - Poof aan

3. But as these apprehensions are represented to the © soul in the same manner as to all the senses, it follows, to use the proper and specific terms, that all which ‘the understanding receives by the way of seeing—for it can see spiritually, as the eyes see bodily—may be called vision; that which it receives by apprehending and perceiving new things, revelation; that which it receives by the way of hearing, locution; and that which it receives in the way of the other senses,: such as spiritual odour, taste, and delectation, of which the soul is supernaturally conscious, may be called spiritual impressions. From all this the understanding elicits an act of intelligence or spiritual vision, as I have said, without perceiving any form, image, or figure whatever of the natural imagination or fancy, which could furnish any foundation for it: for these things are communicated directly to the soul by a supernatural operation and by supernatural means.

4. The understanding, therefore, must be withdrawn from them—precisely as from the corporeal and imaginary apprehensions --by being guided and directed in the spiritual night of faith to the divine and substantial union of the love of God, that it may not be embarrassed and made stupid by them, and thereby be hindered on the road of solitude; and detachment necessary for that end. If it be granted that these apprehensions are of a higher kind, more profitable and much more safe than those which are corporeal and imaginary, because they are interior, purely spiritual, and less liable to the intrusions of satan, and because they are communications of God to the soul, in the greatest pureness and subtilty, independent of, at least, any active operations of the soul or of the imagination; still the understanding may be not only embarrassed by — but, in consequence of its incautiousness, greatly deluded. — . 6. I. might. now finish with these four ——— together, by giving advice common to them all, as I have already done with the others—namely: let no man seek them or desire them: still, inasmuch as a different course will enlighten us how to do so, and as there is something still to be said with reference to them, I think it well to treat of each one of them in particular. With this view I now proceed to speak of the first of them— spiritual or intellectual visions.