|
Showing 1 - 25 of
59 matches in All Departments
Written by Dominican preacher and mystic Bl. Henry Suso (c.
1300-1366), Horologium Sapientiae, or Wisdom's Watch upon the
Hours, was one of the most successful religious writings of its
time. Now it is offered to the English-speaking world in a new
translation based on Pius K nzle's critical Latin edition.
Essentially a dialogue between the author and Divine Wisdom, the
Watch tells of Suso's service to and espousal of Wisdom, his ""most
cruel bride,"" with a charm reminiscent of contemporary chivalric
romance literature. The Watch's many readers doubtless esteemed it
for its devotional fervor and for the solutions Suso offers to the
problems inseparable from a sincere Christian life. He teaches that
a devotion of sharing in the Savior's self-sacrifice is the path to
spiritual perfection, as well as a consolation for the soul amid
life's cares. Based on his own shrewd observations on shunning
""sensory forms and earthly imaginings,"" Suso develops the
essential elements of ascetic and mystical theology. He keenly
observes and judiciously criticizes the abuses of his own times and
the rise of secularism, hedonism, and materialism. He writes of his
yearning for a way of life that was fast disappearing, for the
piety and simplicity of the country folk he had known as a boy. For
Suso, the ""Christocentric Boethius,"" the men and women of his
youth were heirs of the Eternal Wisdom, founded on Christ and found
in Christ, which was being lost and forgotten in the new urban
cultures. The Watch's autobiographical content is especially
interesting for those who follow the repercussions of the
condemnation of Meister Eckhart, Suso's revered teacher, in 1329.
Eckhart had been condemned for heresy, and Suso uses allegory to
show perceptive readers how he found a way to dissent from this
judgment and yet remain the Holy See's loyal and faithful servant.
Throughout most of his life, Suso suffered the jealousy of his
confreres and remained ever conscious of the dangers of
uncritically applying Eckhart's principles; these troubles too are
expressed allegorically here.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|