Classics Of Western Spirituality

In these critical times nothing could be more valuable for the West than a rediscovery of its true spiritual heritage: books which were once the treasures of people, now rare and little known. Seyyed Hossein Nasr Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur'an, Mi'raj, Poetic and Theological Writings translated, edited and with an introduction by Michael A. Sells preface by Carl W. Ernst God is the light of the heavens and earth. The light like the light of a lamp in a niche The lamp enclosed in a cover of glass The glass like a glistening star Kindled from the oil of a blessed tree An olive not of the East not of the West Its oil glows forth nearly without the touch of fire... Qur'an 24:35 The first centuries of Islam saw the development of Sufism as one of the world's major mystical traditions. Although the later Sufi writings by mystics such as Rumi are known and available in translation, access to the crucial early period of Islamic mysticism has been far more limited. This volume opens with an essay on the place of spirituality within the Islamic tradition. Immediately following are the foundation texts of the pre-Sufi spirituality: the Qur'an passages most important to the mystical tradition; the accounts of Muhammad's heavenly ascent (Mi'raj); and the crucial work of early poets in setting a poetic sensibility for speaking of union with the divine beloved. The volume then presents the sayings attributed to the key early figures of Islamic spirituality: Ja'far as-Saddiq, the Sixth Imam of the Shi'ite Tradition; Rabi'a, the most famous woman saint of classical Islam; Muhasibi, the founder of Islamic moral psychology; Bistami, whose sayings on mystical union have generated fascination and controversy throughout the Islamic tradition; Tustari, a pioneer in the mystical interpretation of the Qur'an; Junayd, who helped place Sufi mysticism at the center of the Islamic tradition; Hallaj, famous for his ecstatic utterances and martyrdom; and Niffari, whose sayings are considered among the deepest mystical expressions within Islam. The sayings of these pioneers are embedded in the later stratum of analytical and synoptic writings of later Sufi thinkers: Sarraj; Sulami; Qushayri; and 'Attar. Extensive portions of these writers are translated into English for the first time. +

"Precisely the dimension of our heritage that most needs to be recovered...I cannot imagine a more timely publishing venture." Huston Smith Emanuel Swedenborg: The Universal Human and Soul-Body Interaction edited and translated by George F. Dole introduction by Stephen Larsen preface by Robert H. Kirven "In Christendom to date, there is a thick fog about the existence of a spiritual world...To prevent ignorance of that world, and a consequent wavering faith about heaven and hell, from making such fools of us that we become materialistic atheists, the Lord has graciously opened the sight of my spirit. He has thus raised me into heaven and lowered me into hell, and has shown me visually what each is like." Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1771) Writing in his Religious History of the American People Sydney E. Ahlstrom comments on the impact that Emanuel Swedenborg had on nineteenth-century America: "His influence was everywhere: in Transcendentalism and at Brook Farm, in spiritualism and the free love movement, in the craze for communitarian experiments, in faith healing, mesmerism, and a half-dozen medical cults; among great intellectuals, crude charlatans, and innumerable frontier quacks." Swedenborg was the son of a well-known Swedish theologian and had an outstanding career as a scientist and as assessor of his country's Board of Mines. His expertise encompasses the disciplines of geology, anatomy, astronomy, and physics. At age fifty-seven he underwent a religious experience that initiated him in his role of prophet and revealer of a system of thought that was destined to become one of the most important elements in the modern Christian esoteric tradition. This volume contains new translations by George F. Dole of "The Universal Human" from Arcana Coelestia (1747-1753) and the complete text of Soul-Body Interaction (1769).

The Classics series, which has inspired many less-successful imitations over the years, has fulfilled its promise and given us an invaluable resource of the soul. The Catholic Historical Review Jeremy Taylor: Selected Works edited with an introduction by Thomas K. Carroll preface by John Booty Learn to despise the world; or, which is a better compendium in the duty, learn but truly to understand it; for it is a cousenage all the way; the head of its rainbow, and the face of it is flattery; its words are charmes, and all its stories are false; its body is a shadow, and its hands do knit spiders webs. Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) Jeremy Taylor lived in an age of transition. Politically, England was emerging as a modern state, struggling with its new autonomy and experimenting with representative government. Religiously, the Puritan voices of the radical Reformation battled with the established church to move it from the via media. Intellectually, it was an age in which new philosophical voices were emerging and bards were composing their odes not in the learned classical languages of antiquity but in English. Taylor saw the completion of the Authorized Version of King James near the beginning of his life: an eloquent precursor of the monumental achievements that men like Donne, Milton, and Bunyan would make during his lifetime. Taylor has been called the Shakespeare of the Divines. Like his older contemporary Lancelot Andrewes, he drew on the spirit of the Renaissance. Rich classical allusions, ornate symbolism, and flowing cadences enhance his presentation of the sacred truths of holy writ. His own experience of life made him no stranger to suffering, having buried his first wife and all of his five sons. In his best-known work, Holy Dying, we have not only a fine example of a genre of spiritual literature common to the late Middle Ages, but one of the moving meditations on death ever written. In it we see a man proclaiming the truths of Christianity, not with the bold speculative originality of mystics like Eckhart or the systematic precision of Albert the Great, but with a sheer literary brilliance that enabled him to craft words that stood like windows to the unseen world of which they spoke: words that could awaken and stir, that could define and articulate the myriad sentiments and subtleties of the holy life. In this volume the whole range of Taylor's achievement is surveyed. His work as a pilgrim and pastor, theologian and priest, poet and preacher is presented with comprehensive introductions that highlight how he blended the insights of the Fathers with the forces of his own time into brilliant new forms of expressions. +

The study of Protestant spirituality in the early modern period has generally focused on Puritans and Pietists. The tradition of the Slavic Reformation that culminated with John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) has been largely ignored. This volume seeks to redress this imbalance by introducing Comenius's neglected masterpiece, The Labyrinth of the World, to a broader audience. Though better known as the father of modern education, Comenius was a pastor and spiritual leader of the Bohemian Brethren (Unitas Fratrum), a Czech Protestant group inspired by the Hussite movement of the fifteenth century. The Labyrinth, an allegory of the spiritual journey in the style of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, represents the culmination of his literary accomplishments. The work was written against the backdrop of the calamitous Thirty Years' War and Comenius's profound personal sufferings. His satirical castigation of the world's false ambitions and values is paralleled by a deep yearning for understanding and experience of life with God. The work comprises two parts. The first introduces a pilgrim in search of a profession. Escorted by a series of guides who lead him through the maze of life's occupations, he visits tradesmen, scholars, clergy, rulers and various other classes of society. Disillusioned by the petty rivalries and deception that mark every vocation he explores, the pilgrim ultimately despairs of the vanity and emptiness of human existence. In the second part of the text the pilgrim turns inward, where he finds "the paradise of the heart." After encountering Christ, he is led on a spiritual journey among those who have found the true meaning of life in relationship with God.

Here is an award-winning, new translation that brings to light Gregory's complex identity as an early mystic. Gregory (c. 332-395) was one of the Greek Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen.

In one of the only English translations available, here are the mystical visions of Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (1566-1606), one of the most original woman mystics of the Renaissance. However, until now she has curiously been neglected by scholars of Christian history and Italian literature alike. Editor and translator Armando Maggi rectifies this in an utterly fascinating volume of the Classics of Western Spirituality(TM). Soon after entering a convent in Florence, where she spent all of her adult years in strict enclosure, Maria Maddalena experienced visions in which she spoke to the Trinity, in particular to Christ. She did not intend to communicate these to an outside audience, and they were transcribed by her fellow nuns. Maggi offers readers here a selection from the whole corpus of Maria Maddalena's visions as contained in the manuscripts The Forty Days, The Dialogues, Revelations and Knowledge and The Probations. Unlike most other mystical works in the Western tradition Maria Maddalena's visions have a distinctly oral nature. Maria Maddalena's mysticism lies in her interpretation of oral language. She believed that God wanted her to speak his being, i.e., to utter his being through her voice. The transcriptions of her visions, in all their disorder, theatricality and passion, offer a gripping experience of Christian spirituality. Historians and theologians, especially of the Renaissance, will welcome this outstanding contribution to literature on mysticism and spirituality.

"For sheer publishing courage and imagination, what can surpass...The Classics of Western Spirituality(TM)?" Publishers Weekly "...of fundamental importance to any student or scholar interested in the development and dimensions of the religious ideas and experiences of man." Mircea Eliade Native Meso-American Spirituality Ancient Myths, Discourses, Stories Doctrines, Hymns, Poems from the Aztec, Yucatec, Quiche- Maya and Other Sacred Traditions edited with a foreword, introduction and notes by Miguel Léon-Portilla, preface by Fernando Horcasitas How has your heart decided, Giver of Life? Withhold your displeasure; Grant you compassion, I am at your side, you are God. The Sage King Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472) This volume presents a carefully edited and translated collection of Pre-Columbian ancient spiritual texts. It presents relevant examples of those sacred writings of the indigenous peoples of Central America, especially Mexico, that have survived destruction. The majority of texts were conceived in the 950-1521 A.D. period. Their authors were primarily anonymous sages, priests and members of the ancient nobility. Most were written in Nahuath (also known as Aztec or Mexican), in Yucatec and Quiche-Maya languages. This volume has been edited by Miguel Léon-Portilla of the Institute of Historical Research at the National University of Mexico. Dr. Léon-Portilla in his introduction says: "These Native American Classics of Spirituality when properly dealt with are no longer to be regarded as alien in the sense that there cannot exist a consubstantial bridge between them and the spiritual masters of the West....A realm of unsuspected wisdom will then begin to manifest itself." Fernando Horcasitas in his fine Preface calls on the reader to become "captured by the beauty of the lines" and to leave his mind "less cluttered with stereotypes" of the native American. He suggests opening the book at random to find "verses here and there, composed in the night, in the wind, that will bring ease to his heart as he walks between the abyss on one side and the ravine on the other. And those who are weary of all the conflicting elements in our present realities, who long to shatter 'this sorry state of things entire', will find heart if they can get a glimmering--even though it be faint--of the jade and turquoise the Indian poet sought and found in his songs."

"The Classics of Western Spirituality(TM) Series promises to be one of the most important and valuable tools for the teaching of western spiritual traditions in coming years." Bernard McGinn Professor of Historical Theology and History of Christianity, The University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago, Illinois Richard of St. Victor: The Book of the Patriarchs, The Mystical Ark, Book Three of the Trinity translation and introduction by Grover A. Zinn, preface by Jean Chatillon "Contemplation is free and clear vision of the mind fixed upon the manifestation of wisdom in suspended wonder....

English-speaking Christians owe Paulist Press an enormous debt of gratitude for their continuing efforts to help us gain a deeper appreciation of our spiritual heritage. Spiritual Life Walter Hilton: The Scale of Perfection translated from the Middle English, with an introduction and notes by John P.H. Clark and Rosemary Dorward preface by Janel Mueller Behold him well, for he goes before you not in bodily likeness but invisible, through the secret presence of his power. Therefore see him in the spirit if you can, or else trust him and follow him wheresoever he goes, for he shall lead you in the right way to Jerusalem; that is, the sight of peace in contemplation. Walter Hilton (c.1343-1396) This edition of The Scale of Perfection by English Augustinian Canon Walter Hilton represents a considerable advance on what has hitherto been available. The modern-language version by Rosemary Dorward is made from those manuscripts selected as the basis for the forthcoming Early English Text Society editions, and differs at a number of points from existing printed versions. The introduction and theological notes by John P.H. Clark take account of the considerable progress which has been made in the last twenty years in the understanding of Hilton's life and milieu, and of his theological background. Hilton is considered in relation to Richard Rolle, to The Cloud of Unknowing and to some of the turbulent religious movements of his day. Arising from this context, his powerful restatement of the church's traditional wisdom, addressed to those outside the cloister as well as within, is seen to speak to the needs of our own day as clearly as to those of the fourteenth century.