This famous and much loved little treatise, On Cleaving to God, (De Adhaerendo Deo) has always been attributed to Saint Albert the Great, who lived from about 1200 to 1280, and was one of the most respected theologians of his time. He was moreover a voluminous writer in the scholastic tradition, and, amongst other things, Bishop of Ratisbonne and one of the teachers of Eckhart at Paris University. The Latin text of which this is a translation is found in volume 37 of his Opera Omnia published in Paris in 1898.
This famous and much loved little treatise, On Cleaving to God, (De Adhaerendo Deo) has always been attributed to Saint Albert the Great, who lived from about 1200 to 1280, and was one of the most respected theologians of his time.
The De adhaerendo Deo, attributed to Saint Albert the Great. Translated by Dr Elisabeth Stopp. The author of this fifteenth-century classic himself calls it a compilation, made for his own use, of various passages connected by their subject matter; he quotes freely from early and contemporary writers, among them [Saint John] Cassian, Saint Bernard, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The book is in fact a personal anthology of a widely read man, and the passages are bound together by individual comments of great vigour, single-mindedness, and beauty. It has been called a supplement to the Imitation [of Christ], and indeed shares its spirit. From the earlier Blackfriars Publications edition: A great tussle among scholars has as yet left the authorship of this great spiritual classic unsettled. But opinion seems to be coming back to Saint Albert the Great at least as the origin of the work. It has always been so popular that it was soon changed by copyist and commentator. Dr Stopp, however, is not concerned with the authorship so much as with the classic itself, that it may be once again in the hands of many and support them in their Christian life as it has supported so many thousands before. Her new translation makes the classic readable by all.
"On Cleaving to God" by Albert the Great (translated by John Richards). Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Excerpt: On the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible in this life De ultima et summa perfectione hominis, quantum in hac vita possibile est. I have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely, confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it fully (in so far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God. In fact everyone is obligated, to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes everything that is contrary to the nature and habit of love, including mortal sin. Members of religious orders have committed themselves in addition to evangelical perfection, and to the things that constitute a voluntary and counselled perfection by means of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal which is God. The observation of these additional commitments excludes as well the things that hinder the working and fervour of love, and without which one can come to God, and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body and mind, exactly as one's vow of profession entails. Since indeed the Lord God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, in other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire, stripped of all images. This is what is referred to in Matthew 6:6, 'When you pray, enter into your inner chamber, ' that is, your inner heart, 'and having closed the door, ' that is of your senses, and there with a pure heart and a clear conscience, and with faith unfeigned, 'pray to your Father, ' in spirit and in truth, 'in secret.' This can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed from everything else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the presence of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the Lord its God with its desire. In this way it pours itself forth into him in full sincerity with its whole heart and the yearning of its love, in the most inward part of all its faculties, and is plunged, enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him. English text followed by Latin Text. This Catholic work is translated by an Anglican who admits making some changes. Overall, it remains an uplifting work available in English.
Originally published as an English translation in 1981, The Middle English Mystics is a crucial contribution to the study of the literature of English mysticism. This book surveys and analyses the language of metaphor in the writings of such mystics as Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, Julian of Norwich, and in such anonymous works as The Cloud of Unknowing and the Ancrene Wisse. The main emphasis of this comparative and stylistic study is not theological but rather the means by which theological concepts are communicated through language. The book sets the English mystics in perspective by establishing their place in the European mystical movement of the Middle Ages. It shows how intricate the relationship between English, and continental mysticism really is. The book suggests that there is clear links between English and German female mysticism, yet the mysticism is in the main due not so much to specific influences as to the common background of Christian theology and mysticism.
"Heritage of Dominican spirituality is here portrayed in the lives and teaching of three ... representatives--the positive way of Thomas Aquinas, the negative way of Meister Eckhart and the mystical-prophetic way of Catherine of Siena.
