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The Mirror of Simple Souls (Notre Dame Texts in Medieval Culture)

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Porete to me is one of the most haunting and mysterious figures of the medieval period. As the painting on the cover seems to suggest, when you read Porete you seem to feel as if you are coming across a being who is human yet not quite of this Earth, and there is an ethereal glow of transcendant love in Porete's words.

Porete was one of a series of female mystics in the medieval period known as 'beguines.' Beguines were lay women who either were unable to become nuns, because to join a nunnery usually required the payment of an expensive sum (and only upper class or aristocratic women could afford that in the middle ages) but who still desired the spiritual life. Along with men (beghards) this group produced many interesting mystics.

Porete was charged with heresy and forbidden from circulating her work, the Mirror, by high ranking clerical officials. Porete refused to shut up, and was brought before the inquisition. Unrepentant, like Joan of Arc, she was burned at the stake.

The Mirror was also burned but copies were made and her work was kept and studied, and was not directly connected to her again until the 20th century. Much detailed scholarship has shed a lot of light on this work and on Porete herself.

The Mirror, like many mystical works of the time, describes a process of the union between the human soul and God through love. Porete describes a seven stage process by which the soul of the mystic is 'annihalated' and its will lost in God's infinite being and love. Most controversial, and perhaps what raised the ire of the inquisitors and theologians, was Margaret's argument that after the early stages the mystic was so united with God there was no need for the mystic 'annihalated' in God to take part in the sacramental life of the church, or listen to sermons on things such as heaven and hell. Eventually the soul becomes so united in God distinction seems to be lost, and the mystic passes into the ineffable seventh stage of death which completes perfect union with God and is therefore inexpressible.

The Mirror is a beautiful work of literature and Margaret shows a surprising knowledge of theology, spirituality, and of literature, and herself has considerable abilities as a writer. Like other beguine mystics such as Hadjewich and Metchild, the process of love and uniting to God by annihalating self-will and by a spiritual marriage with the word of God, Jesus, with the soul, seems to be critically important and at many points Margaret borrows the tropes of secular troubadour literature to express her mystical union.

It is quite possible Porete influenced Eckhart and other mystics, and no doubt she had a unique and couragous spirituality. Whether though Christian mysticism can only ever accept the union of God as between two loving but seperate wills, or of complete merging of being, I am not sure, but in my own view Margaret went too far in terms of seeing herself as in indistinct union. Nevertheless, even from afar, we must love and admire this brave woman who is said to have endured the flames in a state of noble equamity.

This is virtually the only available Modern English edition of originally Old French 'The Mirror of Simple Souls', so it is fortunate not only that it is part of the Classics of Western Spirituality Series but also that it rises to the exceptional level of scholarly excellence that marks the rest of the series while still presenting an accessible text. Marguerite's text is challenging no matter what language, but the introduction and footnotes will answer most questions of any level. Babinsky's edition is, and will be for some time, the sole point of access to Margeurite's work by students, scholars, the devout and lay alike.

This is the only complete English translation that I have seen, and it is beautiful.
Unique amongst Christian mystical writings and I say that having read a lot of them. Cloud of unknowing to Theresa of Avilla. This book was condemned by the French Inquisition as being heretical. Just like Joan of Arc, Marguerite Porete was asked to recant. When she refused to respond to her inquisitors, she was condemned to death. On 1 June 1310 she was burned at the stake in Paris for her crime of direct knowing. She said things like ;
"Thus it is better that the Soul be in the sweet country of understanding-nothing" ... (p. 142)
"(God) is incomprehensible except by Himself". (p. 84)
"I have only as much being as (God) is able to be of Himself in me". (pp. 174-175)
Margerete Porrete is much more purely gnostic in her message which is why the Inquisition burned all of her writings. Strangely this one book survived to express in an exquisite simplicity the path to god through meditation and devotion. SHe does this brilliantly, explaining her teaching through writing a dialogue between intellectual reason (the churches way of understanding), love , and the soul. She sometimes divides the dialogue further between other parts, but the way she presents it is amazingly more lucid than many other christian mystics.
THis book is for anyone who has a serious meditation practice and combines this with thier love of God. It is not an intellectual regurgitation of a young woman trying to be a spiritual writer. She is divinely inspired by her own gnosis of what is the truth and of what is love through entering the stillness and silence of the mind. She does this through deep surrender to Christ. This love seeks to motivate others to practice more than intellectual submission, this love pours a method out onto these pages, her method to go back into absorption with GOD. This same love eventually brought her to the same sacrifices as other teachers before her. I believe the Margerite Porette was simply trying to teach others in a simple way how to experience God directly through her method. And there is clearly a method in here for those that practice meditation (a method of concentration to silence the mind-surrender the self will). Thus the book is called the Mirror of simple souls.
It is a shame that so may others who review this book reduce it to a piece of invented, intellectual literature, really throwing Marguerite's truth and method back into the ashes. A shame as she was burned for her faith in what she was writing, not for being a scholar.
If you love the Philokalia, or Rumi or Meister Eckhart; or you just simply love GOD and wish to deepen your devotional meditation practice this book is for you.

A very remarkable piece of mysticism literature emerging from a time long before the classics of Carmelite Spirituality. It's an interesting work for those interested in via negativa. Thorough and engaging, allowing one to focus solely on what really matters in the Spiritual Life. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

A beautiful book! I love Marguerite's personal relationship and familiarity with God (even though she was burned at the stake for her views)!