Now I behold what most I sought;
Fulfilled at last my longing thought;
Lovesick, my soul to Jesus turns,
And all my heart within me burns.
(_Transl. by_ T.G. CRIPPEN.)
We read in his writings: "Blessed and sacred is he to whom it has been
given to experience this in his earthly life; even if he have
experienced it only once, for the space of a fleeting minute. For to
melt away completely, as it were, as if one had ceased to exist, to be
emptied of self, dissolved in holy emotion, has not been given to mortal
life, but is the state of the blessed."
I shall have to refer to both men in a future chapter, when I shall
examine the degenerate growths of metaphysical eroticism; for the ardour
of their souls was frequently kindled by sexual imaginings; in the case
of emotional mystics it is often difficult to distinguish between
sensual conceptions and the pure love of God (a fact which does not,
however, justify the superficial opinion that all mysticism is diverted
sexuality).
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