(14) And then we find also, how the Meekness is the Virtue and the Spirit, so that where the Meekness is not, there the Fierceness (in itself) is nothing but a Darkness and a Death, where no i Growing can spring up, and it cannot generate nor discover its Wonders; and thus we find that the Fierceness [Wrath or Sourness] is a Cause of the Essences, and [that] the Meekness [is] a Cause of the Joy, and a Cause of the Rising and [Budding] or Growing forth of the Essences; and then that the Spirit is generated by the Flowing, [Working, Springing,] and Rising up, out of the Essences, and that the Fierceness so becomes the Root of the Spirit, and the Meekness is its Life.

(31) But if it puts its Will forward into Meekness (viz. into the Obedience of God) then it is in the Source [or of the Quality and Property] of the Heart of God, and receives divine Virtue, and then all its rough Essences become angelical and joyful; and then its rough Essences are very serviceable to it, and are better and more profitable to it, than that it were altogether sweet in the Originality; in which [being sweet] there would be no Strength, nor such mighty Power as in the harsh, bitter, and fiery [Essences.]

(16) For meekness moveth against the wrath, and the wrath against the meekness, and so both are distinct kingdoms in the one only body of this world.

(35) It is a glimpse and source of meekness, a pleasant habitation of heavenly joyfulness, a house or mansion of the Holy Ghost, a qualification of love and mercy, a joy of the life.

(26) But it is quite otherwise where there is poorness of spirit, and true humility; and it is so because it is found and known of a truth that a man, of himself and his own power, is nothing, hath nothing, can do and is capable of nothing but only infirmity and evil. Hence followeth that the man findeth himself altogether unworthy of all that hath been or ever will be done for him, by God or the creatures, and that he is a debtor to God and also to all the creatures in God’s stead, both to bear with, and to labour for, and to serve them. And therefore he doth not in any wise stand up for his own rights, but from the humility of his heart he saith, “It is just and reasonable that God and all creatures should be against me, and have a right over me, and to me, and that I should not be against any one, nor have a right to anything.” Hence it followeth that the man doth not and will not crave or beg for anything, either from God or the creatures, beyond mere needful things, and for those only with shamefacedness, as a favour and not as a right. And he will not minister unto or gratify his body or any of his natural desires, beyond what is needful, nor allow that any should help or serve him except in case of necessity, and then always in trembling; for he hath no right to anything and therefore he thinketh himself unworthy of anything. So likewise all his own discourse, ways, words and works seem to this man a thing of nought and a folly. Therefore he speaketh little, and doth not take upon himself to admonish or rebuke any, unless he be constrained thereto by love or faithfulness towards God, and even then he doth it in fear, and so little as may be. Moreover, when a man hath this poor and humble spirit, he cometh to see and understand aright, how that all men are bent upon themselves, and inclined to evil and sin, and that on this account it is needful and profitable that there be order, customs, law and precepts, to the end that the blindness and foolishness of men may be corrected, and that vice and wickedness may be kept under, and constrained to seemliness. For without ordinances, men would be much more mischievous and ungovernable than dogs and cattle. And few have come to the knowledge of the truth but what have begun with holy practices and ordinances, and exercised themselves therein so long as they knew nothing more nor better. Therefore one who is poor in spirit and of a humble mind doth not despise or make light of law, order, precepts and holy customs, nor yet of those who observe and cleave wholly to them, but with loving pity and gentle sorrow, crieth: “Almighty Father, Thou Eternal Truth, I make my lament unto Thee, and it grieveth Thy Spirit too, that through man’s blindness, infirmity, and sin, that is made needful and must be, which in deed and truth were neither needful nor right.” For those who are perfect are under no law.

(10) But he saw and knew very well the divine meekness, and humble being in God his Father; moreover he knew also very well, that it stood in such meekness from eternity, and that he also should generate in such meekness, as a loving and obedient son.

(88) Therefore it always seeketh the lowest places of the earth; which rightly signifieth or resembleth the spirit of meekness, in which the life is generated; as you may read concerning the creation of man, as also before, concerning the species or condition of water, meekness, and suchlike qualities. Of Day and Night.

(35) Moreover, in a man who is “made a partaker of the divine nature,” there is a thorough and deep humility, and where this is not, the man hath not been “made a partaker of the divine nature.” So Christ taught in words and fulfilled in works. And this humility springeth up in the man, because in the true Light he seeth (as it also really is) that Substance, Life, Perceiving, Knowledge, Power, and what is thereof, do all belong to the True Good, and not to the creature; but that the creature of itself is nothing and hath nothing, and that when it turneth itself aside from the True Good in will or in works, nothing is left to it but pure evil. And therefore it is true to the very letter, that the creature, as creature, hath no worthiness in itself, and no right to anything, and no claim over any one, either over God or over the creature, and that it ought to give itself up to God and submit to Him because this is just. And this is the chiefest and most weighty matter. Now, if we ought to be, and desire to be, obedient and submit unto God, we must also submit to what we receive at the hands of any of His creatures, or our submission is all false. From this latter article floweth true humility, as indeed it doth also from the former.43 And unless this verily ought to be, and were wholly agreeable to God’s justice, Christ would not have taught it in words, and fulfilled it in His life. And herein there is a veritable manifestation of God; and it is so of a truth, that of God’s truth and justice this creature shall be subject to God and all creatures, and no thing or person shall be subject or obedient to her. God and all the creatures have a right over her and to her, but she hath a right to nothing: she is a debtor to all, and nothing is owing to her, so that she shall be ready to bear all things from others, and also if needs be to do all things for others. And out of this groweth that poorness of spirit of which Christ said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (that is to say, the truly humble), “for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” All this hath Christ taught in words and fulfilled with His life. Namely, God’s having a right to our obedience.

(133) Viz. God his Creator qualifieth or operateth very meekly, lovingly and joyfully, and one qualifying or fountain spirit of God always loveth the other, and infecteth itself with the other, and always helpeth the other to image, form and frame all in the heavenly pomp.

(4) For from its twofold source, everything has its great mobility, running, springing, driving and growing; For meekness in nature is a still rest, but the fierceness in every power makes all things moveable, running and generative.

(46) "This foregoing question is understood or meant thus: as when I say, God knoweth not the evil; also, God willeth not the evil, according to the tenure of the Scripture; then I understand or mean that in his love (which alone is the one only Good, and is alone called God) there is no glimpse of evil revealed or manifested; otherwise, if any evil were revealed or manifested therein, then the love were not meekness and humility alone.

(128) Just as the meek spirit of the heart goeth through the astringent and bitter quality, and overcometh it; and though it be indeed infected with the astringent and bitter spirit, yet it teareth and breaketh thorough, as a conqueror: But if it should wilfully sit still in the hollow hole in the astringent and bitter spirit, and suffer itself to be taken captive, and would not fight, then the fault were its own.

(29) Now if the bitter quality dwelleth meekly and gently in any creature, then is it the heart or joy therein; for it dissipateth all other evil influences, and is the beginning or cause of joy or of laughing.

(26) So order, laws, precepts and the like are merely an admonition to men who understand nothing better and know and perceive not wherefore all law and order is ordained. And the perfect accept the law along with such ignorant men as understand and know nothing better, and practise it with them, to the intent that they may be restrained thereby, and kept from evil ways, or if it be possible, brought to something higher. Behold! all that we have said of poverty and humility is so of a truth, and we have the proof and witness thereof in the pure life of Christ, and in His words. For He both practised and fulfilled every work of true humility and all other virtues, as shineth forth in His holy life, and He saith also expressly: “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”32 Moreover He did not despise and set at nought the law and the commandments, nor yet the men who are under the law. He saith: “I am not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil.” But he saith further, that to keep them is not enough, we must press forward to what is higher and better, as is indeed true. He saith: “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”33 For the law forbiddeth evil works, but Christ condemneth also evil thoughts; the law alloweth us to take vengeance on our enemies, but Christ commandeth us to love them. The law forbiddeth not the good things of this world, but He counselleth us to despise them. And He hath set His seal upon all He said, with His own holy life; for He taught nothing that He did not fulfil in work, and He kept the law and was subject unto it to the end of His mortal life. Likewise St. Paul saith: “Christ was made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.”34 That is, that He might bring them to something higher and nearer to Himself. He said again, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”35 In a word: in Christ’s life and words and works, we find nothing but true, pure humility and poverty such as we have set forth. And therefore where God dwelleth in a man, and the man is a true follower of Christ, it will be, and must be, and ought to be the same. But where there is pride, and a haughty spirit, and a light careless mind, Christ is not, nor any true follower of His. Christ said: “My soul is troubled, even unto death.” He meaneth His bodily death.

(28) And where God Himself dwelleth in the man, it is thus; as we plainly see in Christ. Moreover, where there is this union, which is the offspring of a Divine light and dwelleth in its beams, there is no spiritual pride or irreverent spirit, but boundless humility, and a lowly broken heart; also an honest blameless walk, justice, peace, content, and all that is of virtue must needs be there. Where they are not, there is no right union, as we have said. For just as neither this thing nor that can bring about or further this union, so there is nothing which hath power to frustrate or hinder it, save the man himself with his self-will, that doeth him this great wrong. Of this be well assured.

(59) But when the light of God shineth through this sharp birth or geniture, then it becometh very meek, and is as it were like a man that is asleep, in whom the life still moveth; and the body is in a sweet, quiet rest.

(7) But some one may say: "All virtues must have existed in fullness in Our Lady, therefore perfect sanctification must have been in her. If sanctification is higher than humility, why did Our Lady speak of her humility, and not of her sanctification, when she said, "For He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden?" To this I answer that God possesses both sanctification and humility, so far as we may attribute virtues to God. Now thou shouldest know that His humility brought God to stoop down to human nature, and our Lady knew that He wished for the same quality in her, and in that matter had regard to her humility alone.

Therefore she made mention of her humility and not of her sanctification, in which she remained unmoved and unaffected. If she had said, "He hath regarded the sanctification of His handmaiden," her sanctification would have been disturbed, for, so to speak, would have been a going out of herself. Therefore the Psalmist said, "I will hear what the Lord God will say in me," as if to say, "If God will Speak to me, let Him come in, for I will not come out." And Boethius saith, "Men, why seek ye outside you what is inside you--salvation?"

(8) Yet this first Will in the Mind ought not to stay behind in the Abyss of the sour Fierceness, (in which the fierce Malice is,) but ought to go forward in the Center of the Breaking forth out of the Darkness into the Light, for in the Light there is mere Meekness, Lowliness, Humility, Good- Will, and friendly Desires, that it might with its re-conceived Will go out of itself, and to Or earnest Will. open itself in its precious Treasury. For in the re-conceived Will to the Birth of the Light, there is no Source of Anxiety, but only mere friendly Desires; for the Glimpse rises up out of the Darkness in itself, and desires the Light; and the Desiring draws the Light into itself, and there the Anguish becomes an exulting Joy in itself, an humble Chearfulness, a pleasant Habitation. For the re-conceived Will in the Light is impregnated, and its Fruit in the Body is Virtue [or Power,] which the Will desires to generate, and to live therein; and this Desiring brings the Fruit out of the impregnated Will, [and presents it] before the Will, and the Will discovers itself [glimmers or shines] in the Fruit in an infinite pleasant Number; and there goes forth, in the pleasant Number, in the discovered [or manifested] Will, the high Benediction [or Blessing,] Favour, loving Kindness, pleasant Inclination [or yielding Pliableness,] the Taste of Joy, the Well-doing of Meekness [or Affability,] and [further] what my Pen cannot express. The Mind would much rather be freed from Vanity, and live therein without Molestation or Disturbance.

(44) It is a great folly when a man, or any creature, dreameth that he knoweth or can accomplish aught of himself, and above all when he dreameth that he knoweth or can fulfil any good thing, whereby he may deserve much at God’s hands, and prevail with Him. If he understood rightly, he would see that this is to put a great affront upon God. But the True and Perfect Goodness hath compassion on the foolish simple man who knoweth no better, and ordereth things for the best for him, and giveth him as much of the good things of God as he is able to receive. But as we have said afore, he findeth and receiveth not the True Good so long as he remaineth unchanged; for unless Self and Me depart, he will never find or receive it.

(59) And in this Tincture of the first Principle, the Devil tempted Man; for it is his Source, [Well-spring, or Property,] wherein he also lives. Herein he reaches into the Heart of Man, into his Soul's Essences, and leads him away from God, into the Desire to live in the sharp (viz. in the fiery) Essences, that it might be elevated above the Humility and the Meekness of the Heart of God, and above the Love and Meekness of the Creatures, [on Purpose to seem] to be the only fair and glistering Worm in the Fire-flash, and to domineer over the second Principle. And [thus] he makes the Soul of Man so extremely proud, as not to vouchsafe himself to be in the least like any Meekness, but to be like all whatsoever lives in a Quality [or Property] contrary to it.