The Book of the Lover and the Beloved takes us from the African preachings and the disputations of the Sorbonne to those long night-watches and days of retreat which must always have accompanied them, but which we are apt to forget in contemplating8 that form of activity which the world counts greatest. Or the thoughts which the Book gives us may first have come to the young convert in the solitude9 of his monastery10 and the retreat of Mount Randa. Rosselló, who some sixty years ago first published Lull’s poems, interprets a passage from Blanquerna as autobiographical. It may well be so.
Being then in his hermitage he would rise at midnight, and, opening the windows of his cell, would fall to contemplating the heavens and the stars, and praying with all possible devotion, that his soul might be fixed12 upon God alone.... After long contemplation and much weeping, his custom was to enter the church and ring for mattins, and when his deacon appeared, to help him say them. At daybreak he celebrated13 Mass with devotion, and spoke14 of God with his deacon, that on God he might set his love. And as they talked together of God and His works, they both wept for the greatness of the devotion which their argument inspired in them. Then the deacon went into the garden and busied himself with the cultivation15 of the trees in it, while Blanquerna left the church to recreate his mind which was wearied by the work he had done, to lift his eyes to the hills, and to let them rest on the plains beneath. Feeling rested at last, he would betake himself again to meditation16 and prayer, and the reading[13] of Holy Scripture17 or the great book of Contemplation, and so he would be occupied until the hours of Terce, Sext and Nones.... After this he dined ... and went into the garden, visited the spring, or walked in the places he loved most, afterwards giving himself up for a while to sleep in order to gather strength for the labours of the night. On awaking he said vespers with the deacon, and then remained alone, thinking on what pleased him most and was fittest preparation for his hours of prayer. After sunset, he went up to the terrace, and there remained long in devout18 meditation, his eyes fixed on the heavens and the stars, discoursing19 with himself on the greatness of God and man’s inconstancies. In this state he remained until he retired20 to rest, and such was the fervour of his contemplation that even upon his bed he found himself in mystic converse21 with the All-Powerful.
Such a background as this we must almost of necessity assume in a life at once so active and so spiritual. No doubt Lull was able often to spend weeks, or at the least days, in some sacred retreat, and draw from God and from Nature strength and inspiration for his endless tasks. To these seasons of refreshing22, it may be supposed, we owe his mystical writings.
Of Lull’s verses many are narrative23 or doctrinal: the hymns24 entitled ‘Hours of Our Lady St. Mary’ (Horas de Nostra Dona Sancta Maria), for example; the ‘Sin of Adam’ (Lo Peccat de n’Adam), written ‘at the request of the King of Majorca’; the short ‘Song of Ramón’ (Lo Cant25 de Ramón), and above all the ‘Medicine for Sin’ (Medicina de Peccat) and[14] the purely didactic verse ‘Application’ of the Art General. The collection of a hundred songs on the Names of God (Els Cent Noms de Deu), on the other hand, is more mystical than doctrinal, and suggests, in matter as well as in title, the mystical treatise4 ‘Of the Names of Christ’ (De los Nombres de Cristo) written almost exactly three hundred years later by the Salamancan friar, Luis de León. Mystical too, as well as autobiographical, is the dialogue poem El Desconort, ‘made in his old age,’ though its spirit is that of disillusion26 at the refusal of those in high places to help forward his schemes of evangelisation. But neither of these has either the strength or the beauty of the collection of prose poems here translated, a collection which forms part of the novel-like Blanquerna, Lull’s chief contribution to mystical literature.
His chief contribution it is, mainly, though not entirely27, by virtue28 of the sections entitled the Art of Contemplation and our Book of the Lover and the Beloved. Blanquerna, as a whole, is a somewhat fantastic, and in places extravagant29, religious romance—a religious Utopia, if parallels to it must be found, or a Catholic Pilgrim’s Progress. The story is of a certain gallant30 and wealthy youth named Evast, who marries a beautiful and virtuous31 girl called Aloma. They live together in great piety32 and happiness, but have no children, until Aloma in[15] her sorrow prays to God, and a boy, Blanquerna, is born to them. The child is brought up with great care, and in the fear of God; and when his father sees that he is a youth of discretion33, he resolves to devote himself to the religious life. Aloma, however, disapproves34, saying that they can both serve God best in the state to which He has called them; they decide in the end to lead lives of greater austerity in their home, and to give Blanquerna the oversight35 of the household. But, on proposing this to the boy, they find that he has resolved to become a hermit11.
Aloma is grieved, and endeavours to marry Blanquerna to a beautiful girl called Cana. Blanquerna’s reply is to persuade Cana to become a nun36, while he himself retires to the desert to carry out his resolve. The story then describes circumstantially and with some prolixity37 the lives of Evast and Aloma after Blanquerna has left them; it passes on to Cana, who eventually becomes abbess of her convent; and finally, after some long digressions upon convent life, to the later history of Blanquerna, which occupies the rest of the romance.
The second book of Blanquerna deals with the hero’s life before he is ordained38 priest and rises to the rank of abbot in the monastery which he has entered. A digression follows, entitled ‘The Book of Ave Maria,’ purporting39 to be an account of the[16] devotions to Our Lady which the hero established. The third book presents him as a bishop40, and the fourth as pope.
The various religious ideals presented by Lull in succession lead up to the great ideal of his life: the evangelisation of the world. Blanquerna’s supreme41 aim as pope is to strive ‘that all infidels and schismatics may be brought into the union of the Holy Catholic Faith.’ His cardinals42 are quaintly43 named after the clauses of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, and every clause is expounded44 so as to illustrate45 the activity which the Church should show in converting the heathen.
To the court of the Pope comes at length a jester,—one Ramón the Fool,—none other, of course, than Lull himself. ‘I would be as a fool,’ he says, ‘to do reverence46 and honour to Jesus Christ, and by reason of my exceeding love I would know no measure in my speech.’ Thus disguised, the author can write much which he might not otherwise have dared to put into words. And above all he can deliver himself of the shame he feels because the Head of the Church will grant so little aid to those who aim at following Christ’s last recorded command to convert all nations.
The story ends with the decision of Blanquerna, the pope now grown old in the service of the Church and the conversion47 of the heathen, to[17] renounce48 his high office, retire to a hermitage, and devote his last days to contemplation and prayer. His new life is described in detail, and it is interwoven with this description that we come upon the Book of the Lover and the Beloved and the Art of Contemplation.
The former is by far the simpler and more appealing of the two, the Art of Contemplation being considerably49 longer and full of doctrinal teaching. It is, nevertheless, still read, less for its didactic passages than for its close relation with the whole romance, its mystical aspect, and in particular its prayers, which are of great beauty. The Book of the Lover and the Beloved is mystical throughout. It was written, the author himself declares, ‘that the hearts of men might be moved to true contrition50, their eyes to abundance of tears, and their wills and understandings to loftier flights in the contemplation of God.’ How well it attains51 its object, and how truly it reflects the mystic’s being, the reader must judge.
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1
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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8
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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12
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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18
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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26
disillusion
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| vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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29
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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disapproves
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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prolixity
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| n.冗长，罗嗦 | |
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38
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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39
purporting
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 ) | |
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40
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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41
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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42
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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43
quaintly
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| adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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44
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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46
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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47
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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48
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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49
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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50
contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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51
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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