Ruling the Spirit. Claire Taylor Jones
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framing withdrawal from the world as enclosure in a convent.
The first aspect of regular life that Seuse highlights in this passage is the practice of silence. Spiritual silence served as a metaphor for Gelassenheit, but both Seuse and Tauler also hold that external silence produces internal mystical silence and urge their Dominican audience to observe the silence of the order. Both the Constitutions for friars and those for sisters devote an entire chapter to silence. Dominican men and women were obliged to remain silent at all times in the cloister, in the dormitory, in cells, in the refectory, and in oratories. Indeed, even outside of these areas, for the most part they required permission to speak at all.99
In accord with the importance of silence to daily life in the order, Seuse devoted an entire chapter of his Vita to “the useful virtue, which is called silence.”100 He happily claims that he never broke silence at table except once in thirty years. Tauler also encourages silence, while contextualizing it as an essential practice of the order.
Ich enheischen von úch kein grosse volkomenheit noch heilikeit, denne das ir minne habent zů úwerem heiligen orden, und die minnekliche gesetzde meinent ze haltende als verre als ir múgent, und úwer swigen gerne haltent uf allen den stetten do es gebotten ist, und aller meist ob dem tische und in dem kore.101
I expect no greater perfection or holiness from you than that you love your holy order and intend to observe its sweet statutes as far as you can. Gladly observe silence in all the places where it is commanded, particularly at table and in the choir.
Tauler repudiates supererogatory asceticism and encourages only strict observance, in which context silence is to be understood. Nevertheless, swigen and stillekeit also appear outside the context of the statutes, among lists of ideal virtues in Tauler’s sermons. For example, he attributes it to Christ and thereby assimilates silence into the project of imitatio Christi.102 The external practice required by the order thus has both symbolic and pragmatic value. In sum, observing silence outwardly fosters spiritual silence.
As with silence, prayer also must not become an end in itself, but rather serve the end of Gelassenheit. Indeed, for Tauler, true prayer may just as easily be experienced in silence as in speech, since he adopts the definition of prayer as ascent of the mind to God.103 He describes this ascent with a metaphor of incense: burning incense represents outer prayer practices and the smoke is the mind ascending in true prayer, released from the kernel in which it had been trapped. Burning incense serves the sole purpose of releasing smoke, and similarly outer prayer practices serve no other purpose than releasing the mind.
Also ist ussewendig gebet nút me nútze denne also verre als es zů diser edelen andaht den menschen reisset, und dannan uzbrichet der edel rouch; wanne der denne uskummet, so la das gebet des mundes künliche varn.104
Thus external prayer is only useful insofar as it draws the person to this noble contemplation, and from thence the noble smoke breaks out; when that comes out, so leave off the prayer of the mouth.
Prayer practices are useful because, but only insofar as, they create the proper disposition for “noble contemplation,” the ascent of the mind to God in Gelassenheit. Tauler therefore discourages the practice of reciting ever greater numbers of prayers, and repudiates the idea that prayers could “buy” spiritual effects. He may have had in mind visionary claims, such as the notion that reciting the psalter or Pater noster a certain number of times released an equivalent number of souls from purgatory. However, he also explicitly denigrates the practice of endowing memorial services.105 The act of mouthing prayers earns nothing from God in a mercantile exchange but rather serves only to promote a contemplative disposition, which of itself constitutes “true” prayer. If one allows external prayer to become an end in itself or even approaches it as the means to any particular end, self-will infects the practice and precludes abandoning one’s will to God. For this reason, Tauler authorizes his audience to desist from reciting prayers if and when this practice begins to obstruct the empty Gelassenheit that fosters divine intimacy.
Tauler’s admonitions concerning external prayer, however, always introduce an important qualification that makes it clear he is referring only to paraliturgical or private contemplative practices that do not form part of the Divine Office according to the Dominican Rite. The person seeking Gelassenheit should desist from any prayers or works that interfere with devout contemplation, “usgenomen das gezit alleine die das schuldig sint von ordenunge der heiligen kilchen; ane das so los künlichen varn so was anders dich hindert an dem woren weselichen gebette [except only for the hours which are required by the order of the holy church; except for this, forget about anything else that hinders you in true and essential prayer].”106 One should only recite supererogatory prayers to the extent that they aid devotion and should stop if they do not. The Office, however, is obligatory, and religious must cultivate true prayer as best they can while performing the prayers prescribed by the Church and their orders.
Tauler reassures his audience in another sermon that the Dominican Rite is already structured with this principle in mind.
Nu tůnt die pfaffen also in der vasten: so lesen wir so vil der salmen und vil wisen; ze ostern so slahen wir ab und lesen denne ein lange wile dri salmen, ein antiphone und ein collecte. Als hochgezit ist, so slahen wir ab unser frouwen zit und preces. Also, liebes kint, als das hochgezit mag gesin eines innerlichen keres, so slahe das uswendige künlich ab, ob es dich dises hindert.107
Now the priests do this during Lent: we read so and so many of the psalms and many melodies. At Easter, we cut down on these and then read for a while three psalms, an antiphon, and a collect. During Eastertide we leave out the hours of the Virgin and the preces. Thus, dear child, so that you may have the Feast of an inward turn, wisely leave out the outward prayers if they hinder you.
Tauler was not the first to claim significance for the abbreviated Easter liturgy, as we shall see in Chapter 5 regarding the German translation of William Durandus’s Rationale divinorum officiorum. According to Tauler, the Dominicans incorporated extra time for contemplation into the cycle of their Rite by abridging the liturgy for the days when particular devotion is encouraged. For the Dominican women hearing or reading this sermon, reduction of the Eastertide liturgy is both a real requirement and an allegorical lesson. Just as the Dominican Rite relaxes liturgical obligations to celebrate the important feast, so too should all Dominicans relax external prayer practices to welcome the feast in the ground of the soul. Yet neither in the real Easter liturgy nor in its allegorized spiritual correlative are the obligations ever fully dissolved.
Canonical prayer and supererogatory prayer thus possess radically different status within Tauler’s model of spiritual practice. One should desist from “manig salter und vigilien gelesen und manig messe gelesen und gesungen und manig gros oppher geophert [many psalters and vigils read, many Masses read and sung, many great sacrifices made]”108 if such distract from true contemplation. Liturgical prayer, however, not only remains obligatory regardless of devotional concentration but, to return to the principle of order, cannot obstruct Gelassenheit. Tauler reprimands those who would claim that observing the order draws them away from spiritual perfection. “Dunket dich das dich dise uswendigen werk hinderen, als kor gan und dienstliche werk der gehorsamkeit: liebes kint, die werk die enhinderent dich nút, sunder dine unordenunge in den werken die hinderent dich [It seems to you that you are hindered by outer works, such as going to choir and works of obedient service? Dear child, the works do not hinder you, but rather your disorder in the works hinders you].”109 The Office, like all the practices of the order, is intended to order the spirit and thereby prepare the ground of the soul for Gelassenheit. If it seems to obstruct this aim, that does not indicate a flaw in the order but rather a greater disorder within the self.
Seuse similarly confirms that external prayer is worthwhile, but again only insofar as it promotes a devotional attitude and inspires inner pursuit of Gelassenheit. In the Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, for example, the Servant explicitly asks his divine interlocutor whether external praise is useful.
Herr, ist daz uzzer lob,