HERE BEGINNETH THE EIGHT AND SIXTIETH CHAPTER
That nowhere bodily, is everywhere ghostly; and how our outer
man calleth the word of this book
nought.
AND on the same manner, where another man would bid thee gather thy powers and
thy wits wholly within thyself, and worship God there--although he say full
well and full truly, yea! and no man trulier, an he be well conceived--yet for
fear of deceit and bodily conceiving of his words, me list not bid thee do so.
But thus will I bid thee. Look on nowise that thou be within thyself. And
shortly, without thyself will I not that thou be, nor yet above, nor behind,
nor on one side, nor on other.
"Where then," sayest thou, "shall I be? Nowhere, by thy tale!" Now truly thou sayest well; for there would I
have thee. For why, nowhere bodily, is everywhere ghostly. Look then busily
that thy ghostly work be nowhere bodily; and then wheresoever that that thing
is, on the which thou wilfully workest in thy mind in substance, surely there
art thou in spirit, as verily as thy body is in that place that thou art
bodily. And although thy bodily wits can find there nothing to feed them on,
for them think it nought that thou dost, yea! do on then this nought, and do it
for God's love. And let not therefore, but travail busily in that nought with a
waking desire to will to have God that no man may know. For I tell thee truly,
that I had rather be so nowhere bodily, wrestling with that blind nought, than
to be so great a lord that I might when I would be everywhere bodily, merrily
playing with all this ought as a lord with his own.
Let be this everywhere and this ought,
in comparison or this nowhere and this nought. Reck thee never if thy wits
cannot reason of this nought; for surely, I love it much the better. It is so
worthy a thing in itself, that they cannot reason thereupon. This nought may
better be felt than seen: for it is full blind and full dark to them that have
but little while looked thereupon. Nevertheless, if I shall soothlier say, a
soul is more blinded in feeling of it for abundance of ghostly light, than for
any darkness or wanting of bodily light. What is he that calleth it nought?
Surely it is our outer man, and not our inner. Our inner man calleth it All;
for of it he is well learned to know the reason of all things bodily or
ghostly, without any special beholding to any one thing by itself.