The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works (Penguin Classics) | 
| Author: Anonymous
Creator: A. C. Spearing
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 64940
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0140447628
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.22
EAN: 9780140447620
ASIN: 0140447628
Publication Date: January 29, 2002
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Product Description
In the fourteenth century there was a great flourishing of religious writings in English, both orthodox and heretical. Many of these works focused on Christ's Passion and humanity, whereas The Cloud of Unknowing describes an abstract, transcendent God beyond human knowledge and human language. Drawing upon radically different traditions, it is a rich work full of intriguing contradictions that speaks to us with liveliness and wit even today. The unknown author, thought to be a priest and Carthusian monk, is also believed to have written the other three works in this volume: The Mystical Theology of Saint Denis, The Book of Privy Counselling, and An Epistle on Prayer, which, together with The Cloud of Unknowing, are the four texts at the core of medieval mystical theology.
This Penguin Classics edition includes full explanatory notes, suggestions for further reading, an appendix that reproduces the Middle English text of a section of The Mystical Theology of Saint Denis, and an introduction that places the texts within the context of medieval religious writing.
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 A brilliant work of Christian mysticism October 13, 2006
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
The Cloud of Unknowing, along with the other works by this humble contemplative, is certainly one of my favourite works in contemplative Christian mysticism, and in itself is also a lovely work of medieval English literature.
The writer of the 'Cloud' also wrote several other works, including a translation of Dionysius the Aeropagite's 'Mystical Theology' and other works written for a monk starting his novitiate at the writer's monastary. The writer was probably a Carthusian monk, and also the spiritual director (or perhaps even the abbot) of a Cathusian monastary in medieval England.
The writer had a standard though thorough education and he was influenced by St Thomas Aquinas, Richard of St Victor, and also by Dionysius the Aeropagite. The writer is an enthusiastic advocate of what is now called the 'via negativa' or the form of theology or mystical contemplation which emphasis the unknowability and 'darkness' of God.
The writer counsels his 'spiritual friend in God' to discard any images he has of God, as well as consoling visions and feelings. The writer urges his student to put a 'cloud of forgetting' between himself and God, and between all creatures and God. When asked 'What is God' the writer replies 'I don't know' but carefully emphasis while God's essence cannot possibly be known by the human mind, God can be understood and grasped by a 'sharp dart of love' aimed at God.
The rest of the writer's works unfold outlining and expanding on these themes, in a brilliantly lucid fashion which avoids any ornaments of rhetoric, condescending spiritual pride, and unneccessary displays of cleverness and erudition. The Cloud author in fact attacks such people quite strongly, saying they have more in common with the devil than with God, merely learning in order to puff themselves up while completely forgetting their own creator and his amazing gifts.
I think the Cloud author is one of the finest mystics in the Christian tradition and all Christians can read this work with enjoyment, and without fear that the mystical is connected with weird ideas of the occult or of pantheistic union with God. The author takes great pains to attack those who indulge in occult speculations (as perhaps theosophists might today) or in outbursts of hysterics or unbalanced emotion, like Margary Kempe and many other English mystics (and also others in Europe also) sometimes indulged in. As Thomas Merton wisely said, the mystical path is a calling for all Christians but also an extremely dangerous one; the journey into our interior can easily lead us astray, either by our own self-deceptions, or else through those of the devil. The author is also careful to emphasize our union with God (unlike Eckhart or Quietists like Margaret Porete) is not one of substance but of loving wills and natures, and there is no fusion of the divine which involves the total and final annihalation of our own being.
The tradition the Cloud author follows is firmly rooted in the via negativa. While this approach and also mysticism generally has come under severe criticism from many quarters recently, I think the Cloud author is certainly one of the most sober and 'safe' mystics in the Christian tradition, and avoids many of the excesses other mystics have fallen into.
While some of what the Cloud author says will no doubt have similarities to other religions like Buddhism (especially in meditation), it should be emphasized the Cloud author is firmly Christian in his approach and frequently mentions the necessity of following Christ and also other things like the liturgy and sacraments. He also frequently refers back to the Bible, and while his biblical references are not as common as those of John of the Cross, 'Biblical' Christians will find this author is careful to keep his ideas within Christian bounds, and to exclude any elements which are clearly foreign to the Christian tradition. He certainly tones down or ignores for example many of the Neo-Platonic spiritual elements which exist in the system of Denys the Aeropagite.
So far as contemplation goes, this little work is a beautiful clear gem, to be treasured as well as admired across the ages. Certainly when I read this I often feel like the Cloud author is also talking to me, and whenever a writer can do this, you know you have a great writer in your hands.
By an unknown author. How fitting! May 10, 2005
22 out of 25 found this review helpful
This classic guide to Christian contemplative prayer (effectively, what we call 'meditation' these days, rather - than 'asking' for something), is as meaningful now, as the day it was written. Still, it won't mean a thing if you aren't drawn to the contemplative life - but, as the appropriately 'anonymous' author points out, with almost Zen-like acuteness, if you are truly given to the spiritual art and discipline hinted at in his directions - you will find that it supervenes wherever you may happen to be ("for when you are nowhere physically, you are everywhere spiritually. . ." ). Quite fairly then, this approach has been called 'Christian Zen' - and so it is.
Spearing's translation of 'The Cloud of Unknowing' has replaced the previous Penguin edition presented by Clifton Walters. I would still recommend Walters' version, if you can find a copy. It gave a good introduction to the 'Cloud' and its background - useful to read alongside Spearing's introductory material. As we have remarked before, Christian 'prayer' is often taken to mean 'petitionary prayer' - asking for something (Eckhart said that "people want to use God, just as they would a cow" !). There is, of course, a perfectly noble and proper place for petitionary prayer, but in some ways, it does heighten our sense of separation from God - at the worst, leaving us as mere creatures, seeking creaturely rewards. The 'Way of Unknowing' - set forth in the 'Cloud,' represents a much neglected dimension of Christianity - the way of self-emptying. In a certain sense, it is more suited to an age tired of religious formalism and the mere externals of faith. Some of the 'Cloud-author's' comments - about Christians who literally 'look upwards' - as if God were in the sky etc., might be those of a contemporary critic. Nevertheless, the 'Cloud-author' speaks as an 'orthodox'' Christian, and he is by no means mocking the Church.
Nobody who reads the 'Cloud' has an obligation to consider inter-faith issues, but we live in 'global' age of inter-cultural - and, hopefully, trans-cultural values. Christians the calibre of Thomas Merton found it an enrichening experience to explore Buddhist horizons. With the possible exception of Suzuki Daistezu, after discovering Eckhart, Asian Buddhist writers have been inclined to dismiss Christian mysticism, saying much about the affective, emotional and allegedly 'sexual' feelings of the Christian mystics. There is no 'God' in Buddhism - which cannot be made into 'Theism' without considerable distortion. Still, there is a transcendental ground - in Buddhism, and that's what intelligent Christian mystics mean . . .by searching for God.
In one edition of the 'Cloud' text, Walters went into a digression on Zen, saying just enough to dismiss it as 'nihilism.' Having appreciated Walters' work, and finding that much in the 'Cloud' had an evident resonance with Zen, the reviewer contacted the author (a Christian priest), pointing out that Buddhism (cf. the Diamond Sutra) expressly warns us against holding 'nihilist' views.
Suzuki seemed to regard Eckhart as exceptional (the Church in his day charged Eckhart with heresy, and though he acquitted himself, the Church banned his books for centuries, after his death, just to be sure). On mature reckoning, however, Eckhart was but part of a mystical flowering which emerged throughout Western Europe. The 'Cloud' author was part of the same flowering, happily avoiding the pitfalls which had beset Eckhart.
One reviewer has described the 'Cloud' - as 'fun' to read. Understandably then, another reviewer has astutely pointed out that the 'Cloud' text is preceeded by an injunction, discouraging frivolous use of the material - and this, for good reasons (similar injunctions can be found in Buddhist contemplative manuals), for anyone who undertakes such practices needs to do so in disciplined manner. In their own way, the Christian mystics recognised what the Buddhists call 'ma-kyo' - demonic states or hindrances which can arise in the course of contemplation. Still, there is no superstitious fear of 'sin' or 'evil' here. Rather like a Zen master, utilising a kind of spiritual ju-jitsu, the 'Cloud-author' points out that - if you encounter obstructive hindrances, thoughts etc. - you can 'look over their shoulder' as it were, rather than giving them more power, by trying to resist them directly. The 'Cloud' is an amazing little text, which may yet gain fresh life and meaning.
A final point, the Amazon.com editorial notes repeated the erroneous 'blurb' placed on the back-cover of the book by the publisher, attributing the 'Mystica Theologia' (Pseud. Dionsyius) to the 'Cloud-author.' While 14th c. mystics such as the 'Cloud-author' used the 'Mystica Theologia' (Mid. Eng.'Deonise Hid Divinitie)to support their ideas, the 'Mystica Theologia' was written centuries before, circa 500 a.d. The 14th c. works in this book are 'The Cloud of Unknowing,' 'The Book of Privy Counselling' and 'An Epistle of Prayer.'
 Unknown Knowing August 27, 2000
20 out of 34 found this review helpful
I found this book was fascinating. I also found it pedantic and tiring. The author returns repeatedly to the same precepts with only minor enhancements. Nonetheless, I found value in the central idea which is that the LORD, our GOD, is unknowable. This is an idea which brings with it hope at a time when Europe was in the grips of the Black Death and the Hundred Years War. It is also an idea which Karl Barth articulated when he distinguished between a "no-god" of religious organizations as opposed to the GOD which is completely "other", whom we meet in a personal, spiritual relationship. This idea found resonance with me. I am reminded that I often become so involved with doing that I leave precious little time for being. Familiarity breeds contempt. I find that I am furthest from my LORD when I feel I know her. Contrary, the times I feel closest in my spiritual relationship is when the awe of how little I know about him is apparent. From the comprehensive notes by Clifton Wolters, I learned of the peculiar habits of this author as well as his genuine dedication. If you are interested in strengthening your spiritual relationship by introducing an "unknowable" aspect of the LORD, our GOD, into your meditation, or if you are interested in mysticism as it was practiced in Britain during that fruitful period of the 14th century, this book will be interesting to you.
Excellent manual April 2, 2000
39 out of 44 found this review helpful
A wonderful guide and disucssion of the practice of contemplation. This book deals with the ancient problem of the "unknowableness" of God by attacking it head on: We can't know God, therefore we must meditate on the Cloud of Unknowing which lies between us and God.Incidently, I think the reason many works on contemplation don't seem applicable to daily life is that many of them were written for and by monastics. In response to the other reviewer, as Ellis Peters says one shouldn't become a contemplative merely to escape from the world without...one must be on fire for the world within.
One man's defence of the contemplative lifestyle July 12, 1998
18 out of 27 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book because I think I am searching for some kind of mystical escape from the dreary realities of everyday life; the author of this book (unknown) certainly gives permission for that. I think it is fair to say that he totally defends this way of life; the only drawback is I am left with the age old problem that it would be great to live a life of contemplation and glorious devotion to God but who pays the bills or looks after the kids at the end of a strenuous day. This book has a lilting humour woven into the author's down to earth prose style. In comparison to Mother Julian of Norwich he is veritably a stand up comic.
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