to the highest Contemplation--A Delusion in which the Saint was once entangled
XXIII. The Saint resumes the History of her Life--Aiming at Perfection--Means whereby it may be gained--Instructions for Confessors
XXIV. Progress under Obedience--Her Inability to resist the Graces of God--God multiplies His Graces
XXV. Divine Locutions--Delusions on that Subject
XXVI. How the Fears of the Saint vanished--How she was assured that her Prayer was the Work of the Holy Spirit
XXVII. The Saint prays to be directed in a different way--Intellectual Visions
XXVIII. Visions of the Sacred Humanity and of the glorified Bodies--Imaginary Visions--Great Fruits thereof when they come from God
XXIX. Of Visions--The Graces our Lord bestowed on the Saint--The Answers our Lord gave her for those who tried her
XXX. St. Peter of Alcantara comforts the Saint--Great Temptations and Interior Trials
XXXI. Of certain outward Temptations and Appearances of Satan--Of the Sufferings thereby occasioned--Counsels for those who go on unto Perfection
XXXII. Our Lord shows St. Teresa the Place which she had by her Sins deserved in Hell--The Torments there--How the Monastery of St. Joseph was founded
XXXIII. The Foundation of the Monastery hindered--Our Lord consoles the Saint
XXXIV. The Saint leaves her Monastery of the Incarnation for a time, at the command of her superior--Consoles an afflicted Widow
XXXV. The Foundation of the House of St. Joseph--Observance of holy Poverty therein--How the Saint left Toledo
XXXVI. The Foundation of the Monastery of St. Joseph--Persecution and Temptations--Great interior Trial of the Saint, and her Deliverance
XXXVII. The Effects of the divine Graces in the Soul--The inestimable Greatness of one Degree of Glory
XXXVIII. Certain heavenly Secrets, Visions, and Revelations--The Effects of them in her Soul
XXXIX. Other Graces bestowed on the Saint--The Promises of our Lord to her--Divine Locutions and Visions
XL. Visions, Revelations, and Locutions
The Relations.
Relation.
I. Sent to St. Peter of Alcantara in 1560 from the Monastery of the Incarnation, Avila
II. To one of her Confessors, from the House of Dona Luisa de la Cerda, in 1562
III. Of various Graces granted to the Saint from the year 1568 to 1571, inclusive
IV. Of the Graces the Saint received in Salamanca at the end of Lent, 1571
V. Observations on certain Points of Spirituality
VI. The Vow of Obedience to Father Gratian which the Saint made in 1575
VII. Made for Rodrigo Alvarez, S.J., in the year 1575, according to Don Vicente de la Fuente; but in 1576, according to the Bollandists and F. Bouix
VIII. Addressed to F. Rodrigo Alvarez
IX. Of certain spiritual Graces she received in Toledo and Avila in the years 1576 and 1577
X. Of a Revelation to the Saint at Avila, 1579, and of Directions concerning the Government of the Order
XI. Written from Palencia in May, 1581, and addressed to Don Alonzo Velasquez, Bishop of Osma, who had been when Canon of Toledo, one of the Saint's Confessors
Introduction to the Present Edition.
When the publisher entrusted me with the task of editing this volume, one sheet was already printed and a considerable portion of the book was in type. Under his agreement with the owners of the copyright, he was bound to reproduce the text and notes, etc., originally prepared by Mr. David Lewis without any change, so that my duty was confined to reading the proofs and verifying the quotations. This translation of the Life of St. Teresa is so excellent, that it could hardly be improved. While faithfully adhering to her wording, the translator has been successful in rendering the lofty teaching in simple and clear language, an achievement all the more remarkable as in addition to the difficulty arising from the transcendental nature of the subject matter, the involved style, and the total absence of punctuation tend to perplex the reader. Now and then there might be some difference of opinion as to how St. Teresa's phrases should be construed, but it is not too much to say that on the whole Mr. Lewis has been more successful than any other translator, whether English or foreign. Only in one case have I found it necessary to make some slight alteration in the text, and I trust the owners of the copyright will forgive me for doing so. In
Chapter XXV.
, �� 4, St. Teresa, speaking of the difference between the Divine and the imaginary locutions, says that a person commending a matter to God with great earnestness, may think that he hears whether his prayer will be granted or not: y es muy posible, "and this is quite possible," but he who has ever heard a Divine locution will see at once that this assurance is something quite different. Mr. Lewis, following the old Spanish editions, translated "And it is most impossible," whereas both the autograph and the context demand the wording I have ventured to substitute.
When Mr. Lewis undertook the translation of St. Teresa's works, he had before him Don Vicente de la Fuente's edition (Madrid, 1861-1862), supposed to be a faithful transcript of
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