Life of St Teresa of Jesus | Page 3

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 the original. In 1873 the Sociedad
Foto-Tipografica-Catolica of Madrid published a photographic
reproduction of the Saint's autograph in 412 pages in folio, which
establishes the true text once for all. Don Vicente prepared a transcript
of this, in which he wisely adopted the modern way of spelling but
otherwise preserved the original text, or at least pretended to do so, for
a minute comparison between autograph and transcript reveals the
startling fact that nearly a thousand inaccuracies have been allowed to
creep in. Most of these variants are immaterial, but there are some
which ought not to have been overlooked. Thus, in
Chapter XVIII.
§ 20, St. Teresa's words are: Un gran letrado de la orden del glorioso
santo Domingo, while Don Vicente retains the old reading De la orden
del glorioso patriarca santo Domingo. Mr. Lewis possessed a copy of
this photographic reproduction, but utilised it only in one instance in
his second edition. [1]
The publication of the autograph has settled a point of some importance.
The Bollandists (n. 1520), discussing the question whether the headings
of the chapters (appended to this Introduction) are by St. Teresa or a
later addition, come to the conclusion (against the authors of the
Reforma de los Descalços) that they are clearly an interpolation
(clarissime patet) on account of the praise of the doctrine contained in
these arguments. Notwithstanding their high authority the Bollandists
are in this respect perfectly wrong, the arguments are entirely in St.
Teresa's own hand and are exclusively her own work. The Book of

Foundations and the Way of Perfection contain similar arguments in
the Saint's handwriting. Nor need any surprise be felt at the alleged
praise of her doctrine for by saying: this chapter is most noteworthy
(Chap. XIV.), or: this is good doctrine (Chap. XXI.), etc., she takes no
credit for herself because she never grows tired of repeating that she
only delivers the message she has received from our Lord. [2] The
Bollandists, not having seen the original, may be excused, but P. Bouix
(whom Mr. Lewis follows in this matter) had no right to suppress these
arguments. It is to be hoped that future editions of the works of S.
Teresa will not again deprive the reader of this remarkable feature of
her writings. What she herself thought of her books is best told by
Yepes in a letter to Father Luis de Leon, the first editor of her works:
"She was pleased when her writings were being praised and her Order
and the convents were held in esteem. Speaking one day of the Way of
Perfection, she rejoiced to hear it praised, and said to me with great
content: Some grave men tell me that it is like Holy Scripture. For
being revealed doctrine it seemed to her that praising her book was like
praising God." [3]
A notable feature in Mr. Lewis's translation is his division of the
chapters into short paragraphs. But it appears that he rearranged the
division during the process of printing, with the result that a large
number of references were wrong. No labour has been spared in the
correction of these, and I trust that the present edition will be the more
useful for it. In quoting the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle
(which he calls Inner Fortress!) Mr. Lewis refers to similar paragraphs
which, however, are to be found in no English edition. A new
translation of these two works is greatly needed, and, in the case of the
Way of Perfection, the manuscript of the Escurial should be consulted
as well as that of Valladolid. Where the writings of S. John of the Cross
are quoted by volume and page, the edition referred to is the one of
1864, another of Mr. Lewis's masterpieces. The chapters in Ribera's
Life of St. Teresa refer to the edition in the Acts of the Saint by the
Bollandists. These and all other quotations have been carefully verified,
with the exception of those taken from the works on Mystical theology
by Antonius a Spiritu Sancto and Franciscus a S. Thoma, which I was
unable to consult. I should have wished to replace the quotations from
antiquated editions of the Letters of our Saint by references to