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The Medieval Church · c. 1335–1340
The Spiritual Espousals
Die geestelike brulocht
Jan van Ruusbroec · 1293–1381
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What it is
Three lives — active, interior, and contemplative — built on the cry that the bridegroom comes and we must go out to meet him, ending in a union that does not abolish the distinction between God and the soul.
Why it lasted
The masterpiece of Dutch mysticism, and a careful correction of the language of annihilation that had got other mystics condemned.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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