[Gutenberg 37870] • Ruysbroeck

Ruysbroeck is Evelyn Underhill s biography of 14th-century Flemish mystic John of Ruysbroeck. An ordained priest, Ruysbroeck was active for many years in Brussels before retiring to the Sonian Forest, where many of his surviving works were written. He is perhaps best remembered for conceiving of the spiritual ladder of Christian attainment and its three stages of progress: the active life, the inward life, and the contemplative life. Unlike many mystics, he believed that the soul in its journey was capable of finding God but would never unify with God, maintaining always its own identity. And yet, though remembered for his mysticism, Ruysbroeck at times could be a traditionalist, forcefully writing in favor of historic Church customs. A highly readable and thorough examination of both his life and works, Rusybroeck is a classic profile of the man considered by some to be the greatest of all medieval Catholic mystics. British writer of prose and poetry EVELYN UNDERHILL (1875 1941) was a fellow of King s College for Women and King s College, and was the first woman to lecture to the clergy in the Church of England. Through her radio appearances and her stint as editor of the political magazine The Spectator, she was a familiar voice in British public life between the wars. She authored more than 30 books (some under the pseudonym John Cordelier), including Concerning the Inner Life and Radiance: A Spiritual Memoir.