Tuou hast at times appeared unto me, Lord, as One not to be seen of any creature, because Thou art a God hidden, infinite. Now infinity is beyond all comprehension. Then Thou hast after appeared unto me as One to be seen of all, since a thing existeth in the measure wherein Thou dost behold it, and it could not exist in reality did it not behold Thee: for sight affordeth being, since it is Thine essence. Thus my God, Thou art at once invisible and visible. Thou art invisible in regard to Thine own Being, but visible in regard to that of the creature, which only existeth in the measure wherein it beholdeth Thee. Thou, therefore, my invisible God, art seen of all and art seen in all seeing. Thou art seen by every person that seeth, in all that may be seen, and in every act of seeing, invisible as Thou art, and freed from all such conditions, and exalted above all for evermore.
Therefore, Lord, it behoveth me to scale
that wall of invisible vision beyond which Thou art to be found. Now the wall is at one and the same time all things and nothing. For Thou, who seemest to me to be as it were all things and naught of all things at once, dwellest within that lofty wall which no genius can scale in its own power. Thou seemest to me at times such that I may think Thee to see all things in Thyself, as in a living mirror, wherein all things shine forth; yet because with Thee sight is knowledge, meseemeth Thou dost not see all in Thee, as in a living mirror, since in that case Thy knowledge would spring from the objects. And then again Thou seemest to me to behold all things in Thyself, as if power were looking on itself. Even so the generative power of a tree, if it could behold itself, would see in itself the potential tree, because the generative power is virtually the tree. But, after this, meseemeth that Thou dost not see Thyself, and all things in Thee, as power. For the aspect of a tree in its potential state differeth from that of a tree in actuality. And then I discover how Thine infinite power surpasseth a mirror or generative power, and the coincidence of shining and reflection, of cause and effect alike, and how that Absolute Power is Absolute Sight, which is very perfection, and
above all modes of seeing: for all modes which explain the perfection of seeing are, without mode, Thy sight, which is Thine essence, my God.
Yet, most pitiful Lord, permit a worthless work of Thy hands still to speak with Thee. If with Thee to see is to create, and Thou seest naught other than Thyself, but art Thyself the object of Thyself (for Thou seest, and art to be seen, and art Sight)—how then dost Thou create things other than Thyself—for Thou wouldst seem to create Thyself even as Thou seest Thyself? But Thou dost strengthen me, Life of my spirit! For, although the wall of absurdity, which is the coincidence of creating with being created, should seem as if it were impossible, in that creating and being created are one (for to admit this would seem to be to affirm that a thing existeth before it existeth, since when He createth it it existeth, and yet it existeth not because it is created) —yet this is no real difficulty, since with Thee creation and existence are the same. And creating and being created alike are naught else than the sharing of Thy Being among all, that Thou mayest be All in all, and yet mayest abide freed from all. For to call into? being
1 The text has ab, an obvious misprint for ad.
ss
things which are not is to make Nothing a sharer in Being: thus, to call is to create, while to share is to be created. And beyond this coincidence of creating and being created art Thou, Absolute and Infinite God, neither creating nor creatable, albeit all things are what they are because Thou art.
O height of riches, how beyond understanding art Thou! While I imagine a Creator creating, I am still on this side the wall of Paradise! While I imagine a Creator as creatable, I have not yet entered, but I am in the wall. But when I behold Thee as Absolute Infinity, to whom is befitting neither the name of creating Creator nor of creatable Creator— then indeed I begin to behold Thee unveiled, and to enter in to the garden of delights! For Thou art naught such as can be spoken or imagined, but art infinitely and absolutely exalted high above all such things. Wherefore, albeit without Thee naught is made or can be made, Thou art not a Creator, but infinitely more than a Creator; unto Thee be praise and glory through endless ages. Amen.
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