experience a salty knowledge. They never walk by the light of the
PART 1: ON THE WAY TO GOD
CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST STAGE: CONVERSION. 1. The first stage is the return of the soul to God, when, being truly converted, it begins to live by grace.
CHAPTER 2: THE SECOND STAGE: THE TOUCH IN THE WILL. 2. The soul then receives a touch in the will, which invites it to reflect, and tells it that God is within, and must be sought there; that He is present in the heart, and must be enjoyed there. 3. This discovery, to begin with, is the source of very great joy to the soul, as it is a pledge of happiness to come; the road it is to pursue is opened and is shown to be that of the inward life. This knowledge is the more wonderful, as it is the spring of all the happiness of the soul, and the solid foundation of interior progress; for those who tend toward God merely by the intellect, even though they may enjoy a somewhat spiritual contemplation, can never enter into intimate union if they do not leave that path and enter this of the inward touch, where the whole working is in the will. 4. Those who are led in this way, though led by blind abandonment, experience a salty knowledge. They never walk by the light of the intellect, like the former, who receive clear light to guide them, and who, having a clear view of the road, never enter those impenetrable passes of the hidden will which are reserved for the latter. The former proceed on the evidence provided by their intuitions, aided by their reason, and they do well; but the latter pursue blindly an unknown course, which, nevertheless, appears perfectly natural to them, although they have to feel their way. They go, however, with more certainty than the others, who may be misled by the light of their understanding; but these are guided by a supreme Will which conducts them however it will. And further, all the more immediate operations are performed in the centre of the soul, that is, in the three powers reduced to the unity of the will, where they are all absorbed, insensibly following the path prescribed for them. 5. These pursue the way of Faith and absolute Abandonment. They have no appetite or liberty to go any other way; all else limits and embarrasses them. They dwell in greater dryness than the others, for as their minds are attached to nothing clear, their thoughts often wander and have nothing to fix them. And as there are differences in souls, some having conscious delights, and others being drier, so