The Cloud of Unknowing: and the Book of Privy Counseling

Jacket Description/Back: Originally written in Middle English by an unknown mystic of the fourteenth century, The Cloud of Unknowing represents the first expression in our own tongue of the soul's quest for God. A literary work of great beauty in both style and message, it offers a practical guide to the path of contemplation. The author explains how all thoughts and concepts must be buried beneath a "cloud of forgetting", while our love must rise toward God hidden in the "cloud of unknowing". William Johnston - an authority on fourteenth-century spirituality and on the writings of this unknown author - provides a substantive and accessible introduction detailing what is known about the history of this text and its relevance throughout the ages. Also included here is the author's other principal work, The Book of Privy Counseling - a short and moving text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and consciousness only of the divine. Jacket Description/Flap: William Johnston--an authority on fourteenth century spirituality and specifically on the writings of this unknown author--provides a substantive and accessible introduction detailing what is known about the history of this text and its relevance throughout the ages. Also included here is the author's other principal work, "The Book of Privy Counseling--a short and moving text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and consciousness only of the divine. Biographical Note: WILLIAM JOHNSTON has translated several works from the contemplative traditions of both East and West, as well as work by the great Japanese novelist Shusaku Endo. HUSTON SMITH, the author of "The World's Religions," is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. He has taught at MIT and the University of California, Berkeley. Marc Notes: An Image book.; Text based on the 1944 ed., edited by P. Hodgson.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-185). Publisher Marketing: William Johnston--an authority on fourteenth century spirituality and specifically on the writings of this unknown author--provides a substantive and accessible introduction detailing what is known about the history of this text and its relevance throughout the ages. Also included here is the author's other principal work, "The Book of Privy Counseling" --a short and moving text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and consciousness only of the divine. Publisher Marketing: William Johnston--an authority on fourteenth century spirituality and specifically on the writings of this unknown author--provides a substantive and accessible introduction detailing what is known about the history of this text and its relevance throughout the ages. Also included here is the author's other principal work, "The Book of Privy Counseling"--a short and moving text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and consciousness only of the divine.

Contributor Bio:  Johnston, William William Johnston is Assistant Professor of History at Wesleyan University. Contributor Bio:  Johnston, William WILLIAM JOHNSTON has translated several works from the contemplative traditions of both East and West, as well as work by the great Japanese novelist Shusaku Endo. HUSTON SMITH, the author of "The World's Religions," is widely regarded as the most eloquent and accessible contemporary authority on the history of religions. He has taught at MIT and the University of California, Berkeley. Contributor Bio:  Smith, Huston Huston Smith is internationally known and revered as the premier teacher of world religions. He is the focus of a five-part PBS television series with Bill Moyers and has taught at Washington University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and the University of California at Berkeley. The recipient of twelve honorary degrees, Smith's fifteen books include his bestselling "The World's Religions", "Why Religion Matters", and his autobiography, "Tales of Wonder".