Comments on: Walter Hilton

By: Carl McColman

Carl McColman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:23:28 +0000

Philip Johnson, needless to say I pretty strongly disagree with both your assessment of Hilton and your overall definition of mysticism. Granted, your definition of mysticism leads you to your conclusions about Hilton. I've responded in detail to your comment on my blog, at the post called Is Mysticism Special?. Regardless of our disagreements, I do hope you'll spell out which of the "some Italian mystics" you consider to have the "real thing," as I'm always curious to hear which mystical writings people find most useful.

By: Is Christian Mysticism “Special”? | Anamchara • The Website of Unknowing

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:13:21 +0000

[...] Walter Hilton [...]

By: Philip Johnson

Philip Johnson — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:52:28 +0000

Although commonly thought of as belonging to the genre ‘Mysticism’, Walter Hilton’s ‘The Ladder of Perfection’ is strictly speaking not a work of mysticism at all. It more accurately belongs to the Contemplative-Homiletic genre, and its ‘systematic theology’ of the contemplative life is unfortunately so emeshed in the power systems of austere Augustinian religiosity and theology (hence Hilton’s obsession with ‘pride’) that it could even be described as belonging to an anti-mystical tradition. Ultimately, Hilton wants to control his ‘hot’ feelings towards God and Jesus; indeed, as a theological control freak, he wants to control everything (this was a pre-psychological age). True mystics don’t. Moreover, mystic souls are not interested in ‘systematic theology’, and they are similarly not interested in scribbling cosy letters of instruction to others of the faith; what they are interested in is a one-on-one relationship with God, an intense – and sometimes sexually experienced (not mandatory) – relationship in which the mystic identifies with God-in-Jesus, and is emeshed only in a God-becoming process of total love which transcends the constraints of institutional religiosity and theology. They are God-destroyers as much as God-creators. They boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before, and are by no means timid when it comes to exploring the idea that the God ‘out there’ is one and the same with God ‘in here’. For them, this is the most blatantly obvious, and at the same time sublime, idea in the whole universe of human spirituality, which perhaps explains why most of us simply don’t make the grade. The ‘Ladder’ is assuredly an interesting work, not so much for its stilted, would-be mysticism, but rather for the manner in which it anticipates the central idea of the Reformation, the idea of the individual relating to God, not through the church, but through personal devotion, prayer and reading the Bible. Without knowing it, the author of the ‘Ladder’ was perhaps a nascent Luther. But more interestingly, Catholics in the 14th century had apparently set about ‘re-forming’ their own religion, without any help from later reformers. That’s a truly mind-blowing idea. Sorry for the note of bathos, but Hilton’s ‘mysticism’ isn’t. Try reading some of the works in the Italian mystical tradition. Some of the writings of the Italian mystics are the ‘real thing’.

By: Carl McColman

Carl McColman — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:01:42 +0000

Yes, I think that must have been a paperback original. It’s a lovely translation, would be nice if it got reissued in a hardcover edition.

By: James Hunter

James Hunter — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:55:47 +0000

The ISBN is 0-385-14059-2. Image Books (a division of Doubleday & Company, Inc.) is the publisher and the date is 1979. You’re probably right, it might have been a paperback edition bound in hardcover. Anyway, I will order a paperback today. Thank you.

By: Carl McColman

Carl McColman — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:14:05 +0000

Does the book have an ISBN? Do you have its publisher and date? I’m wondering if it was just the paperback edition bound in hardcover for library circulation, which was not uncommon at the time this book was originally published.

By: James Hunter

James Hunter — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:12:41 +0000

The one I keep getting renewed is a hard cover edition fom the Mahoning County Library in Youngstown, Ohio.

By: Carl McColman

Carl McColman — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:18:01 +0000

I am not aware of a hardcover edition of the Del Mastro translation. If you discover one, please let me know!

By: James Hunter

James Hunter — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:00:13 +0000

I am interested in buying a hard cover of The Stairway of Perfection by Walter Hilton and translated with an introduction by M. L. Del Mastro. I have read it several times and renewed it several times from the library and I can no longer renew it. Please let me know if I can purchase a copy. Thank you.

By: The Mixed Life–Activity and Spirituality | chris erdman

The Mixed Life–Activity and Spirituality | chris erdman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:03:57 +0000

[...] She is searching for a workable combination of contemplation and action–”The Mixed Life” in the language of 14th century Christian mystic, Walter Hilton. [...]