The Scale of PerfectionTEAMS, 2000 - 289 pages Walter Hilton's The Scale of Perfection maintains a secure place among the major religious treatises composed in fourteenth-century England. This guide to the contemplative life, written in two books of more than 40,000 words each, is notable for its careful explorations of its religious themes and also as a monument of Middle English prose. Its popularity is attested by the fact that some forty-two manuscripts containing one or both of the books survive, with a relatively large number of manuscipts with Book I alone, which suggests it may have been the more popular of the two. Hilton (born c. 1343) was a member of the religious order known as the Augustinian Canons. There is reason to believe that be was trained in canon law and studied at the University of Cambridge. He was the author of a number of works in English and Latin, all much shorter than The Scale. He died at the Augustinian Priory of Thurgarton in Nottinghamshire in 1396. On the basis of the content of certain of his works it can be safely inferred that he was actively involved in some of the religious controversies current in England in the 1380s and 1390s, and his principal concern, evident in The Scale, is to defend orthodox belief, especially in the conduct of the contemplative life. |
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affeccions aftir agens anothir aren betere bifore bigynnynge biholdynge bihoveth blisse of hevene blissid bodili callid Chapter charité clene cometh contemplacion Cristene deedli synne delite doon dooth drede ellis ertheli feelynge feith fleschli fynde goostli gosteli grete hath heere hevene Hilton himsilf Holi Chirche Holi Goost hool Hooli itsilf Jhesu Crist knowynge kynde liknesse likynge litil liyf Lord Jhesu maad maketh maner mede meke mekenesse Middle English moche myght mykil mynde myrkenesse neverthelees omits oonli othir owen passioun perfight peyne praier reformed reformynge resoun saaf savour schal schewe schulde schullen secunde seeth seid seie seith Seynt Poul siche sight soule soulis stirynges summe sumtyme synne thanne thee thenketh therfore therto thise thisilf thorugh grace thou schalt thyn herte thynge traveile trewe trouthe tyme vertues veyn Walter Hilton werkes whanne wirkynge withinne withouten wittes wolde wole wordli worschipe yif thou ymage