The mirror of simple souls

THE MIRROR OF SIMPLE SOULS The full title is often "The Mirror of Simple Souls Who Are Annihilated and Who Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love."

DIVISION I

CHAPTER

1. An exhortation to a soul to ascend to the stairs of perfection A common medieval metaphor for the stages of spiritual growth, often depicted as a ladder reaching toward heaven., and how this book may be understood . . . . . . 1

DIVISION II

1. For whom this book has been made, and of the perfection that is needful to all them that will be saved . . . . . . 6
2. Of the counsel of perfection and of the laud praise or glorification of charity . . . . . . . 7

DIVISION III

1. Of the life naughted original: "life naughted." This is a central, technical term in the book referring to the "annihilated" soul—a soul that has emptied itself of all personal desire and will so that only God’s will remains., and of nine points of the soul that liveth in that life, and how she willeth nothing that cometh by mean meaning through "means" or intermediaries, such as intellectual reasoning, specific virtues, or religious rituals. The "naughted" soul seeks a direct, unmediated union with the Divine. . . 9
2. How this soul hath six wings as have the seraphin original: "seraphin," a traditional spelling of "seraphim." These are the highest order of angels, characterized by their proximity to God and their "burning" love., and what she doth with them . . 10