TO THE READERS.

—for he the reader ought to choose from many writers, so that his own inclination and unique taste in this matter can be satisfied. Furthermore, if he is truly of a good soul, he might perhaps find an opportunity to attain certain remarkable and uniquely solid rewards, compared to which everything else in the world cannot but become completely worthless to him. For we are truly created for spiritual things spiritualia; matters pertaining to the soul and the divine realm, for heavenly things, for the innermost things, and for the mystical and secret wonders of God. Indeed, our soul will never be at rest until we find and acquire those things. This is a classic allusion to St. Augustine’s Confessions: "Our heart is restless until it rests in Thee."

    If it should perhaps seem to some that I occasionally praise certain Mystical Authors too highly, I will respond with the words of Augustine when he was praising his mother Saint Monica: (a) I shall speak not of her gifts, O Lord, but of Your gifts in her. original Latin: "Non ejus (Domine) sed tua dicam dona in ea." Since every gift, and every perfect gift (which tastes of the Love of God and of eternal things), comes from the Lord, and since the works of God in His Saints are wonderful, I cannot help but value them with the honor they deserve, so that from this, God may be glori—

(a) Confessions, Book 8, Chapter 1. The author provides this citation, though the specific praise of Monica's gifts is most famous in Book 9 of the Confessions.