Pilgrim Souls: A Collection of Spiritual AutobiographyAmy Mandelker, Elizabeth Powers Simon and Schuster, 1999 M05 12 - 543 pages What is the source of personal writing? When do we begin to consider our own lives worthy of a story? These powerful and passionate selections of spiritual autobiography do not merely represent a vital literary tradition; they bring together fifty-eight writers whose search for truth and understanding has spanned over two millennia and several continents. From Saint Augustine and Rabi'a to T. S. Eliot and Kathleen Norris, each of these autobiographers tells the story of the inner life as a spiritual quest. Although separated culturally, historically, and linguistically, they are united by their efforts to respond to Socrates' challenge to "know thyself." In four parts this insightful collection includes works by: * Wanderers and seekers, like Leo Tolstoy and Thomas Merton, who feverishly explore many experiences and world views * Pilgrims and missionaries, like Anne Bradstreet and David Livingstone, who unwaveringly pursue God and holiness in lives of self-sacrifice * Mystics and visionaries, like Julian of Norwich and Annie Dillard, who discover the ecstasy of epiphany in a life of contemplation and seclusion * Scholars and philosophers, like Simone Weil and Blaise Pascal, who seek to ground spiritual conviction in a rational certitude. Strong, deep, and enduring, the selections in this illuminating anthology remind us that "the unexamined life is not worth living" and speak to us with an immediacy that transcends time and space. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION BY MADELEINE LENGLE | 13 |
KING DAVID THE PSALMIST | 25 |
SAINT AUGUSTINE | 38 |
LEO TOLSTOY | 48 |
EMILY DICKINSON | 65 |
JOHANNES JØRGENSEN | 85 |
SERGEI BULGAKOV | 91 |
THOMAS MERTON | 97 |
JULIAN OF NORWICH | 279 |
SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS | 304 |
BROTHER LAWRENCE | 318 |
JEANE MARIE DE LA MOTTEGUYON | 332 |
SAINT THÉRÈSE DE LISIEUX | 350 |
ANNIE DILLARD | 364 |
SOCRATES | 379 |
ABŨ HĀMID MUHAMMAD GHAZĀLI ALGAZALI | 393 |
MADELEINE LENGLE | 117 |
CHARLES W COLSON | 126 |
ELDRIDGE CLEAVER | 138 |
MOSES | 151 |
MARTIN LUTHER | 166 |
ANNE BRADSTREET | 185 |
JOHN BUNYAN | 201 |
JOHN WESLEY | 221 |
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI | 243 |
ALBERT SCHWEITZER | 256 |
DANTE ALIGHIERI | 269 |
408 | |
BLAISE PASCAL | 421 |
SAMUEL JOHNSON | 432 |
PAUL CLAUDEL | 452 |
S LEWIS | 466 |
VIKTOR E FRANKL | 487 |
SHELDON VANAUKEN | 513 |
DENISE LEVERTOV | 531 |
From The Autobiography | 544 |
Common terms and phrases
answer Anytus asked Avvakum beauty became began believe blessed brother C. S. Lewis called Canon Tallis Christian Church dark death delight Denise Levertov desire divine Durtal everything experience eyes faith Father fear feel felt friends Gerard Manley Hopkins give glory God's grace hand haue heard heart heaven Hideous Strength Holy hope human imagination intellectual Jesus Christ Julian of Norwich knew light live look Lord meaning mercy mind monk morning Moses mother mystical never night once pain peace perhaps Philokalia poet pray prayer present priest religion religious Saint salvation seemed sense SHELDON VANAUKEN soul speak starets suffering sweet T. S. Eliot talk teach tears tell thee Thérèse de Lisieux things thou hast thought tion told took Trappist truth turn understand unto vision voice walk wanted words