The Scale of Perfection (Hodder Christian Classics) - Softcover

Hilton, Walter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340544937 ISBN 13: 9780340544938

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Religious, 1992

Synopsis

This book is an invitation to a life of love and prayer. Walter Hilton was a 14th-century English mystic in the tradition of Roland Rolle and Julian of Norwich. Union with God, in Walter Hilton's eyes, is not achieved in an instant. The transfiguration of the soul is rather the result of perseverance and effort. Hilton sees an unbroken ladder leading upwards from our common human nature to perfect life in God. The ascent of the soul up the ladder is gradual, conditioned by God's grace and the individual's determination, whatever the hardships experienced. The result is the transformation of the soul from a dark, false image into the beauty of a child of God. The book is adapted for the modern reader.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas Bestul teaches courses in medieval literature. His research interests include Chaucer, Anselm of Canterbury, devotional literature in Latin and English 1100-1500, and medieval theories of meditation. Recent books include the first Middle English edition of Walter Hilton's Scale Of Perfection; an anthology of Middle English and Anglo-Norman devotional writing; and a monograph, Texts Of The Passion: Latin Devotional Writing And Medieval Society. He is at work on an edition of the meditative commentaries of Alexander Nequam (d. 1217), and a larger project on popular religious writing of the fifteenth century. He is the moderator of Chaucernet, an international electronic discussion group.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Religious
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0340544937
• ISBN 13: 9780340544938
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Backhouse Halcyon C.