The Cloud of Unknowing

The Cloud of Unknowing. The Classics of Western Spirituality.
Edited: James Walsh.
Paulist Press. 1981. ISBN: 9780809123322.

​The Cloud of Unknowing in the Classics of Western Spirituality series is in modern English, with scholarly introduction and notes tailored for contemporary spiritual and academic readers. It presents major Christian mystical and spiritual texts with critical apparatus and reliable translations. The volume also offers an editor’s introduction that situates the work historically and theologically, plus notes to clarify Middle English idiom and allusions.
 
The Book is a guide written by an anonymous late 14th century English monk to a young disciple on the path of contemplative prayer and ‘union with God.’ The core thesis is that God cannot be grasped by intellect but only approached in love. It recommends a very simple contemplative practice. This version suits theological study or personal devotion, balancing academic rigour with spiritual depth, ideal alongside interests in biblical compassion or neuro-spiritual themes like dissociation from knowing.
 
James Walsh, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and scholar. Walsh specialized in Christian mysticism and contemplative traditions, making him well-suited to render this guide to unknowing prayer accessible yet faithful to the original Middle English.