Heinrich Seuse

Das "B chlein der Wahrheit" ist das erste Werk aus der Feder des gro en deutschen Mystikers Heinrich Seuse und entstand um das Jahr 1329. Urspr nglich zur Verteidigung seines der H resie angeklagten Lehrers Meister Eckhart verfa t, wurde es auch bald einem breiteren Publikum bekannt: Es ist ein Dialog ber die h chsten Fragen, ber Gott und Gottes Wesen, Einheit und Dreieinigkeit, Sch pfung und Menschwerdung, Vereinigung der Seele mit Gott hier und im Jenseits, Freiheit und Sittlichkeit usw. Es ist Seuses einziges Werk ber spekulative Mystik, manches ist schwer und dunkel darin und richtet sich im weiteren Sinn auch gegen das mystische Verst ndnis der damals immer wieder im Verdacht der H resie stehenden Begharden und Br der des freien Geistes.

Written by Dominican preacher and mystic Bl. Henry Suso (c. 1300-1366), Horologium Sapientiae, or Wisdom's Watch upon the Hours, was one of the most successful religious writings of its time. Now it is offered to the English-speaking world in a new translation based on Pius Knzle's critical Latin edition. Essentially a dialogue between the author and Divine Wisdom, the Watch tells of Suso's service to and espousal of Wisdom, his ""most cruel bride,"" with a charm reminiscent of contemporary chivalric romance literature. The Watch's many readers doubtless esteemed it for its devotional fervor and for the solutions Suso offers to the problems inseparable from a sincere Christian life. He teaches that a devotion of sharing in the Savior's self-sacrifice is the path to spiritual perfection, as well as a consolation for the soul amid life's cares. Based on his own shrewd observations on shunning ""sensory forms and earthly imaginings,"" Suso develops the essential elements of ascetic and mystical theology. He keenly observes and judiciously criticizes the abuses of his own times and the rise of secularism, hedonism, and materialism. He writes of his yearning for a way of life that was fast disappearing, for the piety and simplicity of the country folk he had known as a boy. For Suso, the ""Christocentric Boethius,"" the men and women of his youth were heirs of the Eternal Wisdom, founded on Christ and found in Christ, which was being lost and forgotten in the new urban cultures. The Watch's autobiographical content is especially interesting for those who follow the repercussions of the condemnation of Meister Eckhart, Suso's revered teacher, in 1329. Eckhart had been condemned for heresy, and Suso uses allegory to show perceptive readers how he found a way to dissent from this judgment and yet remain the Holy See's loyal and faithful servant. Throughout most of his life, Suso suffered the jealousy of his confreres and remained ever conscious of the dangers of uncritically applying Eckhart's principles; these troubles too are expressed allegorically here.

Der philosophische Text Das Buch der Wahrheit von Heinrich Seuse (1295-1366) gilt als ein geistesgeschichtliches Dokument ersten Ranges. Die Schrift, zur Verteidigung seines Lehrers Eckehart nach dessen Verurteilung von 1329 geschrieben, zeigt den philosophischen Ansatz Eckeharts zur Metaphysik und Anthropologie auf. Zugleich trägt Seuse in der Reflexion der zentralen Begriffe vernunftikeit (Denken) und gelassenheit seine philosophische Lehre über Gott, über die Welt, über den Sinn des menschlichen Lebens (d. h. seine Anthropologie) vor.