İlahi Aşkın Ateşi: Ruhun Sevgili'ye Doğru Arınışı

When lime is to be made, the stone is set within the furnace to be turned into lime. If the stone is touched by the fire it cracks noisily, but if it is fully baked it makes no noise. In the same way, the soul seeks divine consolation at first, but when it has been overwhelmed by it, it grows weak and cries out against God. Great boldness, however, is born from that assurance which the soul has from God. It knows with certainty that God loves it deeply, and sometimes favours it by giving it marvellous and ineffable consolations; and these draw the soul close to the Beloved, they are its food, they cure its weariness, and through them it is uplifted and drawn toward seeking, loving, and being united with its Beloved. In this state the soul is satisfied with consolations, but through the deprivation of them, love increases and begins to seek for the Beloved. And when it does not find him, it falls sick and is no longer satisfied with consolations, because it seeks its Beloved alone. The more consolation and knowledge it has, the more its love increases, and the more sick and weary it becomes if it is not in the presence of its Beloved.