Nicolò Lorenese, The Vision of Saint John of the Cross, 1686
Not for all the beauty
will I ever be lost,
but for I-know-not-what
that by fortune I may reach.
The taste of what is finite,
Goes only as far
As to weary the appetite
And destroy the taste;
Thus not for sweetness
Will I ever be lost,
But for I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
The generous heart
Never cares to stop
Where it is easy to cross,
But tries where it is hard;
Nothing satisfies him,
And with faith he climbs so high,
That he tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
He who is pierced by love,
Or touched by the divine,
Has his taste so changed
That to all taste he is dead;
As someone may leave
The food he sees when he is sick,
And craves for I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Do not be surprised
That taste be thus changed,
For the cause of this evil
Is alien to all the rest;
Thus every creature
Sees itself estranged,
And tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
For as soon as the will
is touched from above,
It cannot be satisfied
But with the divine;
Its beauty being such
That only faith may show it,
For it tastes of I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Tell me if for such a lover,
You will feel any pain,
For he finds no pleasure
Among created things;
Alone, with no figure or shape,
Without company or even memory,
Except the taste of I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Do not think that the soul,
That is worth much more,
Finds joy and happiness
In what on earth gives taste;
It is beyond beauty,
In what is, was or will be,
That it tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Whoever wants to advance
Would better use care
In what is left to gain
Than in what he has already won;
And thus aiming for the heights,
I will always try
For that I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
What comes through the senses
And may here be understood
And whatever may be learned,
Even though very high,
Not for all that beauty
Will I ever be lost,
But for that I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
will I ever be lost,
but for I-know-not-what
that by fortune I may reach.
The taste of what is finite,
Goes only as far
As to weary the appetite
And destroy the taste;
Thus not for sweetness
Will I ever be lost,
But for I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
The generous heart
Never cares to stop
Where it is easy to cross,
But tries where it is hard;
Nothing satisfies him,
And with faith he climbs so high,
That he tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
He who is pierced by love,
Or touched by the divine,
Has his taste so changed
That to all taste he is dead;
As someone may leave
The food he sees when he is sick,
And craves for I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Do not be surprised
That taste be thus changed,
For the cause of this evil
Is alien to all the rest;
Thus every creature
Sees itself estranged,
And tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
For as soon as the will
is touched from above,
It cannot be satisfied
But with the divine;
Its beauty being such
That only faith may show it,
For it tastes of I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Tell me if for such a lover,
You will feel any pain,
For he finds no pleasure
Among created things;
Alone, with no figure or shape,
Without company or even memory,
Except the taste of I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Do not think that the soul,
That is worth much more,
Finds joy and happiness
In what on earth gives taste;
It is beyond beauty,
In what is, was or will be,
That it tastes I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
Whoever wants to advance
Would better use care
In what is left to gain
Than in what he has already won;
And thus aiming for the heights,
I will always try
For that I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
What comes through the senses
And may here be understood
And whatever may be learned,
Even though very high,
Not for all that beauty
Will I ever be lost,
But for that I-know-not-what
That by fortune I may reach.
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