The Spiritual Teachings of Madame Guyon, Including Translations into English From Her Writings

During the era of Louis XIV, Madame Guyon wrote her theological ideas about pure love. Her books A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, Spiritual Torrents, and her Autobiography became popular throughout Europe and the New World. Her fame led to her personal Inquisition and decade long incarceration. Madame Guyon’s influence on Romanticism and Protestantism endow her books with both historical and spiritual influence. This anthology presents excerpts from Madame Guyon’s major works. The introduction explains the historical struggle about Quietism (called the Great Conflict) of which she was a part, as well as placing her in the apophatic mystic tradition. This work includes translations of major portions of A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, Spiritual Torrents, Autobiography, and Commentary on Song of Songs. Portions from Guyon’s translated poetry and letters of spiritual direction complete this volume. Annotations provide needed information to understand both the history of this important era and Guyon’s influential theology of pure love.