Saint Teresa (of Avila)

E. Allison Peers

Deeply spiritual and profoundly human, this 16th-century masterpiece is the work of a revered saint. Teresa of Avila visualized the soul as a many-faceted diamond, with the ecstasy of divine communion at its center. Her insights into prayer and meditation as the keys to fulfillment have inspired generations of readers.

Interior Castle

St John of the Cross

2017 Reprint of 1953 Edition. Originally published in 1953 as Volume One of the The Complete Works of Saint John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church, translated and edited by E. Allison Peers from the critical edition of P. Silverio de Santa Teresa published in 1935. In this work, a spiritual masterpiece and classic of Christian literature and mysticism, the author addresses several subjects, among them pride, avarice, envy, and other human imperfections. His discussion of the Dark Night, which considers afflictions and pain suffered by the soul, is followed by an extended explanation of divine love and the soul's exultant union with God. The Dark Night (from which the spiritual term takes its name) narrates the journey of the soul from its bodily home to union with God. It happens during the night, which represents the hardships and difficulties met in detachment from the world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator. There are several steps in this night, which are related in successive stanzas. The narrative explains the painful experience that people endure as they seek to grow in spiritual maturity and union with God. This fine translation by E. Allison Peers is considered one of the faithful that has appeared and a preferred rendering of the original Spanish.

Dark Night of the Soul

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1950.

A Critical Anthology of Spanish Verse

St. John of the Cross

The famed 16th-century Spanish mystic's incomparable guide to spiritual life illuminates the path through confusion and despair that leads to union with God. This acclaimed translation of St. John's intensely poetic work offers a primer to his Dark Night of the Soul, which is also available in a definitive Dover edition.

Ascent of Mount Carmel

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila was a prominent 16th-century Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun. This is her great work on the practice of prayer, consisting of detailed directions on the achievement of spiritual perfection. It has long been considered a classic of the interior life and Christian mysticism, and modern readers will appreciate its warmth and accessibility.

The Way of Perfection

Originally published in 1940 as the first part of a two-volume study, this book examines the Romantic Movement in Spain from its roots in the Spanish Golden Age during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to the Romantic revival in the nineteenth century and the ensuing conflict between Classicists and Romanticists, which abated after 1837. Peers looks at key texts in the history of the Romantic style, as well as external influences on Spanish style in this period of literary upheaval. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of Spanish literature or the Romantic Period.

A History of the Romantic Movement in Spain

Saint John of the Cross

2014 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In "Living Flame of Love" St. John of the Cross achieves the heights of his previous work and delves still further into the Divine mysteries of the soul's union with God. Because it was one of his last poems and the fruit of his more mature spirituality, "Living Flame" is written with greater eloquence and ardor than his earlier works and tells of a love more completely refined and of a soul which has experienced nearly perfect union with God. Written in four stanzas, with a commentary on each stanza, the poem begins by describing a soul which seeks a closer union with God. St. John then describes the journey. This is the standard translation by E. Allison Peers.

E. Allison Peers

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