The Crucible of Love; A Study in the Mysticism of St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross
New York: Sheed and Ward, 1963. First edition. Thick octavo (8 1/2 inches tall), original russet cloth, spine lettered in black, original pictorial dust jacket. Very slight wear and toning to unclipped dust jacket. A nearly-fine copy. Item #1671
"THE CARMELITE SAINTS ARE NOTHING IF NOT TEACHERS OF A PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY"
First American edition of The Crucible of Love — a study of the two great Carmelite Saints and their mystic teachings on prayer. This American edition was published with the preferred pictorial dust jacket not included on the British edition of the same year. An exceptional copy.
Ordained in the Church of England, Dicken became a Doctor of Divinity of the University of Oxford for his studies into St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross. Lamenting an age of spiritual recession among English Christians, Dicken's short Foreword (dated, "Caunton Vicarage, Nottinghamshire. July 16th, 1962") declares that "this book is written in the belief that whatever else we may do to recall our nation to God, prayer is the ultimately indispensable key to the situation."
Though St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross are linked together for eternity, the author focuses instead on their differences, outlining the "deep-seated contrast between the personalities of the two saints and between their respective writings." Evenly divided into two sections (Part One. Into Contemplation and Part Two. On to Union), the text is supplemented with an Appendix (Stanzas Between the Soul and the Bridegroom), a brief Bibliography, and an English-Spanish Index. The text is illustrated with an insert of seven plates including portraits of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.
Writing later, in 1970—the year St. Teresa was declared a Doctor of the Church—Dicken remarked: "It is, I believe, a tenable thesis that neither the works of St. Teresa of Jesus nor those of St John of the Cross can be adequately appreciated unless they are studied in close conjunction. Neither saint could have reached their immense stature as spiritual writers without the other. St Teresa pioneered the way, St John of the Cross perfected the results...If the one was worthy of the dignity of being hailed as a doctor of the universal church, it was impossible in reason and in justice to deny the title to the other." See: E.W.T. Dicken. The Imagery of the Interior Castle and its Implications (Ephemerides Carmeliticae 21 (1970/1-2) 198-218).
Price: $300.00