The ''Book of the Nine Rocks'' is an anonymous 14th century
German mystical text.
Contents
The ''Book of the Nine Rocks'' uses the metaphor of jumping from rock to rock to illustrate the
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
’s journey to
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
. Each rock represents a higher level of
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
and each is more difficult to reach. While most men do not escape
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
’s snares and fall back into worldliness, the few who attain the highest rock transcend desire and self-will to realize their divine nature and become
one with God
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
.
Authorship
Uncertainly attributed to
Rulman Merswin
Rulman Merswin (c. 1307 - 1382) was a German mystic, leader for a time of the Friends of God.
Life
Born into an important family in Strasbourg, at the time a free city of the Holy Roman Empire, Rulman Merswin became a banker and amassed a large fo ...
,
[Mystical Writings of Rulman Merswin: The Four Beginning Years and the Book of the Nine Rocks, Whitefish, MT, USA:Kessinger Publishing, 2004] who was associated with the
Friends of God
The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...
.
See also
*
Friends of God
The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...
*
Christian mystics
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the person
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
for, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative p ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of The Nine Rocks
14th-century Christian texts
Visionary literature
Mystics
Christian mystics
History of Christianity in Germany
History of mystic traditions