So the Superessential Life is the simple, the synthetic life, in which man actualises at last all the resources of his complex being. The active life of response to the Temporal Order, the contemplative life of response to the Transcendent Order are united, firmly held together, by that ‘eternal fixation of the spirit’; the perpetual willed dwelling of the being of man within the Incomprehensible Abyss of the Being of God, _qui est per omnia saecula benedictus_. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE I. Flemish Text _Werken van Jan van Ruusbroec_. Ed. J. David. 6 vols. (Maetschappy der Vlaemsche Bibliophilen). (Gent, 1858-68.) This edition, based on the MSS. preserved at Brussels and Ghent, and the foundation of all the best translations, is now rare. It may be consulted at the British Museum. A re-issue of the Flemish text is now in progress; the first volume being _Jan van Ruysbroeck, Van den VII. Trappen_ (i.e. _The Seven Degrees of Love_) _met Geert Groote’s latijnsche Vertaling_. Ed. Dom. Ph. Müller (Brussels, 1911). II. Translations A. _Latin_ The chief works of Ruysbroeck were early translated into Latin, some during their author’s lifetime, and widely circulated in this form. Three of these early translations were printed in the sixteenth century: the _De Ornatu Spiritualium Nuptiarum_ of Jordaens, at Paris, in 1512; and the _De Septem Scalæ Divini Amoris Gradibus_ of Gerard Groot, together with the _De Perfectione Filiorum Dei_ (i.e. _The Sparkling Stone_), at Bologna, in 1538. The standard Latin translation, however—indispensable to all students of Ruysbroeck—is the great work of the Carthusian monk, Laurentius Surius: _D. Joannis Rusbrochii Opera Omnia_ (Cologne, 1552). This was reprinted in 1609 (the best edition), and again in 1692. It contains all Ruysbroeck’s authentic works, and some that are doubtful; in a translation singularly faithful to the sense of the original, though it fails to reproduce the rugged sublimity, the sudden lapses into crude and homely metaphor, so characteristic of his style. B. _English_ _The Book of the Twelve Béguines_ (the first sixteen chapters only). Translated from the Flemish, by John Francis (London, 1913). A useful translation of one of Ruysbroeck’s most difficult treatises. C. _French_ _Œuvres de Ruysbroeck l’Admirable. Traduction du Flamand par les_ Bénédictins de Saint Paul de Wisques. Vol. I.: _Le Miroir du Salut Éternel_; _Les Sept Clôtures_; _Les Sept Degrés de l’Êchelle d’Amour Spirituel_ (Brussels, 1912, in progress). This edition, when completed, will form the standard text of Ruysbroeck for those unable to read Flemish. The translation is admirably lucid, and a short but adequate introduction is prefixed to each work.