Abstract

Eckhartian studies in English have recently taken a large step forward. In addition to the present volume, two other books and a special issue of The Thomist have since 1977 been devoted to the Rhineland mystic who for so long lay in oblivion. Schürmann’s study first appeared in French in 1972. It is here translated by the author himself, who now teaches at the New School. Schürmann’s format in each of the three chapters is to offer a translation of a key sermon of the Meister, and then to weave the main themes of his teachings in a detailed analysis and commentary upon each sermon. At the end of each chapter, and sometimes within it, five other sermons which treat of a cognate theme are also translated. The translations alone are quite welcome in view of the scarcity of good English renderings of Meister Eckhart. And Schürmann’s commentary is extremely valuable as well. The American edition follows the French edition quite closely. Schürmann has added a short conclusion to the third chapter, excerpted from a previous article. And he has added an additional sermon, "Blessed are the Poor," at the end of the book. This is a happy choice, for the sermon in question is to my mind Eckhart’s greatest, and it serves as an excellent transition to the appendix, which is also new in the American edition, and treats of the Eckhart interpretation proposed by Suzuki in Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. The subtitle of the book has also been changed; the French read "la joie errante," the wandering joy.