medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> On Apr 7, 2009, at 1:11 AM, Rebecca Stephens wrote:
>
> > There is also a passage somewhere where he says
> > that if it were the will of God, the angels would spend all their
> > time counting caterpillars - but this might be only of interest to
> > the entomological enthusiast!
>
> Ooo! I would love to have that quote!
>
OK! :-
'A question arises about the angels: Do those angels who dwell here with us to serve and guard us suffer a diminution of their joys in comparison with those that abide in eternity: is it in any sense a drawback to them to be engaged in serving and protecting us? I reply, No, not at all. Their joy is no less, and so too their equality: for the angel's work is God's will and God's will is the angel's work, and accordingly such an angel is not hindered in his joy, his likeness or his work. If God should tell an angel to fly to a tree and pick off the caterpillars, the angel would be ready to pick them off: being God's will it would be his happiness.'
I've only got the translation in my office here: Walshe numbers it Sermon 57 Qui audit me non confundetur (volume II, Meister Eckhart: Sermons & Treatises). It's 96 in Pfeiffer, and 12 in Quint.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Stephens
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