"You who want ..."

By Hadewijch II Hadewijch

Translated By Jane Hirshfield

You who want

knowledge,

seek the Oneness

within.

There you

will find

the clear mirror

already waiting.

Hadewijch II, “You who want ...,” translated by Jane Hirshfield, from Women in Praise of the Sacred (New York: HarperCollins, 1994). Reprinted with the permission of the translator.

Source: Women in Praise of the Sacred (HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 1994)

Biography

Little is known about the life of Middle Dutch visionary and poet Hadewijch, except what can be gleaned from her 13th century writings. Many scholars believe she lived in Antwerp, and her fluency in Dutch, Latin, and French can be taken as evidence that she received an education typically limited to the wealthy. She joined a group of beguines, evangelical women who, outside the monastic system, took vows of poverty, chastity, . . .

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