The Mystic Way

It is the object of this book to trace out that type of life, that peculiar quality of consciousness, which is called ＂＂mystical,＂＂ from its earliest appearance within Christianity; to estimate, so far as is possible, the true character and origin of the Christian mystic, and define the qualities which differentiate him from those other mystics who have been evolved along lines of spiritual development, Oriental, Neoplatonic, or Mahomedan. It is now acknowledged by many psychologists - amongst whom Leuba and Delacroix are of special importance, since their conclusions are entirely free from theological bias - that the Christian mystic does possess such differentiating characters; and represents, so far as the psychical nature of man is concerned, a genuine species apart... From the Preface

A poet, novelist, and well known writer on mysticism, Evelyn Underhill was born in 1875. She was educated privately and at King’s College for Women, London, of which she later became first an Honorary Fellow and then a Fellow. She was also an Honorary Doctor of Divinity of the University of Aberdeen. In 1921 she was Upton Lecturer on the Philosophy of Religion at Manchester College, Oxford. Among Miss Underhill’s most notable books are ’The Spiritual Life’, ’Practical Mysticism’, ’The Mystic Way’, and ’Meditations Based on Our Lord’s Prayer’.