The Letters of John Houghton and Theodoric Loer
A Letter from John Houghton
Greetings to the Reverend Father Theodoric Loer, Vicar of the Carthusian Charterhouse, from John Houghton.
You will perhaps wonder, most reverend Father, what the meaning is of these strange letters sent to you from a far-off country. But so you may stop wondering, know that it is the most fragrant perfume of our exceptional Father Denis which has now drawn these letters of mine to you (or rather, to him concealed before you). For he has so captured our hearts with his most sacred writings and teachings, that we are hardly able to be deprived of them without great distress. And indeed, for us his works have a more saintly and sweet taste to them than nearly all other sacred authors we have read until now (may it be said without offence to the rest). And so rare are these works among us in this region that we are hardly able to satisfy our wishes—namely, reading them again and again. For as soon as any of them arrive here, they are immediately snatched up by other pious and educated men, so that we can acquire only a few, and are forced to remain hungry.
Furthermore, the Prior of HintonAn English Charterhouse located in Somerset. (a Venerable Father in this province who had previously been at the Grande Chartreuse at the General Chapter) told us on his return that you, Father, had promised to send however many of these works he desired, if he were willing to buy them. Inspired by this news, I had hoped to shortly fulfill my wish.
To get to the point then—I ask you, Father, rather I implore you, though we are strangers to each other, to send as quickly as is convenient to you all the works of our most holy Father Denis tenfold, that is ten volumes of every single work of his published to date. And besides those, I also ask you to send twenty books of that short work we call On Contempt of the World,De contemptu mundi or Heptalogus in Latin; consisting of seven original works of Denis the Carthusian (refer to the homepage for a complete list). and the same number of that other short work titled Ladder of the Religious.Scala religiosum or Pentateuchus in Latin; consisting of five original works of Denis the Carthusian (refer to the homepage for a complete list). Have no doubt that in doing this, you shall merit much before God. And send also, I beg you, the individual prices for all the works requested above. And as partial payment for them, accept from the letter-carrier this money worth six pounds, thirteen shillings, and eight pence sterling—making to you, if I am not mistaken, fifty-two guilders and five stuivers Brabantian. And whatever payment remains, if you ask the Venerable Father Prior of your charterhouse to relate it to me, I will gladly send the money with interest as soon as I can. Or if he prefers (which I would as well due to the risks of the journey), I will pay here whomever he sees fit to send me. In addition, for whatever holy works of the Reverend Father Denis which are published hereafter, if you send me twelve books of each, I promise to return payment to you without delay immediately after learning the total from your letters.
And lastly dear Father, press on! Quickly bring to completion what was started. That is, do not let your devoted skill and diligence which you have shown thus far in publishing the printed works of holy Denis to us grow lukewarm until we should merit to see every last work of his. And have no doubt that you should receive from the holy Lord a surplus of heavenly blessings as a reward. And if only there were as abundant a supply of money for both of us as there is a pious good will to publish all his works—then I would anticipate with certainty that our ecstatic Denis would soon appear to mankind as a shining and splendid morning star. And he would put to flight that darkness of heretical depravity from many hearts, quickly bringing to them the true light of faith, adorned with righteous works. But enough of this. From the heart of the most sweet Savior, farewell dear Father.
From our Charterhouse near London in England, July 23, 1532.
Your brother in Christ and unworthy Prior there, John Houghton.
A Reply from Theodoric Loer
Greetings to the Venerable and Reverend Father John Houghton, most vigilant and worthy Prior of the Carthusian Charterhouse near London in England, from Father Theodoric Loer, monk and Vicar of the same Carthusian Order at Cologne.
I cannot express in words how much pleasure I derived from your letter, Venerable Father. First and foremost because after your predecessor died, that exceptional man John Batmanson who was outstanding in all wisdom and virtue (and who also greatly favored Denis), that sacred community elected you as Prior. He who preceded you would rightly aspire to your virtues and merits if he was able. For you cherish and observe all of the statutes, decrees, and indeed the virtues of our Order to such a degree that no one surpasses you. And I neglect to mention what should not be considered a matter of little importance—that you have built up my Denis to such a degree that if those angelic men of your country had not already known of his merits, they would have through your praise alone. Therefore, since I know England is filled with the most educated men who greatly desire the complete works of Denis, for them if for no one else, the labor will not be a burden to me. Even now you encourage me to keep going. What shall I say? I believe that what Isaac had come to experience is now happening to us through you—namely that we have been so comforted by you that the sorrow which fell upon us from the death of your predecessor was obliterated by new joy.A reference to the comfort Isaac's new wife Rebekah brought to him after his mother Sarah's death (Genesis 24:67).
From this point on I have another source of joy. I realize my tireless effort thus far in publishing the works of Denis has not been in vain, as the reading of Denis is so pleasing to the educated. Especially since nothing drew me to this post (which several distinguished men were previously discouraged from) except a desire for obedience, honor for God, zeal for souls, and that I might serve holy men just as the educated. Whether I have achieved any of these things I do not quite know, except for all the letters I have received and advice from Superiors which continually encourage me, lest I run out of strength to continue the work at hand. You ask for the Life of Denis immediately, and all the works of Denis to be sent to you. Nothing would please me more than having this done. If only I might live to see the day in which all the works of Denis are published. Some of his works have already been published, but they are nothing compared to those which lie hidden to this day. The typographers and the printing presses, of which there are six or seven, are both busy printing Denis for the sake of the pious and the educated. In fact, our money is tied up with the multitude of Denis' works. And even if it should all break down with the vastness of the effort, my spirit would remain undefeated. Supported by the suffrage of you and several other holy men, I will not stop (unless life fails me) until I bring all the works of Denis into the light of day. But in order to satisfy your request, I will send you all Denis' works—certainly not in complete and printed form as you wish, but only the simple titles of the books so that you can see a list of these works and eagerly long for those you desire.
With great vigilance, a firm resolve, and no small labor, I have tried to compile a catalog of Denis' works. But the number of his books increases daily. We know these to be from Denis due to the phrasing, his singular devotion to God, and (most of all) his handwriting, with which he composed these with great effort. Yet we grieve that there are still more works which Denis most certainly wrote that have not yet been found. In truth, we slightly modified the Latin titles of some of the published works while writing the entire introductory sentences underneath, lest unfamiliar titles should appear under the name of "Denis," and likewise so that we may be seen to have a certain regard for the skeptics of the world. For we will neglect nothing which might be lacking in our careful work, no matter how small, for the glory of our Denis. From now on, it will likewise be your duty to forsake nothing which might be added to the fruit of him whom you love.
Farewell dearly beloved Father, and continue to promote our Denis (as you are accustomed to). Give our greetings to your Vicar William ExmewOne of the eighteen blessed Carthusian martyrs killed in England (d. 1535); he was hanged, drawn, and quarted about a month after John Houghton himself met the same fate. and the rest of all Denis' and our friends there, especially the Venerable and most virtuous Prior of Hinton, our fellow traveler. Farewell again.
From the Cologne Charterhouse, on the very octave of the Nativity of the most glorious Virgin Mary,September 15. 1532.
