Chapter 23 - How Friar João da Barroca came to Lisbon and his way of life there

Summary

Though this chapter could be narrated more briefly and more simply, nevertheless, in order to satisfy both our own wishes and those of others who may well take pleasure in such matters, we shall state, without bothering to cite specific authors, that there are four kinds of [divine] revelation, two of which are physical and two of which are spiritual. The physical ways are external, whereas the spiritual ways derive from the soul.

The main physical kind occurs when our eyes are open so that we can see the sky, the earth and other things. Such revelation or demonstration is not perfect, because it does not enable us to perceive the true nature of the things that we see. The second kind occurs when we see from without an entity that has a hidden meaning within itself, as when Moses beheld the burning bush, by which was revealed the incarnation of the Son of God.

As for the other two ways, which are spiritual, one occurs when, through the eyes of the soul and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we get to know something. The other occurs when the human spirit, coupled with native insight and ability, enables us to examine some entity, which we truly succeed in getting to know later, just as philosophers came to know the courses of the stars, as well as other things.

Likewise, revelations in dreams occur in five ways: a plain dream, a vision, a visitation, a hallucination, an apparition. The last two sometimes occur through overeating; other times through lack of food; other times because of our great love for somebody; other times out of strong fear; other times through thinking deep and melancholy thoughts; and sometimes owing to Satan's deception, when he turns himself into an angel of light. Nobody is able to give a clear interpretation of these two forms of revelation.

A visitation is when a man of upright character receives a visit from God or some angel, telling him what he or someone else should or should not do. A vision is when what someone sees in dreams is what he later sees clearly with his own eyes, as in the dreams in which Pharaoh saw the kine and the ears of corn.