Your complimentary articles

You’ve read all of your complimentary articles for this month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please

If you are a subscriber please sign in to your account.

To buy or renew a subscription please visit the Shop.

If you are a print subscriber you can contact us to create an online account.

Philosophical Haiku

Teresa de Ávila (1515-1582)

by Terence Green

I walk through my soul,
demon-blinded eyes seek truth.
From faith comes reason.

Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, better known as Teresa de Ávila, the patron saint of headache sufferers, those mocked for their piety, and the makers of lace, was born into great wealth but gave it all up for a life of monastic poverty and mystical writing.

From an early age, Teresa showed a devotion to Christ – at the age of seven, she and her brother tried to run away to be martyred by the Moors; but were prevented from doing so by an unsympathetic uncle.

…