Evelyn Underhill 6 December 1875 ampndash 15 June 1941 was an English AngloCatholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice in particular Christian mysticismIn the Englishspeaking world she was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the 20th century No other book of its typeampmdashuntil the appearance in 1946 of Aldous Huxleyamp39s The Perennial Philosophyampmdashmet with success to match that of her bestknown work Mysticism published in 1911Underhillamp39s greatest book Mysticism A Study of the Nature and Development of Manamp39s Spiritual Consciousness was published in 1911 and is distinguished by the very qualities which make it illsuited as a straightforward textbook The spirit of the book is romantic engaged and theoretical rather than historical or scientific Underhill has little use for theoretical explanations and the traditional religious experience formal classifications or analysis She dismisses William Jamesamp39 pioneering study The Varieties of Religious Experience 1902 and his ampquotfour marks of the mystic stateampquot ineffability noetic quality transience and passivity James had admitted that his own constitution shut him off almost entirely from the enjoyment of mystical states thus his treatment was purely objective Underhill substituted 1 mysticism is practical not theoretical 2 mysticism is an entirely spiritual activity 3 the business and method of mysticism is love and...
