The Nature and Dignity of Love (and Reason)

Last fall, I discovered a relatively unknown Cistercian monk of the 12th century (a friend and contemporary of Bernard of Clairvaux) named William of St. Thierry. He quickly became one of my absolute favorite theologians, and I wrote a major research paper on him for my Medieval Spirituality class at GCTS. Here is an excerpt from his work, On the Nature and Dignity of Love, in which he explains how he sees love and reason working together to lift us into deeper relationship with God. As far as I know, this is an idea completely original to William.

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"The sight for seeing God, the natural light of the soul therefore, created by the Author of nature, is charity. There are, however, two eyes in this sight, always throbbing by a sort of natural intensity to look toward the light that is God: love and reason. when one attempts to look without the others, it does not get far. When together they help one another, they can do much, that is, when they become the single eye of which the bridegroom in the Canticle says: 'You have wounded my heart, O my friend, with one of your eyes.'
In this they labor much, each in its own way, because one of them - reason - cannot see God except in what he is not, but love cannot bring itself to rest except in what he is. What is it that reason can apprehend or discover in its every attempt, about which it is bold to say: Is this my God? Reason is only able to discover what he is to the extent it discovers what he is not. Reason has its own set paths and straight ways by which it progresses. Love, however, advances more by its shortcomings and apprehends more by its ignorance. Reason, therefore, seems to advance through what God is not toward what God is. Love, putting aside what God is not, rejoices to loose itself in what he is. From him, love has come forth and it naturally aspires to its own beginning. Reason has the greater sobriety, love the greater happiness.
Nevertheless, as I have said, when they help one another - when reason teaches love and love enlightens reason, and reason merges into the affectus of love and love lets itself be confined within the limits of reason - then they can do great things. But what is it they can do? Just as anyone who progresses in this cannot progress and learn this except through his own experience, so also it could not be communicated to an inexperienced person. As it is said in the Book of Wisdom: 'In his joy the stranger shall not meddle.'"