The Scale of Perfection

Augustinian canon Walter Hilton’s The Scale of Perfection maintains a secure place among the major mystical writings that flourished in fourteenth-century England. Composed between 1380 and 1396, The Scale of Perfection is addressed to a woman who has recently taken her religious vows, and defends Hilton’s orthodox beliefs with strikingly visual imagery. Written over two books of more than 40,000 words each, the titular Scale describes a stairway to heaven which the religious can ascend by following Hilton’s moral advice; his topics range from defining the contemplative life and overcoming the seven deadly sins to reforming the human soul in the divine image of God and opening one’s inner eye. A popular treatise, it circulated in 42 manuscripts, was translated into Latin, and was printed by Wynkyn de Worde. While there have been multiple translations of the Scale, this is the first complete edition of the Middle English text.