SOURCE: Progoff, Ira. “Introductory Commentary.” In The Cloud of Unknowing, edited by Ira Progoff, pp. 1-38. New York: The Julian Press Inc., 1957.

In the following essay, Progoff contends that although The Cloud of Unknowing is a medieval text, its profound psychological insights can also benefit its modern readers.

More than any other, the present period of history should have a humble and open-minded attitude toward all possible sources of knowledge. Modern man has lived to see the most productive discoveries drawn from previously rejected materials. Under the hand of science, fungi and molds have been found to be sources of healing substances. Again and again in a variety of ways we are reminded of the saying of Jesus that the stone which has been cast aside will become the cornerstone. The experience of modern man has shown this to be the case on many different levels of existence...