What relevance do the fourteenth-century mystics have for today's world? Are they remote, inaccessible, and incomprehensible, or do they offer something of value? If so, what, and for whom? For everyone or just a select few? Does one have to be a Christian to appreciate them? Could one be a mystic without even believing in God? How would a modern psychologist explain the phenomenon of mystical experience?

Research the poetry and prose of the seventeenth- century poet Thomas Traherne. Might Traherne be called a mystic? What elements in his poetry are mystical? What does he have in common with the medieval mystics that you have read and how does he differ from them? (You may apply the same questions to another poet or prose writer with whom you are familiar.)

What were the underlying assumptions that the medieval mystics made about existence...