1. In this dark night, souls begin to enter when God is taking them out of the state of beginners, which is one of those who meditate on the spiritual path, and begins to put them in that of profiteers, which is already that of contemplatives. , so that, passing through here, they reach the state of the perfect, which is that of the divine union of the soul with God. Therefore, in order to better understand and declare what night this is through which the soul passes, and for what reason God places it in it, it will first be convenient to touch here on some properties of beginners. Which, although it will be as soon as possible, will also not fail to serve the same beginners, so that, understanding the weakness of the state they are in, they will be encouraged and wish that God puts them on this night, where the soul in the virtues and for the inestimable delights of the love of God. And even if we linger a little, it won't be more than enough to deal with after this dark night.
2. It is, then, to know that the soul, after it has determinedly converted to serve God, ordinarily God will create it in spirit and give it as a gift, in the way that the loving mother makes the tender child, which at the warmth of her breasts she warms him, and with tasty milk and soft and sweet delicacy she raises him, and in her arms she brings him and gives him gifts. But, as it grows, the mother gradually takes away the gift and, hiding her tender love, puts the bitter bitterness in the sweet breast, and taking it down by the arms, makes it walk on her feet, because, losing the Child properties, give yourself to bigger and more substantial things. The loving mother of the grace of God, after the new heat and boiling of serving God regenerates the soul, does the same with it; because it makes her find the spiritual milk sweet and tasty without any work of hers in all the things of God, and in the spiritual exercises great pleasure, because God gives her here his breast of tender love, as well as a tender child (1 Pet. 2, 23).
3. Therefore, her delight is to spend long periods of time in prayer, and perhaps whole nights; her tastes are penance, her contentment is fasting, and her consolation is using the sacraments and communicating in divine things; which things, although with great efficiency and stubbornness attend them and use them and treat them with great care, spiritually speaking, commonly they have very weak and imperfectly in them. Because, as they are moved to these things and spiritual exercises by the consolation and pleasure that they find there, and, as they are also not empowered by exercises of strong struggle in the virtues, regarding these their spiritual works have many faults and imperfections; because, in the end, each one works according to the habit of perfection that he has; and, since these have not had the opportunity to acquire strong habits, they must necessarily act like skinny children, skinny.
Which so that it is seen more clearly, and how lacking are these beginners in the virtues about what with the said taste they easily work, we will go noting it by the seven capital vices, mentioning some of the many imperfections that in each one of them they have, in which it will be seen clearly how childish is the action that they act; and it will also be seen how many benefits the dark night that we will discuss later brings with it, since it cleanses the soul and purifies it from all these imperfections.