Quietism

Quietism, a form of Mysticism (q.v.), which consists in suppressing all intellectual activity, and, indeed, all consciousness of self and the external world, so that the soul becomes absorbed in the contemplation of the Divine Being. Quietism closely resembles other forms of Mysticism, but the Quietists attached even loss importance to the practical virtues than is usual with Mystics generally. The founder of this religious school was the Spanish theologian Molinos, whose Spiritual Guide was published in 1675. From Spain Quietism passed to France, where its chief exponents were Madame de Guyon (q.v.) and the saintly Archbishop Fenelon (q.v.). The "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul," in Goethe's Wilhelm Meister, are a well-known illustration of it.