Tears and Saints focuses not on martyrs or heroes but on the mystics - primarily female - famous for their keening spirituality and intimate knowledge of God. Their Christianity was anti-theological, anti-institutional, and based on intuition and sentiment. Many, such as Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Saint John of the Cross, have produced classic works of mystical literature; but Cioran celebrates many more minor and unusual figures as well. Following Nietzsche, Cioran brings to light the political element hidden in saints' lives. In his hands, their charitable deeds are much less interesting than their thirst for pain and their equally powerful capacity to endure it. What Cioran calls the "voluptuousness of suffering" is epitomized by Margaret Mary Alacoque's classic statement: "None of my sufferings has been equal to that of not having suffered enough." Behind this suffering and their uncanny ability to renounce everything through ascetic practices, Cioran detects a fanatical will to power.

Reviews

In her lengthy introduction, the translator deems this book a "discourse on spirituality, asceticism and suffering for the love of Christ." More specifically, the author asserts that saints maintain a "will to power which reaps nothing but empty and cruel suffering." Cioran looks for a reason to become a believer by exploring the lives of minor saints but ends up interpreting their tears only as a sign of their penchant for suffering. Ultimately, Cioran comes closest to becoming a believer through experiencing music, especially Bach. First published in Bucharest in 1937, this work caused quite a storm because many readers considered it blasphemous. Perusing the text in 1995, however, a few decades after God was declared dead on the covers of popular news magazines, some readers may find the comments to be more black humor than blasphemy. Recommended for subject collections.‘Olivia Opello, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.

"Like Nietzsche, Cioran is an important religious thinker. His book intertwines God and music with passion and tears. . . . [Tears and Saints] has a chillingly contemporary ring that makes this translation important here and now".

-- Booklist