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.

作者簡介

E.M. 齊奧朗（Emile Michel Cioran，1911~1995年），法籍羅馬尼亞哲學傢、隨筆作傢，以羅馬尼亞文和法文寫作，主要著作有：《在絕望之巔》、《眼淚與聖徒》、《解體概要》、《苦澀三段論》、《存在的誘惑》、《曆史與烏托邦》、《惡之造物主》和《贊賞練習》。

譯者簡介

沙湄：哲學博士，專攻基督教藝術、東正教神學和陀思妥耶夫斯基研究，曾任香港中文大學宗教與文化研究係榮譽研究員、《天南》雜誌執行主編。