Nature and Structure of the Contemplative Biography
A contemplative biography offers a window into the soul of another person. It
attempts to reveal the spiritual dynamics as that individual gazes at God through the
various dimensions of life. More specifically it endeavors to trace the contours of the
soul and observe the ways in which a person has experienced God. One of the
challenges in developing a contemplative biography for Ambrose is the limited
sources available. While he recognized the value of keeping a diary and is often cited
as a model for engaging in this practice his own diary is not extant.^11 It was not
uncommon for Puritans to destroy their diaries at death and this likely explains the
absence of Ambrose’s diary.^12 Fortunately he wove two lengthy sections of selected
entries into Media to illustrate his practice of keeping a diary.^13 These limited
resources, which cover only ten years of Ambrose’s life, prevent the possibility of a
developmental study of his spirituality. Charles Cohen’s correctly notes, “[a]ll
historical inquiries proceed at the mercy of their methods, and psychological studies
of vanished minds place a premium on methodological precision.”^14 Therefore, a
thematic rather than sequential framework has been selected to examine Ambrose’s
(^11) Ambrose, Media (^) (1657), 87. cf. Sachse, (^) Diary of Roger Lowe, 2 and Keeble,
Literary Culture Nonconformity, 208. On the importance of diary keeping for the
Puritans see Hambrick-Stowe, Practice of Piety, esp. 176, 186-93 and Tomalin,
Samuel Pepys 12 , 78-89.
Hambrick-Stowe, Practice of Piety, 188-9 and Brekus, “Writing as Protestant
Practice,” 33. (^13) These entries vary over (^) the three editions of Media. The first edition contains the
largest amount of diary material. The second and third editions are identical. The
most significant change is the substitution of his May 1651 retreat experiences in
place of the much lengthier and varied experiences in the1650 edition. Additionally
he greatly reduced the number of examples provided in his section entitled
“Experiences.” Ambrose reports the reduction in the latter two editions was due to
his assessment that not all of the material in the first edition was edifying for others.
Media (^14) Cohen, (1652), 171 and God’s CaressMedia, 14. (1657), 189.