De virore arboris sapientiae per spem.
The Spark of Hope
Hope for future goods is described as a spark nourished within the mind.
In the ninth place it is added: it flourishes through hope. Hope for future good things is, as it were, a kind of spark in the mind, which is nourished by its fuel.
Hope as Hidden Warmth
Hope is like a memory of unseen joys that warms the heart against unbelief.
For hope is like a memory of unseen joys, stored away in the human heart, warming it from within, and not letting it dry up under the cold of unbelief in this present winter of life.
The Evergreen Tree of Wisdom
As long as hope lives, the tree of wisdom does not wither, sustained by the Spirit and good works.
And as long as this hope lives in our mind, the tree of wisdom never withers. Just as unharmed wood keeps its greenness when it holds a balanced proportion of moisture and warmth, so the soul cannot dry up when the warmth of the Holy Spirit, shining from above, nourishes it, and the effort of good work, which lies beneath, waters it.
Read the original Latin
Nono loco adjunctum est, per spem viret. Spes futurorum bonorum in mente quasi scintillatio quaedam est, quae nutritur in fomite. Est enim spes quasi memoria quaedam invisibilium gaudiorum, quae in corde hominis recondita calefacit illud intrinsecus, et non sinit arescere frigore infidelitatis in hieme praesentis vitae. Et quandiu haec spes vivit in nostra mente, nunquam arescit arbor sapientiae, sed quemadmodum lignum illaesum servat virorem suum, dum aequalem habet contemperantiam humoris et caloris, sic animus arescere non potest, quem et calor Spiritus sancti, qui desuper radiat, nutrit, et studium bonae operationis quod subtus est, rigat.
De Arca Noe Morali et Mystica (On the Moral and Mystical Ark of Noah) companion
Keep the ark under construction
Hugh's method only works with daily practice — the Chosen Portion app gives you a short, structured devotional every morning, free.
Hugh's daily discipline of ordered meditation continues in Chosen Portion, which serves one structured devotional portion each day so the mind returns to the same interior work Hugh prescribed.
- A 10-minute structured meditation delivered each morning
- Progress through classic texts like Hugh's in small daily portions
- Build a 30-day streak of ordered prayer instead of improvised moments