R23: Hillin von Fallemanien an Hildegard von Rupertsberg
Salutation and Humble Greeting
Hillinus, archbishop of Trier, greets Hildegard as beloved sister in Christ, invoking the image of following the Lamb.
Hillinus, archbishop of Trier. To Hildegard. Hillinus, by the grace of God, humble minister and servant, and archbishop of that same see, though unworthy! To Hildegard, dearest sister, to follow the Lamb and bridegroom wherever he shall go.✦
God's Grace in Hildegard's Virginity
God chose the weak to shame the strong, making Hildegard's virginity a dwelling-place and pouring the spirit of counsel and knowledge upon her.
Since it is the wisdom of God, which chooses the weak things of the world—✦ so as to confound the strong.✦ It has pleased him to choose a pleasant dwelling-place for himself in your virginity. And so he has poured out the grace of his light upon you more abundantly, in a spirit of counsel and of deeper knowledge.
A Call to Spread the Light
Through Hildegard as mediator, God wishes to enlighten others; she is urged to extend the vine's branches and not hide her lamp, freely sharing what she freely received.
Through whose outpouring of light, I believe, God also wished the minds of others to be roused and enlightened for pursuits that are better and closer to salvation. Through you as mediator, O venerable mother, most sincere and to be embraced with love. Beyond this, therefore, O most beloved virgin of Christ, truly the vine, under whose shade you rest. Whose fruit is sweet to your throat and welcoming to embrace. Truly, I say, to extend the branches of the vine more widely into this stormy sea. The heavenly cup by which you are intoxicated, whose sweetest taste you readily channel in every direction toward gains of souls, which you freely received, you freely give. Lest perhaps you be accused of hiding the lamp, lit for the benefit of neighbors, under a bushel. You would not have wished to hide it under a bushel.
A Humble Plea for Consolation
Hillinus asks Hildegard, as holy mother and harbor of consolation, to let a few drops of the king's wine fall upon him, a sinner, through the bearer of the letter.
I ask you, then, holy mother, together with all others who flee to you as a harbor of consolation. I am sustained by the richest hope of obtaining my heart's desire. I ask you, I say, and I call your maternal heart to witness through holy love. That from that wine cellar of the king —✦1 — whose abundance of delight wonderfully intoxicates you even in this life. Would you deign to let a few drops fall upon me, a sinner, through the bearer [REDACTED] this letter, dripping them down in writing! And this too for the sake of the one who has granted you the ability to do these things. And for that very reason, so that the experience of truth may bear witness.
Trust in God's Completing Work
A rumor of grace reaches uncertain ears, but the one who began a good work in Hildegard will bring it to completion in the life of the living.
Because word has reached some people about the grace poured into you from heaven. A rumor brings it uncertainly. So then, the one who has begun a work in you! He will bring the good work to completion in the life of the living.
Read the original Latin
Hillinus treuirorum archiepiscopus. hildegardi. Hillinus dei gratia treuirorum humilis minister et seruus ac eorundem archiepiscopus licet indignus! hildegardi carissimę sorori agnum et sponsum sequi quocumque ierit. Quoniam dei sapientię quę infirma mundi eligit. ut fortia confundat. iocundum sibi habitaculum in tua uirginitate eligere conplacuit. lucis suę gratiam in spiritu consilij et scientię amplioris in te largius effudit!
cuius ut arbitror lucis effusione etiam aliorum mentes ad studia meliora et saluti uiciniora excitari uoluit et illustrari! te mediante mater ueneranda et sincerissima caritate amplectenda. Super est igitur uirgo christi dilectissima uere uitis cuius sub umbra quiescis. cuius fructus gutturi tuo dulcis et amplexabilis. uere inquam uitis propagines in hoc mare procellosum latius extendere. celestis poculi quo inebriaris dulcissimum saporem ad lucra animarum quaque uersum propensius deriuare quę gratis accepisti gratis dare. ne forte arguaris lucernam ad utilitatem proximorum accensam. sub modio abscondere uoluisse.
Rogo ergo mater sancta cum ceteris ad portum consolationis tuę confugientibus. spe consequendi desiderij mei uberrima fretus. rogo inquam et contestor uiscera tua materna per sanctam caritatem. quatenus de cella illa regis uinaria. cuius uoluptatis habundantia etiam in hac uita mirabiliter debriaris. guttas aliquas ad me peccatorem per presentium latorem stillare scripto digneris! tum propter eum qui tibi ea posse prestitit. tum eapropter ut ueritatis experientia comprobet.
quod quorundam auribus de gratia tibi celitus infusa. rumor dubitanter infert. Ille igitur qui cepit in te! bonum opus consummet in uita uiuentium.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rev.14.4 — These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
- ↩1Cor.1.27 — But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- ↩1Cor.1.27 — But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- ↩Song.2.4 — He brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love.
Notes
- 1 ↩cella regis vinaria likely alludes to the king's wine cellar (cf. Song of Songs 2:4 or similar bridal imagery), but the sentence is left incomplete here, continuing in the next sentence.
Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion
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