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Chapter 242HildE.1.242

R242: Hildegard von Rupertsberg an Wibert von Gembloux

Love’s Garden and the Rod of Jesse

Hildegard opens by exalting love as the virtue that builds up faith, chastity, and all holy living, likening it to a fragrant garden where true Solomon delights.

Hildegard's reply. Love, which builds up faith through the avoidance of sin. And it builds up chastity through patience! It is like a column that supports the four parts of a house. For love herself had planted a most glorious garden with the most precious spices and the noblest flowers — roses and lilies — which breathed forth the sweetest fragrance. In these the true Solomon was accustomed to feed his eyes. This garden signifies the holy virtues! These virtues God — who is true love — has wrought through the rod of Jesse.^✦

The Lily, Virginity, and the Monastic Rank

Mary’s virginal purity is compared to the lily and extended as a model for monks and hermits who renounce the world to follow Christ in humility and detachment.

Mary, namely, who flourished in chastity! And she brought forth the most noble flower.^✦ The voice of the turtledove was heard concerning that flower.^✦ She called the virginal nature, which the lily signifies. Because on its stalk it sends forth white flowers, with the fragrance of the most pleasing scent.¹ Just so, virginity itself is honored in the world on account of the sweetest fragrance of good intention. Hermits also, or monks, who renounced the world for the sake of Christ— they ought to live without the company of worldly pomp, just as a virgin after her vow ought to live without any memory of a man. Because virgins and monks hold the same rank among the angelic orders. Just as angels desire to look at nothing but the face of God, So they too, having cast off all worldly display, Follow the Lamb of God — Christ, that is — carrying his cross. And through true contempt of the world they produce glowing flowers of the Lord's passion. Now, O son of God, set in the valley of true humility, Walk in quiet goodness without elation, which, like a sheer mountain, offers those who cling to it a difficult and seemingly impossible ascent or descent. And on whose summit no building can be built.

Humility, Inconstancy, and the Soldier of the True Solomon

Hildegard warns against hollow holiness and inconstancy, calling the reader to humility, steadfast obedience, and spiritual warfare as a beloved soldier of Christ.

The person who tries to climb higher than they can actually reach holds the name of holiness without any security. Because they boast in the name alone, without any structure of good works and with a certain foolish joy of mind. Look at the most glorious garden that love planted. and gather every virtue to yourself in true humility and simplicity of heart. And although you are placed among the various minds of people, learn, however, how patiently and with long-suffering divine goodness tolerates all of us. Flee also the inconstancy of a lazy slave who today serves one master Tomorrow he serves another. Gird yourself manfully with the sword of the word of God, following the example of the bravest soldiers!^✦ Those who surround the bed of the true Solomon guard it.^✦ Also commend the sincerity of your mind, with watchful eyes, to almighty God, lest you begin to sleep in doubt. And be an upright and beloved soldier of the true Solomon, who loves him for the victory of daily battle. And he crowns him. May the Holy Spirit kindle you with the fire of his love. So that you may persevere unfailing in the love of his service.

Living Stones and a Question about Creation’s Days

The letter shifts from the hope of becoming living stones in the heavenly Jerusalem to a scholastic question about how God can be said to work in six days when he created all things at once.

So that you may deserve to become, someday, a living stone of the heavenly Jerusalem. Question. How what is read is to be understood. "Who lives forever." "He created all things at once." When God is said to have distributed his works over a period of six days. Solution. Almighty God, who is life without beginning and without end. and who had all things eternally in his knowledge. he created at the same time the matter of all things, celestial and terrestrial. heaven, namely, with its bright matter, and earth, which was turbulent matter. This bright matter, from the brightness that is eternity, flashed like a thick light. which also shone over the turbulent matter. so that it was joined to it. and these two matters were created at the same time. and one circle appeared. In the beginning, then, let it be done.^✦ The angels came forth from the aforementioned luminous matter, together with their dwelling place. Because God. He is God and man. He created the angels into the presence of the Father. And he formed man, from whom the garment he was to be clothed with had come, into his own image and likeness.^✦ So too, at the command of Almighty God, when he spoke, 'Let it be done'—^✦ every creature appeared from the turbulent matter, according to the form of its own nature. Six days, for there are six works. Because the beginning and completion of each and every work is called a day. After the creation of the first matter there was no delay either.^✦ But immediately, as if in the twinkling of an eye, the Spirit of the Lord was carried over the waters.^✦ Nor was there any delay afterwards either. But God spoke immediately.^✦ Let there be light.^✦ Question.

The Waters Above and Below the Firmament

Hildegard discusses the division of waters above and below the firmament, explaining their different natures and functions and introducing a question about Adam’s vision of God.

What is it that's written? Did God divide the waters that were above the firmament from those that were above the firmament?^✦ Should we really believe there are material waters above the firmament?^✦ Answer: God divided the waters that were above the firmament^✦ from those that were below it — that is why he divided them.^✦ so that just as the lower waters are present to the earthly order, so also the upper waters might be present to the order above. In the upper waters, nothing grows or fails. Just as in these lower waters, where whatever lives grows and fails in the same way that man does. But those upper waters persist in their first state, just as God established them, and flow in their own circle. And they are material. Yet not like the lower waters. Because they are much finer and entirely invisible to our sight. Through their moisture and the heat of the fire existing there, the firmament is solidified from above. Just as a body subsists through the soul, lest it be dissolved.² The lower waters beneath the firmament, however, are thicker. They are a mirror of the celestial luminaries — the sun, the moon, and the stars — which contain infinite animals of diverse kinds. which are born and have their being in them. And so the functions of the upper and lower waters are in every way unlike. Question. Before the first man sinned, did he see God with bodily eyes? Or are we about to see him with bodily eyes?

Adam’s Vision, Spiritual Eyes, and the Loss of Glory

The answer explains Adam’s prelapsarian wisdom and his vision of God’s brightness, the spiritual nature of his eyes before sin, and the loss of that vision through disobedience.

Since, according to the apostle, we will have received spiritual bodies in the resurrection—^✦ Answer. In the resurrection, when a person has received a spiritual body, and when this same body has been united inseparably with the soul, it will behold the splendid face of the holy divine nature with the angels, without end. For Adam, who had been formed by God so wise and perfect, was filled with knowledge and wisdom beyond all other people. Yet he never saw God in his divine nature, just as it truly is. but he saw with his outer eyes a certain brightness coming from the face of God. In that brightness he truly recognized that he was truly God.³ For just as before sin, when his soul still ruled over his own body, with his own eyes, which through innocence were at that time spiritual, he beheld the aforementioned brightness. which afterwards he could not do, because he immediately lost that vision in paradise after sin. when his eyes, in the transgression of God's commandment which he had known before,^✦ They were opened through carnal desire. Question. What kind of speech did God use? And in what form did he first appear to man? When he gave him a command. And in what form did he walk about in paradise after sin? Answer. Almighty God spoke to Adam in angelic words.

God’s Speech to Adam and the Tree of Knowledge

Hildegard describes God’s angelic speech to Adam, his prophetic knowledge, and then expounds God’s words about Adam becoming “like us,” the choice of evil, and God’s merciful concern for man.

which he himself knew well and understood. For through his own wisdom, which he had received from God.⁴ And also through the spirit of prophecy he then had in his knowledge all the languages that were afterwards invented by human beings. And he knew the natures of all creatures fully.⁵ The Lord also appeared to him in inestimable brightness,⁶ in which there was no form of any creature. And again after the sin, walking about in paradise, he appeared in a flame of fire. Question. What is this that the Lord said? Behold, Adam has become as it were one of us, knowing good and evil.^✦ Knowing good and evil? The Solution. This is what it means. Through the knowledge of good and evil, Adam had something in common with us, but he abandoned the good in the knowledge of the good. Evil in the knowledge of evil, with the taste of the forbidden tree, he chose.⁷ And again. Adam was estranged from us because of the good he had once come to know through experience. He scorned it at the serpent's prompting. And through the taste of delight he brought about the evil thing, previously untried by him, by his own consent. And again he said: Take care that no one takes from the tree of life and lives forever. God said this for that reason: because he was moved by great mercy over his own work—namely, the man who had sinned.⁸ lest he himself, thus transformed from his glory, should live miserably forever.⁹ And in this way he drew him to himself mercifully, just as a father draws his son who wishes to depart from him.¹⁰ For he greatly loved the man whom he foreknew as the garment of his Word.¹¹ For this reason he also created every creature for his service.¹² And he assigned him to the place where that shining one had fallen into death like a corpse.¹³ Question. What kind of eyes were opened in the first parents?^✦

The Opening of the Eyes and the Fate of the Wicked

The text explains how the first parents’ spiritual eyes were lost and carnal eyes opened, how sin obliterated their memory of glory, and then addresses the justice of God’s demand for the blood of souls.

When did they both see before sin? Whence it is said. The woman saw the tree and the rest. Solution. The first parents, before original sin, while the soul through innocence was ruling the body, had spiritual eyes. But after sin, they were deprived of the spiritual vision of those same eyes, and through the condition of sin they were made mortal. Carnal eyes were opened. So that through the knowledge of evil, by seeing and knowing the works of sins according to the desires of the flesh, with the devil persuading, they did it. In the same way, they let all the glory they had once possessed slip into oblivion. They could barely call any of it to mind. It's like a person gazing at something from a distance who can barely make out what it is. And just as a shadow passes by — the kind seen in a mirror. Question. What does it mean when the Lord says to Noah and to his sons, 'I will require the blood of your souls from the hand of every beast'?^✦¹⁴ And from the hand of man.^✦ And a little further on: 'Whoever sheds human blood, his blood shall be shed.'^✦ Solution. God, after the last day, in the resurrection, through the garment of man, from the hand. That is, he demands back the blood of souls from the shifting nature of all beasts, of Noah and his sons, and of the whole human race, which is the seat of the soul. Because he himself does not will it. So that the soul may be clothed in another body or blood. Except the one which she herself warmed and which was her seat. For he himself, in his powerful foreknowledge, by which he formed man from the mud of the earth—the breath of life, which is the soul, to be formed with flesh and blood—foreknew how he would afterwards form him. In that same foreknowledge of his, he demands him back also about to rise again. From the hand of man also, God demands the blood of souls.^✦ That is to say, the man who oppresses his neighbor, by that very act forces his own soul to depart. Through the mortification of his own flesh and blood, in penitence, with the grief of a lamenting voice, let him always cry out to God his Creator. Because by the wounds of death he has forced the soul of the one he himself had created to depart. Whoever has shed human blood, treating it as though it were worthless, without the labor of the sweat that was poured out —^✦¹⁵ upon that person — the judgment of God, either through the sword or through poverty, or the loss of his riches — and if not upon him who has become guilty of blood, Yet it will be brought upon his sons and grandsons. Question. What kind of bodies did the angels have who appeared to Abraham, to whom he set before fine flour, a calf, butter, and milk, and they ate? Answer. Three angels who appeared to Abraham sitting at the door of the tent appeared in human form. Because as they are, they can by no means be seen by a human being.¹⁶ A changeable human being cannot see an unchangeable spirit. And this is the disobedience of Adam, who, deprived of spiritual eyes in paradise, carried his own blindness over to the whole human race.

Abraham’s Oath, the Double Cave, and Hidden Sacraments

Hildegard explains how angels appeared in human form, why Abraham and Jacob swore oaths under the thigh, and how the double cave prefigures both testaments and Christ’s redemption.

Every creature—in that man is a shadow—has its own shadow, which signifies that man must be renewed into unfailing life. And just as a person's shadow shows its image, so also are angels, who by nature are invisible to human beings. Through bodies they take from the air, they appear in visible human form to those to whom they are sent, adapting themselves somewhat to their character. Not with angelic speech. But they are spoken to with such words that they can understand. And they themselves, eating like human beings— but their food vanishes like dew falling on grass, which is dissolved in a moment by the heat of the sun. Wicked spirits, in truth, take on the appearance of any nature in order to deceive people, considering the nature of that creature to which vice is compared through which they might overcome the person they attack. Just as the tempter deceived Eve through the serpent. Question. Why did Abraham and Jacob each command that the hands of those about to swear an oath be placed under their thighs? The former gave the command to a servant, the latter to a son. Why did Abraham and Jacob each command that the hands of those about to swear an oath be placed under their thighs? Answer. Abraham, who at the Lord's command left behind his homeland and his family — through the wound of his flesh, which was the seal of faith — went forth like a glorious standard-bearer [REDACTED] to fight against vices. For he himself, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, carried the banner of holiness before the rest. And through the faith of his works he obtained the privilege of the highest holiness. Hence in the oath he prefigured the holy humanity of Christ under the thigh.^✦ Who, by the ancient counsel of almighty God, will descend from his seed.^✦ Through his humanity, by freeing humanity, he destroyed the ancient serpent's plan.^✦ Question. Why did the holy patriarchs wish with such great desire to be buried in the double cave that Abraham bought from the sons of Heth? Solution. Through the double cave that Abraham purchased at a price for his own burial, the old law and the new are prefigured. Because just as the soul is in the body, so the new law lay hidden in the old. And in these two, death — which entered the world through a woman — is buried.^✦ Indeed, the holy patriarchs desired to be buried in that same cave. Because they were touched by the spirit of prophecy and recognized the sacrament of the new law hidden within the old. So too, in the rod of Aaron that blossomed, the sacrament of the Son of God lay hidden in the redemption of humankind.^✦¹⁷ Because in the creation they recognized the Creator.^✦ So even in the sacrifice of lambs and rams, the Christ who was about to suffer was being signified. A question: Was it the true fire that appeared to Moses in the bush? And yet it didn't burn up the bush. Or the fire that shone out on Mount Sinai? Or the one that fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost in the form of tongues? Or the one that appeared over the head of blessed Martin as he was celebrating the Sacraments? A question:

The Fire of the Holy Spirit and the Ark’s Contents

The fire seen in the burning bush is interpreted as the Holy Spirit and the gifts of virtues, followed by a discussion of what was truly in the ark and how Paul knew its deeper mysteries.

The fire that Moses saw from within the bramble bush, blazing but not burning.^✦ It is to be believed that this was the Holy Spirit.¹⁸ The sparks leaping forth are indeed the varied gifts of the virtues.¹⁹ The varied appearance of this fire by no means descends from the shimmering of the higher elements.²⁰ But with a fire that is life itself.²¹ And it scatters the things clinging to it, not by burning them up.²² But by giving life, it strengthens them.²³ Solution. What is it that's said about the ark in the book of Kings? In the ark there is nothing other than the tablets of the covenant.^✦ And in the letter to the Hebrews it's read that behind the veil there's another tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense.^✦²⁴ And the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold, in which was the urn holding the manna, and the rod of Aaron that had budded, and the tablets of the covenant?^✦^✦^✦ Answer. He said that nothing else was kept in the ark before the people of Israel with such great reverence as the tablets of the covenant.^✦ He didn't know there was anything more in it. Nor did he even seek to know anything more from it. Paul, however, who was wiser than others because of the deep knowledge of his own spirit revealed by divine grace —^✦ what more was kept in the ark of the mystery, he taught more fully.²⁵ Question. Can it truly be believed that Samuel rose up at the invocation of the witch?^✦²⁶ Answer. Saul, who on account of his own sins was rejected and abandoned by God, wanted to know the outcome of the coming battle through the witch.^✦ So he ordered Samuel to be summoned from the dead to himself, to declare to him what he was seeking.^✦ But this could by no means have happened, because it would be impossible that a holy and just man would speak a lie after death.^✦²⁷

Samuel, Saul, and the Devil’s Deceptions

Hildegard resolves the question of Samuel’s appearance at the witch’s invocation by affirming that the devil used a phantom, not Samuel’s true soul, and turns to Paul’s language about angelic tongues.

No soul, whether faithful or unfaithful, can speak a lie once it's been released from the body. The souls of Samuel and Saul can't share the same dwelling place. Because Samuel was a faithful friend of God. And Saul proved to be a rebellious transgressor of his commands. The Devil can't deceive a person through the soul of any human being either. He deceives through a phantom, through the shape of some creature. Saul lost his kingdom and his life because he turned away from God. In the same way, Adam was stripped of the glory of paradise because of his transgression and became a son of death.^✦ And so what she was seeking to obtain from God, she was not able to. Question. What is it that Paul says?^✦ If I should speak with the tongues of humans and of angels?^✦ What are the tongues of angels? Solution. Angels, who are spirits. They do not speak with words of rationality except on account of human beings.

The Dimensions of God and the Harmony of Life

Paul’s language of length, breadth, height, and depth is read as a revelation of God’s essence, power, brightness, and abyssal sovereignty, followed by a reflection on how we live, move, and are in God.

Since their tongues are a resounding praise. For a person knows all things that resound through a sound by perceiving their tone. It reveals the gladness of his heart in the sound of his voice, when he lifts it up with the breath of his soul. Question. What is length and breadth, and height and depth? … which the Ephesians may grasp together with all the saints. Solution. Through this length the divine essence is understood, which has no end and no beginning. is understood. because it cannot, by itself, be grasped through any ascent from its own work, which has its beginning in any knowledge. Through breadth, however, the infinite power of God is signified. which began from no one. and which is not increased by advancing, nor diminished by diminishing. Through height, for the brightness of the holy divinity is meant, which never began to shine. and whose radiance will never pass away, yet is ever to be received. Through the depth, however, something is signified. Because God, in these three aforementioned powers, stands against the abyss of the north — those powers that are within his authority.^✦ And he fights against those who are by no means able to resist him. In his brightness all the saints are gathered — those who loved him and, together with him, persevered in the faithful service of their calling with steadfast faith and good works. Question. What is it that the apostle says?^✦ In him we are moved, we live, and we have our being?^✦ Solution. In him we are carried along with the elements, and through them we make daily use of everything that serves our needs.^✦ In him too, having been enlightened and brought to life by the breath of life, we live.^✦^✦ Through him we come to know that he is God and our Creator. In him we also have our being, because the end of life — whatever its merits may be in the soul — we will never possess by our own power; it is through him that we move and are carried along with all our sensory nature, together with the elements and within the elements, just as the wind flies and is driven.^✦ Question. What does the same writer mean when he says this? Night and day I have been in the depths of the sea?^✦^✦ Answer.

Paul’s Humility, Sin, and the Forty Days of Christ

Hildegard explains Paul’s self-description as least among apostles, the nature of sin against one’s own body, and Christ’s presence in the forty days between resurrection and ascension.

Paul, reflecting on his own hardships, spoke these words in grief. through them making it clear. that by God's permission he was in trials and hardships. as though he were in the dangers of storms and waves of a sea that never stops surging. God also willed that through the darkness of the devil's deception he be worn down, and that the great restlessness of his infirmities be tempered — yet all these things, strengthened by God, he has faithfully and patiently endured. Question. What does he mean when he says this? Am I the least of the apostles, since one who has labored more than all of them?^✦ Answer. Paul calls himself the least because he was not like the others: Christ, who appeared in human form without sin, was with him. And because, even through the Son of God in a spiritual vision, his soul was neither fully within the body nor fully outside the body, he was compelled toward a faith he had never desired to learn or to know. Question. What does the same person mean when he says: Every sin that a person commits outside the body is sin. But the one who commits fornication against his own body — how does he sin? Answer. Every sin that a person commits through sensuality — through a knowledge that flies ahead, with the devil persuading and driving it toward another person — is worked out by a diabolical craft. … which sows discord among people, stirring them up toward anger and hatred. And so that sin is outside the body. But whoever, in the heat of the flesh, with an impure desire stirring in the veins and marrow, arouses and wounds himself through fornication for as long as he does — that person, once spent, sins against his own body. Question. From the day of the resurrection right up to the day of the ascension — when the Lord was not among the disciples — where is he believed to have been? Answer. God, who through his humanity had remained visibly with us and filled the whole earth with his miracles, after his resurrection for those forty days took up again that same humanity of his — the humanity conceived by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary — and reunited it with himself. He cleansed all the elements that had contracted uncleanness through the transgression of the first man.^✦ The souls of the saints and of those who were to be saved, whom He had redeemed as captives from hell, attended by a multitude of angels, with the victorious standard of His power, remained with Him in the air, where He sanctified all things.^✦^✦ Question. What is it that is written about the Lord?^✦ And angels came and ministered to Him?^✦^✦ In what did they minister, or what kind of service did they render to Him? Answer. When the devil recognized that he had been thus separated from Christ.

Souls, Original Sin, and the Trinity’s Processions

The text addresses how new souls contract original sin, the distinction between generation of the Son and procession of the Holy Spirit, and the fiery work of the Spirit in the Incarnation.

so that no temptation could touch him. then he left him and fled from him, as someone flees from his own enemy by whom he fears being killed. and soon the angels resounded in praises of the miracles of holy divinity. because humanity, which had been defeated in the first-formed in paradise. in Christ the man, he victoriously overcame all the devil's temptations. and so they ministered in praises to that one whom they knew to be God and man. Question. Since new souls, newly created from nothing by the Creator's providence in the wombs of mothers, are believed to be the little bodies of little ones. By what process do they contract the stain of original sin? And by what justice are they punished? Answer. Just like a potter's vessel that's been soaked in poison, it infects everything put into it with the risk of defilement. In the same way, all human flesh has been stained and infected through the flesh of the first man. It can't be cleansed except through the clean flesh of the Son of God, which he took from the Virgin Mary, in baptism and penance. The soul, after all, is formed by God from a shape in the mother's womb for this purpose: that it might send out its breath of life into this world, yet through the serpent's counsel — by which the first man was deceived — it contracts the stain of sin, on account of which it is punished, and draws that stain upon itself. But through the ancient plan of holy divinity, it is washed away in the Son of God, through faith and baptism. But whoever, without faith and without baptism, has carried out carnal desires with full effort — And he does not do penance for this. He will perish along with those who are not redeemed through Christ. Question. Since the Lord says about himself in the gospel:^✦ I proceeded from God and came.^✦ And from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who proceeds from the Father.^✦ Between the procession of the Son— And what is the distinction of the procession of the Holy Spirit? So that he may be called Son — because he ought not to be called otherwise? And can the Holy Spirit not rightly be called so either? What is the distinction between the generation of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit, since each proceeds from the Father? Solution. The Father is my power. And I, the resounding Word, came forth from him, when through me he created all creatures.^✦ And the Holy Spirit came forth from him — that is, from my Father. when I was descending into the womb of the virgin, whose flesh was not wounded by the serpent's deception. and I clothed myself with humanity from her, conceived from that same Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit is fiery—a true flame and an equal life in eternity—and through him all the forms that were shaped through the Son of God are moved invisibly. He proceeded into the virgin who is a creature from the Father. And he set her womb ablaze with his own fire. so that she herself, impregnated through him, bore the Word of God—through which all creatures were made—without a carnal father. Just as the form of a human being is visible. and its soul cannot be seen with carnal eyes.

Two Natures, Paul’s Rapture, and the Limits of Vision

Hildegard explains Christ’s two natures, Paul’s ecstatic rapture to the third heaven, and the limits of human vision before the divine, ending with a question on grace and free will.

And yet in two natures there is one human being. So the Son of God, who was conceived in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit, was made human; in his humanity he was visible to all flesh, and in his divinity he is invisible — and so in two natures, namely humanity and divinity, he exists as one God. Question. What is this that Paul says?^✦ That he was snatched away into paradise and as far as the third heaven — whether in the body or outside the body, he does not know.^✦ Whether he departed from the body when his soul was snatched away to those places.^✦ Or while remaining in the body, giving life to it, he arrived at those places? Answer. Paul, in ecstasy, flew through the spiritual soul by which Christ called him, as a person who sleepwalks their way through many dreams.^✦ And yet it warmed his blood in his flesh so that it wouldn't congeal and dry up from the cold, like the sun standing on high: it shines and burns from far off by its own power and splendor. He pierced the wonders of the firmament by beholding them, as God established it to be seen. And he was even carried up to the third heaven — that is, to that brightness which flashes forth from the brightness that is the holy Godhead, and in which the blessed souls rest.^✦ And there he received such great strength from God so that he could never again doubt it. But where the holy Godhead burns, and where the angels are that are like the brilliance of the sun — and where the other angels appear as the splendor of fire — Those who behold the immutable divinity, which is without beginning and end, do not come to it. Because those things — just as an eagle could not endure the fire above — He himself also, in the splendor of the angels who carry out their duties among men, came into paradise, where he fully recognized all the hidden things that he had seen through the soul.^✦ And he perceived those things with the body as well, in the same way. So that he might know in his own knowledge that those things would be unbearable for man, who is but ashes.^✦ And so he proved wiser than all the prophets, whose prophecy — which they saw in a shadow — was like the honey of bees, which is multiplied to many uses.^✦ For indeed, all the things that the soul saw, the body perceived as well — and because of this, he left the matter in doubt. Whether he saw it in the body or outside the body.^✦ And so all of that person's words are also deep, and sharp, and like those of steel. But God, as soon as the soul had returned into its own body, sat back and powerfully subdued it. Because he had fierce ways. Lest he should discern it in his own possession. Things that did not belong to the height of the Holy Spirit. Question. What do the grace of God and free will have in common, and what is proper to each? Solution.

Grace, Free Will, and the Measure of Creation

Free will is described as a divine breath in the soul, cooperating with grace in good or evil choices, followed by a meditation on God’s ordering of all things in measure, number, and weight.

Free will exists in the soul as a breath that comes from God. It's the means by which God creates each person in the form of his own creature, and through it a person perceives whether he is faithful or unfaithful — whatever his profession or opinion may be — since by choosing evil with his own knowledge he turns toward it, just as Adam did when he knew God's commandment. And through the serpent's counsel he turned toward evil.^✦ Grace and free will share this in common: that a person, in the knowledge of good and evil, can choose both good and evil to act upon. And what a person chooses through the property of free will, according to the taste and desire of the flesh — which, having never been forced to let go of what he may have chosen — the devil aiding, brings this to completion. And what he chooses according to the will of the soul. This, the grace of the Holy Spirit aiding, brings to completion. Question. How is what is said to be understood? You have established everything in weight, measure, and number. A solution. God has established all the bodily tabernacles of our bodies in right measure, so that none of them exceed those who dwell in them in weight or breadth. So that the sun, moon, fire, air, water, and earth are established in the firmament with equal weight, number, and measure. And so man, who is every creature, consists in right measure. Because all his limbs are filled through the soul in such a way that, as long as the soul is in him, he can neither waste away nor fail. Pride, however, flies above everything that God has established. And it despises God and neither wishes to know him nor to worship him. And whoever falls away from all their own creatures is an exile — and that is death. And it has no proper measure at all, because God has rightly ordered and established everything that he arranged in his providence and wisdom — and yet it scatters. Question. What is that harmony of the elements, and what kind of harmony is it, that people speak about? The elements, while they are being transformed within themselves, just as in an instrument the tone is altered by its quality — and yet all things keep their own sound. Surely this isn't what the Lord is referring to? And what about the harmony of heaven — the one that puts us to sleep?

Elemental Harmony and the Spring of Paradise

Hildegard describes the rushing sound of the elements, the harmony of heaven, and then interprets the spring watering paradise as the ascent of virtues kindled by the Holy Spirit.

Solution. Regarding the swift movement of the upper ether through which the firmament extends, there is a delightful and glorious sound produced by the elements, so that even the harmonious voice of the human spirit is sweet in its own life. Each element has its own sound according to the way God constituted it. And all of them, like the sound of strings and of the harp, joined together into one, resound. But the concert of heaven does not pertain to the harmony of the elements that will be changed along with man. So too the sun, which is placed in the firmament, shines on this world and not on the highest heaven. Question. How is this to be understood? A spring was rising from the earth, watering the whole surface of the land. Solution. By God's command a spring was rising in the land of delight, watering it with all its own fruits, without any variety of change, just as it was first established by the Creator. It waters. Because it does not have the alternation of summer and winter and of other storms that occur in our land, and that are like the unstable ways of human beings. For just as the moon is obscured by the splendor of the sun, so too in the splendor of this unchanging land's clarity, the sun, moon, and stars are clouded over, since in it there is nothing that is mortal. And it receives nothing that is mortal. And if anything mortal were to enter it, it would be suffocated by its powers, by death, just as by water. The earth in which the heat of the sun is so great that it dries up the drops of rain — just as a great and strong fire dries up drops of water poured into it — is watered through its own heat by a spring flowing from the fountain that ascended in paradise, and it signifies the steady ascent of the holy virtues kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit.^✦^✦ Question. Since Enoch and Elijah are believed to have been bodily transferred to an earthly paradise, are they to be believed to need bodily food and clothing in a place of such happiness?^✦^✦ Solution. God in his providence had ordained concerning Enoch and Elijah that they should be in a place where they would need neither food nor drink nor even clothing. And so everyone who has been carried away in the miracles of God, as long as they remain in those states, does not make use of the things available to mortals. Question.

Bodies in Paradise, Jonah’s Honey, and the Thoughts of the Heart

The text treats the bodily translation of Enoch and Elijah, the allegory of Jonah and honey, and the distinction between human and demonic thoughts arising from the heart.

What is it that's said about Jonah when he had eaten honey?^✦ His eyes were enlightened?^✦ Solution. Jonah was like a rich and fruitful land that is easily overturned by the plough. And which, even unploughed, often produces useful herbs — such was he. For he was gentle in character. And in judgments that were true and just, he willingly affirmed them — without anger and without hatred. For whoever has such qualities, that person's humors — nourished through all the foods by which one is refreshed — are healthy and at their best in the brain, in the veins, and in the marrow, because in such a person, through gentleness, anger and sorrow do not arise with the shifting of various moods.²⁸ Because God's gift is present to that person. And it makes them sprout and grow strong, just like dew falling on the ground. But whoever is weakened by melancholy is like hard soil that's barely broken by the plow. For in their habits they carry anger, sadness, and opposition to every kind of justice, unless the soul by its own nature always resists these things within them; nor can they even take joy in their own works. But whoever has the qualities mentioned above is well-disposed in all they do. And through food their flesh and blood grow. and through them he himself is strengthened. so that even Jonathan, whose eyes had previously been dimmed by the weakness of his body—^✦²⁹ they recovered their sharp sight when, through the taste of honey — which, because of the air that had passed over it, had greater strength than other honey — he was strengthened.³⁰ Question. Since evil thoughts frequently go forth from the human heart,^✦³¹ how can it be known which ones arise from the corruption of our own depravity, and which are stirred up through the instigation of evil angels? Solution. The thoughts that are fixed so deeply in human hearts from the first original sin— since through them people are stirred in flesh and blood and in their own veins toward pleasure. those are human. but the airy thoughts that people long to hold in their hearts— and they desire to know things that are impossible, because they cannot be done—those are vain. since on every side they fly about uselessly like air. Concerning these thoughts it is also written:^✦ The Lord knows the thoughts of human beings, that they are vain.

Spiritual and Bodily Sight

Hildegard explains how spiritual and corporeal eyes perceive differently, how faith comes through hearing, and then poses a question about the nature of hellfire.

What is said. The human being who moves through the world by reason, and who knows those things that he recognizes through seeing and touching by experience, always investigates the hidden things that pertain to the soul. And those things which he cannot grasp through bodily sensibility, he examines. But evil thoughts, which are inflicted on a human being through the devil's cunning, go out from his heart and mouth. They are the devil's food. Since through them he swallows souls into his own belly, just as a human being swallows food — when through his own deception he makes them, through faithlessness toward God and his precepts, contradict him. And when he has thus despoiled them of these things. Although many, persevering through holy works and through pure faith with God, overcome him strongly through the grace of God. Question. Are physical things seen with spiritual eyes? And conversely, are some spiritual things recognized through physical eyes? Answer. The spiritual eyes are the knowledge of the rational soul, which by no means can see physical things as they are. In the same way, a blind person doesn't see with the outer eyes, but understands and recognizes only through hearing about the things that are seen. Physical eyes also don't have the capacity to perceive spiritual things perfectly. But they are seen as the form of a person is seen in a mirror — in which the person is not present.^✦ In this way, a person sees and comes to know spiritual things through hearing words in faith. For no spirit can appear to a person just as it is in its own nature. Because it is itself the living breath from God. And it strengthens its tunic — that is, the body — by giving it life. And it never stops working with it. And when it has departed from the body, it will be either in the light of blessedness or in the darkness of punishments. Question. The fire of hell is bodily.

Fires of Hell, Purgatory, and the Knowledge of Souls

Hellfire is described as invisible and not composed of ordinary elements, with purgatorial fire distinguished from it, and then the saints in heaven and the damned in hell are said to know earthly things.

Or is it incorporeal? But if, as many of the faithful think, it is corporeal— is it then to be believed to consist of the matter of the four elements? Answer: Not at all. Because that fire does not come from these elements, nor does this fire come from that one. And that fire is invisible. Bodily and spiritual punishments are not equal. So the body is unlike the soul, and the soul is not equal to the body. Bodily punishments cause the body to wither and die. And in the spiritual fire of hell, spirits and souls are tormented. Yet they don't die in that fire. There's also a purgatorial fire, in which souls destined to live are both punished and kept alive. It's not kindled from the fire of hell. But it rises through God's judgment, according to people's sins — something that, when it was shown in a vision, left many who witnessed it utterly stunned.³² Question. The saints who are in heaven. And the impious who are in hell. Do they know the things that are done on earth? Answer. The saints in the heavenly homeland know everything that happens on earth. Because either in the judgment of God or in the resounding praises of the angels, all the things that are done on earth are made manifest before God.³³ The impious as well, who never turned from their sins or amended them through penitence, recognize the evil things from the scorn with which they mock their own followers.³⁴³⁵ And from the wailing with which they wail over the blessed who do not follow them, they come to understand what is good. Question. Parables told in various ways in the Gospels. Such as the one about the man who fell among robbers.^✦ The one about the king who held a wedding feast for his son.^✦ The one about the ten virgins.^✦ And others. Did these things happen according to the truth of the deed itself?

Parables, Abraham’s Bosom, and Saint Martin’s Fire

Christ’s parables are said to confront vices and virtues, Abraham’s bosom and Lazarus’s finger signify obedience, and Saint Martin’s fiery appearance reveals the Holy Spirit’s work in humble love.

Or are they presented only through likeness, merely to point to something else? Solution. Christ put forward his parables for people because of the spiritual vices by which they are often deceived. And also because of the virtues by which they fight victoriously against those vices. So that through them they might recognize that he himself would judge them for their evil deeds. And would grant rewards for their good deeds. Question. When, according to the soul, Abraham and Lazarus are in refreshment and the rich man is in hell.^✦ What is Abraham's bosom? What is Lazarus's finger? And what is the rich man's tongue to be believed as? Answer: Abraham's bosom signifies the obedience he showed to God through the sacrifice of his own son and through circumcision. Because obedience preserves and sustains all good things. So a fold also contains whatever has been gathered together. And Lazarus's finger is understood as the ministry of obedience, which is the material of God's precepts. Because it teaches all good things. just as a person points to what they want with their finger. But the tongue expresses its own desire, which gives rise to feasts of carnal desires. because, just as all foods are distinguished by kind through the taste of the tongue, so too is a person's will recognized through the tongue. Question. What particular merit is signified by the fact that, as is found in the books of Gregory, bishop of Tours, Saint Martin was so often shown in the appearance of fire? Solution. God almighty, who is love and strength. had flooded the soul of blessed Martin with the fiery outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And so, on account of the merits of humility, devotion, and mercy — through which he had always looked upon the living God with a contrite heart.³⁶ he appeared so often in fire. Question. In what kind of body did blessed Nicholas appear to watchful sailors and to those asleep — both Constantine and the prefect — since he had not done this in his own body? But Peter and Paul and the other saints, whose bodies are buried in the earth, become visible to those asleep or awake. In which or what kind of body do they come?

How Saints Appear and the Good Intention of God

Hildegard explains that saints appear in changeable forms so that humans, who are both body and spirit, can perceive them, and she closes by pointing to the good intention of God signified in them.

Solution. If this spiritual vision didn't appear to people, they wouldn't understand what it was, nor would they even believe it, because they themselves are, in two natures, body and spirit. The form of God — that is, humanity — whose one part is changeable and the other unchangeable. they could never see the unchangeable spirit, unless the unchangeable form appeared. Because a changeable form is brought to life only through the Spirit. Just as a horn sounds through its sound and not through itself. For in the good intention that God had signified in those holy people, it also corresponded to the good intention of these people's lives, just as people look at the signs in the sky.³⁷

Read the original Latin

Responsum hildegardis. Caritas quę cum abstinentia peccatorum fidem instruit. et castitatem cum pacientia edificat! columpnę quę quatuor partes domus sustinet similis est. Ipsa enim caritas plantauerat hortum ualde gloriosum cum preciosissimis aromatibus et nobilissimis floribus rosis et lilijs qui suauissimum odorem spirabant. in quibus uerus salomon oculos suos pascere solebat. Hortus iste uirtutes sanctas designat! quas deus qui uera caritas est in uirga iesse operatus est.

Maria uidelicet quę in castitate floruit! et nobilissimum florem protulit. De flore isto uox turturis audita est. quę uirginalem naturam uocauit quam lilium significat! quod in suo stipite candidos flores cum flagrantia gratissimi odoris emittit. sicut et ipsa uirginitas propter dulcissimum odorem bonę intentionis in mundo honoratur. Heremitę quoque siue monachi qui propter christum seculo renunciauerunt. sine societate secularis pompę uiuere debent sicut uirgo post uotum sine memoria uiri.

quia uirgines et monachi inter angelicos ordines idem sunt. quoniam sicut angeli nichil aliud quam faciem dei inspicere desiderant. sic et ipsi omnibus pompis secularibus abiectis. agnum dei christum scilicet crucem eius baiulantes secuntur. in quibus propter uerum contemptum seculi rutilantes flores passionis dominicę generant. Nunc o fili dei in ualle uere humilitatis positus. in quiete bona ambula sine elatione quę precipiti monti assimilata difficilem et uelut impossibilem ascensum uel descensum prebet innitentibus. et in cuius summitate nullum edificium construi potest.

Homo enim qui temptat altius ascendere quam possit peruenire. ille nomen sanctitatis absque securitate possidet! quia solo nomine sine edificio bonorum operum et quadam inepta leticia mentis gloriatur. Tu enim gloriosissimum hortum quem caritas plantauit aspice. et unamquamque uirtutem in uera humilitate et simplicitate cordis ad te collige. et licet inter uarias mentes hominum constitutus sis. disce tamen quam longanimiter et pacienter omnes nos diuina bonitas tolerat. Fuge etiam inconstantiam pigri serui qui hodie uni domino.

cras alteri seruit. et gladio uerbi dei uiriliter accingere exemplo fortissimorum militum! qui lectum ueri salomonis ambientes custodiunt. Mentis quoque tuę sinceritatem cum uigilantibus oculis deo omnipotenti ne in dubio dormire incipias iterum atque iterum commenda. et esto probus et dilectus miles ueri salomonis quem pro uictoria cottidianę pugnę diligit. et coronat. Spiritus sanctus igne sui amoris te accendat. ut in amore seruitij sui indeficiens perseueres.

quatenus uiuus lapis celestis ierusalem quandoque fieri merearis. Questio. Quomodo intelligendum est quod legitur. qui uiuit in eternum. creauit omnia simul. cum per sex dies opera sua deus distribuisse referatur. Solutio. Omnipotens deus qui sine inicio et sine fine uita est.

et qui omnia in scientia sua eternaliter habuit. materiam omnium celestium et terrestrium simul creauit. celum scilicet lucidam materiam et terram quę turbulenta materia erat. Ista uero lucida materia de claritate quę eternitas est sicut spissa lux fulminabat. quę etiam super turbulenta materia lucebat. ita quod ei adiuncta erat. et istę duę materię simul creatę sunt. et unus circulus apparuerunt.

In primo namque fiat. angeli de predicta lucida materia cum eorum habitaculo processerunt. quia deus. deus et homo est. ad faciem patris angelos creauit. et hominem de quo tunica induendus erat ad imaginem et similitudinem suam formauit. Sic quoque ad imperium omnipotentis dei cum diceret fiat. quelibet creatura de turbulenta materia secundum speciem naturę suę apparuit.

Sex enim dies sex opera sunt. quia inceptio et completio singuli cuiusque operis dies dicitur. Post creationem etiam primę materię nulla mora fuit. sed mox quasi in ictu oculi spiritus domini ferebatur super aquas. nec etiam postea mora aliqua erat. sed deus ilico dixit. fiat lux. Questio.

Quid est quod scriptum est. diuisit deus aquas quę erant super firmamentum ab his quę erant super firmamento? Numquid credendum est materiales aquas super firmamentum esse? Solutio. Deus aquas quę super firmamentum erant. ab his quę sub firmamento erant ideo diuisit. ut sicut inferiores aquę terrenis constitutionibus assunt. ita etiam et superiores aquę superioribus constitutionibus adessent.

In aquis enim superioribus nichil est quod crescat aut deficiat. sicut in istis inferioribus aquis in quibus quicquid uiuit hoc quemadmodum homo crescit et deficit. sed illę superiores aquę in primo statu suo sicut deus eas constituit persistunt et in circulo suo fluunt. et materiales sunt. non tamen ut aquę inferiores. quoniam multo subtiliores et nostris uisibus omnino inuisibiles existunt. quarum humiditate et ignis ibi extantis calore desuper firmamentum solidatur. uelut corpus per animam subsistit ne dissoluatur.

Aquę uero inferiores istę desub firmamento grossiores. speculum sunt celestium luminarium solis scilicet lunę et stellarum quę infinita diuersarum specierum animalia continent. quę in eis nascuntur et subsistunt. ideoque officia superiorum et inferiorum aquarum in cunctis dissimilia sunt. Questio. Antequam primus homo peccaret. uidebat ipse corporeis oculis deum. uel uisuri sumus nos eum corporeis oculis.

cum secundum apostolum corpora spiritalia in resurrectione receperimus? Solutio. In resurrectione cum homo corpus spiritale receperit. et cum idem corpus animę inseparabiliter unitum fuerit. splendidam faciem sanctę diuinitatis cum angelis sine fine intuebitur. Adam namque qui ita sapiens et perfectus a deo formatus erat. quod scientia et sapientia super omnes homines repletus fuit. deum in diuinitate sua sicuti est numquam uidebat.

sed quandam claritatem de uultu eius procedentem exterioribus oculis uidit. in qua eum uerum deum esse ueraciter cognouit. Sicut enim ante peccatum cum adhuc anima ipsius corpori suo dominaretur. oculis suis qui per innocentiam tunc spiritales fuerunt. predictam claritatem inspexit. quod postea facere non potuit. quia uisionem istam in paradyso post peccatum statim perdidit. cum oculi eius in preuaricatione precepti dei quod ante cognouit.

per carnale desiderium aperti sunt. Questio. Quo genere locutionis usus est deus. et in qua specie primo homini apparuit. cum preceptum ei dedit. et in qua cum post peccatum in paradyso deambulauit? Solutio. Omnipotens deus angelicis uerbis adę locutus est.

quę ipse bene cognouit et intellexit. Per sapientiam enim suam quam a deo acceperat. et etiam per spiritum prophetię omnes linguas quę per homines postmodum inuentę sunt tunc in scientia sua habuit. ac naturas omnium creaturarum ad plenum nouit. Dominus etiam cum inestimabili claritate ipsi apparuit. in qua nullius creaturę forma fuit. et iterum post peccatum deambulans in paradyso in flamma ignis apparuit. Questio.

Quid est hoc quod dominus dixit. ecce adam quasi unus ex nobis factus est. sciens bonum et malum? Solutio. Hoc tale est. Adam per scientiam boni et mali aliquid commune nobiscum habuit sed bonum in scientia boni deseruit. malum in scientia mali cum gustu uetiti ligni elegit. Et iterum.

Adam a nobis alienatus quia bonum quod prius experimento cognouit. per consilium serpentis contempsit. et per gustum delectationis malum prius inexpertum illi consentiendo perfecit. Et iterum dixit. Uidete ne forte sumat de ligno uitę. et uiuat in eternum. Hoc deus ideo dixit. quia in magna misericordia super opus suum scilicet hominem qui peccauerat mouebatur.

ne ipse a gloria sic mutatus. miserabiliter in eternum uiueret. et eum hoc modo quemadmodum pater filium suum qui ab eo discedere uult ad se misericorditer traxit. Ipse enim hominem quem indumentum uerbi sui presciuit ualde diligebat. unde etiam omnem creaturam ad seruicium suum creauit. et eum in locum unde ille lucidus uelut cadauer in mortem cecidit deputabat. Questio. Quales oculi primis parentibus aperti sunt.

cum ante peccatum ambo uiderent? Vnde dicitur. Uidit mulier lignum et cetera. Solutio. Primi parentes ante originale peccatum anima per innocentiam corpori dominante spiritales oculos habebant. sed ipsis post peccatum spiritali uisione eorundem oculorum priuatis atque per conditionem peccati mortalibus effectis. carnales oculi aperti sunt. ita quod per scientiam mali opera peccatorum uidendo et cognoscendo secundum desideria carnis diabolo suadente faciebant.

Sic etiam omnem gloriam quam prius habuerant ita obliuioni tradiderunt. quod uix aliqua eorum recolebant. sicut homo qui rem aliquam de longe conspiciens uix considerare potest quid sit. et sicut etiam umbra pertransit quę in speculo uidetur. Questio. Quid est quod dominus dicit ad noe et ad filios eius sanguinem animarum uestrarum requiram de manu cunctarum bestiarum. et de manu hominis. et paulo post quicumque effuderit humanum sanguinem effundetur sanguis eius.

Solutio. Deus post nouissimum diem in resurrectione per indumentum hominis de manu. id est de mobili natura cunctarum bestiarum sanguinem animarum noę et filiorum eius ac totius humani generis qui sedes animę est requiret. quoniam ipse non uult. ut anima alio corpore aut sanguine induatur. nisi illo quem ipsa calefecit et qui sedes ipsius fuit. Ipse enim in potenti prescientia sua qua hominem de limo terrę spiraculum uitę quod anima est cum carne et sanguine formandum ut eum postea formabat presciuit. in eadem prescientia sua eum etiam resurrecturum requiret.

De manu etiam hominis sanguinem animarum requiret. ita scilicet ut homo ille qui proximum suum comprimendo animam suam emittere facit. per macerationem carnis et sanguinis sui in penitentia cum merore plangentis uocis ad deum creatorem suum semper clamet. quoniam animam illius quem ipse creauerat uulneribus mortis exire coegit. Quicumque autem effuderit humanum sanguinem hoc quasi pro uano ducens sine labore emissi sudoris. super hunc iudicium dei uel per ferrum uel per paupertatem. uel diuitiarum suarum amissionem. et si non super eum qui reus sanguinis factus est.

super filios tamen eius et nepotes inducetur. Questio. Qualia corpora habuerunt angeli qui apparuerunt abrahę quibus similam uitulum butirum et lac apposuit et comederunt? Solutio. Tres angeli qui apparuerunt abrahę sedenti ad ostium tabernaculi in humana forma apparuerunt. quia ut sunt ab homine nullo modo uideri possunt. Immutabilem quidem spiritum mutabilis homo uidere non potest. et hoc est inobedientia ade qui spiritalibus oculis in paradyso priuatus in omne genus humanum cecitatem suam transduxit.

Omnis creatura quod homo est umbram suam habet quę hominem in indeficientem uitam renouandum esse significat. Et sicut umbra hominis imaginem suam ostendit. sic et angeli qui naturaliter hominibus inuisibiles sunt. per corpora quę de aere sumunt eis ad quos mittuntur in humana forma uisibiles apparent moribus illorum se aliquantulum contemperantes. non angelicis loquelis. sed talibus uerbis quę intelligere possint eis locuntur. ipsique ut homines comedentes. sed eorum cibus euanescit tamquam ros qui super gramen cadens a calore solis in momento dissoluitur.

Maligni uero spiritus specie cuiuslibet naturę ad seducendos homines utuntur eius creaturę naturam considerantes quę uicio illi comparetur per quod hominem quem impugnant superare possint. quemadmodum temptator euam per serpentem seduxit. Questio. Cur abraham et iacob. ille seruo iste filio preceperunt. ut iuraturi manus suas sub femoribus eorum ponerent? Solutio. Abraham qui ad preceptum domini patriam et cognationem suam reliquit per uulnus carnis suę quod signaculum fidei fuit tanquam gloriosus signifer ad prelium contra uicia pugnaturus processit.

Ipse enim per gratiam spiritus sancti uexillum sanctitatis pre ceteris portabat. et per fidem operum suorum priuilegium summę sanctitatis obtinuit. unde in iuramento sub femore sanctam humanitatem christi presignauit. qui antiquo consilio omnipotentis dei de semine ipsius descendet. per humanitatem suam consilium antiqui serpentis hominem liberando destruxit. Questio. Quare in spelunca duplici quam emit abraham a filijs heth sancti patriarchę tanto desiderio sepeliri uoluerunt? Solutio.

Per speluncam duplicem quam in sepulturam abrahę sibi precio comparauit uetus lex et noua figuratur. quia sicut anima in corpore. sic noua lex in ueteri latebat. et in his duabus mors quę per mulierem subintrauit in mundum sepulta est. Sancti uero patriarchę in eadem spelunca sepeliri desiderabant. quia spiritu prophetię attacti sacramentum nouę legis in ueteri cognouerunt. ut etiam in uirga aaron quę floruit sacramentum filij dei in redemptione hominis latebat. quoniam in creatura creatorem cognouerunt.

ut etiam in sacrificio agnorum et arietum christus passurus significabatur. Questio. Fuitne uerus ignis qui moysi in rubo apparuit. et rubum non combussit. uel qui in monte synai resplenduit. uel qui in die pentecostes super discipulos in linguarum modum cecidit. uel qui super caput beati Martini sacramenta celebrantis apparuit? Questio.

Ignis qui moysi de medio rubi flammantis et non ardentis uisus est. spiritus sanctus fuisse credendus est. scintillę uero prosilientes diuersarum dona uirtutum. Uaria quidem huius ignis apparitio nequaquam de superiorum elementorum coruscatione descendit. sed igne qui uita est. et qui sibi adherentia non exurendo dissipat. sed uiuificando confirmat. Solutio.

Quid est quod in libro regum de archa dicitur. in archa non aliud est nisi tabulę testamenti. et in epistola ad hebreos legitur post uelamentum aliud tabernaculum quod dicitur sancta sanctorum aureum habens thuribulum. et archam testamenti circumtectam ex omni parte auro in qua urna habens manna et uirga aaron quę fronduerat et tabulę testamenti? Solutio. Qui dixit non aliud in archa populo israelitico in magna ueneratione habita contineri quam tabulas testamenti. ille nec plus in ea esse cognoscebat. nec etiam plus inde scire querebat.

Paulus uero qui ob spiritus sui profundam scientiam diuina gratia reuelante plus alijs sapiebat. quid amplius in archa secreti seruaretur plenius edocuit. Questio. Numquid uere credendus est samuel surrexisse ad inuocationem phitonissę. Solutio. Saul qui propter peccata sua a deo reprobatus et derelictus fuit euentum futuri prelij per phitonissam scire uolebat. unde samuelem a mortuis sibi euocari precepit qui ei indicaret quod querebat. Sed hoc nullo modo fieri potuit quia impossibile esset ut sanctus et iustus homo post mortem mendacium loqueretur.

cum nulla fidelis uel infidelis anima a corpore soluta mendacium loqui possit. Animę namque samuelis et saulis equalem mansionem habere non possunt. quia samuel fidelis amicus dei fuit. et saul preceptorum eius rebellis preuaricator extitit. Diabolus etiam hominem per nullius hominis animam decipere potest. sed per fantasiam et per formam alicuius creaturę eum decipit. Saul enim regnum cum uita amisit quia a deo recesserat. sicut etiam adam propter preuaricationem a gloria paradysi nudatus filius mortis effectus est.

ideoque quod inquirebat apud deum optinere non potuit. Questio. Quid est quod paulus dicit. Si linguis hominum et angelorum loquar? Quę sunt linguę angelorum? Solutio. Angeli qui spiritus sunt. nisi propter hominem uerbis racionalitatis non loquuntur.

quoniam linguę eorum sonans laus sunt. Homo enim qui omnia quę sonant per sonum eorum cognoscit. iocunditatem cordis sui in sono uocis quam cum spiramine animę leuat ostendit. Questio. Quę est longitudo et latitudo. et sublimitas et profundum. quę ab effesijs comprehendant cum omnibus sanctis. Solutio.

Per longitudinem istam diuina essentia quę sine fine et inicio est. intelligitur. quoniam ipsa ab opere suo quod inicium habet in nulla ascensione ullius scientię comprehendi potest. Per latitudinem uero infinita potestas dei significatur. quę a nullo incepit. et quę proficiendo non augetur nec deficiendo minuitur. Per sublimitatem namque claritas sanctę diuinitatis quę numquam clarescere incepit. et cuius fulgor numquam transibit accipienda est.

Per profundum autem designatur. quod deus in his tribus predictis uiribus contra abyssum aquilonis qui in potestate sua sunt. et qui nequaquam ei resistere ualet pugnat. in cuius claritate omnes sancti comprehenduntur qui eum amauerunt et cum eo in bona perseuerantia ministerij sui cum fide et operibus perstiterunt. Questio. Quid est quod apostolus dicit. in ipso mouemur uiuimus et sumus? Solutio.

In ipso cum elementis mouemur quibus ita utimur quod omnia quę ad usum nostrum pertinent ab eis querimus. in ipso etiam illuminati et per spiraculum uitę uiuificati uiuimus. per quod eum deum ac creatorem nostrum esse cognoscimus. In ipso etiam sumus quia finem uitę in anima qualiacumque merita ipsius sint numquam habebimus per quam cum omni sensualitate nostra cum elementis et in elementis sicut uentus uolamus et mouemur. Questio. Quid est quod idem dicit. nocte ac die in profundo maris fui? Solutio.

Paulus labores suos adtendens uerba ista in merore dixit. per ea ostendens. quod ex permissione dei in erumpnis et laboribus fuit. quasi in periculis tempestatum et fluctuum maris quod numquam inundare cessat esset. Deus etiam uoluit ut per tenebras deceptionis diaboli fatigaretur et quod magna inquiete infirmitatum temperaretur quę tamen omnia ab ipso confortatus fideliter et pacienter passus est. Questio. Quid est quod dicit. ego minimus apostolorum cum plus omnibus laborauerit?

Solutio. Paulus se minimum uocat quia cum christo qui sine peccato in humana forma apparuit ut ceteri discipuli non erat. et quia etiam per filium dei in spiritali uisione cum anima eius nec pleniter in corpore nec pleniter extra corpus esset ad fidem quam numquam discere nec scire desiderabat coactus est. Questio. Quid est quod idem dicit. omne peccatum quodcumque fecerit homo extra corpus est. qui autem fornicatur in corpus suum peccat? Solutio.

Omne peccatum quod homo cum sensualitate per uolantem scientiam suam diabolo suadente in alium hominem operatur diabolica arte agitur. quę discordiam inter homines eos ad iram et odium incitando seminat. et ideo illud extra corpus est. qui autem in calore carnis suę cum incesto desiderio in uenis et in medullis motus per fornicationem seipsum tamdiu incitat et uulnerat quousque fessus fuerit ille in corpus suum peccat. Questio. A die resurrectionis usque ad diem ascensionis quando dominus inter discipulos non erat ubi fuisse credendus est? Solutio. Deus qui per humanitatem suam apud nos uisibiliter manendo totam terram miraculis suis repleuit post resurrectionem suam per illos quadraginta dies eadem humanitate sua quam de spiritu sancto conceptam ex Maria uirgine sibi assumpsit.

omnia elementa quę per preuaricationem primi hominis immundiciam contraxerant mundauit. Animę quoque sanctorum et saluandorum quas multitudine angelorum comitatus cum uictorioso uexillo potestatis suę captiuas de inferno redemerat in aere ubi omnia sanctificauit secum manebant. Questio. Quid est quod de domino scriptum est. et accesserunt angeli et ministrabant ei? In quo ministrauerunt uel quale ministerium exhibuerunt ei? Solutio. Cum diabolus se a christo ita separatum cognouit.

ut nulla suggestione eum tangere posset. tunc eum reliquit et ab eo fugiebat ut homo ab inimico suo a quo occidi timet fugit. et mox angeli in laudibus miraculorum sanctę diuinitatis sonabant. quoniam humanitas quę in prothoplastis deuicta fuerat in paradyso. in christo homine omnia diaboli temptamenta uictoriose superauit. et ita ipsi uni quem deum et hominem esse sciebant in laudibus ministrabant. Questio. Cum nouę animę de nichilo nouiter creatę prouidentia creatoris in uteris matrum corpuscula paruulorum animarum credantur.

qua racione originalis peccati maculam contrahunt. et qua iusticia puniuntur? Solutio. Sicut uas figuli quod ueneno perfusum est omnia quę in illud mittuntur cum periculo immundicię inficit. sic omnis caro hominum per carnem primi hominis conmaculata et infecta existit. nisi per mundam carnem filij dei quam ex Maria uirgine induit in baptismo et penitentia mundetur. Anima enim ex forma quam deus in utero matris ad hoc format ut spiraculum uitę ad hoc mittat per consilium serpentis quo primus homo deceptus est peccati maculam pro qua punitur sibi contrahit quę per antiquum consilium sanctę diuinitatis in filio dei per fidem et baptismum abluitur. Qui autem sine fide et sine baptismo carnalia desideria omni studio perfecerit.

et de hoc penitentiam non agit. ille cum his qui per christum redempti non sunt in perditione permanebit. Questio. Cum dominus in euangelio de seipso dicat. ego ex deo processi et ueni. et de spiritu sancto. Spiritus qui a patre procedit. inter processionem filij.

et processionem spiritus sancti quę differentia est. ut ille dicatur filius quod dici non debet. nec recte dici potest spiritus sanctus? Inter generationem filij et processionem spiritus sancti quę distinctio cum utraque ex patre sit? Solutio. Pater meus potestas est. et ego sonans uerbum suum ab eo processi quando omnes creaturas per me creauit. et spiritus sanctus ab ipso scilicet patre meo processit.

quando ego in uterum uirginis cuius caro serpentina deceptione uulnerata non est descendebam. et humanitatem ex ipsa de eodem spiritu sancto conceptam indui. Igneus enim spiritus sanctus qui ignea uita et uera accensio et equalis uita in eternitate est et per quem omnes formę quę per filium dei formatę sunt inuisibiliter mouentur. in uirginem quę creatura est a patre processit. uterumque illius igne suo ita accendebat. ut ipsa per eum impregnata uerbum dei per quod omnes creaturę factę sunt sine carnali patre genuerit. Sicut enim forma hominis uidetur. et anima eius carnalibus oculis uideri non potest.

et tamen in duabus naturis unus homo est. sic filius dei qui in utero uirginis de spiritu sancto conceptus homo factus est in humanitate sua ab omni carne uidebatur et in deitate sua inuisibilis est et etiam in duabus naturis scilicet humanitatis et deitatis suę unus deus existit. Questio. Quid est quod paulus dicit. se in paradysum et usque in tercium celum raptum nescire siue in corpore siue extra corpus hoc factum sit. utrum e corpore cum anima eius ad ista raperetur exiuit. an in corpore manens et illud uiuificans ad ista peruenit? Solutio.

Paulus in extasi per racionalem animam quo christus eam uocabat uolauit ut homo qui dormit in multis per somnia circuit. ita tamen quod ipsa interim sanguinem in carne illius calefecit ne per frigus coagulatus exsiccaretur quemadmodum sol qui in altitudine stat per uires suas cum splendore suo a longe lucet et ardet. Ipse miracula firmamenti ut deus illud constituit conspiciendo penetrauit. et ipse etiam usque ad tercium celum id est usque ad claritatem illam raptus est quę de claritate quę sancta diuinitas est fulminat et in qua beatę animę requiescunt. et ibi tantam fortitudinem a deo suscepit. qua nequaquam ultra dubitare potuit. Sed ubi sancta diuinitas ardet et ubi angeli qui ut fulgor solis sunt. et ubi etiam alij angeli qui ut splendor ignis apparent.

qui immutabilem diuinitatem quę sine inicio et fine est intuentur non uenit. quoniam ea quemadmodum aquila superiorem ignem sufferre non posset. Ipse etiam in splendore angelorum qui cum hominibus officia sua faciunt in paradysum uenit ubi omnia archana quę per animam uidit pleniter cognouit. et ea corpore ita sensit. ut sciret in scientia sua illa homini importabilia esse qui cinis est. et ideo omnibus prophetis sapientior existit quorum prophetia quam in umbra uidebant melli apium quod ad multas utilitates multiplicatur similis fuit. Omnia namque quę anima uidit corpore sensit unde in dubio dimisit. utrum illam in corpore an extra corpus uideret.

et ideo etiam omnia uerba illius profunda et acuta et calibi similia sunt. Deus uero mox ut anima in corpus suum reuersa resedit eum ualde domabat. quoniam feroces mores habuit. ne in proprietate sua disceret. quę ad altitudinem spiritus sancti non pertinerent. Questio. Gratia dei et liberum arbitrium quid habent commune quid proprium? Solutio.

Liberum arbitrium in anima est quę spiraculum a deo existit et quam deus ad formam facturę suę creat et per quam homo se deum habere sentit siue fidelis siue infidelis in quacumque professione uel opinione sit qui in scientia sua malum eligendo ad illud se declinat quemadmodum adam fecit qui preceptum dei sciuit. et per consilium serpentis ad malum declinauit. Gratia dei et liberum arbitrium hoc commune habent quod homo in scientia boni et mali utrumque et bonum et malum ad operandum eligere potest. et quod per proprietatem liberi arbitrij secundum gustum et desiderium carnis quę numquam coactus dimittere potest elegerit hoc diabolo adiuuante perficit. et quod secundum uoluntatem animę elegerit. hoc gratia spiritus sancti adiuuante perficit. Questio. Quomodo intelligendum est quod dicitur.

omnia in pondere et mensura et numero constituisti? Solutio. Deus omnia tabernacula corporum nostrorum in recta mensura ita constituit ut nullum eorum illos qui in ipsis habitant pondere aut latitudine excedant. ut etiam sol luna ignis aer aqua terra in firmamento equali pondere numero et mensura constituta sunt. et ut homo qui omnis creatura est in recta mensura consistit. quia omnia membra eius per animam ita impleta sunt quod ipse quamdiu anima in eo est nec arescere nec deficere potest. Superbia uero quę super omnia quę deus constituit uolat. et quę deum spernit nec eum cognoscere nec adorare uult.

et quę de omnibus creaturis suis exul cadit mors est. et nullam rectam mensuram habet quoniam omnia quę deus in prouidentia et sapientia sua recte disposuit et constituit dispergit. Questio. Quę et qualis est armonia illa elementorum de qua dicitur. In se elementa dum conuertuntur sicut in organo qualitatis sonus immutant. et omnia suum sonum custodiunt. Numquid ad hoc pertinet quod dominus dicit. et concentum celi qui dormire facit?

Solutio. De torrente itinere superioris etheris per quem firmamentum euoluitur sonus elementorum iocundus et gloriosus existit ut etiam simphonialis uox spiritus hominis in uita sua dulcis est. quia unumquodque elementum secundum quod constitutum est a deo sonum habet. qui omnes sicut sonus chordarum et cytharę in unum coniuncti sonant. Concentus uero celi ad armoniam elementorum quę cum homine commutabuntur non pertinet. ut etiam sol qui in firmamento positus est mundo isti et non summo celo lucet. Questio. Quomodo intelligendum est.

Fons ascendebat de terra irrigans uniuersam superficiem terrę. Solutio. Ex precepto dei fons in terra uoluptatis ascendebat qui eam cum omnibus fructibus suis absque diuersitate commutationis ut primum a creatore constituta est. irrigat. quia ipsa uicissitudinem estatis et hiemis et aliarum tempestatum quę in terra nostra sunt et quę instabilibus moribus hominum similes sunt non habet. Sicut enim per splendorem solis luna obtegitur. sic et in splendore claritatis huius immutabilis terrę sol luna et stellę obnubilantur in qua nichil est quod mortale sit. et quę etiam nichil mortale recipit.

et si aliquid in eam ueniret quod mortale esset hoc per uires eius uelut per aquam morte suffocaretur. Terra autem in qua ardor solis tantus est quod guttas pluuię sicut magnus et fortis ignis guttas aquarum quę in eum funduntur calore suo exsiccat per aquam irrigatur quę de fonte qui in paradyso ascendebat fluit et qui stabilem ascensionem sanctarum uirtutum quę per ignem spiritus sancti accensę sunt significat. Questio. Cum enoch et helias in terreno paradyso corporaliter translati esse credantur numquid in loco tantę felicitatis corporeo cibo et indumento egere credendi sunt? Solutio. Deus in prouidentia sua de enoch et helia ordinauerat quod in loco illo esse deberent ubi nec cibo nec potu nec etiam uestitu indigerent. et sic omnis qui in miraculis dei raptus fuerit quamdiu in illis moratur istis quę mortalibus assunt non utitur. Questio.

Quid est quod de ionatha dicitur cum comedisset de melle. illuminati sunt oculi eius? Solutio. Ionathas pingui et fructiferę terrę quę per aratrum facile euertitur. et quę etiam inarata sepe utiles herbas germinat similis erat. quoniam mitis in moribus suis fuit. et non in iudicijs quę uera et iusta erant sine ira et sine odio libenter affirmabat. Quicumque enim tales mores habet illius humores per omnes cibos quibus reficitur in cerebro in uenis et in medullis sani et optimi sunt quoniam in ipso per melancoliam ira et tristicia cum uicissitudine diuersorum morum non surgunt.

quoniam donum dei illi adest. et eum quemadmodum ros super quod cadit germinare et uirescere facit. Qui autem per melancoliam infirmatur. hic durę terrę quę uix per aratrum euertitur similis est. quoniam in moribus suis iram tristiciam et contradictionem omnis iusticię habet nisi per naturam animę sibimetipsi semper resistat nec etiam leticiam in operibus suis habere potest. Sed qui predictos mores habet. ille in omnibus operibus suis beniuolus est. et per cibos caro et sanguis illius crescunt.

et ipse per eos confortatur. ut etiam ionathas cuius oculi pre imbecillitate corporis sui prius turbidi erant. acutum uisum receperunt quando per gustum mellis quod per aerem qui super eo uolauit maiores uires alio melle habuit confortatus est. Questio. Cum ex corde humano cogitationes malę frequenter exeant. quomodo sciri potest quę ex corruptione nostrę prauitatis oriantur. uel quę malorum angelorum immissione moueantur? Solutio.

Cogitationes quę ex primo originali peccato cordibus hominum ita infixę sunt. quod ipsi per eas in carne et sanguine et in uenis suis ad delectationem mouentur. illę humanę sunt. sed aerię cogitationes quibus homines in cordibus suis habere optant. et scire desiderant quę impossibilia sunt quia fieri non possunt illę uanę sunt. quoniam undique ut aer inutiliter uolant. De istis quoque cogitationibus scriptum est. Dominus scit cogitationes hominum quoniam uanę sunt.

Quod dicitur. Homo qui per racionalitatem uolat et qui ea scit quę cum experimento uidendo et tangendo cognoscit semper illa occulta quę ad animam pertinent. et quę pre corporali sensibilitate comprehendere non ualet scrutatur. Malę autem cogitationes quę ex diabolica arte homini immissę ex corde et ore ipsius exeunt. esca diaboli sunt. quoniam ipse per eas animas sicut homo in uentrem suum escam deglutit cum eas in deceptione sua per infidelitatem deo et preceptis eius contradicere facit. et cum sic de ipsis exspoliat. licet multi per sancta opera et per puram fidem cum deo persistentes ipsum per gratiam dei fortiter superent.

Questio. Numquid spiritalibus oculis corporalia uidentur. et e diuerso corporalibus oculis aliqua spiritalia cognoscuntur? Solutio. Spiritales oculi scientia racionalis animę sunt qui nequaquam corporalia ut sunt uidere possunt. sicut etiam cecus exterioribus oculis non uidet sed quod tantum per auditum quę uidentur intelligit et cognoscit. Corporales etiam oculi possibilitatem non habent ut spiritalia perfecte intueantur. sed ut forma hominis in speculo in quo non est uidetur.

sic homo ea quę spiritalia sunt per auditum uerborum in fide uidet et cognoscit. Nullus enim spiritus sicut in natura sua est homini apparere potest. quia ipse uiuens spiraculum a deo est. et qui tunicam suam scilicet corpus uiuificando confortat. et cum eo operari non cessat. qui etiam cum ab eo discesserit uel in lumine beatitudinis uel in tenebris penarum erit. Questio. Ignis gehennę corporeus est.

an incorporeus? Si autem ut sentiunt multi fideles corporeus est. numquid de materia quatuor elementorum esse credendus est? Solutio. Nequaquam. quia nec ille de his elementis. nec hic ignis ab illo. et ille inuisibilis.

Corporales et spiritales penę equales non sunt. ut etiam corpus animę dissimile et ut anima corpori equalis non est. quia ex corporalibus penis corpus arescit et moritur. et in spiritali igne gehennę spiritus et animę torquentur. nec tamen in ipsis moriuntur. Ignis quoque purgatorius in quo saluandę animę uiuunt et puniuntur. de igne gehennę accensus non est. sed per iudicium dei secundum peccata hominum surgit de quo multi in extasy facti ualde obstupuerunt.

Questio. Sancti qui in celo. et impij qui sunt in inferno. numquid sciunt ea quę aguntur in terris? Solutio. Sancti qui in celesti patria sunt omnia quę in terris geruntur sciunt. quoniam uel in iudicio dei uel in sonantibus laudibus angelorum omnia quę in terris aguntur coram deo apparent. Impij etiam qui a peccatis suis numquam cessabant nec ea per penitentiam emendabant ex irrisione qua sequaces suos derident ea quę mala sunt cognoscunt.

et ex ululatu quo super beatos qui eos non secuntur ululant ea quę bona sunt intelligunt. Questio. Parabolę quę in ęuangelijs multifarie referuntur. sicut est de eo qui incidit in latrones. de rege qui fecit nuptias filio suo. de decem uirginibus. et alię. numquid secundum rei gestę ueritatem contingerant.

aut tantum ad ostendendum aliud sola similitudine proponuntur? Solutio. Christus parabolas suas hominibus proposuit propter spiritalia uicia quibus sepe falluntur. et etiam propter uirtutes quibus contra illa uictoriose pugnant. quatenus per eas cognoscerent quia ipse pro malis eos iudicaret. et pro bonis premia donaret. Questio. Cum secundum animam abraham et lazarus in refrigerio et diues sit in inferno.

quid abrahę sinus quid lazari digitus. et quid lingua diuitis credenda est. Solutio. Sinus abrahę obedientiam quam per immolationem filij sui et per circumcisionem deo exhibuit significat. quia obedientia omnia bona conseruat et sustentat. ut etiam sinus queque congregata continet. et digitus lazari ministerium obedientię quę materia preceptorum dei est intelligitur. quia ipsa omnia bona docet.

ut etiam homo digito suo quę uult ostendit. Lingua autem propriam uoluntatem designat quę conuiuia carnalium desideriorum profert. quia ut per gustum linguę omnes cibi quales sint discernuntur. ita et per eam uoluntas hominis dinoscitur. Questio. Quid specialis meriti significat quod sicut in libris Gregorij turonensis episcopi inuenitur. quod sanctus Martinus tociens in specie ignis ostensus est? Solutio.

Deus omnipotens qui amor et fortitudo existit. animam beati Martini ignea effusione spiritus sancti perfuderat. et ideo propter merita humilitatis pietatis et misericordię quibus deum uiuum in contrito corde semper inspexit. tociens in igne apparuit. Questio. In quali corpore beatus Nicolaus uigilantibus nautis et dormientibus tam constantino quam prefecto apparuit cum id in proprio corpore non fecerit? Sed et petrus et paulus et ceteri sancti quorum corpora in terra sepulta sunt cum dormientibus uel uigilantibus uisibiles fiunt. in quo aut quali corpore ueniunt?

Solutio. Si ista spiritalis uisio hominibus non appareret. eam non intelligerent quid esset. nec etiam ei crederent. quoniam ipsi in duabus naturis corpus et spiritus sunt. Forma dei scilicet homo cuius altera pars mutabilis et altera immutabilis est. immutabilem spiritum numquam uidere posset. nisi immutabili forma appareret.

quoniam forma mutabilis non nisi per spiritum uiuificatur. sicut etiam cornu per sonum et non per se sonat. In bona enim intentione quam deus in sanctis hominibus istis significauerat bonę etiam intentioni hominum istorum respondebat sicut etiam homines signa firmamenti inspiciunt.

Scripture echoes

↩Isa.11.1 — A shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
↩Isa.11.1 — A shoot will come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
↩Song.2.12 — The blossoms have appeared in the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
↩Eph.6.17 — And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
↩Song.3.7 — Behold, the bed that is Solomon's—sixty mighty men surround it, mighty men of Israel.
↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
↩Gen.1.26 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
↩Gen.1.1-Gen.1.2 — In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen.1.2 — And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
↩Gen.1.2 — And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
↩Gen.1.3 — And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
↩Gen.1.6-Gen.1.7 — And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate waters from waters." Gen.1.7 — And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
↩Gen.1.7 — And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
↩Gen.1.6-Gen.1.7 — And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate waters from waters." Gen.1.7 — And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
↩Gen.1.6-Gen.1.7 — And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate waters from waters." Gen.1.7 — And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
↩1Cor.15.44 — It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
↩Gen.3.7 — Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
↩Gen.3.22 — And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now then, lest he reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—"
↩Gen.3.7 — Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
↩Gen.9.5 — And surely, for your blood, your lives, I will require an accounting: from every animal I will require it, and from every human hand, from the hand of each one's brother, I will require the life of a human.
↩Gen.9.5 — And surely, for your blood, your lives, I will require an accounting: from every animal I will require it, and from every human hand, from the hand of each one's brother, I will require the life of a human.
↩Gen.9.6 — Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed; for in the image of God he made humankind.
↩Gen.9.6 — Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed; for in the image of God he made humankind.
↩Gen.3.19 — By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
↩Gen.24.2 — Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of everything he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh."
↩Gen.22.18 — and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice
↩Gen.3.15 — I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
↩Gen.3.19;1Cor.15.21-1Cor.15.22 — By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. 1Cor.15.21 — For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. 1Cor.15.22 — For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
↩Num.17.8 — Moses and Aaron came before the Tent of Meeting.
↩Rom.1.20 — For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes have been clearly perceived, being understood through the things that have been made: both his eternal power and divine nature. So they are without excuse.
↩Exod.3.2 — And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
↩Deut.10.1-Deut.10.5 — At that time the LORD said to me, 'Cut for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make for yourself an ark of wood.' Deut.10.2 — And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark. Deut.10.3 — So I made an ark of acacia wood and hewn two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. Deut.10.4 — And He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments that the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. Deut.10.5 — Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and I placed the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they have been there, just as the LORD commanded me.
↩Heb.9.4 — having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant
↩Exod.25.10-Exod.25.22;Heb.9.4 — They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits in length, a cubit and a half in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height. Exod.25.11 — And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make on it a gold molding round about. Exod.25.12 — And you shall cast for it four rings of gold, and place them on its four feet; two rings on one side of it, and two rings on its other side. Exod.25.13 — And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. Exod.25.14 — And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried with them. Exod.25.15 — The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. Exod.25.16 — You shall place into the ark the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.17 — You shall make an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Exod.25.18 — And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them, at the two ends of the mercy seat. Exod.25.19 — And make one cherub from one end and one cherub from the other end; from the mercy seat you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. Exod.25.20 — The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall be toward one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. Exod.25.21 — You shall place the mercy seat on top of the ark, and into the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. Exod.25.22 — And I will meet with you there, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you concerning the people of Israel. Heb.9.4 — having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant
↩Exod.16.33;Heb.9.4 — And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put in it a full omer of manna, and set it before the LORD, to be kept for your generations." Heb.9.4 — having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant
↩Num.17.10;Heb.9.4 — Remove them from among this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant. And they fell on their faces. Heb.9.4 — having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant
↩Deut.10.1-Deut.10.5 — At that time the LORD said to me, 'Cut for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make for yourself an ark of wood.' Deut.10.2 — And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark. Deut.10.3 — So I made an ark of acacia wood and hewn two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. Deut.10.4 — And He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments that the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. Deut.10.5 — Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and I placed the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they have been there, just as the LORD commanded me.
↩1Cor.2.10 — But to us God has revealed it through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
↩1Sam.28.7-1Sam.28.20 — Then Saul said to his servants, 'Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.' And his servants said to him, 'There is a medium at En-dor.' 1Sam.28.8 — Then Saul disguised himself and put on different clothes, and he went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he said, 'Divine for me by the familiar spirit, and bring up for me whomever I tell you.' 1Sam.28.9 — But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life, to cause my death?" 1Sam.28.10 — But Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, "As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this." 1Sam.28.11 — Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 1Sam.28.12 — When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" 1Sam.28.13 — The king said to her, 'Do not be afraid. What have you seen?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I see gods coming up out of the earth.' 1Sam.28.14 — And he said to her, 'What is his appearance?' And she said, 'An old man is coming up, and he is wearing a robe.' And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. 1Sam.28.15 — Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do." 1Sam.28.16 — And Samuel said, "Why do you ask me, since the LORD has departed from you and has become your adversary?" 1Sam.28.17 — The LORD has done for him just as he spoke through me; the LORD has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor—to David. 1Sam.28.18 — Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD and did not carry out his burning anger against Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. 1Sam.28.19 — And the LORD will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also give the camp of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 1Sam.28.20 — Then Saul quickly fell full-length to the ground, and he was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel. There was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day and all night.
↩1Sam.15.23 — For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and iniquity and idolatry are stubbornness. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you from being king.
↩1Sam.28.11-1Sam.28.14 — Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up Samuel for me." 1Sam.28.12 — When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" 1Sam.28.13 — The king said to her, 'Do not be afraid. What have you seen?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I see gods coming up out of the earth.' 1Sam.28.14 — And he said to her, 'What is his appearance?' And she said, 'An old man is coming up, and he is wearing a robe.' And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
↩Heb.9.27 — And just as it is appointed for people to die once, and after this comes judgment,
↩2Sam.12.5 — Then David's anger burned fiercely against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die.'
↩1Cor.13.1 — If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
↩1Cor.13.1 — If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
↩Isa.14.13 — And you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north." Keep the quotation open into v.14 for continuity.
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Gen.2.7 — Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
↩Ps.68.3 — As smoke is driven away, so may they be driven away; as wax melts before fire, so may the wicked perish before God.
↩2Cor.11.25 — Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I spent in the deep.
↩1Cor.15.9-1Cor.15.10 — For I am the least of the apostles, and not even worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 1Cor.15.10 — But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain; but I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
↩Rom.8.19-Rom.8.22 — For the eager longing of creation waits for the revelation of the sons of God. Rom.8.20 — end with a comma, not a full stop: "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it, in hope," so v.21 completes the thought. Rom.8.21 — that the creation itself also will be set free from its bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Rom.8.22 — For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together and suffering birth pangs until now.
↩Eph.4.8 — Therefore it says, 'When he ascended on high he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to men.'
↩1Thess.4.17 — Then we who are alive, who are left behind, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
↩Mark.1.11;Matt.3.17 — And a voice came from the heavens: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Matt.3.17 — And behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'
↩Mark.1.13 — And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.
↩Matt.4.11 — Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
↩John.17.5;John.8.28 — And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed. John.8.28 — So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of my own accord, but I speak just as the Father taught me these things."
↩John.8.42 — Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here. I have not come on my own, but he sent me."
↩John.15.26 — When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.
↩John.1.3 — All things came into being through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
↩2Cor.12.2-2Cor.12.4 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 2Cor.12.4 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak.
↩2Cor.12.2-2Cor.12.4 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 2Cor.12.4 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak.
↩2Cor.12.2-2Cor.12.4 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 2Cor.12.4 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak.
↩2Cor.12.2-2Cor.12.4 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 2Cor.12.4 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak.
↩2Cor.12.2 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
↩2Cor.12.2-2Cor.12.4 — I know a person in Christ fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 2Cor.12.4 — that he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a person to speak.
↩Gen.18.27 — Then Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have now ventured to speak to the Lord, though I am but dust and ashes."
↩Col.2.17;Heb.10.1 — These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body belongs to Christ. Heb.10.1 — For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come — not the very image of the realities — can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year after year, perfect those who draw near.
↩2Cor.12.3 — And I know that such a person—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows—
↩Gen.3.1-Gen.3.6 — Now the serpent was more crafty than any other animal that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Gen.3.2 — And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, Gen.3.3 — but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.' Gen.3.4 — But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not certainly die.' Gen.3.5 — for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Gen.3.6 — And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
↩Gen.2.10;Rev.22.1 — A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four rivers. Rev.22.1 — Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
↩Acts.2.3;Matt.3.11;Luke.3.16 — And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed, and it sat upon each one of them. Matt.3.11 — I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is stronger than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke.3.16 — John answered all of them, "I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
↩Gen.5.24;Heb.11.5 — Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him. Heb.11.5 — By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him; for before his removal he has been testified to have pleased God.
↩2Kgs.2.11 — And it came to pass, as they were walking along and talking, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
↩1Kgs.14.2 — Jeroboam said to his wife, 'Get up now and disguise yourself, so that no one will know you are Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh. Look, the prophet Ahijah is there — he is the one who spoke about me becoming king over this people.'
↩1Kgs.14.27 — And King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and entrusted them to the captains of the guard who kept the door of the king's house.
↩1Sam.14.27-1Sam.14.29 — But Jonathan had not heard when his father made the people swear, so he reached out with the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, then brought his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. 1Sam.14.28 — Then one of the people answered and said, 'Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats bread today."' And the people were faint. 1Sam.14.29 — And Jonathan said, 'My father has troubled the land. See now that my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.'
↩Matt.15.19 — For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies.
↩Ps.94.11 — The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.
↩1Cor.13.12 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
↩Luke.10.30 — Jesus replied, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and went away, leaving him half dead."
↩Matt.22.2 — The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son.
↩Matt.25.1 — Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
↩Luke.16.19-Luke.16.31 — Now there was a certain rich man, and he used to dress in purple and fine linen, celebrating every day in splendor. Luke.16.20 — And a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores. Luke.16.21 — and longing to be fed from what fell from the rich man's table; but even the dogs came and kept licking his sores. Luke.16.22 — And it happened that the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. Luke.16.23 — And in Hades, while he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. Luke.16.24 — And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' Luke.16.25 — But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.' Luke.16.26 — And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who wish to cross from here to you are not able, nor can any cross over from there to us. Luke.16.27 — Then he said, 'I ask you, therefore, father, to send him to my father's house— Luke.16.28 — For I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Luke.16.29 — But Abraham says, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to those.' Luke.16.30 — And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Luke.16.31 — But Abraham said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'

Notes

1 ↩The connective 'cum' (token 6) is ambiguous: it could be temporal ('when'), causal ('since'), or concessive ('although'). Rendered here as accompanying circumstance ('with'), which fits the descriptive context of the lily's fragrance.
2 ↩The analogy compares the firmament's dependence on the upper waters (moisture and fire) to a body's dependence on the soul. anima is rendered as 'soul' per lexeme policy.
3 ↩The Latin eum uerum deum esse is ambiguous: it could mean 'that He (God) is the true God' or 'that he (Adam) was truly God.' The context of Hildegard's visionary theology favors the former — Adam recognized the true God in the brightness — but the pronoun eum could grammatically refer to Adam. Rendered here as 'he truly recognized that he was truly God' preserving the ambiguity of the Latin surface; a clarifying footnote may be warranted.
4 ↩enim rendered as explanatory 'for' to preserve the logical force of the particle.
5 ↩ad plenum rendered as 'fully' to capture the sense of completeness.
6 ↩cum rendered as 'when' (temporal), though the clause functions here as a temporal/circumstantial subordinate.
7 ↩The Latin 'malum in scientia mali cum gustu uetiti ligni elegit' is compressed and elliptical; the rendering supplies natural English syntax while preserving the sense that Adam chose evil through the experience of the forbidden tree's fruit.
8 ↩misericordia rendered as 'mercy' per lexeme policy; mouebatur rendered dynamically as 'was moved' to capture divine compassion in action.
9 ↩in eternum rendered as 'forever' rather than 'unto eternity' to keep natural register; the eschatological weight is preserved by context.
10 ↩The subject shifts to God the Father; 'eum' refers to the fallen human. The father–son image is a theological analogy, not a direct Gospel quotation.
11 ↩indumentum uerbi sui — 'garment of his Word' — is a dense theological image: the human clothed in the Word. Kept literal to preserve Hildegard's distinctive theology.
12 ↩ad seruicium suum — 'for his service' — i.e., for the service of man, not of God. The referent of suum is ambiguous; context suggests it refers back to hominem.
13 ↩ille lucidus — 'that shining one' — refers to the fallen angel (Satan). The image of the luminous being fallen like a corpse into death is characteristic of Hildegard's visionary theology.
14 ↩sanguinem animarum uestrarum — 'the blood of your souls' — is a dense phrase; animarum rendered as 'souls' per lexeme policy, but the compound sense ('the life-blood of your very selves') is preserved in the English word order.
15 ↩The phrase 'sine labore emissi sudoris' is difficult; 'emissi' may refer to sweat poured out in toil (cf. Genesis 3:19). The rendering attempts the most plausible sense: shedding blood without the honest labor that produces sweat.
16 ↩The function of 'ut' here is ambiguous: it could introduce an indirect statement ('that as they are') or a purpose/result clause. I have rendered it as an indirect statement complement after 'quia' ('Because as they are...'), which fits the Hildegardian pattern of explaining why angels must take on visible form. The alternative reading ('so that they cannot be seen') would reverse the sense and is less natural in context.
17 ↩The conjunction 'ut' is ambiguous — it could express purpose ('so that') or explanation/result ('how'). Rendered as 'So too' to convey the explanatory, illustrative force in context.
18 ↩The gerundive credendus est expresses obligation or necessity of belief: 'must be believed' or 'is to be believed.' The softer 'is to be believed' preserves the devotional register without overstating dogmatic force.
19 ↩Scintillę rendered as 'sparks' preserves the fire metaphor. Dona uirtutum as 'gifts of the virtues' keeps the theological sense of charisms linked to specific virtues rather than generic talents.
20 ↩Superiorum elementorum rendered as 'higher elements' — i.e., celestial or heavenly substances, not the terrestrial four elements. The point is that the fire is supernatural, not a natural phenomenon.
21 ↩The ablative of description igne qui uita est: the fire is identified with life. Rendered as 'a fire that is life itself' to preserve the force of the predicate nominative within the relative clause.
22 ↩Adherentia is a substantivized neuter plural participle: 'things clinging' or 'attachments.' Rendered as 'the things clinging to it' to preserve the sense of disordered attachments being dispersed by divine fire without destruction.
23 ↩The shift from dissipat to confirmat with sed: the fire both scatters attachments and strengthens what remains. The antecedent of the implied object ('them') is the clinging things now purified — rendered implicitly to avoid over-specifying.
24 ↩thuribulum likely refers to the golden altar of incense (Exodus 30:1–6) rather than a censer; the Vulgate uses thuribulum/thuribulum for the incense altar in Hebrews 9:4.
25 ↩arca secreti — 'ark of the mystery/secret.' The phrase likely refers to the Ark of the Covenant as a vessel of hidden divine truth, building on the previous section's discussion of what the ark contained.
26 ↩numquid — interrogative particle expecting a negative answer. The question challenges the literal reading of 1 Samuel 28, where Saul consults the medium at Endor.
27 ↩The argument is that the apparition at Endor could not have been the true soul of Samuel, since a righteous person cannot lie after death. This is a theological resolution to the exegetical problem of 1 Samuel 28.
28 ↩The Latin blends humoral-medical language with moral-spiritual commentary. 'Melancoliam' here likely means 'gentleness' or 'mildness' rather than the modern clinical sense of melancholy, given the context of praising Jonah's meek character. The reading 'per melancoliam' as 'through gentleness/meekness' is supported by the surrounding description of Jonah's mildness.
29 ↩Allusion to 1 Samuel 13–14, where Jonathan eats honey and his eyes are enlightened. Final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.
30 ↩The causal chain is compressed in the Latin: the honey's greater potency is attributed to the air that flew over it. The translation preserves this reasoning as Hildegard presents it.
31 ↩Possible echo of Matthew 15:19 / Mark 7:21 ('For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts'). Final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.
32 ↩The Latin extasis (Greek loanword) here likely refers to a visionary trance or ecstatic state; the sense is that many who saw this judgment in a state of ecstasy were greatly astonished.
33 ↩The uel…uel construction is rendered as 'either…or' to preserve the disjunctive explanatory force: the saints know earthly events through one or both of these divine channels.
34 ↩nec rendered as 'nor' to preserve the negative-additive force linking 'never ceased' with 'nor amended.'
35 ↩The ex irrisione qua clause is rendered instrumentally ('from the scorn with which') to capture the causal-instrumental sense: it is precisely through their own mocking derision that the impious come to recognize evil.
36 ↩Rendering misericordię as 'mercy' rather than 'compassion' to preserve the theological weight of the virtue; pietatis rendered 'devotion' rather than 'piety' for natural contemporary cadence.
37 ↩The manuscript reads 'bon' where the sense requires 'bonae' (dat. sg. fem., agreeing with intentioni); the translation follows the corrected reading 'bonę'.

Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion

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