R90: Hildegard von Rupertsberg an Bertulf von St. Eucharius in Trier
A Call to Self-Knowledge
Hildegard addresses the wavering soul, reminding it of its spiritual armor and the fleeting nature of worldly reflection.
Hildegard's reply. Whoever you are who says this—you who speak. O mortal! You are clothed with the breastplate of faith. And girded with the belt of holiness. Just as a person sees their own face in a mirror. Yet you find no full joy in this! Because at times you waver.
The Clouded Mind and the Burden of Folly
The wavering mind is described as a distant building shrouded in clouds and compared to a beast of burden led to market.
Whether his face is beautiful or not— For your mind is like a building seen from a distance, sometimes shrouded by a cloud. But you are also headlong, like a beast of burden— the kind a merchant carries to market. So consider: which is more useful, an ox or a donkey? A green land or a barren one? A noun or a pronoun?
The Upright Teacher and the One-Eyed Master
Hildegard contrasts the barren and the fruitful, warns against solitary mastery, and urges maternal care for those under her charge.
Mountain or valley? Among the enemies of man. For an upright teacher is far more useful than the rest of the crowd! Just as the air is useful, bearing diverse fruits in its own wings. For the works of man are of little avail. Without the teacher's foresight. Beware, lest you waste away in mastery, so long as you have, as it were, but one eye within yourself. But offer light to your own with maternal tenderness, and wipe away their wounds without the reputation of tyranny!
Mercy in the Bridal Chamber of the Soul
Christ's mercy heals and washes; the soul is invited to receive mercy as a royal bridegroom and live as a mountain of spices.
because a good physician anoints the wounds of people with mercy! nor is He slow in this. For He gave His own sheep a kiss.1 and in His own blood He washed her.✦ But you, O person — place mercy, that is, the beautiful friend of the King, in the bridal chamber of your mind.23 And in the sweetest love, put on holiness like a royal robe and like a crown of beauty.✦4 Gather the sweetest spices also into your lap.5 and you will live forever, like a mountain of myrrh and frankincense.✦6
Bearing Burdens in the Light of Reward
The letter closes with a charge to carry burdens with the key of reward, shining like the sun above the storms.
Watch, then, as you carry your burdens with the key of reward. Shining as the sun shines over all things, without the whirlwind of its many storms. There you will fittingly shine forth.
Read the original Latin
Responsum hildegardis. Qui est dicit. O homo! tu indutus es lorica fidei. et circumamictus cingulo sanctitatis. uelut homo faciem suam in speculo uidet. non habens in hoc plenum gaudium! quia interdum dubitat.
utrum facies ipsius pulcra sit an non. Nam mens tua similis est edificio quod a longe aspicit! et quod nebula aliquando tegit. Sed et preceps es sicut sarcina! quam portator in uenditione portat. Vnde uide utrum utilior sit bos an asinus. uiridis terra an arida. nomen an pronomen.
mons an uallis. inter inimicos hominis. Probus enim magister multo utilior est cetera turba! quemadmodum et aer utilis est diuersos fructus in alis suis producens. Opera enim hominis parum ualent. sine prouidentia magistri. Tu caue ne tabescas in magistratione quamdiu uelut oculum unum habes in te. sed prebe lumen tuis in materna dulcedine et uulnera eorum terge sine fama tyrannidis!
quoniam bonus medicus uulnera hominum cum misericordia unguit! nec in hoc tardat. Nam proprię oui suę osculum dedit. et in sanguine suo eam lauit. Tu autem o homo misericordiam scilicet pulcram amicam regis in thalamum mentis tuę pone. et suauissima caritate sanctitatem indue sicut purpuram et sicut diadema decoris. dulcissima etiam aromata in sinum tuum collige. et in eternum uiues sicut mons mirrę et thuris.
Vigila ergo portans onera tua cum claue remunerationis. ita ut cum sol super omnia sine turbine diuersarum tempestatum radiat. ibi utiliter appareas.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rev.7.14 — And I said to him, 'My lord, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'
- ↩Isa.61.10 — I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with garments of salvation, a robe of righteousness he has wrapped around me, as a groom wears a priestly crown, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- ↩Song.4.6 — Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
Notes
- 1 ↩Manuscript forms proprię, oui, suę are normalized from abbreviated or variant spellings (propriae, ovis, suae). Translation follows the normalized reading.
- 2 ↩Manuscript form tuę normalized as tuae (genitive singular feminine agreeing with mentis). Translation follows the normalized reading.
- 3 ↩Thalamus mentis ('bridal chamber of the mind') is a mystical image for the innermost space of the soul where divine love is received.
- 4 ↩Purpura ('purple') rendered as 'royal robe' to convey the regal connotation of the garment in contemporary English.
- 5 ↩Sinus ('bosom, lap') as the intimate interior space where precious things are held; the spices evoke both Song of Songs and the treasures of devotion.
- 6 ↩Manuscript forms mirrę and thuris are normalized from abbreviated spellings (myrrhae, thuris). Translation follows the normalized reading.
Epistolae: Letters to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry II of England companion
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