VISIO QUARTA, cap. LV
The Measured Body of the Vision
The visionary figure's arms and hands are measured with the same proportion as the feet and the winds, revealing a hidden harmony in creation.
And from each shoulder to the bend of each arm, and from that bend to the tip of the middle finger of each hand, the measurement is equal. The hand, too, from its joint to the tip of the middle finger, has the same measurement as from the ankle to the end of the largest joint, just as each principal wind with its companion winds and their blasts exists in one measurement.
The Failure of Self-Reliant Good Works
A person who begins holy works in their own strength grows weary, then mocks and grieves over what they once delighted in.
For a person, through the power of reason, sometimes takes delight in vain intention regarding good and holy works; but when they begin to act on them, their blood, which was conceived in sins, is wholly stirred up through the effort of the work begun, and so, wearied by the labor, they leave their work unfinished. Even the good that they had begun earlier, not in God but trusting in their own strength, they now mock as imperfect because of their own arrogance; and as much as they delighted in it before beginning it, so much do they now blush over its imperfection, and because they did such a thing, they begin to grieve and mourn.
Arms, Hands, and the Call to Repentance
The measurement from shoulder to elbow signifies arrogant works, while from elbow to fingertip it shows the repentance that must blot them out.
For the measurement from the shoulders to the bend of each arm signifies the works that a person does out of arrogance; and the measurement extending from the bend of the arms to the tip of the middle finger of each hand shows that a person should, through repentance, blot out the works done out of arrogance.
The Soul's Conflict and Turning to God
Because body and soul oppose each other, the soul cannot know full joy in this life, yet in its sorrow it groans to God, humbles itself, and turns from evil to good works.
For this reason, too, while the soul remains in the body it can never have full joy, because body and soul are opposed to each other. Unable to bear their conflict, a person, because of the magnitude of the sorrow within them, falls short, and groaning to God with a broken heart, humbles themselves through frequent sighs, and so, humbled by the fear of God, turns away from evil works and things harmful to the soul, doing the good works signified by the hand, and also running in the ways of God shown by the feet.
Hands and Feet: Joy in Good, Sorrow in Evil
The movement of hands and feet signifies the soul's joy in good works, while their stillness marks its grief over evil.
For the movement of the hands and feet signifies that the soul should rejoice in good works; but that they cease from movement designates that the same soul should grieve and sorrow in evil works.
Thighs, Navel, and the Soul's Affections
The measurements of the thighs and from the navel to the organs of digestion correspond to the breadth of the earth and reflect the varied affections of the soul.
What the measure of the thighs across the width might show, and the measure from the navel to the organs of digestion through the length, corresponding in proportion to the breadth or thickness of the earth, in the various affections of the soul.
Read the original Latin
Sed et ab utroque humero usque in flexuram utriusque brachii, et ab eadem flexura usque ad finem medii digiti utriusque manus aequalis mensura est. Manus quoque a junctura sua usque ad summitatem finis medii digiti, eamdem mensuram habet, quae a talo usque ad finem majoris articuli est, velut etiam quilibet principalis ventus cum collateralibus suis, et flatibus ipsorum in una mensura existit. Homo namque per vim rationalitatis bonis et sanctis operibus vana intentione interdum delectatur, quae dum operari incipit, sanguis ejus, qui in peccatis conceptus est, per laborem coepti operis totus in ipso commovetur, sicque taedio operandi opus suum imperfectum relinquit. Bonum etiam quod prius, non in Deo, sed de propria virtute confidendo, inchoaverat, imperfectum propter elationem mentis suae deridet; et quantum, priusquam illud inciperet, in eo delectabatur, tantum post de imperfectione ejus erubescit, et quia tale quid fecerit, dolere et moerere incipit. Mensura enim quae ab humeris usque ad flexuram utriusque brachii est, opera quae homo per elationem mentis operatur significat; et mensura quae a flexura brachiorum usque ad finem medii digiti utriusque manus extenditur, demonstrat quod homo opera quae per elationem mentis operatus est per poenitentiam deleat. Unde etiam anima dum in corpore manet, plenum gaudium nunquam habere valet, quia corpus et anima sibi invicem adversantur. Quorum conflictum homo ferre non valens, pro magnitudine tristitiae in se ipso deficit, gemensque ad Deum contrito corde se ipsum per crebra suspiria humiliat, et ita per timorem Dei humiliatus, ab operibus malis et animae contrariis declinat, operans bona quae per manum significantur, currens etiam vias Dei quae per pedes ostenduntur. Manuum namque motus et pedum significat quoniam animae de bonis operibus gaudendum sit; quod autem a motu cessant, designat quod eidem animae in malis operibus sit tristandum et dolendum.
Quid mensura femorum in ante per latitudinem, et mensura ab umbilico usque ad loca digestionis per longitudinem, latitudini vel spissitudini terrae proportionaliter congruens in diversis animae affectibus ostendat.
Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works) companion
Don't stop at Day 30
All 317 chapters live in the free Chosen Portion app, paced for daily reading
Hildegard's practice of daily attention to God's work in creation becomes a paced daily devotional through all ten visions in the Chosen Portion app
- One vision passage a day, readable in under 10 minutes
- The complete Book of Divine Works plus Hildegard's other major works, free
- Progress tracking so a 317-chapter classic actually gets finished