VISIO QUARTA, cap. LXV
The Moon and the Sun: Woman and Man
The woman's dependence on the man is likened to the moon receiving light from the sun, rooted in the order of creation.
And so the woman is weak, and looks to the man to be provided for through him, just as the moon receives its strength from the sun; and therefore she ought always to be subject to the man and ready to serve. For she covers the works of her knowledge with the man, because she was formed from flesh and blood, which the man was not, since he was first made of dust; and so even in her nakedness she looks to the woman, to be clothed by her.✦
Flesh and Soul in Trembling Dependence
The flesh trembles before the soul's reproof, yet the soul continually draws the body back from vice toward good works.
This is why the pleasure of the flesh looks toward the desire of the soul with great trembling, since it is often reproved and overcome by it; and yet it cannot be overcome by the soul's strength, because just as the woman looks to the man to be provided for by him, since she serves him with fear, so the flesh always looks toward the soul. But when a man has wholly given himself over to the pleasure of the flesh, through the warning of the soul's desire he is roused again, reflecting within himself why he should not hold back from vices, seeing that he has been placed by God in such honor; and so the soul again and again draws its body toward the love of good works.
The Soul's Fiery Knowledge of Good and Evil
The diversity of inner operation mirrors the angelic and the fallen, as the soul breathes God's spirit and kindles knowledge of good and evil like fire.
For a person always carries within himself this diversity of operation, so that even the angels are with God in joy, and so that the evil works of human beings are judged with the anger of his judgment through them. The soul, too, is a breath from the spirit of God, and sent into the human body; of itself it accomplishes nothing, but whatever the body asks of it, this it kindles in its own nature — with the knowledge of good by which it perceives God, and with the knowledge of evil by which it fears him — like fire, always rejoicing in good works and grieving the body in evil ones.✦
Tears That Clothe the Soul
Through understanding his fleshly works, a person is moved to tears that clothe the soul as with a tunic.
For through the soul's strength a person comes back to life in such a way that, understanding the works he has done according to the desire of the flesh — and by which he had stripped the soul of its strength — he is moved to tears, by which the soul is clothed as if with a tunic.
Adorning the Soul in Purple
Repentance frees from shame, and fasting and prayer adorn the soul like a purple robe.
Whoever has wiped away their sins through repentance shouldn't be ashamed of them any further; and whoever mortifies themselves through fasting and prayers should adorn their soul as if with a purple robe.
Read the original Latin
Unde et mulier debilis est, et ad virum aspicit, ut per eum procuretur, quemadmodum luna fortitudinem suam a sole recipit, ideoque et viro subdita, et ad serviendum parata semper esse debet. Ipsa enim opera scientiae suae virum operit, quia et de carne et de sanguine plasmata est, quod vir non est, quoniam primum limus fuit, quapropter etiam in nuditate sua ad mulierem respicit, ut ab ipsa operiatur. Hoc est quod delectatio carnis ad desiderium animae cum magno tremore aspicit, quoniam ab illa saepe reprehenditur et superatur; nec tamen a viribus animae superari potest, quia quemadmodum mulier ad virum aspicit, quatenus ab eo procuretur, quoniam ei cum timore servit, sic ipsa ad animam semper respicit. Sed cum homo per delectationem carnis totus defecerit, per admonitionem desiderii animae iterum excitatur, cogitando apud se cum in tanto honore a Deo constitutus sit, cur a vitiis non desistat; sicque anima corpus suum ad amorem bonorum operum saepius retrahit. Istam namque diversitatem operandi homo in se semper habet, ut etiam angeli cum Deo in gaudio sunt, et ut mala opera hominum cum ira judicio ejus per ipsos judicantur. Animam etiam a spiritu Dei spiraculum est, et in corpus hominis missa per se ipsam nihil operatur; sed quidquid illud ab ea postulaverit, hoc in natura sua cum scientia boni, qua Deum sentit, et cum scientia mali, qua ipsum timet, velut ignis accendit in bonis operibus semper gaudens, et in malis corpus affligens. Homo enim per vires animae ita reviviscit, ut opera quae secundum desiderium carnis operatus est, et quibus animam a viribus suis denudaverat intelligens, ad lacrymas quibus anima velut camisia induitur moveatur.
Quod quisquis per poenitentiam peccata sua absterserit, ulterius de ipsis non erubescat; et quod qui per jejunia et orationes se cruciat, quasi purpurea veste animam suam exornet.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.2.21-Gen.2.23 — So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Gen.2.22 — And the LORD God built the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. Gen.2.23 — And the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for from man this one was taken."
- ↩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.
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