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Chapter 179LDO.1.179

VISIO QUARTA, cap. XCVI

The North Wind and the Fallen Darkness

The north wind's assault on the other winds becomes an image of the devil's fall into darkness, the soul's cold forgetfulness of God, and its eventual sighing return to good works.

For when the north wind has raised its blast with full force, the east wind pushes against it, and the west wind holds it back so it can't blow freely over the earth; but the south wind, which is stronger than these two, fights against it as well, to keep it from unleashing its full force.1 In the same way, all the winds from the rising of the sun to its setting stand opposed to the north wind, which the light of the sun neither touches nor illuminates. For the north wind is worse than the other winds, because when the devil fell — when God cast him into the outer darkness — he was plunged into darkness without any light, and so he became dark himself.✦2 For from the moment Adam fell, evil spirits have been sending their blast from the darkness where they dwell, driving the whole world into error, and they do this with the very same malice with which they once opposed the true light.✦ But God does not allow them to appear to people under the sun in the horrible form they truly have; instead, he appears to them in whatever form matches their own disposition and ways, deceiving them through every kind of creature, and turning them away from good works as much as possible.3 For the north wind — which harms people and the fruits of the earth, and which with its wings sends out bitter cold against the east and west even in the heat of summer, withering the fruits of the ground — is like the darkness and wickedness of the air's spirits, because these worst spirits make the fire of the Holy Spirit cold in people, through their forgetting of God.✦4 The soul, then — overwhelmed by its struggle with the body to the point of giving in to the desires of the flesh — is wrapped around like a worm in its own dwelling, stained by the serpent's venom through sin, and forgets that it breathes with the life God gave it.✦5 Yet it doesn't stay in this state for long: because of its entanglement with sins — which it once eagerly pursued as though they were great pleasures — it sighs and grieves, and now it holds its sins not as pleasures but as burdens, and after struggling against itself, it finally sets its mind on good works.6

The Sleeper in Sin and the Fear of the Righteous

Diabolical desire lulls the sinner into forgetfulness of God, making him a horror to the righteous, who flee and mark their own works with fear, while the unstable mind trusts in self-will rather than God.

But when someone has sold themselves into evil knowledge, and through the heat of desire has looked toward God, leading them into forgetfulness and toward the serpent's counsel, that same desire burns hotter still through the diabolical blast of that craft, and deceives them by saying: 'How could you restrain yourself, so that your flesh wouldn't be shaken by delight, since you are human, and can become clean again through repentance?'78 So then that person, like the wind that makes its horror beneath the clouds, sleeps in the darkness of the forgetfulness of God, together with deadly sins, overshadowed in their own knowledge by the mockery of a wandering mind.910 And when in such a manner someone has fallen asleep in their sins, forgetting God, in the knowledge of those people who see God by living rightly, they are held like the worst and most horrible worms that people flee from.11 And about that very person they say: 'What sort of person is this one who, living in such great filthiness, does not remember that they are human?'12 And so they flee from that person as from a deadly omen, considering themselves, and marking all their works with the fear of God, because of the terror they recognized in that person, so that they would not become like them.13 These things too they do in the likeness of those signs that prefigure troubles and useless things.14 And just as a hand through the forearm signs all things, so that portents are prefigured in the motion of the elements, so too a person through the soul works, considering useful and useless things within themselves.1516 For the diversity of the north wind signifies the instability of the minds of those people who, foreseeing each thing according to their own will, judge suitable things in themselves, and not in God, trusting; through which they are also like the thick clouds through which the brightness of the sun is never perfectly seen, by choosing and establishing as treasure all things that are contrary to their Creator.1718

The Useless Wind and the Violence of Malice

Those hardened in malice become burdens to others, shifting like the moon, shedding blood, persecuting the wise, and destroying peace, yet through repentance the left hand of past sin serves the right hand of new holiness.

And so, in the blackness of their malice, they are a burden to others. For just as the moon appears marked with a changing color, so those who forget God are hardened into iron-like stubbornness through their deceitful cunning, and they shift themselves around so that at times they show up as pleasant and useful to others without any upright faith, while they themselves, led astray by the devil's craft, are brought to disgrace before God and everyone by their hateful and malicious deeds. For that same north wind is dangerous in every direction and is completely useless, because it took in the one who maliciously opposes God by the judgment of a most righteous Judge. It also represents the burning anger through which, by the devil's prompting, a person's blood is shed, and how a person who, in the hatred of his rage, along with his own wickedness, kills the one whom the Holy Spirit inspired, as far as it depends on him, since he can never praise that person in the sweet sound of love. In his wickedness, the same person pours the water of dishonor over the one he sees filled with wisdom, and he crushes that person by persecuting him everywhere; he strips the one who has love of every honor he can through words of deceit, and with words of harshness and treachery he destroys peace in every way he can. For the north wind, which is estranged from God, takes on all people's vices so that they are tormented in it, because just as barley is sifted out from wheat, so that same wind, separated from all usefulness and from blessedness and holiness, endures all the virtues that proceed through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that become more splendid and radiant through him, just as a wall supports the person who leans against it. Through its own darkness, everything bright that clings to the heavenly harmony and that the Son of Man sowed in a virgin nature is recognized; and just as the devil's prompting leads people astray, so the blast of the north wind is harmful to a person. And when a person who committed iniquities and sins, as if on the left side, working with the devil whispering alongside, through repentance and conversion, as if on the right side, calls them back to mind, and through remembering his own sins becomes stronger and more holy in good works, just as the left hand serves the right.

Adam Facing East in the Whole World

God set Adam facing east with the south at his right and the north at his left, gathering the whole world into his brief stature and subjecting all creatures to his senses.

This is why God, in raising Adam up from the earth, first set him facing east, with the south at his right hand and the north at his left, and why, in his small and brief stature, he gathered the immense instrument of the whole world and subjected all creatures to the dominion and power of his senses.

Read the original Latin

Nam cum aquilo flatum suum horribiliter levaverit, orientalis ventus ei resistit, et occidentalis eum prohibet, ne super eum flare possit; sed auster, qui his duobus fortior est, cum illis etiam ei repugnat, ne super ipsum flatum suum emittat. Sic quoque omnes venti ab ortu solis usque in occasum ejus aquiloni, quem lumen solis nec tangit nec illuminat, resistunt. Aquilo enim aliis ventis pejor est, quoniam in casu diaboli quando Deus illum in lacum exteriorum tenebrarum projecit, ubi in tenebris absque omni luce manet, tenebrosus factus est. Ex quo enim Adam cecidit, maligni spiritus flatum suum de tenebris in quibus sunt, in totum mundum homines in errorem urgendo emittunt, et hoc in eadem malitia qua verae luci contradixerunt, faciunt. Deus autem non permittit eos horribili forma ut sunt, hominibus qui sub sole sunt apparere; sed secundum intentionem et mores eorum in omni forma creaturarum eos decipiendo, et a bonis operibus quantum possunt avertendo eis apparent. Aquilo enim, qui homines et fructus terrae laedit, et qui alis suis in calore aestatis contrarium frigus adversus orientem et occidentem emittit, per quod fructus terrae arefacit, tenebrositati et nequitiae aeriorum spirituum similis est, quia ipsi pessimi spiritus calorem ignis Spiritus sancti per oblivionem Dei in hominibus frigidum faciunt. Anima nempe, quae conflictu corporis ita superatur, ut illi consentiendo in desideria carnis, velut vermis in habitaculum suum involvitur, per spumam serpentis peccatis inquinata, spiraculum a Deo se esse non recordatur. Ipsa vero in his non diu manens, sed pro amplexione peccatorum, quibus quasi magnis inhiabat deliciis, suspirat et gemit, et peccata sua non in deliciis ut prius, sed in molestia habens, et quasi contra se rixando postmodum bonis operibus insistit.

Sed cum homo in mala scientia se ipsum vendiderit, et per fervorem libidinis Deum in oblivionem ducendo ad consilium serpentis aspexerit, eadem libido per flatum diabolicae artis in eo ferventius ardet, eumque sic dicendo decipit: « Quomodo posses te continere, quin caro tua per delectationem concuteretur, cum homo sis, et iterum poenitendo mundus fieri possis? » Sic namque homo iste in similitudine venti qui horrorem suum sub nubibus facit, per irrisionem errantis mentis in scientia sua obnubilatus, in tenebris oblivionis Dei cum criminalibus peccatis dormit. Et cum tali modo in peccatis suis Deum obliviscendo dormierit, in scientia hominum illorum qui Deum juste vivendo vident, velut pessimi et horribiles vermes quos homines fugiunt habetur. Unde et de ipso dicunt: « Qualis est homo iste, qui se, in tanta immunditia vivendo, hominem esse non recordatur? » sicque eum ut mortiferum signum fugiunt, se ipsos considerantes, omniaque opera sua cum timore Dei signando, propter terrorem illum, quem in homine illo cognoverunt, ne ei similes efficiantur. Haec quoque in similitudine illorum signorum quae aerumnas et inutilia praefigurant faciunt. Et sicut manus per brachium omnia signat, et ut portenta in motu elementorum praefigurantur, sic homo per animam utilia et inutilia in se ipso considerando operatur. Diversitas namque aquilonis instabilitatem mentium hominum illorum significat qui quaeque secundum voluntatem suam praevidendo convenientia aestimant, in se et non in Deo confidentes; per quod et spissae nubi per quam fulgor solis nunquam perfecte videtur, similes sunt, eum omnia quae Creatori suo contraria sunt eligendo et constituendo thesaurizant.

Unde etiam in nigredine malignitatis hominibus molesti sunt. Sicut enim luna vario colore distincta apparet, sic ipsi cum oblivione Dei in ferream duritiam per duplicitatem doli ita convertuntur, ut se interdum suaves et utiles sine recta fide hominibus ostendant, ipsique diabolica arte delusi per odiosa et malitiosa opera sua coram Deo et hominibus in confusionem convertuntur. Idem enim aquilo periculosus in parte existit, et omni utilitate caret, quia illum malitiosum qui Deo contradicit, ex judicio justissimi judicis suscepit. Ipse quoque ardentem iram in qua per suggestionem diaboli sanguis hominis effunditur, et etiam hominem, qui in odio irae suae cum nequitia sua illum quem Spiritus sanctus inspiravit, quantum in se est occidit, cum in dulci sono dilectionis eum nunquam laudare potest, designat. Idem namque homo in malitia sua aquam inhonestatis super illum quem sapientia infusum viderit fundit, et eum ubique conterendo prosequitur; hominemque charitatem habentem per verba mendacii ab omni honore, quantum potest, despoliat, et pacem cum verbis asperitatis et perfidiae undique in omnibus quibus potest destruit. Aquilo enim, qui a Deo alienatus est, omnia vitia hominum suscipit, ut in ipso torqueantur, quia sicut hordeum a tritico excribratur, sic ipse ab omni utilitate et beatitudine ac sanctitate separatus, omnes virtutes quae per inspirationem Spiritus sancti procedunt, et quae per eum ornatiores et lucidiores fiunt sustinet, quemadmodum paries hominem sustentat qui se in illum reclinat. Per tenebras quoque suas omnia lucida quae coelesti harmoniae adhaerent, et quae Filius hominis in virginea natura seminavit, cognoscuntur; et sicut suggestio diaboli homines seducit, sic etiam flatus aquilonis homini nocivus est. Cum etiam homo qui iniquitates et peccata quasi in sinistra parte cum diabolo susurrando operatus est, per poenitentiam et conversionem quasi in dextera parte eorum reminiscitur, et per recordationem peccatorum suorum fortior et sanctior in bonis operibus efficitur, quemadmodum sinistra dextrae ministrat.

Ratio quare Deus Adam de terra suscitans vel erigens ita primo statuit ut in facie orientem, dextro austrum, laevoque aquilonem haberet; et quod in brevi parvaque statura ejus immensum totius mundi instrumentum collegerit, et omnes creaturas dominationi viribusque sensuum ipsius subjecerit.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Matt.25.30 — And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  2. ↩John.1.4-John.1.5 — In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John.1.5 — And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
  3. ↩Acts.2.3 — And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed, and it sat upon each one of them.
  4. ↩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.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The Latin uses the subjunctive (levaverit, possit, emittat) in a descriptive-causal sequence; rendered here as a general observation about how the winds oppose each other.
  2. 2 ↩Latin 'lacum exteriorum tenebrarum' evokes the biblical 'outer darkness' (Matthew 25:30); the text reads this as the place of the devil's fall.
  3. 3 ↩The Latin is compressed: 'eos decipiendo' and 'avertendo eis apparent' describe how God permits evil spirits to take on creaturely forms that suit human inclinations, deceiving and diverting from good works. The syntax is slightly awkward; translated according to the most plausible sense.
  4. 4 ↩Latin 'calorem ignis Spiritus sancti... frigidum faciunt' is a bold image: evil spirits cause the Holy Spirit's fire to grow cold in those who forget God. The 'wings' (alis) of the north wind are part of the wind metaphor.
  5. 5 ↩Latin 'spiraculum a Deo se esse non recordatur' — literally 'does not remember that its breath/spirit is from God.' 'Spiraculum' suggests the breath of life given by God (cf. Genesis 2:7).
  6. 6 ↩Latin 'pro amplexione peccatorum' — 'for' or 'because of' its embrace/clinging to sins. The sense is that the soul's lingering attachment to sin produces grief and eventual turning toward good. 'Rixando' (quarreling/struggling) is rendered as inner conflict.
  7. 7 ↩The serpent's speech is rendered as interior temptation: desire itself speaks, using the plausibility of human weakness and the availability of repentance to excuse present consent.
  8. 8 ↩quin rendered as introducing the content of the temptation ('so that... not') rather than a strict negative purpose, since the quoted clause is the desire's argument, not a purpose clause.
  9. 9 ↩namque rendered 'so then' to capture the explanatory confirmatory force.
  10. 10 ↩cum criminalibus peccatis rendered 'together with deadly sins' taking cum as prepositional rather than conjunctional.
  11. 11 ↩habetur rendered 'they are held' in an estimative sense: 'they are regarded as'.
  12. 12 ↩unde et rendered 'And about that very person' capturing the connective force of et after unde.
  13. 13 ↩ut rendered as purpose 'so that' rather than result, capturing the intentional response of the observers.
  14. 14 ↩Haec rendered as subject of faciunt based on context, despite morphological ambiguity.
  15. 15 ↩anima rendered 'soul' per lexeme policy default.
  16. 16 ↩ut rendered as purpose 'so that' connecting the hand simile to the elemental portents.
  17. 17 ↩namque rendered 'For' capturing explanatory confirmatory force.
  18. 18 ↩per quod rendered 'through which' connecting the cloud simile to the preceding clause about self-trust.

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