VISIO QUARTA, cap. XCVII
The Upright Posture of the Just
God set the just offspring of Adam facing east, marking his right hand with blessedness and his left with outer darkness.
But God turned the face of the just offspring—of Adam, that is—toward the east when he raised him and set him upright, and marked him with the southern part of blessedness at his right hand, and with the outer darkness, which is called the north, at his left.
Armed Against the North
God implanted in humanity the powers of creatures to fight against the fallen angels of the north, and wills that humans reject and forget that darkness entirely.
He also implanted in him the powers of the elements and of all other creatures, so that he might work with them against the north, which is the dwelling of the lost angels who separated themselves from him, because by the exercise of their own will they denied him and refused to acknowledge that he is God. Therefore God also wills that a human being reject the north through the left side and throw it behind him, and that he not look toward it by any imitation, just as he cannot see his back with his own face, and that with all the creature's strength he fight against the serpent in Michael's battle, and hold the north completely in the oblivion of the left side, as darkness is separated from light.
The Five Senses as Armor
God clothed the human being with the senses as armor to know, understand, discern, be nourished by, and have dominion over creatures, so as to know the true God and not fall into the folly of the wicked angel.
In this way God established the human being with the powers of all creatures, and clothed him with them as with every kind of armor, so that through sight he might know creatures, through hearing understand, through smell discern, through taste be nourished by them, and through touch have dominion over them. And so he himself ought to know the true God, the creator of all creatures, and not strive to fight against him, even though through the counsel of the ancient serpent he is often deceived, because God did not fill him with the powers mentioned above in order that he should in any way try to raise his mind to the folly of the wicked angel.
The Body Measured Like the Firmament
God formed the human shape according to the structure of the firmament, measuring each member with equal proportion and proper weight, and gave the body many flexible joints.
For God formed the human being's shape according to the structure of the firmament and of certain other creatures, just as a founder has a shape according to which he makes his vessels. And just as God measured the great instrument of the firmament with equal measure, so too he measured the human being equally in his small and short stature, as was said above, and so created him that each member, joined to its fellow, does not exceed its proper measure or right weight, unless this happens by God's judgment, and that he may bend himself in many parts of his body—that is, in the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, thighs, knees, and feet, and in certain other members.
The Body's Seasons and the Soul's Rhythms
Scripture and reason show how the times, months, and celestial cycles correspond to human dispositions, bodily humors, and the movements of the mind.
Likewise, many reasons — sometimes supported by relevant testimonies from Scripture — show how the times and months of the whole year are assigned to human dispositions, both according to the properties of their own qualities and according to the ascent or descent of the sun and the increases or decreases of the moon, as much by the distinctions or measures of the limbs and ages as also by the properties of the body's humors, and by the various advances and defects of the mind's affections.
Read the original Latin
Faciem vero justi germinis, scilicet Adae, Deus contra orientem vertit, quando eum suscitavit et erexit, ac in dextra ipsius australem partem beatitudinis, et in sinistra ejus exteriores tenebras, quae aquilo nominantur, signavit. Ipsi quoque vires elementorum caeterarumque creaturarum infixit, ut cum illis contra aquilonem operaretur, quae habitaculum perditorum angelorum est, qui se ab ipso separaverunt, quoniam in proprietate voluntatis suae eum negando, Deum esse noluerunt. Quapropter etiam Deus vult ut homo aquilonem per sinistram partem repudiet, eumque retrorsum abjiciat, nec ulla imitatione ad illum aspiciat, sicut nequaquam facie sua dorsum suum videre potest, et ut omnibus viribus creaturae adversus serpentem in praelio Michaelis pugnet; aquilonemque omnino in oblivionem sinistrae partis habeat, quemadmodum tenebrae a luce segregatae sunt. Sic Deus hominem cum viribus omnium creaturarum firmavit, eumque ipsis velut omni armatura induit, ita ut per visum creaturas cognoscat, per auditum intelligat, per odoratum discernat, per gustum ab eis pascatur, et per tactum eis dominetur. Unde et ipse verum Deum creatorem omnium creaturarum scire debet, nec adversus eum praeliari contendet, quamvis per consilium antiqui serpentis multoties decipiatur, quia Deus supradictis viribus eum non ad hoc replevit, ut ullatenus mentem suam in stultitiam pravi angeli elevare tentet. Deus enim formam hominis secundum constitutionem firmamenti caeterarumque quarumdam creaturarum formavit, quemadmodum fusor aliquam formam habet secundum quam vasa sua facit. Et ut Deus magnum instrumentum firmamenti aequali mensura mensus est, sic etiam aequaliter mensus est hominem in parva et brevi statura sua, quemadmodum supra dictum est, eumque sic creavit, ut membrum membro conjunctum, rectam mensuram suam, rectumque pondus suum non excedat, nisi hoc ex judicio Dei fiat, et ut in pluribus partibus corporis sui se flectat, scilicet in collo, in humeris, in ulnis, in manibus, in femoribus, in genibus atque in pedibus et in caeteris quibusdam membris.
Item multifariae rationes, adjunctis interdum congruis Scripturae testimoniis, qualiter et tempora et menses totius anni juxta proprietates qualitatum suarum, et juxta ascensum vel descensum solis, et incrementa seu detrimenta lunae, hominis qualitatibus assignentur tam secundum distinctiones vel mensuras membrorum et aetatum, vel etiam proprietates humorum corporis, quam secundum diversos et profectus et defectus affectuum mentis.
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