VISIO QUARTA, cap. XCVIII
The First Month: Childhood's Innocence and Fall
God inscribes the year's seasons within the human person, and the first month corresponds to the brain and childhood, when the soul works in innocent joy before being stained by carnal desire and cleansed again through the Holy Spirit's tears.
But just as God marked creatures in the human person, so also he ordered the seasons of the year within that person. For God shows summer in the person who is awake, and winter in the one who sleeps, because winter hides below what summer brings forth in joy; so also the one who sleeps is strengthened through sleep, so that the one who is awake may be ready in his own strength for any work. God also distinguished the months in that person, when he distinguished their qualities and powers in himself. For the first month, in which the sun is raised upward, is cold and moist, and exists in great variety, and exudes water changed into brightness. And so its qualities are joined to the brain, because that cold and moist substance, existing as it does, cleanses a base humor by expelling it through the eyes, and through the ears, and through the nostrils. And so the soul in the childhood of the human person — which has no guile and no carnal taste, and is not shaken by working against its own nature — works in joy; and that same soul, in that same childhood, which is simple and innocent according to its own desire, proves strong and powerful. But afterward, lacking the joy of childish innocence, that person is turned into great sadness, like an exile who has been driven from his homeland, when bodily humors grow in the human being, and he himself, having been stained through carnal taste, rejoices and takes pleasure in wantonness, embracing it along with forgetfulness of God, in the feast of sinners. For just as the sun is raised upward in the first month, so the soul in the first stage of life is neither bound nor darkened by the taste and effect of sins — and it is through these that the human person, with the shifting manners of instability, is turned into the hardness and filthiness of vanity, lacking holiness and good works. But once that same person has poured out the moisture of tears through the Holy Spirit's teaching and prompting, they are cleansed from the foulness of sinners by the sweet fragrance of a good reputation, while avoiding ignorance and weariness in good works.
The Second and Third Months: Purgation and the Soul's Struggle
The second month, purgatorial and represented in the eyes, mirrors the soul's grief over sin and its cleansing through knowledge, while the third month's turbulent winds signify the ears, through which the soul in youth wrestles with restless desires, pride, and the call to conversion.
The second, in its own nature, is purgatorial, and it is represented in the eyes, because eyes that are watery, muddy, and pestilential sometimes produce a purging within themselves. In this way the soul in a human being is like sap in a tree: just as all the fruits of a tree grow through sap, so also all the works of a human being are accomplished through the soul; and when its veins and marrows are filled, it begins to work according to the desires of the flesh, and when these have advanced, the soul, compelled by its own spiritual nature, most often groans. So also, when with the eye of knowledge it considers how sins began and how they were completed without penance, once cleansed from every pollution it strives to avoid them from then on. Through the third sense, however — the one that is turbulent, carries storms, harbors pestilence within itself, and by its shifting winds sets all the earth's seeds in motion — the ears are signified, in which the sound of all things useful and useless resounds, and through which the whole body is set in motion. So too the soul, in the body that is moved and filled by it and joined to it like veins, has a struggle against the forces of its own nature, because a person in the prime of youth is like a tree that first puts out branches and later yields its fruit. For a person has storms of restless desires when he understands what he can do, because his marrow is already rich and his veins are full; and then the soul within him takes on a plaintive and complaining voice, because his grief over his sins grows and grows, since it is that very life which moves everything in a person. But the one who is more eager for praise than justice allows, by thinking himself wise, becomes all the more foolish, since through recklessness and his own pride he is like a festering wound, and he is led into falsehood, because the reputation for honesty and good standing that he seeks to have never appears in him. And so the soul, into which all good and evil flows back — just as in the ears all things useful and useless resound, and through whose powers all things are accomplished — is made sorrowful by mourning. But when, through the grace of God, the swelling of youthful desire is repressed and he is converted to the better part by amending his sins, the soul that was previously sorrowful — which in him breathed upon all things useful and useless — moves him to repentance because of his evil and useless works, and because of his good and useful works causes him to rejoice as though in a paradise.
The Fourth Month: The Fragrance of Good Works and Persecution
The fourth month, green and thunderous, signifies the nostrils and the person who, breathing in reason, chooses good works whose sweet fragrance spreads abroad, even when rejected by the wicked as Christ was, yet whose virtues do not wither under persecution.
But through the fourth month, which is green and fragrant and thunders as it were with fear, the nostrils are meant, in which the breath of the soul draws in the scent and sends out all that a person chooses for himself with fear. To this month, then, is compared the person who, through the breath of reason, has wisely chosen the greenness of good works in the knowledge of his own state, in which all fruits flourish and which is fragrant, because in the sweetest scent the report of integrity and usefulness is sent out everywhere in the praise of God. But the turmoil of hateful and evil people often rejects the virtues and good works of that person, and calls him unjust and evil, just as the Jews falsely said that the Lord Jesus Christ was unjust and defiled, even though they knew him to be holy and just in all his works. For just as this month sounds with danger and fear, and yet does not wither the fruits of the earth, so too the strengths and virtues of a blessed person do not wither through the aforementioned evils, but those who gnash their teeth against him fail. And just as a person, in the breath of reason, draws in through the nostrils the sweetest and noblest things by choosing them for himself, and casts away what is foul and muddy, so he merits eternal rewards and is honored by people with praise, whereas his persecutor, lacking heavenly rewards, can never on earth be praised in truth by people. For whoever fears and loves God guards his mind from everything that is evil, just as a person turns his nose away from a foul and unclean thing.
The Fifth and Sixth Months: Sight, Taste, and the Labor of the Shoulders
The fifth month's sweetness corresponds to sight and taste, through which reason discerns and delights, while the sixth month's dry heat signifies the shoulders and hearing, which labor to sustain the body and set the soul's rational beginning in motion amid weariness and sorrow.
The fifth sense, however, is gentle and tender, and glorious in all the earth; so that even the taste of the mouth is sweet and delightful, because through it those things are recognized and known by which a person is refreshed with joy. In this way, reason is the column and marrow of the five senses, which are sustained through it and directed toward working, just as the earth, overturned by the plough, becomes fruitful by sprouting. Sight, that is, the sense of the eyes, through which a person sees and knows all things, rightly holds first place among the others, because as it is in a higher place than the rest, so it also perceives more distant things more than the others do. And so the same sight of the eyes is pleasant and delightful, because a person, by knowing and choosing with it, distinguishes useful things from useless ones. So just as the fifth month, namely May, has the sweetest scent of flowers, in which the hearts of people rejoice, because in it all the fruits of the earth from which a person delights go forward; so also a person, in the sight of the eyes, naturally knowing every use of natures, distinguishes by the keenness of reason what differs among the things that he sees. The fruitfulness, indeed, of that month is similar to the taste of the mouth, through which a person knows those things that are useful for their own refreshment. But the sixth month, dry as it is with heat, rises with the process of fruits into that air which sends ripeness into the fruits and sometimes pours out its waters in excess; and in this the shoulders of a man are signified, who, having dryness with heat, endure every labor, complete all tasks, and hold the whole body together, yet from time to time seek rest for their labor, just as a bird, from weariness, lets its wings droop, and as a root holds its branches. In the same way the second sense, namely hearing, exists to understand the words it receives, as a kind of small wing of reason. Hence it happens that when the ears receive the sound of any creature, the soul comes to know what kind it is or where it is, and so a person then directs their mind more intently to investigating it. For the power of the soul that perceives through the ears does not grow weary from hearing, the way the body tires; nor is it filled to satiety, but rather it has a desire to know and take note of many things — just as the sixth month, which is not wet, expands the fruits it had brought forth with gentle heat by manifold increase and begins to send ripeness into them. And just as in this month floods of water are poured out amid the dangerous sounds of thunder in fear, so too among the things hearing calmly receives about human affairs, there are many that it takes in with dread and sorrow. But hearing is the beginning of a rational soul, because just as words that are written are first spoken aloud, so through hearing things that have been spoken and composed are each carried out according to a person's intention. Yet the soul is compelled to endure all these things — good and bad, helpful and useless — which through the beginning of hearing bring sighs and tears, because it has not yet begun to delight fully in good works. The shoulders too, which sustain the moisture of the inner organs and of a person's other limbs just as they sustain the whole body, also bear a certain likeness to hearing, which is the beginning of the soul, since through it all works are carried out, just as all burdens are carried on the shoulders.
The Soul's Weariness and the Promise of Rest
The soul, bound up with the body's works, alternates between joy and sorrow in this life, longing for a peace it cannot yet possess, and at death receives eternal dwellings for good deeds or punishments for evil according to its merits.
For just as the inward parts of the body cling together, so too are the works of a human being bound up with one another: through the good by which evil is rebuked, the soul has joy, and through the evil by which good is recognized, it is saddened — and so, even while it now rests in joy, soon it is turned to sorrow. And so it seeks rest, longing for the peace it so often is unable to possess. And so the same soul, as long as it remains in the body, is wearied: for its good deeds it is received into eternal dwellings, and for its evil deeds, according to its merits, it is placed in punishments.
The Seventh Month: Smell, Spiritual Discipline, and the Soul's Ascent
The seventh month, ripening and drying, signifies the sense of smell and the arms, through which a person with discretion discerns, gathers, and masters what preserves spiritual health, while the soul, a warrior, ascends in repentance, gathering virtues and longing for eternal dwellings.
The seventh sense, too, has great power through the burning sun, and it makes the fruits of the earth both ripe and dry; and through the storms of drought and rain it is a rushing stream, just as the bending of the arms through the shoulders and through the strong hands is powerful, by which a person gathers everything they need. So too a person, through the sense of smell, perceives by discerning and recognizing the nature of each thing, whether it's useful or useless, and they choose and gather into their keeping those things that preserve their health, so that when harmful humors are dried up, they may grow in health — the very humors by which they are tempered — and so that the humors aren't undermined by corrupt moisture failing the strength of the blood. For a person themselves, drawing all these things to themselves in their knowledge, binds them under their control, so that the envy of the humors may be driven out, and so that they may hold firm in the strength of health; and so with discretion they powerfully order these things, just as the bending of the arms through the shoulders and through the strong hands is powerful. In their mind as well they keep hold of what pertains to their health, and so provide themselves with everything they need, just as all the fruits are now gathered ripe in this month. But the soul, which is the breath of God, has a path like a rushing stream, so that wisdom, like a torrent on its course, circles the circuit of heaven. And so through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, along with the five senses, a person begins and completes all their works through it, so that the seventh month too bears all the fruits of the earth. These works, you see, lead either to praise, as if by the right hand, or to shame, as if by the left, as though they are brought to completion by a certain ripening and drying of the fruits. For from the remembrance of sins, in bitter repentance tears are often poured out, as when in the mighty strength of a lion that surpasses other beasts, it tramples all vices and sins with great intensity of purpose, and through the wisdom by which it knows God, it grieves over the works of sin by which it had fled from God. The soul, then, with its own sighs, prompted by the Holy Spirit, moves and sustains a person in many strengths, when it brings him, in repentance, to gather all the freshness of the virtues for wiping away the wounds of sinners — and through this the soul itself has joy, always longing to reach the eternal dwellings and remain in them without end.12
The Eighth Month: Taste, Spiritual Combat, and the Armor of God
The eighth month, powerful and declining, signifies the hands and the sense of taste, through which a person discerns and stores up knowledge, while the soul as warrior fights fleshly desires with the shield of faith and the armor of virtues, conquering through the heat of the true sun and the coldness of repentance.
The eighth, however, is like a great prince in his own powers, who holds all things in his own authority through fullness. Therefore it shows joy in itself, and because it burns with the heat of the sun, it also has dew from a certain coldness, and it is terrible in its own storms, because the sun has now declined to the lower parts. Therefore its qualities are shown in human hands, which perform very many works and hold the power of the whole body in themselves, since they draw to themselves all things that are able to, and store them up, so that a person may often be praised for the works of their hands. Likewise, through the taste of the mouth a person more perfectly knows the strengths of those things by which they are refreshed before other senses, and holds them in the power of their own knowledge, just as this month also is great in its own powers. It too has joy in itself, wisely discerning which cold and hot natures are suited to its own health, just as this month has the heat of the sun and the coldness of dew in itself. For in its knowledge, turning away from those things that are dangerous and useless, it gathers good and useful things, just as hands perform praiseworthy works strongly in uprightness, and as a builder in the power of his art constructs all the buildings of his house, in which he wisely preserves all his substance. But the soul, being a warrior, overcoming the unlawful desires of the person with its own longings, penetrates, and by a torrent-like journey, going around its own circuit, at the beginning of its battle it ascends to the highest God. For with the shield of faith and the full armor of virtues it fights against the desires of the flesh; and when it has conquered those, like a warrior who has overcome his enemies according to his own will and purpose, it rejoices, because in the heat of the true sun burning, it makes a person sigh, so that in the coldness of true repentance, which dries up all sins, it may pour out tears.
Penance, Patience, and the Soul's Blossoming
The penitent soul, humbling itself as mud before God, takes up the cross and passions of Christ, ascending from virtue to virtue, blossoming with good works and holy virtues that never weary, while the heavenly host rejoices over its progress.
For a person in penance — where countless opposing forces collide — lowers himself in humility, counting himself as mere mud, so much that he can scarcely dare to hope for his soul's salvation. But the soul soon sets before itself the cross and all the passions of Jesus Christ — through which sins are washed away — lifting itself up in hope, and as penance itself ascends from virtue to virtue, the soul blossoms, so that for each sin committed through it, it brings forth the flowers of good works and holy virtues — virtues that can never grow weary. For so it is that through penance, advancing daily in great strength, the soul is lifted up and stores up good and holy works — and over these the whole heavenly host rejoices, praising God.
The Ninth and Tenth Months: Touch, Patience, and the Soul's Mastery
The ninth month's maturity corresponds to the belly and the sense of touch, through which a person discerns what is wholesome, while the soul, clothed in patience, ascends in good works and descends in humility; the tenth month's cold signifies old age, when the soul, like a wise mistress, teaches the person to hold fast to God and subjugates the body through grace.
The ninth stage of mature time is this: it does not show itself terrible through storms, and it carries away every unworthy juice of fruits that are good for eating, because it holds all things safely, as if in a little bag. And so, in its own qualities it is like the belly of a man, in which whatever is put in is digested from the heat of the liver and of the other entrails; and this, once mixed with heat and cold, is properly expelled in its fixed manner. But this manner is sometimes abandoned through infirmities, so that this month too is occasionally stirred up as it passes through its seasons in its own way. A person, too, recognizes by the sense of touch what things are mature for eating and eats them, lest infirmity should befall him from its disturbed humors of unripe things, and so this month too carries away the unworthy juice of fruits. It also takes care that it not be refreshed immoderately, but properly and sufficiently, so that humors cannot be stirred up by vile pus, and it too cautiously gathers to itself all useful things, so that each thing which it loves it carefully shuts up, lest it be taken away from it. So therefore a person by touch is like his belly, which emits what it receives, constrained temperately by heat and cold, so that in this month too all mature things appear, whose juice is afterward dried up. The soul, however, which is troubled by many wars and labors and tribulations on account of Adam's fall and also through the battles of its own flesh, ascends to heavenly things with joy in good works, and descends through sadness in evil things. For it puts on the strongest breastplate, most diligently woven and joined together — namely, patience — which no arrow can pierce, and in the ascent of good works it will advance a person, so that in the descent of true humility whatever good he has done, he may attribute to the one who is the highest good and through whom he has it. When someone is in such great sorrow for their sins that they can scarcely hope for the salvation of their soul, then their soul, patiently enduring, again sets before them the truth that God took on human form for the sake of our salvation, and it lifts them up in hope out of this doubt, as it is written: 'If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into hell, you are present.'✦ This is clear to the understanding in the following way. O God, every ascent of the saints and of their heavenly works — those whom you set ablaze with your fire — is yours; you who send the dew of heartfelt compunction into a person in your love, through which the other virtues afterward blossom and bear fruit as they grow green. But when I descend into the depths of sins through forgetting you, deserving the infernal punishments, if I sigh out to you in true repentance, crying aloud with drops of your blood, you anoint me and save me — and so you are there, my deliverer and my savior. Patience with humility in high places overcomes pride, and in the darkness of sins it warns a person not to despair of God's mercy for their own sins, and so it holds all works in right moderation, as if in maturity, defending what is done in holiness from vainglory, and saving what is accomplished in the corruption of sins by freeing it from despair. For patience itself is on the right path, because it does not abandon heavenly things nor despise earthly ones, but it tramples every enticement of the deceiving devil under the true light, which is God, and through all these things it neither rejoices too much nor falls into sadness, even if at times it is shaken by the devil's deception — against which it resists strongly with the shield of faith. The tenth month is also compared, as it were, to a person sitting down, because it doesn't fly away on its own strength in the green of spring, nor does it produce heat, but strips the branches of trees and sweats out cold, just as a person, while sitting, wraps himself up so the cold may escape — someone who, in the same month, draws a garment around himself, because at that time he has warmth only through his clothing. By this example too: when a person begins to grow cold through old age, then, having become wiser than before, he finds boyish behavior tiresome and wears out the shifting ways of wanton and foolish conduct in that mature age, and he avoids the company of fools, so they don't deceive him through his ignorance, because his own useless and varied cravings of the flesh now fail him as the cold of age dries him out, so that this month, too, is no longer pleasant with its greenness, as its bareness and cold strip the branches. The soul too — the living and wise breath made by God, who is true wisdom — teaches a person to hold firmly to the things that are from God himself, and through the grace of God, with its own strength in a blessed person, like a mistress ruling over a handmaid, it subjugates the body to itself, and brings the person delight in good things. For if at some time the flesh of that person has been stirred by the taste of delight, the soul, indignant within him, marvels, and it makes that same poison cease by extinguishing it in his veins and in his marrow, and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, with the teaching of the Scriptures, by consoling him from vices toward virtues, it gathers him up and watches over him cautiously, so he may not fail in sins.
The Eleventh and Twelfth Months: Knees, Feet, Anger, and Spiritual Hardness
The eleventh month's cold signifies bent knees and the soul's groaning when mastered by sin or weakened by age, while the twelfth month's freezing hardness signifies the feet and the soul hardened by anger, which becomes a murderer like Cain, blind to good works and burdened with sin.
But the eleventh month bends down and builds up cold, showing itself with no joy in summer but with sorrow in winter, and the cold from it falls upon the ground and makes the mud seep through — something a person imitates when they bend their knees so the cold won't pass through them. And so when a person bends their knees in sorrow, they heap up painful thoughts in their heart and count themselves as mere mud, with no regard for joy, because in their grief they remember that human knees were bent naturally from the very beginning. In the same way, when a person has reached old age, they are weakened by the cold, and having no joy from their youth, they are sad because of the failure of their own dryness — the wasting away they suffer and the unworthy humors that drain from them. After all, any old person who draws near to the fire out of fear of the cold gathers their limbs together because they are naturally cold, so that this month too, with no joy in summer, spends all its days cold — just like human knees, which that person bends in sorrow when they remember their beginning, namely how they sat in their mother's womb with knees folded, almost like a captive. But when the soul by its own strength has so mastered the person that they at least pause a little from the sins they have committed, and yet it cannot keep them from wanting to sin, then it groans in its vessel — the flesh it inhabits — because it fills and moves the whole body, like a wind that blows into a house, making its walls shake and passing through its hollows or windows as it rushes. But when a person wraps themselves in the darkness of sins like a worm in a hole in the mud, then the soul, which is placed in the veins and in the marrow along with all the joints of the limbs, grows weak in its strength because it is not warmed by the fire of the Holy Spirit; and because through its fleshly nature it cannot have pleasing works, it always groans, leaping past the daily light of holiness, and forgets what it is or where it came from in its own nature. The soul's groaning, full of pain, happens when the spiritual taste of its own nature has been alienated from it, because — not having been set on fire by the grace of the Holy Spirit — it consents to do the works that the body demands from it, even though it is unwilling. As a result, doing things against its will brings it great sorrow — just as the body too sometimes feels sorrow when it is forced to work according to the soul's nature. The twelfth month too holds cold with great power, and freezes the earth with hardness, and covers it entirely with the foam of cold, and makes it foul and burdensome.3 And so in its quality the feet of the human being are signified, who trample and scatter many things, and restrain the earth, so that it cannot lift itself up on high, but they stand over it.4 In this way too the soul of one who has shed his neighbor's blood in his anger, or inflicted some other injury on him by quarreling, is grievously stained, because just as the body remains cold without all warmth after the soul's departure, so that soul itself, hardened through anger without the warmth of the Holy Spirit's gifts, forgets its own nature, in which it appears bloodied before God, since it, just like Cain in his brother's blood, has been cast out by God.56 In a person's anger, you see, blood surges up.7 And so he himself, deprived of his right senses, becomes as if insane; through the irrational motions of anger and blasphemy he cuts his brother off from every blessing, envying him in his heart and with his mouth, and as much as he can, in thought and word he scatters all that is good in him, and therefore through the evil of hatred in his soul he is a murderer before God.✦89 He himself, you see, will gnash his teeth over him, pouring out the malicious words he had dictated in his heart with hatred, and through the hardness of unjust paths he has no sweetness of holiness in himself, nor can he sow the seed of good works, and because of this hardness, in which he continually dwells, he never sighs toward heavenly things.✦10 And so anyone who is like this is blind to the good works of holy and pure knowledge, and will never have the joys of holiness that he scattered in his anger, since he is like a camel loaded down and defiled with the foul burdens of his sins.✦11 In this way the qualities and powers of the months are applied to the human being.12
The Psalmist's Witness
The Psalmist, speaking by divine inspiration, offers words fitting for these mysteries, as David's psalm applies to the soul's journey through the months.
So too the Psalmist, speaking through my inspiration, says: The words of David in Psalm 133 are fitting for these matters.
Read the original Latin
Sed et sicut creaturas Deus in homine signavit, sic etiam tempora anni in illo ordinavit. Nam aestatem in homine vigilante, hiemem in dormiente ostendit, quoniam et hiems infra se abscondit quod aestas in gaudio profert; ita et dormiens per somnum confortatur, quatenus vigilans in viribus suis ad quaelibet opera promptus efficiatur. Menses quoque in eo distinxit, cum qualitates et virtutes eorum in ipso discrevit. Nam mensis primus, in quo sol sursum erigitur, frigidus et humidus existit, et in multa diversitate est, et aquam in candorem conversam exsudat. Unde et qualitates ejus cerebro conjunguntur, quoniam illud frigidum et humidum exstans, vilem humorem per oculos, et per aures, atque per nares ejiciendo emundat. Ita et anima in pueritia hominis, quae nec dolum, nec carnalem gustum habet, et eam contra naturam suam operando non concutit, in gaudio operatur; ipsaque in eadem pueritia, quae juxta desiderium suum simplex et innocens est, fortis et potens existit. Postea vero gaudio puerilis innocentiae carens, in magnam tristitiam velut peregrinus qui ex patria sua pulsus est convertitur, cum corporales humores in homine crescunt, et ipse per gustum carnis maculosus effectus, lasciviam amplectendo cum oblivione Dei in convivio peccatorum gaudet et laetatur. Sicut enim sol in primo mense sursum erigitur, sic anima in prima aetate nec ligata nec tenebrosa gustu et effectu peccatorum est, per quae homo cum diversis moribus instabilitatis in duritiam sordiditatis et vanitatis sanctitate legitimorum operum carendo convertitur.
Sed cum idem homo humiditatem lacrymarum per doctrinam, et admonitionem Spiritus sancti effuderit, a foeditate peccatorum in suavissimo odore boni rumoris, ignorantiam et taedium bonorum operum devitando mundatur.
Secundus autem in qualitate sua purgatorius est, et in oculis designatur, quia et oculi aquosi et lutulenti et pestiferi existentes, purgationem aliquando in semetipsis faciunt. Hoc modo anima in homine velut succus in arbore est, quia sicut per succum omnes fructus arboris crescunt, sic etiam per animam omnia opera hominis perficiuntur; et cum venae et medullae ipsius impletae fuerint, secundum desideria carnis operari incipit, quae cum profecerint, ex spiritali natura ipsius animae coactus saepissime ingemit. Sic quoque cum oculo scientiae quomodo peccata inceperit, et qualiter sine poenitentia illa perfecerit considerando ab omni pollutione mundatus, ea ulterius vitare studet.
Per tertium vero, qui tumultuosus existens, tempestates portat, et pestes in se retinet, et diversis flatibus omnia germina terrae movet, aures intelliguntur, in quibus sonus cunctorum utilium et inutilium sonat, per quae totum corpus movetur. Similiter et anima in corpore quod per eam movetur et impletur, et velut venis connectitur, conflictum contra vires naturae suae habet, cum homo in medio juventutis suae similis est arbori, quae prius grossos et postea fructus suos emittit. Homo enim tempestates inquietorum morum habet, cum intelligit quid facere possit, quia medulla ejus jam pinguis est, et venae ipsius plenae sunt; et tunc anima in illo plangentem et querulam vocem habet, eo quod dolor suus de peccatis illius magis et magis augeatur, quoniam ipsa vita illa est quae omnia in homine movet. Ille autem plus justo appetentior laudis, se sapientem reputando magis desipit, cum per temeritatem et superbiam suam quasi putridum vulnus existit, et in mendacium ducitur, cum in eo fama honesti et boni rumoris quam habere quaerit nunquam apparet. Unde et anima in quam omnia bona et mala revertuntur, sicut etiam in auribus omnia utilia et inutilia sonant, et per cujus vires omnia perficiuntur, lugendo tristatur. Cum autem, compresso tumore juvenilis mentis, per gratiam Dei ad meliorem partem peccata sua emendando convertitur, anima, quae prius tristis erat, et in ipso omnia utilia et inutilia perflat, propter mala et inutilia opera eum ad poenitentiam commovet, et propter bona et utilia opera eum sicut in paradisiaco loco gaudere facit.
Sed et per quartum, qui viridis et odoriferus est, et velut cum timore tonat, nares designantur, in quibus spiramen animae odorem attrahit, et emittit omnium quae sibi homo cum timore eligit. Huic quoque, scilicet mensi, homo qui per spiramen rationalitatis in scientia sua viriditatem bonorum operum sapienter elegerit, assimilatur, in quo omnes fructus virent, et qui odoriferus est, quoniam in dulcissimo odore rumor probitatis et utilitatis in laude Dei ubique emittitur. Sed tumultus odiosorum et malorum hominum, virtutes et bona opera illius hominis saepe repudiat, et eum injustum et malum vocat, quemadmodum Judaei Dominum Jesum Christum injustum et coinquinatum esse mendaciter dicebant, cum eum in omnibus operibus suis sanctum et justum cognoscerent. Sicut enim mensis iste cum periculo et timore sonat, et tamen fructus terrae non arefacit, sic etiam vires et virtutes beati hominis per praedicta mala non arescunt, sed illi qui dentibus suis super eum frendent deficiunt. Et sicut homo in spiramine rationalitatis per nares quaeque dulcissima et nobilissima eligendo sibi attrahit, et fetentia et lutulenta abjicit, aeterna praemia promeretur, et ab hominibus cum laude honoratur, ubi ejus persecutor coelestibus praemiis carens, in terra ab hominibus nunquam in veritate laudari potest. Qui enim Deum timet et diligit, mentem suam ab omni quod malum est se custodit, quemadmodum homo nasum suum de fetenti et immunda re avertit.
Quintus autem suavis et lenis est et gloriosus in omnibus terrae est, ut etiam gustus oris dulcis et delectabilis est, quoniam per ipsum cognoscuntur et sciuntur, quibus homo cum gaudio reficitur. Sic et rationalitas columna et medulla quinque sensuum existit, qui per eam sustentantur, et ad operandum diriguntur, quemadmodum terra, per aratrum eversa, germinando fructuosa efficitur. Visus enim, scilicet sensus oculorum, per quem homo omnia videt et cognoscit, inter alios jure principatum tenet, quia ut loco sublimior caeteris est, ita et remotiora magis quam alii percipit. Unde et idem visus oculorum jucundus et gloriosus est, quia homo cum eo cognoscendo et eligendo utilia ab inutilibus discernit. Sicut ergo quintus mensis, videlicet Maius, suavissimum odorem florum habet, in quo corda hominum laetantur, eo quod in ipso omnes fructus terrae de quibus homo gaudet procedant; sic etiam homo in visu oculorum omnem usum naturarum naturaliter cognoscendo, quid inter illa quae videt differat, acumine rationalitatis discernit. Fructuositas vero istius mensis gustui oris similis est, per quem homo ea quae ad refectionem suam utilia sunt cognoscit.
At sextus cum calore siccus existens, in processu fructuum cum aere illo se elevat, qui maturitatem fructibus immittit, et aquas aliquando in nimietate effundit; in quo et humeri hominis notantur, qui cum calore siccitatem habentes, unumquemque laborem sustinent, et omnia opera complent, totumque corpus retinent, et tamen interdum pro labore quietem quaerunt, velut cum avis pro lassitudine alas suas remittit, et ut radix ramos suos continet. Eodem modo secundus sensus, scilicet auditus, ad intelligenda verba quae suscipit, quasi quaedam pennula rationalitatis existit. Unde fit ut dum aures sonum cujusque creaturae recipiunt, qualis sit vel ubi sit eadem creatura cognoscat, ideoque tunc homo magis ad investigandam eam animum intendit. Vis enim animae, quae per aures sentit, sicut audiendo non laborat, ita nec extaediata satiatur, sed potius desiderium multa cognoscendi et notandi habet, ut etiam sextus mensis, qui humidus non est, fructibus quos cum leni calore produxerat, multiplici incremento dilatat, et eis maturitatem immittere incipit. Et sicut in mense isto inundationes aquarum cum periculosis sonis tonitruum in timore funduntur, sic etiam inter illa quae de rebus humanis placide auditus admittit, sunt multa quae cum horrore et tristitia recipit. Auditus vero initium rationalis animae est, quia sicut verba quae scribuntur, prius dictantur, sic per ipsum dictata et composita quaeque secundum hominis intentionem perficiuntur. Anima tamen omnia ista bona et mala, utilia et inutilia sustinere cogitur, quae per initium auditus in suspiriis lacrymarum, quia nondum bona opera incoepit, plene gaudere non potest. Humeri quoque, qui humiditatem viscerum et aliorum membrorum hominis, sicut totum corpus sustinent, etiam nonnullam auditus, qui initium animae est, similitudinem habent, per quem omnia opera perficiuntur, quemadmodum per humeros onera cuncta portantur.
Sicut enim viscera ad invicem cohaerent, sic et opera hominis conjuncta sunt; et per bona quibus mala arguuntur gaudium habet, et per mala quibus bona cognoscuntur, tristatur; et ita cum jam in gaudio manet, mox in tristitiam convertitur. Quapropter et requiem quaerit, ut homo quietem quam habere non potest saepe desiderat. Unde et eadem anima quae quandiu in corpore manet fatigatur, in aeternis tabernaculis pro bonis recipitur, et pro malis secundum merita sua in poenis collocatur.
Septimus quoque per ardentem solem magnas vires habet, fructusque terrae maturos et aridos facit, atque per tempestates ariditatis et pluviae torrens est, quemadmodum et flexurae brachiorum per scapulas et per manus fortes sunt, quibus homo omnia necessaria colligit. Sic et homo per odorem naturam cujusque rei sapit discernendo et cognoscendo quae utilis et inutilis sit, et ea quae ad conservationem naturae suae pertinent eligit, et in sinu suo colligit, quatenus, malis humoribus arefactis, in sanitate crescat, quibus temperatur, ne humores per corruptum succum a fortitudine sanguinis destituantur. Ipse enim, scilicet homo, in scientia sua omnia ista ad se trahens, ea sub potestate ligat, ut livor humorum expellatur, et ipsi in fortitudine sanitatis persistant, et sic cum discretione ista fortiter disponit, ut etiam flexurae brachiorum per scapulas et per manus fortes sunt. In mente quoque sua conservat quae ad sanitatem suam pertinent, et sic omnia sibi necessaria providet, quemadmodum omnes fructus in mense isto maturi jam colliguntur. Anima vero quae a Deo spiramen est, torrens iter habet, ut etiam sapientia torrenti itinere gyrum coeli circuivit. Unde et septem donis Spiritus sancti cum quinque sensibus homo per eam incipit et perficit omnia opera sua, ut etiam septimus mensis omnes fructus terrae proficit. Quae videlicet opera vel ad laudem quasi per dextram, vel ad confusionem quasi ad sinistram, ac si in quadam maturitate et ariditate fructuum perficiuntur. Ex recordatione enim peccatorum in amara poenitentia saepe lacrymae effunduntur, velut in fortissimis viribus leonis, qui alias bestias praecellit, omnia vitia et peccata cum magnae intentionis studio conculcat, et per sapientiam qua Deum cognoscit, pro operibus peccatorum, quibus a Deo fugerat, luget.
Anima namque cum suspiriis suis per admonitionem Spiritus sancti in multis viribus hominem movet et sustinet, cum eum in poenitentia omnem viriditatem virtutum ad abstergenda vulnera peccatorum colligere facit, per quod ipsa gaudium habet, semper desiderando ut ad aeterna tabernacula perveniat et in ipsis sine fine permaneat.
Octavus autem velut magnus princeps in viribus suis est, qui omnia in potestate sua per plenitudinem habet. Quapropter et laetitiam in se ostendit, atque per fervorem solis ardens, rorem etiam de quadam frigiditate habet, horribilisque in tempestatibus suis est, quia sol jam ad inferiora declinavit. Qualitates itaque ipsius in manibus hominis ostenduntur, quae plurima opera perficiunt, et potestatem totius corporis in se habent, quoniam omnia quae possunt sibi attrahunt, et thesaurizant, ita ut homo operibus manuum suarum saepe laudetur. Similiter et homo per gustum oris vires illorum quibus reficitur prae caeteris sensibus perfectius cognoscit, et eas in potestate scientiae suae habet, sicut etiam mensis iste in viribus suis magnus est. Ipse etiam laetitiam in se habet, sapienter discernens quae frigidae et calidae naturae ad sanitatem suam conveniant, ut etiam mensis iste ardorem solis et frigiditatem roris in se habet. In scientia enim sua ab illis quae periculosa et inutilia sunt declinans, bona et utilia colligit, sicut manus laudabilia opera fortiter in probitate perficiunt, et ut aedificator in potestate artis suae omnia aedificia domus suae construit, in qua omnem substantiam suam sapienter conservat. Anima vero praeliatrix existens, desideriis suis illicitas cupiditates hominis superando penetrat, et torrenti itinere circulum suum circumeundo, in incoeptione praelii sui ad altissimum Deum ascendit. Ipsa enim scuto fidei et omni armatura virtutum, contra desideria carnis pugnat; et cum illa vicerit, velut vir praeliator qui secundum voluntatem et intentionem suam inimicos suos superavit, gaudet, quia in calore veri solis ardendo, hominem suspirare facit, ita ut in frigiditate verae poenitentiae, quae omnia peccata arefacit, lacrymas effundat.
Homo enim in poenitentia, in qua plurimae contrarietates ei occurrunt, cum humilitate se pro luto computando descendit, ita ut vix salvationem animae suae speret. Sed anima mox crucem et omnes passiones Jesu Christi, per quas peccata abluuntur ei proponit in spem eum elevando, et ex qua poenitentia ipso de virtute in virtutem ascendente floret, ita ut pro singulis per eam perpetratis flores bonorum operum et sanctarum virtutum quibus nunquam extaediari possit operetur. Sic enim per poenitentiam in magnis viribus quotidie proficiendo sustollitur, et thesaurizat bona et sancta opera de quibus omnis coelestis turba Deum laudando gaudet.
Nonus vero maturi temporis est, nec per tempestates se terribilem ostendit, omnemque indignum succum fructuum qui boni ad edendum sunt aufert, quia ipse omnia velut in sacculo secure tenet. Unde et in qualitatibus suis sicut venter hominis est, in quo ex calore jecoris et aliorum viscerum quidquid ei immittitur excoquitur; quod etiam mistum calore et frigore in statuto modo recte ejicitur. Sed iste modus, per infirmitates aliquando destituitur, ut etiam mensis iste per percurrentia tempora in modo suo interdum commovetur. Homo quoque per sensum tactus quae ad edendum matura sunt cognoscit et comedit, ne de immaturis ejus humoribus turbatis, infirmitatem incurrat, ut etiam mensis iste indignum succum fructuum aufert. Ipse etiam intendit ut non immoderate, sed recte et sufficienter reficiatur, ne humores vili sanie moveri possint, et etiam quaeque utilia caute sibi colligit, ut quilibet rem quam diligit diligenter claudit, ne sibi auferatur. Sic ergo homo tactu suo ventri similis est, qui ea quae recipit calore et frigore temperate coacta emittit, ut etiam in mense isto omnia matura apparent, quorum succus postea exsiccatur. Anima vero, quae multis bellis et laboribus tribulationibusque lapsum Adae, et etiam per praelia carnis suae turbatur, in bonis operibus cum gaudio ad coelestia ascendit, et in malis per tristitiam descendit. Ipsa enim fortissimam loricam, quae diligentissime texta et connexa est, scilicet patientiam induit, quam nulla sagitta perforare valet, et in ascensione bonorum operum hominem provebit, ut in descensione verae humilitatis quidquid boni fecerit illi qui summum bonum est, et per quem illud habet, attribuat.
Cum vero homo in tanta tristitia est pro peccatis suis, ut vix salvationem animae suae speret, tunc ejus iterum anima patienter sustinens ei proponit quod Deus pro salute hominis humanam formam assumpserit, et eum in spe ab ista dubitatione surgere facit, sicut scriptum est: « Si ascendero in coelum, tu illic es; si descendero ad infernum, ades . » Quod sic intellectui patet. O Deus, omnis ascensio sanctorum et coelestium operum eorum quos igne tuo accendis, tua est, qui homini in amore tuo rorem compunctionis cordis immittis, per quam caeterae virtutes postea virendo frondent. Cum autem in profunditatem peccatorum descendero per oblivionem tui infernales poenas promerendo, si in vera poenitentia ad te clamando suspiravero, guttis sanguinis tui me ungis et salvas, et sic liberator et salvator meus ades. Patientia cum humilitate in altis est superbiam superando, et etiam in tenebris peccatorum est hominem monendo, ne pro peccatis suis de misericordia Dei desperet, et sic omnia opera in recta moderatione quasi in maturitate habet, illa quae in sanctitate fiunt a vana gloria defendendo, et ea quae in putredine peccatorum perficiuntur, a desperatione liberando salvat. Ipsa enim patientia in recto itinere est, quoniam coelestia non relinquit nec terrena despicit, sed omnia incitamenta vitiorum fallentis diaboli in vero lumine, quod Deus est, conculcat, et in omnibus his nec nimis laetatur, nec in tristitiam cadit, licet interdum ex deceptione diaboli commoveatur, cui cum scuto fidei fortiter resistit.
Decimus quoque quasi homini sedenti assimilatur, quoniam viribus suis in viriditate non volat, nec calorem parat, sed ramos arborum exspoliat, frigusque exsudat, quemadmodum et homo dum sedet se complicat ut frigus evadat, qui in eodem mense vestem sibi attrahit, quia tunc calorem per vestimentum habet. Hoc exemplo et homo cum per senilem aetatem frigescere incipit, tunc sapientior quam prius effectus pueriles mores in taedium ducit, et vicissitudines lascivorum et stultorum morum in ista matura aetate desiccat, et stultorum societatem, ne eum per ignorantiam decipiant, devitat, quoniam inutiles et varii sui gustus carnis ex frigiditate aetatis, in ipso jam deficiunt, ut etiam mensis iste ex viriditate jucundus non est, per cujus ariditatem cum frigore rami exspoliantur. Anima quoque, quae vivens et prudens spiraculum a Deo facta est, qui vera sapientia est, hominem docet ut firmiter teneat quae ab ipso Deo sunt, et per gratiam Dei cum viribus suis in beato homine velut domina ancillam corpus sibi dominando subjicit, et illi in bonis delectationem parit. Si enim aliquando caro hominis illius per gustum delectationis mota fuerit, anima in ipso indignando miratur, et idem venenum in venis et in medullis illius exstinguendo cessare facit, et per gratiam Spiritus sancti cum doctrina Scripturarum eum consolando, de vitiis ad virtutes, ne in peccatis deficiat, colligit et caute observat.
Sed undecimus se inclinat et frigus aedificat, nec gaudium de aestate, sed tristitiam de hieme in se ostendit, et frigus de ipso super terram cadit, eamque lutum spumare facit, quod et homo imitatur, cum genua sua flectit, ne frigus per eum transeat. Unde etiam cum genua sua in tristitia flectit, in corde suo cogitationes doloris exaggerat, et se quasi lutum computat, nec aspectum ad gaudium habet, quoniam in moerore recordatur quod genua hominis in primordio suo naturaliter flexa sunt. Non dissimiliter, cum homo ad senectutem pervenerit, frigiditate attenuatur, et gaudium juventutis non habens, ex defectu ariditatis suae, in qua macie afficitur et indignis humoribus defluit, tristatur. Quilibet enim senex propter timorem frigoris ad ignem se calefaciens membra sua colligit, quoniam naturaliter frigidus est, ut etiam mensis iste absque jucunditate aestatis omnes dies suos frigidos habens, genibus hominis similis est, quae ipse in tristitia flectit, cum primordii sui reminiscitur, scilicet quando in utero matris suae complicatis genibus quasi captus sedebat. Cum vero anima viribus suis hominem ita superavit, ut per eam a peccatis quae operatus est aliquantulum cesset, et tamen eam prohibere non potest quin peccare desideret, tunc in vase suo, quod est caro quam inhabitat, ingemit, quoniam ipsa totum corpus perfundit et movet, velut ventus qui in aliquam domum flat, cujus parietes moveri facit, et cujus cavernas seu fenestras flando pertransit. Sed cum homo in tenebras peccatorum velut vermis in foramen luti se involvit, tunc anima, quae in venis et in medullis cum omnibus compaginibus membrorum sita est, quoniam de igne Spiritus sancti non calet, in viribus suis deficit; et quia per carnalem naturam jucunda opera habere non potest, diurnum lumen sanctitatis transiliendo, semper ingemiscit, et in natura sua quid sit vel unde venerit obliviscitur. Gemitus vero animae plenus doloribus existit, cum gustus spiritalis naturae suae ab ea alienatus fuerit, quia per gratiam Spiritus sancti non accensa, opera quae corpus ab ea postulat, licet invita, ad operandum ei consentit. Unde contra voluntatem suam operando magnam tristitiam habet, sicut etiam corpus nonnunquam tristitiam habet cum secundum naturam animae operari cogitur.
Duodecimus quoque cum magna potentia frigus habet et terram cum duritia coagulat, et ipsam cum spuma frigoris totam obtegit et eam taediosam et laboriosam facit. Quapropter in qualitate ejus pedes hominis notantur, qui plurima conculcant et dispergunt, et terram temperant, ne se terra in altum levare possit, sed super illam stant. Hoc modo et anima hominis illius qui in ira sua sanguinem proximi sui effuderit, vel aliam injuriam rixando ei intulerit, graviter commaculatur, quia sicut corpus post discessum animae absque omni calore frigidum manet, sic ipsa sine calore donorum Spiritus sancti per iram indurata, naturae suae obliviscitur, in qua coram Deo sanguinea apparet, quoniam ipsa, quemadmodum Cain in sanguine fratris sui, a Deo abjecta est. In ira enim hominis sanguis inundat. Unde et ipse rectis sensibus suis destitutus quasi insanus efficitur; per irrationabiles irarum et blasphemiae motus corde et ore ab omni beatitudine fratrem suum invidendo abscidit, et quantum potest cogitando et dicendo, omnia bona illius dispergit, et ideo per malum odii in anima sua coram Deo homicida est. Ipse enim dentibus suis super eum frendet, malitiosa verba quae in corde suo cum odio dictaverat, ei obfundens, et per duritiam injustorum itinerum nullam dulcedinem sanctitatis in se habere, nec semen bonorum operum seminare potest, et pro ista duritia, in qua assidue moratur, ad coelestia nunquam suspirat. Unde et qui hujusmodi est a bonis sanctae et purae scientiae operibus caecus, sanctitatis gaudia quae in ira sparserat, nunquam habebit, quoniam ipse velut camelus foedis peccatorum sarcinis oneratus et pollutus est. Hoc modo qualitates et virtutes mensium homini coaptantur.
Unde et Psalmista inspiratione mea dicit:
Verba David in psalmo CIII ad haec competentia.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.139.8 — If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there.
- ↩1John.3.15 — Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
- ↩Matt.13.42 — and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
- ↩Matt.19.24 — Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
Notes
- 1 ↩viriditatem is metaphorical ('freshness/greenness'); rendered 'freshness' to keep the organic image of living virtue rather than a flat abstraction.
- 2 ↩cum at the second occurrence is temporal ('when') rather than causal, following the candidate gloss's preferred reading.
- 3 ↩The metaphor reads the twelfth month's harsh cold as an image of a soul benumbed by sin; the 'foam of cold' (spuma frigoris) is striking and rendered conservatively.
- 4 ↩'pedes hominis notantur' is rendered 'the feet of the human being are signified' to preserve the allegorical idiom; 'conculcant et dispergunt' is read as 'trample and scatter'.
- 5 ↩anima rendered 'soul' per lexeme policy. The Cain allusion compares the angry soul to Cain stained with Abel's blood.
- 6 ↩The final clause is read as a comparison: the soul appears bloodied before God as Cain did in his brother's blood.
- 7 ↩Brief explanatory clause; 'enim' rendered as 'you see' to keep the natural explanatory force in contemporary English.
- 8 ↩anima rendered 'soul' per lexeme policy. 'homicida' rendered 'murderer' to preserve the moral-theological force of the claim.
- 9 ↩The long sentence is broken at the semicolon to keep it readable in contemporary English while preserving the logical flow.
- 10 ↩The long sentence is broken at a natural pause to keep it readable in contemporary English while preserving the logical flow.
- 11 ↩The camel image evokes a beast of burden weighed down by sin; compare the image of camels and needles in the synoptic tradition.
- 12 ↩coaptantur rendered 'are applied to' to preserve the sense of the months' characteristics being fitted or joined to the human moral image.
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