VISIO SECUNDA, cap. VII
The Firm Circle of Discernment
A strong, bright circle beneath the watery air restrains the floods above, signifying holy discernment that strengthens human works with right restraint.
Under the same circle — the watery air, that is — another circle appears, strong and matching the likeness of that bright, white air, standing firm in its rigidity, just as a sinew exists in the human body. Set against the dangers of the waters above, it holds back their floods with its strength and tenacity, so they don't suddenly and without restraint pour out and overwhelm the earth. It also signifies that holy discernment strengthens works of this kind with a right measure of restraint, so that a person holds his body in check, and doesn't, once wrongly restrained, rush headlong into ruin.1 This circle, which everywhere in its circuit shares the same density as the aforementioned circle of black fire, appears because it is placed equally for the benefit of humanity, just as that other is placed for the vengeance of their sins.2
Judgment's Measured Flood
When God justly draws up the lower waters to punish the wicked, moisture seeps through the bright air and descends in flood, yet God's judgments never exceed the sins they punish.
But whenever the lower waters are drawn upward through the clouds in excess, by God's just judgment for the punishment of the wicked, a certain moisture from the watery air seeps through that strong, bright, white air — like a person's drink into the bladder, while the air itself remains whole and intact — and this same moisture makes those waters descend in a dangerous flood.3 And so discernment distinguishes people's works for their salvation everywhere with just moderation, since God's judgments don't exceed the sins of those He punishes in vengeance, but rather, when they judge those sins justly, they hold each other in check — protector and guide alike — with righteous equity.4
The Unity of the Two Circles
The two circles are joined as one, pouring moisture into each other, just as discernment holds good works within moderation so they do not fall into ruin.
These two circles are also joined to each other in such a way that they appear as if they were one circle, because they grow moist in the moisture and pour moisture into one another — just as discernment holds good works within its own moderation, so they don't fall into ruin.5
The Sixth Circle Introduced
The vision turns to a sixth circle proceeding from the higher circles in the likeness of thin air, pointing forward to its mystical significance.
Concerning the sixth circle, which is seen to proceed from the higher circles in the likeness of thin air: what its power is in its own place, and what is mystically figured through it.
Read the original Latin
Sub eodem autem circulo, aquosi scilicet aeris, alius circulus fortis, et albi lucidique aeris hujus similitudinis in rigore suo existens, ut nervus in corpore hominis est, ostenditur, qui periculis superiorum aquarum oppositus, fortitudine et tenacitate sua inundationes illarum retinet, ne repentina et incongrua effusione terram obruant, significans etiam, quod discretio sancta opera in hujusmodi temperamento confirmat, ut homo corpus suum ita constringat, ne injuste constrictum in ruinam vadat. Qui ubique in circuitu suo ejusdem densitatis, cujus densitas circuli praefati nigri ignis apparet, quoniam iste ad utilitatem hominum aequali modo, sicut et ille ad vindictam peccatorum eorum positus est. Sed quoties inferiores aquae ad vindictam malorum justo Dei judicio in nimietate sursum per nubes trahuntur, quidam humor de aquoso aere per istum fortem et album lucidumque aerem, velut potus hominis in vesicam ipsa integra permanente transsudat, qui easdem aquas periculosa inundatione descendere facit. Unde et discretio opera hominum ad salutem eorum ubique justa moderatione discernit, cum judicia Dei peccata illorum in vindicta non transcendunt, sed cum ea juste dijudicant, quoniam protector et rector justa aequitate se invicem continent. Hi quoque duo circuli sibi invicem ita copulantur, ut velut unus circulus sint appareant, quia in humore madescunt, et aliis humorem infundunt, quemadmodum et discretio bona opera in moderatione sua continet, ne in ruinam vadant.
De sexto circulo, qui in similitudine tenuis aeris a superioribus procedere videtur, quid in suo loco, valeat, et quid in mystica ratione per eum figuretur.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin plays on fortis (strong/fortitude) and tenacitas (tenacity/tenacious holding-back), mapping moral strength onto the image of a restraining sinew or membrane. 'Discretio sancta' is rendered 'holy discernment' as a devotional term for the virtue that distinguishes right measure in action.
- 2 ↩The parallel structure contrasts two circles: one serving human utility, the other serving divine vengeance. The 'black fire' circle from the prior section is referenced as a foil to the bright, white air circle described here.
- 3 ↩The image of moisture passing through the strong air 'like drink into a bladder' (velut potus hominis in vesicam) is a striking medieval physiological metaphor for how divine judgment channels destructive force. The strong, white air acts as a membrane that allows the moisture through without being destroyed itself.
- 4 ↩The final clause 'protector et rector justa aequitate se invicem continent' is compressed: the two circles (or the virtues they represent) mutually restrain each other through righteous equity, suggesting that divine judgment and divine protection are balanced and self-limiting. The subject of 'continent' is ambiguous — it could be the two circles, the two virtues, or the two divine attributes.
- 5 ↩The mutual infusion of moisture between the two circles mirrors the way discernment sustains good works through measured restraint. The image of 'growing moist' (madescunt) and 'pouring in' (infundunt) suggests a reciprocal, life-giving exchange rather than a rigid boundary.
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