VISIO SECUNDA, cap. XVIII
The Winds That Sustain the World and the Soul
The cosmic winds that preserve the world and human life also serve the soul's salvation.
All these heads breathe into the aforementioned wheel and toward this image of man, since these winds temper the world with their blasts and, by their service, preserve man for salvation. For neither could the world hold together, nor could man live, if they were not sustained by the blasts of these winds.
Contrition Rising: From Fear to Trust and Faith
When a soul repents, the fear of the Lord awakens compunction, leading through trust in prosperity and through faith in adversity.
But also, when a person lifts himself up in the intention of his soul, so that he remembers his wrongs and then resolves to repent, as if above its peak, with the same intention, in the sign of pure ether—that is, in repentance itself—the fear of the Lord rises up like a leopard, which, as if from his own mouth, that is, from his own power, drawing out compunction, touches the person's mind and, in prosperous times, stretches it until it reaches the head of the crab, namely trust, from which, like two scissors, that is, two feet—namely hope and doubt—spread out so that he may arrive; and in adversity too, extending that same compulsion into the head of the stag, which is faith, he brings it to completion. For when a person remembers the weight of his sins and undertakes repentance, in which he does not cease to fear God, even though he has the world's prosperity as a second part, he holds on until he grasps trust, from which, like two feet, hope and doubt arise. For from trust hope rises, yet doubt sometimes joins it, because while a person trusts in God, he hopes to obtain forgiveness of his sins as if by advancing toward it; but when he considers the number and weight of them, he often doubts whether his sins are forgiven or not, as if drawing back, even though he trusts in God. But when, amid adversities, as if on the other side, he suffers bodily compunction, he turns to the riches of faith, which, in the horns of true consolation, reduces the faithlessness of doubt in him to nothing.
Constancy and Holiness: Breaths Toward Perfection
From trust flows constancy toward the fear of God and judgment, and from faith flows holiness toward fear of God and bodily discipline.
From this, as if from the mouth of the crab—that is, from trust—another breath, which is constancy, goes out and proceeds to the fullness of perfection, and there it settles between the fear of the Lord and the judgment of God, for when anyone trusting in God is steadfast and perfect in good works, he gathers the fear of the Lord to himself, so as not to sin more gravely, and he also keeps an eye on the judgment of God, so as not to add sin to sin. And as if from the mouth of the stag—that is, from faith—another breath, which is to be understood as holiness, comes and extends to the fullness of perfection that lies between the fear of the Lord and bodily tribulation, because a faithful person, thriving in holiness, endures in that perfection, so that he truly fears God and, for this reason, does not cease to discipline his body.
One Breath, One Blessedness: The Unity of the Virtues
All the breaths of contrition, constancy, and holiness work with equal zeal toward one blessedness, and all virtues arise from the knowledge of God.
And so the breath—namely contrition in prosperity, proceeding from the fear of the Lord toward trust—and the breath, that is, the same contrition in adversity, going out from the same fear of the Lord toward faith, and the breath that is constancy, stretching from trust toward the fullness of perfection, which lies between the fear of the Lord and the judgment of God—and the breath, namely holiness, stretching from faith toward the fullness of perfection, which lies between the fear of the Lord and bodily tribulation—all of these, as said above, provoke a person toward blessedness in one manner and with an equal zeal for the outbreathing of their powers, because although they have diverse operations, they nevertheless tend toward one blessedness. For one virtue proceeds from another in the operation of rectitude. And all these heads—that is, these virtues—are in the knowledge of God, and they attend to the knowledge of God, and they assist a person as well in bodily as in spiritual necessities.
The Virtues at Work: Fear, Trust, Faith, and Holiness
Fear of the Lord, trust, constancy, faith, and holiness each strengthen the soul in reverence, steadfastness, and discernment.
For with the fear of the Lord inspiring the person, that person, beginning to revere God, wisely goes forward, accomplishing good and upright works. Trust also, by which a person trusts in God, touches that person with constancy, so that they may trust steadfastly in God and raise their thoughts toward God, since the minds of the faithful are strengthened by the virtue of constancy. Faith, together with holiness, judges the things that must be judged in unfaithfulness, and spreading itself quickly, it swiftly imbues believers, since by hearing it abandons all the tumults of perverse thoughts and overturns the slippery pleasures within.
Negligence and the Straight Path
Negligence and excess dry up the soul's strength, but walking the straight path leads to prosperity, as testified by the Song of Songs.
But if a person, abandoning the greenness of these virtues, turns into the dryness of negligence, so that they lack the moisture and greenness of good works, the strengths of their soul fail and dry up; if indeed the mind is soaked excessively in the luxury of pleasures as if by an unfitting flood, it melts, burning and slipping within. But if one goes forward on the straight path, all their works are directed toward prosperity, as it is written in the Song of Songs: A testimony from the Song of Songs, relevant to the same points, and how it should be understood.
Read the original Latin
Omniaque capita haec in praefatam rotam, et ad imaginem hanc hominis spirant, quoniam venti isti flatibus suis mundum temperant, hominemque ministerio suo ad salutem conservant. Nam nec mundus subsisteret, nec homo vivere posset, si flatibus ventorum istorum non vegetarentur. Sed et cum homo in intentione animae suae se sursum erigit, ita ut malefactorum suorum meminerit et quando deinde poenitere disponit, quasi supra verticem illius cum eadem intentione in signo puri aetheris, id est in ipsa poenitentia sicut leopardus timor Domini exsurgit, qui quasi ex ore suo, id est de virtute sua contritionem educens, cum mentem hominis tangit in prosperitate eam prolongat usque dum ad caput cancri scilicet fiduciae, de qua velut duae forfices id est duo pedes videlicet spes et dubium extenduntur perveniat, in adversitate quoque mentis illius eamdem contritionem extendens in caput cervi quod fides est perducit. Nam cum homo pondera peccatorum suorum reminiscitur, poenitentiam aggreditur, in qua Deum timere non desistit, quamvis prospera mundi quasi altera parte habeat, quousque fiduciam, de qua sicut duo pedes spes et dubium oriuntur, apprehendat. De fiducia enim spes surgit, cui tamen dubietas interdum se conjungit, quia dum homo in Deum confidit, remissionem peccatorum suorum velut procedendo se adipisci sperat, dum autem multitudinem et gravedinem illorum considerat, multoties utrum peccata sua sibi remittantur an non quasi retrocedendo dubitat, quamvis in Deo confidat. Sed dum aliquando inter adversa quasi in altera parte corporalem contritionem patitur, ad divitias fidei se convertit, quae in cornibus verae consolationis infidelitatem dubietatis in illo ad nihilum deducit. Unde velut ex ore cancri, id est de fiducia alius flatus quod constantia est exiens usque ad plenitudinem perfectionis procedit, ibique inter timorem Domini et judicium Dei consistit, quoniam cum quilibet in Deum confidens in bonis operibus constans et perfectus est, timorem Domini ad se colligit, ne gravius delinquat, judicium Dei etiam inspicit, ne peccatis peccata adjiciat. Et quasi ex ore cervi, scilicet de fide alius flatus qui sanctitas intelligendus est veniens, usque ad plenitudinem perfectionis quae inter timorem Domini et corporalem tribulationem est extenditur, quia fidelis homo in sanctitate pollens in perfectione ista durat, ita ut veraciter Deum timeat, et ut etiam ob hoc corpus suum castigare non cesset.
Itaque flatus, videlicet contritio in prosperitate a timore Domini ad fiduciam procedens, flatus etiam scilicet eadem contritio in adversitate ab eodem timore Domini ad fidem exiens, flatusque id est constantia de fiducia ad plenitudinem perfectionis, quae inter timorem Domini et judicium Dei est, tendens; flatusque videlicet sanctitas a fide ad plenitudinem perfectionis quae inter timorem Domini et corporalem tribulationem est se prolongans, ut supra dictum est, uno modo aequalique studio exspirationis virium suarum hominem ad beatitudinem provocant, quia quamvis diversas operationes habeant, ad unam tamen beatitudinem tendunt. Nam virtus altera ab altera in operatione rectitudinis procedit. Omniaque capita haec, id est virtutes istae in scientia Dei sunt, scientiamque Dei attendunt, hominique tam in corporalibus, quam in spiritalibus necessariis causis assistunt. Timore enim Domini hominem inspirante, homo ipse Deum vereri incipiens, sapienter incedit bona et recta opera perficiendo. Fiducia quoque qua homo in Deum confidit, cum constantia ipsum tangit, quatenus in Deum constanter confidat, cogitationesque ad Deum erigat, quoniam mentes fidelium a virtute constantiae roborantur. Fides autem cum sanctitate ea quae in infidelitate dijudicanda sunt dijudicat, seque velociter dilatans, credentes cito imbuit, cum auditus illorum omnes tumultus perversarum cogitationum deserens, lubricas etiam voluptates interius evertit. Quod si homo viriditatem virtutum istarum deserens in ariditatem negligentiae vertitur, ita ut humore et viriditate bonorum operum careat, vires animae ipsius deficiunt et arescunt; si vero luxu voluptatum quasi incongrua inundatione nimis perfunditur, mens ipsius lubrice inccdens liquescit. Si autem recto tramite incedit, omnia opera ipsius ad prosperitatem diriguntur, velut in Cantico canticorum scriptum est:
Testimonium de Canticis canticorum ad eadem conveniens, et quomodo intelligendum sit.
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