VISIO QUARTA, cap. I
The Vastness of the Firmament
Hildegard beholds the immense thickness of the firmament stretching above the earth.
I saw the firmament, with everything clinging to it, having so great a thickness from the very top to the very top above the earth, as great as the earth had from its top to its top.
Scales of Fire and Black Mist
Fiery scales and a dark mist descend from the firmament to scorch the earth, yet the upper air restrains their destruction.
I also saw that the upper fire of the firmament, stirred at times, sent forth from itself certain scales, like sparks, into the earth, which inflicted marks and sores on humans, on animals, and on the fruits of the earth. I also saw that a certain mist, now and then descending from the black fire toward the earth, would dry up the greenness of the earth and parch the moisture of the fields; but the pure upper air resisted both those scales and this mist, so that they would not inflict plagues beyond measure on the creatures mentioned above.
A Mist of Pestilence and Its Tempering
A shining mist brings widespread sickness and death, but the watery air opposes it to prevent total devastation.
And I also saw that from the strong, white, shining upper air, a certain other mist would now and then extend itself toward the earth, bringing great pestilence to humans and to cattle, so that from it many would fall sick with various illnesses and very many would incur death; yet to this mist the watery air opposed itself, tempering that same mist, so that it would not inflict harm beyond measure on the creatures.
The Air That Quickens the Earth
Moisture in the thin air stirs the earth's greenness, making all fruits sprout and sustaining the clouds above.
I also saw that in the thin air, moisture boiling up above the earth would stir up the greenness of the earth and made all fruits proceed by sprouting; and that it also carried certain clouds above, which sustained all the upper regions and were strengthened by all the upper regions.
The Arching Cloud and the Heavenly Voice
A rainbow-like cloud arches across the firmament, and a voice from heaven speaks to the visionary.
In the same air I saw a cloud of white color, which at each side of itself, where it had its end, was as if fixed to the other clouds of the firmament on this side and that, and whose middle, like a curved arch, remained extended into the air mentioned above. And again I heard a voice from heaven saying to me:
Read the original Latin
Et vidi firmamentum cum omnibus sibi adhaerentibus tantam spissitudinem a summo usque ad summum super terram habere, quantam terra a summo usque ad summum habebat. Vidi quoque quod superior ignis firmamenti interdum commotus, quasdam squamas velut favillas ex se in terram emittebat, quae stigmata et ulcera hominibus et animalibus et fructibus terrae inferebant. Vidi etiam quod de nigro igne quaedam nebula aliquando ad terras descendens, viriditatem terrae arefaciebat, et humiditatem agrorum exsiccabat; sed purus aether et squamis istis et nebulae huic resistebat, ne supra modum praedictis creaturis plagas inferrent. Et etiam vidi quod de forti et albo lucidoque aere alia quaedam nebula ad terras se interdum extendebat, magnam pestilentiam hominibus et pecoribus incutiens, ita ut exinde multi diversis infirmitatibus subjacerent, quamplurimi quoque mortem incurrerent, cui tamen nebulae aquosus aer se opponebat, eamdem nebulam temperans, ne creaturis ultra modum laesionem inferret. Vidi quoque quod tenui aere humor super terram ebulliens, viriditatem terrae suscitabat, omnesque fructus germinando procedere faciebat, et qui etiam quasdam nubes superius ferebat, quae omnia superiora sustentabant, et ab omnibus superioribus confortabantur. In eodem quoque aere quamdam nubem candidi coloris videbam, quae in utraque parte sui ubi finem habebat, hinc et hinc aliis nubibus firmamenti velut infixa erat, et cujus medietas ut arcus incurvata manens in praedictum aerem extendebatur. Iterumque audivi vocem de coelo dicentem mihi:
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