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← Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works)/Book 2 · Liber Divinorum Operum — Pars 2
Chapter 46LDO.2.46

VISIO QUINTA, cap. XLVI

The Trinitarian Design for Humanity

The Trinity speaks over humanity's creation, delighting in the soul that seeks first justice and granting holiness, knowledge, and virtue so that man may be a patron of the Incarnation and a living sacrifice to God.

"And God saw that it was good, and he said: Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the beasts of the earth, all creation, and every living thing that moves on the earth.✦ "God sees this to be good, and he delights deeply with a higher sweetness in this: that man seeks the first justice which God himself established in him, and says within himself: This man, overcoming himself in all unlawful desires, touches me with every beginning of justice, and with a clear desire for my first constitution, which I established at the very beginning, when man ought to obey me, he raises himself up through good works.1 Now we three persons — that power of one substance which first touched man when it created him in its own image and likeness — let us grant to this man a great honor of holiness and knowledge of divine things, so that he may be held and loved as a patron of the holy Incarnation in the image of God toward his neighbor, and in his knowledge he may show honor to the divinity in the likeness of God, so that through the teaching of the Gospel and through virtues preferred to temporal things, he may sacrifice himself to God as well — specifically, that he may afflict his body through abstinence and advance himself from earthly things to heavenly ones — so that he may work with those virtues which are fulfilled in him, and those virtues with him, and in this preference he may fear and love God.✦23

Made in God's Image: Dominion, Mercy, and the Two Natures

God creates man for His own honor, revealing divine power through stewardship, mercy through compassion, and the dual nature of the soul—manly strength in justice and womanly tenderness in repentance—so that humanity mirrors both God's rule and God's mercy.

"And God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them, and God blessed them and said: 'Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and bring it under your rule, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living creature that moves upon the earth.'✦ "And now God creates man for his own honor, so that he himself may be fully known in his divinity and in his humanity in this human being." How? The power of the Godhead, creating and governing all things in the human being's stewardship according to the pattern of the one by which it rules over other creatures, is made visible; and its mercy, by which it comes to the world's aid from its humanity, is recognized in the compassion by which a person ought to spare and show mercy to their neighbor according to their ability; and these are good examples of the Word of God, as the Psalmist David says: 'I said: you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High.'✦ "This is how it should be considered: I said to you, human beings, 'In this you are gods,' that a person rules over every creature, subjecting it to every need of theirs just as they desire; for just as one holds almighty God in faith, fear, and love, so creation looks up to the human being as to God through the discipline of fear and loves them, since it is fed by that person."✦ But you are also called human beings, children of the One who is on high and exalted, because through the grace of the living God you are created rational, as if born from him, and because all the knowledge you need you have from him; but an irrational animal knows nothing except what it takes in through the senses. In a human being too — that is, in the living knowledge of a person — it creates the power and strength of clear justice, so that one may in no way yield to wickedness, wrongly, either in oneself or in others, which is, as it were, the manly quality. In this too it creates, so that through the gift of divine grace, when a person is wounded in sins, God may spare them with mercy, and may so attend to their miseries as to pour the wine of repentance into them and anoint them with the oil of mercy, in order that the person may not, through excess, fall into a forgiveness that is remiss, nor, growing lukewarm, become entangled in the vanity of wicked works, which is, as it were, the womanly quality.

Doing the Will of the Father: Brother, Sister, Mother of Christ

Christ explains that whoever does the Father's will becomes His brother through reverent imitation, His sister through loving embrace, and His mother by bearing Him in heart and body through the pursuit of holiness.

And God blesses this too, because it touches the humanity of his Son, so that the same Son of God says in the gospel: 'Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven — that person is my brother, sister, and mother.'✦ Here is how to think about this: anyone who is upheld by the grace of God and who, with good intention, does the will of my Father — who through his divinity is my Father dwelling in heaven, because I am the Virgin's Son — in such a way that, rejecting that in which he was born, he reaches toward God with his inner self: that person, imitating God in a nature other than the one he was conceived in, and always regarding him with the reverence of perfect fear, is my brother.4 And by faithfully holding God in the embrace of love, she becomes my sister in this devotion, and in all her works, as she ascends with the will of perfection to that same Father of mine; and by frequently carrying him in her heart and in her body, she becomes my mother — because she gives birth to me in this way, where I flourish in my Father with the whole pursuit of holiness through the fullness of the blessed virtues.5

The Increase of Virtues and the Seed of the Word

God wills that the virtuous soul grow strong, fill the earth with good works, rule over desires, and feed on the seeds of virtue planted by the Holy Spirit—until God sees all that He has made and finds it very good.

Then God says to himself: 'Let this person grow strong in the power of the mightiest virtues, and let the increase of those same virtues be cultivated in him, so that that land — that is, other people — may be filled, by hearing and understanding, with the precious pigments of good works from the same name, and submit themselves to his precepts; and let that person himself, with overflowing happiness, rule over his desires, while in those same virtues he withdraws from all the pomp of the world, which is like a sea pulling away from him; and so that, in the virtues and in those things that are movable toward good in his powers, he may run toward heavenly things with a desire from above, in such a way that those virtues may draw away from him the unlawful desires that are like earth.'6 'And God said: See, I have given you every plant bearing seed on the face of the earth, and every tree that has within itself the seed of its own kind, to be food for you and for all the creatures of the earth, and for every bird of the sky, and for everything that moves on the earth, and in which there is a living soul, so that they may have something to feed on.'✦ And so it was done.✦ And now also in the Holy Spirit he says: 'See, all the seeds of the virtues spoken of above bring forth the seed of my word upon the desires of the flesh of this person who so constrains himself, and all the stronger virtues as they ascend to greater precepts I have placed within him, so that, holding within themselves, by right desire, the good seed of their own kind in my word, they may be food for the refreshment of his soul; so also all the virtues, subjected to God through humility and flying in the heavenly army, and those things that remove a person from earthly matters toward heavenly ones, and in which the living powers are from the planting of the Holy Spirit — may feed upon them in his soul, and he himself may also be nourished with them in all these things.'7 And all these things come to be in that person who thus makes progress in God: 'And God saw everything that he had made, and it was very good.'✦

The Fullness of Virtues and the Sixth Day of Obedience

God beholds the fullness of all virtues perfected together in the soul as very good, and the work of grace reaches its completion in the sixth virtue of obedience, shining like the sixth day.

And now God sees that everything the Holy Spirit gives is very good, because it is perfected in the fullness of all the virtues — whereas before, each virtue on its own was only one good thing, but here all are equally good, because they are fulfilled by appearing together in a person.✦ Evening came, and morning came — the sixth day.✦ And now, through God's work in a person, a good end joins with a good beginning in the sixth virtue, which is obedience, so that it may shine forth like the sixth day.✦

A Glance Toward the Seventh Day

The chapter closes by pointing forward to the perfection of heaven and earth, the completion of God's works on the seventh day, and the literal meaning of God's rest and sanctification.

Concerning the perfection of heaven and earth and all their adornment, and the completion of God's works that is credited to the seventh day, and the sanctification of that same day, and the rest of God himself — how these things are to be understood according to the letter.

Read the original Latin

« Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum, et ait: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram, et praesit piscibus maris, et volatilibus coeli et bestiis terrae, universaeque creaturae, omnique reptili, quod movetur in terra . » Videt Deus hoc bonum esse, et multum cum superiori dulcedine in hoc delectatur, quod homo in prima justitia quam ipse in homine constituit eum requirit, et in semetipso dicit: Iste homo cum omni incoeptione justitiae se ipsum in illicitis desideriis suis superando tangit me, et cum lucido desiderio primae constitutionis meae, quam in primo ortu, dum homo mihi debuit obedire, constitui, per bona opera erigit. Nunc nos tres personae, illa vis unius substantiae, quae primum hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem suam creando tetigit, faciamus ut homini isti magnus honor de sanctitate et cognitione divinarum rerum detur, ita ut sicut patronus habeatur, et dilectionem sanctae Incarnationis in imagine Dei ad proximum suum habeat, et in scientia sua honorem divinitati in similitudine Dei exhibeat, quatenus per institutionem Evangelii, et per virtutes temporalibus rebus praelatus, se ipsum etiam Deo sacrificet, ita scilicet ut corpus suum per abstinentiam affligat, et se a terrenis ad coelestia promoveat, quatenus cum ipsis virtutibus quae in eo impletae sunt operetur, et ipsae virtutes cum eo, atque in hac praelatione ipse Deum timeat et diligat.

« Et creavit Deus hominem ad imaginem suam, ad imaginem Dei creavit illum, masculum et feminam creavit eos, benedixitque illis Deus, et ait: Crescite et multiplicamini et replete terram, et subjicite eam et dominamini piscibus maris, et volatilibus coeli, et universis animantibus quae moventur super terram . » Et nunc Deus hominem ad honorem sibi creat ita ut ipse omnino in deitate et in humanitate sua in illo cognoscatur. Quomodo? Potentia Deitatis omnia creantis et regentis in magistratione hominis ad imaginem ejus secundum rationem facti, qua caeteris creaturis praeest, apparet, miseratio ejus qua mundo ex humanitate subvenit, in compassione ipsius hominis, qua proximo suo secundum possibilitatem suam parcere et misereri debet, agnoscitur; et haec bona exempla Verbi Dei sunt, ut Psalmista David ait: « Ego dixi: Dii estis, et filii Excelsi omnes . » Hoc considerandum sic est: Ego vobis hominibus dixi: in hoc Dii estis, quod homo omni creaturae dominatur, eam ad omnem necessitatem suam sicut desiderat sibi subjiciens, quoniam quemadmodum omnipotentem Deum in fide et timore et amore habet, sic creatura hominem velut Deum per magisterium timoris inspicit et diligit, cum ab ipso pascitur. Sed et filii illius qui in excelsis altus est, vos homines dicimini, quia per gratiam viventis Dei rationales creati estis, quasi ab ipso nati sitis, et quoniam omnem scientiam quae vobis necessaria est ab ipso habetis: irrationale autem animal nihil aliud scit nisi quod sensu capit. In homine quoque, id est in viventi scientia hominis, vim et fortitudinem perspicuae justitiae creat, ita ut nec in se ipso, nec in aliis iniquitati ullatenus prave cedat, quod quasi virile est. In eo etiam creat, ut per donum divinae gratiae homini in peccatis vulnerato, cum misericordia parcat, et ut miserias ipsius ita adtendat, quatenus vinum poenitentiae ei infundat, ipsumque oleo misericordiae ungat, sic ne ipse homo propter excedentem mensuram, et in remissibilem poenitentiam cadat, et ne tepidus in vanitatem pravorum operum involvatur, quod quasi femineum est.

Et istud Deus benedicit, quia humanitatem Filii ejus tangit, ut idem Filius Dei in Evangelio dicit: « Quicunque fecerit voluntatem Patris mei qui in coelis est, ipse meus frater, soror, et mater est . » Hoc considerandum sic est: Omnis homo gratia Dei suffultus, qui fecerit bona intentione voluntatem Patris mei, qui per divinitatem Pater meus est in coelis habitans, quia Filius Virginis sum, ita ut hoc in quo natus est repudians, ad Deum cum interiori homine volet, iste in alia natura quam conceptus sit, Deum imitando, et in veneratione perfecti timoris ipsum semper inspiciendo frater meus est. Deum quoque fideliter in amplexione charitatis assidue habendo soror mea in hac devotione est, atque in omnibus operibus suis cum voluntate perfectionis ad eumdem Patrem meum ascendendo; et in corde, et in corpore eum frequenter portando, mater mea existit, quoniam sic me generat, ubi toto studio sanctitatis in Patre meo per plenitudinem beatorum virtutum floreo. Tunc Deus in semetipso dicit: Iste homo in viribus fortissimarum virtutum crescat, et multiplicatio earumdem virtutum in eo colatur, ut illa terra scilicet caeteri homines pretiosa pigmenta bonorum operum de eodem nomine audiendo et intelligendo repleatur, et praeceptis ejus se subdant, atque ipse homo cum superabundanti felicitate desideriis suis dominetur, in eisdem virtutibus omnem pompam saeculi, quae quasi mare est sibi abstrahens, et ut in virtutibus et in his quae in viribus suis ad bonum mobiles sunt superno desiderio ad coelestia currat, ita ut hae virtutes homini illi illicita desideria, quae quasi terra sunt, abstrahant. « Dixitque Deus: Ecce dedi vobis omnem herbam afferentem semen super terram, et universa ligna quae habent in semetipsis sementem generis sui, ut sint vobis in escam et cunctis animantibus terrae, omnique volucri coeli, et universis quae moventur in terra, et in quibus est anima vivens, ut habeant ad vescendum. Et factum est ita . » Et nunc etiam in Spiritu sancto dicit: Ecce omnia germina virtutum, quae supra dicta sunt, semen verbi mei afferentia super desideria carnis hominis istius, qui se ita constringit, et omnes fortiores virtutes ad majora praecepta ascendentes posui, ut in semetipsis recto desiderio bonum semen generis sui in verbo meo habentes, sint ei in cibum refectionis animae; ita ut etiam omnes virtutes per humilitatem Deo subjectae, et in coelesti militia volantes, et quae hominem a terrenis rebus ad coelestia removent, et in quibus viventes vires de plantatione Spiritus sancti sunt, cum eo in anima ipsius pascantur, et ipse etiam cum illis in his omnibus alatur. Et haec omnia in homine illo ita fiunt, qui sic in Deo proficit: « Viditque Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona .

» Videt et nunc Deus quod omnia quae Spiritus sanctus tribuit, valde bona sunt, quia in plenitudine omnium virtutum perfecta sunt, cum prius unaquaeque virtus in semetipsa tantum unum bonum esset, hic autem omnia pariter bona sunt, quia in homine simul apparendo impleta sunt. « Et factum est vespere, et mane dies sextus . » Et nunc a Deo in homine fit, ut bonus finis cum bono initio sextae virtutis, quae obedientia est, tanquam dies sextus resplendeat.

De perfectione coeli et terrae, et omni ornatu eorum, et completione operum Dei, quae septimo diei ascribitur, et de sanctificatione ejusdem diei, et de requie ipsius Dei quomodo ad litteram intelligenda sint.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.28 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen.1.28 — And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'
  2. ↩Gen.1.26 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
  3. ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.28 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen.1.28 — And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'
  4. ↩Ps.81.6 — He set up a testimony in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. A language I had not known, I heard:
  5. ↩Ps.81.6 — He set up a testimony in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. A language I had not known, I heard:
  6. ↩Matt.7.21;Matt.12.50 — Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matt.12.50 — For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
  7. ↩Gen.1.29-Gen.1.30 — And God said, "See, I have given you every seed-bearing plant that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food." Gen.1.30 — And to every living creature of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps on the earth in which there is a living soul—every green plant for food. And it was so.
  8. ↩Gen.1.31;Gen.1.7 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Gen.1.7 — And God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
  9. ↩Gen.1.31 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
  10. ↩Gen.1.31 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
  11. ↩Gen.1.31 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
  12. ↩Gen.1.31 — And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The phrase 'cum omni incoeptione justitiae se ipsum in illicitis desideriis suis superando tangit me' is dense and the precise logical force of tangit me is uncertain — whether 'touches me' means 'affects me,' 'reaches toward me,' or 'makes contact with me.' Rendered as 'touches me' as the most concrete and faithful option.
  2. 2 ↩The Trinitarian framing ('we three persons') embedded in the divine speech is theologically significant and unusual for this text. The voice shifts from Genesis quotation to what reads as intra-Trinitarian deliberation. Preserved as given.
  3. 3 ↩The phrase 'praelatus temporalibus rebus' — 'preferred to temporal things' — could also mean 'set over temporal things.' The sense is that virtues are ranked above or rule over temporal concerns.
  4. 4 ↩The Latin plays on the double sense of 'frater' — natural brotherhood (in the same nature) versus spiritual brotherhood (through grace and imitation). The 'alia natura' is the glorified or spiritual mode of existence entered through grace.
  5. 5 ↩The feminine imagery (soror, mater) maps the soul's relationship to Christ: the soul that loves and serves becomes Christ's sister, and the soul that carries him interiorly becomes his mother by giving him birth in the life of virtue.
  6. 6 ↩The metaphor of 'pretiosa pigmenta bonorum operum' (precious pigments of good works) is striking and unusual — the person's virtues become a kind of coloring that spreads to others through example and teaching.
  7. 7 ↩The passage layers multiple voices: Christ speaks in the first person, the Father is addressed, and the Holy Spirit is the one speaking through the text. The 'seeds of virtues' are both Christ's words planted in the soul and the virtues themselves that grow from that planting.

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