VIIII. Responsum purae Stiffictentiae.

VIIII. Responsum purae Stiffictentiae.

And again I heard a voice responding from that troubled cloud to this image: "O diabolical deceit, you are like a swift wolf, ready to prey, and you devour what belongs to others like a vulture." But large sores boil up within you, from which, through illicit desires, like a camel burdened with its packs, you are weighed down and ready to devour everything, like the mouth of a wolf. You also lie in hardness, and in everything you forget God, because you do not trust in Him. You are hard and harsh without mercy, because you do not want the perfection of another. For just as a worm hides itself in a cave, so you, the most worthless peasant, withdraw yourself from all the prosperity of others, because nothing is enough for you. But I sit above the stars, since all the good things of God are enough for me, and I rejoice in the sweet sound of the drum when I trust in Him. I kiss the sun when I have it in joy; I embrace the moon when I hold it in love, and what grows from them is enough for me. And why do I desire more than I need? Because I have mercy in all things, my garment is made of fine white silk; and since I am gentle in every usefulness, my garment is adorned with precious stones. Therefore, since I am in the king's house, I lack nothing of all that I desire. I have the king's banquet, because I am the king's daughter. But you, O wretched part, fill not your belly with the whole circle of the earth. So consider what you are. I saw a fifth image, a feminine form; at whose back a tree stood, which was entirely dry and without leaves, and whose branches the same image was intertwined with. For one branch had covered the top of his head, and another had encircled his neck and throat. One branch extended around the right arm, and another around the left, but the arms themselves were not spread out; instead, they were drawn in, with hands hanging down from the same branches, and claws resembling those of a raven. From the right side of that one, a branch extended, and from the left side, another one came forth, which wrapped around its belly and legs transversely, and they were intertwined with each other. But the feet of that one were wooden. But it had no other clothing except that it was wrapped in these branches. And evil spirits, coming with a dark, foul-smelling cloud, invaded her, to whom she was lamenting in her groaning.