Virtutes
The Wounded Voice and the Call to Mourn
A grieving voice laments the hidden wounding of desire, then calls Innocence to mourn the subtle defeat of the flesh and the ancient serpent's greed.
What a grieving voice this is, of the deepest sorrow! Ah, ah, a wondrous victory has risen in the wondrous desire of God, in which the delight of the flesh has secretly hidden itself — alas, alas, where the will has known no crimes, and where the desire of man has put lasciviousness to flight. Mourn, therefore, mourn over these things, O Innocence: you who in modest goodness have not lost your integrity, and who have not devoured the greed of the ancient serpent's throat.
Read the original Latin
O plangens vox est hec maximi doloris! Ach, ach, quedam mirabilis victoria in mirabili desiderio dei surrexit, in qua delectatio camis se latenter abscondit, heu, heu, ubi voluntas crimina nescivit et ubi desiderium hominis lasciviam fugit. Luge, luge ergo in his, Innocentia, que in pudore bono integritatem non amisisti, et que avariciam gutturis antiqui serpentis ibi non devorasti.
Ordo Virtutum (Order of the Virtues) companion
Let a different Virtue meet you each morning
Chosen Portion walks you through the whole Ordo Virtutum — and Hildegard's Scivias — as free daily devotionals.
The Ordo was performed scene by scene by Hildegard's nuns, and Chosen Portion restores that rhythm — one scene of the Virtues' drama as each day's devotional.
- The complete 84-scene drama, one short scene per day, in modern readable English
- Each portion pairs the scene with its Scripture echoes — 26 references resolved across the play
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