Verba Virginis ad filiam de duabus dominabus, quarum una nominabatur Superbia et altera Humilitas, per quam Virgo dulcissima designatur, et de occursu Virginis ad suos dilectos mortis sue tempore.
The Two Ladies: Pride and Humility
The Virgin Mary contrasts the nature of Pride and her own humble throne, illustrating the dangerous allure of the former.
The Mother of God speaks to the bride of her Son, saying, "There are two ladies." One is she who has no special name, because she is unworthy of one; the other is Humility, who is called Mary. Over the first, the devil himself is master, because he rules over her. Her soldier said to this lady, "My Lady, I am ready to do whatever I can for you, if only I might enjoy your embrace once." "For I am strong in my powers, magnanimous in heart, I fear nothing, and I am ready to go to my death for you." She answered him, "My servant, your love is great." "But I sit on a high throne and have only one throne, and there are three gates between us." The first gate is so narrow that whatever a person carries in the body, if they enter through it, everything is torn away and stripped off. The second is so sharp that it pierces right to the nerves. The third gate is so burning that there is no rest from the heat, but whoever enters through it will instantly melt like metal. “I, however, sit on high, and whoever wants to sit with me—since I have only one seat—will fall into the great abyss beneath me.” The devil answered him, “I will give my life for you, because for me, the fall is a small thing.”
The Gates of Worldly Vanity
The three gates of Pride are described as the relentless pursuit of worldly honor, which ultimately leads to a miserable fall.
This lady is Pride, and anyone who wants to reach her will enter as if through three gates. The first gate is for those who surrender everything to the praise of others and to pride. Even if they have nothing, they still set their whole will on how they might act proudly and be praised. The second gate is for those who give all their labor, all their actions, all their time, all their thoughts, and all their strength to this one end: to fulfill their pride. If they could even hand over their own flesh to be torn apart for the sake of honor and riches, they would gladly do it. They enter the third gate, never resting and never silent, burning like a fire, obsessed with how to attain some worldly honor or pride. But once they’ve obtained what they desire, they can’t stay in that position for long; they will fall miserably. Nevertheless, pride remains in the world.
The Spacious Throne of Mary
Mary describes her glorious, peaceful throne and promises to meet her faithful servants at the hour of their death to bring them into eternal rest.
"I, however," says Mary, "who am the most humble, sit on a spacious throne; and above me there is no sun, nor moon, nor stars, nor even clouds, but a serenity of wonderful and inestimable brightness, proceeding from the beauty of the glorious divine majesty." Below me, too, there is no earth or stone, but an incomparable rest in the power of God. Beside me there is no wall or partition, but the glorious army of angels and holy souls. Even though I sit in such a high place, I still hear my friends on earth pouring out their groans and tears to me every day. I see their labors and their effectiveness, which is greater than that of those who fight for their mistress, Pride. That is why I will visit them and place them with me in my seat, because it is spacious and can easily hold everyone. But they haven't been able to come to me or sit with me yet, because there are still two walls between us; I will confidently lead them through these so that they may come to my seat. The first wall is the world, which is a trap.1 Therefore, my servants in the world will be comforted through me. The second wall is death. Therefore I, their most dear Lady and mother, will meet them and come to them at their death, so that even in death itself they may have comfort and refreshment; and I will place them with me in the seat of heavenly joy, so that they may rest forever in the embrace of everlasting love and eternal glory with immense exultation.
Read the original Latin
Mater Dei loquitur ad sponsam filii dicens: "Due sunt domine. Una est, que non habet nomen speciale, quia indigna est nomine; alia est Humilitas, que vocatur Maria. Super primam est dominus ipse diabolus, quia sibi dominatur.
Huic domine dicebat miles suus: 'O domina, quidquid possum, facere pro te paratus sum, tantum ut fruar semel concubitu tuo. Nam ego sum fortis viribus, magnanimus corde, nichil timeo, et paratus sum ire in mortem pro te.' Cui illa respondit: 'Serue meus, magna est caritas tua. Sed ego sedeo in sublimi sede nec habeo nisi unam sedem, et inter nos sunt tres porte.
Prima porta est sic arta, ut, quidquid homo habuerit in corpore, si ingreditur per eam, omnia dirumpuntur et abstrahuntur. Secunda est sic acuta, quod pungit usque ad neruos. Tercia porta est sic ardens, quod nulla est requies ardoris, sed qui ingreditur per eam, statim liquescet sicut es.
Ego autem sedeo sublimiter et qui sedere vult mecum, cum non habeam nisi unam sedem, cadet ad chaos maximum subtus me.' Cui ille diabolus respondit: 'Ego dabo vitam meam pro te, quia pro minimo est michi casus.'
Domina ista est Superbia, ad quam qui peruenire voluerit, ingredietur quasi per tres portas. Primam portam ingreditur, qui totum dat ad laudem hominum et pro superbia. Et si nichil habet, adhibet totam voluntatem suam, quomodo superbire et laudari possit. Secundam portam ingreditur ille, qui, quidquid laborat et quidquid facit, et totum tempus et cogitaciones et omnes vires suas dat ad hoc, ut superbiam perficiat.
Et si eciam posset carnem suam lacerandam tradere causa honoris et diuiciarum, libenter faceret. Terciam portam ingreditur, qui numquam requiescit et numquam silet et totus quasi ignis ardet, quomodo perueniat ad aliquem honorem vel mundi superbiam. Sed cum optinuerit, quod cupit, non potest diu in eodem statu manere sed cadet miserabiliter. Nichilominus tamen superbia remanet in mundo.
"Ego autem", ait Maria, "que humillima sum, sedeo in sede spaciosa et supra me non est sol nec luna nec stelle nec eciam nubes sed mira et inestimabilis claritatis serenitas, procedens a pulchritudine preclare maiestatis diuine. Infra me eciam non est terra vel lapides sed requies incomparabilis in virtute Dei. Iuxta me non est murus seu paries sed angelorum et sanctarum animarum gloriosus exercitus.
Et quamuis sic sublimiter sedeo, tamen audio amicos meos, in terra existentes, michi cotidie gemitus fundentes et lacrimas. Video labores eorum et efficaciam eorum maiorem quam illorum, qui pugnant pro sua domina superbia. Ideo ego visitabo eos et collocabo eos mecum in sede mea, quia spaciosa est et omnes potest bene capere. Sed nondum ad me venire nec sedere mecum adhuc potuerunt, quia duo muri sunt adhuc inter nos, per quos fiducialiter deducam eos, ut ad sedem meam veniant.
Primus murus est mundus, qui est artus. Propterea serui mei in mundo consolabuntur per me. Secundus murus est mors. Ideo ego, carissima domina eorum et mater, obuiabo eis et occurram eis in morte, ut eciam in ipsa morte consolacionem et refrigerium habeant, et collocabo eos mecum in sede celestis gaudii, ut in brachio dileccionis perpetue et eterne glorie cum exultacione immensa eternaliter requiescant."
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'artus' here likely carries the sense of 'narrow' or 'constricted', often implying a snare or a place of confinement.
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