Caput 1
The Vision of the Heavenly Judge
A scholar approaches the throne of Christ with a restless and deceitful heart.
I saw a throne in heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ sat as judge. The Virgin Mary sat before his feet, and surrounding the throne was an army of angels and an infinite multitude of saints. A religious man, a great scholar of theology, stood before this Judge on a high rung of a ladder that was fixed in the earth but reached to heaven; he was restless and impatient, his manner full of deceit and malice, and he asked:
The Scholar's Self-Justification
The scholar challenges the Judge, arguing that his bodily faculties should be used solely for his own pleasure.
O Judge, I ask You: You gave me a mouth; shouldn't I be allowed to say what pleases me? You gave me eyes; shouldn't I use them to look at what delights me? "You gave me ears; why shouldn't I listen with them to what pleases me?" You gave me hands; why shouldn't I use them to do what I please? You gave me feet; why shouldn't I walk with them however I want?
The Divine Correction of the Senses
The Judge gently corrects the scholar, explaining the true, holy purpose for which each bodily faculty was created.
The Judge sitting on the throne, whose manner was gentle and most honorable, answered, "Friend, I gave you a mouth to speak reasonably about what is useful for your soul and body, and about those things that are for my honor." "Second, I gave you eyes so that you might see the evils you must avoid and the wholesome things you must keep." Third, I gave you ears so you could listen to things that are true and honorable. Fourth, I gave you hands so that you could use them to do what is necessary for your body and what isn't harmful to your soul. Fifth, I gave you feet so that you might turn away from the love of the world and move toward rest, toward the love of your soul, and toward Me, your Creator and Redeemer.
Read the original Latin
Vidi thronum in celo, in quo sedebat Dominus Ihesus Christus vt iudex. Ante cuius pedes sedebat virgo Maria et in circuitu throni erat exercitus angelorum et infinita multitudo sanctorum.
Ad quem iudicem religiosus quidam litteratus magnus in theologia, stans in alto gradu cuiusdam scale, que in terra fixa erat, cuius summitas celum tangebat, impacientissimos et inquietos habens gestus quasi dolo et malicia plenus interrogando dixit:
"O iudex, interrogo te: Tu dedisti michi os; numquid non debeo loqui michi placencia?"
"Tu dedisti michi oculos; numquid non debeo videre cum eis ea, que me delectant?"
"Tu dedisti michi aures; quare non audiam cum eis illa, que michi placent?"
"Tu dedisti michi manus; cur non faciam cum illis, quod est gratum michi?"
"Tu dedisti michi pedes; quare non ambulabo cum eis secundum desiderium meum?"
Respondit iudex sedens in throno, cuius gestus erant mansueti et honestissimi, dicens: "Amice, ego dedi tibi os ad loquendum racionabiliter vtilia anime et corporis tui et ea, que sunt honoris mei."
"Secundo dedi tibi oculos, vt videas mala fugienda et salubria tibi custodienda."
"Tercio dedi tibi aures, vt audires ea, que sunt veritatis et honestatis."
"Quarto dedi tibi manus, vt cum eis faceres, que sunt necessaria corpori et que non sunt anime nociua."
"Quinto dedi tibi pedes, vt recederes ab amore mundi et ires ad requiem et amorem anime tue et ad me, creatorem et redemptorem tuum."
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