Visio Prima
The Vision of the Eternal Mountain
The visionary beholds a majestic mountain and mysterious figures representing divine stability and grace.
I saw something like a great iron-colored mountain, and upon it sat a figure of such brilliance that its light dimmed my vision; from it, on both sides, a gentle shadow stretched out like a wing of marvelous width and length. Before it, at the base of the same mountain, stood a figure covered in eyes on every side, whose human form I could not discern because of the multitude of eyes; and before that one, another figure of a child’s age, dressed in a pale robe but wearing white shoes, over whose head such brightness descended from the one sitting on the mountain that I could not look at its face; yet from that same one sitting on the mountain, many living sparks went forth, circling those figures with great sweetness. On the mountain itself, many small windows were visible, in which appeared what looked like the heads of people, some pale and some white.
The Call to Prophetic Witness
The Lord commands the visionary to overcome human fragility and proclaim the hidden mysteries of salvation.
And look, the one who sat on the mountain cried out with a voice most strong and piercing, saying: “O fragile human, dust from the dust of the earth and ash from ash, cry out and speak of the entrance of incorrupt salvation, so that those may be instructed who see the marrow of the Scriptures but are unwilling to speak or preach it, because they are lukewarm and dull toward keeping the justice of God; unlock for them the enclosure of the mysteries which they, in their fear, hide in a hidden field without fruit.” Therefore, expand yourself into a fountain of abundance and flow forth in mystical learning, so that those who wish you to be contemptible because of Eve’s transgression may be shaken by the outpouring of your irrigation. For you don't grasp the sharpness of this depth from any human, but you receive it from above from the supreme and awesome Judge, where this serenity will shine brightly in clear light among those who shine. Rise, therefore, cry out, and speak what is manifested to you by the most strong power of divine help. He who rules all His creation powerfully and kindly drenches those who fear Him and serve Him with sweet love in a spirit of humility with the brightness of heavenly illumination, and leads them, persevering in the way of justice, to the joys of eternal vision.
Interpreting the Divine Majesty
The vision explains the mountain as the stability of God and the shadow as His protective defense.
And so, as you see, that great mountain with its iron color represents the strength and stability of the eternal kingdom of God, which cannot be destroyed by any push of shifting change; and the one sitting upon it, of such brightness that his radiance would dim your own sight, reveals in the kingdom of blessedness the One who, reigning over the whole world in the brilliance of an unending serenity, is incomprehensible to human minds in his divine nature. From both sides of him, a gentle shadow extends like a wing of wondrous breadth and length. This is a sweet and gentle protection of blessed defense, both in admonition and in correction, showing forth with justice and piety an ineffable righteousness in the perseverance of true equity.
The Figures of Vigilance and Poverty
The figures of the many-eyed watcher and the child represent the fear of the Lord and the humility of poverty of spirit.
And before it, at the base of that same mountain, stands a figure covered in eyes on every side; this is because, looking upon the kingdom of God in humility before God, and surrounded by the fear of the Lord and the clarity of a good and just intention, it exercises its zeal and stability among men in such a way that you cannot discern any human form before your very eyes, since it casts off all forgetfulness of God’s justice—which men so often feel in the weariness of their own minds—by the sharpest edge of its own inspection, so that mortal inquiry cannot penetrate its vigilance in its own weakness. And before this one appears another figure, of a childlike age, wearing a pale tunic but white shoes; this is because those who are poor in spirit follow after the fear of the Lord, which goes before them, since the fear of the Lord holds firmly to the blessedness of poverty of spirit in the devotion of humility. This poverty does not seek out vanity or the pride of the heart, but loves simplicity and sobriety of mind, offering its just works not to itself but to God—like a garment of a pale tunic—and faithfully following the white footprints of the Son of God. So much brightness descends upon its head from the One sitting upon the mountain that you can't look upon His face. The serenity of the visitation of Him who commands all creation with praise pours out such power and strength of His blessedness that you can't grasp its abundance with your mortal and weak understanding, since even He who possesses heavenly riches humbly submitted Himself to poverty.
Virtue, Diligence, and the Call to Action
The vision concludes by explaining the sparks of virtue and the necessity of diligent action in the spiritual life.
But the fact that many living sparks go out from the same one who sits upon that mountain, and that they fly around those same images with great sweetness, means that various and most powerful virtues, shining in divine brightness, come from the almighty God; these virtues surround with their help and protection those who truly fear God and faithfully love poverty of spirit, and they embrace and soothe them with ardor. Hence, on that very mountain, many little windows appear, in which some heads of men seem pale and others white; this is because, in that highest altitude, the pursuits of men's actions cannot be hidden or concealed from the deepest and most piercing knowledge of God, since they very often show both lukewarmness and purity in themselves. For at one moment people are exhausted in their hearts and deeds and sleep in disgrace, while at another they are awakened and rise up in honor, just as Solomon testifies in my will, saying: 'A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.' What is said—that that man made himself weak and poor—refers to the one who refused to perform justice, to wipe away iniquity, or to forgive a debt, remaining idle away from the wondrous works of blessedness. But whoever performs the most powerful works of salvation, running along the way of truth, takes hold of the fountain of springing glory, in which he prepares for himself most precious riches on earth and in heaven. Therefore, whoever has knowledge in the Holy Spirit and wings in faith should not disregard my admonition, but should grasp it, embracing it in the taste of his own soul.
Read the original Latin
Vidi quasi montem magnum, ferreum colorem habentem, et super ipsum quemdam tantae claritatis sedentem, ut claritas ipsius visum meum hebetaret, a quo ex utraque parte sui, lenis umbra velut ala mirae latitudinis et longitudinis porrigebatur. Et ante ipsum ad radicem ejusdem montis quaedam imago undique plena oculis stabat, cujus nullam humanam formam prae oculorum multitudine discernere valebam, et ante istam, imago alia puerilis aetatis, pallida veste, sed albis calceamentis induta, super cujus caput tanta claritas de eo qui super montem ipsum sedebat descendit, ut faciem ejus intueri non valerem, sed ab eodem qui super montem illum sedebat: multae viventes scintillae prodibant, quae easdem imagines magna suavitate circumvolabant. In ipso autem monte quasi plurimae fenestellae cernebantur, in quibus velut capita hominum, quaedam pallida et quaedam alba apparuerunt. Et ecce qui super montem sedebat, fortissima et penetrantissima voce clamabat, dicens: O homo fragilis pulvis de pulvere terrae, et cinis de cinere, clama et dic de introitu incorruptae salvationis: quatenus ii erudiantur qui medullam Scripturarum videntes, eam nec dicere, nec praedicare volunt, quia tepidi et hebetes ad conservandam justitiam Dei sunt, quibus clausuram mysteriorum resera: quam ipsi timidi in abscondito agro sine fructu celant. Ergo in fontem abundantiae ita dilatare, et ita in mystica eruditione efflue, ut illi ab effusione irrigationis tuae concutiantur, qui te propter praevaricationem Evae volunt contemptibilem esse. Nam tu acumen hujus profunditatis ab homine non capis, sed a superno et tremendo judice illud desuper accipis, ubi praeclara luce haec serenitas inter lucentes fortiter lucebit. Surge ergo, clama et dic: quae tibi fortissima virtute divini auxilii manifestantur, quoniam ille qui omni creaturae suae potenter et benigne imperat, ipsum timentes et ipsi suavi dilectione in spiritu humilitatis famulantes, claritate supernae illustrationis perfundit, et ad gaudia aeternae visionis in via justitiae perseverantes perducit.
Unde etiam, ut vides, mons iste magnus ferreum colorem habens, designat fortitudinem et stabilitatem aeternitatis regni Dei; quae nullo impulsu labentis mutabilitatis potest exterminari, et super ipsum quidam tantae claritatis sedens, ut claritas ipsius visum tuum hebetaret: ostendit in regno beatitudinis, ipsum qui in fulgore indeficientis serenitatis toti orbi terrarum imperans superna divinitate, humanis mentibus incomprehensibilis est. Sed ab utraque parte sui lenis umbra velut ala mirae latitudinis et longitudinis extenditur: quod est et in admonitione et in castigatione beatae defensionis suavis et lenis protectio, ineffabilem justitiam in perseverantiam verae aequitatis juste et pie demonstrans.
Et ante ipsum ad radicem ejusdem montis quaedam imago undique plena oculis stat, quia coram Deo in humilitate regnum Dei inspiciens timore Domini vallatus perspicuitate bonae et justae intentionis studium et stabilitatem suam in hominibus exercet, ita quod ejus nullam humanam formam prae ipsis oculis discernere vales, quoniam omnem oblivionem justitiae Dei quam saepius homines in taedio mentis suae sentiunt per acutissimam aciem inspectionis suae ita abjicit: quod mortalis inquisitio vigilantiam ejus in debilitate sua non discutit.
Unde et ante istam, imago alia puerilis aetatis, pallida tunica, sed albis calceamentis induta apparet, quia praecedente timore Domini, illi qui pauperes spiritu sunt subsequuntur, quoniam timor Domini in devotione humilitatis beatitudinem paupertatis spiritus fortiter tenet; quae non jactantiam nec elationem cordis appetit, sed simplicitatem et sobrietatem mentis diligit, non sibi sed Deo velut in pallore subjectionis justa opera sua quasi indumentum pallidae tunicae tribuens, et candida vestigia Filii Dei fideliter subsequens. Super cujus caput tanta claritas de sedente super montem descendit, ut faciem ejus intueri non possis; quia potestatem et fortitudinem beatitudinis ejus serenitas visitationis illius, qui omni creaturae laudabiliter imperat tantam infundit ut copiositatem ipsius mortali et infirma consideratione capere non valeas, quoniam et ille qui coelestes divitias habet, paupertati humiliter se subdidit.
Sed quod ab eodem qui super montem illum sedet multae viventes scintillae exeunt, quae easdem imagines magna suavitate circumvolant: hoc est quod ab omnipotente Deo diversae et fortissimae virtutes in divina claritate fulgentes veniunt, quae illos qui Deum veraciter timent et qui paupertatem spiritus fideliter amant, suo adjutorio et custodia circumdantes ardenter amplectuutur et deliniunt. Unde et in ipso monte quasi plurimae fenestellae videntur, in quibus velut capita hominum quaedam pallida, et quaedam alba apparent; quia in summa altitudine, profundissimae et perspicacissimae agnitioni Dei nec celari, nec abscondi possunt studia actuum hominum, cum et teporem et candorem in semetipsis saepissime demonstrent, quoniam et modo homines et in cordibus et in factis suis fatigati in contumelia dormitant: modo exsuscitati in honore evigilant, quemadmodum Salomon in voluntate mea testatur, dicens: Egestatem operata est manus remissa, manus autem fortium divitias parat . Quod dicitur, debilem et pauperem se homo ille fecit, qui noluit justitiam operari, nec iniquitatem delere, nec debitum remittere, ubi a mirabilibus operum beatitudinis otiosus permansit. Qui autem operatur fortissima opera salutis: viam veritatis currens, fontem salientis gloriae capit, in quo pretiosissimas divitias in terra et in coelo sibi parat. Unde quicunque scientiam in Spiritu sancto et pennas in fide habet, ille admonitionem meam non transgrediatur, sed eam in gustu animae suae amplectendo percipiat.
Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord) companion
Keep Hildegard in your mornings
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