Visio Tertia
The Cosmic Instrument of Divine Order
A vision of a massive, egg-shaped instrument reveals the majesty of God and the unfolding of human history within His divine plan.
After this, I saw a massive, round, and shadowy instrument shaped like an egg—narrow at the top, wide in the middle, and constricted at the bottom. On its outer edge, a bright fire circled around, appearing to hold a shadowy skin beneath it. Within that fire was a globe of glowing fire so large that it illuminated the entire instrument. It held three torches positioned upward in order, which by their own fire kept the globe from slipping. That globe would sometimes rise upward, meeting a great deal of fire, which caused it to extend its flames further; at other times, it would bend downward, where it met with intense cold, causing it to draw its flames back more quickly. But from the fire that surrounded the instrument, a certain wind with its own whirlwinds emerged, and from the skin that lay beneath it, another wind with its own whirlwinds billowed out, spreading itself here and there within the instrument. In that same skin, there was also a dark fire of such horror that I couldn't bear to look at it. It shook the entire skin with its force, filled with sounds, storms, and sharp stones, both large and small. While it was raising its sound, that bright fire, the winds, and the air were all stirred up, so that flashes of lightning preceded the sound itself, because that fire felt the commotion of that same sound within itself first. Beneath that same skin was a most pure ether, having no skin beneath it. In it, I saw a globe of white-hot fire of great size, holding two torches positioned upward in plain sight, which kept the globe from exceeding the bounds of its course. In that same ether were many bright spheres placed everywhere; into these, the globe would sometimes empty itself a little, sending out its brightness, and then, returning beneath the aforementioned red, fiery globe and restoring its flames from it, it would breathe them out again into those same spheres. But from that ether itself, a certain wind with its own whirlwinds erupted, which spread itself everywhere into the aforementioned instrument. Beneath that same ether, however, I saw a watery air, having a white skin beneath it, which, spreading itself here and there, gave moisture to the entire instrument. When it gathered itself suddenly, it released a sudden rain with a great roar; and when it spread itself out gently, it poured forth a pleasant rain with a soft motion. But a certain breath also went out from it with its own whirlwinds, and it expanded everywhere throughout that instrument. In the middle of these elements was a large, sandy globe, which those same elements had surrounded so that it couldn't slip away in any direction. But when those same elements would sometimes shake one another with those breaths, they forced that globe to move slightly by their power. Between the north and the east, I saw something like a great mountain, which contained much darkness toward the north and much light toward the east; yet it was such that the light couldn't reach the darkness, nor the darkness the light. And I heard again a voice from heaven saying to me: God, who created all things by His own will, created them for the knowledge and honor of His name, showing in them not only those things that are visible and temporal, but also manifesting in them those things that are invisible and eternal. This vision you see demonstrates this. For this great instrument you see—round and shadowy, narrow at the top, wide in the middle, and constricted at the bottom—faithfully declares God Almighty, incomprehensible in His majesty, inestimable in His mysteries, and the hope of all the faithful. Although men were initially crude and simple in their actions, they later became more instructed in the Old and New Law; yet they harass and afflict one another, and finally, toward the end of the world, they are to suffer many hardships in their distress.
The Incarnation and the Mystery of Redemption
The vision interprets the fiery globe and torches as the Son of God, whose incarnation and ascension bring light and redemption to humanity.
On its outer edge, all around, there is a bright fire that seems to hold a shadowy skin beneath it; this signifies that God burns those who are outside the true faith everywhere with the fire of His vengeance, while He purifies those who remain within the Catholic faith everywhere with the fire of His consolation, thus striking down the darkness of diabolical perversity, just as happened when the devil, created by God, wanted to oppose God and fell, defeated, into perdition. And in this fire is a globe of glowing fire of such magnitude that the entire instrument is illuminated by it; its splendor and brightness show that in God the Father is His ineffable only-begotten Son, the Sun of Justice, possessing the radiance of burning charity and existing in such glory that every creature is illuminated by the brightness of His light, having above Himself three torches positioned in order, which by their fire keep the globe from slipping—namely, by their administration, the Trinity that contains all things—and demonstrating that the Son of God, descending from heaven to earth, leaving the angels in the celestial realms, revealed heavenly things even to humans who exist in soul and body, who, glorifying Him through the benefit of His brightness, cast off every harmful error when they magnified Him as the true Son of God incarnate from a true Virgin, after the angel had announced Him to them, and after man, living in soul and body, received Him with faithful joy. For this reason, the same globe sometimes rises upward, and a great fire meets it, so that it sends its flames further out. This signifies that when the time came for the only-begotten Son of God to be incarnate by the will of the Father for the redemption and uplifting of the human race, the Holy Spirit, in the power of the Father, worked wonders in the blessed Virgin. Thus, as the Son of God gave a miraculous radiance within her fruitful, virginal purity, her virginity was made glorious. For in the most noble Virgin, the incarnation, which is desired above all else, was revealed. And so, it also sometimes bows downward, and a great cold comes to meet it; for this reason, it draws its flames back more quickly. This declares that the same only-begotten Son of God, born of a virgin and thus mercifully inclined toward the poverty of humanity, endured many bodily hardships as he encountered many miseries. When he had shown himself to the world in the flesh, he passed from the world and returned to the Father while his disciples stood by, just as it is written: 'As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.' This is what is said: to the children of the Church who receive the Son of God in the inner knowledge of their hearts, the holiness of his body is raised up in the power of his divinity, and in a mystical miracle, the cloud of a secret mystery receives him, hiding him from mortal eyes and from the blasts of the winds that serve him. But as you see, from that fire which had surrounded the same instrument, a certain breath went forth with its whirlwinds; this shows that from the almighty God, who fills the whole world with his power, a true scattering of just words went forth when he, the living and true God, was revealed to humanity in truth. And from that skin which is beneath it, another breath boils up with its whirlwinds, because even from the devilish rage that ignores God and knows no fear, the worst reputation goes forth with the most wicked speech. These spread themselves here and there within that same instrument, because in the world, useful and useless rumors mingle among the people in various ways. In that same skin, there is also a certain dark fire of such horror that you cannot look upon it. This declares that in the worst and most wicked traps of the ancient traitor, a most terrible murder of such intensity erupts that the human intellect cannot grasp its madness, and it shakes that whole skin with its force. For murder embraces all devilish malice in its horror; when hatred boiled up from anger in the firstborn, it committed fratricide. That fire was full of sounds, of storms, and of the sharpest stones, both large and small, because murder is full of greed, drunkenness, and the most savage wickedness, which rages without mercy in both great murders and lesser vices. While that bright fire raises its sound, the winds and the air are stirred; for while murder hisses in the desire for the shedding of blood, heavenly judgments, swift rumors, and preparations extended everywhere for the ruin of the murderer are stirred up in the vengeance of righteous judgment, so that the lightning precedes the sound itself, because that fire feels the commotion of that same sound within itself first.
Faith, Baptism, and the Human Reflection
The vision shifts to the purity of faith and the role of baptism in sustaining the human soul, which is placed as a reflection of God's glory among the elements.
The severity of divine judgment overcomes and suppresses that wickedness, because the divine majesty clearly foresees it with an eye to which all things are naked, even before the roar of its madness is publicly revealed. But beneath that skin is the purest ether, having no skin beneath it; for beneath the traps of the ancient traitor, the most serene faith shines, in which no uncertainty of infidelity lies hidden—not founded by itself, but sustained in Christ. In Him you also see a certain globe of glowing fire of great size, which truly signifies the Church joined together in the brightness of innocent clarity and great honor in faith, so that they may show you it reaching forward, and having two torches clearly placed upward above itself, and containing the globe itself so that it does not exceed the measure of its course, which they show by their meaning; for they draw the Church, brought forth from heavenly things, to the divine precepts of heavenly secrets through the two Testaments, namely, of the old and new authority; because they contain it so that it does not extend itself headlong into a variety of ways, and because both the old and new testimony show it the blessedness of the heavenly inheritance. Therefore, even in that same ether, many clear spheres are placed everywhere, into which the same globe sometimes empties itself a little and sends out its brightness; for in the purity of faith, many splendid works of piety appear everywhere, in which the Church for a certain time endured trampling, and the beauty of its wonders faded a little, when it lay as if in sorrow, yet admired the brightness of former works in perfect people; and so, returning beneath the aforementioned red and fiery globe and restoring its flames from it, it breathed them out again into those same spheres, for it, placed in compunction, hastens beneath the protection of the Only-Begotten Son of God, and receives from Him the sufferings of divine comfort, declaring the love of heavenly things in blessed works. From this, a breath and its whirlwinds erupt from that same ether, spreading everywhere into the instrument. From the unity of faith, a powerful fame, built on true and perfect assertions, emanates to aid humanity and strikes the ends of the world with great speed. Beneath that ether, you see a watery air with a white skin beneath it, which spreads here and there to provide moisture to the whole instrument. Beneath the faith held by both the ancient and new fathers, baptism in the Church brought the irrigation of salvation to believers—as is clearly manifested to you—founded in the innocence of blessed stability and spreading everywhere by divine inspiration to the whole world. When it gathers itself suddenly, it sends out a sudden rain with great cold; and when it spreads itself gently, it gives a pleasant rain with a gentle motion, because, while baptism was sometimes multiplied by the proclaimers of truth in the speed of preaching and in the depth of their own mind, it was manifested to astonished people by a swift abundance of words in the flood of their preaching; sometimes, however, baptism, dilated by a gentle temperament of preaching, was made known to the attracted peoples by a gentle irrigation with the help of discernment. Therefore, a certain state also emerges from it with its own whirlwinds and spreads everywhere through the aforementioned instrument; for from the flood of baptism, which brings salvation to believers, a most truthful report—going forth with the words of powerful sermons—has drenched the whole world with the manifestation of its own blessedness, so that it is now openly declared among peoples who are abandoning infidelity and seeking the Catholic faith. In the midst of these elements, there is a certain sandy globe of great size, which the elements surround in such a way that it cannot slip away in any direction; this clearly shows, in the strength of God’s creatures, a human being living in deep reflection, made in a wonderful way from the clay of the earth with great glory, and so surrounded by the power of creatures that he cannot be separated from them in any way. For the elements of the world, created for the service of man, offer him their labor while man, sitting as it were in their midst, presides over them by divine arrangement, as David also says, inspired by me: “You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have set him over the works of your hands.” This is what is said: “O You, God, who have made all things wonderfully, You have crowned man with the golden and purple crown of intellect and with the most worthy garment of visible form; thus placing him as a prince over the height of Your perfect works, which You have justly and well arranged within Your creatures.” For You have bestowed upon man great and wondrous dignities beyond Your other creatures. But as you see, while those elements sometimes strike against one another with those winds, they compel the globe itself to be moved slightly by their strength. When, at the appropriate time, the creatures of God come together with the report of the Creator’s miracles, in such a way that one miracle is wrapped in another with the great thunder of words, man—struck by the magnitude of those miracles—feels a shaking of his own mind and body, while, astonished by those wonders, he considers the weakness of his own fragility.
The Folly of Divination and Idolatry
God rebukes those who seek forbidden knowledge in creatures or stars, warning that such divination is a rejection of the Creator and a path to ruin.
You see between the north and the east a mountain, as it were, of great size, which has much darkness toward the north and much light toward the east; for between diabolical impiety and divine goodness, the great fall of man appears through the devil's worst deception, holding in the reprobate many miseries of damnation, and through desirable salvation in the elect, the greatest happiness of redemption. Yet it is so ordered that neither that light can reach the darkness, nor that darkness the light; for the works of light do not intermingle with the works of darkness, nor do the works of darkness ascend to the works of light, although the devil frequently labors to obscure them through wicked men, just as happens among pagans, heretics, and false prophets, and among those whom they try to drag after them with their deceitful trickery. How so? Because they want to know things that aren't for them to know, imitating the one who wanted to be like the Most High. And because they follow him, he in turn shows them lies as if they were truth, according to their own desires; that is why they are not with me, nor am I with them, because they do not walk in my ways but love strange paths, inquiring what a foolish creature might falsely show them about future causes. They want to know this in the same perverse way they seek it out, despising me and rejecting my saints, who love me with a sincere heart. But can such men, who test me so stubbornly with their perverse art—to the point of examining that creature which was made for their own service, asking it to show them what they want to know according to their own will—can they, by the investigation of their art, lengthen or shorten the time of life that has been appointed for them by their Creator? Certainly, they have no power to do this, not even for a day or an hour. Or can they turn aside the predestination of God? By no means, you wretches! Do I not allow creatures to show you your own passions at times? They show these signs because they fear me, their God, just as a servant sometimes shows the authority of his master, or as the ox, the donkey, and other animals manifest the will of their masters when they faithfully fulfill it in their service. You fools, when you consign me to oblivion—neither looking to me nor worshipping me, but instead looking to the creature subject to you to see what it might portend and show—you stubbornly reject me, worshipping a weak creature in place of your Creator. Therefore, I say to you: O man, why do you worship that creature which can neither comfort you nor help you, and which brings you no prosperity in happiness? It is just as the mathematicians—those teachers of death who follow the unbelief of the Gentiles—rashly claim: that the stars give life to men and dictate all your actions. O miserable ones, who made the stars? Yet, by my permission, stars are sometimes used to show certain signs to men, as my Son also indicates in the Gospel when he says, 'There will be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars.' This is what is meant: in the light of these luminaries, service is provided to men, and by their circuit the times of the seasons are shown. Hence, even in the last times, lamentable and dangerous seasons will be demonstrated in them by my permission, such that the ray of the sun, the splendor of the moon, and the brightness of the stars will sometimes be withdrawn, so that the hearts of men may be shaken by this. In the same way, the incarnation of my Son was signaled by a star according to my will. No one has a personal star to guide their life, as foolish and misguided people claim; instead, all stars serve everyone equally. The reason that particular star shone brighter than the others is that my Only-Begotten was born of a virgin without sin, unlike other men. Yet that star provided no help to my Son other than to faithfully announce his incarnation to the people, for all stars and creatures, in fear of me, simply carry out my command and have no meaning of their own in any matter. For when it pleases me, creatures show my command, just as when a craftsman makes a coin and hides within it a design that pleases him; then the coin displays the design imposed upon it, having no power of its own, for it doesn't know when the craftsman might want to impose another design upon it, nor can it discern the long or short duration of its own form. What is this? O human, if a stone were lying before you in which you could carefully observe some signs of your own passions, you might, according to your own false judgment, say in your deception, whether saddened by your misfortune or puffed up by your prosperity: 'Ah!' 'I will die,' or 'Alas!' 'I will live,' or 'Woe!' How miserable; or, 'Oh!' How great is my prosperity? And what, then, would that stone actually do for you? Would it take anything away from you, or give you anything? It would have no power to harm or help you. In the same way, neither the stars, nor fire, nor birds, nor any other creature like them can harm or help you through the signs you try to read in them. But if you trust in this creature—which was made to serve you—and turn your back on me, then I, too, in my righteous judgment, will cast you out of my sight and take away the happiness of my kingdom from you. For I do not want you to search for future causes in the stars, or fire, or birds, or other such creatures; because if you persistently look to them, your eyes are offensive to me, and I cast you down like the fallen angel who abandoned the truth and plunged himself into damnation. O human, where were you when the stars and the rest of creation were made? Did you offer any advice on how they should be established? But this kind of presumptuous questioning arose during the first schism: when people had so forgotten God that nation after nation looked with pride at various creatures and sought signs in them regarding future events. And so, that error regarding Baal also arose: people were deceived into worshipping the creature of God instead of God, a path to which they were stirred by the devil’s mockery, because they looked more to the creature than to their Creator, wanting to know what they had no business knowing. From this, even worse things appeared: when people began to lose their minds through the devil’s magic, to the point that they see and hear the devil himself, who speaks to them deceitfully and shows them things, making them look at one creature as if it were another. It isn't for me to speak of how the first deceivers were taught by the devil, so that those who seek him in this way see and hear him; yet they themselves are deeply blameworthy for this wickedness, since they deny me, their God, in this way and follow the ancient deceiver. O human, I sought you in the blood of my Son, not with malice and iniquity, but with great fairness; yet you desert me, the true God, and follow him who is a liar. I am justice and truth; and therefore I admonish you in faith, exhort you in love, and bring you back in repentance, so that, however bloodstained you may be in the filth of your sins, you may still rise from the fall of your ruin.
The Parable of the Lord and His Servants
A parable of a Lord and his servants illustrates the danger of abandoning divine virtue for the deceptive arts of the enemy.
But if you despise me, you'll feel the truth of this parable in your own life. A certain Lord, who had many servants under him, gave each of them many of his own weapons of war, saying, "Be upright and strong, and cast off all sluggishness and laziness." But as those servants were traveling with him, they saw a deceiver and master of strange, wicked arts by the side of the road; some of them were deceived and said, "We want to learn this man's arts." They threw aside the weapons they had and ran to him. Others asked them, "What are you doing?" following this deceiver and provoking your Lord to anger?" They answered, "What harm does this do to our Lord?" Their Lord said to them, "You wicked servants, why have you thrown away the weapons I gave you?" And why do you prefer to love this vanity rather than to serve me, your Lord, whose natural servants you are?" Go then, follow that deceiver if you wish, since you're no longer able to serve me, and see what his trickery will do for you; and he cast them away from him. This means that the Lord is the almighty God, who rules all peoples under his power and has armed every person with reason and intellect, commanding them to be diligent and watchful in the tools of virtue, shaking off wickedness and negligence. But while people set out to walk the way of truth in the divine commandments, many temptations meet them, so that they notice the devil—the deceiver of the whole world and the most wicked architect of many victories—set in ambush not on the way of truth, but in deception. Hence, some of them, being lovers of injustice more than of righteousness, are seduced by the devil and are more eager to imitate the vices of the ancient deceiver than to embrace the virtues of God. They turn the intellect they ought to have directed toward divine commandments back toward the vices of earthly iniquity, and they submit themselves to the devil. Their directors, like companions and fellow servants, often confront them through the Holy Scriptures, rebuking their deeds and asking why they follow diabolical fabrications and bring divine vengeance upon themselves. But they, most often mocking these admonitions, affirm through their own pride that they sin only in small things and do not offend their God at all. Therefore, when they persist in that hardness of heart, they receive a divine judgment. It is held against these servants of iniquity that they stifled the intellect given to them from above, chose the deceptions of the ancient deceiver rather than their Creator whom they ought to have served diligently, and despised him. Thus, despised by God, they are consigned to diabolical illusions according to their works—because they refused to serve God—where they are forced to consider what that most wicked deception has profited them. In this way, cast off, they incur damnation because they set aside divine precepts and chose to follow the devil more than God.
The Limits of Life and Divine Sovereignty
God asserts His sovereignty over the span of human life, explaining that He alone determines the time of death based on the fruitfulness of each soul.
I don't want people to despise me, for they ought to know me through faith; yet if they cast me aside and look instead to the created things subject to them—imitating the ancient deceiver in this—then I, too, allow them to have their way with those created things and with the devil, according to the desires of their own hearts, so that they might experience for themselves what good those things they worshipped actually do them, or what the devil, whom they followed, really has to offer them. And, you foolish people, why do you look for a creature to tell you about the time of your life? None of you can know the time of your life, nor avoid it, nor skip over the time that has been set for you to live by me; for, O human, when your salvation—both in worldly and spiritual matters—is complete, you will leave this present age and pass on to the one that will have no end. When a person is strong enough to burn for me more ardently than others—so that, not growing sluggish in the conscience of the foul filth of stinking sins, they avoid the traps of the ancient serpent—I don't snatch their spirit from their body until they bring their sweet fruits to a good end in a fragrant odor. But as for the one I consider so fragile that they are tender and weak under the heavy pain of their body and the attraction of the worst deceiver, and unable to bear my yoke, I withdraw them from this age before they begin to wither in the time of their own decaying soul, for I know all things. I wish to give the human race every justice for their own protection, so that no one can make excuses when I warn and urge people to do justice, striking them with the judgment of death as if they were about to die, even when they are going to live much longer. I do this because no one will be able to have or arrange for themselves any other time except according to the fruit I see in a person and according to my will by which I grant them to live, just as Job also testifies through me when he says: 'You have set his limits, which cannot be passed.'✦ As it is said: 'You who are above all, and foresee all things before they come to pass,' you have also set the limits of human life in the secret of your majesty, so that neither the knowledge, nor the prudence, nor the cunning of any thing will be able to pass them by in any age—whether in infancy, youth, or old age—except according to the providence of your secrets, you who willed that humans be made for the glory of your name. For I, O human, knew you before the foundation of the world; yet I still wish to consider your days in your works and discern their fruit, and to examine all your works diligently and most sharply. Whoever I suddenly withdraw from this temporal life, the usefulness of that life is complete. If their life were prolonged further, it would bring forth no more abundance of good fruits; instead, having only the lukewarmness of a fleshly faith, they would merely emit smoke like the empty sound of words and would not touch me with the intimate touch of their heart. Therefore, I do not grant them a reprieve in this life, but I withdraw them from this age before they fall into such lukewarmness of barrenness.
The Call to Repentance and True Knowledge
God calls the human soul to abandon its pride and return to Him, the true Physician, who heals through penance and the triumph of Christ over the ancient serpent.
But I am speaking directly to you, human. Why do you ignore me? Didn't I send my prophets to you, give my Son to the wood of the cross for your salvation, and appoint my apostles to show you the way of truth through the Gospel? Therefore, you cannot excuse yourself from having every good thing through me. And why are you putting me off now? But I will no longer tolerate the error of this perversity—namely, that you seek signs of your actions in the stars, or in fire, or in birds, or in any other creature of this kind; for all who first invented this error through a diabolical vision, in disregarding God, completely cast aside his commandments, and for this reason they themselves have been disregarded. I, however, shine in the brightness of my divinity above every creature, so that my wonders in my saints are manifest to you; for this reason, I don't want you to practice this error of divination any longer, but rather to look to me. O foolish one, consider who I am; consider that I am the highest good. And so, I grant you every good thing when you diligently seek me. And who do you believe I am? I am God, above all things and in all things. Yet you want to treat me like some peasant who fears his master. How so? You want me to do your will, even while you ignore my commands. But God isn't like that. What is this? He Himself has no concept of a beginning, nor any fear of an end. The heavens sound forth my praises as they look to me, and they are obedient to me according to that justice by which they were established through me. The sun, the moon, and the stars in the clouds of heaven follow their own course; the gusts of wind and the rains in the air move just as they were appointed, and all these things obey their Creator according to His command. But you, O human, don't fulfill my commands; instead, you follow your own will, as if the justice of the law had never been set before you or shown to you. For you are in such stubbornness, even though you are but ash, that the justice of my law is not enough for you—a law that has been plowed and cultivated in the blood of my Son and well-trodden in my saints of both the Old and New Testaments. But you're trying to catch me in great foolishness when you insult me this way, saying: "If it pleases God that I be just and good, why doesn't He make me upright?" You're trying to capture me just as a petulant child might try to catch a stag, only to be shoved back and pierced by its powerful antlers. And so, you want to play with me petulantly in your own ways, using the precepts of my law as if they were those antlers; I crush you with my own just judgment. These are trumpets sounding in your ears, but you don't follow them; instead, you run after the wolf, thinking you've tamed him so well that he can't hurt you. But the starving wolf devours you, saying: "This sheep wandered off the path and didn't want to follow its shepherd, but ran after me; that's why I want to swallow it, because it chose me and deserted its own shepherd." O human, God is just; therefore, everything He made in heaven and on earth, He arranged with a just order. For I am the great physician of all ailments, acting like a doctor who sees the sick person who ardently desires the cure. What is this! If the sickness is minor, it heals easily; but if it's serious, it speaks to the sick person. I demand silver and gold from you. If you give these to me, I will help you. I do the same, O human. I wipe away lesser sins through groaning, tears, and a person's good will; but for more serious faults, I command you, O human, to do penance and correct your ways, and I will show you my mercy and give you eternal life. Don't look to the stars or other creatures for the reasons behind what happens to you, nor worship the devil, nor call upon him, nor seek anything from him. If you want to know more than you ought to know, you'll be deceived by the ancient seducer, because when the first human sought more than he should have, he was deceived by him and fell into ruin. Yet the devil did not know the redemption of man, where the Son of God killed death and broke hell; for the devil conquered man in the beginning through a woman, but God at the end of time crushed the devil through the woman who bore the Son of God, who miraculously brought the devil's works to nothing, just as my beloved John testifies, saying: "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." What is this? For the sake of humanity's salvation and rescue, the greatest light appeared—the Son of God—taking on the poverty of a human body. Yet, like a burning star shining through dark clouds, he was placed in the winepress where the wine had to be pressed out without the dross of leaven, because he himself, the cornerstone, fell upon the winepress and pressed out such wine that it gave off the greatest fragrance of sweetness. For he, a man bright and shining within the human race without the flood of polluted blood, crushed the mouth of the ancient serpent with the foot of his own warfare, dissolving from the liver of that iniquity all the arrows that were full of fury and lust, and rendered him entirely contemptible. Therefore, whoever has knowledge in the Holy Spirit and wings in faith shouldn't disregard my warning, but should embrace it and perceive it in the taste of their own soul.
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Post haec vidi maximum instrumentum, rotundum et umbrosum secundum similitudinem ovi superius arctum et in medio amplum, ac inferius constrictum; in cujus exteriori parte per circuitum lucidus ignis fuit quasi pellem umbrosam sub se habens. Et in igne illo erat globus rutilantis ignis tantae magnitudinis, ut instrumentum totum ab eo illustraretur, super se tres faculas sursum ordinate positas habens, quae suo igne eumdem globum ne laberetur continebant, et globus ille se aliquando sursum extulit et plurimus ignis ei occurrit, ita quod exinde flammas suas longius produxit, ac se aliquando deorsum inflexit, multumque frigus ei obviam venit: quapropter flammas suas citius subduxit. Sed et de igne illo qui instrumentum circumdederat flatus quidam cum suis turbinibus exiebat, et de pelle illa quae sub eo jacebat alius flatus cum turbinibus suis ebulliebat, qui se in ipso instrumento hac et illac diffundebat. In eadem quoque pelle quidam tenebrosus ignis tanti horroris erat quod eum intueri non valebam, qui totam pellem illam sua fortitudine concutiebant plenus sonituum, tempestatum et acutissimorum lapidum majorum et minorum. Qui dum sonitum suum elevaret, ille lucidus ignis, et venti, et aer commovebantur, ita quod fulgura sonitum ipsum praevenerunt, quia ignis ille, primum commotionem ejusdem sonitus in se sentiebant. Sed sub eadem pelle purissimus aether erat sub se nullam pellem habens; in quo etiam globum quemdam candentis ignis plurimae magnitudinis cernebam, super se duas faculas sursum apparenter positas habentem ipsumque globum ne modum cursus sui excederet continentes et in eodem aethere multae et clarae spherae ubique positae fuerant; in quas idem globus interdum se aliquantulum evacuans claritatem suam emisit, et ita sub praefatum rubeum igneumque globum recurrens, et ab eo flammas suas restaurans: iterum illas in easdem sphaeras efflavit. Sed et ab ipso aethere quidam flatus cum suis turbinibus erumpebat; qui se in praefatum instrumentum ubique dilatabat. Sub eodem autem aethere, aquosum aerem videbam albam pellem sub se habentem qui se hac et illac diffundens, omni instrumento illi humorem dedit.
Qui dum se interdum repente congregaret, repentinam pluviam multo fragore emisit; et dum se leniter diffudit, blandam pluviam leni motu effudit. Sed et ex eo quidam flatus cum turbinibus suis exiens, per praedictum instrumentum se ubique expandit. Et in medio istorum elementorum quidam arenosus globus plurimae magnitudinis erat: quem eadem elementa ita circumdederant, quod nec hac nec illac dilabi poterat. Sed dum interdum eadem elementa cum praedictis flatibus se invicem concuterent, eumdem globum sua fortitudine aliquantulum moveri compellebant. Et vidi inter aquilonem et orientem velut maximum montem, qui versus aquilonem multas tenebras et versus orientem multam lucem continebat; ita tamen quod nec lux illa ad tenebras, nec tenebrae ad lucem pertingere poterant. Audivique iterum vocem de coelo mihi dicentem: Deus qui omnia sua voluntate condidit, ea ad cognitionem et honorem nominis sui creavit, non solum autem ea quae visibilia et temporalia sunt in ipsis ostendens, sed etiam illa quae invisibilia et aeterna sunt in eis manifestans. Quod et visio haec quam cernis demonstrat. Nam hoc maximum instrumentum quod vides rotundum et umbrosum secundum similitudinem ovi superius arctum, et in medio amplum ac inferius constrictum, declarat fideliter omnipotentem Deum in majestate sua incomprehensibilem, et in mysteriis suis inaestimabilem, et spem omnium fidelium existentem, cum primitus homines rudes et simplices in actibus suis essent, postea in veteri ac nova lege instructiores se mutuo molestant et affligunt, et tandem circa finem mundi multas aerumnas in angustiis suis passuri sunt.
In cujus exteriori parte per circuitum lucidus ignis est, quasi pellem umbrosam sub se habens: designat quod Deus illos qui extra veram fidem sunt ubique per ignem ultionis suae exurit; eos vero qui intra fidem catholicam manent, ubique per ignem consolationis suae purificat; ita diabolicae perversitatis tenebrositatem prosternens, ut et factum est cum diabolus a Deo creatus se Deo opponere volens in perditionem devictus corruit. Et in igne isto est globus rutilantis ignis tantae magnitudinis, ut instrumentum totum ab eo illustretur; qui splendore claritatis suae ostendit quod in Deo Patre est ineffabilis unigenitus ejus sol justitiae fulgorem ardentis charitatis habens, tantaeque gloriae existens, ut omnis creatura a claritate lucis ejus illuminetur, super se tres faculas sursum ordinate positas habens, quae suo igne globum ne labatur continent, videlicet sua administratione trinitatem omnia continentem et demonstrantes quod Filius Dei de coelo ad terras descendens, angelis in coelestibus relictis hominibus etiam qui in anima et corpore subsistunt coelestia manifestavit, qui claritatis ejus beneficio ipsum glorificantes: omnem noxium errorem abjiciunt, cum eum verum Dei Filium de vera virgine incarnatum magnificavit, postquam ipsis eum angelus praenuntiavit, et postquam homo in anima et corpore vivens eum fideli gaudio suscepit.
Quapropter et idem globus se aliquando sursum elevat plurimusque ignis ei occurrit, ita quod exinde flammas suas longius producit: significans quia, ubi tempus illud venit quod Unigenitus Dei pro redemptione et sublevatione humani generis per voluntatem Patris incarnari debuit, Spiritus sanctus in virtute Patris superna mysteria in beata Virgine mirabiliter operatus est, ita quod eodem Filio Dei in virginali pudicitia fecunda virginitate mirificum fulgorem dante, virginitas gloriosa effecta est. Quoniam in nobilissima virgine, summe desiderabilis incarnatio demonstrata est. Et ita etiam se aliquando deorsum inclinat, multumque frigus ei obviam venit; quam ob causam flammas suas citius subducit, declarans quoniam idem Unigenitus Dei ex virgine natus, et ita ad paupertatem hominum misericorditer inclinatus, plurimis miseriis ipsi occurrentibus multas corporales angustias sustinens, cum se mundo corporaliter ostenderat, de mundo transiens ad patrem rediit discipulis etiam ipsius astantibus, quemadmodum scriptum est: Videntibus illis, elevatus est, et nubes suscepit eum ab oculis eorum . Quod dicitur: Filiis Ecclesiae in interiori scientia cordis sui Filium Dei suscipientibus: sanctitas corporis ejus elevata est in potentia divinitatis ipsius et in mystico miraculo nubes secreti mysterii suscepit eum a mortalibus oculis abscondens ipsum flabrisque ventorum ipsi famulantibus. Sed ut vides de igne illo qui idem instrumentum circumdederat flatus quidam cum suis turbinibus exiebat: qui ostendit quoniam ab omnipotente Deo totum mundum sua potestate complente, vera disseminatio justis sermonibus processit quando ipse vivus et verus Deus hominibus in veritate demonstratus est. Et de pelle illa quae sub eo est alius flatus cum turbinibus suis ebullit, quia etiam de diabolica rabie quae Deum ignorans non timet, pessima fama cum nequissimis locutionibus exit; qui se in ipso instrumento hac et illac diffundunt, quoniam in saeculo diversis modis utiles et inutiles rumores inter populos se commiscent. In eadem quoque pelle quidam tenebrosus ignis tanti horroris est, quod eum intueri non potes: qui declarat quod in pessimis et in nequissimis insidiis antiqui proditoris, teterrimum homicidium tanti fervoris erumpit quod insaniam illius humanus intellectus discernere non valet, qui totam pellem illam sua fortitudine concutit; quoniam homicidium omnes diabolicas malignitates suo horrore complectitur, cum in primogenitis ab ira odium ebulliens fratricidium perpetravit, ignis ille plenus sonituum erat, tempestatum et acutissimorum lapidum majorum et minorum: quia homicidium plenum avaritia est et ebrietatibus atque saevissimis nequitiis quae sine misericordia bacchantur tam in magnis homicidiis quam in minoribus vitiis. Qui dum sonitum suum elevat ille lucidus ignis et venti et aer commoventur; quoniam, dum homicidium in cupiditate effusionis sanguinis stridet superna judicia, celeres rumores, et ubique ad ruinam homicidae extentae praeparationis in ultione recti judicii suscitantur: ita quod fulgura sonitum ipsum praeveniunt, quia ignis ille primum commotionem ejusdem sonitus in se sentit.
Nam severitas divini examinis scelus illud superando opprimit, cum divina majestas, antequam fremitus illius insamae publice manifestetur eo oculo cui omnia nuda sunt aperte praevideat.
Sed sub illa pelle purissimus aether est sub se nullam pellem habens; quoniam sub insidiis antiqui proditoris serenissima fides lucet, in qua nulla incertitudo infidelitatis latet, a seipsa non fundata, sed in Christo sustentata, in quo etiam quemdam globum candentis ignis plurimae magnitudinis vides qui vere designat junctam Ecclesiam, in fide candorem innocentis claritatis plurimique honoris ut tibi demonstrent praetendentem, et super se duas faculas sursum clare positas habentem ipsumque globum ne modum cursus sui excedat continentes, quod sua significatione sunt ostendentes; quod Ecclesiam de supernis aedita duo Testamenta videlicet veteris et novae auctoritatis, ad divina praecepta coelestium secretorum trahunt; quia ipsa eamdem ne in varietatem morum se praecipitanter extendat continent, et quia et vetus et nova testificatio beatitudinem supernae haereditatis ipsi ostendunt. Quapropter etiam in eodem aethere multae et clarae spherae ubique positae sunt in quas idem globus interdum se aliquantulum evacuans claritatem suam emittit; quoniam in puritate fidei plurima et splendida opera pietatis ubique apparent, in quibus Ecclesia certo quodam tempore conculcationem aliquantulum sustinuit, et decor mirabilium suorum aliquantulum evanuit, cum ipsa velut in moerore jacens, claritatem tamen priorum operum in perfectis hominibus admirabatur; et ita sub praefatum rubeum, igneumque globum recurrens et ab eo flammas suas restaurans: iterum illas in easdem sphaeras efflavit, quoniam ipsa in contritione posita sub protectionem Unigeniti Dei properans, et ab eo sufferentias divinae confortationis accipit amorem supernorum in beatis operibus declarans. Unde et ab ipso aethere quidam flatus cum suis turbinibus erumpit, qui se in praefatum instrumentum ubique dilatat; quia ab unitate fidei validissima fama cum veris et perfectis assertionibus in auxilium hominum emanans; fines totius orbis multa celeritate percussit. Sub eodem autem aethere aquosum aerem vides albam pellem sub se habentem, qui se hac et illac diffundens omni instrumento illi humorem praestat; quoniam sub fide quae tam in antiquis tam in novis patribus erat, baptismus in Ecclesia ad salutem credentium (ut tibi verissime manifestatur) in innocentia beatissimae stabilitatis fundatus se divina inspiratione ubique dilatans universo orbi irrigationem salutis in credentibus attulit. Qui dum se interdum repente congregat, repentinam pluviam multo frigore emittit; et dum se leniter diffundit, blandam pluviam leni motu dat, quia, dum baptismus aliquando per assertores veritatis in velocitate praedicationis et in profunditate mentis ipsorum multiplicabatur, celeri copia verborum in inundatione praedicationis eorum, attonitis hominibus manifestabatur, interdum etiam baptismus suavi temperamento praedicatione dilatatus, suavi irrigatione cum discretionis adjutorio populis attractis propalabatur.
Quapropter et ex eo quidam status cum turbinibus suis exiens, per praedictum instrumentum se ubique diffundit; quoniam ab inundatione baptismatis salutem credentibus afferentis verissima fama cum verbis fortissimorum sermonum egrediens omnem mundum manifestatione beatitudinis suae perfudit, ut jam in populis infidelitatem deserentibus et fidem catholicam appetentibus: aperte declaratur. Et in medio istorum elementorum, quidam arenosus globus plurimae magnitudinis est, quem elementa ita circumdant quod nec hac nec illac dilabi potest: qui manifeste ostendit in fortitudine creaturarum Dei, hominem profundae considerationis degentem de limo terrae mirabili modo multa gloria factum, et virtute creaturarum ita circumdatum quod ab eis nullo modo separari valet; quia elementa mundi ad servitutem hominis creata ipsi famulatum exhibent, dum homo velut in medio eorum sedens ipsis divina dispositione praesidet, ut etiam per me inspiratus David dicit: Gloria et honore coronasti eum, et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum . Quod dicitur: O tu Deus qui omnia mirabiliter fecisti, aurea et purpurea corona intellectus et dignissimo indumento visibilis speciei coronasti hominem; ita ponens eum quasi principem super altitudinem perfectorum operum tuorum, quae in creaturis tuis juste et bene disposuisti. Tu enim prae aliis creaturis tuis magnas et mirandas dignitates homini indidisti. Sed, ut vides, dum interdum elementa illa cum praedictis flatibus se invicem concutiunt, ipsum globum sua fortitudine aliquantulum moveri compellunt; quia, dum congruo tempore, creaturae Dei cum fama miraculorum creatoris sibi invicem congrediuntur, ita quod miraculum miraculo magno tonitruo verborum involvitur, homo illorum miraculorum magnitudine perculsus concussionem mentis et corporis sui sentit, dum in mirabilibus illis attonitus imbecillitatem fragilitatis suae considerat.
Et vides inter aquilonem et orientem velut maximum montem, qui versus aquilonem multas tenebras et versus orientem multam lucem habet, quoniam inter diabolicam impietatem et divinam bonitatem magnus casus hominis apparet per pessimam maligni deceptionem in reprobis multas miserias damnationis et per optabilem salutem in electis plurimam felicitatem redemptionis tenens, ita tamen quod nec lux illa ad tenebras, nec tenebrae illae ad lucem pertingere possunt; quia opera lucis operibus tenebrarum se non interserunt, nec opera tenebrarum ad opera lucis ascendunt, quamvis diabolus ea frequenter per malos homines offuscare laboret, quemadmodum evenit in paganis, in haereticis, et in pseudoprophetis, et in iis quos isti sua fallaci deceptione post se trahere conantur. Quomodo? Quia volunt ea scire, quae ipsis scienda non sunt; illum imitantes, qui se altissimo similem esse voluit. Et quoniam illum subsequuntur; ideo et ille mendacium quasi veritatem eis secundum voluntatem ipsorum demonstrat, unde mecum non sunt: nec ego cum illis, quia vias meas non ambulant, sed extraneas semitas amant, inquirentes quid eis stulta creatura de futuris causis fallaciter ostendat, et hoc ita volunt scire secundum quod illud perverse exquirunt me contemnentes, et sanctos meos abjicientes; qui sincero corde me diligunt. Sed hujusmodi homines qui perversa arte tam pertinaciter me tentant, ita quod creaturam illam quae ad servitutem ipsorum facta est perscrutantur, sciscitantes ut rem illam quam scire volunt eis secundum voluntatem ipsorum ostendat: nunquid possunt in scrutatione suae artis elongare vel abbreviare tempus vitae quod eis a creatore suo constitutum est? Certe hoc nec diem nec horam facere praevalent. Aut nunquid possunt praedestinationem Dei avertere? Nullo modo, o miseri, nonne permitto creaturas vobis passiones vestras interdum demonstrare, quae signa tunc ideo habent, quia me Deum timent, velut servus facultatem Domini sui aliquando ostendit, et ut bos et asinus ac caetera animalia voluntatem dominorum suorum manifestant, cum eam in servitute sua fideliter adimplent.
O stulti, cum me oblivioni traditis, nec ad me respicientes, nec me adorantes, sed aspicientes ad subjectam vobis creaturam quid ipsa portentet et ostendat, tunc pertinaciter me abjicitis infirmam creaturam pro Creatore vestro colentes. Quapropter et ego tibi dico: o homo, cur creaturam illam colis quae te nec consolari nec tibi auxiliari potest, et quae tibi nullam prosperitatem in felicitate confert? velut mathematici mortis instructores et in incredulitate gentilium sequaces temere affirmare solent: stellas hominibus vitam tribuere et omnes actus vestros disponere. O miseri, quis stellas fecit? Sed stellae interdum ex permissione mea cum quibusdam signis hominibus declarantur, ut etiam Filius meus in Evangelio ostendit, ubi ait: Erunt signa in sole, et luna, et stellis. Quod dicitur: In lumine horum luminum hominibus ministratur, et circuitu ipsorum tempora temporum ostenduntur. Unde etiam in novissimis temporibus lamentabilia et periculosa tempora permissione mea in ipsis demonstrabuntur, ita quod radius solis, et splendor lunae, et claritas stellarum aliquando subtrahetur, ut corda hominum ex hoc concutiantur. Sic et per stellam ex voluntate mea incarnatio filii mei ostensa est.
Homo autem propriam stellam quae vitam ipsius disponat non habet, velut stultus et errans populus asserere conatur, sed omnes stellae omni populo in servitute communes sunt. Sed quod stella illa caeteris stellis praeclarior effulsit: hoc est quia Unigenitus meus prae aliis hominibus virginali partu sine peccato natus est. Ipsa autem nullum aliud juvamen filio meo attulit, nisi quod solam incarnationem ejus populo fideliter nuntiavit, quoniam omnes stellae et creaturae me timentes, jussionem meam tantum perficiunt, nec ullius rei in ulla creatura significationem ullam habent. Nam cum mihi placuerit, creaturae jussionem meam ostendunt, velut cum faber nummum faciens in eo sibi placentem formam celat; tunc nummus formam sibi impositam declarat, illius rei nullam de se potestatem habens, non enim novit quando faber aliam formam illi imponere velit, quoniam nec longum, nec breve tempus suae formae discernit. Quid est hoc? O homo, si lapis coram te jaceret in quo aliqua signa passionum tuarum diligenter eum intuens conjectares: tunc secundum fallacem existimationem tuam aut de infelicitate tua contristatus aut de prosperitate tua elatus in deceptione diceres: Ah! moriar, vel evah! vivam, aut heu!
quanta infelicitas; seu evah! quanta prosperitas mea est? Et quid tunc lapis ille tibi conferret? Num quidquam tibi auferret aut daret? Sed nec tibi obesse vel prodesse valeret. Sic etiam nec stellae, nec ignis, nec aves, nec alia hujusmodi creatura in signis scrutationis suae quidquam te laedere vel juvare possunt. Quod si in creaturam hanc quae ad servitutem tuam facta est confidis abjiciens me, tunc et ego justo judicio meo ex oculis meis te projicio, felicitatem regni mei tibi auferens. Nam ego nolo ut stellas, aut ignem, aut volatilia, seu alias tales creaturas de futuris causis scruteris, quoniam, si illas pertinaciter inspexeris, oculi tui mihi molesti sunt, et te velut perditum angelum dejicio, qui veritatem deseruit et seipsum in damnationem praecipitavit.
O homo, cum stellae et caeterae creaturae factae sunt, ubi fuisti? Nunquid de institutione earum consilium dedisti? Sed praesumptio hujusmodi sciscitationis orta est in primo schismate: videlicet cum homines Deum ita oblivioni dedissent, quod gens et gens diversas creaturas superbe inspexit, et de futuris causis varia signa in eis quaesivit. Et sic etiam error ille in Baal exortus est: quod scilicet homines creaturam Dei pro Deo decepti colebant, ad quod eos etiam diabolica irrisio excitavit, quia post creaturam magis quam post Creatorem suum respexerunt: hoc scire cupientes quod scire non debuerunt. Unde etiam pejora his apparuerunt: cum homines per diabolum magica arte insanire coeperunt, ita quod diabolum vident et audiunt; ipse eis fallaciter loquens et ostendens, quod velut creaturam unam inspiciant et alia existat. Tacendum autem quomodo per diabolum primi seductores edocti sint, ita et eum vident et audiunt qui cum hoc modo quaerunt, sed ipsi de hac nequitia sua valde reprehensibiles sunt; cum me Deum suum hoc modo negant et antiquum seductorem sequuntur. O homo, ego in sanguine Filii mei te quaesivi non cum malitia et iniquitate, sed cum magna aequitate; attamen tu me verum Deum deseris et illum qui mendax est sequeris. Ego sum justitia et veritas; et ideo admoneo te in fide, et exhortor in amore, ac reduco te in poenitentia, ut, quamvis sanguinolentus sis in pollutionibus peccatorum; tamen exsurgas de casu ruinae tuae.
Quod si me contempseris, parabolam hujus similitudinis in te senties.
Quidam Dominus multos servos sub se habens unicuique eorum, suorum plurima arma bellica dedit, dicens eis: Estote probi et fortes, tarditatem et socordiam abjicientes. Sed dum quoddam iter cum eo agerent servi illi, quemdam illusorem et extraneae artis pessimum adinventorem secus viam viderunt, unde et quidam ex eis decepti dixerunt, hominis hujus artes discere volumus. Et arma quae habebant abjicientes, ad illum cucurrerunt. Quibus alii dicebant: Quid facitis? hunc illusorem sequentes, et Dominum vestrum ad iracundiam provocantes? Et illi responderunt: Quid hoc domino nostro oberit? Et dominus eorum ait illis: O servi nequam, cur arma quae vobis dederam abjecistis? Et cur charius est vobis hanc vanitatem amare, quam mihi domino vestro cujus naturales servi estis inservire?
Ite ergo post illusorem illum, ut cupitis, quia mihi amplius servire non valebitis, et videte quid vobis fallacia ejus proderit; et abjecit eos abs se. Quod dicitur: Dominus ille est Deus omnipotens, omnes populos sub potestate sua regens, qui omnem hominem ratione et intellectu armavit: mandans ei ut strenuus et vigilans in instrumentis virtutum sit, pravitatem et negligentiam a se excutiens. Sed dum homines viam veritatis arripiunt in divinis mandatis pergere disponentes: ipsis multae tentationes occurrunt, ita quod diabolum totius orbis seductorem et multiplicium victorum nequissimum artificem, non in via veritatis sed in deceptione in insidiis positum attendunt. Unde et quidam eorum injustitiae magis quam rectitudinis amatores per diabolum seducti: plus student antiqui seductoris vitia imitari quam virtutes Dei amplecti. Et intellectum quem ad divina mandata convertere deberent; ad vitia terrenae iniquitatis retorquentes diabolo se submittunt. Quibus directores eorum velut consodales et conservi per sacras Scripturas saepe numero occurrentes facta eorum improperant, et cur diabolica figmenta sequentes divinam ultionem in se inducant, illis increpant. Sed illi admonitiones eorum saepissime deridentes se in paucis peccare et Deum suum minime offendere per superbiam suam affirmant. Unde cum in obduratione illa perseverant, divinam sententiam accipiunt, quoniam ipsis servis iniquitatis objiciebatur cur intellectum desuper sibi datum suffocaverint, et cur magis deceptiones antiqui seductoris susceperint quam Creatorem suum cui strenue famulari debuerant contempserunt, ita ipsi a Deo contempti diabolicis illusionibus secundum opera sua (quia Deo servire noluerunt) deputantur, ubi considerare coguntur: quid nequissima seductio ipsis profuerit, quoniam hoc modo abjecti damnationem incurrunt, quod divina praecepta postponentes plus diabolum quam Deum sequi contenderunt.
Nolo enim ut me homines contemnant, qui me in fide scire debent, quoniam, si me abjecerint et creaturam sibi subjectam inspexerint, antiquum seductorem in hoc imitantes; tunc et ego permitto ut eis et cum creatura et cum diabolo secundum concupiscentiam cordis sui fiat, quatenus ita experiantur quid ipsis prosit creatura quam adoraverunt, vel quid eis diabolus conferat quem secuti sunt.
Et, o stulti homines, cur creaturam de tempore vitae vestrae inquiritis? Nullus enim vestrum potest tempus vitae suae aut scire, aut illud devitare, aut illud transilire quod per me sibi constitutum est vivere, quia, o homo, cum salus tua tam in saecularibus quam in spiritualibus completa fuerit, praesens saeculum mutabis, et ad illud quod terminum non inveniet transibis. Nam cum homo tantae fortitudinis est quod prae aliis ardentius in me ardet, ita quod in conscientia terrenae fecis fetentium peccatorum non torpens insidias antiqui serpentis devitet; hujus spiritum a corpore suo non excutio antequam dulces fructus suos in suavissimo odore ad bonum finem perducat, illum autem quem tantae fragilitatis considero, quod tener debilis est in gravi dolore sui corporis, et in attractione pessimi insidiatoris jugum meum ferre; de hoc saeculo substraho antequam in tempore marcescentis animi sui incipiat arescere, omnia enim scio. Volo autem humano generi omnem justitiam ad suam cautelam dare, ita ut nullus hominum se possit excusare, cum homines moneo et hortor justitiam facere, quando ipsis judicium mortis incutio velut jam sint morituri, cum adhuc diutius victuri sunt: hoc facio quoniam nemo nisi secundum fructum quem in homine video et secundum voluntatem meam qua ei vivere concedo, aliud tempus habere vel sibi disponere poterit, quemadmodum etiam Job per me testatur, cum dicit: Constituisti terminos ejus qui praeteriri non poterunt . Quod dicitur: Tu qui super omnes es, et omnia antequam fiant praevides: etiam in secreto majestatis tuae constituisti terminos humanae vitae, ita quod nec scientia, nec prudentia, nec astutia ullius rei praeteriri poterunt in ulla aetate seu in infantia, seu in juventute, seu in senectute hominum, nisi secundum providentiam secretorum tuorum, qui homines ad gloriam nominis tui fieri voluisti. Ego enim, o homo, ante constitutionem mundi novi te; sed tamen dies tuos in operibus tuis volo considerare et fructum eorum discernere, et quaeque opera tua diligenter et acutissime examinare. Quemcunque autem subito de temporali vita subtraho, hujus vitae utilitas completa est, ita ut si vita ipsius longius protraheretur nullam ubertatem bonorum fructuum amplius afferret, sed velut teporem carneae fidei habens, tantum quasi vacuo sono verborum fumum emitteret nec intimo tactu cordis sui me tangeret. Unde ipsi inducias hujus vitae non tribuo, sed antequam in teporem hujusmodi infertilitatis cadat, cum ab hoc saeculo subduco.
Sed ad te sermo meus, o homo. Cur me contemnis? Nonne prophetas meos ad te misi, et Filium meum pro salute tua in lignum crucis dedi, et apostolos meos ut tibi viam veritatis per Evangelium ostenderent ad te destinavi? Unde non potes te excusare quin omnia bona habeas per me. Et cur nunc postponis me? Sed errorem hujus perversitatis, scilicet quod signa actuum tuorum in stellis aut in igne, aut in avibus seu in alia hujusmodi creatura quaeris: amplius nolo tolerare, quoniam omnes qui errorem hunc diabolica visione primum adinvenerunt: Deum contemnentes, praecepta illius omnino abjecerunt, quapropter et ipsi contempti sunt. Ego autem super omnem creaturam in claritate divinitatis meae fulgeo: ita quod miracula mea in sanctis meis tibi manifesta sunt quare ulterius nolo ut amplius hunc errorem auguriandi exerceas, sed ut in me aspicias. O stulte, considera quis sum ego; considera quia ego sum summum bonum.
Unde omnia bona tibi tribuo cum diligenter quaesieris me. Et quem credis me esse? Deus sum super omnia et in omnibus. Sed tu vis me haberi velut rusticum; qui dominum suum timet. Quomodo? Tu vis ut voluntatem tuam faciam, cum tu praecepta mea contemnas. Non autem sic Deus est. Quid hoc?
Ipse enim nec opinionem initii, nec timorem finis habet. Coeli in laudibus meis sonant me inspicientes, et secundum justitiam illam qua per me positi sunt mihi obedientes. Sol etiam, luna et stellae in nubibus coeli secundum tenorem suum apparent: necnon flabra ventorum et pluviae in aere ut eis constitutum est currunt, et haec omnia Creatori suo secundum jussionem ipsius obediunt. Tu autem, o homo, praecepta mea non imples, sed voluntatem tuam sequeris: velut justitia legis tibi nec posita nec ostensa sit. In tanta enim contumacia es, quamvis cinis sis, quod tibi non sufficit justitia legis meae quae arata et culta est in sanguine Filii mei et bene trita in sanctis meis tam Veteris quam Novi Testamenti.
Sed in magna stultitia vis me apprehendere, cum mihi hoc modo insultas, dicens: Si Deo placet ut justus et bonus sim, quare non facit me rectum? tu ita me capere volens ac si petulans hoedus cervum velit capere, qui fortissimis cornibus cervi valide retruditur et perforatur. Sic et ego eum mecum petulanter in moribus tuis ludere vis in praeceptis legis meae quasi cornibus, meis justo judicio meo te comminuo. Haec enim sunt tubae in aures tuas resonantes; sed tu illas non sequeris, sed post lupum curris quem te putas ita domasse ut te laedere non possit. Sed famelicus lupus devorat te, dicens: Ovis ista secus viam erravit nec pastorem suum sequi voluit, sed post me cucurrit, quare illam deglutire volo, quia me elegit et pastorem suum deseruit. O homo, Deus justus est: et ideo omnia quae in coelo et in terra fecit, justa ordinatione disposuit. Ego enim sum magnus medicus omnium languorum: faciens velut medicus qui languidum videt, qui medelam ardenter desiderat. Quid hoc!
Si languor parvus est, cum facile curat; si vero gravis est, languido dicit. Ego argentum et aurum a te exigo. Quod si illa mihi dederis, te juvabo. Sic et ego, o homo, facio. Minora peccata in gemitu, et lacrymis, ac in bona voluntate hominum abstergo; in gravioribus autem culpis mando, o homo, age poenitentiam et morum correctionem, et ostendam tibi misericordiam meam et vitam aeternam tibi dabo. Et stellas et alias creaturas de causis tibi occurrentibus ne inspicias, nec diabolum adores, nec eum invoces, nec quidquam ab eo perquiras, quoniam, si plus volueris scire quam te oporteat nosse, ab antiquo seductore decipieris, quia, cum primus homo plus quaesivit quam quaerere deberet; ab illo deceptus est et in perditione ivit. Sed tamen diabolus nescivit hominis redemptionem, ubi Filius Dei mortem occidit, et infernum confregit, diabolus enim in initio per mulierem devicit hominem; sed Deus in fine temporum per mulierem contrivit diabolum, quae Filium Dei genuit, qui diabolica opera mirabiliter ad nihilum duxit, quemadmodum Joannes dilectus meus testatur, dicens: In hoc apparuit Filius Dei, ut dissolvat opera diaboli . Quid hoc?
Propter salutem et salvationem hominum apparuit maxima claritas, scilicet Filius Dei, paupertatem humani corporis induens; sed velut ardens stella in umbrosis nubibus fulgens, ita positus in torculari, ubi vinum sine sorde fermenti, exprimendum erat, quoniam ipse lapis angularis super torcular cecidit; et tale vinum expressit quod maximum odorem suavitatis dedit. Ipse enim absque inundatione polluti sanguinis in humano genere clarus homo effulgens, pede militiae suae os antiqui serpentis conculcavit: dissolvens a jecore iniquitatis illius omnia jacula, quae et furore et libidine plena erant, eum omnino contemptibilem reddidit. Unde quicunque scientiam in Spiritu sancto et pennas in fide habet; iste admonitionem meam non transgrediatur, sed eam in gustu animae suae amplectendo percipiat.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Job.14.5 — Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You, and You have set his limits that he cannot pass,
Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord) companion
Keep Hildegard in your mornings
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