Visio Septima
The Vision of the Ancient Deceiver
The visionary beholds a terrifying worm representing the devil, surrounded by a marketplace of worldly vanity and the flames of his deceptive influence.
Then I saw a burning light as great in size as a large, high mountain, divided at its summit as if into many tongues. And before that light stood a multitude of people in white, before whom appeared a veil, clear as crystal, stretched from their chests down to their feet. But before that multitude, as if on a path, lay a worm of wondrous size and length, appearing so horrific and furious that no human can even describe it. To its left was a kind of marketplace where the wealth and secular delights of men, along with the trade of various things, appeared; there, some people ran with great speed but conducted no business, while others went slowly, insisting on buying and selling. That black, hairy, ulcerous worm was covered in sores and bore five types of markings that ran like bands from its head, over its belly, to its feet; these appeared green, white, red, yellow, and black, all of them full of deadly poison. But its head was so crushed that its left jaw already seemed to be dissolving. Its eyes were blood-red on the outside and fiery within; its ears were round and bristly; its nostrils and mouth were like those of a viper; but its hands were like human hands, its feet like the feet of a viper, and its tail looked short and horrible. A chain had been placed around its neck, binding its hands and feet, and that chain was so firmly anchored to the rock of the abyss that it held the creature so tightly it could not move itself this way or that according to the wickedness of its own will. Many flames erupted from its mouth and split into four parts: one rose toward the clouds, another spread among worldly people, another among spiritual people, and the last descended all the way to the abyss. But the flame that reached for the clouds fought against those who wanted to ascend to heaven. Three ranks of them were visible; one moved near the clouds, one in the space between the clouds and the earth, and one near the earth. All of them shouted repeatedly, 'Let us go to heaven!' But tossed about by that flame, some didn't fall, others could barely keep their footing, and others fell to the earth but rose again to press on toward heaven. The flame that spread among worldly people burned some and turned them into pitch-black darkness, while it pierced others with its sharp point, twisting them wherever it wanted. Yet some broke free and moved toward those seeking heaven, crying out, 'O you faithful!' 'Grant us help,' they shouted, repeating their cry; but some remained pierced through in that way. The flame that spread among spiritual people covered them in its own darkness. I watched them in six ways: the same flame harmed some with a cruel fire, while those it couldn't harm, it burned with a deadly poison—green, white, red, yellow, or black—that flowed from the head of the worm down to its feet. But the flame that sought the abyss contained various punishments for those who, unwashed by the font of baptism and ignorant of the light of truth and faith, had worshipped Satan instead of God. And I also saw very sharp, hissing arrows coming out of its mouth, a black smoke exhaling from its chest, a burning, boiling liquid from its loins, a hot whirlwind blowing from its navel, and something like the filth of frogs oozing from the end of its belly; all of which brought great distress to people. From it, a foul mist emerged with a terrible stench, infecting many people with its perversity. Then a great multitude of people appeared, shining with a brilliant light; they trampled that worm everywhere and tormented it fiercely, yet they themselves couldn't be harmed by its flames or its poison.
Divine Justice and the Serpent's Defeat
A heavenly voice interprets the vision, identifying the burning light as God's justice and explaining how the serpent's power is crushed by the Son of God.
I heard a voice from heaven say to me again: 'God, who manages all things justly and rightly, calls faithful peoples to the glory of the heavenly inheritance. But the ancient deceiver, lying in wait, tries to hinder them and stirs up the arts of his wickedness against them. Yet, defeated by them, he receives the confusion of his own presumption, while they possess the heavenly homeland and he undergoes the horrors of hell.' Therefore, you see a burning light as great as a high and mighty mountain, divided at its summit into many tongues; it is the justice of God, burning in the faith of believers, demonstrating the magnitude of holiness and the height of glory in the strength of His power, and miraculously declaring the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit in that same glory. And standing before that light is a certain multitude of people in white: it is a crowd of people shining in faith, who through their good works are well and honestly ordered in the presence of God’s justice, before whom there appears a kind of veil, clear as crystal, stretched from their chests down to their feet; for in their own sight they always hold the divine law, strong and splendid, from the intention of their good actions right through to their completion, and in this they are so strengthened that they cannot be overcome by the cunning and deception of fallacious persuasions. But the fact that a worm of wondrous size and length lies on its back before that multitude, as if on a certain path, means that the ancient serpent is clearly known to the awareness of people on the path of this world, which is set before both the good and the bad to walk upon; he appears not in his own form, but in the significance of a mystery—that is, great in malice, long in his traps, lying there with his mouth open to cast down those who strive for heavenly things through his deception; yet he lies there, because his strength has been crushed by the Son of God, so that he cannot stand within them; although he seems to be of such horror and fury that a human being cannot even describe it, because the mortal mind cannot explain the poisonous rage and malicious efforts in the multiplicity of his diversity. Hence, at his left hand, there is a kind of marketplace where the wealth of people and worldly delights, and the trade of various things, appear; for in death, which is understood as the left hand of that traitor, a marketplace is perceived, because the most wicked works of his are works of death: so that there, in corruptible wealth, pride and vain glory, and in fleeting delights, lust and concupiscence, burn as if in a market of buying and selling many varieties of earthly desires; so that those who would shudder at the devil’s terror openly are secretly deceived by these things, namely when many suggestions of vices are offered to them lightly, just as when a merchant shows various goods to people so that, delighted by this, they buy all the more eagerly what they see offered to them; for the devil offers his arts to people fraudulently, but those who then desire them, they are the ones who buy them. How so? They cast away their good conscience as if selling it, and they draw upon themselves deadly wounds of their own souls as if buying them. But some people there, running with great speed, do no trading. Knowing God, they carry the treasure of good will and the spices of virtues, and they acquire them for themselves most manfully. Passing quickly through worldly pleasures and diabolical filth in the commandments of God, they despise the sweetness of their own flesh. Others, however, going slowly, insist on buying and selling there, because these people, having slowness in good works, through the lukewarmness of their own bodies, extinguish their heavenly desire as if selling it within themselves, and they nourish the pleasure of their own flesh within themselves as if buying it. Therefore, the former will receive the reward of good work, and the latter will sustain the punishments of their own iniquity, just as Ezekiel shows, saying: The justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.✦ What is this? The radiant works of a pure person bathe them in holiness; like a thousand eyes looking into the heights and the depths, these works surround them everywhere, lifting them into great honor and the mortification of their own pleasure, just as the Holy Spirit inspires them—much like a wing carries a bird into the air wherever it pleases. But the viperous venom of wickedness is the work of the most savage vipers, which spit upon heaven, wrapping the pearl in mud and raging against the most beautiful of all lovely things. They cast out the one who faithlessly follows that venom, stripping them of the most noble work of the finger of God, of every honor, and of the bliss of the heavenly vision, making them an exile and cutting them off from the living fruit and the root of the tree of justice. As for your seeing that this worm is black, hairy, ulcerous, and full of pustules: this indicates that the same ancient serpent abounds in the blackness of the shadows of faithlessness, in the hair of hidden deceptions, in the ulcers of filthy pollutions, and in the pustules of the caverns of rage. It also has within itself five varieties descending from its head down through its belly to its feet like bands, because it never ceases to breathe the five senses of humanity into the various passions of vice—from that deception with which it first strove to fill itself, until that consummation when its madness will meet its end. While pretending to be a false righteousness, it drags people toward the downward slopes of its own filthy arts. These appear green, white, red, yellow, or black, and all are full of deadly poison; for in the green they show worldly sadness, in the white, foolish irreverence, in the red, the glory of deceit, in the yellow, biting detraction, and in the black, shameful hypocrisy, along with a fullness of other perversities that bring death to the souls of those who consent to them. But the fact that its head is so crushed that its left jaw already seems to be dissolving means that its pride was so cast down at the incarnation of the Son of God that the adversity of death, now emptied of power, cannot exercise the strength of its bitterness. Its eyes appear bloody on the outside and fiery on the inside, because its perverse intent strikes bloody wickedness into people's bodies from the outside and casts a fiery dart into their souls from the inside. Its ears are round and bristly, because it surrounds a person in a circle with the hairs of its own arts, so that it may cast them down quickly if it finds anything in them that belongs to it. Its nostrils and mouth look like those of a viper, because it shows people indiscreet and foul habits, through which it pierces them with many vices and cruelly kills them. But its hands appear like human hands, because it exercises the schemes of its arts in the works of people. Its feet, however, are like the feet of a viper, because it never ceases to inflict diabolical lacerations upon the paths of people through its traps. Its tail appears short and horrible, which is its power in this small but very evil time in the son of perdition, who desires to grasp more by raging than he is able to accomplish. And the fact that a chain has been cast around its neck, binding both its hands and its feet, means that diabolical strength has been so broken and crushed by the power of the almighty God that its worst works and most wicked paths, in which it seduces people, have been compressed in their own destruction. Thus, that chain, firmly secured to the stone of the abyss, constrains it so powerfully that it cannot move itself this way or that according to the wickedness of its own will; for the power of God, remaining in most stable eternity without failure, oppresses the devil with such strength in the salvation of souls that he will not be able to remove the salvation of redemption from faithful souls by any exterior or interior instruments of his most wicked efforts, nor prevent them from arriving at the place of joy that he himself stubbornly lost.
The Fourfold Flame of Temptation
The vision details how the devil's deceptive flames reach the clouds, the worldly, the spiritual, and the abyss, while warning against the errors of the age.
The fact that many flames erupt from his mouth and divide into four parts means that, out of his own rapacious greed, he emits the worst and most varied evil of a cruel fire of wicked persuasion, scattering it in various ways among people in the four corners of the world so that they might follow him. One part of these flames rises up to the clouds, because that diabolical breath draws back those who seek heaven with the whole desire of their minds, using its sharp edge; another part scatters itself among worldly people, because it deceives those who are caught up in earthly concerns through its own diversity; yet another extends itself among spiritual people, because it infects those who are laboring in spiritual disciplines with its own hypocrisy. One part, however, descends all the way to the abyss, because it sends those faithless ones who consent to it into its own infernal torments. They have walked the path of falsehood and deception, failing to hold to the path of righteousness, and they haven't shown the reverence due to God, just as David testifies: 'Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.' What does this mean? Innocence and the most powerful works of God, which fight in the living and purest fountain, crush those who drive God from their hearts with the most wicked and damnable deeds, just as a great rain drowns something so that it no longer appears. And for this reason, they don't shine in the sight of God, because misery, along with the most miserable habit, is in their ways wherever they extend themselves with the food of death. In what way? By tasting and eating that which is evil; and so they do not know the path that rises in the heat of the sun in their own works, because they do not taste the sweetness of God in either honor or love, where they cast aside the fear of Him as if it were the fear of a stranger, since they do not desire to see or look upon Him at all. As you can see, that flame reaching for the clouds battles against those who want to go to heaven. When that wicked fire senses the minds of the faithful reaching upward, it rages against them with its cruelest tricks so they won't reach the heavenly things they seek with so many sighs. You see three ranks of them, because they never stop worshiping the true and ineffable Trinity, even though they are worn out by their struggles. For one rank moves near the clouds, because these people, fighting most strongly against the devil, lift their minds from earthly actions up toward heavenly things, just as clouds usually drift above the earth; another moves in the space between the clouds and the earth, because they keep themselves in a certain moderation, not pouring their whole mind into heavenly things nor their whole desire into earthly ones, but setting limits for themselves in these things, seeking the interior while not rejecting the exterior; and one moves near the earth, because these people, not having perfectly abandoned what is fleeting, still cling to it a little, so that while they struggle hard in them, they feel many exhausting passions, yet with help from above they emerge victorious—let us all, with repeated cries, press on toward heaven, shouting out, because both these and those, in the many sighs of their longings, exhort themselves to reach for what is in the heavenly secrets, even though they are often worn out by the tricks of the ancient serpent in this intention of theirs. But they are tossed here and there by that flame; for because they are agitated by the breath of diabolical temptation into a diversity of ways, some nevertheless do not fall, because they are strong fighters who defend themselves manfully against these illusions; others, however, barely sustain themselves in their steps, because they set their path toward righteousness but, exhausted by many labors, barely overcome the devil's tricks and persevere in God's commands; others still fall to the earth, but rising again, they tend toward heaven, because although they have slipped into a variety of vices, they are later raised up through repentance and place their hope in God with good works. The fact that this flame, which spreads among worldly people, burns some of them and turns them into a foul blackness, means that the same fire of wicked deception reaches out to those who are obsessed with earthly concerns, subjects some of them to its perversity, and infects them with the worst vices of dark iniquity; so that, despising the light of true faith and killing themselves with a bitter death, they fall to the earth and commit the most shameful acts in their daily lives; others, however, it pierces with its sharp point so that it bends them wherever it wants, for its wickedness so dominates them that it inclines them toward every vice of its own depravity, suggesting to them worldly sweetness in the embrace of burning lust, so that they also adopt the diverse habits of their many rituals—in their speech, their hair, their clothing, their walk, and other similar things. As a result, they become twisted, neglecting the justice of God, acting as violators of the law, and failing to impose the circumcision of the heart upon themselves; for they seek excess in lust and do not keep any of the time of the law as it was established for them by God; but just as the sea is shaken into restlessness by the wind, so they too are moved into diverse vices by the breath of the ancient dragon. Yet some do rescue themselves from this, moving toward those who seek the heavens. “O you faithful, give us help,” they cry out with renewed clamor; for they withdraw themselves from shameful and harmful habits and imitate those who fix their minds on heavenly things, so that they might offer their concern and desire for help with heart and voice; some, however, remain so pierced that, entangled in diverse vices, they persist in evil. But the fact that this flame, which extends itself among spiritual people, covers them with its darkness, means that the same breath of diabolical persuasion sends out its fires toward those who ought to serve the Spirit with all their effort, clouding them with the perversity of their vices so that they crave the flesh more than the Spirit. You consider them in six ways, for the ancient enemy tries to pervert both their five exterior senses and the interior devotion of their hearts as a sixth way. The same flame harms others; because the devil, sending his arts into them, breathes upon them with carnal desires and pleasures, so that he inflames them toward lust and toward the pollution of much impurity. But those whom he cannot harm, he ardently breathes upon with that green, white, red, yellow, or black deadly poison which descends from the head of that same worm down to its feet. How? For when people reject the pleasures of impurity, he pours into them the sadness of the world—like a sprouting greenness that so weighs them down that they are capable of neither spiritual nor worldly things. Or he sends into them a disrespect for virtues—like a foolish whiteness—so that they do not hide their shame before God or before people. Or he shows them the memory of earthly glory—like a shining redness—from which they have bitterness and anxiety of heart. Or he leads them into the detraction of their neighbors—like a lukewarm yellow—so that they become backbiters and double-tongued. Or he imposes upon them a simulation of justice—like a horrible blackness—through which they are miserably darkened in their own hearts.1 All these are deadly plagues, proceeding from the beginning of that same destroyer's deception until that final end when he will receive his own end in the world, and through them he brings a harmful heat of vices upon people.2 But the fact that the flame heading for the abyss contains within itself various punishments for those who, not washed by the font of baptism and ignorant of the light of truth and faith, worship Satan instead of God—this is because that fire, clinging to perdition, inflicts dire and bitter torments on those souls who, not cleansed in the font of salvation, do not see the brightness of the heavenly inheritance or the faith of the Church's teaching, and who never cease to worship, in place of the One who grants life and salvation to humanity, the one who lies in ambush and strives to send the souls of men to their death. As you see, from his mouth come sharp, hissing arrows—which are the worst and most wicked stings proceeding from diabolical rage and reveling in many iniquities—and from his chest he exhales a black smoke, which is the emission of the most foul anger and envy from his malicious efforts, and from his loins comes a burning, boiling humor: which is the outpouring of the most fervent lust from his impurity in those in high positions. And from his navel he blows a hot whirlwind, which is the suffocation of the most ardent fornication in those subject to his voracity, and from the tip of his belly he spews forth what looks like the filth of frogs, which is the foul excretion of his perverse absorption in the hardening of despair, when that ancient deceiver has led those who follow him to do his every will; all of which causes great unrest in people, because such perversities impose the greatest calamity of wretched entrapment on those who do not anchor their hope in heavenly things, but in earthly ones. But the fact that a most foul mist, accompanied by a terrible stench, emerges from him and infects many people with its perversity, is because a most black error of a stinking conscience proceeds from that same devil and stirs up foolish people through a wicked credulity. How so? A most terrible error has arisen regarding the beheading of John the Baptist, suggesting that the Son of God is more lenient toward the wounds of sin, through which the devil seduces many people in various images, making them think it is true because he deceitfully demonstrates it to them according to their own estimation. Hence, many are deceived in this way, because their faith also always wavers in weakness. But, oh my children, if you wish to live justly and piously, flee this most wicked error, lest a most bitter death in unbelief seize you.
The Call to Resist the Deceiver
The chapter concludes with a stern warning against those who follow the devil's illusions and an exhortation for the faithful to embrace the light of truth.
Flee also from those who live in caves, for they are the devil's own cohorts; woe to them, woe to those who persist in this way, for they are the devil's own bowels and the vanguard of the son of perdition. Therefore, my beloved children, avoid them with every devotion and with all the strength of your soul and body; for the ancient serpent feeds and clothes them, because they worship him as God and trust in him through a deceptive lie. They are the worst kind of murderers to themselves, killing those who simply cling to them before they allow them to turn away from their error; they are in themselves the foulest fornicators, mortifying even their own seed in murder and offering it to the devil; and in the same way, they invade my Church with their schisms and the fullness of their vices, wickedly mocking the baptism, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of my Son, and the other institutions that my Church holds, all through their own foul schemes. But although they don't openly oppose these institutions of mine because they fear my people, they still treat them as nothing in their hearts and in their deeds. For they pretend to have holiness through a diabolical illusion, and in this they are deceived by the devil; for if the devil were to show himself to them openly, he would be recognized by them, and they would avoid him. Thus, by his own art, he shows them certain things as if they were good and holy, and in this way he deludes them. Oh, woe to those who have persisted in this death.3 But because the devil knows he has only a short time for his error, he now hastens to complete infidelity in his members—you who are the worst deceivers, who labor to subvert the Catholic faith. You are unstable and soft when it comes to avoiding the poisonous arrows of human pollution, which you exercise against the law according to your own will. Therefore, after you have exhausted your lust with the poisonous seed of fornication, you pray hypocritically and falsely claim holiness for yourselves—which, in my eyes, is more unworthy than stinking mud. Certainly, the schism that arose at Horeb, where the Jewish people began to play in diabolical mockery while making a graven image—just so, even now, some are accustomed to play insolently. The schism that occurred at Baal, in which many perished, and the schism of fornications, where shameful deeds were committed with the Midianites, and other things like these, will fall upon you; for you have a share in all these evils of yours, being worse than the former people, since you see the true law of God and yet stubbornly reject it. But, oh you who desire your salvation, since you have received baptism and are the anointed mountain of God, resist Satan and do not descend from the mountain of your salvation. But the person so hardened that they despise God’s help in fighting the devil—the devil doesn't stop setting traps for them, especially when he sees the darkness of wickedness rising within them, which brings such bitterness to their whole body that the body itself withers away in sickness. So when a person begins to dwell on evil and wears themselves down in despair, as if it weren't possible for them to avoid evil and do good, the devil sees this and says, 'Look at this person who is like us, denying their God and turning to us; they're following us now.' Therefore, let's all hurry and run to them quickly, restraining them with our tricks so they can't escape from us. For they want to abandon their God and follow us. But the person attacked by the devil’s suggestions through these evils—that is, who is polluted by murder, adultery, gluttony, drunkenness, and the excess of every vice—if they persist in these things without repentance, they fall into death; but the one who resists the devil and pulls themselves away from these vices through repentance rises again to life. For whoever follows the desire of their flesh and neglects the good longing of their spirit, the Creator of the world says of them: 'This person despises me and loves their flesh with sin, refusing to know that they ought to turn away from destruction, and therefore they are to be cast aside.' But whoever loves the good fire of their spirit and rejects the pleasure of their flesh, the Creator of the world says of them: 'This person looks to me and does not nourish their body in filth, desiring to know that they ought to move away from death, and so they must be helped.' How so? As Solomon says in my will. Sinners pursue evil, while the just are repaid with good. What does this mean? Those who slip and fall are beset on all sides by deadly diseases, so they don't look prudently at what is true, but carelessly cast it aside. Because they aren't worthy to look upon God, nor to have any happiness in God or in other people, since they reject God and choose the devil, the evil they do brings much adversity upon them. But in the good, a right sense and just thought build up in the heights, so that they receive the Father's inheritance in their own hearts; because they attend to the light from above, they don't exist as those who mockingly sell this or that in the marketplace without comparison, but rather they hold to what is true in God. But as you see, a great multitude of people shining in great brightness comes, which tramples the aforementioned worm everywhere and afflicts it with dire torment; this is the faithful army of believers who, though born into human misery, hasten toward heavenly desires through the faith of baptism and the beauty and adornment of blessed virtues. They surround this ancient seducer with the strongest contrition and cast him down, crushing him with dire torment, just as the virgins, martyrs, and other such true worshippers of God do, who trample earthly things with all their effort and desire heavenly ones. Yet, they are such that they cannot be harmed by his flames or his poison, because they are fortified in God with such strength and constancy that they cannot be contaminated by open fires or the hidden persuasions of diabolical iniquity, since they abandon vain illusions with the great strength of their virtues and cling to holiness, living justly. But whoever sees with watchful eyes and hears with attentive ears, let him offer the kiss of an embrace to these mystical words of mine that flow from me, the Living One.
Read the original Latin
Deinde vidi ardentem lucem tantae magnitudinis quantae mons aliquis magnus et altus est, in summitate sua velut in multas linguas divisam. Et coram luce illa quaedam multitudo albatorum hominum stabat, ante quos velut quoddam velum tanquam crystallus perlucidum a pectore usque ad pedes eorum extensum apparebat. Sed et ante multitudinem illam quasi in quadam via velut quidam vermis mirae magnitudinis et longitudinis supinus jacebat: qui tanti horroris et furiae videbatur: ultra quam etiam homo effari potest. Ad cujus sinistram quasi forum erat, ubi divitiae hominum atque deliciae saeculares et mercatus diversarum rerum apparuerunt; ubi etiam quidam homines multa celeritate currentes, nullum mercatum exercebant, quidam autem lente euntes et venditioni et emptioni ibi insistebant. Vermis autem ille niger hirsutus, ulcerosus et pustulis plenus erat, quinque varietates a capite per ventrem suum usque ad pedes in modum zonarum descendentes in se gerens, quarum una viridis, alia alba, alia rubea, quaedam crocea et quaedam nigra apparebat, plenae omnes veneno mortifero. Sed caput ejus ita contritum fuit, quod et sinistra maxilla ipsius jam dissolvi videbatur. Oculi vero ejus extrinsecus sanguinei et intrinsecus ignei, aures autem rotundae et hispidae, nares vero et os secundum nares et os viperae; sed manus secundum manus hominis, pedes autem ut pedes viperae, et cauda brevis et horribilis apparebat. Et collo ejus catena imposita fuerat quae et manus et pedes ipsius alligaverat, ita quod et illa catena in lapidem abyssi fortissime firmata, illum tam valide constrinxerat ut se nec hac nec illac secundum nequitiam voluntatis suae movere posset.
Ex ore autem ejus multae flammae exeuntes in quatuor partes se diviserunt, quarum pars una usque ad nubes ascendebat, et alia inter saeculares homines, alia autem inter spirituales se extendebat, alia vero usque ad abyssum descendebat. Sed flamma illa quae nubes appetebat contra homines illos praeliabatur qui ad coelos ascendere volebant. Quorum tres acies videbantur; nam acies una prope nubes, et una in medietate illa quae inter nubes et terram est, et una juxta terram pergebat: omnes repetitis vocibus pergamus ad coelos vociferantes; sed a flamma illa hac et illac projecti, quidam non cadebant, alii autem pedibus suis se vix sustentabant, alii vero ad terram cadentes sed iterum surgentes ad coelos tendebant; flamma autem illa quae se inter saeculares homines diffudit, quosdam ex eis comburens et in teterrimam nigredinem vertit, quosdam autem suo acumine ita transfixit, ut eos quocunque voluit inflexerit. De qua tamen quidam se eripientes et ad illos qui coelos petebant pergentes: O vos fideles! praestate nobis adjutorium, resumpto clamore vociferabantur; quidam autem ita transfixi permanserunt. Illa vero flamma quae se inter spirituales extendebat: eos sua caligine obtexit; quos etiam in sex modis considerabam; nam alios eadem flamma crudeli incendio laesit: quos autem laedere non potuit illos aut viridi, aut albo, aut rubeo, aut croceo, aut nigro mortifero veneno illo quod a capite vermis usque ad pedes ejus defluebat ardenter afflavit. Sed flamma quae abyssum petebat, diversas poenas illorum in se continebat, qui per fontem baptismatis non loti, lucem veritatis et fidei ignorantes, Satanam pro Deo coluerant. Et vidi etiam ex ore ejus acutissimas sagittas stridentes, et a pectore ejus nigrum fumum exhalantem ac a lumbis ipsius ardentem humorem ebulientem, et ab umbilico ejus fervidum turbinem flantem, atque ab extremitate ventris ipsius velut immunditiam ranarum scaturientem; quae omnia magnam inquietudinem hominibus afferebant.
Sed et de ipso teterrima nebula cum pessimo fetore egrediens, multos homines sua perversitate infecit. Et ecce magna multitudo hominum in multa claritate fulgentium veniebat quae illum vermem fortiter ubique conculcans acriter eum cruciabat: ita tamen quod ipsa nec a flammis nec a veneno illius laedi poterat. Audivique iterum vocem mihi de coelo dicentem: Deus omnia juste et recte dispensans, fideles populos ad gloriam supernae haereditatis vocat; sed antiquus deceptor in insidiis positus eos impedire tentans, artes nequitiae suae in ipsos excitat, sed tamen ab eis victus, confusionem praesumptionis suae accipit, cum illi coelestem patriam possideant, et ipse infernales horrores subeat. Quapropter vides ardentem lucem tantae magnitudinis quantae mons magnus et altus est, in summitate sua, velut in multas linguas divisam, quae est ardens in fide credentium justitia Dei in fortitudine potentiae suae magnitudinem sanctitatum et altitudinem gloriae demonstrans, atque in eadem gloria sancti Spiritus diversa dona mirabiliter declarans.
Et coram luce illa quaedam multitudo albatorum hominum stans: est in praesentia justitiae Dei turba in fide lucentium hominum per bona opera sua bene et honeste compositorum, ante quos velut quoddam velum tanquam crystallus perlucidum a pectore usque ad pedes eorum extensum apparet; quia in conspectu suo divinam legem fortem et splendidam ab intentione bonarum actionum usque ad completionem earum semper habent, in quibus ita confortantur, quod astutia et deceptione fallacium persuasionum superari non possunt. Sed quod ante multitudinem illam quasi in quadam via velut quidam vermis mirae magnitudinis et longitudinis supinus jacet, hoc est quod ante notitiam hominum manifeste cognitus in via mundi hujus quae et bonis et malis ad gradiendum proposita est antiquus serpens non ita in forma sua, sed in significatione mysterii, videlicet magnus in malitia, longus in insidiis projectus apparet, sursum hians ut eos qui ad coelestia tendunt per deceptionem suam dejiciat, sed tamen jacens, quoniam per Filium Dei vires ejus protritae sunt, ita quod in eis stare non valet; quamvis tanti horroris et furiae videatur, ultra quod etiam homo effari potest; quia venenosum furorem et malitiosus conatus in multiplicitate diversitatis ejus, aestimatio mortalis hominis explicare non valet. Unde et ad ejus sinistram quasi forum est ubi divitiae hominum atque deliciae saeculares, et mercatus diversarum rerum apparent; quoniam in morte quae illius proditoris sinistra intelligitur forum cernitur, quod nequissima opera ipsius sunt mortis: ita quod ibi in divitiis corruptibilibus superbia et vana gloria et in deliciis transitoriis lascivia et concupiscentia ut in mercatu venditiones ac emptiones multarum varietatum terrenarum cupiditatum fervent: ita ut qui diabolicum terrorem palam exhorruerit, ab his latenter decipiatur, videlicet cum ei multae suasiones vitiorum leviter offeruntur, veluti cum per mercatorem diversa mercimonia hominibus ostenduntur, ut per hoc delectati, tanto ardentius emant quod sibi oblatum viderint; nam diabolus artes suas hominibus fraudulenter offert; sed qui tunc eas concupiscunt, ii eas emunt. Quomodo? Bonam conscientiam suam quasi vendentes abjiciunt, et mortifera vulnera animarum suarum quasi ementes sibi contrahunt. Sed ibi quidam homines multa celeritate currentes nullum mercatum faciunt, quia ipsi Deum cognoscentes, thesaurum bonae voluntatis, et aromata virtutum portant et sibi ea virilissime comparant: ita quod saeculares voluptates et diabolicas spurcitias velociter in mandatis Dei transeuntes, dulcedinem carnis suae contemnunt. Quidam autem lente euntes et venditioni et emptioni ibi insistunt, quoniam hi tarditatem in bonis operibus habentes, per teporem corporis sui coeleste desiderium velut illud vendentes in semetipsis exstinguunt, et voluptatem carnis suae quasi eam ementes in se enutriunt. Quapropter illi mercedem bonae operationis accipient, et isti poenas iniquitatis suae sustinebunt, quemadmodum Ezechiel ostendit dicens: Justitia justi super eum erit: et impietas impii erit super eum .
Quid hoc? Fulgida opera puri hominis illum in sanctitate perfundunt, et quasi mille oculi aspicientes in altum atque in profondum ubique eum circumdant, sursum ferentes eum in magnum honorem et in voluptatis suae mortificationem, prout Spiritus sanctus illi inspiraverit, veluti ala volucrem sursum in aere tollit quocunque illi placuerit. Sed vipereum venenum nequitiae sunt saevissimae viperae, quae conspumat coelum, margaritam luto involvens, et super pulcherrimum omnium speciosorum fremens, eum vero qui illud infideliter subsequitur, de nobilissimo opere digiti Dei, et ab omni honore et a beatitudine supernae visionis abjicit, atque eum exsulem faciens, a vivente fructu et a radice justae arboris abscindit.
Quod autem vides quod vermis ille niger, hirsutus, ulcerosus et pustulis plenus est: hoc indicat quod idem serpens antiquus in nigredine tenebrarum infidelitatis, et in pilis absconsionum deceptionis, atque in ulceribus immunditiarum pollutionis, et in pustulis cavernarum furoris abundat. Quinque etiam varietates a capite per ventrem suum usque ad pedes in modum zonarum descendentes in se habet, quia quinque sensus hominum diversis passionibus vitiorum, a deceptione illa cum se primum implere studuit usque ad consummationem illam cum insania ejus finem accipiet afflare non cessans, sed fallacem rectitudinem simulans, homines ad declivia immundarum artium suarum trahit, quarum una viridis, alia alba, alia rubea, quaedam crocea, quaedam nigra apparet plenae omnes veneno mortifero; quoniam in viriditate saecularem tristitiam, in albedine ineptam irreverentiam, in rubore fallaciae gloriam, in croceo mordacem detractionem atque in nigredine turpem similationem ostendunt, cum plenitudine aliarum perversitatum quae mortem animabus hominum sibi consentientium inferunt. Sed quod caput ejus ita contritum est quod et sinistra maxilla ejus jam dissolvi videtur, hoc est quod superbia illius in incarnatione Filii Dei ita dejecta est quod et adversitas mortis jam evacuata fortitudinem amaritudinis suae exercere non valet. Oculi vero ejus extrinsecus sanguinei et intrinsecus ignei apparent; quia intentio perversitatis ipsius velut extrinsecus sanguineum nefas corporibus hominum incutit, et velut intrinsecus igneum jaculum animabus eorum infert; aures autem ipsius rotundae et hispidae sunt, quoniam hominem quasi in rotunditate pilis artium suarum circumdat ut eum celerrime dejiciat si quid in illo quod suum est deprehenderit; nares vero et os ejus secundum nares et os viperae apparent, quia indiscretos et fetentes mores hominibus ostendit, per quos in multis vitiis eos transfigens crudeliter occidit. Sed manus ejus secundum manus hominis videntur, quoniam machinationes artium suarum in operibus hominum exercet. Pedes autem ipsius ut pedes viperae sunt, quia itineribus hominum in insidiis suis diabolicas lacerationes inferre non desinit; et cauda ejus brevis et horribilis apparet quae est potestas ipsius parvi sed tamen pessimi temporis in filio perditionis, qui plus apprehendere bacchando cupit quam perficere possit. Et quod collo ejus catena injecta est quae et manus et pedes ipsius alligat, hoc est quod diabolica fortitudo per potestatem omnipotentis Dei ita fracta et contrita est, quod et pessima opera et nequissima itinera illius in quibus homines seducit, in contritione sua compressi sunt: ita quod et illa catena in lapidem abyssi fortissime firmata illum tam valide constringit, quod se nec hac nec illac secundum nequitiam voluntatis suae movere potest; quoniam potestas Dei in stabilissima aeternitate sine defectione manens, diabolum tanta fortitudine in salvatione animarum opprimit, quod ille nec exterioribus nec interioribus instrumentis nequissimi conatus sui, salutem redemptionis a fidelibus animabus removere valebit, quin in locum gaudii quem ipse pertinaciter amisit perveniant.
Quod autem ex ore ejus multae flammae erumpentes in quatuor partes se dividunt, hoc est quod ipse ex rapacissima voracitate sua, pessimum et multiplex malum crudelissimi incendii iniquae persuasionis emittens, in quatuor plagas totius mundi inter homines ut ipsum sequantur varie spargit. Quarum pars una usque ad nubes ascendit, quia illa diabolica afflatio coelum toto desiderio mentis suae petentes suo acumine retrahit, et alia inter saeculares homines se spargit, quoniam ipsa in terrenis causis conversantes, sua diversitate decipit; alia autem inter spirituales se extendit, quia illos spiritualibus disciplinis insudantes, sua simulatione inficit. Quaedam vero usque ad abyssum descendit, quoniam ipsa infideles sibi consentientes in infernalia tormenta sua seductione mittit; quia ipsi viam falsitatis et deceptionis euntes, viam rectitudinis non tenuerunt, nec vero Deo debitam reverentiam exhibuerunt, quemadmodum David testatur dicens: Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, qui viam pacis non cognoverunt: non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum . Quid hoc? Innocentia et fortissima opera Dei quae in vivo et purissimo fonte militant; illos qui Deum a corde suo cum nequissimis et damnabilibus operibus expellunt ita conterunt, velut magna pluvia rem quampiam dimergit, ita quod amplius non appareat. Et ideo etiam in conspectu Dei non fulminant; quoniam infelicitas cum infelicissima consuetudine est in itineribus eorum quocunque se cum pastu mortis extenderit. Quo modo? Videlicet gustando et comedendo hoc quod malum est; unde et viam illam quae in calore solis ascendit, in operibus suis nesciunt, quia dulcedinem Dei nec in honore nec in amore gustant, ubi timorem ejus quasi timorem alieni abjiciunt, cum ipsum nec videre nec aspicere desiderant.
Unde et ut vides flamma illa quae nubes petit contra homines illos praeliatur qui ad coelos ire volunt; quia nequissimum illud incendium cum mentes fidelium hominum sursum tendere senserit, adversus eos suis artibus crudelissime bacchatur, ne ad illa coelestia quae ipsi multis suspiriis quaerunt, perveniant. Quorum tres acies vides, quoniam ipsi veram et ineffabilem Trinitatem (quamvis in suis certaminibus plurimum fatigentur) colere non cessant. Nam acies una prope nubes pergit; quia isti fortissime contra diabolum pugnantes, mentem suam de terrenis actibus ita sursum ad coelestia tollunt, quemadmodum et nubes super terram fluere solet; et una in medietate illa quae inter nubes et terram est discurrit, quoniam ipsi quadam moderatione se continentes, nec ex tota mente coelestibus, nec ex toto desiderio terrenis insudant, sed in his modum sibi imponentes et interiora quaerunt, nec tamen exteriora respuunt; et una juxta terram pergit, quia isti caduca perfecte non deserentes, caducis aliquantulum adhaerent, ita ut in eis valde laborantes, multas fatigationes passionum in ipsis sentiant, sed tamen superno auxilio victores existant, omnes repetitis vocibus pergamus ad coelos vociferantes; quoniam et isti et illi in multis suspiriis desideriorum suorum, ut tendant ad illa quae in supernis secretis sunt seipsos exhortantes, quamvis artibus antiqui serpentis in hac intentione sua multoties fatigentur. Sed a flamma illa hac et illac projecti; quia a flatu diabolicae tentationis in diversitatem morum agitati, quidam tamen non cadunt, quoniam ipsi fortissimi pugnatores existentes, ab his illusionibus se viriliter defendunt; alii autem gressibus suis se vix sustentant, quia hi in viam rectitudinis itinera sua ponunt, sed in multis laboribus fatigati vix tamen diabolicas artes superantes in mandatis Dei perseverant; alii vero ad terram cadentes, sed iterum surgentes ad coelos tendunt, quoniam ipsi in diversitate vitiorum prolapsi, sed postea per poenitentiam erecti, spem suam cum bonis operibus in Deum ponunt.
Quod autem flamma illa quae se inter saeculares homines diffundit, quosdam ex eis comburens in teterrimam nigredinem vertit, hoc est quod idem incendium nequissimae deceptionis ad illos qui terrenis causis insistunt tendens, quosdam illorum suae perversitati subjiciens, pessimis vitiis tenebrosae iniquitatis eos inficit: ita quod ipsi claritatem verae fidei despicientes, et seipsos amara morte interficientes in terram cadunt et nefandissima opera in actibus suis perficiunt; quosdam autem suo acumine ita transfigit, quod eos quocunque vult inflectit, quoniam eos sua nequitia ita domat, quod ipsos ad universa vitia pravitatis suae inclinat, videlicet saecularem dulcedinem in amplexione ardentis libidinis eis suggerens: ita quod et diversos mores multiplicium rituum suorum, scilicet in verbis, in capillis, in veste, in incessu et in caeteris his similibus habent. Unde tortuosi efficiuntur, justitiam Dei negligentes, et praevaricatores legis existentes, nec sibimetipsis circumcisionem mentis imponentes; quia superfluitatem in libidine quaerunt, nec ullum tempus legis ut eis a Deo constitutum est servant; sed ut mare a vento in inquietudinem concutitur, ita et ipsi de flatu antiqui draconis in diversa vitia moventur. De qua tamen quidam se eripiunt, ad illos qui coelos petunt pergentes. O vos fideles, praestate nobis adjutorium, resumpto clamore vociferantur; quoniam de turpi et noxia consuetudine se abstrahentes et eos qui mentem suam coelestibus infigunt imitantes, ut suam sollicitudinem impendant, ipsisque juvamen corde et voce desiderant; quidam autem ita transfixi permanent: quia ipsi diversis vitiis irretiti in malis perseverant. Sed quod illa flamma quae se inter spirituales extendit eos sua caligine obtegit, hoc est quod eadem afflatio diabolicae persuasionis incendia sua ad illos qui toto nisu spiritui servire deberent, emittens eos perversitate vitiorum suorum obnubilat, quatenus magis carni quam spiritui inhiant. Quos etiam in sex modis consideras; quoniam antiquus hostis tam quinque exteriores sensus eorum quam interiorem devotionem cordis ipsorum velut sextum modum pervertere conatur. Nam alios eadem flamma laedit; quia diabolus artes suas eis immittens, carnalibus desideriis et voluptatibus eos afflat, ita quod eos ad libidinem et ad pollutionem multae immunditiae accendit. Quos autem laedere non potest, hos aut viridi aut albo aut rubeo aut croceo aut nigro mortifero veneno illo quod a capite ejusdem vermis usque ad pedes ejus descendit ardenter afflat.
Quomodo? Quoniam cum voluptates pollutionum recusant, aut tristitiam saeculi quasi pullulantem viriditatem per quam ita opprimuntur, quod nec in spiritualibus nec in saecularibus rebus valent, eis infundit; aut irreverentiam vitiorum velut ineptam albedinem, ita quod nec coram Deo nec coram hominibus turpitudinem suam abscondunt, ipsis immittit, aut recordationem terrenae gloriae quasi fulgentem ruborem, unde amaritudinem et anxietatem cordis habent, eis ostendit; aut detractionem proximorum velut tepidum erocum, ita quod sucurrones et bilingues inde efficiuntur, ipsis inducit, aut simulationem justitiae quasi horridam nigredinem, per quam in cordibus suis miserabiliter obtenebrantur, eis imponit. Quae omnia mortiferae pestes sunt: ab initio deceptionis ejusdem perditoris usque ad finem illum cum jam in ania ipsius finem in mundo accipiet, procedentes, per quas noxium ardorem vitiorum hominibus infert.
Sed quod flamma quae abyssum petit, diversas poenas illorum in se habet qui per fontem baptismatis non loti lucem veritatis et fidei ignorantes Satana pro Deo colunt, hoc est quod incendium illud perditioni adhaerens, dira et amara tormenta illis animabus infert, quae in fonte salutis non emundatae claritatem supernae haereditatis et fidem ecclesiasticae in titutionis non videntes, illum qui in insidiis positus animas hominum in mortem mittere conantur, pro illo qui hominibus vitam, et salutem tribuit venerari non cessant. Ut vides ex ore ipsius acutissimas sagittas stridentes, quae sunt a diabolica rabie pessimae et nequissimae infixiones procedentes, et multis iniquitatibus bacchantes, et a pectore ejus nigrum fumum exhalantem qui est a malitiosis conatibus ejus teterrimae irae et invidiae emissio, ac a lumbis ipsius ardentem humorem ebullientem: qui est ab immunditia ipsius in praelatis ferventissimae libidinis effusio. Et ab umbilico ejus fervidum turbinem flantem: qui est a voracitate ejus in subjectis ardentissimae fornicationis suffocatio, atque ab extremitate ventris ipsius velut immunditiam ranarum scaturientem: quae est a perditione perversae absorptionis ejus in obduratione desperationis fetida egestio cum ipse antiquus insidiator se subsequentes ad omnem voluntatem suam perduxerit, quae omnia magnam inquietudinem in hominibus faciunt; quoniam hujusmodi perversitates maximam calamitatem miserrimae irretitionis illis imponunt, qui spem suam non coelestibus, sed terrenis affigunt. Sed quod de ipso, teterrima nebula cum pessimo fetore egrediens multos homines sua perversitate inficit, hoc est quod ab eodem diabolo nigerrimus error fetentis conscientiae procedens, stultos homines per iniquam credulitatem exagitat. Quomodo? De abscisione capitis Joannis Baptistae, Filium Dei esse remissiorem vulnerum peccatorum ostendentis, pessimus error exortus est, ubi diabolus multos homines in diversis imaginibus seducit: hoc verum esse putantes quod ipse eis secundum aestimationem ipsorum fallaciter demonstrat. Unde et multi secundum hunc modum decipiuntur; quia et fides ipsorum semper in infirmitate vacillat. Sed, o vos filii mei, si juste et pie vivere volueritis, hunc nequissimum errorem fugite, ne amarissima mors in incredulitate vos apprehendat.
Fugite etiam illos qui morantur in speluncis, inclusae cohortes diaboli existentes, vae illis, vae illis qui sic perseveraverint, quia viscera diaboli sunt, et praecurrens germen filii perditionis. Quapropter, o vos dilecti filii mei, omni devotione et omni virtute animae et corporis vestri illos devitate; quoniam antiquus serpens sua arte illos pascit et vestit, quia eum pro Deo colunt, et quia in eum per fallacem deceptionem confidunt. Ipsi sibi pessimi homicidae, ita quod illos qui eis simpliciter adhaeserint occidunt, antequam eos errorem suum declinare permittant, et sunt in se ipsis turpissimi fornicatores, semen etiam suum in homicidio mortificantes et diabolo offerentes, ita etiam in schismatibus suis et in plenitudine vitiorum suorum Ecclesiam meam invadentes, cum baptisma et sacramentum corporis et sanguinis Filii mei, et caetera instituta quae Ecclesia mea habet, in turpibus machinationibus suis nequiter derident. Sed quamvis propter timorem populi mei his institutis meis aperte non repugnent, tamen in cordibus et factis suis ea pro nihilo ducunt. Nam diabolica illusione sanctitatem se habere simulant, in quibus a diabolo decipiuntur, quoniam, si diabolus se eis palam demonstraret, ab eis cognosceretur, ita quod illum devitarent. Unde ipse sua arte quaedam eis ostendit velut bona et sancta sint, et sic eos illudit. O vae illis qui sic in morte hac per everaverint. Sed quia diabolus novit se modicum tempus erroris sui habere, idcirco nunc festinat infidelitatem in membris suis perficere, quae vos pessimi deceptores estis qui fidem catholicam subvertere laboratis.
Vos instabiles et molles ad devitandum venenosas sagittas humanae pollutionis estis, quas secundum voluntatem vestram contra legem exercetis. Unde postquam venenoso semine fornicationis libidinem vestram evacuatis, tunc ficte oratis et sanctitatem vobis fallaciter imponitis, quod oculis meis fetente luto indignius est. Certe schisma quod exortum est in Horeb ubi Judaica plebs sculptile faciens in diabolica irrisione ludere coepit: sic etiam et adhuc quidam petulanter ludere solent, et schisma quod fuit in Baal in quo multi perierunt, et schisma fornicationum ubi cum Madianitis turpia facta perpetrata sunt, et caetera his similia super vos cadent: quia in his omnibus in malis vestris partem habetis, pejores priore populo existentes, quoniam veram legem Dei cernentes, eam pertinaciter abjicitis. Sed, o vos qui salutem vestram desideratis, ita quod baptisma suscepistis, et unctus mons Dei estis, Satanae resistite, et de monte salvationis vestrae descendere nolite.
Homo autem qui tantae duritiae est quod adjutorium Dei ad repugnandum diabolo contemnit, huic ipse insidias suas ponere non desistit, cum etiam in eo nigredinem iniquitatis surgere videt, quae toti corpori illius tantam amaritudinem infert quod etiam corpus ejus inde in infirmitate arescit. Unde cum homo coeperit malum ruminare et seipsum ita in desperationem conterere, quasi sibi non sit possibile malum devitare et bonum facere; tunc diabolus hoc videns dicit: Ecce homo qui nobis similis est, Deum suum negans et se ad nos convertens, nos jam sequitur. Quapropter properemus omnes et ad eum festinanter curramus: ita ipsum nostris artibus coercentes, ne a nobis aufugere possit. Nam Deum suum deserere vult: et nos sequi. Sed homo qui his malis diabolicam suggestionem impugnatur, videlicet qui homicidio, adulterio, voracitate, ebrietate, et superfluitate omnium vitiorum polluitur, si tunc in his impoenitens perseveraverit, in mortem cadit; qui autem diabolo repugnans, his vitiis poenitendo se subtraxerit, ad vitam resurgit. Nam qui cupiditatem carnis suae secutus fuerit, et bonum desiderium spiritus sui neglexerit, de hoc fabricator orbis dicit: Iste me despicit et carnem suam cum peccato diligit, nolens scire quod a perditione se debet avertere, et ideo abjiciendus est. Qui vero bonum ardorem spiritus sui dilexerit, et voluptatem carnis suae abjecerit, de illo dicit Creator mundi: Hic ad me respicit et corpus suum in sordibus non enutrit, desiderans scire quod a morte se debet submovere, unde ei succurrendum est. Quomodo?
Ut Salomon in voluntate mea dicit. Peccatores persequuntur malum: et justis retribuentur bona. Quid hoc? Ruentes in lapsu, et cadentes in ruina undique mortiferi morbi invadunt: ita quod prudenter in hoc quod verum est non aspiciunt, sed illud negligenter abjiciunt. Unde quia non sunt digni Deum aspicere, nec ullam felicitatem in Deo aut in hominibus habere, quoniam Deum respuunt et diabolum eligunt; idcirco multam adversitatem illis infert id malum quod operantur. Sed in bonis rectus sensus et justa cogitatio in excelso aedificat: ita quod in sinu suo suscipiunt haereditatem patris, quoniam supernum lumen attendunt, fallaces in irrisione fori quomodo hoc vel illud sine comparatione venundetur non existentes; sed id quod in Deo verum est habentes. Sed ut vides quod magna multitudo hominum in multa claritate fulgentium venit quae praedictum vermem fortiter ubique conculcans diro cruciatu eum afficit, hoc est quod fidele agmen credentium sed in humana miseria procreatorum, in fide baptismatis et in beatis virtutibus multo ornatu et decore ad superna desideria properat: ita quod ipsi in factis suis hunc antiquum seductorem fortissima contritione circumdantes dejiciunt, et eum diro cruciatu comminuunt, veluti sunt virgines, martyres, et caeteri hujusmodi veri Dei cultores qui toto nisu terrena conculcant et coelestia desiderant, ita tamen quod ipsa nec a flammis nec a veneno illius laedi potest; quia isti tanta fortitudine et constantia in Deo muniti sunt, quod nec ab apertis incendiis, nec ab occultis persuasionibus diabolicae iniquitatis contaminari valent, quoniam magna fortitudine virtutum vana figmenta deserunt, et sanctitati, juste viventes adhaerent. Sed qui vigilantibus oculis videt et attentis auribus audit, hic mysticis verbis meis osculum amplexionis praebeat quae de me vivente emanant.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ezek.18.20 — The soul that sins—it shall die. A son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'erocum' is likely a variant or corruption of 'croceum' (saffron/yellow). I have translated it as 'yellow' to maintain the color-coded imagery of the passage.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'ania' is likely a corruption of 'anima' (soul) or 'finis' (end). Given the context of the destroyer's end, I have rendered the sense as 'his own end'.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'per everaverint' appears corrupt; translated as 'have persisted' based on context of 'perseveraverint'.
Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord) companion
Keep Hildegard in your mornings
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