Collation 20

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A. First Treatise on the Fourth Vision, That of Understanding Suspended Through Contemplation, the Threefold Object of This Contemplation, That Is, with the Contemplation of the Heavenly Hierarchy, the Church Militant

2000 TWENTIETH COLLATION First Treatise on the Fourth Vision, That of Understanding Suspended Through Contemplation, Which Is Concerned in General with the Threefold Object of This Contemplation, That Is, with the Contemplation of the Heavenly Hierarchy, the Church Militant, and the Hierarchized Human Mind.

COLLATIO XX DE QUARTA VISIONE, SCILICET INTELLIGENTIAE PER CONTEMPLATIONEM SUSPENSAE, , TRACTATIO PRIMA, QUAE AGIT IN GENERE DE TRIPLICI OBIECTO HUIUS CONTEMPLATIONIS SIVE DE CONTEMPLATIONE CAELESTIS HIERARCHIAE, MILITANTIS ECCLESIAE ET MENTIS HUMANAE HIERARCHIZATAE

1. AND God said, "Let there he lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate day from night; let them serve as signs and for the fixing of seasons, days and years.... God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the smaller one to rule the night, and He made the stars. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to shed light upon the earth. . . . God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, the fourth day. It has been said above that God gave ... to Daniel the understanding of all visions. And, in this regard, there has been made a distinction of six visions corresponding to the works of the six days. Now, we must speak about the fourth, that is, [the vision] of understanding suspended through contemplation. However, it should be understood that no one has it, save the man of desires, nor can he have it save through intense desires. Hence, the Psalm: Taste and see how good the Lord is. "Taste" is said first, for there can be no sweet taste unless there come first an appetite for something tasty, or for receiving something tasty.

1. Dixit autem Deus: fiant luminaria in firmamento caeli et dividant diem ac noctem; et sint Hn signa et tempora et dies et annos. Et fecit Deus duo magna luminaria: luminare maius, ut praeesset diei, et luminare minus, ut praeesset nocti, et stellas. Et posuit eas in firmamento caeli, ut lucerent super terram; et vidit Deus, quod esset bonum. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies quartusDictum est supra, quod Deus dedit Danieli intelligentiam omnium visionum ² ; et occasione eius distinctae sunt sex visiones correspondentes operibus sex dierum. -- Nunc dicendum est de quarta, scilicet intelligentiae per contemplationem suspensae. -- Sed intelligendum, quod hanc visionem nullus habet, nisi sit vir desideriorum ³ , nec potest eam habere nisi per magnum desiderium. Unde Psalmus: Gustate et videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus ⁴ . Primo dicit gustate. Gustus enim suavis non est, nisi praecedat appetitus gustabilis vel ad gustabile suscipiendum.

B. Only That Soul Can Be Suspended in Contemplation Which Has the Sun and the Moon and the Stars in its Firmament.

2. But this understanding suspended through contemplation may be understood through the work of the fourth day, when the lights were made. For only that soul can be suspended in contemplation which has the sun and the moon and the stars in its firmament. Consider what the world would have been, had there been no sun, moon or stars in the firmament. It would have been nothing but a kind of dark mass, for even with the light of the stars, the night is dark and horrible. It is the same with the soul: one deprived of the grace of contemplation is like a firmament without lights; but one which has it is like a firmament adorned with lights. And as a heaven deprived of these lights is different from another that has them, so is the soul that does not have [this grace] different from another that has it. Hence, it differs like the angel and the beast. For a man who lacks it is beast-like, with his face bent down to the earth, like an animal. But the man full of lights is fully angelic. ¹

2. Haec autem intelligentia per contemplationem suspensa datur intelligi per opus quartae diei, in qua luminaria facta sunt. Anima autem illa sola per contemplationem suspensa est, quae habet solem et lunam et stellas in firmamento suo. Considera, modo si non esset sol et luna et stellae in firmamento, quid esset mundus? Non esset nisi quaedam massa tenebrosa, quia etiam nox cum lumine siderum adhuc tenebrosa et horribilis est. Sic est de anima. Quae enim non habet gratiam contemplationis est sicut firmamentum sine luminaribus; sed quae habet est firmamentum ornatum luminibus. Et sicut differt caelum non habens haec luminaria a caelo habente, sic anima non habens, ab anima disposita ad hoc; unde differt sicut Angelus a bestia. Bestialis est homo carens his et habens faciem inclinatam ad terram sicut animal; sed plenus luminibus est totus angelicus.

3. On the fourth day, God made the sun and the moon and the stars, wherefore this vision is principally concerned with three things: the splendid consideration of the heavenly hierarchy; the splendid consideration of the Church Militant; and the splendid consideration of the hierarchized human mind. For unless [the soul] beholds the monarchy from above and sees at the same time the descent from it of the Church Militant, together with its hierarchical adornment,! it will never be contemplative. But if it does, it will have light — from the sun, the moon and the stars. The first consideration is compared to the light of the sun, the second to the light of the moon, and the third to the light of the stars. And happy is the soul that sees itself adorned and conformed to that Jerusalem, to the enlightened hierarchy, the angelic, and to the enlightening hierarchy, the divine sovereignty of the Persons.

3. In quarto die fecit Deus solem et lunam et stellas, quia haec visio est principaliter circa tria: circa luculentam considerationem caelestis hierarchiae, circa luculentam considerationem militantis Ecclesiae, circa luculentam considerationem mentis humanae hierarchizatae. Nisi, enim speculetur supernam monarchiam et contueatur descensum Ecclesiae militantis ab ea et suam ipsius hierarchicam adornationem, nunquam erit contemplativa; sed tunc habebit lucem solarem, lunarem et stellarem. Prima consideratio comparatur luci solari, secunda luci lunari, tertia luci stellari. Haec anima est felix, quae se contuetur ornatam et conformem illi Ierusalem, et hierarchiam illustratam, scilicet Angelicam, et hierarchiam illustrantem, scilicet divinum principatum personarum.

1. Splendid Consideration of the Heavenly Monarchy

4. And so, the splendid consideration of the heavenly monarchy^ is likened to the light of the sun, and this, for a threefold reason: because of the resplendence of its singular purity, because of the resplendence of its outstanding limpidity, and because of the resplendence of its life- giving fire. Such are the three aspects under which this consideration may be seen.

4. Luculenta ergo consideratio caelestis monarchiae assimilatur luci solari propter triplicem rationem: propter fulgorem puritatis praecipuae, propter fulgorem limpiditatis praeclarae, propter fulgorem inflammationis vivificae. Haec tria habet illa consideratio.

2. Purity

a. In Eternal Wisdom There is a Principle of Fecundity Tending to the Conceiving, the Bearing and the Bringing Forth

5. By reason of the first, it is a matter of supreme dignity that [the consideration of the heavenly Hierarchy] have purity and be far away from any filth of corruption. Concerning such purity. Ecclesiasticus writes: As the sun when it riseth ... in the high places of God, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house. These words fit eternal wisdom and the mind enlightened by such wisdom. For it is like the sun in the high places, not on account of its position since the sun is not the highest of the planets, but the sun is called the highest by reason of its supreme purity, actuality and luminosity. Hence, it is, according to Isidore, ² "as it were, the only one to shine.". This is eternal wisdom which reaches everywhere because of its purity. [The same consideration] is compared also to a good woman, not that there is in it anything female or effeminate, but because in eternal wisdom there is a principle of fecundity tending to the conceiving, the bearing and the bringing forth of everything that pertains to the universality of the laws. For all the exemplar reasons! ^are conceived from all eternity in the womb or uterus of eternal wisdom. [This is true] most of all [of the exemplary reason] of predestination. And so, because [the heavenly Hierarchy] conceived the principles of predestination from all eternity, it cannot fail to love us. And as it conceived them from all eternity, so also it produced [them] or bore [them] in time, and later, gave birth [to them] by suffering in the flesh. And the intelligence is able to understand this and in so doing, it has attained the highest contemplation.

5. Ratione primi est summae dignitatis et excellentiae, quae habet puritatem et est elongata ab omni faece corruptionis. De ista puritate Ecclesiasticus: Sicut sol oriens in altissimis Dei, sic mulieris bonae species in ornamentum domus suae ⁵ . Haec verba conveniunt aeternae sapientiae et menti aeterna sapientia illustratae. Est enim sicut sol in altissimis, non propter positionem, quia sol non est altior omnibus planetis, sed sol dicitur altissimus ratione altissimae puritatis, actualitatis et luminositatis; unde est secundum Isidorum «quasi solus lucens». Haec est sapientia aeterna, quae ubique attingit propter suam munditiam ⁶ . -- Comparatur autem mulieri bonae, non propter aliquod femineum vel effeminatum, quod sit in ipso; sed quia in sapientia aeterna est ratio fecunditatis ad concipiendum, producendum et pariendum quidquid est de universitate legum. Omnes enim rationes exemplares concipiuntur ab aeterno in vulva aeternae sapientiae seu utero, et maxime praedestinationis. Unde quia ab aeterno rationes praedestinationis concepit, non potest nos non diligere; et sicut ab aeterno concepit, sic in tempore produxit sive peperit, et postea in carne patiendo parturivit. Et potest hoc intelligere intellectus et habet altissimam contemplationem.

6. There is, then, a way of considering this utterly pure being: utterly pure because utterly simple, utterly simple because supremely one. It is said to Israel, the contemplative: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!" Likewise, the contemplative soul is represented by a woman, and contemplative souls are called the daughters of Jerusalem, because they are beautiful and fruitful. And beauty is fruitfulness, for the more light they conceive, the more beautiful they are. Hence, blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Wherefore it is fitting to enter contemplation, not through reason, but through purity. Wherefore His communication is with the simple, who have pure minds, not blinded by overwhelming malice. That is why the souls that are beautiful and fruitful are called the daughters of Jerusalem and are represented by the sun because of its beauty, and by the woman because of her fruitfulness.

6. Est ergo haec consideratio illius esse purissimi; purissimum autem, quia simplicissimum, simplicissimum autem, quia summe unum. Ideo dicitur Israel, viro contemplativo: Audi Israel, Dominus Deus tuus unus est ¹ . -- Similiter anima contemplativa intelligitur per mulierem illam; et dicuntur animae contemplativae filiae Ierusalem ⁸ , quia formosae et fecundae. Et formositas est fecunditas, quia, quanto plus concipiunt lumina, tanto formosiores sunt; unde: Beati mundo corde} quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt ⁹ . Unde per puritatem, non per rationem, oportet introire in contemplationem. Et ideo cum simplicibus sermocinatio eius ¹⁰ ; qui habent mentes puras, non excaecatas propter malitiam supervenientem. Animae ergo, quae sunt formosae et fecundae, dicuntur filiae Ierusalem et intelliguntur per solem ratione formositatis, et per mulierem ratione fecunditatis.

b. Contemplative Souls are Called the Daughters of Jerusalem, Because They are Beautiful and Fruitful

7. In the second place [this same consideration] is compared to the sun because of the resplendence of its outstanding limpidity: for the greater the resplendence, the greater the clarity and limpidity. Hence, in Ecclesiasticus: As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord shines upon all His works. And Gregory ³ writes: "How is it that they do not see, who see the One who sees all?" The soul of blessed Benedict was truly contemplative, for he saw the whole world in a single sunray. He had not studied much, nor did he own many books, for he had left the world when he was thirty-one and lived hidden in the forest with wild animals, as one of them, so much so that shepherds mistook him for one. And, as Gregory ⁴ explains, the world was not narrowed to a single sunray, but his soul was expanded, for he saw all things in the One in relation to whom all creatures are narrow and small and limited in extent. Hence, in Wisdom: Before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. And this outstanding clarity is referred to in [the same] book of Wisdom: For she is fairer than the 1 sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence.

7. Secundo comparatur soli propter fulgorem limpiditatis praeclarae; ubi maior fulgor, ibi maior claritas et limpiditas; unde Ecclesiasticus: Sol illuminans per omnia respexit, et gloria Domini plenum est opus eius ¹¹ . Unde Gregorius: «Quid est, quod non videant qui videntem omnia vident?». -- Anima beati Benedicti bene fuit contemplativa, quae totum mundum vidit in uno radio solis. Non multum studuerat ipse nec libros habebat, quia decimo tertio anno mundum dimiserat et latitabat inter fruteta cum bestiis, sicut una fera; unde etiam pastores crediderunt eum feram. Et ut dicit Gregorius, mundus non fuit coangustatus in uno radio solis, sed eius animus fuit dilatatus, qui vidit omnia in illo cuius magnitudine omnis creatura angusta est et parva et modica. Unde in Sapientia: Quasi momentum staterae est ante te orbis terrarum et sicut gutta roris antelucani ¹² . De hac praeclaritate in libro Sapientiae: Est enim speciosior sole et super omnem dispositionem stellarum, luci comparata invenitur prior ¹³ .

8. Consider that in the contemplative soul the sphere of the universe is described, and a certain heavenly spirit that has inscribed within it the whole sphere. There is also described in it the supersubstantial radiation. ⁵ which contains both the sphere of the universe and the universe of the spirits. Wherefore within the contemplative soul there are marvelous lights and a marvelous beauty. And so, as the world, beautiful from top to bottom, from beginning to end, described in the soul produces a mirror; and any spirit is a mirror: so also in the soul there is a marvelous multiplicity, supreme order, and supreme proportionality. Beautiful, then, is the universe of the spirit, for as often as there is reflected in the soul the disposition of the earthly sphere, and of the spirits of the blessed, and of the supersubstantial radiation, so often is there within it a marvelous refulgence: and because of this, it is more beautiful than the sun. Again, the radiation which contains every disposition and represents every theory exists within the soul, and the soul is absorbed in it through a transformation of the mind in God: wherefore the soul is above any disposition of the stars.

8. Considera, quod in anima contemplativa describitur universus orbis et quilibet spiritus caelestis, qui in se habet descriptum totum orbem; describitur etiam radius supersubstantialis, qui et universum orbem et universum spiritum continet. Ergo in anima contemplativa mira sunt lumina et mira pulcritudo. Sic ergo mundus, pulcher a summo ad imum, ab initio ad finem, descriptus in anima facit speculum; et quilibet spiritus est speculum: et sic in anima est mira numerositas, summus ordo, summa proportionalitas. Pulcra ergo est universitas spirituum, quia, quoties in anima sic relucet dispositio orbis terrarum et spirituum beatorum et radii supersubstantialis, toties in ea est mira refulgentia; et ex hoc est speciosior sole. Rursus, radius, qui continet omnem dispositionem et repraesentat omnes theorias, est in anima, et in illo anima absorbetur per mentis transformationem in Deum; et ideo est anima super omnem dispositionem stellarum.

3. Brilliance of a Life-giving Fire

9. In the third place, this consideration [of the heavenly Hierarchy] is compared to sunlight because of the brilliance of a life-giving fire. Indeed, the radiation of the sun serves to give life, not to consume it except by accident or by reason of some [defective] disposition. Speaking of this inflaming heat, Ecclesiasticus says: The sun, resplendent at its rising: what a wonderful work of the Lord it is! At noon it scorches the surface of the earth, and who can hear its fiery heat? Like a blazing furnace for melting metal, the sun in its course sets the mountains aflame; by its fiery darts the land is consumed; the eyes are dazzled by its light. He wants to say that when the sun itself is gazed upon, this same sun so announces what is about it and within it, and rises on the hemisphere of our mind in such a way, that at noon it scorches the surface of the earth, and who can bear its fiery heat? For the souls that are not lifted up are as it were in winter; those lifted up to a mediocre level of contemplation are as it were in spring, while those lifted up to ecstatic raptures are as it were in summer, tasting the fruits of autumn, for they are in repose. Then indeed, in autumn, do they gather the fruit; and they make feasts and celebrate them in autumn. But where does [the sun] scorch at noon? Where it exists in the totality of its power, that is, in heaven.

9. Tertio, haec consideratio comparatur luci solari propter fulgorem inflammationis vivificae. Est enim radius solis ad vivificandum, non ad consumendum nisi per accidens et ratione alicuius dispositionis. De hoc calore inflammante Ecclesiasticus: Sol in aspectu annuntians in exitu, vas admirabile opus Excelsi. In meridiano exurit terram, et in conspectu ardoris eius quis poterit sustinere? Tripliciter sol exurens montes, radios igneos exsufflans et refulgens radiis suis excaecat oculos ¹⁴ . -- Vult dicere, quod quando ille sol aspicitur, quod ipse sol sic annuntiat quae sunt apud se et in se, et oritur super hemisphaerium mentis nostrae, quod in meridiano exurit, et in conspectu ardoris eius non poterit aliquis sustinere. -- Animae enim non sublevatae sunt quasi in hieme; sed quae sunt elevatae ad mediocrem contemplationem sunt quasi in vere; sed quae elevatae sunt ad excessus ecstaticos sunt sicut in aestate et percipiunt fructus autumnales, quia quiescunt. Tunc enim in autumno colligunt fructus et faciunt et celebrant solemnitates in autumno ¹⁵ . Sed ubi exurit in meridie? Quando in maxima virtute est, hoc est in caelo.

10. This, indeed, is perfect contemplation. And no one can explain these inflammations and ardors which that Sun sends out to souls that enjoy spiritual raptures. If, indeed, according to the Apostle, the groanings with which the Spirit pleads for us are unutterable, what then of the raptures, what of the ardors? Hence, Who of us can live with the consuming fire? And truly the sun scorches in a threefold manner, because the eternal Sun irradiates and inflames this hierarchical earth and this human earth with a triple or threefold love and it lifts up both to God: the former, through tending, vision and fruition; the latter, through charity, from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned. ⁶ I refer to the heavenly Hierarchy disposed according to the three hierarchies.

10. Haec enim est perfecta Contemplatio; et illas inflammationes et ardores, quos emittit ille sol in animas illas, quae habent excessus mentales, nullus potest explicare. Si enim secundum Apostolum gemitus sunt inenarrabili quibus postulat pro nobis Spiritus ¹⁶ , quid sunt excessus? quid ardores? Unde: Quis ex vobis poterit habitare cum ardoribus sempiternis? ¹¹ . -- Et vere sol exurit tripliciter, quia sol aeternus terram illam hierarchicam et istam humanam irradiat et inflammat triplici vel triformi amore et sursum agit in Deum utramque: illam per tentionem, visionem et fruitionem; hanc per caritatem de corde puro, conscientia bona, fide non ficta ¹⁸ ; hierarchiam, dico, caelestem secundum trinas hierarchias collocatam.

a. Intellect is in Darkness, for It is Unable to Seek Since the Matter Transcends Every Power of Search

11. But how is it that this radiation blinds when it should have enlightened? This blinding, in fact, is supreme illumination, because it occurs in the loftiest part of the mind, beyond the range of investigation of the human intellect. Here, the intellect is in darkness, for it is unable to seek since the matter transcends every power of search. There is there inaccessible obscurity which yet enlightens those minds that have rid themselves of idle research. And that is what the Lord says, that He dwells in a cloud7 And in the Psalms: He made darkness the cloak about Him.

11. Sed quid est, quod iste radius excaecat, cum potius deberet illuminare? Sed ista excaecatio est summa illuminatio, quia est in sublimitate mentis ultra humani intellectus investigationem. Ibi intellectus caligat, quia non potest investigare, quia transcendit omnem potentiam investigativam. Est ergo ibi caligo inaccessibilis, quae tamen illuminat mentes, quae perdiderunt investigationes curiosas. Et hoc est quod dixit Dominus, se habitare in nebula ¹⁹ ; et in Psalmo: Posuit tenebras latibulum suum ²⁰ .

12. This, then, is the delicious consideration of the heavenly hierarchy. For these three reasons it is called the Sun. In this sense we may understand what is written in the first book of Machabees: The sun shone upon the shields of gold and of brass, the mountains glittered therewith. The shields are the eternal reasons of the eternal predestinations which are related to armor and to incorruptible brightness. The eternal Sun, that is, eternal wisdom, shines upon the shields when God lifts up the contemplative mind to the perception of the splendor of eternal truth and of these reasons. The mountains glitter because this Sun enlightens them with these three reasons as with shields of gold. That is, [it enlightens] the spirits confirmed in eternity and stability who received first the radiations from the east through a primary infusion, then those from the south through perfect enlightenment, and finally those from the west through final preservation. These [radiations] arise out of the Sun in a threefold manner and shine forth like lamps of fire, for there is here the greatest possible conflagration. And the whole reason of contemplation consists in this, for never does the splendid radiation come within the range of contemplation without at the same time setting afire. Hence, in the Canticle, Solomon speaks through the medium of love and of a hymn, for these dazzling lights cannot be attained except through love.

12. Haec est ergo consideratio luculenta caelestis hierarchiae. Propter haec ergo tria dicitur sol. De hoc potest accipi quod scribitur primo Machabaeorum: Refulsit sol in clypeos aureos, et resplenduerunt montes ab eis sicut lampades ignis ²¹ . Clypei sunt rationes aeternae praedesolationum aeternarum, quae habent rationem armaturae et rationem fulgoris incorruptibilis. Sol aeternus, scilicet sapientia aeterna, refulget in clypeos, quando sublimat Deus mentem contemplativam ad percipiendum fulgorem veritatis aeternae et illarum rationum; et montes resplendent, quia sol ille per istas rationes quasi per clypeos aureos illuminat montes, hoc est spiritus in aeternitate firmatos et sublimitate, qui recipiunt primo orientales radios primaria infusione, meridionales perfecta illustratione, Occidentales postrema retentione. Hi tripliciter oriuntur a sole et splendent sicut lampades ignis, quia est ibi inflammatio permaxima. Et in hoc est tota ratio contemplationis, quia nunquam venit in contemplatione radius splendens, quin etiam sit inflammans. Et ideo in Cantico loquitur Salomon per modum amoris et per modum cantici, quia ad illos fulgores non potest perveniri nisi per amorem.

4. Delicious Aspects of the Church Militant

13. Again, contemplation consists in the consideration of the delicious aspects of the church militant. This consideration is represented by the light of the moon, and he who has not known this [light] cannot understand anything. Hence, the heavens are not adorned unless they have a greater light and a smaller one. Wherefore John sees the city, New Jerusalem, not only standing, but actually coming down ... from God, fully formed and adorned. As indeed the radiation of the sun enlightens the night through the moon, so does the divine radiation enlighten the contemplative soul itself through the Church. Indeed, the divine radiation has no shadow in the heavenly hierarchy, as the light of the sun has no darkness in itself or in its fountainhead; while in the moon which does have darkness [the light of the sun] is not unqualifiedly bright. It is the same with the Church Militant in which there is a radiation through the figures and mysteries. The Church, then, is compared to the moon because of a twilight or symbolical refulgence, because of a rapturous or ecstatic refulgence, and because of a well-ordered refulgence.

13. Item, Contemplatio consistit in consideratione luculenta militantis Ecclesiae. Haec consideratio intelligitur per lucem lunarem; qui enim non novit hanc non potest quidquam comprehendere. Unde non est ornatum caelum, nisi habeat luminare maius et luminare minus ²² . Unde Ioannes vidit civitatem Ierusalem non solum stantem, immo etiam descendentem a Deo ²³ , formatam et ornatam. Sicut enim radius solis per lunam illuminat noctem, sic radius divinus per Ecclesiam illuminat ipsam animam contemplativam. Radius enim divinus in caelesti hierarchia umbram non habet, sicut lux solis non habet tenebrositatem in se sive in suo fonte; sed in luna, quae habet obscuritatem, non est simpliciter clarus. Sic in Ecclesia militante, in qua est radius in figuris et in aenigmatibus. -- Comparatur autem Ecclesia militans lunae propter refulgentiam subobscuram sive symbolicam, propter refulgentiam excessivam sive ecstaticam, et propter refulgentiam ordinatam.

a. Symbolical

1) Church like the Moon

14. First, the refulgence in the Church is symbolical, because of the symbols of the sacraments and figures through which Scripture takes its course from beginning to end. Of this, Ecclesiasticus says: The moon, too, that marks the changing times, governing the seasons, their lasting sign. And so, he says that the moon is a manifestation of the times, and that, in the form of a sign. And that occurs in the Church by means of symbols, for, according to Dionysius [the Pseudo-Areopagite] , ⁸ "It is impossible for us to make the divine radiation shine forth, except surrounded mystically with a variety of sacred veils."

14. Prima ergo refulgentia in Ecclesia est symbolica per symbola Sacramentorum et figurarum, per quae decurrit Ecclesia a principio usque ad finem. De hoc Ecclesiasticus: Luna in omnibus in tempore suo, ostensio temporis et signum aevi ²⁴ . Dicit ergo, quod luna est manifestatio temporum et per modum signationis; et hoc est in Ecclesia per symbola; quia «aliter non est possibile, nobis lucere divinum radium, nisi varietate sacrorum velaminum anagogice circumvelatum», secundum Dionysium.

15. Hence, we can gaze upon the moon, not upon the sun, because the radiation of the sun is tempered to our sight by the moon. Likewise, the radiation of eternity cannot be faced as such, but if we look upon it as it exists in the Church, veiled under the sacraments and figures, we may perceive the One who shows us what has been done, what should be done, and what exists in eternity: what has been done, through allegory; ⁹ what should be done, through tropology; what exists in eternity, through anagogy. Indeed, we understand in a particular manner the doctrine of figures of which the Old and the New Testament are full, as is clear when the Apostle writes that Christ's passion was both a truth and a figure, and so also His resurrection. Wherefore figures have never been fully explained. But when the moon will be full, then there will be an opening of Scriptures, and the Book will be opened, and the seven seals which have not yet been opened will be broken. Believe me, we shall then see as in the light of a full moon, when our Lion from the tribe of Juda will arise and open the Book, ¹⁰ when there will be a consummation of those sufferings of Christ which He now bears in His [mystical] body. It is fitting that Herod arise, under whom Christ was mocked and Peter thrown into jail.

15. Unde lunam videre possumus, non solem, quia radius solis contemperatur nobis per lunam. Sic radius aeternitatis non potest aspici in se, sed si aspicimus illum radium, ut est in Ecclesia, velatum per Sacramenta et figuras; possumus aspicere ipsum, qui nobis ostendit, quae sunt facta, quae facienda, quae sunt in aeternitate: quae sunt facta, per allegoriam; quae facienda, per tropologiam; quae in aeternitate, per anagogiam. Intelligimus enim aliquo modo figurarum doctrinam, quibus testamentum vetus et etiam novum plenum est; ut patet per Apostolum, quod passio Christi et veritas fuit et figura, similiter resurrectio ²⁵ . -- Et ideo figurae nondum explanatae sunt; sed quando luna erit plena, tunc erit apertio Scripturarum, et liber aperietur, et septem sigilla solventur ²⁶ , quae adhuc non sunt aperta. -- Credite mihi, tunc videbimus quasi per plenilunium, quando leo noster de tribu Iuda surget et aperiet librum, quando consummabuntur passiones Christi, quas modo corpus Christi patitur. Oportet enim surgere Herodem, sub quo illudatur Christus ²⁷ , et Petrus incarceretur ²⁸ .

16. Again, [this consideration] is compared to the moon because of an ecstatic refulgence. Ecclesiasticus says: By the moon, we know the feast days and fixed dates, this light- giver which wanes in its course: from it, the month has received its name, how wondrous in this change! He says two things of the moon: that in its fullness it waxes wonderfully, and that it wonderfully wanes. And this is true both in opposition with the sun or in conjunction with it. In opposition, for when it is in full opposition with the sun, then it is at the greatest possible distance from it, and then it is in truth less illuminated by it than at any other time. Now, this is proved as follows. There is a rule in perspective that when a luminous body is greater than an opaque spherical body upon which it is shedding light, the closer they are body to body, the more light the opaque body receives^ because the basis of the luminous body is greater and the angle of the light rays is greater. The more distant they are, the more acute the angle, and the less light reaches the opaque body. But when [the moon] is in full opposition, then it is at the greatest distance: it receives less light in reality, but more in appearance, for then it is called a full moon.

16. Item, comparatur lunae propter refulgentiam excessivam. Ecclesiasticus: A luna signum diei festi, luminare, quod minuitur in consummatione. Mensis secundum nomen eius est, crescens mirabiliter in consummatione ²⁹ . Duo dicit de luna: et quod mirabiliter crescit in consummatione et mirabiliter diminuitur. Et hoc verum est sive in coniunctione cum sole, sive in oppositione: in oppositione fit; quando enim est in plena oppositione ad solem, tunc distat ab eo magis, quam potest, et tunc minus illuminatur secundum veritatem quam in alio tempore quocumque. -- Quod sic probatur. Regula est in perspectiva, quod quando corpus luminosum maius est quam corpus opacum sphaericum, quod illuminat; quanto magis appropinquat corpus ad corpus, tanto magis illuminatur opacum, quia basis corporis luminosi est maior, et angulus radiorum maior; quando vero plus distat, tunc angulus minor est, et basis minus de corpore opaci attingit. Sed quando est in plena oppositione, tunc est in maxima distantia: ergo tunc minus illuminatur secundum veritatem, sed plus secundum apparentiam, quia tunc vocatur luna plena.

17. Now, in case of conjunction, the opposite occurs, for when the moon is as close as it can ever be, it receives more light in reality and less in appearance, for then we see nothing of the moon. ¹¹ Hence, whether fullness is understood as related to opposition or to conjunction, it is true in both cases, that in its fullness it waxes wonderfully, and that it wonderfully wanes.

17. Item, apud coniunctionem est e contrario, quia, cum sit in maxima appropinquatione, qua esse potest, tunc illuminatur magis secundum veritatem et minus secundum apparentiam, quia tunc nihil videmus de luna. -- Ergo sive consummatio intelligatur vel quantum ad oppositionem, vel quantum ad coniunctionem, utrumque verum est: et quod mirabiliter crescit et mirabiliter minuitur in consummatione.

18. The moon that waxes and wanes represents man in the active and the contemplative life, like the morning star which sometimes precedes the sun and then signifies the contemplative life, and at other times follows it and then signifies the active life. This moon is the Church engaged in contemplation and action. When it is engaged in contemplation, then it is supremely enlightened by the heavenly splendors, but when it is engaged in action, it receives less light. And no man lives who is not decreased when he engages in action, except Christ who was perfect both in action and in contemplation. Hence no wise man, particularly a leader, ever sinks to action, except by reason of some necessity. For, according to Gregory ¹² in his "Pastorals," "A man of strong virtue comes forth against his will. A man without virtue cannot even be forced." Why? Because here there is a decrease of that light which is [the source] of the greatest illumination, that is, [the light of] contemplation.

18. Luna, quae crescit et minuitur, significat hominem in vita activa et contemplativa, sicut stella matutina, quae aliquando praecedit solem, et tunc significat vitam contemplativam; et aliquando sequitur, et tunc significat vitam activam. -- Haec luna est Ecclesia, vacans contemplationi et actioni. Quando vacat contemplationi, tunc summe illuminatur fulgoribus caelestibus; quando vero vacat actioni, tunc minus illuminatur; et non vivit homo, qui non minuatur, quando dat se actioni, excepto Christo, qui fuit perfectus et in actione et contemplatione. Unde nullus homo sapiens unquam descendit ad actionem, maxime praesidentium, nisi quadam necessitate; quia, secundum Gregorium in Pastoribus «pollens virtutibus invitus accedit, carens vero virtutibus nec coactus». Quare? quia ex hoc minuitur lumen illud, quod est maximae illuminationis, scilicet contemplationis.

2) Well-ordered Refulgence

19. But on the contrary, as the bride is attracted to the groom and matter to form and the ugly to the beautiful,! ¹³ so the soul desires to be united through the raptures of contemplation. Then, when the hemisphere of the soul is completely filled with light, the exterior man becomes entirely God-conformed, and the man himself becomes speechless. Hence, these words of the Canticle contain a truth: Do not stare at me because I am swarthy, because the sun has burned me, for then the interior illuminations are supremely conjoined. Hence, also, the words of Exodus: "Since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue." It was the same with Jacob, that is, Israel, a strong man who was strengthened in his fight with the angel, who yet dislocated the socket of his thigh, and he began to limp, because such a contemplation makes the soul appear low to man when it is conjoined with the supreme sun. This [contemplation] is Esther who sought not women's ornaments, ¹⁴ but was content with her natural beauty and had no recourse to the deckings of prostitutes. And he said: For I say to you that no one concerned with appearances can attain contemplation.

19. Sed econtra, sicut sponsa desiderat sponsum, et materia formam, et turpe pulcrum; ita anima appetit uniri per excessum contemplationis; et tunc, quando hemisphaerium animae totum luminibus plenum est, tunc homo exterius fit totus deformis, tunc homo fit sine loquela. Unde tunc habet veritatem illud in Cantico: Nolite me considerare, quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me soP°, quia tunc maxime coniungitur interioribus illuminationibus; unde in Exodo: Ex quo locutus es ad servum tuum, impeditioris et tardioris linguae factus sum ³¹ . Similiter Iacob, scilicet Israel, vir fortis, fortificatus fuit in lucta Angeli, emarcuit tamen nervus femoris eius, et factus est claudus ³² , quia haec Contemplatio facit vilem animam apparere hominibus, quando summo soli coniungitur. -- Haec est Esther ³³ , quae non quaerit mundum muliebrem, sed contenta est naturali pulcritudine nec quaerit istos ornatus meretricios. -- Et dicebat: quia dico vobis, quod nunquam qui vult apparere potest venire ad contemplationem.

20. In the third place, [this consideration] is compared to the moon because of a well-ordered refulgence. Ecclesiasticus writes of the moon that it is an instrument of the armies on high, shining gloriously in the firmament of heaven. For all things in the Church are ordained according to a rational order; they are strong, meaning that they cannot be dissolved, and they are joyful. Because of the first, it is said to be an instrument of the armies on high, because it is as awe-inspiring as bannered troops. — What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess but the companies of camps? For this order is entirely for the sake of combat. against the hosts of enemies. Again, it has joy, hence the words shining gloriously. And this is glory, which is beauty with joy. Wherefore even its riches show forth its glory, as it marches along in the glory of its clothing and in joy, as it were in nuptial banquets and festivities.

20. Tertio comparatur lunae propter refulgentiam ordinatam. Ecclesiasticus: Vas castrorum in firmamento caeli resplendet ⁰⁴ ; dicitur de luna. Omnia enim, quae sunt in Ecclesia, sunt secundum rationem ordinis ordinata et robusta seu indissipabilia et iucunda. -- Propter primum dicitur: Vas castrorum in firmamento caeli, quia terribilis est, ut castrorum acies ordinata ³⁵ . Quid videbis in Sulamite nisi choros castrorum? ³⁶ . Quia iste ordo totus est ad pugnandum contra universitatem hostium. -- Item, habet iucunditatem; ideo dicit resplendet. Et haec est gloria, quae est formositas cum iucunditate; unde et divites ostendunt gloriam suam, incedendo in gloria vestium et laetitia, sicut in nuptiis et festis.

5. Hierarchized Human Mind -stars

21. This is the second part of contemplation, which consists in considering the Church in that it is clothed over with figures and theories, in that it is illuminated by the sun, and in that it is ordered for combat. And the moon is so placed in the firmament of the soul that it can be considered through symbolical theology, through mystical theology, and through theology properly so called.

21. Haec est secunda pars contemplationis, considerare scilicet Ecclesiam, secundum quod est supervestita figuris et theonis, et secundum quod est illustrata a sole, et secundum quod est ordinata ad pugnandum; et sic habetur luna in firmamento animae, ut consideratur per theologiam symbolicam, per theologiam mysticam, per theologiam proprie dictam.

a. Constant

22. The third part of contemplation consists in considering the hierarchized human mind. And this is understood through the stars, or through the light of the stars, which indeed has a radiation that is constant, beautiful, and joyful. The soul, when it enjoys these three, is hierarchized.

22. Tertia pars contemplationis est in consideratione mentis humanae hierarchizatae; et haec intelligitur per stellas sive per lucem stellarum, quae quidem habet radiationem mansivam, decoram et iucundam. Anima, quae habet haec tria, est hierarchizata.

b. Beautiful

23. Concerning the constant radiation which is in the hierarchized soul, it is said in the Book of Judges: The stars remaining in their order and course fought against Sisara. As indeed the stars are fixed in heaven, so it is fitting that the contemplative be fixed and that he remain in the same place, not vacillating, not with fluttering eyes, but with the eyes of an eagle. Hence, in Dionysius [the Pseudo-Areopagite] ¹⁵ ; "Having eyes, that is, those of rational investigation, he must stay fixed, remaining constant with the fixity of a star." The soul cannot remain constant, however, unless it has a course and an order, that is, an order of hierarchical levels and strength, and then it moves ceaselessly through these from strength to strength: and this is to fight against the devil. For the soul fixed in the stability of the hierarchical levels and powers is not idle: the outer man sleeps, but the inner man watches. This is proper to lively men, tirelessly stabilized.

23. De radiatione mansiva quae est in anima hierarchizata, dicitur in libro Iudicum: Stellae, manentes in ordine et cursu suo, pugnaverunt contra Sisaram ³¹ . Sicut enim stellae sunt fixae in caelo, sic oportet quod contemplativus sit fixus et mansivus, non vacillans nec habens oculos tremulos, sed aquilinos. Unde Dionysius: Habens oculos, scilicet investigationis rationis, debet esse fixus, fixione siderea manens. Non manet autem, nisi habeat cursum et ordinem, ordinem scilicet hierarchicorum graduum et virtutum, et postmodum currat incessanter per illos de virtute in virtutem ³⁸ ; et hoc est pugnare contra diabolum. Mens enim fixa in stabilitate graduum hierarchicorum et virtutum non est otiosa, sed dormit homo exterius et vigilat interius ³⁹ ; hoc autem est hominum vivacium, stabilitum infatigabiliter. Hae considerationes faciunt animas robustas.

c. Joyful

24. Again, [the hierarchized soul] has a radiation that is beautiful. Hence, in Ecclesiasticus: The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven. The beauty of heaven corresponds to the heavenly soul, ¹⁶ comely, beautiful; but existing in the glory of the stars, that is, in the refulgent glory which consists in the quality of contemplation. Hence, it must be in a state of permanence in God, rising from strength to strength, attending with the greatest care to these flashes, so that even if it sleeps its heart watches with perspicacity. For many are those who love beauty. But beauty is not in externals, which reveal only its image: true beauty consists in this very splendor of Wisdom.

24. Item, habet radiationem decoram. Unde Ecclesiasticus: Species caeli gloria stellarum ⁴⁰ . Caeli sunt animae caelestes, speciosae, decorae; sed in gloria stellarum, scilicet in gloriosa refulgentia, quae consistit in consideratione decora. Unde debet esse manens in Deo, crescens de virtute in virtutem, ut attentissime attendat ad illos fulgores, ut, si dormiat, cor suum vigilet perspicaciter. Multi enim sunt, qui amant pulcritudinem; pulcritudo autem non est in exterioribus, sed ipsius effigies; vera autem pulcritudo est in illa pulcritudine sapientiae.

25. In the third place, [the hierarchized soul] is compared to the light of the stars because of its joyful radiation. As Baruch writes: The stars have given light in their watches and rejoiced. They were called and they said: Here we are. And with cheerfulness they have shined forth to Him that made them. The soul is compared to them when it is called by God through inspiration, and it runs under the impulse of desire. The Psalm reads: I rejoiced he- cause they said to me "We will go up to the house of the Lord." — "Rejoice ... in this, that your names are written in heaven." For out of the joy in these illuminations there is born the light that never fails. And the Psalm again: Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have fashioned praise ... when I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You set in place, and which send forth constant, contemplative and hierarchized radiations. But this must come about with strength, beauty and joy. Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely. Because joyful, sweet; because comely, beautiful; because constant, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops.

25. Tertio assimilatur luci stellarum propter radiationem iucundam. Baruch: Stellae dederunt lucem in custodiis suis et laetatae sunt, vocatae sunt et dixerunt: Adsumus, et luxerunt cum iucunditate ei qui fecit illas ⁴¹ . His anima comparatur, quando vocatur a Deo per inspirationem, et ipsa currit per desiderium; in Psalmo: Laetatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi: in domum Domini ibimus ⁴² . Gaudete, quia nomina vestra scripta sunt in caelis ⁴³ ; quia ex gaudio in illis illuminationibus nascitur lumen indeficiens ⁴⁴ . Psalmus: Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem. Quoniam videbo caelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum, lunam et stellas, quae tu fundasti ⁴³ ; quae radiant radiatione mansiva, contemplativa et hierarchica; sed debet esse cum virtute, cum decore, cum iucunditate. Unde in Cantico: Pulcra es, amica mea, suavis et decora ⁴⁶ : quia iucunda, ideo suavis; quia decora, ideo pulcra; quia mansiva, ideo terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata ⁴¹ .

26. And so, on the fourth day, God made the sun and the moon and the stars: for God granted to the soul that it have the power to consider itself, and the Church Militant, and the heavenly Monarchy! The Canticle reads: Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops? [The soul] is the dawn when it rises in the consideration of itself, the moon when it considers the Church, and the sun when it is absorbed in God. And because of these, it is as awe-inspiring as bannered troops.

26. Fecit ergo Deus die quarta solem et lunam et stellas, quia Deus dedit animae, ut habeat considerationem sui ipsius et Ecclesiae militantis et caelestis monarchiae. In Cantico: Quae est ista quae ascendit quasi aurora consurgens, pulcra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinataP ⁴⁸ . Aurora est, quando consurgit in considerationem sui; luna, in considerationem Ecclesiae militantis; sol, quando in Deum absorbetur; et ex his est terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata.

27. Concerning the contemplative, it is said in Ecclesiasticus in reference to Simon, the son of Onias: He shone in his days as the morning star in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full And as the sun when it shineth, so did he shine in the temple of God. And as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds. [The soul] is the star when it considers its own adornment, but in the midst of a cloud because of the humility a contemplative requires. Let him not be like Lucifer, but rather say: You indeed, O Lord, give light to my lamp; O my God, You brighten the darkness about me. [The soul] is like the moon when it considers the Church Militant, paying attention to its origin, its unfolding and its end. Hence, it does not have illumination, except when considering the Church in relation to its times. Rachel as yet is to conceive and give birth, and Benjamin is to be born. [The soul] shines as the sun when it is as it were lifted up in the contemplation of God. And it is as the full moon when it receives those utterly beautiful and superluminous splendors from that superluminous Light; and then such a soul is as the rainbow because it reconciles God and man, as Moses bore the lights. from God to the people.

27. De viro contemplativo dicitur in laudem Simonis, Oniae filii, in Ecclesiastico: Quasi stella matutina in medio nebulae et quasi luna plena in diebus suis lucet et quasi sol refulgens; sic ille refulsit in templo Dei, quasi arcus refulgens inter nebulas gloriae ⁴⁹ . -- Stella in consideratione proprii adornatus, sed in medio nebulae propter humilitatem, quae est necessaria viro contemplativo; non sit ut lucifer, sed ut magis dicat: Quoniam tu illuminas lucernam meam, Domine; Deus meus illumina tenebras meas ⁵⁰ . -- Quasi luna, per considerationem Ecclesiae militantis, considerando eius principium, medium et finem. Unde non habetur illuminatio, nisi quando Ecclesia consideratur secundum sua tempora; Rachel adhuc concipiet et parturiet, et Beniamin nascetur ⁵¹ . -- Sicut sol refulsit, quando scilicet elevata est in contemplatione Dei. -- Et tunc est sicut luna plena, quando istos splendores pulcherrimos et praeclaros ab illa praeclara luce suscipit; et tunc talis anima est sicut arcus ⁵² , quia reconciliatrix Dei et hominis, sicut lumina portabat Moyses a Deo ad populum ⁵³ .

28. Of this, John writes in the Apocalypse: And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. The first vision is concerned with the lamp- stands and the Son of Man and the seven stars; the second, with the seven seals; the third, with the angels blowing their trumpets; the fourth with [the fact that] the temple of God in heaven was opened —and a great sign appeared in heaven, the woman clothed. In the first is manifested the splendor of the order of prelates, in the second the splendor of the contenders or martyrs, in the third the splendor of teachers [expressed by] the blast of trumpets, in the fourth the splendor of the contemplatives, for they possess the sun, the moon and the stars. From the consideration of the heavenly Monarchy, [the soul] is clothed, because it is the most important. But when the soul goes down to considering the Church Militant, it has the moon under its feet, not in order to trample it, but because it is established upon the Church and supported by it. For a soul cannot be contemplative unless it is supported by the Church as by a foundation. After it has considered the hierarchical illuminations, it is as possessing the twelve stars. The stars are twelve mysteries to be unlocked. They are signified by the twelve sealings to come,. and they are the sealings of the chosen ones.

28. De hoc Ioannes in Apocalypsi: Vidi signum magnum in caelo: mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus eius, et in capite eius corona duodecim stellarum ⁵⁴ . Prima visio est de candelabris et filio hominis et septem stellis ⁵⁵ ; secunda de septem sigillis ⁵⁶ ; tertia de Angelis tuba canentes ⁵⁷ ; quarta, quando apertum est templum ⁵⁸ , et signum magnum apparuit de muliere amicta ⁵⁹ . In prima manifestatur fulgor ordinis praesidentium; in secunda, fulgor pugnantium ut martyrum; in tertia, fulgor docentium, per clangorem tubae; in quarta, fulgor contemplantium, qui habent solem et lunam et stellas. -- Ex consideratione caelestis monarchiae est amicta sole, quia est principale. -- Sed quando descendit anima ad considerationem Ecclesiae militantis, habet lunam sub pedibus, non ad conculcandum, sed quia se fundat et sustentat super Ecclesiam. Nec enim est anima contemplativa, nisi per Ecclesiam sustentetur quasi super basim. -- Post considerationem hierarchicarum illuminationum est quasi habens stellas duodecim. Stellae sunt duodecim mysteria reseranda, quae per duodecim signationes in futuro significantur, quae sunt signationes electorum.

29. Note that the twelve sealings are under the sixth seal and the sixth angel, and the measuring of the city, and the showing of the city and the opening of the book. And the sixth angel, the one of Philadelphia, ¹⁷ which is interpreted "preserving the inheritance," refers to the Key of David, of which it is said: He who overcomes... I will write upon him My name and the name of the city... the new Jerusalem. (Note that so far he had made no reference to a city.) This means, I will give the knowledge of the Scripture to this sixth Angel, but it will be bitter to its stomach, and in its mouth it will be as sweet as honey. And this order is understood through John to whom it was said: I wish him to remain until I come.

29. Nota, quod duodecim signationes ⁶⁰ sunt sub sexto sigillo ⁶¹ et sub sexto Angelo* ³² , et mensuratio civitatis ⁶³ et ostensio civitatis ⁶⁴ et apertio libri ⁶⁵ ; et sexto Angelo, scilicet Philadelphiae, qui interpretatur, conservans hereditatem, dictum est de clave David ⁶⁶ , et de quo dicitur: Qui vicerit scribam super eum nomen meum et nomen civitatis novae Ierusalem ⁶⁷ -- vide, quod adhuc non fecerat mentionem de civitate -- hoc est, dabo notitiam Scripturarum isti sexto Angelo; sed amaricabitur venter eius, et in ore eius erit dulce tanquam mel ⁶ *. Et iste ordo intelligitur per Ioannem, cui dictum est: Sic eum volo manere, donec veniam ⁶⁹ .

30. And he said that it was necessary that this sixth time be filled with the wickedness of thieves —this time during which God made man in His image and likeness. And he added: Consider your own call, for it is great. And he said that because of the wickedness of these men, God grants vindication to the oppressed, so that they may judge the twelve tribes of Israel And in this life, contemplation is due to such men. Contemplation cannot come about except in the greatest simplicity; and the greatest simplicity cannot exist except in the greatest poverty. And this is proper to this Order. The intention of Blessed Francis was to live in the greatest poverty. And he said that we had receded a lot from our state, and therefore God permitted that we be afflicted, so that by these means we may be led back to our state that must possess the promised land. God promised great things to Israel, and the great among them were chosen, as were His apostles. The Jews became blind, these were enlightened. The former gave themselves to the flesh. Some choose to give their purses to Christ. Note also that only a few entered the promised land, and that those who discouraged the people did not go in."

30. Et dicebat, quod malignitatibus latrantium necesse est impleri hoc sexto tempore, in quo fecit Deus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem ⁷⁰ suam. Et addebat: Videte vocationem vestram ¹¹ , quia magna est. Et dicebat, quod malignitatibus ipsorum iudicium Deus pauperibus tribuet ¹² , ut sint iudicantes duodecim tribus Israel ⁷³ ; et in hac vita talibus debetur Contemplatio. Contemplatio non potest esse nisi in summa simplicitate; et summa simplicitas non potest esse nisi in maxima paupertate; et haec est huius ordinis. Intentio beati Francisci fuit esse in summa paupertate. -- Et dicebat, quoniam multum retrocessimus a statu nostro, et ideo permittit nos Deus affligi, ut per hoc reducamur ad statum, qui debet habere terram promissionis. Magna promisit Deus Israeli, et magni ex illis electi sunt, ut Apostoli sui. -- Iudaei fuerunt excaecati, isti fuerunt illustrati; sed illi dederunt se carni; quidam volunt dare loculos Christo. -- Nota etiam, quod pauci intraverunt terram promissionis; et illi qui dissolverunt cor populi ⁷⁴ , non introierunt.