An Abbess to Hildegard
The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen Gerbstadt
An Abbess to Hildegard Before 1173 Because the "fragrance" of Hildegard's virtues has spread throughout the Church,
"even into our regions," the abbess writes the holy lady with a petition that she be included in her prayers.
To the venerable lady Hildegard, a burning and shining lamp, R., by the grace of God abbess in Gerbstadt, although unworthy, with a prayer that she run in the race until she achieves the eternal reward [cf. I Cor 9.24].
Since, as the Apostle witnesses, each member of the Church is a part of every other member [cf. Rom 12.4–5], there is much for the individual children of the Church to rejoice about, because the fame of your sanctity, flying everywhere, has spread the fragrance of your virtues throughout the whole Church.
And so wafting even into our regions, it has greatly excited our hearts to render thanks to the Author of all good. Therefore, desiring to be made a participant of your merits, I, the least among the faithful, pray as fervently as possible that I may merit to be included in your prayers. And if you will grant my petition, I promise to send my prayer promptly, worthless as it is.
Wherefore, I appeal to your nurturing nature, beloved lady, to send, with full devotion, some word for my benefit. Thus the more abundantly your memory flourishes among us, the more your goodness will rejoice us. Farewell. llOr Hildegard to the Abbess Before 1173 In this short response to the abbess, Hildegard expounds the enigmatic biblical verse "Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge" [Ps
18.3], an explication which is itself, it must be admitted, somewhat less than clear.
Daughter of God, rise up in the nighttime through the four elements, which fulfill all works during the day. Night brings sadness through darkness, and day, joy through light. For it is written: "Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge" [Ps 18.3].
The Letters
Here is the meaning of this Scripture: God is the day that never grows dark and never changes through the times and the seasons. And God chose the day for Himself, that is, the bright light from the light, because He made His creature, that is, man, whole with all things that were present to Him. But the serpent came and puffed up the woman through his eloquence, and she accepted it and inclined to the serpent. And what she tasted from the serpent she gave to the man [cf. Gen 3.1–6], and this has remained in the man, because man does all works fully. God did not command this to be done, but the serpent deceived the woman through his false and deceitful words. In this way the serpent passed on the taste of the flesh, and it is as slippery and fickle and false as the counsel of the serpent is. For the serpent, in his falseness, hid his evil will toward mankind, since man would never have consented to his counsel if he had known that perdition lay in store for him. And just as man has the knowledge of good and evil, so the serpent has a fraudulent and evil nature. But the swift hart and the strong lion in his den1 had the means to cut the one off from the other. For God chose a virginal material in which He prepared humanity for His Word, because the Virgin knows no contamination of the taste of the flesh, and so the Word of God took on a foreign nature, that is, became man. So Christ the man lived on earth from day to day, and in this way He deceived the serpent that had cursed the man. For Christ the day conquered all poisonous things of the night, because, with amending penitence, He washed away the taste of the flesh that the serpent had put into man through his trickery. In this way He invests man with a foreign nature, when He gathers His own to Himself. Also, the serpent frequently harms many people through the fraudulence that conceals his malice, causing them to become doubtful, as if unaware that God exists, and thus he cuts them off without faith and without hope. Yet many people fight against this attitude, saying: My destruction will not come from my Creator, but from my own sins. This fight is like the torments endured by the martyrs and the pains suffered by the wounded Christ.
The first woman was the aforesaid night, and she showed knowledge to the night [cf Ps 18.3], that is, to the man. But you, O daughter of God, make yourself beautiful with the martyrdom of good work, so that your soul may shine in God.
Note 1. That is, the Divinity.