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The Cosmic Vision of Hildegard of Bingen
Ecologist, The, Jan, 2000 by Stephanie Roth
"Do not mock anything God has created. All creation is simple, plain and good. And God is present throughout his creation. Why do you ever consider things beneath your notice? God's justice is to be found in every detail of what he has made. The human race alone is capable of injustice. Human beings alone are capable of disobeying God's laws, because they try to be wiser than God." - Scivas 1.2.29
Over the last few years, there has been an amazing revival in the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), the German mystic who was the forerunner of what was to become a great 'German-Flemish' mystical tradition, spanning from the 12th to the 14th century. Hildegard's 'visions' capture the imagination to this day. Like the music she composed, and which still survives, she described them as a means of "recapturing the original joy and beauty of Paradise".
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Much could be written about her extraordinary life as Mother Superior of her convents at Bingen and Rupertsberg. The surviving collection of her correspondence reveals a powerful, courageous and compassionate personality. She produced major writings on theology, natural history and medicine, as well as composing music - including a symphony. At the impressive age of 60, she set off on the first of four successful preaching tours. All this is remarkable, especially when considering that she was a woman living at times when the divisions of the world had become increasingly apparent.
The Mystical Tradition
Just like 'myth' and 'mysticism', 'mystic' is rooted in the Greek verb musteion: to close the eyes or the mouth. Mystics tend to seek union with what is closest to their heart. Theistic mystics seek a union with God but not identity. In the Apocrypha of the Old Testament, a 'mystery' was known only to the initiated (mystes). In the New Testament this 'mystery' is the revelation of the word of God.
Amongst the various types of mystic, there are those to whom nature represents a supreme truth and the strongest evidence of God's existence. This universal phenomenon can be found amongst Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Greek and Russian Orthodox - mystics, ranging as far as Chinese Taoists and Japanese Shintos. It is to this 'school' of mysticism that Hildegard of Bingen belongs.
Hildegard's Natural Vision
Hildegard saw the notion of 'Viriditas', or Greenness, penetrating every aspect of life. This 'Greenness' was the very expression of Divine power on Earth. "The Word of God regulates the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars. The Word of God gives the light which shines from the heavenly bodies. He makes the wind blow, the rivers run and the rain fall. He makes trees burst into blossom, and the crops bring forth the harvest." [1]
Since this extraordinary phenomenon called life could only be created by God, Hildegard believed, all that lives equally carried his Divine energy, or 'viritas'. In her own words:
Oh fire of the Holy Spirit,
life of the life of every creature,
holy are you in giving life to forms...
Oh boldest path,
penetrating into all places,
in the heights, on earth,
and in every abyss,
you bring and bind all together
From you clouds flow, air flies,
Rocks have their humours,
Rivers spring forth from the waters
And earth wears her green vigour
O ignis Spiritus Paracliti
This is the foundation upon which all her texts rest, whether songs, visions or natural observations.
Hildegard believed that humanity, made in God's image, was the 'recapitulation' of Creation. This has various implications. Firstly, Man was made after Creation, hence the world was not created for humankind alone. To be precise, humankind was created last in a set order, and so was inserted into an already self-sustaining environment. It is for this reason that humanity depends upon the world as a whole. Secondly, Creation and humankind are both made of the same thing - dust. [2] Because Man was made last, he unites the powers and properties of Creation. He therefore instinctively knows the limits of trespassing. Thirdly, humankind's very purpose is to glorify Creation in the name of the Lord. This entails looking after it.
To quote Hildegard: "God created the world out of the four elements, to glorify His name. He strengthened the world with the wind. He connected the world to the stars. And he filled the world with all kinds of creatures. He then put human beings throughout the world, giving them great power as stewards of all Creation. Human beings cannot live without the rest of nature, they must care for all natural things." [3]
To quote her again: "The rest of Creation cries out against the evil and perversity of the human species. Other creatures fulfil the commandments of God; they honour his laws. And other creatures do not grumble and complain at those laws. But human beings rebel against those laws, defying them in word and action. And in doing so they inflict terrible cruelty on the rest of God's creation." [4]
The image of Man being the steward of Creation, but dishonouring his position by defying the sacred order, presupposes an agreement between Man and a greater legislator -- God. During Creation, God blessed Nature (Gen. 1:22) and Mankind (Gen. 1:28). Prior to the Great Covenant, God blessed Noah. A blessing is to 'make it holy' by endowing a talent and protecting it. All these excamples imply a relationship based on agreement. This was made in the first part of Gen. 1:22 and Gen. 1:28 throughh the act of blessing; through the laying-on of hands. It is within this context that the second part of Gen. 1:22 and Gen. 1:28 reveal their meaning. Gen. 1 time and again affirms how 'good' God felt about his Creation -- why then would he want to destroy it?
