Why does Hildegards view of the Cosmos change from the egg-shape in Scivias to a wheel in Liber diuinorum operum?
[back to contents] In Scivias (1141-1151) Hildegard describes the cosmos as egg shaped. In the Liber diuinorum operum (1163-1173) she describes it as a wheel. Hildegard explains that ” the shape of the world exists everlastingly in the knowledge of [true Caritas] which is God ” The discrepancy exists because neither egg nor wheel provide a satisfactory analogy. The egg was used in Scivias to reveal the distinct elements which make up the world. The wheel is better suited for describing both the circumference and right measurement of those same elements. Hildegard then concludes that a ball is yet a better analogy.(LDO, 1.2.3, 66.) Sabina Flanigan, in noting these clarifications points out that Hildegard compared her works prior to the LDO to those of the Old Testament Prophets. Their works were but shadows of true meaning that were not fully revealed until after the Incarnation. But reason gives utterance and the sound is like thought and the work like a deed. And from this shadow the
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