Shambhala, Sachbücher, Secrets of God: Writings of Hildegard of Bingen (Englisch, Hildegard of Bingen, 1996)

A unique glimpse into the mind of the 12-century visionary Hildegard of Bingen through her &ldquo creative and insightful&rdquo writings on medicine, spirituality, and more (Booklist) Visionary, mystic, poet, musician, naturalist, healer, theologian&mdash the Rhineland nun Hildegard of Bingen (1098&ndash 1179) was a Renaissance woman long before there was a Renaissance. This is the first book in English to offer a representative selection of writings from all of her amazing range of work. Hildegard wrote many volumes on subjects from mystical vision to sexuality, from theology to natural medicine&mdash in letters, treatises, poetry, and songs&mdash all in an age when few women wrote more than an occasional letter. She was a woman of extraordinary influence whose work not only surpassed that of her male contemporaries in its range, but also outshone them in visionary beauty and intellectual power. This collection includes a brief biography of Hildegard, and selections from the following works: &bull Scivias (literally, &ldquo know the ways&rdquo ), the record of Hildegard's visions and her commentary on them &bull The Book of Life's Merits, visionary work &bull The Book of Divine Works, a work of cosmology and anthropology &bull Natural History, a record of plants, animals, and minerals, translated here into English for the first time &bull Causes and Cures, a compendium of her writing on natural medicine &bull Symphonia, her songs and poetry &bull Biographical works &bull Selected letters.