Many people know the eleventh century Catholic saint, Hildegard of Bingen, as simply a composer. But she was also a proto-scientist. In her poetical science—based on the notion that cosmic order unfolds in the harmonious interplay of natural elements within the world— Hildegard described the world as a wondrous ecosystem of personality, with each element playing its role in a king of cosmic dance. Consider this beautiful passage where Hildegard is describing how the synergy of the four winds is paradigmatic of the symphony of harmonies by which the universe is sustained.
The four cardinal winds support the firmament below and above the level of the sun. They hold together the whole cosmos from the lower to the upper part of the firmament and cover it like a cloak. The east wind embraces the air and dispenses gentle moisture to the dry regions. The west wind mingles with the floating clouds, to sustain the waters and prevent them from bursting forth. The south wind keeps the fire under its control and prevents it from burning up everything. The north wind controls the outer areas of darkness, so that they do not exceed their measure. These four winds are the wings of the power of God. If they were all set in motion at the same time they would confuse the elements and break apart; they would agitate the sea and dry up all the waters.
But now they are securely locked by the keys of God’s majesty so that the elements are held in moderation in order that they will not cause harm to anyone, except at the end of the world when all things will be purified. Afterward they will bring their song back into harmony.” Selected Writings: Hildegard of Bingen, p. 98.
What a beautiful description of how the winds and other elements in God’s create cooperate to achieve harmony. Why can’t modern science give us anything of comparative beauty? And notice her eschatological focus, and particularly the words she used for describing the renewed earth (“bring their song back into harmony”). In his editorial notes, translator Mark Artherton notes that “The Latin reads ‘cantum in symphonia ferent’ which connects this idea with Hildegard’s ‘Symphonia’, and the notion of heavenly harmony in her theology of music. In her poetic science, the harmonious cooperation of the winds is a picture of the harmony in the eschaton, the foretastes of which we experience now through music.