Viriditas

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Viriditas is a word used by abbess Hildegard von Bingen, by Pope Gregory I, and by science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. Its meaning as used by the former two is unclear. The latter uses it to mean "the green force of life, expanding into the Universe".

"Look at the pattern this seashell makes. The dappled whorl, curving inward to infinity. That's the shape of the universe itself. There's a constant pressure, pushing toward pattern. A tendency in matter to evolve into ever more complex forms. It's a kind of pattern gravity, a holy greening power we call viriditas, and it is the driving force in the cosmos. Life, you see." (Green Mars, page 9).

[edit] References

• Viriditas in Hildegard of Bingen and Gregory the Great. Jeannette D. Jones, Louisiana State University. Retrieved on February 4, 2005.
• Viriditas: The fifth movement of Shattering Suns. Stephen Taylor. Retrieved on February 4, 2005.