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." Notes References Barbara Newman (1998). Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World. Berkeley: University of California Press. Anne H. King-Lenzmeier (2001). Hildegard of Bingen: An Integrated Vision. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. Further reading Sweet, Victoria (2006). Rooted in the Earth, Rooted in the Sky: Hildegard of Bingen and Premodern Medicine (Studies in Medieval History and Culture), Routledge. Catholic theology and doctrine Hildegard of Bingen