Rising And Falling

Sicut humor subtilis per exhaltationes a terra sursum rapitur, sic intellectus cordis humani per meditationes et scrutationes subtilis effectus ad alta levatur. Et quemadmodum humor ascends frigore praestringitur, et relabitur unde venerat, sic multi ab intelligentia summorum per ignorantiam cadunt, propterea quod in bonis quae intelligere poterant agendis per desidiam torpescunt. Sed lapsus nivis nec strepitum facit, nec laedit; lapsus et grandinis et strepitum facit, et pondere laedit: quia multi torpent a bono, et nocent in malo; alii torpentes sunt, non nocentes. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I Tit XXI, De Impedimento Cognitionis Source: Migne PL 177.489c

As a subtle vapour is carried up above by exhalations from the earth, so the understanding of the human heart is lifted up to the heights by the performance of meditations and acute contemplation, but as that rising vapour may be gripped by cold and fall back down to where it came, so many fall from the understanding of high things by ignorance, and because of this, becoming slothful in the good deeds they were able to understand, they grow cold. But as snow falls without a sound and does no harm, and then hail falls noisely and hurts because of its weight, so many who grow cold in good turn to doing harm in evil, while others who grow cold are not harmful at all. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chap 21, On The Obstruction of Understanding