Dear Sharon (if I may),

Belated but sincere thanks for the kind response which you sent off the
list to my 'challenge'! I have now checked my materials again, and am quite
embarassed to find that my whole intervention had been completely wrong. 

The motif in question, the complaints of sun, moon and stars, earth, sea
and 'waters' about the sins of mankind, is in fact a genuine element of the
Visio Pauli and is developed there even at great length. It occurs right at
the beginning of the Latin tradition, in the earliest extant Latin
manuscript, Paris, B.N., nouv. acqu., lat. 1631 (8th cent.), which is a
witness (together with St. Gall 317 not yet checked by me) of the 'full
Long Latin version' L1 ("L-one") in the classification developed by
Silverstein. It is part of the opening words addressed by God to Paulus. I
quote from M. R. James, Apocrypha Anecdota, Cambridge 1893, p.11-13 (I have
broken down the text into paragraphs):

  3  Qui dum in <cor>pore essem <in>quo raptus sum usque ad tercium celum,
et factum est uerbum domini <ad> me dicens: Loquere populo huic: Vsque quo
delinquetis et apponitis peccatum super peccatum, et temptatis dominum qui
uos fecit? [p.12:] Vos estis filii dei, opera diaboli facientes in fiducia
Christi propter impedimenta mundi. Memoramini ergo et cognoscite quia omnis
creatura seruiens deo, humanum autem genus solum peccat. Imperat autem omni
facture, et plus quam omnis natura peccat. 
   4  Multum etenim sol quidem, luminare magnum, interpellauit dominum
dicens: Domine deus omnipotens, ego prospicio super impietates et
iniusticias hominum: permitte me et faciam eis, <que> sunt uirtutes meae,
ut cognoscant quia tu es solus deus. Et fact est uox ad eum dicens: Haec
omnia noui; oculus enim meus uidet et auris audit, sed paciencia mea
sustinet eos dum ad usque conuertertentes peniteantur. Sin uero non
reuertuntur ad me omnes ego iudicabo.
   5  Nonnunquam enim luna et stelle interpellauerunt dominum dicentes:
Domine deus omnipotens, nobis dedisti potestatem noctis: usque quo
respiciemus super impietates et fornicaciones et homicidia quas faciunt
filiihominum? permitte nobis ut faciamus in eis, quae sunt uirtutes
nostrae, ut cognoscant quia tu es deus solus. Et facta est uox ad eos
dicens: Ego omnia agnosco haec, et oculus meus prospicitet auris audit, sed
paciencia mea sustinet eos dum ad usque conuertantur et peniteant. sin uero
non reuertuntur ad me, ego eos iudicabo.
   6  Et frequenter etiam mare exclamauit dicens: Domine deus omnipotens,
intaminauerunt homines sanctum nomen tuum in me; permitteme exurgam et
cooperiam omnem siluam et arbusta et omnem mundum, donec deleam omnes
filios hminum a facie tua, ut cognoscant quoniam tu es deus solus. Et facta
est iterum uox et dixit: Noui omnia; oculus enim meus uidet cuncta et auris
audit, sed paciencia mea sustinet eos dum ad usque conuertantur et
peniteant. Sin uero non reuertuntur, ego eos iudicabo. 
   Nonnunquam et aquae interpellauerunt aduerus filios hominum dicentes:
Domine deus omnipotens, fili hominum contaminauerunt omnes sanctum nomen
tuum. Et facta est uox dicens: Ego agnosco omnia priusquam fierent, oculus
enim meus uidet et auris audit omnia, sed paciencia mea sustinet eos dum ad
usque conuertantur. Sin minus, ego iudicab<o>. 
   Frequenter etiam [p.13:] et terra exclamauit ad dominum aduersus filios
hominum dicens: Domine deus omnipotens, ego super omnem creaturam tuam
noceor supportans fornicationes adulteria homicidia furta periuria magia
maleficia hominum et omnia mala quae faciunt, ita ut pater wxurgat in
filium et filius super patrem [cf. Mt 10,34; Lc 12,51-53], alienigena super
alienigenam, ut coinquinet unusquisque mulierem proximi sui. Pater ascendit
super cubile filii sui, et filius similiter ascendit stratum patris sui: et
in his omnibus malis coinquinauerunt sanctum locum tuum qui offerant
hostiam nomini tuo. Propterea ego noceor super omnem creaturam, nolens et
mihi pre<bere> uirtutem meam et fruc<us> meos filiis hominum. Permitte mihi
et contera<m> uirtutem fructuum m<eorum>. Et facta est uox et dixit: Ego
omnia noui, et non est qui possit abscondere se a peccato suo. Impietates
autem eorum ego agnosco: sed mea sanctitas patitur eos dum adusque
conuertantur et peniteant. Sin uero non reuertantur ad me, ego eos iudicabo.
   7  Videte, filii hominum; subdita creatura deo est; humanum autem genus
solum peccat.

It is absent, though, in those shorter Latin versions which I have at hand
in editions by Herman Brandes, _Visio S. Pauli. Ein Beitrag zur
Visionslitteratur mit einem deutschen und zwei lateinischen Texten_, Halle:
Niemeyer, 1885, and Theodore Silverstein, "The Vision of Saint Paul: New
Links and Patterns in the Western Tradition", AHDL 34 (1959 [i.e. 1960]),
p.199-248. But I have not yet compared with Theodore Silverstein, _Visio
Sancti Pauli. The History of the Apocalypse in Latin together with Nine
Texts_, London 1935 (= Studies and Docu
ments, 4), which is the more important edition and study based on ca. fifty
manuscripts, to which Silverstein 1959 adds only eight new findings.

I cannot explain why I was so damned sure that the motif does not occur in
the Visio Pauli. Bad memory combined with hubrys, I presume. Apologies to
you and to the whole list.

  Otfried

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