Wisdom of Solomon 6

Wisdom is better etc., as if to say: since the powerful who lack understanding are treated in this way, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, "always rightly governs the soul"; than the strength of the body, which often casts one headlong into sins: Ecclesiastes 9: "I said that wisdom is better than strength." And a prudent man, in human affairs, according to the Gloss, not only in eloquence: more than a strong man: Gloss: "In body." Whence one ought not to glory in such strength, according to that saying from Jeremiah 9: "Let not the strong man glory in his strength."

Hear therefore, etc., as if to say: since wisdom is so useful, hear therefore, with the outward hearing, O kings: Gloss: "Prelates"; and understand, with the inward hearing: Proverbs 1: "A wise man hearing shall be yet wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governance": Matthew 13: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth, that is, of distinct lands or provinces. Kings are called prelates by directing toward the good; judges, by discerning between good and evil. Learn, I say, wisdom, because it is necessary for judges: whence Deuteronomy 1: "Give from among you wise and knowledgeable men."

Give ear, namely both the outward and inward ear, you who restrain, by holding back from evil, the multitudes of peoples committed to your care: Proverbs 14: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." And you delight in yourselves among the throngs of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies: against which Gregory says in the Pastoral Rule: "As often as a prelate delights in ruling over men, so often does he fall into the crime of apostasy."

And you ought to listen, because power was given to you by the Lord: whence Romans thirteen: "There is no power except from God": power: Gloss: "Judiciary on earth," namely as regards the definition of the sentence: John nineteen: "You would have no power against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above." And strength: Gloss: "Of punishing," as regards the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil cases, strength in criminal cases. From the Most High, namely God established above us: Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who will examine: Gloss: "In judgment"; Luke sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Your works, namely exterior ones: Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "All things that are done, God will bring into judgment," etc. For he did not so give power that he would not demand an account; therefore Sirach eighteen: "Before judgment examine yourself, and before God you will find propitiation." And he will search out thoughts, that is, interior works: Gloss: "As one about to judge concerning all things"; above, chapter one: "There will be an inquisition into the thoughts of the ungodly." He will search out: Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps"; nor will he only search out, but he will also make manifest: whence First Corinthians four: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts."

It should be noted, moreover, that a threefold examination will be made of the prelate: first, how he entered: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you enter here," etc. Second, how he lived: Isaiah twenty-two: "What are you doing here? Or as who are you here?" Third, how he ruled and guarded the flock entrusted to him: Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your glorious cattle?"

The Father reigns, the Son reigns, the Holy Spirit reigns. Of the Father the Gospel says, "If one is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Of the Son it is said, "Say to the peoples, 'The Lord reigned from the wood.' " In Solomon it is said of the Holy Spirit, "Your sovereignty comes from the Holy Spirit." And then, "Though you are ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly."

I have rightly said that he will examine etc.: and deservedly so, since, when you were ministers, not lords, of his kingdom, that is, of the Church Militant: 1 Peter 5: "Not as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart"; likewise 1 Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ" etc. You did not judge rightly, namely others: whence Isaiah 1: "They do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "They did not judge the cause of the widow, they did not direct the cause of the orphan." Neither did you keep the law of justice, namely in yourselves: in the Psalm: "They did not keep the covenant of God, and in his law they refused to walk"; Isaiah 59: "Judgment is turned backward, and justice has stood afar off"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "These have rather broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds." Neither did you walk according to the will of God, sinning against God: Jeremiah 7: "They went after the pleasures and the depravity of their evil heart."

Or it can be said that he touches upon the threefold manner in which a sentence is called unjust: first, from the cause, namely when no just cause underlies it; second, from the procedure, as when the order of law is not observed; third, from the intention, as when one proceeds against someone with a corrupt intention: against which it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall justly pursue what is just."

Dreadfully, that is, terribly: Hebrews 10: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God": and swiftly he will appear to you: whence Zephaniah 1: "Near is the great day of the Lord, and exceedingly swift." And although the day of the general judgment be far off, yet the day of the particular judgment, that is, of death, is near: whence Ecclesiasticus 38: "Remember my judgment, for so also shall yours be: yesterday for me and today for you." And truly he will appear dreadfully to you prelates, for a most severe judgment shall be upon those who are set over others. Hard indeed, because they entered badly; harder, because they undertook badly; hardest, because they ruled badly. Or: hard on account of the sins of their subjects; harder on account of the sins of their ministers; hardest on account of the multitude and enormity of their own sins.

Prelates will be punished more harshly than others, first by reason of what was entrusted, according to that of Luke 12: "To whom they have entrusted more, more will they demand from him." By reason of sin, because, other things being equal, the sin of a prelate is graver than that of a subject: Jeremiah 5: "These have broken the yoke all the more" etc. By reason of harm, because namely they corrupt others by their example: Gregory: "When the pastor walks through steep places, it is necessary that the flock follow into the precipice." By reason of scandal, because they scandalize the Church: whence Malachi 2: "You have scandalized very many in the law." By reason of judgment, because namely they are not judged here, according to that of the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned" etc.; and therefore in the future they will be judged more harshly both all at once and totally, according to that of 2 Maccabees 6: "For the Lord does not wait patiently, as with other nations, so that when the day of judgment has come, he may punish them in the fullness of their sins." By reason of office, because they also sin by exercising their office unworthily: Romans 2: "In that you judge another, you condemn yourself."

For to the little one, that is, to the weak and humble: whence the Gloss: "To those who have sinned through ignorance, or frailty, or necessity, and have blotted it out by humble penance": mercy is granted: Gloss: "The remission of sins," as regards punishment, whether wholly or in part, here or in the future: Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look but to the poor little one" etc. But the mighty, that is, those who have abused their power unto sin, shall suffer torments mightily, that is, strongly inflicted, on account of sins, because for their own sins and those of their subjects: whence Numbers 25: "Take all the princes and hang them up on gibbets against the sun"; likewise 3 Kings 20: "Guard this man, who if he shall have escaped, your life shall be for his life"; likewise Ezekiel 32: "The mightiest of the strong shall speak to him from the midst of hell."

"The powerful will be severely tormented" and "To one whom much has been given, much will be required." This refers in particular to priests. If they do not want to listen, guarding their hearts so as to glorify the Lord's name by their good conduct, but instead people curse his name because of them, God will deprive them of every good and turn their blessing into a curse. Those who abuse their health in licentious behavior and corrupt their good name with sordid conduct change God's blessings into curses.

"Their destiny will be of no benefit to them," because what is of benefit is not the mere fact of sitting in the presbytery but living a life worthy of that position, as the Word demands. The Word requires a good life from both you and from us, but if it is true that "the mighty will be mightily tested," then more is demanded of me than of a deacon, more of a deacon than of a layperson, and of the one entrusted with ecclesial power, even more is demanded.

Tell me: Where are the kings? Where are the princes? Where are the rich? Where is their gold and their splendor? "All has passed like a shadow." Their gold, their silver and their pomp have remained in the world, while they are endlessly tormented in hell, where their worm will never die and their fire will never go out, since it is written, "The powerful will be severely tormented." Down there they will live forever in darkness, in a dwelling without light. Down there the miserable will be with the miserable, the proud with the proud, murderers with murderers, adulterers with adulterers, the impious with the impious, liars with liars, those who commit sacrilege with others like them—all will be tormented together, forever, in hell.

For the Lord will not withdraw, namely from punishment and torment, the person of anyone, namely of the small or the great, out of private affection: Ezekiel eighteen: "I will judge each one according to his ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord." "God is not a respecter of persons," Acts ten. Then he gives the reason, saying: Who is, that is, because He is, the ruler of all; Revelation nineteen: "King of kings and Lord of lords." Nor will He fear the greatness of anyone, namely out of fear, because He Himself is "the great Lord and a great king above all gods," as is said in the Psalm, and again: "Of His greatness there is no end"; whence He surpasses beyond all proportion every other greatness. Because He Himself made the small and the great: Malachi two: "Is there not one father of us all? Has not one God created us?" And because He created all, therefore He will judge all, the small as well as the great, as His creatures: Revelation twenty: "I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the sight of the throne." And He has equal care of all.

Against this: First Corinthians nine: "Does God have care for oxen?" as if to say: no.

It must be said that the care of discipline belongs to God only with respect to rational creatures; but the care of providence belongs to Him with respect to all things.

But if His care of providence is equal with respect to the good and the wicked, then it makes no difference to Him whether one is good or evil.

I respond: it must be said that he speaks of natural providence, not of gratuitous providence. Or: equally, that is, similarly.

And although His care of all things is equal, nevertheless He will not punish all equally.

The rich person does not easily attain riches of the soul, that is, the virtues of this world. He who says, "It is more difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven" is clearly saying that it is easier for a poor person to do so. So that the poor person does not imagine that he has been excluded from God's care because of his poverty, the prophet testifies, saying, "I created the poor and the rich, and I care for all alike." "God does not make distinctions between persons." And it does not say that he cares only for the rich with respect to worldly goods but for everyone. He cares for the poor as well, and he will reward anyone who has been humble in riches or patient in poverty.

The prophet Isaiah says, "Then the wolf and the lamb will pasture together. The leopard will lie down with the kid. The ox, the lion and the lamb will eat hay together. And a little child will guide them." And David says, "See, the kings of the earth have assembled and joined together. They saw and were amazed." And again he says, "Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high and looks down on earthly things? Who raises the indigent from the earth and lifts the poor from the dust, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people?" And also Solomon says, "He has made the small and the great, and he cares for all alike." And he says further, "Wisdom has built her house, with seven pillars as its foundation. She has sacrificed her victims, prepared her wine in its cup and spread her table. She has sent out her servants, calling out and saying, 'Come, eat my bread and drink the wine that I have prepared for you.' " The Lord confirms this in the Gospel, with the parable of the banquet prepared by the powerful rich man for his son. "He sent his servants to tell those who had been invited to come, and they excused themselves. One said, 'I have bought a field and I am going to see it, please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have bought five pairs of oxen.' And another, 'I have just taken a wife.' " In these three excuses we have "the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes and worldly show," which detained the Jews and kept them from coming to Christ's table, to which they had been invited. "Go," says the father, "into the plazas and the streets and bring to me those whom you find." The pagans were thus brought in. "There is still room," says the servant. The father responds, "Go along the hedgerows and the byways, and force those you find to come in." Among these are the rich, kings and certain heretics who have left the Lord's flock, who are constrained to come by him who says, "No one can come to me if the Father who sent me does not draw him." And to those who come he says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." The apostle Paul shows who these are when he says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, nor slave nor free person, nor man nor woman. All of you, in fact, are one person in Christ Jesus." The verses of the Sibyl, which we cited above, confirm this: "I will lower the hills and raise the valleys from their depths. There will no longer be anything sublime or exalted among what is human." Maro, in agreement with the Sibyl, says, "Nor will the herds fear the great lions."

However, in the sense of "but." For the stronger, in evil, a stronger torment awaits, in punishment, as is evident in Lucifer and the other demons.

No one is entirely without the gifts of God, but one will be inclined to this virtue and another to that. One to more virtue, another to less. One to the more elevated and supereminent virtues, another to those that are humble and modest. God has distributed to each according to the measure of his faith. The powerful will therefore be examined severely, and "of the one to whom much has been entrusted, much will be required." Of each person will be demanded, in fact, according to the measure in which he has been entrusted by God's power. And the benefactor knows his recipient: "Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes."

Because a stronger torment awaits the stronger, to you therefore, O kings etc: Gloss: "Having finished the discourse to the mighty, he turns his exhortation to the rulers of the Church": Gloss: "O kings, that is, rulers of the Church, or all those to whom the governance of their souls has been entrusted". To you are these my words, namely concerning the pursuit and love of wisdom: whence it follows: that you may learn wisdom: Gloss: "Divine", not worldly: concerning both, First Corinthians chapter three: "If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may be wise". These words, to be heard and retained and fulfilled in deed, according to that passage of Jeremiah chapter fifteen: "Your words were found, and I ate them". And do not fall away, namely from justice "through transgression of the commandments of God", according to the Gloss. For wisdom is the salt that preserves from the corruption of sin: but neglect of wisdom causes one to fall into sin: whence Proverbs chapter seventeen: "He who avoids learning will fall into evils", that is, into the evil of guilt and into the evil of punishment.

And rightly did I say: that you may learn wisdom, lest you fall away from justice: for they who have kept justice, which is the way to wisdom, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus chapter one: "Son, if you desire wisdom, keep justice"; shall be justly judged, Gloss: "They shall receive the reward of their justice", namely in good: whence Isaiah chapter three: "Say to the just man that it is well: for he shall eat the fruit of his doings"; likewise Ezekiel chapter eighteen: "The justice of the just shall be upon him"; Luke chapter six: "With what measure you shall measure" etc. And they who shall have learned, namely through wisdom, just things: Gloss: "Right faith and works": shall find what to answer, namely at the judgment concerning sins charged against them: Habakkuk chapter two: "I will stand upon my watch etc., and I will contemplate, that I may see what is said to me, and what I may answer to him who reproves me".

Desire therefore etc. Since wisdom is so useful that it causes one not to fall from justice, etc.: desire therefore my words, to be heard concerning wisdom: Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me." And love them, namely those already heard, according to that word of the Psalm: "I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz," etc. And you shall have discipline, namely through my very words: the Gloss: "He who loves wisdom preserves discipline in his conduct," according to that word of John fourteen: "If you love me, keep my commandments."

"Resplendent and unfading is wisdom—with whom there is no change, no shadow of alteration—and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of man's desire." And so, she appears unchanging in the rules of divine Law that bind us. These rules filling the rational mind with splendid light are all the ways by which the mind knows and judges that which could not be otherwise, the fact that the supreme Principle must be supremely venerated, that the supreme Truth must be supremely believed in and assented to, and that the supreme Good must be supremely desired and loved. And in these wisdom is seen, for they are so certain that they could not be otherwise.

She is bright. Here he shows the ease of acquiring wisdom: first by this, that she is bright for seeing; second, because she is ready to show herself: She anticipates; third, because she is near for approaching: He who watches for her at dawn, etc.

She is bright, etc., as if to say: you ought to desire her, because wisdom is bright: namely by her own beauty and self-evidence, because she is light: whence below in chapter seven: "I purposed to have her for my light." And she never fades, that is, she never falls from her beauty: whence the Gloss: "The beauty of wisdom is unfading." For she is not subject to time, but is above time, as divine wisdom. And easily, etc., as if to say: nor should one despair of acquiring her, because she is easily seen, namely by the eye of the intellect, by those who love her, namely with affection: whence John fourteen: "He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him." For love purges and illuminates the interior eye for seeing: whence Ecclesiasticus two: "You who fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be illuminated." And she is found by those who seek her, in effect: Luke eleven: "Seek, and you shall find," namely if she is sought where she ought to be sought. For she "is not found in the land of those who live pleasantly," Job twenty-eight, but in the harshness of sustenance and penance; whence Daniel found wisdom by the merit of his abstinence, as is clear from Daniel one.

Do you want to love? Love wisdom, desire fervently to acquire it. Put the inner person in order, so that its appearance will not horrify you. As lustful eyes seek the beauty of the body, so you should seek that of the heart. And this beauty will not come from your riches, because wisdom hates the proud and those who in some way or another want to boast of what they have. "What do you have that has not been given to you?" Wisdom will give you what pleases her. Love her greatly, and she will care for you. "Hold her close and she will exalt you, honor her and she will embrace you. She will put a graceful crown on your head." "Wisdom is radiant and unfading; she is easily contemplated by those who love her and found by those who seek her."

"Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of man's desire." And so, she appears unchanging in the rules of divine Law that bind us. These rules are beyond error, doubt, and judgment, for judgment is by them, and not of them. Hence such wisdom is clear. They are also beyond change, restriction, and cancellation; hence such wisdom never wastes away. For these rules are so certain that they cannot be contradicted in any way. For they are rooted in Eternal Light and lead to it. And indeed such wisdom irradiates the soul: "sitting by his gate, she hastens to make herself known by anticipation."

She anticipates, namely before she is found by the zeal of the seeker: the Gloss: "Offering herself freely: for she herself is the way, the truth, and the life, whence through her one goes to her and arrives." She anticipates, I say, that is, she goes before those who desire her, so that she may first show herself to them: because they would not come before her unless they were first come before and illuminated by her, just as the light of the sun illuminates in order to be seen itself: Bernard: "True wisdom, which is Christ, can be found, but cannot be anticipated."

Who from the light etc. I have rightly said that she is found by those who seek her, because who from the light, that is, as soon as the light rises for him: Gloss: "From the beginning of the shining of faith," not from the night, as sinners always remaining in the night, but as the just, of whom Proverbs 4: "The path of the just is as a shining light" etc.: First Thessalonians 5: "You are all children of the light." Shall have watched for her, against negligence: Proverbs 8: "They who watch for me in the morning shall find me." Shall not labor, because the sweetness of the thing sought and found will alleviate the labor: Sirach 6: "In her work you shall labor but little, and soon you shall eat of her fruits." For sitting etc., that is, in quiet and without motion ready to enter, just as the ray of the sun sits at a closed window. Sitting, I say, at his doors, namely the spiritual ones, namely the intellect and the affections: he shall find her: Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock" etc. She herself also has doors through which one enters to her: whence Proverbs 8: "Blessed is the man who hears me and watches at my doors daily": which are faith and charity: through faith the intellect enters to her, through charity the affections.

The Lord adds, "Because they do not know the one who sent me." These words are said concerning that knowledge about which it is written elsewhere, "To know you is perfect wisdom." Those who have this knowledge of the Father, by whom Christ was sent, absolutely cannot persecute the ones whom Christ gathers, because they themselves, along with the others, have been gathered by Christ.

The benefit in the present is shown to be fourfold: first, understanding in the rational faculty; second, security in the irascible faculty; third, gladness in the concupiscible faculty; and fourth, foresight of future things.

To think therefore upon her: as if to say: she is given not only to one who watches and seeks, but even to think upon her, not with a simple thought, but an affective one: whence the Gloss: "With the desire of divine contemplation": Sirach 14: "Blessed is the man who shall dwell in wisdom, etc., and in his understanding shall think upon the circumspection of God": is perfect understanding, that is, complete, because wisdom perfects the understanding of man, because, according to Hugh of Saint Victor, "wisdom is that in which the form of the perfect good consists." Or: To think upon her is perfect understanding, that is, then the understanding is perfectly ordered when it devotes itself to wisdom, according to that saying of Augustine: "The end of man on the way is to seek truth perfectly." And he who shall have watched: Gloss: "With intention of mind," on account of her, to acquire or to guard her, shall quickly be secure, namely from evil: "because the attainment of her is true security," according to the Gloss: Proverbs 11: "He who guards against snares shall be secure." This is the good security, of which Proverbs 15: "A secure mind is like a continual feast."

God, through his hidden power, impresses an impetus on the entire universe of his creatures. And it is precisely in virtue of this impetus that every creature is set in motion—when the angels carry out God's orders, when the stars complete their orbit; when the winds blow now in one direction, now in another, when the abyss is stirred up by rushing waters and by condensed, swirling vapors in the air; when the vegetable kingdom germinates and its seeds develop, when animals are born and pass their lives according to their proper instincts; and when the wicked are allowed to torment the righteous. Thus God unfurls the ages that he had rolled up, so to speak, in the primordial creation. Those ages would not have followed their course if he who created them were to cease his providential government over them. The beings that grow and are born in time should teach us how we are to think of these things. Not without reason, in fact, does Scripture say that Wisdom "benevolently appears" to those who love her, "in their ways, and meets them with her unfailing providence." Moreover, we should not listen to those who think that divine providence governs only the highest regions of the world, those on the outer edge of (that is, above) our atmosphere, which is denser; but that the lowest part—the earth and the sea, and the earthly atmosphere that is closer and thus permeated with humidity because of evaporation from the land and the sea (and in which winds and clouds are formed)—is rather ruled by chance, agitated by random movements. Against these the psalm speaks that, after having praised the heavenly beings, turns its attention to those of earth and says, "Praise the Lord of the earth, you sea monsters and all you deeps. Fire and hail, snow and ice, storm winds which fulfill his command."

The whole world is a way leading to the exemplar. As you notice that a ray of light coming in through a window is colored according to the shades of the different panes, so the divine ray shines differently in each creature and in the various properties. Hence, in Wisdom: "She appears to them in the ways." Again, it is a trace of God's wisdom. Wherefore the creature exists only as a kind of imitation of God's wisdom, as a certain plastic representation of it.

For those worthy of herself: as if to say: I have rightly said that he will quickly be free from care, for those worthy of herself, namely those clean of heart and body: whence above in the first chapter: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter" etc. She goes about seeking, that is, from every side continuously offering herself and unceasingly: which unceasingness and continuity is given to be understood through what it says: she goes about: for rectilinear motion cannot be continued in the way that circular motion can. Thus incarnate Wisdom went about through the villages, as is evident from Mark 6. And in their ways, namely in precepts and counsels observed: concerning which, Proverbs 3: "Her ways are beautiful ways, and her paths are peaceful": she shows herself to them, according to that word of the Psalm: "From your commandments I have understood": cheerfully, gladdening them, namely in this, that she gives herself to them freely: 2 Corinthians 9: "God loves a cheerful giver," as does man also: whence Seneca: "The more delay you add, the more you subtract from the favor." And in all providence, concerning future things, perfectly providing for them the things necessary for salvation: she meets them; the Gloss: "As helper," just as incarnate Wisdom, rising again, met the women, as is recorded in Matthew 28.

How truly precious is the Holy Spirit, the good sovereign! Thus we receive baptism in the Father, in the Son and in the Holy Spirit! He fights against many demons who attack those who are still burdened by the body with beastly ferocity. But that demon whom so many are unable to bind with iron chains has often been conquered by the recitation of a single prayer, through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within: the mere breath of the exorcist, like a fire, puts him to flight, and he disappears. God, therefore, has given us a mighty ally for the battle, a true protector—a great Teacher for the church, a great defender for each of us. We need not fear demons or the devil, because the one who fights for us is stronger. Let us open the door that he would come to meet us, "seeking those who are worthy of him" and desiring to give us his gifts.

The manner in which such wisdom is obtained is clearly seen from authority and through examples. As to the former, the Book of Wisdom reads: "For the first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for her; then, care for discipline is love of her; love means the keeping of her laws; to observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility; and incorruptibility makes one close to God; thus the desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom. If, then, you find pleasure in throne and scepter, you princes of the peoples, honor Wisdom, that you may reign forever." But discipline is twofold: scholastic and personal, the latter concerning ethics. And scholastic discipline without personal discipline is insufficient for wisdom: for a man becomes wise not merely by listening: he must also conform. A sick man is not healed by listening to a physician: he must follow his prescription. But few walk along that way of wisdom, hence few ever reach it.

Here are touched upon the steps of glory to be acquired through wisdom. The first step, that is, the beginning of wisdom, is the desire for discipline; from the desire for discipline, love; from love, the keeping of the law of God; from the keeping of the divine law, incorruption of mind and nearness to the divine likeness; from the divine likeness, the glory of the heavenly kingdom: therefore from the first, from the desire for wisdom, heavenly glory is obtained.

For the beginning of it, namely of wisdom: as if to say: thus wisdom meets and shows herself. Nor is her showing and meeting useless. For, in the sense of because: the beginning of it, namely that by which a man begins to become wise: "for no one suddenly becomes the highest," as the Gloss says: is the truest for discipline, that is, for wisdom, desire. Concerning this desire it is said in the Psalm: "My soul has longed to desire" etc. For the desire for wisdom is itself a certain part of wisdom, according to that word of Sirach 6: "If you love to listen, you will be wise."

But it seems that fear, and not love, is the beginning of wisdom, because it is said in Sirach 1: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord."

It must be said that fear is the first beginning, but love is the proximate beginning; or: fear is the extrinsic beginning, love the intrinsic beginning.

Most true: but the desire is called here in contrast to the threefold vain desire, of which it is said in First John 2: "All that is in the world is either the desire of the flesh" etc., which arises from the threefold vanity, of which Ecclesiastes 1 says: "Vanity of vanities" etc.

God created human beings and wanted that they remain incorruptible. But people, becoming careless, abandoned the contemplation of God, imagining and inventing evil.… Thus they received the sentence of death, which had been threatened them beforehand. Afterward, they were no longer in the state in which they had been created but were subject to corruption in conformity with their thoughts, and death dominated and reigned over them. In fact, the transgression of the precept returned them to their nature, and given that they came into existence out of nonexistence, it makes sense that in the course of time they would be subject to a corruption that tends to nonexistence. Indeed, if at one time their nature was nonexistence, and they were called into existence thanks to the presence and the goodness of the Word, it follows that human beings, now deprived of the knowledge of God and tending toward nonexistence (evil, in fact, does not exist, whereas good does exist because it was created by God, who is), would also be deprived of external existence. This is what it means to remain in death and corruption after decomposition. Human beings are mortal by nature, because they were made from nothing. But if they had preserved their likeness to him who is, by contemplating him, they would have diminished their natural corruption and become incorruptible, as Wisdom says: "Respect for laws is the guarantee of incorruptibility." Being incorruptible, they would have lived like God, as a passage of the divine Scripture declares: "I said, You are gods and all children of the Most High. But you will die like human beings and fall like one of the princes."

Care therefore, as if to say: since it is the case that the desire for discipline is the beginning of wisdom, therefore care for discipline, that is, the desire for discipline, is love, that is, the cause of love for wisdom itself: for what we desire, we love when we possess it. And note that he calls wisdom and discipline the same thing, because they are the same in reality, although they differ in concept, because it is called wisdom insofar as it delightfully affects the mind inwardly; discipline, insofar as it orders and arranges outward actions. Or thus: desire etc. is love, that is, the cause of divine love: below in chapter seven: "God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom": Hebrews 12: "But if you are without discipline, then you are not sons but illegitimate." And love is the keeping of her laws, that is, the cause of keeping them: Romans 13: "The fullness of the law is love," that is, the cause of the fulfillment of the divine law: First Timothy 1: "The end of the commandment is charity"; of laws, namely the natural, Mosaic, and evangelical: concerning which Isaiah 24: "They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."

But the keeping of the laws is the consummation of incorruption, that is, the cause of consummated spiritual incorruption, namely of both mind and body in the present; or: of incorruption, "that is, of immortality" in the future, according to the Gloss: Proverbs 3: "Keep my law and my counsel, and it shall be life to your soul."

But incorruption makes one to be near to God: whence it is sung of virgins that "they follow the Lamb wherever he goes," Revelation 14.

"At all times my soul longed to desire the ways of your righteousness." A commendable passion, this, not a blameworthy one. It is not of this desire that it is written, "Do not covet," a prohibition that regards the passions with which the flesh rises against the spirit. This, rather is a longing by which the spirit rises against the flesh. If you wanted to find a scriptural passage on this, you would find, "The desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom." And there are many other testimonies concerning this concupiscence in a good sense. It is very interesting to note that when speaking of desire in a good sense, the object that is desired is always expressed. On the contrary, if only concupiscence is spoken of, without adding the object, it must be understood in a bad sense. Thus in the cited passage it says, "The desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom." If it had not specified, "for wisdom," it certainly would not have said, "Concupiscence leads to a kingdom." The apostle writes, "I would not have known concupiscence, if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' " It does not specify the object of that desire or what it is prohibited to desire, yet it is certain that, expressing himself in this way, he is referring to a disordered desire.

Therefore the desire for wisdom, which is its beginning, will lead to an everlasting kingdom: the Gloss: "Which consists in the knowledge of the Divinity," according to that saying in John 17: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the true God" etc.

If therefore you delight etc., as if to say: since he gives an everlasting kingdom, therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters: The Gloss: "He admonishes kings to love wisdom, without which they cannot reign: for the commonwealth is well governed when philosophers reign and kings philosophize. Rightly therefore the rulers of the Church are assiduous in the meditation of the divine law: for whoever follows it by learning, teaching, and practicing will attain the crown of the heavenly kingdom." If therefore you delight in thrones, of judicial power, and scepters, of royal dignity, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-three: "They love the chief seats," etc.; another reading has senses, with respect to discernment, and crowns, with respect to dignity: if you delight, I say, O kings of the people, that is, the greater rulers and prelates, both secular and ecclesiastical: love wisdom, that you may reign forever: Proverbs eight: "By me kings reign."

Love the light of wisdom, for the illumination of souls: below in chapter seven: "Compared to light she is found to be prior": because she illuminates spiritual things, which is greater than to illuminate corporeal things. All you who rule over peoples, that is, you also who are lesser princes and prelates.

General Introduction. Love the light of wisdom, all you who lead peoples, Wisdom 6. Since a thing must be formed and what has been deformed reformed by the same principle, and all things are read to have been made through wisdom, according to that verse of the Psalm: You have made all things in wisdom: it is necessary that all things be reformed through wisdom. Therefore the image of the rational soul, which "is read to have been made after the likeness of all wisdom" in the book On the Spirit and the Soul, but afterward deformed through sin to such an extent that it may rightly be asked: Whose is this image and inscription? must necessarily be reformed through wisdom. Likewise, because two things are necessary for its reformation, namely the expulsion of malice and the introduction of perfect good, so that it may be informed by it and expressly conformed to him whose image it is: wisdom, however, is expulsive of malice, whence Wisdom 7: Wisdom overcomes malice: likewise it is introductive of perfect good, because "wisdom is that in which the form of perfect good consists," as Hugh says in the book On the Origin of the Arts. And since the divine image, deformed through sin in the soul, needs reformation according to all three of its parts, which according to Augustine are understanding, memory, and will: therefore the Wise Man draws and invites to wisdom in a threefold manner, namely to the studious acquisition of wisdom, and this with regard to understanding; to the firm retention of acquired wisdom, and this with regard to memory; to the love of acquired and memorially retained wisdom, and this with regard to will.

To the studious acquisition of wisdom: Proverbs 27: Study wisdom, my son. He calls son whomever he instructs with paternal affection, whether young or old. Augustine: "No age can seem too late to me for learning what is needful: because, even if it is more fitting for the old to teach than to be taught, yet it is more fitting for them to learn than to be ignorant of what they should teach." Study, he says, and this suggests that vehement diligence must be applied to the acquisition of wisdom. "For study, as Cicero says, is the vehement application of the mind with the greatest pleasure to accomplishing something." This vehement application of the mind, however, requires freedom from external occupations. "For he who with a confused mind is divided among many things is rendered unequal to each one," as Gregory says. On account of which, Ecclesiasticus 38: Write wisdom in a time of leisure, that is, of freedom from external work: for he who is less occupied in action, namely external action, will receive wisdom, as it says in the same place.

For the firm retention of wisdom: Ecclesiasticus fourteenth, where it says: Blessed is the man who shall abide in wisdom: likewise Proverbs third: Inscribe her upon the tablets of your heart, that is, in the three parts of the divine image, and especially in the memory, by retaining her firmly. For which reason he says: Inscribe, for what is written is retained more firmly and for a longer time: Proverbs twenty-second: Behold, I have described her to you in threefold manner, that is, in the understanding through diligent acquisition, in the memory through firm retention, in the will through love: to which he exhorts in the words set forth, saying: Love the light of wisdom, etc.

On the fourfold cause of this book. In these words four causes of this work are indicated to us, namely the efficient cause from the person who speaks, saying: Love: the formal, that is, the manner of proceeding, is indicated by light: the material is expressed by the name wisdom; the final can be understood from the relation or comparison of the speaker to the person to whom the discourse is directed, when it is said: All you who rule over peoples.

Concerning the first, it should be noted that the efficient cause of this book is threefold: the first by way of inspiring, namely God: whence Job thirty-second: The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding: likewise Ecclesiasticus first: All wisdom is from the Lord God, just as all essence is from his essence, and from his truth all truth, and from his goodness all goodness. "For the first in any genus is the cause of those things which come after it": and every perfect thing is caused by a perfect thing, according to Boethius.

The second efficient cause, by way of discovering, is Solomon himself: whence in the ecclesiastical history, "the whole chorus of the ancients declared the book which is entitled Wisdom to be Solomon's." Whence the book itself is inscribed the Wisdom of Solomon, and according to ecclesiastical custom, the readings taken from this book are prefaced with: "Solomon said to the children of Israel," because, namely, this book was compiled from his sayings. The proximate efficient cause, by way of compiling, was Philo, the most learned of the Jews, who lived in the times of the Apostles, as the ecclesiastical history relates: who from his love of wisdom was not undeservedly called Philo. Rabanus also asserts that this book was rather written not by Solomon, as is supposed, but by Philo, the most learned of the Jews, that is, compiled.

The formal cause, that is, the mode of proceeding, as has been said, is indicated through light, because, just as light has the concealment of its radical origin, a clear manifestation in its going forth, and a continuation in its flowing: so also this book of Wisdom has in its sentences a profound difficulty and concealment of origin, according to that passage in Job twenty-eight: Wisdom is drawn from hidden things; in its discourses a clear manifestation, Wisdom six: Bright is wisdom, which never fades, bright, I say, through the beauty of eloquence; "for the style of this book, according to Jerome, has the fragrance of Greek eloquence"; and in the progression of its arguments a consequent and ordered continuation, Ecclesiasticus twenty-one: The knowledge of the wise shall abound like a flood, flowing continuously, not dripping; and his counsel remains like a fountain of life.

The material cause is expressed by the name wisdom. "Wisdom, according to Augustine, is the knowledge of divine things": and divine things are God's power, wisdom, and goodness, which are treated in this book, although wisdom is principally intended. It makes known God's power in the punishment of the rebellious, as is evident in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth chapters; wisdom in the illumination of the humble, as is evident in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters; goodness in the bestowal of benefits upon both groups, as is evident from the tenth chapter onward. Moreover, here it treats not only of uncreated wisdom, dwelling upon its praises, but also of created wisdom, showing its benefits; whence below in chapter six: What wisdom is, that is, what it is like, namely uncreated; and how it was made, namely created, I shall relate, etc.; although that whole passage can be understood of uncreated wisdom as its subject. Rightly therefore is it entitled the Book of Wisdom, because in it wisdom is principally treated as its subject or as its matter, just as the book On the Soul, because in it the soul is principally discussed.

The final cause can be understood from the relation of the person speaking to those to whom the discourse is directed, who are indicated there: All you who rule over peoples. For just as in angelic illuminations, the ray of divine light, according to blessed Dionysius, is first received by the angels of the first hierarchy, secondly by those of the middle, and lastly by those of the lowest — "for the law, as he himself says, has been divinely promulgated to lead back the last through the middle, and the middle through the first" — whence in the Psalm: You shine wonderfully from the eternal mountains, that is, the superior angels illuminating the inferior ones; just as we also see in bodily illuminations, because first the illumination of the sun is derived to higher places nearer to heaven, then to the middle ones, and lastly to the lowest, Ecclesiasticus forty-three: For the sun, burning the mountains in three ways, breathes forth rays, namely into the valleys: so also it ought to be in human illuminations, that first into the highest, that is into prelates, then into the middle ones, that is into their ministers, thirdly into the lowest, that is their subjects, the light of wisdom is diffused, according to that of the Psalm: Let the mountains receive peace for the people, etc. For this is the procession of wisdom. For it reaches from one end, namely the highest, to the other end, the lowest, and disposes all things, namely the middle things, sweetly, below in chapter eight. On account of this Plato used to say, "commonwealths would be blessed or good if wise men ruled them, or if their rulers devoted themselves to wisdom," as Boethius says in the book On Consolation. For according to the judge of the people, so are his ministers: and as the ruler of the city is, such also are its inhabitants: where he touches upon three orders, namely of judges, ministers, and subjects. On account of the aforesaid, this author first and principally intends to diffuse the light of wisdom into high places, that is into superiors and through them into inferiors. Whence it is clear that the final cause of this teaching is the exhortation or provocation of princes and prelates, and consequently of all, to the pursuit and love of wisdom.

Prologue of St. Jerome to the Book of Wisdom. The Book of Wisdom is nowhere found among the Hebrews. Whence its very style savors more of Greek eloquence. The Jews affirm this to be the work of Philo: which is accordingly called Wisdom, because in it the coming of Christ, who is the Wisdom of the Father, and His passion are clearly expressed.

Exposition of the Prologue. The Book of Wisdom etc. This is the prologue which Jerome prefixes to the Book of Wisdom: and first he shows the origin of this book, saying: The Book of Wisdom is nowhere found among the Hebrews. Whence its very style, that is, the composition itself, namely, because it is so elegant, savors more of Greek eloquence, that is, has the flavor of Greek rather than Hebrew. For the Greeks are more eloquent and more profound in their judgments than the Hebrews. Whence since this book has a most elegant style and the greatest profundity of judgments, it is clear that it was handed down in the Greek language rather than the Hebrew.

Second, he names its author, saying: This, namely the Book of Wisdom, the Jews affirm to be of Philo, namely as its compiler, but to be of Solomon as its originator, as has been said. This Philo, although he was a Jew, was nevertheless very skilled in the Greek language. Concerning him, Jerome says in the book On Illustrious Men that "he was a Jew, Alexandrian by nation, of priestly lineage." Third, he assigns the reason for the title, saying: Which book, namely of Wisdom, is therefore named Wisdom, because in it the coming of Christ, who is the Wisdom of the Father, and his passion are evidently, that is, carefully, expressed.

But what is wisdom, as if to say: thus I have invited you to wisdom, and that you may assent, I will relate, etc. Or it may be continued thus: up to this point I have admonished you to wisdom: but, standing for "however": from now on I will relate what wisdom is, etc. Behold, a great promise; "for she is hidden from the eyes of all the living," Job twenty-eight; nevertheless she can be known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. What is, I say, wisdom, uncreated, that is, of what quality: for concerning her it cannot be known or said what she is, namely according to essence, but of what quality, since she is good, eternal, omnipotent, etc. But concerning created wisdom it can be known and said what it is: whence Augustine says: "Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things." And how she was made, that is, how she was begotten from the Father, namely the eternal Wisdom, who is the Son of God: First Corinthians one: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Or: how she was made, that is, created, if it is expounded of created wisdom: Ecclesiasticus one: "Wisdom was created before all things": likewise in the same book, chapter twenty-four: "From the beginning and before the ages I was created," that is, disposed to be created. And I will not hide from you the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret works of the wisdom of God.

To the contrary: Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king."

It must be said that it should be hidden from tempters but revealed to lovers; whence John 15: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." Likewise, it must be hidden from the proudly wise, but revealed to humble little ones: whence Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones," that is, the humble. Likewise, not to the gluttonous, but to the abstinent, as is clear from Daniel 1.

But from the beginning of birth, that is, of human birth, or of wisdom itself; I will search out, by showing that she proceeds from God the Father. And I will bring to light, namely the light of manifestation, the knowledge of her, by teaching clearly: Sirach 24: "Those who elucidate me shall have eternal life." And I will not pass over the truth, by mixing in falsehoods: Sirach 37: "Before all works, let a truthful word precede you"; Augustine: "It is the distinguished mark of good minds to love the truth in words, not the words themselves."

Nor with wasting envy, that is, envy that causes wasting: Proverbs 14: "Envy is the rotting of the bones"; likewise in the Psalm: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry, he shall gnash his teeth and waste away." Will I travel, because she is the worst companion, for she devours a man like a wild beast: Genesis 37: "A most evil wild beast has devoured him, a beast has consumed Joseph." Such was Moses, that is, not envious, for he said: "Who would grant me that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit?" Numbers 11. Because such a man, namely the envious, will not be a partaker of wisdom: whence above, chapter 1: "Into a malevolent soul," etc.; Sirach 14: "To an envious man," that is, one full of envy, "what good is gold?" that is, wisdom, which is called gold on account of its preciousness: Proverbs 3: "For she is more precious than all riches."

One who must speak with wisdom, if he is unable to do so eloquently, must absolutely follow the word of the Scriptures closely. The poorer he is in himself, the more necessary it is that he be rich in the Scriptures, so as to demonstrate, using them, what he says with his own words. And one who is inferior in speaking will in some way grow, thanks to the testimony of what is superior. In fact, the one less able to delight by speaking will delight by demonstrating. One who makes an effort to speak not only with wisdom but also with eloquence will be even more useful if he is skilled in both. Willingly would I allow that a person whom I counsel to follow the masters of rhetorical art read, listen to or practice imitating the eloquent, because those who are read or listened to are known for speaking or for having spoken not only eloquently but also wisely and truly. In fact, those who speak with eloquence do so attractively, whereas those who speak with wisdom are listened to for salvation. For this reason, Scripture does not say, "An abundance of those who are eloquent," but "An abundance of the wise is the salvation of the world."

But a multitude etc., as if to say: and you ought to listen; but, meaning because; because a multitude of the wise: the Gloss: "The assembly of preachers"; is the health of the world, that is, the cause of health: Proverbs 11: "Where there is no governor, the people shall fall; but there is safety where there are many counsels." Whoever therefore opposes the multiplication or multitude of the wise opposes the salvation of the world, and therefore such a one ought to be hated by the whole world. Such were those of whom the Apostle speaks in 1 Thessalonians 2: "They do not please God and are adversaries to all men." And a wise king is the stability of the people: Sirach 10: "A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be stable." But this applies most especially to Christ, in whose person it is said: "I am the salvation of the people."

Only God is declared to be wise. He is defined as wise because he does not receive wisdom from another, nor does he participate in the wisdom of another. Many in fact are called wise, not by their nature but by the fact that wisdom is communicated to them. God, by contrast, who did not become wise by participation in the wisdom of another or by having gotten it somewhere else, is called the only wise, who generates wisdom and makes others wise. This wisdom is our Lord Jesus Christ, who is called the power and the wisdom of God. But the Holy Spirit is also proclaimed to be wisdom. In fact, even in the books of the Old Testament it is said that Joshua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom. Only God, therefore, is wise, in that he does not receive wisdom from another principle but makes wise and generates wisdom. He alone is wise, as opposed to the other beings who are considered wise by his gift ("An abundance of wise people is the salvation of the world," and, further, "Those who know themselves are wise" and, finally, "If you walk with the wise, you will become wise"). Likewise the Holy Spirit, because he does not receive wisdom from another principle, is called the Spirit of wisdom. His very being is Spirit of wisdom, and his nature is none other than Spirit of truth and Spirit of God.

Having arrived at Jerusalem, Ezra, inflamed with zeal for the Law, decided first of all to purify the people of their vices, since, as the prophet said, "A wise king is the salvation of his people." Having found the book of Moses, he showed, among other things, that the wrath of God was kindled against the people because they had married foreign wives against God's commandment. With severity, which was his strength, he convinced them to send back their wives and their children. No longer held back by carnal delights and wanting to propitiate God, they did what was commanded of them without hesitation. In this way they symbolized the Christian people, whom the first among all priests admonishes, "If anyone leaves house, fields, wife or children because of my name, he will be repaid many times over here and will gain eternal life."

And because wisdom is so useful, therefore receive discipline, that is, wisdom, through my words, excitatively or occasionally, but through divine inspiration effectively and causally: whence Ecclesiasticus 1: "All wisdom is from the Lord God." And it will profit you, because it is said in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes: "The words of the wise are as goads," namely by provoking to good, "and as nails fastened deep," preserving from falling into evil.