Wisdom of Solomon 8

What is speed, brothers and sisters, essentially? It is everywhere and cannot be divided. Now this applies to the Word of God: not being divided in parts, being everywhere in its nature as Word, being the Power and Wisdom of God—without, that is, considering the flesh he would assume. If we think of God in the form of God, of the Word equal to the Father, he is the Wisdom of God of which it was said, "She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other." What speed! "She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other." But perhaps these ends are reached by remaining immobile. If this occurs without motion, as when a boulder fills a space, so it is said of him that he reaches both ends of that space without any motion.

There is a problem regarding certain very small animals, that is, whether they were created at the beginning of the creation or whether they derived later from the corruption of mortal beings. Most of these in fact come either from pathological mutations in living beings, or from their excrement or fumes or from decayed cadavers. Some others come from rotten wood or grasses, and others from rotten fruit. Regarding all these animals, we nonetheless do not have the right to say that God did not create them, since they all have a certain natural beauty appropriate to their species. This beauty can provoke greater wonder in one who considers them closely, leading him to even greater praise of the almighty Artisan who made all of them in Wisdom, which, extending from one end of the earth to the other and governing all things well, leaves not even the lowest creatures of nature without form. These creatures decay, as is appropriate to their species (something that horrifies us to see, recalling the punishment that made us mortal). He creates animals, however, having tiny bodies but acute senses. If we were to observe them more closely, we might be more amazed at the agility of a fly than at the power of a beast of burden that walks, and we might admire the works of ants more than the heavy loads carried by camels.

It is said of the virtues in the Book of Wisdom: "She reaches from end to end mightily," referring to fortitude; "and governs all things well," referring to justice.

From this it follows that the eternal light is also the most powerful. Hence, it is said: "Wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily." Behold, the strength of power. It reaches from the summit or the supreme unto the infinite, from the intrinsic unto the extrinsic, from the first unto the last, for the center of its might is everywhere: and that is the very reason why its power is infinite.

And because of this, it enjoys straightness of diffusion. Behold, justice. Hence, it is written that it "governs all things well."

Second, he shows in three ways how much he loved wisdom.

She reaches therefore etc. Having shown how he acquired wisdom, here it is shown how much he loved it: and this he shows from three things: first, from the desire of having; second, from the purpose of acquiring: I purposed therefore; third, from the zeal of finding: Thinking upon these things etc.

First, concerning the twofold desire of having her.

In the first he shows the desire of having caused in himself, first from her absolute value; second, from her comparative value: And if riches.

He shows her absolute value first from her power; second, from her beauty: Her I loved etc.; third, from her nobility: Her noble birth; fourth, from her usefulness: For she is a teacher.

(Vers. 1.). Therefore, because wisdom is such as has been said, she reaches, by virtual contact, not corporeal, according to that passage of 1 Kings 10: "Whose hearts God had touched": from end to end: The Gloss: "From eternity unto eternity"; or: "from the beginning of the world unto the coming of Christ": Romans 10: "The end of the law is Christ" etc. Mightily: The Gloss: "Because she is the power of God": 1 Corinthians 1: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." And she orders all things, namely the highest, the middle, and the lowest: sweetly: The Gloss: "Because she is the wisdom of God." She orders all things mightily through justice, and sweetly through mercy; the Psalmist: "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth," namely of justice: the same: "The mercy of the Lord is from eternity, and unto eternity upon those who fear him. And his justice unto children's children" etc.

It should be noted that Wisdom, that is the Son of God, reaches mightily those things which are in heaven, by expelling the proud devil with his companions: Job 26: "His prudence struck the proud one": Ezekiel 28: "You have sinned, and I cast you out from the mountain of God and destroyed you, O Cherub"! those things which are in the world, by overcoming and casting out the prince of the world: John 12: "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out": those things which are in hell, by carrying off the spoils of hell, according to the Gloss on Zechariah 9: "You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water."

He disposes moreover sweetly those things which are in heaven, by confirming the Angels standing in grace: in the Psalm: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established": those things which are in the world, by redeeming the human race with his own blood: First Peter 1: "You were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver etc., but with precious blood" etc.: those things which are in hell, by leading the souls of the Saints out of limbo, according to that of Zechariah 9: "You also by the blood of your covenant have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit" etc.: likewise in the Psalm: "You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive" etc. — Or thus: since uncreated Wisdom is the middle Person in the Trinity, it can be said that she reaches from end to end, that is, from the Father to the Holy Spirit, namely through identity of substance, so that no local distance is understood, but personal distinction; mightily with respect to the Father, to whom power is attributed: and she disposes all things sweetly, with respect to the Holy Spirit, to whom benignity is attributed. — Or: she reaches from end to end, that is, from Divinity to humanity, namely in the Incarnation, in which the lowest things are united to the highest: mightily, that is, through infinite power: in the Psalm: "Stir up your power and come": the Gloss: "You yourself into flesh." And she disposed all things sweetly, in the procurement of human redemption: Matthew 11: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." He was meek in the nature of the humanity assumed: for man is an animal gentle by nature, discerning by reason, upright in stature. In his manner of life: whence John the Baptist, seeing him walking one day, said: "Behold, the Lamb of God" etc., John 1. In his preaching: Matthew 4: "Do penance" etc.: likewise John 6: "You have the words of eternal life"; Matthew 11: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." In the forgiveness of sins: John 8: "Go, and sin no more"; likewise Luke 6: "Forgive, and you shall be forgiven." In his Passion: whence Isaiah 53: "He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter" etc.: likewise Jeremiah 11: "I was like a gentle lamb that is carried to the victim."

The true Father sent the Truth he had generated, he sent the Wisdom in which he had made everything, he sent the Word that he had conceived in his heart. In this mission, therefore, the coming must not be thought of as a change of place, as if the Son of God were sent from heaven to earth or that he was not on earth before taking flesh. Or, as if he abandoned heaven when he assumed flesh for our salvation, since he is the Wisdom of God of which it is said, "He extends powerfully from one end of the earth to the other, governing all things well." That divinity that by nature is one, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is not in a place, just as it is not in time. It is not enclosed in a place, just as it does not change with time. That divinity that by nature is infinite and eternal had no beginning and is not contained in a place. Therefore the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, fills all: he is entirely in everyone, entirely in all, entirely in small creatures, entirely in those that are bigger. This occurs by nature, not by grace. It happens when he creates human beings, not when he saves them; when he forms them, not when he restores them; when he makes this sun rise on the good and on the wicked, and not when the Sun of righteousness rises on those in whom life is infused—not that of the flesh, but of the heart—by the gift of his anticipatory mercy.

Since the world was corrupted by original sin and actual sins, the Creator of the world wanted to heal its fall with a secret and wonderful plan, through the mystery of the incarnate Word. By the same word through which he had created everything from nothing, he would restore what was lost. In fact, "he speaks and everything is made; he commands, and all exists." Let us not think that this power is diminished or changed in him "in whom there is no alteration or shadow of change" or that he is less powerful or wise in restoring than he was in creating. The hand of the all-powerful potter, whose paths are all truth and mercy and who, taking mud from the earth, raised it to the dignity of a rational nature, wanted in this way to reconstruct in fragile vessels what had been ruined. Thus the man's sin would not remain unpunished, since God is just, nor did it remain unhealed, since he is merciful. If the one whose wisdom "extends mightily from one end of the earth to the other and governs all things well" were only just, he could have fought by his power against the seducer of the human race, bringing the lost sheep back under his dominion in the flock. But, by doing so, he would have only shown the excellence of his power and would not have exercised his healing mercy for the redeemed. Nor would it have become apparent with how much charity the Creator loved his creation—a creation he called to love him, offering in exchange considerable rewards—since miserable humanity, prior to receiving grace, would have obtained by merit what they otherwise would have received as a reward, even if they hardly deserved it. What the wisdom of God could have done with wisdom and power, he wanted to do with tenderness, uniting himself to the weakness of our flesh, which he had healed in the first place in himself. By this work, like a physician, he restored the human race to health. Not that it could not have been otherwise due to the skill and power of the Physician, but because an antidote corresponding to the illness could not have been more easily obtained. "The weakness of God is stronger than human beings, and the foolishness of God is wiser than human beings."

The Father is everywhere, the Son everywhere, the Holy Spirit everywhere. About the Father it is said in Jeremiah, "The Word of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not I fill the heavens and the earth?' " and in Isaiah, "The heavens are my throne, the earth the footstool for my feet." About the Son, in Solomon, "Against wisdom wickedness cannot prevail. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other." And in Psalm 102, "In every place of his domain." The Holy Spirit, in the psalm, "Where can I go from your spirit, where can I flee from your presence? If I descend to the netherworld, you are there," etc.

Foreseeing you, the prophet Isaiah exclaimed by divine inspiration, "See, the virgin will be with child." And, "The root of Jesse will be raised." And, "Blessed is the root of Jesse." And, "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, a shoot will grow from his roots." Because of you the great Ezekiel proclaimed, "Here is the door toward the east. The door will be closed, and no one may enter by it. Only the Lord God will enter and leave by it, and the door will remain closed." Prophesying of you, the beloved man calls you a mountain, saying, "A stone taken from you, without human hands," hewn but not cut, removed but not split by the assumption of our humanity. You are the greatness of that awesome economy "into which angels desire to look." You are the beautiful dwelling of the descent of God, the land truly desired. In fact, "the king desired the glory of your beauty" and was enamored with the riches of your virginity: he made his dwelling in you, "and dwelled among us" and through you reconciled us with God the Father. You are the treasury of the "mystery hidden from ages past." You are truly the living book of the spiritual Word, silently written in you with the life-giving pen of the Spirit. You alone are truly the book, written by God, of the new covenant that God once established with humanity. You are that "chariot of God in its tens of thousands," you who have led thousands of those gladdened by the incarnate one. You are Mount Zion, the fertile mountain, the rugged mountain, "that God has chosen as his dwelling," from whom he who is above all being took shape and was formed in our flesh endowed with an intellectual soul.

Such a desire extinguishes all others, and makes man to be lifted up from the world. Hence he writes: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty."

And since the author expresses himself as a philosopher and as a lover of Wisdom, he writes: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty" — not only in itself, but also because, coming from her, similar properties are flowering in me.

From the second foursome, let us take wise, for it contains the other three. If He is wise, He is therefore living; and if living, He is powerful; and if powerful, beautiful also, for wisdom is the most beautiful form: wherefore "I was enamored of her beauty." Out of the third foursome, let us take one attribute: happy, which contains within itself the other three. For if He is a happy Spirit, therefore He is good, and hence just, and also holy. And so, in these three attributes, eternal, wise, and happy, the whole Trinity shines forth, for eternity is appropriated to the Father, wisdom to the Son, and happiness to the Holy Spirit.

Do not love the harlot and dismiss your wife: "Her I loved and sought after from my youth." Do not take in the acorns and pods of the swine, lest with Absalom you be hung by the hair, that is, by your dispositions. The teachings of the ages are like the oak: lofty, noble, inflexible. Do not choose to eat the pumpkins of Egypt and the leeks and the garlic, but "bread from heaven." And do not be disgusted with that food, do not be carnal as were the sons of Israel. For these found but one flavor, while others, spiritual men, found the sweetness of every taste.

(Vers. 2.). There follows: Her, namely wisdom, because she is of such great power, I loved, namely with the affection of the heart: whence above in the seventh chapter: "Beyond health and beauty I loved her." And I sought her out, that is, I sought outside myself, by the effect of good work, according to that passage of First John 3: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." From my youth, as if to say: in the flower of my age: Proverbs 8: "They who in the morning," namely of youth, "watch for me, shall find me": therefore Sirach 6: "Son, from your youth receive instruction." And I sought, namely by the zeal of reading and prayer: Luke 11: "Seek, and you shall find": to take her to myself as a bride. He says bride by reason of love: Proverbs 7: "Say to wisdom: You are my sister, and call prudence your friend." Likewise, by reason of delight: Proverbs 5: "Rejoice with the wife of your youth." By reason of inseparability: Matthew 19: "For it is not lawful to dismiss a bride except for the cause of fornication": but this has no place in wisdom: "for nothing defiled enters into her," above in the seventh chapter. By reason of generation:

Sirach 24: "Come over to me, all you who desire me, and be filled from my generations." And I became a lover of her form, that is, of the beauty of wisdom, and this by perseverance and the love of fervent affection, converting it as it were into a habit: Zechariah 9: "What is his good and what is his beauty but the grain of the elect and the wine that makes virgins to bud forth"? that is, but wisdom, which restores the affection and makes chaste or purifies the intellect from the corruption of error.

"Your wife like a fertile vine within your home, and your sons like olive plants around your table." Once again the literal sense must be avoided here. We see in fact that many very holy men have neither wife nor sons and that the wicked have all that. How then can this part of the blessing be applied, which you know often does not pertain to the good but to the bad? "Wife" has the sense of sister. For this reason, as the wife of the blessed man one must understand wisdom, as Solomon says, "Who sought to take her as a wife." And elsewhere, "Love her, and she will watch over you. Do not abandon her, and she will care for you." She is therefore the wife of the righteous, who captivates her husband with a chaste embrace.

There is wisdom and there is wisdom. The apostle knew various kinds: that of which he spoke when he said, "The world does not know God with the wisdom of God." And that which he spoke of saying, "God condemned as foolishness the wisdom of the world," or when he said that he spoke "not with the power of the flesh but by the power of God." Solomon, by contrast, spoke of that wisdom of whose charm he was enamored and that he made his bride (Job asked himself, "Where can she be found, in what place of wisdom?"17). But did he speak of that "despised wisdom of the poor person," of the "wisdom guided by God" or of the "Wisdom of the Father, the only-begotten"?

Since, according to the Gospel, the Lord is the bridegroom and, according to John, he has a bride, must we think in terms of earthly, bodily spouses? Certainly not. But by this use of language we are taught that he is the one who has been promised to the nations. By the Father's work, the inheritance of the church has been espoused to him, through the assumption of the body that he took from the Virgin. But, to learn what we should understand by the designation "bride," we must examine closely what is said elsewhere regarding the term. For example, Solomon says, "I sought to take wisdom as my bride." And because he seeks a bride, he wants her to be rich, and he recounts the benefits of his bride, saying, "She manifests her nobility in a life of communion with God, because the Lord of the universe loved her." And "if one desires wide experience, she knows what is past and infers what is to come." And further, "A strong woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond precious stones." All of this was said in Proverbs, because a proverb does not explain what the words say but displays the power of what is said using ordinary words. In the Gospels, the Lord teaches how a proverb must be understood when he says, "The hour will come when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but I will speak openly to you of the Father." Therefore, according to the rules governing proverbs, we must recognize that the strong woman is she whom Solomon desired to take as his bride. Of her he says further, "I therefore decided to take her as the companion of my life. I am enamored of her beauty."

I think therefore that Sarah, which means "principal," or what has primacy, is a figure of the aretē which is the virtue of the soul. This virtue is joined and clings to a wise and faithful husband, like that wise one who said of wisdom, "I sought to take her as my bride." For this reason God says to Abraham, "In everything that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice."

In many places the sacred Scripture has avoided the term "desire," replacing it with "love." At times, however, even if somewhat rarely, it uses precisely the term "desire" and invites and urges the soul to this, as in Proverbs when it says of wisdom, "Desire her, and she will serve you. Hold her close, and she will make you great. Honor her, that she would embrace you." And in the book entitled the Wisdom of Solomon, it is further written of wisdom, "I desired her beauty." Nevertheless, I think that the Scripture used the term "desire" only where there was no possibility of equivocation. Indeed, whatever is passionate or shameful can be found in the desire for wisdom or in the one who claims to desire wisdom. In fact, if the Scriptures had said that Isaac desired Rebecca or that Jacob desired Rachel, one could have thought of passion or of something shameful in the holy men of God because of these words, especially among those who do not know how to raise themselves from the letter to the spirit. And precisely in this book that we have before us, it is clear that the word desire has been replaced by "love," where it is said, "I implore you, daughters of Jerusalem: if you find my beloved, tell him that I am wounded by love." It is as if she were to say, I have been pierced by an arrow of love. Therefore there is no difference if the sacred Scriptures speak of love or of desire, except that the term "love" is held in such high esteem that even God is personally called love, as John says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows him. The one who does not love, however, does not know God, because God is love."

(Vers. 3.). Her nobility etc. Thus I loved wisdom etc., and deservedly, because uncreated wisdom, having companionship, that is, partnership and cohabitation, with God: the Gloss: "Of the Father, because she is coeternal with him": John 14: "I am in the Father, and the Father is in me": likewise John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God": glorifies his nobility, "that is, represents the nobility of the Father," according to the Gloss. For the Son of God himself represents in himself the glory of the Father, because he is "the brightness of glory and the figure of his substance," as is found in Hebrews 1: likewise Proverbs 10, according to another reading: "A wise son is the glory of his father." Likewise his glory he manifests to the world: whence John 8: "I do not seek my own glory, but I honor" etc. But also the Lord of all things, namely the Father, of whom it is said in the Psalm: "The Lord said to me: You are my Son" etc.: loved her: "The Father loves the Son," John 5.

(Vers. 4.). And rightly so: for she is the teacher of the discipline of God: Baruch 3: "He found out all the way of discipline," etc. Discipline is twofold, namely of deeds and of words: whence in the Psalm: "Thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end, and thy discipline itself shall teach me." On account of this he says: Teacher, etc., namely in words. And note that the discipline of God is formed faith, which makes disciples of God: Acts 9: "Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," that is, against the faithful. And the chooser of His works, that is, of discipline which is in deeds: the chooser of His works, that is, teaching to choose the works of the discipline of faith, "For faith without works is dead," James 2.

And if riches are desired. Here he shows the desire caused by the comparative value of wisdom, and first in comparison to money, which is the perfection of fortune; second, in comparison to industry, which is the perfection of nature: But if understanding: third, in comparison to virtue, which is the perfection of grace: And if justice: fourth, in comparison to knowledge, which is the perfection of intelligence: And if multitude.

(Vers. 5.). And if riches are desired, although they ought not to be desired — "for they who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil," 1 Timothy 6; likewise in the Psalm: "If riches abound, set not your heart upon them" — in life, namely the present life, for its sustenance and sufficiency. What is richer than wisdom, which works all things? John 5: "My Father worketh until now, and I work": I, namely uncreated wisdom; nor can he be poor who works all things. For he knows how to make silver and gold and things of this kind; therefore Proverbs 8 says: "With me are riches and glory, stately wealth"; Augustine: "Exceedingly rich is the Christian religion, to which it has been given to possess all things in the possessor of all things."

(Vers. 6.). But if understanding, that is, natural or acquired industry, works, because "art imitates nature" in working, according to the Philosopher: who among all things that exist is a greater artisan than she? As if to say: no one; whence in the Psalm: "Thou hast made all things in wisdom." The Lord filled Bezalel with wisdom, so that he might know how to make the works of the tabernacle, as is found in Exodus 31.

Wisdom does not live with vice in any way but unites without conflict with the other virtues. Her spirit is intelligent, without blemish, trustworthy, holy, loving of the good, acute, not opposed to any good, beneficent, stable, sure, possessing all virtues and seeing all. And then, "She teaches temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude."

I have used a passage of the book of Wisdom according to the copy in our possession, where it is read, "Wisdom teaches sobriety, justice and virtue." Even using these words I have been able to speak of some truths, but, by chance, I became aware of their true meaning through an error. What is more true than the fact that Wisdom teaches the truth of contemplation, a concept that I had thought was expressed by the term "sobriety," or that it teaches uprightness of action, which I thought was indicated by the other two terms, "justice and virtue"? But the best codices of that translation have, "It teaches sobriety and wisdom and justice and virtue." With these terms the Latin translator meant to designate the four virtues that pertain especially to philosophical language. He calls temperance sobriety, gives prudence the name of wisdom, names fortitude by the term "virtue," and has translated only justice by its own name. Much later, consulting the Greek copies, I noticed that in the book of Wisdom the four virtues are designated by the exact terms assigned them by the Greeks.

"For she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these." These are impressed upon the soul by the said exemplary light, and they go down into the cognitive, the affective and the operative faculties. The sincerity of temperance is marked by the height of purity; the serenity of prudence, by the beauty of clarity; the stability of constancy, by the strength of power; the sweetness of justice, by the straightness of diffusion. These are the four exemplary virtues with which the whole of Scriptures is concerned; and Aristotle felt nothing about them, in contrast with ancient and noble philosophers.

(Vers. 7.). And if one loves justice, namely general justice, that is, the rectitude of human life, concerning which above in chapter one: "Love justice," etc. The labors of this one, namely of wisdom, by which one labors to obtain her: and he says labors in the plural, because to obtain her one must labor greatly. Second Corinthians 11: "In labors most abundant"; have great virtues, that is, they acquire them. The Gloss: "Nothing idle, nothing slothful in her works." Sobriety indeed, etc. The Gloss: "He sets forth four principal virtues": sobriety, "that is, temperance," in avoiding superfluous evil. Below in chapter nine: "She will lead me in my works soberly." And she teaches wisdom, in discerning and loving the good. And justice, in rendering what is due. And virtue, "that is, fortitude," to which the name virtue more properly belongs, as though protecting by force, in enduring what is difficult and undertaking what is arduous. Concerning these three, Proverbs eight: "Mine is equity, mine is prudence, mine is fortitude." The Gloss: "No one has had these virtues except he to whom the origin of all virtues, God, bestowed them, in whatever time, under whatever law, in whatever nation. Yet certain ones, having the appearance of piety, were ignorant of virtue."

But did the philosophers have virtue? And it seems so, because according to the Philosopher, virtue is had through acquisition.

It must be said that they did not have perfect virtues but imperfect ones, because they were without merit and unformed. Or they had them from God through gratuitously given grace, though not through sanctifying grace.

Than which nothing is more useful in the life of men, that is, in the human life of man in relation to man.

But are the theological virtues not more useful and better?

It must be said that, as has been touched upon, he speaks of the human life of man in comparison to man, not to God, for he presupposes this. Now nothing is more useful to men than these, because they benefit man in acting and in suffering: in acting, because through prudence there is right choice of things to be done, and through justice right execution: in suffering, because through temperance we rightly dispose ourselves toward effeminate passions, and through fortitude toward unstable passions. Therefore the Gloss says: "He who is temperate, prudent, brave, and just—what does he lack?"

(Vers. 8.). And if a multitude of knowledge etc. Some have: And a likeness of knowledge, but that reading is false, although the present knowledge of man can more rightly be called a likeness of knowledge than knowledge, because it is mixed with much mutability and much ignorance. If, a multitude, I say, of knowledge, namely speculative knowledge, anyone desires, according to that saying of the Philosopher: "All men by nature desire to know"—it knows things past, namely wisdom itself, and judges of future things, with certainty, although they are hidden by the condition of time, because past things have already passed away and future things have not yet come to pass. It knows, I say, things past etc.: whence Moses, taught by it, prophesied concerning things past—Genesis 1: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth"; likewise concerning things future, Deuteronomy 18: "The Lord shall raise up a Prophet from your nation and from your brethren." It knows the subtleties of speeches, that is, the obscure cunning of simple propositions, such as riddles, and not only the subtleties of simple propositions, but also of composite ones; whence there follows: And the solutions of arguments, that is, of reasonings, which nevertheless lie hidden due to the more perplexing nature of human cunning: Sirach 39: "He shall seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs, namely the wise man, "and shall be conversant in the hidden things of parables." Whence Christ, "in whom were hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," could not be caught in speech, as is evident in Matthew 22; and no word of the Queen of Sheba could be hidden from Solomon, who was taught by wisdom, as is evident in 3 Kings 10. Signs, namely lesser ones, which occur beyond nature, and wonders, which occur against the common course of nature, it knows before they happen, just as well as when they have already occurred. Concerning these two, John 4: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe." These things are likewise hidden by reason of natural difficulty, because "a miracle, according to Augustine, is a work arduous and unusual, surpassing the hope and capacity of the one who marvels." And the events of times, that is, of those things which come to pass in the present time, and of ages, that is, of those that follow, which come to pass in eternity and in the future. To know these things, however, is not given to man: whence Acts 1: "It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has placed in His own power": these things, however, are hidden by reason of a hidden cause.

The Scriptures are accustomed to speaking of opinion in two ways. They in fact speak of opinion both when someone thinks something that is not true and when he knows with all certainty that something is true. Blessed Stephen, in the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of an opinion concerning uncertain knowledge when he says of holy Moses, "He thought that his countrymen would have understood that God was offering them salvation through him." But, to show that this was an uncertain opinion, he adds, "But they did not understand." Similarly, it is said in the same book when the angel brought blessed Peter out of the jail, "he still did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real: he thought he was having a vision." In the book of Wisdom an utterly certain knowledge is given as an opinion, in the place where wisdom itself says, "And if one desires wide experience, she knows what is past and infers what is to come." What does it mean that wisdom infers, if not that it knows with all certainty? Thus also Paul, who had the mind of Christ, spoke of thinking something that he knew with certainty, saying, "I consider, in fact, that the sufferings of the present moment are not to be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us." And neither in this case can it be said that Paul had an uncertain knowledge of these things. In fact, he had a certain knowledge of them. Similarly, blessed Jeremiah said of Christ, "He is our God, and he will not be compared with another." Does "he will not be compared" perhaps not mean that another will not be known? Thus blessed Isaiah says, "Lord, beside you we have known no other. We have invoked your name."

Secondly, this is shown from the resolve to acquire it.

I resolved therefore etc. Above he showed how much he loved wisdom, and this from his desire of possessing it: here from his resolve to acquire it, and this on account of the goods which come forth from it, and first on account of goods pertaining commonly to both lives: secondly, on account of those pertaining to the active life: I shall have through her: thirdly, on account of those pertaining especially to the contemplative life: Entering into my house.

First, on account of goods pertaining to both lives.

(Vers. 9.). Therefore, because she is such, I purposed, that is, I firmly resolved in my heart: her, namely divine wisdom, not another adulterous one, such as the poetic disciplines, which Boethius in the Consolation calls "meretricious": to bring to myself, not only to another, against those who only teach others but do not teach themselves, whom the Apostle reproves, saying in Romans 2: "You who teach another, do you not teach yourself?" To feast together, that is, to refresh, namely the affection, not only to illuminate the intellect, as many who are in no way moved by sacred Scripture: Fourth Kings 7: "You shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it": likewise to feast together, he says, that is, to be refreshed in common and together: because in the goods of wisdom we are fed and refreshed: whence Proverbs 9: "Eat my bread, and drink the wine that I have mingled for you": and she in our goods: whence Proverbs 8: "My delights are to be with the children of men." We ought to serve her the first course, as if from herbs prepared, from the lilies of uprightness: Song of Songs 2: "He who feeds among the lilies, until the day breaks," etc. The second, of kid's flesh, that is, the detestation of all sin and iniquity, both carnal and spiritual: on these two kids she willingly feasts, as did Isaac, Genesis 27. The third, of roasted fish of patience and tribulation: "They offered him a piece of roasted fish," Luke 24. The last, of the fruit of the spirit, that is, of the works of devotion: Song of Songs 5: "Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees." Knowing that she will share with me of goods, namely her own. This is the symbolic invitation of Revelation 3: "I will sup with him, and he with me": and he says: of goods, in the plural, because both of present and future goods. And there shall be comfort: Gloss: "That is, alleviation": of thought, that is, of affliction in thinking, as regards the intellect, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "Frequent meditation is an affliction of the flesh." And of my weariness, in working, and this as regards the affection: Second Corinthians 1: "We were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of living."

Second, on account of the goods pertaining to the active life.

I shall have etc. Here he touches upon the goods pertaining to the active life, especially those necessary for prelates, and first, as regards the act of judging: second, as regards the act of teaching: When I am silent etc.: third, as regards the act of associating: Moreover I shall have etc.: fourth, as regards the act of governing: I shall set peoples in order.

As regards the act of judging he touches upon two things: first, authority: second, discernment: Young and keen etc.

(Vers. 10.). Through this I shall have, namely through wisdom, which "is bright," as is stated above in chapter six, renown, namely of fame: Matthew 5: "Let your light shine" etc.; likewise Philippians 2: "Among whom you shine as luminaries in the firmament" etc. Before the multitudes, that is, before those of lower rank: and honor, namely of reverence, before the elders, that is, before those of higher rank: Job 29: "The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged rising up stood." From these two things a man becomes of great authority, namely from the esteem of those below and the reverence of those above. Though young, that is, vigorous and diligent in investigating.

(Vers. 11.). And keen, that is, subtle in penetrating and discovering, I shall be found in judgment,- the Gloss: "Judging all things according to the laws": such was Daniel, as is clear from Daniel 13. And, supply: therefore, and in the sight of the powerful, that is, of lesser prelates, I shall be admirable, and the faces of princes, that is, of greater prelates, shall wonder at me. This was literally true of Solomon, as is clear from 3 Kings 10, where it is said that "the queen of Sheba, having heard the fame of Solomon" etc., said: "The wisdom that I have found is greater than the report that I heard." This was also true of our Savior: whence Matthew 14: "The tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus and said to his servants" etc. This is also true of the perfectly wise man: Sirach 24: "In the midst of his people he shall be exalted, and in the holy fullness he shall be admired."

(Vers. 12.). When I am silent, that is, what I am to teach, they shall premeditate: in the Psalm: "The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom." They shall wait, that is, they shall wait in silence, "not daring to speak," according to the Gloss: Job 29: "They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for the latter rain." And when I speak etc., he rightly placed silence before speech, because, according to Jerome, "the teaching of Pythagoras was to be silent for five years and afterward to speak as learned men." And when I speak they shall look upon me, namely attentively, and this as a sign of attention: Job 29: "Attentive, they were silent at my counsel." And when I discourse at greater length, but not superfluously or excessively, because "in much speaking," or in superfluity of words, "sin shall not be wanting," Proverbs 10. Note that plurality is constituted by two or three, but not multitude. They shall lay their hands upon their mouth: the Gloss: "Not daring to resist me": Job 29: "The princes ceased to speak, and laid their finger upon their mouth."

Who would dare deny the immortality of the Son, simply because he has given immortality also to others? Indeed, it is written of the wisdom of God, "Through her I will obtain immortality." But the immortality of his nature is one thing and the immortality of ours another. Perishable things must not be compared with divine things: the being of the divinity is one alone and cannot die. Thus the apostle, though knowing that the soul and the angels are immortal, preached that God alone is immortal. In fact, even the soul dies: "The soul that sins will die." And neither is an angel immortal by nature, because his immortality is dependent on the will of the Creator.

(Vers. 13.). Moreover through her, namely through wisdom, I shall have immortality, namely of eternal glory in heaven: Proverbs 3: "She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her." And a remembrance: Gloss: "Of my works and virtues," eternal, that is, perpetual, as long as the world shall endure: I shall leave to those who shall come after me: Proverbs 10: "The memory of the just is with praises": in the Psalm: "The just shall be in eternal memory."

I shall govern etc. Here are touched upon the goods had through wisdom with respect to the act of governing, and first with respect to subjects: second, with respect to outsiders: They shall fear etc.

(Vers. 14.). He says therefore: I shall govern: Gloss: "I shall instruct," namely by ruling and governing, peoples, having the Law. For a people is a multitude of men living under one law, as the Jews under the law of Moses. And nations, that is, gentiles not having the Law, and they are called nations, because not reborn, but remaining in the uncircumcision and vice of their birth: in the Psalm: "He subjected peoples to us and nations under our feet": Isaiah 55: "Behold, I have given him as a witness to peoples, a leader and commander to nations." Nations, I say, shall be subject to me through obedience.

(Vers. 15.). Hearing me, dreadful kings shall fear me, that is, tyrants and the impious: whence all the kings round about became tributaries of Solomon, 3 Kings 9: likewise Isaiah 60: "The sons of those who humiliated you shall come to you bowed down." And in the multitude, "namely of the faithful," I shall appear good, "that is, benign," and in war, "namely of adversaries," valiant. All these things spiritually, according to the Gloss, were fulfilled in Christ and can be expounded of him, as is clear to one examining the Glosses.

Third, on account of goods pertaining to the contemplative life.

(Vers. 16.). Entering into my house, that is, my conscience, namely by returning from exterior care to interior care, just as the "disciples" after preaching "returned to the Lord with joy," as is found in Luke 10. He placed action before contemplation by reason of time, not by reason of dignity, just as Leah before Rachel, Genesis 29. I shall rest with her, that is, I shall rest together in her, and she with me or in me: Sirach 32: "Run ahead first to your house, and there withdraw and there play," etc. Well did I say: I shall rest with her: for it has no bitterness, of exterior disturbance, her conversation, that is, cohabitation: Sirach 24: "My spirit is sweeter than honey"; nor weariness, namely of interior affliction, her company: ibid.: "Those who eat me shall still hunger," against disgust. These two, namely the bitterness of exterior disturbance and the weariness of interior affliction, are contrary to rest. And therefore she removes them, adding two opposites, when she says: But gladness, namely interiorly, and joy, namely exteriorly: Sirach 1: "She will give delight and joy"; likewise Sirach 15: "The Lord filled her with the spirit of wisdom," etc.; likewise ibid.: "Delight and exultation," etc.

Make it your purpose to possess [wisdom]. Yearn for her, burn with desire for her, be consumed by her. Deny yourself, and do not deny her so as to please yourself. "In her company there is no bitterness." If you are lovers, love her. If you are beautiful, be pleasing to God. If you are young, conquer the devil. Daniel was called a man by the angel, on account of his desires. What were his desires, if not those by which he fervently aspired to the beauty of wisdom? Indeed, at his young age he trampled lust underfoot, as a prisoner he crushed the pride of kings, and, shut in, he shut the mouths of lions.

Third, the same is shown from the zeal of seeking wisdom in a threefold manner.

Thinking upon these things, etc. Here third he shows how much he loved wisdom, and this from the zeal of seeking her. And concerning this, first he shows the diligence of seeking: second, the aptitude for receiving: But I was a boy: third, the confidence of obtaining: And as I knew

First, the diligence of seeking wisdom is shown.

In the first part he sets forth three causes moving one to seek knowledge: first, the effect of wisdom in the heart: second, the effect in work: And in works: third, the effect in speech: And in the contest of speech.

(Vers. 17.). These things, namely the foregoing, pondering within myself, frequently meditating on them, and recalling in my heart, namely the following things, bringing them back to memory lest I forget: for the animal that "chews the cud and divides the hoof," namely by remembering and discerning, is clean, Leviticus 11: Luke 2: "Mary kept all these words," etc. That she is immortal, namely by nature, or by the effect of the immortality which she confers: whence above in the same book: "Through her I shall have immortality." In the thought of wisdom, that is, in the understanding: the Gloss: "Whatever is known of her nature, the whole is found to be immortal and ever living": below in chapter 15: "To know your justice and your power is the root of immortality."

What we think within ourselves we remember in our hearts, since mentioning both things, that is, a thought and a memory, has shown that they are not exterior but interior. It is said also in the book of Proverbs, "Son, do not let evil thoughts ensnare you, thoughts that abandon the teachings of youth and forget the divine covenant. Their dwelling is near death, and their paths with mortals, alongside the netherworld." If evil thoughts, which have made their dwelling near death, are outside of death and not in it, they are certainly alive. And if they are near, but not in, the netherworld, the only remaining possibility is that what is not in death or in the netherworld would have life in heaven. For this reason it is said to God, "You have rescued my soul from death," because, through faith, he has given life to the soul, saying, "My righteous one, through faith, will live." And thus it is also said to him, "From the depths of the netherworld you have rescued my soul," since souls are rescued from the netherworld by the grace of God, so that they would live in heaven. Thus the apostle says, "Our homeland is in heaven." Moreover, how was the soul, which was near death because of evil thoughts, freed from death, if it was not dead? And how was it taken from the netherworld, if it was near the netherworld but not in it? If in fact it was not in death, it was not dead. But who does not know that the soul dies through an evil will—that is, through sin—since God says, "The soul that sins will die." It is therefore certain that the soul that thinks wickedly, being near death, is in death, and being near the netherworld is in the netherworld. And what does the Savior say? "What is impossible for human beings is possible for God."

(Vers. 18.). And in friendship with her, namely when she is loved, good delight, namely in the affection: good he says as opposed to the delight of sin, which is evil, because it leads to eternal torment, according to that saying of Gregory: "What delights is momentary, what torments is eternal"; likewise the Gloss: "Bodily pleasures weigh down the body, but spiritual pleasures uplift the mind; and the more they are consumed, the more they are hungered for. In the former, the appetite pleases but the experience displeases; but spiritual delights increase desire, and the more they are partaken of, the more eagerly they are loved." And in the works of her hands, that is, in good works, which are done through her hands, that is, by her power and might: John fifteen: "Without me you can do nothing"; honor without failing, that is, perfect honor: for virtue and the work of virtue belong to the genus of the honorable: below in chapter ten: "She honored him in his labors"; likewise above in chapter seven: "Innumerable honor through her hands." And in the contest of her discourse, namely that which takes the form of disputation, in which there is a certain contest between the one objecting and the one responding: wisdom, that is, knowledge; supply: is acquired: Sirach, last chapter: "My soul wrestled with her." And renown, that is, the evidence of illustrious virtue, in the sharing of her words, which namely are shared by way of simple conference: Sirach 24: "Those who elucidate me shall have eternal life"; likewise Daniel 12: "Those who instruct many unto justice shall be as stars for perpetual eternities." I went about: the Gloss: "Diligently and studiously": Song of Songs three: "I will arise and go about the city": seeking, like the woman of whom Luke fifteen says: "Who lights a lamp and sweeps the house, seeking diligently until she finds it." That I might take her to myself, namely as a bride: whence above in the same chapter: "I sought to take her as my bride."

In the aforesaid text, eight things useful to the preacher or teacher concerning the learning of wisdom or concerning the acquisition of wisdom are touched upon: reflection upon her through investigation, recollection through frequent practice, delight through love, action through fulfillment, contention through disputation, communication through conference, going about through questioning, taking up through incorporation.

After saying, "I was a child of a noble nature," explaining why he was good-natured, he immediately adds, "A good soul fell to my lot," receiving it, that is, from either the nature or the physical temperament of the father. He then says, "Being good beyond the usual, I entered an unsullied body." … If we wanted to understand these expressions as referring to the Lord with respect to the human nature assumed by the Word, in the same context there are statements that cannot be applied to his sublime person, and especially the following. The same author, in the same book, a little above the passage we are now discussing, professes to have been formed from the blood that comes from the seed of a man. This kind of birth, however, is absolutely different from the birth from the Virgin, since no Christian doubts that she conceived the flesh of Christ without the cooperation of male seed.

A closer examination is needed of the passage in the book of Wisdom that says, "A good soul fell to my lot, and, because I was unusually good, I entered an undefiled body." This would in fact seem to support the opinion according to which it is believed that souls are not propagated from a single soul but enter bodies from on high. What, however, is the meaning of the phrase "a good soul fell to my lot"? One could imagine that in the creation of souls, if there is such a thing, some are good and others not, and these are distributed on the basis of a kind of lottery, which would decide which type of soul would be infused in each individual person. Or, at the moment of conception or birth God makes some people good and others not, in such a way that each of them would receive the soul that had been assigned to them by the draw. It would be odd if the cited text were a convincing argument, at least for those who believe that souls are created in another place and sent by God, one by one, into each human body. Not so, however, for those who assert that souls are sent into bodies based on the merits from works done prior to being united to the body. Indeed, based on what criteria could it be thought that souls, some good and others not, enter bodies, except according to their actions? This is inconsistent, however, with a nature in which all souls are created by him who creates all natures good. Far be it from us, however, to contradict the apostle, who, when speaking of the twins who were still in Rachel's womb, says that, being as yet unborn, they had not done anything either good or evil. He thus concludes that, not based on works but by the grace of him who calls, Scripture says, "The older will serve the younger." Let us therefore set aside for awhile the text being considered here from the book of Wisdom, because we must not ignore the opinion, correct or not, of those who believe that it especially and exclusively concerns the soul "of the mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus." If necessary, we will examine the meaning of this text later in such a way that, if it cannot be applied to Christ, we will try to discover in what sense it must be understood so as to not contradict the doctrine of the apostle, starting from the hypothesis that souls have merits deriving from their actions prior to living in their bodies.

Second, the aptitude for receiving her.

Now I was a child etc. Here he touches on the aptitude for receiving, first on the part of natural ability, because as a child I was of good natural talent: second on the part of grace, because I obtained a good soul: third on the part of purity, because, since I was more good, I came to an undefiled body.

(Vers. 19. 20.). He says therefore: Now I was an ingenious child: note that he speaks in the person of Solomon. Ingenious by natural industry: Proverbs 20: "A child is known by his pursuits, whether his works be clean and right." And I obtained, that is, attained by the lot of divine election: Acts 1: "The lot fell upon Matthias"; a good soul, namely through grace: 3 Kings 3: "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father."

And since I was more good, namely from superadded grace, than I was previously from natural industry, I came etc. For according to Augustine, temporal goods are the lowest goods, natural goods the middle, gratuitous goods the highest. I came, I say, by the resolution and zeal of the mind, to an undefiled body, supply: to have and preserve through purity.

But the Gloss objects that this can scarcely be understood literally of Solomon, because "he loved women, even foreign ones," as is evident from 3 Kings 11.

But the solution is clear through a distinction of times: in youth he loved purity, but in old age, lust. Nevertheless, these things can be better understood of Christ.

Do you not know that when the male child is forty days old, he is presented at the altar to be purified, being impure from the conception itself, on account of both the paternal seed and the mother's womb? Thus every person is impure from his father and his mother, but only my Lord Jesus entered this life purely and was not defiled in the mother. He in fact entered an undefiled body. It was he who once said through Solomon, "Or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body." Consequently, he was not defiled in the mother, and certainly not in the father. In his generation, Joseph offered nothing other than his service and affection. Thus Scripture, for his faithful service of a father, also gives him the name. Indeed, Mary says in the Gospel, "I and your father have been searching for you in sorrow." Christ alone, therefore, is "the high priest who was not defiled in either the father or the mother."

"I said, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord. Heal me, for I have sinned against you.' " So—"I said." I do not, to excuse my sin, look for who sinned through me or who forced me to sin. I do not say that it was by chance or that Fate wanted it. And finally, I do not say that it was the devil. Certainly the devil has power to suggest, even to cause fear and even, if he is allowed, to seriously harass. But we must ask the Lord for strength, so that the seductions do not captivate us and the difficulties do not break us. Against the seductions and threats of the enemy he gives us two virtues: continence and patience. To curb pleasures, so that prosperity does not seduce us, and to endure fears, so that difficulties do not break us. "But knowing," it is written, "that no one can be continent unless it is granted him by God," we see that he asked him, "Create a pure heart in me, O God." And also, "Woe to those who have lost the strength to endure."

"And this also was wisdom: to know whose gift it was." Therefore, if you have something from God and do not know from whom you have it, you will not receive a reward, since you will be ungrateful for it. If you do not know who gave it to you, you will not give thanks. And if you do not give thanks, you will also lose what you have. Indeed, "to him who has, more will be given." What is it to possess fully? To know from whom it comes. "But the one who does not have," that is, who does not know from whom it comes, "will lose even what he has." Finally, as it also says, "And precisely this was wisdom: to know from whom the gift came." The apostle Paul says this also when he exhorts us to give thanks to God in the Holy Spirit. And almost as if to respond to the question, How will we know the difference? he adds, "that we may know all that has been given to us by God."

Continence is commanded of us. Where is this command? The apostle writes to Timothy, "Be continent!" It is a command, a precept—we must listen to it and put it into practice. But if God does not help us, we are unable to. We try to do something about it with our will, and the will engages in the attempt. Do not presume to do it without someone to help you in your weakness! You have certainly been commanded to be continent, but listen now to another passage of Scripture: "Knowing that no one can be continent unless God grants it to him, and that it was a gift of wisdom itself to know who was the giver of this gift." So what did he do? He says, "I turned to the Lord and implored him." What need is there, my brothers and sisters, to cite many passages? Whatever command is given us, we must pray so as to be able to carry it out. Clearly not in the sense that we must go off and, as lazy people do, lay on the ground on our backs, saying, "God will rain food in our faces, so we'll have to do absolutely nothing." And then, when food falls in our mouths, we add, "God, stick it in our throats, as well!" We also must do something. We must apply ourselves, we must make an effort, and we must give thanks for what we have been able to do and pray for what we have been unable to do. By thanksgiving, you will avoid being condemned for ingratitude, by asking for what you do not yet have you will avoid being left empty-handed against the obstacles that hinder you.

Third, the confidence of obtaining it.

(Vers. 21.). And as I knew, namely by the most certain cognition of faith and reason, that otherwise I cannot be continent unless God grant it. "For every best gift and every perfect gift is from above" etc., James 1; but continence is a most perfect gift: Sirach 26: "No weight is worthy of a continent soul." And this itself was wisdom, that is, a certain effect of wisdom in me, namely to know whose this gift was; above in the same: "She is the instructress of the discipline of God." As I knew, I say, etc., I went to the Lord, by the intention of the mind, not by the steps of the body. In the Psalm: "Come to him, and be enlightened." And I besought him, namely by the word of vocal prayer: James 1: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." And I said from all my inmost heart, namely with the fervor of devotion, according to that word of Isaiah 26: "Yea, with my spirit in the morning within my inmost heart I will watch for thee"; in the Psalm: "I cried with my whole heart: hear me, O Lord."

There is a gift of God the Father, a gift of the Son and also a gift of the Holy Spirit. Concerning the Father the apostle says, "By grace you are saved through faith. And this is not from you, but it is the gift of God." About the Son, in Solomon, "Because no one can be continent without the gift of God, and it was precisely intelligence to know from whom this gift comes." The Holy Spirit, in Acts, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."