Coll. 4
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/12/d/4/q/bon-don-c4
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### COLLATION IV.
#### *On the gift of knowledge.*

### Summarium

*Introduction,* 1. — *Exposition of the text. Two things that go before the gift of knowledge, and two that follow,* 2. — *There are four brightnesses or kinds of knowledge, all of which are gifts of God; their definitions,* 3-5. — Part I. On philosophical knowledge. *It is the certain notice of truth as searchable. Its threefold principal division is confirmed,* 6. — *Solomon had these three,* 7-11. — *These same kinds of knowledge are easily eclipsed; a further light is therefore required,* 12. — Part II. On theological knowledge. *It is the pious notice of truth as credible; it is founded upon the articles of faith; Scripture is compared to the waters of the sea for a threefold reason,* 13. — *First, because of the depth of the mysteries,* 14. — *Secondly, because of the manifoldness of the senses,* 15. — *Thirdly, because of the establishing of the Churches,* 16. — *When knowledge of the faith fails, the Church is shaken; this knowledge is necessary for pontiffs; the fulfilment of it in works is required besides, otherwise it is harmful; therefore a further knowledge is necessary,* 17. 18. — Part III. On the freely given knowledge. *It is the holy notice of truth as credible and lovable. It is called the knowledge of the Saints for a threefold reason,* 19. — *First, because it is given by the Holy Spirit,* 20. — *Secondly, because it has nothing of viciousness,* 21. — *Thirdly, because it has a zeal for holiness; an exhortation,* 22. — *Freely given knowledge teaches both to know and the true manner of knowing,* 23. — *Charity is to be joined to knowledge,* 24. — *The knowledge of glory,* 25.

1. *God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has himself shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the brightness of God in the face of Christ Jesus*. — *Shall he that chastises nations not rebuke, he that teaches man knowledge?* The Psalm of David says that God is the great teacher of the branches of knowledge. You know that if a man has to draw water, he draws it more gladly from its original source than from a rivulet. Therefore, if the Lord is the great teacher and the giver of the gift of which we intend to speak, we must go back to that fountain to obtain enlightenment. So did the Psalmist, so did Solomon, and he became a great clerk. At the outset we must lift up our souls and beseech the bestower of gifts, since we ask not for temporal things but for the profit and salvation of our soul; and this pleases God, as Solomon did, who asked wisdom of the Lord. Let us therefore beseech the Lord that he himself may open the eyes of our mind and grant me the light of knowledge, so that I may be able to say something about the gift of knowledge that may be to the honour of God etc.

2. *God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness* etc. This word is written in the second Epistle to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle Paul, the great teacher, sets out the gift of knowledge itself; and he sets out *the gift itself* with respect to what *goes before* it and what *follows* it. Two things go before the gift of knowledge: one is like an *inborn* light, and the other is like an *infused* light. The inborn light is the light of the *natural faculty of judgment* or of reason; the light poured in from above is the *light of faith.* As to the first he says: *God, who commanded the light to shine,* that is, he impressed the light of the natural faculty of judgment upon the rational creature, that is, not only the possible intellect but also the agent intellect. As to the *light of faith* poured in from above he says: *He has shone in our hearts* etc., namely by the infusion of the light of faith. God founded the rational nature and superadded grace. There are, then, two antecedents. — The consequents also are two, namely the *clear notice of the Creator* and the *revealed notice of the Saviour*. As to the antecedents he says: *God, who commanded* etc.; as to the consequents he says: *To give the light of the knowledge of the brightness of God,* where the *clear notice of the Creator* is touched upon; *in the face of Christ Jesus,* where the *revealed notice of the Saviour* is touched upon. — The Apostle gives us to understand that the soul has a manifold brightness and passes from one to another. Whence the Apostle to the Corinthians: *But we all, beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from brightness to brightness, as by the Spirit of the Lord.* The brightness of the soul is knowledge; contrariwise the *darkness* of the soul is ignorance. He says: *we are transformed from brightness to brightness.*

3. Here it is to be noted that there is a brightness of *philosophical* knowledge, of *theological* knowledge, of *freely given* knowledge, and a brightness of the knowledge of *glory.* The brightness of philosophical knowledge is great in the opinion of worldly men, yet it is small in comparison with the brightness of Christian knowledge. But the brightness of theological knowledge seems small in the opinion of worldly men, though in truth it is great. The brightness of freely given knowledge is greater, but the brightness of the knowledge of glory is greatest; there is the resting-place. The Psalm: *Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me; it is strengthened, and I cannot reach to it,* namely in this life.

4. All these kinds of knowledge and their brightnesses are given from above, although in the giving of them there is always a greater gift. It is true that *philosophical* and *theological* knowledge is a gift of God; but *properly* the gift of God is *freely given* knowledge; while the knowledge of *glory* is not only a gift but also a reward. And in the Canticle of Anna it is said in the book of Kings: *Let old things depart from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared;* not foolish thoughts, which are scattered along the ways of error, but good thoughts are prepared for the Lord along the ways of truth. Job: *Dost thou know the paths of the clouds, the great and perfect kinds of knowledge?* He says *the great paths,* that is, philosophical and theological knowledge, which are called *great paths* because they take in many branches of knowledge; he says *perfect paths* with respect to *freely given* knowledge and the knowledge of *glory. The paths of the clouds* are *the kinds of knowledge of perfect men,* because, as clouds are drawn on high by the power of heat, so perfect men are lifted up in the abstraction of the mind. — Of these four kinds of knowledge we mean to speak, so that we may be able to arrive at the third, of which we are speaking here.

5. *Philosophical* knowledge is nothing other than the *certain notice* of truth as *searchable. Theological* knowledge is the *pious notice* of truth as *credible. Freely given* knowledge is the *holy notice* of truth as *lovable.* The knowledge of *glory* is the *everlasting notice* of truth as *desirable.*

6. Let us begin first with *philosophical* knowledge. I say that philosophical knowledge is the *certain notice* of truth as *searchable*. Of this knowledge it is said in Proverbs: *Behold, I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in thoughts and knowledge, that I might show thee the certainty and the words of truth.* That word can be *Solomon's* and the word of *God.* I say that it can be the word of *God.* For he describes philosophical knowledge in a threefold way, that is, he describes it according to a threefold ground, as *natural,* as *rational* and as *moral,* namely in so far as it is « the *cause of being,* the *ground of understanding* and the *order of living* ». In so far as it is the *cause of being,* it designates natural knowledge; in so far as it is the *ground of understanding,* it signifies *rational* knowledge; in so far as it is the *order of living,* it describes *moral* knowledge.

7. Nor is that word only *God's;* it is rather also *Solomon's,* who *discoursed from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop*. He himself says: *Behold, I have described it to thee three manner of ways, that I might show thee the certainty,* that is, solid and firm truth, *and the words of truth;* he describes it in a threefold way, namely in so far as it is the truth *of things,* the truth *of words* and the truth *of morals,* according as there is an undividedness of being *from its act of being,* an undividedness of being *towards its act of being,* and of being *from its end.* The truth of things is the undividedness of being from its *act of being;* the truth of words

is the undividedness of being *towards its act of being;* the truth *of morals* is the undividedness of being *from its end*. — The truth *of morals* is rectitude, according to which a man lives well *within* and *without* according to the dictate of right, since right is the rule of rectitude; the truth *of words* is the adequation of utterance and understanding; the truth *of things* is « the adequation of understanding and thing ». And because philosophical knowledge teaches *the words of truth,* and truth is threefold, therefore he says that he described it three manner of ways.

8. Do you not believe that Solomon acquired this threefold notice? — Of the knowledge *of discourse* he says that he had it. Whence in the book of Wisdom he says: *Give me, Lord, wisdom that sits by thy throne, that I may be worthy of the seats of my father.* There it is written: *And to me God has given to speak as I would, and to conceive thoughts worthy of those things that are given me. In his hand are both we and our words.* It is impossible that wisdom should become teaching except through speech. But speech is not sufficient for teaching unless it be weighty with meaning. And a man does not speak weightily unless his speech be *discussive, inquisitive* and *persuasive,* namely that he have a speech able to utter everything that can be apprehended or known, or towards which the affection can be inclined. Now he expresses fittingly what he says by *grammar,* he investigates reasonably by the science of *logic,* and he persuades effectively by *rhetoric.* This, then, is a part of philosophy, namely the knowledge of discourse, which is threefold, as is plain, and which Solomon obtained.

9. The other part of philosophy, namely that which lies in the truth *of things,* Solomon says he obtained. Whence he says in the book of Wisdom: *God has given me the true knowledge of the things that are, so that I may know the disposition of the whole world and the virtues of the elements.* It is certain that the notice of the truth *of things* is threefold, according as there are *concrete* forms, *abstract* forms, and *separate* forms. The natural philosopher considers *concrete* forms, the metaphysician *abstract* forms, and the mathematician *separate* forms. Whence he says: *God has given me the knowledge of the things that are,* that is, of beings principally, which are truly beings, as regards *metaphysical* knowledge; *so that I may know the disposition of the whole world,* as regards *mathematics; and the virtues of the elements,* as regards *natural philosophy.* Solomon knew the course of the year from the disposition of the stars, the natures of animals and the virtues of roots; Solomon taught all things.

10. Of the third part of philosophy, namely the *moral,* Solomon also says that he obtained it. Whence in Ecclesiastes: *I surveyed all things with my mind, that I might know and consider and seek out wisdom and reason, and that I might know the impiety of the fool and the error of the imprudent.* He says that he considered many things and ordered them all to morals. — Dearly beloved! the *impiety of the fool* lies in thinking ill of the cause of causes; the *error of the imprudent* concerns the government of the monastic life, or of the domestic, or of the political, that is, the government of oneself, or of a household, or of a city. Great prudence is required for the government of oneself, greater for the government of a household, but the greatest for the government of a city. It is impossible that the sun should light bodies far from it and not light those near it. No one can have a well-ordered household unless he himself is well ordered. If a man wants to have chaste servants and he himself will not be chaste, this cannot be. Likewise, unless a man governs his household well, he will not be able to govern a city well, since *as is the prince of the city, so also are they that dwell in it*.

11. Solomon therefore shows that he arrived at the threefold description of philosophical knowledge, namely at the description of rational, moral and natural knowledge, and at a threefold description of each of these. — Whoever should have the description of these kinds of knowledge according to truth would have the greatest mirror for knowing, because there is nothing in any of these kinds of knowledge that does not carry a vestige of the Trinity. That would be easy to show, but it would take long.

12. The first brightness, namely that of *philosophical* knowledge, is great in the opinion of worldly men; but it is easily eclipsed, unless a man beware of the head and the tail of the dragon. If anything be interposed between him and the sun of justice, he suffers the eclipse of folly. Jeremiah: *Every man is become a fool by his own knowledge,* namely *occasionally,* not *causally.* He who trusts in philosophical knowledge and prizes himself on that account and believes himself to be the better for it, has become a fool, namely when by this knowledge and without a further light he believes that he apprehends the Creator; as if a man wanted to see the heavens or the body of the sun by candles. — It is certain that *rational* philosophy is consummated in rhetoric, since the deliberative kind is threefold, namely when a man deliberates about *usefulness,* about *safety* and about *honourableness,* and about their opposites, namely about *loss,* about *danger* and about *sin* or

*dishonour*. A man cannot know what is *useful* and what is *harmful* except by an addition beyond this knowledge. It is said in the Gospel: *What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?* What is it worth that a man should know much, if the true honour of the soul is abandoned? — It is likewise certain that by *moral* knowledge a man cannot know what is useful and what is harmful except by an addition beyond moral knowledge, in so far as moral knowledge is the *rite* of worship, the *norm* of living and the *standard* of judging. Who can know the *rite of worship* through natural philosophy? — Grant that a man have natural knowledge and metaphysics, which extends to the highest substances, and that he arrive there so as to *rest* there; it is impossible but that he fall into error, unless he be helped by the light of faith, namely so that he believe God to be three and one, most powerful and best according to the utmost outflow of goodness. If you believe otherwise, you are mad concerning God; you attribute to another what is proper to God, you blaspheme and you are an idolater, as when a man attributes to another the simplicity of God or the like. — Therefore this knowledge cast down and darkened the philosophers, because they had not the light of faith. Whence the Apostle: *Who, when they had known God, glorified him not as God, nor gave thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.* And in the book of Wisdom: *For if they were able to know so much as to be able to value the world, how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?* — Philosophical knowledge is a way to the other kinds of knowledge; but he who wants to stand still there falls into darkness.

13. Beyond philosophical knowledge God has given us *theological* knowledge, which is *the pious notice of truth as credible:* because the eternal light, namely God, is a light inaccessible to us so long as we are mortal and have the eyes of a bat. Whence Augustine: « The weak edge of the mind is not fixed upon so surpassing a light unless it be cleansed by the justice of faith ». Therefore theological knowledge is founded upon faith: as the philosophical branches of knowledge are founded upon their own first principles, so the knowledge of Scripture is founded upon the articles of faith, which are the twelve foundations of the city. Of this knowledge it is said in Isaiah: *They shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain;* and there follows: *because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea.* Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea because of the *depth of the mysteries,* because of the *manifoldness of the senses* and because of the *establishing* *of the Churches.*

14. First, I say, sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea because of the *depth of the mysteries.* The sea is deep, nor can a man wade across it; so great is the depth of the mysteries of sacred Scripture that, however enlightened a man may be and of however great diligence, he cannot reach to their depth. Whence Isaiah: *The vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a sealed book, which when they shall deliver to one that is learned, they shall say: Read this; and he shall answer: I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book shall be given to one that knows no letters, and it shall be said to him: Read; and he shall answer: I know no letters.* Neither the learned man nor the unlearned will be able to read it. Who then shall read it? I say that he who wishes to enter the sanctuary of God with pride will not be able to, though he be lettered; likewise, if an unlettered man should wish to enter, he would be a fool. He must therefore have both *letters* and *spirit.*

15. Secondly, sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea because of the *manifoldness of the senses.* In the sea there are various springings-up; so in sacred Scripture there is in one letter a manifold meaning. Whence in Daniel: *But thou, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the appointed time; many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold.* — Some wonder that in the same Scripture we have so many meanings. Anselm says that in the same soil different things can be planted; the soil by the divine power brings forth various growths; so through the Holy Spirit there are various meanings in the same letter. Nor is it unfitting to use equivocally what is equivocal and set down in many ways. In theology both *things* and *words* signify. Therefore, when there are several properties of a thing, then many things are signified by one thing. As many as are the properties of the sun, so many, when *the sun* signifies the just man, are the properties of the just man.

16. The third reason why sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea is because of the *establishing of the Churches.* The Psalm: *He has founded it upon the seas;* and elsewhere: *Who hast founded the earth upon its own stability.*

Some derided David because he said that God founded the earth upon the waters. Since the earth is dry, unless there were moisture penetrating the earth, it would be reduced to dust; and as the human body receives moisture through the veins, so it is necessary that fresh waters come from the sea and hold the earth together. He says that *he founded the earth upon the waters* because of a mystery. The earth which the Spirit has filled is the ecclesiastical hierarchy; he *who has poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth*, because he founded the holy Church upon the divine words. The sacred words are its supports. The Apostle says to Timothy: *I write to thee, Timothy, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.*

17. Where sacred Scripture fails, the earth, that is the Church, must needs be shaken: *They have not known nor understood; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth shall be moved*. Arius, who wished to take away the foundation of the Trinity; Nestorius, who wished to take away the unity of the person; and Eutyches, who wanted to confound the natures in Christ — these shook the foundations of the Church. — Every pontiff ought to know this knowledge; whence the hierarch is asked: Do you know the Old Testament and the New? — The king of England asked a certain bishop what the two horns on his mitre signified. He answered, and rightly, that they signify the two testaments, which bishops ought to know. « And what do those two lappets signify, which hang down behind the back? » He answered that they signify ignorance of both, « since we know neither the one nor the other, but have cast the whole behind our back ». And in this he spoke ill.

18. Because the ecclesiastical hierarchy is founded in Scripture, which is compared to the water of the sea for these three reasons, therefore sentence has been passed against those who have not this knowledge. In Hosea: *Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt not do the office of priesthood to me.* From the helm of a ship and from the government of a city he is rejected who knows nothing of governing. If the foundations of the Church consist in the knowledge of sacred Scripture, therefore he who does not know sacred Scripture is to be rejected from ecclesiastical office and dignity. If a blind man wanted to lead another, it would be the greatest folly. A pilot is not to be chosen by lot nor by friendship. — And it is to be known that *knowledge is rejected* when a man *does not care to learn it.* Isaiah: *Therefore has my people been led away captive, because they had not knowledge,* namely neither in the head nor in the members. — Again, *knowledge is rejected* when a man knows the knowledge *and will not live according to the knowledge* nor fulfil it. Whence the Lord says: *Woe to you, Scribes and Lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves have not entered in, and those that were entering in you have hindered.* If a physician eats the food which he forbids to the sick man, the sick man is scandalized and wants to eat that food. — Wherefore *woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees!* since *to him that knows the good and does it not, it is sin,* as blessed James says. By knowledge both the fault and the penalty are increased; whence in Luke: *The servant who knew the will of his lord and prepared not and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.* If a man *does not hinder* evil by example or by counsel, woe to him! You make yourself a doctor of sacred Scripture, but you persuade what is contrary to the good and the true. If one who ought to walk by the straight way had another *tell* him to walk by the crooked way, his sin would be inexpiable. In hindering another's salvation by example, by counsel, or by persuasion, you must give your own soul for that man's soul. If I can draw another to what is better and I draw him to what is worse, do I not sin gravely? If I hinder another's good, I do worse than the devil; because the devil acts as an enemy does. — This knowledge, if the fulfilment of it in works be lacking, is not useful but harmful. The first brightness can be *darkened,* but this one can be *condemned.*

19. Therefore another brightness must be had, namely that of *freely given knowledge,* which is the form of the two preceding brightnesses. You fail in the third sign if you have not this knowledge. This knowledge is the *holy notice* of truth as *credible and lovable.* Of this knowledge it is said in the book of Wisdom: *The Lord led the just man through the right ways and showed him the kingdom of God; he honoured him in his labours and gave him the knowledge of the Saints.* Freely given knowledge is called *the knowledge of the Saints* for a threefold cause.

20. First, because it is given by the Holy Spirit; I say by the Holy Spirit *moving* the soul, *inspiring* and *forming* it unto holiness. I say by the Holy Spirit *inspiring* unto the *notice* of holiness, unto the *pleasingness* of holiness and unto the *guarding* of holiness. Whence the Apostle to the Corinthians: *We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we may know the things that are given us from God;* and how? If we know, guard and approve the things inspired by the Holy Spirit unto the notice of holiness, unto the

pleasingness and the guarding of holiness. Whence in John: *Father, sanctify them in truth.*

21. In another way freely given knowledge is called *the knowledge of the Saints,* because it has nothing of viciousness mixed in, nothing of carnality, nothing of curiosity and nothing of vanity. Whence in Leviticus: *And the Lord said also to Aaron: Wine, and everything that may make drunk, you shall not drink, thou and thy sons, that you may have knowledge to discern between the holy and the profane.* He who has the knowledge to discern between the holy and the profane will abstain from everything that can make drunk, that is, from every superfluous delight in a creature; this is the wine that makes drunk. Whether a man be inclined towards the superfluous delight that is in a creature because of *vanity,* or because of *curiosity,* or because of *carnality,* he has not the knowledge of the Saints. It is said in Genesis: *Of every tree that is in paradise thou shalt eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat, for in what hour soever you shall eat of it, you shall die the death.* Adam with his wife contracted the vice of *curiosity,* when the devil said to them: *You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil;* he contracted also the vice of *carnality,* when he ate of the fruit; he contracted also *the vice of vanity,* when he wished to be as gods. — Hear, brethren: let those who have the knowledge of the Saints, namely clerics, beware lest they have anything of viciousness mixed in; because, if a man mixes in anything of viciousness, he loses the knowledge to discern between good and evil.

22. Thirdly, freely given knowledge is called *the knowledge of the Saints* because it has a zeal for all holiness. — Whence in the book of Ecclesiastes: *In much wisdom there shall be indignation; and he that adds knowledge adds also sorrow.* A man knowing his own defects has the sorrow of *compunction* for himself, the sorrow of *compassion* for his neighbours, and the sorrow of *zeal* for the honour of God. — The Psalm: *O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lying? Know ye also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful; the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him. Be angry, and sin not; the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.* He who has true knowledge and knows God and sees that he does not walk rightly nor perfectly is in continual sorrow, because he sees that his affections and thoughts are scattered. Augustine: « Knowledge begets mourning ». — A man sees the slaughter of *bodies* and grieves much. He therefore who sees the slaughter of *souls,* how can he hold himself back from tears? This sorrow greatly pleases God. The Lord says of this knowledge: *I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.* I know the infirmities of others; I ought to have compassion on them. Isaiah: *We have seen him, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity.* The spirit of the knowledge of God is not in that member which sees a member of its own head wounded and does not grieve with it. David grieved over the death of Absalom, who nevertheless had persecuted him. There is, then, the sorrow of *compunction* for oneself and the sorrow of *compassion* for one's neighbours. — The third sorrow is that of *zeal* for the *divine honour.* Whence in the book of Maccabees: *Thou, O Lord, who hast knowledge, knowest that whereas I might be delivered from death, I endure grievous pains of body; but in soul I willingly suffer these things for thy fear.* These words Eleazar spoke, when he chose rather to die than to make a pretence of eating swine's flesh. Philosophy does not teach this, that for a conclusion I should expose myself to death.

23. The Psalm: *I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.* Freely given knowledge teaches both *to know* and the *manner of knowing.* Whence on that word of the Apostle — *And if any man think that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know* — Bernard says: « You see that the Apostle does not approve one who *knows much,* but the *manner of knowing;* see that he places the whole fruit and usefulness of knowledge in the *manner of knowing.* What does he call the *manner of knowing?* To know in what *order,* with what *zeal,* to what *end* each man learns: in what *order,* so that he learn first what is more ripe unto salvation; with what *zeal,* so that he learn the more ardently what draws the more vehemently to the love of God; to what *end,* so that he learn not for empty glory or curiosity, but for his own upbuilding and his neighbour's. There are those who wish to know only in order to know, and that is base *curiosity.* There are those who learn and wish to know in order *to be known,* and that is base *vanity.* And there are those who wish to know in order to *sell their knowledge* for money or honours, and that is base *gain.* There are those who wish to know in order to *build up* others, and that is *charity.* And there are those who wish to know in order *to be built up,* and that is *prudence* ».

24. *Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies*; therefore charity must be joined with knowledge, so that a man may have knowledge and charity together, so that there may be fulfilled that which the Apostle says: *Rooted and*

*founded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, the breadth, the height and the depth, and to know also the surpassing brightness of the knowledge of Christ.* This is the knowledge which is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

25. Of the last knowledge, namely of the knowledge of *glory,* I shall say one word. It is said of it in the book of Wisdom: *To know thee is perfect justice;* and there follows: *and it is the root of immortality.* This knowledge is *begun* in contemplatives, *made perpetual* in those who sleep and *consummated* in those who rise again. May he deign to grant us this knowledge who with the Father etc.

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