Cap. 10, Vers. 1-21
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/16/d/10/q/bon-sap-c10
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### Chapter X.

*She … her* [so printed: *illam*; the verse reads *illum*, him] etc. In the preceding chapters he admonished rulers specially to acquire wisdom, and this through reasons taken from the peril of the office of those whom he admonishes, namely in the sixth chapter; secondly, through reasons taken from the example of him who admonishes, in the seventh, eighth and ninth chapters. Here, thirdly, he exhorts them to this same thing through reasons taken from the *many effects and benefits* of wisdom, to which he admonishes them. Now wisdom is beneficent, both by *promoting* the *wise,* namely her friends, and by *punishing* the *unwise,* the adversaries of the wise. Therefore he first treats of the benefits pertaining to the *promotion of the friends of God,* namely in this chapter; secondly, of those pertaining principally to the *punishing of the adversaries,* namely in the eleventh chapter and thereafter.

#### *Thirdly he exhorts to the acquiring of wisdom through reasons taken from its effects, and first from the benefits pertaining to the promotion of the friends of God.*

In the first part he first determines the benefits conferred *on single persons;* secondly, the benefits shown *to one people: She delivered the just people.*

#### First, on the benefits conferred on six single persons.

In the first he shows the benefits of wisdom in six single persons of the ancient Patriarchs: first, in the person of Adam, when he says: *She preserved him, that was first* etc.; secondly, in the person of Noe, there: *From her, when … went away;* thirdly, in the person of Abraham: *She also, in the consent of pride*; fourthly, in the person of Lot: *She … the just man from them that were perishing;* fifthly, in the person of Jacob: *But she … the fugitive* etc.; sixthly, in the person of Joseph: *She … the just man when he was sold.*

In the first, of Adam, he shows the benefit first of *grace,* secondly of *nature: And she brought him out* etc.

(Vers. 1.). *She preserved him.* Well did I say that *by wisdom all were healed,* which is clear through examples. For *she,* namely wisdom, *preserved him,* namely Adam, *that was first,* of all men, *formed by God,* namely immediately; Job, the tenth: « Thy hands have made me » etc. *The father of the world,* that is, the father to be of the whole human race; Malachias, the second: « Is there not one father of us all »? *When he was created alone,* namely before the formation of the woman; Genesis, the second: « It is not good for man to be alone ». It is to be noted that he is said to be *formed* on the part of the body; whence Genesis, the second: « God therefore formed man of the slime of the earth »; and *created,* on the part of the soul; Genesis, the first: « God created man to his own image and likeness » etc. *When,* I say, *he was created alone,* she *preserved* him, namely from sin, in the earthly paradise in the state of innocence. « For he placed him in paradise, that he might dress it and keep it », Genesis, the second.

(Vers. 2.). *And she brought him out,* namely, the woman having now been made, him who had become a transgressor, Genesis, the third, *of his sin,* namely through the sending of penance and the remission of guilt. And it is to be noted that here the penance of Adam is set out more expressly than elsewhere. *And*

*she brought him out of the slime of the earth*, namely on the part of the body; Ecclesiasticus, the seventeenth: « God created man of the earth ». *And gave him strength,* that is, power, *to contain all things,* by ruling all things and having dominion over all, and this on the part of the soul, namely through reason, according to that of Genesis, the first: « Rule over the fishes of the sea » etc.; likewise in the Psalm: « Thou hast subjected all things under his feet ».

*From her* etc. Here he shows the benefit of wisdom done specially to *Noe* himself and to those who were with him in the ark, when she delivered him from the flood and destroyed the wicked. And first he touches the first cause of the *perdition of the wicked;* secondly, the first cause of the *deliverance of the good,* there: *On account of which* etc.

(Vers. 3.). He says therefore: *From her,* namely wisdom, *when … went away;* Proverbs, the first: « Fools despise wisdom and instruction »; for by this, that one goes away from wisdom, one goes away from God; above, the first: « Perverse thoughts separate from God »; *the unjust,* namely Cain, who is called *the unjust* by antonomasia, because he was the head and exemplar of the unjust; *in his anger,* namely that with which he was angry against his brother Abel; Genesis, the fourth: « Why art thou angry » etc. *Through the anger of murder,* that is, which anger was a spiritual murder, according to that of the first of John, the third: « Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer », or transitively, so that the sense is: *Through the anger of murder,* that is, which was the cause of bodily murder; whence Genesis, the fourth: « Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him ». *Brotherhood perished,* that is, the fellowship of brotherhood, Abel being dead bodily and Cain spiritually.

(Vers. 4.). *On account of which* etc., namely the sin; for that sin was the first cause of the corruption of the posterity of Cain, from which the corruption was derived even into a great part of the posterity of Seth; and that of Genesis, the sixth, was fulfilled, where it is said: « All flesh had corrupted its way ». *When water destroyed the earth,* namely by destroying earthly man from the face of the earth; Genesis, the sixth: « I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth ». For all perished who were written in the earth, namely the wicked, of whom Jeremias, the seventeenth: « They that depart from thee shall be written in the earth »; destroying also all flesh of those living on the earth, according to that of Genesis, the seventh: « All flesh was consumed that moved on the earth ». *Wisdom healed again,* namely the world, just as she had healed Adam before; *healed,* I say, the world, namely by purging it of wicked men; *by contemptible wood,* « that is, by the ark », contemptible in its material and despised by those who believed it was being built in vain. *The just,* « namely Noe », of whom Genesis, the sixth: « Noe was a just man » etc.; *steering,* namely by delivering him from drowning amid the floodings of the waters; the second of Peter, the second: « He preserved Noe the eighth, the preacher of justice, bringing in the flood upon the world ». But that wood signified the cross, because it is contemptible to unbelievers, though it is venerable to the faithful; whence the first to the Corinthians, the first: « For the word of the cross, to them that perish, is foolishness » etc.; likewise in the same place: « We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock » etc.

*She also, in the consent* etc. Here he touches the benefit of wisdom conferred in the person of *Abraham,* first *as to himself;* secondly, *in his posterity: And … in his sons* etc.

(Vers. 5.). He says therefore: *She,* namely wisdom, *also* (*et*), that is, even, *when the nations,* that is, the men of that time persisting in the vice of their birth, *had lifted themselves up,* that is, had borne themselves beyond their measure by the elation of the heart and the endeavour of work, against which it is said in the Psalm: « Lord, my heart is not exalted » etc. *In the consent of pride*, that is, coming from pride, by which consent, namely, or by which pride, they wished to build a tower reaching even to heaven and to make their name renowned; both of which were pride, Genesis, the eleventh. *When,* I say, *the nations had lifted themselves up* etc.; *knew,* namely wisdom, by approving and choosing and separating from the wicked; the second to Timothy, the second: « The Lord knoweth who are his »; on the contrary it is said to the wicked, Matthew, the seventh: « I never knew you »; *the just,* namely Abraham, who is called *the just* by antonomasia. *And preserved him without blame to God,* « in the midst of a depraved and perverse nation », which was difficult; Luke, the first: « They were both without

blame ». *And in his sons,* that is, his descendants, *she kept a strong mercy*, namely by multiplying them out of her mercy and by defending them strongly from their adversaries and at length by conferring on them the land of promise, as he had promised in Genesis, the thirteenth and the fifteenth and the seventeenth.

*She … the just man from them that were perishing* etc. Here he shows the benefit of wisdom conferred in the person of *Lot,* delivered from the overthrow of Sodom, and first he touches *Lot's deliverance;* secondly, *the punishing of the others: When … came down* etc.; thirdly, *the equity of the punishing: For … wisdom.*

(Vers. 6.). *She,* namely wisdom, *the just man,* « namely Lot », as the Gloss says; likewise in the second of Peter, the second, it is said of him: « In sight and hearing he was just »; *from the impious that were perishing,* namely from the fellowship of the impious who were perishing, that is, the Sodomites; *delivered, as he fled,* both from the fellowship of *guilt,* according to that in the same place: « He rescued just Lot, oppressed by the wrong and the luxurious conversation of the abominable »; and from the fellowship of *punishment;* of both deliverances there is treatment in Genesis, the nineteenth. *When the fire came down,* sent from heaven, not from the earth; in the same place: « The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire » etc.; *upon Pentapolis;* the Gloss: « That is, into the region, namely, of the five cities », namely Sodom, Gomorrha, Segor, Seboim and Adama.

(Vers. 7.). *To whom,* namely to the perishing, *for a testimony of wickedness,* namely of a burning and stinking lust, *smoking,* that is, sending forth smoke from itself; whence in the Psalm: « There went up a smoke in his wrath »; *the land stands desert,* namely of plants and trees; Job, the twenty-eighth: « The land, out of which bread grew in its place, hath been burnt with fire »; likewise in the Psalm: « A fruitful land into saltness, for the malice of them that dwell therein ». *And the trees having fruits at a certain,* namely a determined, *time,* useless, as it is said, because fruits are reported to grow there outwardly comely, inwardly ashen and full of embers; the Gloss: « They show that without the fruit of penance damned souls will burn in hell for ever ». *And a figment* (*figmentum*), that is, a statue, *of salt,* for seasoning all who hear and see with the salt of wisdom against the rottenness of carnal concupiscence or of unwisdom; *a figment,* I say, *a standing memorial,* that is, a remembrance; Luke, the seventeenth: « Remember Lot's wife »; *a memorial,* I say, *of an incredulous soul,* that is, of the incredulity of Lot's wife, who looked back, not willing to believe the Angel who forbade it, as is clear from Genesis, the nineteenth.

But it is to be noted that *the desert land* testifies to their uselessness for good works; *the smoke,* to their blinding by carnal concupiscence; *the useless fruits,* to their evil conversation; *the statue of salt,* to their flowing away through carnal concupiscence and their corruptive rottenness.

(Vers. 8.). *For … wisdom* etc., as if he should say: and deservedly were they so punished; *for passing by wisdom,* that is, casting it away, the Sodomites, and therefore unhappy; whence above, the third: « He that rejecteth wisdom and discipline is unhappy »; therefore also they perished, according to that of Baruch, the third: « Because they had not wisdom, they perished through their unwisdom »; nor did they only perish because they passed by wisdom, *but they left also a memorial of their unwisdom.* And this is what he adds: *Not only* etc. *Passing by wisdom* [so printed: *Sapientium* for *Sapientiam*], I say, *they did not only slip in this, that they were ignorant,* namely with that ignorance of which the first to the Corinthians, the fourteenth: « If any man know not, he shall not be known »; *of good things,* namely those pertaining to their own life and salvation. *But … of their unwisdom also,* because « they were compared to senseless beasts and became like to them »; *they left unto men a memorial,* as to an evil fame, namely in such a way *that in the things in which they sinned,* that is, that in the sins which they did, *they could not so much as lie hid,* because they would not lie hid, but sinned publicly; Isaias, the third: « They have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it ». And therefore the Lord willed their sins to be published to the whole world through a public penalty.

Sin lies hid *by craftiness in sinning;* the second of Kings, the twelfth: « Thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel ». *By pretence of holiness;* Matthew, the twenty-third: « You are like to whited sepulchres » etc. *By the authority of dignity* or of prelacy, according to that of Gregory: « No one in the Church does more harm than he who, acting perversely, has the name or the order of holiness; for no one presumes to reprove him, and the fault is vehemently extended as an example, when out of reverence for the order the sinner is honoured ».

(Vers. 9.). *But wisdom,* as if he should say: just as those unjust men were punished on account of their contempt of

wisdom; *but* (*autem*) stands for *sed;* on the contrary *wisdom … them that observe her,* namely wisdom, that is, keep her diligently in heart, mouth and work, *hath delivered from sorrows,* namely of the eternal punishments, of which Isaias, the fiftieth: « You shall sleep in sorrows »; likewise in the Psalm: « The sorrows of death have compassed me ».

*But she … the fugitive* etc. Here he touches the manifold benefit of wisdom done in the person of *Jacob,* of which the first was his *promotion in good;* the second, *his preservation from evil: In the deceit of them that overreached him;* the third, *help in triumph: And … a strong conflict.*

(Vers. 10.). *She,* namely wisdom, *the fugitive from his brother's wrath,* namely him fleeing and turning aside from his brother's wrath, or from his angered brother; Genesis, the twenty-seventh: « Behold Esau thy brother threateneth to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, hear my voice, and arise and flee to Laban my brother ». *The just,* namely Jacob, according to that of Genesis, the thirtieth: « My justice shall answer for me tomorrow »; *conducted through the right ways;* the Gloss: « Through Mesopotamia »; Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: « The Lord alone was his leader ». *Right,* he says, because « the way of the just is right », as is had in Isaias, the twenty-sixth. *And showed him,* namely on the way through an imaginary vision, *the kingdom of God,* because « he saw a ladder reaching even to heaven », Genesis, the twenty-eighth. But the devil showed the kingdom of the world; whence Matthew, the fourth: « He showed him all the kingdoms of the world ». *And gave him the knowledge of the holy things,* that is, the intelligence of sacred things, because « there is need of understanding in a vision », as is had in Daniel, the tenth; of the sacred things, I say, which he had seen, he gave him intelligence, that is, that he should understand what the ladder which he had seen signified, and the ascent and descent of the Angels. For the *ladder* is obedience, by which the Angels ascend to stand before God and descend to minister to us; Daniel, the seventh: « Thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him ». *Made him honourable;* the Gloss: « That is, enriched him », according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the eleventh: « It is easy in the eyes of the Lord on a sudden to make the poor man honourable »; and he speaks according to human custom, which is wont to reckon the rich honourable persons. *In his labours,* that is, on account of his labours, not through injustice and rapine, as many enrich themselves. But such riches do not make honourable nor make blessed, but one's own labours, or riches acquired from just labours; in the Psalm: « For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou » etc. *And accomplished,* that is, brought to the wished-for end, namely by bringing him back to his father in the land of Chanaan; *his labours;* the Gloss: « Which he endured in feeding the sheep », of which Genesis, the thirty-first: « Day and night was I parched with heat and with frost ».

*She … the fugitive* etc. From this place up to there: *In the deceit of them that overreached him,* is touched the manifold benefit which the Lord does to *his Saints,* of which the first is *justification* at the beginning of their conversion; to the Romans, the eighth: « Whom he called, them he also justified »; and this is touched when he says: *The just.* The second is *conducting* in the progress of conversation: *Conducted* etc.; in the Psalm: « Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land ». The third is the *showing of the kingdom* in grace or in the secret of contemplation: *Showed;* Exodus, the thirty-third: « I will show thee all good ». The fourth, *instruction* in the acknowledgement of the divine will: *And gave him the knowledge of the holy things;* Baruch, the fourth: « Happy are we, O Israel: because the things that are pleasing to God are made known to us ». The fifth is *making honourable,* that is, enriching in abundance of merit and virtue: *Made him honourable* etc.; Job, the fifth: « Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in its season ». The sixth, *accomplishment* in reward: *And accomplished* etc.; above, the fourth: « Being made perfect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time; for his soul was pleasing to God »; likewise above, the third: « The fruit of good labours is glorious ».

(Vers. 11.). *In the deceit of them that overreached him,* that is, of those who wished to overreach him, « Laban and his sons », as the Gloss says; *she stood by him,* namely by guarding him, lest he be deceived or suffer loss; Genesis, the thirty-first: « Your father hath overreached me, and hath changed my wages ten times ». *And made him honourable,* the Lord did, that is, rich; Genesis, the thirty-first: « Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and being enriched by his substance is become renowned ».

(Vers. 12.). *She kept him safe from his enemies,* namely from Laban and his sons, who pursued him and wished to despoil him; Genesis, the thirty-first: « Unless the God of my father had stood by me, perhaps thou hadst left me empty ». *And she defended him from seducers,* namely from Esau and his men, who perhaps intended to take him when they came to meet him. But the Lord changed the heart of Esau through the offering of the gifts which Jacob sent before him, as is clear from Genesis,

the thirty-second. *And gave him a strong conflict;* the Gloss expounds this of the conflict against Laban and his sons, Genesis, the thirty-first, or against Esau; or more truly it can be understood of the conflict in which he wrestled with the Angel, Genesis, the thirty-second; with an Angel, I say, stronger than himself. For if a bad Angel is so strong that « there is no power upon earth that can be compared with him », as is had in Job, the forty-first; how much more a good Angel? *That he might overcome,* namely the conflict itself; Osee, the twelfth: « By his strength he had success with an Angel and prevailed » etc. *That he might overcome,* I say, *and know,* namely by obtaining the victory, through wisdom, that is; *that wisdom is mightier than all,* because she is able to deliver from any evil man whatever; whence Genesis, the thirty-second: « If thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men »?

*She … the just man when he was sold.* Here he shows the benefit of wisdom done in the person of *Joseph,* and first in his *deliverance;* secondly, in the *exaltation* of him once delivered: *Till she brought.*

(Vers. 13.). *She,* wisdom namely, *the just,* « that is, Joseph »; for out of justice he accused the crimes of his brothers before his father; Genesis, the thirty-seventh: « He accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime »; *sold,* « namely by his brothers », who « sold him to the Ismaelites passing by », in the same place; *forsook not,* namely by withdrawing from him; in the Psalm: « The Lord will not forsake his Saints for ever ». *But delivered him from sinners,* from the wife of Putiphar and his servants, « when he was accused of adultery », Genesis, the thirty-ninth. *And she went down with him into the pit;* the Gloss: « Of the prison »; for he was delivered into the prison in which « the king's prisoners were kept », where wisdom went down with him, which was made clear because « she gave him favour with the keeper of the prison », Genesis, the thirty-ninth.

(Vers. 14.). *And in bonds,* of the prison, *she left him not,* because through the wise interpretation of dreams she delivered him from bonds, Genesis, the forty-first. *Till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom,* that is, the government of all Egypt after Pharao; whence in the same place: « Thou shalt be over my house » etc.; *and power,* namely of judging or of avenging himself, if he had wished, *against those that oppressed him;* that is, against his brothers, who had oppressed him, on whom he struck great terror, as is clear from Genesis, the forty-second. *And showed them to be liars that had stained him,* namely with the stain of infamy, that is, the wife of Putiphar and his servants; Job, the thirteenth: « Having first shown you to be forgers of lies and maintainers of perverse doctrines ». For through his divine exaltation it was shown and believed that the whole was a lie, the woman herself also perhaps afterwards acknowledging this. Of this stain of infamy, Ecclesiasticus, the forty-seventh: « Thou hast set a stain in thy glory ». *And gave him everlasting brightness,* namely of perpetual fame, according to that of the Psalm: « The just shall be in everlasting remembrance »; or of everlasting glory, namely when Christ led [him] with the other Fathers from hell into glory. « Ascending on high, thou hast led captivity captive ».

It is to be noted that in the aforesaid six persons six modes are touched in which wisdom delivers the Saints, according to that of Job, the fifth: « In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh evil shall not touch thee ». For she delivers from the temptation *of the enemy,* as Adam; from the temptation *of the corruption of the tinder,* as Noe, the rest perishing on account of the corruption of the flesh; likewise, from the temptation *of pride* and of interior elation, as Abraham from imitating the pride of the giants, or from the imitation of pride; likewise, from *exterior* temptation, namely of depraved example and corrupt conversation, as Lot; likewise, from the temptation *of human fraud* and overreaching, as Jacob; likewise, from the temptation *of worldly adversity,* as Joseph. — Likewise it is to be noted that our enemies are three, namely the devil, the flesh and the world, signified by the three enemies of Solomon, of whom the third of Kings, the eleventh. Now the temptation of the demon is twofold, namely *exterior* and visible, *interior* and invisible. Deliverance from the first is signified in the deliverance of Adam; from the second, in the deliverance of Abraham. — But the temptation of the flesh is twofold, namely *according to nature* and *against nature.* Deliverance from the first was signified in the deliverance of Noe; from the second, in the deliverance of Lot. — But the temptation of the world is twofold, namely through *fraudulence* and *violence.* Deliverance from the first is signified in the deliverance of Jacob; from the second, in the deliverance of Joseph.

#### On the benefits conferred on one people it is treated in three ways.

*She … the just people.* After he has shown the benefits of wisdom conferred on single persons, here he shows the benefit done *to one people;* and first is touched the *general benefit,* secondly the *special: She entered* etc., thirdly the *giving of thanks* for both: *Therefore the just* etc.

(Vers. 15.). *She,* namely wisdom, *the just people,* « namely the Israelite people », justified through faith, according to that to the Romans, the fifth: « Being justified by faith »; or: *just,* through the doing of good; *and a blameless seed,* namely through the turning aside from evil; *seed,* « namely of the Patriarchs », as the Gloss says; likewise Tobias, the second: « We are the children of Saints »; *delivered* etc. Of this deliverance he has set before a twofold cause, namely the goodness of the people, when he says: *The just people;* secondly, the holiness of the Fathers, when he says: *And a blameless seed she delivered from the nations,* « that is, from the Egyptians », persisting in the vice of their birth. *That oppressed it*, that is, harassed, « namely in clay and brick » and straw, as is clear from Exodus, the first. And note that by this oppression or harassing can be understood the harassing of the devil, by which he harasses his servants in the works of the clay of lust and of the brick of avarice and of the straw of pride; Exodus, the third: « I have seen the affliction of my people » etc.

*She entered* etc. Here he touches the *special* benefits, first those done in Egypt; secondly, after the going out from Egypt: *And she rendered;* thirdly, in the going out itself: *And* *she brought them over* etc.

(Vers. 16.). *She entered,* that is, wisdom herself, *into the soul of the servant of God;* the Gloss: « That is, of Moses », above, the seventh: « Through nations she conveyeth herself into holy souls »; likewise Exodus, the fourth: « I will be in thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak ». *And stood,* namely constantly; whence Exodus, the ninth: « Moses stood before Pharao »; *stood,* I say, *against dreadful kings:* the Gloss: « Pharao and the other princes »; *in wonders,* that is, in greater miracles, *and signs,* lesser ones, « which he did in Egypt »; whence Exodus, the seventh: « I shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt »; Ecclesiasticus, the forty-fifth: « He magnified him in the sight of kings »; above, the eighth: « Dreadful kings shall fear me ».

(Vers. 17.). *And she rendered to the just;* the Gloss: « Of the Israelite people »; *the wages of their labours;* the Gloss: « The land of promise », which she had promised them before; Genesis, the twelfth: « To thy seed will I give this land ». *And conducted them,* namely to the aforesaid land, *in a wonderful way;* the Gloss: « Through the desert »; in the Psalm: « In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water ». Now this way was *wonderful,* because it was in no manner passable for so great an army without many miracles. Whence there follows: *And she was to them for a covert by day,* that is, from the heat of the day, namely « through the pillar of the cloud »; *and for the light of stars by night,* that is, in place of the light of the stars, and this « through the pillar of fire », as the Gloss says; Exodus, the thirteenth: « There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night »; likewise Isaias, the fourth: « The Lord will create upon every place of mount Sion etc., a cloud by day » etc.

(Vers. 18.). *And* *she brought them over* etc., namely in the going out from Egypt, *through the Red Sea;* Exodus, the fourteenth: « The water was divided, and the children of Israel went in through the midst of the dry sea ». Now it is called the *Red Sea* from the colour which it draws from the red land lying beside it. *And carried them over through a great water,* namely of the sea itself, whose waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left, in the same place. And note that he says *through the Red Sea* as to quality, *through a great water* as to quantity.

(Vers. 19.). *But their enemies,* namely the Egyptians, *she drowned in the sea;* Exodus, the fifteenth: « Pharao's chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea »; likewise: « They sunk as lead » etc. *And from the depth* (*altitudine*), that is, the deepness, *of hell,*

« that is, of unspeakable afflictions », as the Gloss says; *she brought them out,* namely the children of Israel, in this, namely, that their enemies, who wished to kill them by sending them thither, she sent or cast thither; Ecclesiasticus, the last: « From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words ». *Therefore the just,* namely because wisdom was with them; *the just,* namely the children of Israel, *took the spoils of the impious;* the Gloss: « The vessels of gold and silver of the Egyptians », as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth; Proverbs, the thirteenth: « The substance of the sinner is kept for the just ». Note that he does not say *carried off* (*abstulerunt*), because they did these things by the command of a superior, namely of God; and therefore they did not commit theft or rapine, at least those who did these things not out of cupidity but with the intention of obeying God.

(Vers. 20.). *And they sung,* that is, sang devoutly, namely after the passage of the Red Sea; *O Lord, thy holy name;* Exodus, the fifteenth: « Let us sing to the Lord etc., the Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name »; thus, then, *they sung* for their deliverance. *And thy victorious hand,* that is, power, *they praised with one accord,* that is, together, namely for the casting down of their adversaries; whence in the same place: « Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength ».

(Vers. 21.). *For wisdom* etc., as if he should say: and deservedly *they sung* and *praised* etc.; *for wisdom,* namely in delivering them, *opened,* namely to the praise of the divine name, *the mouth of the dumb,* who before had grown dumb for fear; Exodus, the fourteenth: « The children of Israel saw the Egyptians behind them, and they feared exceedingly ». *And the tongues of infants,* that is, of those unable to speak, *she made eloquent* (*disertas*), that is, well-spoken, perhaps according to the letter, the tongues of the Hebrew children, according to that of the eighth Psalm: « Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings » etc. Or: *of infants,* that is, of the unskilled, not knowing how to speak, after the manner of infants, according to that of Jeremias, the first: « I cannot speak, for I am a child »; Luke, the twenty-first: « I will give you a mouth and wisdom » etc.; Exodus, the fourth: « Who made man's mouth »? The Gloss: « Without the wisdom of God the human mind can neither think anything nor worthily utter it. From him therefore both wisdom and eloquence are to be sought ».

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