Cap. 6, Vers. 1-27
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/6/q/bon-sap-c6
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### Chapter VI.

(V. 1.). *Wisdom is better* etc., as if he were saying: since the senseless mighty are dealt with thus, *better,* that is, more useful, *is wisdom,* concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, « always rules the soul well »; *than strength* of body, which often hurls men headlong into sins; Ecclesiastes, the ninth: « I said that wisdom is better than strength ». *And a prudent man,* in human things, according to the Gloss, not in speech only; *is better than a strong man;* the Gloss: « In body ». Hence in such strength there is no glorying, according to that of Jeremias, the ninth: « Let not the strong man glory in his strength ».

#### Part II. Exhortation to wisdom.

*Hear therefore, ye kings* etc. Having admonished princes and the mighty to justice, here he begins to admonish them to seek and to love *wisdom,* and first by a reason taken from the *peril of the office* of those whom he admonishes; secondly, by a reason taken from the *example of him* who admonishes, namely in the seventh chapter; thirdly, by a reason taken from the *many benefits of wisdom,* to which he admonishes, namely from the tenth chapter to the end.

#### First he takes a reason from the peril of the office of superiors.

In the first he touches first on the *punishment* and penalty *of unwise rulers;* secondly, on the contrary, on the *reward of wise rulers: To you therefore;* thirdly, he admonishes both *to covet wisdom: Covet ye* etc.; fourthly, he promises *to teach it: Now what wisdom is.*

#### *First, of the punishment of unwise rulers.*

In the first, first he asks *a hearing* of the rulers; secondly, he adds *the cause of hearing: For power is given* etc.

(V. 2. 3.). *Hear therefore* etc., as if he were saying: since wisdom is so useful, *hear therefore,* with outward hearing, *ye kings;* the Gloss: « Prelates »; *and understand,* with inward hearing; Proverbs, the first: « A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governments »; Matthew, the thirteenth: « He that hath ears to hear, let him hear ». *Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the earth,* that is, of distinct lands or provinces. *Kings*

are prelates so called from directing to the good; *judges,* from discerning between good and evil. *Learn,* I say, *wisdom,* because it is necessary for judges; whence Deuteronomy, the first: « Let me have from among you wise and understanding men ». — *Give ear,* namely the outward and the inward, *you that rule*, by restraining from evil, *the people* (*multitudines*), the peoples committed to you; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king ». *And that please yourselves in multitudes of nations,* that is, you glory in your prelacies; against which Gregory says in the *Pastoral*: « A prelate falls into the crime of apostasy as often as he delights to be set over men ».

*For power is given* etc. Here he adds *the cause of hearing,* namely that they may be able to escape the punishment to be inflicted for the abuse of power. And first he touches on the *conferring* of power; secondly, on the *abuse* of what was conferred: *Because, being*; thirdly, on the *judgement* for the abuse: *Horribly* etc.; fourthly, on the *equity of the judge: For God will not except.*

(V. 4.). *For* etc. And you ought to hear, *for power is given you by the Lord;* whence Romans, the thirteenth: « There is no power but from God »; *power;* the Gloss: « Judicial, on earth », namely as to *the defining of the sentence;* John, the nineteenth: « Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above ». *And strength;* the Gloss: « Of punishing », as to *the execution of the sentence.* Or: *power* in civil causes, *strength* in criminal causes. *By the most High,* namely God set over us; the Psalm: « Thou art the most high Lord over all the earth ». *Who will examine;* the Gloss: « In the judgement »; Luke, the sixteenth: « Give an account of thy stewardship ». *Your works,* namely the outward ones; Ecclesiastes, the last: « All things that are done, God will bring into judgement » etc. For he did not so give power that he does not require an account; therefore Ecclesiasticus, the eighteenth: « Before judgement examine thyself, and before God thou shalt find mercy ». *And search out your thoughts,* that is, the inward works; the Gloss: « As one about to judge of all things »; above, in the first: « Inquisition shall be made into the thoughts of the impious ». *Will search out;* Sophonias, the first: « I will search Jerusalem with lamps »; nor will he only search out, but also make manifest; whence the first to the Corinthians, the fourth: « He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts ».

Now it is to be noted that a threefold examination will be made of a prelate: the first, how he *entered;* Matthew, the twenty-second: « Friend, how camest thou in hither » etc. The second, how he *lived;* Isaias, the twenty-second: « What dost thou here? Or as if thou wert somebody here »? The third, how he *ruled* and kept the flock committed to him; Jeremias, the thirteenth: « Where is the flock that is given thee, thy beautiful cattle »?

(V. 5.). *Because, being* etc. Well did I say that he *will examine* etc.; and rightly, *because, being ministers,* not lords, *of his kingdom,* that is, of the Church militant; the first of Peter, the fifth: « Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the fourth: « Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ » etc. *You have not judged rightly,* namely others; whence Isaias, the first: « They judge not for the fatherless, and the widow's cause cometh not in to them »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not managed the cause of the fatherless ». *Nor kept the law of justice,* namely in yourselves; in the Psalm: « They kept not the covenant of God, and in his law they would not walk »; Isaias, the fifty-ninth: « Judgement is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far off »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « These have altogether broken the yoke, and have burst the bonds ». *Nor walked according to the will of God,* by sinning against God; Jeremias, the seventh: « They walked in the pleasures and the perversity of their wicked heart ».

Or it can be said that he touches on the threefold manner in which a sentence is called unjust: first from the *cause,* namely when no just cause underlies it; secondly, from the *order,* as when the order of law is not kept; thirdly, from the *mind,* as when proceedings are taken against someone with a corrupt intention; against which it is said in Deuteronomy, the sixteenth: « Thou shalt follow justly after that which is just ».

(V. 6.). *Horribly,* that is, terribly; Hebrews, the tenth: « It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God »; *and speedily will he appear to you;* whence Sophonias, the first: « The great day of the Lord is near, and exceeding swift ». And though the day of the general judgement be far off,

yet the day of the particular judgement, that is, of death, is near; whence Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-eighth: « Remember my judgement; for thine also shall be so: yesterday for me, and to day for thee ». And truly he will appear horribly to you prelates, *for a most severe judgement shall be for* *them that bear rule.* Severe indeed, because they *entered* badly; more severe, because they *lived* badly; most severe, because they *ruled* badly. Or: severe on account of the sins of their *subjects;* more severe on account of the sins of their *ministers;* most severe on account of the multitude and enormity of their *own sins.*

Prelates will be punished more severely than the rest, first by reason of *what was committed* to them, according to that of Luke, the twelfth: « To whom they have lent more, of him they will demand more ». By reason of *sin,* because, other things being equal, the sin of a prelate is graver than that of a subject; Jeremias, the fifth: « These have broken the yoke more » etc. By reason of *harm,* namely because they corrupt others by their example; Gregory: « When the shepherd walks over steep places, the flock must needs follow over the precipice ». By reason of *scandal,* because they scandalize the Church; whence Malachias, the second: « You have caused many to stumble at the law ». By reason of *judgement,* namely because here they are not judged, according to that of the Psalm: « To thee only have I sinned » etc.; and therefore in the future they will be judged at once and wholly more severely, according to that of the second of Machabees, the sixth: « For not as with other nations, whom the Lord patiently expecteth, that when the day of judgement shall come, he may punish them in the fulness of their sins ». By reason of *office,* because they sin also by discharging their office unworthily; Romans, the second: « Wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself ».

(V. 7.). *For to him that is little,* that is, weak and lowly; whence the Gloss: « To those who have sinned through ignorance, or frailty, or necessity, and have blotted it out by humble penance »; *mercy is granted;* the Gloss: « The remission of sins », as to punishment, either wholly or in part, here or in the future; Isaias, the last: « To whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor » etc. *But the mighty,* that is, those who have abused power unto sin, *shall be mightily,* that is, strongly inflicted, *tormented,* on account of sins, because for their own sins and those of their subjects; whence Numbers, the twenty-fifth: « Take all the princes, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun »; likewise the third of Kings, the twentieth: « Keep this man, and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life »; likewise Ezechiel, the thirty-second: « The most mighty among the strong shall speak to him from the midst of hell ».

(V. 8. 9.). *For God will not except,* namely from the punishing and torment, *any man's person,* namely of small or great, from private love; Ezechiel, the eighteenth: « I will judge every one according to his ways, O house of Israel, saith the Lord ». « God is not a respecter of persons », Acts, the tenth. Then he gives the cause, saying: *For he is,* that is, because he is, *the lord of all*; the Apocalypse, the nineteenth: « King of kings and Lord of lords ». *Neither will he stand in awe of any man's greatness,* namely from fear, since he himself is « a great Lord and a great King above all gods », as is said in the Psalm, and again: « Of his greatness there is no end »; hence he surpasses beyond all proportion every other greatness. *For he made the little and the great;* Malachias, the second: « Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us »? And because he created all, therefore he will judge all, small as well as great, as his creatures; the Apocalypse, the twentieth: « I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne ». *And he hath equally care of all.*

**On the contrary:** the first to the Corinthians, the ninth: « Doth God take care for oxen »? as if he were saying: no.

It must be said that the care of discipline God has of rational beings only; but the care of providence he has of all things

But if the care of providence he has of good and wicked is equal [so printed; *sequalis* for *aequalis*]: then it makes no difference with him to be good or wicked.

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

And although he has *care* of all equally, yet he will not *punish* all equally. — *But* (*autem*), for *sed. For the mightier,* in evil, *a mightier torment is ready,* in penalty, as is plain in Lucifer and the other demons.

#### *Secondly, of the reward of wise rulers.*

*To you therefore* etc. Here he determines and shows *the reward of wise rulers;* and first he *rouses to wisdom;* secondly, he *adds the wage* of the wise, or the declaration of the wage.

(V. 10.). *To you therefore* etc. Since *for the mightier a mightier torment is ready, to you therefore, O kings* etc.; the Gloss: « Having finished his discourse to the mighty, he turns his exhortation to the rulers of the Church »; the Gloss: « *O kings,* that is, rulers of the Church, or all to whom the government of their own souls has been committed ». *To you are these my words,* namely concerning the study and love of wisdom; whence there follows: *that you may learn wisdom;* the Gloss: « Divine », not worldly; of both, the first to the Corinthians, the third: « If any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise ». *These words,* to be heard and retained and fulfilled in deed, according to that of Jeremias, the fifteenth: « Thy words were found, and I did eat them ». *And not fall from it,* namely from justice « through the transgression of the commandments of God », according to the Gloss. For wisdom is a salt keeping from the putrefaction of sin; but the neglect of wisdom makes one rush into sin; whence Proverbs, the seventeenth: « He that avoideth to learn shall fall into evils », namely into the evil of guilt and into the evil of punishment.

(V. 11.). And well did I say: *that you may learn wisdom, lest you fall* from justice; *for they that have kept justice,* which is the way to wisdom, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the first: « Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice »; *shall be justly judged,* the Gloss: « They shall receive the reward of their justice », namely in the good; whence Isaias, the third: « Say to the just man that it is well; for he shall eat the fruit of his doings »; likewise Ezechiel, the eighteenth: « The justice of the just shall be upon him »; Luke, the sixth: « With what measure you shall mete » etc. *And they that have learned*, namely through wisdom, *just things;* the Gloss: « Right faith and works »; *shall find what to answer,* namely in the judgement concerning the sins laid to their charge; Habacuc, the second: « I will stand upon my watch etc., and I will watch, to see what will be said to me, and what I may answer to him that reproveth me ».

#### *Thirdly, the admonition of wise and unwise rulers to the coveting of wisdom* [so printed: *sapientium* for *sapientiam*]*.*

*Covet ye* etc. Here he admonishes rulers, good as well as wicked, *to covet wisdom;* and first he sets down an *exhortation* to covet it; secondly, the *ease* of acquiring it: *Wisdom is glorious* etc.; thirdly, the *usefulness* of acquiring it: *To think* etc.; fourthly, *he admonishes to love it,* there: *If then your delight be.*

(V. 12.). *Covet ye therefore* etc. Since wisdom is so useful, that it makes one not fall from justice etc.; *covet ye therefore my words,* to be heard concerning wisdom; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « Come over to me, all ye that desire me ». *And love them,* namely once heard, according to that of the Psalm: « I have loved thy commandments above gold and the topaz » etc. *And you shall have discipline,* namely through these my words; the Gloss: « He who loves wisdom keeps discipline in his manners », according to that of John, the fourteenth: « If you love me, keep my commandments ».

*Wisdom is glorious.* Here he shows the *ease* of acquiring wisdom, first by this, that it is *glorious* (*clara*) *to see;* secondly, because it is *forward to show itself: She preventeth;* thirdly, because *near to enter: He that awaketh early* (*de luce*) etc.

(V. 13.). *Wisdom is glorious* etc., as if he were saying: you ought to covet it, because *wisdom is glorious;* namely by its beauty and evidence, because, namely, it is light; whence below, in the seventh: « I purposed to have her instead of light ». *And never fadeth away,* that is, fails from its beauty; whence the Gloss: « The comeliness of wisdom is unfading ». For it is not subject to time, but is above time, as being divine wisdom. *And is easily* etc., as if he were saying: nor is there to be despair of acquiring it, because *it is easily seen,* namely with the eye of *understanding, by them that love her,* namely with *affection;* whence John, the fourteenth: « He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him ». For love purges and enlightens the inner eye for seeing; whence Ecclesiasticus, the second: « Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened ». *And is found by them that seek her, in effect;* Luke, the eleventh: « Seek,

and you shall find », namely if she be sought where she ought to be sought. For « she is not found in the land of them that live in delights », Job, the twenty-eighth; but in harshness of fare and of penance; whence Daniel found wisdom by the merit [so printed: *merilo* for *merito*] of his abstinence, as is plain from Daniel, the first.

(V. 14.). *She preventeth,* namely before she is found by the study of the one seeking; the Gloss: « Freely offering herself; for she herself is the way, the truth and the life, whence by her one goes to her and arrives ». *She preventeth,* I say, that is, she goes before *them that covet her, that she may first shew herself unto them;* because they would not go before her unless they had been gone before and enlightened by her, as the light of the sun enlightens for seeing itself; Bernard: « True wisdom, which is Christ, can be found, cannot be forestalled ».

(V. 15.). *He that awaketh early* (*de luce*) etc. Well did I say that she is found by those who seek, because *he that from the light,* that is, as soon as the light rises upon him; the Gloss: « From the beginning of shining faith », not from the night, as sinners abiding ever in night, but as the just, of whom Proverbs, the fourth: « The path of the just, as a shining light » etc.; the first to the Thessalonians, the fifth: « All you are the children of light ». *Awaketh to seek her,* against negligence; Proverbs, the eighth: « They that in the morning early watch for me shall find me ». *Shall not labour,* because the sweetness of the thing sought and found will lighten the labour; Ecclesiasticus, the sixth: « In working about her thou shalt labour a little, and shalt quickly eat of her fruits ». *For he shall find her sitting* etc., that is, in rest and without motion ready to enter, as a ray of the sun sits at a shut window. *Sitting,* I say, *at his door,* namely the spiritual ones, namely the understanding and the affection; *he shall find,* her; the Apocalypse, the third: « Behold, I stand at the gate and knock » etc. She herself too has doors, by which one enters to her; whence Proverbs, the eighth: « Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates »; which are faith and charity; by faith the understanding enters to her, by charity the affection.

*To think therefore upon her* etc. Here he shows *the usefulness to those who acquire* her, first in the *present;* secondly in the *future: The beginning* etc. — The usefulness in the *present* is shown as fourfold: first, *sense* in the rational part; secondly, *security* in the irascible: *And he that watcheth;* thirdly, *cheerfulness* in the concupiscible: *For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy* etc.; fourthly, *providence* of things to come: *And in every providence.*

(V. 16.). *To think therefore upon her;* as if he were saying: she is given not only to one who watches and seeks, but also *to think upon her,* not with a simple thought, but an affective one; whence the Gloss: « With the desire of divine contemplation »; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom etc., and that in his mind shall think of the all-seeing eye of God »; *is perfect sense* (*sensus est consummatus*), that is, perfected, because wisdom perfects the sense of man, because, according to Hugh of St. Victor, « wisdom is that in which the form of the perfect good consists ». Or: *To think upon her is perfect sense,* that is, the sense is then perfectly ordered when it is studious of wisdom, according to that of Augustine: « The end of man on the way is to seek the truth perfectly ». *And he that watcheth;* the Gloss: « With the intention of the mind », *for her,* to acquire or to keep her, *shall quickly be secure,* namely from evil; « because the attaining of her is true security », according to the Gloss; Proverbs, the eleventh: « He that is aware of the snares shall be secure ». This is the good security of which Proverbs, the fifteenth: « A secure mind is like a continual feast ».

(V. 17.). *For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her;* as if: well did I say that he *shall quickly be secure, for she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her,* namely the clean of heart and body; whence above, in the first: « Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul » etc. *Goeth about seeking,* that is, offering herself on every side continually and unceasingly; which unceasingness and continuation is given to be understood by his saying: *goeth about;* for straight motion cannot be so continued as circular. So Wisdom incarnate went about the villages, as is plain from Mark, the sixth. *And in her ways,* namely precepts and counsels observed; of which Proverbs, the third: « Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable »; *she sheweth herself to them,* according to that of the Psalm: « By thy commandments I have had understanding »; *cheerfully,* gladdening them, namely over this, that she gives herself to them freely; the second to the Corinthians, the ninth: « God loveth a cheerful giver », as does man also; whence Seneca: « As much as you add of delay, so much you take away of the favour ». *And in every providence,* of things to come, perfectly providing for them what is necessary for salvation; *she meeteth them;* the Gloss: « As a helper », as Wisdom incarnate,

rising again, met the women, as is had in Matthew, the twenty-eighth.

*The beginning* etc. Here are touched on *the steps of the glory* to be acquired through wisdom; and first he touches on the *beginning;* secondly, the *progress,* there: *The care therefore;* thirdly, the *consummation: And the keeping of her laws* etc.; fourthly, *the end of the consummation: Therefore the desire.* The first step therefore, that is, the beginning of wisdom, is *the desire of discipline;* from the desire of discipline, *love;* from love, *the keeping of the law* of God; from the keeping of the divine law, *incorruption of mind* and *nearness to the divine likeness;* from the divine likeness, *the glory of the heavenly kingdom:* therefore *from the first,* from the desire of wisdom, the heavenly glory is had.

(V. 18.). This is what he means to say: *For the beginning of her,* namely of wisdom etc.; as if he were saying: so *does* wisdom *meet and shew herself.* Nor is her showing and meeting useless. *For* (*enim*), for *quia; the beginning of her,* namely that through which a man begins to become wise; « for no one becomes highest of a sudden », as the Gloss says; *is the most true desire of discipline,* that is, of wisdom. Of this desire it is said in the Psalm: « My soul hath coveted to long » etc. For the desire of wisdom is some part of wisdom, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the sixth: « If thou wilt love to hear, thou shalt be wise ».

But it seems that fear, and not love, is the beginning of wisdom, because it is said in Ecclesiasticus, the first: « The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ».

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

Now it is called the *most true* desire here as against the threefold vain concupiscence, of which it is said in the first of John, the second: « All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh » etc., which is from the threefold vanity of which Ecclesiastes, the first: « Vanity of vanities » etc.

(V. 19.). *The care therefore,* as if he were saying: since it is so, that *the desire of discipline is the beginning of wisdom,* therefore *the care of discipline,* that is, the desire of discipline, *is love,* that is, the cause of love of wisdom itself; for what we desire we love when we have it. And note that he calls *wisdom* and *discipline* the same, because they are the same *in reality,* though they differ *in account* (*ratione*), because it is called *wisdom* inasmuch as it affects the mind inwardly with delight; *discipline,* inasmuch as it orders and disposes outward actions. Or thus: *the desire* etc. *is love,* that is, the cause of the divine love; below, in the seventh: « God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom »; Hebrews, the twelfth: « But if you be without discipline, then are you bastards, and not sons ». *And love is the keeping of her laws,* that is, the cause of the keeping; Romans, the thirteenth: « Love is the fulfilling of the law », that is, the cause of the fulfilling of the divine law; the first to Timothy, the first: « The end of the commandment is charity »; *of the laws,* namely the natural, the Mosaic and the evangelical; of which Isaias, the twenty-fourth: « They have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant ».

*And the keeping of the laws is the firm assurance of incorruption* (*consummatio incorruptionis*), that is, the cause of consummate spiritual incorruption, namely as much of the mind as of the body in the present; or: *of incorruption,* « that is, of immortality » in the future, according to the Gloss; Proverbs, the third: « Keep my law and my counsel, and it shall be life to thy soul ».

(V. 20. 21. 22.). *And incorruption bringeth near to God;* whence it is sung of virgins that « they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth », the Apocalypse, the fourteenth. — *Therefore the desire of wisdom,* which is her beginning, *bringeth to the everlasting kingdom;* the Gloss: « Which is in the knowledge of the Godhead », according to that of John, the seventeenth: « This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the true God » etc. — *If then your delight be* etc., as if he were saying: since she gives the *everlasting kingdom, if then your delight be in thrones and sceptres;* the Gloss: « He admonishes kings to love wisdom, without which they cannot reign; for then is the commonwealth well ruled, when philosophers reign and kings philosophize. Rightly therefore the rulers of the Church are assiduous in the meditation of the divine law; for whoever follows it by learning, teaching, working will obtain the crown of the heavenly kingdom ». *If then your delight be in thrones,* of judicial power, *and sceptres,* of royal dignity, according to that of Matthew, the twenty-third: « They love the first chairs » etc.; another reading has *in senses* (*sensibus*), as to discernment, *and garlands* (*stemmatibus*), as to dignity; *if your delight be,* I say, *O ye kings*

*of the people,* that is, the greater rulers and prelates, secular as well as ecclesiastical; *love wisdom, that you may reign for ever;* Proverbs, the eighth: « By me kings reign ».

(V. 23.). *Love the lumen* *of wisdom,* for the enlightening of souls; below, in the seventh: « Being compared with the light, she is found before it »; because she enlightens spiritual things, which is greater than to enlighten bodily things. *All ye that bear rule over the peoples,* that is, you too, the lesser princes and prelates.

#### *Fourthly, the promise of teaching wisdom, where four things are touched on.*

*Now what wisdom is* etc. Here lastly he promises *to teach wisdom;* and first he touches on the *manifestation* of the teaching; secondly, the *faithfulness* of the teaching: *And I will bring into light;* thirdly, the *usefulness* of hearing: *Now the multitude* etc.; fourthly, he subjoins his *exhortation* to hearing: *Receive therefore.*

(V. 24.). *Now what wisdom is,* as if he were saying: so have I invited you to wisdom, and that you may assent, *I will declare* etc. Or it is to be continued thus: up to here I have admonished to wisdom; *now* (*autem*), for *sed;* from now on *I will declare what wisdom is* etc. Behold, a great promise; « for she is hid from the eyes of all living », Job, the twenty-eighth; nevertheless she can be known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. *What is,* I say, *wisdom,* uncreated, that is, *of what kind;* for of her it cannot be known or said *what* she is, namely according to her *essence,* but *of what kind,* that she is *good, eternal, omnipotent* etc. But of created wisdom it can be known and said *what* it is; whence Augustine: « Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things ». *And how she was made,* that is, how begotten of the Father, namely the eternal Wisdom, which is the Son of God; the first to the Corinthians, the first: « Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God ». Or: *how she was made,* that is, created, if it be expounded of the created; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « Wisdom hath been created before all things »; likewise in the same, the twenty-fourth: « From the beginning and before the world was I created », that is, disposed to be created. *And I will not hide from you the mysteries* (*sacramenta*) *of God,* that is, the sacred and secret works of the wisdom of God.

**On the contrary:** Tobias, the twelfth: « It is good to hide the secret (*sacramentum*) of a king ».

It must be said that it ought to be hidden from *tempters,* revealed to *lovers;* whence John, the fifteenth: « But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you ». Likewise, it is to be hidden from *the proud wise,* but revealed to *little ones who are humble;* whence Matthew, the eleventh: « Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones », that is, to the humble. Likewise, not to *gluttons,* but to *the abstinent,* as is plain from Daniel, the first.

*But from the beginning of her birth,* that is, the human, or of wisdom herself; *I will seek her out,* by showing that she proceeds from God the Father. *And I will bring into the light,* namely of manifestation, *the knowledge of her,* by teaching clearly; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « They that explain me shall have life everlasting ». *And I will not pass over the truth,* by mixing in falsehoods; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-seventh: « Before all works let true word go before thee »; Augustine: « It is the notable disposition of good minds to love the truth in words, not the words ».

(V. 25.). *Neither will I go with consuming envy,* that is, making to waste away; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « Envy is the rottenness of the bones »; likewise in the Psalm: « The sinner shall see and shall be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away ». *Will I go* (*iter habebo*), namely with it, because it is the worst of companions; for it devours a man like a wild beast; Genesis, the thirty-seventh: « An evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured Joseph ». Such was Moses, that is, not envious; for he said: « O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit »! Numbers, the eleventh. *For such a man,* namely an envious one, *shall not be partaker of wisdom;* whence above, in the first: « Into a malicious soul » etc.; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « To an envious (*livido*) man », that is, a jealous one, « what is gold »? that is, wisdom, which is called *gold* on account of its preciousness; Proverbs, the third: « She is more precious than all riches ».

(V. 26. 27.). *Now the multitude* etc., as if he were saying: and you ought to hear; *now* (*autem*), for *quia;* because *the multitude of the wise;* the Gloss: « The company of preachers »; *is the welfare of the whole world,* that is, the cause of welfare; Proverbs, the eleventh: « Where there is no governor, the people shall fall; but there is safety where there is much counsel ». He therefore who opposes the multiplication or multitude of the wise opposes the safety of the world; and therefore such a one ought to be hateful to the whole world. Such were those of whom the Apostle says in the first to the Thessalonians, the second: « They please not God, and are adversaries to all men ». *And a wise king is the upholding of the people;*

Ecclesiasticus, the tenth: « A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be steady ». But this befits Christ most of all, in whose person it is said: « I am the salvation of the people ». — And because wisdom is so useful, *receive therefore instruction* (*disciplinam*), that is, wisdom, *by my words,* by way of rousing or occasion, but by divine inspiration effectively and causally; whence Ecclesiasticus, the first: « All wisdom is from the Lord God ». *And it shall be profitable to you,* because it is said in Ecclesiastes, the last: « The words of the wise are as goads », namely by provoking to good; « and as nails deeply fastened in », by preserving from a fall into evil.

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