Cap. 7, Vers. 1-30
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/7/q/bon-sap-c7
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### Chapter VII.

#### Secondly he takes a reason for exhorting to wisdom from his own example.

*I myself also am* etc. Above he admonished rulers to acquire and to love wisdom by a reason taken from the peril of their office; here, from *his own example.* And first he shows how he *received* wisdom, namely in this chapter; secondly, how much he *loved* it, namely in the eighth chapter; thirdly, how devoutly he *sought* it from the Lord, namely in the ninth chapter.

#### *First he shows how he received wisdom.*

In the first part, so as to come down to his purpose, he first describes the *misery of* human *frailty;* secondly he shows that this occasion *provoked* him *to acquire wisdom: Wherefore I wished* etc.; thirdly he shows *by whom he was taught: And God hath given to me.*

#### First, of the misery of human frailty.

In the first, he first touches on *the defectibility of human nature;* secondly, *the vileness of human conception: And in the womb;* thirdly, *the condition of birth: And I;* fourthly, *the toil of upbringing: In swaddling clothes;* fifthly, *the commonness of misery: For none* etc.

(V. 1.). *I myself also am* etc. Thus I admonished you to receive the discipline of wisdom « by my words »; and this you can do not only by my words, but also *by my example,* because *I myself also am; indeed* (*quidem*), that is, certainly; *a mortal man,* like you; *mortal,* I say, that is, able to die from the first condition, but having of necessity to die from the first transgression; for man, according to Boethius, is a rational, mortal animal; likewise to the Romans, the eighth: « The body indeed is dead because of sin », that is, given over to the necessity of dying. *Like all others,* in this condition of mortality; the second of Kings, the fourteenth: « We all die, and like waters that return no more we fall down into the earth ». *And of the race of that earthly one,* namely of Adam the transgressor, *who was made first,* namely of earth; whence Genesis, the second: « God formed man of the slime of the earth »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the fifteenth: « The first man was of the earth, earthly »; likewise in the same place: « Such as is the earthly, such also are the earthly ». *And in the womb of my mother I was fashioned to be flesh.* For according to Augustine in the book of *Eighty-three Questions*, in the first six days the seed is as milk; in the next nine the milk is turned into blood; in the next twelve it is shaped into flesh; in the next eighteen it is formed into an organic body. And then, about the forty-fifth or the forty-sixth day, the soul is infused into the body. Through all the remaining time after the infusion of the soul the body is quickened and grows.

(V. 2.). *In the time of ten months I was compacted in blood, of the seed of man,* according to the physicians, as the Gloss says: « The seed of the woman is blood-coloured, the seed of the man white; from the mingling of these, the one as passive and the other as active, the compacting comes about »; Job, the tenth: « Hast thou not milked me as milk, and curdled me like cheese »? Now this compacting comes about in the first part of the *ten* months; but the whole delay of the forming is a time of *nine* months.

**But on the contrary:** Because the common time of forming is nine months; whence the second of Machabees, the seventh: « Have pity upon me, my son, that bore thee nine months ».

I respond: As the Gloss says, « some are born in the seventh month, some in the eighth, some in the ninth; but those who are born in the tenth are said to be more perfect and healthier and more vigorous ». Christ, however, according to the Gloss, was in his mother's womb « nine months and six days »; whence what he says, *ten months,* is taken by synecdoche; « for he was so from the eighth before the Kalends of April to the eighth before the Kalends of January ».

*And the pleasure of sleep* *going with it,* or *of one coming together,* that is, by the pleasurable act of the common sleeping of a man with a woman. Now this pleasure is compared to the pleasure of sleep, because it binds the reason and quickly passes, like the pleasure of sleep.

(V. 3.). *And being born I drew in the common air,* for the necessity of breathing; Ecclesiastes, the third: « All things breathe alike ». *And I fell alike,* from my mother's womb, *upon the earth that is made,* namely by God, Genesis, the first; and this as to the necessity of life and sustenance. *And the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do,* namely those being born. Augustine says that « the child from its crying begins to be a prophet of its own calamity »; « but Zoroaster alone, they say », that is, they tell, « laughed when he was born, the king of the Bactrians ». John the Baptist alone also, against the law of those being born, anticipated his birth with gladness and exultation; Luke, the first: « The infant in my womb leaped for joy ».

(V. 4. 5. 6.). *I was nursed in swaddling clothes,* namely of rags; Luke, the second: « She wrapped him up in swaddling clothes ». *And with great cares;* the second of Machabees, the seventh: « I gave thee suck three years and brought thee up unto this age ». — *For none of the kings had any other beginning of birth,* because in natural things there is no difference between kings and subjects, but in the goods of fortune. — *For all men have one entrance into life,* namely through a temporal birth so vile, as has been said; *and the like going out,* namely through a death so harsh, as is described in Ecclesiastes, the last. Likewise, *there is one entrance,* namely through a poor birth; *and the like going out,* namely through a most poor death; Job, the first: « Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither »; Ecclesiastes, the fifth: « Altogether a miserable infirmity; as he came, so shall he return ».

#### Secondly he shows that by this occasion he was provoked to wisdom.

*Wherefore I wished* etc. Here he shows that this occasion provoked him to acquire wisdom; and first he touches on the *attainment* of the wisdom wished for; secondly, the *esteem* of it once attained: *And I preferred her;* thirdly, the *love* of it once esteemed: *Above health;* fourthly, the *communication* of it once had and loved: *Which I have learned without guile.*

(V. 7. 8.). *Wherefore,* that is, struck by the consideration of the aforesaid miseries; *I wished,* namely for wisdom. *And understanding* (*sensus*) *was given me,* that is, wisdom; Proverbs, the tenth: « To the just their desire shall be given ». *And I called upon,* the Gloss: « The Lord »; James, the first: « If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God ». *And there came upon me,* calling upon him, *the spirit of wisdom,* according to that of the Psalm: « I opened my mouth », namely in prayer, « and panted »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the fifteenth: « In the midst of the church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom ». — *And I preferred her,* namely in the esteem of her worth, *before kingdoms,* that is, the dignities of kings; *and thrones,* that is, the dignities of judges; and rightly, since she says: « By me kings reign », Proverbs, the eighth. *And esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her;* Proverbs, the third: « She is more precious than all riches ». « For what doth it avail a fool to have riches, seeing he cannot buy wisdom »?

(V. 9.). *Neither did I compare unto her,* that is, to her price or worth, *any precious stone;* in the Psalm: « I have loved thy commandments above gold and the topaz »; likewise Job, the twenty-eighth: « It shall not be compared with the dyed colours of India, or with the most precious stone sardonyx, or the sapphire ». « The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal to it ». *For* etc., as if he were saying: and rightly, because *all gold,* that is, the whole of the gold that is in the world, *in comparison of her is as sand,* that is, unfruitful earth; Bernard: « What is gold but red earth »? *a little,* that is, of little weight; Job, the twenty-eighth: « The finest gold shall not purchase it ». *And silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay,* that is, of no value; Job, the twenty-eighth: « Neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it »; Proverbs, the third: « The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver and gold » etc.

But silver is compared to *clay,* because it defiles the hands and the mind; Habacuc, the second: « How long also doth he load himself with thick clay »?

It is to be noted that wisdom is preferred to silver and gold and to every worldly treasure, first by reason of *origin,* because worldly treasure is of the earth; Job, the twenty-eighth: « Silver hath beginnings of its veins, and gold hath a place wherein it is melted », nay rather « it is earth », according to blessed Bernard; but wisdom is from heaven, as is plain from James, the third. — Secondly, by reason of *nature,* because worldly treasure is a bodily thing, but wisdom a spiritual thing; whence Isaias, the eleventh: « The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom » etc. — Thirdly, by reason of *power,* because treasure is finite, but wisdom is infinite; whence below in this same chapter: « She is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God ». — Fourthly, by reason of *operation,* because treasure can bring about few things, but she all things; whence below, the eighth: « What is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things »? — Fifthly, by reason of *esteem,* because treasure falls under esteem, she does not; Job, the twenty-eighth: « It shall not be compared with the dyed colours of India » etc. — Sixthly, by reason of *usefulness,* because wisdom without riches profits, but riches without wisdom do not profit, but harm; whence Ecclesiastes, the fifth: « Riches kept to the hurt of the owner ». — Seventhly, by reason of *duration,* because « wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away », above, the sixth; but riches are corrupted; whence James, the fifth: « Your riches are corrupted »; likewise James, the first: « The rich man shall fade away in his ways ». — Eighthly, by reason of *inclination,* because wisdom, since it is from above, lifts upward, but gold and silver draw downward, namely to the earth; whence Baruch, the third: « They that hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust, are cut off, and are gone down to hell ».

*Above health* etc. Here he shows the love of the wisdom he esteemed. And first he shows the *greatness* of this love; secondly, its *reason: Now all good things came to me* etc.

(V. 10.). *Above health;* the Gloss: « Of body », namely *interior;* the Psalm: « For vain is the salvation of man »; *and beauty,* the Gloss: « Of bodily things », namely *exterior* beauty, because, Proverbs, the thirty-first, « favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain »; *I loved her,* namely wisdom, because the more the spirit is better than the body and more dearly to be loved, by so much are spiritual things better than bodily things and more to be loved. And I loved her so far that *I chose to have her instead of light,* which light, I say, is the most beautiful and most delightful and best among bodily things, according to Augustine; so wisdom among spiritual things is the light of the soul; Ecclesiasticus, the last: « In her wisdom my soul shone, and she enlightened my ignorances »; below in the same: « She is more beautiful than the sun ». There follows: *For her lumen* *cannot be put out,* namely as far as lies in herself; below in the same: « Being compared with the light, she is found before it, for after it cometh night ».

(V. 11.). *Now all good things came to me,* namely of graces, within me absolutely; *together with her,* namely with uncreated wisdom, that is, the Son of God; whence to the Romans, the eighth: « He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things »? The Gloss: « Whoever receives the knowledge of Christ has together the grace of all the virtues and in the future eternal life ». Or: *with her,* that is, with created wisdom, because she is the most perfect of gifts. « Solomon experienced this, to whom, when he asked for wisdom, the Lord added riches and glory ». *And innumerable honour* (*honestas*), outwardly, in comparison with others; *through her hands,* that is, works, supply: came to me; whence below, the tenth: « She made him honourable in his labours » etc.

(V. 12.). *And I rejoiced,* filled with gladness, *in all these,* namely the gifts of wisdom; Ecclesiasticus, the last: « My heart was glad in her ». *For this wisdom went before me,* namely by directing my steps; Ecclesiasticus, the fourth: « She will receive them that seek her, and will go before them in the way of justice ». This is the pillar of fire and of cloud going before the children of Israel by night and by day, Exodus, the thirteenth. *And I knew not,* namely before I had her; the Gloss: « By the progress of meditation he understands that he has advanced so far that, comparing his earlier knowledge with the later, he reckons it ignorance ». *I knew not,* I say, *that she was the mother of*

*all these,* namely good things; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I am the mother of fair love and of fear » etc.; likewise in the same place: « In me is all grace » etc.

*Which I have learned without guile* etc. Here first is touched on the *liberality* of the communication of wisdom; secondly, the *reason for communicating: For she is an infinite treasure.*

(V. 13.). *Which without guile,* that is, with the whole heart, *I have learned,* knowing that « the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful », above, the first; likewise Proverbs, the second: « If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure » etc. *And communicate without envy,* namely by not withdrawing useful things, above, the sixth: « Neither will I go with consuming envy »; likewise Proverbs, the fifth: « Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad ». *And her beauty* (*honestatem*), that is, her comeliness, *I hide not,* by veiling it in obscure words; Ecclesiasticus, the fourth: « Hide not thy wisdom in her beauty »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the twentieth: « Wisdom that is hid and treasure that is not seen, what profit is there in them both »?

(V. 14.). *For she is an infinite treasure,* in her, *to men;* whence also she is inexhaustible through communication; and therefore Tully says that knowledge is a noble treasure of the soul, which, when distributed, receives increase and disdains a miserly possessor; unless it is made public, it slips away. Augustine: « Every good which does not fail by being given, if it is had and not given, is not yet had as it ought to be had »; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « She shall fill all her house with her increase, and the storehouses with her treasures ». *Which,* namely the treasure of wisdom, *they that use,* by ruling themselves according to her, *become partakers of the friendship of God;* whence below in the same: « She maketh the friends of God and prophets ». *For the gifts of discipline,* that is, of wisdom, which they have not by their own industry, but by the distribution of the Holy Spirit, according to that of the first to the Corinthians, the twelfth: « All these things », namely the gifts of graces, « one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will ». *Commended,* that is, made commendable, namely to God and to men; the second to the Corinthians, the tenth: « For not he who commendeth himself is approved, but he whom God commendeth ».

#### Thirdly he shows from whom he learned wisdom.

*And God hath given to me to speak* etc. Here he shows from whom he learned wisdom; and first he shows who taught him; secondly, what things he taught: *For he hath given me* etc.; thirdly, through what medium he taught him: *For wisdom, which is the worker of all things* etc.

#### First, who taught him.

(V. 15.). *And to me* etc. I said well: *Which they that use* etc.; but I have used it; *and* (*autem*), for *quia;* *God hath given to me to speak,* that is, not only to know, but also to teach; Isaias, the fiftieth: « The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary ». *To speak,* I say, *according to judgement* (*ex sententia*), that is, with firm definition; Proverbs, the twelfth: « The lip of truth shall be steadfast for ever »; the Psalm: « The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgement », that is, a firm sentence. *And to presume.* It is to be noted that there is a presumption *of arrogance,* of which Judith, the sixth: « Thou humblest them that presume of themselves and that boast of their own strength ». And there is a presumption *of confidence* in the divine power and mercy, of which in the same place: « Thou dost not forsake them that presume of thee » etc.; likewise Judith, the ninth: « Hear me, a poor wretch, presuming of thy mercy ». *And to presume,* that is, to act confidently, *things worthy,* namely works, *of those things which are given me,* that is, to do works vigorous and becoming, according to the gifts conferred on me; « for to whom more is committed, more will be required of him ». *Because he,* namely God, *is the guide of wisdom;* the Gloss: « That is, the *author* »; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « All wisdom is from the Lord God ». Likewise *the giver;* James, the first: « If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God » etc. *And the director of the wise,* that is, the *corrector;* Apocalypse, the third: « Such as I love, I rebuke » etc., namely if it should happen that they err in anything.

Sometimes good Homer nods.

Likewise Augustine: I shall be able to err; a heretic I shall never be.

(V. 16.). *For in his hand* etc. I said well that he *is the guide and the director of the wise; for in the hand*

*of him;* the Gloss: « That is, in his power »; *are both we,* who have wisdom; Jeremias, the eighteenth: « As clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand »; likewise Proverbs, the twenty-first: « As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord ». *And our words;* Proverbs, the sixteenth: « It is the part of man to prepare the mind, and of the Lord to govern the tongue »; Matthew, the tenth: « It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father » etc. *And all wisdom,* which namely is the cognition of divine things, *and of works,* namely human, *the discipline of knowledge*; Isaias, the twenty-sixth: « Thou hast wrought all our works in us, O Lord ».

#### Secondly, what things he taught.

*For he hath given me.* Here he shows what and *what kind of things* God taught him, and first, that he taught him the knowledge of temporal *causes;* secondly, of temporal *transmutations: The beginning and ending;* thirdly, of temporal *effects: The natures of living creatures.*

(V. 17.). *For he,* namely God, who alone teaches hearts, according to that of Augustine: « He has his chair in heaven who teaches hearts on earth »; *hath given me of the things that are,* that is, of existing things, because there is no knowledge of non-existing things; whence the Philosopher says: « What is not cannot be known ». « For as each thing stands in regard to *being,* so it stands in regard to truth », as he himself says. *True knowledge,* that is, certain cognition, mixed with no falsity; the third of Kings, the fourth: « God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much ». *That I may know the disposition of the whole world,* that is, of the heaven surrounding the whole world; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven »; *and the virtues of the elements,* that is, the qualities and seminal reasons and the mixtures or connexions and tempering-together of the elements; Proverbs, the eighth: « When he prepared the heavens, I was present; when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths ».

(V. 18.). *The beginning and ending and midst of the times,* namely of the four seasons or parts of the year, which are caused by the motion of the sun, according to the four quarters of the zodiac; *the alterations of their courses* (*vicissitudinum permutationes*), that is, of the successions of days and nights, by which the quality of the air is changed, namely from brightness into obscurity and the contrary; *and the completions* *of the times,* that is, of the months, solar as well as lunar. Some add here: *the changes of manners and the divisions of times; the changes of manners,* that is, of human customs, according to the different states of men; *the divisions of times,* that is, of the ages of the world or of man.

(V. 19. 20.). *The course of the year*, that is, the time caused by the motion of the sun through the whole zodiac; Genesis, the first: « Let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years ». *And the dispositions of the stars,* namely the others besides the sun, as to the quality of the nights; in the Psalm: « The moon and the stars to rule the night ». — *The natures of living creatures,* namely of the gentle ones, *and the rage of wild beasts,* that is, the motions of fierce animals, as of the lion and the like. And it is to be noted that he says: *the natures of living creatures and the rage of wild beasts,* as to *sensible* substances. Then he adds as to *inanimate* things: *the force of winds,* which are twelve, four principal and eight collateral; and they are of great power, as is plain in Job, the first, and Exodus, the fourteenth, in the drying up of the sea, and in many other places. *And the reasonings of men.*

**On the contrary:** God alone knows the hearts of men; whence the first to the Corinthians, the second: « What man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit that is in him »? as if he were saying: no one but God.

It must be said that here he speaks of the knowledge *of conjecture,* not of certitude. Or it must be said that they can be known by man through the revelation of Wisdom, not through nature or his own industry.

*The diversities of plants* (*virgultorum*), that is, of growing things, *and the virtues of roots,* namely of herbs; the third of Kings, the fourth: « He treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus unto the hyssop » etc.

(V. 21.). *And all such things as are hid,* or *hidden*, from their causes, *and not foreseen,* by men, *I have learned;* Ecclesiastes, the seventh: « I have surveyed all things with my mind, to know and consider and seek out wisdom ».

#### Thirdly, through what medium he taught.

*For the worker of all things* etc. Here he shows through what *medium* he was taught, namely through uncreated Wisdom, begotten of the Father; and that she *could* teach,

*knew* and *willed,* he shows first through the *Holy Spirit,* who is from her; secondly, through the *nature and power* that is in her: *For wisdom is more active than all active things* etc.

In the first he first touches on the *procession* of the Holy Spirit from uncreated wisdom; secondly, his manifold *effect* in us: *Holy, manifold* etc.; thirdly, his *goodness* in his own nature: *Undefiled;* fourthly, his *universal sufficiency: Having all virtue.* — His effect in us he touches on first as *interior,* secondly as *exterior: Modest.* The *interior* he touches on as fourfold, namely the *amendment of guilt,* when it is said: *Holy;* the *multiplication of grace,* when it is said: *Manifold;* the *unity of concord,* when it is said: *One;* the *subtlety of intelligence,* when it is said: *Subtle.* The *exterior* as threefold, namely *modesty,* when it is said: *Modest; eloquence,* when it is said: *Eloquent; obedience,* when it is said: *Active* (*Mobilis*).

(V. 21.). *The worker of all things* is shown, namely of the higher, middle and lower things, namely God, to the Hebrews, the eleventh. *Wisdom taught me,* that is, through wisdom; the Gloss: « Because through her the cognition of truth is given », since man can teach outwardly, but not inwardly; whence Gregory: « Unless there is one within who teaches, the tongue of the teacher labours in vain outwardly ».

(V. 22.). *For in her is* etc., as if he were saying: and well could she teach me; *for in her is;* namely in wisdom, *the Spirit* etc., in her, namely according to the *humanity,* by dwelling; Isaias, the eleventh: « The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him »; in her according to the *Godhead* by emanating from her. *The Spirit,* I say, the giver *of intelligence;* Job, the thirty-second: « The inspiration of the Almighty giveth intelligence ». *Holy;* the Gloss: « Sanctifying all things »; above, the first: « The Holy Spirit of discipline » etc. *Manifold;* the Gloss: « Giving manifold graces »; the first to the Corinthians, the twelfth: « There are diversities of graces etc. But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will ». *One;* the Gloss: « Uniting the good »; to the Ephesians, the fourth: « Careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ». *Subtle,* that is, making to penetrate hidden things; the first to the Corinthians, the second: « The Spirit searcheth all things », that is, makes to search all things, « yea, the deep things of God ». Likewise *subtle,* that is, making subtlety or bestowing keenness of intelligence; whence he is called « the spirit of understanding », Isaias, the eleventh. *Modest,* that is, teaching to keep measure in all things; to the Philippians, the fourth: « Let your modesty be known to all men ». *Eloquent,* that is, making eloquent; below, the tenth: « She made the tongues of infants eloquent ». *Active* (*Mobilis*), that is, making active through obedience; Ezechiel, the first: « Whithersoever the spirit went, the wheels also were lifted up together, following it. For the spirit of life was in the wheels ».

*Undefiled* etc. Here he describes his goodness in his *own nature,* and first his goodness absolute *in itself;* secondly, his goodness *in comparison with us: Loving that which is good;* thirdly, the *immutability* of both: *Firm* (*Stabilis*). — Absolute goodness he touches on in three things, namely in *pureness,* when he says: *Undefiled;* in *truth: Sure;* in *tranquillity,* when he says: *Sweet.*

(V. 22.). He says therefore *undefiled;* the Gloss: « That is, without stain », whence he also cleanses stains in baptism; John, the third: « Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit » etc.; likewise to Titus, the third: « By the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Spirit » etc. *Sure;* the Gloss: « He neither deceives nor is deceived »; whence he is called in John, the sixteenth: « The Spirit of truth ». *Sweet,* that is, tranquil, having nothing of harshness; the Gloss: « Mild and merciful »; below, the twelfth: « O how good and sweet is thy Spirit in us, O Lord »!

*Loving that which is good* etc. Here he shows his goodness *in comparison with us,* first, in the *love* of good; secondly, in its *promotion: Which nothing*; thirdly, in the *communication of himself* or communion: *Kind to man* (*Humanus*); fourthly, in the *communication of his own,* at: *Beneficent* (*Benignus*).

He says therefore: *Loving that which is good,* act; the first to the Corinthians, the thirteenth: « It rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth »; *which nothing forbids to do good,* nay rather helps; to the Romans, the eighth: « The Spirit helpeth our infirmity »; Proverbs, the third: « Do not withhold him from doing good » etc.

(V. 23.). *Kind to man* (*Humanus*); the Gloss: « Common to all »; Acts, the tenth: « In very deed I perceive

that God is not a respecter of persons ». Or: *kind to man,* that is, compassionate, the sign of which is what is said to the Romans, the eighth: « The Spirit asketh for us with unspeakable groanings ». Or: *kind to man,* that is, dwelling gladly among men; Proverbs, the eighth: « My delights were to be with the children of men ». *Beneficent,* that is, liberal « by innate goodness »; above, the first: « The spirit of wisdom is benevolent » etc.; likewise: *Beneficent,* by remitting evils, giving goods, directing to the fatherland; whence *benignity* is said to be a fruit of the Spirit, to the Galatians, the fifth. *Firm* (*Stabilis*), namely in himself, according to that of Boethius: And abiding stable etc.; likewise, giving stability in the promised gifts. Nor is it a wonder if here he is called *stable* and above in the same place *active* (*mobilis*), because here it is said as to different effects, of which in the Psalm: « He set my feet upon a rock and directed my steps ». Or: *mobile* in active things, *stable* in contemplative things; or: *stable* in Christ, *mobile* in the other Saints; John, the first: « He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit remaining ». Or thus: *stable,* in good; *sure,* that is, constant in the true; *secure,* from evil, according to that of the Psalm: « There shall no evil come to thee ». And as in himself he is *stable* and *sure* and *secure,* so also those whom he indwells he makes *stable* in good, *sure* in the true, *secure* from evil; to the Colossians, the first: « Grounded in the faith and stable and immoveable from the hope of the gospel ».

*Having all virtue.* Here he shows his universal sufficiency, first, in *goodness;* secondly, in *wisdom: Overseeing all things;* thirdly, in *power: And which takes in all intelligible spirits.*

He says therefore: *Having all virtue;* in the Psalm: « All the power of them by the spirit of his mouth ».

**But on the contrary:** Because he does not have faith, since faith is an enigmatic cognition and an imperfect virtue.

It must be said that he speaks of all virtue, not of any whatever, but of perfect virtue.

*Overseeing all things;* Job, the thirty-seventh: « He considereth above all the heavens, and his light is upon all the ends of the earth »; likewise to the Hebrews, the fourth: « All things are naked and open to his eyes ». *And which takes in all spirits,* namely the angelic ones, « because they run within him, wherever they are sent », according to Bede on that of Luke, the first: « I am Gabriel, who stand before God ». Now the Angels are called *spirits* as to their substance or nature; *intelligible,* as to their power, or because they are not unitable to bodies by nature. Or: *takes in,* that is, makes to take in, *all spirits,* that is, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, of which Isaias, the eleventh: « The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding » etc. *Clean,* namely by the pureness of innocence; for the Angels are, according to Dionysius, « mirrors pure and most clear »; and he adds: *clean,* to distinguish them from unclean spirits, that is, the demons. *Subtle,* by the keenness of intelligence; or: *subtle,* by wisdom; Gregory: « What is there that they do not see who see him who sees all things »? Some books have *clean, subtle* (*mundus, subtilis*); the spirit of wisdom is *clean,* because it is without the dregs of matter; *subtle,* because it is pure form. But the first reading is truer, because Rabanus has it so in the text and in the exposition. Or: the spirit of wisdom is called *clean,* because it washes from past sins and preserves from future ones; or because in the present it purges from guilt, in the future from punishment; *undefiled,* because neither from itself nor from another can it contract uncleanness; *subtle,* because it penetrates all things, or because in us it works subtlety of *affection* as to the gift of wisdom, and of *understanding* as to the gift of intelligence or understanding.

*For more active than all active things.* Here he shows that wisdom, through the nature and through the power that is in her, could be the *medium* by which he was taught. And to show this he first alleges her *mobility;* secondly, her *pureness: And she reacheth;* thirdly, her *power: And being but one;* fourthly, her *beauty: For she is more beautiful.*

(V. 24.). I said well that *in her is the spirit* etc. *For more active than all active things,* in whatever genus of motion, namely whether in substance, or in quality, or in quantity, or in place; *is wisdom,* that is, swifter in working; the Gloss: « Nothing is subtler and more active than wisdom, which

created, rules and orders all things »; *more active,* I say, not because she is moved, but because she moves all things, abiding immobile, according to that of Boethius:

And, abiding stable, thou givest all things to be moved.

Likewise Acts, the seventeenth: « In him we live and move and are ».

*And she reacheth* etc. Here he shows her *pureness,* first by this, that she *proceeds* or emanates from a most pure fountain; secondly, because she *represents* in herself the brightness of the fountain: *For she is the brightness* etc.

So I said that *wisdom is more active than all active things;* not only so; *and* (*autem*), for *sed;* but what is more, *she reacheth everywhere,* that is, from the end of the highest creature down to the lowest creature; Ambrose in the *Hexaëmeron*: « Divine wisdom has penetrated even to the locust ».

**But on the contrary:** Job, the twenty-eighth: « The depth saith: It is not in me; and the sea saith: It is not with me ».

It is answered that there he speaks not of creatures, but of the vices of creatures. Or better it must be said that God is not in the depth or in the sea by containment, since he cannot be contained by anything, but he is there by presence, according to that of the Psalm: « If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present ».

*By reason of her cleanness,* that is, her abstraction from all the dregs of matter; for because she is altogether immobile, therefore she is uncircumscribable, according to Damascene.

(V. 25.). *For she is a vapour of the power of God,* that is, emanating from God the Father, as vapour from heat; the Gloss: « That is, to warm the cold of our unbelief »; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « As Libanus not cut I perfumed my dwelling ». *And a certain emanation of the glory of the almighty God,* that is, emanating from God the Father, as splendour from light, namely to enlighten the darkness of our understanding; to the Hebrews, the first: « Who being the brightness of his glory » etc.; likewise Isaias, the sixty-second: « Until her just one come forth as brightness ». *Pure* (*Sincera*), without admixture of darkness; the first of John, the first: « God is light, and in him there is no darkness ». Now this proceeding is without diminution of the Father's substance, or separation, but with personal distinction, according to that of Athanasius: « Neither confounding the persons, nor separating the substance ». And because she proceeds as light, which cannot be contaminated; *therefore no defiled thing,* namely with a culpable defilement, or even a natural one; *cometh into her,* namely into uncreated wisdom; the Gloss: « Evil does not draw near to the highest good ».

(V. 26.). And truly *no defiled thing cometh into her. For she is the brightness of eternal light,* that is, most pure light from eternal light, namely proceeding from the Father; whence it is sung: « Light from light, thou didst appear, O Christ ». In this light the eternal light is seen, according to that of the Psalm: « In thy light we shall see light »; likewise John, the fourteenth: « He that seeth me seeth the Father also ». *She is* therefore *the brightness of eternal light,* as to the representation of wisdom, *and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty,* as to the representation of the divine majesty and power, according to that of John, the fifth: « For what things soever he », namely the Father, « doth, these the Son also doth in like manner ». *Unspotted,* I say, by sin, because « he did no sin » etc., the first of Peter, the second. *And the image of his goodness;* the Gloss: « That is, the full representation *of his goodness* »; to the Colossians, the first: « Who is the image of the invisible God ».

It is to be noted that the *Son of God* is a *mirror* unspotted in act and in potency. The *Angel* also is a *mirror,* according to Dionysius, pure and most clear, and though unspotted in act, yet spotted in potency, at least remote. The *human spirit* also is a *mirror,* in which the divine image shines back, Genesis, the first, spotted in act and in potency. *Every creature* also is called a *mirror,* because through it, as through his vestige, the invisible things of God are represented; to the Romans, the first: « The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the thirteenth: « We see now through a glass in a dark manner ». *Sacred Scripture* also is a *mirror;* James, the first: « He shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass ».

(V. 27.). *And being but one,* namely in essence with the Father, according to that of John, the tenth: « I and the Father are one »; *she can do all things,* that is,

she has the same power with the Father; whence below, the eighteenth: « Thy almighty word, O Lord, came from thy royal throne ».

*But,* if *she can do all things,* then she can lie or die; which is false.

It must be said that she can do all things which are not repugnant to her goodness, or which to be able to do is some power, not impotence.

*And remaining in herself,* namely invariable, according to that of James, the first: « With whom there is no change » etc.; *she reneweth all things,* namely *temporal things* by continual generation; Ecclesiastes, the first: « One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh »; and *spiritual things* by spiritual regeneration; the second to the Corinthians, the fifth: « If then any be a new creature in Christ, the old things are passed away »; Apocalypse, the twenty-first: « Behold, I make all things new ». *And through nations,* carnal, or rather spiritual, of which John, the third: « Unless a man be born again of water » etc. *Into holy souls,* that is, clean from sin, *she conveyeth herself,* by the spiritual coming of grace into the mind; John, the fourteenth: « We will come to him » etc. It is to be noted that she is said *to convey herself* not through a new site or by changing place, but through a new effect; whence there follows: *She maketh the friends of God,* by the inflaming of the affection, *and prophets,* by the enlightening of the understanding; John, the fifteenth: « I will not now call you servants, but friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known to you ».

(V. 28.). *For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom,* namely by remaining with her, « who shall meditate on the law of the Lord day and night », according to the Gloss; Proverbs, the eighth: « I wisdom dwell in counsel and am present in learned thoughts ». And if *God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom;* « blessed therefore is the man that shall continue in wisdom », Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth.

*God loveth none* etc. — **On the contrary:** Below, the eleventh: « Thou lovest all things that are », and yet not all things dwell with wisdom.

But it must be said that there he speaks of natural love, here of gratuitous love.

*For she is more beautiful* etc. Here he treats of the *beauty* of wisdom, preferring it to the beauty of the sun, and first he sets down the *comparison;* secondly, the *proof* of the comparison: *For after this cometh the night.*

(V. 29.). I said well that *God loveth him that dwelleth with wisdom,* and rightly. *For she,* namely wisdom, *is more beautiful than the sun,* because spiritual beauty surpasses bodily beauty; above in the same: « I loved her above health and beauty »; *than the sun,* namely the material one, because she is the beauty of the *sun of justice,* of whom Malachias, the fourth: « Unto you that fear my name the sun of justice shall arise ». *And above all the order of the stars,* it is to be repeated: she is more beautiful. For she herself made the stars, Genesis, the first; and it is certain that she kept more of beauty for herself than she gave to the stars; therefore above, the fourth: « O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory »! namely of wisdom. *Being compared with the light,* namely of the sun as well as of the stars, *she is found before it,* namely in eternity, dignity, causality; whence Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I made that in heaven there should rise an unfailing lumen »; the Gloss: « Bodily light, which now sets, now rises, compared to spiritual light, seems a spark. Christ also far transcends the glory of the Saints ».

(V. 30.). *For after this,* namely bodily light, *cometh the night,* according to that of Genesis, the eighth: « Night and day shall not cease »; likewise Isaias, the twenty-first: « The morning cometh, also the night ». But night does not succeed to spiritual light; whence there follows: *But wisdom,* which is spiritual light, *evil* (*malitia*) *overcometh not,* which is spiritual darkness, according to John Damascene; whence John, the first: « The light shineth in darkness ».

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