Cap. 9, Vers. 1-19
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/9/q/bon-sap-c9
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### Chapter IX.

#### *Thirdly he shows how devoutly he asked wisdom of God.*

*God of my fathers* etc. After he has shown how he received wisdom and how much he loved her once received; here he shows how devoutly he *asked* her of God. And first he touches the *form of the petition;* secondly, *the reason for its being heard: But* *thou hast chosen;* thirdly, *the end of the petition: Send her;* fourthly, *the difficulty of the end: For who* etc.

#### First is touched the form of the petition.

In the first part he first *praises the comeliness* (*decorem*); secondly, *specifies the gift: Give me … of thy thrones;* thirdly, *humbles himself: For I am thy servant;* fourthly, *intimates his need: And* *if one* etc.

(Vers. 1.). *God of my fathers,* namely by the grace of election; *of my fathers,* namely of the ancients; Exodus, the third: « I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham » etc. Or: *God of my fathers,* that is, who didst make my fathers and didst choose and sanctify them. *And Lord of mercy,* that is, merciful Lord, so that the construction is intransitive; or: *Lord of mercy,* the author, so that it is transitive; in the Psalm: « The Lord is compassionate and merciful ». *Lord,* I say, *of mercy,* namely through the effect of the remission of sins and of justification; for mercy looks to misery; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « But sin maketh nations miserable ». *Who hast made*

*all things,* namely through the work of creation, as is clear from Genesis, the first; in the Psalm: « He spoke, and they were made »; *by thy word,* that is, by thy Son; John, the first: « In the beginning was the Word » etc., and after: « All things were made by him ».

(Vers. 2.). *And by thy wisdom,* that is, by the same thy Son, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast made all things in wisdom »; *hast appointed* (*constituisti*), that is, hast composed out of very diverse parts, namely out of a rational spirit and earthly clay; *man;* Ecclesiasticus, the seventeenth: « God created man of the earth ». And it is to be noted that he says the other things were made by the *Word* alone, but man by *wisdom,* as a nobler work, because capable of wisdom both created and uncreated, and therefore as a work to be made with greater deliberation; on account of which the Lord, as if deliberating, says in Genesis, the first: « Let us make man to our image » etc. *That he should have dominion over the creature that was made by thee,* over the creature, namely not the spiritual or angelic, but the bodily, and this by power; Genesis, the first: « Rule over the fishes of the sea » etc.

(Vers. 3.). *That he should order the world;* namely by wisdom; for man is placed in this world as a king in his kingdom. *In equity,* that is, mercy, *and justice;* for these two ought to be joined in ordering; Gregory: « Discipline and mercy are much impaired, if one be held without the other ». *And in uprightness of heart,* namely through goodness, and this through a right intention towards God; in the Psalm: « I will praise thee in uprightness of heart »; Job, the thirty-fourth: « If he turn his heart to God, he shall draw his spirit and breath unto himself »; *should judge judgement,* namely over his subjects. And by the name of *judgement* said without qualification he understands « true » or just judgement. For just as a painted or dead man is not a man, so a false or unjust judgement is not a judgement.

(Vers. 4.). *Give me,* « from whom is every best gift », James, the first; *wisdom,* namely understanding, *the assistant of thy thrones* (*sedium tuarum assistricem*), that is, the indweller of holy souls; above, the seventh: « Through nations she conveyeth herself into holy souls ». And holy souls are called *thrones of God,* because in them God sits and rests, presiding over and commanding all their motions and affections; Isaias, the last: « Heaven is my throne »; the Gloss: « The soul of the just man is the seat of wisdom ». *And do not reject me* (*noli me reprobare*), by giving me goodness and grace in the affection; *do not,* I say, *reject me,* as those of whom it is said to the Romans, the first: « He delivered them up to a reprobate sense »; Jeremias, the sixth: « Call them reprobate silver ». *From thy children* (*a pueris tuis*), namely by excluding me from the number and fellowship of thy children, of whom Isaias, the eighth: « Behold I and my children » etc.

(Vers. 5.). *For* etc., as if he were saying: therefore I ask that thou give me wisdom, *for I am thy servant,* that is, ready to serve thee; in the Psalm: « I am thy servant: give me understanding »; III Kings, the tenth: « Happy are thy servants, who hear thy wisdom ». *And the son of thy handmaid,* that is, of the synagogue, of which it is said to the Galatians, the fourth: « It is written that Abraham had two sons ». According to the Gloss these words are « of the Son to the Father », inasmuch as he is man, asking wisdom for his members, alleging himself his servant according to the humanity, not his son; Isaias, the forty-ninth: « Thou art my servant, Israel, for in thee will I glory ». *And the son of thy handmaid,* that is, of the Virgin Mary, according to that of Luke, the first: « Behold the handmaid of the Lord ». *A weak man,* on the part of the body, on account of the frailty of the body; in the Psalm: « Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak ». *And of short time,* on account of the brevity of life; Job, the fourteenth: « Man born of a woman, living for a short time »; *and less,* on the part of the soul, that is, insufficient by natural power, *as to the understanding;* the Gloss: « For perceiving »; *of judgement,* that is, of thy judgements, by whose example one must judge; *and of laws,* thy eternal ones, namely, by whose regulation one must judge; to the Romans, the eleventh: « O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgements, and how unsearchable his ways »!

(Vers. 6.). *And* *if one* etc., in this charity is intimated; *shall be consummate,* that is, perfect; the Gloss: « In judgement »; *among the sons of men,* who are born, namely,

of man and woman, in distinction from the Son of man, that is, of the Virgin alone, of whom Matthew, the sixteenth: « Whom do men say that the Son of man is »? And he says: *consummate among the sons of men,* since he can be a mere man by nature. *If thy wisdom shall flee from him,* or *shall flee away*, namely as from one unworthy and a sinner, according to that above, the first: « Into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter »; *thy wisdom;* the Gloss: « The divine », not the worldly. For the worldly does not flee on account of sin; Jeremias, the fourth: « They are wise to do evils ». *As nothing,* namely of conduct, not of nature, *he shall be counted,* namely before God and his Saints; below, the thirteenth: « All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God »; for it is by grace that a man is what he is as to the *being* of conduct; whence I Corinthians, the fifteenth: « By the grace of God I am what I am »; likewise, without charity man is nothing, as is clear from I Corinthians, the thirteenth; and according to Augustine the sinner is nothing, namely in that he is such.

#### Secondly, the twofold reason for his being heard.

*But* *thou hast chosen* etc. Here he adds a manifold *reason for his being heard,* of which the first is the *office of the kingdom* enjoined; the second is the *command to build the temple: And thou hast said* etc.

(Vers. 7.). *But thou* etc., as if he were saying thus: I am of myself insufficient without wisdom. *But* (*autem*) stands for *sed;* nevertheless *thou hast chosen me;* the Gloss: « Solomon, or Christ ». *King to thy people,* that is, to the people believing in thee; in the Psalm: « But I am appointed king by him over Sion » etc.; *and judge of thy sons and daughters,* thine, namely, that is, of the faithful, according to that of John, the first: « He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name ». It is the office of the *king* to exercise his judgement in the other affairs of the kingdom as well; but that of the *judge* is specially in the causes of the people.

(Vers. 8.). *And thou hast said;* the Gloss: « Thou hast commanded »; for David, who was a man of blood, was not permitted to build the temple; but Solomon the peaceable was chosen for this, as is clear from II Kings, the seventh, and I Paralipomenon, the twenty-ninth. *And thou hast said,* I say, *that I should build a temple on thy holy mount,* that is, on mount Moria, where thou didst will that holy things be done; *and in the city of thy dwelling place,* namely Jerusalem, where he was said to dwell, because there he was worshipped more excellently; *an altar,* namely of holocausts; *of holocausts,* I say, in distinction from the brazen altar, which was in the court before the temple, under the open sky. *A resemblance of thy holy tabernacle,* that is, after its pattern, of which Exodus, the twenty-fifth, which was made after the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle; whence in the same place: « Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shown thee in the mount ». *Which thou hast prepared;* the Gloss: « Through Moses »; *from the beginning,* not of creation, but of the giving of the Law; whence the Gloss: « When thou didst lead the children of Israel out of Egypt »; the *tabernacle* in the desert, as the Gloss says, signified the Church militant, but the *temple* in Jerusalem the Church triumphant. The reason of this is that the tabernacle in the desert was movable, but the temple in Jerusalem was immovable.

(Vers. 9.). *And with thee,* namely prepared, *thy wisdom,* namely the uncreated, « that is, thy Son », of whom I Corinthians, the first: « Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God ». *Which knoweth thy works,* as the co-worker of all things, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast made all things in wisdom ». *Which was present,* present with thee, *then,* namely *when thou madest the world;* Proverbs, the eighth: « When he balanced the foundations of the earth, I was with him forming all things »; and in the same: « I was delighted with him every day, playing in the world ». *And knew that this* *was agreeable to thy eyes,* namely as to counsels; *to thy eyes,* namely of thy understanding and affection, that is, of thy mercy and truth, « for in every work of God there is mercy and truth »; Ecclesiasticus, the forty-second: « He found grace before the eyes of the Lord »,

according to another translation. *And what is right* (*Et quod directum*); the Gloss: « That is, right and just »; *in thy precepts;* in the Psalm: « The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts ».

#### Thirdly, the end of the petition is touched in two ways.

*Send her* etc. Here he shows the *end of the petition,* that is, for what he sought wisdom; and first *he asks for wisdom* for knowing and doing the will of God. Secondly *he shows* that she *avails* for the attainment of such an end: *For she knoweth.*

(Vers. 10.). He says therefore: *Send her,* namely wisdom etc. It is to be noted that the mission of Wisdom is twofold, namely one visible, into the flesh, of which John, the tenth: « Whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world »; the other into the mind, which he asks for here. *Out of thy holy heavens* (*De caelis sanctis tuis*), that is, out of thyself, who art heaven by containing all things; in the Psalm: « His going out is from the end of heaven »; likewise James, the third: « The wisdom that is from above, first indeed is chaste » etc. And he says *out of the heavens* in the plural on account of the multitude of the things contained and of the effects in the things contained, just as *the days of eternity* are spoken of in the plural; Micheas, the fifth: « And his going forth is as from the beginning of the days of eternity ». *And from the throne of thy greatness;* the Gloss: « From thyself, who, seated and at rest, governest all things »; Isaias, the eighteenth: « I will take my rest, and consider in my place, as the noonday light is clear ».

And it is to be noted that uncreated Wisdom is sometimes said *to be in the bosom of the Father,* as John, the first: « The only begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared to us »; sometimes *to be begotten from the womb,* in the Psalm: « From the womb before the day star I begot thee »; sometimes *to proceed from the mouth of the Father,* Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures »; sometimes *to be sent from heaven,* as here; sometimes *to sit in holy souls,* whence above, in the same chapter: « Give me wisdom, the assistant of thy thrones » etc. The first on account of *hiddenness,* the second on account of *consubstantiality,* the third on account of *manifestation,* the fourth on account of *illumination,* the fifth on account of *tranquillity.*

*That she may be with me,* namely within, in the essence of the soul, and *by indwelling* and informing it through grace; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « Let thy dwelling be in Jacob » etc. *And may labour with me,* by *bringing* the moving power of the soul *to perfection* in the work; Ecclesiasticus, the last: « I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy work, which are from the beginning of the world ». *That I may know,* that is, that thou mayest make me know, *by enlightening* the cognitive power of my soul, *what is acceptable before thee,* or *with thee*; in the Psalm: « Teach me to do thy will ».

(Vers. 11.). *For she knoweth all those things,* all things, namely, pertaining to the knowledge of reason, such as are the inferior things; *and understandeth,* all things, namely, pertaining to the intelligence of the understanding, as are the superior things, above, the seventh: « Beholding all things ». *And she shall lead me soberly in my works;* the Gloss: « Lest I stumble », by directing me in good work; above, the eighth: « She teacheth sobriety » etc. *And she shall preserve me by her power;* the Gloss: « From adversaries », by protecting me; in the Psalm: « Unless the Lord keep the city » etc.; likewise: « Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep » etc.

(Vers. 12.). *And my works shall be acceptable;* the Gloss: « Before God », as done purely out of love of him. *And I shall govern* (*disponam*) *thy people justly,* namely by ruling subjects rightly; whence above, the eighth: « I shall set the people in order, and nations ». *And I shall be worthy of the thrones of my father,* by imitating him; he says *of the thrones* in the plural, because the throne of the present kingdom, according to that of Proverbs, the eighth: « By me kings reign »; and of the future; the Gloss: « By the reward of the heavenly kingdom ».

#### Fourthly, the difficulty of this end is shown in two ways.

*For who among men* etc. Here he shows the *difficulty of the end,* first showing that the will of God *cannot be known without wisdom;* secondly, that it *can be known through her* alone: *But thy mind* (*Sensum autem tuum*). — That it *cannot be known without her,* he shows first from the *depth of the divine mind;* secondly, from the *imperfection of the human mind: For the thoughts;* thirdly, from *comparison with sensible things,* at: *And hardly do we guess* etc.

(Vers. 13.). Well did I say: *Send her* etc.; *for who among men,* namely a mere man, *can know,* namely without thy wisdom, *the counsel of God?* which consists in foreseeing and disposing the things to be done; Isaias, the fortieth: « Who hath helped the spirit of the Lord, or who

hath been his counsellor »? *Or who can think,* that is, know by thinking, *what God willeth?* namely the things foreseen in working, as if he were saying: no one; whence to the Romans, the eleventh: « O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God » etc.

(Vers. 14.). *For the thoughts of mortal men,* namely as long as we are in the state of mortality, *are fearful;* the Gloss: « That is, frail »; and this as to the things that are above reason. *And our foresights* (*providentiae*) *uncertain;* the Gloss: « Because the soul is mutable, and the flesh corruptible », and this as to the things that are under reason and the thinking of the true.

(Vers. 15.). *For the body which is corrupted,* that is, which is subject to continual corruption, on account of which it is compared to rottenness; Job, the twenty-fifth: « Man that is rottenness, and the son of man a worm ». *Weigheth down the soul,* namely by drawing back its affection from heavenly things; to the Galatians, the fifth: « The flesh lusteth against the spirit ».

*The body which is corrupted weigheth down the soul.* It is to be noted that the body *stains* the soul with *original* sin; Job, the fourteenth: « Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed »? Likewise, it *binds* it to the necessity of *venial* sin; to the Romans, the seventh: « The evil which I hate, that I do ». Likewise, it *inclines* it to *mortal* sin; Genesis, the eighth: « The imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth ». Likewise, it *clouds over* the *understanding* from the contemplation of truth; above, the second: « Our time is as the passing of a shadow », *of a shadow,* namely by the interposition of the opaque body between the soul and the sun of justice. Likewise, it *slows* the *affection* from the love of heavenly things, as here: « The body which is corrupted weigheth down the soul ». Likewise, it *hinders and binds* the *moving powers* from the good; in the Psalm: « Bring out of prison », or out of the gaol, « my soul »; likewise to the Romans, the seventh: « The good which I will, I do not ». Likewise, it *stirs up* continual *war* against the spirit; to the Galatians, the fifth: « The flesh lusteth against the spirit ». Likewise, by care of itself it *makes the spirit anxious,* against which Matthew, the sixth: « Be not solicitous » etc. Likewise, by its troubles it *disturbs the soul;* Daniel, the thirteenth: « I am straitened on every side ». Likewise, by its own mutability it *disturbs and varies* the soul's *rest;* Job, the fourteenth: « And never continueth in the same state ».

*And the earthly habitation presseth down,* that is, presses downward by drawing back from the contemplation of eternal things, that is, by inclining to earthly things; *the mind* (*sensum*), that is, the human understanding; Genesis, the eighth: « The imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth »; therefore to the Romans, the seventh: « Unhappy » etc. *The mind,* I say, *that museth upon many things,* that is, temporal things, which are many, not eternal things, which are one, according to that of Luke, the tenth: « Thou art troubled about many things: but one thing is necessary ».

(Vers. 16.). *And hardly* etc., as if he were saying: And this is clear, because *hardly do we guess,* that is, we know by guessing, not with certainty; Ecclesiastes, the first: « All things are hard »; *the things that are upon earth,* that is, the lower sensible things. *And the things that are within our view* (*in prospectu*), « that is, in the open », such as the natures of the higher sensible things; *with labour do we find;* Ecclesiastes, the eighth: « There is a man that day and night taketh no sleep with his eyes; and I understood that man can find no reason of all those works of God ». The Philosopher: « As the eye of the owl is to the light of the sun, so is our understanding to the most manifest things of nature ». *But the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?* since they are so remote from us; Ecclesiasticus, the third: « Seek not the things that are too high for thee »; Ecclesiastes, the fifth: « God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few ».

*But thy mind* etc. Here he shows that the divine will can be known *through wisdom* alone. And he shows this by appropriating to her a threefold effect, namely the effect *of instructing the intelligence; of correcting fault: And so … corrected; of healing nature,* at: *For by wisdom* etc.

(Vers. 17.). *But thy mind* (*Sensum autem tuum*), that is, thy counsel and will, *who shall know?* as if he were saying: no one. *Unless thou give wisdom,* enlightening the *understanding;* Ecclesiasticus, the first: « According to his gift he giveth her to them that love him »; James, the first: « Who giveth to all abundantly »; Daniel, the second: « He giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge and discipline to them that understand ». *And send thy Holy Spirit,* inflaming the *affection,* as if he were saying: no one. For just as no one « knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him », as is had in I Corinthians, the second; « so neither the things that are of God, but God, and he to whom he will reveal them ». *From the most high* (*De altissimis*), that is, from thee, who art most high, and from the Son, who is most high, and I call you *most high* (*altissimi*) adjectivally, not substantively.

(Vers. 18.). *And so,* namely through the gift of wisdom and the mission of the Holy Spirit, *are corrected*

*the paths* (*semitae*), that is, the operations, *of them that are upon earth,* that is, of men, and this by calling them back *from evil;* John, the sixteenth: « He will convince the world of sin »; and well does he say: *The paths of them that are upon earth,* that is, of those sinning on earth; for the paths of the angels who sinned cannot be corrected. *And men have learned the things that please thee,* through being formed *in good;* John, the fourteenth: « The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost etc., will teach you all things ».

(Vers. 19.). *For by wisdom* etc. Well did I say: *And so … are corrected* etc.; *for by wisdom they were healed,* namely from blindness of the understanding and corruption of the affection; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I, like a river Dorix », which is interpreted *medicine of generation. Whosoever have pleased thee, O Lord, from the beginning,* « namely of the world », according to the Gloss; below, the sixteenth: « For it was neither herb nor mollifying plaster that healed them » etc.; in the Psalm: « He sent his word, and healed them »; Proverbs, the third: « She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her ». Hence it is that the spiritual dogs, that is, the teachers and preachers of wisdom, have medicinal tongues; and he says *all,* because, according to Augustine, the same faith in the Mediator saved the ancients which saves us also.

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