Bonaventure

The numbered footnotes below correspond to markers in both the Latin body above and the English translation; Quaracchi restart their numbering on every printed page, so the labels are qualified by page.

COLLATIO II.

De plenitudine sapientiae, in qua sermo terminandus est, scilicet de sapientiae porta et forma.

Summarium

De sapientia quatuor notanda, 1. — Pars I. de porta sapientiae. Porta est ipsius concupiscentia, et dispositio est observatio iustitiae, 2. — Probatur; duplex disciplina, 3. — Concupiscentia disciplinae parit dilectionem, quae est custodia legum, 4. — Sanctitas secundum Dionysium, 5. — Haec est dispositio immediata ad sapientiam, 6. — Pars II. de forma sapientiae. Est mirabilis, 7. — Nam est uniformis, multiformis, omniformis, nulliformis, 8. — Quoad primum est uniformis in regulis divinarum legum, 9-10. — Quoad secundum est multiformis in mysteriis divinarum Scripturarum, secundum duplicem allegoriam, anagogiam, tropologiam, 11-18. — Quoad tertium est omniformis in vestigiis divinorum operum, 19-26. — Quoad quartum est nulliformis in suspendiis divinorum excessuum, 27-33.

1. In medio Ecclesiae aperiet os eius et adimplebit illum spiritu sapientiae et intellectus et stola gloriae vestiet illum, Ecclesiastici decimo quinto¹. Ostensum est supra, quibus debet doctor sermonem depromere, et unde debet incipere. Modo ostendendum est, ubi debet terminare: quia in plenitudine sapientiae et intellectus².

De sapientia autem nota quatuor: quis ortus, quae domus, quae porta, quae forma. De duobus primis dictum est in Collationibus septem donorum, ubi dicebatur, quod sapientia est lux descendens a Patre luminum³ in animam et radians in eam facit animam deiformem et domum Dei. Ista lux descendens facit intellectivam speciosam, affectivam amoenam, operativam robustam. — Haec domus septem columnis aedificatur, quas beatus Iacobus⁴ manifeste tangit. Quae desursum est, inquit, sapientia primum quidem pudica est, deinde pacifica, modesta, suadibilis, bonis consentiens, plena misericordia et fructibus bonis, non iudicans, sine aemulatione. De ista domo dicitur Matthaei septimo: Omnis, qui audit verba mea haec et facit ea, assimilabitur viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram.

2. Porta sapientiae est concupiscentia eius et vehemens desiderium; unde in Psalmo⁵: Aperi os tuum, et ego adimplebo illud. Haec est via, per quam sapientia venit in me, per quam ego intro ad sapientiam, et sapientia intrat in me, sicut caritas similiter. Unde Deus caritas est, et qui manet in caritate in Deo manet, et Deus in eo. Haec autem sapientia non habetur nisi cum summa complacentia; ubi autem summa complacentia est, praecedit summa concupiscentia; in Ecclesiastico⁶: Fili, concupiscens sapientiam conserva iustitiam, et Deus praebebit illam tibi. — Observatio iustitiae disponit ad eam habendam, sicut appetitus materiae inclinat ad formam et facit eam habilem, ut coniungatur formae mediantibus dispositionibus; non quod illae dispositiones perimentur, immo magis complentur sive in corpore humano, sive in aliis. Observatio igitur iustitiae introducit sapientiam. Unde Sapientiae septimo⁷: Candor est lucis aeternae et speculum sine macula Dei maiestatis et imago bonitatis illius. Et cum sit una, omnia potest, et in se permanens omnia innovat et per nationes in animas sanctas se transfert.

3. Quomodo autem habetur haec sapientia, patet et auctoritate et exemplo. De primo Sapientiae sexto⁸: Initium enim illius verissima est disciplinae concupiscentia. Cura ergo disciplinae dilectio est, et dilectio custodia legum illius est; custoditio autem legum consummatio incorruptionis est; incorruptio autem facit esse proximum Deo.

Concupiscentia itaque sapientiae deducit ad regnum perpetuum. Concupiscentia ergo sapientiae generat concupiscentiam disciplinae. — Disciplina autem duplex est: scholastica et monastica sive morum; et non sufficit ad habendam sapientiam scholastica sine monastica; quia non audiendo solum, sed observando fit homo sapiens. Unde in Psalmo¹ de sapientia: Bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam doce me. Scientia enim non habetur, nisi praecedat disciplina; nec disciplina, nisi praecedat bonitas; et sic per bonitatem et disciplinam inest nobis scientia. — Aegrotus enim audiendo medicum nunquam sanatur, nisi praecepta eius observet, sicut dicit Philosophus secundo Ethicorum². Per istam autem viam sapientiae pauci vadunt, et ideo pauci perveniunt ad veram sapientiam.

4. Concupiscentia disciplinae parit dilectionem. Cura ergo disciplinae est dilectio. Si enim habes disciplinae dilectionem, eris amator virtutis in te et in aliis et in suo fonte. Disciplina autem non debet esse servilis, sed liberalis, ut diligat disciplinantem, ut ex amore faciat, non ex timore. Si enim propter disciplinam es pauper, oportet, ut diligas paupertatem; et sic de aliis. Dilectio autem custodia legum est. Si enim diligis bonum, observas legem, quia finis praecepti est caritas de corde puro³. Quando autem custodis legem, sanctificaris et efficeris plenus Spiritu sancto; et tunc abstraheris ab omni amore, qui non est Deus.

5. Haec enim sanctitas est, quam describit Dionysius de Divinis Nominibus, capitulo duodecimo⁴: «Sanctitas, inquit, est ab omni immunditia libera et perfecta et omnino immaculata munditia». Sanctificari ergo est abstrahi ab omni amore inquinativo et corruptivo, qui potest animam corrumpere. In hoc debet creatura assimilari Creatori: Sancti, inquit, estote, quoniam ego sanctus sum. Haec sanctitas facit deiformem; et ideo illi Spiritus seraphici dicebant: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus.

6. Cum autem anima deiformis facta est, statim intrat in eam Sapientia, quia candor est lucis aeternae et speculum sine macula Dei maiestatis; et sequitur: per nationes in animas sanctas se transfert, Sapientiae septimo⁵. Sine sanctitate non est homo sapiens. Unde in Ecclesiastico: Homo sanctus in sapientia manet sicut sol; nam stultus sicut luna mutatur. Sanctitas immediata dispositio est ad sapientiam: ergo concupiscentia et vehemens desiderium porta est sapientiae; Sapientiae septimo: Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus; et invocavi, et venit in me spiritus sapientiae. Et praeposui illam regnis et sedibus, et divitias nihil duxi in comparatione illius, usque ibi: Laetatus sum in omnibus, quoniam antecedebat me illa sapientia, et ignorabam, quoniam omnium horum mater est. — Sed dicit, quod habuit illam optando et invocando. Si enim summum bonum est, summe amanda est; si autem omne bonum est, universaliter appetenda est et super omnia. — Similiter patet exemplo Salomonis⁶, quia non petivit aurum et argentum, sed cor docile; ideo venit in eum. Unde Iacobus: Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter et non improperat, et dabitur ei. Postulet autem in fide nihil haesitans. Qui enim haesitat non est disciplinatus. Haec est ergo porta. Huiusmodi autem concupiscentia exstinguit omnes concupiscentias et hominem sublevatum facit a mundo. Unde dicit: Hanc amavi et exquisivi a iuventute mea, et quaesivi sponsam mihi eam assumere, et amator factus sum formae illius.

7. Forma autem sapientiae est mirabilis, et nullus eam aspicit sine admiratione et ecstasi, ut dicitur de Esther⁷ et de Salomone, cuius vultum desiderabat videre universa terra; et Regina Saba venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis; et cum videret ordines ministrantium vestesque eorum et pincernas et holocausta, quae offerebat in domo Domini, non habebat ultra spiritum. — Sed timendum quod dicit Dominus in Evangelio: Regina austri resurget in iudicio cum generatione ista et condemnabit eam, quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis, et plus quam Salomon hic. Iudaei nolebant audire sapientiam de ore Sapientiae; et nos habemus Christum intra nos, et nolumus audire sapientiam eius. Abominatio maxima est, quod filia regis pulcherrima offertur nobis in sponsam, et potius volumus copulari ancillae turpissimae et meretricari; et volumus reverti in Aegyptum ad cibum vilissimum⁸, et nolumus refici cibo caelesti.

8. Ista forma est mirabilis, quia modo est uniformis, modo est multiformis, modo omniformis, modo nulliformis. Quadriformi igitur se vestit lumine. Apparet autem uniformis in regulis divinarum legum, multiformis in mysteriis divinarum Scripturarum, omniformis in vestigiis divinorum operum, nulliformis in suspendiis divinorum excessuum.

9. De primo, Sapientiae sexto⁹: Clara est et quae nunquam marcescit sapientia — quia apud

illam non est transmutatio nec vicissitudinis obumbratio — et facile videtur ab his qui diligunt eam, et invenitur ab his qui quaerunt illam. Praeoccupat qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prior ostendat. Haec igitur apparet immutabilis in regulis divinarum legum, quae nos ligant. Regulae istae mentibus rationalibus insplendentes sunt omnes illi modi, per quos mens cognoscit et iudicat id quod aliter esse non potest, utpote quod summum principium summe venerandum; quod summo vero summe credendum et assentiendum; quod summum bonum summe desiderandum et diligendum. — Et haec sunt in prima tabula¹; et in his apparet sapientia, quod ita certa sunt, quod aliter esse non possunt.

10. Hae regulae sunt infallibiles, indubitabiles, iniudicabiles, quia per illas est iudicium, et non est de illis. Et ideo clara est haec sapientia. — Sunt etiam incommutabiles, incoarctabiles, interminabiles; et ideo nunquam marcescit. Sic enim certae sunt, ut nullo modo sit eis contradicere «nisi ad exterius-rationem», secundum Philosophum, in libro primo Posteriorum². Hae enim radicantur in luce aeterna et ducunt in eam, sed non propter hoc ipsa videtur. Nec est dicendum, quod fundantur in aliqua luce creata, utpote in aliqua Intelligentia, quae illuminet mentes; quia, cum illae regulae sint incoarctabiles, quia mentibus omnium se offerunt, tunc sequeretur, quod lux creata esset incoarctabilis et esset actus purus, quod absit; et qui hoc dicit enervat fontem sapientiae et facit idolum, ut Angelum, Deum, et plus quam qui lapidem Deum facit. Haec enim sapientia radiat super animam, quia assistit prae foribus, ut se, inquit³, prior illis ostendat.

11. Item, apparet sapientia ut multiformis in mysteriis divinarum Scripturarum. Hanc multiformitatem mysteriorum ostendit Apostolus, ad Ephesios⁴: Mihi omnium Sanctorum minimo data est haec gratia in gentibus, evangelizare investigabiles divitias gratiae Christi et illuminare omnes, quae sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a saeculis in Deo, qui omnia creavit, ut innotescat Principatibus et Potestatibus in caelestibus per Ecclesiam multiformis sapientia Dei. Non est intelligendum, quod Paulus doceat Angelos, sed dicitur innotescere, quia ministerio ipsorum innotescunt, sicut dicitur, quod Lex per Angelos data est, hoc est per ministerium Angelorum.

12. Haec igitur sapientia dicitur multiformis, quia multi sunt modi exprimendi; et ideo necesse fuit, ut ostendatur sapientia in multis figuris, multis Sacramentis, multis signis, ut etiam veletur superbis, aperiatur humilibus. Haec volumina claudunt Christum, occultant sapientiam sapientibus et immundis. Unde in Matthaeo⁵: Confiteor tibi, Pater, domine caeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus et revelasti ea parvulis. Et ideo bene ait Apostolus: Mihi omnium Sanctorum minimo etc.

13. Sed quomodo Paulus evangelizat investigabiles divitias gratiae Christi? Sic: Nunc, inquit⁶, manent fides, spes, caritas, tria haec. — Triplex refulget intelligentia in Scriptura, quae docet, quid credendum, quid exspectandum, quid operandum: quid credendum quantum ad fidem; quid exspectandum quantum ad spem; quid operandum quantum ad caritatem, quae consistit in operatione, non solum in affectione, Ioannis decimo quarto⁷: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit. Et quaelibet istarum est bifurcata.

14. Fides enim est in iunctura capitis et corporis. Refulgentia quantum ad fidem est allegoria, et haec duplex: una ad caput, alia ad corpus. Est enim una, quae fertur ad caput crucifixum, natum etc.; alia, quae fertur ad corpus, ad Ecclesiam primam, mediam et ultimam; et hoc modo laudat Ecclesiam Salomon in Cantico⁸ secundum triplicem illum statum. Quae est ista, inquit, quae ascendit, quasi aurora consurgens, pulcra ut luna, electa ut sol etc. — Quae est ista, quae ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae et thuris etc. — Quae est ista, quae ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens et innixa super dilectum suum?

15. De allegoria capitis dicit Paulus⁹: Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, quoniam patres nostri omnes sub nube fuerunt, et omnes mare transierunt, et

omnes in Moyse baptizati sunt in nube et in mari, et omnes eandem escam spiritualem manducaverunt, et omnes eundem potum spiritualem biberunt. Bibebant autem de spirituali consequente eos petra; petra autem erat Christus. — De allegoria corporis: Scriptum est, quoniam Abraham duos filios habuit, unum de ancilla et unum de libera; sed qui de ancilla, secundum carnem natus est; qui autem de libera, per repromissionem, quae sunt per allegoriam dicta. Haec autem sunt duo testamenta¹. Non oportuit, ut amplius explanaret, quia per illa intelliguntur duo populi.

16. Iuxta aliam intelligentiam, quae est per spem, quid scilicet est exspectandum, sumitur anagogia, et haec duplex, scilicet caelestis, ut ibi²: Abraham, suspice caelum et numera stellas, si potes, scilicet caelestes Intelligentias; et in Iob: Nunquid nosti ordinem caeli, aut rationem eius pones in terra? — Alia supercaelestis, ut in Abraham, qui «tres vidit et unum adoravit»³, quia in illis Trinitas apparuit; et in duobus Angelis, qui missi sunt Sodomam, Filius et Spiritus sanctus, qui mittuntur a Patre; et ideo, quia Pater nunquam missus est, ibi non apparuit, sed apparuit in illis tribus, quia Pater apparuit, sed nunquam missus est. — Hugo⁴ dicit ista vocabula: hierarchia caelestis, supercaelestis, subcaelestis. Quidam dicunt, quod improprie dicantur; sed falsum est, quia utrobique est sacer principatus.

17. Tertia est tropologia iuxta tertiam intelligentiam, quae docet, quid agendum. Haec duplex: quaedam pertinet ad activam, ubi docetur, quid agendum; quaedam ad contemplativam, ubi docetur, quomodo contemplandum, quomodo anima feratur in Deum; nec tamen est anagogia, cum sit praeparatio animae, et sic ab infimo tendit ad supremum. — Haec ergo sapientia est abscondita et velata superbis, qui non sunt potentes Scripturas intelligere. Scripturae intelligi non possunt nec mysteria, nisi sciatur decursus mundi et dispositio hierarchica⁵.

18. In his ergo mysteriis pulcherrime apparet Dei sapientia, plus etiam quam primo modo. Sicut, verbi gratia, volo laudare sponsam, quod sit pulcra, quod sit verax; si dicam simpliciter: pulcra est, verax est; non afficitur multum cor meum; sed cum dico: Pulcrae sunt genae tuae sicut turturis, collum tuum sicut monilia⁶; mirabiliter eam commendo, dum intelligo. Commendo enim eam non solum ut castam et honestam, sed quod propter amorem sponsi casta est et amorosa. Turtur enim avis casta est et amorosa, quia propter amorem comparis, ipso vivente, nulli coniungitur nec post eius mortem. Sponsa igitur honesta non est, quia casta, sed quia casta propter amorem sponsi. Pulcrae igitur sunt genae, quae sunt prominentes, in quibus apparet pulcritudo. Collum tuum sicut monilia: collum, per quod vox emittitur, veritas; monilia, quae ornant pectus et stringunt, discretio, quia, si quis dicat veritatem et non, quando debet, vel ut non debet, vel ubi non debet, vel quibus non debet: non est pulcra veritas.

19. Haec sapientia resultat ex multis mysteriis Scripturae, sicut ex multis speculis fiunt multiplicationes radiorum et ignium; haec sunt specula mulierum, de quibus fit labrum aeneum⁷; haec est Scriptura, ut revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eandem imaginem transformemur a claritate in claritatem: a claritate allegoriae in claritatem anagogiae, et rursus tropologiae. Haec sapientia datur secundum mensuram fidei et unicuique, sicut Deus divisit mensuram fidei⁸; quia, secundum quod homo magis intellectum captivat, secundum hoc sapientior efficitur, et fides habetur per humilitatem. Huiusmodi sapientiae Paulus dicit se professorem. Moyses autem posuit regulas et leges, ideo habuit faciem cornutam, sed Apostolus revelatam.

20. Item, tertia facies sapientiae est omniformis in vestigiis divinorum operum. Unde in Ecclesiastico⁹: Radix sapientiae cui revelata est, et astutias illius quis agnovit? Disciplina sapientiae cui revelata est et manifestata, et multiplicationem ingressus illius quis intellexit? Unus est altissimus Creator omnium omnipotens. Sequitur: Ipse creavit illam in Spiritu sancto et vidit et dinumeravit et dimensus est et effudit illam super omnia opera

sua. Haec sapientia manifestata est; unde: Sapientia foris clamitat, in plateis dat vocem suam¹. Et tamen nos non invenimus eam, sicut laicus nesciens litteras et tenens librum non curat de eo; sic nos; unde haec scriptura facta est nobis Graeca, barbara et Hebraea et penitus ignota in suo fonte.

21. Ista sapientia diffusa est in omni re, quia quaelibet res secundum quamlibet proprietatem habet regulam sapientiae et ostendit sapientiam divinam; et qui sciret omnes proprietates manifeste videret sapientiam istam. Et ad hoc considerandum dederunt se philosophi et etiam ipse Salomon; unde ipsemet se redarguit dicens²: Dixi: sapiens efficiar; et ipsa longius recessit a me. Quando enim per curiosam perscrutationem creaturarum dat se quis ad investigandam istam sapientiam; tunc longius recedit.

22. Opus autem Dei tripliciter dicitur: primo modo essentia, quodcumque illud sit et in quocumque genere sive substantiae, sive accidentis; alio modo essentia completa, scilicet sola substantia; tertio modo essentia ad imaginem Dei facta, ut spiritualis creatura. — Super has effusa est sapientia Dei, sicut super opera sua.

23. Est autem ordo in his. Deus enim creat quamcumque essentiam in mensura et numero et pondere³; et dando haec, dat modum, speciem et ordinem; modus est, quo constat; species, qua discernitur; ordo, quo congruit. Non est enim aliqua creatura, quae non habeat mensuram, numerum et inclinationem; et in his attenditur vestigium, et manifestatur sapientia, sicut pes in vestigio; et hoc vestigium in illam sapientiam ducit, in qua est modus sine modo, numerus sine numero, ordo sine ordine⁴. — In substantia autem est altius vestigium, quod repraesentat divinam essentiam. Habet enim omnis creata substantia materiam, formam, compositionem: originale principium seu fundamentum, formale complementum et glutinum⁵; habet substantiam, virtutem et operationem. — Et in his repraesentatur mysterium Trinitatis: Pater, origo; Filius, imago; Spiritus sanctus, compago.

24. Ratio autem originalis principii a formali complemento habet distinctionem in creatura, non quidem hypostaticam, ut est in divinis, nec accidentalem, sed sicut principiorum, quorum unum activum, alterum passivum. Et hoc tollere a creatura est tollere ab ea repraesentationem Trinitatis; ut dicere, quod creatura sit purus actus et non habeat compositionem.

25. Nec valet id quod dicitur, quod composita est, pro eo quod est ab alio, quia esse ab alio compositionem non facit; quia tunc Filius esset compositus, cum sit a Patre, et Spiritus sanctus ab utroque. Solum enim esse divinum simplex est; nec differt in eo esse et sic esse et bene esse. Et ideo esse dicitur nomen Dei⁶, quia esse in Deo est id quod est Deus. In creatura autem differt esse et bene esse et sic esse.

26. Vestigium aliud huius sapientiae est substantia, virtus et operatio; virtus est a substantia, operatio a substantia et virtute; res a substantia habet esse, a virtute vigere, ab operatione efficere. Virtus etiam non est substantiae accidentalis, licet Philosophus⁷ dicat, quod naturalis potentia est qualitas. Ipse enim loquitur, prout dicit modum consequentem substantiam; sicut patet, quia durum et molle dicunt modum substantiam consequentem.

27. Item, est creatura ad imaginem Dei facta; et hoc vel secundum imaginem naturalem, vel gratuitam; illa est memoria, intelligentia et voluntas, in quibus relucet Trinitas; et hac sigillatur anima, et in hac sigillatione recipit immortalitatem, intelligentiam, iucunditatem; immortalitatem, secundum quod in memoria tenetur aeternitas; sapientiam, secundum quod in intelligentia refulget veritas; iucunditatem, secundum quod in voluntate delectat bonitas. Haec quidem sunt in intelligentiis, vel substantiis reformatis⁸. — Et sic patet, quod totus mundus est sicut unum speculum plenum luminibus praesentantibus divinam sapientiam, et sicut carbo effundens lucem.

28. Quarta facies sapientiae est difficillima, quia est nulliformis, quod videtur destructivum praecedentium, non tamen est. De hac enim dicit Apostolus primae ad Corinthios secundo⁹: Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam non huius saeculi; sed loquimur sapientiam in mysterio absconditam, quam nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit,

nec in cor hominis ascendit; nobis autem revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum. Spiritus autem omnia scrutatur, etiam profunda Dei. Hanc sapientiam docuit Paulus Dionysium et Timotheum et ceteros perfectos, et ab aliis abscondit. Oportet ergo, nos esse perfectos, ut ad hanc sapientiam veniamus. Quae retro sunt, inquit¹, obliviscens, ad anteriora me extendo, si quo modo comprehendam.

29. Haec sapientia abscondita est in mysterio. Sed quomodo? Si in cor hominis non ascendit, quomodo comprehendetur, cum sit nulliformis? — Nota, quod hic est status sapientiae christianae; unde cum Dionysius multos libros fecisset, hic consummavit, scilicet in Mystica Theologia. Unde oportet, quod homo sit instructus multis et omnibus praecedentibus. De mystica theologia Dionysius²: «Tu autem, inquit, o Timothee amice, circa mysticas visiones forti actione et contritione, sensus derelinque» etc.; vult enim dicere, quod oportet, quod sit solutus ab omnibus, quae ibi numerat, et quod omnia dimittat; quasi diceret: super omnem substantiam et cognitionem est ille quem volo intelligere. Et ibi est operatio transcendens omnem intellectum, secretissima; quod nemo scit, nisi qui experitur. In anima enim sunt virtutes multae apprehensivae: sensitiva, imaginativa, aestimativa, intellectiva; et omnes oportet relinquere, et in vertice est unitio amoris, et haec omnes transcendit. — Unde patet, quod non est tota beatitudo in intellectiva³.

30. Haec autem contemplatio fit per gratiam, et tamen iuvat industria, scilicet ut separet se ab omni eo, quod Deus non est, et a se ipso, si possibile esset. Et haec est suprema unitio per amorem. Et quod solum per amorem fiat, dicit Apostolus⁴: In caritate radicati et fundati, ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus Sanctis, quae sit longitudo, latitudo, sublimitas et profundum. Iste amor transcendit omnem intellectum et scientiam. — Sed si scientiam transcendit, quomodo videri potest sapientia ista? Propter hoc addit Apostolus⁵: Ei autem, qui potens est omnia facere superabundanter, quam petimus, aut intelligimus etc.; quia non est cuiuslibet, nisi cui Deus revelat. Propter quod dicit Apostolus: Nobis autem revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum. Unde cum mens in illa unione coniuncta est Deo, dormit quodam modo, et quodam modo vigilat: Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat. Sola affectiva vigilat et silentium omnibus aliis potentiis imponit; et tunc homo alienatus est a sensibus et in ecstasi positus et audit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui⁶, quia tantum sunt in affectu. Unde cum exprimi non possit nisi quod concipitur, nec concipitur nisi quod intelligitur, et intellectus silet; sequitur, quod quasi nihil possit loqui et explicare. — Et ita est; et quia ad istam sapientiam non pervenitur nisi per gratiam, ideo auctor sapiens quaecumque sunt absconsa et improvisa sancto Spiritui et ipsi Verbo attribuit revelanda; et ideo dicit⁷: Quaecumque sunt absconsa et improvisa didici; omnium enim artifex docuit me sapientia. Et idem dicit, quod Paulus. Est enim in illa spiritus intelligentiae sanctus, unicus, multiplex, subtilis etc. Iste spiritus levat animam et docet improvisa. Et hic est digitus Dei, ad quem magus Pharaonis non potest attingere, scilicet intellectus noster. — De primis sapientes multi habent, de hac⁸ autem pauci.

31. Iste autem amor est sequestrativus, soporativus, sursumactivus. Sequestrat enim ab omni affectu alio propter sponsi affectum unicum; soporat et quietat omnes potentias et silentium imponit; sursum agit, quia ducit in Deum. Et sic est homo quasi mortuus; et ideo dicitur: Fortis ut mors dilectio⁹, quia separat ab omnibus. Oportet enim, hominem mori per illum amorem, ut sursum agatur. Unde non videbit me homo et vivet. Et tunc in tali unione virtus animae in unum colligitur et magis unita fit et intrat in suum intimum et per consequens in summum suum ascendit; quia idem intimum et summum, secundum Augustinum¹⁰. De illo summo dicitur in Cantico: Adiuro vos, filiae Ierusalem, ne suscitetis neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, donec ipsa velit.

32. Iuvat autem nos ad veniendum ad illum somnum superferri omnibus sensibus, omnibus operationibus intellectualibus, quae sunt cum phantasmatibus annexis, dimittere etiam angelicas Intelligentias, ut dicatur¹: Invenerunt me vigiles, qui custodiunt civitatem; paululum cum pertransissem eos, inveni quem diligit anima mea. Et hoc docet Dionysius, dimittere sensibilia, intellectualia, entia, non entia; et vocat temporalia non entia, quia sunt in continua variatione; et sic intrare in tenebrarum radium. Dicitur tenebra, quia intellectus non capit; et tamen anima summe illustratur. Et quia hoc non habetur nisi per orationem, ideo Dionysius incipit ab oratione dicens²: «Trinitas supersubstantialis, superdea, superbona»; et intellige, quod hoc dicitur non respectu Dei, sed respectu intellectus nostri; quia magis est substantia, quam intellectus noster capiat, et magis Deus; et sic de aliis. Et post: «amoventes oculos mentis»³, quia mens oculis intellectualibus aspicere non potest, et ideo amovendi sunt. Et ideo dicitur in Cantico: Averte oculos tuos a me, ipsi me avolare fecerunt. Tunc Christus recedit, quando mens oculis intellectualibus nititur illam sapientiam videre; quia ibi non intrat intellectus, sed affectus. Unde in Cantico⁴: Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, sponsa; vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum, quia affectus vadit usque ad profundum Christi; et in uno crine colli tui; crinis significat elevationem mentalium considerationum. — Et post Dionysius: «Tu autem, amice Timothee, circa mysticas visiones, forti contritione et actione sensus derelinque et intellectuales operationes» etc. Et innuit, quod iste ascensus fit per vigorem et commotionem fortissimam Spiritus sancti; sicut dicitur de Elia⁵: Ecce, spiritus subvertens montes et conterens petras etc. Hunc ignem non est in potestate nostra habere; sed si Deus dat desuper, sacerdotis est nutrire et ligna subiicere per orationem.

33. Iste autem ascensus fit per affirmationem et ablationem⁶: per affirmationem, a summo usque ad infimum; per ablationem, ab infimo usque ad summum; et iste modus est conveniens magis, ut: non est hoc, non est illud; nec privo ego a Deo quod suum est, vel in ipso est, sed attribuo meliori modo et altiori, quam ego intelligo. — Ablationem sequitur amor semper. Unde Moyses primo a senioribus sequestratur, secundo ascendit in montem, tertio intrat caliginem. Aliud exemplum: qui sculpit figuram nihil ponit, immo removet et in ipso lapide relinquit formam nobilem et pulcram. Sic notitia Divinitatis per ablationem relinquit in nobis nobilissimam dispositionem.

34. Istud somnium significat mors Christi, sepultura Christi, transitus maris rubri, transitus in terram promissionis. — Quod iterum Spiritus sanctus commoveat ad hoc, nota de Moyse, quem duxit ignis ad interiora deserti⁷, ubi accepit illustrationes. Ista ergo est sapientiae forma; isti sunt excessus mentales.

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COLLATION II.

On the fulness of wisdom, in which discourse must be ended: namely on the gate and the form of wisdom.

Summarium

Four things to be noted concerning wisdom, 1. — Part I, on the gate of wisdom. The gate is the desire of it, and the disposition is the observance of justice, 2. — This is proved; the twofold discipline, 3. — The desire of discipline begets love, which is the keeping of the laws, 4. — Holiness according to Dionysius, 5. — This is the immediate disposition to wisdom, 6. — Part II, on the form of wisdom. It is wonderful, 7. — For it is uniform, multiform, omniform, nulliform, 8. — As to the first, it is uniform in the rules of the divine laws, 9–10. — As to the second, it is multiform in the mysteries of the divine Scriptures, according to the twofold allegory, anagogy, tropology, 11–18. — As to the third, it is omniform in the vestiges of the divine works, 19–26. — As to the fourth, it is nulliform in the suspensions of the divine transports, 27–33.

1. In the midst of the Church he shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory, Ecclesiasticus the fifteenth¹. It has been shown above to whom the teacher ought to deliver his discourse, and whence he ought to begin. Now it must be shown where he ought to end: namely, in the fulness of wisdom and understanding².

Now concerning wisdom note four things: what its rise is, what its house, what its gate, what its form. Of the first two it was said in the Collations on the seven gifts, where it was said that wisdom is a light descending from the Father of lights³ into the soul, and shining in it makes the soul deiform and a house of God. That descending light makes the intellective power comely, the affective pleasant, the operative strong. — This house is built upon seven columns, which blessed James⁴ plainly touches. The wisdom that is from above, he says, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. Of this house it is said in Matthew the seventh: Everyone that heareth these my words and doth them shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock.

2. The gate of wisdom is the desire of it and a vehement longing; whence in the Psalm⁵: Open thy mouth, and I will fill it. This is the way by which wisdom comes into me, by which I enter to wisdom, and wisdom enters into me, just as charity likewise does. Whence God is charity, and he that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him. But this wisdom is not had except with the highest complacency; and where the highest complacency is, the highest desire goes before; in Ecclesiasticus⁶: Son, desiring wisdom, keep justice, and God will give her to thee. — The observance of justice disposes one to have her, just as the appetite of matter inclines to form and makes it apt to be joined to the form through intermediate dispositions; not that those dispositions are destroyed, but rather they are completed, whether in the human body or in other things. The observance of justice therefore introduces wisdom. Whence Wisdom the seventh⁷: She is the brightness of eternal light and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty and the image of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all things, and remaining in herself she reneweth all things, and through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls.

3. But how this wisdom is had is clear both by authority and by example. Of the first, Wisdom the sixth⁸: For the beginning of her is the most true desire of discipline. The care therefore of discipline is love, and love is the keeping of her laws; and the keeping of her laws is the perfection of incorruption; and incorruption bringeth near to God.

The desire therefore of wisdom bringeth to the everlasting kingdom. The desire of wisdom therefore begets the desire of discipline. — Now discipline is twofold: scholastic and monastic, that is, of morals; and the scholastic does not suffice for having wisdom without the monastic; because a man is made wise not by hearing alone, but by observing. Whence in the Psalm¹, of wisdom: Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge. For knowledge is not had unless discipline goes before; nor discipline, unless goodness goes before; and so through goodness and discipline knowledge is in us. — For a sick man is never healed by hearing the physician, unless he observe his precepts, as the Philosopher says in the second book of the Ethics². But few go by this way of wisdom, and therefore few arrive at true wisdom.

4. The desire of discipline begets love. The care therefore of discipline is love. For if thou hast the love of discipline, thou wilt be a lover of virtue in thyself and in others and in its fountain. But discipline ought not to be servile, but liberal, so that one love him who disciplines, so that he act out of love, not out of fear. For if for discipline's sake thou art poor, it behoves thee to love poverty; and so of other things. And love is the keeping of the laws. For if thou lovest the good, thou observest the law, because the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart³. But when thou keepest the law, thou art sanctified and made full of the Holy Spirit; and then thou art drawn away from every love which is not God.

5. For this is that holiness which Dionysius describes in On the Divine Names, chapter twelve⁴: «Holiness», he says, «is a cleanness free from all uncleanness, and perfect, and altogether unstained». To be sanctified, therefore, is to be drawn away from every defiling and corrupting love which can corrupt the soul. In this the creature ought to be made like to the Creator: Be ye holy, he says, for I am holy. This holiness makes one deiform; and therefore those seraphic Spirits said: Holy, holy, holy.

6. But when the soul has been made deiform, Wisdom straightway enters into it, because she is the brightness of eternal light and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty; and there follows: through nations she conveyeth herself into holy souls, Wisdom the seventh⁵. Without holiness a man is not wise. Whence in Ecclesiasticus: A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun; but a fool is changed as the moon. Holiness is the immediate disposition to wisdom: therefore desire and vehement longing is the gate of wisdom; Wisdom the seventh: I wished, and understanding was given me; and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me. And I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her, as far as this: I was glad in all these things, because this wisdom went before me, and I was ignorant that she is the mother of them all. — But he says that he had her by wishing and by calling upon God. For if she is the highest good, she is to be loved in the highest degree; but if she is every good, she is to be sought universally and above all things. — Likewise it is clear from the example of Solomon⁶, because he did not ask for gold and silver, but for a docile heart; and therefore she came into him. Whence James: If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is not disciplined. This, then, is the gate. And a desire of this kind extinguishes all other desires and makes a man lifted up above the world. Whence he says: Her have I loved and have sought out from my youth, and I sought to take her for my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty.

7. Now the form of wisdom is wonderful, and no one beholds it without wonder and ecstasy, as is said of Esther⁷ and of Solomon, whose face all the earth desired to see; and the Queen of Saba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and when she saw the order of them that ministered and their apparel and the cupbearers and the holocausts which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her. — But that is to be feared which the Lord says in the Gospel: The queen of the south shall rise in judgement with this generation and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here. The Jews would not hear wisdom from the mouth of Wisdom; and we have Christ within us, and we will not hear his wisdom. It is a very great abomination that a king's daughter, most beautiful, is offered to us as a spouse, and we would rather be coupled to a most filthy handmaid and play the harlot; and we would return into Egypt to the vilest food⁸, and will not be refreshed with heavenly food.

8. This form is wonderful, because at one time it is uniform, at another multiform, at another omniform, at another nulliform. With a fourfold light therefore it clothes itself. It appears uniform in the rules of the divine laws, multiform in the mysteries of the divine Scriptures, omniform in the vestiges of the divine works, nulliform in the suspensions of the divine transports.

9. Of the first, Wisdom the sixth⁹: Wisdom is glorious and never fadeth away — because with

her there is no change nor shadow of alteration — and she is easily seen by them that love her, and is found by them that seek her. She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first sheweth herself unto them. This wisdom therefore appears immutable in the rules of the divine laws, which bind us. Those rules, shining into rational minds, are all those modes by which the mind knows and judges that which cannot be otherwise: for instance, that the highest principle is to be venerated in the highest degree; that the highest truth is to be believed and assented to in the highest degree; that the highest good is to be desired and loved in the highest degree. — And these are in the first table¹; and in them wisdom appears, in that they are so certain that they cannot be otherwise.

10. These rules are infallible, indubitable, unjudgeable, because through them judgement is made, and there is no judgement about them. And therefore this wisdom is glorious. — They are also unchangeable, unconfinable, unbounded; and therefore it never fadeth away. For they are so certain that there is in no way any contradicting them «except as to the outward-account», according to the Philosopher, in the first book of the Posterior Analytics². For these are rooted in the eternal light and lead into it, yet not on that account is that light itself seen. Nor is it to be said that they are founded in any created light, as in some Intelligence which illumines minds; because, since those rules are unconfinable, in that they offer themselves to the minds of all, it would then follow that a created light would be unconfinable and would be pure act, which be far from us; and he who says this enervates the fountain of wisdom and makes an idol, namely an Angel, a God, and more than he who makes a stone a god. For this wisdom shines upon the soul, because she standeth at the doors, that, as he says³, she may first shew herself unto them.

11. Again, wisdom appears as multiform in the mysteries of the divine Scriptures. This multiformity of the mysteries the Apostle shows, to the Ephesians⁴: To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace among the Gentiles, to evangelize the unsearchable riches of the grace of Christ, and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery hidden from eternity in God, who created all things, that the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the Principalities and Powers in heavenly places through the Church. It is not to be understood that Paul teaches the Angels, but it is said to be made known because through their ministry these things are made known, just as it is said that the Law was given by Angels, that is, through the ministry of Angels.

12. This wisdom therefore is called multiform, because there are many modes of expressing it; and therefore it was necessary that wisdom should be shown in many figures, many Sacraments, many signs, so that it should also be veiled to the proud and opened to the humble. These wrappings enclose Christ; they hide wisdom from the wise and the unclean. Whence in Matthew⁵: I confess to thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to little ones. And therefore the Apostle says well: To me, the least of all the saints, etc.

13. But how does Paul evangelize the unsearchable riches of the grace of Christ? Thus: Now, he says⁶, there remain faith, hope, charity, these three. — A threefold understanding shines in Scripture, which teaches what is to be believed, what is to be hoped for, what is to be done: what is to be believed as regards faith; what is to be hoped for as regards hope; what is to be done as regards charity, which consists in operation, not only in affection, John the fourteenth⁷: If any one love me, he will keep my word. And each of these is forked in two.

14. For faith is at the joining of the head and the body. The shining forth as regards faith is allegory, and this is twofold: one to the head, the other to the body. For there is one which is borne to the head crucified, born, and so forth; another which is borne to the body, to the Church first, middle and last; and in this manner Solomon praises the Church in the Canticle⁸ according to that threefold state. Who is she, he says, that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, etc. — Who is she that goeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, etc. — Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?

15. Of the allegory of the head Paul says⁹: I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and

all in Moses were baptized in the cloud and in the sea, and all did eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. And they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ. — Of the allegory of the body: It is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman; but he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh; but he of the free woman, by promise: which things are said by an allegory. For these are the two testaments¹. It was not needful that he should explain further, because by them are understood the two peoples.

16. According to the other understanding, which is through hope — namely what is to be hoped for — anagogy is taken, and this is twofold: namely heavenly, as there²: Abraham, look up to heaven and number the stars, if thou canst — namely the heavenly Intelligences; and in Job: Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason thereof on the earth? — The other supercelestial, as in Abraham, who «saw three and adored one»³, because in them the Trinity appeared; and in the two Angels who were sent to Sodom, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are sent by the Father; and therefore, because the Father was never sent, he did not appear there, but he appeared in those three, because the Father appeared, yet was never sent. — Hugh⁴ uses these words: heavenly, supercelestial, subcelestial hierarchy. Some say that they are called so improperly; but this is false, because in both places there is a sacred princedom.

17. The third is tropology, according to the third understanding, which teaches what is to be done. This is twofold: one part pertains to the active life, where it is taught what is to be done; another to the contemplative, where it is taught how one is to contemplate, how the soul is borne into God; and yet it is not anagogy, since it is a preparation of the soul, and so tends from the lowest to the highest. — This wisdom, then, is hidden and veiled from the proud, who are not able to understand the Scriptures. The Scriptures cannot be understood, nor the mysteries, unless the course of the world and the hierarchic disposition be known⁵.

18. In these mysteries, then, the wisdom of God appears most beautifully, even more than in the first mode. As, for example, I wish to praise the bride, that she is fair, that she is truthful; if I say simply, she is fair, she is truthful, my heart is not much moved; but when I say: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove's, thy neck as jewels⁶, I commend her wonderfully, so long as I understand. For I commend her not only as chaste and honourable, but because for the love of the bridegroom she is chaste and loving. For the turtledove is a bird chaste and loving, because for the love of its mate, while he lives, it joins itself to no other, nor after his death. The bride therefore is honourable not because she is chaste, but because she is chaste for the love of the bridegroom. Beautiful therefore are the cheeks, which stand forward, in which beauty appears. Thy neck as jewels: the neck, through which the voice is sent forth, is truth; the jewels, which adorn the breast and bind it, are discretion; because if a man speak the truth and not when he ought, or not as he ought, or not where he ought, or not to whom he ought — the truth is not beautiful.

19. This wisdom results from the many mysteries of Scripture, as from many mirrors are made multiplications of rays and of fires; these are the mirrors of the women, of which the brazen laver is made⁷; this is Scripture, so that with open face beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory: from the glory of allegory into the glory of anagogy, and again of tropology. This wisdom is given according to the measure of faith and to each one, as God hath divided the measure of faith⁸; because, according as a man more captivates his understanding, so much the wiser is he made, and faith is had through humility. Of wisdom of this kind Paul calls himself a professor. But Moses set down rules and laws, and therefore had a horned face, whereas the Apostle had an unveiled one.

20. Again, the third face of wisdom is omniform in the vestiges of the divine works. Whence in Ecclesiasticus⁹: To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed, and who hath known her wise counsels? To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest, and who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps? There is one most high Creator almighty. There follows: He created her in the Holy Spirit, and saw her and numbered her and measured her, and poured her out upon all his works.

This wisdom has been made manifest; whence: Wisdom preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets¹. And yet we do not find her, just as a layman who does not know letters and holds a book cares nothing for it; so we; whence this writing has been made for us Greek, barbarous and Hebrew, and utterly unknown in its source.

21. This wisdom is diffused in every thing, because every thing according to every property has a rule of wisdom and shows forth the divine wisdom; and he who knew all the properties would manifestly see this wisdom. And to considering this the philosophers gave themselves, and Solomon himself as well; whence he reproves himself, saying²: I said: I will be wise; and she went farther from me. For when someone gives himself by a curious searching of creatures to investigating this wisdom, then it withdraws farther off.

22. Now the work of God is spoken of in three ways: in the first way, an essence, whatever it be and in whatever genus, whether of substance or of accident; in another way, a complete essence, namely substance alone; in a third way, an essence made to the image of God, as a spiritual creature. — Upon these the wisdom of God has been poured out, as upon his works.

23. Now there is an order in these. For God creates every essence in measure and number and weight³; and in giving these, he gives measure, beauty and order; measure is that by which it stands, beauty that by which it is discerned, order that by which it fits. For there is no creature which does not have measure, number and inclination; and in these the vestige is regarded, and wisdom is made manifest, as the foot in its footprint; and this vestige leads into that wisdom in which there is measure without measure, number without number, order without order⁴. — But in substance there is a higher vestige, which represents the divine essence. For every created substance has matter, form, composition: an original principle or foundation, a formal completion, and a glue⁵; it has substance, power and operation. — And in these the mystery of the Trinity is represented: the Father, origin; the Son, image; the Holy Spirit, bond.

24. Now the account of the original principle has a distinction from the formal completion in the creature — not indeed a hypostatic one, as it is in the divine, nor an accidental one, but as of principles of which one is active, the other passive. And to take this away from the creature is to take away from it the representation of the Trinity; as to say that the creature is pure act and does not have composition.

25. Nor is that of any avail which is said, that it is composite because it is from another, since to be from another does not make composition; for then the Son would be composite, since he is from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from both. For the divine being alone is simple; nor does to be differ in it from to be thus and to be well. And therefore being is said to be the name of God⁶, because being in God is that which God is. But in the creature to be differs from to be well and to be thus.

26. Another vestige of this wisdom is substance, power and operation; power is from substance, operation from substance and power; a thing has from substance to be, from power to be vigorous, from operation to effect. Nor is power an accident of substance, although the Philosopher⁷ says that a natural potency is a quality. For he is speaking insofar as it states a mode consequent upon substance; as is clear, because hard and soft state a mode consequent upon substance.

27. Again, there is the creature made to the image of God; and this either according to the natural image or the gratuitous; the former is memory, intelligence and will, in which the Trinity shines; and with this the soul is sealed, and in this sealing it receives immortality, intelligence and joyfulness: immortality, according as eternity is held in the memory; wisdom, according as truth shines in the intelligence; joyfulness, according as goodness delights in the will. These things are indeed in the Intelligences, or in reformed substances⁸. — And thus it is clear that the whole world is like one mirror full of lights presenting the divine wisdom, and like a coal pouring forth light.

28. The fourth face of wisdom is the most difficult, because it is nulliform, which seems destructive of the preceding, yet is not. For of this the Apostle says in the first to the Corinthians, the second chapter⁹: We speak wisdom among the perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,

neither hath it entered into the heart of man; but to us God hath revealed it by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. This wisdom Paul taught to Dionysius and Timothy and the rest of the perfect, and hid it from the others. It behoves us, therefore, to be perfect, that we may come to this wisdom. Forgetting the things that are behind, he says¹, I stretch forth myself to those that are before, if by any means I may comprehend.

29. This wisdom is hidden in a mystery. But how? If it hath not entered into the heart of man, how shall it be comprehended, since it is nulliform? — Note that this is the state of Christian wisdom; whence, when Dionysius had written many books, he consummated it here, namely in the Mystical Theology. Whence it behoves that a man be instructed in many things and in all that goes before. Of the mystical theology Dionysius says²: «But do thou», he says, «O Timothy, my friend, in respect of the mystical visions, by a strong action and contrition, leave behind the senses», and so forth; for he means to say that it behoves one to be loosed from all the things which he there enumerates, and to let all go; as if he were to say: he whom I wish to understand is above all substance and knowledge. And there is an operation transcending all understanding, most secret; which no one knows but he who experiences it. For in the soul there are many apprehensive powers: the sensitive, the imaginative, the estimative, the intellective; and all must be left behind, and at the summit is the uniting of love, and this transcends them all. — Whence it is clear that the whole of beatitude is not in the intellective power³.

30. Now this contemplation comes about through grace, and yet industry helps, namely that a man separate himself from everything that God is not, and from himself, if that were possible. And this is the supreme uniting through love. And that it comes about through love alone, the Apostle says⁴: Rooted and founded in charity, that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length, the breadth, the height and the depth. This love transcends all understanding and knowledge. — But if it transcends knowledge, how can this wisdom be seen? On this account the Apostle adds⁵: Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we ask or understand, etc.; because it is not for everyone, but only for him to whom God reveals it. On which account the Apostle says: But to us God hath revealed it by his Spirit. Whence, when the mind is joined to God in that union, it sleeps in a certain manner and in a certain manner watches: I sleep, and my heart watcheth. The affective power alone watches, and imposes silence on all the other powers; and then a man is alienated from the senses and set in ecstasy, and hears secret words which it is not granted to man to utter⁶, because they are only in the affection. Whence, since nothing can be expressed except what is conceived, nor is anything conceived except what is understood, and the understanding is silent, it follows that he can utter and unfold almost nothing. — And so it is; and because this wisdom is not reached except through grace, therefore the wise author attributes to the Holy Spirit and to the Word himself the revealing of whatever things are hidden and unforeseen; and therefore he says⁷: Whatsoever things are hid and unforeseen I have learned; for the artificer of all things, wisdom, taught me. And he says the same thing that Paul does. For in her is the spirit of understanding, holy, one, manifold, subtile, etc. This spirit lifts the soul and teaches unforeseen things. And this is the finger of God, to which Pharaoh's magician cannot attain — namely our understanding. — Of the first kinds of wisdom many wise men have something, but of this one⁸ few.

31. Now this love is sequestering, sleep-bringing, upward-bearing. For it sequesters from every other affection for the sake of the one affection for the bridegroom; it brings sleep and quiets all the powers and imposes silence; it bears upward, because it leads into God. And thus a man is as it were dead; and therefore it is said: Love is strong as death⁹, because it separates from all things. For it behoves a man to die through that love, that he may be borne upward. Whence man shall not see me and live. And then in such a union the power of the soul is gathered into one and is made more united and enters into its own inmost part and consequently ascends into its own highest part; because the inmost and the highest are the same, according to Augustine¹⁰. Of that highest part it is said in the Canticle: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please.

32. Now it helps us toward coming to that sleep to be borne above all the senses, above all the intellectual operations which are bound up with phantasms, and to dismiss even the angelic Intelligences, so that it may be said¹: The keepers that go about the city found me; when I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth. And this Dionysius teaches: to dismiss things sensible, things intellectual, beings, non-beings; and he calls temporal things non-beings, because they are in continual variation; and so to enter into the ray of darkness. It is called darkness because the understanding does not grasp it; and yet the soul is illumined in the highest degree. And because this is not had except through prayer, therefore Dionysius begins from prayer, saying²: «O supersubstantial Trinity, superdivine, supergood»; and understand that this is said not in respect of God, but in respect of our understanding; because he is more substance than our understanding grasps, and more God; and so of the rest. And afterwards: «removing the eyes of the mind»³, because the mind cannot behold with intellectual eyes, and therefore they must be removed. And therefore it is said in the Canticle: Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away. Then Christ withdraws, when the mind strives with intellectual eyes to see that wisdom; because there the understanding does not enter, but the affection. Whence in the Canticle⁴: Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes — because the affection goes even to the depth of Christ — and with one hair of thy neck; the hair signifies the lifting up of mental considerations. — And afterwards Dionysius: «But do thou, friend Timothy, in respect of the mystical visions, by a strong contrition and action leave behind the senses and the intellectual operations», and so forth. And he intimates that this ascent comes about through the vigour and the most powerful stirring of the Holy Spirit; as is said of Elijah⁵: Behold, a spirit overthrowing the mountains and breaking the rocks, etc. This fire it is not in our power to have; but if God gives it from above, it is the priest's part to nourish it and to lay on the wood through prayer.

33. Now this ascent comes about through affirmation and removal⁶: through affirmation, from the highest down to the lowest; through removal, from the lowest up to the highest; and this latter mode is the more fitting, as: it is not this, it is not that; nor do I deprive God of what is his, or is in him, but I attribute it in a better and higher mode than I understand. — Removal is always followed by love. Whence Moses is first sequestered from the elders, secondly ascends the mountain, thirdly enters the darkness. Another example: he who carves a figure puts nothing on, but rather removes, and leaves in the stone itself a noble and beautiful form. So the knowledge of the Godhead through removal leaves in us a most noble disposition.

34. This sleep is signified by the death of Christ, the burial of Christ, the passage of the Red Sea, the passage into the land of promise. — That the Holy Spirit again stirs one to this, note concerning Moses, whom the fire led to the inner parts of the desert⁷, where he received his illuminations. This, then, is the form of wisdom; these are the mental transports.

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