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Collationes de septem donis Spiritus Sancti · Collatio IX: De dono sapientiae

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COLLATIO IX.

De dono sapientiae.

Summarium

Introductio, 1. — Explicatio textus; duplex sapientia cum subdivisione, 2. 3. — Evacuanda sapientia falsa, appetenda vera, 4. — Pars I. Sapientia desursum descendens triplici suo effectu aedificat domum Dei. Lux descendit ad tres potentias animae; primo, ad intellectivam illuminandam, 5. — Secundo, ad affectivam laetificandam, 6. — Tertio, ad operativam corroborandam, 7. — Sic aedificat Ecclesiam et animam, ut sit domus Dei; in qua requiruntur septem columnae insinuatae a Iacobo, 8. — Pars II. De septem domus Dei columnis; hae enumerantur, 9. — Prima columna est pudicitia in carne, 10. — Secunda, innocentia in mente, 11. — Tertia, modestia in sermone, 12. — Quarta, suadibilitas in affectu, 13. — Quinta, liberalitas in effectu; haec requiritur praesertim in praelatis, 14. 15. — Sexta, maturitas in iudicio; duo ad hoc requiruntur, 16. — Septima, simplicitas in intentione, 17.

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1. Si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens; quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram1. — Fili, concupiscens sapientiam, conserva iustitiam, et Deus praebebit illam tibi. Verba ultima sunt in Ecclesiastico, in quibus ostendit Ecclesiasticus, qualiter homo poterit adipisci donum sapientiae. Verum est, quod a Deo est illud donum; sed si vis ipsum habere, oportet, te sapientiam concupiscere, quia non intrat sapientia in animam, nisi quae magno affectu fertur ad eam, nec negatur animae desideranti; unde in libro Sapientiae2: Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus; et invocavi, et venit in me spiritus sapientiae. Desiderio sapientiae debet servari iustitia, quia non concordat sapientia iniquitati; unde dicit: conserva iustitiam. Inter alia haec est summa iustitia, ut homo non sit ingratus Deo, sed dona sibi collata refundat in datorem. Unde in Ecclesiastico3: Danti mihi sapientiam dabo gloriam, quia, si de sapientia gloriaris, hoc ipso sapientiam perdis; Ieremias: Non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, et non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua. Et causa huius redditur in Ezechiele, ubi dicitur: Tu, plenus sapientia et decore, in deliciis paradisi Dei fuisti; perdidisti sapientiam tuam in decore tuo. — Haec est iustitia summa, ut demus Deo gloriam et petamus ab ipso sapientiam. Unde in Canonica Iacobi4: Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet eam a Deo etc., in fide nihil haesitans. Et quia ego locuturus de sapientia indigeo sapientia, et vos auditores similiter; ideo in principio rogemus Dominum etc.

2. Si consurrexistis cum Christo etc. Verbum illud competit praesenti tempori et nostro proposito; ipsum est scriptum in Epistola, quae legitur in Missa, et est verbum Apostoli ad Colossenses5, in quo sacer Apostolus hortatur nos adipisci sapientiam veram et effugere sapientiam vanam. Primum tangit, cum dicit: Si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite etc. Secundum tangit, cum dicit: non quae super terram; in quo dat intelligere, quod sicut est duplex aspectus animae, sic est duplex eius affectus. Unus aspectus eius est ad caelestia et invisibilia, alius est ad terrena et corruptibilia; ita est etiam duplex affectus animae: unus est aeternorum, et alius est temporalium. Sic est etiam sapientia, quae est desursum, et alia, quae est deorsum. Hortatur nos ad primam et dehortatur nos ad illam, quae est super terram. — Illam, quae est deorsum, describit beatus Iacobus6 dicens: Nolite gloriari et mali esse adversus veritatem. Non est enim haec sapientia desursum descendens, sed terrena, animalis, diabolica. Ista tota sollicitudine quaerit delectari in omni suavitate, in affluentia divitiarum saecularium et in experientia sensualium delectationum et in excellentia sive in ambitione saecularium pompositatum. In quantum facit hominem sollicitum, ut delectetur omni suavitate in affluentia divitiarum, est terrena; in quantum facit hominem sollicitum, ut delectetur in experientia sensualium delectationum, est animalis; sed in quantum facit hominem sollicitum, ut delectetur in excellentia et ambitione saecularium pompositatum, est diabolica; quia radix omnium malorum superbia, et principaliter damnatur in rege diabolico.

3. De ista triplici sapientia dicit Apostolus ad Corinthios7: Scriptum est: perdam sapientiam sapientium, et prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Illa est sapientia, de qua dicit Ieremias: Sapientes sunt, ut faciant mala, bene autem facere nescierunt. Ad istam sapientiam dispergendam mortuus est Christus, pauper factus, afflictus et humilis, ut nos doceret cavere ab ista. Apostolus ad Corinthios: Nonne stultam fecit Deus sapientiam huius mundi? quasi dicat, quando in cruce elegit contraria sapientiae mundiali Apostolus: Placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Quod stultum est Dei sapientius est hominibus. Tu appretiaris affluentiam divitiarum, et Christus elegit paupertatem; appretiaris experientiam sensualium delectationum, et Christus elegit acerbitatem passionis; appretiaris ambitionem saecularium pompositatum, et Christus voluit esse despectus et confusus. Et praevaluit sapientia Dei; ideo dicit: Quod stultum est Dei sapientius

p. 500 est hominibus. Salomon in Proverbiis1 dicit: Stultissimus sum virorum, et sapientia hominum non est mecum. Non didici sapientiam et non novi sapientiam Sanctorum. Stultus fuit Christus apparentia exteriori, quando recessit ab appetitu stultorum; stultior, quando voluit affligi; stultissimus vero, quando mortem crucis elegit et turpissima morte mortuus est. — Haec est sapientia Sanctorum. Apostolus2: Gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientiae nostrae, quia non in sapientia carnali, sed in sapientia Dei conversati sumus in hoc mundo. Apostolus: Si quis videtur inter vos sapiens esse in hoc saeculo, stultus fiat, ut sit sapiens. Et ad Philippenses dicit: Multi ambulant, quos saepe dicebam vobis, nunc autem et flens dico, inimicos crucis Christi, quorum finis interitus, quorum Deus venter est, propter sapientiam animalem; et gloria in confusione ipsorum, propter sapientiam diabolicam; qui terrena sapiunt, scilicet propter sapientiam terrenam.

4. Non ergo sapiatis quae sunt super terram, quia crucifixus est Christus, ut istam sapientiam evacuaret; et sicut mortuus est Christus, ut vanam sapientiam evacuaret et perderet; ita resurrexit et ascendit, ut veram sapientiam doceret et in cordibus nostris stabiliret. In cruce docuit sapientiam mundi spernere, et in caelum vadens docuit sapientiam Dei appetere et fontem vitae diligere. Omnis sapientia mundi est spernere ista. Maxima autem stultitia est mortem Christi evacuare; quod faciunt qui sapiunt quae sunt super terram; ideo oportet sapientiam istam evacuare et sapientiam, quae desursum est, appetere.

5. Sed quae est sapientia, quae est desursum? Dicit Sapiens in Ecclesiaste3: Vidi, quod tantum praecederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris. Ergo dat intelligere, quod sapientia est lux; lux, inquam, descendens desursum a Patre luminum, a quo omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum. Lux ista descendit ad nostram potentiam cognitivam illuminandam, ad nostram affectivam laetificandam et ad nostram operativam corroborandam. Descendit a summo Deo in intellectum, ab intellectu in affectum et usque ad infimum, scilicet operationem. — Quod sit lux descendens ad nostram potentiam intellectivam illuminandam; patet, quia scribitur in libro Sapientiae4, quod est candor lucis aeternae, 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 et amicos Dei et prophetas constituit. Neminem enim diligit Deus, nisi eum qui cum sapientia inhabitat. Est enim haec speciosior sole et super omnem dispositionem stellarum, luci comparata invenitur prior. Merito sapientia sedes Dei dicitur, et anima sic descripta, quae pulcrior est caelo, immo toto universo, sedes Dei est.

6. Secundo descendit sapientia desursum tanquam lux ad nostram affectivam laetificandam. Unde in Ecclesiastico5: Vinum et musica laetificant cor, et super utraque dilectio sapientiae. — Vinum et musica laetificant cor, scilicet ab exteriori et secundum species impressas, quae non sunt ipsa veritas, sed similitudo quaedam rei, nec implent animam et non vere, sed phantastice laetificant. Sed ubi est unio secundum veritatem, ibi est iucunditas, ubi veritas illabitur animae et eam replet et laetificat. De ista sapientia dicit Sapiens6: Hanc amavi et praeposui illam regnis et sedibus et divitias nihil esse duxi in comparatione illius; super salutem et speciem dilexi illam. Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa et innumerabilis honestas per manus illius; et laetatus sum in omnibus, quoniam antecedebat me ista sapientia. Philosophus dicit, quod sapientia maximas habet delectationes. Si magnum est illustrari sapientia, plus est laetificari, in quantum diligit principium suum.

7. Tertio descendit sapientia desursum tanquam lux ad nostram operativam corroborandam. Unde in Ecclesiaste7: Sapientia confortavit sapientem super decem principes civitatis. Nota, quod nulla virtus subcaelestis, nec terrena nec humana, vel caelestis sive angelica, tantum corroborat animam, sicut supercaelestis sapientia. Unde in libro Sapientiae: Sapientia intravit in animam servi Dei, et stetit contra reges. Certamen forte dedit illi, ut vinceret et sciret, quoniam omnium potentior est sapientia.

8. Et sic haec sapientia aedificat Ecclesiam et animam, ut sit habitaculum Dei et domus Dei, domus, dico, amoena, domus pulcra et domus robusta. Dicitur in Matthaeo8: Omnis, qui audit verba mea haec et facit ea, assimilabitur viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra firmam petram. Domus ista principaliter aedificatur a sapientia; unde in Proverbiis: Sapientia aedificavit sibi domum, excidit columnas septem. Certum est, quod sapientia delectatur esse cum hominibus; unde dicit: Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum. Quod autem

p. 501 sapientia non habitet nobiscum, non est defectus ex parte sui, sed ex parte nostra. Si volumus, quod lux praedicta habitet in nobis; oportet, quod habeamus columnas septem. — Sed quae sunt septem columnae huius domus? Nunquid eas fabricabo de capite meo? Absit; sacra Scriptura satis explicat eas. Ubi igitur inveniamus eas? Beatus Iacobus1, describens sapientiam, quae desursum est, ponit septem eius conditiones dicens: Primum quidem pudica est, deinde pacifica, modesta, suadibilis, bonis consentiens, plena misericordia et fructibus bonis, non iudicans, sine simulatione. Si possem ista vobis explicare, non crederem perdere verba mea, immo darem vobis magnam viam ad sapientiam.

9. Istae columnae non sunt nisi gradus quidam ad sapientiam. Collige septem columnas. Prima est pudicitia in carne; secunda est innocentia in mente; tertia est moderantia in sermone; quarta est suadibilitas in affectu, et quinta est liberalitas in effectu; sexta est maturitas in iudicio, et septima est simplicitas in intentione. Per ista stabilitur domus sapientiae.

10. Prima, dico, columna domus sapientiae est pudicitia in carne; unde dicit: Primum quidem pudica est. Quare ista est prima? Quia haec est, qua oportet incipere; scribitur enim in libro Sapientiae2: In malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis. Corpus impudicum est subditum peccatis; ideo sapientia in eo non potest habitare. Dicitur in libro Sapientiae: Ut scivi, quoniam aliter non possem esse continens, nisi Deus det. — Gregorius Nazianzenus fuit iuvenis mundissimus. Accidit, quod studebat Athenis. Quadam nocte, cum dormiret, venit ad eum domina pulcherrima, habens duas pedissequas tanquam virgines; ipse incepit eam repellere. Et dixit domina: «non fugias me, quia non veni ad te corrumpendum. Sum sapientia, et duae pedissequae sunt humilitas et castitas sive pudicitia. Si vis me, quae sum sapientia, serva pedissequas istas, scilicet humilitatem et castitatem, quia ubi fuerit superbia, ibi erit contumelia; ubi autem est humilitas, ibi est sapientia»3. Vera virginitas est, in qua sapientia associatur. Humilitas cum pudicitia est principalis columna sapientiae. Dicit Salomon4: Luxuriosa res vinum, et tumultuosa ebrietas; quicumque his delectatur, non erit sapiens; et alibi: Vinum et mulieres apostatare faciunt sapientes et arguent sensatos. Exemplum tractabile habes in illo Salomone, qui apostatavit propter mulieres usque ad cultum idololatriae; qui tamen repletus fuit sapientia sicut fluvius. Si esset taberna, in qua venderetur vinum, quod induceret omnis sapientiae oblivionem; credo, quod nullus esset ita fatuus, quod emeret vinum illud. Credo, quod Deus aeternus altissima sui consilii dispensatione permisit Salomon cadere, ut omnes homines doceret fugere mulieres.

11. Secunda columna domus sapientiae est innocentia in mente; quod notatur, cum dicit: deinde pacifica. Augustinus5 dicit, quod «pax est tranquillitas ordinis», scilicet, quando quis humiliter subiicit se superiori, aequanimiter se habeat ad parem et discrete praesit inferiori. Omnes, qui sunt filii sapientiae, habent hunc ordinem. Dicitur in Ecclesiastico: Filii sapientiae, ecclesia iustorum. Unde bellum? Si diligeres parem, obedires superiori et praeesses ordinate inferiori; haberes pacem. Qui istam pacem perturbat destruit domum sapientiae. Scribitur in Proverbiis6: Qui patiens est multa gubernatur sapientia; qui impatiens est exaltat stultitiam suam, et sic pervertit domum sapientiae. Beatus Iacobus: Quis sapiens et disciplinatus inter vos? Ostendat ex bona conversatione operationem suam in mansuetudine sapientiae.

12. Tertia columna domus sapientiae est moderantia in sermone; et hoc notatur, cum dicit: modesta. Super omnia exigitur moderantia in sermone; unde in Ecclesiastico7: Homo sapiens tacebit usque

p. 502 ad tempus, lascivus autem et imprudens non servabunt tempus. Omni negotio tempus est et opportunitas. Nonne summa est insipientia, ut homo cum eodem gladio transverberet se ipsum et proximum suum? Sermo malus est necans audientem et dicentem. Non potes detrahere proximo, quin te ipsum interficias eodem gladio. Si dico verbum scandalizationis, non possum laedere te, nisi et laedam me. Tanta est vicinitas taciturnitatis et sapientiae, quod stultus, si tacuerit, sapiens reputabitur1; et sapiens, qui multum loquitur, reputatur stultus. Uno verbo possum dicere detractionem, propter hoc oportet verbis facere stateram. Unde summe cavenda est immoderantia sermonis. — Sermo enim instrumentum est expressivum sapientiae, et ideo moveri debet secundum regulam sapientiae. Unde scribitur2: Verba oris sapientis, gratia; et Apostolus: Omnis sermo malus de ore vestro non procedat. Mirabile est, cum homines sedent ad mensam, ut se spiritualiter reficiant, et unus diabolus loquitur de temporalibus et de detractionibus et omnes, qui sunt in mensa, pascit illo veneno. Mors et vita in manu linguae3. Si mulier tacuisset, quando diabolus dixit ei: Quare praecepit vobis Deus, ut non comederetis de ligno scientiae boni et mali? non habuisset diabolus occasionem ipsam amplius tentandi. Et philosophi etiam docuerunt discipulos suos, ut tacerent; Cato: «Virtutum primam puto esse compescere linguam». Credo, quod peccata linguae tanta sunt, quod mundus satis habet facere pro illis tantum, si Deus exsurgeret ad iudicandum ea4.

13. Quarta columna domus sapientiae est, quod est suadibilitas in affectu; quod notatur, cum dicit: suadibilis, bonis consentiens. Non est qui sit suadibilis in bono, nisi sit benignus; et hoc etiam concordat cum sapientia. Malignus suadibilis est in malo. Scribitur5: Benignus est spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledicum a labiis suis. Suadibilitas bona facit appretiari et diligere et eis consentit; et quanto sapientior est homo, tanto suadibilior est in bonis. Unde in Proverbiis: Inauris aurea et margarita fulgens, qui arguit sapientem et aurem obedientem. Sicut inauris ornat aurem, et margarita in corona ornat faciem; sic verbum bonum ornat sapientem. Quando sapiens arguitur, se habet, ac si ornaretur. Si enim corrigo me ad verbum admonitionis bonae, quid aliud facio, quam quod illo verbo me orno? Si tamen haec margarita proponitur stulto, conculcat eam ut canis. Unde in Proverbiis6: Noli arguere derisorem, ne oderit te; argue sapientem, et diliget te. Carissimi! melius est a sapiente corripi quam stultorum adulatione decipi. Stultus, quando corripitur, non recedit a malo nec ducitur ad bonum. Qui defectus suos cognoscit, et isti displicent ei, est sapiens. Qui hominem arguit et a malo revocat plus facit ei obsequii, quam si daret ei totum mundum.

14. Quinta columna domus sapientiae est liberalitas in effectu. Sapientia vult habere misericordiam non solum in affectu, sed etiam in effectu. Haec notatur, cum dicit: plena misericordia et fructibus bonis. A fructibus eorum cognoscetis eos7. Unde in Proverbiis dicitur: Manum suam aperuit inopi et palmas suas extendit ad pauperem. Os suum aperuit sapientiae, et lex clementiae in lingua eius. De fructu manuum suarum dedit inopi. Docet Sapientia, quod homo faciat opera non ludicra, sed fructuosa, quia bonorum laborum gloriosus est fructus. Inter omnia fructuosa opera magis fructuosa sunt opera misericordiae. Date igitur de fructibus manuum vestrarum.

15. Istam misericordiam debent habere qui praeficiuntur ad gubernationem aliorum; unde in Actibus8: Considerate ergo, fratres, ex vobis viros boni testimonii, plenos Spiritu sancto et sapientia, quos constituamus ad hoc opus dispensandum. Non esset sapiens dispensator, qui furaretur bona Dei. Si aliquid daretur tibi ad dispensandum familiae, et tu furareris et poneres in bursa tua; nonne credis, quod clamaret contra te familia domini et te diceret pessimum dispensatorem, et diceret dominus: Servum inutilem eiicite in tenebras exteriores9? Maior sapientia, quae possit esse, est, quod dispensator fructuose expendat quae habet dispensare, et tradita sunt ei ad dispensandum. Talis fuit beatus Stephanus et Laurentius. Pontifices summi in primitiva Ecclesia non vacabant istis terrenis; modo curatur de rebus temporalibus habendis, non dispensandis. Dicit: plena misericordia; Apostolus10: Quae seminaverit homo, haec et metet. Si dominus daret servo bladum ad seminandum agrum suum, et ille poneret bladum in sacco et non seminaret; male fructificaret terra, immo clamaret contra eum. Sicut misericordia amica est sapientiae, sic avaritia est inimica. Avari derident omnes, qui non amant pecuniam. In Deuteronomio11: Munera excaecant oculos sapientum et mu-

p. 503 tant verba iustorum. — Excaecant oculos, non corporales, sed spirituales; ergo auferunt lumen sapientiae. Scriptum est: Facilius est, camelum transire per foramen acus, quam divitem intrare in regnum caelorum, quia habet cor terrenum et ponderosum.

16. Sexta columna domus sapientiae est maturitas in iudicio; et hoc notatur, cum dicitur: non iudicans. Maturitas est in iudicio, quando homo non iudicat temerarie. Unde in Ecclesiastico1: Iudex sapiens iudicabit populum suum, scilicet super quem habet auctoritatem. Sed si transcendat auctoritatem, non est iudex sapiens, sed est iudicium temerarium. Si sine auctoritate iudicat, quid est? Certe nihil. Oportet etiam, iudicium sapientis habere zeli rectitudinem et notitiae claritatem. De primo2: Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua eius loquetur iudicium. Iudex iustus est qui iusto zelo movetur, omnia bona approbat et mala reprobat; qui vero non habet rectum zelum non potest bene iudicare. Amor et odium pervertunt iudicium. Si odis me, non potes me recte iudicare; et quare? Quia videtur tibi, quod omnia, quae sunt in me, mala sint. — Item oportet, quod iudex habeat notitiae claritatem. Quomodo iudicarem bene de re ignota? Unde cum amici Iob arguerent eum, quod non esset iustus, dicentes: Deus iustus iustum non punit; et te tamen punit: ergo non es iustus; voluerunt iudicare de occultis. Iob, audiens haec, respondit eis dicens3: Convertimini et venite, et non inveniam in vobis ullum sapientem. Ideo dicit beatus Iacobus: non iudicans, non quod homo non debeat iudicare loco et tempore de re, de qua habet certitudinem et auctoritatem et rectum zelum; sed quia iudicant homines malum bonum, et econtra bonum malum. Melius est, si debeam iudicare de alio, quod sentiam bene quam male. Debet homo esse pronior ad clementer excusandum quam ad male iudicandum. Omnes modo sunt iudicatores iniquarum cogitationum4. Debet igitur homo non transcendere auctoritatem nec temerarie iudicare sine zeli rectitudine et notitiae claritate. Matthaeus: Nolite iudicare, ut non iudicemini. Quod homines defectus alienos intrinsecos iudicant et se negligunt, summa stultitia est. Gregorius: «Animus, quanto curiosior est ad investigandum aliena, tanto stultior est ad cognoscendum propria».

17. Septima et ultima columna sapientiae est simplicitas in intentione, quae notatur, cum dicit: sine simulatione. De ista dicitur5, quod rex Salomon fecit thronum de ebore grandem, et fecit in eo sex gradus. Aliae columnae sunt in gyro, sed ista est principalissima et in summitate. De ista loquitur Apostolus dicens: Quae sursum sunt quaerite; et in Ecclesiaste: Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto, et quid pauper, nisi ut pergat illuc, ubi est vita? Certe, ubi est Christus, et cum apparuerit Christus, apparebit vita. — Sed ubi est Christus? Certe, sursum in caelo; Apostolus: Quae sursum sunt quaerite. Igitur in caelo est Christus et vita. Christus fons sapientiae, ipse est huius doni fundamentum et complementum. Apostolus ut sapiens architectus dicit6: Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere praeter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Iesus. Ut dicit quaedam Glossa, homo contrario modo se habet arbori in radice; arbor enim habet radicem deorsum, homo sursum; et aedificium spirituale habet fundamentum sursum, sed corporale deorsum; Christus igitur est huius doni fundamentum. Idem est etiam eius complementum, quia in ipso sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi7. In ipso consummatur domus sapientiae. Unde dicitur in Ecclesiaste: Sapientis oculi in capite eius, id est in Christo; stultus in tenebris ambulat. In Christo est consummatio omnis boni. Unde in Ioanne: Haec est autem vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum Deum verum et quem misisti Iesum Christum. Illa quae sursum sunt, debemus desiderare, videre et facere; et ad ea nos perducat qui sine fine vivit et regnat. Amen.

EXPLICIUNT COLLATIONES DE DONIS SPIRITUS S.

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English Translation
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COLLATION IX.

On the gift of wisdom.

Summarium

Introduction, 1. — Explanation of the text; the twofold wisdom, with its subdivision, 2, 3. — False wisdom is to be emptied out, true wisdom to be desired, 4. — Part I. Wisdom descending from above builds the house of God by its threefold effect. The light descends to the three powers of the soul: first, to the intellective, to illuminate it, 5. — Secondly, to the affective, to gladden it, 6. — Thirdly, to the operative, to strengthen it, 7. — Thus it builds up the Church and the soul, that it may be the house of God; in which are required the seven pillars intimated by James, 8. — Part II. On the seven pillars of the house of God; these are enumerated, 9. — The first pillar is chastity in the flesh, 10. — The second, innocence in the mind, 11. — The third, modesty in speech, 12. — The fourth, readiness to be persuaded, in the affection, 13. — The fifth, generosity in effect; this is required especially in prelates, 14, 15. — The sixth, maturity in judgment; two things are required for it, 16. — The seventh, simplicity of intention, 17.

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1. If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth1. — Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice, and God will give her to thee. The last words are in Ecclesiasticus, and in them Ecclesiasticus shows how a man may obtain the gift of wisdom. It is true that this gift is from God; but if you would have it, you must desire wisdom, for wisdom does not enter into a soul except one that is borne toward her with great affection, nor is she denied to a soul that desires her; whence in the book of Wisdom2: I wished, and understanding was given me; and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me. Together with the desire of wisdom justice must be kept, because wisdom does not agree with iniquity; whence he says: keep justice. Among other things this is the highest justice, that a man be not ungrateful to God, but pour back the gifts conferred upon him into the giver. Whence in Ecclesiasticus3: To him that giveth me wisdom will I give glory; because if you glory in wisdom, by that very fact you lose wisdom. Jeremiah: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength. And the reason for this is given in Ezekiel, where it is said: Thou, full of wisdom and of beauty, wast in the delights of the paradise of God; thou hast lost thy wisdom in thy beauty. — This is the highest justice, that we give God the glory and ask wisdom of him. Whence in the Canonical Epistle of James4: If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, etc., nothing wavering in faith. And because I who am about to speak of wisdom want wisdom, and you my hearers likewise, therefore at the beginning let us pray the Lord, etc.

2. If you be risen with Christ, etc. That word is suited to the present season and to our purpose; it is written in the Epistle which is read in the Mass, and it is the word of the Apostle to the Colossians5, in which the holy Apostle exhorts us to obtain true wisdom and to flee vain wisdom. He touches the first when he says: If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, etc. He touches the second when he says: not the things that are upon the earth; in which he gives us to understand that as there is a twofold gaze of the soul, so there is a twofold affection of it. One gaze of it is toward heavenly and invisible things, the other toward earthly and corruptible things; and so too there is a twofold affection of the soul: one is of eternal things, the other of temporal. So too there is a wisdom which is from above, and another which is from below. He exhorts us to the first, and dissuades us from that one which is upon the earth. — The one which is from below blessed James6 describes, saying: Glory not, and be not liars against the truth. For this is not wisdom descending from above, but earthly, sensual, devilish. That wisdom seeks with its whole solicitude to take delight in every pleasantness, in the abundance of worldly riches, and in the experience of sensual delights, and in the eminence or the ambition of worldly pomps. Insofar as it makes a man solicitous to take delight in every pleasantness in the abundance of riches, it is earthly; insofar as it makes a man solicitous to take delight in the experience of sensual delights, it is sensual; but insofar as it makes a man solicitous to take delight in the eminence and ambition of worldly pomps, it is devilish; because pride is the root of all evils, and it is condemned principally in the devilish king.

3. Of this threefold wisdom the Apostle says to the Corinthians7: It is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject. That is the wisdom of which Jeremiah says: They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. To scatter this wisdom Christ died, having been made poor, afflicted and lowly, that he might teach us to beware of it. The Apostle to the Corinthians: Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? as if he should say, when on the cross he chose what is contrary to worldly wisdom. The Apostle: It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men. You prize the abundance of riches, and Christ chose poverty; you prize the experience of sensual delights, and Christ chose the bitterness of the passion; you prize the ambition of worldly pomps, and Christ willed to be despised and confounded. And the wisdom of God prevailed; therefore he says: The foolishness of God is wiser

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than men. Solomon in Proverbs1 says: I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me. I have not learned wisdom, and have not known the wisdom of saints. Christ was foolish in outward appearance when he withdrew from the appetite of fools; more foolish, when he willed to be afflicted; most foolish indeed, when he chose the death of the cross and died a most shameful death. — This is the wisdom of saints. The Apostle2: For our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience, that not in carnal wisdom, but in the wisdom of God, we have conversed in this world. The Apostle: If any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. And to the Philippians he says: Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, on account of sensual wisdom; and whose glory is in their shame, on account of devilish wisdom; who mind earthly things, namely on account of earthly wisdom.

4. Therefore do not mind the things that are upon the earth, because Christ was crucified in order to empty out that wisdom; and as Christ died in order to empty out and destroy vain wisdom, so he rose and ascended in order to teach true wisdom and to establish it in our hearts. On the cross he taught us to despise the wisdom of the world, and going into heaven he taught us to desire the wisdom of God and to love the fountain of life. The whole wisdom of the world is to despise these things. But the greatest folly is to empty out the death of Christ; which they do who mind the things that are upon the earth. Therefore that wisdom must be emptied out, and the wisdom which is from above must be desired.

5. But what is the wisdom which is from above? The Wise Man says in Ecclesiastes3: I saw that wisdom excelled folly as much as light differeth from darkness. Therefore he gives us to understand that wisdom is light — light, I say, descending from above from the Father of lights, from whom is every best gift and every perfect gift. This light descends to our cognitive power to illuminate it, to our affective power to gladden it, and to our operative power to strengthen it. It descends from the most high God into the intellect, from the intellect into the affection, and down to the lowest, namely operation. — That it is a light descending to our intellective power to illuminate it is plain, because it is written in the book of Wisdom4 that 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 the same, she reneweth all things, and through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls, and maketh the friends of God and prophets. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars; being compared with the light, she is found before it. Rightly is wisdom called the seat of God; and the soul so described, which is more beautiful than heaven, indeed than the whole universe, is the seat of God.

6. Secondly, wisdom descends from above as a light to our affective power to gladden it. Whence in Ecclesiasticus5: Wine and music rejoice the heart, and above them both is the love of wisdom. — Wine and music rejoice the heart, namely from without and according to impressed species, which are not truth itself, but a certain likeness of the thing, and they do not fill the soul, and they gladden not truly but fantastically. But where there is union according to truth, there is joy, where truth glides into the soul and fills it and gladdens it. Of this wisdom the Wise Man says6: Her have I loved, and have preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and have counted riches nothing in comparison of her; above health and beauty have I loved her. Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable honour through her hands; and I rejoiced in all these, for this wisdom went before me. The Philosopher says that wisdom has the greatest delights. If it is a great thing to be illuminated by wisdom, it is more to be gladdened, inasmuch as one loves one's own principle.

7. Thirdly, wisdom descends from above as a light to our operative power to strengthen it. Whence in Ecclesiastes7: Wisdom hath strengthened the wise man more than ten princes of the city. Note that no power below the heavens, neither earthly nor human, nor heavenly or angelic, so strengthens the soul as does supercelestial wisdom. Whence in the book of Wisdom: Wisdom entered into the soul of the servant of God, and stood against kings. She gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome and know that wisdom is mightier than all.

8. And thus this wisdom builds up the Church and the soul, that it may be a dwelling-place of God and the house of God — a house, I say, that is pleasant, a beautiful house and a strong house. It is said in Matthew8: Every one that heareth these my words and doth them shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a firm rock. This house is principally built by wisdom; whence in Proverbs: Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn out seven pillars. It is certain that wisdom is delighted to be with men; whence she says: My delights are to be with the children of men. But that

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wisdom does not dwell with us is not a defect on her part but on ours. If we wish the aforesaid light to dwell in us, we must have the seven pillars. — But what are the seven pillars of this house? Shall I fashion them out of my own head? God forbid; sacred Scripture explains them sufficiently. Where then shall we find them? Blessed James1, describing the wisdom which is from above, sets down seven conditions of it, saying: First indeed she is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. If I could explain these things to you, I should not think I was losing my words; rather I should be giving you a great way to wisdom.

9. These pillars are nothing but certain steps to wisdom. Gather the seven pillars. The first is chastity in the flesh; the second is innocence in the mind; the third is moderation in speech; the fourth is readiness to be persuaded, in the affection; and the fifth is generosity in effect; the sixth is maturity in judgment, and the seventh is simplicity of intention. By these the house of wisdom is made stable.

10. The first pillar of the house of wisdom, I say, is chastity in the flesh; whence she says: First indeed she is chaste. Why is this the first? Because this is the one with which one must begin; for it is written in the book of Wisdom2: Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins. An unchaste body is subject to sins; therefore wisdom cannot dwell in it. It is said in the book of Wisdom: And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it. — Gregory Nazianzen was a most pure youth. It happened that he was studying at Athens. One night, while he was sleeping, there came to him a most beautiful lady, having two handmaids like virgins; he began to drive her away. And the lady said: «Do not flee me, for I have not come to corrupt you. I am wisdom, and my two handmaids are humility and chastity, that is, purity. If you want me, who am wisdom, keep these handmaids, namely humility and chastity, because where pride is, there also shall be reproach; but where humility is, there also is wisdom»3. True virginity is that with which wisdom is joined. Humility together with chastity is the chief pillar of wisdom. Solomon says4: Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous; whosoever is delighted therewith shall not be wise; and elsewhere: Wine and women make wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the prudent. You have a manageable example in that Solomon who fell away on account of women even to the worship of idolatry, and who nevertheless was filled with wisdom as a river. If there were a tavern in which wine were sold that brought on forgetfulness of all wisdom, I believe that no one would be so foolish as to buy that wine. I believe that the eternal God, by the most high dispensation of his counsel, permitted Solomon to fall in order to teach all men to flee women.

11. The second pillar of the house of wisdom is innocence in the mind; which is noted when she says: then peaceable. Augustine5 says that «peace is the tranquillity of order» — namely, when someone humbly subjects himself to a superior, bears himself with even mind toward an equal, and rules discreetly over an inferior. All who are sons of wisdom have this order. It is said in Ecclesiasticus: The sons of wisdom are the church of the just. Whence then comes war? If you loved your equal, obeyed your superior, and ruled your inferior in an orderly way, you would have peace. He who disturbs that peace destroys the house of wisdom. It is written in Proverbs6: He that is patient is governed with much wisdom; but he that is impatient exalteth his folly, and so perverts the house of wisdom. Blessed James: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew, by a good conversation, his work in the meekness of wisdom.

12. The third pillar of the house of wisdom is moderation in speech; and this is noted when she says: modest. Above all things moderation is required in speech; whence in Ecclesiasticus7: A wise man will hold his peace till

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a time; but a light and imprudent man will regard no time. For every business there is a time and an opportunity. Is it not the highest folly that a man with one and the same sword should run through both himself and his neighbour? An evil word is a killer of the hearer and of the speaker. You cannot detract from your neighbour without killing yourself with the same sword. If I speak a word of scandal, I cannot injure you without also injuring myself. So great is the nearness of silence to wisdom that a fool, if he hold his peace, shall be counted wise1; and a wise man who talks much is counted a fool. With one word I can utter a detraction; on this account one must make a balance for one's words. Whence immoderation of speech is above all to be guarded against. — For speech is the instrument that expresses wisdom, and therefore it ought to be moved according to the rule of wisdom. Whence it is written2: The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace; and the Apostle: Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth. It is astonishing that when men sit at table to refresh themselves spiritually, one devil speaks of temporal matters and of detractions and feeds with that poison all who are at table. Death and life are in the power of the tongue3. If the woman had held her peace when the devil said to her: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? the devil would not have had occasion to tempt her further. And the philosophers too taught their disciples to keep silence; Cato: «I count it the first of the virtues to restrain the tongue». I believe that the sins of the tongue are so great that the world has enough to do for these alone, if God should rise up to judge them4.

13. The fourth pillar of the house of wisdom is that there be readiness to be persuaded, in the affection; which is noted when she says: easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good. No one is easily persuaded to good unless he is kindly; and this too agrees with wisdom. The malicious man is easily persuaded to evil. It is written5: The spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not acquit the evil speaker from his lips. Good readiness to be persuaded makes a man prize and love good things and consent to them; and the wiser a man is, the more readily is he persuaded in good things. Whence in Proverbs: As an earring of gold and a bright pearl, so is he that reproveth the wise, and the obedient ear. As an earring adorns the ear, and a pearl in a crown adorns the face, so a good word adorns the wise man. When a wise man is reproved, he bears himself as though he were being adorned. For if I correct myself at a word of good admonition, what else do I do but adorn myself with that word? Yet if this pearl is set before a fool, he tramples it like a dog. Whence in Proverbs6: Rebuke not a scorner, lest he hate thee; rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Dearly beloved! it is better to be rebuked by a wise man than to be deceived by the flattery of fools. A fool, when he is rebuked, does not withdraw from evil nor is he led to good. He who knows his own defects, and to whom they are displeasing, is wise. He who reproves a man and calls him back from evil does him a greater service than if he gave him the whole world.

14. The fifth pillar of the house of wisdom is generosity in effect. Wisdom wills to have mercy not only in affection but also in effect. This is noted when she says: full of mercy and good fruits. By their fruits you shall know them7. Whence in Proverbs it is said: She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. Of the fruit of her hands she gave to the needy. Wisdom teaches that a man should do works that are not trifling but fruitful, because the fruit of good labours is glorious. Among all fruitful works the more fruitful are the works of mercy. Give therefore of the fruits of your hands.

15. This mercy they ought to have who are set over the government of others; whence in the Acts8: Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business of dispensing. He would not be a wise dispenser who stole the goods of God. If something were given you to dispense to a household, and you stole it and put it in your own purse, do you not believe that the master's household would cry out against you and call you a most wicked dispenser, and that the master would say: Cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness9? The greatest wisdom that can be is that a dispenser fruitfully expend what he has to dispense and what has been handed over to him to dispense. Such were blessed Stephen and Laurence. The chief pontiffs in the primitive Church did not busy themselves with these earthly things; nowadays care is taken about having temporal goods, not about dispensing them. She says: full of mercy; the Apostle10: What things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. If a master gave his servant corn to sow his field, and the servant put the corn in a sack and did not sow it, the land would bear ill, nay it would cry out against him. As mercy is the friend of wisdom, so avarice is its enemy. Misers deride all who do not love money. In Deuteronomy11: Presents blind the eyes of the wise and change

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the words of the just. — They blind the eyes, not the bodily but the spiritual; therefore they take away the light of wisdom. It is written: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, because he has an earthly and heavy heart.

16. The sixth pillar of the house of wisdom is maturity in judgment; and this is noted when it is said: without judging. There is maturity in judgment when a man does not judge rashly. Whence in Ecclesiasticus1: A wise judge shall judge his people, namely those over whom he has authority. But if he overstep his authority, he is not a wise judge, but the judgment is a rash one. If he judges without authority, what is it? Certainly nothing. It is necessary too that the judgment of a wise man have rectitude of zeal and clarity of knowledge. Of the first2: The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. That judge is just who is moved by a just zeal, approves all good things and reproves the evil; but he who has not a right zeal cannot judge well. Love and hatred pervert judgment. If you hate me, you cannot judge me rightly; and why? Because it seems to you that all things which are in me are evil. — Likewise it is necessary that the judge have clarity of knowledge. How should I judge well of a thing unknown? Whence, when Job's friends argued against him that he was not just, saying: A just God does not punish the just man, and yet he punishes you, therefore you are not just — they wished to judge of hidden things. Job, hearing this, answered them, saying3: Be you all converted and come, and I shall not find among you any wise man. Therefore blessed James says: without judging — not that a man ought not to judge, in place and time, of a matter about which he has certitude and authority and right zeal, but because men judge evil to be good and, on the contrary, good to be evil. It is better, if I must judge of another, that I think well rather than ill. A man ought to be more inclined to excuse mercifully than to judge ill. Nowadays all are judges of unjust thoughts4. Therefore a man ought not to overstep his authority nor to judge rashly without rectitude of zeal and clarity of knowledge. Matthew: Judge not, that you may not be judged. That men judge the inward defects of others and neglect themselves is the highest folly. Gregory: «The mind, the more curious it is in investigating what belongs to others, so much the more foolish is it in knowing what is its own».

17. The seventh and last pillar of wisdom is simplicity of intention, which is noted when she says: without dissimulation. Of this it is said5 that king Solomon made a great throne of ivory, and made in it six steps. The other pillars are round about, but this one is the most principal and at the summit. Of this the Apostle speaks, saying: Seek the things that are above; and in Ecclesiastes: What hath the wise man more than the fool, and what the poor man, but to go thither where there is life? Certainly, where Christ is; and when Christ shall appear, life will appear. — But where is Christ? Certainly, above in heaven; the Apostle: Seek the things that are above. Therefore in heaven are Christ and life. Christ, the fountain of wisdom, is himself the foundation and the completion of this gift. The Apostle, as a wise architect, says6: Other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. As a certain Gloss says, a man is related to a tree in a contrary way as regards the root; for a tree has its root below, a man above; and a spiritual building has its foundation above, but a bodily one below; Christ therefore is the foundation of this gift. He is also its completion, because in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge7. In him the house of wisdom is consummated. Whence it is said in Ecclesiastes: The eyes of a wise man are in his head, that is, in Christ; the fool walketh in darkness. In Christ is the consummation of every good. Whence in John: Now this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Those things which are above we ought to desire, to see and to do; and may he bring us to them who lives and reigns without end. Amen.

HERE END THE COLLATIONS ON THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. 1
    Col. 3, 1. et 2. — Seq. locus est Eccli. 1, 33. — De hoc dono cfr. III. Sent. d. 35. q. 1.
    Colossians 3:1 and 2. — The following passage is Ecclesiasticus 1:33. — On this gift cf. Book III of the Sentences, d. 35, q. 1.
  2. 2
    Sap. 7, 7. — Cfr. supra in Hexaëm. collat. 2. n. 2.
    Wisdom 7:7. — Cf. above, in the Hexaëmeron, collation 2, n. 2.
  3. 3
    Eccli. 51, 23. — Seq. locus est Ier. 9, 23; tertius Ezech. 28, 12. seqq. In Vulgata interseruntur multa
    Ecclesiasticus 51:23. — The following passage is Jeremiah 9:23; the third is Ezekiel 28:12 and following. In the Vulgate much stands between
  4. 4
    Cap. 1, 5. et 6.
    Chapter 1:5 and 6.
  5. 5
    Col. 3. 1. seq.
    Colossians 3:1 and following.
  6. 6
    Cap. 3, 14. 15. In fine expositionis citatur I. Tim. 6, 10: Radix enim omnium malorum est cupiditas.
    Chapter 3:14, 15. At the end of the exposition I Timothy 6:10 is cited: For the desire of money is the root of all evils.
  7. 7
    Epist. I. 1, 19. In hoc textu respicitur Isai. 29, 14. — Seq. locus est Ier. 4, 22; tertius I. Cor. 1, 20; ibid. v. 21: Placuit Deo etc.; et v. 25: Quod stultum est etc.
    First Epistle 1:19. In this text Isaiah 29:14 is looked to. — The following passage is Jeremiah 4:22; the third is I Corinthians 1:20; ibid. v. 21: It pleased God, etc.; and v. 25: The foolishness of God, etc.
  8. 1
    Cap. 30, 2. et 3. — Inferius respicitur Sap. 2, 20: Morte turpissima condemnemus eum.
    Chapter 30:2 and 3. — Below, Wisdom 2:20 is looked to: Let us condemn him to a most shameful death.
  9. 2
    Epist. II. Cor. 1, 12. — Seq. locus est I. Cor. 3, 18; tertius Phil. 3, 18. et 19; ibid. habentur etiam verba: qui terrena sapiunt.
    Second Epistle to the Corinthians 1:12. — The following passage is I Corinthians 3:18; the third is Philippians 3:18 and 19; the words who mind earthly things are also found there.
  10. 3
    Cap. 2, 13. — Seq. locus est Iac. 1, 17.
    Chapter 2:13. — The following passage is James 1:17.
  11. 4
    Cap. 7, 26-29.
    Chapter 7:26–29.
  12. 5
    Cap. 40, 20. — De seq. propositione cfr. supra pag. 382, nota 7. et pag. 387, nota 1; cfr. I. Sent. d. 1. a. 3. q. 2.
    Chapter 40:20. — On the following proposition cf. above, p. 382, note 7, and p. 387, note 1; cf. Book I of the Sentences, d. 1, a. 3, q. 2.
  13. 6
    Cap. 8, 2, ubi verba: Hanc amavi, cetera habentur ibid. 7, 8. 10. et 11. — Sententia Philosophi habetur X. Ethic. c. 7. Cfr. ibid. VI. c. 12, ubi docet, sapientiam efficere felicitatem.
    Chapter 8:2, where the words Her have I loved occur; the rest is found ibid. 7:8, 10 and 11. — The sentence of the Philosopher is in Ethics X, c. 7. Cf. ibid. VI, c. 12, where he teaches that wisdom brings about happiness.
  14. 7
    Cap. 7, 20. — Seq. locus est Sap. 10, 16; ibid. v. 12: Certamen etc.
    Chapter 7:20. — The following passage is Wisdom 10:16; ibid. v. 12: A strong conflict, etc.
  15. 8
    Cap. 7, 24. — Seq. locus est Prov. 9, 1; ibid. 8, 31: Deliciae etc.
    Chapter 7:24. — The following passage is Proverbs 9:1; ibid. 8:31: My delights, etc.
  16. 1
    Cap. 3, 17: Quae autem desursum est sapientia primum etc. In cod. A additur, sed corrupte: Aliqui addunt «sine simulatione» addere (!); et hoc falsum est, ut patebit. Videtur hic insinuari illa non infrequens lectio, quae, omissa particula non, unit sine simulatione cum verbo iudicans. Cfr. Bonelli, Supplem. III. col. 492, nota f.
    Chapter 3:17: But the wisdom that is from above, first etc. In codex A there is added, but corruptly: Some add «without dissimulation» to add (!); and this is false, as will appear. There seems to be hinted at here that not infrequent reading which, omitting the particle non, joins sine simulatione with the word iudicans. Cf. Bonelli, Supplement III, col. 492, note f.
  17. 2
    Cap. 1, 4. Ibid. 8, 21. est seq. locus.
    Chapter 1:4. Ibid. 8:21 is the following passage.
  18. 3
    Prov. 11, 2. — Narratio de Gregorio est in quodam prologo Ruffini in libros S. Gregorii, qui invenitur in ed. operum S. Gregorii Naz. ex versione Iac. Billii (Venet. 1753) tom. I. col. 649 seq. (in ed. Migne hic prologus, sicuti etiam orationes seqq., quae a Ruffino presbytero in Latinum translatae dicuntur, tanquam opera spuria iudicantur et orationes praedictae Phoebadio, episcopo Aginnensi, ascribuntur). In isto Prologo legitur: «Athenis et altus et eruditus [Gregorius] ut pauci. Nec tamen in conversatione scholari, vel aetatis vel sodalium illecebris cedens, prodidit pudicitiam... Denique cum philosophiae studiis apud Athenas floreret, vidit per soporem sedenti sibi et legenti duas decoras satis dextra laevaque feminas consedisse. Quas ille castitatis instinctu oculo torviore respiciens, quaenam essent et quid sibi vellent, percunctabatur. At illae... aiunt: Ne moleste accipias, iuvenis, notae tibi satis et familiares sumus. Altera enim ex nobis sapientia, altera castitas dicitur; et missae sumus a Domino tecum habitare, quia iucundum nobis et satis mundum in corde tuo habitaculum praeparasti». Baronius in vita S. Gregorii Naz. (apud Bolland. die 9 Maii) c. 1. n. 10. et 11. huius visionis mentionem facit, sed addit, duas puellas se appellasse castitatem et temperantiam. Cfr. Petrus de Natalibus, episcopus Equilinus, Catalog. Sanctorum lib. II. c. 69. de Gregor. Naz., ubi haec visio refertur alio modo, qui minus discrepat ab illo quo exhibetur a S. Bonav., ut notat Bonelli, Supplem. tom. III. col. 489, nota c.
    Proverbs 11:2. — The narrative about Gregory is in a certain prologue of Rufinus to the books of St. Gregory, which is found in the edition of the works of St. Gregory Nazianzen from the version of Jacobus Billius (Venice 1753), tom. I, col. 649 and following (in Migne's edition this prologue, as also the orations that follow, which are said to have been translated into Latin by Rufinus the presbyter, are judged to be spurious works, and the aforesaid orations are ascribed to Phoebadius, bishop of Agen). In that Prologue we read: «At Athens [Gregory was] both lofty and learned as few are. Yet in the life of the schools he did not, yielding either to his age or to the enticements of his companions, betray his purity... At length, while he was flourishing in the studies of philosophy at Athens, he saw in sleep two women, comely enough, seated to his right and left as he sat reading. Looking upon them with a somewhat stern eye, out of the instinct of chastity, he asked who they were and what they wanted of him. But they... say: Take it not amiss, young man; we are well enough known and familiar to thee. For one of us is called wisdom, the other chastity; and we have been sent by the Lord to dwell with thee, because thou hast prepared in thy heart a dwelling pleasant to us and clean enough». Baronius, in the life of St. Gregory Nazianzen (in the Bollandists, 9 May), c. 1, nn. 10 and 11, makes mention of this vision, but adds that the two maidens called themselves chastity and temperance. Cf. Peter de Natalibus, bishop of Equilio, Catalogue of the Saints bk. II, c. 69, on Gregory Nazianzen, where this vision is reported in another way, which differs less from the way it is given by St. Bonaventure, as Bonelli notes, Supplement tom. III, col. 489, note c.
  19. 4
    Prov. 20, 1. — Seq. locus est Eccli. 19, 2. Deinde respicitur ibid. 47, 16. De Salomone cfr. III. Reg. 11, 1. seqq.
    Proverbs 20:1. — The following passage is Ecclesiasticus 19:2. Then ibid. 47:16 is looked to. On Solomon cf. III Kings 11:1 and following.
  20. 5
    Libr. XIX. de Civ. Dei, c. 13. n. 1: Pax omnium rerum tranquillitas ordinis. — Seq. locus est Eccli. 3, 1.
    City of God bk. XIX, c. 13, n. 1: The peace of all things is the tranquillity of order. — The following passage is Ecclesiasticus 3:1.
  21. 6
    Cap. 14, 29. — Seq. locus est Iac. 3, 13.
    Chapter 14:29. — The following passage is James 3:13.
  22. 7
    Cap. 20, 7. — Seq. locus (Omni negotio etc.) est Eccle. 8, 6.
    Chapter 20:7. — The following passage (For every business, etc.) is Ecclesiastes 8:6.
  23. 1
    Prov. 17, 28. — Mox respicitur Eccli. 28, 29: Verbis tuis facito stateram.
    Proverbs 17:28. — Presently Ecclesiasticus 28:29 is looked to: Make a balance for thy words.
  24. 2
    Eccle. 10, 12. — Seq. locus est Eph. 4, 29.
    Ecclesiastes 10:12. — The following passage is Ephesians 4:29.
  25. 3
    Prov. 18, 21. — Subinde respicitur Gen. 3, 1: Cur praecepit vobis Deus, ut non comederetis de omni ligno paradisi? Seq. sententia est Catonis, l. Distich. (cfr. supra pag. 494, nota 6.) distich. 3. (pag. 50).
    Proverbs 18:21. — Thereupon Genesis 3:1 is looked to: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? The following sentence is Cato's, bk. I of the Distichs (cf. above, p. 494, note 6), distich 3 (p. 50).
  26. 4
    Iob 31, 14: Quid enim faciam, cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus?
    Job 31:14: For what shall I do when God shall rise to judge?
  27. 5
    Sap. 1, 6. — Seq. locus est Prov. 25, 12.
    Wisdom 1:6. — The following passage is Proverbs 25:12.
  28. 6
    Cap. 9, 8. — Seq. locus est Eccle. 7, 6.
    Chapter 9:8. — The following passage is Ecclesiastes 7:6.
  29. 7
    Matth. 7, 16. et 20. — Seq. locus est Prov. 31, 20. et 26, et v. 16: De fructu manuum suarum plantavit vineam; tertius Sap. 3, 15.
    Matthew 7:16 and 20. — The following passage is Proverbs 31:20 and 26, and v. 16: With the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard; the third is Wisdom 3:15.
  30. 8
    Cap. 6, 3.
    Chapter 6:3.
  31. 9
    Matth. 25, 30. — De primitiva Ecclesia cfr. Act. 6, 2. seqq.
    Matthew 25:30. — On the primitive Church cf. Acts 6:2 and following.
  32. 10
    Gal. 6, 8. — Superius in A deest tota propositio: Pontifices. Auctor videtur loqui de Apostolis, sive de pontificibus sive episcopis in genere.
    Galatians 6:8. — Above, in A the whole sentence The chief pontiffs is wanting. The author seems to be speaking of the Apostles, or else of pontiffs or bishops in general.
  33. 11
    Cap. 16, 19. — Seq. locus est Matth. 19, 24.
    Chapter 16:19. — The following passage is Matthew 19:24.
  34. 1
    Cap. 10, 1.
    Chapter 10:1.
  35. 2
    Psalm. 36, 30.
    Psalm 36:30.
  36. 3
    Cap. 17, 10. Ibid. 29, 16: Causam, quam nesciebam, diligentissime investigabam. — Inferius respicitur Isai. 5, 20: Qui dicitis malum bonum et bonum malum.
    Chapter 17:10. Ibid. 29:16: The cause which I knew not I searched out most diligently. — Below, Isaiah 5:20 is looked to: You that call evil good, and good evil.
  37. 4
    Iac. 2, 4: Nonne iudicatis apud vosmetipsos et facti estis iudices cogitationum iniquarum? — Seq. locus est Matth. 7, 1. Sententia Gregorii insinuatur in III. Moral. c. 31. n. 60: Sicque fit, ut, dum ad aliena diiudicanda mens ducitur, proprii iudicii lumine privetur, et eo durius contra aliena superbiat, quo sua negligentius ignorat.
    James 2:4: Do you not judge within yourselves, and are become judges of unjust thoughts? — The following passage is Matthew 7:1. Gregory's sentence is hinted at in Morals III, c. 31, n. 60: And so it comes about that, while the mind is led away to pass judgment on what belongs to others, it is deprived of the light of its own judgment, and is the more harshly proud against what belongs to others the more negligently it is ignorant of its own.
  38. 5
    Libr. III. Reg. 10, 18. et 19. — Seq. locus est Col. 3, 1; tertius Eccle. 6, 8. Subinde respicitur Col. 3, 1.: Ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens; et 4: Cum Christus apparuerit, vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria.
    III Kings, bk. 10:18 and 19. — The following passage is Colossians 3:1; the third is Ecclesiastes 6:8. Thereupon Colossians 3:1 is looked to: Where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; and v. 4: When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in glory.
  39. 6
    Epist. I. Cor. 3, 11. et v. 10: Ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui. — De Glossa eiusque expositione (sumta ex August. in Ps. 29. enarrat. 2. n. 10. (cfr. supra pag. 438, nota 2.) vide tom. IV. pag. 583, nota 1. Verba Glossae in B corrupta et in A omissa supplevimus ex Bonelli in fine eiusdem collationis.
    First Epistle to the Corinthians 3:11, and v. 10: As a wise architect I have laid the foundation. — On the Gloss and its exposition (taken from Augustine on Psalm 29, second exposition, n. 10 (cf. above, p. 438, note 2), see tom. IV, p. 583, note 1. The words of the Gloss, corrupt in B and omitted in A, we have supplied from Bonelli at the end of the same collation.
  40. 7
    Col. 2, 3. — Seq locus est Eccle. 2, 14; tertius Ioan. 17, 3.
    Colossians 2:3. — The following passage is Ecclesiastes 2:14; the third is John 17:3. ---