Bonaventure

Capitulum VI.

(Vers. 1.). Melior est sapientia⁶ etc., quasi dicat: ex quo sic tractantur potentes insensati, melior est, id est utilior, sapientia, de divinis, quae, secundum Glossam⁷, « semper animam bene regit »; quam vires corporis, quae saepe in peccata praecipitant; Ecclesiastae nono: « Dicebam ego, meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine ». Et vir prudens, in rebus humanis, secundum Glossam⁸, non tantum eloquio; magis quam fortis; Glossa: « Corpore ». Unde in tali fortitudine non est gloriandum, secundum illud Ieremiae nono: « Non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua ».

Pars II. Exhortatio ad sapientiam.

Audite ergo, reges etc. Postquam monuit principes et potentes ad iustitiam, hic incipit eos monere ad sapientiam inquirendam et amandam, et primo ratione sumta ex periculo officii ipsorum, quos monet; secundo, ratione sumta ab exemplo eius qui monet, scilicet capitulo septimo; tertio, ratione sumta a multis beneficiis sapientiae, ad quam monet, scilicet a decimo capitulo usque in finem.

Primo sumit rationem ex periculo officii superiorum.

In prima primo tangit insipientium rectorum poenam et supplicium; secundo econtra, sapientium rectorum praemium: Ad vos ergo; tertio monet utrosque concupiscere sapientiam: Concupiscite etc.; quarto promittit, se docere eam: Quid est autem sapientia.

Primo, de poena insipientium rectorum.

In prima primo petit a rectoribus audientiam; secundo subdit audiendi causam: Quoniam data est etc.

(Vers. 2. 3.). Audite ergo etc., quasi dicat: ex quo ita est utilis sapientia, audite ergo, auditu exteriori, reges; Glossa⁹: « Praelati »; et intelligite, auditu interiori; Proverbiorum primo: « Audiens sapiens sapientior erit, et intelligens gubernacula possidebit »; Matthaei decimo tertio: « Qui habet aures audiendi audiat ». Discite, iudices finium terrae, id est terrarum distinctarum seu provinciarum. Reges p. 145 dicuntur praelati ad bonum dirigendo; iudices, inter bonum et malum discernendo. Discite, inquam, sapientiam, quia iudicibus necessaria est; unde Deuteronomii primo¹: « Date ex vobis viros sapientes et gnaros ». — Praebete aures vestras, scilicet exteriorem et interiorem, qui continetis², a malo cohibendo, multitudines, populorum vobis commissas; Proverbiorum decimo quarto: « In multitudine populi dignitas regis ». Et placetis vobis in turbis nationum, id est, in praelaturis vestris gloriamini; contra quod dicit Gregorius in Pastorali³: « Toties praelatus in apostasiae crimen labitur, quoties praeesse hominibus delectatur ».

Quoniam data est etc. Hic subdit audiendi causam, scilicet ut possint evadere poenam pro abusu potestatis infligendam. Et primo tangit collationem potestatis; secundo, abusum collatae: Quoniam, cum essetis; tertio, iudicium pro abusu: Horrende etc.; quarto, iudicis aequitatem: Non enim subtrahet.

(Vers. 4.). Quoniam etc. Et audire debetis, quoniam data est vobis a Domino potestas; unde ad Romanos decimo tertio⁴: « Non est potestas nisi a Deo »; potestas; Glossa: « Iudiciaria in terra », scilicet quoad sententiae definitionem; Ioannis decimo nono: « Non haberes potestatem adversum me ullam, nisi tibi datum esset desuper ». Et virtus; Glossa⁵: « Puniendi », quoad sententiae exsecutionem. Vel: potestas in causis civilibus, virtus in causis criminalibus. Ab Altissimo, scilicet Deo supra nos constituto; Psalmus: « Tu Dominus altissimus super omnem terram ». Qui interrogabit; Glossa⁶: « In iudicio »; Lucae decimo sexto: « Redde rationem villicationis tuae ». Opera vestra, scilicet exteriora; Ecclesiastae ultimo: « Cuncta, quae fiunt, adducet Deus in iudicium » etc. Non enim ita dedit potestatem, quin exigat rationem; ideo Ecclesiastici decimo octavo: « Ante iudicium interroga te ipsum, et ante Deum invenies propitiationem ». Et cogitationes scrutabitur, id est opera interiora; Glossa⁷: « Tanquam de omnibus iudicaturus »; supra primo: « In cogitationibus impii interrogatio erit ». Scrutabitur; Sophoniae primo: « Scrutabor Ierusalem in lucernis »; nec solum scrutabitur, sed etiam manifestabit; unde primae ad Corinthios quarto: « Illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum et manifestabit consilia cordium ».

Notandum autem, quod triplex fiet praelato interrogatio: prima, qualiter intravit; Matthaei vigesimo secundo⁸: « Amice, quomodo huc intrasti » etc. Secunda, qualiter vixit; Isaiae vigesimo secundo: « Quid tu hic? Aut quasi quis hic »? Tertia, qualiter rexit et custodivit gregem sibi commissum; Ieremiae decimo tertio: « Ubi est grex, qui datus est tibi, pecus inclytum tuum »?

(Vers. 5.). Quoniam, cum essetis etc. Bene dixi, quod interrogabit etc.; et merito, quoniam, cum essetis ministri, non domini, regni illius, id est Ecclesiae militantis; primae Petri quinto⁹: « Non ut dominantes in clero, sed forma facti gregis ex animo »; item primae ad Corinthios quarto: « Sic nos existimet homo ut ministros Christi » etc. Non recte iudicastis, scilicet alios; unde Isaiae primo: « Pupillo non iudicant, et causa viduae non ingreditur ad illos »; item Ieremiae quinto: « Causam viduae non iudicaverunt, causam pupilli non direxerunt ». Neque custodistis legem iustitiae, scilicet in vobis ipsis; in Psalmo¹⁰: « Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege eius noluerunt ambulare »; Isaiae quinquagesimo nono: « Conversum est retrorsum iudicium, et iustitia longe stetit »; item Ieremiae quinto: « Hi magis confregerunt iugum, ruperunt vincula ». Neque secundum voluntatem Dei ambulastis, peccando contra Deum; Ieremiae septimo: « Abierunt in voluptatibus et pravitate cordis sui mali ».

Vel potest dici, quod tangit triplicem modum, quo dicitur sententia iniusta¹¹: primo ex causa, quando scilicet non subest causa iusta; secundo, ex ordine, ut quando non servatur ordo iuris; tertio, ex animo, ut quando corrupta intentione proceditur contra aliquem; contra quod dicitur Deuteronomii decimo sexto: « Iuste quod iustum est persequeris ».

(Vers. 6.). Horrende, id est terribiliter; ad Hebraeos decimo¹²: « Horrendum est incidere in manus Dei viventis »; et cito apparebit vobis; unde Sophoniae primo: « Iuxta est dies Domini magnus et velox nimis ». Et licet dies iudicii generalis longe sit, p. 146 tamen dies particularis iudicii, id est mortis, prope est; unde Ecclesiastici trigesimo octavo: « Memor esto iudicii mei; sic enim erit et tuum: mihi heri et tibi hodie ». Et vere horrende apparebit vobis praelatis, quoniam iudicium durissimum in¹ his qui praesunt, fiet. Durum quidem, quia male intraverunt; durius, quia male vixerunt; durissimum, quia male rexerunt. Vel: durum propter peccata subditorum; durius propter peccata ministrorum; durissimum propter multitudinem et enormitatem propriorum peccatorum.

Durius punientur praelati quam ceteri, primo ratione commissi, secundum illud Lucae duodecimo²: « Cui plus commodaverint, plus petent ab eo ». Ratione peccati, quia ceteris paribus gravius est peccatum praelati quam subditi; Ieremiae quinto: « Hi magis fregerunt iugum » etc. Ratione damni, quia scilicet alios suo exemplo corrumpunt; Gregorius³: « Cum pastor per abrupta graditur, necesse est, ut in praecipitium grex sequatur ». Ratione scandali, quia Ecclesiam scandalizant; unde Malachiae secundo: « Scandalizastis plurimos in lege ». Ratione iudicii, quia scilicet hic non iudicantur, secundum illud Psalmi⁴: « Tibi soli peccavi » etc.; et ideo in futuro simul et totaliter durius iudicabuntur, secundum illud secundi Machabaeorum sexto: « Non enim, sicut in aliis nationibus, Dominus patienter exspectat, ut, cum iudicii dies advenerit, eas in plenitudine peccatorum puniat ». Ratione officii, quia etiam officium suum indigne exercendo peccant; ad Romanos secundo: « In quo alium iudicas, te ipsum condemnas ».

(Vers. 7.). Exiguo enim, id est infirmo et humili; unde Glossa⁵: « Iis qui per ignorantiam, vel fragilitatem, vel necessitatem peccaverunt et humili poenitentia deleverunt »; conceditur misericordia; Glossa: « Remissio peccatorum », quoad poenam, sive ex toto, sive ex parte, hic, vel in futuro; Isaiae ultimo: « Ad quem respiciam nisi ad pauperculum » etc. Potentes autem, id est potestate abusi in peccatum, potenter, id est fortiter illata, tormenta patientur, propter peccata, quia pro peccatis suis et subditorum suorum; unde Numerorum vigesimo quinto⁶: « Tolle cunctos principes et suspende eos contra solem in patibulis »; item tertio Regum vigesimo: « Custodi virum istum, qui si lapsus fuerit, erit anima tua pro anima eius »; item Ezechielis trigesimo secundo: « Loquentur ei potentissimi robustorum de medio inferni ».

(Vers. 8. 9.). Non enim subtrahet Dominus, scilicet a punitione et tormento, personam cuiusquam, scilicet parvi vel magni, privato amore; Ezechielis decimo octavo⁷: « Unumquemque iuxta vias suas iudicabo, domus Israel, ait Dominus ». « Non est personarum acceptor Deus », Actuum decimo. Deinde reddit causam dicens: Qui est, id est, quia ille est, omnium dominator⁸; Apocalypsis decimo nono: « Rex regum et Dominus dominantium ». Nec verebitur magnitudinem cuiusquam, scilicet ex timore, quoniam ipse est « magnus Dominus et rex magnus super omnes deos », ut dicitur in Psalmo, et iterum: « Magnitudinis eius non est finis »; unde improportionabiliter superat omnem aliam magnitudinem. Quoniam pusillum et magnum ipse fecit; Malachiae secundo⁹: « Nunquid non unus est pater omnium nostrum? Nunquid non unus Deus creavit nos »? Et quia omnes creavit, ideo omnes, tam parvos quam magnos, sicut creaturas suas iudicabit; Apocalypsis vigesimo: « Vidi mortuos magnos et pusillos stantes in conspectu throni ». Et aequaliter est illi cura de omnibus.

Contra: Primae ad Corinthios nono¹⁰: « Nunquid de bobus cura est Deo »? quasi dicat: non.

Dicendum, quod cura disciplinae solum est Deo de rationalibus; sed cura providentiae est illi de omnibus¹¹

Sed si sequalis est illi cura providentiae de bonis et malis: ergo non differt apud illum bonum esse, vel malum.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod loquitur de providentia naturali, non de gratuita. Vel: aequaliter, id est similiter.

Et quamvis aequaliter sit ei cura de omnibus, non tamen omnes puniet aequaliter¹². — Autem, pro sed. Fortioribus, in malo, fortior instat cruciatio, in supplicio, ut patet in lucifero et aliis daemonibus. p. 147

Secundo, de praemio sapientium rectorum.

Ad vos ergo etc. Hic determinat et ostendit sapientium rectorum praemium; et primo excitat ad sapientiam; secundo sapientium subdit mercedem vel mercedis declarationem.

(Vers. 10.). Ad vos ergo etc. Quia fortioribus fortior instat cruciatio, ad vos ergo, reges etc.; Glossa¹: « Finito sermone ad potentes, ad rectores Ecclesiae exhortationem convertit »; Glossa: « O reges, id est Ecclesiae rectores, vel omnes, quibus animarum suarum regimen commissum est ». Ad vos sunt hi sermones mei, scilicet de studio et amore sapientiae; unde sequitur: ut discatis sapientiam; Glossa²: « Divinam », non mundanam; de utraque primae ad Corinthios tertio: « Si quis videtur inter vos esse sapiens in hoc saeculo, stultus fiat, ut sit sapiens ». Hi sermones, audiendi et retinendi et opere implendi, secundum illud Ieremiae decimo quinto: « Inventi sunt sermones tui, et comedi eos ». Et non excidatis, scilicet a iustitia « per praevaricationem mandatorum Dei », secundum Glossam³. Sapientia enim est sal custodiens a putrefactione peccati; negligentia autem sapientiae facit ruere in peccatum; unde Proverbiorum decimo septimo: « Qui evitat discere incidet in mala », quia in malum culpae et in malum poenae.

(Vers. 11.). Et bene dixi: ut discatis sapientiam, ne excidatis a iustitia; qui enim custodierint iustitiam, quae est via ad sapientiam, secundum illud Ecclesiastici primo⁴: « Fili, concupiscens sapientiam serva iustitiam »; iuste iudicabuntur, Glossa: « Iustitiae suae praemium accipient », scilicet in bono; unde Isaiae tertio: « Dicite iusto, quoniam bene; quoniam fructum adinventionum suarum comedet »; item Ezechielis decimo octavo: « Iustitia iusti super eum erit »; Lucae sexto: « In qua mensura mensi fueritis » etc. Et qui didicerint⁵, scilicet per sapientiam, iusta; Glossa⁶: « Rectam fidem et opera »; invenient, quid respondeant, in iudicio scilicet de peccatis sibi obiectis; Habacuc secundo: « Super custodiam meam stabo etc., et contemplabor, ut videam, quid dicatur mihi, et quid respondeam ad arguentem me ».

Tertio, monitio sapientium et insipientium rectorum ad sapientium concupiscendam.

Concupiscite etc. Hic monet rectores, tam bonos quam malos, concupiscere sapientiam; et primo ponit exhortationem ad concupiscendum eam; secundo, facilitatem acquirendi ipsam: Clara est etc.; tertio, utilitatem acquirendi ipsam: Cogitare etc.; quarto monet diligere eam, ibi: Si ergo delectamini.

(Vers. 12.). Concupiscite ergo etc. Ex quo tam utilis est sapientia, quod facit non excidere a iustitia etc.; concupiscite ergo sermones meos, audiendos de sapientia; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto⁷: « Transite ad me omnes, qui concupiscitis me ». Et diligite illos, scilicet iam auditos, secundum illud Psalmi: « Dilexi mandata tua super aurum et topazion » etc. Et habebitis disciplinam, scilicet per ipsos sermones meos; Glossa: « Qui diligit sapientiam servat in moribus disciplinam », secundum illud Ioannis decimo quarto: « Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate ».

Clara est. Hic ostendit facilitatem acquirendi sapientiam primo per hoc, quod clara est ad videndum; secundo, quia est spontanea ad se ostendendum: Praeoccupat; tertio, quia proxima ad ingrediendum: Qui de luce vigilaverit etc.

(Vers. 13.). Clara est etc., quasi dicat: debetis eam concupiscere, quia clara est sapientia; sui scilicet pulcritudine et evidentia, quia scilicet lux est; unde infra septimo⁸: « Proposui pro luce habere illam ». Et quae nunquam marcescit, id est, a sua pulcritudine deficit; unde Glossa: « Decor sapientiae immarcescibilis est ». Non enim subiacet tempori, sed est supra tempus, quasi divina sapientia. Et facile etc., quasi dicat: nec desperandum de ea acquirenda, quia facile videtur, oculo scilicet intellectus, ab his qui diligunt illam, scilicet affectu; unde Ioannis decimo quarto⁹: « Qui diligit me diligetur a Patre meo, et ego diligam eum et manifestabo ei me ipsum ». Dilectio enim purgat et illuminat interiorem oculum ad videndum; unde Ecclesiastici secundo: « Qui timetis Dominum, diligite illum, et illuminabuntur corda vestra ». Et invenitur ab his qui quaerunt eam, effectu; Lucae undecimo¹⁰: « Quae- p. 148 rite, et invenietis », scilicet si quaeratur, ubi debet quaeri. Non enim « invenitur in terra suaviter viventium », Iob vigesimo octavo; sed in asperitate victus et poenitentiae; unde Daniel invenit sapientiam merilo abstinentiae suae, ut patet Danielis primo.

(Vers. 14.). Praeoccupat, scilicet antequam studio quaerentis inveniatur; Glossa¹: « Gratis se offerens; ipsa enim est via, veritas et vita, unde per eam itur ad ipsam et pervenitur ». Praeoccupat, inquam, id est praevenit eos, qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prior ostendat; quia illam non praevenirent, nisi praeventi et illuminati ab ea, sicut lux solis illuminat ad se ipsam videndum; Bernardus²: « Vera sapientia, quae Christus est, inveniri potest, praeveniri non potest ».

(Vers. 15.). Qui de luce etc. Bene dixi, quod invenitur a quaerentibus, quia qui de luce, id est, statim cum lux ei oritur; Glossa³: « A principio lucentis fidei », non de nocte, sicut peccatores semper in nocte manentes, sed sicut iusti, de quibus Proverbiorum quarto: « Iustorum semita quasi lux splendens » etc.; primae ad Thessalonicenses quinto: « Omnes vos filii lucis estis ». Vigilaverit ad illam, contra negligentiam; Proverbiorum octavo: « Qui mane vigilaverint ad me invenient me ». Non laborabit, quia dulcedo rei quaesitae et inventae alleviabit laborem; Ecclesiastici sexto: « In opere eius exiguum laborabis, et cito edes de generationibus illius ». Assidentem enim etc., hoc est, in quiete et sine motu paratam intrare, sicut solis radius assidet fenestrae clausae. Assidentem, inquam, illam foribus suis, scilicet spiritualibus, intellectui scilicet et affectui; inveniet, eam; Apocalypsis tertio⁴: « Ego sto ad ostium et pulso » etc. Ipsa etiam fores habet, per quas intratur ad eam; unde Proverbiorum octavo: « Beatus homo, qui audit me et vigilat ad fores meas quotidie »; quae sunt fides et caritas; per fidem intrat ad eam intellectus, per caritatem affectus.

Cogitare ergo de illa etc. Hic ostendit acquirentium utilitatem, primo in praesenti; secundo in futuro: Initium etc. — Utilitas in praesenti ostenditur quadruplex: primo, sensus in rationali; secundo, securitas in irascibili: Et qui vigilaverit; tertio, hilaritas in concupiscibili: Quoniam dignos etc.; quarto, providentia futurorum. Et in omni providentia.

(Vers. 16.). Cogitare ergo de illa; quasi dicat: non solum vigilanti et quaerenti datur, sed et cogitare de illa, non simplici cogitatione, sed affectiva; unde Glossa⁵: « Desiderio divinae contemplationis »; Ecclesiastici decimo quarto: « Beatus vir, qui in sapientia morabitur etc., et in sensu cogitabit circumspectionem Dei »; sensus est consummatus, id est perfectus, quia sapientia perficit sensum hominis, quia, secundum Hugonem de sancto Victore⁶, « sapientia est, in qua perfecti boni forma consistit ». Vel: Cogitare de illa sensus est consummatus, id est, tunc perfecte sensus ordinatur, cum studet sapientiae, secundum illud Augustini: « Finis hominis in via est perfecte quaerere veritatem ». Et qui vigilaverit; Glossa⁷: « Intentione mentis », propter illam, acquirendam vel custodiendam, cito erit securus, scilicet a malo; « quia eius adeptio est vera securitas », secundum Glossam; Proverbiorum undecimo: « Qui cavet laqueos securus erit ». Haec est bona securitas, de qua Proverbiorum decimo quinto: « Secura mens quasi iuge convivium ».

(Vers. 17.). Quoniam dignos se; quasi: bene dixi, quod cito erit securus, quoniam dignos se ipsa, scilicet mundos corde et corpore; unde supra primo⁸: « In malevolam animam non introibit sapientia » etc. Circuit quaerens, id est ex omni parte continue se offerens et indesinenter; quae indesinentia et continuatio datur intelligi per hoc quod dicit: circuit; motus enim rectus non sic potest continuari, sicut circularis. Sic circuibat Sapientia incarnata per castella, ut patet Marci sexto⁹. Et in viis suis, scilicet praeceptis et consiliis observatis; de quibus Proverbiorum tertio: « Viae eius viae pulcrae, et semitae illius pacificae »; ostendit se illis, secundum illud Psalmi: « A mandatis tuis intellexi »; hilariter, eos laetificando, scilicet de hoc, quod ipsa gratis se dat eis; secundae ad Corinthios nono: « Hilarem datorem diligit Deus », sicut etiam homo; unde Seneca¹⁰: « Quantum addis morae, tantum subtrahis gratiae ». Et in omni providentia, de futuris, perfecte eis providendo necessaria ad salutem; occurrit illis; Glossa¹¹: « Adiutrix », sicut Sapientia incarnata re- p. 149 surgens occurrit mulieribus, ut habetur Matthaei vigesimo octavo.

Initium etc. Hic tanguntur gradus gloriae per sapientiam acquirendae; et primo tangit initium; secundo, profectum, ibi: Cura ergo; tertio, consummationem: Custoditio autem legum etc.; quarto, consummationis finem: Concupiscentia itaque. Gradus ergo primus, id est initium sapientiae, concupiscentia disciplinae; ex concupiscentia disciplinae, dilectio; ex dilectione, custodia legis Dei; ex custodia divinae legis, incorruptio mentis et proximitas divinae similitudinis; ex divina similitudine, gloria regni caelestis: ergo a primo ex concupiscentia sapientiae habetur gloria caelestis¹.

(Vers. 18.). Hoc est, quod vult dicere: Initium enim illius, scilicet sapientiae etc.; quasi dicat: ita occurrit et ostendit se sapientia. Nec est inutilis eius ostensio et occursus. Enim, pro quia; initium illius, scilicet per quod homo incipit fieri sapiens; « nemo enim repente fit summus », ut dicit Glossa²; est verissima disciplinae, id est sapientiae, concupiscentia. De hac concupiscentia dicitur in Psalmo: « Concupivit anima mea desiderare » etc. Concupiscentia enim sapientiae est aliqua pars sapientiae, secundum illud Ecclesiastici sexto: « Si dilexeris audire, sapiens eris ».

Sed videtur, quod timor, et non amor, sit sapientiae initium, quia dicitur Ecclesiastici primo³: « Initium sapientiae timor Domini ».

Dicendum, quod timor est initium primum, sed amor est proximum; vel: timor initium extrinsecum, amor initium intrinsecum⁴.

Verissima autem concupiscentia dicitur hic contra triplicem vanam concupiscentiam, de qua dicitur primae Ioannis secundo⁵: « Omne, quod est in mundo, aut est concupiscentia carnis » etc., quae est ex triplici vanitate, de qua Ecclesiastae primo: « Vanitas vanitatum » etc.

(Vers. 19.). Cura ergo, quasi dicat: ex quo ita est, quod concupiscentia disciplinae est initium sapientiae, ergo cura disciplinae, id est concupiscentia disciplinae, est dilectio, id est causa dilectionis ipsius sapientiae; quod enim concupiscimus diligimus, cum habemus. Et nota, quod idem vocat sapientiam et disciplinam, quia idem sunt in re, licet differant ratione, quia sapientia dicitur, in quantum mentem interius delectabiliter afficit; disciplina, in quantum actiones exteriores ordinat et disponit. Vel sic: concupiscentia etc. est dilectio, id est causa dilectionis divinae; infra septimo⁶: « Neminem diligit Deus, nisi eum qui cum sapientia inhabitat »; ad Hebraeos duodecimo: « Quodsi extra disciplinam estis, ergo non filii, sed adulteri estis ». Et dilectio, custodia legum illius est, id est causa custoditionis; ad Romanos decimo tertio⁷: « Plenitudo legis est dilectio », id est causa impletionis divinae legis; primae ad Timotheum primo: « Finis praecepti est caritas »; legum, scilicet naturalis, Moysaicae et evangelicae; de quibus Isaiae vigesimo quarto: « Transgressi sunt leges, mutaverunt ius, dissipaverunt foedus sempiternum ».

Custoditio autem legum consummatio incorruptionis, id est causa consummatae incorruptionis spiritualis, scilicet tam mentis quam corporis in praesenti; vel: incorruptionis, « id est immortalitatis » in futuro, secundum Glossam⁸; Proverbiorum tertio: « Custodi legem meam atque consilium meum, et erit vita animae tuae ».

(Vers. 20. 21. 22.). Incorruptio autem facit, esse proximum Deo; unde de virginibus cantatur, quod « sequuntur Agnum, quocumque ierit », Apocalypsis decimo quarto⁹. — Concupiscentia itaque sapientiae, quae est eius initium, deducet ad regnum perpetuum; Glossa: « Quod est in cognitione Divinitatis », secundum illud Ioannis decimo septimo: « Haec est vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te Deum verum » etc. — Si ergo delectamini etc., quasi dicat: ex quo dat regnum perpetuum, ergo si delectamini sedibus et sceptris; Glossa¹⁰: « Reges admonet diligere sapientiam, sine qua regnare non possunt; tunc enim bene regitur respublica, cum philosophi regnant, et reges philosophantur. Merito ergo rectores Ecclesiae assidui sunt in divinae legis meditatione; qui enim eam discendo, docendo, operando sequitur regni caelestis coronam assequetur ». Si ergo delectamini sedibus, iudiciariae potestatis, et sceptris, regiae dignitatis, secundum illud Matthaei vigesimo tertio¹¹: « Amant primas cathedras » etc.; alia littera habet sensibus, quoad discretionem, et stemmatibus, quoad dignitatem; si delectamini, inquam, o reges p. 150 populi, id est rectores maiores et praelati, tam saeculares quam ecclesiastici; diligite sapientiam, ut in perpetuum regnetis; Proverbiorum octavo¹: « Per me reges regnant ».

(Vers. 23.). Diligite lumen sapientiae, ad illuminationem animarum; infra septimo²: « Luci comparata invenitur prior »; quia illuminat spiritualia, quod maius est, quam illuminare corporalia. Omnes, qui praeestis populis, id est vos etiam minores principes et praelati.

Quarto, promissio de docenda sapientia, ubi tanguntur quatuor.

Quid autem est sapientia etc. Hic ultimo se promittit docere sapientiam; et primo tangit doctrinae manifestationem; secundo, docendi fidelitatem: Et ponam in lucem; tertio, audiendi utilitatem: Multitudo autem etc.; quarto, subiungit suam ad audiendum exhortationem: Ergo accipite.

(Vers. 24.). Quid autem est sapientia, quasi dicat: ita invitavi vos ad sapientiam, et ut acquiescatis, referam etc. Vel sic continuandum: hucusque monui ad sapientiam; autem, pro sed; amodo referam, quid est sapientia etc. Ecce, magna promissio; « abscondita enim est ab oculis omnium viventium », Iob vigesimo octavo³; verumtamen revelatione Spiritus sancti nosci potest. Quid est, inquam, sapientia, increata, id est qualis; de ipsa enim non potest sciri nec dici, quid sit, scilicet secundum essentiam, sed qualis, quoniam bona, aeterna, omnipotens etc. De sapientia vero creata sciri potest et dici, quid sit; unde Augustinus⁴: « Sapientia est cognitio rerum divinarum ». Et quemadmodum facta sit, id est qualiter genita de Patre, scilicet aeterna Sapientia, quae est Dei Filius; primae ad Corinthios primo⁵: « Christum Dei virtutem et sapientiam ». Vel: quemadmodum facta, id est creata, si exponatur de creata; Ecclesiastici primo: « Prior omnium creata est sapientia »; item ibidem vigesimo quarto: « Ab initio et ante saecula creata sum », id est disposita creari. Et non abscondam a vobis sacramenta Dei, id est sacra et secreta opera sapientiae Dei.

Contra: Tobiae duodecimo⁶: « Sacramentum regis abscondere bonum est ».

Dicendum, quod tentatoribus debet abscondi, amatoribus debet revelari; unde Ioannis decimo quinto⁷: « Vos autem dixi amicos, quia omnia, quaecumque audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis ». Item, abscondenda superbis sapientibus, sed revelanda parvulis humilibus; unde Matthaei undecimo: « Abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis », id est humilibus. Item, non gulosis, sed abstinentibus, ut patet Danielis primo.

Sed ab initio nativitatis, id est humanae, vel ipsius sapientiae; investigabo, ostendendo, ipsam a Deo Patre procedere. Et ponam in lucem, scilicet manifestationis, scientiam illius, clare docendo; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto⁸: « Qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt ». Et non praeteribo veritatem, falsa admiscendo; Ecclesiastici trigesimo septimo: « Ante omnia opera verbum verax praecedat te »; Augustinus: « Bonorum ingeniorum insignis indoles est, in verbis verum amare, non verba ».

(Vers. 25.). Neque cum invidia tabescente, id est tabescere faciente; Proverbiorum decimo quarto⁹: « Putredo ossium invidia »; item in Psalmo: « Peccator videbit et irascetur, dentibus suis fremet et tabescet ». Iter habebo, quia pessima est socia; devorat enim hominem sicut fera; Genesis trigesimo septimo¹⁰: « Fera pessima comedit eum, bestia devoravit Ioseph ». Talis erat Moyses, id est non invidus; dicebat enim: « Quis mihi tribuat, ut omnis populus prophetet, et det eis Dominus spiritum suum »? Numerorum undecimo. Quoniam talis homo, scilicet invidus, non erit particeps sapientiae; unde supra primo¹¹: « In malevolam animam » etc.; Ecclesiastici decimo quarto: « Homini livido », id est invido, « ad quid aurum »? id est sapientia, quae aurum appellatur propter suam pretiositatem; Proverbiorum tertio: « Pretiosior est enim cunctis opibus ».

(Vers. 26. 27.). Multitudo autem etc., quasi dicat: et debetis audire; autem, pro quia; quia multitudo sapientium; Glossa¹²: « Coetus praedicatorum »; sanitas est orbis terrarum, id est causa sanitatis; Proverbiorum undecimo: « Ubi non est gubernator, populus corruet; salus autem, ubi multa concilia ». Qui ergo obviat sapientium multiplicationi vel multitudini obviat orbis saluti; et ideo talis debet esse odio toti orbi. Tales erant, de quibus dicit Apostolus primae ad Thessalonicenses secundo¹³: « Deo non placent et omnibus hominibus adversantur ». Et rex sapiens populi stabilimentum est; p. 151 Ecclesiastici decimo: « Iudex sapiens iudicabit populum suum, et principatus sensati stabilis erit ». Hoc autem maxime competit Christo, in cuius persona dicitur: « Salus populi ego sum ». — Et quia ita est utilis sapientia, ergo accipite disciplinam, id est sapientiam, per sermones meos, excitative sive occasionaliter, sed per inspirationem divinam effective et causaliter; unde Ecclesiastici primo¹: « Omnis sapientia a Domino Deo est ». Et proderit vobis, quia dicitur Ecclesiastae ultimo: « Verba sapientium quasi stimuli », scilicet provocando ad bonum; « et quasi clavi in altum defixi », praeservando a casu in malum.

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Chapter VI.

(V. 1.). Wisdom is better⁶ etc., as if he were saying: since the senseless mighty are dealt with thus, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss⁷, « always rules the soul well »; than strength of body, which often hurls men headlong into sins; Ecclesiastes, the ninth: « I said that wisdom is better than strength ». And a prudent man, in human things, according to the Gloss⁸, not in speech only; is better than a strong man; the Gloss: « In body ». Hence in such strength there is no glorying, according to that of Jeremias, the ninth: « Let not the strong man glory in his strength ».

Part II. Exhortation to wisdom.

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

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

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

First, of the punishment of unwise rulers.

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

(V. 2. 3.). Hear therefore etc., as if he were saying: since wisdom is so useful, hear therefore, with outward hearing, ye kings; the Gloss⁹: « Prelates »; and understand, with inward hearing; Proverbs, the first: « A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governments »; Matthew, the thirteenth: « He that hath ears to hear, let him hear ». Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the earth, that is, of distinct lands or provinces. Kings p. 145 are prelates so called from directing to the good; judges, from discerning between good and evil. Learn, I say, wisdom, because it is necessary for judges; whence Deuteronomy, the first¹: « Let me have from among you wise and understanding men ». — Give ear, namely the outward and the inward, you that rule², by restraining from evil, the people (multitudines), the peoples committed to you; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king ». And that please yourselves in multitudes of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies; against which Gregory says in the Pastoral³: « A prelate falls into the crime of apostasy as often as he delights to be set over men ».

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

(V. 4.). For etc. And you ought to hear, for power is given you by the Lord; whence Romans, the thirteenth⁴: « There is no power but from God »; power; the Gloss: « Judicial, on earth », namely as to the defining of the sentence; John, the nineteenth: « Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above ». And strength; the Gloss⁵: « Of punishing », as to the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil causes, strength in criminal causes. By the most High, namely God set over us; the Psalm: « Thou art the most high Lord over all the earth ». Who will examine; the Gloss⁶: « In the judgement »; Luke, the sixteenth: « Give an account of thy stewardship ». Your works, namely the outward ones; Ecclesiastes, the last: « All things that are done, God will bring into judgement » etc. For he did not so give power that he does not require an account; therefore Ecclesiasticus, the eighteenth: « Before judgement examine thyself, and before God thou shalt find mercy ». And search out your thoughts, that is, the inward works; the Gloss⁷: « As one about to judge of all things »; above, in the first: « Inquisition shall be made into the thoughts of the impious ». Will search out; Sophonias, the first: « I will search Jerusalem with lamps »; nor will he only search out, but also make manifest; whence the first to the Corinthians, the fourth: « He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts ».

Now it is to be noted that a threefold examination will be made of a prelate: the first, how he entered; Matthew, the twenty-second⁸: « Friend, how camest thou in hither » etc. The second, how he lived; Isaias, the twenty-second: « What dost thou here? Or as if thou wert somebody here »? The third, how he ruled and kept the flock committed to him; Jeremias, the thirteenth: « Where is the flock that is given thee, thy beautiful cattle »?

(V. 5.). Because, being etc. Well did I say that he will examine etc.; and rightly, because, being ministers, not lords, of his kingdom, that is, of the Church militant; the first of Peter, the fifth⁹: « Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the fourth: « Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ » etc. You have not judged rightly, namely others; whence Isaias, the first: « They judge not for the fatherless, and the widow's cause cometh not in to them »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not managed the cause of the fatherless ». Nor kept the law of justice, namely in yourselves; in the Psalm¹⁰: « They kept not the covenant of God, and in his law they would not walk »; Isaias, the fifty-ninth: « Judgement is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far off »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « These have altogether broken the yoke, and have burst the bonds ». Nor walked according to the will of God, by sinning against God; Jeremias, the seventh: « They walked in the pleasures and the perversity of their wicked heart ».

Or it can be said that he touches on the threefold manner in which a sentence is called unjust¹¹: first from the cause, namely when no just cause underlies it; secondly, from the order, as when the order of law is not kept; thirdly, from the mind, as when proceedings are taken against someone with a corrupt intention; against which it is said in Deuteronomy, the sixteenth: « Thou shalt follow justly after that which is just ».

(V. 6.). Horribly, that is, terribly; Hebrews, the tenth¹²: « It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God »; and speedily will he appear to you; whence Sophonias, the first: « The great day of the Lord is near, and exceeding swift ». And though the day of the general judgement be far off, p. 146 yet the day of the particular judgement, that is, of death, is near; whence Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-eighth: « Remember my judgement; for thine also shall be so: yesterday for me, and to day for thee ». And truly he will appear horribly to you prelates, for a most severe judgement shall be for¹ them that bear rule. Severe indeed, because they entered badly; more severe, because they lived badly; most severe, because they ruled badly. Or: severe on account of the sins of their subjects; more severe on account of the sins of their ministers; most severe on account of the multitude and enormity of their own sins.

Prelates will be punished more severely than the rest, first by reason of what was committed to them, according to that of Luke, the twelfth²: « To whom they have lent more, of him they will demand more ». By reason of sin, because, other things being equal, the sin of a prelate is graver than that of a subject; Jeremias, the fifth: « These have broken the yoke more » etc. By reason of harm, namely because they corrupt others by their example; Gregory³: « When the shepherd walks over steep places, the flock must needs follow over the precipice ». By reason of scandal, because they scandalize the Church; whence Malachias, the second: « You have caused many to stumble at the law ». By reason of judgement, namely because here they are not judged, according to that of the Psalm⁴: « To thee only have I sinned » etc.; and therefore in the future they will be judged at once and wholly more severely, according to that of the second of Machabees, the sixth: « For not as with other nations, whom the Lord patiently expecteth, that when the day of judgement shall come, he may punish them in the fulness of their sins ». By reason of office, because they sin also by discharging their office unworthily; Romans, the second: « Wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself ».

(V. 7.). For to him that is little, that is, weak and lowly; whence the Gloss⁵: « To those who have sinned through ignorance, or frailty, or necessity, and have blotted it out by humble penance »; mercy is granted; the Gloss: « The remission of sins », as to punishment, either wholly or in part, here or in the future; Isaias, the last: « To whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor » etc. But the mighty, that is, those who have abused power unto sin, shall be mightily, that is, strongly inflicted, tormented, on account of sins, because for their own sins and those of their subjects; whence Numbers, the twenty-fifth⁶: « Take all the princes, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun »; likewise the third of Kings, the twentieth: « Keep this man, and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life »; likewise Ezechiel, the thirty-second: « The most mighty among the strong shall speak to him from the midst of hell ».

(V. 8. 9.). For God will not except, namely from the punishing and torment, any man's person, namely of small or great, from private love; Ezechiel, the eighteenth⁷: « I will judge every one according to his ways, O house of Israel, saith the Lord ». « God is not a respecter of persons », Acts, the tenth. Then he gives the cause, saying: For he is, that is, because he is, the lord of all⁸; the Apocalypse, the nineteenth: « King of kings and Lord of lords ». Neither will he stand in awe of any man's greatness, namely from fear, since he himself is « a great Lord and a great King above all gods », as is said in the Psalm, and again: « Of his greatness there is no end »; hence he surpasses beyond all proportion every other greatness. For he made the little and the great; Malachias, the second⁹: « Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us »? And because he created all, therefore he will judge all, small as well as great, as his creatures; the Apocalypse, the twentieth: « I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne ». And he hath equally care of all.

On the contrary: the first to the Corinthians, the ninth¹⁰: « Doth God take care for oxen »? as if he were saying: no.

It must be said that the care of discipline God has of rational beings only; but the care of providence he has of all things¹¹

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

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

And although he has care of all equally, yet he will not punish all equally¹². — But (autem), for sed. For the mightier, in evil, a mightier torment is ready, in penalty, as is plain in Lucifer and the other demons. p. 147

Secondly, of the reward of wise rulers.

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

(V. 10.). To you therefore etc. Since for the mightier a mightier torment is ready, to you therefore, O kings etc.; the Gloss¹: « Having finished his discourse to the mighty, he turns his exhortation to the rulers of the Church »; the Gloss: « O kings, that is, rulers of the Church, or all to whom the government of their own souls has been committed ». To you are these my words, namely concerning the study^tr. and love of wisdom; whence there follows: that you may learn wisdom; the Gloss²: « Divine », not worldly; of both, the first to the Corinthians, the third: « If any man among you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise ». These words, to be heard and retained and fulfilled in deed, according to that of Jeremias, the fifteenth: « Thy words were found, and I did eat them ». And not fall from it, namely from justice « through the transgression of the commandments of God », according to the Gloss³. For wisdom is a salt keeping from the putrefaction of sin; but the neglect of wisdom makes one rush into sin; whence Proverbs, the seventeenth: « He that avoideth to learn shall fall into evils », namely into the evil of guilt and into the evil of punishment.

(V. 11.). And well did I say: that you may learn wisdom, lest you fall from justice; for they that have kept justice, which is the way to wisdom, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the first⁴: « Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice »; shall be justly judged, the Gloss: « They shall receive the reward of their justice », namely in the good; whence Isaias, the third: « Say to the just man that it is well; for he shall eat the fruit of his doings »; likewise Ezechiel, the eighteenth: « The justice of the just shall be upon him »; Luke, the sixth: « With what measure you shall mete » etc. And they that have learned⁵, namely through wisdom, just things; the Gloss⁶: « Right faith and works »; shall find what to answer, namely in the judgement concerning the sins laid to their charge; Habacuc, the second: « I will stand upon my watch etc., and I will watch, to see what will be said to me, and what I may answer to him that reproveth me ».

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

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

(V. 12.). Covet ye therefore etc. Since wisdom is so useful, that it makes one not fall from justice etc.; covet ye therefore my words, to be heard concerning wisdom; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth⁷: « Come over to me, all ye that desire me ». And love them, namely once heard, according to that of the Psalm: « I have loved thy commandments above gold and the topaz » etc. And you shall have discipline, namely through these my words; the Gloss: « He who loves wisdom keeps discipline in his manners », according to that of John, the fourteenth: « If you love me, keep my commandments ».

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

(V. 13.). Wisdom is glorious etc., as if he were saying: you ought to covet it, because wisdom is glorious; namely by its beauty and evidence, because, namely, it is light; whence below, in the seventh⁸: « I purposed to have her instead of light ». And never fadeth away, that is, fails from its beauty; whence the Gloss: « The comeliness of wisdom is unfading ». For it is not subject to time, but is above time, as being divine wisdom. And is easily etc., as if he were saying: nor is there to be despair of acquiring it, because it is easily seen, namely with the eye of understanding, by them that love her, namely with affection; whence John, the fourteenth⁹: « He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him ». For love purges and enlightens the inner eye for seeing; whence Ecclesiasticus, the second: « Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened ». And is found by them that seek her, in effect; Luke, the eleventh¹⁰: « Seek, p. 148 and you shall find », namely if she be sought where she ought to be sought. For « she is not found in the land of them that live in delights », Job, the twenty-eighth; but in harshness of fare and of penance; whence Daniel found wisdom by the merit [so printed: merilo for merito] of his abstinence, as is plain from Daniel, the first.

(V. 14.). She preventeth, namely before she is found by the study of the one seeking; the Gloss¹: « Freely offering herself; for she herself is the way, the truth and the life, whence by her one goes to her and arrives ». She preventeth, I say, that is, she goes before them that covet her, that she may first shew herself unto them; because they would not go before her unless they had been gone before and enlightened by her, as the light of the sun enlightens for seeing itself; Bernard²: « True wisdom, which is Christ, can be found, cannot be forestalled ».

(V. 15.). He that awaketh early (de luce) etc. Well did I say that she is found by those who seek, because he that from the light, that is, as soon as the light rises upon him; the Gloss³: « From the beginning of shining faith », not from the night, as sinners abiding ever in night, but as the just, of whom Proverbs, the fourth: « The path of the just, as a shining light » etc.; the first to the Thessalonians, the fifth: « All you are the children of light ». Awaketh to seek her, against negligence; Proverbs, the eighth: « They that in the morning early watch for me shall find me ». Shall not labour, because the sweetness of the thing sought and found will lighten the labour; Ecclesiasticus, the sixth: « In working about her thou shalt labour a little, and shalt quickly eat of her fruits ». For he shall find her sitting etc., that is, in rest and without motion ready to enter, as a ray of the sun sits at a shut window. Sitting, I say, at his door, namely the spiritual ones, namely the understanding and the affection; he shall find, her; the Apocalypse, the third⁴: « Behold, I stand at the gate and knock » etc. She herself too has doors, by which one enters to her; whence Proverbs, the eighth: « Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates »; which are faith and charity; by faith the understanding enters to her, by charity the affection.

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

(V. 16.). To think therefore upon her; as if he were saying: she is given not only to one who watches and seeks, but also to think upon her, not with a simple thought, but an affective one; whence the Gloss⁵: « With the desire of divine contemplation »; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom etc., and that in his mind shall think of the all-seeing eye of God »; is perfect sense (sensus est consummatus), that is, perfected, because wisdom perfects the sense of man, because, according to Hugh of St. Victor⁶, « wisdom is that in which the form of the perfect good consists ». Or: To think upon her is perfect sense, that is, the sense is then perfectly ordered when it is studious of wisdom, according to that of Augustine: « The end of man on the way is to seek the truth perfectly ». And he that watcheth; the Gloss⁷: « With the intention of the mind », for her, to acquire or to keep her, shall quickly be secure, namely from evil; « because the attaining of her is true security », according to the Gloss; Proverbs, the eleventh: « He that is aware of the snares shall be secure ». This is the good security of which Proverbs, the fifteenth: « A secure mind is like a continual feast ».

(V. 17.). For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her; as if: well did I say that he shall quickly be secure, for she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her, namely the clean of heart and body; whence above, in the first⁸: « Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul » etc. Goeth about seeking, that is, offering herself on every side continually and unceasingly; which unceasingness and continuation is given to be understood by his saying: goeth about; for straight motion cannot be so continued as circular. So Wisdom incarnate went about the villages, as is plain from Mark, the sixth⁹. And in her ways, namely precepts and counsels observed; of which Proverbs, the third: « Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable »; she sheweth herself to them, according to that of the Psalm: « By thy commandments I have had understanding »; cheerfully, gladdening them, namely over this, that she gives herself to them freely; the second to the Corinthians, the ninth: « God loveth a cheerful giver », as does man also; whence Seneca¹⁰: « As much as you add of delay, so much you take away of the favour ». And in every providence, of things to come, perfectly providing for them what is necessary for salvation; she meeteth them; the Gloss¹¹: « As a helper », as Wisdom incarnate, p. 149 rising again, met the women, as is had in Matthew, the twenty-eighth.

The beginning etc. Here are touched on the steps of the glory to be acquired through wisdom; and first he touches on the beginning; secondly, the progress, there: The care therefore; thirdly, the consummation: And the keeping of her laws etc.; fourthly, the end of the consummation: Therefore the desire. The first step therefore, that is, the beginning of wisdom, is the desire of discipline; from the desire of discipline, love; from love, the keeping of the law of God; from the keeping of the divine law, incorruption of mind and nearness to the divine likeness; from the divine likeness, the glory of the heavenly kingdom: therefore from the first, from the desire of wisdom, the heavenly glory is had¹.

(V. 18.). This is what he means to say: For the beginning of her, namely of wisdom etc.; as if he were saying: so does wisdom meet and shew herself. Nor is her showing and meeting useless. For (enim), for quia; the beginning of her, namely that through which a man begins to become wise; « for no one becomes highest of a sudden », as the Gloss says²; is the most true desire of discipline, that is, of wisdom. Of this desire it is said in the Psalm: « My soul hath coveted to long » etc. For the desire of wisdom is some part of wisdom, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the sixth: « If thou wilt love to hear, thou shalt be wise ».

But it seems that fear, and not love, is the beginning of wisdom, because it is said in Ecclesiasticus, the first³: « The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ».

It must be said that fear is the first beginning, but love is the proximate; or: fear the extrinsic beginning, love the intrinsic beginning⁴.

Now it is called the most true desire here as against the threefold vain concupiscence, of which it is said in the first of John, the second⁵: « All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh » etc., which is from the threefold vanity of which Ecclesiastes, the first: « Vanity of vanities » etc.

(V. 19.). The care therefore, as if he were saying: since it is so, that the desire of discipline is the beginning of wisdom, therefore the care of discipline, that is, the desire of discipline, is love, that is, the cause of love of wisdom itself; for what we desire we love when we have it. And note that he calls wisdom and discipline the same, because they are the same in reality, though they differ in account (ratione), because it is called wisdom inasmuch as it affects the mind inwardly with delight; discipline, inasmuch as it orders and disposes outward actions. Or thus: the desire etc. is love, that is, the cause of the divine love; below, in the seventh⁶: « God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom »; Hebrews, the twelfth: « But if you be without discipline, then are you bastards, and not sons ». And love is the keeping of her laws, that is, the cause of the keeping; Romans, the thirteenth⁷: « Love is the fulfilling of the law », that is, the cause of the fulfilling of the divine law; the first to Timothy, the first: « The end of the commandment is charity »; of the laws, namely the natural, the Mosaic and the evangelical; of which Isaias, the twenty-fourth: « They have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant ».

And the keeping of the laws is the firm assurance of incorruption (consummatio incorruptionis), that is, the cause of consummate spiritual incorruption, namely as much of the mind as of the body in the present; or: of incorruption, « that is, of immortality » in the future, according to the Gloss⁸; Proverbs, the third: « Keep my law and my counsel, and it shall be life to thy soul ».

(V. 20. 21. 22.). And incorruption bringeth near to God; whence it is sung of virgins that « they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth », the Apocalypse, the fourteenth⁹. — Therefore the desire of wisdom, which is her beginning, bringeth to the everlasting kingdom; the Gloss: « Which is in the knowledge of the Godhead », according to that of John, the seventeenth: « This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the true God » etc. — If then your delight be etc., as if he were saying: since she gives the everlasting kingdom, if then your delight be in thrones and sceptres; the Gloss¹⁰: « He admonishes kings to love wisdom, without which they cannot reign; for then is the commonwealth well ruled, when philosophers reign and kings philosophize. Rightly therefore the rulers of the Church are assiduous in the meditation of the divine law; for whoever follows it by learning, teaching, working will obtain the crown of the heavenly kingdom ». If then your delight be in thrones, of judicial power, and sceptres, of royal dignity, according to that of Matthew, the twenty-third¹¹: « They love the first chairs » etc.; another reading has in senses (sensibus), as to discernment, and garlands (stemmatibus), as to dignity; if your delight be, I say, O ye kings p. 150 of the people, that is, the greater rulers and prelates, secular as well as ecclesiastical; love wisdom, that you may reign for ever; Proverbs, the eighth¹: « By me kings reign ».

(V. 23.). Love the lumen^tr. of wisdom, for the enlightening of souls; below, in the seventh²: « Being compared with the light, she is found before it »; because she enlightens spiritual things, which is greater than to enlighten bodily things. All ye that bear rule over the peoples, that is, you too, the lesser princes and prelates.

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

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

(V. 24.). Now what wisdom is, as if he were saying: so have I invited you to wisdom, and that you may assent, I will declare etc. Or it is to be continued thus: up to here I have admonished to wisdom; now (autem), for sed; from now on I will declare what wisdom is etc. Behold, a great promise; « for she is hid from the eyes of all living », Job, the twenty-eighth³; nevertheless she can be known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. What is, I say, wisdom, uncreated, that is, of what kind; for of her it cannot be known or said what she is, namely according to her essence, but of what kind, that she is good, eternal, omnipotent etc. But of created wisdom it can be known and said what it is; whence Augustine⁴: « Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things ». And how she was made, that is, how begotten of the Father, namely the eternal Wisdom, which is the Son of God; the first to the Corinthians, the first⁵: « Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God ». Or: how she was made, that is, created, if it be expounded of the created; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « Wisdom hath been created before all things »; likewise in the same, the twenty-fourth: « From the beginning and before the world was I created », that is, disposed to be created. And I will not hide from you the mysteries (sacramenta) of God, that is, the sacred and secret works of the wisdom of God.

On the contrary: Tobias, the twelfth⁶: « It is good to hide the secret (sacramentum) of a king ».

It must be said that it ought to be hidden from tempters, revealed to lovers; whence John, the fifteenth⁷: « But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you ». Likewise, it is to be hidden from the proud wise, but revealed to little ones who are humble; whence Matthew, the eleventh: « Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones », that is, to the humble. Likewise, not to gluttons, but to the abstinent, as is plain from Daniel, the first.

But from the beginning of her birth, that is, the human, or of wisdom herself; I will seek her out, by showing that she proceeds from God the Father. And I will bring into the light, namely of manifestation, the knowledge of her, by teaching clearly; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth⁸: « They that explain me shall have life everlasting ». And I will not pass over the truth, by mixing in falsehoods; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-seventh: « Before all works let true word go before thee »; Augustine: « It is the notable disposition of good minds to love the truth in words, not the words ».

(V. 25.). Neither will I go with consuming envy, that is, making to waste away; Proverbs, the fourteenth⁹: « Envy is the rottenness of the bones »; likewise in the Psalm: « The sinner shall see and shall be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away ». Will I go (iter habebo), namely with it, because it is the worst of companions; for it devours a man like a wild beast; Genesis, the thirty-seventh¹⁰: « An evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured Joseph ». Such was Moses, that is, not envious; for he said: « O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit »! Numbers, the eleventh. For such a man, namely an envious one, shall not be partaker of wisdom; whence above, in the first¹¹: « Into a malicious soul » etc.; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « To an envious (livido) man », that is, a jealous one, « what is gold »? that is, wisdom, which is called gold on account of its preciousness; Proverbs, the third: « She is more precious than all riches ».

(V. 26. 27.). Now the multitude etc., as if he were saying: and you ought to hear; now (autem), for quia; because the multitude of the wise; the Gloss¹²: « The company of preachers »; is the welfare of the whole world, that is, the cause of welfare; Proverbs, the eleventh: « Where there is no governor, the people shall fall; but there is safety where there is much counsel ». He therefore who opposes the multiplication or multitude of the wise opposes the safety of the world; and therefore such a one ought to be hateful to the whole world. Such were those of whom the Apostle says in the first to the Thessalonians, the second¹³: « They please not God, and are adversaries to all men ». And a wise king is the upholding of the people; p. 151 Ecclesiasticus, the tenth: « A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be steady ». But this befits Christ most of all, in whose person it is said: « I am the salvation of the people ». — And because wisdom is so useful, receive therefore instruction (disciplinam), that is, wisdom, by my words, by way of rousing or occasion, but by divine inspiration effectively and causally; whence Ecclesiasticus, the first¹: « All wisdom is from the Lord God ». And it shall be profitable to you, because it is said in Ecclesiastes, the last: « The words of the wise are as goads », namely by provoking to good; « and as nails deeply fastened in », by preserving from a fall into evil.

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