Bonaventure

Capitulum VII.

Secundo sumit rationem exhortandi ad sapientiam a suo exemplo.

Sum quidem et ego etc. Supra² monuit rectores ad acquirendam sapientiam et amandam per rationem sumtam ex periculo officii sui, hic ex exemplo sui. Et primo ostendit, qualiter sapientiam acceperit, scilicet in isto capitulo; secundo, quantum eam amaverit, scilicet capitulo octavo; tertio, quantum devote eam a Domino quaesierit, scilicet capitulo nono.

Primo ostendit, qualiter sapientiam acceperit.

In parte prima, ut ad propositum descendat, primo humanae fragilitatis miseriam describit; secundo ostendit, quod haec occasio ipsum ad acquirendam sapientiam provocavit: Propter hoc optavi etc.; tertio ostendit, a quo edoctus fuerit: Mihi autem.

Primo, de humanae fragilitatis miseria.

In prima primo tangit naturae humanae defectibilitatem; secundo, conceptionis humanae vilitatem: Et in ventre; tertio, nativitatis conditionem: Et ego; quarto, educationis laborem: In involumentis; quinto, miseriae communitatem: Nemo enim etc.

(Vers. 1.). Sum quidem etc. Ita monui vos accipere disciplinam sapientiae « per sermones meos³ »; et hoc potestis non solum per sermones meos, sed etiam exemplo meo, quia et ego sum; quidem, hoc est certe; mortalis homo, sicut vos; mortalis, inquam, id est potens mori ex prima conditione, sed necesse habens mori ex prima transgressione; homo enim, secundum Boethium⁴, est animal rationale, mortale; item ad Romanos octavo: « Corpus quidem mortuum est propter peccatum », id est necessitati moriendi addictum. Similis omnibus, aliis in hac conditione mortalitatis; secundi Regum decimo quarto: « Omnes morimur, et quasi aquae dilabimur in terram, quae non revertuntur ». Et ex genere terreni illius, scilicet Adae praevaricatoris, qui prior factus est, de terra scilicet; unde Genesis secundo⁵: « Formavit Deus hominem de limo terrae »; item primae ad Corinthios decimo quinto: « Primus homo de terra terrenus »; item ibidem: « Qualis terrenus, tales et terreni ». Et in ventre matris figuratus sum caro. Secundum enim Augustinum in libro Octoginta trium Quaestionum⁶, primis sex diebus semen est quasi lac; reliquis novem lac convertitur in sanguinem; reliquis duodecim figuratur in carnem; reliquis decem et octo formatur in corpus organicum. Et tunc anima circa quadragesimum quintum vel quadragesimum sextum diem infunditur corpori. Toto vero reliquo tempore post animae infusionem corpus vegetatur et augetur.

(Vers. 2.). Decem mensium tempore coagulatus sum in sanguine ex semine hominis, secundum physicos, ut dicit Glossa⁷: « Semen mulieris sanguinolentum est, semen viri candidum; ex quorum commixtione unius tanquam passivi et alterius tanquam activi fit coagulatio »; Iob decimo: « Nonne sicut lac mulsisti me, et sicut caseum me coagulasti »? Haec autem coagulatio fit in prima parte decem mensium; ipsa vero tota mora formationis tempus est novem mensibus.

Sed contra: Quia communis formationis tempus est novem mensium; unde secundo Machabaeorum septimo⁸: « Miserere mei, fili, quae te novem mensibus portavi ».

Respondeo: Sicut dicit Glossa⁹, « quidam nascuntur mense septimo, quidam octavo, quidam nono; sed qui in decimo, perfectiores et sanativi et vitales esse dicuntur ». Christus autem, secundum Glossam, fuit in utero matris « novem mensibus et sex diebus »; unde quod ait: decem mensium, synecdochice accipitur; « fuit enim ab octavo kalendas Aprilis usque ad octavum kalendas Ianuarii ». p. 152 Et delectamento somnii¹ conveniente, vel convenientis, id est actu delectabili communis dormitionis viri cum muliere. Haec autem delectatio comparatur delectationi somnii, quia rationem ligat et cito transit, sicut delectatio somnii.

(Vers. 3.). Et ego natus accepi communem aërem, ad necessitatem respirationis; Ecclesiastae tertio²: « Similiter spirant omnia ». Et similiter decidi, de ventre matris, in terram factam, scilicet a Deo, Genesis primo; et hoc quantum ad necessitatem vitae et sustentationis. Et primam vocem similem omnibus, scilicet nascentibus, emisi plorans. Dicit Augustinus³, quod « puer a ploratu suo incipit esse propheta suae calamitatis »; « solum autem, quando natus est, ferunt, id est dicunt, risisse Zoroastrem, regem Bactrianorum ». Solus etiam Ioannes Baptista contra legem nascentium nativitatem suam laetitia et exsultatione praevenit; Lucae primo⁴: « Exsultavit in gaudio infans in utero meo ».

(Vers. 4. 5. 6.). In involumentis, scilicet pannorum, nutritus sum; Lucae secundo⁵: « Pannis eum involvit ». Et curis magnis; secundo Machabaeorum septimo: « Triennio lac dedi et in hanc aetatem perduxi ». — Nemo enim ex regibus aliud habuit nativitatis initium, quia in naturalibus non est differentia inter reges et subditos, sed in bonis fortunae. — Unus ergo introitus est omnibus ad vitam, scilicet per temporalem nativitatem ita vilem, ut dictum est; et similis exitus, scilicet per mortem ita asperam, sicut describitur Ecclesiastae ultimo⁶. Item, unus est introitus, scilicet per pauperem nativitatem; et similis exitus, scilicet per mortem pauperrimam; Iob primo: « Nudus egressus sum de utero matris meae, et nudus revertar illuc »; Ecclesiastae quinto: « Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas; quomodo venit, sic revertetur ».

Secundo ostendit, quod hac occasione ad sapientiam provocatus sit.

Propter hoc optavi etc. Hic ostendit, quod haec occasio ad acquirendam sapientiam eum provocavit; et primo tangit sapientiae optatae adeptionem; secundo, adeptae aestimationem: Et praeposui illam; tertio, aestimatae dilectionem: Super salutem; quarto, habitae et dilectae communicationem: Quam sine fictione didici.

(Vers. 7. 8.). Propter hoc, id est propter praedictarum miseriarum considerationem pulsatus; optavi, scilicet sapientiam. Et datus est mihi sensus, id est sapientia; Proverbiorum decimo⁷: « Desiderium suum iustis dabitur ». Et invocavi, Glossa: « Dominum »; Iacobi primo: « Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo ». Et venit in me, invocantem, spiritus sapientiae, secundum illud Psalmi: « Os meum aperui », scilicet in oratione, « et attraxi spiritum »; item Ecclesiastici decimo quinto: « In medio ecclesiae aperuit os eius, et implevit eum Dominus spiritu sapientiae ». — Et praeposui illam, scilicet aestimatione valoris, regnis, id est dignitatibus regum; et sedibus, id est dignitatibus iudicum; et merito, quia dicit: « Per me reges regnant », Proverbiorum octavo⁸. Et divitias nihil esse duxi in comparatione illius; Proverbiorum tertio: « Pretiosior est cunctis opibus ». « Quid enim prodest stulto habere divitias, cum sapientiam emere non possit »?

(Vers. 9.). Nec comparavi illi, id est eius pretio vel virtuti, lapidem pretiosum; in Psalmo⁹: « Dilexi mandata tua super aurum et topazion »; item Iob vigesimo octavo: « Non conferetur tinctis Indiae coloribus nec lapidi sardonycho pretiosissimo vel sapphiro ». « Non adaequabitur ei topazius de Aethiopia ». Quoniam etc., quasi dicat: et merito, quia omne aurum, id est totum aurum, quod est in mundo, in comparatione illius arena est, id est terra infructuosa; Bernardus¹⁰: « Quid est aurum nisi terra rubra »? exigua, id est parvi ponderis; Iob vigesimo octavo: « Non dabitur aurum obrizum pro ea ». Et tanquam lutum, id est nullius valoris, aestimabitur argentum in conspectu illius; Iob vigesimo octavo¹¹: « Non appendetur argentum in commutatione eius »; Proverbiorum tertio: « Melior est acquisitio eius negotiatione auri et argenti » etc. p. 153 Luto vero comparatur argentum, quia inquinat manus et animum; Habacuc secundo: « Usquequo aggravat contra se densum lutum »?

Notandum, quod sapientia praeponitur argento et auro et omni mundano thesauro, primo ratione originis, quia mundanus thesaurus est de terra; Iob vigesimo octavo¹: « Habet argentum venarum suarum principia, et auro locus est, in quo conflatur », immo « terra est », secundum beatum Bernardum; sapientia autem de caelo est, ut patet Iacobi tertio. — Secundo, ratione naturae, quia thesaurus mundanus est res corporalis, sapientia vero res spiritualis; unde Isaiae undecimo²: « Requiescet super eum spiritus Domini, spiritus sapientiae » etc. — Tertio, ratione virtutis, quia thesaurus est finitus, sapientia vero infinita est; unde infra hoc eodem capitulo³: « Infinitus thesaurus est hominibus, quo qui usi sunt participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei ». — Quarto, ratione operationis, quia thesaurus pauca potest efficere, sed haec omnia; unde infra octavo: « Quid locupletius sapientia, quae omnia operatur »? — Quinto, ratione aestimationis, quia thesaurus cadit sub aestimatione, illa non; Iob vigesimo octavo: « Non conferetur tinctis Indiae coloribus » etc. — Sexto, ratione utilitatis, quia sapientia sine divitiis prodest, divitiae vero sine sapientia non prosunt, sed nocent; unde Ecclesiastae quinto⁴: « Divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui ». — Septimo, ratione durationis, quia « sapientia clara est, et quae non marcescit », supra sexto; divitiae vero corrumpuntur; unde Iacobi quinto: « Divitiae vestrae putrefactae sunt »; item Iacobi primo: « Dives in itineribus suis marcescet ». — Octavo, ratione inclinationis, quia sapientia, cum sit desursum, sursum elevat, sed aurum et argentum deorsum trahunt, scilicet ad terram; unde Baruch tertio⁵: « Qui argentum thesaurizant et aurum, in quo confidunt homines, exterminati sunt et ad inferos descenderunt ».

Super salutem etc. Hic ostendit sapientiae aestimatae dilectionem. Et primo ostendit huius dilectionis magnitudinem; secundo, rationem: Venerunt autem mihi etc.

(Vers. 10.). Super salutem; Glossa⁶: « Corporis », scilicet interiorem; Psalmus: « Quia vana salus hominis »; et speciem, Glossa: « Rerum corporalium », scilicet exteriorem pulcritudinem, quia, Proverbiorum trigesimo primo, « fallax gratia, et vana est pulcritudo »; dilexi eam, scilicet sapientiam, quia quanto spiritus melior corpore et magis care diligendus, tanto spiritualia meliora sunt corporalibus et magis diligenda. Et eam in tantum dilexi, quod proposui pro luce habere illam, quae, inquam, lux est pulcherrimum et delectabilissimum et optimum inter corporalia, secundum Augustinum⁷; sic sapientia inter spiritualia lux est animae; Ecclesiastici ultimo⁸: « In sapientia eius luxit anima mea, et ignorantias meas illuminavit »; infra eodem: « Speciosior est sole ». Sequitur: Quoniam inexstinguibile est lumen illius, scilicet quantum est de se; infra eodem: « Luci comparata, invenitur prior, illi enim succedit nox ».

(Vers. 11.). Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona, scilicet gratiarum, intra me absolute; pariter cum illa, scilicet cum sapientia increata, id est Filio Dei; unde ad Romanos octavo⁹: « Qui proprio Filio suo non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum, quomodo etiam non omnia nobis cum illo donavit »? Glossa: « Quicumque Christi percipit notitiam, omnium virtutum pariter habet gratiam et in futuro vitam aeternam ». Vel: cum illa, id est cum sapientia creata, quia ipsa est perfectissimum donorum. « Hoc expertus est Salomon, cui petenti sapientiam Dominus addidit divitias et gloriam¹⁰ ». Et innumerabilis honestas, exterius in comparatione ad alios; per manus, id est opera, illius, supple: venit mihi; unde infra decimo: « Honestavit illum in laboribus » etc.

(Vers. 12.). Et laetatus sum, repletus laetitia, in omnibus, scilicet sapientiae donis; Ecclesiastici ultimo¹¹: « Laetatum est cor meum in ea ». Quoniam antecedebat me ista sapientia, scilicet dirigendo gressus meos; Ecclesiastici quarto: « Suscipit exquirentes se et praeibit in via iustitiae ». Haec est columna ignis et nubis praecedens filios Israel per noctem et diem, Exodi decimo tertio. Et ignorabam, scilicet antequam haberem eam; Glossa¹²: « Processu meditationis intelligit, se tantum profecisse, ut priorem scientiam posteriori comparando ignorantiam putet ». Ignorabam, inquam, quoniam horum p. 154 omnium, scilicet bonorum, mater est; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Ego mater pulcrae dilectionis et timoris » etc.; item ibidem: « In me gratia omnis » etc.

Quam sine fictione etc. Hic primo tangitur liberalitas communicationis sapientiae; secundo, ratio communicandi: Infinitus enim thesaurus.

(Vers. 13.). Quam sine fictione, id est toto corde, didici, sciens, quod « Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum », supra primo¹; item Proverbiorum secundo: « Si quaesieris eam quasi pecuniam, et sicut thesauros effoderis illam » etc. Et sine invidia communico, scilicet utilia non subtrahendo, supra sexto: « Neque cum invidia tabescente iter habebo »; item Proverbiorum quinto: « Deriventur fontes tui foras ». Et honestatem illius, id est pulcritudinem, non abscondo, verbis obscuris velando; Ecclesiastici quarto²: « Non abscondas sapientiam tuam in decore eius »; item Ecclesiastici vigesimo: « Sapientia absconsa et thesaurus invisus, quae utilitas in utrisque »?

(Vers. 14.). Infinitus enim thesaurus est, in illa, hominibus; unde et inexhauribilis est per communicationem; et ideo dicit Tullius³, quod scientia est nobilis thesaurus animae, quae distributa recipit incrementum et avarum dedignatur possessorem; nisi publicetur, elabitur. Augustinus⁴: « Omne bonum, quod dando non deficit, si habetur et non datur, nondum habetur, qualiter habendum est »; Ecclesiastici primo: « Omnem domum illius implebit a generationibus, et receptacula a thesauris illius ». Quo, scilicet thesauro sapientiae, qui usi sunt, secundum illam se regendo, participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei; unde infra eodem⁵: « Amicos Dei et prophetas constituit ». Propter disciplinae, id est sapientiae, dona, quae habent non per suam industriam, sed Spiritus sancti distributionem, secundum illud primae ad Corinthios duodecimo: « Haec omnia », scilicet dona gratiarum, « operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis, prout vult ». Commendati, id est commendabiles effecti, scilicet Deo et hominibus; secundae ad Corinthios decimo: « Non enim qui se ipsum commendat, ille probatus est, sed quem Deus commendat ».

Tertio ostendit, a quo sapientiam didicerit.

Mihi autem dedit Deus dicere etc. Hic ostendit, a quo sapientiam didicerit; et primo ostendit, quis eum docuit; secundo, qualia docuit: Ipse enim mihi etc.; tertio, per quod medium ipsum docuit: Omnium enim artifex etc.

Primo, quis docuerit.

(Vers. 15.). Mihi autem etc. Bene dixi: Quo qui usi sunt etc.; ego autem usus sum; autem, pro quia; mihi dedit Deus dicere, id est non tantum scire, sed etiam docere; Isaiae quinquagesimo⁶: « Dominus dedit mihi linguam eruditam, ut sciam sustentare eum, qui lapsus est, verbo ». Dicere, inquam, ex sententia, id est definitione firma; Proverbiorum duodecimo: « Labium veritatis firmum erit in perpetuum »; Psalmus: « Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua eius loquetur iudicium », id est firmam sententiam. Et praesumere. Notandum, quod est praesumtio arrogantiae, de qua Iudith sexto⁷: « Praesumentes de se et de sua virtute gloriantes humilias ». Et est praesumtio confidentiae de virtute divina et misericordia, de qua ibidem: « Non derelinquis praesumentes de te » etc.; item Iudith nono: « Exaudi me miseram de tua misericordia praesumentem ». Et praesumere, id est confidenter agere, digna, scilicet opera, horum quae mihi dantur, id est facere opera strenua et decentia, secundum dona mihi collata; « cui enim plus committitur, plus ab eo requiretur⁸ ». Quoniam ipse, scilicet Deus, sapientiae dux est; Glossa: « Id est auctor »; Ecclesiastici primo: « Omnis sapientia a Domino Deo est ». Item dator; Iacobi primo: « Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo » etc. Et sapientium emendator, id est corrector; Apocalypsis tertio: « Ego quos amo arguo » etc., scilicet si eos errare in aliquo contingat.

Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus⁹.

Item Augustinus: Errare potero, haereticus nunquam ero.

(Vers. 16.). In manu enim illius etc. Bene dixi, quod dux est et emendator sapientium; in manu p. 155 enim illius; Glossa¹: « Id est in potestate »; et nos, qui sapientiam habemus; Ieremiae decimo octavo: « Sicut lutum in manu figuli, sic et vos in manu mea »; item Proverbiorum vigesimo primo: « Sicut divisiones aquarum, ita cor regis in manu Domini ». Et sermones nostri; Proverbiorum decimo sexto: « Hominis est praeparare animum, Domini gubernare linguam »; Matthaei decimo: « Non estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris vestri » etc. Et omnis sapientia, quae scilicet est cognitio rerum divinarum, et operum, scilicet humanorum, scientiae disciplina²; Isaiae vigesimo sexto: « Omnia opera nostra operatus es in nobis, Domine ».

Secundo, qualia docuerit.

Ipse enim mihi dedit. Hic ostendit, quae et qualia docuit eum Deus, et primo, quod docuit eum scientiam temporalium causarum; secundo, temporalium transmutationum: Initium et consummationem; tertio, temporalium effectuum: Naturas animalium.

(Vers. 17.). Ipse enim, scilicet Deus, qui solus corda docet, secundum illud Augustini³: « Cathedram habet in caelo qui corda docet in terra »; dedit mihi horum quae sunt, id est rerum existentium, quia de non existentibus non est scientia; unde dicit Philosophus⁴: « Quod non est non est scire ». « Unumquodque enim sicut se habet ad esse, sic se habet ad veritatem », sicut ipse dicit. Scientiam veram, id est cognitionem certam et nulli falsitati permixtam; tertii Regum quarto⁵: « Dedit Deus sapientiam Salomoni et prudentiam multam nimis ». Ut sciam dispositionem orbis terrarum, id est caeli ambientis totum mundum; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Gyrum caeli circuivi sola »; et virtutes elementorum, id est qualitates et seminales rationes et commixtiones vel connexiones et contemperantias elementorum; Proverbiorum octavo: « Quando praeparabat caelos, aderam; quando certa lege et gyro vallabat abyssos ».

(Vers. 18.). Initium et consummationem et medietatem temporum, scilicet quatuor temporum seu partium anni, quae causantur per motum solis, secundum quatuor quadras zodiaci; vicissitudinum permutationes, id est successionum dierum et noctium, quibus qualitas aëris permutatur, scilicet a claritate in obscuritatem et e contrario; et consummationem⁶ temporum, id est mensium tam solarium quam lunarium. Aliqui addunt hic: morum mutationes et divisiones temporum; morum mutationes, id est humanarum consuetudinum, secundum diversos status hominum; divisiones temporum, id est aetatum mundi vel hominis⁷.

(Vers. 19. 20.). Anni cursum⁸, id est tempus causatum a motu solis totum per zodiacum; Genesis primo: « Ut sint in signa et tempora et dies et annos ». Et stellarum, scilicet aliarum a sole, dispositiones, quoad qualitatem noctium; in Psalmo: « Lunam et stellas in potestatem noctis ». — Naturas animalium, scilicet mitium, et iras bestiarum, id est motus ferocium animalium, ut leonis et huiusmodi. Et notandum, quod dicit: naturas animalium et iras bestiarum, quantum ad sensibiles substantias. Deinde subdit quantum ad res inanimatas: vim ventorum, qui sunt duodecim, quatuor principales et octo collaterales⁹; et sunt magnae virtutis, ut patet Iob primo et Exodi decimo quarto, in desiccatione maris, et in multis aliis locis. Et cogitationes hominum.

Contra: Solus Deus novit corda hominum; unde primae ad Corinthios secundo¹⁰: « Quis hominum scit, quae sunt hominis, nisi spiritus, qui in ipso est »? quasi dicat: nullus nisi Deus.

Dicendum, quod hic loquitur de scientia coniecturae, non certitudinis. Vel dicendum, quod per Sapientiae revelationem sciri possunt ab homine, non per naturam vel propriam industriam.

Differentias virgultorum, id est plantarum, et virtutes radicum, scilicet herbarum; tertii Regum quarto¹¹: « Disputavit de omnibus lignis a cedro Libani usque ad hyssopum » etc.

(Vers. 21.). Et quaecumque sunt absconsa, vel abscondita¹², a suis causis, et improvisa, hominibus, didici; Ecclesiastae septimo: « Lustravi universa animo meo, ut scirem et considerarem et quaererem sapientiam ».

Tertio, per quod medium docuerit.

Omnium enim artifex etc. Hic ostendit, per quod medium edoctus est, scilicet per Sapientiam increatam, a Patre genitam; et quod docere potuit, p. 156 scivit et voluit, ostendit primo per Spiritum sanctum, qui est ab illa; secundo, per naturam et virtutem, quae est in illa: Omnibus enim mobilibus etc.

In prima primo tangit Spiritus sancti ab increata sapientia processionem; secundo, effectum eius in nobis multiplicem: Sanctus, multiplex etc.; tertio, eius in natura propria bonitatem: Incoinquinatus; quarto, eius sufficientiam universalem: Omnem habens virtutem. — Effectum eius in nobis tangit primo interiorem, secundo exteriorem: Modestus. Interiorem tangit¹ quadruplicem, scilicet emendationem culpae, cum dicitur: Sanctus; multiplicationem gratiae, cum dicitur: Multiplex; unitatem concordiae, cum dicitur: Unicus; subtilitatem intelligentiae, cum dicitur: Subtilis. Exteriorem triplicem, scilicet modestiam, cum dicitur: Modestus; eloquentiam, cum dicitur: Disertus; obedientiam, cum dicitur: Mobilis.

(Vers. 21.). Ostenditur omnium artifex, scilicet superiorum, mediorum et inferiorum, scilicet Deus, ad Hebraeos undecimo². Docuit me Sapientia, id est per sapientiam; Glossa³: « Quia per ipsam cognitio veritatis datur », quia exterius potest docere homo, sed non interius; unde Gregorius: « Nisi intus sit qui doceat, exterius in vacuum doctoris lingua laborat ».

(Vers. 22.). Est enim in illa etc., quasi dicat: et bene potuit me docere; est enim in illa; scilicet in sapientia, Spiritus etc., in ipsa, scilicet secundum humanitatem, habitando; Isaiae undecimo⁴: « Requiescet super eum Spiritus Domini »; in ipsa secundum Divinitatem ab ea emanando. Spiritus, inquam, intelligentiae dator; Iob trigesimo secundo: « Inspiratio Omnipotentis dat intelligentiam ». Sanctus; Glossa⁵: « Sanctificans omnia »; supra primo: « Spiritus sanctus disciplinae » etc. Multiplex; Glossa: « Multiplices gratias dans »; primae ad Corinthios duodecimo: « Divisiones gratiarum sunt etc. Haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis, prout vult ». Unicus; Glossa: « Uniens bonos »; ad Ephesios quarto: « Solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis ». Subtilis, id est faciens penetrare occulta; primae ad Corinthios secundo⁶: « Spiritus scrutatur omnia », id est, scrutari facit omnia, « etiam profunda Dei ». Item subtilis, id est subtilitatem faciens vel perspicacitatem intelligentiae praebens; unde vocatur « spiritus intellectus », Isaiae undecimo⁷. Modestus, id est modum tenere docens in omnibus; ad Philippenses quarto: « Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus ». Disertus, id est disertos faciens; infra decimo: « Linguas infantium fecit disertas ». Mobilis, id est mobiles faciens per obedientiam; Ezechielis primo: « Quocumque ibat spiritus, pariter et rotae elevabantur, sequentes eum. Spiritus enim vitae erat in rotis ».

Incoinquinatus etc. Hic describit bonitatem eius in natura propria et primo bonitatem absolutam in se; secundo, bonitatem in comparatione ad nos: Amans bonum; tertio, utriusque immutabilitatem: Stabilis. — Bonitatem absolutam tangit in tribus, scilicet in puritate, cum dicit: Incoinquinatus; in veritate: Certus; in tranquillitate, cum dicit: Suavis.

(Vers. 22.). Dicit ergo incoinquinatus; Glossa⁸: « Id est sine macula », unde et maculas mundat in baptismo; Ioannis tertio: « Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu » etc.; item ad Titum tertio: « Per lavacrum regenerationis et renovationis Spiritus sancti » etc. Certus; Glossa: « Nec fallit nec fallitur »; unde dicitur Ioannis decimo sexto: « Spiritus veritatis ». Suavis, id est tranquillus, nihil habens asperitatis; Glossa: « Mitis et misericors »; infra duodecimo: « O quam bonus et suavis est Spiritus tuus in nobis, Domine »!

Amans bonum etc. Hic ostendit bonitatem eius in comparatione ad nos, primo, in boni dilectione; secundo, in eius promotione: Qui nihil⁹; tertio, in sui communicatione vel communione: Humanus; quarto, in suorum communicatione, ibi: Benignus.

Dicit ergo: Amans bonum, actum; primae ad Corinthios decimo tertio¹⁰: « Non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet autem veritati »; qui nihil vetat benefacere, immo iuvat; ad Romanos octavo: « Spiritus adiuvat infirmitatem nostram »; Proverbiorum tertio: « Noli prohibere benefacere » etc.

(Vers. 23.). Humanus; Glossa¹¹: « Communis omnibus »; Actuum decimo: « In veritate comperi, p. 157 quia non est personarum acceptor Deus ». Vel: humanus, id est compatiens, cuius signum est quod dicitur ad Romanos octavo: « Spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus ». Vel: humanus, id est in hominibus libenter habitans; Proverbiorum octavo: « Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum ». Benignus, id est liberalis « innata bonitate¹ »; supra primo: « Benignus est spiritus sapientiae » etc.; item: Benignus, mala remittendo, bona dando, ad patriam dirigendo; unde benignitas dicitur esse fructus Spiritus, ad Galatas quinto. Stabilis, scilicet in se, secundum illud Boethii²: Stabilisque manens etc.; item, dans stabilitatem in donis promissis. Nec mirum, si hic dicatur stabilis et supra eodem³ mobilis, quia hic dicitur quantum ad diversos effectus, de quibus in Psalmo: « Statuit supra petram pedes meos et direxit gressus meos ». Vel: mobilis in activis, stabilis in contemplativis; vel: stabilis in Christo, mobilis in aliis Sanctis; Ioannis primo: « Super quem videris Spiritum manentem ». Vel sic: stabilis, in bono; certus, id est constans in vero; securus, a malo, secundum illud Psalmi⁴: « Non accedet ad te malum ». Et sicut in se stabilis est et certus et securus, sic et quos inhabitat stabiles facit in bono, certos in vero, securos a malo; ad Colossenses primo: « In fide fundati et stabiles et immobiles a spe Evangelii ».

Omnem habens virtutem. Hic ostendit eius universalem sufficientiam, primo, in bonitate; secundo, in sapientia: Omnia prospiciens; tertio, in potestate: Et qui capiat omnes spiritus intelligibiles.

Dicit ergo: Omnem habens virtutem; in Psalmo⁵: « Spiritu oris eius omnis virtus eorum ».

Sed contra: Quia non habet fidem, cum fides sit aenigmatica cognitio et virtus imperfecta⁶.

Dicendum, quod loquitur de omni virtute, non qualibet, sed perfecta.

Omnia prospiciens; Iob trigesimo septimo⁷: « Super omnes caelos considerat, et lumen eius super omnes terminos terrae »; item ad Hebraeos quarto: « Omnia nuda et aperta sunt oculis eius ». Et qui capiat omnes spiritus, scilicet angelicos, « quia intra ipsum currunt, quocumque mittantur », secundum Bedam super illud Lucae primo⁸: « Ego sum Gabriel, qui asto ante Deum ». Spiritus autem dicuntur Angeli quantum ad suam substantiam vel naturam; intelligibiles, quantum ad suam potentiam, vel quia corporibus per naturam non unibiles. Vel: capiat, id est, capere faciat, omnes spiritus, id est omnia dona Spiritus sancti, de quibus Isaiae undecimo⁹: « Requiescet super eum spiritus Domini, spiritus sapientiae et intellectus » etc. Mundos, scilicet per innocentiae puritatem; sunt enim Angeli, secundum Dionysium¹⁰, « specula pura et clarissima »; et addit: mundos, ad differentiam spirituum immundorum, id est daemonum. Subtiles, per intelligentiae perspicacitatem; vel: subtiles, per sapientiam; Gregorius¹¹: « Quid est quod non videant qui videntem omnia vident »? Aliqui libri¹² habent mundus, subtilis; mundus est spiritus sapientiae, quia sine materiae feculentia; subtilis, quia pura forma. Sed prima littera verior est, quia ita habet Rabanus in textu et in expositione. Vel: mundus dicitur spiritus sapientiae, quia lavat a peccatis praeteritis et praeservat a futuris; vel quia in praesenti purgat a culpa, in futuro a poena; incoinquinatus, quia nec a se nec ab alio immunditiam contrahere potest; subtilis, quia omnia penetrat, vel quia in nobis operatur subtilitatem affectus quoad donum sapientiae, et intellectus quoad donum intelligentiae sive intellectus.

Omnibus enim mobilibus. Hic ostendit, quod sapientia per naturam et per virtutem, quae est in ea, potuit esse medium, quo edoctus est. Et ad hoc ostendendum primo allegat eius mobilitatem; secundo, eius puritatem: Attingit autem; tertio, eius potestatem: Et cum sit una; quarto, eius speciositatem: Est enim haec speciosior.

(Vers. 24.). Bene dixi, quod in illa est spiritus etc. Omnibus enim mobilibus, quocumque genere motus, scilicet sive in substantia, sive in qualitate, sive in quantitate, sive in loco; mobilior est sapientia, id est velocior in operando; Glossa¹³: « Nihil subtilius et mobilius sapientia, quae omnia p. 158 creavit, regit et ordinat »; mobilior, inquam, non quia moveatur, sed quia omnia movet, immobilis manens, secundum illud Boethii¹:

Stabilisque manens das cuncta moveri.

Item Actuum decimo septimo²: « In ipso vivimus, movemur et sumus ».

Attingit autem etc. Hic ostendit eius puritatem, primo per hoc quod a purissimo fonte procedit, vel emanat; secundo, quia fontis claritatem in se repraesentat: Candor est etc.

Ita dixi, quod omnibus mobilibus mobilior est sapientia; nec solum; autem, pro sed; sed quod plus est, attingit ubique, id est a fine supremae creaturae usque ad extremam creaturam; Ambrosius in Hexaëmeron³: « Usque ad locustam divina sapientia penetravit ».

Sed contra: Iob vigesimo octavo⁴: « Abyssus dicit: Non est in me; mare loquitur: Non est mecum ».

Respondetur, quod ibi⁵ loquitur non de creaturis, sed de creaturarum vitiis. Vel melius dicendum, quod Deus non est in abysso vel in mari per continentiam, cum a nullo possit contineri, sed est ibi per praesentiam, secundum illud Psalmi⁶: « Si ascendero in caelum, tu illic es; si descendero in infernum, ades ».

Propter suam munditiam, id est abstractionem ab omni materiae feculentia; quia enim est omnino immobilis, ideo est incircumscriptibilis, secundum Damascenum⁷.

(Vers. 25.). Vapor est enim virtutis Dei, id est a Deo Patre emanans, sicut vapor a calore; Glossa⁸: « Id est ad calefaciendum frigus infidelitatis nostrae »; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Quasi Libanus non incisus vaporavi habitationem meam ». Et emanatio quaedam est claritatis omnipotentis Dei, id est emanans a Deo Patre, ut splendor a luce, scilicet ad illuminandum tenebras intellectus nostri; ad Hebraeos primo⁹: « Qui cum sit splendor gloriae » etc.; item Isaiae sexagesimo secundo: « Donec egrediatur ut splendor iustus eius ». Sincera, sine admixtione tenebrae; primae Ioannis primo: « Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae ». Iste autem processus est sine diminutione paternae substantiae, vel separatione, sed cum personali distinctione, secundum illud Athanasii¹⁰: « Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam separantes ». Et quia sicut lux procedit, quae contaminari non potest; ideo nihil inquinatum, inquinatione scilicet culpabili, vel etiam naturali; incurrit in illam, scilicet sapientiam increatam; Glossa¹¹: « Summo bono non appropinquat malum ».

(Vers. 26.). Et vere nihil inquinatum incurrit in illam. Candor est enim lucis aeternae, id est lux purissima de luce aeterna, scilicet a Patre procedens; unde cantatur¹²: « Lux de luce apparuisti, Christe ». In ista luce lux aeterna videtur, secundum illud Psalmi: « In lumine tuo videbimus lumen »; item Ioannis decimo quarto: « Qui videt me videt et Patrem ». Est ergo candor lucis aeternae, quantum ad repraesentationem sapientiae, et speculum sine macula maiestatis Dei, quoad repraesentationem divinae maiestatis et potentiae, secundum illud Ioannis quinto¹³: « Quaecumque enim ille », scilicet Pater, « fecerit, haec et Filius similiter facit ». Sine macula, inquam, peccati, quia « peccatum non fecit » etc., primae Petri secundo. Et imago bonitatis illius; Glossa¹⁴: « Id est plena repraesentatio bonitatis illius »; ad Colossenses primo: « Quae est imago Dei invisibilis ».

Notandum, quod speculum est Dei Filius, immaculatum actu et potentia. Speculum etiam est Angelus, secundum Dionysium¹⁵, purum et clarissimum, et licet immaculatum actu, maculatum tamen potentia, saltem remota. Speculum etiam est spiritus humanus, in quo relucet imago divina, Genesis primo¹⁶, maculatum actu et potentia. Speculum etiam dicitur omnis creatura, quia per eam tanquam per eius vestigium repraesentantur Dei invisibilia; ad Romanos primo: « Invisibilia Dei per ea quae facta sunt, a creatura mundi intellecta conspiciuntur »; item primae ad Corinthios decimo tertio: « Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate ». Speculum etiam est sacra Scriptura; Iacobi primo¹⁷: « Hic comparatur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo ».

(Vers. 27.). Et cum sit una, scilicet in essentia cum Patre, secundum illud Ioannis decimo¹⁸: « Ego et Pater unum sumus »; omnia potest, id est, p. 159 eandem potentiam habet cum Patre; unde infra decimo octavo: « Omnipotens sermo tuus, Domine, a regalibus sedibus venit ».

Sed, si omnia potest, ergo potest mentiri vel mori; quod falsum est.

Dicendum est, quod omnia potest, quae bonitati suae non repugnant, vel quae posse est potentia aliqua, non impotentia¹.

Et in se permanens, scilicet invariabilis, secundum illud Iacobi primo²: « Apud quem non est transmutatio » etc.; omnia innovat, scilicet temporalia per continuam generationem; Ecclesiastae primo: « Generatio praeterit, generatio advenit »; et spiritualia per spiritualem regenerationem; secundae ad Corinthios quinto: « Si qua in Christo nova creatura, vetera transierunt »; Apocalypsis vigesimo primo: « Ecce, nova facio omnia ». Et per nationes, carnales, vel potius spirituales, de quibus Ioannis tertio³: « Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua » etc. In animas sanctas, id est a peccato mundas, se transfert, per spiritualem adventum gratiae in mentem; Ioannis decimo quarto: « Ad eum veniemus » etc. Notandum, quod transferre se dicitur non per novum situm vel mutando locum, sed per novum effectum; unde sequitur: Amicos Dei, per inflammationem affectus, et prophetas constituit, per illuminationem intellectus; Ioannis decimo quinto⁴: « Iam non dicam vos servos, sed amicos, quia omnia, quaecumque audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis ».

(Vers. 28.). Neminem enim diligit Deus, nisi eum qui cum sapientia inhabitat, permanendo scilicet cum illo, « qui in lege Domini meditabitur die ac nocte », secundum Glossam⁵; Proverbiorum octavo: « Ego sapientia habito in consilio et eruditis intersum cogitationibus ». Et si Deus neminem diligit, nisi qui cum sapientia inhabitat; « beatus ergo vir, qui in sapientia morabitur », Ecclesiastici decimo quarto.

Neminem diligit Deus etc. — Contra: Infra undecimo⁶: « Diligis omnia, quae sunt », et tamen non omnia cum sapientia inhabitant.

Sed dicendum, quod ibi loquitur de dilectione naturali, hic de gratuita.

Est enim haec speciosior etc. Hic agit de sapientiae speciositate, praeferendo eam speciositati solis, et primo ponit comparationem; secundo, comparationis probationem: Illi enim succedit nox.

(Vers. 29.). Bene dixi, quod eum diligit Deus, qui cum sapientia inhabitat, et merito. Est enim haec, scilicet sapientia, speciosior sole, quia pulcritudo spiritualis praeeminet corporali; supra eodem⁷: « Super salutem et speciem dilexi eam »; sole, scilicet materiali, quia est pulcritudo solis iustitiae, de quo Malachiae quarto: « Orietur vobis timentibus nomen meum sol iustitiae ». Et super omnem stellarum dispositionem, repetendum: speciosior est. Ipsa enim stellas fecit, Genesis primo⁸; et constans est, quod plus de pulcritudine sibi retinuit, quam stellis dederit; ideo supra quarto: « O quam pulcra est casta generatio cum claritate »! scilicet sapientiae. Luci comparata, scilicet tam solis quam stellarum, invenitur prior, scilicet aeternitate, dignitate, causalitate; unde Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto⁹: « Ego feci, ut oriretur in caelum lumen indeficiens »; Glossa: « Lux corporalis, quae modo occidit, modo oritur, luci spirituali comparata, scintilla videtur. Christus quoque Sanctorum claritatem longe transcendit ».

(Vers. 30.). Illi enim, scilicet luci corporali, succedit nox, secundum illud Genesis octavo¹⁰: « Nox et dies non requiescent »; item Isaiae vigesimo primo: « Venit mane et nox ». Sed luci spirituali non succedit nox; unde sequitur: Sapientiam autem, quae est lux spiritualis, non vincit malitia, quae est tenebra spiritualis, secundum Ioannem Damascenum¹¹; unde Ioannis primo: « Lux in tenebris lucet ».

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Chapter VII.

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

I myself also am etc. Above² he admonished rulers to acquire and to love wisdom by a reason taken from the peril of their office; here, from his own example. And first he shows how he received wisdom, namely in this chapter; secondly, how much he loved it, namely in the eighth chapter; thirdly, how devoutly he sought it from the Lord, namely in the ninth chapter.

First he shows how he received wisdom.

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

First, of the misery of human frailty.

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

(V. 1.). I myself also am etc. Thus I admonished you to receive the discipline of wisdom « by my words³ »; and this you can do not only by my words, but also by my example, because I myself also am; indeed (quidem), that is, certainly; a mortal man, like you; mortal, I say, that is, able to die from the first condition, but having of necessity to die from the first transgression; for man, according to Boethius⁴, is a rational, mortal animal; likewise to the Romans, the eighth: « The body indeed is dead because of sin », that is, given over to the necessity of dying. Like all others, in this condition of mortality; the second of Kings, the fourteenth: « We all die, and like waters that return no more we fall down into the earth ». And of the race of that earthly one, namely of Adam the transgressor, who was made first, namely of earth; whence Genesis, the second⁵: « God formed man of the slime of the earth »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the fifteenth: « The first man was of the earth, earthly »; likewise in the same place: « Such as is the earthly, such also are the earthly ». And in the womb of my mother I was fashioned to be flesh. For according to Augustine in the book of Eighty-three Questions⁶, in the first six days the seed is as milk; in the next nine the milk is turned into blood; in the next twelve it is shaped into flesh; in the next eighteen it is formed into an organic body. And then, about the forty-fifth or the forty-sixth day, the soul is infused into the body. Through all the remaining time after the infusion of the soul the body is quickened and grows.

(V. 2.). In the time of ten months I was compacted in blood, of the seed of man, according to the physicians, as the Gloss says⁷: « The seed of the woman is blood-coloured, the seed of the man white; from the mingling of these, the one as passive and the other as active, the compacting comes about »; Job, the tenth: « Hast thou not milked me as milk, and curdled me like cheese »? Now this compacting comes about in the first part of the ten months; but the whole delay of the forming is a time of nine months.

But on the contrary: Because the common time of forming is nine months; whence the second of Machabees, the seventh⁸: « Have pity upon me, my son, that bore thee nine months ».

I respond: As the Gloss says⁹, « some are born in the seventh month, some in the eighth, some in the ninth; but those who are born in the tenth are said to be more perfect and healthier and more vigorous ». Christ, however, according to the Gloss, was in his mother's womb « nine months and six days »; whence what he says, ten months, is taken by synecdoche; « for he was so from the eighth before the Kalends of April to the eighth before the Kalends of January ». p. 152 And the pleasure of sleep¹ going with it, or of one coming together, that is, by the pleasurable act of the common sleeping of a man with a woman. Now this pleasure is compared to the pleasure of sleep, because it binds the reason and quickly passes, like the pleasure of sleep.

(V. 3.). And being born I drew in the common air, for the necessity of breathing; Ecclesiastes, the third²: « All things breathe alike ». And I fell alike, from my mother's womb, upon the earth that is made, namely by God, Genesis, the first; and this as to the necessity of life and sustenance. And the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do, namely those being born. Augustine says³ that « the child from its crying begins to be a prophet of its own calamity »; « but Zoroaster alone, they say », that is, they tell, « laughed when he was born, the king of the Bactrians ». John the Baptist alone also, against the law of those being born, anticipated his birth with gladness and exultation; Luke, the first⁴: « The infant in my womb leaped for joy ».

(V. 4. 5. 6.). I was nursed in swaddling clothes, namely of rags; Luke, the second⁵: « She wrapped him up in swaddling clothes ». And with great cares; the second of Machabees, the seventh: « I gave thee suck three years and brought thee up unto this age ». — For none of the kings had any other beginning of birth, because in natural things there is no difference between kings and subjects, but in the goods of fortune. — For all men have one entrance into life, namely through a temporal birth so vile, as has been said; and the like going out, namely through a death so harsh, as is described in Ecclesiastes, the last⁶. Likewise, there is one entrance, namely through a poor birth; and the like going out, namely through a most poor death; Job, the first: « Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither »; Ecclesiastes, the fifth: « Altogether a miserable infirmity; as he came, so shall he return ».

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

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

(V. 7. 8.). Wherefore, that is, struck by the consideration of the aforesaid miseries; I wished, namely for wisdom. And understanding (sensus) was given me, that is, wisdom; Proverbs, the tenth⁷: « To the just their desire shall be given ». And I called upon, the Gloss: « The Lord »; James, the first: « If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God ». And there came upon me, calling upon him, the spirit of wisdom, according to that of the Psalm: « I opened my mouth », namely in prayer, « and panted »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the fifteenth: « In the midst of the church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom ». — And I preferred her, namely in the esteem of her worth, before kingdoms, that is, the dignities of kings; and thrones, that is, the dignities of judges; and rightly, since she says: « By me kings reign », Proverbs, the eighth⁸. And esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her; Proverbs, the third: « She is more precious than all riches ». « For what doth it avail a fool to have riches, seeing he cannot buy wisdom »?

(V. 9.). Neither did I compare unto her, that is, to her price or worth, any precious stone; in the Psalm⁹: « I have loved thy commandments above gold and the topaz »; likewise Job, the twenty-eighth: « It shall not be compared with the dyed colours of India, or with the most precious stone sardonyx, or the sapphire ». « The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equal to it ». For etc., as if he were saying: and rightly, because all gold, that is, the whole of the gold that is in the world, in comparison of her is as sand, that is, unfruitful earth; Bernard¹⁰: « What is gold but red earth »? a little, that is, of little weight; Job, the twenty-eighth: « The finest gold shall not purchase it ». And silver in respect to her shall be counted as clay, that is, of no value; Job, the twenty-eighth¹¹: « Neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it »; Proverbs, the third: « The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver and gold » etc. p. 153 But silver is compared to clay, because it defiles the hands and the mind; Habacuc, the second: « How long also doth he load himself with thick clay »?

It is to be noted that wisdom is preferred to silver and gold and to every worldly treasure, first by reason of origin, because worldly treasure is of the earth; Job, the twenty-eighth¹: « Silver hath beginnings of its veins, and gold hath a place wherein it is melted », nay rather « it is earth », according to blessed Bernard; but wisdom is from heaven, as is plain from James, the third. — Secondly, by reason of nature, because worldly treasure is a bodily thing, but wisdom a spiritual thing; whence Isaias, the eleventh²: « The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom » etc. — Thirdly, by reason of power, because treasure is finite, but wisdom is infinite; whence below in this same chapter³: « She is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use become the friends of God ». — Fourthly, by reason of operation, because treasure can bring about few things, but she all things; whence below, the eighth: « What is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things »? — Fifthly, by reason of esteem, because treasure falls under esteem, she does not; Job, the twenty-eighth: « It shall not be compared with the dyed colours of India » etc. — Sixthly, by reason of usefulness, because wisdom without riches profits, but riches without wisdom do not profit, but harm; whence Ecclesiastes, the fifth⁴: « Riches kept to the hurt of the owner ». — Seventhly, by reason of duration, because « wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away », above, the sixth; but riches are corrupted; whence James, the fifth: « Your riches are corrupted »; likewise James, the first: « The rich man shall fade away in his ways ». — Eighthly, by reason of inclination, because wisdom, since it is from above, lifts upward, but gold and silver draw downward, namely to the earth; whence Baruch, the third⁵: « They that hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust, are cut off, and are gone down to hell ».

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

(V. 10.). Above health; the Gloss⁶: « Of body », namely interior; the Psalm: « For vain is the salvation of man »; and beauty, the Gloss: « Of bodily things », namely exterior beauty, because, Proverbs, the thirty-first, « favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain »; I loved her, namely wisdom, because the more the spirit is better than the body and more dearly to be loved, by so much are spiritual things better than bodily things and more to be loved. And I loved her so far that I chose to have her instead of light, which light, I say, is the most beautiful and most delightful and best among bodily things, according to Augustine⁷; so wisdom among spiritual things is the light of the soul; Ecclesiasticus, the last⁸: « In her wisdom my soul shone, and she enlightened my ignorances »; below in the same: « She is more beautiful than the sun ». There follows: For her lumen^tr. cannot be put out, namely as far as lies in herself; below in the same: « Being compared with the light, she is found before it, for after it cometh night ».

(V. 11.). Now all good things came to me, namely of graces, within me absolutely; together with her, namely with uncreated wisdom, that is, the Son of God; whence to the Romans, the eighth⁹: « He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things »? The Gloss: « Whoever receives the knowledge of Christ has together the grace of all the virtues and in the future eternal life ». Or: with her, that is, with created wisdom, because she is the most perfect of gifts. « Solomon experienced this, to whom, when he asked for wisdom, the Lord added riches and glory¹⁰ ». And innumerable honour (honestas), outwardly, in comparison with others; through her hands, that is, works, supply: came to me; whence below, the tenth: « She made him honourable in his labours » etc.

(V. 12.). And I rejoiced, filled with gladness, in all these, namely the gifts of wisdom; Ecclesiasticus, the last¹¹: « My heart was glad in her ». For this wisdom went before me, namely by directing my steps; Ecclesiasticus, the fourth: « She will receive them that seek her, and will go before them in the way of justice ». This is the pillar of fire and of cloud going before the children of Israel by night and by day, Exodus, the thirteenth. And I knew not, namely before I had her; the Gloss¹²: « By the progress of meditation he understands that he has advanced so far that, comparing his earlier knowledge with the later, he reckons it ignorance ». I knew not, I say, that she was the mother of p. 154 all these, namely good things; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I am the mother of fair love and of fear » etc.; likewise in the same place: « In me is all grace » etc.

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

(V. 13.). Which without guile, that is, with the whole heart, I have learned, knowing that « the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful », above, the first¹; likewise Proverbs, the second: « If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure » etc. And communicate without envy, namely by not withdrawing useful things, above, the sixth: « Neither will I go with consuming envy »; likewise Proverbs, the fifth: « Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad ». And her beauty (honestatem), that is, her comeliness, I hide not, by veiling it in obscure words; Ecclesiasticus, the fourth²: « Hide not thy wisdom in her beauty »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the twentieth: « Wisdom that is hid and treasure that is not seen, what profit is there in them both »?

(V. 14.). For she is an infinite treasure, in her, to men; whence also she is inexhaustible through communication; and therefore Tully says³ that knowledge is a noble treasure of the soul, which, when distributed, receives increase and disdains a miserly possessor; unless it is made public, it slips away. Augustine⁴: « Every good which does not fail by being given, if it is had and not given, is not yet had as it ought to be had »; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « She shall fill all her house with her increase, and the storehouses with her treasures ». Which, namely the treasure of wisdom, they that use, by ruling themselves according to her, become partakers of the friendship of God; whence below in the same⁵: « She maketh the friends of God and prophets ». For the gifts of discipline, that is, of wisdom, which they have not by their own industry, but by the distribution of the Holy Spirit, according to that of the first to the Corinthians, the twelfth: « All these things », namely the gifts of graces, « one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will ». Commended, that is, made commendable, namely to God and to men; the second to the Corinthians, the tenth: « For not he who commendeth himself is approved, but he whom God commendeth ».

Thirdly he shows from whom he learned wisdom.

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

First, who taught him.

(V. 15.). And to me etc. I said well: Which they that use etc.; but I have used it; and (autem), for quia; God hath given to me to speak, that is, not only to know, but also to teach; Isaias, the fiftieth⁶: « The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary ». To speak, I say, according to judgement (ex sententia), that is, with firm definition; Proverbs, the twelfth: « The lip of truth shall be steadfast for ever »; the Psalm: « The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgement », that is, a firm sentence. And to presume. It is to be noted that there is a presumption of arrogance, of which Judith, the sixth⁷: « Thou humblest them that presume of themselves and that boast of their own strength ». And there is a presumption of confidence in the divine power and mercy, of which in the same place: « Thou dost not forsake them that presume of thee » etc.; likewise Judith, the ninth: « Hear me, a poor wretch, presuming of thy mercy ». And to presume, that is, to act confidently, things worthy, namely works, of those things which are given me, that is, to do works vigorous and becoming, according to the gifts conferred on me; « for to whom more is committed, more will be required of him⁸ ». Because he, namely God, is the guide of wisdom; the Gloss: « That is, the author »; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « All wisdom is from the Lord God ». Likewise the giver; James, the first: « If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God » etc. And the director of the wise, that is, the corrector; Apocalypse, the third: « Such as I love, I rebuke » etc., namely if it should happen that they err in anything.

Sometimes good Homer nods⁹.

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

(V. 16.). For in his hand etc. I said well that he is the guide and the director of the wise; for in the hand p. 155 of him; the Gloss¹: « That is, in his power »; are both we, who have wisdom; Jeremias, the eighteenth: « As clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand »; likewise Proverbs, the twenty-first: « As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord ». And our words; Proverbs, the sixteenth: « It is the part of man to prepare the mind, and of the Lord to govern the tongue »; Matthew, the tenth: « It is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father » etc. And all wisdom, which namely is the cognition of divine things, and of works, namely human, the discipline of knowledge²; Isaias, the twenty-sixth: « Thou hast wrought all our works in us, O Lord ».

Secondly, what things he taught.

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

(V. 17.). For he, namely God, who alone teaches hearts, according to that of Augustine³: « He has his chair in heaven who teaches hearts on earth »; hath given me of the things that are, that is, of existing things, because there is no knowledge of non-existing things; whence the Philosopher says⁴: « What is not cannot be known ». « For as each thing stands in regard to being, so it stands in regard to truth », as he himself says. True knowledge, that is, certain cognition, mixed with no falsity; the third of Kings, the fourth⁵: « God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much ». That I may know the disposition of the whole world, that is, of the heaven surrounding the whole world; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven »; and the virtues of the elements, that is, the qualities and seminal reasons and the mixtures or connexions and tempering-together of the elements; Proverbs, the eighth: « When he prepared the heavens, I was present; when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths ».

(V. 18.). The beginning and ending and midst of the times, namely of the four seasons or parts of the year, which are caused by the motion of the sun, according to the four quarters of the zodiac; the alterations of their courses (vicissitudinum permutationes), that is, of the successions of days and nights, by which the quality of the air is changed, namely from brightness into obscurity and the contrary; and the completions⁶ of the times, that is, of the months, solar as well as lunar. Some add here: the changes of manners and the divisions of times; the changes of manners, that is, of human customs, according to the different states of men; the divisions of times, that is, of the ages of the world or of man⁷.

(V. 19. 20.). The course of the year⁸, that is, the time caused by the motion of the sun through the whole zodiac; Genesis, the first: « Let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years ». And the dispositions of the stars, namely the others besides the sun, as to the quality of the nights; in the Psalm: « The moon and the stars to rule the night ». — The natures of living creatures, namely of the gentle ones, and the rage of wild beasts, that is, the motions of fierce animals, as of the lion and the like. And it is to be noted that he says: the natures of living creatures and the rage of wild beasts, as to sensible substances. Then he adds as to inanimate things: the force of winds, which are twelve, four principal and eight collateral⁹; and they are of great power, as is plain in Job, the first, and Exodus, the fourteenth, in the drying up of the sea, and in many other places. And the reasonings of men.

On the contrary: God alone knows the hearts of men; whence the first to the Corinthians, the second¹⁰: « What man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit that is in him »? as if he were saying: no one but God.

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

The diversities of plants (virgultorum), that is, of growing things, and the virtues of roots, namely of herbs; the third of Kings, the fourth¹¹: « He treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus unto the hyssop » etc.

(V. 21.). And all such things as are hid, or hidden¹², from their causes, and not foreseen, by men, I have learned; Ecclesiastes, the seventh: « I have surveyed all things with my mind, to know and consider and seek out wisdom ».

Thirdly, through what medium he taught.

For the worker of all things etc. Here he shows through what medium he was taught, namely through uncreated Wisdom, begotten of the Father; and that she could teach, p. 156 knew and willed, he shows first through the Holy Spirit, who is from her; secondly, through the nature and power that is in her: For wisdom is more active than all active things etc.

In the first he first touches on the procession of the Holy Spirit from uncreated wisdom; secondly, his manifold effect in us: Holy, manifold etc.; thirdly, his goodness in his own nature: Undefiled; fourthly, his universal sufficiency: Having all virtue. — His effect in us he touches on first as interior, secondly as exterior: Modest. The interior he touches on¹ as fourfold, namely the amendment of guilt, when it is said: Holy; the multiplication of grace, when it is said: Manifold; the unity of concord, when it is said: One; the subtlety of intelligence, when it is said: Subtle. The exterior as threefold, namely modesty, when it is said: Modest; eloquence, when it is said: Eloquent; obedience, when it is said: Active (Mobilis).

(V. 21.). The worker of all things is shown, namely of the higher, middle and lower things, namely God, to the Hebrews, the eleventh². Wisdom taught me, that is, through wisdom; the Gloss³: « Because through her the cognition of truth is given », since man can teach outwardly, but not inwardly; whence Gregory: « Unless there is one within who teaches, the tongue of the teacher labours in vain outwardly ».

(V. 22.). For in her is etc., as if he were saying: and well could she teach me; for in her is; namely in wisdom, the Spirit etc., in her, namely according to the humanity, by dwelling; Isaias, the eleventh⁴: « The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him »; in her according to the Godhead by emanating from her. The Spirit, I say, the giver of intelligence; Job, the thirty-second: « The inspiration of the Almighty giveth intelligence ». Holy; the Gloss⁵: « Sanctifying all things »; above, the first: « The Holy Spirit of discipline » etc. Manifold; the Gloss: « Giving manifold graces »; the first to the Corinthians, the twelfth: « There are diversities of graces etc. But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will ». One; the Gloss: « Uniting the good »; to the Ephesians, the fourth: « Careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ». Subtle, that is, making to penetrate hidden things; the first to the Corinthians, the second⁶: « The Spirit searcheth all things », that is, makes to search all things, « yea, the deep things of God ». Likewise subtle, that is, making subtlety or bestowing keenness of intelligence; whence he is called « the spirit of understanding », Isaias, the eleventh⁷. Modest, that is, teaching to keep measure in all things; to the Philippians, the fourth: « Let your modesty be known to all men ». Eloquent, that is, making eloquent; below, the tenth: « She made the tongues of infants eloquent ». Active (Mobilis), that is, making active through obedience; Ezechiel, the first: « Whithersoever the spirit went, the wheels also were lifted up together, following it. For the spirit of life was in the wheels ».

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

(V. 22.). He says therefore undefiled; the Gloss⁸: « That is, without stain », whence he also cleanses stains in baptism; John, the third: « Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit » etc.; likewise to Titus, the third: « By the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Spirit » etc. Sure; the Gloss: « He neither deceives nor is deceived »; whence he is called in John, the sixteenth: « The Spirit of truth ». Sweet, that is, tranquil, having nothing of harshness; the Gloss: « Mild and merciful »; below, the twelfth: « O how good and sweet is thy Spirit in us, O Lord »!

Loving that which is good etc. Here he shows his goodness in comparison with us, first, in the love of good; secondly, in its promotion: Which nothing⁹; thirdly, in the communication of himself or communion: Kind to man (Humanus); fourthly, in the communication of his own, at: Beneficent (Benignus).

He says therefore: Loving that which is good, act; the first to the Corinthians, the thirteenth¹⁰: « It rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth »; which nothing forbids to do good, nay rather helps; to the Romans, the eighth: « The Spirit helpeth our infirmity »; Proverbs, the third: « Do not withhold him from doing good » etc.

(V. 23.). Kind to man (Humanus); the Gloss¹¹: « Common to all »; Acts, the tenth: « In very deed I perceive p. 157 that God is not a respecter of persons ». Or: kind to man, that is, compassionate, the sign of which is what is said to the Romans, the eighth: « The Spirit asketh for us with unspeakable groanings ». Or: kind to man, that is, dwelling gladly among men; Proverbs, the eighth: « My delights were to be with the children of men ». Beneficent, that is, liberal « by innate goodness¹ »; above, the first: « The spirit of wisdom is benevolent » etc.; likewise: Beneficent, by remitting evils, giving goods, directing to the fatherland; whence benignity is said to be a fruit of the Spirit, to the Galatians, the fifth. Firm (Stabilis), namely in himself, according to that of Boethius²: And abiding stable etc.; likewise, giving stability in the promised gifts. Nor is it a wonder if here he is called stable and above in the same place³ active (mobilis), because here it is said as to different effects, of which in the Psalm: « He set my feet upon a rock and directed my steps ». Or: mobile in active things, stable in contemplative things; or: stable in Christ, mobile in the other Saints; John, the first: « He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit remaining ». Or thus: stable, in good; sure, that is, constant in the true; secure, from evil, according to that of the Psalm⁴: « There shall no evil come to thee ». And as in himself he is stable and sure and secure, so also those whom he indwells he makes stable in good, sure in the true, secure from evil; to the Colossians, the first: « Grounded in the faith and stable and immoveable from the hope of the gospel ».

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

He says therefore: Having all virtue; in the Psalm⁵: « All the power of them by the spirit of his mouth ».

But on the contrary: Because he does not have faith, since faith is an enigmatic cognition and an imperfect virtue⁶.

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

Overseeing all things; Job, the thirty-seventh⁷: « He considereth above all the heavens, and his light is upon all the ends of the earth »; likewise to the Hebrews, the fourth: « All things are naked and open to his eyes ». And which takes in all spirits, namely the angelic ones, « because they run within him, wherever they are sent », according to Bede on that of Luke, the first⁸: « I am Gabriel, who stand before God ». Now the Angels are called spirits as to their substance or nature; intelligible, as to their power, or because they are not unitable to bodies by nature. Or: takes in, that is, makes to take in, all spirits, that is, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, of which Isaias, the eleventh⁹: « The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding » etc. Clean, namely by the pureness of innocence; for the Angels are, according to Dionysius¹⁰, « mirrors pure and most clear »; and he adds: clean, to distinguish them from unclean spirits, that is, the demons. Subtle, by the keenness of intelligence; or: subtle, by wisdom; Gregory¹¹: « What is there that they do not see who see him who sees all things »? Some books¹² have clean, subtle (mundus, subtilis); the spirit of wisdom is clean, because it is without the dregs of matter; subtle, because it is pure form. But the first reading is truer, because Rabanus has it so in the text and in the exposition. Or: the spirit of wisdom is called clean, because it washes from past sins and preserves from future ones; or because in the present it purges from guilt, in the future from punishment; undefiled, because neither from itself nor from another can it contract uncleanness; subtle, because it penetrates all things, or because in us it works subtlety of affection as to the gift of wisdom, and of understanding as to the gift of intelligence or understanding.

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

(V. 24.). I said well that in her is the spirit etc. For more active than all active things, in whatever genus of motion, namely whether in substance, or in quality, or in quantity, or in place; is wisdom, that is, swifter in working; the Gloss¹³: « Nothing is subtler and more active than wisdom, which p. 158 created, rules and orders all things »; more active, I say, not because she is moved, but because she moves all things, abiding immobile, according to that of Boethius¹:

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

Likewise Acts, the seventeenth²: « In him we live and move and are ».

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

So I said that wisdom is more active than all active things; not only so; and (autem), for sed; but what is more, she reacheth everywhere, that is, from the end of the highest creature down to the lowest creature; Ambrose in the Hexaëmeron³: « Divine wisdom has penetrated even to the locust ».

But on the contrary: Job, the twenty-eighth⁴: « The depth saith: It is not in me; and the sea saith: It is not with me ».

It is answered that there⁵ he speaks not of creatures, but of the vices of creatures. Or better it must be said that God is not in the depth or in the sea by containment, since he cannot be contained by anything, but he is there by presence, according to that of the Psalm⁶: « If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present ».

By reason of her cleanness, that is, her abstraction from all the dregs of matter; for because she is altogether immobile, therefore she is uncircumscribable, according to Damascene⁷.

(V. 25.). For she is a vapour of the power of God, that is, emanating from God the Father, as vapour from heat; the Gloss⁸: « That is, to warm the cold of our unbelief »; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « As Libanus not cut I perfumed my dwelling ». And a certain emanation of the glory of the almighty God, that is, emanating from God the Father, as splendour from light, namely to enlighten the darkness of our understanding; to the Hebrews, the first⁹: « Who being the brightness of his glory » etc.; likewise Isaias, the sixty-second: « Until her just one come forth as brightness ». Pure (Sincera), without admixture of darkness; the first of John, the first: « God is light, and in him there is no darkness ». Now this proceeding is without diminution of the Father's substance, or separation, but with personal distinction, according to that of Athanasius¹⁰: « Neither confounding the persons, nor separating the substance ». And because she proceeds as light, which cannot be contaminated; therefore no defiled thing, namely with a culpable defilement, or even a natural one; cometh into her, namely into uncreated wisdom; the Gloss¹¹: « Evil does not draw near to the highest good ».

(V. 26.). And truly no defiled thing cometh into her. For she is the brightness of eternal light, that is, most pure light from eternal light, namely proceeding from the Father; whence it is sung¹²: « Light from light, thou didst appear, O Christ ». In this light the eternal light is seen, according to that of the Psalm: « In thy light we shall see light »; likewise John, the fourteenth: « He that seeth me seeth the Father also ». She is therefore the brightness of eternal light, as to the representation of wisdom, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, as to the representation of the divine majesty and power, according to that of John, the fifth¹³: « For what things soever he », namely the Father, « doth, these the Son also doth in like manner ». Unspotted, I say, by sin, because « he did no sin » etc., the first of Peter, the second. And the image of his goodness; the Gloss¹⁴: « That is, the full representation of his goodness »; to the Colossians, the first: « Who is the image of the invisible God ».

It is to be noted that the Son of God is a mirror unspotted in act and in potency. The Angel also is a mirror, according to Dionysius¹⁵, pure and most clear, and though unspotted in act, yet spotted in potency, at least remote. The human spirit also is a mirror, in which the divine image shines back, Genesis, the first¹⁶, spotted in act and in potency. Every creature also is called a mirror, because through it, as through his vestige, the invisible things of God are represented; to the Romans, the first: « The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made »; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the thirteenth: « We see now through a glass in a dark manner ». Sacred Scripture also is a mirror; James, the first¹⁷: « He shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass ».

(V. 27.). And being but one, namely in essence with the Father, according to that of John, the tenth¹⁸: « I and the Father are one »; she can do all things, that is, p. 159 she has the same power with the Father; whence below, the eighteenth: « Thy almighty word, O Lord, came from thy royal throne ».

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

It must be said that she can do all things which are not repugnant to her goodness, or which to be able to do is some power, not impotence¹.

And remaining in herself, namely invariable, according to that of James, the first²: « With whom there is no change » etc.; she reneweth all things, namely temporal things by continual generation; Ecclesiastes, the first: « One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh »; and spiritual things by spiritual regeneration; the second to the Corinthians, the fifth: « If then any be a new creature in Christ, the old things are passed away »; Apocalypse, the twenty-first: « Behold, I make all things new ». And through nations, carnal, or rather spiritual, of which John, the third³: « Unless a man be born again of water » etc. Into holy souls, that is, clean from sin, she conveyeth herself, by the spiritual coming of grace into the mind; John, the fourteenth: « We will come to him » etc. It is to be noted that she is said to convey herself not through a new site or by changing place, but through a new effect; whence there follows: She maketh the friends of God, by the inflaming of the affection, and prophets, by the enlightening of the understanding; John, the fifteenth⁴: « I will not now call you servants, but friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known to you ».

(V. 28.). For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom, namely by remaining with her, « who shall meditate on the law of the Lord day and night », according to the Gloss⁵; Proverbs, the eighth: « I wisdom dwell in counsel and am present in learned thoughts ». And if God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom; « blessed therefore is the man that shall continue in wisdom », Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth.

God loveth none etc. — On the contrary: Below, the eleventh⁶: « Thou lovest all things that are », and yet not all things dwell with wisdom.

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

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

(V. 29.). I said well that God loveth him that dwelleth with wisdom, and rightly. For she, namely wisdom, is more beautiful than the sun, because spiritual beauty surpasses bodily beauty; above in the same⁷: « I loved her above health and beauty »; than the sun, namely the material one, because she is the beauty of the sun of justice, of whom Malachias, the fourth: « Unto you that fear my name the sun of justice shall arise ». And above all the order of the stars, it is to be repeated: she is more beautiful. For she herself made the stars, Genesis, the first⁸; and it is certain that she kept more of beauty for herself than she gave to the stars; therefore above, the fourth: « O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory »! namely of wisdom. Being compared with the light, namely of the sun as well as of the stars, she is found before it, namely in eternity, dignity, causality; whence Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth⁹: « I made that in heaven there should rise an unfailing lumen »; the Gloss: « Bodily light, which now sets, now rises, compared to spiritual light, seems a spark. Christ also far transcends the glory of the Saints ».

(V. 30.). For after this, namely bodily light, cometh the night, according to that of Genesis, the eighth¹⁰: « Night and day shall not cease »; likewise Isaias, the twenty-first: « The morning cometh, also the night ». But night does not succeed to spiritual light; whence there follows: But wisdom, which is spiritual light, evil (malitia) overcometh not, which is spiritual darkness, according to John Damascene¹¹; whence John, the first: « The light shineth in darkness ».

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