Bonaventure

Capitulum VIII.

Secundo ostendit tripliciter, quantum amaverit sapientiam

Attingit ergo etc. Ostenso, qualiter sapientiam acquisierit, hic ostenditur, quantum ipsam amaverit; et hoc ostendit ex tribus: primo ex desiderio habendi; secundo, ex proposito acquirendi: Proposui ergo; tertio, ex studio inveniendi: Haec cogitans etc.

Primo, de duplici desiderio habendi ipsam.

In prima ostendit desiderium habendi causatum in se, primo ex eius valore absoluto; secundo, ex eius valore comparato: Et si divitiae. — Valorem absolutum ostendit primo ex eius virtute; secundo, ex eius formositate: Hanc amavi etc.; tertio, ex eius nobilitate: Generositatem; quarto, ex eius utilitate: Doctrix enim est. p. 160

(Vers. 1.). Ergo, quia talis est sapientia, ut dictum est, attingit, contactu virtuali, non corporali, secundum illud primi Regum decimo¹: « Quorum Deus tetigerat corda »; a fine usque ad finem; Glossa²: « Ab aeterno usque in aeternum »; vel: « a principio mundi usque ad adventum Christi »; ad Romanos decimo: « Finis legis Christus » etc. Fortiter; Glossa³: « Quia Dei virtus est »; primae ad Corinthios primo: « Christum Dei virtutem et sapientiam ». Et disponit omnia, scilicet suprema, media et infima; suaviter; Glossa: « Quia Dei sapientia est ». Fortiter disponit omnia per iustitiam, et suaviter per misericordiam; Psalmista⁴: « Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas », scilicet iustitiae; idem: « Misericordia Domini ab aeterno, et usque in aeternum super timentes eum. Et iustitia illius in filios filiorum » etc.

Notandum, quod Sapientia, id est Dei Filius, attingit fortiter ea quae in caelo, superbum diabolum cum suis sociis expellendo; Iob vigesimo sexto⁵: « Prudentia eius percussit superbum »; Ezechielis vigesimo octavo: « Peccasti, et eieci te de monte Dei et perdidi te, o Cherub »! ea quae in mundo, mundi principem superando et eiiciendo; Ioannis duodecimo: « Nunc princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras »; ea quae in inferno, spolia inferni auferendo, secundum Glossam Zachariae nono: « Tu autem in sanguine testamenti tui eduxisti vinctos de lacu, in quo non est aqua ». — Disponit autem suaviter ea quae in caelo, Angelos stantes in gratia confirmando; in Psalmo⁶: « Verbo Domini caeli firmati sunt »; quae in mundo, genus humanum proprio sanguine redimendo; primae Petri primo: « Non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis etc., sed pretioso sanguine » etc.; quae in inferno, Sanctorum animas de limbo educendo, secundum illud Zachariae nono: « Tu autem in sanguine testamenti tui eduxisti vinctos de lacu » etc.; item in Psalmo: « Ascendisti in altum, cepisti captivitatem » etc. — Vel sic: cum sapientia increata sit media in Trinitate persona, potest dici, quod attingit a fine usque ad finem, id est a Patre usque ad Spiritum sanctum, scilicet per identitatem substantiae, ita quod non intelligatur distantia localis, sed distinctio personalis; fortiter quoad Patrem, cui attribuitur potentia; et disponit omnia suaviter, quoad Spiritum sanctum, cui attribuitur benignitas⁷. — Vel: attingit a fine usque ad finem, id est a Divinitate usque ad humanitatem, scilicet in incarnatione, in qua unita sunt ima summis; fortiter, id est per potentiam infinitam; in Psalmo⁸: « Excita potentiam tuam et veni »; Glossa: « Tu ipse in carnem ». Et disposuit omnia suaviter, in redemptionis humanae procuratione; Matthaei undecimo: « Discite a me, quia mitis sum et humilis corde ». Mitis fuit in natura humanitatis assumtae; est enim homo animal natura mansuetum, ratione discretum, statura erectum. In conversatione; unde Ioannes Baptista, quadam die videns eum ambulantem, ait: « Ecce, Agnus Dei » etc., Ioannis primo⁹. In praedicatione; Matthaei quarto: « Poenitentiam agite » etc.; item Ioannis sexto: « Verba vitae aeternae habes »; Matthaei undecimo: « Venite ad me omnes, qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos ». In peccatorum dimissione; Ioannis octavo: « Vade, et amplius noli peccare »; item Lucae sexto: « Dimittite, et dimittetur vobis ». In passione; unde Isaiae quinquagesimo tertio: « Sicut ovis ad occisionem ducetur » etc.; item Ieremiae undecimo: « Ego quasi agnus mansuetus, qui portatur ad victimam ».

(Vers. 2.). Sequitur: Hanc, scilicet sapientiam, quia tantae virtutis est, amavi, scilicet affectu cordis; unde supra septimo¹⁰: « Super salutem et speciem dilexi illam ». Et exquisivi, id est extra quaesivi, effectu boni operis, secundum illud primae Ioannis tertio: « Non diligamus verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate ». A iuventute mea, quasi dicat: in flore aetatis meae; Proverbiorum octavo: « Qui mane », scilicet iuventutis, « vigilant ad me, invenient me »; ideo Ecclesiastici sexto: « Fili, a iuventute tua excipe doctrinam ». Et quaesivi, scilicet studio lectionis et orationis; Lucae undecimo: « Quaerite, et invenietis »; sponsam mihi eam assumere. Sponsam dicit ratione amoris; Proverbiorum septimo¹¹: « Dic sapientiae: Soror mea es, et prudentiam voca amicam tuam ». Item, ratione delectationis; Proverbiorum quinto: « Laetare cum muliere adolescentiae tuae ». Ratione inseparabilitatis; Matthaei decimo nono: « Non enim sponsam licet dimittere nisi causa fornicationis »; sed hoc in sapientia locum non habet; « nihil enim inquinatum incurrit in eam », supra septimo. Ratione generationis; p. 161 Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Transite ad me, omnes, qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus meis implemini ». Et amator factus sum formae illius, id est pulcritudinis sapientiae, et hoc perseverantia et ferventis dilectionis amore eam quasi in, habitum convertendo; Zachariae nono¹: « Quid bonum et quid pulcrum eius nisi frumentum electorum et vinum germinans virgines »? id est nisi sapientia, quae reficit affectum et castificat vel purificat intellectum a corruptione erroris.

(Vers. 3.). Generositatem etc. Ita amavi sapientiam etc., et merito, quia sapientia increata, habens contubernium, id est consortium et cohabitationem, Dei; Glossa²: « Patris, quia est ei coaeterna »; Ioannis decimo quarto: « Ego in Patre, et Pater in me est »; item Ioannis primo: « In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum »; glorificat generositatem illius, « id est, repraesentat generositatem Patris », secundum Glossam³. Ipse enim Filius Dei in se Patris gloriam repraesentat, quia est « splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius », ut habetur ad Hebraeos primo; item Proverbiorum decimo, secundum aliam litteram: « Gloria patris filius sapiens ». Item eius gloriam mundo manifestat; unde Ioannis octavo: « Ego gloriam meam non quaero, sed honorifico » etc. Sed et omnium Dominus, scilicet Pater, de quo in Psalmo⁴: « Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu » etc.; dilexit illam; « Pater diligit Filium », Ioannis quinto.

(Vers. 4.). Et merito; doctrix enim est disciplinae Dei; Baruch tertio⁵: « Hic adinvenit omnem viam disciplinae » etc. Disciplina duplex est, scilicet factorum et verborum; unde in Psalmo: « Disciplina tua correxit me in finem, et disciplina tua ipsa me docebit ». Propter hoc dicit: Doctrix etc., scilicet verbis. Et nota, quod disciplina Dei est fides formata, quae facit discipulos Dei; Actuum nono⁶: « Saulus adhuc spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini », id est in fideles. Et electrix operum illius, id est disciplinae, quae est in factis; electrix operum illius, id est eligere docens opera disciplinae fidei. « Fides enim sine operibus mortua est », Iacobi secundo⁷.

Et si divitiae appetuntur. Hic ostendit desiderium causatum ex sapientiae valore comparato, et primo in comparatione ad pecuniam, quae est perfectio fortunae; secundo, in comparatione ad industriam, quae est perfectio naturae: Si autem sensus; tertio, in comparatione ad virtutem, quae est perfectio gratiae: Et si iustitiam; quarto, in comparatione ad scientiam, quae est perfectio intelligentiae: Et si multitudinem.

(Vers. 5.). Et si divitiae appetuntur, quamvis appetendae non essent; « qui enim volunt divites fieri incidunt in tentationem et in laqueum diaboli », primae ad Timotheum sexto⁸; item in Psalmo: « Divitiae si affluant, nolite cor apponere »; in vita, scilicet praesenti, pro eius sustentatione et sufficientia. Quid sapientia locupletius, quae operatur omnia? Ioannis quinto⁹: « Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor »; ego, scilicet sapientia increata; nec potest esse pauper, qui omnia operatur. Scit enim facere argentum et aurum et huiusmodi; ideo dicit Proverbiorum octavo: « Mecum sunt divitiae et gloria, opes superbae »; Augustinus¹⁰: « Nimis dives est christiana religio, cui datum est in omnium possessore omnia possidere ».

(Vers. 6.). Si autem sensus, id est naturalis, vel acquisita industria, operatur, quia « ars imitatur naturam » in operando, secundum Philosophum¹¹; quis horum quae sunt, magis quam illa est artifex? quasi dicat: nullus; unde in Psalmo: « Omnia in sapientia fecisti ». Sapientia replevit Dominus Beseleel, ut sciret facere opera tabernaculi ut habetur Exodi trigesimo primo.

(Vers. 7.). Et si iustitiam quis diligit, scilicet generalem, id est humanae vitae rectitudinem, de qua supra primo¹²: « Diligite iustitiam » etc. Labores huius, scilicet sapientiae, quibus pro ipsa habenda laboratur; et dicit labores pluraliter, quia pro ipsa habenda oportet multum laborare; secundae ad Corinthios undecimo: « In laboribus plurimis »; p. 162 magnas virtutes habent, id est acquirunt; Glossa¹: « Nihil iners, nihil desidiosum in operibus eius ». Sobrietatem enim etc.; Glossa: « Quatuor virtutes principales ponit »: sobrietatem, « id est temperantiam² », in cavendo superfluum malum; infra nono: « Deducet me in operibus meis sobrie »; et sapientiam³ docet, in discernendo et diligendo bonum; et iustitiam, in reddendo debitum; et virtutem, « id est fortitudinem⁴ », cui magis convenit nomen virtutis, quasi vi tuentis in sustinendo difficile et aggrediendo arduum. De his tribus Proverbiorum octavo⁵: « Mea est aequitas, mea est prudentia, mea est fortitudo »; Glossa: « Has virtutes nullus habuit, nisi cui omnium virtutum origo, Deus, contulit, quocumque tempore, quacumque lege, quacumque gente. Quidam tamen speciem pietatis habentes virtutem ignoraverunt ».

Sed nunquid philosophi virtutem habuerunt? Et videtur, quod sic; quia, secundum Philosophum⁶, virtus habetur per acquisitionem.

Dicendum, quod non habuerunt virtutes perfectas, sed imperfectas, quia sine merito et informes. Vel habuerunt eas a Deo per gratiam gratis datam, licet non per gratiam gratum facientem⁷.

Quibus nihil est utilius in vita hominibus, id est in vita humana hominis ad hominem.

Sed nunquid theologicae virtutes utiliores sunt et meliores?

Dicendum, quod, sicut tactum est, loquitur de vita humana hominis in comparatione ad hominem, non ad Deum, quoniam praesupponit; his autem nihil est utilius hominibus, quia proficiunt homini in agendo et in patiendo: in agendo, quia per prudentiam est agendorum recta electio, per iustitiam recta exsecutio; in patiendo, quia per temperantiam recte nos habemus ad passiones mulcebres, per fortitudinem ad passiones tristabiles. Ideo dicit Glossa⁸: « Qui temperans est, prudens et fortis et iustus, quid illi deest »?

(Vers. 8.). Et si multitudinem scientiae etc. Aliqui⁹ habent: Et similitudinem scientiae, sed falsa est littera illa, quamvis praesens scientia hominis magis possit dici similitudo scientiae quam scientia, quia multae dubietati et multae ignorantiae est permixta. Si multitudinem, inquam, scientiae, scilicet speculativae, desiderat quis, secundum illud Philosophi¹⁰: « Omnes homines natura scire desiderant »; scit praeterita, scilicet sapientia ipsa, et de futuris aestimat, certitudinaliter, cum tamen sint occulta ex conditione temporis, quia praeterita iam transierunt, futura vero nondum evenerunt. Scit, inquam, praeterita etc.; unde per ipsam edoctus Moyses prophetavit de praeteritis; Genesis primo¹¹: « In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram »; item de futuris, Deuteronomii decimo octavo: « Prophetam suscitabit Dominus de gente tua et de fratribus tuis ». Scit versutias sermonum, id est simplicium propositionum, ut aenigmatum, obscuras astutias, nec tantum simplicium propositionum versutias, sed et compositarum; unde sequitur: Et dissolutiones argumentorum, id est ratiocinationum, quae tamen latent ex perplexione humanae calliditatis; Ecclesiastici trigesimo nono¹²: « Occulta proverbia exquiret », scilicet sapiens, « et in absconditis parabolarum conversabitur ». Unde Christus, « in quo erant thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi », in sermone capi non potuit, ut patet Matthaei vigesimo secundo; et Salomonem edoctum sapientia nullum verbum reginae Saba latere potuit, ut patet tertii Regum decimo. Signa, scilicet minora, quae praeter naturam fiunt, et monstra, quae contra naturae communem cursum fiunt, scit, antequam fiant, ita bene, sicut quando iam facta sunt. De his duobus Ioannis quarto¹³: « Nisi signa et prodigia videritis, non creditis ». Haec autem similiter occulta ratione naturalis difficultatis, quia « miraculum, secundum Augustinum, est opus arduum et insolitum supra spem et facultatem admirantis ». Et eventus temporum, id est eorum quae eveniunt in tempore praesenti, et saeculorum, id est sequentium, quae eveniunt in aeternitate et in futuro. Haec autem nosse non est hominis; unde Actuum primo¹⁴: « Non est vestrum nosse tempora vel momenta, quae Pater posuit in sua potestate »; haec autem occulta sunt ratione causae latentis. p. 163

Secundo illud ostenditur ex proposito eam acquirendi.

Proposui ergo etc. Supra ostendit, quantum amaret sapientiam, et hoc ex desiderio habendi; hic ex proposito acquirendi, et hoc propter bona, quae ex ipsa proveniunt, et primo propter bona pertinentia communiter ad utramque vitam; secundo, propter pertinentia¹ ad vitam activam: Habebo per hanc; tertio, propter pertinentia specialiter ad contemplativam: Intrans in domum.

Primo, propter bona pertinentia ad utramque vitam.

(Vers. 9.). Ergo, quia talis est, proposui, id est, firmiter in corde meo disposui; hanc, scilicet sapientiam divinam, non aliam adulterinam, ut poeticas disciplinas, quas vocat Boethius de Consolatione², « meretriculas »; adducere mihi, non tantum alteri, contra illos, qui tantum alios docent, se ipsos non docent, quos arguit Apostolus, dicens ad Romanos secundo: « Qui alium doces, te ipsum non doces ». Ad convivandum³, id est ad reficiendum, scilicet affectum, non tantum ad illustrandum intellectum, sicut multi, qui nullo modo afficiuntur in sacra Scriptura; quarti Regum septimo: « Videbis oculis tuis, et inde non comedes »; item ad convivandum, dicit, id est ad communiter et simul reficiendum; quia in bonis sapientiae pascimur et reficimur; unde Proverbiorum nono: « Comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum, quod miscui vobis »; et illa⁴ in bonis nostris; unde Proverbiorum octavo: « Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum ». Debemus ei ministrare primum ferculum quasi de herbis confectum, de liliis honestatis; Canticorum secundo⁵: « Qui pascitur inter lilia, donec aspiret dies » etc. Secundum, de carnibus haedinis, id est detestationem omnis peccati et iniquitatis, tam carnalis quam spiritualis; his duobus haedis libenter vescitur, sicut Isaac, Genesis vigesimo septimo. Tertium, de piscibus assis patientiae et tribulationis: « Obtulerunt ei partem piscis assi », Lucae vigesimo quarto. Ultimum, de fructu spiritus, id est de operibus devotionis; Canticorum quinto: « Veniat dilectus meus in hortum suum, et comedat fructum pomorum suorum ». Sciens, quoniam mecum communicabit de bonis, scilicet suis. Haec est invitatio symbolica Apocalypsis tertio⁶: « Coenabo cum eo, et ipse mecum »; et dicit: de bonis, pluraliter, quia et de bonis praesentibus et futuris. Et erit allocutio; Glossa⁷: « Id est alleviatio »; cogitationis, id est afflictionis in cogitando, quoad intellectum, secundum illud Ecclesiastae ultimo: « Frequens meditatio carnis est afflictio ». Et taedii mei, in operando, et hoc quantum ad affectum; secundae ad Corinthios primo: « Supra modum gravati sumus supra virtutem, ita ut taederet nos etiam vivere ».

Secundo, propter bona pertinentia ad vitam activam.

Habebo etc. Hic tangit bona pertinentia ad vitam activam, praecipue necessaria praelatis, et primo, quantum ad actum iudicandi; secundo, quantum ad actum docendi⁸: Tacentem me etc.; tertio, quantum ad actum conversandi: Praeterea habebo etc.; quarto, quantum ad actum regendi: Disponam populos. — Quantum ad actum iudicandi tangit duo: primo, auctoritatem; secundo, discretionem: Iuvenis et acutus etc.

(Vers. 10.). Habebo per⁹ hanc, scilicet per sapientiam, quae « clara est », ut habetur supra sexto, claritatem, scilicet famae; Matthaei quinto: « Luceat lux vestra » etc.; item ad Philippenses secundo: « Inter quos lucetis sicut luminaria in firmamento » etc. Ad turbas, id est ad minores; et honorem, scilicet reverentiae, apud seniores, id est apud maiores; Iob vigesimo nono: « Videbant me iuvenes et abscondebantur, et senes assurgentes stabant ». Ex his duobus fit homo magnae auctoritatis, scilicet ex fama minorum et reverentia maiorum. Iuvenis, id est fortis et diligens in investigando.

(Vers. 11.). Et acutus, id est subtilis in penetrando et inveniendo, inveniar in iudicio; Glossa¹⁰: « Omnia secundum leges diiudicans »; talis fuit Daniel, ut patet Danielis decimo tertio. Et, supple: ideo, et in conspectu potentium, id est minorum praelatorum, admirabilis ero, et facies principum, id est maiorum praelatorum, mirabuntur me. Hoc ad litteram fuit verum de Salomone, ut patet tertii Regum decimo¹¹, ubi dicitur, quod « regina Saba, audita fama Salomonis » etc., ait: « Maior est sapientia, p. 164 quam inveni, quam rumor, quem audivi ». Hoc etiam verum fuit de nostro Salvatore; unde Matthaei decimo quarto: « Audivit tetrarcha famam de Iesu et ait pueris suis » etc. Hoc etiam verum est de perfecto sapiente; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « In medio populi sui exaltabitur, et in plenitudine sancta admirabitur ».

(Vers. 12.). Tacentem me, id est, quid doceam, praemeditantem; in Psalmo¹: « Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam ». Sustinebunt, id est, in silentio exspectabunt, « non audentes loqui », secundum Glossam; Iob vigesimo nono: « Exspectabant me sicut pluviam, et aperiebant os suum sicut ad imbrem serotinum ». Et loquentem etc., taciturnitatem recte praemisit locutioni, quia, secundum Hieronymum², « doctrina Pythagorae erat tacere per quinquennium et postea eruditos loqui ». Et loquentem me respicient, scilicet diligenter, et hoc in signum attentionis; Iob vigesimo nono³: « Intenti tacebant ad consilium meum ». Et sermocinante me plura, sed non superflua sive multa, quia « in multiloquio », sive in superfluitate verborum, « non deerit peccatum », Proverbiorum decimo. Nota, quod pluralitatem constituunt duo, vel tria, sed non multitudinem. Manus ori suo imponent; Glossa⁴: « Non audentes resistere mihi »; Iob vigesimo nono: « Principes cessabant loqui, et digitum superponebant ori suo ».

(Vers. 13.). Praeterea per hanc, scilicet per sapientiam, habebo immortalitatem, scilicet gloriae aeternae in caelo; Proverbiorum tertio⁵: « Lignum vitae est his qui apprehenderint eam ». Et memoriam; Glossa: « Meorum operum et virtutum », aeternam, id est perpetuam, quamdiu durabit mundus; his qui post me futuri sunt, relinquam; Proverbiorum decimo: « Memoria iusti cum laudibus »; in Psalmo: « In memoria aeterna erit iustus ».

Disponam etc. Hic tanguntur bona per sapientiam habita quoad actum regendi, et primo respectu subditorum; secundo, respectu extraneorum: Timebunt etc.

(Vers. 14.). Dicit ergo: Disponam; Glossa⁶: « Erudiam », regendo scilicet et gubernando, populos, Legem habentes. Populus enim est multitudo hominum sub una lege viventium⁷, ut Iudaei sub lege Moysi. Et nationes, id est gentiles Legem non habentes, et dicuntur nationes, quia non renati, sed in nativitatis praeputio et vitio permanentes; in Psalmo: « Subiecit populos nobis et gentes sub pedibus nostris »; Isaiae quinquagesimo quinto: « Ecce, testem populis dedi eum, ducem ac praeceptorem gentibus ». Nationes, inquam, mihi erunt subditae, per obedientiam.

(Vers. 15.). Timebunt me audientes reges horrendi, id est tyranni et impii; unde omnes reges per circuitum facti sunt tributarii Salomoni, tertii Regum nono⁸; item Isaiae sexagesimo: « Venient ad te curvi filii eorum qui humiliaverunt te ». Et in multitudine, « scilicet fidelium », bonus videbor, « id est benignus », et in bello, « scilicet adversariorum », fortis. Haec omnia spiritualiter, secundum Glossam⁹, impleta sunt in Christo et de ipso exponi possunt, ut patet inspicienti Glossas.

Tertio, propter bona pertinentia ad vitam contemplativam.

(Vers. 16.). Intrans in domum meam, id est conscientiam, scilicet redeundo de cura exteriori ad interiorem, sicut « discipuli » post praedicationem ad Dominum « sunt reversi cum gaudio », ut habetur Lucae decimo¹⁰. Praemisit autem actionem contemplationi ratione temporis, non ratione dignitatis, sicut Lia ante Rachel, Genesis vigesimo nono. Conquiescam cum illa, id est, simul quiescam in illa, et illa mecum vel in me; Ecclesiastici trigesimo secundo¹¹: « Praecurre prior in domum tuam, et illic avocare et illic lude » etc. Bene dixi: Conquiescam cum illa; non enim habet amaritudinem, exterioris turbationis, conversatio illius, id est cohabitatio; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Spiritus meus super mel dulcis »; nec taedium, scilicet interioris afflictionis, convictus illius; ibidem: « Qui edunt me adhuc esurient », contra fastidium. Haec duo, scilicet amaritudo exterioris turbationis et taedium interioris afflictionis, repugnant quieti. Et ideo illa removet, subiungens duo opposita, cum dicit: Sed laetitiam, scilicet interius, et gaudium, scilicet exterius; Ecclesiastici primo¹²: « Iucunditatem atque gaudium p. 165 dabit »; item Ecclesiastici decimo quinto: « Implevit eum Dominus spiritu sapientiae » etc.; item ibidem: « Iucunditatem et exsultationem » etc.

Tertio idem ostenditur ex studio quaerendi sapientiam tripliciter.

Haec cogitans etc. Hic tertio ostendit, quantum amaverit sapientiam, et hoc ex studio quaerendi eam. Et circa hoc primo ostendit diligentiam quaerendi; secundo, aptitudinem suscipiendi: Puer autem eram; tertio, fiduciam impetrandi: Et ut scivi

Primo ostenditur diligentia sapientiam quaerendi.

In prima ponit tres causas moventes ad quaerendum scientiam: primo effectum sapientiae in corde; secundo effectum in opere: Et in operibus; tertio effectum in locutione: Et in certamine loquelae.

(Vers. 17.). Haec, scilicet praemissa, cogitans apud me, frequenter de his meditando, et commemorans in corde meo, scilicet sequentia, ea, ne obliviscerer, ad memoriam reducendo; animal enim, quod « ruminat et findit ungulam », scilicet memorando et discernendo, mundum est, Levitici undecimo¹; Lucae secundo: « Maria conservabat omnia verba haec » etc. Quoniam immortalis est², scilicet per naturam, vel per effectum immortalitatis, quam confert; unde supra eodem: « Habebo per hanc immortalitatem ». In cogitatione sapientiae, id est intellectu; Glossa: « Quidquid de natura eius cognoscitur, totum immortale et semper vivere invenitur »; infra decimo quinto: « Scire iustitiam et virtutem tuam radix est immortalitatis ».

(Vers. 18.). Et in amicitia illius, scilicet quando amatur, delectatio bona, scilicet in affectu; bona dicit contra delectationem peccati, quae mala est, quia ducit ad aeternum cruciatum, secundum illud Gregorii³. « Momentaneum est quod delectat, aeternum quod cruciat »; item Glossa: « Corporales deliciae corpus gravant, spirituales vero mentem relevant; et tanto magis esuriuntur, quanto magis comeduntur. In illis appetitus placet, experientia displicet; spirituales vero deliciae augent desiderium, et quo magis sumuntur, eo avidius amantur ». Et in operibus manuum illius, id est in operibus bonis, quae fiunt per manus illius, id est virtute et potentia eius; Ioannis decimo quinto⁴: « Sine me nihil potestis facere »; honestas sine defcctione, id est perfecta honestas; virtus enim et opus virtutis sunt de genere honesti; infra decimo: « Honestavit illum in laboribus »; item supra septimo: « Innumerabilis honestas per manus illius ». Et in certamine loquelae illius, scilicet quae est ad modum disputationis, in qua est quoddam certamen opponentis et respondentis; sapientia, id est scientia, supple: acquiritur; Ecclesiastici ultimo⁵: « Colluctata est anima mea cum illa ». Et praeclaritas, id est clarae virtutis evidentia, in communicatione sermonum ipsius, qui scilicet communicantur per modum simplicis collationis; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: « Qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt »; item Danielis duodecimo: « Qui ad iustitiam erudiunt plurimos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates ». Circuibam; Glossa⁶: « Diligenter et studiose »; Canticorum tertio: « Surgam et circuibo civitatem »; quaerens, sicut mulier, de qua Lucae decimo quinto: « Quae lucernam accendit et everrit domum, quaerens diligenter, donec inveniat ». Ut illam mihi assumerem, scilicet in sponsam; unde supra eodem⁷: « Quaesivi eam mihi sponsam assumere ».

In praedicto textu tanguntur octo utilia praedicatori vel doctori circa sapientiam addiscendam sive circa sapientiae acquisitionem: cogitatio de ea per investigationem, commemoratio per frequentationem, delectatio per amorem, operatio per impletionem, concertatio per disputationem, communicatio per collationem, circuitio per interrogationem, assumtio per incorporationem. p. 166

Secundo, aptitudo eam suscipiendi.

Puer autem eram etc. Hic tangit aptitudinem suscipiendi, primo ex parte naturalis industriae, quia puer eram ingeniosus; secundo ex parte gratiae, quia animam bonam sortitus; tertio ex parte munditiae, quia, cum essem magis bonus, veni ad corpus incoinquinatum.

(Vers. 19. 20.). Dicit ergo: Puer autem eram ingeniosus; nota, quod loquitur¹ in persona Salomonis. Ingeniosus per naturalem industriam; Proverbiorum vigesimo: « Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer, si munda et recta sint opera eius ». Et sortitus, id est sorte divinae electionis adeptus; Actuum primo: « Cecidit sors super Mathiam »; animam bonam, scilicet per gratiam; tertii Regum tertio: « Dilexit Salomon Dominum, ambulans in praeceptis David, patris sui ». — Et cum essem magis bonus, scilicet ex gratia superaddita, quam essem prius ex industria naturali, accessi² etc. Secundum enim Augustinum bona temporalia sunt bona infima, naturalia media, gratuita summa. Accessi, inquam, mentis proposito et studio, ad corpus incoinquinatum, supple: habendum et conservandum per munditiam.

Sed Glossa³ opponit, quod hoc de Salomone vix possit ad litteram intelligi, quia « mulieres adamavit etiam alienigenas », ut patet tertii Regum undecimo.

Sed solutio patet per distinctionem temporum: in iuventute dilexit munditiam, sed in senectute luxuriam. Melius tamen possunt haec de Christo intelligi.

Tertio, fiducia eam impetrandi.

(Vers. 21.). Et ut scivi, scilicet certissima cognitione fidei et rationis, quoniam aliter non possum⁴ esse continens, nisi Deus det. « Omne enim datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est » etc., Iacobi primo⁵; continentia autem est donum perfectissimum; Ecclesiastici vigesimo sexto: « Non est digna ponderatio, continentis animae ». Et hoc ipsum erat sapientia⁶, id est quidam effectus sapientiae in me, scilicet scire, cuius esset hoc donum; supra eodem⁷: « Doctrix est disciplinae Dei ». Ut scivi, inquam, etc., adii Dominum, intentione mentis, non passibus corporis. In Psalmo: « Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini ». Et deprecatus sum illum, scilicet verbo orationis vocalis; Iacobi primo: « Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo ». Et dixi ex totis praecordiis meis, scilicet fervore devotionis, secundum illud Isaiae vigesimo sexto⁸: « Sed et spiritu meo de mane in praecordiis meis vigilabo ad te »; in Psalmo: « Clamavi in toto corde meo, exaudi me, Domine ».

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Chapter VIII.

Secondly he shows in three ways how much he loved wisdom

She reacheth therefore etc. Having shown how he acquired wisdom, here it is shown how much he loved her; and he shows this from three things: first from the desire of having her; secondly, from the purpose of acquiring her: I purposed therefore; thirdly, from the study^tr. of finding her: Thinking these things etc.

First, of the twofold desire of having her.

In the first he shows the desire of having her as caused in himself, first from her absolute worth; secondly, from her comparative worth: And if riches. — Her absolute worth he shows first from her virtue; secondly, from her beauty (formositate): Her have I loved etc.; thirdly, from her nobility: Her nobility; fourthly, from her usefulness: For she teacheth. p. 160

(V. 1.). Therefore, since wisdom is such as has been said, she reacheth, by a touching of power (virtuali), not a bodily one, according to that of the first of Kings, the tenth¹: « Whose hearts God had touched »; from end to end; the Gloss²: « From eternity unto eternity »; or: « from the beginning of the world unto the coming of Christ »; to the Romans, the tenth: « The end of the law is Christ » etc. Mightily; the Gloss³: « Because she is the power of God »; the first to the Corinthians, the first: « Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God ». And ordereth all things, namely the highest, the middle and the lowest; sweetly; the Gloss: « Because she is the wisdom of God ». She ordereth all things mightily through justice, and sweetly through mercy; the Psalmist⁴: « All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth », namely of justice; the same: « The mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon them that fear him. And his justice unto children's children » etc.

It is to be noted that Wisdom, that is, the Son of God, reacheth mightily the things that are in heaven, by casting out the proud devil with his companions; Job, the twenty-sixth⁵: « His wisdom hath struck the proud one »; Ezechiel, the twenty-eighth: « Thou hast sinned, and I cast thee out from the mountain of God and destroyed thee, O Cherub »! the things that are in the world, by overcoming and casting out the prince of the world; John, the twelfth: « Now shall the prince of this world be cast out »; the things that are in hell, by carrying off the spoils of hell, according to the Gloss on Zacharias, the ninth: « Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water ». — And she ordereth sweetly the things that are in heaven, by confirming in grace the Angels who stood; in the Psalm⁶: « By the word of the Lord the heavens were established »; the things that are in the world, by redeeming the human race with her own blood; the first of Peter, the first: « You were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or silver etc., but with the precious blood » etc.; the things that are in hell, by leading the souls of the Saints out of limbo, according to that of Zacharias, the ninth: « Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit » etc.; likewise in the Psalm: « Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive » etc. — Or thus: since uncreated wisdom is the middle person in the Trinity, it can be said that she reacheth from end to end, that is, from the Father unto the Holy Spirit, namely through identity of substance, so that a local distance is not understood, but a personal distinction; mightily as regards the Father, to whom power is attributed; and ordereth all things sweetly, as regards the Holy Spirit, to whom benignity is attributed⁷. — Or: she reacheth from end to end, that is, from the Godhead unto the humanity, namely in the incarnation, in which the lowest things are united to the highest; mightily, that is, through infinite power; in the Psalm⁸: « Stir up thy might, and come »; the Gloss: « Thou thyself into flesh ». And ordered (disposuit) all things sweetly, in the providing for human redemption; Matthew, the eleventh: « Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart ». He was meek in the nature of the humanity assumed; for man is an animal meek by nature, discerning by reason, upright in stature. In his manner of life; whence John the Baptist, seeing him walking one day, said: « Behold the Lamb of God » etc., John, the first⁹. In preaching; Matthew, the fourth: « Do penance » etc.; likewise John, the sixth: « Thou hast the words of eternal life »; Matthew, the eleventh: « Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you ». In the forgiving of sins; John, the eighth: « Go, and now sin no more »; likewise Luke, the sixth: « Forgive, and you shall be forgiven ». In the passion; whence Isaias, the fifty-third: « He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter » etc.; likewise Jeremias, the eleventh: « I was as a meek lamb, that is carried to be a victim ».

(V. 2.). It follows: Her, namely wisdom, because she is of such virtue, have I loved, namely with the affection of the heart; whence above, the seventh¹⁰: « I loved her above health and beauty ». And have sought her out (exquisivi), that is, sought her outwardly (extra quaesivi), with the effect of good work, according to that of the first of John, the third: « Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth ». From my youth, as if he were saying: in the flower of my age; Proverbs, the eighth: « They that in the morning », namely of youth, « watch for me, shall find me »; therefore Ecclesiasticus, the sixth: « My son, from thy youth up receive instruction^tr. ». And have desired (quaesivi), namely with the study of reading and of prayer; Luke, the eleventh: « Seek, and you shall find »; to take her for my spouse. He says spouse by reason of love; Proverbs, the seventh¹¹: « Say to wisdom: Thou art my sister, and call prudence thy friend ». Likewise, by reason of delight; Proverbs, the fifth: « Rejoice with the wife of thy youth ». By reason of inseparability; Matthew, the nineteenth: « For it is not lawful to put away a spouse except it be for fornication »; but this has no place in wisdom; « for no defiled thing cometh into her », above, the seventh. By reason of generation; p. 161 Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits » (a generationibus meis). And I became a lover of her form, that is, of the beauty of wisdom, and this by perseverance and by the love of fervent charity (dilectionis), turning her as it were into a habit; Zacharias, the ninth¹: « For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins »? that is, but wisdom, which refreshes the affection and chastens or purifies the understanding from the corruption of error.

(V. 3.). Her nobility etc. Thus have I loved wisdom etc., and rightly, because uncreated wisdom, being conversant with, that is, having fellowship and dwelling together with, God; the Gloss²: « With the Father, because she is coeternal with him »; John, the fourteenth: « I am in the Father, and the Father in me »; likewise John, the first: « In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God »; glorifieth her nobility, « that is, represents the nobility of the Father », according to the Gloss³. For the Son of God himself represents in himself the glory of the Father, because he is « the brightness of his glory and the figure of his substance », as is had to the Hebrews, the first; likewise Proverbs, the tenth, according to another reading: « The glory of a father is a wise son ». Likewise he makes his glory manifest to the world; whence John, the eighth: « I seek not my own glory, but I honour » etc. Yea and the Lord of all things, namely the Father, of whom it is said in the Psalm⁴: « The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son » etc.; hath loved her; « The Father loveth the Son », John, the fifth.

(V. 4.). And rightly; for she is the teacher of the discipline of God (doctrix… disciplinae Dei); Baruch, the third⁵: « He found out all the way of discipline » etc. Discipline is twofold, namely of deeds and of words; whence in the Psalm: « Thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end, and thy discipline, the same shall teach me ». On this account he says: Teacher etc., namely by words. And note that the discipline of God is formed faith, which makes disciples of God; Acts, the ninth⁶: « Saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord », that is, against the faithful. And the chooser of his works, that is, of the discipline which is in deeds; the chooser of his works, that is, teaching to choose the works of the discipline of faith. « For faith without works is dead », James, the second⁷.

And if riches be desired. Here he shows the desire caused by the comparative worth of wisdom, and first in comparison with money, which is the perfection of fortune; secondly, in comparison with industry, which is the perfection of nature: And if sense; thirdly, in comparison with virtue, which is the perfection of grace: And if a man love justice; fourthly, in comparison with knowledge, which is the perfection of intelligence: And if a man desire much.

(V. 5.). And if riches be desired, although they ought not to be desired; « for they that will become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil », the first to Timothy, the sixth⁸; likewise in the Psalm: « If riches abound, set not your heart upon them »; in life, namely the present one, for its sustenance and sufficiency; what is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things? John, the fifth⁹: « My Father worketh until now, and I work »; I, namely uncreated wisdom; nor can he be poor who makes all things. For she knows how to make silver and gold and suchlike; therefore Proverbs says, the eighth: « With me are riches and glory, glorious riches »; Augustine¹⁰: « Exceedingly rich is the Christian religion, to which it is given to possess all things in the possessor of all things ».

(V. 6.). And if sense, that is, natural or acquired industry, do work, because « art imitates nature » in working, according to the Philosopher¹¹; who is a more artful worker than she of those things that are? as if he were saying: none; whence in the Psalm: « Thou hast made all things in wisdom ». The Lord filled Beseleel with wisdom, that he might know how to make the works of the tabernacle, as is had in Exodus, the thirty-first.

(V. 7.). And if a man love justice, namely general justice, that is, the rectitude of human life, of which above, the first¹²: « Love justice » etc. Her labours, namely wisdom's, by which one labours to have her; and he says labours in the plural, because to have her one must labour much; the second to the Corinthians, the eleventh: « In very many labours »; p. 162 have great virtues, that is, acquire them; the Gloss¹: « Nothing idle, nothing slothful in her works ». For she teacheth sobriety etc.; the Gloss: « He sets down four principal virtues »: sobriety, « that is, temperance² », in avoiding superfluous evil; below, the ninth: « She shall lead me soberly in my works »; and wisdom³ she teacheth, in discerning and loving the good; and justice, in rendering what is owed; and virtue, « that is, fortitude⁴ », to which the name of virtue more befits, as of one who guards with force (vi tuentis) in sustaining what is difficult and undertaking what is arduous. Of these three, Proverbs, the eighth⁵: « Mine is equity, mine is prudence, mine is strength »; the Gloss: « No one has had these virtues, save one on whom God, the origin of all virtues, bestowed them, in whatever time, under whatever law, in whatever nation. Some, however, having an appearance of piety, have not known virtue ».

But did the philosophers have virtue? And it seems that they did; because, according to the Philosopher⁶, virtue is had by acquisition.

It must be said that they did not have perfect virtues, but imperfect ones, because they were without merit and unformed. Or they had them from God through grace freely given (gratis data), though not through grace that makes pleasing (gratum faciens)⁷.

Which are such things as men can have nothing more profitable in life, that is, in the human life of man towards man.

But are not the theological virtues more profitable and better?

It must be said that, as has been touched upon, he speaks of the human life of man in comparison with man, not with God, since that he presupposes; but than these nothing is more profitable to men, because they profit a man in acting and in suffering: in acting, because through prudence there is the right choice of things to be done, through justice the right execution; in suffering, because through temperance we are rightly disposed towards the soothing passions, through fortitude towards the saddening passions. Therefore the Gloss says⁸: « He who is temperate, prudent and strong and just, what does he lack »?

(V. 8.). And if a man desire much knowledge (multitudinem scientiae) etc. Some⁹ have: And the likeness of knowledge (similitudinem scientiae), but that reading is false, although the present knowledge of man may rather be called a likeness of knowledge than knowledge, because it is mixed with much doubtfulness and much ignorance. If, I say, a man desire much knowledge, namely speculative knowledge, according to that of the Philosopher¹⁰: « All men by nature desire to know »; she knoweth things past, namely wisdom herself, and judgeth of things to come (de futuris aestimat), with certitude, although they are hidden by the condition of time, because things past have already passed away, but things to come have not yet come about. She knoweth, I say, things past etc.; whence Moses, taught by her, prophesied of things past; Genesis, the first¹¹: « In the beginning God created heaven and earth »; likewise of things to come, Deuteronomy, the eighteenth: « The Lord will raise up a prophet of thy nation and of thy brethren ». She knoweth the subtilties of speeches, that is, the obscure cunnings of simple propositions, as of riddles, and not only the subtilties of simple propositions, but also of compound ones; whence it follows: And the solutions of arguments, that is, of reasonings, which nevertheless lie hidden through the intricacy of human craftiness; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-ninth¹²: « He will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs », namely the wise man, « and will be conversant in the secrets of parables ». Whence Christ, « in whom were hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge », could not be caught in his speech, as is plain from Matthew, the twenty-second; and no word of the queen of Saba could lie hidden from Solomon, taught by wisdom, as is plain from the third of Kings, the tenth. Signs, namely the lesser ones, which are done beside nature, and wonders (monstra), which are done against the common course of nature, she knoweth before they be done, as well as when they have already been done. Of these two, John, the fourth¹³: « Unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not ». Now these are likewise hidden by reason of natural difficulty, because « a miracle, according to Augustine, is an arduous and unwonted work beyond the hope and the power of him who wonders ». And the events of times, that is, of those things that come about in the present time, and of ages, that is, of those that follow, which come about in eternity and in the future. But to know these is not man's; whence Acts, the first¹⁴: « It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power »; and these are hidden by reason of a hidden cause. p. 163

Secondly, that same is shown from the purpose of acquiring her.

I purposed therefore etc. Above he showed how much he loved wisdom, and this from the desire of having her; here from the purpose of acquiring her, and this on account of the goods which come from her, and first on account of the goods pertaining in common to both lives; secondly, on account of those pertaining¹ to the active life: For her I shall have; thirdly, on account of those pertaining specially to the contemplative: When I go into my house.

First, on account of the goods pertaining to both lives.

(V. 9.). Therefore, since she is such, I purposed, that is, I firmly settled in my heart; her, namely divine wisdom, not another, adulterous one, such as the poetic disciplines, which Boethius in On Consolation² calls « little harlots »; to take to me, not only to another, against those who only teach others and do not teach themselves, whom the Apostle reproves, saying to the Romans, the second: « Thou that teachest another, teachest not thyself ». To feast with me (ad convivandum)³, that is, to refresh, namely the affection, not only to enlighten the understanding, as many do who are in no way moved in sacred Scripture; the fourth of Kings, the seventh: « Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof »; likewise to feast with, he says, that is, to refresh in common and together; because in the goods of wisdom we are fed and refreshed; whence Proverbs, the ninth: « Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you »; and she⁴ in our goods; whence Proverbs, the eighth: « My delights were to be with the children of men ». We ought to serve her the first dish, as it were made of herbs, of the lilies of honour; the Canticle, the second⁵: « Who feedeth among the lilies, till the day break » etc. The second, of the flesh of kids, that is, the detestation of all sin and iniquity, both carnal and spiritual; on these two kids she feeds willingly, as did Isaac, Genesis, the twenty-seventh. The third, of the broiled fishes of patience and tribulation: « They offered him a piece of a broiled fish », Luke, the twenty-fourth. The last, of the fruit of the spirit, that is, of the works of devotion; the Canticle, the fifth: « Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees ». Knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things, namely her own. This is the symbolic invitation of the Apocalypse, the third⁶: « I will sup with him, and he with me »; and he says of good things in the plural, because both of present and of future goods. And will be a comfort (allocutio); the Gloss⁷: « That is, a relief »; of my cares (cogitationis), that is, of affliction in thinking, as to the understanding, according to that of Ecclesiastes, the last: « Much study is an affliction of the flesh ». And grief (taedii mei), in working, and this as to the affection; the second to the Corinthians, the first: « We were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of life ».

Secondly, on account of the goods pertaining to the active life.

For her I shall have etc. Here he touches on the goods pertaining to the active life, which are chiefly necessary to prelates, and first, as to the act of judging; secondly, as to the act of teaching⁸: When I hold my peace etc.; thirdly, as to the act of conversing: Moreover by the means of her I shall have etc.; fourthly, as to the act of ruling: I shall set the people in order. — As to the act of judging he touches on two things: first, authority; secondly, discernment: Young and quick etc.

(V. 10.). Through⁹ her I shall have, namely through wisdom, which « is glorious », as is had above, the sixth, glory (claritatem), namely of renown; Matthew, the fifth: « Let your light shine » etc.; likewise to the Philippians, the second: « Among whom you shine as lights in the firmament » etc. Among the multitude, that is, among the lesser; and honour, namely of reverence, with the ancients, that is, with the greater; Job, the twenty-ninth: « The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the old men rose up and stood ». From these two a man comes to be of great authority, namely from the renown among the lesser and the reverence of the greater. Young, that is, strong and diligent in searching out.

(V. 11.). And quick (acutus), that is, subtle in penetrating and finding out, I shall be found in judgement; the Gloss¹⁰: « Adjudging all things according to the laws »; such was Daniel, as is plain from Daniel, the thirteenth. And, supply: therefore, in the sight of the mighty, that is, of the lesser prelates, I shall be admired, and the faces of princes, that is, of the greater prelates, shall wonder at me. This was literally true of Solomon, as is plain from the third of Kings, the tenth¹¹, where it is said that « the queen of Saba, having heard of the fame of Solomon » etc., said: « Thy wisdom is greater p. 164 than the fame which I heard ». This was also true of our Saviour; whence Matthew, the fourteenth: « The tetrarch heard the fame of Jesus and said to his servants » etc. This is also true of the perfect wise man; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « In the midst of her people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly ».

(V. 12.). When I hold my peace, that is, premeditating what I am to teach; in the Psalm¹: « The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom ». They shall wait for me, that is, they shall wait in silence, « not daring to speak », according to the Gloss; Job, the twenty-ninth: « They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for a latter shower ». And when I speak etc.: he rightly set silence before speech, because, according to Jerome², « the teaching of Pythagoras was to keep silence for five years and afterwards, once instructed, to speak ». And they shall look upon me when I speak, namely diligently, and this as a sign of attention; Job, the twenty-ninth³: « Being attentive they held their peace for my counsel ». And if I talk much (plura), but not things superfluous or many (multa), because « in the multitude of words », or in superfluity of words, « there shall not want sin », Proverbs, the tenth. Note that two or three make up a plurality, but not a multitude. They shall lay their hands on their mouth; the Gloss⁴: « Not daring to resist me »; Job, the twenty-ninth: « The princes ceased to speak, and laid the finger on their mouth ».

(V. 13.). Moreover by the means of her, namely through wisdom, I shall have immortality, namely of eternal glory in heaven; Proverbs, the third⁵: « She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her ». And a memory; the Gloss: « Of my works and virtues », everlasting, that is, perpetual, as long as the world shall last; I shall leave behind me to them that come after me; Proverbs, the tenth: « The memory of the just is with praises »; in the Psalm: « The just shall be in everlasting remembrance ».

I shall set in order etc. Here are touched on the goods had through wisdom as to the act of ruling, and first with respect to subjects; secondly, with respect to outsiders: Kings shall be afraid etc.

(V. 14.). He says therefore: I shall set in order; the Gloss⁶: « I shall instruct », namely by ruling and governing, the people, those having the Law. For a people is a multitude of men living under one law⁷, as the Jews under the law of Moses. And nations, that is, the gentiles not having the Law, and they are called nations because they are not reborn, but remain in the foreskin and the fault of their birth (nativitatis); in the Psalm: « He hath subdued the people under us and the nations under our feet »; Isaias, the fifty-fifth: « Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a preceptor to the gentiles ». Nations, I say, shall be subject to me, through obedience.

(V. 15.). Terrible kings hearing shall be afraid of me, that is, tyrants and the impious; whence all the kings round about were made tributaries to Solomon, the third of Kings, the ninth⁸; likewise Isaias, the sixtieth: « The children of them that afflicted thee shall come bowing down to thee ». And among the multitude, « namely of the faithful », I shall be found good, « that is, kind », and in war, « namely against adversaries », valiant. All these things, spiritually, according to the Gloss⁹, were fulfilled in Christ and can be expounded of him, as is plain to one who looks into the Glosses.

Thirdly, on account of the goods pertaining to the contemplative life.

(V. 16.). When I go into my house, that is, my conscience, namely by returning from the outer care to the inner, as « the disciples » after their preaching « returned with joy » to the Lord, as is had in Luke, the tenth¹⁰. Now he set action before contemplation by reason of time, not by reason of dignity, as Lia before Rachel, Genesis, the twenty-ninth. I shall repose myself with her, that is, I shall rest together in her, and she with me or in me; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-second¹¹: « Run before into thy house, and there withdraw thyself, and there take thy pastime » etc. I said well: I shall repose myself with her; for her conversation hath no bitterness, of outward disturbance, her conversation, that is, her dwelling with one; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « My spirit is sweet above honey »; nor her company (convictus) any tediousness, namely of inward affliction; in the same place: « They that eat me shall yet hunger », against loathing. These two, namely the bitterness of outward disturbance and the tediousness of inward affliction, are repugnant to rest (quieti). And therefore he removes them, adding two opposites, when he says: But joy, namely inwardly, and gladness, namely outwardly; Ecclesiasticus, the first¹²: « He shall give p. 165 pleasantness and joy »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the fifteenth: « The Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom » etc.; likewise in the same place: « Pleasantness and exultation » etc.

Thirdly the same is shown from the study of seeking wisdom, in three ways.

Thinking these things etc. Here thirdly he shows how much he loved wisdom, and this from the study of seeking her. And concerning this he first shows the diligence of seeking; secondly, the aptitude for receiving: And I was a witty child; thirdly, the confidence of obtaining: And as I knew

First is shown the diligence of seeking wisdom.

In the first he sets down three causes moving one to seek knowledge: first the effect of wisdom in the heart; secondly the effect in work: And in the works; thirdly the effect in speech: And in the exercise of conference.

(V. 17.). Thinking these things, namely the foregoing, with myself, by meditating on them often, and pondering them in my heart, namely the following, recalling them to memory lest I should forget them; for the animal that « cheweth the cud and divideth the hoof », namely by remembering and discerning, is clean, Leviticus, the eleventh¹; Luke, the second: « Mary kept all these words » etc. That she is immortal², namely by nature, or by the effect of immortality which she confers; whence above in the same chapter: « By the means of her I shall have immortality ». In the thought of wisdom, that is, in the understanding; the Gloss: « Whatever is known of her nature is found to be wholly immortal and ever living »; below, the fifteenth: « To know thy justice and thy power is the root of immortality ».

(V. 18.). And in her friendship, namely when she is loved, is good delight, namely in the affection; he says good against the delight of sin, which is evil, because it leads to eternal torment, according to that of Gregory³. « Momentary is what delights, eternal what torments »; likewise the Gloss: « Bodily delights weigh down the body, but spiritual ones lift up the mind; and the more they are eaten, the more they are hungered for. In the former the appetite pleases, the experience displeases; but spiritual delights increase desire, and the more they are taken, the more eagerly they are loved ». And in the works of her hands, that is, in the good works which are done through her hands, that is, by her power and might; John, the fifteenth⁴: « Without me you can do nothing »; honour without failing (defcctione [so printed: defcctione for defectione]), that is, perfect honour (honestas); for virtue and the work of virtue are of the kind of the honourable (honesti); below, the tenth: « She made him honourable in his labours »; likewise above, the seventh: « Innumerable honour through her hands ». And in the exercise of her conference (certamine loquelae), namely that which is after the manner of a disputation, in which there is a certain contest of the one objecting and the one responding; wisdom, that is, knowledge, supply: is acquired; Ecclesiasticus, the last⁵: « My soul hath wrestled with her ». And glory (praeclaritas), that is, the evidence of bright virtue, in the fellowship of her words, namely those which are communicated by way of a simple conference (collationis); Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « They that explain me shall have life everlasting »; likewise Daniel, the twelfth: « They that instruct very many to justice, as stars for all eternity ». I went about; the Gloss⁶: « Diligently and studiously »; the Canticle, the third: « I will rise and will go about the city »; seeking, like the woman of whom Luke, the fifteenth: « Who lighteth a candle and sweepeth the house, and seeketh diligently until she find it ». That I might take her to myself, namely as spouse; whence above in the same chapter⁷: « I sought to take her for my spouse ».

In the foregoing text are touched on eight things useful to a preacher or teacher concerning the learning of wisdom or concerning the acquisition of wisdom: thought about her by investigation, pondering by frequenting, delight by love, working by fulfilment, contending by disputation, communicating by conference, going about by questioning, taking to oneself by incorporation. p. 166

Secondly, the aptitude for receiving her.

And I was a witty child etc. Here he touches on the aptitude for receiving, first on the part of natural industry, because I was a witty child; secondly on the part of grace, because I had received a good soul; thirdly on the part of cleanness, because, whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled.

(V. 19. 20.). He says therefore: And I was a witty child; note that he speaks¹ in the person of Solomon. Witty through natural industry; Proverbs, the twentieth: « By his inclinations a child is known, if his works be clean and right ». And had received (sortitus), that is, obtained by the lot (sorte) of divine election; Acts, the first: « The lot fell upon Matthias »; a good soul, namely through grace; the third of Kings, the third: « Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the precepts of David, his father ». — And whereas I was more good, namely by grace added over and above, than I had been before by natural industry, I came² (accessi) etc. For according to Augustine temporal goods are the lowest goods, natural goods the middle ones, gratuitous goods the highest. I came, I say, by the purpose and study of the mind, to a body undefiled, supply: to be had and kept through cleanness.

But the Gloss³ objects that this can scarcely be understood literally of Solomon, because « he loved also strange women », as is plain from the third of Kings, the eleventh.

But the solution is plain by a distinction of times: in his youth he loved cleanness, but in his old age lust. Yet these things can better be understood of Christ.

Thirdly, the confidence of obtaining her.

(V. 21.). And as I knew, namely with the most certain knowledge of faith and of reason, that I could not otherwise⁴ be continent, except God gave it. « For every best gift and every perfect gift is from above » etc., James, the first⁵; and continence is a most perfect gift; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-sixth: « No price is worthy of a continent soul ». And this also was a point of wisdom⁶, that is, a certain effect of wisdom in me, namely to know whose gift it was; above in the same chapter⁷: « She is the teacher of the discipline of God ». As I knew, I say, etc., I went to the Lord, by the intention of the mind, not by the steps of the body. In the Psalm: « Come ye to him and be enlightened ». And besought him, namely with the word of vocal prayer; James, the first: « If any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God ». And said with my whole heart, namely with the fervour of devotion, according to that of Isaias, the twenty-sixth⁸: « Yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee »; in the Psalm: « I cried with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord ».

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