Wisdom And Foolishness

Scriptum est: Quia mundus in Dei sapientia, per sapientiam Deum non congnovit: placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Mundus sapientiam habuit, per quam Deum non potuit cognoscere positum in sapientia sua. Sapientia mundi fuit ratio humana, secundum visibilium rerum naturam et elementa hujus mundi formata. Sapientia Dei fuit ejus ineffabilis majestas, et incomprehensibilis bonitas. Erat et prudentia mundi circa commoda carnis diligens circumspectio. Sapientia ergo mundi quae humana ratione incedit, negat fidem; prudentia autem mundi quae carnis tantum commoda quaere docet, et vitare incommoda, destruit bonam operationem. Propterea sapientiam mundi stultam reputat Deus, et prudentiam judicat inimicam, quoniam illa veritati adversatur, ista dilectioni. Propterea utramque destruxit Deus: sapientiam, per stultitiam; prudentiam, per insaniam. Quasi enim, stultitam quaedem Dei fuit secundum humanum sensum, quod ad abjecta et indigna sibi se humiliavit. Insania autem reputata, quod sine necessitate tam dura susinuit. Et tamen qui in sapientia sua cognosci non potuit, quasi in stultitia agnita est, quoniam qui in sua celesitudine manes non potuit comprehendi, in sua humilitatione coepit agnosci. Quasi enim in sua sapientia Deus fuit, quando in eo quod ipsum decere videbatur, permansit; sed ibi agnitus non est, donec quasi desipuit et indigna suscepit. Ibi autem sapientiam mundi destruxit, ubi se in eo quod stultum mundo videtur, demonstravit, ut disceret homo supra rationem mundi esse quod videbat in natura hominis Deum apparere. Deinde autem quasi per insania Deus prudentiam carnis evacuavit, quando contra ejus existimationem agens carnem suam, sine retractione ad poenas et tormenta exposuit, et sic eam ad incorruptionem resurrectionis eduxit, ostendens quod non parcendo, sed castigando et persequendo carnem servare oportet. Sic ergo quia in sapientia sua per sapientiam mundus non cognovit Deum, placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Stulta enim videbantur quae dicebantur, sed tamen per haec demonstrata magis sunt stulta quae probabantur et amabantur. Quae probabantur ratione stulta, et quae amabantur dilectione insana; illa sine veritate, ist sine utilitate. Stultum enim fuit supra carnis sensum veritatem Dei pertinaciter non recipere, et insania fruit propter carnis commodum detrimentum animae patienter sustinere. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I, Tit CXCVII De sapientia Dei et mundi Source: Migne PL 177.586a-587a

It is written, 'Because in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers.' 1 The world had its wisdom, through which, established in it own wisdom, it was unable to know God. The wisdom of the world was human reason which was fashioned for visible things and the elements of this world. The wisdom of God was His ineffable majesty and incomprehensible goodness. The prudence of the world was for the affectionate care of the flesh. Therefore the wisdom of the world that is given to human reason denies faith, for the prudence of the world teaches that one should seek only the comforts of the flesh and avoid its harm, whence it ruins good work. Therefore God reckons the wisdom of the world foolishness and judges prudence to be an enemy, since the former is averse to truth, the latter to love. Whence God overthrew both, wisdom by foolishness and prudence by madness. For according to human understanding it was by a certain foolishness of God that He lowered Himself to an abject and unworthy state. And it was reputed madness that without necessity He endured such trials as He did. And yet He who was not able to be known in His own wisdom, was as by foolishness known, because He who  in His heaven cannot be comprehended began to be known in His humiliation. For He was as God in His own wisdom when He seemed to do what befitted Him, but because of that He was not known, until He, as one acting unreasonably, took up an unworthy state. And thereby He destroyed the wisdom of the world when in what seemed foolish to the world He revealed Himself, so that man might learn of the reason beyond the world, since He saw God appear in the nature of man. Finally as by madness God emptied the flesh of prudence when against its judgement He took up the flesh and exposed Himself without excuse to punishment and torment, yet by that He led it to the incorruption of resurrection, showing that it is not by being spared but by beatings and persecution that one should care for the flesh. Therefore because in its own wisdom the world did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save believers. For what the preachers say seems foolish, yet by these things the things that men have approved and loved were demonstrated to be more foolish. What they approved in reason was foolish, and what they loved with delight was madness, for the former was without truth, the latter without usefulness. For it was foolish under the understanding of the flesh to stubbornly refuse the truth of God, and insane because of the advantage to the flesh to patiently suffer the ruin of the soul. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chapter 197, On The Wisdom of God and the World 1 1 Cor 1.21