The Benevolent Spirit And Punishment

Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledicum a labiis suis; quoniam renum illius testis est Deus, et cordis illius scrutator est verus et linguae ejus auditor. Quoniam spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum; et hoc quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis. Propter hoc qui loquitur iniqua non potest latere, nec praeteriet illum corripiens judicium. In cogitationibus enim impii interrogatio erit; sermonum autem illius auditio ad Deum veniet, ad correptionem iniquitatum illius. Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur. Custodite ergo vos a murmuratione quae nihil prodest, et a detractione parcite linguae: quoniam sermo obscurus in vacuum non ibit, os autem quod mentitur occidit animam. Benignus enim etc. Hic monet ad iustitiam locutionis, retrahendo a sermonibus malis. Et primo removet ab ipsis male dictis impunitutis confidentiam; secundo praedicit eorum poenam: Propter hoc qui loquitur etc.; tertio monet ad pravarum locutionum cautelam: Custodite etc. In prima primo removet impunitatis confidentiam, quae possit oriri ex iudicis misericordia: Benignus; secundo, ex ejus ignorantia : Quoniam renum etc; tertio, ex eius impotentia: Quoniam spiritus Domini. Dicit ergo: Benignus enim est spiritus etc. Bene dixi , quod corripietur fictus etc; Benignus enim est spiritus sapientiae , scilicet increatae, scilicet Filii, a qua datur Spiritus sanctus; vel creatae, quam ipse dat; infra duodecimo: O quam bonus et quam suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus in omnibus. Psalmus: Spiritus tuus bonus etc. Et tamen non liberabit maledictum etc, quamvis sit benignus; quia, sicut dicit Gregorius, disciplina et misericordia multum destituitur, si una sine alia teneatur. Vel sic: et quia benignus, non liberabit maledictum etc, quia benignitas malitiae contraria est; ut dicit Glossa: Non liberabit, inquam, maledictum, id est maledicentem, qui maledictus est, quia facit contra Dei mandatum, qui prohibet maledicere; Psalmus: Maledicti, qui declinant a mandatis tuis; ecce , maledictio in praesenti. Item, Matthaei vigesimo quinto: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum etc; ecce, maledictio in futuro. A labiis suis , id est a peccato labiorum suorum, vel a poena, quam meruit peccato labiorum suorum; Matthaei duodecimo: Ex verbis tuis condemnaberis; item in Psalmo: Labor labiorum suorum operiet eos. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 361b-d

For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not acquit the evil speaker from his lips, for God is witness of his soul, and a true searcher of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. Because the spirit of the Lord fills the whole world and that which contains all things has knowledge of the voice. Therefore he who speaks unjust things cannot be hidden, neither shall the chastising judgment pass him by. Investigation shall be made into the thoughts of the unholy man, and the hearing of his words shall come to God for the chastising of his iniquities. Because the jealous ear hears all things, and the tumult of murmuring shall not be hidden. Therefore keep yourselves from murmuring, which profits not at all, and restrain your tongue from detraction, for obscure speech shall not go for nothing, and the mouth that lies kills the soul. 1 This is warning against unjust speech, and for the drawing away from wicked words. Firstly there is the removal of confidence in impunity in speaking evil, secondly punishment is foretold, 'Therefore he who speaks...' Thirdly there is a warning for caution against depraved speaking. 'Keep yourselves...' Firstly, then, confidence in impunity is removed, which arises from the thought of mercy in judgement, 'Benevolent.' Secondly ignorance is removed, because God is witness to it. Thirdly the thought of inability is removed, 'For the Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world.' Therefore it is said that the Spirit is benevolent, and it is well said that He shall correct a lie, 'For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent,' that is the uncreated Spirit, of the Son, from whom the Holy Sprit is given, or the created spirit, which He gives, as it says below in twelfth chapter, 'O how good and sweet is your Spirit in all things, Lord.' In the Psalm, 'Your spirit is good.' 2 And although the Spirit is benevolent He will not pass over the evil speaker, because as Gregory says, 'Many forsake discipline and mercy if they hold to one without the other.' 3 And so because He is benevolent He does not spare an evil speaker, because benevolence is contrary to wickedness, as the gloss says. 'He shall not acquit the evil speaker,' that is, he who speaks evil, because he is cursed who does something against the commandment of God who prohibits us to speak evil.' In the Psalm, 'Those who forsake your commandments are accursed,' note that they are cursed in the present, and in the twenty fifth chapter of Matthew, 'Be gone from me, accursed ones, into eternal fire,' 4 note that they are cursed in the future. 'From his lips' that is, from the sin of his lips and the punishment which the sin of his lips has merited. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew. 'From your words you shall be condemned.' In the Psalm, 'The work of their lips shall cover them.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.6-10 2 Wisd 12.4, Ps 142.10 3 Greg Moral 20.5.44 4 Ps 118.21, Mt 25.44 5 Mt 12.37, Ps 139.10

Piety And Seeking

Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum. In bonitate autem de Domino sentit qui sacram Scripturam secundum pietatem legit atque intelligit, et in simplicitate cordis eum quaerit, qui humiliter ejus voluntati se subjicit ad custodiendum videlicet mandata ejus. Nam qui pie quaerit Dominum, honorat sacram Scripturam, et non reprehendit quod nondum intelligit, et propterea non resistit: quod est mitem esse, de quo in Evangelio Veritas ipsa ait: Beati mites, quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram. Hinc ergo mundi philosophi, et eorum sequaces haeretici excipiuntur qui ratione humana secreta se aestimant capere posse divina, cum scriptum sit: Sapientiam Dei praecedentem omnia quis investigabit? Et Apostolus manifeste dicat: Incomprehensibilia esse judicia Dei, et investigabiles vias ejus: qui in praesenti vita potius colendus est recta fide, quam incauta disputatione. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 109.673b-c

Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart. 1 They think of the Lord in goodness who piously read and understand Holy Scripture, and they seek Him in simplicity of heart who humbly subject themselves to His will, that is, in the guarding of His commandments. For he who piously seeks the Lord reveres Holy Scripture, and he does not dispute what he does not yet understand, on account of which he is not impeded, which is to be meek, concerning which the Truth says in the Gospel, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit he earth.' 2 Therefore the worldly philosophers, and those who are followers of heretics, are excluded, who with human reason think they can draw out and grasp Divine secrets, even when it it is written, 'Who is able to investigate the wisdom of God which excels everything?' And the Apostle openly says, 'The judgements of God are incomprehensible and His ways are beyond investigation,' 3 who in the present life would rather have care for correct faith than foolish arguments. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.1 2 Mt 5.4 3 Sirach 1.3, Rom 11.33

Thinking And Seeking

Sentite de Domino in bonitate et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum. Sentite, id est, recte aestimate, de Domino in bonitate, id est bene, non male, ut haeretici. Monet autem ad bene sentiendum et sensu exteriori pie divinas Scripluras legendo , et sensu interiori pie intelligendo. Unde Glossa: Scripturam pie legite et intelligite, pie, scilicet devote approbando et exsequendo quod intelligitis , et non redarguendo et contemnendo quod non intelligitis. Et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum, ad ipsum scilicet totam cordis intehtionem dirigendo. Unde Glossa: Voluntati eius vos subiicite; quod non faciunt hypocritae, et ideo inconstantes sunt, secundum illud lacobi primo: Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis; et propter hoc dicitur eis Ecclesiastici secundo: Vae duplici corde! Cor duplex est, quando partes eius ad diversa feruntur principaliter, quod est occasio mortis spiritualis , secundum illud Osee decimo: Divisum est cor eorum, nunc interibunt. Simplex autem est cor, quando omnes partes eius ad unum simplicissimum feruntur, scilicet ad Deum, secundum illud Ecclesiastici trigesimo: Congrega cor tuum in sanctitate. In simplicitate cordis, id est in simplici unitate cordis. Hanc unitatem faciunt fides in rationali, secundum illud ad Ephesios quarto': Unus Dominus, una fides etc; caritas in concupiscibili ; primae ad Corinthios sexto: Qui adhaeret Domino unus spiritus est; pax in irascibili; ad Ephesios quarto: Solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Prima unitas prohibet divisionem errorum in intellectu; secunda, desideriorum in affectu; tertia, schismatum in effectu. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 360

Think of the Lord in goodness and seek Him in simplicity of heart. 1 'Think,' that is, judge rightly, 'of the Lord in goodness,' that is, well and not wickedly, as heretics do. And he exhorts that for good thinking the exterior sense of the Divine Scripture should be read piously, and the interior meaning should be understood piously. The Gloss, 'Read and understand Scripture piously.' Piously by devoutly approving and following what you understand, and by not disputing and condemning what you do not understand. 'And seek Him in simplicity of heart,' that is, direct all the intention of your heart to Him. The Gloss, 'Subject your will to His,' which hypocrites do not and therefore they are inconstant, according to which it says in the first chapter of the Letter of James, 'A man with a double mind, inconstant in all his ways.' And because of this it is said to them in the second chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'Woe to the one with a double mind.' 2 The heart is double when its part incline to different things, which is the cause of spiritual death, according to the tenth chapter of Hosea, 'Their hearts are divided, now they shall perish.' 3 But the heart is simple when all its parts incline to one most simple thing, that is, God, according to which, in the thirtieth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'Gather your hearts in holiness.' 4 'In simplicity of heart,' that is, in the simple unity of the heart. Faith makes this unity in the mind, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, 'One Lord, one faith,' and love makes it with the desires, in the sixth chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, 'He who cleaves to God is one spirit,' and peace makes it in the passions, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, 'Having care to guard unity in the bond of peace.' 5 Firstly unity prohibits the division of errors in the understanding, and secondly the division of desires in affection, and thirdly the division of schism in action. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.1 2 James 1.8, Sirach 2.14 3 Hosea 10.2 4 Sirach 30.24 5 Ephes 4.5, 1 Cor 6.17, Ephes 4.3

The Treasure Of Wisdom

Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus: quo qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei, propter disciplinae dona commendati. Infinitum ideo thesaurum dicit esse sapientiae, quia quanto quis studiosius eam discit, tanto profundiorem esse cognoscit; et quanto magis in ea meditando profecerit, tanto ipsam altius petere intelliget; ideoque ipsius meditatores amicitiae Dei participes facti sunt, quia praeceptorum et voluntatis Dei veri fiunt agnitores: de quo ipsa Veritas ad discipulos in Evangelio ait: Jam non dicam vos servos, quia servus nescit quid faciat Dominus ejus. Vos autem dixi amicos: quia omnia quaecunque audivi a Patre meo nota feci vobis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber II, Caput III Source: Migne PL 109.669c

She is an endless treasure to men, by use of which they become friends of God, being commended for the gift of discipline. 1 The treasure of wisdom is said to be an endless because the more a man is more studious in learning from her, so the much more he is able to know deeply, and the more he advances in contemplation, so the much more he understands how to seek high things. Therefore those who meditate in this manner are made participants in the friendship of God, because they have truly become those who know the commandments and will of God, concerning which the Truth says to the disciples in the Gospel, 'Now I do not call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master will do, but I say you are friends because everything which I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.' 2 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 3 1 Wisdom 7.14 2 Jn 15.15

Wisdom And Freedom

Haec populum justum et semen sine querela liberavit a nationibus quae illum deprimebant. Haec, scilicet sapientia, populum iustum, scilicet populum Israeliticum, per fldem iustificalum , secundum iilud ad Romanos quinto: iustificati ex fide; vel: iustum, per operationem boni ; et semen sine querela, scilicet per declinationem mali; semen, scilicet Patriarchiarum, ut dicit Glossa; item Tobiae secundo: Filii Sanctorum sumus; liberavit etc. Huius liberationis praemisit duplicem causam, scilicet populi bonitatem, cum dicit: Populum iustum; secundo, Patrum sanctitatem, cum dicit: Et semen sine querela liberavit a nationibus, id est ab Aegyptiis, in vitio nativitatis suae permanentibus. Quae illum opprimebant, id est, vexabant , scilicet in luto et latere et paleis, ut patet Exodi primo. Et nota, quod per hanc oppressionem vel vexationem potest intelligi vexatio diaboli, qua vexat servos suos in operibus luti luxuriae et lateris avaritiae et paiearum superbiae; Exodi tertio: Videns vidi afflictionem populi mei. Intravit in animam servi Dei, et stetit contra reges horrendos in portentis et signis. Intravit, id est ipsa sapientia, in animam servi Dei; Glossa: Id est Moysi, supra septimo: Per nationes in animas sanctas se transfert; item Exodi quarto: Ego ero in ore tuo et docebo te, quid loquaris. Et stetit, scilicet constanter; unde Exodi nono: Stetit Moyses coram Pharaone; stetit, inquam, contra reges horrendos: Glossa: Pharaonem et alios principes; in portentis, id est in maioribus miraculis, et signis, minoribus, quae fecit in Aegypto; unde Exodi septimo: Multiplicabo signa et ostenta mea in terra Aegypti; Ecclesiastici quadragesimo quinto: Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum; supra octavo: Timebunt me reges horrendi. Et reddidit justis mercedem laborum suorum, et deduxit illos in via mirabili, et fuit illis in velamento diei, et in luce stellarum per noctem. Et reddidit iustis; Glossa: Populi Israelitici; mercedem laborum suorum; Glosssa: Terram promissionis, quam eis prius promiserat; Genesis duodecimo: Semini tuo dabo terram hanc. Et deduxit illos, scilicet ad terram praedictam, in via mirabili; Glossa: Per desertum; in Psalmo: In terra deserta et invia et inaquosa. Haec autem via fuit mirabilis, quia nullo modo pervia tanto exercitui sine multis miraculis. Unde sequitur: Et fuit illis in velamento diei, id est aestus diurni, scilicet per columnam nubis; et in luce stellarum per noctem, id est loco lucis stellarum, et hoc per columnam ignis, ut dicit Glossa; Exodi decimo tertio: Nunquam defuit columna nubis per diem neque columna ignis per noctem. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput X Source: Here, 395

She freed a righteous people and a blameless seed from the nations who oppressed them. 1 'She,' that is, wisdom, 'a righteous people,' that is the people of Israel, justified through faith, according to the fifth chapter of Romans, 'justified by faith,' 2 or righteous through doing good, and 'a blameless seed,' that is through the refusal of evil. 'Seed' that is, of the Patriarchs, as the Gloss says. Likewise in the second chapter of Tobit, 'We are the sons of holy men.' 3 'She freed,' a double cause of this liberation is set down, that is, the goodness of the people, when it says, 'A righteous people,' and secondly the holiness of the fathers, when it says, 'She liberated a blameless seed from the nations...' that is, from the Egyptians, who remained in their original fault. 'Who oppressed them,' that is, who troubled them with mud and bricks and straw, as in the first chapter of Exodus. 4 And note that through this oppression and trouble it is possible to understand the vexation of the devil, who troubles his servants with the muddy works of luxury and with the bricks of avarice and with the straw of pride. In the third chapter of Exodus, 'I saw the affliction of my people.' 5 She entered into the soul of a servant of God, and with portent and signs he stood against fearsome kings. 'She entered,' that is, Wisdom did. 'Into the soul of a servant of God,' that is, Moses, as in the seventh chapter of Wisdom, 'She passes into holy souls among the people.' Likewise in the fourth chapter of Exodus. 'I shall be in your mouth and I shall teach you what to say.' 6 'He stood.' that is, unwaveringly, hence in the ninth chapter of Exodus, 'Moses stood in the presence of the Pharaoh.' 7 'He stood against fearsome kings.' The Gloss, 'the Pharaoh and other princes.' 'With portents,' that is with greater miracles, 'and signs,' with lesser ones, which he made in Egypt. In the seventh chapter of Exodus, 'I shall multiply my signs and revelations in the land of Egypt.' In the forty fifth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'I magnified him in the sight of kings.' In the eighth chapter of Wisdom, 'Terrible kings will fear me.' 8 She gave to the righteous the reward of their labours, and she led them on a wondrous way, and it was a cloud by day for them, and the light of stars by night.' 'She gave to the righteous,' the Gloss, 'the people of Israel,' 'the reward of their labours, 'which in the Gloss is the promised land, that He had promised to them. In the twelfth chapter of Genesis, 'I shall give your seed this land.' 9 'And she led them,' that is to the foretold land, on a wondrous way. The Gloss, 'Through the desert.' In the Psalm, 'A desert land, without paths and without water.' 10 And this way was wondrous because without many miracles there was no way through for the multitude. Hence it follows, 'And it was a cloud by day for them,' that is, during the heat of the day, and so, 'as a column of cloud.' 'And the light of stars by night,' that is, in place of the light of stars, and this is 'the column of fire,' as the Gloss says. In the thirteenth chapter of Exodus, 'The column of cloud never failed them by day nor the column of fire through the night.' 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 10 1 Wisdom 10.15 2 Rom 5.1 3 Tob 2.18 4 Exod 1.14 5 Exod 3.7 6 Wisd 7.27, Exod 4.12 7 Exod 9.10 8 Exod 7.3, Sirach 45.3, Wisd 8.15 9 Gen 12.7 10 Ps 62.3 11 Exod 13.22

Seeking Him

In simplicitate cordis quaerite illum; quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant illum, apparet autem eis qui fidem habent in illum. Et bene dixi : In simplicitate etc. quoniam invenitur, per gratiam in praesenti, secundum illus Canticorum tertio: Invenit quem diligit anima mea. Ab his qui non tentant illum... Aliud exterius praetendendo, aliud interius intendendo, sicut Scribae et Pharisaei Chrisum tentantes; et hoc dicit contra hypocrisim et duplicitatem; Matthaei vigesimo secundo, Quid me tentatis hypocritae? Apparet autem... Scilicet in futuro per gloriam; primae Ioannis tertio: Cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus; et ad Colossenes tertio: Cum autem Christus apparuerit, vita vestra, tunc et vos apparebitis cum ipso in gloria. His qui fidem habent in illum. hoc dicit contra haeresi et infidelitatem. Et nota, quod dicit: In illum, quid non sufficit credere illi vel illum, sed credere in illum, quod est actus fidei formatae, secundum Augustinum. Vel: invenitur propter devotionem affectus; apparet, per contemplationem intellectus; Psalmus: Gustate, affectu; videte, intellectu. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 360d-e

Seek Him in simplicity of heart, for He is found by those who do not test Him, and He appears to those who have faith in Him. 1 Well it is said 'In simplicity' because He is found through grace in the present, according to the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'My soul found him whom it loves.' 2 'By those who do not test Him...' Pretending one thing outwardly while intending another inwardly, as the Scribes and the Pharisees tested Christ, and this is said against hypocrisy and duplicity. In the twenty second chapter of Matthew, 'Why do you test me, hypocrites?' 3 'And He appears...' That is, in the future, in glory. In the third chapter of the first letter of John, 'When He appears we shall be like Him.' And in the third chapter of Colossians, 'When Christ shall appear, your life, then even you will appear with Him in glory.' 4 'To those who have faith in Him.' This is said against heresy and disbelief. Note that it says 'in Him,' because it is not enough to believe Him but to believe in Him, which is the act of mature faith, according to Augustine. 5 Otherwise we could say He is found according to the devotion of love, and He appears in the contemplation of the mind. In the Psalm, 'Taste,' with love, 'see,' with the understanding. 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisdom 1.2-3 2 Song 3.4 3 Mt 22.18 4 1 Jn 3.2, Col 3.4 5 Aug, Tractate 29 On John, 6 6 Ps 33.9

Study Wisdom

Ad sapientiae studiosam acquisitionem; Proverbiorum vigesimo septimo: Stude sapientie, fili mi. Filium vocat, quemcumque paterna affectione informat, sive sit iuvenis, sive senex. Augustinus: Ad discendum quod opus est nulla mihi aetas sera videri potest; quia, etsi senes magis docere deceat quam doceri, magis tamen decet eos discere, quam quid doceant ignorare. Stude, inquit, et hoc innuit vehementem diligentiam circa acquisitionem sapientiae adhibendam. Studium enim, ut dicit Tullis, est vehemens applicatio animi cum summa voluptate ad aliquid agendum. Haec autem vehemens animi applicatio requirit vacationem ab exterioribus occupationibus. Impar enim efficitur ad singula qui confusa mente dividitur ad multa, ut dicit Gergorius. Propter quod Ecclesiastici trigesimo octavo: Sapientiam scribe in tempore vacuitatus, id est vacationis ab opere exteriori; qui enim minoratur actu, scilicet exteriori, percipiet sapientiam, ut dicitur in eodem. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Prooemium Source: Here, 358c

Concerning the studious acquisition of wisdom, it is said in the twenty seventh chapter of Proverbs, 'Study wisdom, my son.' 1 He names him a son whoever he shapes with fatherly love, whether he is a youth or an old man. Augustine says: 'It does not seem to me that old age should be an obstacle to learning, because even if it befits the old to teach rather than to be taught, yet it is more befitting to learn something than to be ignorant of what one should teach.' 2 'Study,' it says here, and this signifies attachment to a concentrated desire for the acquisition of wisdom. For as Cicero says, 'Studiousness is the concentrated application of the soul with great pleasure for the accomplishment of something.' 3 But this concentrated application of the soul requires leisure from exterior occupations, since flaws come into each thing when a confused mind is divided among many things, as Gregory says. 4 About which it says in the thirty eighth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Write wisdom in a time of quiet.' 5 That is, when one has leisure from exterior work. And in the same place: 'For he who is less in deeds,' that is exterior ones, 'acquires wisdom.' Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Introduction 1 Prov 27.11 2 Aug Epist 166.1 3 Circero Rhet 1.25 4 Greg Reg Past 1.4 5 Sirach 38.25

Different Trials

Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledictum a labiis suis, quoniam renum illius testis est Dominus, et cordis ejus scrutator est verus, et linguae illus auditor. Haec sententia destruit errorem illorum, qui sicut bonas cogitatione a Deo nobis constat inspirari, ita etiam malas ipso instigante putant in nostra mente generari, cum nullo modo Deus, qui summe bonus est, et omnes homines vult salvari, atque ad agnitionem veritatis pervenier, necessitatem mali verbi aut pravi actus alicui imponet, per quem perire possit, sicut Jacobus apostolus ostendit, dicens: Nemo ergo cum tentatur, dicat: Quoniam a Deo tentor; Deus enim intentator malorum est, ipse enim neminem tentat; ac si diceret: Nemo cum rapinam, furtum, falsum testimonium, homicidium, stuprum, vel caetera hujusmodi commiserit, dicat, quoniam Dei cogente necesse habuerit haec patrare, et ideo nullatenus horum effectum potuerit declinare. Deus enim malorum intentator est, subauditur, tentamentorum; ipse enim neminem tentat, ea videlicet tentatione, quae decipit miseros ut peccent. Duplex est enim genus tentationis, unum quod decipit, aliud quod probat; secundum hoc quod decipit, Deus neminem tentat; secundum illud quod probat, Deus tentavit Abraham. De quo et Prophea postulat: Proba me, Domine, et tenta me. Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus est et illetus, scilicet abstractus a recto itinere, et illectus in malum quo tamen justo Dei judicio permittitur cadere qui Spiritui veritatis noluit obedire. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 109.674d-675b

The spirit of wisdom is benevolent and it does not overlook a curse from the lips, because the Lord observes a man's interior, and is a true watcher of his heart, and he hears his tongue. 1 This passage overthrows the error of those who think that just as good thoughts are constantly inspired by God, so at His instigation evil ones are generated in our minds, when in no way does God, who is the greatest good, and who wishes every man to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, impose the necessity of an evil word or depraved act on anyone, through which they perish, as James the Apostle shows, saying, 'Let no one when he is tempted say, 'I am being tempted by God.' For God does not tempt with evils, He tempts no one.' 2 As if he said, Let no one when they plunder, or thieve, or give false witness, or murder or fornicate, or do anything like that, say that because of some overwhelming force of God they had to do it, and therefore they were in no way capable of refusing to do it. For God does not tempt with evils, that is, with temptations, for He tries no man, that is, with temptation, which deceives the wretched so that they sin. There are two types of trials, one that deceives and one that proves. According to that which deceives, God never makes trial, according to what proves, God tested Abraham. Concerning which the prophet asks: 'Prove me, O Lord, and test me.' 3 However, everyone seized and trapped by his own desire, certainly he is taken from the right path and snared in evil, into which he who did not wish to be obedient to the spirit of truth is permitted to fall by the just judgement of God. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Wisdom 1.6 2 James 1.13 3 Ps 25.2

Knowledge And The Tree

Et scire justitiam et virtutem tuam, radix est immortalitatis. Radix, id est arboris spiritualis, id est vitae iusti qui est sicut lignum plantatum secus decursus aquarum etc. Radix est fides, ut hic dicitur. Pes, humilitas, sicut e contrario pes impiorum est superbia, secundum illud Psalmi: Non veniat mihi pes superbiae. Stipes, in altum se erigens, est spes; ad Colossenses tertio: Quae sursum sunt quaerite. Humor interior et viriditas huius arboris est gratiainternae devotionis; lob octavo: Nunquid potest virere scirpus absque humore? Calor dirigens est virtus caritatis; Lucae duodecimo: Ignem veni mittere in terram etc. Exterior irrigatio, doctrina spiritualis; unde Sapientia dicit Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto: Rigabo hortum plantationum mearum. Rami, multiplicatio bonae operationis; Ezechielis trigesimo sexto: Montes Israel, ramos vestros expandite. Flores , mores honestae conversationis ; unde Canticorum secundo: Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. Folia, verba discretae locutionis, secundum illud Psalmi: Et folium eius non defluet. Fructus, merces aeternae retributionis; supra tertio: Bonorum laborum gloriosus est fructus. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput XV Source: Here, 411d-412a

And to know your righteousness and virtue is the root of immortality... 1 'The root,' that is, of the spiritual tree, that is, of the life of the righteous man, who is like 'a tree planted beside flowing waters,' etc, 2 and the root is faith, as it says here. The base of the tree is humility, just as, on the contrary, the foot of the impious is pride, according to the Psalm: 'May the foot of the proud not be mine.' 3 The trunk is what rises up to the heights, which is hope. In the third chapter of Colossians: 'Seek the things which are above.' 4 The interior sap and greeness of this tree is the grace of internal devotion. In the eighth chapter of Job: 'Can a reed live without moisture?' 5 The heat which fuels growth is the power of love. In the twelfth chapter of Luke: 'I have come to place fire on the earth.' 6 Exterior watering is spiritual teaching, whence Wisdom says in the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'I shall water the garden of my plantings.' 7 The branches are the multiplication of good works. In the thirty six chapter of Ezekiel: 'Mountains of Israel, put forth your branches.' 8 Blossom is the way of upright living, whence in the second chapter of the Song of Songs: 'The blossom appears in our land.' 9 Leaves are the words of wise speech, according to the Psalm: 'And its leaves shall not wither.' 10 The fruit is the giving of the eternal reward, concerning which above in the third chapter it says: 'Glorious is the fruit of good works.' 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 15 1 Wisdom 6.24 2 Ps 1.3 3 Ps 35.12 4 Col 3.1 5 Job 8.11 6 Lk 12.49 7 Sirach 24.42 8 Ezek 36.8 9 Song 2.12 10 Ps 1.3 11 Wisdom 3.15

Loving Wisdom

Concupiscite ergo sermones meos, et diligite illos, et habebitis disciplinam. Verum est quod qui diligit sapientiam et assiduus est illius in meditatione, conservet disciplinam in moribus, nec aliter potest amator probari sapientiae nisi conservator sit disciplinae. Unde ipsa Veritas ait: Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate. Et iterum: Si quis diligit me sermonem meum servabit. Hinc et Jacobus ait: Estote ergo factores verbi et non auditores tantum fallentes vosmetipsos, quia non auditores legis justificabuntur apud Dominum, sed factores legis. Clara est, et quae nunquam marcescit sapientia; et facile videtur ab his qi diligunt eam, et invenitur ab his qui quaerunt illam. Decor sapientiae immarcescibilis est, et his solis patet qui eam in veritate diligunt, et studiose requirunt. Qui autem eam ficte quaerunt nollo modo ad eam pertingent, quia, sicut superius dictum est, Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia. Unde in Proverbiis sapientia dicit: Ego diligentes me diligo, et qui mane vigilant ad me invenient me. Et iterum: Beatus homo qui audit me, qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei. Qui me invenerit inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino. Qui autem in me peccaverit laedet animam suam. Omnes qui oderunt me, diligunt mortem. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 109.694c-d

Therefore desire my words, and love them, and you shall have discipline. 1 It is true that he who loves wisdom and is assiduous in its meditation, maintains discipline in his conduct, for it is not possible otherwise that a lover shall be approved by Wisdom unless he is a keeper of discipline. Whence the Truth Himself says: 'If you love me, keep my commandments.' 2 And again, 'If someone loves me He shall keep my word.' 3 Whence James also says: 'Be, then, brothers, doers of the word and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves.' 4 'It is not the hearers of the law who shall be justified before God, but the doers.' 5 Bright she is, and wisdom bears no spot, and easily she is seen by those who love her, and she is found by those who seek her. 6 The beauty of wisdom is spotless and to these alone she shows herself: they who love her in truth and devotedly seek her. He who is not true in the search for her has no chance of reaching her, because as it was said before, 'The Holy Spirit flees the fiction of discipline, and Wisdom does not come into a wicked soul.' 7 Whence in Proverbs Wisdom says: 'I love those who love me, and he who watches in the morning shall come to me.' 8 And again, 'Blessed the man who hears me, who watches at my doors every day, and looks toward the posts of my gate. He who finds me, shall find life, and he shall drink salvation from the Lord. But he who sins against me, he wounds his own soul. All who hate me love death. 9 Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Wisdom Book 1, Chapter 13 1 Wisd 6.12 2 Jn 14.15 3 Jn 14.23 4 James 1.22 5 Rom 2.13 6 Wisd 6.13 7 Wisd 1.4-5 8 Prov 8.17 9 Prov 8.34-36

Knowing Divine Things

Sensum autem tuum quis scivit, nisi tu dederis ei sapientiam, et miseris Spiritum sanctum tuum de altissimis? Manifestum est enim quod non nisi per sancti Spiritus gratiam divinarum rerum possumus percipere scientiam, quia nemo scit quae sunt in homine, nisi spiritus hominis qui est in homine. Ita et quae Dei sunt nemo novit nisi Spiritus Dei. Spiritus enim omnia scrutatir, etiam profunda Dei; ipse corda sanctorum illuminat, et de invisibilis ac coelestius instruit, ita ut intellectum divinae majestatis pro modulo suo percipiant, et ejus bonitatem semper amare necessitantur. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae, Liber II, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 109.715c

But who knows your mind, unless you have given wisdom to him, and you send your Holy Spirit from the heights? 1 It is manifest that we cannot grasp the knowledge of Divine things unless by the grace of the Holy Spirit, because 'no one knows what is in a man unless the spirit of man which is in a man, and thus no one knows what is of God unless the spirit of God, because the spirit of God scrutinises everything, even the depths of God.' 2 He illuminates the hearts of the holy, and instructs them about things unseen and heavenly, so that they may perceive in His own manner the understanding of the Divine majesty, and be led to the love of His benevolence. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On the Book of Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 6 1 Wisd 9.17 2 1 Cor 2.11

What Wisdom Is

Quid est autem sapientia, et quemadmodum facta sit, referam, et non abscondam a vobis sacramenta Dei:sed ab initio nativitatis investigabo... Quid autem est sapientia, quasi dicat: ita invitavi vos ad sapientiam, et ut acquiescatis, referam etc. Vel sic continuandum: hucusque monui ad sapientiam; autem, pro sed; amodo referam, quid est sapientia etc. Ecce, magna promissio; abscondita enim est ab oculis omnium viventium, lob vigesimo octavo; verumtamen revelatione Spiritus sancti nosci potest. Quid est, inquam, sapientia, increata, id est qualis; de ipsa enim non potest sciri nec dici, quid sit, scilicet secundum essentiam, sed qualis, quoniam bona, aeterna, omnipotens etc. De sapientia vero creata sciri potest et dici, quid sit; unde Augustinus: Sapientia est cognitio rerum divinarum. Et quemadmodum facta sit, id est qualiter genita de Patre, scilicet aeterna Sapientia, quae est Dei Filius; primae ad Corinthios primo: Christum Dei virtutem et sapientiam. Vel: quemadmodum facta, id est creata, si exponatur de creata; Ecclesiastici primo: Prior omnium creata est sapientia; item ibidem vigesimo quarto: Ab initio et ante saecula creata sum, id est disposita creari. Et non abscondani a vobis sacramenta Dei, id est sacra et secreta opera sapientiae Dei. Contra: Tobiae duodecimo: Sacramentum regis abscondere bonum est. Dicendum, quod tentatoribus debet abscondi, amatoribus debet revelari; unde loannis decimo quinto: Vos autem dixi amicos, quia omnia, quaecumque audivi a Patre meo, nota feci vobis. Item, abscondenda superbis sapientibus, sed revelanda parvulis humilibus; unde Matthaei undecimo: Abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis, id est humilibus. Item, non gulosis, sed abstinentibus , ut patet Danielis primo. Sed ab initio nativitatis, id est humanae, vel ipsius sapientiae; investigabo, oslendendo, ipsam a Deo Patre procedere. Et ponam in lucem, scilicet manifestationis, scientiam illius, clare docendo; Ecclesiaslici vigesimo quarto: Qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt. Et non praeteribo veritatem, falsa admiscendo; Ecclesiastici trigesimo septimo: Ante omnia opera verbum verax praecedat te; Augustinus: Bonorum ingeniorum insignis indoles est, in verbis verum amare, non verba. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput VI Source: Here, 381b-382a

But what wisdom is, how it came to be, I will make known, and I will not hide from you the mysteries of God, but from the beginning of that birth I will enquire... 1 'But what wisdom is,' as if he says: 'I have invited you to wisdom, even that you might acquire it.' Or it could be continued as: 'Until now I have given advice about wisdom, now I will declare what wisdom is.' This is indeed a great promise, because 'it is hidden from the eyes of all living,' in the twenty eighth chapter of Job. 2 Yet it can be known by a revelation of the Holy Spirit. I speak of what uncreated wisdom is according to what sort of a thing it is, for what it is in its essence, cannot be known nor spoken of, only what sort of a thing it is, namely, good, eternal, all powerful etc. However what created wisdom is can be known and spoken of, whence Augustine says: 'Wisdom is the knowledge of Divine things.' 3 Even of how it came to be, that is, how it was born from the Father, that is, the uncreated Wisdom which is the Son of God. In the first letter to the Corinthians it is said: 'Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.' 4 Or how created wisdom came to be, that is, if its creation is to be explained. In the first chapter of Ecclesiasticus 'Before all things wisdom was created.' 5 And in the same book: 'I was created from the beginning and from before the world,' 6 that is, ready to be created. 'I will not hide from you the mysteries of God,' that is, the sacred and secret workings of the wisdom of God. But against this, in the twelfth chapter of Tobit: 'It is good to hide the secret of a king.' 7 It must be said that it should be hidden from those who exasperate but it should be revealed to those who love, whence in the fifteenth chapter of John: 'I have called you friends because I have made everything known to you that I have heard from my Father.' 8 Likewise it must be hidden from the wise who are proud, but it must be revealed to little ones who are humble. So in the eleventh chapter of Matthew: 'You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to little ones,' 9 that is, the humble. Likewise, revealed not to the greedy but to the abstemious, as is clear in the first chapter of Daniel. 10 'From the beginning of that birth,' that is, I shall enquire into the human birth, or into the birth of wisdom itself, by showing that it proceeds from the Father. And I shall place it in the light, that is, I shall make it manifest by teaching the understanding of it clearly. In the twenty fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'They who explain me shall have eternal life.' 11 And I will not pass over the truth by mixing in lies. In the thirty seventh chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Before every work let the true word go before you.' 12 Augustine says: 'It is a distinctive feature of good minds to love what is true in words, not merely words.' 13 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 6 1 Wisd 6.24 2 Job 28.21 3 Aug De Trint 14.1 4 1 Cor 1.24 5 Sirach 1.4 6 Sirach 24.14 7 Tobit 12.7 8 Jn 15.15 9 Mt 11.25 10 Dan 1.8-17 11 Sirach 24.31 12 Sirach 37.20 13 Aug De Doctrina Christiana 4.11

Empty Hope, Fruitless Labours

Sapientiam enim et disciplinam qui abjecit infelix est; et vacua est spes illorum, et labores sine fructu, et inhabitabilia opera illorum sunt. Nunc ostendit quid sit hoc, quod superius dixerat a Domino recessisse, hoc est, sapientiam et disciplinam abjicere, quorum vacua est spes, et labores sine fructu, quia in vanum sperant se temporalibus perpetualiter uti posse, vel peccata faciendo impunitos posse evadere, horum et labores sunt sine fructu futurae mercedis, et opera illorum inhabitabilia: quoniam operarium ipsorum coelestis habitationis non possunt facere participem. Cui cum iniquorum omnium capite improperando scelera sua Psalmista praedixit dicens: Propterea destruet te Deus, in fine evellet te, et emigrabit te de tabernaculo tuo et radicem tuam de terra viventium. Possunt et haeretici in hac sententia non inconvenienter accipi, qui sapientiam divinam et regulam rectae fidei abjicientes, labores doctrinae suae atque errorum sectas in vacuum et sine fructu vitae aeternae expendunt, quorum intentio stulta et nequissima sunt opera. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 109.683b-c

He who casts aside wisdom and discipline is wretched, and their hope is empty, and their labours are without reward, and their works are a waste... 1 Now he shows what this may be, what he said previously about withdrawing from the Lord, that it is to cast off wisdom and discipline, and their hope is empty, and their labours fruitless, because in vain they hope they shall have temporal things forever, or that committing sins they shall be able to escape punishment, and the fruitless nature of their labours pertains to the future reward, and their works are a waste because they are not able to make them participants in the celestial mansions. Concerning which, with the condemnation of their crimes through the leader of all the wicked, the Psalmist foretells, saying: 'On account of which God shall destroy you, in the end he shall pluck you out, and tear you from your tabernacle, and your root from the land of the living.' 2 It is also possible to understand heretics in this pronoucement, who casting off the Divine wisdom and the rule of right faith, expend the labours of their teaching and the ways of their errors in emptiness and without the fruit of eternal life, those whose purpose is foolish and their works wicked. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Wisdom Book 1, Chapter 7 1 Wisd 3.11 2 Ps 51.7

The Good Spirit

O quam bonus et suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus in omnibus. Propter quod hos qui exerrant partibus corripis, et de quibus peccant admones, et alloqueris ut relicta malitia credant in te, Domine. Suavis est enim spiritus Dei, quoniam ipse est amor Dei, et largitor totius boni, ipse corripit homines, quia eos quos replet corripere facti peccantes, sicut ipsa Veritas in Evangelio discipulis ait: Ego veritatem dico vobis, expedit vobis ut ego vadam. Si enim non abiero, Paraclitus non veniet ad vos; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos. Et cum venerit ille, arguet mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. De peccato quidem, quia non credunt in me. De justitia vero, quia ad Patrem vado et jam non videbitis me. De judicio autem, quia princeps hujus mundi judicatus est. Beatus homo qui hujus magistri audit vocem, et obedit mandatis, quia posessor futurus erit ergni coelestis. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Lib II, Caput XII Source: Migne PL 109.725a-b

O how good and sweet is your spirit, Lord, in all things! Because of which you correct those who wander apart, and you warn those who sin, and you call out to them, so that they might abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord. 1 Sweet is the spirit of God, because He is the love of God, and He gives every good. He corrects men, because those He fills He turns to the correction of their sins, as the Truth Himself said to His disciples in the Gospel: 'I speak the truth to you. It profits you that I shall go. If I did not go, the Paraclete would not come to you. But if I go, I shall send Him to you. And when He comes to you, He shall dispute with the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement. Concerning sin, that they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness, that I go to the Father and they do not see me. Concerning judgement, that the prince of this world has been judged.' 2 Blessed the man who hears the voice of this teacher and obeys His directions, because he shall be a future possessor of the heavenly kingdom. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Wisdom, Book 2, Chapter 12 1 Wisd 12.1-2 2 Jn 16.7-11

Wisdom And Heaven

Quis enim hominum poterit scire consilium Dei? aut quis poterit cogitare quid velit Deus? Cogitationes enim mortalium timidae, et incertae providentiae nostrae; corpus enim quod corrumpitur aggravat animam, et terrena inhabitatio deprimit sensum multa cogitantem. Et difficile aestimamus quae in terra sunt, et quæ in prospectu sunt invenimus cum labore: quae autem in caelis sunt, quis investigabit? Sensum autem tuum, quis sciet, nisi tu dederis sapientiam... Quis enim hominum etc. Hic ostendit finis difficultatem, primo ostendens, quod Dei voluntas sine sapientia sciri non potest; secundo, quod solum per eam sciri potest: Sensum autem tuum. Quod sine illa sciri non possit, ostendit primo ex divini sensus profunditate; secundo, ex sensus humani imperfectione: Cogitationes enim; tertio, ex rerum sensibilium comparatione, ibi: Et difficile aestimamus etc. Bene dixi: Mitte illam etc; quis enim hominum, scilicet purus homo, poterit scire, scilicet sine sapientia tua, consilium Dei? quod est in praevidendo et disponendo fienda; Isaiae quadragesimo: Quis adiuvit spiritum Domini , aut quis consiliarius eius fuit? Aut quis poterit cogitare, id est cogitando nosse, quid velit Deus? scilicet operando praevisa, quasi dicat: nullus; unde ad Romanos undecimo: altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei etc. Cogitationes enim mortalium, scilicet quamdiu sumus in statu mortalitatis, timidae; Glossa: Id est fragiles; et hoc quantum ad ea quae sunt supra rationem. Et incertae providentiae nostrae; Glossa: Quia anima mutabilis est, et caro corruptibilis, et hoc quantum ad ea quae sunt sub ratione et veri cogitatione. Corpus enim, quod corrumpitur, id est, quod continuae corruptioni subiacet, propter quod putredini comparatur; lob vigesimo quinto: Homo putredo, et filius hominis vermis. Aggravat animam, scilicet affectum eius a caelestibus retrahendo; ad Galatas quinto: Caro concupiscit adversus spiritum. Corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggravat animam. Notandum, quod corpus animam peccato originali maculat; lob decimo quarto: Quis potest facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine? Item necessitati peccati venialis obligat; ad Romanos septimo: Quod odi malum , illud facio. Item , ad peccatum mortale inclinat; Genesis octavo: Proni sensus, et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia. Item, intellectum a contemplatione veritatis obnubilat; supra secundo: Umbrae transitus tempus nostrum, umbrae, scilicet interpositione corporis opaci inter animam et solem iustitiae. Item, affectum ab amore caelestium retardat, ut hic: Corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggravat animam. Item, potentias motivas a bono impedit et ligat; in Psalmo: Educ de custodia, vel de carcere, animam meam; item ad Romanos septimo: Non, quod volo bonum, hoc ago. Item, spiritui continuum bellum suscitat; ad Galatas quinto: Caro concupiscit adversus spiritum. Item, cura sui spiritum sollicitat, contra quod Matthaei sexto: Nolite solliciti esse etc. Item, suis molestiis animam perturbat; Danielis decimo tertio: Angustiae mihi sunt undique. Item, sui mutabilitate eius quietem turbat et variat; lob decimo quarto: Et nunquam in eodem statu permanet. Et terrena inhabitatio deprimit, id est, deorsum premit a contemplatione aeternorum retrahendo, id est ad terrena inclinando; sensum, id est intellectum humanum; Genesis octavo: Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis prona sunt in malum ab adolescentia, ideo ad Romanos septimo: Infelix etc. Sensum, inquam, multa cogitantem, id est temporalia, quae multa sunt, non aeterna, quae unum sunt, secundum illud Lucae decimo: Turbaris erga plurima , porro unum est necessarium. Et difficile etc, quasi dicat: Et hoc patet, quia difficile aestimamus, id est, aestimative non certitudinaliter cognoscimus; Ecclesiastae primo: Cunctae res difficles; quae in terra sunt, id est sensibilia inferiora. Et quae in prospectu sunt, id est, in aperto, sicut naturas rerum sensibilium superiorum; invenimus cum labore; Ecclesiastae octavo: Et homo, qui diebus ac noctibus somnum non capit oculis; et intellexi, quod omnium operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem. Philosophus: Sicut se habet oculus noctuae ad lucem solis, sic intellectus noster ad manifestissima naturae. Quae autem in caelis sunt quis investigabit? cum sint tam remota a nobis; Ecclesiastici tertio: Altiorate ne quaesieris; Ecclesiastae quinto: Deus in caelo,et tu super terram; idcirco pauci sint sermones tui. Sensum autem tuum etc. Hic ostendit, quod voluntas divina potest solum sciri per sapientiam. Hoc autem ostendit appropriando ei triplicem effectum,scilicet effectum instruendi intelligentiam; corrigendi culpam: Et sic correctae; sanandi naturam, ibi: Nam per sapientiam etc. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput IX Source: Here, 391e-392

For who among men can know the counsel of God? Or who can think of what God wishes? Our mortal thoughts are hesitant, and our foresight doubtful. Our body which is corrupted weighs down the soul and the earthly habitation presses down the mind with many thoughts. And with difficulty we judge the things of earth and what is ahead we find with toil. Who, then shall investigate the things in heaven? Who may know your mind unless you give wisdom? 1 Here is shown the resolution of the difficulty, firstly by showing that the will of God cannot be known without wisdom, secondly, that only by her is it possible to know. 'Your counsel.' That without her it is impossible to know, he shows first from the profundity of Divine counsel, secondly from the imperfection of human counsel. 'For thoughts...' thirdly from a comparison with sensibile things, where: 'with difficulty we judge...' Well I said, 'Send her...' 2 Who among men, that is, the pure man, can know, that is, without your wisdom, the counsel of God, that is in foreseeing and disposing things to be. In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah: 'Who gives aid to the spirit of God, or who was his counsellor?' 3 'Or who is able to think on...' that is, to know by thinking, 'what God wills?' That is, to have foresight in the work, as if he said: 'No one.' Whence in the eleventh chapter of Romans: 'O height of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.' 4 For 'mortal thoughts...' that is, while we are in mortal state, 'are hesitant.' The Gloss: 'that is, fragile.' And this as much as they are for things above reason. 'And our foresight doubtful.' The gloss: 'Because the soul is changeable and the flesh corruptible.' And this as much as they are for things beneath reason and thought of the truth. 'For the body which is corrupted...' that is, which is subject to continual corruption, on account of which it is compared to putrification. In the twenty fourth chapter of Job: 'A man rots, and the son of man is a worm.' 5 'Weighs down the soul.' that is, it draws its desires away from heavenly things. In the fifth chapter of Galatians: 'The flesh desires against the spirit.' 6 'The body which is corrupted weighs down the soul...' Let it be noted that the body stains the soul with original sin. In the fourteenth chapter of Job: 'Who is able to be made clean from the conception of unclean seed?' 7 The same binds to inescapable venial sin. In the seventh chapter of Romans: 'The evil I hate, I do.' 4 The same inclines to mortal sin, in the eighth chapter of Genesis; 'The mind sinks, and the thought of the human heart inclines to evil from its youth.' 8 The same obscures the understanding from contemplation of truth. Concerning which the second chapter of Wisdom says: 'Our time passes by like a shadow.' 9 A shadow as the interposition of a opaque body between the soul and the sun of righteousness. The same drags away affection from the love of heaven,as here: 'The body which is corrupted weighs down the soul.' The same impedes the potential motion to good and fetters it. In the Psalm: 'Lead from captivity,' or from prison, 'my soul.' 10 In the seventh chapter of Romans, 'I do not do the good I wish.' 4 The same is fuel for continual spiritual warfare. In the fifth chapter of Galatians: 'The flesh desires against the spirit.' 6 The same has care of its own spirit, against which the sixth chapter of Matthew says: 'Do not be anxious...' 11 The same with its own troubles disturbs the soul. In the thirteenth chapter of Daniel: 'There is anguish for me on every side.' 12 The same distresses and bewilders with its mutability. In the fourteenth chapter of Job: 'And he never remains in the same state.' 13 'And the earthly habitation presses down...' that is, it presses one down to things below, dragging one away from the contemplation of eternal things, that is, it inclines one to the earth. 'The mind...' that is, the human intellect. In the eighth chapter of Genesis: 'The mind and thought of the human heart inclines to evil from its youth.' 8 Therefore in the seventh chapter of Romans: 'Unhappy...' 14 'The mind,' I say, that thinks of much, that is on temporal things, which are many, and not eternal things which are one, according to the tenth chapter of Luke: 'You are troubled by many things, one thing is necessary.' 15 'And with difficulty,' as if he said: 'And this is evident,' that 'with difficulty we judge,' we know by estimate not certitude. In the first chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'All things are difficult,' 16 which are on the earth, that is, sensible things below. And what is in view, that is, openly, as the natures of sensible things above, we discover with labour. Ecclesiastes chapter eight: 'He is a man who does not give sleep to his eyes day and night.' 17 And he is not able to find the cause of all the things of the works of God. The Philosopher: 'As the eye of the little owl for daylight, so our intellect to the most manifest things of nature.' 18 'Who shall investigate the things of heaven? When they are so remote from us. In the third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Do not seek things far above you.' 19 In the fifth chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'God is in heaven and you are on earth, therefore let your words be few.' 20 'Your mind...' Here he shows that the Divine will cannot be known but by wisdom. For here he shows the triple effect of appropriating it, that is, the effect of instructing the intellect, correcting fault, and so corrected, healing nature. So 'Unless you give wisdom...' Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 9 1 Wisd 9.13-17 2 Wisd 9.12 3 Isaiah 40.13 4 Rom 7.15 5 Job 25.6 6 Galat 5.17 7 Job 14.4 8 Gen 8.21 9 Wisd 2.5 10 Ps 141.8 11 Mt 6.31 12 Dan 13.22 13 Job 14.2 14 Rom 7.24 15 Lk 10.41-42 16 Eccl 1.8 17 Eccl 8.16 18 Aristotle, Metaph 2 993b (but bats' eyes for owl) 19 Sirach 3.22 20 Eccl 3.1

Love Of Wisdom

Super salutem et speciem dilexi illam, et proposui pro luce habere illam, quoniam inextinguibile est lumen illius. Hic ostendit sapientiae aestimatae dilectionem. Et primo ostendit huius dilectionis magnitudinem; secundo, rationem: Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa...Super salutem; Glossa: 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, sciliect sapientiam, quia quanto spiritus melior corpore et magis care diligendus, tanto spiritualia meliora sunt corporalibus et magis diligenda. Et eam in tantum dilexo, quod proposui pro luce habere illam, quae, inquam, lux est pulcherrimum et delectabilissimum et optimum inter corporalia, secundum Augustinum; sic sapientia inter spiritualia lux est animae; Ecclesiastici ultimo: 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. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput VII Source: Here, 383c-d

'I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light, for her light cannot be extinguished.' 1 Here he shows love for the wisdom that he has valued. Firstly he shows the greatness of this love, secondly the cause: 'All goods came to me together with her...' 2 'Above health.' Gloss: 'of the body' that is, the interior. The Psalm: 'For vain is the help of man.' 3 And above beauty, Gloss: 'Of what concerns the body',that is, exterior beauty, because, in the thirty first chapter of Proverbs: 'Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain' 4 'I loved her,' that is, wisdom, because as much as the spirit is better than the body, so she should be loved more dearly, and likewise spiritual things should be loved better and more than bodily things. And I loved her so much that 'I chose to have her instead of light,' she who is, I say, the most beautiful, most delightful and best compared to bodily lights, according to Augustine. 5 In this way wisdom, in spiritual matters, is the light of the soul. In the last chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'In its wisdom my soul lamented and it enlightened my ignorance,' 6 And in the same chapter of Wisdom below: 'She is more beautiful than the sun.' It follows: 'For her light cannot be extinguished,' that is, as much as it is from herself. In the same chapter below: 'Being compared with the light, she is found before it, for night succeeds the former.' 7 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 7 1 Wisd 7.10 2 Wisd 7.11 3 Ps 59.13 4 Prov 31.30 5 Aug Confes 10.34 6 Sirach 51.26 7 Wisd 7.29-30

Speech And Requital

Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur. Et bene dixi, quod veniet etc; quoniam auris zeli, zeli, inquam, Dei animas tanquam sponsas zelantis, audit omnia, scilicet verba tam mala quam bona quam indifferentia, sicut zelotypus homo diligenter audit et notat verba sponsae et loquentium cum ea; Exodi vigesimo: Ego sum Deus fortis zelotes, etc. Et tumultus murmurationum, quibus homines murmurant contra Deum; Ecclesiastici trigesimo tertio: Praecordia fatui quasi rota plaustri. Et dicitur tumultus, quia homo murmurans, quasi intra dentes suos tumultuet, non clare enuntiat. Non abscondetur, sed toti mundo propalabitur; Lucae duodecimo: Nihil opertum , quod non reveletur; neque absconditum, quod non sciatur. Exodi decimo: Audivi murmurationes filiorum Israel. Custodite ergo vos a murmuratione quæ nihil prodest, et a detractione parcite linguæ: quoniam sermo obscurus in vacuum non ibit, os autem quod mentitur occidit animam. Hic monet ad pravae locutionis cautelam: et primo ponit suam exhortationem; secundo, exhortationis necessitatem. Quoniam sermo, etc. Construendum autem, sive continuandum sic: Ex quo non abscondetur tumultus, etc, custodite ergo vos a murmuratione , scilicet contra Deum. Quae nihil prodest, imo multum obest; unde primo ad Corinthios decimo: Quidam eorum murmuraverunt, et perierunt ab exterminatore. Et a detractione , scilicet contra proximum; Iob sexto: Quare detraxistis sermonibus sanctis veritatis? Parcite linguae: non dicitur: Parcite proximo, sed linguae, scilicet vestrae; quia detrahens alteri, primo seipsum laedit. Unde pejor est detractio serpentino veneno. Seneca: Illud venenum, quod serpentes in aliorum perniciem ferunt, sine sua continent malitia; ipsa detractio partem sui veneni bibit. Glossa: Perniciosae sunt murmurationes et detractiones; ad Romanos primo: Detractores Deo odibiles. Detractores dicit pluraliter, quia detractio fit pluribus modis, scilicet: vel cum occultum bonum negatur; vel cum apertum diminuitur; vel cum occultum malum propalatur; vel quando apertum amplius divulgatur. Et bene dixi: Parcite linguae: quoniam sermo obscurus: Glossa: Occultus, ut est verbum murmuris: In vacuum non ibit, id est, sine poena non remanebit; quia nec sermo otiosus, Matthaeus: De omni verbo otioso, etc. Ergo multo magis de verbo malitioso. Verbum otiosum, ut dicit ibi Glossa, est quod dicitur sine utilitate loquentis, vel audientis. Hieronymus: Omne quod non aedificat loquentes, in periculum vertitur loquentium. Os autem quod mentitur, scilicet detrahendo, occidit animam: Glossa: mucrone peccati animam mentientis. Psalmus: Perdes omnes, qui loquuntur mendacium. Et notandum, quod loquitur de mendacio pernicioso, quod est mortale; non de jocoso, vel officioso. Unde Glossa: Est mendacium levioris culpae, cum quis praestando beneficium, mentitur. Sed videtur, quod aliquod mendacium sit bonum et meritorium, quia obstetrices mentientes meruerunt praemium apud justum judicem, scilicet Deum, qui falli non potest, ut patet. Dicendum secundum Glossam , quod non est remunerata mendacii , sed pietatis earum benevolentia. Sed numquid unum et idem factum fuit peccatum, et tamen habuit benevolentiae meritum? Et videtur, quod sic: dicit enim Glossa: Deus unum idemque factum , propter bonum, malum condonat , et bonum remunerat. Dicendum, quod unum fuit connexione, non indivisibile; quia aliud fuit intentio liberandi, aliud voluntas mentiendi, licet coordinata. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 362b-363a

Because the zealous ear hears all, and a tumult of murmuring shall not be hidden. 1 And well I have said that a report will come, 2 because the zealous ear, I say, of the zeal of God, who is zealous for souls as for brides, hears all things, that is, words whether they be evil, good or indifferent, just as a jealous man carefully listens and takes note of the words of the bride, and of those speaking with her: 'I am the Lord your God, mighty, zealous,' 3 Even 'a tumult of murmuring,' by which men murmur against God: 'The heart of a fool is like a wheel of a cart.' 4 And it says 'tumult' because a man murmuring is as one making a noise within the teeth but not speaking clearly. 'Shall not be hidden,' but it shall made known to the whole world:'There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known.' 5 'I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel.' 6 Therefore keep yourselves from murmuring, which profits nothing, and spare the tongue detraction, because a word  that is secret shall not go for nothing and the mouth which lies kills the soul. 7 This exhorts caution against evil speech, and firstly gives its exhortation, secondly the necessity for the exhortation: 'Because a word...' must understood or put in connection with: 'a tumult of murmuring shall not be hidden...' 'Keep yourselves from murmuring,' that is, against God. 'Which profits nothing,' rather it is harmful; whence: 'Some of them murmured and they were destroyed by the destroyer.' 8 And from detraction, that is, against a neighbour: 'Why have you detracted the words of truth?' 9 'Spare the tongue...' It does not say: 'spare a neighbour,' but the tongue, that is, yours, because, by detraction one first harms oneself. So detraction is worse than the venom of a snake. Seneca: 'The poison that snakes have to harm others does not harm them, but detraction drinks a part of its own poison.' 10 Gloss: 'Murmurings and detractions are ruinous.' 'Detractors, hateful to God.' 11 He says detractors in the plural because there are many ways of detraction, that is: when a hidden good is denied, or when it is diminished when it is revealed, or when a hidden evil is revealed, or when it is disseminated further when it is revealed. And well I have said: 'Spare the tongue, because a secret word...' Gloss: 'Secret, just as is a word of murmuring,' 'Shall not go for nothing,' that is, it will not go without punishment, as neither will an idle word; Matthew: 'For every idle word...' 12 therefore, much more for a malicious word. 'An idle word,' as the Gloss says, 'is spoken without profit for speaker or listener.' Jerome: 'Everything that does not edify listeners becomes a danger for the speakers.' 13 'The mouth which lies...' that is, by detraction, 'kills the soul.' The Gloss: 'By the sword's point of sin the soul of a liar is slain.' 'You will destroy all who speak a lie.' 14 Note that it speaks here about the destructive lie, one that is mortal, not a facetious or official one, whence a Gloss says: 'A lie has less fault when someone lies to gain a benefit.' But it seems that a certain lie can be good and meritorious because by lying the midwives merited a reward from the just judge, that is, God, who cannot be deceived, as is clear in the first chapter of Exodus. 15 But according to a Gloss it must be said that 'it was not a reward for a lie but for the goodness of their piety.' But can one and the same action be a sin and also have merit as a good? It would seem that it can, for a Gloss says: 'For one and the same deed, God pardons evil for the sake of good and rewards the good.' It must be said that it was one action by connection not by indivisibility, because the intention to free was different from the will to lie, even though they are connected. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Chapter 1 1 Wisd 1.10 2 Wisd 1.9 3 Exod 20.5 4 Sirach 33.5 5 Luke 12.2 6 Exod 16.12 7 Wisd 1.11 8 1 Cor 10.10 9 Job 6.25 10 Seneca Epis 81.22 11 Rom 1.30 12 Mt 12.36 13 Jerome Epis 64.5 14 Ps 5.7 15 Exod 1.15-21

The Four Earths

Diligte iusitiam qui iudicatis terram... Notandum autem quod legitur esse quadruplex terra, scilicet terra superior, terra, inquam, viventium, de qua in Psalmo: Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium. Inferior terra, scilicet mortuorum; Ezechielis trigesimo primo: Ecce, dedectus es cum lignis voluptatis ad terram ultimam. Exterior terra, sciliect morientium, scilicet praesens mundus; Apocalypsis octavo: Vae, vae, vae, habitantibus in terra! id et, in mundo. Interior terra, scilicet mortis, id est corpus mortale et terrenum; Ecclesiastici decimo: Quid superibus, terra et cinis? Prima terra non subiacet iudicio nostro, quia non est in nostra potestate; et ideo bene dictum est Petro Matthaei decimo sexto: Quodcumque ligaveris super terram, non super caelum. Secunda iam iudicata est nec potest poenitere; Ioannis tertio: Qui non credit iam iudicatus est. Tertia iudicanda est iudicio iustitiae, secundum illiud Psalmi: Recte iudicate, filii hominum. Quarta iudicanda est iudicio disciplinae discretae, secundum illud Ecclesiastici trigesimo tertio: Cibaria et virga et onus asino; panis et disciplina et opus servo, id est, corpori, quod spiritui servire cogendum est, exemplo beati Martini, qui, artus febre fatiscentes spiritui servire cogebat; item exemplo Pauli dicentis: Castigo corpus meum et in servitutem redigo, in qua scilicet erat in statu innocentiae; redigo, per virtutem et opera poenitentiae. Praedicto servo debetur sustentatio panis, ne deficiat; virga disciplinae, ne lasciviat; et occupatio sancti operis , ne torpeat. Sanctus Boneventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Caput I Source: Here, 360e-

Love righteousness, you who judge the earth... 1 It should be noted that we read a fourfold earth, namely, a higher earth, an earth, I say, of the living of which it says in the Psalm: 'I believe I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.' 2 A lower earth, namely, of the dead, as in the thirty first chapter of Ezekiel: 'Behold, you are brought down with the trees of pleasure to the lowest parts of the earth.' 3 An external world, namely, of the dying, that is, the present world; as in the eighth chapter of the Apocalypse: 'Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth,' 4 that is, in the world. An interior world, namely of death, that is, a mortal and earthly body; as in the tenth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Why so proud, earth and ashes?' 5 The first earth is not subject to our judgment because it is not under our power, and so it is well said to Peter in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew: 'Whatever you shall bind on earth', that is, not on heaven. 6 The second earth cannot do penance because it is already judged, as in the third chapter of John: 'He who does not believe is already judged.' 7 The third earth has to be judged by a judgment of justice, according to the Psalm: 'Judge rightly, sons of men.' 8 The fourth earth has to be judged by a judgment of prudent discipline according to the thirty third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Fodder and a stick and a burden are for an ass; bread and correction and work for a slave,' 9 that is, for the body, which must be driven to serve the spirit, as seen in the example of Saint Martin who 'as his strength failed, he compelled it to serve the spirit.' Also in the example of Paul who said: 'I chastise my body and bring it into subjection,' 10 just as it was in the state of innocence, I bring it by effort and works of penance. A portion of bread must be given to this servant lest it perish, and the stick lest it run wild, and an engagement in holy work, lest it become sluggish. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Book of Wisdom, Chapter 2 1 Wisd 1.1 2 Ps 26.13 3 Ezek 31.18 4 Apoc 8.13 5 Sirach 10.9 6 Mat 16.19 7 Jn 3.18 8 Ps 57.2 9 Sirach 33.25 10 1 Cor 9.27