Collation 2 - Collations on the Hexaemeron — Bonaventure
English Latin
200 On the Fullness of Wisdom in Which Speech Must End, That Is: On the Door of Wisdom and Its Beauty COLLATIO II DE PLENITUDINE SAPIENTIAE, IN QUA SERMO TERMINANDUS EST, SCILICET DE SAPIENTIAE PORTA ET FORMA
A. On the Fullness of Wisdom in Which Speech Must End, That Is: on the Door of Wisdom and its Beauty
1. IN THE midst of the Church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory. It has been shown above to whom a doctor should direct his speech and whence he should begin. It remains now to see where he must end it: and that is in the fullness of wisdom and understanding. Concerning wisdom, four points are to be noted: its origin, its dwelling, its door, and its beauty. The first two have been covered in the Collations on the Seven Gifts where (as to the origin ) it was said that wisdom was a light coming down from the Father of Lights within the soul, and that by radiating through it, made it in the form of God, and the house of God. This descending light makes the intellective power beautiful, the affective power delightful, and the operative power strong. This dwelling is built with seven columns which blessed James clearly touched upon: But, he wrote, the wisdom that is from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, moderate, docile, in harmony with good things, full of mercy and good fruits, without dissimulation. It is of this house that Matthew writes: "Everyone therefore who hears these My words and acts upon them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his house on rock." 1. In medio Ecclesiae aperiet os eius et adimplebit illum spiritu sapientiae et intellectus et stola gloriae vestiet illum , Ecclesiastici decimo quinto. Ostensum est supra, quibus debet doctor sermonem depromere, et unde debet incipere. Modo ostendendum est, ubi debet terminare: quia in plenitudine sapientiae et intellectus. De sapientia autem nota quatuor: quis ortus, quae domus, quae porta, quae forma. De duobus primis dictum est in Collationibus septem donorum, ubi dicebatur, quod sapientia est lux descendens a Patre luminum in animam et radians in eam facit animam deiformem et domum Dei. Ista lux descendens facit intellectivam speciosam, affectivam amoenam, operativam robustam. -- Haec domus septem columnis aedificatur, quas beatus Iacobus manifeste tangit. Quae desursum est , inquit, sapientia primum quidem pudica est, deinde pacifica, modesta, suadibilis, bonis consentiens, plena misericordia et fructibus bonis, non iudicans, sine aemulatione . De ista domo dicitur Matthaei septimo: Omnis, qui audit verba mea haec et facit ea, assimilabitur viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram .
2. The door to wisdom is a yearning for it and a powerful desire . Hence the Psalm: "Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.'' That is the road by which wisdom comes within me, by which I go into wisdom, and wisdom comes into me, and likewise charity. Hence God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Such wisdom cannot be obtained without supreme mutual pleasure, but where there is supreme mutual pleasure, supreme yearning must have come first. "Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice: and God will give her to thee." Observing justice helps to obtain it, as the tendency of matter inclines to the form and makes it able to be joined to the form through the medium of dispositions. Not that these dispositions perish, or even less, that they are fulfilled either in the human bodies or in others. And so keeping justice brings forth wisdom. Hence, she is the refulgence of the eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age. 2. Porta sapientiae est concupiscentia eius et vehemens desiderium; unde in Psalmo: Aperi os tuum, et ego adimplebo illud . Haec est via, per quam sapientia venit in me, per quam ego intro ad sapientiam, et sapientia intrat in me, sicut caritas similiter. Unde Deus caritas est, et qui manet in caritate in Deo manet et Deus in eo . Haec autem sapientia non habetur nisi cum summa complacentia; ubi autem summa complacentia est, praecedit summa concupiscentia; in Ecclesiastico: Fili, concupiscens sapientiam conserva iustitiam, et Deus praebebit illam tibi . -- Observatio iustitiae disponit ad eam habendam, sicut appetitus materiae inclinat ad formam et facit eam habilem, ut coniungatur formae mediantibus dispositionibus; non quod illae dispositiones perimentur, immo magis complentur sive in corpore humano, sive in aliis. Observatio igitur iustitiae introducit sapientiam. Unde Sapientiae septimo: Candor est lucis aeternae et speculum sine macula Dei maiestatis et imago bonitatis illius. Et cum sit una, omnia potest, et in se permanens omnia innovat et per nationes in animas sanctas se transfert .
3. The manner in which such wisdom is obtained is clearly seen from authority and through examples. As to the former, the Book of Wisdom reads: For the first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for her; then, care for discipline is love of her; love means the keeping of her laws; to observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility; and incorruptibility makes one close to God; thus the desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom. If, then, you find pleasure in throne and scepter, you princes of the peoples, honor Wisdom, that you may reign forever. But discipline is twofold: scholastic and personal, the latter concerning ethics. And scholastic discipline without personal discipline is insufficient for wisdom: for a man becomes wise not merely by listening: he must also conform. Hence the Psalm on wisdom reads: Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge. For there is no knowledge without precedent discipline, nor discipline without precedent goodness. Hence it is through goodness and discipline that knowledge dwells within us. A sick man is not healed by listening to a physician: he must follow his prescription as the Philosopher says in Book Two of "Ethics." But few walk along that way of wisdom, hence few ever reach it. 3. Quomodo autem habetur haec sapientia, patet ex auctoritate et exemplo. De primo Sapientiae sexto: Initium enim illius verissima est disciplinae concupiscentia. Cura ergo disciplinae dilectio est, et dilectio custodia legum illius est; custoditio autem legum consummatio incorruptionis est; incorruptio autem facit esse proximum Deo. Concupiscentia itaque sapientiae deducit ad regnum perpetuum . Concupiscentia ergo sapientiae generat concupiscentiam disciplinae. -- Disciplina autem duplex est: scholastica et monastica sive morum; et non sufficit ad habendam sapientiam scholastica sine monastica; quia non audiendo solum, sed observando fit homo sapiens. Unde in Psalmo de sapientia: bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam doce me . Scientia enim non habetur nisi praecedat disciplina; nec disciplina, nisi praecedat bonitas; et sic per bonitatem et disciplinam inest nobis scientia. -- Aegrotus enim audiendo medicum nunquam sanatur, nisi praecepta eius observet, sicut dicit Philosophus in secundo Ethicorum . Per istam autem viam sapientiae pauci vadunt, et ideo pauci veniunt ad veram sapientiam.
4. The eager desire for discipline gives birth to love. Hence the proper attention to discipline is love. For if you love discipline, you love virtue in yourself and in others and in its very Source. Discipline, however, does not have to be servile: it may be free, so that it loves the one who imposes it, and acts out of love, not out of fear. If you are poor as a result of discipline, you must love poverty. And the same applies to the other perfections. But love is observance of the laws. If, then, you love what is good, you keep the law, because the purpose of this charge is charity, from a pure heart. When you keep the law, you are sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit; and in this you are drawn away from any love that is not God. 4. Concupiscentia disciplinae parit dilectionem. Cura ergo disciplinae est dilectio. Si enim habes disciplinae dilectionem, eris amator virtutis in te et in aliis et in suo fonte. Disciplina autem non debet esse servilis, sed liberalis, ut diligat disciplinantem, ut ex amore faciat, non ex timore. Si autem propter disciplinam es pauper, oportet, ut diligas paupertatem; et sic de aliis. Dilectio autem custodia legum est. Si enim diligis bonum, observas legem, quia finis praecepti est caritas de corde puro . Quando autem custodis legem, sanctificans et efficeris plenus Spiritu sancto; et tunc abstraheris ab omni amore, qui non est Deus.
5. Such is the holiness Dionysius describes in the twelfth chapter of the "Divine Names": "Holiness," he writes, "is free of every impurity: it is perfect and entirely immaculate in its purity." To be sanctified, then, is to be drawn away from any love that sullies and corrupts and may lead the soul to ruin. In this must the creature resemble the Creator: "You shall be holy," He said, "because I am holy." This holiness makes one God-conformed. That is why the Seraphic spirits cried out: "Holy, holy, holy." 5. Haec enim sanctitas est, quam describit Dionysius De divinis Nominibus , capitulo duodecimo: «Sanctitas, inquit, est ab omni immunditia libera et perfecta et omnino immaculata munditia». Sanctificari ergo est abstrahi ab omni amore inquinativo et corruptivo, qui potest animam corrumpere. In hoc debet creatura assimilari Creatori: Sancti , inquit, estote, quoniam ego sanctus sum . Haec sanctitas facit deiformem; et ideo illi Spiritus seraphici dicebant: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus .
6. But as soon as the soul has been made to resemble God, it enters into that Wisdom, because She is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God. And consequently, she passes into holy souls from age to age. Without holiness, a man cannot be wise. A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon. Holiness is an immediate disposition toward wisdom: hence a yearning and a strong desire are the door to wisdom. Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; 1 pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her. Nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. And I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these. But the author says that he came to this Wisdom through prayer and pleading. For if She is the supreme good, She must be loved supremely; and if She is all good, She must be desired universally and above anything else. The same is seen also in the example of Solomon who asked, not for gold and silver, but for an understanding heart: and so it was given to him. Hence James: If any of you is wanting in wisdom, let him ask it of God, who gives abundantly to all men, and does not reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask with faith, without hesitation. For one who hesitates is not disciplined. This, then is the door. Such a desire extinguishes all others, and makes man to be lifted up from the world. Hence he [the author of the Book of Wisdom] writes: Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty. 6. Cum autem anima deiformis facta est, statim intrat in eam Sapientia, quia candor est lucis aeternae et speculum sine macula Dei maiestatis ; et sequitur: per nationes in animas sanctas se transfert , Sapientiae septimo . Sine sanctitate non est homo sapiens. Unde in Ecclesiastico: Homo sanctus in sapientia manet sicut sol; nam stultus sicut luna mutatur . Sanctitas dispositio immediata est ad sapientiam: ergo concupiscentia et vehemens desiderium porta est sapientiae; Sapientiae septimo: Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus, et invocavi, et venit in me spiritus sapientiae. Et praeposui illam regnis et sedibus, et divitias nihil duxi in comparatione illius , usque ibi: Laetatus sum in omnibus, quoniam antecedebat me ista sapientia, et ignorabam, quoniam omnium horum mater est . -- Sed dicit, quod habuit illam optando et invocando. Si enim summum bonum est, summe amanda est; si autem omne bonum est, universaliter appetenda est et super omnia. -- Similiter patet exemplo Salomonis, quia non petivit aurum et argentum, sed cor docile ; ideo venit in eum. Unde Iacobus: Si quis vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter et non improperat, et dabitur ei. Postulet autem in fide nihil haesitans . Qui enim haesitat non est disciplinatus. Haec est ergo porta. Huiusmodi autem concupiscentia extinguit omnes concupiscentias et hominem sublevatum facit a mundo. Unde dicit: Hanc amavi et exquisivi a iuventute mea, et quaesivi sponsam mihi eam assumere, et amator factus sum formae illius .
7. For the beauty of Wisdom is wondrous, and no one looks upon her without admiration and ecstasy, as it is said of Esther and of Solomon, for all the earth desired to see Solomon's face; and the Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and when she saw the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord: she had no longer any spirit in her. But we should be afraid of what the Lord says in the Gospel: "The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here." The Jews refused to listen to wisdom from the mouth of Wisdom; and we who possess Christ within ourselves refuse to listen to His wisdom. This is the supreme abomination: that the most beautiful daughter of the king is offered to us as a bride, and we choose to be coupled with the filthiest servant and to deal with harlots; and we want to go back to Egypt, to the lowliest food, since we reject the food from heaven. 7. Forma autem sapientiae est mirabilis, et nullus eam aspicit sine admiratione et ecstasi, ut dicitur de Esther et de Salomone, cuius vultum desiderabat videre universa terra ; et regina Saba venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis ; et cum videret ordines ministrantium vestesque eorum et pincernas et holocausta, quae offerebat in domo Domini, non habebat ultra spiritum . -- Sed timendum quod dicit Dominus in Evangelio: Regina austri resurget in iudicio cum generatione ista et condemnabit eam, quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis, et plus quam Salomon hic . Iudaei nolebant audire sapientiam de ore Sapientiae; et nos habemus Christum intra nos, et nolumus audire sapientiam eius. Abominatio maxima est, quod filia regis pulcherrima offertur nobis in sponsam, et potius volumus copulari ancillae turpissimae et meretricari; et volumus reverti in Aegyptum ad cibum vilissimum, et nolumus refici cibo caelesti.
8. That beauty (of Wisdom) is wondrous, for at times it is uniform and at others manifold; at times it assumes every form, and at others none. Light clothes itself in four different ways. For it is seen as uniform in the rules of divine Law, as manifold in the mysteries of divine Scriptures, as assuming every form in the traces of the divine works, and as without any form in the elevations of divine raptures. 8. Ista forma est mirabilis, quia modo est uniformis, modo est multiformis, modo omniformis, modo nulliformis. Quadriformi igitur se vestit lumine. Apparet autem uniformis in regulis divinarum legum, multiformis in mysteriis divinarum Scripturarum, omniformis in vestigiis divinorum operum, nulliformis in suspendis divinorum excessuum.
9. The first is referred to in the sixth chapter of Wisdom: Resplendent and unfading is wisdom—with whom there is no change , no shadow of alteration—and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of man's desire. And so, she appears unchanging in the rules of divine Law that bind us. These rules filling the rational mind with splendid light are all the ways by which the mind knows and judges that which could not be otherwise, the fact that the supreme Principle must be supremely venerated, that the supreme Truth must be supremely believed in and assented to, and that the supreme Good must be supremely desired and loved. And such are the rules of the first tablet; and in these wisdom is seen, for they are so certain that they could not be otherwise. 9. De primo, Sapientiae sexto: Clara est quae nunquam marcescit sapientia -- quia apud illam non est transmutatio nec vicissitudinis obumbratio -- et facile videtur ab his qui diligunt eam, et invenitur ab his qui quaerunt illam. Praeoccupat qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prior ostendat . Haec igitur apparet immutabilis in regulis divinarum legum, quae nos ligant. Regulae istae mentibus rationalibus ^splendentes sunt omnes illi modi, per quos mens cognoscit et iudicat id quod aliter esse non potest, utpote quod summum principium summe venerandum; quod summo vero summe credendum et assentiendum; quod summum bonum summe desiderandum et diligendum. -- Et haec sunt in prima tabula; et in his apparet sapientia, quod ita certa sunt, quod aliter esse non possunt.
10. These rules are beyond error, doubt, and judgment, for judgment is by them, and not of them. Hence such wisdom is clear. They are also beyond change, restriction, and cancellation; hence such wisdom never wastes away. For these rules are so certain that they cannot be contradicted in any way, except as regards exterior reason, as the Philosopher writes in the First Book of "Analytica Posteriora." For they are rooted in Eternal Light and lead to it, but this does not make such light visible. Nor should it be said that they are founded on any created light, as for instance in a certain Intelligence^: that enlightens the minds. For since these rules are unrestricted in that they offer themselves to the minds of all, it would follow that a created light could be unrestricted and would be pure act, which is impossible. And anyone who holds such an opinion weakens the fountain of wisdom and creates an idol, making a god out of an angel, which is worse than if a man were to make a god out of a stone. For indeed such wisdom irradiates the soul: sitting by his gate, she hastens to make herself known by anticipation. 10. Hae regulae sunt infallibiles, indubitabiles, iniudicabiles, quia per illas est iudicium, et non est de illis. Et ideo clara est haec sapientia. -- Sunt etiam incommutabiles, incoarctabiles, interminabiles; et ideo nunquam marcescit. Sic enim certae sunt, ut nullo modo sit eis contradicere «nisi ad exterius-rationem», secundum Philosophum, in libro primo Posteriorum . Hae enim radicantur in luce aeterna et ducunt in eam, sed non propter hoc ipsa videtur. Nec est dicendum, quod fundantur in aliqua luce creata, utpote in aliqua Intelligentia, quae illuminet mentes; quia, cum illae regulae sint incoarctabiles, quia mentibus omnium se offerunt, tunc sequeretur, quod lux creata esset incoarctabilis et esset actus purus, quod absit; et qui hoc dicit enervat fontem sapientiae et facit idolum, ut Angelum, Deum, et plus quam qui lapidem Deum facit. Haec enim sapientia radiat super animam, quia assistit prae foribus, ut se , inquit, prior illis ostendat *.
11. Again, wisdom appears as manifold in the mysteries of divine Scriptures. This multiformity of the mysteries is shown in the Apostle's letter to the Ephesians: To me, the very least of all saints, there was given this grace, to announce among the Gentiles the good tidings of the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all men as to what is the dispensation of the mystery which has been hidden from all eternity in God, who created all things; in order that through the Church there he made known to the Principalities and the Powers in the heavens the manifold wisdom of God7 It should not be understood that Paul is teaching the angels: they are made to know, in the sense that they are made to know through their ministry, as if it were said that the Law is given by the angels, meaning through their ministry. 11. Item, apparet sapientia ut multiformis in mysteriis divinarum Scripturarum. Hanc multiformitatem mysteriorum ostendit Apostolus ad Ephesios: Mihi omnium Sanctorum minimo data est haec gratia in gentibus, evangelizare investigabiles divitias gratiae Christi et illuminare omnes, quae sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a saeculis in Deo, qui omnia creavit, ut innotescat Principatibus et Potestatibus in caelestibus per Ecclesiam multiformis sapientia Dei . Non est intelligendum quod Paulus doceat Angelos, sed dicitur innotescere , quia ministerio ipsorum innotescunt, sicut dicitur, quod Lex per Angelos data est, hoc est per ministerium Angelorum.
12. And so this wisdom is called manifold because there are many ways of expressing it. Hence it was necessary that wisdom be shown under many figures, many sacraments, many signs, in order also that it be hidden to the proud and revealed to the humble. These veils cover Christ, hiding wisdom from the wise and impure. Hence in Matthew: "1 praise Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones." Well did the Apostle write: To me, the very least of all saints, etc. 12. Haec igitur sapientia dicitur multiformis, quia multi sunt modi exprimendi; et ideo necesse fuit, ut ostendatur sapientia in multis figuris, multis Sacramentis, multis signis, ut etiam veletur superbis, aperiatur humilibus. Haec velamina claudunt Christum, occultant sapientiam sapientibus et immundis. Unde in Matthaeo: Confiteor tibi, Pater, domine caeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus et revelasti ea parvulis . Et ideo bene ait Apostolus: Mihi omnium Sanctorum minimo etc.
13. But how does Paul announce.. .the good tidings of the unfathomable riches of Christ? This is how: So, he writes, there abide faith, hope and charity, these three. There shines forth a threefold signification in Scriptures, teaching what to believe, what to expect, and what to do. What to believe, in terms of faith; what to expect, in terms of hope; what to do, in terms of charity, which consists in action, and not only in affective dispositions. "If anyone love Me, he will keep My word." And certain of these points are subdivided. 13. Sed quomodo Paulus evangelizat investigabiles divitias gratiae Christi ? Sic: Nunc , inquit, manent fides, spes, caritas, tria haec . -- Triplex refulget intelligentia in Scriptura, quae docet, quid credendum, quid exspectandum, quid operandum: quid credendum quantum ad fidem ; quid exspectandum quantum ad spem ; quid operandum quantum ad caritatem, quae consistit in operatione, non solum in affectione, Ioannis decimo quarto: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit . Et quaelibet istarum est biforcata.
14. Faith, indeed, is a union of the Head with the body. The shining of light as related to faith is called allegory, and it is twofold, one directed to the Head and the other to the body. For there is one directed to the crucified Head, that was born, etc., and another directed to the body, that is, the Church, primitive, intermediate, and final4 And Solomon praises the Church in this manner, according to its threefold state: Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, etc.?— Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatic spices, of myrrh and frankincense, etc.?— Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? 14. Fides enim est in iunctura capitis et corporis. Refulgentia quantum ad fidem est allegoria, et haec duplex: una ad caput, alia ad corpus. Est enim una, quae fertur ad caput crucifixum, natum etc.; alia, quae fertur ad corpus, ad Ecclesiam primam, mediam et ultimam; et hoc modo laudat Ecclesiam Salomon in Cantico secundum triplicem illum statum. Quae est ista , inquit, quae ascendit, quasi aurora consurgens, pulcra ut luna, electa ut sol etc. -- Quae est ista quae ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae et thuris etc. -- Quae est ista, quae ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens et innixa super dilectum suum? .
15. Concerning the allegory of the Head, Paul writes: I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (for they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ). And concerning the allegory of the body: It is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a slave-girl and the other by a free woman. And the son of the slave-girl was born according to the flesh, but the son of the free woman in virtue of the promise. This is said by way of allegory. For these are the two covenants. There is no need for further explanations, for two peoples are understood here. 15. De allegoria capitis dicit Paulus: Nolo, vos ignorare, fratres, quoniam patres nostri omnes sub nube fuerunt, et omnes mare transierunt, et omnes in Moyse baptizati sunt in nube et mari, et omnes eandem escam spiritualem manducaverunt, et omnes eundem potum spiritualem biberunt. Bibebant autem de spirituali consequente eos petra; petra autem erat Christus . -- De allegoria corporis: Scriptum est quod Abraham duos filios habuit, unum de ancilla et unum de libera; sed qui de ancilla, secundum carnem natus est; qui autem de libera, per repromissionem, quae sunt per allegoriam dicta. Haec autem sunt duo testamenta . Non oportuit, ut amplius explanaret, quia per illa intelliguntur duo populi.
16. In another sense, in the order of hope, concerning, that is, what we should expect, there is anagogy , and this in two ways: one in the skies, as in this passage: "Abram, look at the heavens and, if you can, count the stars." And that means the heavenly intelligences. Again, in Job: "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?" The other way is above the skies, as in the case of Abraham who saw three men and worshiped one, for the Trinity appeared in these three; and in the case of the two angels who were sent to Sodom, the Son and the Holy Spirit who are sent by the Father; and because the Father is never sent, He was not seen there, but He was seen in the case of the three men, for here He appeared and was not sent. Hugh of St. Victor uses these expressions: heavenly hierarchy, superheavenly hierarchy, and subheavenly hierarchy. Some say this is not properly said, but they are wrong, for in each case there is a holy primacy. 16. Iuxta aliam intelligentiam quae est per spem, quid scilicet est exspectandum, sumitur anagogia, et haec est duplex, scilicet caelestis, ut ibi: Abraham, suspice caelum et numera stellas, si potes , scilicet caelestes Intelligentias; et in Iob: Nunquid nosti ordinem caeli, aut rationem eius pones in terra? . -- Alia supercaelestis, ut in Abraham, qui «tres vidit et unum adoravit» , quia in illis Trinitas apparuit; et in duobus Angelis qui missi sunt Sodomam , Filius et Spiritus sanctus, qui mittuntur a Patre; et ideo, quia Pater nunquam missus est, ibi non apparuit, sed apparuit in illis tribus, quia Pater apparuit, sed nunquam missus est. -- Hugo dicit ista vocabula: hierarchia caelestis, supercaelestis, subcaelestis. Quidam dicunt, quod improprie dicantur; sed falsum est, quia utrobique est sacer principatus.
17. Thirdly, there is tropology in the third sense. It teaches us what to do. It is of two kinds. One pertains to the active life: it teaches us how to act. The other pertains to the contemplative life: it teaches us how to contemplate, how the soul can be carried to God. It is not anagogy, since it is a mere preparation of the soul, and thus, starting from the lowest point, it tends to the highest. Hence this wisdom is hidden and veiled to the wise who cannot understand Scriptures. For neither Scriptures nor the mysteries can be understood without knowing the world's course and the position of the hierarchies. 17. Tertia est tropologia iuxta tertiam intelligentiam, quae docet, quid agendum. Haec duplex: quaedam pertinet ad activam, ubi docetur quid agendum; quaedam ad contemplativam, ubi docetur quomodo contemplandum, quomodo anima feratur in Deum; nec tamen est anagogia, cum sit praeparatio animae, et sic ab infimo tendit ad supremum. -- Haec ergo sapientia est abscondita et velata superbis, qui non sunt potentes Scripturas intelligere. Scripturae intelligi non possunt nec mysteria, nisi sciatur decursus mundi et dispositio hierarchica.
18. God's wisdom appears most beautifully in these mysteries, even more than in the first manner. For if, so to speak, I wish to praise the bride in that she is pretty and truthful: if I simply say that she is pretty and truthful, my heart is not affected very deeply. But if I say: "Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, thy neck as jewels," I praise her marvelously, if only I understand. I praise her not only as being chaste and good, but as being chaste and loving because of her love for her spouse. For the turtle dove is a chaste and loving bird, since out of love for its mate, as long as the mate lives, it consorts with no other, but only after it dies. Hence the bride is good, not merely because she is chaste, but because she is chaste out of love for her spouse. Hence the cheeks are beautiful, for they are prominent and beauty appears in them. Thy neck as jewels: the neck, through which the voice is emitted, stands for truth; the jewels, that adorn the breast and bind it, stand for discretion, for if one tells the truth at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, in the wrong place or to the wrong people, this is not beautiful truth. 18. In his ergo mysteriis pucherrime apparet Dei sapientia, plus etiam quam primo modo. Sicut, verbi gratia, volo laudare sponsam, quod sit pulcra, quod sit verax; si dicam simpliciter: pulcra est, verax est; non afficitur multum cor meum; sed cum dico: Pulcrae sunt genae tuae sicut turturis, collum tuum sicut monilia ; mirabiliter eam commendo, dum intelligo. Commendo enim eam non solum ut castam et honestam, sed quod propter amorem sponsi casta est et amorosa. Turtur enim avis casta est et amorosa, quia propter amorem comparis, ipso vivente, nulli coniungitur nec post eius mortem. Sponsa igitur honesta non est, quia casta, sed quia casta propter amorem sponsi. Pulcrae igitur sunt genae, quae sunt prominentes, in quibus apparet pulcritudo. Collum tuum sicut monilia ; collum, per quod vox emittitur, veritas; monilia, quae ornant pectus et stringunt, discretio, quia, si quis dicat veritatem et non, quando debet, vel ut non debet, vel ubi non debet, vel quibus non debet; non est pulcra veritas.
19. This wisdom results from many mysteries of the Scriptures, as out of many mirrors there results a multiplication of light rays and fires. These are the mirrors of the women out of which the bronze laver was made; this is Scriptures, with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,... being transformed into His very image from glory to glory : from the clarity of allegory to the clarity of anagogy, and again to that of tropology. This wisdom is given according to the measure of faith, according as God has apportioned to each one the measure of faith. For in the measure in which a man seizes the mind, in that measure does he become wiser —and faith is obtained through humility. Paul claims that he professes such wisdom. Moses established the rules and the laws, therefore his face was horned, but that of the Apostle was unveiled. 19. Haec sapientia resultat ex multis mysteriis Scripturae, sicut ex multis speculis fiunt multiplicationes radiorum et ignium; haec sunt specula mulierum , de quibus fit labrum aeneum ; haec est Scriptura, ut revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eandem imaginem transformemur a claritate in claritatem : a claritate allegoriae in claritatem anagogiae, et rursus tropologiae. Haec sapientia datur secundum mensuram fidei et unicuique, sicut Deus divisit mensuram fidei ; quia, secundum quod homo magis intellectum captivat, secundum hoc sapientior efficitur, et fides habetur per humilitatem. Huiusmodi sapientiae Paulus dicit se professorem. Moyses autem posuit regulas et leges, ideo habuit faciem cornutam, sed Apostolus revelatam.
20. Again, the third face of wisdom has every form in the traces of divine works. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed; and who hath known her wise counsels? To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest? And who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps? There is one most high Creator, Almighty. And below: He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her. And He poured her out upon all His works. This wisdom has been made manifest, hence wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the open squares she raises her voice. And yet we do not find her, resembling the unlettered man who owns a book and has no concern for it. And so with us: the Scriptures were given to us in Greek, in the vernacular and in Hebrew, and yet they are unknown as a source. 20. Item, tertia facies sapientiae est omniformis in vestigiis divinorum operum. Unde in Ecclesiastico: Radix sapientiae cui revelata est, et astutias illius quis agnovit? Disciplina sapientiae cui revelata est et manifestata, et multiplicationem ingressus illius quis intellexit? Unus est altissimus Creator omnium omnipotens . Sequitur: Ipse creavit illam in Spiritu sancto et vidit et dinumeravit et dimensus est et effudit illam super omnia opera sua . Haec sapientia manifestata est; unde: Sapientia foris clamitat, in plateis dat vocem suam . Et tamen nos non invenimus eam, sicut laicus nesciens litteras et tenens librum non curat de eo; sic nos; unde haec scriptura facta est nobis Graeca, barbara et Hebraea et penitus ignota in suo fonte.
21. This wisdom is spread out among all things. For everything possesses a rule of wisdom and displays divine wisdom by reason of some characteristic; and the man who would know all characteristics would clearly see this wisdom. And it is to this study that the philosophers gave themselves, and Solomon himself. And so he speaks to himself, saying: "I will acquire wisdom"; but it was beyond me. For when anyone, out of idle curiosity over creatures, gives himself to the search for this wisdom, it eludes him more than ever. 21. Ista sapientia diffusa est in omni re, quia quaelibet res secundum quamlibet proprietatem habet regulam sapientiae et ostendit sapientiam divinam; et qui sciret omnes proprietates manifeste videret sapientiam istam. Et ad hoc considerandum dederunt se philosophi et etiam ipse Salomon; unde ipsemet se redarguit dicens: Dixi: sapiens efficiar; et ipsa longius recessit a me . Quando enim per curiosam perscrutationem creaturarum dat se quis ad investigandam istam sapientiam; tunc longius recedit.