Wisdom of Solomon 7 · The Lantern

I myself also am a mortal man, like to all, and the offspring of him that was first made of the earth,

And in my mother’s womb was fashioned to be flesh in the time of ten months, being held together in blood, of the seed of man, and the pleasure that came with sleep.

And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do.

I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and that with cares.

For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth.

For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out.

Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

Beloved brothers and sisters, how is it that Solomon, though possessing wisdom in such great abundance and knowing all those things hidden in the secrets of mysterious providence, says that some things are impossible to know? He clearly received wisdom from God.

The lover of wisdom said that he had chosen, invoked, and sought after wisdom, and for this reason, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, he obtained it, because, as the apostle James says: Whoever lacks this, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly and does not reproach (James 1:5); which is rightly preferred to kingdoms, thrones, and all riches, since all precious thi…

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; I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her.

I preferred her before scepters and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison with her.

Neither compared I to her any precious stone, because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand, and silver shall be counted as clay before her.

I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for the light that comes from her never goes out.

The Son was in the bosom of the Father from the beginning, and from the Father's heart he has poured forth a good word. And how can one fail to believe that he who is in the Father's heart, together with him, dwells in inaccessible light?

The salvation of the soul, which is in the possession of divine wisdom, together with works of justice, must absolutely be preferred to all bodily health and to every kind of corporeal things, because, as will be shown later, this wisdom is more beautiful than the sun and surpasses every arrangement of the stars; compared to light, it is found to be purer, since night and darkn…

Above health etc. Here he shows the love of esteemed wisdom. And first he shows the greatness of this love; second, its reason: But all good things came to me etc. (Verse 10).

All good things together came to me with her, and innumerable riches in her hands.

And I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom goes before them: and I knew not that she was the mother of them.

I learned diligently, and do communicate her liberally: I do not hide her riches.

For she is a treasure to men that never fails: which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts that come from learning.

God has granted me to speak as I would, and to conceive as is fitting for the things that are given me: because it is he that leads to wisdom, and directs the wise.

And it often happens that they speak boldly, but nevertheless do not know how to live according to what they say. Therefore a certain wise man rightly said: But may God grant me to speak these things with understanding (Wis. 7:15). For understanding is indeed derived from perception.

God is the guide of wisdom, for the almighty Father is the author of the incarnation of His only-begotten Son, whom He sent into the world so that the human race might receive the illumination of truth. To Him He gave all power in heaven and on earth, for from Him, and through Him, and in Him are all things, and He made us, and not we ourselves.

"For God has given me to speak according to judgment and to conceive thoughts worthy of those things that are given to me. In his hand are both we and our words." It is impossible that wisdom should become doctrine except through speech. But speech is not sufficient for teaching unless it is full of meaning.

For in his hand are both we and our words; all wisdom also, and knowledge of handiwork.

For he has given me certain knowledge of the things that are, namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements:

You see that the human heart is not small, because it understands many things. And you must not suppose that human greatness is in the size of the body but in the capacity of the senses, which can grasp so effectively the knowledge of the truth.

However, how Solomon excelled in wisdom by divine gift, Scripture shows by saying: God also gave Solomon wisdom and very great prudence, and breadth of heart, like the sand that is on the seashore, and Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda,…

Second, what sort of things he taught. For he himself gave me. Here he shows what things and what sort of things God taught him, and first, that he taught him the knowledge of temporal causes; second, of temporal changes: The beginning and the end; third, of temporal effects: The natures of animals. (Vers. 17.).

The beginning, ending, and midst of the times: the alterations of the turning of the sun, and the change of seasons:

The circuits of years, and the positions of stars:

The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild beasts: the violence of winds, and the reasonings of men: the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots:

And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know.

For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit holy, one only, manifold, subtle, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good, quick, which cannot be hindered, ready to do good,

As light does not admit darkness, so the Holy Spirit is by nature incapable of all that is sordid. He departs from thoughts that are without God. He infuses himself into holy souls, transforming them into servants of God and prophets.

"I said, 'You are gods, and all children of the Most High.' And yet you will die like human beings and fall like one of the mighty." Thus they fell from the true discipline dictated by the knowledge of nature, that which was passed down to them by their ancestors and that the first man, he who appeared just after the creation of the universe, could obviously perceive directly a…

Undefiled etc. Here he describes his goodness in his own nature and first his absolute goodness in himself: second, his goodness in comparison to us: Loving the good: third, the immutability of both: Steadfast. He touches upon absolute goodness in three respects, namely in purity, when he says: Undefiled: in truth: Sure: in tranquility, when he says: Sweet. (Verse 22.).

Kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtle, spirits.

For wisdom is more moving than any motion: she passes and goes through all things by reason of her pureness.

For other heretics [the Arians], Christ, who is the very way by which one goes to the Father, is not equal to the Father according to his divinity. And even if he says, "I and the Father are one," they say, "If he was sent by the Father, he is inferior. The one who sends is greater than the one who is sent." This is a human argument, not a divine testimony.

What can be more mobile and subtle than wisdom, which created all things, governs all things, arranges all things, directs all things? For in it we live, move, and have our being. Moreover, it reaches everywhere because of its purity, for it is light, and there is no darkness at all in it.

Wisdom 7: Wisdom is more mobile than all mobile things: it is clear that he speaks of uncreated wisdom: therefore if wisdom itself is most mobile, it seems that the divine being is most mutable among all mutable things.

For she is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty: therefore can no defiled thing fall into her.

Because the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, since he is light from light. If there is a parent, there is also a Son. If there were not a son, how, and of whom, would there be a parent? But both exist, and exist always. Since God is light, Christ is radiance. Since the spirit exists (in fact, "God is spirit"), by analogy Christ is called emanation.

It is evident that the only-begotten Son of God, born from the substance of God the Father, is coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial with the Father, and therefore nothing impure is found in him, because no evil approaches the highest good, but the simple good always remains the same.

It is said of the virtues in the Book of Wisdom: For "she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty." Later, "she is the refulgence of eternal light," referring to purity or moderation; the "mirror," referring to prudence; "she reaches from end to end mightily," referring to fortitude; "and governs all things well," referring to justice.

For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unstained mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness.

If, about what we all profess, you wanted to suggest some similitude in God, I am not sure if you could specify your comparison more clearly. For example, if you were to say "light from light" and had to explain it in detail, I would ask you how you conceive of this light from light. Perhaps like a lamp from a lamp, or a sun from the sun?

So as to show that the Son is infinite along with the Father, the sacred Scripture was careful to say of wisdom, "It is the reflection of the eternal light, a spotless mirror of the majesty of God and an image of his goodness." In this testimony are shown the oneness of nature, the distinction of persons and the infinite equality of the Father and the Son.

The second mode of generation is by means of expression: as in the case of the species coming out of the object, the imprint out of the seal, the speech out of the speaker, or the concept or thought out of the mind. And in these, there is deficiency. In the first, the reality of the object is lacking, for the species in the eye or in the soul is not the reality of the thing.

And being but one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she makes all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, she makes them friends of God, and prophets.

"O the depths of the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments and unsearchable his ways! In fact, who has ever known the thoughts of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given him something, so as to receive something in return? Since from him, because of him and for him all things are.

The Father renews, the Son renews, and the Holy Spirit does the same. About the Father, we read in Jeremiah, "Make us return to you, Lord, and we will return.

Observing justice helps to obtain wisdom, 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.

For God loves none but him that dwells with wisdom.

In your opinion, even those who are born foolish—whom sacred Scripture says should be pitied more than the dead—receive their foolishness as fate from God their creator. But even with these, God undoubtedly loves their souls in some way, because they exist, live and feel, and in any case they are greater than beasts, even if they are dull-minded souls.

If God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom, then surely He hates all followers of foolishness. Therefore, it is declared in this statement that anyone who hates discipline cannot be a partaker of the grace of God, because the Lord is far from the wicked, and he who hates rebuke will die (Prov. 15:29).

(Verse 28). For God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom, namely by remaining with him "who shall meditate on the law of the Lord day and night," according to the Gloss: Proverbs 8: "I, wisdom, dwell in counsel and am present among learned thoughts." And if God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom: "blessed therefore is the man who shall abide in wisdom," Ec…

For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it.

Who would ever ruin the loveliness of a beautiful face by joining it with a beast-like body and claws? Indeed, the appearance of virtue is admirable and splendid, and especially the beauty of wisdom, as the succession of events narrated by Scripture demonstrates. Wisdom is more dazzling than the sun, and, compared with the light of the constellations, it surpasses them all.

According to history, wisdom is said to be more splendid than the sun and the brightness of all the stars: for bodily light, which, being changed by the alternation of day and night, sometimes appears and sometimes is hidden, when compared to the spiritual and perpetual light of wisdom, seems to have scarcely the small brilliance of a certain spark.

Concerning the wisdom of the Exemplar, there is in the seventh chapter of Wisdom: "For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars." It is indeed a beautiful wisdom, because it is light, but it is more beautiful than the sun, since the sun is unable to give birth to its radiance within itself, while the Eternal Sun begets the most beautiful Radianc…

For after this comes night: but vice shall not prevail against wisdom.

If our physician is an expert, he can heal every infirmity. If he is our merciful God, he can forgive every sin. A goodness that does not prevail over every evil is not perfect, nor is a medicine perfect if some disease cannot be cured by it.

Since none of the elect in this life is immune from sin; therefore, no wickedness approaches Christ. Of whom it is written: Blessed is the just man in the Lord who has been found without stain (Sir. 31). And again: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (Isa. 53:9). To whom the prince of this world comes and finds nothing in him.

From this it follows that the eternal light is also the most powerful. Hence, it is said: "Wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily." Behold, the strength of power.

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