Wisdom embraceth them that fear God. God is not the author of sin.
The fruictes of fearing God; 7. Which fooles, and liers reape not, but the wise only. 11. God is no way auctor of sinne, 14. but sinners themselues are the auctors, abusing their freewil.
1He that feareth God, will do good: and he that possesseth justice, shall lay hold on her,Chi teme Dio farà queste buone cose, e chi esattamente osserva la giustizia, possederà la sapienza,HE that feareth God, shal doe good thinges, and he that hath iustice shal apprehend her,Qui timet Deum faciet bona, / et qui continens est justitiæ apprehendet illam: 2And she will meet him as an honourable mother, and will receive him as a wife married of a virgin.Perocché ella gli anderà incontro qual veneranda madre, e qual vergine sposa lo accoglierà.and she wil meete him as an honourable mother, and as a wife from virginitie she wil receiue him.et obviabit illi quasi mater honorificata, / et quasi mulier a virginitate suscipiet illum. 3With the bread of life and understanding, she shall feed him, and give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink: and she shall be made strong in him, and he shall not be moved.Lo nudrirà con pane di vita, e di intelligenza, e daragli da bere dell'acqua di saggezza, e di salute, e in lui fisserà sua sede, ed ei sarà stabile:She shal fede him with the bread of life and vnderstanding, and geue him the water of wholsome wisdom to drinke: and she shal be made sure in him, and he shal not be bowed:Cibabit illum pane vitæ et intellectus, / et aqua sapientiæ salutaris potabit illum: / et firmabitur in illo, et non flectetur: 4And she shall hold him fast, and he shall not be confounded: and she shall exalt him among his neighbours.E sarà suo sostegno, ed ei non sarà confuso: ed ella lo farà grande tra' suoi fratelli.and she shal hold him fast, and he shal not be confounded: and she shal exalt him before his neighbours,et continebit illum, et non confundetur: / et exaltabit illum apud proximos suos, 5And 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.Ella aprirà a lui la bocca in mezzo alla adunanza, riempiendolo di spirito di saggezza, e di intelligenza, e lo rivestirà del manto di gloria.and in the middest of the Church she shal open his mouth, and shal fil him with the spirite of wisdom and vnderstanding, and shal clothe him with a stole of glorie.et in medio ecclesiæ aperiet os ejus, / et adimplebit illum spiritu sapientiæ et intellectus, / et stola gloriæ vestiet illum. 6She shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name.Ella gli accumulerà tesoro di consolazione, e di gaudio, e un nome eterno darà a lui in retaggio.Ioy & exultation she shal heape vpon him, & shal make him inherite an euerlasting name.Jucunditatem et exsultationem thesaurizabit super illum, / et nomine æterno hæreditabit illum.
7But foolish men shall not obtain her, and wise men shall meet her, foolish men shall not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit.Gli uomini stolti non ne faranno acquisto; ma i prudenti le anderanno incontro: gli stolti non la vedranno, perché ella si tien lontana dalla superbia, e dalla frode.Foolish men shal not apprehend her, & wise men shal meete her, foolish men shal not see her: for she is far from pride and deceite.Homines stulti non apprehendent illam, / et homines sensati obviabunt illi. / Homines stulti non videbunt eam: / longe enim abest a superbia et dolo. 8Lying men shall be mindful of her: but men that speak truth shall be found with her, and shall advance, even till they come to the sight of God.I mentitori non faranno menzione di lei; ma gli uomini veritieri si troveranno con lei, e anderanno di bene in meglio fino a veder Dio.Lying men shal not be myndful of her: and true men shal be found in her, and shal haue successe, euen to the beholding of God.Viri mendaces non erunt illius memores: / et viri veraces invenientur in illa, / et successum habebunt usque ad inspectionem Dei. 9Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner:Nulla ha di bello la lode in bocca del peccatore.Prayse is not comelie in the mouth of a sinner:Non est speciosa laus in ore peccatoris, 10For wisdom came forth from God: for praise shall be with the wisdom of God, and shall abound in a faithful mouth, and the sovereign Lord will give praise unto it.Perocché da Dio è la sapienza, e colla sapienza va di conserva la lode di Dio, la quale empierà la bocca dell'uom fedele, e a lui la ispirerà il Signore.Because wisdom proceded from God. For prayse shal be with the wisdom of God, & shal abound in a faithful mouth, & the dominator wil giue praise to yt.quoniam a Deo profecta est sapientia. / Sapientiæ enim Dei astabit laus, / et in ore fideli abundabit, / et Dominator dabit eam illi. 11Say not: It is through God, that she is not with me: for do not thou the things that he hateth.Non istar a dire: da Dio viene, che (la sapienza) lungi si sta. Imperocché non far tu quello, che egli odia.Say not: It is by God, that she is absent: for doe not thou the thinges that he hateth.Non dixeris: Per Deum abest: / quæ enim odit ne feceris. 12Say not: He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of wicked men.Non istar a dire: egli mi ha indotto in errore: perocché non ha egli bisogno, che vi sia degli uomini empj.Say not: He hath made me erre: for impious men are not necessarie for him.Non dicas: Ille me implanavit: / non enim necessarii sunt ei homines impii.
13The Lord hateth all abomination of error, and they that fear him shall not love it.Il Signore odia ogni malvagità, la quale non sarà amata nemmen da quelli, che hanno il timore di lui.Our Lord hateth al abomination of errour, and it shal not be amiable to them, that feare him.Omne execramentum erroris odit Dominus, / et non erit amabile timentibus eum. 14God made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his own counsel.Dio da principio creò l'uomo, e lasciollo in potere de' suoi consiglj.God from the beginning made man, and left him in the hand of his owne counsel.Deus ab initio constituit hominem, / et reliquit illum in manu consilii sui: 15He added his commandments and precepts.Gli diede di più i suoi precetti, e comandamenti.He added his commandmentes and precepts.adjecit mandata et præcepta sua. 16If thou wilt keep the commandments and perform acceptable fidelity for ever, they shall preserve thee.Se serbando costantemente la fedeltà, che a lui piace, vorrai custodire i comandamenti, ei saran tua salute:If thou wilt keepe the commandment, and keepe acceptable fidelitie for euer, they shal preserue thee.Si volueris mandata servare, conservabunt te, / et in perpetuum fidem placitam facere. 17He hath set water and fire before thee: stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt.Egli ha messo davanti a te l'acqua, e il fuoco: prendi qual più ti piace.He hath set before thee water and fire: to which thou wilt, stretch forth thine hande.Apposuit tibi aquam et ignem, / ad quod volueris porrige manum tuam. 18Before man is life and death, good and evil, that which he shall choose shall be given him:Dinanzi all'uomo sta la vita, e la morte, e saragli dato quei, che egli eleggerà:Before man there is life and death, good and euil: what pleaseth him shal be geuen him:Ante hominem vita et mors, bonum et malum: / quod placuerit ei dabitur illi: 19For the wisdom of God is great, and he is strong in power, seeing all men without ceasing.Perocché la sapienza di Dio è grande, ed egli è forte in sua possanza, e vede tutti continuamente.Because the wisdom of God is much, and he is strong in mighte, seing al men without intermission.quoniam multa sapientia Dei, et fortis in potentia, / videns omnes sine intermissione. 20The eyes of the Lord are towards them that fear him, and he knoweth al the work of man.Gli occhi del Signore sono rivolti verso di quei, che lo temono, ed egli tutte osserva le opere degli uomini.The eies of our Lord are towards them that feare him, and he knoweth al the worke of man.Oculi Domini ad timentes eum, / et ipse agnoscit omnem operam hominis.
21He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, and he hath given no man license to sin;Egli a nissuno ha comandato di vivere da empio, e a nissuno ha dato un tempo per peccare:He hath commanded no man to do impiously, and he hath geuen no man space to sinne:Nemini mandavit impie agere, / et nemini dedit spatium peccandi: 22For he desireth not a multitude of faithless and unprofitable children.Perocché non ama egli di avere molti figliuoli infedeli, e disutili.for he desireth not a multitude of faithlesse and vnprofitable children.non enim concupiscit multitudinem / filiorum infidelium et inutilium.
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Haydock
Good. Greek, "these things, and he who possess the knowledge of the law will find her," (Calmet) or, "he who keeps the law, will receive her." (Grabe) (1 Corinthians 4:20.) (Haydock)
Worthington
All who resolve to be virtuous, will have God's grace, which preventeth them, and continueth to afford them assistance. (Worthington)
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Haydock
She. Or Greek, "he shall open his mouth, (6.) he shall find joy and a crown of exultation, and shall inherit," etc. (Haydock)
Calmet
Church, or assembly of the people. In both, the wise shall be heard with respect. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Praise. Or Greek, "a proverb," Proverbs 17:7., and 26:7. (Calmet)
David invites even dragons to praise God, but sinners never. (St. Chrysostom, orat. prebyt.) (Psalm 49:16.)
Worthington
The person who preaches well, and lives not accordingly, injures God. (Worthington)
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Wisdom. Greek, "it was not sent to him, (Calmet) or he was not commissioned by the Lord. For praise shall be spoken in wisdom, and the Lord will give him success."
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Calmet
She. Ignorance and vice are defects, and consequently not the work of God, but of the perversion of free-will. See James 1:13., and Ezechiel 33:11. (St. Augustine, Grat. et. lib. ii.) (Calmet)
Worthington
Beza says, that God ordained Adam's fall, but for a good end; and decreed justly what men unjustly perform, (ref. Castel. ii.) which is refuted here, and Deuteronomy 7:11., etc. (Worthington)
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St. Augustine
Counsel. Many explain this of Adam, before his fall, when he stood not in need of asking continually for God's assistance. (St. Augustine, correp. 2:n. 35.)
Haydock
But if we examine the context, it shews that man, in his present state, is declared inexcusable if he yield to sin, as he has still free-will, which may avoid it, with the grace of God, (Calmet) which is always ready to support us. Greek subjoins, (ver. 16.) "if thou wilt, thou shall keep the commandments, even to execute faithfully the good pleasure. (17.) He." etc. (Haydock)
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Calmet
Precepts. These would never be imposed, if man were not free. (Calmet)
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Haydock
And fire. Or, good and evil, as the Vulgate explains it, (ver. 18.) though the Greek be silent. (Haydock)
Calmet
The law written on the heart, as well as on the tables of stone, shews man his duty;; and he has free-will to comply with it, Deuteronomy 30:15., and Jeremias 21:8. (Calmet)
Ovid
He may enjoy every advantage of life, denoted by these two elements. (Lyr.[Lyranus?]) An quod in his vitae causa est, haec perdidit exul His nova fit conjux; haec duo magna putant. (Ovid, Fast. 4.)
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St. Augustine
Commanded. He only permitted the wickedness of Semei, (2 Kings 16:10.) and the persecutors of his people, whose hearts are already bent on evil. (St. Augustine, Grat. et lib. xx.)
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VVho so euer shal resolue with himself to liue iustly, shal be sure to haue grace, for God preuenteth our weakenes and so continueth to helpe al that acccept his grace.
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He doth iniurie to God, & to his word, that preacheth wel and liueth euil.
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Beza sayeth, God ordained Adams fall, but to a good end: and that God iustly decreed that which men vniustly haue done. in refut. 2. calumnae, ad Castel. But this holie Scripture teacheth the contrarie, that God gaue man both freewil, and sufficient grace, that he might if he would haue kept his preceps. The same is also clerely taught. Deut 7. 11. 30. and other places.
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Concordance Gen. 2.
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Concordance Mat. 19. v. 17.
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Concordance Ier. 2. v. 8.
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St Methodius † AD 311 From the Discourse on the Resurrection, Part III 2
… for spiritual things are far removed from irrational lust and sin. “But I am carnal, sold under sin;” which means: But I being carnal, and being placed between good and evil as a voluntary agent, am so that I may have it in my power to choose what I will. For “behold I set before thee life and death;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 30
“Moreover,” says he, “in Job himself it is said: ‘And he maintained the miracle of a true man.’ Again we read in Solomon, touching wisdom: ‘Men that are liars cannot remember her, but men of truth shall be found in her.’
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 To the Bishops of Egypt 1.3
3. And although, again, he conceal his natural falsehood, and pretend to speak truth with his lips; yet are we ‘not ignorant of his devices ,’ but are able to answer him in the words spoken by the Spirit against him; ‘But unto the ungodly, said God, why dost thou preach My laws?’ and, ‘Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 7
4. Therefore, although wicked men press forward to keep the feast, and as at a feast praise God, and intrude into the Church of the saints, yet God expostulates, saying to the sinner, ‘Why dost thou talk of My ordinances?’ And the gentle Spirit rebukes them, saying, ‘Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 35
… viii. 19 ), the same did this demon: since he saw them becoming famous, here also he plays the hypocrite: by this means he thought to be allowed to remain in the body, if he should preach the same things. But if Christ “receive not testimony from man,” ( John v. 34 ), meaning John, much less from a demon. “Praise is not comely in the mouth of a sinner” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 9
… The Psalms contain all things, but the Hymns again have nothing human. When he has been instructed out of the Psalms, he will then know hymns also, as a diviner thing. For the Powers above chant hymns, not psalms. For “a hymn,” saith one, “is not comely in the mouth of a sinner” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 147.3
3. “Let praises be pleasant to our God.” How? If He be praised by our good lives. Hear that then praise will be pleasant to Him. In another place it is said, “Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 14.16
… For the result will be that which is an ornament to those who rightly use it, is not only unable to adorn them, but actually becomes dirty by the increased filth and mud. For “from the mouth of a sinner praise is not comely;”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 3
… He Himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of His counsel. If thou be willing, thou shalt keep His commandments, and perform true fidelity. He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thine hand unto whether thou wilt. Before man is life and death, and whichsoever pleaseth him shall be given to him.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 40
… and He added for him commandments and precepts: if thou wilt—to perform acceptable faithfulness for the time to come, they shall save thee. He hath set fire and water before thee: stretch forth thine hand unto whether thou wilt. Before man are good and evil, and life and death; poverty and honour are from the Lord God.’
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 41
Or again, because it is said, “The commandments, if thou wilt, shall save thee,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 31
… By it also it comes to pass that the very good will, which has now begun to be, is enlarged, and made so great that it is able to fulfil the divine commandments which it shall wish, when it shall once firmly and perfectly wish. This is the purport of what the Scripture says: “If thou wilt, thou shalt keep the commandments;”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 14
For we too have depending on us both sides of the alternative; both falling into hell, and obtaining the kingdom: since God hath so willed it. For, “behold,” saith he, “fire and water: whichever way thou wilt, thou mayest stretch forth thine hand” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 2.85
… For He said, ‘I have placed before thee good and evil. I have set fire and water before thee; choose which thou wilt.’ From which choice, you wretched men, you have chosen for yourselves not water, but rather fire. ‘But yet,’ He says, ‘choose the good, that thou mayest live.’
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 41
… “Fire and water being set before him, a man stretches forth his hand towards which he pleases;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius 7
… In like manner, from the passage which he quoted in the same book under the same head, “He hath set fire and water before thee; stretch forth thy hand unto whether thou wilt; before man are good and evil, life and death, and whichever he liketh shall be given to him,”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 16.27
… For the first covenant, which was made with the first man, is just this: “In the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die.” Whence it is written in the book called Ecclesiasticus, “All flesh waxeth old as doth a garment. For the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shall die the death.”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Enchiridion 70
… The life must be changed for the better; and almsgiving must be used to propitiate God for past sins, not to purchase impunity for the commission of such sins in the future. For He has given no man license to sin,
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1. HE WHO FEARS GOD WILL DO GOOD THINGS, — already mentioned good and holy works he will do, so that he may please God, in the preceding chapter, verses 11, 17, 21, 23 and following, and may obtain his grace; namely, he will meditate on justice, he will think on the circumspection of God, that is, works of beneficence, justice, the investigation of wisdom; but especially the aforesaid verse 22, where the Complutensian editors read, blessed is he who will meditate on good things in wisdom, and will discourse on holy things in his understanding. To this he alludes: for these are the good things which he will do who fears God, as if to say, He who fears God will regard all things through the windows of wisdom, will fix a stake in the wall of the house of wisdom, etc. Wherefore for good things, the Greek texts have auta (Our text reads agatha), themselves, namely those which I have already mentioned. For this verse is as it were a recapitulation and summary repetition of the whole preceding chapter. Whence some Latin texts read he will do that, namely what has already been said. AND HE WHO IS MASTER (that is, possessed) OF JUSTICE, SHALL APPREHEND IT, — namely wisdom, concerning which the whole preceding chapter was the discourse. He shows what are the vestiges by which he said wisdom was to be sought, and teaches that they are the fear of God and works of justice; and therefore those who fear God and work justice will apprehend wisdom with all its gifts already mentioned, namely, so that through it protected, they may live securely a quiet, cheerful, holy life, and abounding in all good things. The Greek texts have, he who fears the Lord will do these things; and he who is master of the knowledge of the law will comprehend it; the Zurich edition, he who reveres the Lord will do these things; and he who has obtained knowledge of the law will apprehend this; the Syriac, he who fears God will do thus; and he who teaches the law will walk in it. For master the Greek is ἐγκρατής, that is, possessed, or he who holds justice. In one ancient codex it is, ὁ εἰληφὼς γνῶσιν νόμου εὑρήσει αὐτήν, that is, he who shall have received knowledge of the law will find it, namely wisdom. The sense is, as if to say, He who fears God and fulfills his law (which is to do justice, or the right and the just prescribed by the law), he will apprehend wisdom. For not by speculation and knowledge alone, but by the practice and performance of the law known, is this true and practical wisdom acquired. He repeats and inculcates what he said in chapter 1, 33: "Desiring wisdom, keep justice, and God will give it to thee." Sirach is followed by Ananias in Pirke Avoth, that is in the Sayings of the Fathers, chapter III: "Every man, he says, who has more works than wisdom, his wisdom will endure; but he who on the contrary has more wisdom than works, his wisdom cannot be lasting and stable." Likewise in the same place R. Eleazar: "He, he says, who abounds more in wisdom than in good works, to what is he like? Surely to a tree luxuriant with many leaves, but with few roots fixed in the earth. A wind comes, it shakes it with sudden force, and finally it is utterly overthrown, as Jeremiah says, chapter XVII, 6: And he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, and shall not see when good shall come; but shall dwell in dryness in the desert, in a salt land. But he who abounds in good works above wisdom, to what is he like? surely to a tree indeed laden with few branches, but sending many roots to the earth. For even if a great force of winds has shaken it, it will in no way be moved from its place, according to that in Jeremiah in the same place: And he shall be as a tree that is transplanted by the waters, which stretches out its roots towards moisture; and he shall not fear when heat comes, and in the time of drought he will not be anxious, nor shall he ever cease to bear fruit." Moreover, the more we grow in justice, the more we apprehend wisdom, and the more we become partakers of his goods. Therefore "will apprehend" signifies an act not only begun, but also growing and perfect: for the more anyone fears and reveres God, and strives to please him through the works of good justice, the more he apprehends wisdom, and becomes wiser. Which each one ought to strive for most earnestly, that he may follow Christ as his leader, concerning whom St. Luke writes in chapter II, 52: "Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace, with God and men." Thus Rabanus: "The more," he says, "anyone is diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and more zealous in just conversation, the more abundantly he rejoices in the perception of wisdom." The cause of all these things is the fear of God: "For he who," says our Alvarez in the tract On Fear, "shall be rooted in the fear of the Lord, will be urged by that very fear, lest he remain idle and slothful, but will constantly apply himself to holy actions. But he who through the exercise of good works shall have apprehended justice and virtue, will also apprehend wisdom, and a savory knowledge of God. Wherefore fear extends its dominion to all good things, which pertain to action and contemplation." Whence St. Bernard, in the sermon On the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, chapter 1: "The first," he says, "grace is the fear of the Lord. He who has this grace hates all iniquity, according to that of the Psalmist: I have hated iniquity, and abhorred it; and in another place: I have hated all the ways of iniquity. For it is written: The fear of the Lord hateth evil. And likewise: Fear God, and depart from evil. And of Job it is said: A man fearing God, and departing from evil. Without this grace, the first of graces, which is the beginning of all religion, no good can spring forth or flow. For as security or sloth is the cause and mother of all sins, so the fear of the Lord is the root and guardian of all goods." And St. Ephrem On the Fear of God, volume I: "He who," he says, "obtains the fear of God, does not wander hither and thither in mind, but awaits his Lord, lest perhaps he come suddenly and find him torpid and unprepared through negligence, and separate himself from him. He who fears God is not without care and solicitude; for he is always vigilant and sober. He who fears the Lord is not given over to immoderate sleep; for he watches and awaits the coming of his Lord. To whom the fear of God is, he shows himself negligent in nothing, lest he offend his Lord. In whom the fear of God is, he does not give himself over to inertia and sloth; for he always carefully tends to his affairs, lest he be condemned by the Lord. In whom is the fear of God, he always approves those things which please his Lord, and embraces and accomplishes them; so that, when his Lord comes, he may be praised by him in many things: for the fear of God in those who possess it is the cause of many goods."
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2. AND SHE SHALL MEET HIM AS AN HONOURABLE MOTHER, AND AS A WOMAN FROM HER VIRGINITY SHALL RECEIVE HIM,—namely, she who was not taken from widowhood, but from virginity, that is, a virgin, and became a woman, that is, a wife. Whence in Greek it is, ὡς γυνὴ παρθενίας, that is, as a wife of virginity, who namely in virginity, that is, a virgin, was espoused to him, and became his spouse; and therefore she obeys her husband's ways, and easily conforms herself, and for this reason is tenderly loved. The Greek texts do not have "honourable"; but only this, as a mother shall meet him, and as a wife of virginity shall receive him; the Zurich edition, and she shall receive him as a virgin wife taken in marriage, as if to say: With how much honour, love, sweetness and joy does a virgin bride receive her bridegroom, to whom she has been recently espoused, with so much likewise shall wisdom receive her devoted follower, who seeks her embrace and union. The Syriac: as a woman of youth, who is taken in youth, shall draw near to him. It signifies the meeting of wisdom, namely, that wisdom meets those seeking her with marvellous readiness and benevolence, through two similitudes, namely of an honourable mother, and of a virgin wife; and this, First, because there are no loves so intense in the world as those of a mother toward her son, and of a virgin bride toward her bridegroom. These, nay far greater ones, divine wisdom shall show to her guest: greater, I say, by so much as spirit is greater than flesh, God than man, heaven than earth. These loves felt he who said: "My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God," Psalm LXXXIII, verse 7; and: "My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God," Psalm XLI, verse 3. Secondly, because in both honour is mingled with love, so that neither does love diminish reverence, nor reverence love. For an honoured mother, for example a queen, meeting her sons, embraces them lovingly as a mother, honourably as a queen. Similarly a virgin bride meets her bridegroom with chaste love, as a bride, but also reverently and modestly as a virgin. Wisdom does likewise to her disciples. Thirdly, because each love contains the delights of love, which fill the mind with consolation, and as it were satiate it with pleasure: for a mother, coming to her sons with maternal love as if to her own bowels, pours forth all her affection, and as it were her whole self into them: thus does a virgin bride toward her bridegroom. God does the same, and God's wisdom and grace, according to that (to which Sirach alludes here) Isaiah LXVI, verse 13: "As one whom the mother caresseth, so will I comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem;" and verse 11: "That you may suck, and be filled with the breast of her consolations; that you may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory, etc.; you shall be carried at the sides, and shall be caressed upon the knees." Moreover, so great is the love of God and His wisdom and grace toward men, that not only does He meet those who seek Him, but also those who do not seek, nay those fleeing and turning away, He pursues, and draws them to Himself and invites them, nay compels them. How ungrateful, inhuman, foolish and barbarous therefore are they, who so neglect God, who loves them so much, nay despise and scorn Him, and so fight against Him! Fourthly, Rabanus: "Deservedly," he says, "wisdom is called mother on account of the grace of nourishment, and virgin on account of the beauty of form, and the sanctity of chastity, because there is nothing in her unclean, nor defiled. For she is the brightness of eternal light, and a mirror without spot of God's majesty, and the image of His goodness; and by her have been healed all who have pleased God from the beginning." This is what the Wise Man says, chapter VI, verse 13: "Wisdom is bright, and fadeth not away: and is easily seen by them that love her, and is found by them that seek her. She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first sheweth herself unto them. He that awaketh early to seek her, shall not labour: for he shall find her sitting at his door." The reason is, because God's wisdom is His goodness; and it is the nature of goodness to communicate itself freely: for good is diffusive of itself; but infinite goodness infinitely desires to communicate and diffuse itself. Such is the goodness of God and of uncreated wisdom. Let the wise and teachers, as it were the sons of wisdom, follow wisdom as a mother, so that, namely, they may easily communicate their wisdom, gifts and graces to others: for to this end they received it from God, and through this they shall increase it more, both because he who teaches others teaches himself; and because the more eagerly and diligently one teaches others, the more is he taught by God; and because God does not allow Himself to be outdone in liberality, but gives more liberally to the liberal, so that he may continue to be more liberal toward others. Allegorically, the Blessed Virgin, the mother of eternal Wisdom, namely of Christ the Lord, comes to meet the just who invoke her as an honored mother, as St. Ildefonsus calls her, sermon 1 On the Assumption, and St. Bonaventure in the Psalter of the Virgin. And rightly so: for first, she is the mother of God, or the Mother of God, which is the highest title of honor after God; secondly, because the Son God honored her, when on earth he subjected himself to her as to a mother: again in heaven he honored her, placing her at his right hand. A type of this was in Solomon, who in a similar manner honored Bathsheba his mother, III Kings, chapter II, verse 19: "The king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand." For, as Methodius says, in his discourse On the Purification: "He who said: Honor thy father and mother, in order that he might observe the decree promulgated by himself, bestowed all grace and honor upon his mother;"; thirdly, because she is the mother of all the faithful and Saints. Whence she is called by the Fathers, "the mother of the living," just as Eve is called "the mother of the dying;"; because, as St. Epiphanius says, heresy 78, "from Mary this life was born into the world, so that she might bring forth the living one, and Mary became the mother of the living." A remarkable and rare example is found in the Life of Blessed Herman Joseph of the Order of Premonstratensians. For he, devoted to the Blessed Virgin from childhood, experienced her throughout his life as an honored mother; who therefore constantly procured for him money for food and clothing, healed his sicknesses, put to flight his temptations, and was present in all things, and provided for him as a pious and generous mother in all things conducive to salvation: indeed she even took him as a spouse, and gave him the name of her spouse, namely Joseph. Read his Life, and you will marvel at such dignity and piety of so great a mother toward her clients. His Life is extant in Surius on the seventh day of April, in the last (which is greatly enlarged by Mosander) Cologne edition.
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3. SHE WILL FEED HIM WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE AND UNDERSTANDING, AND WILL GIVE HIM TO DRINK THE WATER OF SAVING WISDOM. — The words "of life" and "of saving" are wanting in the Greek; for it has thus: she will feed him with the bread of understanding (that is, of intelligence), and will give him to drink the water of wisdom. He said in the preceding verse that wisdom comes to meet her students most kindly, as a mother and as a bride; now he signifies the effect and fruit of this meeting: the first is, that she will feed and give him to drink as a mother feeds her children, especially infants and little ones, and as a bride prepares a meal and table for her spouse. Furthermore, understanding, or intelligence, and wisdom are the same, although they differ in etymology and connotation. For in spiritual things, as in the mind, food and drink are the same; just as hearing, sight and taste are the same. For one and the same mind, or intellect, eminently contains all the senses in itself, and performs the functions and acts of all. The sense therefore is, so to speak, Wisdom feeds the minds of her own and gives them to drink, that is, nourishes them with bread and drink spiritual, namely with intelligence and wisdom, that is, with herself and her doctrines, institutions and precepts, which confer upon them salvation and the life of grace and glory. Allegorically, Christ, who is the Wisdom of the Father and of us, feeds us with himself as it were with divine bread really in the Eucharist, and thus vivifies us, and will make us rise to immortal life, according to that in John VI, verse 33: "The bread of God is that which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world." And verse 35: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." And verse 51: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh for the life of the world." Again, the water of saving wisdom is the Holy Ghost, and his gifts and graces, of whom Christ says in John IV, verse 13: "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever: but the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting." Indeed St. Catherine of Siena drew such strength of mind and body from the sacred Synaxis, that she was disturbed or moved by nothing of the world, nay, she lived strong and vigorous without bodily food. Again, the Martyrs obtained unconquerable strength in all torments from the Holy Eucharist, which they therefore carried home with them, and took in time of danger of persecution, as is clear from Tertullian, St. Cyprian and others. A figure of this was the manna, which nourished and strengthened the Hebrews for all the labors of the journey and of wars for 40 years in the desert. And the bread baked under ashes given by an angel to Elias, by whose virtue Elias walked for 40 days and nights even to the mount of God Horeb, and boldly opposed himself to the impiety of Jezabel and Achab, whom before he had timidly fled from, III Kings XIX, verse 8 and seq.
3 and 4. AND HE SHALL BE STRENGTHENED IN HIM, AND SHALL NOT BE BOWED: AND HE SHALL HOLD HIM, AND HE SHALL NOT BE CONFOUNDED. — This is the second effect and fruit of wisdom meeting his disciple, namely, that it nourishes him not in the manner of one passing by, but is firmly established in him and remains; and it confirms him in what is true and good, nor does it allow him to be bent toward what is false and evil: wherefore it holds him in virtue, lest he fall into vice, and thus be confounded and put to shame. Wisdom therefore supports and strengthens the mind, just as theriac supports the body, so that it cannot be infected and harmed by the raging plague. And just as balm strengthens dead bodies, so that it does not allow them to be corrupted and to waste away, because its force and vigor penetrates through all their veins, parts and passages, and thus makes them similar to itself and incorrupt: in like manner wisdom, its force penetrating all the recesses of the soul, preserves them whole and uncorrupt in good. The reason a priori is: First, that wisdom suggests to the mind and through the mind to the will, wise reasons and motives for constancy and fortitude: namely, that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the future glory, that it is noble to suffer for virtue and for God, that God strengthens, rewards and crowns those who suffer for him. Second, that wisdom is itself prudence and virtue; and virtue is said of a man as if it were manliness, as Cicero says in the second book of the Tusculan Disputations, and properly signifies fortitude, which is proper to man. Third, that wisdom suggests the way of obtaining grace, which strengthens the mind through the Sacraments, especially the Eucharistic bread.
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HE SHALL EXALT HIM AMONG HIS NEIGHBOURS. — In Greek, παρὰ τοὺς πλησίον αὐτοῦ, which others translate, above his neighbours. For wisdom causes the wise man to stand out among the unlearned and foolish, as the sun among the planets, which receive light from it, as the eye among the members which it illuminates, as a king among the people, as a teacher among disciples. Thus wisdom exalted St. Peter, so that he was venerated by the faithful as God's interpreter; and St. Paul, so that he was adored by the Lycaonians as a god, and was called Mercury, Acts XIV, 11, and the other Apostles and apostolic men; so much so that kings and princes venerated them as heavenly men, according to that: "Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and shall lick up the dust of thy feet," Isaiah XLIX, verse 23.
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5. AND IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH SHE SHALL OPEN HIS MOUTH. — This is the third gift and fruit of wisdom, namely, that it makes those devoted to it not only wise, but also teachers of others. Hear Rabanus: "Elegantly," he says, "he expressed the form of the Apostles and preachers of the holy Gospel, whom divine Wisdom, namely Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God, placed over the whole Church, and set in the citadel of dignity before all the crowds of the faithful. This excellent company of Doctors divine power illuminated within by the grace of his spirit, and furnished without with abundance of eloquence, so that the good which they understood in mind, they might expound to others in eloquent speech." Wherefore the Church reads these words of Sirach in the divine office of St. John the Apostle, and in the Introit of the Mass of Doctors. For St. John, reclining on the breast of Christ, drew from thence most excellent wisdom, by which he surpassed not only other faithful, but also the Apostles; whence he illuminated all the Churches of Asia like the sun, especially when he thundered forth that thrice-sacred mystery of the Divinity and Trinity at the beginning of his Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word." Hence also he wrote the Apocalypse, "which has as many mysteries as words," as St. Jerome says. Wherefore he alone merited above others the name of Theologian. AND HE SHALL FILL HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, AND SHALL CLOTHE HIM WITH A ROBE OF GLORY. — This verse is now wanting in the Greek and Syriac. It explains how wisdom opens the mouth of his disciple in the Church, namely, by infusing into him the fullness of wisdom in the heart, which he may pour forth with his mouth. For sophists, boasting of wisdom, display it with their mouth, which they do not have in their heart: but the wise have more wisdom in their heart than they express with their mouth. Sophists therefore are like channels, which retain no water, but pour out all that they receive: but the wise are like shells which first fill themselves, and then emit what water remains, to another place. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 18 in the Canticles: "If you are wise," he says, "show yourself a shell, and not a channel. For the latter receives and pours out almost at the same time: but the former waits until it is filled, and thus what overflows, it communicates without its own loss, knowing the curse upon him who makes his portion worse, etc. But we have many channels in the Church today, but very few shells. So great is the charity of those through whom the heavenly streams flow to us, that they wish to pour out before they are filled, are ready to speak rather than to hear, prompt to teach what they have not learned, and eager to preside over others, who know not how to govern themselves." This therefore is the fourth gift and fruit of wisdom.
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6. JOY AND EXULTATION HE SHALL HEAP UP UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL INHERIT HIM BY AN ETERNAL NAME. — That is to say, he shall accumulate abundant joy like a treasure upon him, and shall cause that an eternal name, that is, eternal fame and renown, as it were an inheritance, shall come to him both on earth and in heaven; namely, "virtue is the musician of fortune." For the wise man rejoices in his wisdom, as in a most precious treasure; and he rejoices also in his teaching, by which he instructs disciples and makes them wise and holy. For "the just shall be in eternal memory," Psalm CXI, 7. He alludes to Isaiah LVI, verse 5: "I will give them in my house, and within my walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off." This is the fifth gift and fruit of wisdom, namely that it gladdens the wise man and makes his name eternal, according to that passage in Wisdom VIII, 13: "I shall have by this immortality, and eternal memory."
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7. FOOLISH MEN SHALL NOT APPREHEND IT, AND SENSIBLE MEN SHALL MEET WITH IT; FOOLISH MEN SHALL NOT SEE IT: FOR IT IS FAR FROM PRIDE AND DECEIT. — He calls foolish those who practically are sinners, who foolishly follow their own concupiscence and worldly honors, riches, and pleasures: these do not apprehend true practical wisdom, because it consists in contempt of the world and mortification of concupiscence: for it itself teaches to love spiritual and heavenly things, and to despise carnal and earthly things. Wherefore sensible men, that is prudent men, who understand and know this very thing, shall meet with it; but foolish and senseless men, or imprudent men, are so far removed from it that they do not even see it: for it flees from pride and deceit, which are the vices of the followers of this foolish world. He calls foolish therefore those who are sinners, especially the proud and deceitful, for he adds: "For it is far from pride and deceit." Do you desire wisdom therefore? Be humble and sincere: for while you study humility, you study wisdom. This is what Solomon says in Wisdom I, 4: "Wisdom shall not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the false," in Greek, δόλον, that is deceit, fiction. And Proverbs VIII, 13: "Arrogance, and pride, and the mouth of the double-tongued I hate." And Christ concerning the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of wisdom and truth, says: "Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you (O sensible Apostles) shall know him, because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you," John XIV, 17. And: "I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent (according to the flesh and the world), and hast revealed them to little ones," Matthew XI, 25.
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8. LYING MEN SHALL NOT BE MINDFUL OF IT (wisdom): AND MEN OF TRUTH SHALL BE FOUND IN IT, AND SHALL HAVE SUCCESS UNTIL THE INSPECTION OF GOD. — He explains what he said in the preceding verse, that wisdom is far from pride and deceit: for he calls the proud and deceitful lying men; for both speak many lies: the proud indeed about their own excellence, that they may exalt themselves; the deceitful truly about their machinations, that they may deceive others. He says therefore that lying men are not mindful of wisdom, who do not seek it, but rather flee from its dictates, as being contrary to their lies and deceits: but truthful men, such as the humble and sincere, are found in it, because these study wisdom, which is nothing other than practical truth, teaching namely what they ought to do and say according to God's law. Whence God will give them success, and will prosper their deeds and words until the judgment both particular and universal, by which He will inspect, that is examine, judge, and reward their actions, and those of others, with the vision of God and eternal glory, so that they may see God face to face, and be blessed by it, according to that passage in Psalm XVI, 15: "I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear."
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9. PRAISE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL IN THE MOUTH OF A SINNER. — For, as St. Chrysostom says, homily When the Presbyter Was Designated: "Just as in garlands it is not enough for the flowers to be pure, unless the hand weaving them is also pure: so also in sacred hymns it is necessary not only that the words be pious, but also that the mind singing the hymns be pure." Whence he adds that David in Psalm CXLVIII invites all creatures to the praise of God, except the sinner alone: "Scorpions, he says, serpents and dragons are invited to praise him by whom they were created; the sinner alone is excluded from this sacred chorus, and most justly so. For just as a musician cuts out a discordant string from a well-tuned lyre, lest the harmony of the remaining voices be corrupted: so also the Prophet (David) cuts out the sinner like a discordant string, and like a diseased member from the whole body of creation." St. Bernard, sermon on the Vigil of St. Andrew: "If not even the just man, he says, without a certain modesty and reverence presumes to approach the praises of the Saints, how much more must the sinner, in whose mouth there is no beautiful praise, always fear that voice: Why dost thou declare my justices? Ibid., sermon 45 among the lesser ones: "There is no beautiful praise, he says, in the mouth of a sinner. Even that which is in the mouth of a penitent sinner does not appear beautiful, because it still suffers confusion from the remembrance and memory of sin, and is frequently pricked by it. But nevertheless in him there is a useful and fruitful confession, even if not a beautiful and seemly praise. But after he, making progress in the benefits of God, adheres to divine praise, and in it is continually delighted and makes progress, so that nothing else pleases him, then in his mouth is beautiful praise of God: in the likeness of a farmer, who while he is manuring his field is entirely in mud and manure; his labor is not beautiful, even if it be fruitful: but when he gathers the sheaves of the harvest, then his labor is beautiful and sweet."
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10. BECAUSE WISDOM HATH PROCEEDED FROM GOD: FOR THE PRAISE OF WISDOM SHALL STAND BY GOD, AND IN THE MOUTH OF THE FAITHFUL IT SHALL ABOUND, AND THE RULER SHALL GIVE IT TO HIM. — This is the discourse of Sirach: He proves that praise is not beautiful in the mouth of a sinner by this syllogism. That praise alone is beautiful which proceeds from God: but the praise of a sinner does not proceed from God; therefore the praise of a sinner is not beautiful. The sense therefore is, as if to say, Wisdom alone is competent for true praise, namely the office of praising its doctrines, or the dictates of wisdom; for it is the part of the wise to preach and celebrate them both by word and by example. Wherefore this praise and preaching shall abound in the mouth of the faithful and truthful one, not the liar. And, that is because, the Ruler, namely God, who is the fountain of all wisdom and praise, shall give it to him. Note τὸ in the mouth of the faithful it shall abound: faithful, that is, first, truthful; second, having true faith and knowledge of God; third, one who faithfully worships God and serves and obeys him: in his mouth indeed the praise of God is copious and abounds. Whence the Psalmist CXXXIV, 1: "Praise, he says, the name of the Lord; praise, O servants, the Lord." Where St. Augustine: "This Psalm, he says, persuades us to praise the name of the Lord, and adds the reason why it is just to praise him, when he says: Praise, O servants, the Lord: what is more just, what more worthy, what more pleasing? For if the servants do not praise the Lord, they will be proud, ungrateful, irreligious." Ibid., book I of the Confessions, chapter 1: "Great, he says, art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no number; and man desires to praise Thee, some portion of Thy creation." And shortly after: "For Thou excites us so that to praise Thee is delightful to us, because Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it rests in Thee."
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11. SAY NOT: BY GOD IT IS ABSENT: FOR WHAT HE HATETH, DO NOT THOU. — This is another occupation. For the foolish ascribe the cause of their own foolishness to God insipidly, so that they might excuse themselves. He reproves them, as if to say: Say not: By God it stands, that wisdom is absent from me, that is, virtue and holiness, because it has already been said that all wisdom proceeds from God. I lack it therefore, because He Himself did not grant it to me. This, I say, say not. He adds the reason: "For what He hateth, do not thou," as if to say: God hateth foolishness, that is, vice and impiety; therefore He cannot be its author or cause, but thou thyself art the cause to thyself, namely because thou lovest it and doest what God hateth, and therefore He cannot do it. For if thou hadst hated it as God hateth it, surely thou wouldst not do it as God does not do it. Moreover, if thou didst not do those things which God hateth, surely God would come to thee and wisdom, which desires to communicate itself to all. Learn here didactically, that it does not stand by God that anyone should not be upright and just, that anyone should not live well, that anyone should not be saved; but the impious ought to attribute all these things to themselves and their own fault. For God on His part wills all men to be saved, and therefore sent Christ the Saviour for all, and through Him instituted sacraments opportune for the salvation of all, and offers His grace to all; but the impious exclude it, while they resist, or are unwilling to cooperate; just as the sun, being most bright, is not the cause of darkness in a house, but he who dwells in it and closes the windows against the sun. This is what Osee saith, XIII, 9: "Thy destruction, O Israel: only in Me is thy help."
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12. SAY NOT: HE (God) HATH MADE ME GO ASTRAY. — Moreover, this is a grievous blasphemy, which makes God the author of error and sin, as Calvin and Melanchthon do, saying that the betrayal of Judas is as much a work of God as the calling of Paul. Which therefore the Council of Trent, Session VI, canon 6, condemns with anathema. Less blasphemous, yet blasphemous, was Manes (father of the Manichaeans), who, lest he ascribe sin to God, feigned another certain evil God (as it were the devil), who should be the cause of all evil. For God is the first and supreme truth, to which all error and falsehood is diametrically opposed: God is the very uncreated and immense brightness, to which all darkness is infinitely opposed, as darkness is to the sun: God is eternal wisdom, to which all foolishness is supremely opposed: God is by essence purity itself, sincerity, integrity, holiness, to which all impurity, hypocrisy, falsehood, iniquity is essentially opposed: God hateth, nay, is Himself the hatred and abomination of sin; how therefore can He love or do it? Therefore the will alone is the cause of its own sin, not God; for every sin is so essentially voluntary that, if it be not voluntary, it is not sin, saith St. Augustine, lib. De Vera religione, cap. XIV. This is what St. James saith, cap. 1, vers. 13: "Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God: for God is not a tempter to evils." In like manner Nazianzenus in his Tetrastich teaches that the blame of sin is to be ascribed to us, not to the demon. For thus he sings: Why do we always turn the blame upon the enemy, / When our own strength brings forth the crimes? / Blame thyself entirely, or at least more: / For thy fire is thine, but the flame is the demon's. NOR ARE IMPIOUS MEN NECESSARY TO HIM. — In Greek, nor hath He need of a sinful man. The sense is, as if to say: The work of God, namely the universe, was wholly created by the good God good. But for a good work there is no need of evil, namely sin, since this destroys good. Therefore God, creating the universe good in all respects, created no evil, nor can create any. For evil is neither necessary nor useful to good, but wholly useless and harmful. God, saith St. Augustine, lib. De Genesi ad litteram Imperf. cap. V: "He is not the author of our vices, but the ordainer, when He places sinners in that place, and compels them to suffer what they deserve." Truly Rabanus: "There is not," he saith, "to be attributed to God the cause of our error and wicked action, because our ruin is not necessary to Him, but rather He Himself relieves all who fall, and raises up all who are cast down."
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13. EVERY ABOMINATION OF ERROR THE LORD HATETH, AND IT SHALL NOT BE BELOVED OF THEM THAT FEAR HIM. — That is, He hateth the abominable error, which practically is sin. "For they err who work evil," Proverb. XIV, 22, as if to say: Since God hateth sin as an abominable thing, how will He effect it? Again, since God abhorreth it, it is fitting that all who fear and worship Him should likewise abhor it themselves. Note the meiosis: "Not beloved," that is, hateful, abominable. For the just, in order to imitate God their Father, supremely abhor sin, because God abhorreth it: just as young eagles pursue the dragon, because the eagle pursues it, as Pliny testifies, lib. X, cap. IV.
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14. GOD FROM THE BEGINNING CONSTITUTED MAN, AND LEFT HIM IN THE HAND OF HIS OWN COUNSEL. — That is to say, God made man possessed of free will. Here he clearly demonstrates what is the origin of evil, namely the will of man, which God created free, so that it might be able to choose good or evil, and this for the purpose that it might be capable of merit and reward. For the hand in Scripture signifies judgment, freedom, dominion, power, authority; because those things which we have in hand, or under our hand, we are able to use freely according to our judgment, and over them we dominate and command according to our power. From this place therefore it is manifest that man possesses free will. The sense is, that is to say, God from the beginning created man of an intelligent and free nature, so that freedom of will is of his reason and essence, which cannot be taken away by sin or any other accident whatsoever, so much so that if you take away free will from man, you take away likewise the nature of man, and you make a brute beast out of man. Thus St. Augustine explains it in On Grace and Free Will, chapter II. For after citing this entire passage from Ecclesiasticus, he adds: "Behold, we see most clearly expressed the free judgment of human will. What is that which God commands to be kept and done in so many places? How does he command, if there is no free will?"
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15. HE ADDED HIS COMMANDMENTS AND PRECEPTS. — The sense is, that is to say, God created man free, and left him in the hand of his own counsel; but not in such a way that he exempted him from himself and his providence, abandoned him, and as it were permitted him to go free like a wild ass from all law, wherever he wished to go; but as the supreme governor of all, legislator, king, lord, judge and avenger, he set before him his laws. Therefore God instituted these three things in this order: first, he implanted free will in man; second, he added precepts; third, he added rewards.
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16. IF THOU WILT KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY SHALL KEEP THEE, AND SHALL MAKE ACCEPTABLE FAITH FOR EVER. — That is to say, it is in thy power and judgment, which God has given to thee, that thou keep the commandments, and thus thou mayest keep faith, that is, show fidelity pleasing, that is, pleasing and acceptable to God. If thou keep the commandments, they in turn shall keep thee: both in the present and eternal life, both in the grace and glory of God, and this first, because God keeps him who keeps his commandments. Second, because the very exercise of the commandments increases virtues in the soul, which when increased give man strength to resist temptation and the devil. Third, because the keeping of the commandments diminishes cupidity, which is the poison of charity: for as virtue increases, it is necessary that the vice opposed to it decrease. Furthermore, free will does not exclude the grace of God, as Pelagius wished, just as a secondary cause does not exclude the concurrence of the primary cause. St. Augustine gathers this very thing from the Greek version in his book On Grace and Free Will, chapter XV: "For this is the value, he says, of what is written: If thou wilt, thou shalt keep the commandments; that man who has willed and cannot, may not yet know that he fully wills, and may pray that he may have such will as suffices for keeping the commandments. Thus indeed he is helped, that he may do what is commanded: for then it is useful to will, when we are able; and then it is useful to be able, when we will."
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17. HE HATH SET BEFORE THEE FIRE AND WATER: STRETCH FORTH THY HAND TO WHICH THOU WILT. — By water and fire, which are opposite elements, understand proverbially any contraries whatsoever, and especially those which follow in the next verse, namely good and evil, life and death. Whence secondly, by water which cools, understand the refreshment of glory; by fire, punishment and the flame of hell, that is to say, God has set before thee good, and its reward, namely eternal glory; he has set before thee also evil, and its punishment, namely eternal fire: he has set before thee glory and damnation, heaven and hell, happiness and misery, life and death: choose whichever thou wilt. Thus Rabanus: "In fire, he says, tribulation is expressed, in water refreshment. Therefore tribulation and prosperity are set before us; if we shall wish to exercise the commandments of God in deed, we shall have the consolation of eternal life; but if we shall be contemners of his commandments, the punishment of hell shall follow us in his wrath." From what has been said it is clear that free will is like a balance, of which man is the beam, the scales are fire and water, good and evil, reward and punishment, and the inclination to either, or the choice of either. Whence Tertullian, in book II Against Marcion, chapter VI, speaking of man endowed with freedom: "Like a beam, he says, emancipated from God, are the freedom and power of judgment."
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18. BEFORE MAN ARE LIFE AND DEATH, GOOD AND EVIL: WHATEVER SHALL PLEASE HIM SHALL BE GIVEN TO HIM. — He alludes to Deuteronomy, chapter XXX, 15: "Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil." And verse 19: "I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose therefore life, that thou and thy seed may live: and that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and cleave unto him. For he is thy life, and the length of thy days." Morally, observe here how great is the dowry and dignity of man in free will, with which he is endowed by God, because through this first, he is made similar to God and the Angels; second, he excels all other creatures; third, he is master of himself and his own actions; fourth, he is capable of virtue; fifth, he is capable of merit; sixth, he merits eternal life and glory. Whence St. Bernard, in the treatise On Loving God: "I say, he declares, that the dignity in man is free will, in which assuredly it has been given to him not only to excel, but also to preside over other living creatures." The same, sermon 81 in the Canticles: "Freedom of choice, he says, is truly a certain divine thing shining forth in the soul, like a gem in gold. From this indeed there is in him choice between good and evil, and likewise between life and death, but nevertheless between light and darkness, and knowledge of judgment, and the option of choosing." Wherefore man must strive most earnestly to use this freedom of will well for good, to which it has been given him by God, namely that by working good he may merit eternal happiness.
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19. FOR GREAT IS THE WISDOM OF GOD, AND STRONG IN POWER, SEEING ALL WITHOUT INTERMISSION. — As if to say: God constituted man in the hand of his counsel from great wisdom, so that man by freely acting might choose good or evil, and thus merit reward or punishment, so that in inflicting these he might show forth his most mighty power. And lest anyone think that in so great a multitude of men he could hide, deceive or escape, he adds: "And seeing all without intermission," as if to say: God's eye inspects each one, and even all the most hidden things, so that he may judge and reward, or punish. Most excellently Boethius, book V, prose 6: "All the future, he says, the divine intellect runs before, and brings back and recalls to the presence of its own knowledge; nor does it alternate, now this, now that in the turns of knowing, but remaining fixed, it forestalls all changes in one stroke." To which add, that God prepares and gives to all (especially if they humbly ask for it) sufficient grace, by which they can, if they will, avoid sins and undertake good things. For this reason it is called sufficient: wherefore if they will cooperate, they will make it efficacious. For on the part and intention of God all grace is efficacious in the first act, that is, it has the power and efficacy to work the deed, if the will will cooperate with it, and God intends and wills this.
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20. THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE UPON THEM THAT FEAR HIM, AND HE KNOWETH EVERY WORK OF MAN. — He confirms and emphasizes what he said: "And seeing all." For in order to encourage the pious to choose and do the good things which the worldly neglect in this life, indeed despise and scorn, he says that God's eyes continually behold those who fear him, and he himself knows, indeed inspects, every work of man, both external and internal. Among other rewards of those who fear God is this, that he himself protects them in a special manner, directs them and hears their prayers, according to that Psalm XXXII, 18: "Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, and upon them that hope in his mercy." And Psalm CXLIV, 19: "He will do the will of them that fear him, and he will hear their prayer, and will save them." Note: That "the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him" signifies, first, that God with the keenest eye of mind inspects all the actions, intentions, vows and desires of the just; second, that he delights in them; third, that he loves them in a singular manner, cares for them, protects them and provides for them in all good; fourth, that those who fear him are separated from those who do not fear him, giving them grace and glory; fifth, that those who fear God are held by him in the highest esteem. Whence he says: "He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye," Zechariah II, 8.
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21. HE COMMANDED NO MAN TO ACT WICKEDLY, AND HE GAVE TO NO MAN SPACE FOR SINNING. — He taught in verse 11 that God is not the physical cause of sin; here he teaches that He is not the moral cause either: for such is command, order, consent, as if to say, God just as He does not make sin, so neither does He command it, or consent to it. For space the Greek is ἄνεσις, which others translate as license, freedom, indulgence: Neither did He give him license to sin. God indeed permits men to sin, that is, does not prevent it, because He created them free, so that they might freely choose what they wished; but to no one did He give or give the faculty or license to sin, so that anyone might sin licitly. For thus sin would not be sin, but a licit thing, as something done from the concession and license of God, which is a contradiction; nay rather, God, when He permits sins, threatens sinners with hell, so as to show how much He abhors them. Secondly, ἄνεσις signifies impunity: God gave to no sin or sinner, nor will give, impunity; He will not allow anyone sinning to go unpunished; but He will punish each one according to his deserts. St. Augustine relates and refutes the error of those who think it is permitted them to rob others and do whatever they wish with impunity, provided they give alms, in the Enchiridion chapter LXX: "Certainly it must be guarded against," he says, "lest anyone think that those unspeakable crimes are to be perpetrated daily and redeemed daily by alms. For life must be changed for the better, and through alms God is to be appeased for past sins, not to be bought off, as it were, so that it is always permitted to commit them with impunity. For He gave to no one the loosening of sinning, although by showing mercy He blots out sins already committed, if suitable satisfaction is not neglected." Thirdly, ἄνεσις can be translated as space, delay. For many think it is permitted them to use the flower of youth for every desire, proposing to do penance in old age. Many princes think whatever is permitted them, provided they repent in the hour of death. Many think it is permitted to rage in revelries, provided they do penance in Lent. But they err; for God granted to no one, neither an hour, nor a moment for sinning; but any sin whatsoever is equally sin, and equally displeases God in youth as in old age, in principality as in private life, in revelries as in Lent.
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22. FOR HE DOES NOT DESIRE A MULTITUDE OF UNFAITHFUL AND USELESS CHILDREN — such as sinners and the impious are. He gives the reason why God does not command, nor give license to sin, namely because He does not desire, nay rather hates and abhors impiety and the impious. It is a meiosis: for less is said, and more is signified; He does not desire, that is, He hates and abhors. "Among men," says Philo, in the book On Migration, "the unjust are valued more than one just man; but with God truly rare goodness is preferred to innumerable iniquities." Furthermore, the reason, and as it were the cause a priori, why God cannot command anyone to act wickedly, nor give him space for sinning, nor implant anyone, is His infinite holiness, goodness, wisdom and power. For what reason would God, who is supreme holiness, love impiety, nay command it? For what reason would supreme wisdom implant anyone, and make him foolish and stupid? For what reason would supreme goodness make supreme evil? Theodoretus teaches this beautifully, book III Against Heresies: "That some things cannot be done," he says, "is a sign of infinite power, not an indication of weakness; but to be able to do them is indeed a sign of impotence, not of power. Since each of these proclaims God's firmness and immutability. For good not to be able to become evil denotes the supereminence of goodness; and for the just never to be able to become unjust, nor the truthful a liar, this demonstrates stability and solidity in truth and justice. Similarly true light cannot become darkness, nor can He who is, not be. Thus examining all other things, you will find that this inability signifies supreme power."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.