A prayer (made by Salomon) for wisdom, 9. wherby Superiors are able to gouerne: 13. Which by only humane wisdom, they can not rightly performe.
1God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word,Dio de' padri miei, e Signore di misericordia, il quale tutte le cose facesti per mezzo di tua Parola,GOD of my fathers, and Lord of mercie, which madest al thinges with thy word,Deus patrum meorum, et Domine misericordiæ, / qui fecisti omnia verbo tuo, 2And by thy wisdom hast appointed man, that he should have dominion over the creature that was made by thee,E di tua sapienza ornasti l'uomo, affinchè fosse signore delle creature fatte date,and by thy wisdom didst appoint man, that he should haue dominion of the creature, that was made by thee,et sapientia tua constituisti hominem, / ut dominaretur creaturæ quæ a te facta est, 3That he should order the world according to equity and justice, and execute justice with an upright heart:E affinchè governasse il mondo con equità, e giustizia, e con animo retto rendesse ragione:that he should dispose the roundworld in equitie and iustice, and execute iudgement in direction of hart:ut disponat orbem terrarum in æquitate et justitia, / et in directione cordis judicium judicet: 4Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children:Dammi quella sapienza, che assiste al tuo trono, e non mi rigettare dal numero de' tuoi figliuoli;geue me wisdom the assistant of thy seates, and repel me not from thy children:da mihi sedium tuarum assistricem sapientiam, / et noli me reprobare a pueris tuis: 5For I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man, and of short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws.Perocché tuo servo son io, e figliuolo di tua ancella, uomo fiacco, e di poco tempo, e inetto ad intendere i giudizj, e le leggi.because I am thy seruant, and the sonne of thy handmaide, a weake man, and of smal time, and lesse to the vnderstanding of iudgement and lawes.quoniam servus tuus sum ego, et filius ancillæ tuæ; / homo infirmus, et exigui temporis, / et minor ad intellectum judicii et legum. 6For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.E se tra' figliuoli degli uomini alcun fosse perfetto, questi quando da lui sen vada la tua sapienza, sarà contato per un niente.And if one be perfect among the children of men, and thy wisdom be absent from him, he shal be counted for nothing.Nam etsi quis erit consummatus inter filios hominum, / si ab illo abfuerit sapientia tua, in nihilum computabitur. 7Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters:Tu mi eleggesti re del tuo popolo, e giudice de' tuoi figliuoli, e delle tue figlie:Thou hast chosen me king to thy people, and iudge of thy sonnes, and daughters:Tu elegisti me regem populo tuo, / et judicem filiorum tuorum et filiarum:
8And hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an altar in the city of thy dwelling place, a resemblance of thy holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning:E mi ordinasti di edificare il tempio sul tuo monte santo, e un altare nella città di tua residenza, a imitazione del santo tuo tabernacolo, cui ordinasti da principio tu, e la tua sapienza con te,and badst me build a temple in thy holie mount, and an altar in the citie of thy habitation, a similitude of thy holie tabernacle, which thou didst prepare from the beginning:et dixisti me ædificare templum in monte sancto tuo, / et in civitate habitationis tuæ altare: / similitudinem tabernaculi sancti tui quod præparasti ab initio. 9And thy wisdom with thee, which knoweth thy works, which then also was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was agreeable to thy eyes, and what was right in thy commandments.La quale conosce le opere tue, e fu con teco allora quando facevi il mondo, ed ella conosceva quello, che fosse accetto negli occhi tuoi, e quello, che fosse ben fatto secondo li tuoi comandamenti.and thy wisdom with thee, which knew thy workes, which then also was present when thou madest the roundworld, and knew what was pleasing to thyne eyes, and what was direct in thy precepts.Et tecum sapientia tua, quæ novit opera tua, / quæ et affuit tunc cum orbem terrarum faceres, / et sciebat quid esset placitum oculis tuis, / et quid directum in præceptis tuis. 10Send her out of thy holy heaven, and from the throne of thy majesty, that she may be with me, and may labour with me, that I may know what is acceptable with thee:Manda lei da' santi tuoi cieli, dalla residenza di tua grandezza, affinchè ella sia meco, e fatichi con me, affinchè io sappia quello, che piaccia a te;Send her from thy holy heauens, and from the seate of thy greatnes, that she may be with me, and may labour with me, that I may know what is acceptable with thee:Mitte illam de cælis sanctis tuis, / et a sede magnitudinis tuæ, / ut mecum sit et mecum laboret, / ut sciam quid acceptum sit apud te: 11For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and shall lead me soberly in my works, and shall preserve me by her power.Perocché ella il tutto sa, e comprende, ed ella mi guiderà nelle mie imprese colla prudenza, e col poter suo mi proteggerà.for she knoweth al thinges, & vnderstandeth, and shal conduct me in my workes soberly, & shal keepe me with her might.scit enim illa omnia, et intelligit, / et deducet me in operibus meis sobrie, / et custodiet me in sua potentia.
12So shall my works be acceptable, and I shall govern thy people justly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.E saranno accette le opere mie ed io governerò con giustizia il tuo popolo, e sarò degno del trono del padre mio.And my workes shal be acceptable, and I shal gouerne thy people iustly, and shal be worthie of the seates of my father.Et erunt accepta opera mea, / et disponam populum tuum juste, / et ero dignus sedium patris mei. 13For who among men is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of God is?Imperocché chi è degli uomini, che saper possa i consigli di Dio? o chi potrà intendere quel, che Dio voglia?For who of men is able to know the counsel of God? or who can thinke what God wil?Quis enim hominum poterit scire consilium Dei ? / aut quis poterit cogitare quid velit Deus ? 14For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain.Perocché timidi sono i pensieri dei mortali, e le previdenze nostre son mal sicure.For the cogitations of mortal men be fearful, and our prouidences vncertaine.Cogitationes enim mortalium timidæ, / et incertæ providentiæ nostræ; 15For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.Perché il corpo corruttibile aggrava l'anima, e il tabernacolo di terra deprime la mente, che ha molti pensieri.For the bodie, that is corrupted burdeneth the soule, and the earthlie habitation presseth downe the vnderstanding that thinketh manie thinges.corpus enim quod corrumpitur aggravat animam, / et terrena inhabitatio deprimit sensum multa cogitantem. 16And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labour do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?E con difficoltà congetturiamo le cose della terra, e a mala pena investighiamo quelle, che abbiamo davanti agli occhi; or chi scoprirà quelle, che sono ne' cieli?And we doe hardly coniecture the thinges that are in the earth: and the thinges that are in sight, we finde with labour. But the thinges that are in the heauens who shal search out?Et difficile æstimamus quæ in terra sunt, / et quæ in prospectu sunt invenimus cum labore: / quæ autem in cælis sunt, quis investigabit ? 17And who shall know thy thought, except thou give wisdom, and send thy holy Spirit from above:E chi conoscerà i tuoi voleri, se tu non dai la sapienza, e non mandi dal più alto cielo il tuo santo spirito;And thy sense who shal know, vnles thou geue wisdom, and send thy holie spirit from on high:Sensum autem tuum, quis sciet, nisi tu dederis sapientiam, / et miseris spiritum sanctum tuum de altissimis,
18And so the ways of them that are upon earth may be corrected, and men may learn the things that please thee?Onde così siano ammendati gli andamenti di que', che vivono sulla terra, e gli uomini apprendano quel, che sia grato a te?and so the pathes of them, that are on the earth may be corrected, and men lerne the thinges that please thee?et sic correctæ sint semitæ eorum qui sunt in terris, / et quæ tibi placent didicerint homines ? 19For by wisdom they were healed, whosoever have pleased thee, O Lord, from the beginning.Imperocché per mezzo della sapienza furon sanati tutti quelli, che a te piacquero, o Signore, fin da principio.For by wisdom they were healed, whoseouer haue pleased thee ô Lord from the begynning.Nam per sapientiam sanati sunt / quicumque placuerunt tibi, Domine, a principio.
9:1
Calmet
God. This prayer, which continues to the end of the book, is a paraphrase of 3 Kings 3:6., etc., with several additional instructions, to remind people in authority of the love of justice. (Calmet)
9:7
Worthington
King. Hence it appears, that the sentiments of Solomon are expressed. (Worthington)
Judge. This is the first duty of a king.
Thy sons. He ought to govern his people, remembering that they are God's creatures and children.
9:8
Haydock
Beginning. In thy eternal decrees, or when thou madest choice of Israel. (Haydock)
Calmet
The temple was greater, but very like the tabernacle: only the court of the priests was divided from that of the people. In the desert, the whole camp was considered a the court of the latter. (Calmet)
9:9
Worthington
With thee. The uncreated wisdom is God himself: that which is communicated to man is his gift, ver. 10. (Worthington)
World. Proverbs 8:22. This request shews what idea Solomon had of God's majesty, for which he was preparing a temple.
9:17
9:19
Haydock
Whosoever, etc., is not in the Septuagint. But men includes as much. (Haydock)
Calmet
The saints have been preserved from the contagion and punishments of the world only by means of the divine benefit. (Calmet)
9:1
Concordanza 3 Reg. 3. v 9. 12.
9:7
Here againe it is euident, that the Auctor reporteth Salomons speaches.
Concordanza 1. Paral. 28. v. 5.
9:8
Concordanza 2. Par. 1. v. 9.
9:9
VVisdom increated is with God, yea is God him selfe.
Concordanza Prou. 8. v. 22.
9:10
VVisdom vvhich is geuen to men procedeth from God as a gift created.
9:13
Mans wisdom vvithout special wisdom from God is not sufficient to gouerne ourselues, much lesse others.
9:1
san Basilio † 379 d.C. De Spiritu Sancto 8
… At one time it uses terms descriptive of His nature, for it recognises the “name which is above every name,” the name of Son, and speaks of true Son, and only begotten God, and Power of God, and Wisdom, and Word.
9:2
sant'Atanasio di Alessandria † 373 d.C. Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.19
… Apocalypse it says, ‘And the third part of the creatures in the sea died which had life;’ as also Paul says, ‘Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving ;’ and in the book of Wisdom it is written, ‘Having ordained man through Thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which Thou hast made
9:6
Origene † 254 d.C. Origen Against Celsus 6.13
… through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, “Even if one among the sons of men be perfect, while the wisdom is wanting that comes from Thee, he shall be accounted as nothing.”
Origene † 254 d.C. Origen's Commentary on Matthew 10.19
… And that which is written about wisdom, you may apply also to faith, and to the virtues specifically, so as to make a precept of this kind, “If any one be perfect in wisdom among the sons of men, and the power that comes from Thee be wanting, he will be reckoned as nothing;”
9:9
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Morals of the Catholic Church 16
… Again, as Paul says that the Son of God is the wisdom of God, and as the Lord Himself says, "No man knoweth the Father save the only-begotten Son," what could be more concordant than those words of the prophet: "With Thee is wisdom which knows Thy works, which was present at the time of Thy making the world, and knew what would be pleasing in Thine eyes?"
9:10
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 4.20
… It is sent, therefore, by Him from whom it issues; for so she is sought after by him who loved and desired her. “Send her,” he says, “out of Thy holy heavens, and from the throne of Thy glory, that, being present, she may labor with me;”
9:13
sant'Ireneo di Lione † 202 d.C. Against Heresies 2.28.9
… But if those who are perfect do not yet understand the very things in their hands, and at their feet, and before their eyes, and on the earth, and especially the rule followed with respect to the hairs of their head, how can we believe them regarding things spiritual, and super-celestial,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 12.15
… or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are timid, and our devices are but uncertain. For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Harmony of the Gospels 4.10
… But before this body, which is dead by reason of sin, is quickened, it is without doubt corruptible, and presseth down the soul.
9:14
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 4
… “For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain.” (
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 22.29
… “The thoughts of mortal men are timid, and our fore-castings uncertain.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 3.10
… And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labor do we find the things that are before us; but the things that are in heaven, who hath searched out?” But because it goes on to say, “And Thy counsel who hath known, except Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy Spirit from above;”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 14.11
… which last is certain only in the case of those who are prescient of the future; and this is no gift of men, unless it be granted from above, as to the prophets. And hence the book of Wisdom, speaking of men, “The thoughts of mortals,” it says, “are fearful, and our forethought uncertain.”
9:15
san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.15
… Our repentance when we sin, is a human action, but an action which bespeaks a good man, belonging to that portion which is in the way of salvation. For if even our dust contracts somewhat of wickedness, and the earthly tabernacle presseth down the upward flight of the soul,
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 108.23
… Or will there be no such distinction? If the distinction continues, there will be wedlock and sexual intercourse and procreation of children. If however it does not continue, the bodies that rise again will not be the same. For, he argued, “the earthy tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things,”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Confessions 7.17
… This weight was carnal custom. Yet was there a remembrance of Thee with me; nor did I any way doubt that there was one to whom I might cleave, but that I was not yet one who could cleave unto Thee; for that the body which is corrupted presseth down the soul, and the earthly dwelling weigheth down the mind which thinketh upon many things.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Letters of St. Augustin 131
… For Holy Scripture says the same: “The corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Letters of St. Augustin 143.6
… for “the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and in this we groan, being burdened,” and “the corruptible body weighs down the soul,”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 13.16
… On this point, if I should find nothing in their own literature to refute this opinion, I should be forced laboriously to demonstrate that it is not the body, but the corruptibility of the body, which is a burden to the soul. Hence that sentence of Scripture we quoted in a foregoing book, “For the corruptible body presseth down the soul.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 14.3
But if any one says that the flesh is the cause of all vices and ill conduct, inasmuch as the soul lives wickedly only because it is moved by the flesh, it is certain he has not carefully considered the whole nature of man. For “the corruptible body, indeed, weigheth down the soul.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 19.4
… And who is quite sure that no such thing can happen to the wise man in this life? Then, as to the perception of truth, what can we hope for even in this way while in the body, as we read in the true book of Wisdom, “The corruptible body weigheth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things?”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 19.27
… city of God in its pilgrim state, for it cries to God by the mouth of all its members, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” And this prayer is efficacious not for those whose faith is “without works and dead,” but for those whose faith “worketh by love.” For as reason, though subjected to God, is yet “pressed down by the corruptible body,”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 2.17
… but that His “face” was that form of God, in which He “thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” which no one certainly can see and live; whether because after this life, in which we are absent from the Lord, and where the corruptible body presseth down the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 3.4
10. If, therefore, the Apostle Paul, although he still bare the burden of the body, which is subject to corruption and presseth down the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 4.3
… And its resurrection is delayed until the end; when also our justification itself shall be perfected ineffably. For then we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. But now, so long as the corruptible body presseth down the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 8.2
… neither is any such thing God. Neither if you were to think of the same spirits as without bodies—a thing indeed most difficult for carnal thought to do. Behold and see, if thou canst, O soul pressed down by the corruptible body, and weighed down by earthly thoughts, many and various; behold and see, if thou canst, that God is truth.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 15.24
… And they would certainly not so fail in understanding, and hardly arrive at anything certain, were they not involved in penal darkness, and burdened with the corruptible body that presses down the soul.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Enchiridion 64
… And although it is truly said of them, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,” yet they are led by the Spirit of God, and as the sons of God advance towards God under this drawback, that they are led also by their own spirit, weighted as it is by the corruptible body;
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Enchiridion 91
… For just as now the body is called animate , though it is a body, and not a soul [ anima ], so then the body shall be called spiritual, though it shall be a body, not a spirit. Hence, as far as regards the corruption which now weighs down the soul, and the vices which urge the flesh to lust against the spirit,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On Continence 21
… Therefore, all evil having arisen from us, and having been destroyed in us, our good also having been increased and perfected unto the height of most happy incorruption and immortality, of what kind shall either of our substances be? forasmuch as now, in this corruption and mortality, when as yet “the corruptible body weigheth down the soul;”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.78
… and Scripture truly declares that in him all die, and that by him sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And our experience gives abundant evidence, that in punishment for this sin our body is corrupted, and weighs down the soul, and the clay tabernacle clogs the mind in its manifold activity;
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 32.14
… And as a sick man should not find fault with the medical treatment, because one thing is prescribed to-day and another to-morrow, and what was at first required is afterwards forbidden, since the method of cure depends on this; so the human race, sick and sore as it is from Adam to the end of the world, as long as the corrupted body weighs down the mind,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On Baptism, Against the Donatists 6.1
2. For as the spiritual man, keeping "the end of the commandment," that is, "charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned," can see some things less clearly out of a body which is yet "corruptible and presseth down the soul,"
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On Baptism, Against the Donatists 7.1
… And the holy Cyprian indeed, now that the corruptible body no longer presseth down the soul, nor the earthly tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Correction of the Donatists 9
39. But in this life, when the corruptible body presseth down the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 14
… For that all sin is evil who can gainsay?” We answer, that man’s nature is both good, and is also able to be free from evil. Therefore do we earnestly pray, “Deliver us from evil.” This deliverance, indeed, is not fully wrought, so long as the soul is oppressed by the body, which is hastening to corruption.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 1.17
… or that he was sold once in the first transgression of the commandment so as to have a corruptible body which drags down the soul;
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 1.24
… And not to have this resistance to the spirit in the mortal flesh, was possible only to that man who came not by the flesh to men. And that the apostles, because they were men, and carried about in the mortality of this life a body which is corrupted and weighs down the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 2.3
… Share my travail with me. For you see what I have undertaken; and not only what, but who I am that have undertaken it, and of what I wish to speak, and where and what my position is, even in that “body which is corruptible, and presseth down the soul, and the earthly habitation weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 81.7
7. “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Say, yea say to thy soul, “Thou art still in this life, still bearest about a frail flesh, still “doth the corruptible body press down the soul;”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John chapter21.1
… For we are bound to consider well what we are, and what we are treating of. We are men bearing flesh, walking in this life; and though now begotten again of the seed of the Word of God, yet in Christ renewed in such manner that we are not yet wholly rid of Adam. For truly our mortal and corruptible part that weighs down the soul
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 23.5
… for this also is said, “To Thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.” And let us lift it up with His own assistance, for it is heavy. And from what cause is it heavy? Because the body which is corrupt weighs down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle depresses the mind while meditating on many things.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 35.9
… and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be: we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him even as He is.” I feel that your affections are being lifted up with me to the things that are above: but the body, which is corrupt, weighs down the soul; and, the earthly habitation depresses the mind while meditating many things.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 69.2
… Brethren, how can you desire me to explain such things to you? Only reflect how lofty they are. You see what I am, I see what you are; in all of us the body, which is corrupted, burdens the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 96.4
… Accordingly, when He says, “He will teach you all truth,” or “will guide you into all truth,” I do not think the fulfillment is possible in any one’s mind in this present life (for who is there, while living in this corruptible and soul-oppressing body,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 124.5
… for hitherto it has only been proposed, not expounded. Let this, then, be the commencement of its exposition, namely, that we bear in mind that in this corruptible body, which burdens the soul,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 3.11
… with what fruit? what wages? what will He hereafter give me, since in this world I see that I labor among temptations? I see not here that there is any rest: mere mortality weigheth down the soul, and the corruptible body presseth it down to lower things: but I bear all things, that “that which I have heard from the beginning”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 4.9
… when the soul, given up to temporal pleasures, burns ever with desire, and cannot be satisfied; and, distracted with manifold and anxious thought, is not permitted to see the simple good. Such is the soul of which it is said, “For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth on many things.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 12.9
… Hence “the corruptible body weigheth down the soul, and the earthy tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 36.1
… 1 ). Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaketh, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well; not because they cannot, but because they will not. For it is one thing, when one endeavours to understand some thing, and through infirmity of flesh cannot; as saith the Scripture
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 42.9
9. But seeing, brethren, so long as “we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord;” and “the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth on many things;”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 42.15
… I who am the “hart thirsting and longing for the water-brooks,” calling to mind the sweetness of that strain, by which I was led on through the tabernacle even to the house of God; whilst this “corruptible body presseth down the soul,”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 69.32
… but them crying from the fetters He hath not despised. What are these fetters? Mortality, the corruptibleness of the flesh are the fetters wherewith we have been bound. And would ye know the weight of these fetters? Of them is said, “The body which is corrupted weigheth down the soul.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 71.5
… For firm the grace of Christ maketh thee, and immovable against all temptations of the enemy. But there is there too human frailness, there is there still the first captivity, there is there too the law in the members fighting against the law of the mind, and willing to lead captive in the law of sin: still the body which is corrupt presseth down the soul.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 84.9
… “Happy is the man whose strength is in Thee” ( ver. 5 ). He knew where he was, and that by reason of the frailty of his flesh he could not fly to that state of blessedness: he thought upon his own burden, as it is said elsewhere; “For the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly house depresses the understanding which has many thoughts.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 85.7
… sealing up his ears, as it were, against the tumultuous disquietude of this life, and against the soul weighed down by the corruptible body, and against the imagination, that through the earthly tabernacle pressing down, thinketh on many things,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 103.5
5. “Who redeemeth thy life from corruption” ( ver. 4 ). Behold, “the body which is corrupted, weigheth down the soul.”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.4
26. …The body itself also, because it is of the earth, is reasonably understood by the word pavement; since, because it is still corruptible and weigheth down the soul,
Giovanni Cassiano † 435 d.C. The Conferences of John Cassian 7.4
… And so the νοῦς , i.e., the mind, is defined as ἀεικίνητος καὶ πολυκίνητος , i.e., ever shifting and very shifting: as it is thus described in the so called wisdom of Solomon in other words: καὶ γεῶδες σκῆνος βρίθει νοῦν πολυφρόντιδα , i.e., “And the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth on many things.”
papa san Leone I Magno † 461 d.C. Sermons 95
… For then the outer man will be the peaceful and unblemished possession of the inner man: then the mind, engrossed in beholding God , will be hampered by no obstacles of human weakness nor will it any more have to be said “The body which is corrupted, weigheth upon the soul, and its earthly house presseth down the sense which thinketh many things
papa san Gregorio I Magno † 604 d.C. Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 7.7
… xiii. 43; Wisd. iii. 7 ). For, in whatsoever virtue any one may excel, how can he shine forth as the sun while still in the present life, wherein The corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things (
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sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Morals of the Catholic Church 16
… plainly and obviously in accordance with this than the words, "Thy truth is round about Thee?" Once more, Wisdom herself says in the gospel, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me;" and the prophet says, "Who knoweth Thy mind, unless Thou givest wisdom?" and a little after, "The things pleasing to Thee men have learned, and have been healed by wisdom."
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Domine Misericordiæ. — Vatablus, beneficentiæ; Pagninus, pietatis, id est summe beneficus, pius, misericors et miserator, qui peccatum homicidii et adulterii patri meo Davidi, et matri meæ Bethsabee misericorditer remisisti, ait Lyranus; unde Lucifer Calaritanus legit, Domine misericordiarum. Hoc titulo gaudet Deus, eoque invocatus postulata audit et exaudit: misericordiæ enim proprium opus est miserorum misereri, eisque opem ferre; atque omnes indigent Dei misericordia, ut eam velut sibi patrocinantem coram Deo allegare possint et debeant: sic pauperes, ut stipem emendicent a divitibus, solent eorum misericordiam et liberalitatem allegare et collaudare. Emphasim habet to Domine, q. d. Tu es Dominus, ac dominaris infinitæ tuæ misericordiæ, æque ac immensæ miseriæ nostræ; illam ergo velut ditissimus et liberalissimus Dominus in nos eroga, ut miseriæ tantæ succurras, abyssus enim miseriæ nostræ invocat abyssum misericordiæ tuæ: tu enim es primus et summus omnium eleemosynarius, imo «tu es pater misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis,» II Corinth. I, 3. Rursum, Deus proprie dicitur Dominus misericordiæ, quia dominium suum ostendit miserendo potius quam puniendo, vel aliud quid agendo, juxta illud quod orat Ecclesia: «Deus, qui omnipotentiam tuam parcendo maxime et miserando manifestas:» patiens enim et clemens est potens iræ, animique sui et rerum omnium, uti ostendi Prov. XVI, 32, ad illa: «Melior est patiens viro forti.» Qui fecisti. — Conciliat sibi hoc versu Dei benevolentiam tribus Dei attributis, scilicet primo, allegando Dei amorem et fidelitatem, quod scilicet sit Deus patrum suorum, eisque promiserit se eorum posteris benedicturum, id est benefacturum: rogat ergo ut idipsum nunc fideliter, ac reipsa posteris egentibus et invocantibus præstet, ac amorem, quo prosequitur patres, testetur et extendat in filios; secundo, allegando Dei misericordiam, ut eam sibi misero eam poscenti more suo exhibeat; tertio, allegando Dei potentiam, quod scilicet omnia verbo suo fecerit et crearit, ac proinde ei perfacile sit rem hanc petenti annuere. Docet ergo nos hisce tribus titulis stringere, et quasi cogere Deum ad præstandum id quod petimus: vult enim efficaci ardentique oratione et desiderio stringi et quasi cogi Deus a nobis. Verbo Tuo. — Solo jussu tuo, puta in mente, dicendo: fiat lux, Fiant luminaria, etc., Genes. I, 3: mystice, Verbo, id est Filio tuo: per hunc enim Deus Pater fecit omnia: itaque verbum notat tum facilitatem, tum sapientiam, qua Deus cuncta creavit: vide dicta Genes. I. Verbum denique, id est Filium Dei, tacite doctorem sibi poscit Salomon, qui per incarnationem futurus erat doctor Israelis et gentium omnium; unde III Reg. III, 9, cum apparuit Deus Salomoni, non Patrem, sed Filium apparuisse censent Pineda et alii; imo Concilium Sirmiense docet in omnibus Dei apparitionibus Veteris Testamenti, Filium duntaxat apparuisse, ut suæ incarnationi, qua visibilis hominibus appariturus erat, præluderet. Præclare S. Basilius, lib. Contra Eunomium: «Nonne, inquit, cum de Deo audivimus, quod in sapientia omnia fecit, conditricem tunc ejus artem docemur? cum vero quod aperuit manum suam, et implet omne animal benedictione, Psalm. CXLIV, 16, providentiam ejus, quæ per omnia transiit? cum vero, quod posuit tenebras latibulum suum, Psalm. XVII, 12, invisibilis naturæ ejus admonemur? Cum rursus e persona ipsius Dei dicitur Malach. III, 6: Ego sum, et alteratus non sum, identitatem æternam, incommutabilitatemque divinæ substantiæ discimus?» quin et Plato: Bonus, inquit, est Deus; omnia ergo sibi simillima fieri voluit, nam bonus nullius unquam rei invidia tangitur; et Seneca, lib. IV De Benef.: «Non mentiar, si dixero neminem non amare beneficia sua, cui non causa sit iterum dandi beneficii, semel dedisse. Cui initio non fuisset ratio præstandi, aliquid ei præstamus, quia præstitimus.» populi fidelis, et Ecclesiæ tuæ; ut ergo munus regium mihi a te impositum rite obeam, sapientiam ad hoc debitam et necessariam mihi elargire: ego enim sum filius hæres Adæ; ac non solum urbis tuæ sanctæ, puta Hierosolymæ, sed et quodam modo orbis totius a te constitutus sum rector, tum quia me destinasti orbis magistrum, ut rerum omnium naturas persequerer, et hominibus explicem; tum quia me urbis suæ sapientis et sanctæ regem designasti, ut ex me orbis totus veri regis ideam, verumque regendi exemplar hauriat et capiat. Quocirca Salomon Adæ in sapientia, æque ac jure regnandi fuit par vel suppar: facilius enim fuit Adæ in justitia originali regere creaturas ratione carentes ad nutum obedientes, quam Salomoni post lapsum regere Hebræos duræ cervicis, et concupiscentiis suis addictos; unde apud interpretes problema est, utrius sapientia fuerit major Adæ an Salomonis? et adhuc sub judice lis est, aliis Adæ, aliis Salomoni primas sapientiæ assignantibus.
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gis, II Paralipom., XIX, 6. Unde Job cap. XXXIV, vers. 14: «Si direxerit, inquit, ad eum cor suum, spiritum illius et flatum ad se trahet.» Addit noster Lorinus rectitudinem vel directionem cordis posse significare promptitudinem, ac quasi explanationem et levitatem asperitati, hæsitationi et obscuritati contrariam: multi enim in judicando sunt obscuri, implexi, hæsitantes, tardi, asperi, cum judex debeat esse clarus, resolutus, expeditus, planus, æquus et facilis. Hinc tropologice infert Cantacuzenus: Ille, inquit, erit perfectus rex, qui ex prima mundi administratione et regno homini a Deo commendato, rationem addiscit gubernandi in æquitate, id est, sancte quoad se; in justitia, quoad cognoscendas aliorum naturas atque necessitates, ad reddendum unicuique quod suum est, instar Adami cognoscentis singula, et dominantis in omnia; et in directione cordis, se omniaque sua conferentis in veri Dei religionem et cultum: hoc enim affert cor rectum, rectus enim illud totum, quantum quantum est, dirigit in Deum.
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Assistricem. — Græce, πάρεδρον. Alludit ad assessores jurisperitos, qui ex veteri more dantur judicibus junioribus vel imperitioribus, ut ex eorum admonitu sententiam rectam dicant: hi enim vocabantur πάρεδροι; deinde συγκάθεδροι, teste Ulpiano, ff De Excus. lib. X, et Modestino, ff De Offic. Asses. lib. I; nisi malis alludi ad angelos vel genios paredros: sic enim reges habent suos archangelos paredros, qui eos in regendo dirigant. Unde Michael archangelus erat paredrus Hebræorum, alius archangelus erat paredrus Græcorum, alius Persarum, Daniel X, 13. Sic et Socrati suus fuit genius paredrus, id est angelus vel dæmon, cujus consilio omnia agebat, teste Platone et Laertio in ejus Vita: sic magi habent paredros dæmones, qui eis arcana revelant: sic S. Irenæus, libro I, cap. IX et XX, docet Simonem Magum et Marcum habuisse genios paredros, qui utique non alii erant quam dæmones familiares; qualem etiam se habuisse asseruit Lutherus, lib. De Missa angulari, et Zuinglius, lib. De Supplemento Eucharistiæ, et Calvinus, epist. ad Bucerum. A Bucero enim monitus ipse ut conviciis abstineret, respondit hunc sui non ingenii, sed genii esse morbum: vide Fevardentium in Irenæum loco jam citato, ubi variis ex antiquitate exemplis docet quod, sicut Ecclesiæ paredrus adest Spiritus Sanctus et sapientia, sic et hæresiarcharum paredrus assideat dæmon. Est prosopopœia: sapientiæ enim hic datur persona, quasi angeli vel consiliarii, qui Deo assistat, ut sapienter omnia disponat, ac ab eo mittatur in terram, præsertim ad reges et principes, ut eos dirigat doceatque sapienter munus suum obire, ac subditos regere, Prov. I, 20; Job XXVIII, 12. Sic poetæ fingunt Jovi assidere Δίκην, id est æquitatem et justitiam, quam velut virginem integram asserunt esse deam judiciorum præsidem, quod lites dirimat et decidat; unde Aristoteles, lib. De Mundo: Deus, ait, e vestigio comitem habet justitiæ præsidem, quam Diken nominant, divinæ legis vindicem, simul ac quidquam sanctionum ejus prætermissum est. Orat ergo Salomon dicitque: Da, Domine, ut sapientia, quæ tibi quasi summo omnium gubernatori assistit, mihi quoque regi consilii indigo assistat, tam in regendo, quam in jure dicendo: nam sine sapientiæ consilio reges nihil agere, nihil decernere debent. Da igitur mihi illam velut πάρεδρον, imo πρόεδρον, id est præsidem et antistitem, quæ mecum in solio regali sedeat, imo sola illud occupet: lubens enim omne illud ipsi cedam, ut juxta eam considentem, ego velut discipulus asstem. Continue ergo mihi adsit, adsideat et præsideat, nec unquam a meo latere discedat, ut ejus magisterio erudiar, et discam quid dicere, quid decernere, quid judicare debeam: illi enim velut magistræ in disciplinam me dedo, ipsi ut reginæ me subdo; illa ergo ceu regina a dextris mihi assistat, meque in omnibus regat et dirigat, necubi errem aut cespitem.
ET NOLI ME REPROBARE A PUERIS TUIS. — Puer in Scriptura vel filium vel servum significat, electum et dilectum; sensus ergo est, q. d. Noli me rejicere ex numero filiorum et famulorum tuorum, quos velut tibi dilectos tua sapientia donasti et dotasti: nam ego sum tibi filiusfamilias, natus ex ancilla tua, ut sequitur. Jam primo, Cantacuzenus per pueros accipit angelos, præsertim supremos Deo assistentes, puta cherubinos (qui a scientia et sapientia nomen acceperunt) et seraphinos, qui a Deo lumen accipiunt, quo alios inferiores illuminent: hi enim sunt proximi Deo; quasi primi ejus familiæ pueri, id est filii vel famuli. Simili enim modo optat Salomon pro tanto regis munere, instar angeli cherubini et seraphini, Deo familiarissimus esse, et lumen ab illo accipere, quod in sibi subditos et populares refundat. Secundo, et magis ad litteram, per pueros accipias patres et patriarchas divinorum scientia repletur multis miseriis;» unde statim subditur: «Homo infirmus, et exigui temporis.» Secunda est hæc ratio, qua Salomon urget, et jure servitutis obstringit Deum ad dandam sibi sapientiam, q. d. Ego in familia tua dego, et inter domesticos tuos censeor, imo quasi verna in tui obsequio et servitute natus sum, quasi fidelium parentum te colentium fidelis filius, verusque tui cultor, sed ancillæ miseræ miser filius. Tua ergo interest ut ego servus tuus sapiam, et sapienter negotia mihi a te commissa administrem: heri enim honor, utilitas et lucrum pendent ex servi sapientia et industria, si scilicet solerter res ejus obeat, administret et peragat; unde officium servi allegans David orat, Psalm. CXVIII, 123: «Servus tuus sum ego, da mihi intellectum, ut sciam testimonia tua.» Heri enim est servo de necessariis providere; provide ergo mihi de sapientia necessaria ad regendum. Porro Salomon in hac oratione ita se amatorem sapientiæ cupidum prodit, ut eam tamen jam magna ex parte videatur consecutus (hæ enim rationes ejus sapientissimæ sunt), perinde ac is, qui amorem Dei a Deo ardentissimis votis efflagitat, amoris divini jam compos est: is enim in eo inhabitans, ipsum ad tam ardentem postulationem exstimulat, summe desiderans ut in dies magnis incrementis augeatur et inardescat. præstantes, puta Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Davidem, etc., cum quibus etiam ut annumeretur velut filius et hæres, ac sapientiæ dono insigniatur, Salomon obsecrat. Tertio, alii apposite per pueros accipiunt reges, judices et principes, qui familiares Dei esse videntur, et quasi a secretis, a consiliis, quibus cum providentiæ suæ arcana communicat, juxta illud, Psal. LXXXI, 1: «Deus stetit in synagoga deorum (hebraice, elohim, id est principum et judicum), in medio autem deos dijudicat.» Principes ergo et judices sunt pueri e familia elohim, id est Dei omnia judicantis et gubernantis, ut sensus sit, q. d. Soles, o Domine Deus, regibus assistricem tuam communicare sapientiam, uti Davidi patri meo communicasti; noli ergo mihi ejus filio et hæredi, pariterque regi eam denegare, ne ineptus sim qui Israelem regam, ac regio munere et nomine indignus inveniar. Noli ergo me gradu hoc, ordine et potestate movere; noli me ejicere, abdicare, ac veluti censura notare, præterire, et inter ejectos præteritosque censere: hoc enim est ἀποδοκιμάσαι. Unde senatores, qui ob insipientiam culpamve senatu submovebantur, vocabantur ἀποδεδοκιμασμένοι, testibus Festo et Budæo in Comment. linguæ græcæ, part. 68. Orat ergo ne ex regum sapientium albo reprobetur et eradatur ob imperitiam; ignorantiam vel insipientiam, velut indignus et rejectaneus, juxta illud Isai. XXXII, 5: «Non vocabitur ultra is, qui insipiens est, princeps; neque fraudulentus appellabitur, major: stultus enim fatua loquetur, etc.» Tropologice: «Noli me reprobare a pueris tuis,» id est, ne sinas me labi in peccatum, ut priver tua gratia ac statu graduque filiorum Dei, fiamque servus et mancipium diaboli, ac fomes mortis et gehennæ: ita noster Alvarez de Paz, De Vita spirituali, lib. I, part. VII: Quid est, inquit, noli me reprobare a pueris, nisi noli permittere ut a sapientia derelictus, quæ omnis bonitatis est fons, servi et amici tui, o Domine, dignitatem amittam? nam sine sapientia, id est sine luce divinitus indita, nec peccatum agnosco, unde nec detestor; nec virtutis decorem video, unde nec amo, nec sequor, nec amplector; non est autem aliquis servus tuus et amicus tuus, sine odio peccatorum, sine amore virtutum.
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Tropologice rex et princeps, qui servit Deo, subditorum quoque se servum agnoscat, ut eorum commodis serviat: qui enim serviunt Deo, serviunt et proximo propter Deum; hinc Pontifex vocat se servum servorum Dei. Allegorice Christus, quatenus homo, est servus Dei, Isai. XLIX, 3, et filius B. Virginis, quæ se vocat ancillam Dei, Luc. I, 38: ita Glossa Interlinearis.
HOMO INFIRMUS, ET EXIGUI TEMPORIS, ET MINOR AD INTELLECTUM JUDICII ET LEGUM. — Infirmus, græce ἀσθενής, id est debilis viribus, tum corporis, tum animi, præsertim judicii, ingenii, fortitudinis et constantiæ ad resistendum potentibus pauperes opprimentibus, ac ad ferendum tot tantaque regni onera. Et exigui temporis, tum quia Salomon juvenis sub annum ætatis vicesimum iniit regnum, cum sapientiam a Deo postulavit, uti hic postulat; unde ipse pro ea orans ait, III Reg. III, 7: «Ego autem sum puer parvulus, et ignorans egressum et introitum meum,» hoc est, quid agam, quomodo remordiar, quomodo finiam nescio: modicam enim et pauci temporis habet experientiam, et consequenter modicum prudentiæ et sapientiæ: hanc enim parit experientia, tum quia vita mea brevis est, ideoque non sufficit ad addiscendam sapientiam tam variam et multiplicem, quæ requiritur ad gubernandum, juxta illud Hippocratis: «Ars longa, vita brevis.» Unde Tigurina vertit, brevique tempore duraturus, et minor ad intellectum judicii et legum. Vatablus, adeoque junior, quam ut justitiam legesque possim intelligere. Rursum et potius minor, idque satis insinuatur I Paralip. XXIX, 1: quare licet ætate esset minor, prælatum tamen fuisse Adoniæ cæterisque fratribus natu majoribus, ideoque unum ipsum e populo Dei electo fuisse electissimum, unus enim ex omnibus electus fuit in regem populi a Deo selecti et dilecti, quem proinde Deus hic vocat suos filios et filias; quo significat eum ipsos regere debere non ut tyrannum, nec tam ut regem, quam ut patrem, et patrem filiorum Dei, hoc est magno amore, cura et reverentia. Quocirca ex hac electione Salomon Deum urget ad dandam sibi sapientiam, q. d. Tu, Domine, me elegisti in regem Israelis, tuum ergo est dare mihi sapientiam ad hoc regimen, non tantum necessariam, sed et utilem commodamque. Hinc rursum patet hunc librum esse Salomonis, eo modo et sensu, quo in Proœmio exposui. Moraliter hic disce fidelis et christiani esse regere Israelem, id est populum Dei, ut in Dei lege, cultu, obsequio eum contineat et promoveat, dirigatque ad veram salutem et felicitatem æternam. Hujus rei causa voluit Deus Salomonem ædificare sibi templum ut in eo coleretur, ut sequitur, adeoque templi fabrica præcipuum fuit Salomonis opus, ob quod Deus eum videtur regem creasse. Regum ergo fidelium est primo religionem, deinde justitiam et rempublicam curare et stabilire: hujus enim basis et columen est religio et pietas. Ita fecere Constantinus magnus, Theodosius, Carolus Magnus, etc., qui proinde felicissimi et gloriosissimi evasere. Ut alios taceam, hac in re enituit olim Angliæ regum devotio, qui regnum Angliæ Ecclesiæ et Pontifici Romano subjecerunt, ac tributarium effecerunt: ita ad Leonem IV Pontificem sanctitate illustrem, qui vita functus est anno Domini 855, ex Anglia venit Agelolphus rex cum filio, regnumque suum Romanæ Ecclesiæ, singulis familiis nummo aureo in singulos annos imposito, tributarium fecit: ita Platina, Baronius et alii. S. Richardus Angliæ rex, dimisso regno, ac filiis apud S. Bonifacium Moguntiæ relictis, vili vestitu incognitus peregrinatus est, Romamque contendit; sed in itinere morbo correptus, Lucæ vita functus, ad cœleste regnum migravit anno Domini 771, ac miraculis claruit. Ita rex patriæ exsul factus, mundi spretore, et sui contemptor, regiam coronam pro æterna vita deposuit, ac purpuram cum sacco commutavit. Filii ejus fuere S. Willibaldus, qui deinde creatus est episcopus Eistatetensis, et alter Winibaldus electus abbas Heidenhemensis; filia vero Walpurga facta monialis, creata est abbatissa, atque omnes ob præclare gesta sanctorum Catalogo ascripti sunt. Ita habet ejus Vita, et Arnoldus Wion in Ligno vitæ lib. IV, Philippus Ferrarius in Catalogo Sanctorum Italiæ, et alii. Eduardus III, Angliæ rex, adeo in Deum et Ecclesiam Romanam pius exstitit, ut cœleste a Deo privilegium acceperit, illudque velut hæreditarium ad græce, ἥττων, id est minus sufficiens, et succumbens intelligentiæ judicii et legum, id est imbecillior quam ut judicia et leges possim intelligere, quibus regem instructum esse oportet. Regem enim Israel oportebat nosse omnes leges Dei, morales, ceremoniales et præsertim judiciales (juxta has enim judicare debebat), uti jubet Deus, Deuter. XVII, 18, et Josue I, 8. Adde his leges municipales et jus consuetudinum, ac similia, quorum rex et judex peritus esse debet. Porro leges a Deo Judæis in Pentateucho sancitas dividunt Hebræi in affirmativas, easque numerant 248, et negativas, easque numerant 365, teste R. Mose in Duce Dubiorum, cap. LVI et LVII. Est hæc tertia ratio urgens Deum ad dandam sapientiam, petita ex humili confessione propriæ infirmitatis, indigentiæ et necessitatis: confitetur enim suam ignorantiam, ut sapientiam nanciscatur: nam «oratio humiliantis se penetrat nubes.» Eccli. XXXV, 21. Moraliter Cantacuzenus censet dici hominem infirmum et minorem ad intellectum judicii et legum, quoniam ex quo semel legem transgressus est, tum ad servandam legem, tum ad exigendam legis observationem imbecillus et inefficax est; ergo sapientia, quæ legem servare docet, eadem ipsa bene imperare docet; quæ a subditis legem exigit, prius illam exigit ab ipso exactore, cui prius imperat facienda, quam subditis.
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altitudinis:» vide dicta Exod. XXV et seq. Porro templum erat domus Dei et imago cœli, in quo Deus colebatur assiduis victimis et thure, sive thymiamite; idem erat imago regni sacri et divini: in templo enim Deus, velut in suo regno regnabat, omniaque suis legibus et ceremoniis dirigebat ad sui cultum, et populi religionem. Quare jussit Deus Salomoni fabricare templum, ut ex eo acciperet ideam regnandi: nam in templo omnia erant suis locis, ordinibus, gradibus concinne et religiose disposita; ac pontifex, velut vicerex Dei, imperabat tot millibus sacerdotum et levitarum, atque laicis omnibus ad templum venientibus, adeo ut aspicere levitarum et sacerdotum ordines idem esset, ac cernere militum sacrorum aciem optime ordinatam; hinc in templo summa erat quies, summa pax, summa unio, quæ omnia in regno imitari et procurare debet rex. Vide nostrum Vilalpandum, tom. II De Templo, part. II, lib. V, disp. 2, cap. XXIX, XXX et XXXI, ubi docet templum habuisse similitudinem tabernaculi et castrametationis populi, idem quoque ad similitudinem mundi, cœli et hominis exstructum fuisse. SIMILITUDINEM (Græce μίμημα, id est imitationem) TABERNACULI SANCTI TUI, QUOD PRÆPARASTI (id est prius parasti, et jam ante fabricasti) AB INITIO — Synagogæ institutæ, quando scilicet per Mosen populum hunc ex Ægypto eduxisti, tibique in ecclesiam selegisti, q. d. Jussisti me ædificare templum ad instar tabernaculi, quod Moses fabricavit, juxta ideam ipsi a te in monte Sina ostensam. Exod. XXV, 9 et seq. Tabernaculi duæ erant partes, Sanctum et Sanctum sanctorum: in Sancto erat altare thymiamatis, candelabrum septem calamis et lucernis lucens, et mensa panum propositionis; in Sancto sanctorum erat arca testamenti (in qua erant tabulæ Decalogi digito Dei inscriptæ, virga Aaron, et juxta eam manna) cum cherubim, et propitiatorio. Ante Sanctum sub dio erat altare holocaustorum, in quo Deo mactabantur victimæ; unde præ cæteris meminit hic altaris, quia illud erat præcipuum templi decus et instrumentum ad sacrificandum colendumque Deum. Porro altare Mosis in tabernaculo habebat quinque cubitos in longitudine, et totidem in latitudine; verum Salomon pro toto Israele, imo pro exteris e toto orbe religionis ergo ad templum confluentibus, majus et capacius altare erexit, servata tamen proportione altaris tabernaculi: nam, ut dicitur II Paral. IV, 1: «Fecit altare æneum viginti cubitorum longitudinis, et viginti cubitorum latitudinis, et decem cubitorum
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Verum aptius græcoque consonantius, alii hanc gnomen nectunt præcedenti, puta fabricæ tabernaculi, q. d. Tu, Domine, olim fabricasti tabernaculum per Mosem, et nunc templum per me Salomonem, ac tecum idipsum fabricavit sapientia tua: hæc enim tibi suggessit ideam et exemplar pulcherrimum tabernaculi et templi, juxta quam ædificares illud. Hæc enim «novit opera tua,» id est operum tuorum rationem, formam, dispositionem, æque ac scopum et finem; unde eadem tibi «affuit tunc, cum orbem terrarum faceres.» Meminit fabricæ orbis, quia hæc fuit idea fabricæ templi; mundus enim est imago templi; ac templum vicissim est quasi parvus mundus, unde illud cap. XVIII, 24: «In veste poderis, etc., totus erat orbis terrarum.» Hinc sicut templum, sic et mundus est domus angusta Dei, et, ut Philo ait: «Mundus est templum sanctum Domini.» Rursum, sicut sapientia primitus condiderat et disposuerat mundum quasi regnum, in quo Adam, sive homo, velut rex, om- nibus creaturis dominaretur sobrie, modeste, sancte, juste et religiose, uti dixit vers. 3: sic eadem hic designat et disponit templum, sive ecclesiam Israel velut regnum, in quo regnet Salomon pacifice, pie et juste. Quare eamdem sapientiam ad perficiendam templi fabricam æque ac ad regni regimen jure sibi deposcit Salomon, præsertim cum eamdem olim Deus indiderit Beseleel et Ooliab architectis ad fabricandum tabernaculum, Exod. XXXI, 2. Et sciebat (id est olim Sapientia sciebat, cum orbem conderet, et etiamnum scit) quid (sit) PLACITUM OCULIS TUIS, ET QUID DIRECTUM (græce εὐθές, id est rectum) IN PRÆCEPTIS TUIS, — id est, quid rectissime velis, decernas, jubeas et præcipias, quasi dicat: Da ergo et mihi hanc sapientiam, ut sciam quid tibi sit placitum gratumque, quidque directe voluntati tuæ, legi et præceptis concordet et consonet, ut idipsum tum in fabricando templo, tum in administrando regno exacte sequar et exsequar. Pro placitum græce est ἀρεστόν, unde gallicum arrêt, id est decretum Curiæ, sive placitum: significat sapientiam habere absolutissimam cognitionem voluntatis divinæ, atque consiliorum et præceptorum ejus, quæ vel nobis dedit, vel rebus a se factis indidit.
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Symbolice, petit Salomon sibi mitti Filium, cui ceu Verbo attribuitur sapientia, ut eam se doceat: ita D. Thomas, I part., Quæst. XLIII, art. 5: nam «mitti personam divinam, ait, ad aliquem per invisibilem gratiam, significat novum modum inhabitandi illius personæ, et originem ejus ab alia,» quod scilicet Filius oriatur et gignatur a Patre: vide ibidem scholasticos et Magistrum, lib. I Sentent. dist. 14 et seq. Deus Pater enim per Filium sapientiam, gratiam, omneque bonum nobis elargitur: hac de causa Ecclesia omnes suas orationes et collectas ad Deum Patrem concludit hac forma: «Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum,» etc. Cujus consuetudinis origo antiquissima est, ut patet ex Canone Missæ, cujus auctor perhibetur S. Petrus; in eo enim omnes orationes clauduntur hoc modo: «Per Christum Dominum nostrum.» Idem videre est in Liturgia S. Jacobi et S. Marci, licet non tam crebro quam in Canone. Initium et radix hujus formulæ fuit illud dictum Christi, Joan. XVI, 24: «Petite (in nomine meo) et accipietis;» et ibid. vers. 23 et seq.: «Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis;» unde Christi præceptum secutus S. Paulus ita sancit, Hebr. XIII, 15: «Per ipsum ergo offeramus hostiam laudis semper Deo, id est fructum labiorum confitentium nomini ejus;» et alibi passim docet Christum esse nostrum mediatorem apud Patrem, intercedere pro nobis, etc.; unde ipse crebro et alternis sæpe versibus interponit et ingeminat nomen Jesu Christi. Idem fecit S. Petrus cæterique apostoli. Postea vero, cum Pelagius hæresiarcha tempore S. Augustini gratiæ Christi detraheret, Ecclesia ut illum confutaret, omnes plane orationes concludit: «Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum,» etc.; itaque fecit S. Gregorius, qui plurimas officii ecclesiastici collectas composuit, ut patet ex ejus Antiphonario: plura vide apud Amalarium, Walafridum, Durandum, et cæteros qui de Officiis ecclesiasticis scripsere. Subtiliter S. Bonaventura: «Sapientia increata, inquit, dicitur esse in sinu Patris, gigni ex utero, ex ore procedere: primum, propter occultationem; secundum, propter consubstantialitatem; tertium, propter manifestationem; at de cœlo mitti, propter illuminationem; sedere in anima, propter tranquillitatem.»
UT MECUM SIT, ET MECUM LABORET, UT SCIAM QUID ACCEPTUM SIT APUD TE. — Et ubi scivero, exsequar. Græce, ἵνα συμπαροῦσά μοι κοπιάσῃ, id est ut simul præsens, vel assistens mihi laboret, id est mecum laboret, vel collaboret, ut legit Cantacuzenus: sapientia enim et gratia Dei, non sola operatur bonum opus, ut vult Calvinus, sed simul cum mente et libero arbitrio hominis, cui illa cooperatur: a gratia enim habet opus, quod sit sanctum gratumque Deo; a libero vero arbitrio, quod sit humanum et liberum; unde hac alludens Paulus: «Abundantius, ait, omnibus laboravi, non ego autem (solus), sed gratia Dei mecum,» I Corinth. XV, 10, hoc est, ut explicat S. Augustinus, lib. De Gratia et libero arbitrio, cap. XV: «Non autem ego, sed gratia Dei mecum, ac per hoc nec gratia Dei sola, nec ipse solus, sed gratia Dei cum illo.» Græcum κοπιάσῃ significat laborem cum molestia et fatigatione: per hanc enim homini paranda est virtuti, et servorum proprium est (qualem se vers. 5 professus est) assidue pro domino laborare. Postulat ergo sapientiam, ut non tantum mecum laboret, sed et doceat laborare, et labori præsit, laboremque urgeat et exigat; unde noster Pineda, lib. III De Rebus Salomonis, cap. VI, num. 3, censet hoc esse metaphoram a magistris operum, qui laborantibus servis insistunt, opus exigunt, et labori continuando incumbunt, nec sinunt servos vel dormitare vel segniter agere: dicit ergo: Ne me in obeundo regio munere torpere aut dormitare sinas, cum qui regnant, rem et officium Dei agant. Exigat ergo a me sapientia pensum laboris, me urgeat, et sicut ego rex medius sum in populo, instar magistri operum et inspectoris lustrantis subditos suos et ad opus exsequendum urgentis, atque ita videor laborare cum eis: ita cum ego «servus tuus sim,» ut labore opus tuum exsequar, assigna mihi sapientiam instar magistrae, assistricis et inspectatricis. Sapientia ergo similis est regi vel reginae apum, quæ assidue obambulet alvearia perlustrans, ut omnes apes ad assiduos labores urgeat, quæ jugiter fingant favos quasi domos, in iisque mel faciant et recondant. et fabricæ templi. Secundum, in exsequendo et operando prudentia, discretio, regula, norma et modus, quem significat to sobrie, græce σεφρόνως, id est moderate, discrete, sapienter, prudenter; postulat ergo auream mediocritatem, quæ omnium actionum nostrarum debet esse norma: hæc enim modum præscribit operationi, ne remissius aut ardentius quis operi incumbat, quam recta ratio flagitat. Tertium est, actionis et operis custodia, ne ab hoste vel alia causa impediatur: hanc enim præstat pervigil sapientiæ providentia; indeque potentia, quæ omnia impedimenta solerter prævidet, et potenter discutit.
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mini?» hinc Moses in omnibus dubiis populi regimen concernentibus, confugiebat ad tabernaculum, ibique Deum consulebat, et ab eo responsa accipiebat; idem a Deo jubetur facere Josue per pontificem Eleazarum, Num. XXVII, 21. Utrumque imitentur principes et prælati, ut in rebus perplexis Deum per orationem consulant. Pulchre hunc locum perurget S. Cyprianus, De Singular. cleric., docetque Dei consilium et voluntatem unicam esse justitiæ normam, justique regiminis formam: sic enim ait: «Cujus (Dei) ita sunt mandata servanda, ut si aliquid jusserit, quod secundum homines injustum esse videatur, justum credatur et fiat, et si justum jusserit, justum reputetur et fiat; cum sine justitia non possit esse, quod mandat, qui potens est injustitiam justificando vocare justitiam; et justitiam reprobando injustitiam probare transversam, cujus voluntas est sola et vera justitia.» Rationem subdit: «Si enim totum quod gerimus ad hoc tantummodo gerimus, ut Domino placeamus, profecto hoc solum erit justum, quidquid voluerit, et jusserit, et probaverit Deus, cui placere gestimus: nam cum servi non possint a semetipsis scire, quid suis dominis placeat, nisi dominorum sequantur imperia; et utique homines hominum similium sibi non valeant utilitates agnoscere, nisi acceperint quod observent: multo magis mortales nesciunt immortalis Dei justitiam comprehendere, nisi ipse justitiarum suarum dignetur judicia demonstrare, sicut Salomon approbat, dicens Sapient. IX, 13: Quis enim hominum poterit scire consilium Dei, aut quis poterit cogitare quid velit Deus? Cogitationes enim mortalium timidæ, et incertæ providentiæ nostræ.»
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ET INCERTÆ PROVIDENTIÆ NOSTRÆ. — Putamus enim nostris ratiunculis et consiliis invenire media ad rem conficiendam apposita, et in executione invenimus ea debilia, infirma, defectuosa, fallacia, ac in infelicem exitum desinere: quare consulere debemus Dei providentiam, utpote securam et certam, ab eaque toti pendere. Græce ἐπιφαλεῖς αἱ ἐπίνοιαι ἡμῶν, id est, fallaces nostræ opiniones, ut vertit Vatablus, quia nil fere certo scimus, sed tantum opinamur; alii, periculosæ adinventiones nostræ; alii, instabiles conceptiones nostræ; alii, periculo subjacent excogitata a nobis consilia: tum quia pendent a circumstantiis plurimis et sæpe ignotis; tum quia mille casibus et modis impediri evertique possunt; tum quia in discursu sæpe hallucinamur, et paralogizamus ex mentis debilitate et cæcitate. Hinc interpres S. Chrysostomi in Psal. CXLIII vertit, rationes hominum timidæ, et labiles inventiones eorum. Octava est hæc ratio, petita ab infirmitate, ignorantia et improvidentia hominis: hæc enim directione sapientiæ et providentiæ Dei indiget; unde prudenter Josaphat rex, II Paral. XX, 12: «Cum ignoremus, ait, quid agere debeamus, hoc solum habemus residui, ut oculos nostros dirigamus ad te.»
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morte hoc tabernaculum; corrugatur cutis, laxantur nervi, nutant pedes: ita Pineda in Job cap. XVIII, 14. Corpus ergo aggravat animam et mentem, quia primo, eam uni rei, puta veritati et Deo, intentam, deorsum abstrahit ad res corporeas et sensibiles, eamque distrahit per varias imaginationes et phantasmata, quibus phantasia instar equi vagi in campo pabulum carpentis assidue oberrat, unde S. Augustinus, X Confess. cap. XL, ad uniendam cum Deo mentem suspirans: «Neque in his omnibus, ait, quæ percurro, consulens te, invenio tutum locum animæ meæ, nisi in te, quo colligantur sparsa mea, nec a te quidquam recedat ex me. Et aliquando intromittis me in affectum multum inusitatum introrsus, ad nescio quam dulcedinem; quæ si perficiatur in me, nescio quid erit, quod vita ista non erit. Sed recido in hæc ærumnosis ponderibus, et resorbeor solitis, et teneor, et multum fleo, sed multum teneor. Tantum consuetudinis sarcina degravat. Hic esse valeo, nec volo; illic volo, nec valeo: miser utrobique.» Et Nazianzenus, in Carm. IX: Nunc, ait, cum collecta est ratio, jamque ipse senecta Ad metam accessi, miser heu, velut ebrius erro, Ac sæva obliquus pugna me deprimit anguis, Et recte consulta rapit furtimque palamque; Interdum mea mens ad regem fertur Olympi: Interdum in mundum devexo corpore vergit, A quo animæ graviter læsa est pars maxima nostræ. Nunc, ait, cum collecta est ratio, jamque ipse senecta Ad metam accessi, miser heu, velut ebrius erro, Ac sæva obliquus pugna me deprimit anguis, Et recte consulta rapit furtimque palamque; Interdum mea mens ad regem fertur Olympi: Interdum in mundum devexo corpore vergit, A quo animæ graviter læsa est pars maxima nostræ. verum, præsertim cæleste et divinum, degravari gravitate et pondere corporis, ac velut in somno variis phantasiis falsis et erroneis agitari, quibus offuscata dum credit et fidem adhibet, quasi nesciens et sopita decipitur, et in errorem inducitur, uti videmus fieri in phreneticis, et ebriis ac dormientibus: hi enim quod imaginantur et somniant, licet insulsum et stultum, verum tamen et prudens putant. Idem prorsus accidit homini vigilanti, præsertim curis et cupiditatibus æstuanti: cupiditates enim phantasiam ita afficiunt et imbuunt, ut quod illæ cupiunt, hoc phantasiæ pulchrum, verum et eligendum videatur: hinc sæpe bonus dormitat Homerus, mens scilicet alioqui sapiens obnubilatur, confunditur, hallucinatur et errat: videt enim rem quasi per nebulam et fumum vaporum, qui e stomacho ascendunt ad cerebrum, illudque miris phantasmatibus imbuunt, quibus res prorsus alia videtur, quam in seipsa sit; nam pro vera rei specie phantasia, indeque menti (quæ tota pendet a phantasia) obtruditur fictum falsumque phantasma, pro vera ratione sophisma, pro vero syllogismo paralogismus, pro certa scientia opinio apparens, sed fallax; quo fit ut homines subinde, dum maxime sibi sapere videntur, tum maxime desipiant. TERRENA INHABITATIO (græce γεῶδες σκῆνος, id est terrenum tabernaculum; ita vocat corpus, in eo enim, quasi in tabernaculo, modico tempore habitat anima, quia in eo peregrina est tenditque ad cœlum, unde originem accepit; corpus vero, quia terreum, et ex terra factum, animam cœlestem ad terrena) DEPRIMIT. — «Sensum,» id est mentem πολυφροντίδα, id est multarum curarum vocat, multasque res meditantem, et multis curis agitatam, anxiam et sollicitam, qualis est regum et principum, quæ proinde hinc curis pressa, inde corporis pondere degravata, ponderi et errori succumbat oportet, nisi sapientiæ et gratiæ divinæ præsidio erigatur et fulciatur; quam proinde assidue implorandam docet Salomon. Huc alludens S. Paulus, II Cor. V, 1: «Scimus, ait, quoniam si terrestris domus nostra hujus habitationis dissolvatur, quod ædificationem ex Deo habemus, domum non manufactam, æternam in cœlis, nam et in hoc ingemiscimus, habitationem nostram, quæ de cœlo est, superindui cupientes:» vide ibi dicta. Hinc et Plato in Cratylo censet corpus dici σῶμα, quasi σῆμα, id est sepulcrum, tanquam in eo anima, ejusque vis quasi in tumulo sepulta jaceat; unde philosophus ille miseram animæ suæ sortem miserans: «Animula, inquit, sensitivum cadaver gestas.» Porro multiplex est analogia corporis et tabernaculi, nam instar tabernaculi corpus nostrum pelle tegitur, contra externas injurias cœli; nervis ceu funiculis distenditur; ossa velut malus aliave armamenta sustentant illud; clavorum instar, quibus figatur firmeurque, videntur pedes; avellitur Vide Cassianum, Collat. XXIII, cap. VII. Secundo, quia corpus mentis aciem sua gravitate hebetat et obtundit, eamque sibi quasi similem, crassam, gravem et onerosam efficit, juxta illud Virgilii, VI Æneid.: Noxia corpora tardant, Terrenique hebetant artus, moribundaque membra. Tertio, quia eam fatigat et delassat, ut diu non possit continuare speculationem, orationem, meditationem: sicut lorica et arma Saulis degravabant et lassabant Davidem, ut non posset progredi. Quarto, quia eam suis phantasmatibus obnubilat, illudit et decipit, uti initio dixi: ad hæc corpus animæ quasi vincula et compedes injicit, ne sursum avolare possit. Quinto, quia cum mente appetitum et voluntatem ad bona spiritualia anhelantem, deprimit ad amanda sectandaque bona corporea, terrena et caduca; unde Apostolus gemens suspirat, Rom. VII, 23: «Video aliam legem in membris meis, repugnantem legi mentis meæ, et captivantem me in lege peccati, quæ est in membris meis. Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus?» Et sponsa, amore sponsi languens, ad eum suspirat, Cant. II, 17: «Donec aspiret dies» beatæ æternitatis, «et inclinentur umbræ» corporis et miseræ mortalitatis. Et Job, cap. VII, 20: «Factus sum, inquit, mihimetipsi gravis:» vide S. Prosperum, epist. ad Demetriad. non longe a fine, ubi docet tentationes homini oboriri a corpore, ejusque concupiscentia degravante, sed eas vinci a charitate mentem ad Deum sublevante. Hinc videmus longe majorem partem hominum, per omnem pene vitam occupari circa corpus, ut illi de victu, vestitu, cæterisque commodis et voluptatibus provideant, ita ut parum et raro de anima, ejusque æterna salute cogitent. Quocirca ex hac gnome S. Cyprianus De Singular. Cleric. suadet cavenda esse feminarum consortia, ne eis clerici cohabitent: «Tunc ergo, inquit, cavenda sunt feminæ participia, quando geritur carnalium curarum continua unanimiter frequentia: quoniam inter curas suas caro semper incitamenta cupidinis provocat, et illic parit fomenta peccandi, ubi pertractans commoda sua, temporalis vitæ cogitationibus senserit paululum relaxari, sicut Salomon asserit dicens, Sapient. IX, 15: Deprimit terrena cogitatio sensum multa cogitantem:» nam, ut solerter advertit S. Bernardus, serm. 81 in Cant., a peccato factum est, ut corpus quod corrumpitur aggravet animam; sed amore, non mole: nam quod surgere anima per se jam non potest, quæ per se cadere potuit, voluntas in causa est, quæ corrupti corporis vitiato ac vitioso amore languescens et jacens, amorem pariter justitiæ non admittit.» Deinde quomodo voluntas hæc fiat necessitas, pulchre declarat: «Ita nescio quo pravo et miro modo ipsa sibi voluntas, peccato quidem in deterius mutata necessitatem facit: ut nec necessitas, cum voluntaria sit, excusare valeat voluntatem; nec voluntas, cum sit illecta, excludere necessitatem: est enim necessitas hæc quodammodo voluntaria: est favorabilis vis quædam premendo blandiens, ac blandiendo premens; unde sese rea voluntas, ubi semel peccato consenserit, nec excutere jam per se, nec excusare tamen ullatenus de ratione queat. Inde querula illa vox, veluti gementis sub onere necessitatis hujus, Isai. XXXVIII, 14: Domine, inquit, vim patior, responde pro me.» Hac de causa apposite S. Gregorius Nazianzenus corpus vocat echeneidem, sive remoram: sicut enim hic piscis exiguus affigens se navibus, earum cursum retardat et sistit; ita et corpus animam: sic enim canit in Præceptis ad Virgines: Nec vitæ ipsa tuæ immittas echeneida carnem, Quæ velut invicta properantem compede puppim Definet, ac tantam cogit subsistere molem. Unde suadet arctandam esse mentem et amorem, sicut enim arctata aqua in exiguo canali sursum exilit, ita arctata mens exilit ad Christum: Non secus, inquit, ipse tuum qui sic arctatur, amorem Te jubeo ad Christum sublato tollere fluctu. Porro remora est piscis magnitudine cubiti, fusco colore, similis anguillæ, ait Oppianus, lib. I De Piscibus. Addit Plutarchus in Sympos. decad. 2, cap. VII, remoram retardare navim, quia auget Nec vitæ ipsa tuæ immittas echeneida carnem, Quæ velut invicta properantem compede puppim Definet, ac tantam cogit subsistere molem. Unde suadet arctandam esse mentem et amorem, sicut enim arctata aqua in exiguo canali sursum exilit, ita arctata mens exilit ad Christum: Non secus, inquit, ipse tuum qui sic arctatur, amorem Te jubeo ad Christum sublato tollere fluctu. Porro remora est piscis magnitudine cubiti, fusco colore, similis anguillæ, ait Oppianus, lib. I De Piscibus. Addit Plutarchus in Sympos. decad. 2, cap. VII, remoram retardare navim, quia auget ejus humiditatem, sic et corpus animam facit humidam, ideoque gravem et cæcam: nam anima sicca est sapientissima; anima ergo in corpore velut in ergastulo inclusa tenetur, et membris ejus quasi compedibus prægravatur. Est animæ corpus pro nebula, quæ illam cælestia clare videre non sinit; est ei pro illecebra, quæ ad malum et vetitum pertrahit; est ei pro catena, quæ affectuum pennis vix ad sublimia volare permittit; unde suspirat Psaltes, Psalm. LVI, 7: «Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbæ, et volabo, et requiescam?» Denique audi S. Bernardum, serm. 3 in Ascens.: «Nos autem in regione ista sumus, ubi plurimum est malitiæ, sapientiæ parum, quia corpus quod corrumpitur, aggravat animam, et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem, Sapient. IX, 15. Per sensum hic, ego arbitror intellectum designari, qui tunc vere deprimitur, cum multa cogitat, cum non colligit se circa illam unam et unicam meditationem, quæ concipitur de civitate illa, cujus participatio ejus in idipsum. Hujusmodi intellectum oportet deprimi, et distrahi per multa multis et multiplicibus modis. Animam vero hic æstimo dici affectiones, quæ corrupto corpore diversis passionibus afficiuntur, quæ mitigari nunquam possunt, ne dicam sanari, donec voluntas unum quærat, et tendat ad unum. Duo ergo sunt, quæ in nobis purganda sunt, intellectus et affectus: intellectus, ut noverit; affectus, ut velit.» Subjicit deinde exempla Eliæ et Henoch: «Felices et vere felices illi duo viri, Elias et Henoch, quibus omnes materiæ et occasiones ablatæ sunt, quæ eorum intellectum impediant vel affectum, quia soli Deo viventes, nec noverunt nisi Deum, nec cupiunt nisi Deum. Denique et de Henoch legitur, Sapient. IV, 11, quia raptus est, ne malitia mutaret intellectum ejus, aut ne fictio deciperet animam ejus. Intellectus noster turbatus erat, ne dicam cæcatus, affectus inquinatus erat, et multum inquinatus: sed Christus intellectum illuminat, Spiritus Sanctus affectum purgat.» QUOD CORRUMPITUR. — Dat causam, cur corpus aggravet animam, quia scilicet est corruptibile: nam primo, quod est corruptibile, hoc est materiale et terrestre (res enim immateriales et cœlestes sunt incorruptibiles) ideoque grave et ponderosum, sicut terra est gravis et ponderosa. Secundo, quia corpus corruptibile et terrestre in dies corrumpitur, et in terram, ex qua formatum est, devergit, et in eam ceu matrem et originem suam redire gestit; unde secum animam deprimit, ut in terrena devergat et propendeat. Tertio, quia corpus corruptibile hominem occupat, ut corruptioni ejus continuo occurrat, itaque a cœlestibus avocat: corpus enim, dum famet, cogit hominem cibum sumere, ut fami succurrat; dum sitit, cogit hominem bibere; dum fatigatur, cogit hominem quiescere; dum friget, cogit calefacere; dum dormitat, cogit dormire, etc. Hæ sunt necessitates corporis, quibus anima invita servire cogitur; unde pro iis orandum cum Psalte, Psal. XXIV, 17: «De necessitatibus meis eripe me.» Clarum hoc est in ægrotis, qui toti sunt in corpore curando, ejusque valetudine recuperanda, ut nec studere, nec meditari, nec laborare, nec quid aliud agere valeant: imo et in sanis, hi enim tertiam fere diei vitæque partem, dormiendo transigunt; duas reliquas diei partes sæpe labori manuali, prandio, cœnæ, recreationi, confabulationi, etc., impendunt, ut vix dimidiam horam inveniant, quam dent orationi et Deo. Hinc origenistæ et pythagorici censuerunt animam a Deo creatam perfectam ante corpus, sed ob peccata a se admissa detrusam in corpus, quasi in carcerem, ut scelerum pœnas lueret; manichæi vero, inquit S. Augustinus, lib. De Hæresibus, in XLVI: «Etsi utuntur conjugibus, conceptum tamen generationemque devitant, ne divina substantia, quæ in eos per alimenta ingreditur, vinculis carneis ligetur in prole;» verum hæ sunt Manis maniæ et vesaniæ. Pro deprimit græce est βρίθει (quasi βορίθει, a βορά, id est cibus), id est, præ gravedine cibi vel potus, quasi dormitat corpus, et mentem pariter dormitare facit ut excutiat, et quasi somnians phantasmata confundat, ut unum pro alio, falsum pro vero, dubium pro certo, fucatum pro sincero imaginetur, eligat et amplectatur: sic enim prorsus experimur mentem, dum speculari vult
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17. Sensum autem tuum quis sciet, nisi tu dede ris sapientiam, et miseris spiritum sanctum tuum de altissimis? — Pro sciet, græce est præteritum scivit; S. Cyprianus, De Singular. Cleric. legit, scit: per præteritum enim cætera tempora denotat, puta præsens et futurum. Hinc et S. Hieronymus in Zachar. cap. xii, pro dederis et miseris legit, dedisti et misisti. Pro sensum, græce est ζωή, id est consilium, mentem, voluntatem. Spiritus sanctus, tum creatus hic sumi potest, puta gratia et charitas; tum increatus, puta tertia persona S. Trinitatis : huic enim appropriantur illuminatio et sanctificatio; unde Ecclesia eum invocans ait: Accende lumen sensibus, Infunde amorem cordibus, Infirma nostri corporis Virtute firmans perpeti.
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18. Et sic (male Lyranus et Dionysius legunt, si) correcte sint semitæ eorum qui sunt in terris, et quæ tibi placent didicerint homines? — Notat duplicem effectum sapientiæ et Spiritus Sancti : primus est, quod doceat ea, quæ sunt grata Deo; secundus, quod ad ea opere explendum, gratiam roburque suggerat, per quam mentes reformat, et mores corrigit. Pro correctæ, S. Cyprianus De Singular. Cleric. legit, directæ.
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19. Nam per sapientiam sanati sunt quicumque tibi placuerunt a principio. — Hæc ultima verba desunt in Græco. Pro sanati sunt, græce est ἐσώθη- σαν, id est servati vel salvati sunt, hoc est liberati sunt a periculis mortis, tum corporis, tum animæ; unde horum exempla deinceps recenset usque ad finem libri : quocirca ab hoc versu caput decimum inchoant nonnulli. Simili modo Sapientem imitatus S. Paulus, Hebr. xi, toto capite probat omnes, qui ab origine mundi salvati sunt, per fidem fuisse salvatos.
9:1
… loro discendenti (Gen. 1, 29-30; 9, 2-3). Non solo; ma diede all'uomo il dominio pieno ed assoluto sulla natura: « Iddio, che tutto hai creato con la tua parola e con la tua sapienza hai formato l'uomo perché egli domini sulle creature fatte da te... » (Sap. 9, 1-2). « Tu hai posto (l'uomo) a capo delle opere delle tue mani; tutto hai messo ai suoi piedi: pecore e buoi, e le bestie ancora della campagna, gli uccelli del cielo e i pesci del mare …
… In Gen. 1, 1-27 si descrive la creazione come opera delle Parole di Dio con la formula ripetuta « E disse Iddio ». Questo concetto è ribadito in Ps. 32 (33): « Disse e fu fatto, comandò e fu creato » (v. 9, cf. v. 6; Eccli. 42, 15; Sap. 9, 1-2 con il termine λόγος). …
… creatura » e in Sap. 7, 25 si dice: « Candore della Luce eterna..., specchio immacolato della maestà di Dio, imagine della sua bontà ». Non sarà poi inopportuno notare che negli stessi libri si fa cenno della Parola-Αὐγος - di Dio, divinamente operante (Sap. 9, 1; Eccl. 42, 15 ecc.). …
9:2
… Actus meos viderunt oculi tui» (cf. anche Pss. 7, 43, 103, 146 ecc.; e inoltre: Prov. 3, 19; Sap. 9, 2; 14, 2; Jer. 11, 20; 23, 24; 32, 19). Del Nuovo Testamento basti ricordare Rom. 11, 33: «O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei». …
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… In esso i Settanta traducono con τέλειον la parola ebraica tāmim che indicava perfezione (Deut. 18, 13; I Reg. 8, 61; 11, 4; Sap. 9, 6) più nel senso di perfezione legale, esteriore che intimo, pur non escludendolo (cf. Fr. Platt, Perfection, in Enc. of Rel. and Eth., IX, 728 sgg.).
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… Vecchio Testamento si trova una nuova terminologia adoperandosi πνεῦμα (rūah) per designare lo spirito vivificatore di Dio, mentre ψυχή (néphēš) è il principio superiore interno all'uomo; così II Mach. 6, 30; 7, 37; 14, 38; Sap. 4, 14; 7, 27; 8, 19 sg.; 9, 15; 10, 16.
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… 21, 2), che infonde nel corpo di Adamo un'anima spirituale che dovrà tornare a lui dopo la morte (Gen. 2, 7; Eccl. 12, 7); «Spirito è Dio e quelli che l'adorano devono adorarlo in spirito e verità» (Io. 4, 24; cf. Is. 31, 3; Sap. 1, 6; 6, 24; 9, 17). Né fanno difficoltà le espressioni bibliche, che presentano Dio metaforicamente, come un uomo che cammina, parla, ecc. (v. ANTROPOMORFISMO).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · Douay-Rheims originale (Douai 1609-10), trascrizione 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')). Pubblico dominio.