Chapter II — The Origin and Excellence of Eternal Wisdom

15. Here we must cry out with St. Paul: "O altitudo... Sapientiae... Dei!: O depth, O immensity, O incomprehensibility of the Wisdom of God!" "Generationem ejus quis enarrabit?: What angel is enlightened enough, and what man bold enough, to undertake to explain her origin as it deserves?"

Here all eyes must close, for fear of being dazzled by so vivid and brilliant a light.

Here every tongue must be silent, for fear of tarnishing so perfect a beauty in attempting to reveal it.

Here every mind must annihilate itself and adore, for fear of being crushed beneath the immense weight of the glory of divine Wisdom in trying to fathom it.

1. Wisdom in Relation to the Father

16. Here, nevertheless, is the idea which the Holy Spirit gives us of her in the Book of Wisdom, which he composed solely for us, conforming himself to our weakness:

"Eternal Wisdom is the breath of God, the power of God, and the pure outpouring of the brightness of the Almighty. That is why she cannot be touched by the least impurity. She is the radiance of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the majesty of God, and the image of his goodness."

17. She is the substantial and eternal idea of divine beauty, which was shown to St. John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos, when he cried out: "In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum: In the beginning was the Word — or the Son of God, or Eternal Wisdom — and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

18. It is of her that it is said, in several places in the books of Solomon, that Wisdom was created, that is, produced, from the beginning, before all things and before all ages. She says of herself: "I was established from eternity, and from the beginning, before the earth was made. The depths did not yet exist when I was already conceived."

19. It is in this sovereign beauty of Wisdom that God the Father has taken his delight, in eternity and in time, as this great God himself expressly declared on the day of his baptism and of his transfiguration: "Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, Matt 17: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

She is that luminous and incomprehensible brightness of which the Apostles saw a few rays during his transfiguration, which filled them with sweetness and cast them into ecstasy: Illustre quiddam cernimus Sublime, celsum, interminum, Antiquius caelo et chao:

This Eternal Wisdom is something illustrious, lofty, immense, infinite, and more ancient than the universe. If I have no words to explain the mere faint idea I have formed of this sovereign beauty and sweetness, although my idea is infinitely below her excellence, who could have an adequate idea and explain it as it deserves? There is only you, great God, who know what she is, and who can reveal it to whomever you will.

2. The Operations of Wisdom in Souls

20. Here is how Wisdom herself declares what she is, in relation to her effects and operations in souls. I shall not mix my poor words with hers, for fear of diminishing their brilliance and sublimity: it is from the twenty-fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus.

1. "Wisdom shall praise herself; she shall be honored in the Lord and shall glory in the midst of her people.

2. She shall open her mouth in the assemblies of the Most High and shall glory in the armies of the Lord.

3. She shall be exalted in the midst of her people and shall be admired in the assembly of all the saints.

4. She shall receive praise among the multitude of the elect and shall be blessed by those who are blessed of God. She shall say:

21. 5. I came forth from the mouth of the Most High; I was born before all creatures.

6. It is I who caused an unfading light to rise in the heavens and who covered the whole earth as with a cloud.

7. I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is upon a pillar of cloud.

8. I alone encompassed the whole circuit of the heavens; I penetrated the depths of the abyss; I walked upon the waves of the sea.

9. And I traversed the whole earth.

22. 10. I held dominion over all peoples and over all nations.

11. By my power I trod upon the hearts of all men, great and small; and among all these things, I sought a place of rest and a dwelling in the inheritance of the Lord.

12. Then the Creator of the universe gave me his commands and spoke to me: He who created me rested in my tabernacle.

13. And he said to me: Dwell in Jacob, let Israel be your inheritance, and take root in my elect.

23. 14. I was created from the beginning and before all ages; I shall not cease to be throughout the succession of all ages, and I exercised my ministry in his presence in the holy house.

15. I was established in Sion, I found my rest in the holy city, and my power was established in Jerusalem.

24. 16. I took root in the people whom the Lord honored, whose inheritance is the portion of my God, and I established my dwelling in the assembly of all the saints.

17. I rose up like the cedars of Lebanon and like the cypress of Mount Sion.

18. I stretched my branches on high like the palms of Cades and like the rosebushes of Jericho.

19. I grew tall like a beautiful olive tree in the field and like the plane tree planted by a great road, on the bank of the waters.

20. I gave forth a fragrance of perfume like cinnamon and the most precious balm, and an odor like that of the finest myrrh.

21. I perfumed my dwelling like storax, galbanum, perfume box, onyx, and myrrh, like a drop of incense fallen of itself; and my odor is like that of a very pure and unmixed balm.

22. I stretched out my branches like the terebinth, and my branches are branches of honor and grace.

23. I put forth blossoms of a pleasant fragrance like the vine, and my blossoms are fruits of glory and abundance.

25. 24. I am the mother of pure love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope.

25. In me is all the grace of the way and of the truth; in me is all the hope of life and of virtue.

26. 26. Come to me, you who desire me ardently, and fill yourselves with the fruits that I bear.

27. For my spirit is sweeter than honey, and my inheritance surpasses in sweetness the most excellent honey.

28. The memory of my name shall pass through the succession of all ages.

28. 29. Those who eat me shall still hunger, and those who drink me shall still thirst.

30. He who listens to me shall not be confounded, and those who act by me shall not sin.

31. Those who shed light upon me shall have eternal life.

32. All this is the book of life, the covenant of the Most High, and the knowledge of truth."

29. All these trees and plants to which Wisdom compares herself, which have such different fruits and qualities, signify the great variety of states, functions, and virtues of souls: those who appear as cedars, by the elevation of their hearts toward heaven; or as cypresses, by their continual meditation on death; or as palms, by their humble endurance of their labors; or as rosebushes, by their martyrdom and the shedding of their blood; those who extend their branches far and wide, by the breadth of their charity toward their brethren; and all the other fragrant plants, like balm, myrrh, and others, which are less exposed to view, signify all the hidden souls who wish to be known more by God than by men.

30. After Wisdom has represented herself as the mother and source of all goods, she exhorts all men to leave everything in order to desire her alone, because she gives herself, says St. Augustine, only to those who desire and seek her with as much ardor as so great a thing deserves to be sought.

Divine Wisdom indicates, in the words of verses 30 and 31, three degrees in piety, the last of which is its perfection:

1. To listen to God with humble submission;

2. To act in him and through him with persevering fidelity;

3. Finally, to acquire the light and the unction necessary to inspire in others the love of Wisdom, and to lead them to eternal life.