Chapter V — The Marvelous Excellence of Eternal Wisdom

52. Since the Holy Spirit has taken the trouble to show us the excellence of Wisdom in terms so sublime and so clear, we need only set them down here with a few brief reflections.

53. 1. Wisdom reaches with might from one end to the other, and she disposes all things with gentleness.

Nothing is so gentle as Wisdom. She is gentle in herself, without bitterness; gentle to those who love her, leaving them no distaste; gentle in her conduct, without doing any violence. You will often say that she is not present in the accidents and upheavals that occur, so hidden and gentle is she; but, since she has an invincible strength, she imperceptibly yet powerfully brings all things to her end by ways unknown to men. The wise man must, after her example, be "suaviter fortis et fortiter suavis: gently strong and strongly gentle."

54. 2. I loved her, I sought her from my youth; I strove to have her for my bride.

Whoever wishes to acquire the great treasure of Wisdom must, following Solomon's example, seek her: 1. early, even from childhood, if possible; 2. spiritually and purely, as a chaste bridegroom seeks his bride; 3. constantly, to the very end, until he has obtained her. It is certain that Eternal Wisdom has so much love for souls that she goes so far as to espouse them and to contract with them a spiritual but true marriage that the world knows nothing of; and history furnishes us with examples.

55. 3. She shows forth the glory of her origin in that she is closely united to God and is loved by him who is the Lord of all things.

Wisdom is God himself: that is the glory of her origin. God the Father takes in her all his delight, as he has testified: that is how much she is loved.

56. 4. She is the mistress of the knowledge of God and the director of his works.

It is Wisdom alone who enlightens every man coming into this world; she alone has come from heaven to teach us the secrets of God; and we have no other true master than this Incarnate Wisdom, named Jesus Christ; she alone directs to their end all the works of God, especially the saints, by making them know what they must do, and by making them relish and accomplish what she makes them know.

57. 5. If one desires the riches of this life, what is richer than Wisdom who makes all things?

6. If the mind of man produces some work, who has a greater part than she in the art with which all things have been made?

7. If anyone loves justice, great virtues are also her work; it is she who teaches temperance, prudence, justice, and fortitude, which seem to be the most useful thing in the world for man in this life.

Solomon shows that, as one must love Wisdom alone, it is also from her alone that one must expect everything: the goods of fortune, the knowledge of the secrets of nature, the goods of the soul, the theological and cardinal virtues.

58. 8. If anyone desires the depth of knowledge, it is she who knows the past and who judges the future. She penetrates what is most subtle in discourses and most difficult to unravel in parables; she knows the signs and wonders before they appear and what must happen in the succession of times and ages. Whoever wishes to have a knowledge of the things of grace and of nature that is not common, dry, and superficial, but extraordinary, holy, and deep, must make every effort to acquire Wisdom, without whom a man, though learned before men, counts for nothing before God: in nihilum computabitur. [Wis 3:17]

59. 9. I therefore resolved to take her with me to be the companion of my life, knowing that she will share her goods with me and that she will be my consolation in my troubles and sorrows.

Who can be poor with Wisdom, who is so rich and so generous? Who can be sad with Wisdom, who is so gentle, so beautiful, and so tender? Who among those who seek Wisdom says sincerely with Solomon: "Proposui ergo: I therefore resolved"? Most have not made this sincere resolution; they have only vague inclinations, or at most wavering and halfhearted resolutions; that is why they never find Wisdom.

60. 10. She will make me illustrious among the peoples, and though I am young, I shall be honored by the elders.

11. The penetration of my mind for rendering justice will be recognized. The most powerful will be astonished when they see me, and the princes will show their admiration on their faces.

12. When I am silent, they will wait for me to speak; when I speak, they will look at me attentively; and when I extend my discourses, they will put their hands over their mouths.

13. It is she also who will give me immortality, and through her I shall render the memory of my name eternal among those who come after me.

14. I shall govern peoples through her, and the nations shall be subject to me. Regarding these words of the Wise Man in which he praises himself, St. Gregory makes this reflection: "Those whom God has chosen to write his sacred words, being filled with his Holy Spirit, go out in some manner from themselves to enter into him who possesses them, and so, having become the tongue of God, they consider only God in what they say; they speak of themselves as they would speak of another."

61. 15. The most formidable kings will tremble when they hear of me. I shall show that I am good to my people and valiant in war.

16. Entering my house, I shall find my rest with her; for her conversation has nothing disagreeable, nor her company anything tedious; but in them one finds only satisfaction and joy.

17. Having therefore thought upon these things, having meditated them in my heart, considering that I shall find immortality in union with Wisdom,

18. A holy pleasure in her friendship, inexhaustible riches in the works of her hands, understanding in her conferences and conversations, and great glory in the sharing of her discourses, I went searching for her on every side, in order to take her for my companion.

The Wise Man, after summing up in a few words what he had explained before, draws this conclusion: "I went searching for her on every side." To acquire Wisdom, one must seek her ardently, that is: one must be ready to leave all, to suffer all, and to undertake all in order to possess her. Few find her, because few seek her in a manner worthy of her.

62. The Holy Spirit, in the seventh chapter of the Book of Wisdom, speaks again of the excellence of Wisdom in these terms: "In Wisdom there is a spirit of understanding that is holy, unique, manifold in its effects, subtle, eloquent, agile, undefiled, clear, gentle, a lover of good, penetrating, that nothing can hinder from acting, beneficent, a lover of men, steadfast, unerring, calm, all-powerful, all-seeing, containing in itself all spirits, intelligible, pure, and subtle. For Wisdom is more active than all active things, and she reaches everywhere because of her purity." [Wis 7:22-24]

"Finally, Wisdom is an infinite treasure for men, and those who have used it have become the friends of God and have commended themselves by the gifts of knowledge: Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus, quo qui usi sunt participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei, propter disciplinae dona commendati." Wis 7 [Wis 7:14]

63. After such powerful and tender words of the Holy Spirit to show us the beauty, the excellence, and the treasures of Wisdom, what man will not love her and seek her with all his might? Especially since she is an infinite treasure, proper to man, for which man was made, and since she herself has an infinite desire to give herself to man.