Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He continues and proves what he said in the preceding chapter, verse 25, that wisdom is to be sought in leisure, not in business. Therefore first, he hands down two means for acquiring wisdom. The first is study and the reading of the Prophets and other scriptures; likewise conversation with them and journeying to them. The second is prayer, by which one may ask of God the light and gift of wisdom. Then he teaches what is the fruit, praise, and commendation of wisdom and of the wise man. Secondly, from verse 16 to the end of the chapter, he wisely contemplates the powerful works of God, both of beneficence and of vengeance, by which he invites all to the praise of God.
Vulgate Text: Ecclesiasticus 39:1-41
1. The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied with the Prophets. 2. He will keep the discourse of renowned men, and will enter together into the subtleties of parables. 3. He will search out the hidden meanings of proverbs, and will be conversant in the secrets of parables. 4. He will serve in the midst of great men, and will appear before the governor. 5. He will pass through the land of foreign nations: for he will try the good and the evil among men. 6. He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord who made him, and he will pray in the sight of the Most High. 7. He will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for his sins. 8. For if the great Lord wills it, He will fill him with the spirit of understanding: 9. and he himself will send forth the words of his wisdom like showers, and in his prayer he will give thanks to the Lord: 10. and he himself will direct his counsel and knowledge, and in His secrets he will meditate. 11. He himself will make known the teaching of his doctrine, and he will glory in the law of the Lord's covenant. 12. Many will praise his wisdom, and it will never be blotted out. 13. His memory will not depart, and his name will be sought from generation to generation. 14. Nations will declare his wisdom, and the assembly will proclaim his praise. 15. If he remains, he will leave behind a name greater than a thousand: and if he rests, it will profit him. 16. I will yet take counsel to declare: for I am filled as with a frenzy. 17. In a voice he says: Hear me, you divine fruits, and like a rose planted by streams of water, bear fruit. 18. Have the fragrance of sweetness like Lebanon. 19. Blossom, O flowers, like the lily, and give forth fragrance, and put forth branches gracefully, and praise with a canticle, and bless the Lord in His works. 20. Give magnificence to His name, and give thanks to Him with the voice of your lips, and with songs of the lips and harps, and thus you will say in thanksgiving: 21. All the works of the Lord are exceedingly good. 22. At His word the water stood as a heap: and at the word of His mouth the reservoirs of waters were made: 23. for at His command favor is shown, and there is no diminishing in His salvation. 24. The works of all flesh are before Him, and nothing is hidden from His eyes. 25. From age to age He looks forth, and nothing is wonderful in His sight. 26. There is no saying: What is this, or what is that? For all things will be sought in their time. 27. His blessing overflowed like a river: 28. as the flood drenched the dry land, so His wrath will be the inheritance of nations that have not sought Him. 29. As He turned waters into dryness, and the earth was dried up: and His ways are directed for their ways: so to sinners are stumbling-blocks in His wrath. 30. Good things were created for the good from the beginning, so for the wicked both good and evil. 31. The chief things necessary for the life of men are water, fire, and iron, salt, milk, and fine wheat bread, and honey, and the cluster of the grape, and oil, and clothing. 32. All these things are for the good to the holy, and likewise they will be turned to evil for the impious and sinners. 33. There are spirits that were created for vengeance, and in their fury they confirmed their torments: 34. in the time of destruction they will pour out their force, and they will appease the fury of Him who made them. 35. Fire, hail, famine, and death — all these were created for vengeance; 36. the teeth of beasts, and scorpions, and serpents, and the sword executing vengeance for the extermination of the impious. 37. At His commands they will feast, and upon the earth they will be prepared for necessity, and in their times they will not pass over His word. 38. Therefore from the beginning I was confirmed, and I took counsel, and I thought, and I left these things in writing. 39. All the works of the Lord are good, and every work will supply what is needed in its hour. 40. There is no saying: This is worse than that; for all things will be proved in their time. 41. And now with all your heart and mouth give praise, and bless the name of the Lord.
He continues and proves what he said at verse 25 of the preceding chapter, that wisdom is to be sought in leisure, not in business. Hence first, he delivers two means for acquiring wisdom. The first is study and reading of the Prophets and other wise men; also conversation with them and travel to them. The second is prayer, by which one may beg from God the light and gift of wisdom. Then he teaches what are the fruit, praise and commendation of wisdom and of the wise man. Second, from verse 16 to the end of the chapter, he wisely contemplates the powerful works of God, both of beneficence and of punishment, by which he invites all to the praise of God.
First Part of the Chapter.
1. THE WISE MAN WILL SEEK OUT THE WISDOM OF ALL THE ANCIENTS, AND WILL BE OCCUPIED WITH THE PROPHETS. — In Greek, en propheteiois ascholesthesetai, that is, he will be occupied with prophecies; the Zurich Bible: He will explore the wisdom of antiquity and devote himself to the oracles of the Prophets, as if to say: The wise man, who having set aside the busy occupations of artisans, devotes himself at leisure to the study of wisdom and investigates it in literary leisure; this man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients. For this requires leisure and freedom from other things and affairs. Therefore just as in the preceding chapter from verse 26 to the end he described the bodily exercises of artisans, so here he describes the mental exercises of the wise man, that is, of the student of wisdom, who strives to acquire wisdom.
Hence the Syriac, comparing and setting the wise man above the mechanic: The meditation of them (artisans), he says, is in the work of their art; but he who applies himself to the fear of God and to understanding the law of life, as the wisdom of all the ancients he will seek out, and to the ancient Prophets he will turn. By "wisdom" he means philosophy and theology, especially ethics, which forms the morals of man so fully and broadly that he can govern both a household and even a whole commonwealth through economics and politics, which are parts and species of ethics taken generally. Sirach therefore here instructs the wise man, that is, the ethicist, economist and statesman, and first assigns him the exercise of "seeking out the wisdom of all the ancients;" so that he should not only study the Sacred Scriptures, says Palacius, but also search the secular archives; nor, content with the Peripatetic philosophy of Aristotle, should he also examine the Platonic and Stoic. For Aristotle, Plato and Socrates flourished shortly before Sirach, namely under Alexander the Great, after whom about 40 years later, at the beginning of the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Sirach wrote these things. For since human wisdom is a certain light proceeding from the light of divinity, it must be sought not only in the Peripatetic school, but wherever we find it we ought to venerate it, as Saint Paul taught, citing maxims from the Poets, Acts chapter XVII and elsewhere. So Palacius.
Hence also in former times Saint Augustine and the other Fathers studied Plato, and indeed Plato was lectured on in Christian academies, just as Aristotle is now lectured on. Likewise Seneca, Plutarch, Epictetus and the like teach great moral uprightness. The ancient Hebrews did the same. To pass over others, Philo, the most learned of the Jews, as Saint Jerome testifies, pored over and absorbed Plato. Hence the famous saying: "Either Philo platonizes, or Plato philonizes."
But especially the student of wisdom "will devote himself to the Prophets," so that, namely, he may thoroughly search their prophecies, as the Greek has it; for since these were dictated by the Holy Spirit for the instruction and moral strengthening of men, they are certainly most true, most useful, most effective and most divine.
Note the word "all," because each one has something peculiar, whether of wisdom or of eloquence, that you may learn from them. Therefore you should read them all, so that you may draw wisdom of every kind. Hear Sidonius Apollinaris, book IV, epistle 3, where praising Claudianus Mamercus and comparing him with the ancient sages, both pagan and Christian, he shrewdly and pointedly assigns the particular quality of each: "He perceives, he says, like Pythagoras, divides like Socrates, explains like Plato, complicates like Aristotle, flatters like Aeschines, rages like Demosthenes, blooms like Hortensius, burns like Cethegus, spurs like Curio, delays like Fabius, pretends like Crassus, conceals like Caesar, advises like Cato, dissuades like Appius, persuades like Julius. Now if one comes to a comparison with the most holy Fathers, he instructs like Jerome, demolishes like Lactantius, builds up like Augustine, soars like Hilary, stoops like John, reproves like Basil, consoles like Gregory, flows like Orosius, is compressed like Rufinus, narrates like Eusebius, urges like Eucherius, challenges like Paulinus, perseveres like Ambrose."
By "Prophets" understand the whole of Sacred Scripture by synecdoche: for the greater and more difficult part of Sacred Scripture consists of the Prophets. For the Hebrews divide Sacred Scripture into three parts, namely the law, the prophecies and the hagiographa. The law is contained in the Pentateuch of Moses; they count among the hagiographa Job,
In like manner, the study of the Prophets and Sacred Scripture is commended to the faithful, those devoted to true wisdom, by St. Peter, epistle II, chapter 1, 19: "We have," he says, "the more sure prophetic word: to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts: understanding this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For prophecy was never brought by human will: but inspired by the Holy Spirit, holy men of God spoke." The same thing St. Paul commends to Timothy, epistle II, chapter 3, 15: "From infancy," he says, "you have known the sacred letters, which can instruct you to salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture divinely inspired is useful for teaching, for arguing, for correcting, for training in justice: that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work." See what I noted on those passages. Likewise the Essenes, whether Jews or Christians, famous for their reputation of wisdom and holiness, "devote the greatest study to the writings of the ancients, selecting from them what is beneficial for soul and body," says Josephus, book I of The Jewish War, chapter 7. The same thing was accomplished with great labor and study by the ancient Rabbis and Masoretes, who carefully noted all the variant readings and writings of Sacred Scripture, all words, and their variations and meanings, in order to preserve the integrity of Sacred Scripture, and therefore called their work Masoret, that is 'tradition,' from the root מסר masar, that is 'he handed down'; so that masoret is the same as kabbalah. Again, masoret can be derived from the root אסר asar, that is 'he bound,' and יסר iasar, that is 'he corrected.' For, as the lexicographers note, masar, asar, and iasar are related both in sound and in meaning, and from these three the word masoret can be derived. If you derive it from masur, that is 'I handed down,' it signifies tradition; if from iasar, it signifies correction, chastisement, namely of errors admitted in the copying of the Bible; if from asar, it signifies binding; because in that book they so collected and bound together all the words and terms of Sacred Scripture that it could neither be dissolved, corrupted, nor perish. And this is what masoret signifies in Ezekiel 20:37: "I will bring you into the bonds (in Hebrew, in masoret) of the covenant," that is to say: I will bind and tie you to me by a covenant.
In the same work, far more after Christ, all the Fathers and Doctors of the Church labored. For, as St. Ambrose says in epistle 44 to Constantius: "Divine Scripture is a sea, having within itself profound meanings, the depth of the prophecies, of enigmas." And St. Augustine, book XII of the Confessions, chapter 4: "Wonderful," he says, "is the depth of Your words, whose surface indeed before us pleases children, but wonderful is the depth, my God, wonderful is the depth — it is dreadful to gaze into it, a dread of honor and a trembling of love." For the same reason he says, epistle 119, chapter 21: "In Sacred Scripture itself, there is far more that I do not know than what I know." Finally, St. Gregory of Nazianzus in his Distichs: "To lay open your mind continually to the divine oracles," he says, "is most useful; for by this means the knowledge of divine laws is acquired. But know that the teacher of piety is to be honored by you in place of a father." For, as St. Gregory says in the Preface to Job: "In Sacred Scripture the lamb (the humble) swims, and the elephant (the proud) is submerged."
2. HE WILL KEEP THE DISCOURSE OF RENOWNED MEN, AND WILL ENTER TOGETHER INTO THE SUBTLETIES OF PARABLES. — By 'discourse,' in Greek diegesis, that is narration, explanation, understand both the doctrine itself of the wise, for example the writings of Moses, Solomon, David, Isaiah, and the other Prophets as proposed and explained by them; and also the explanations of the Rabbis who commented on them; for these are properly called diegeseis, as some manuscripts have it. Generally, by 'discourse' understand whatever sayings or writings of men famous for wisdom. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: He will preserve the discussions of famous men (others: illustrious), and will penetrate into the wrappings of hidden sayings; the Syriac: He will learn the narratives of everyone about the world, and will ponder what is profound. By 'subtleties,' in Greek strophas, that is clever turns and wrappings of parables, understand whatever sharp and weighty sayings of the ancients about composing morals and about rightly and prudently ordering one's life. For the Hebrews call these masle, the Greeks and Latins parables, whether they are true parables, that is similitudes, or proverbs, or enigmas, or any other obscure, ingenious, or weighty sayings, as I have said elsewhere. The student of wisdom must therefore track down, understand, and commit these to memory. For they are called and are strophai, that is 'subtleties,' from strepho, that is 'I turn, twist, bend, inflect': both because they are keen and obscure, and therefore twist and torment the mind of the student; and because they can be turned, bent, and applied to various things and actions; and because they often secretly and cleverly turn the mind of the reader in another direction, since they signify something other than what they represent at first glance, as is evident in the Hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, in the enigmas and parables of the Syrians; and finally because they turn and bend the will of the reader from evil to good, namely to the study and practice of virtue. Sirach inculcated the same thing, chapter 8, verse 9.
The holy Doctors of the Church accomplished this. Hear St. Jerome, in the Preface to the epistle to the Ephesians: "Never from my youth did I cease either to read, or to question learned men about things I did not know, or to consider myself my own teacher. Indeed, recently I went to Alexandria especially for this reason, to see Didymus and to consult him about the doubts I had in all the Scriptures." Hear Rufinus, book XI of the History, chapter 9, concerning St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nazianzus: "Both," he says, "were noble; both educated at Athens, both colleagues; for thirteen years, with all the books of the Greek secular authors set aside, they devoted themselves solely to the volumes of divine Scripture, and they followed its interpretation not from their own presumption, but from the writings and authority of their predecessors, whom they knew to have received the rule of interpretation from the Apostolic succession." I have cited more in the Proem to the Pentateuch.
Hear Rabanus on this passage: "The churchman seeks out and more diligently learns the wisdom of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and devotes himself to meditating on their writings; the discourse of the renowned men, that is of the Apostles and Evangelists, he preserves by believing rightly and acting well; he also diligently engages in scrutinizing the Gospel parables, and seeking the mystical sense in the divine sayings, investigates the hidden allegory in the historical narrative; so that he may know what useful meaning the clear text has according to the moral sense and the rule of faith, and what it suggests should be understood spiritually according to allegory and anagogy. He therefore will serve in the midst of great men, when he conducts himself in a disciplined manner among Catholic doctors and serves diligently in ecclesiastical offices; and this he does not in order to seek human praise, but so that he may be pleasing in the sight of the inner Inspector, who presides over heaven and earth and rules over all creatures." Finally, St. Jerome, in the epistle to Paulinus: "The Apostle Paul," he says, "glories in having learned the law of Moses and the Prophets at the feet of Gamaliel, so that afterwards, armed with spiritual weapons, he could say confidently: 'The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the destruction of fortifications, destroying counsels, and every height that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every understanding to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to subdue all disobedience,'" 2 Corinthians 10.
3. HE WILL SEARCH OUT THE HIDDEN MEANINGS OF PROVERBS, AND WILL BE CONVERSANT IN THE SECRETS (in Greek eis ainigmasi, that is in enigmas) OF PARABLES. — 'Parables' among the Hebrews often mean the same as 'proverbs': so that the same thing is said in the latter half of the verse as in the former; because most proverbs have a parable, that is a similitude or metaphor, mixed in with them. They can however be distinguished, as the Greeks and Latins distinguish them. For proverbs, in Greek paroimiai, are weighty sayings accepted by the opinion of all and commonly used; likewise allegories, which allude to something else and suggest something different. But parables are similitudes and comparisons, by which one thing is compared and likened to another: and because the things compared are sometimes hidden, or at least the mode of comparing them is hidden, the meanings of parables are likewise often hidden and recondite; and therefore they require great investigation and exposition, as is evident in the parables and allegories of Sacred Scripture, which can therefore be understood here by 'parables'; hence some also translate here: he will be engaged in enigmatic allegories. So also Lyranus and Rabanus, whose words I have recited a little before. Thus the Essenes of old, who had devoted themselves entirely to wisdom and contemplation, constantly searched out the allegorical and symbolic senses of Sacred Scripture, as Philo and Eusebius attest in book VIII of the Preparation for the Gospel, chapter 4, and by this means they acquired immense wisdom for themselves. The Syriac: He will learn the wisdom of proverbs, and will understand all hidden things.
4. HE WILL SERVE IN THE MIDST OF GREAT MEN, AND BEFORE THE GOVERNOR (in Greek, hegoumenou, that is governor, prince, leader, ruler; the Complutensian reads hegoumenon, in the plural; hence they translate: Before leaders or princes) HE WILL APPEAR — in Greek eksthesetai, that is he will be seen. This is a new and second way of acquiring wisdom. For it is not sufficient to read and meditate on the writings of the wise, but in addition one needs their experience and practice. This is observed and learned both in the courts of wise Prelates and princes (for these have many wise men and counselors), and in the benches and tribunals of judges. Therefore the Philosopher, that is the student of wisdom, "will appear before the governor"; so that he may both present himself to the prince and to the judge, to plead either his own or another's case before him. For pleading any case, however dull one may be, sharpens the intellect, says Palacius. Again, in courts one learns the manner of conversing with every kind of person, and that in a polished and civil way. Finally, the word 'will serve' signifies not only 'will be a servant,' but also 'will discharge public offices'; in which much experience and prudence is acquired. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: Among the chief men he will discharge duties, and he will appear before princes. Thus the Queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia to Judea to Solomon, to hear and learn wisdom from him, 3 Kings 10. Hence the Syriac translates: Among princes he will walk, and among kings and magnates he will serve.
Allegorically, the churchman diligently serves among "great men," that is Bishops and Prelates, in ecclesiastical offices; so that "before the governor," that is before God the Inspector, who presides over heaven and earth, he may appear properly and with praise. So Rabanus and the Glossa.
5. HE WILL PASS THROUGH THE LAND OF FOREIGN NATIONS: FOR HE WILL TRY THE GOOD AND EVIL AMONG MEN (so the Roman and Greek, which have anthropois: wrongly therefore do some read 'all' instead of 'men') — Some take this verse and the preceding one as describing not the office but the reward of the wise man, that is to say: The wise man will be honored with these rewards, that he may serve before princes and discharge the public duties of honor: moreover, he will be sent by them as an envoy to foreign nations, to negotiate public affairs with them; because he himself has tried the good and evil in men, that is, has tested them, as Rabanus reads, that is to say: He himself through long experience has learned to explore and know the character, talents, thoughts, and counsels of men; he himself sees through what is good in them and what is evil; hence he knows with whom, by what method and manner, to deal, and how to handle the business committed to him, so as to bring it to the desired end for the prince who sent him. But Sirach will assign the rewards of the wise man in verse 9 and following; here he gives the ways and means of acquiring wisdom. Therefore the third way of acquiring it is to travel through various nations and among them to hear, converse, and associate with wise men; for there is no nation that does not have something good in thought and morals. Therefore the wise man among any people will explore whether they have anything good, and will adopt it for himself; if he discovers anything evil, he will guard himself against it: he will therefore investigate the good in order to follow it, and the evil in order to avoid it. 'Good and evil' can also be taken as prosperity and adversity, that is to say: The wise man in all things will test what is useful, fortunate, and prosperous, and what is harmful, unfortunate, and adverse, so that he may pursue what is useful and prosperous, and flee and guard against what is harmful and adverse. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: He travels through the lands of foreign nations, for he experiences both good and evil among men; the Syriac: He will walk in the cities of the world, he will conceal the good and evil in men, that is to say: He will not reveal his own goods or evils, but will hide them, lest on account of them he incur some danger.
Thus St. Jerome traveled through Italy, Gaul, Germany, Greece, and Syria, everywhere visiting and hearing learned men, and so he acquired for himself so great a wisdom. Hear him giving the reason and cause for his doing this in the Prologus Galeatus, his epistle to Paulinus: "We read," he says, "in the ancient histories that some men toured the provinces, visited new peoples, and crossed the seas: so that those whom they had come to know from books they might also see in person. Thus Pythagoras visited the seers of Memphis, thus Plato most laboriously traversed Egypt and Archytas of Tarentum, and that coast of Italy which was once called Magna Graecia: so that he who was a master and a powerful figure in Athens, whose doctrine resounded through the gymnasia of the Academy, became a pilgrim and a disciple; preferring to learn what others knew with modesty rather than to impose his own ideas with impudence. Finally, while he pursued learning as if it were fleeing across the whole world, he was captured by pirates and sold, and even obeyed a most cruel tyrant — a prisoner, bound and a slave; yet because he was a philosopher, he was greater than his purchaser. We read that some nobles came to Titus Livius, flowing with the milky fountain of eloquence, from the farthest boundaries of Spain and Gaul: and those whom Rome had not drawn to the contemplation of herself, the fame of one man brought there. That age had a miracle unheard of and to be celebrated through all ages: that upon entering so great a city, they sought something else outside the city.
Apollonius, whether he was a magician, as the common people say, or a philosopher, as the Pythagoreans maintain, entered Persia, crossed the Caucasus, traversed Albania, Scythia, and the Massagetae, penetrated the richest kingdoms of India: and at last, after crossing the vast river Phison, reached the Brahmins, to hear Hiarchas sitting on a golden throne and drinking from the fountain of Tantalus, teaching among a few disciples about nature, about the movements of the stars, and the course of the days. From there, passing through the Elamites, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Assyrians, Parthians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, and Palestinians, returning to Alexandria, he continued to Ethiopia, to see the Gymnosophists and the most famous table of the sun in the sand. That man found everywhere something to learn, and always progressing, always became better than himself. Philostratus wrote most fully about this in eight volumes." So far St. Jerome. The Gauls from ancient times sent their sons away from home, so that they might be educated more strictly and studiously. Hear Caesar, book VI of The Gallic War: "In the rest of their institutions of life," he says, "they differ from the rest in about this: that they do not allow their sons to come to them publicly until they have grown up enough to bear the service of warfare; and they consider it shameful for a son of a young age to stand in public in the sight of his father."
For this reason Academies were established, so that students of wisdom might attend them and there hear teachers and men distinguished in every kind of knowledge and wisdom. For this reason Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus went to Athens, others to Alexandria, to see and hear Origen, Pantaenus, Heraclas, and other teachers. Add that among foreigners there is often more liberty, quiet, and leisure for study than at home, where great thieves of time are parents, friends, and acquaintances. Hence Hugh of St. Victor, book III of the Didascalicon, chapter 3, recites the famous saying about the mode and form of learning, prescribing six points: A humble mind, zeal for inquiry, a quiet life, Silent examination, poverty, a remote (foreign) land; These are wont to unlock for many what is obscure in their reading. And he adds: "Gladly learn from everyone what you do not know; for humility can make common to you what nature has made proper to each. You will be wiser than all if you are willing to learn from all. Those who receive from all become richer than all. Hear Chrysippus in the Proverbs: What you do not know, perhaps the donkey knows. Fittingly Pliny, book XV, chapter 21: "In the game of ball," he says, "they learn at the same time both to throw and to catch properly: but in learning, it is first necessary to receive well before throwing, just as it is necessary to conceive before giving birth. One must therefore listen first," according to that saying in Proverbs 1: "The wise man, hearing, will be wiser." For hearing is the sense of learning, says the Philosopher.
6 and 7. HE WILL GIVE HIS HEART TO RESORT EARLY IN THE MORNING TO THE LORD WHO MADE HIM, AND HE WILL PRAY IN THE SIGHT OF THE MOST HIGH. HE WILL OPEN HIS MOUTH IN PRAYER, AND WILL MAKE SUPPLICATION FOR HIS SINS. — The Syriac: In his heart he will resolve to pray, and from the Lord he will seek mercy. He will open his mouth in prayer, and for his sins he will ask good things. This is the fourth means to wisdom in order, but the first in dignity and necessity, and therefore to be placed before the others "at dawn" and early in the morning, as Sirach says. The meaning therefore is, that is to say: I have said that the means to wisdom are study, reading, listening, travel, and conversation with the wise; now I add the chief one, namely prayer, without which you would employ the aforesaid in vain. For prayer obtains the light by which you may distinguish useful books and teachers from useless ones, and by which you may understand what you read, hear, and see, store it in the treasury of memory, and convert it to your own use: prayer therefore must precede the others and direct them.
Note: the phrase "will make supplication for his sins." For it signifies that in this exile, wisdom, that is justice, does not advance to the point where a man never sins, but rather to the point where he never perseveres in sin without recognizing it and asking pardon from God.
Moreover, this prayer ought to be affectionate and earnest, so that the heart is not merely lent to it, but entirely "given over" and surrendered, and that "at dawn," when the heart and mind are most strong and vigorous, and directed to the Lord who made him; for it belongs to Him alone to give wisdom, who gave being. Hence the Hebrews call tuscia both wisdom and essence, to suggest that the fountain of wisdom and of being is the same, namely God, and that the essence, soul, life, and spirit of man, by which man is rational, quasi consists in wisdom. From a heart full both of the desire for wisdom and of the affection for praying for it, this prayer flows down to the mouth and pours itself out through it in vocal prayers with great feeling. This is what the phrase "he will open his mouth in prayer" suggests; for this opening of the mouth is a sign of great spirit, feeling, and desire, according to that saying: "Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it." Finally, "in prayer he will make supplication for his sins," so that he may remove the impediments to wisdom; for these are sins and offenses, which darken and blind the mind of man, especially the practical mind, and turn away the illumination of God, according to that saying: "Wisdom will not enter into a malevolent soul," Wisdom 1. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: He directs his mind in the morning to greet the Lord his Creator, and he prays to the Most High, he opens his mouth to pray, and makes supplication for his sins; others: "He applies his heart to seek diligently the Lord his Maker, and before the Most High he prays," etc.
Hear our Alvarez de Paz expounding these words, volume III, On Mental Prayer, book II, part I, chapter 7: An excellent commendation of the wise man, he says, is to take up the work of prayer in the morning, that is before all other works. He gives himself over to prayer, that is, he applies himself to prayer strenuously and diligently. To other works the heart should not at all be given over, but applied moderately, lest it cling to the lowest things, lest it be submerged in love of visible things. But it should be given over to prayer; because it is altogether the same thing to give one's heart over to prayer and to consecrate it to God, to whom we are joined through prayer. He will give his heart to keeping watch; for prayer is not drowsiness but wakefulness; not sloth but solicitude; because it solicitously and diligently directs the heart to divine things, and grasps with the intellect, so that it may taste with the affections and the will. And rightly the wise man (and this one is none other than the just man) is as it were plunged into prayer, and, with other cares set aside, he devotes himself with watchful care to contemplation, because he addresses his Maker and presents himself to God Most High, from whose kindness he expects every good thing. And so great a matter should not be taken up negligently, but employed strenuously and industriously.
Morally, learn here that at dawn, as soon as you awake, the first-fruits of thought and action must be given to God through prayer, and He must be invoked, so that He Himself may direct your studies and all other actions to His glory and to our salvation and that of others. Hence the Psalmist, Psalm 62, 1: "O God, my God," he says, "to You I keep vigil from the light." Sirach frequently inculcates the same, as in chapter 4, 13: "Those who have watched for her (wisdom) will embrace her favor"; and chapter 32, 18: "Those who have watched for Him will find blessing." All drew this from Moses, indeed from God, who through Moses thus ordained for the Hebrews, Deuteronomy 6, 7: "You shall meditate on them (the words of God and of wisdom), sitting in your house, and walking on your journey, sleeping and rising." See what I said there. Therefore St. Basil gives this instruction to a spiritual son: "Whatever work you begin, first call upon the Lord, and do not cease giving thanks when you have completed it. Seek the Lord, and you will find Him: and do not let go when you have grasped Him, so that your mind may be joined in His love. Strive in your life to offer a pure prayer to God." The same, epistle I To Gregory the Theologian: "What is more blessed than for a man on earth to imitate the harmony of the Angels? To go to prayers as soon as the day begins? To worship the Creator with hymns and canticles? Then, as the sun is already dawning, to turn to works, never without prayer? And finally to season one's actions with canticles as with salt?" I have cited more at Deuteronomy 6, 7, at the words: "Sleeping and rising." Therefore Paulinus (or, as others say, Ausonius) in a canticle, or morning prayer, thus prays at dawn and teaches others to pray: Grant, Father, that these vows be ratified by our prayer: May I fear nothing and desire nothing; let me think this sufficient. What is enough; may I want nothing shameful, nor be a cause of embarrassment To myself: nor do to anyone what at the same time I would not want done to me; nor be harmed by true crime, Nor stained by suspicion; there seems little distance Between the suspected and the truly guilty; may there be no capacity For evil, and may the tranquil power to do good be present. May I have simple food and clothing, may I be dear to friends; May a life of good conscience neither fear death nor wish for it.
But St. Bernard, in an epistle to a certain person, explains what God requires of us: "Nothing worthier," he says, "can be thought than to refer the heart to Him, who willed to die so that you might live: for the just man has given his heart to keeping vigil at dawn for the Lord who made him. The watchfulness of the heart is just, and the thought of it is just, so that it may meditate continually on what it has received in the goods of nature, what in the goods of grace, what in the Son of God who became man for us, suffered, and died." And earlier, teaching that God requires of us the heart, and the whole of it entirely, according to that saying "My son, give me your heart": "Then indeed," he says, "the heart of man is given to God, when every thought terminates in Him, revolves and bends back upon Him, and desires to possess absolutely nothing besides Him. And with the soul thus bound to Him, it loves Him in such a way that without Him all love is bitter."
In the morning, therefore, the heart must be offered to God, together with all the thoughts and actions of the heart throughout the day. Moreover, Aristotle in the Economics: "To rise at night," he says, "is most beneficial both for health and for the studies of philosophy." For this reason most Religious rise at night to meditate and chant psalms; and physicians, experience, and reason teach that this is beneficial for health. For singing expectorates and consumes the phlegm remaining after digestion, aids the rest of the digestive process, stirs up warmth and spirits, and strengthens the limbs. The same thing philosophers and poets learned from Moses and the Prophets. Hence that saying: "From Jove the beginning"; and that: "From you the beginning, to you it will end." Hence Plato in the Protagoras teaches that the poets represented this through the fable or apologue of Prometheus, whom they imagine to have stolen fire from heaven so as to implant it in the men he had fashioned, and thus make them wise and divine. And for this reason man is akin to God, so that on account of this kinship with God, he seems to have the knowledge, fear, and worship of God implanted in himself as if by nature.
For this reason philosophers, poets, and lawgivers proclaimed God as the author of their teaching and invention, although they called Him by different names. Orpheus professes Calliope, Musaeus Urania, Pindar Polymnia, Homer Clio, Hesiod Terpsichore, Linus Phoebus, Virgil Thalia, Ovid Euterpe as the authors of their poems, and without invoking them they undertake nothing great. That greatest lawgiver Trismegistus attributed to Mercury, Zaleucus and Zamolxis to Vesta, Charondas to Saturn, Lycurgus to Apollo, Solon to Minerva, Minos and Plato to Jove, Numa to Egeria, Muhammad to Gabriel, Moses to the ineffable God the invention of their laws.
8. FOR IF THE GREAT LORD WILLS IT, HE WILL FILL HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING (the Zurich Bible: of wisdom). — The Syriac: In the spirit of understanding he will become wise; and He will will it, if He is entreated and implored with humble and ardent prayer, according to that saying: "When I called upon Him, the God of my justice heard me." For He Himself is the great Lord, not only of wisdom and understanding, but also of power, clemency, and generosity, so that as the most powerful, most clement, and most generous Lord, He may pour out the spirit of wisdom and understanding upon those who ask, according to that saying of James, chapter 1: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly." See what I said there. The word 'great' indicates that the gift of wisdom is great, which is given only to the great by the great God, as it was given to Solomon, who asked for it in preference to other things when the choice was offered to him, 3 Kings 3:5.
9. AND HE HIMSELF WILL SEND FORTH LIKE SHOWERS (in Greek anaplerosi, which the Complutensian translates 'will distill'; others, 'will pour out like rain'; others, 'will rain down'; the Syriac: He will bring forth proverbs in double measure, and they will praise him in his counsels) THE WORDS OF HIS WISDOM, AND IN PRAYER HE WILL GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD. — So far he has handed down the means for acquiring wisdom: now he reviews its effects and fruits; among which the first is that "like showers," that is copiously, abundantly, and equally sweetly and profitably, "he will send forth the words of his wisdom" — first to God, then to himself so that he may direct himself by them, and finally to his neighbor so that he may instruct him, about which see verses 10 and 11. To God, so that "in prayer he may give thanks to Him," that is, may praise and celebrate His immense grace, power, goodness, and wisdom, and give thanks for the wisdom bestowed on him, asking that He increase and perfect it. For the first utterance of wisdom must be given to God, the author of wisdom, so that we may celebrate Him as most wise — wisely, devoutly, and magnificently, according to that saying: "Sing praise to God, sing praise, etc., sing praise wisely," Psalm 46:7. And this likewise is the first fruit of prayer, namely that through it we may obtain the gift of praising God and giving Him thanks, through which we may dispose ourselves and take a step toward receiving the other gifts of God: for this reason St. Paul is accustomed to join thanksgiving to prayer, as is evident in 1 Timothy 2:1 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.
He alludes to Deuteronomy 32:2: "May my teaching grow like rain, may my speech flow like dew, like a shower upon the grass, and like drops upon the blades." Rain therefore denotes, regarding eloquence and wisdom: first, abundance; second, sweetness; third, fruitfulness, in that it produces a fruit from the hearts of the hearers similar to that which rain produces from the earth; fourth, that it is brought forth from the cloud of wisdom as from something not earthly but heavenly, and therefore its origin is from God in heaven. Moreover, that these words of wisdom pertain first and principally to God is clear from what he adds: "And in prayer he will give thanks to the Lord"; and from the fact that he treats of the words by which one's neighbor is instructed in verse 11. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: He will pour out words of wisdom, and will celebrate the Lord in his prayer. Hence Doctors are called by St. Gregory Hyades, that is the stars of rain; I have cited his passage and words in chapter 33, 27.
10. AND HE HIMSELF WILL DIRECT HIS COUNSEL AND KNOWLEDGE, AND IN HIS SECRETS HE WILL MEDITATE. — This is the second fruit of wisdom, as well as of prayer. Lyranus takes the word 'himself' as referring to God, that is to say: God "will direct" and prosper the counsel of him who is devoted to wisdom, so that he may have a happy outcome, and "in His hidden" words will suggest counsel to him for acting prudently and successfully in all that he intends to do. Lyranus is supported by the Zurich Bible version, which I will cite shortly. Likewise Rabanus: "The Lord gives," he says, "to His faithful prayer-maker the spirit of understanding, so that he may know when, where, and how he ought to utter the divine words, and He Himself directs the counsel of good will and the discipline of his upright conduct, and by internal inspiration He consoles and strengthens him, so that he may be able to preach the divine precepts with confidence amid the adversities of the world."
But from the Greek it is clear that the word autos, that is 'himself,' refers to the wise man, not to God; for the word autos is repeated, namely at the beginning of verses 9, 10, and 11, to signify that the wise man himself, through the words of wisdom which he sends forth like showers, produces three notable fruits: the first for God, by wisely praising Him; the second for himself, namely by wisely directing himself according to the counsel and discipline of God; the third for his neighbor, by wisely instructing him.
The meaning therefore is, that is to say: He, namely the wise man, is not content to have imbibed the wisdom of God in his mind, but he also "will direct the counsel" of God, which he has come to know by consulting God either from the Scriptures or from Doctors and Pastors, "and the knowledge," in Greek epistemen, that is science, that is to say: The wise man will direct God's counsel and teachings to practice, so that he may prudently execute in deed what God counsels and teaches, and translate it into morals, and order and conform his whole life according to them; for this is what the Hebrew iechonen signifies, and the Greek kateuthinei, which our translator usually renders as "to direct," namely from the mind to the deed, and to make the deed right, whole, firm, stable, and constant, so that no force of adversities or temptations may cause the worker to let himself be moved from the right path. "To direct" therefore means to execute directly, that is to commit to execution rightly, fully, firmly, and successfully the counsel and discipline of God, as Christ did, of whom therefore Isaiah says, chapter 53, 10: "The will of the Lord is in His hand," that is through Him, "it will be directed," that is committed to execution.
Again, by hypallage, "to direct the counsel" of God means to direct one's morals and life according to the counsel of God, and to make them right and upright. Thus John the Baptist cried out: "Make straight the way of the Lord," John 1:23, that is, as Isaiah says, chapter 40, 3: "Make straight the paths of our God." Finally, by metonymy, "direct" means "show to be right" the counsel of the Lord. For when we live wisely, rightly, and justly according to the counsel of God, we show in reality to the whole world that the counsel of God is wise, right, and just. "And in His secrets" — in Greek autou, that is 'His,' namely of God who preceded (unless you take autou for heautou, that is 'his own'; but the meaning comes to the same thing; for the secrets of the wise man are the same as God's, since the wise man is entirely governed by God), that is to say: The wise man, in order to wisely direct himself and his actions according to the counsel of God, will continually consider and consult the hidden precepts, counsels, and judgments of God; in them he "will take counsel," in Greek dianoethsetai, that is he will meditate, so as to order his whole life according to them. Just as Moses, when about to do something new with the people, especially something doubtful or difficult, would first go to the Tabernacle and there consult God about what should be done. Hence the Zurich Bible: He himself will establish his counsel and knowledge, so as to meditate on His secrets. As St. Paul, caught up into heaven, heard secret words that it is not permitted for a man to speak, 2 Corinthians 12. Likewise the Psalmist professes of himself in Psalm 50, saying: "The uncertain and hidden things of Your wisdom You have made manifest to me." The same do religious, wise, and holy men, who in all things consult God and take counsel with Him. Indeed I have known a man, says Palacius, of whom the report was that every counsel he gave to others he had received from God by revelation: does this man not take counsel in the secrets of God? Hence the Syriac translates: He himself will understand proverbs and wisdom, he himself will understand hidden things.
11. HE HIMSELF WILL MAKE KNOWN THE TEACHING OF HIS DOCTRINE, AND HE WILL GLORY IN THE LAW OF THE LORD'S COVENANT. — This is the third fruit of the wise man, namely that through the words of his wisdom he "makes known" to others, in Greek ekphanei, that is he puts forth, reveals, brings out, publishes, and openly displays the secrets of divine wisdom which he contains hidden in his heart, namely the "teaching," in Greek paideian, that is the instruction "of his doctrine," with which he has been furnished with excellent teaching and notable instruction for the forming of morals. And he will make these things known to such a degree that he will publicly and constantly "glory in the law of the Lord's covenant," both by celebrating the great works of the divine law — its supreme equity, wisdom, piety, holiness, etc. — and by giving thanks to God, that He communicated so great a knowledge of it to him that he could also teach others the same. Thus the Apostles at Pentecost, proclaiming the law of Christ, spoke His great works in various tongues, Acts 2. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: He himself will make known the teaching of his doctrine, so that he may glory in the law of the Lord's covenant; the Syriac: He himself brings forth the wisdom of teaching, and in the law of life he will meditate.
It is called "the law of the covenant" because the law is the condition of the covenant, that is of the alliance and pact, which God struck both in the Old and in the New Testament with men, namely with the faithful. For He struck a covenant with them that He would be their God, that is the giver of all good, under this condition: that they observe His law.
12. MANY WILL PRAISE HIS WISDOM, AND IT WILL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT FOREVER. — He has hitherto reviewed three fruits, as it were internal, of the wise man and of wisdom; now he reviews an equal number of external ones: the first is that, just as he himself communicated his wisdom to his listeners, so they in turn will repay him with praise, honor, and glory — and a perennial one, so that "forever," that is for all time, it may not be blotted out. For since his wisdom is perennial and ever enduring, it will likewise have perennial disciples and praisers. He notes the difference between true wisdom and false, or between true philosophers and false: that true wisdom is stable and eternal, and therefore passes to posterity through all ages, among whom it consequently raises up praise for itself and its teachers; as the Prophets, Apostles, and apostolic men preached divine and Evangelical doctrine, which has lasted and flourished through all ages up to now, and will last until the end of the world, indeed through all eternity with the eternal praise and glory of those who taught it. But false wisdom stirs up admiration of itself for a time; but soon, once its falsity becomes evident, it is neglected, becomes worthless, and is refuted, together with the perpetual disgrace and ignominy both of itself and of its teachers. Hence the Syriac translates: Many will learn from his wisdom, and in the world his name will not go into oblivion.
This is evident in the schools of the philosophers and the sects of heretics, which have all vanished, and are now universally condemned by all as vain, erroneous, deceitful, and perverse. Where are the deeds of Simon Magus, Menander, Carpocrates, Apelles, Novatus, and the other heresiarchs? Where is the school of Protagoras, Diagoras, Hermippus, Diogenes, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, and the other philosophers? They have all vanished like smoke, like darkness before the light of the Gospel, like wax melted by the fire of the love of Christ. Thus the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 1:19: "It is written," he says, "Isaiah 29:14: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the inquirer of this age?"
13. HIS MEMORY WILL NOT DEPART (so the Roman, and the Zurich Bible, and others: wrongly therefore do the Complutensian editions read affirmatively, apomnesthesetai, that is 'will depart') AND HIS NAME WILL BE SOUGHT (Carristra reads: others now read zesetai, that is 'will live') FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. — The Syriac: His memory will not fail forever, and his name will not be handed over to oblivion from generation to generation. This is the second external fruit of the wise man, that is to say: not only will the wise man's wisdom itself pass to the posterity of all ages, but also his memory will endure with praise forever, and his name "will be sought," that is recalled to memory and commemorated, so that it may be praised and celebrated through all the generations of the world, as we see the names of holy Doctors, Pastors, and Prelates celebrated through the memory and feast day recurring each year, through public eulogies, through sermons, through cathedras, etc. For this reason the Church fittingly attributes these words to them, and therefore reads them on their feast day, as the first lesson of the Ecclesiastical Office and Mass. The Zurich Bible translates this verse and the preceding one thus: The nation will perpetually praise his understanding, and his memory will not fail or be abolished, but his name will flourish through the everlasting ages of the centuries.
14. NATIONS WILL DECLARE HIS WISDOM, AND THE ASSEMBLY WILL PROCLAIM HIS PRAISE. — Some read: "the assembly of the saints," but the word 'saints' is deleted by the Roman, Greek, and Syriac, which has: The assemblies will recount his wisdom, and the people will tell his praises. This is the third external fruit of the wise man, namely that his wisdom, and consequently his fame and praise, will not be confined within the narrow boundaries of Judea and the Synagogue, but leaping beyond them, will penetrate even to the Gentile and atheist nations, and will draw them to wisdom, faith, and the worship of the true God, so that they may erect and consecrate churches to the true God, in which they will then perpetually proclaim and celebrate his praise. This began to happen in the time of Sirach, when Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, moved by the fame of the wisdom of the Hebrews, summoned from Judea the Seventy Interpreters, who would translate the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, so that it could be read by the Greeks, that is the Gentiles: as a result, many of the Gentiles eagerly read, respected, and venerated as holy the Sacred Scripture and the law of the Jews, and therefore embraced it and became proselytes. This was accomplished more fully in the time of the Apostles, who, preaching the wisdom of Christ to the Gentiles, converted them all to Christ and founded very many churches, in which Christ and His Apostles are perpetually praised and celebrated. Hence the Zurich Bible translates: The nations proclaimed his knowledge, and every assembly will publish his praise.
Moreover, the Apostles and doctors communicated their wisdom to the Gentiles both by word and by writing: for words pass away, but writings endure forever. Therefore all nations and Churches through all ages narrate and celebrate the wise writings of St. Peter, St. John, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the other Fathers and Doctors, because from them they daily draw great lessons of wisdom and increases of virtue.
15. IF HE REMAINS, HE WILL LEAVE BEHIND A NAME GREATER THAN A THOUSAND: AND IF HE RESTS, IT WILL PROFIT HIM. — This is how it should be read and punctuated with the Roman and Greek editions, so that a comma is placed after 'remains,' and the word 'name' is the subject of the verb 'will leave behind,' that is to say: If the wise man remains in life, "his name will leave behind more than a thousand," that is, he will become more famous and renowned than a thousand others from the common crowd; because he brought more light and fruit to the world than a thousand who are also faithful, also religious, even preachers. For who would not grant this to St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc.? But if he has departed and rested through death, this rest "will profit him" both for gaining fame on earth and for obtaining eternal life and glory in heaven. Hence for "will profit him," the Greek is empoiei auto, that is "he acquires for himself," namely celebrity and a name. Moreover, some Greek manuscripts invert these words and transpose them thus: If he has rested, he leaves behind a name more famous than a thousand others; and if he remains in life, he acquires for himself. Which distribution, says Jansenius, is more fitting; because it properly belongs to the dying to leave a name behind them, and to the living to acquire fame for themselves.
But the Complutensian Greek manuscripts and those corrected at Rome read as the Latin Vulgate. The Zurich Bible agrees, which translates thus: If he remains, he will have left a name greater than a thousand; but if he has passed away (that is, if his name and fame have become obsolete and been consigned to oblivion by the passage of time), he has gathered it to himself, that is, as Vatablus interprets, he has received to himself what will profit him. Others explain it thus: If his name and fame endure, he will leave more than a thousand, namely disciples and followers of his teaching. So Palacius, who cites St. Ambrose. Likewise Rabanus: A good teacher, he says, if he lives a longer life, wins many and becomes the cause of salvation for very many: but if he dies, he will depart to eternal rest, where a reward fitting to his merits will be rendered by the just judge, according to that saying of Paul, 2 Timothy 4: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me on that day." And: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Moreover, the Syriac refers this to the teaching of the wise man: If it pleases, he says, he will be praised among a thousand; and if he remains silent, among a small people.
Second Part of the Chapter. He Celebrates the Works of God's Wisdom and Power, Both of Beneficence and of Vengeance, and Invites All to Celebrate Them.
16. I WILL YET TAKE COUNSEL TO DECLARE: FOR I AM FILLED AS WITH A FRENZY. — Sirach is accustomed to descend from thesis to hypothesis, namely after general praises and precepts of wisdom to descend to particular matters concerning particular virtues. He did this in chapter 13, chapter 15, chapter 16, chapter 24, and 25. He does the same here. He says therefore: "I will yet take counsel to declare," that is, again, as if having resumed my breath, I will expound and utter more things that I have pondered and meditated: "I will take counsel" therefore, that is I will deliberate and meditate: for in Greek it is eti dianoethenai, that is 'still thinking I will declare.' So the Complutensian, Roman, Zurich Bible, and others. For 'frenzy' the Greek is dichomenia, which the Complutensian translates: half-moon; for dicha means the same as 'in two ways, divided in two, in two parts': hence dichotomeo means 'I cut in two, I divide into two parts'; and mene is the moon, that is to say: Like the half-full and waxing moon, I strive to grow to full and perfect wisdom and virtue. Others translate dichomenia as double moon, that is full moon; so the Roman edition: Like the full moon, they say, I am filled; the Syriac: Understand, and I will speak my teaching like the moon on the fourteenth day, that is at the full moon; the Zurich Bible: Because like the full moon (which has already consumed half the month, and therefore having progressed from the new moon has grown to the full moon) I am filled, that is to say: Just as the moon at the full is full of light, so I, gifted by God with perfect wisdom and brought to its summit, am full of it, indeed overflowing, so that I am compelled to pour it out upon others by teaching and writing. Our translator, instead of mene or menia, read mania, that is madness, frenzy, insanity, that is to say: I, inspired by the enthusiasm and spirit of God, and as if filled with a sacred frenzy, am driven by Him and almost compelled to utter and pour forth these words of wisdom which He suggests to me. For there is a fourfold frenzy or madness, says Plato in the Phaedrus: the first of seers, the second of mystics, the third of poets, the fourth of lovers. Thus Paul was mad with sacred zeal and frenzy, when on account of it he heard from the governor Festus: "You are mad, Paul." To which he replied: "I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and sobriety," Acts 26:25. And when he says of himself: "Whether we are beside ourselves (Chrysostom: if we are mad), it is for God," 2 Corinthians 5:13. See what I said there. And Jeremiah, chapter 20:8, when he says: "The word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and a derision all day long. And I said: I will not remember Him, nor speak any more in His name: and it became in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones: and I gave out, unable to bear it."
17. IN A VOICE HE SAYS: HEAR ME, YOU DIVINE FRUITS, AND LIKE A ROSE PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER, BEAR FRUIT. — This is how it should be read with the Roman editions; others read the beginning differently. Rabanus and Jansenius, omitting the word 'says,' refer the phrase 'in a voice' to the preceding verse in this way: "For I am filled with frenzy in a voice." St. Augustine in the Speculum reads: "In a voice speak"; others: "In a voice I will speak." The Greek plainly omits these words. See Franciscus Lucas in the Notes here. Moreover: "In a voice he says," namely wisdom itself, or the spirit that inspires me, or its sacred frenzy, that is to say: That sacred spirit of divine frenzy, with which I am filled, does not allow itself to be confined within my heart, but compels me to burst forth into voice and to speak — indeed to cry out with a loud voice: "Hear me (listen to me and obey me), you divine fruits"; hear me, O holy children (for a son is the fruit and offspring of a father): thus he addresses the Israelites, or the faithful; for these are holy, because called to holiness and actually sanctified in circumcision, just as Christians now are in baptism. He invites them to praise God, so that they may offer their praise like incense and the most fragrant thing to God. He says therefore: "Like a rose, bear fruit," that is, bring forth the praises of God like the most fragrant fruits of roses: so that just as a rose bush planted by the waters abundantly produces wonderfully fragrant roses, so you from your heart may bring forth the praises and commendations of God, as roses most fragrant and most pleasing to God.
Hence St. Augustine in the Speculum reads: "Hear me, you divine fruits of the waters (of wisdom) and like a rose planted by a stream, bear fruit." The rest that follows here up to verse 27, St. Augustine reads there plainly word for word just as our translator rendered it. From which you may gather how ancient the Latin Vulgate version of Ecclesiasticus is, seeing that St. Augustine uses it as if received and common in his own time. For 'by streams of water,' the Greek is epi rheumatos hygrou, that is 'upon a moist stream,' that is, as the Zurich Bible has: Hear me, O holy sons, and like a rose springing forth beside a watery river, bud forth. The Roman edition reads agrou instead of hygrou, that is 'of the field'; hence they translate: Like a rose born beside a river of the field, sprout forth; in Greek it is blastesate, that is bud forth, sprout, produce leaves, flowers, and fruit — namely of charity, patience, humility, and other virtues, and especially of thanksgiving, confession, and divine praise; so that, just as a rose garden at sunrise produces and opens very many rose buds, so you too, waking in the morning and considering the many nocturnal and diurnal, and ever new, benefits of God upon you, may burst forth from the depths of your heart into continual hymns and praises of God, which are most sweet to God, just as roses are to men, according to that saying of Anacreon on the rose: The rose, flower and fragrance of the gods, The rose is the delight of men: She is the ornament of the Graces. See what I said about the rose in chapter 24, 18, and Acts 12, 13. Finally the Syriac: Hear me, he says, O just ones, and your flesh will sprout like a rose, and like cedars that are planted by the waters, and like good spices your fragrance will smell.
Moreover, Palacius explains this whole passage thus: I think, he says, that our Author here is moved by anger and zeal against the impious who at that time were miserably tormenting the Jews. Wishing to console them, he says: I am full of fury against the impious; and this fury, not remaining in the heart but issuing forth into voice, says: Hear me, you pious Jews, who are divine fruits: so that you, most attentive reader, may perceive that the whole world is like a field planted with heavens, elements, plants, and animals, so that all these may produce pious men, as fruits worthy of God. They are called "divine" because God is their cultivator, and because God is in them, and because God will be theirs, and they God's. You therefore, O pious ones, listen and in the midst of tribulations do not fail, but rather more happily produce good works, as a rose does that is planted by streams of water. Like frankincense (which is called Libanus) bring forth fragrance in this fire of tribulation, bloom like the lily, put forth gracious branches: so that the more impiety presses you, the more your piety may flourish. Praise God even in affliction; proclaim Him magnificent in it; and with your lips and harps speak the following hymn. So Palacius.
Thus St. Sophia (that is, Wisdom) bore three daughters, as it were three roses, and raised them for virginity and martyrdom, which they gloriously suffered under the Emperor Hadrian: their names are Faith, Hope, and Charity, or, as the Greeks call them in Greek in the Menologion, Pistis, Elpis, Agape. For when the prefect Antiochus attempted to lure them from Christ with blandishments and threats, they answered bravely: "We neither covet your pleasures in this life, nor do we fear your torments: for what can be more delightful for Christians than to suffer for Christ?" Therefore, bravely overcoming the scourges, fires, frying pans, and racks, they at last joyfully consummated their martyrdom by beheading, when Faith was twelve years old, Hope ten, and Charity nine, in the year of Christ 122. Their Life is extant in Surius on the first of August.
Allegorically, Rabanus takes the waters as baptism, and the red roses as martyrdom, that is to say: "Hear, that is attend to my teaching, O fruitful minds of the elect, regenerated through baptism, and do not fear to bring forth the fruit of martyrdom in the course of mortal life: for you thereby bring forth a most sweet fragrance and a sacrifice acceptable to the Lord. Hence it is added: Have the fragrance of sweetness like Lebanon, bloom, O flowers, like the lily," etc.
Symbolically, Joseph Stephanus, in his book On the Rosary, chapter 4, fittingly applies this whole passage of Sirach to the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, as the mother of eternal Wisdom; for as many Angelic Salutations as we count, so many mystical roses we number for the Blessed Virgin, and with them we adorn her as with a crown: hence from these roses it has been called the Rosary. And these roses bear fruit beside streams of water — namely of compunction, tears, and intimate devotion. But hear Joseph: 'Rosary' signifies either the flower itself, or a place planted with roses where many roses spring up. This name, imposed on prayer beads or blessed counting stones, denotes the greatest piety of soul and immense devotion to the Virgin. For since the Virgin herself is the most beautiful Grace and the shining Dawn of all things, pious Christians have thought that nothing would be so pleasing to her as if they brought the Virgin an abundance of roses, or a garland woven of mystical flowers, formed from Evangelical words, and composed of fragrant little flowers of prayers and salutations: for divine prayers are like the sweetest fragrances that breathe into God's nostrils, and like the choicest flowers on which the divine eyes feast with a pleasing spectacle. Purpling violets, white lilies, ruddy roses — now painted in gold, now in varied, now in yellow colors — delight the gaze of God, and by their fragrance and sweetness God's spirit is most deeply moved. So also the prayers of the Saints, which express the fragrance of a most fertile field, are wont to be a delight to the eyes of God: since from the beauty of the flowers and roses with which the fields are splendidly adorned, our spirit is more keenly stirred to offer divine prayers, by Ecclesiasticus, chapter 39: "Hear me," he says, "you divine fruits, and like a rose planted by streams of water, bear fruit."
18. HAVE THE FRAGRANCE OF SWEETNESS LIKE LEBANON. — So the Roman edition, which writes 'Lebanon' with a capital L, as if it were the proper name of the mountain, which, abounding in pines, cedars, cypresses, and other resinous and fragrant trees, breathes forth a sweet fragrance from them; and so the Syriac also understands it when it translates: Your fragrance like the fragrance of Lebanon in its cedars. Jansenius however and others, writing 'libanus' with a lowercase l, take it as frankincense; for this is called in Hebrew lebanon, and in Greek libanos, not libanon, which means a thurible. Hence the Roman edition translates: And like frankincense send forth a fragrance of sweetness; the Zurich Bible and others: Be fragrant with a sweet odor in the manner of incense. Thirdly and best, you may take libanus as the proper name of the frankincense tree, or the tree that produces frankincense: for this is how Sirach understood 'Libanus' in chapter 24, 21, saying: "And like Lebanon not cut I perfumed my dwelling"; for he alludes to that here. For the phrase 'I perfumed my dwelling' means the same, or nearly the same, as what he says here: "Have the fragrance of sweetness." All these interpretations come to the same thing; for the frankincense tree breathes forth a fragrance of sweetness through its incense. The meaning therefore is, that is to say: You, O my sons, O philosophers, O lovers, I say, of wisdom, like frankincense breathe forth a sweet vapor both of other virtues and especially of praise and thanksgiving, as he explains in the following verse, and send it upward to God like incense of God, most fragrant to Him. Therefore, just as of old the Aaronic priest daily morning and evening burned incense to God on the altar of incense, so the faithful, especially the priest and Religious, must daily morning and evening — indeed frequently throughout the day — offer and present to God, from a heart full of religion and devotion, the incense of divine praise.
19. BLOSSOM, O FLOWERS, LIKE THE LILY, AND GIVE FORTH FRAGRANCE, AND PUT FORTH BRANCHES GRACEFULLY, AND PRAISE WITH A CANTICLE, AND BLESS THE LORD IN HIS WORKS. — "Blossom, O flowers," that is, by blossoming send forth and produce flowers. For it is the Hebrew signification of the active conjugation hiphil. Thus we say 'to laugh a laugh,' 'to weep tears,' 'to sprout a sprout.' "Put forth branches gracefully," that is toward grace, gracefully, so that you may put forth gracious and beautiful branches. "Praise with a canticle," that is, praising the Lord, sing a canticle to Him. Hence the Complutensian translates: Produce a flower like the lily, send forth (the Roman: diffuse) fragrance, and praise with a canticle, bless the Lord in all His works; the Zurich Bible: Send forth a flower like the lily, breathe fragrance, and sing praise, and celebrate the Lord for all His works; the Syriac: Like the root of the royal lily, raise your voice, and praise together, and give thanks to the Lord for all His works. Others translate clearly with the ablative: "Bloom with a flower like the lily, send forth fragrance, and praise with a song, bless the Lord for all His works." The meaning is, that is to say: You, O students of wisdom and virtue, you, O holy children, produce the flowers of virtues and of divine praise, so that like the lily you may blossom with the whiteness of chastity and purity of life, and give forth the fragrance of good reputation, and put forth branches gracefully through the ordering and modesty of your morals; so that in these you may shine like the lily with the wondrous splendor of virtues, and especially of magnanimity and a lofty spirit directed upward, like the lily, amid prosperity and adversity, raised through fortitude and hope in God. For the lily is the symbol of all these virtues, as I have shown at length on Hosea 14:6, at the words: "He will sprout like the lily." Thus it will come about that with praise, both the real praise of virtues and the mental and vocal praise of jubilation, you will praise God, and sing Him a perpetual canticle, and bless Him in all His works. He names the "lily" because the lily is the symbol of heroic virginity. For virgins in heaven sing a new canticle, following the Lamb wherever He goes, Revelation 14:3. These indeed are the Susannas, that is the lily-like ones (for sosan in Hebrew means lily), who, triumphing by their chastity over the world, the flesh, and the devil, sing a perennial victory song to God and the Lamb, like the shining white lily. Of these it is said, Song of Songs, chapter 2, 2: "As the lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters." Where Theodoret says: The lily, while it shines with outward beauty, also contains a golden little flower within: so also the holy virgin is surrounded by the splendor of justice and carries in her inmost depths the spiritual gift of wisdom and knowledge of God. Then therefore the flowers bloom like the lily, that is, virginal ways shine with every glory and adornment, spirits gleam, and are clothed with every grace and beauty as with foliage. Then the best thoughts (as Paul says, Philippians 4:4) and the best sentiments flourish. Then the flowers bring forth fruit (as we read in Song of Songs 8) and heavenly breasts are extended to us, and divine love is poured out upon us. Then all things resound with harps and canticles, the hidden things of the heart burst forth in praise of God, and all that is within us gives thanks to His holy name, for His mercy is forever. Then our lips (as we read in Song of Songs 5) begin like the lily to distill the first myrrh, when all our thoughts and all our labors, which often wear us out, are transferred to the care of God; hoping that at last it will come about that the God of all grace (as St. Peter says, I epistle, chapter 5), who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself perfect, confirm, and establish us who have suffered a little while. Indeed, a spirit languishing for divine love is accustomed to be strengthened by prayer no differently than a fainting spell is revived by the fragrance of flowers; as the bride in Song of Songs 2 attests, saying: "Sustain me with flowers, surround me with apples, for I am sick with love." Hence just as the lily imparts its fragrance to one who approaches it, so that for some time one smells the fragrance of the lily: so also a saint, full of love and praise of God, imparts the same to others who associate with him, so that they may smell and breathe him forth.
Tropologically Rabanus says: "Since, as the rose signifies martyrdom, so also the lily signifies chastity; to show that both are most acceptable to our Creator, he says: Bloom, O flowers, like the lily; as if he were saying openly: Bring forth the most incorruptible flowers together with the chastity of heavenly virtues, whose fragrance and leaves may be scattered throughout the whole world as an example to the souls of the faithful. For this is what it means to praise with a canticle and to bless the Lord in His works: that the whole man with heart, mouth, and deed together may give thanks to his Creator for His gifts."
Anagogically, our Pineda, book VI On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter 5, refers these words of Sirach to the glory and jubilation of the Blessed in heaven. For the lily is a symbol of the white robe, of the resurrection, and of eternal splendor: for white radiance is as it were an ornament of divinity. Hence the angels after the resurrection of Christ, to foreshadow it by their appearance, appeared in lily-white garments, that is white and splendid, Matthew, last chapter, 3, and Mark, last chapter, 5. Hence St. Hilary, on Matthew 6:28, teaches that lilies are symbols of angels and angelic splendor. And Psalm 44 is inscribed in Hebrew sosamim, that is 'for the lilies,' as St. Jerome translates; Symmachus however renders it 'triumph for the flowers'; for it sings the Epithalamium of Christ and the Church, with an allusion to the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh. For Pineda teaches that Solomon's royal garments were lily-adorned, that is decorated with the image of lilies. Our translator read sesamim; hence he translated 'for those who will be changed'; namely from good to better, says St. Basil in the same place, and from corruption to incorruption. Therefore the true Solomon, that is Christ, "about to celebrate a triumph for the flowers or lilies," as Symmachus said, that is triumphing, and leading as His companion the triumphant Church of the Saints as a bride who will sit beside Him forever, into the heavenly palace, resplendent in the lily-adorned garment of glory, fittingly says: "My flesh has re-blossomed." And the Church, standing at His right hand, clothed in a similar garment of variety, now changed after the resurrection, hears the canticle: "Bloom, O flowers, like the lily, and give forth fragrance, and put forth branches gracefully; and praise with a canticle, and bless God in His works." Thus that Psalm has in its title 'for understanding,' that is for instruction and teaching, and in Solomon's lily-adorned garments and the whiteness of the lilies, the hidden figure and foreshadowing of the future resurrection. So Pineda. Hence also in the Ecclesiastical Office, the Church sings to the Martyrs: "The youth of the Saints will be renewed like the eagle's; they will bloom like the lily in the city of the Lord." And in Paschal time: "Your Saints, O Lord, will bloom like the lily, and like the fragrance of balsam they will be before You, Alleluia."
20 and 21. GIVE MAGNIFICENCE TO HIS NAME, AND GIVE THANKS TO HIM WITH THE VOICE OF YOUR LIPS, AND WITH SONGS OF THE LIPS AND HARPS, AND THUS YOU WILL SAY IN THANKSGIVING: ALL THE WORKS OF THE LORD ARE EXCEEDINGLY GOOD. — "Give magnificence," that is, magnificently celebrate and magnify His name. "Give thanks in a voice," that is with voice praise Him, namely "in songs of the lips," as well as with "harps" and other musical instruments, so that you may say "in thanksgiving," that is from a soul full of praise for God and eager to exult before Him with all your hearts as well as voices and instruments: "All the works of the Lord are exceedingly good"; because there is nothing of evil in any of them, that is, nothing deficient, mutilated, defective, or faulty; but all and each in every direction are "exceedingly good," that is whole, perfect, irreproachable; so that from them we ought to recognize and celebrate God their author. Understand 'works' as referring to creation, conservation, governance, beneficence, and vengeance — as when He chastises us and others on account of sins. All these are exceedingly good, both for God, and for us, and for the whole universe; so that consequently in nothing, even what is adverse and troublesome to us, should we murmur against God, but in all things we ought to praise and glorify Him. See what I said on Genesis 1:31, for Sirach alludes to that here. So the Zurich Bible, which clearly translates thus: Ascribe magnificence to His name, and extol Him with His praises both with songs of the mouth and with harps; others: And celebrate Him with His praise, with odes of the lips as well as harps. Moreover, in your praise you will say: All the works of the Lord are excellent; the Syriac: Enumerate His eminence in praises, and in confession with a loud voice, and say thus: All the works of God are beautiful together, and each was created for its own service.
St. Bernard says splendidly, sermon 11 on the Song of Songs: "Nothing so properly represents on earth a certain state of heavenly dwelling as the cheerfulness of those praising God, as Scripture says: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, O Lord: they will praise You forever and ever." See what I said about the praise of God on Revelation 4 and 7.
Mystically Rabanus says: "The cithara," he says, "is a concavity of wooden belly situated at the bottom; which, transmitting the strings of chords upward, when struck speaks forth in most sweet sounds. It received such a name because it is struck with rapid repetition. To it are rightly compared works which from earthly things are directed to heavenly grace. That is, when we feed the hungry, when we clothe the naked, when we visit the sick, and so forth. Although these seem to be carnal, they are nevertheless performed through love of the Divinity. We also play the cithara when in our sufferings or losses, secure and joyful, we say: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it pleased the Lord, so it was done: blessed be the name of the Lord."
The Greek corrected at Rome adds: And every decree will come in its time (the Complutensian adds: There is no saying: What is this?); for all things will be sought in their time; the Syriac: There is no one who says: This for what purpose, and that for what purpose? Because all things were created according to their fitness; and there is no one who says: This is good, and this is evil: because all things were strengthened in their time; Vatablus: Every command of His has its own opportunity. There is no reason for you to say: What is this? Or what is this for? For these things will be sought in their time, that is, they will be shown to have been good and sound. Hence in verse 40 he says: "All things will be approved in their time." By which words it is signified that God, just as He shows Himself good in His works, so in the same He shows Himself powerful and efficacious, so that no one is able to resist them, or to hinder or delay them. These two things therefore — namely goodness and power — are especially to be celebrated in the works of God. For in these two the wonderful wisdom of God shines forth, who is able to combine and join things that are disparate, indeed seemingly contrary, and so aptly tempers efficacy with sweetness, judgment with mercy, severity with clemency, anger with gentleness, that scarcely one is found without the other — indeed, one illuminates and commends the other, and hence God is called the Best and Greatest, says Jansenius, according to that saying: "Mercy and judgment I will sing to You, O Lord," Psalm 100:1. This is what the Wise Man celebrates concerning God, and the wisdom and providence of God, chapter 8, 1: "He reaches from end to end mightily, and disposes all things sweetly." Moreover, this sweetness shines forth both in other things and in the fact that He does all things at the opportune time, as the Zurich Bible translates, so that mortals may learn to subject themselves and their judgment to God, when they see the impious ruling and raging against the pious, and may know that God at the opportune time — even if it seems long to men — will punish the impious for their demerits and will free and reward the pious for their merits. It is therefore great wisdom and great virtue, in all of God's works, whether they seem to us prosperous or adverse, to praise God, and God's goodness and justice, providence and power, holiness and fortitude, clemency and magnificence. He who does this continually — he is wise, he is holy, he is dear to God, he is perfect, he is blessed. Such was the royal Psalmist singing Psalm 33:1: "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise will always be in my mouth."
22. AT HIS WORD THE WATER STOOD AS A HEAP, AND AT THE WORD OF HIS MOUTH THE RESERVOIRS OF WATERS WERE MADE. — For 'heap,' the Greek is soros, that is a pile, a mound. Again, instead of este, that is 'stood,' others read estai, that is 'will be,' 'will exist.' Hence the Zurich Bible translates: At His command the wave exists like a heap, and the waters at the word of His mouth collect themselves; others: At His word the water stood like a heap, and at the word of His mouth the receptacles of the waters. For 'reservoirs,' in Greek apodocheion, means receptacles, and as it were skins of water, into which God at the beginning of the world channeled and enclosed the vast waters spread over the whole globe. For at the beginning of the world God first created heaven, earth, and the abyss, that is the immense mass of waters that extended from the earth to the summit of the heavens. Then on the second day of the world He made the firmament, as an intervening space dividing the waters that are below the heavens from the waters that He placed above the heavens — whether to temper the celestial fires, as the ancients and some moderns held. Indeed St. Augustine, book II On Genesis Literally, chapters 4 and 5, teaches that Saturn is cold for this reason, that it is chilled by these super-celestial waters, or for other reasons which I have reviewed on Genesis 1:6.
On the third day of the world, God channeled the waters below the heavens, which covered the whole earth, into certain channels and cavities (which for this purpose He then produced both in the earth and under the earth, and which are called here 'reservoirs'), so that the earth might appear dry and could be inhabited by men and animals. For this is what is said in Genesis 1:9: "And God said: Let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was done so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of waters He called Seas." For Sirach alludes to the creation of the world, as is clear from what he said in the preceding verse: "All the works of the Lord are exceedingly good." And because among these works one of the chief ones was the division and distribution of the waters — inasmuch as from them the rest were then formed and are daily formed — hence he mentions this above the rest here. So Rabanus and Palacius.
Secondly, Lyranus, Jansenius, and others take this as referring to the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan, which God divided so that the Hebrews might cross through them dry-shod. For by this division, although He did not properly make cavities in the earth to receive the divided waters, yet miraculously by His word, that is by His command and order, He raised them into a heap and caused the waters beside the channel to swell up, and thus preserved them swollen and as if hanging in midair so they would not flow down, just as if He had suspended them in a skin, according to that saying of Psalm 77:13: "He established the waters as in a skin." For this miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan, as a prodigious thing unheard of in all ages, Scripture frequently celebrates; hence it follows shortly here. Moreover, the Syriac substitutes the sun for water, for it reads thus: By His word He causes the sun to rise, and by His word He causes it to set. Then it adds: In the joy of His will it was made, and there is no one who delays His command; for which our translator has what follows:
23. FOR AT HIS COMMAND FAVOR IS SHOWN, AND THERE IS NO DIMINISHING IN HIS SALVATION. — 'Favor,' in Greek eudokia, that is good pleasure, benevolence, placability, favor, and, as Rabanus reads, appeasement. 'Diminishing,' that is, lessening, deficiency, that is to say: When God wills and commands something for the benefit or salvation of men, immediately this His "favor," that is this His benevolence, is put into execution and actually comes to exist; because there is no one who can diminish the salvation decreed and bestowed by Him. Hence the Complutensian translates: In His command is all good pleasure, and there is no one who diminishes His salvation (the Roman: His saving act); the Zurich Bible: Every favor depends on His command, nor is there anyone who diminishes His salvation; others: In His command is all benevolence, and there is no one who diminishes His salvation. He calls 'salvation' what God bestows and grants to men of good and of welfare.
is beneficial and salutary for living creatures, such as separating the waters from the earth so that living things could dwell upon it; and dividing the Red Sea so that the Hebrews passing through it might be freed from the hand of the pursuing Pharaoh, and be saved.
Palacius explains otherwise: Because, he says, the waters enclosed by God in the channels of the sea and rivers do not stand in them unwillingly, but of their own accord; hence in the Lord's command there is pleasure and good will; for the waters are pleased to stand thus at the Lord's command. Nor again, because they stand, is their well-being diminished; indeed the waters remain safe and whole, as if they were flowing according to their particular nature. So likewise, when by God's command the happiness of the pious is suspended, lest it flow in the usual manner, the pious should accept the impediment to their happiness with good grace, knowing that it will result not in less, but in greater salvation for them. But this sense is mystical rather than literal. Hence Rabanus presents the same as a mystical interpretation.
24. THE WORKS OF ALL FLESH (that is, of man who consists of flesh and soul) ARE BEFORE HIM, AND THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN FROM HIS EYES. — The Syriac has: The works of all the sons of flesh are before Him, and there is none who can be hidden from His sight. He has celebrated God's goodness and omnipotence; now he celebrates His omniscience, and impresses it upon men, because there is no greater stimulus for them to do well and to avoid sins than to know and to reflect that they do all things in the sight of God the judge and avenger, who sees all things, and will judge each one, and will reward the good, but will most severely punish the evil, according to that saying of Boethius: "A great necessity of doing well has been imposed upon us, because we do all things in the sight of the judge who discerns all things." For nothing in bedrooms, nothing in hiding places, nothing in darkness, nothing in hearts and minds is hidden from His eyes; but the most lucid eye of God foresees even the most hidden and secret things, and not only present things, but also past and future.
can now really exist and be present to eternity? Rather, that all things are objectively present to God, and that God sees past and future things objectively as perfectly as He sees present things intuitively.
THEREFORE NOTHING IS WONDERFUL IN HIS SIGHT — both because He Himself, just as by His eternity He transcends all times, so by His power He transcends all things possible and makeable, and by His knowledge He transcends all things knowable and cognizable; and because all creatures in comparison with God are like a little worm, indeed like the tiniest point; and finally because wonder arises from the fact that an effect is seen whose cause is not seen, as Aristotle says. Hence from wondering men began to philosophize. But God not only knows the causes of all things, but also ordains and provides for them; hence He wonders at nothing. So too the wise and magnanimous man, such as Cyrus was, says Xenophon in the Cyropaedia, wonders at nothing; but children and rustics wonder at everything.
Secondly, "nothing is wonderful," that is, difficult and arduous, "in His sight." It is a metalepsis; for what is difficult and arduous is wonderful. Hence the Hebrew פרא pele signifies both. Therefore the Tigurina translates: The works of all mortality lie open to Him, nor is it possible to deceive His eyes; others: Nor is it permitted to be hidden from His eyes; from age to age He looks forward (others, looks into, or looks within), nor is anything wonderful to His sight; the Syriac: whether little or much, it is before Him; whether strong or hard, it is before Him.
25. FOR FROM AGE TO AGE HE LOOKS. — In Greek ἐπίβλεψε, that is, He looked, namely from eternity; for God remaining and abiding in His eternity, looks upon and beholds all differences of time, and whatever things are done in them, as though they were done in His presence. For eternity is the center around which all times revolve. Just as, therefore, one who stands at the axle of a wheel sees all the parts of the wheel revolving around him, so too God, standing at the axle of His eternity, sees all the parts of time revolving around Him. And just as one who stands on a high mountain sees all things that happen below around the mountain. See what was said at chapter XXIII, 27.
Moreover, God does not look from age to age in such a way that all things, even past and future, are really present to eternity, and even now really exist in it and coexist with it, so that God might see them intuitively, as some theologians have supposed. For how can the past, which was and is no more, and the future, which will be and not yet—
26. IT IS NOT TO BE SAID: WHAT IS THIS, OR WHAT IS THAT? FOR ALL THINGS SHALL BE SOUGHT IN THEIR TIME. — Ignorant, curious, and proud men are accustomed to wonder at and judge certain works of God, whose cause, use, and purpose they themselves do not understand, as though they were useless, superfluous, or even irrelevant. Hence they say: "What is this? Or what is that?" as if to say: What is the use and purpose of this or that thing, what benefit does this or that bring? Sirach here rebuts their ignorance, curiosity, and arrogance, and adds the reason: "For all things shall be sought in their time." St. Jerome, on chapter III of Ecclesiastes, reads "shall be required," namely for their uses, when there is need of them. Hence the Greek has: For all things were created for their uses, as if to say: All things have their use, and for that use they will be required in their time when there is need of them. Hence also St. Augustine, quaest. II ad Simplicianum, reads: "Let us praise the canticle together, and not say, What is this, what is this? All things were created in their time (for the time when their use will be necessary)." Yet the same Augustine, in the Speculum, reads as our Vulgate: "For all things shall be sought in their time;" the Tigurina: There is no reason for anyone to say, What is this? or to what end is this? others: for what purpose is this? For in Greek it is εἰς τί, that is, to what end? For all things were created for their uses.
Secondly, the word quaerentur can be taken by metalepsis
can be taken with Jansenius as they shall be known, or they shall be declared, and once known they shall be approved, as verse 40 says, as if to say: All things in their time shall be known and made manifest, for what use they were created by God, even if that use is presently unknown to men. By a similar metalepsis, "to seek" is taken for to find what was sought, and "to question" for to answer a question, or to know what was questioned, as in Psalm X: "The Lord questions the just and the wicked; He questions," that is, by questioning He knows, or He knows so fully as if He had questioned and examined all things. And when St. Peter says, 1 Peter III, 21: "The interrogation of a good conscience," that is, the answer or declaration. See what was said there: for I adduced many similar examples in that place.
27. HIS BLESSING SHALL OVERFLOW LIKE A RIVER. — So reads the Roman edition. The modern Greek, Jansenius, and others add: And as the deluge made the earth drunk, as if to say: God's blessing, like a flood, heaps up and drenches the earth with all good things. Hence the Tigurina translates: And it makes it fruitful like a flood. But these words, with the Roman editions, should be referred to the following verse. For clearly "the cataclysm," that is, the deluge accomplished in the time of Noah, represents the wrath of God, which follows, and not His blessing. The Tigurina: His breath covers the earth like a river; in Greek it is εὐλογία, that is, blessing, that is, the beneficence with which God breathes upon the earth. What is signified is the abundance of divine beneficence upon the earth, that like an overflowing river it overwhelms the earth with its benefits, since from it He produces, nourishes, preserves, and propagates so many kinds of herbs, trees, flowers, fruits, animals, and men; whereby He makes the earth a gentle mother and nurse of all living things. The blessing of God, says Palacius, is like a perennial river running from the throne of God to the center of the earth, embracing all things, irrigating, making fruitful, nourishing, governing, advancing. Hence the Syriac translates: His blessing flows like a river, that is, it flows through, flows to, flows in.
Furthermore, Sirach speaks properly of the blessing both temporal and spiritual, which God pours out abundantly like a river upon the faithful and pious, just as He pours out wrath like a deluge upon the unfaithful and impious, as he himself adds, according to the saying of Christ: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life," John IV, 13; and chapter VII, 38: "He who believes in Me, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." So says Rabanus.
Anagogically: The blessing of beatitude is poured out upon the Blessed by God like a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, which irrigates the tree of life so that it bears fruit every month, Revelation XXII, 1. See what was said there.
28. AS THE DELUGE MADE THE DRY LAND DRUNK, SO HIS WRATH SHALL INHERIT THE NATIONS THAT DID NOT SEEK HIM. — Thus the Bibles corrected at Rome, and generally the more correct Latin texts, punctuate and connect these words, although the Greek, as I said, refers the first part
to the preceding verse. But this is less fitting; for "cataclysm," although it can signify any overflow, nevertheless when used absolutely, by antonomasia it signifies the universal flood by which the whole earth was overwhelmed in the time of Noah, as is clear from chapter XL, 10, when it says: "And on account of them (sinners) the cataclysm came about." But this is fittingly compared with the wrath of God, not with God's blessing; because it proceeded from the supreme wrath of God against sins and sinners. For His wrath so blazed against them that He drowned all of them in the flood, with the sole exception of Noah and his family, and together with them the other living creatures, trees, and plants which He had created for man's use. Although the Syriac, just as it compared God's blessing to a river, likewise compares His curse to the same. For it says: Just as a river irrigates the ages, so in His fury He judges peoples, and turns their irrigated land into salt waste. The sense, therefore, of the Latin Vulgate is, as if to say: Just as in the time of Noah, on account of men's sins, the flood overwhelmed, drenched, possessed, and as it were inherited the whole earth for an entire year, so likewise the wrath and vengeance of God — often on earth, and always and perpetually in hell — overflowing like a deluge upon the unfaithful and impious nations who do not seek God, that is, who refuse to acknowledge and worship Him, shall overwhelm, drench, and inherit them; just as, on the other hand, the blessing and beneficence of God, like a river, shall overwhelm, drench, and inherit the Jews and all the faithful and pious, as was said above, according to Psalm XXXV, 9: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Your house, and You shall make them drink of the torrent of Your pleasure." He mentions the cataclysm so that sinners may expect a similar punishment, and therefore, mindful of it, may shudder at the sins that brought the cataclysm upon the whole world. So say Lyranus, Palacius, and others. For just as the flood came upon men who were securely indulging in gluttony and the belly, and overwhelmed them unexpectedly, so too in its time the wrath of God shall inherit the impious who now without fear securely enjoy their pleasures and triumph, because when they are dead the wrath and vengeance of God shall receive them as a perpetual inheritance, so as to rage against their souls and bodies through the fire of hell forever. Hence Palacius says: It is a thing worthy of note that the wrath of God is the heir of the impious, waiting for their death so as to receive them as an inheritance. What an unexpected and harmful heir this is for the impious! On the other hand, the heir of the pious will be mercy, grace, and eternal glory. According to the Syriac version, God, both wrathful and propitious, is compared to a river: because just as a gentle and calm river irrigates and makes the fields fruitful, but when swelling it overwhelms, drowns, and suffocates them, so too God, gentle toward the just, cherishes and makes them fruitful; but His wrath swelling against the impious will plunge them into the depths. The symbol of this is the Fountain of the Sun, which by day is sweet and cold, but by night boiling and bitter. Hear Pliny, book II, chapter CVI: "Among the Troglodytes," he says, "there is a spring called the Fountain of the Sun, sweet and extremely cold around noon; then gradually growing warm, at midnight it rages with heat and bitterness." So God and Christ in the day of this
life offer to all the sweetness of mercy; but in the night of the last judgment He will cast all the bitterness of wrath upon the impious.
29. AS HE TURNED THE WATERS INTO DRYNESS, AND THE LAND WAS DRIED: AND HIS WAYS ARE DIRECTED FOR THEIR WAYS: SO FOR SINNERS THERE ARE STUMBLING BLOCKS IN HIS WRATH. — So reads the Roman edition, although the Greek combines these with the latter part of the preceding verse, in this way: So shall the nations inherit His wrath, as He turned the waters into salt waste: His ways are straight for the saints, as for the wicked they are stumbling blocks; the Tigurina: So (those who have not worshipped Him) the nations shall receive His wrath, as He turns the waters into dryness, etc. For the Hebrew melecha and the Greek מלחה properly signify salt waste and a land of salt; but in an extended sense it signifies dry land, because such is the land of salt, or a salt-pit, namely a barren place from whose earth salt is gathered. For as Pliny says, book XXXI, chapter VII: "Every place in which salt is found is barren and produces nothing." For salt dries out the earth, but for generation moisture is needed.
Therefore the Greek has here two disparate sentences, and Jansenius explains the first as follows: The wrath of God, he says, and His severity and vengeance against unbelieving nations is compared to the conversion of waters into dryness; or, as the Greek has it, into salt waste, that is, when God causes that where there was an abundance of water, there should be dryness and barrenness; because in those against whom God is wrathful, when all the moisture of His grace is removed, the greatest dryness occurs, and barrenness as regards producing any good. And so by these statements, as well as by those that follow, it is shown how differently God acts toward the elect and the reprobate, and how effective are both His beneficence and His severity, His mercy and His justice.
But our Vulgate translator more fittingly joined two sentences into one. Which Rabanus first explains of the cataclysm, or flood, about which the discourse preceded, as if to say: Just as after the outpouring of the flood the waters went to and fro, so that the dry land might appear again and the earth might sprout its fruits; so also after the destruction of the impious, the power was given to God's elect to bring forth the fruits of good works. And what he says about the ways of the Lord being directed according to their ways, shows that His retributions are dispensed according to their merits. For the ways of the Lord are His judgments, and the ways of men are their works. Hence the Lord (who is just in all His ways, and holy in all His works, and renders to each according to his works) guards all who love Him, and will destroy all sinners. Secondly, more fittingly, Lyranus and Palacius refer this statement to the crossing of the Hebrews through the Red Sea divided by God, which then returning to its channel drowned those who followed
and the pursuing Egyptians, about which the discourse preceded in verses 22 and 23. The sense, therefore, is, as if to say: Just as God turned the Red Sea by dividing it into two (or, as the Hebrews report, into twelve parts, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel, so that each tribe might have its own proper way and path through it), and by drying the middle bed, so that the land of the channel through which the Hebrews were to cross was dried; the result was that those ways of God, which He opened in the sea for the faithful and pious Hebrews, were "directed," in Greek εὐθεῖα, that is, straight, level, and convenient, so that through them they might cross directly, smoothly, and conveniently into the opposite land, and escape the hands of the pursuing Pharaoh. "So" likewise "for sinners there are stumbling blocks in His wrath," supply: they exist or are prepared; because the Egyptians pursuing the Hebrews stumbled and struck against the same Red Sea, when the wrath of God rolled back the waters of the sea upon them, and drowned and swallowed them up. He does and will do the same to other sinners, especially on the day of judgment.
He signifies that God uses the same thing as an instrument both for liberating the pious and for punishing the impious, just as by the Red Sea He freed the Hebrews and drowned the Egyptians, and just as by the same sermon or miracle one person is converted while another is hardened. Hence the Greek reads thus: Αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ εὐθεῖαι τοῖς ἁγίοις, οὕτως τοῖς ἀνόμοις προσκόμματα. Which the Complutensian and Roman editions translate: His ways are straight or directed for the saints, so for the wicked they are stumbling blocks. Our translator, instead of ὁσίοις, that is, saints, read ὁδοῖς, that is, for their ways, namely of the pious, that is, the Hebrews, who with dry feet under God's guidance crossed the Red Sea. For Sirach leaves this supposition, as known from the circumstances and famous from the subject matter in the manner of the Hebrews, to be understood: for he opposes the pious to the impious, in order to show God's mercy toward the former and God's wrath and vengeance toward the latter.
Hence the Syriac: The ways of the just are directed in His sight, and to the impious they shall likewise be repaid; the Tigurina: As His ways are smooth for the saints, so for the unjust they are rough; others: His ways are straight for the saints, and stumbling blocks for the wicked; for these are properly προσκόμματα.
This statement can be understood in many ways. First, properly of the Hebrews in the Red Sea, as I said, as if to say: The ways of the Red Sea were directed, that is, passable, smooth, convenient, and salutary for the pious Hebrews, because they provided them with escape and salvation; but the same were stumbling blocks for the impious Egyptians, because in them they fell and were submerged. Aesop, as they relate, walking about and asked by a magistrate where he was going, replied that he did not know. And when the magistrate, thinking himself mocked, took it badly and threw him into prison, then Aesop said: "Well then, I was right to say I did not know where I was going; for I did not know that I was going to prison." So man does not know where he is going; therefore let him ask the Lord with the Psalmist: "Perfect my steps in Your paths, so that my footsteps may not be moved," Psalm XVI, 5.
Secondly, so that you take the word directed morally, as if to say: The ways, that is, the precepts, counsels, judgments, and providence of God, seem to the saints to be straight and just, because they feel themselves to be most rightly directed by them to salvation; on the contrary, these same things seem to sinners to be unjust and crooked, because they are to them a scandal and an offense; for by violating them, or by murmuring against them,
they fall into present and eternal death; in which the divine wrath extended over them is made manifest. This is what Hosea says in chapter XIV, last verse: "The ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall in them." So Jansenius says: The ways of God, he says, are straight for the pious, so for sinners they are stumbling blocks, that is, the pious are pleased with the ways of the Lord and approve them, but those same ways of the Lord displease sinners, and they are offended by them and stumble against them. It is said, therefore, that the ways of God are directed, that is, straight, for the ways of the good, because they themselves by their actions and their life declare that they approve the ways of God, that is, both His commandments which He gave to men, and all His deeds and judgments by which He governs the world, since they render Him diligent obedience without murmuring. But for sinners the ways of the Lord are stumbling blocks and scandals, because they stumble both against His commandments, which are for them an occasion of greater fall, and against His deeds and judgments, against which they murmur as though they were unjust. And this happens in His wrath, namely because they are destitute of His grace, by which they might rightly judge about the things that are good.
Thirdly, the ways of God for the saints are "directed," that is, prudent and prosperous; because they prudently direct them to a happy outcome, and make them prosper, happy, and blessed; but indeed the same ways for the impious are twisted, because they, being imprudent, refuse to direct themselves and their affairs prudently according to them, and therefore they make them wretched and unhappy, and are for them an occasion of ruin into present and eternal evils. Therefore the ways, that is, the laws and judgments of God, seem straight to the pious, crooked and twisted to the impious: first, because for the pious they are smooth and easy, for the impious steep and difficult; second, because to the pious they seem just and holy, to the impious unjust and tyrannical; third, because for the pious they are prosperous and happy, for the impious harmful and unhappy, and therefore scandals and stumbling blocks, through which they fall and rush into death and hell. "For those who love God, all things work together for good," Romans VIII, 28, just as for those who do not love Him all things work together for evil, says St. Augustine. Therefore evils are good for the good, but evil for the evil. Thus the cross of Haman was a cross for him, because he was hanged on it; but for the Hebrews it was salvation and life, Esther VII, 10. So resourceful, so powerful, so effective is the providence of God. Hence St. Augustine, Enchiridion, chapter C: "Great are the works of the Lord," he says, "sought out according to all His purposes, so that in a wonderful and ineffable way what happens even against His will does not happen apart from His will; because it would not happen if He did not permit it; and He does not permit it unwillingly, but willingly. Nor would He, being good, allow evil to be done, unless He, being omnipotent, could also bring good out of evil."
30. GOOD THINGS WERE CREATED FOR THE GOOD FROM THE BEGINNING, SO FOR THE MOST WICKED GOOD THINGS AND EVIL. — The Greek deletes the words bona et (good things and), and thus reads: Good things were created for the good from the beginning, so evil things for sinners. For our translator calls sinners "most wicked," partly because he puts the superlative by metonymy for the positive, "most wicked" namely for wicked; partly because sin against
God is the greatest wickedness, and greater than any that is committed against men. The Greek reading is plain, as if to say: God from the beginning created good things, namely heaven and eternal happiness, for the good; but evil things, namely hell and eternal punishments, He created and destined for sinners. Again, and more precisely, as if to say: God from the beginning created, that is, ordained, disposed, and destined that for the good all things, even evil things, should turn out for good; but for sinners all things, even good things, should be turned into evil, because they themselves abuse them to their own destruction. For this is what he intends here to prove, as I said at the end of the preceding verse. Hence, having adduced the examples of water, fire, salt, bread, etc., he concludes at verse 32: "All these things shall be turned to good for the saints, and for the impious and sinners into evil."
But the Latin reading, so for the most wicked good things and evil, is difficult to explain; yet you may explain it thus, as if to say: God created "good things" for the impious, because He destined all men, even the impious, for beatitude; "and evil things," because He prepared these as punishment for their sins, as if to say: God of Himself and from His immense love prepared good things for both the good and the evil; but the evil by their abuse and wickedness turn them into evil for themselves; so that good things become good only for the good, and turn out for their good. So says Lyranus. Rabanus agrees: "Good things," he says, "were created and prepared for the evil, if they convert from their sins and do penance; but evil things, if they persevere in their error and offenses and neglect to do penance."
Palacius adds that God first prepares good things for the evil, then evil things, because in this life He gives them wealth, honors, and pleasures, so that they may have their paradise here; but in the future life He will give them evil things according to their deserts, namely the eternal fires of hell. The Syriac agrees with the Latin: Good, he says, from the beginning was created for the good, and also for the impious, whether good or evil.
31. THE CHIEF THINGS NECESSARY FOR THE LIFE OF MEN ARE WATER, FIRE, AND IRON, SALT, MILK, AND BREAD OF FINE FLOUR, AND HONEY, AND THE CLUSTER OF THE GRAPE, AND OIL, AND CLOTHING. — Some take "chief thing" as meaning beginning, as if to say: At the beginning of the world God created these things as necessary for the life of man. Hence some conclude that from the beginning of the world there were grapes, and even the blood of the grape, as the Greek has it, that is, wine, even though Noah is recorded as the first to have cultivated the vine for producing wine more abundantly and delicately, Genesis XII, 20. But for "chief thing" the Greek is ἀρχή, which signifies not only beginning, but also preeminence, primacy, headship, and the sum total, as if to say: Among the necessities of human life, these ten hold first place; or, as the Tigurina has: The sum of all things necessary for man's life consists of water, fire, iron, salt, fine flour of wheat, honey, milk, the blood of grapes (that is, wine), oil, and clothing; the Syriac: The first of all those things that are necessary for the life of men: water, and fire, and iron, and salt, and wheat, and fat, and milk, and honey, and grapes, and wine, and oil, and a covering, and clothing. So in chapter XI, 3, he said of the bee: "The chief," that is, the preeminence, the primacy, "of sweetness belongs to its fruit,"
because honey is the sweetest of all, and holds first place among sweet things.
Moreover, these ten things are necessary for man, not absolutely (for honey, grapes, and oil are not absolutely necessary for man), but relatively, that is, they are very suitable and useful (hence in Greek it is χρεία, that is, need, use, necessity, convenience, utility, namely things that are needed for use). For water and fire are necessary for cooking, heating, drinking, washing, etc.; iron for making firm, joining together, and fabricating.
Hear Pliny, book XXXIV, XIV, who having called iron the best and worst instrument of life, adds the reason saying: "For with this we plough the earth, plant shrubs, set orchards, and by pruning away the decay, compel the vines to grow young again every year; with this we build roofs, quarry stones, and use iron for all other purposes. But the same is used for wars, slaughter, and robbery, not only at close quarters, but also as a missile and flying weapon, now hurled by siege engines, now by the arm, now indeed feathered: which I consider the most criminal fraud of human ingenuity. For so that death might reach man more quickly, we made it winged, and gave wings to iron. Therefore let the blame be attributed not to nature, but to man." The same author, in chapter XV, teaches that from iron medicines are made by which alopecia, gout, fluxes, fistulas, hemorrhoids, and many other diseases are cured. Furthermore, Cassiodorus, book I of the Variae, epistle 30, makes Belus the first inventor of iron, namely of iron weapons for the use of war, and says that the word bellum (war) derives from his name, since previously men fought with their fists, whence the name pugna (fist-fight).
Salt is necessary so that bread and herbs may be seasoned, which otherwise would be insipid and harmful. Hence that famous saying cited by Pliny, book XXXI, chapter IX: "For the whole body nothing is more useful than salt and sun;" and chapter VII: "Indeed cattle," he says, "herds and beasts of burden are most attracted to grazing by salt, with much more abundant milk and a much more pleasing quality even in cheese. Therefore civilized life cannot be lived without salt, and it is so necessary an element that the understanding of it has passed even to the pleasures of the mind. For thus witticisms are called 'salts,' and all the charm and supreme cheerfulness of life, and the rest from labors, are expressed by no word more aptly." It is a remarkable thing, which serious men have affirmed to me, that the Cossacks have it as a rule to abstain from salt, and this for chastity, so that they may live unmarried and celibate, and devote themselves entirely to arms, nor be distracted by care for wife and children. For from salt, as was said, so also comes sensuality. For salt, being hot and pungent, stimulates to lust. For which reason Plutarch relates, book III of the Symposiacs, question X, that the Egyptian priests, being most chaste, abstained so much from salt that they even ate unsalted bread. He also adds that salt is called divine by Homer, because salt is the most pleasant condiment,
and therefore the condiment of all condiments, lending sweetness to them; and because it is most useful and enters into all human affairs: "For indeed," he says, "those things which are common among men, and pervade the whole human race with their uses, are most especially honored with the title of divinity, such as water, salt, and the seasons of the year." For nature has mixed salt into almost all things, as I showed elsewhere; and finally because salt preserves things from corruption and in a way makes them eternal; and this is a divine work. Hence also Plato, in the Timaeus, says that the body of salt is dear and sacred to the gods. Hence also Isidore, book XVI of the Origins, chapter II, derives sal (salt) from salire (to leap), because when thrown into fire it leaps up; or rather from salum (the sea) and sol (the sun), because in the sea, by the force of the sun, it coalesces and solidifies. Therefore salt is a symbol of wisdom, discernment, and prudence, according to the saying of Christ, Mark IX, 49: "Have salt in yourselves." And salt was applied to every sacrifice, as I said at Leviticus II, 13; see Pierius, Hieroglyphics XXXI, chapter IX and following.
Bernardinus Gomesius, Archdeacon of Sagunto, wrote four books on the uses and praises of salt, and at the beginning of book II he calls salt "a certain divinity of the table." Because, he says, "by this condiment not only does sweetness accrue to the taste, and from sweetness pleasure to the appetite; but from these also digestion comes to the stomach, distribution from digestion to all the members, and robust health and strength follow for the whole body." In the same place, number 7, he calls salt the most abundant fountain of nature and a storehouse of good things. At number 18, he says salt refreshes and delights the heart with greater cheerfulness than wine, and is just as vital to the heart as wine. For according to the opinion of Pliny and others, against serpent bites that go straight for the heart, salt diligently applied anticipates and destroys all venom. At number 20, he shows that there is a fiery and royal power in salt, from the fact that Hannibal with salt and vinegar carved through the rocks and cliffs of the Alps, and led his army through them, which had previously been impassable. At number 70, he teaches that salt prescribes the laws of temperance to banqueters, and that salt itself is the fountain and origin of all condiments, because when applied to the tongue and taste it bites, stimulates, dries, astringes, contracts, cleanses, and burns. In book III, number 9, he asserts that salt is a kind of great soul of the table, indeed that salt is like the sun.
In book IV, number 48, he shows that the Spaniards once held salt in such reverence that it was a point of religion for them not to pick it up with their fingers from the salt-cellar; therefore they picked it up with their swords. Hence the proverb: "Why do you pick up salt with the hand with which you have not killed a man (others say a Moor)?" For since they were warlike and were attacked by the Moors, he who had not killed a Moor was considered unworthy of food and salt. Hence that saying of Livy about the Cantabrians: "A fierce people, who considered no life worth living without arms." Finally at number 83, he shows that by blessed salt, which by decree of Pope Alexander I is placed in lustral water, demons are put to flight; because
that we may wonderfully overcome the most foul impurity by lustral water, and the grossest ignorance by the salt of wisdom. Finally, the ancient Ascetics formerly used no other relish for their bread than salt. Hence that saying of Abbot Sisoes, in the Lives of the Fathers: "The diet of a monk is bread and salt."
Milk is a natural food and practically coeval with man; for an infant as soon as it is born sucks the breasts of its mother, just like lambs, calves, fawns, and other animals. "Milk," says Plutarch, in the book On Preserving Health, "is not to be used as a drink, but as food, having a strong and copious power for nourishment."
Bread of fine flour, in Greek the fine flour of wheat, namely from fine flour and meal, is the common food of men; for bread strengthens the heart of man.
Honey "is effective for innumerable uses," says Pliny, book XXII, chapter XXIV: "It extracts stings and everything lodged in the body, disperses tumors, softens hard things, soothes nerve pain, and closes with a scar even desperate ulcers. The very nature of honey is such that it does not allow bodies to putrefy; with a pleasant and not harsh flavor, a different nature from salt. Most useful for the throat, tonsils, quinsy, and all diseases of the mouth, and for a parched tongue in fevers. And when boiled, for cases of pneumonia and pleurisy; likewise for wounds from serpent bites. And against the poisons of mushrooms. For the paralyzed in mead, although mead has its own special qualities. Honey is instilled into the ears with rose oil; it kills lice and the foul creatures of the head. Skimmed honey is always more suitable for use, yet it inflates the stomach, increases bile, creates nausea, and some think it is useless for the eyes by itself." Furthermore, Plutarch, book VII of the Symposiacs, question III, teaches that the bottom of honey, the middle of wine, and the top of oil are the best, and assigns the reason.
The same Pliny, book XI, chapter XIV, calls honey divine nectar: "There is no other sweetness," he says, "nor power of recalling mortal ills from death, than that of divine nectar." A little before: "Medicines, not honeys, are produced — heavenly gifts for the eyes, for ulcers, and for the internal organs."
The cluster of the grape, as well as the blood of the grape, as the Greek has it, greatly nourishes, strengthens, and cheers.
Oil is food, light, and medicine. See St. Bernard, sermon 15 on the Song of Songs.
Clothing covers nakedness and protects the body from cold and the injuries of the air.
Note: Here meats, eggs, and fish are not named, nor wine in the Latin Vulgate; because these things are not necessary for life. Hence until the flood men seem to have abstained from them, as I said at Genesis IX, verse 3, and to have eaten only grape clusters, fruits, milk, and honey. Such was the frugality of the ancients. Thus St. Gregory Nazianzen lived on bread, water, and salt. Hear him in Carmen IX.
Brief pleasure Has many sorrows as companions. But dear to my heart Is hard bread; pure salt provides me a pleasing relish, A simple table furnished with no labor, Then streams pour forth sober cups for me. These are my greatest riches, and Christ the Author Of salvation, who carries our minds to sublime things.
And St. Bernard, sermon 66 on the Song of Songs: "Abstain from wine, because in wine there is luxury; or, if I am weak, I use a little, according to the counsel of Paul. I abstain from meats, lest while they nourish the flesh too much, they also nourish the vices of the flesh. I shall endeavor to take bread itself in measure, lest with a heavy stomach it become wearisome to stand for prayer, and lest the Prophet also reproach me, because I ate my bread in satiety. But I should not accustom myself even to gorging on plain water, lest the distension of the belly reach to the point of titillating lust." The same, in his letter to his nephew Robert: "For one living prudently and soberly," he says, "salt with hunger suffices for every seasoning." The same, in the Rule of Life: "As to the cross," he says, "so approach your food, that is, never feed from pleasure but from necessity; and let hunger, not flavor, provoke your appetite."
Thus the holy Anchorites used nothing for food but bread, water, and salt. The same was the food of penitents. Hence at Distinction XXXIII, question II, chapter VIII, Pope Stephen V imposes upon Aistulf, who had killed his wife, among other things this punishment also: "On all the days," he says, "on which you must do penance, you shall not drink wine or strong drink; you shall never eat meat, except at Easter and on Christmas Day; do penance on bread and water and salt."
Mystically, by ten endowments and virtues the spiritual life is begun, preserved, advanced, and perfected. First, water is baptism and the compunction of tears. Second, fire is the spirit, etc., and His charity and zeal, which He inspired in the Apostles and the faithful at Pentecost. Third, iron is patience and constancy, which are necessary for bravely and steadfastly overcoming the innumerable labors and hardships of this life; for iron bravely and steadfastly endures all blows of the hammer, so that a beautiful vessel may be formed by them. The pagans saw the same thing, who fashioned Hercules out of iron. Hence Pliny, book XXXIV, XIV: "In the same city (Thebes)," he says, "there is an iron Hercules, which Alcon made, inspired by the patience of the god (Hercules) in his labors." Therefore patience made Hercules a god. Fourth, salt is a symbol of discernment, which like salt makes all things savory, since without it all things are tasteless and insipid. Hence Christ: "Have salt in yourselves," Mark IX, 49. Fifth, milk is innocence, simplicity, and candor of morals, according to Isaiah VII, 15, about the Christ child: "Butter and honey shall He eat." And that of St. Peter, 1 Peter II, 2: "As newborn infants, desire the rational, guileless milk." Sixth, bread is the Eucharist, by which, as Christ says in John VI, the soul is nourished unto eternal life. Seventh, honey is chastity, because honey is produced by chaste bees; and prayer, which obtains from God heavenly consolations and all good things, just as honey falls from heaven and is most sweet. Eighth, the cluster of the grape is the memory of the passion of Christ,
which strengthens us against all evils and comforts us for every good; for in it Christ, pressed and trodden, pours out all His blood for us, just as a grape pressed and trodden in the winepress pours out all its wine. Ninth, oil is mercy, almsgiving, and all beneficence. Tenth, clothing is modesty, which like a garment preserves, adorns, and perfects all the virtues just mentioned, and makes them conspicuous to others, so that they may imitate and put them on. This, therefore, is the decalogue of virtues, as well as of God's commandments, in which our salvation and perfection consist.
Somewhat differently our Alvarez de Paz, book II, part I On Mortification: "For the spiritual life," he says, "the water of compunction is necessary, by which we may be washed; the fire of the Holy Spirit, by which we may be set alight; the iron of tribulation, by which we may be subdued; the salt of mortification, by which we may be preserved from corruption; the milk of purity, by which we may be adorned; the bread of virtues, by which we may be sustained; the honey of consolation, by which we may be strengthened; the grape cluster of zeal, by which we may guard the goods we have acquired; the oil of charity, by which we may be softened; and the garment of grace, by which we may be covered." So likewise nearly the same says Hugh. To this point is that saying of St. Gregory magnificently about St. Augustine, who thought modestly and humbly about himself and his writings, epistle 52, book VIII: "If you desire to be nourished with delicate food, read the works of Blessed Augustine; and in comparison with his fine flour, do not seek our bran." Wise is he who from the writings and books of the Doctors collects the fine flour and leaves behind the bran.
32. ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE TURNED TO GOOD FOR THE SAINTS, AND FOR THE IMPIOUS AND SINNERS INTO EVIL. — "Into evil," both of guilt, because they abuse God's creatures for lust, gluttony, pride, and the rest; and of punishment, because by the things through which a person sins, through these same things he is also punished; and this often in this life, and always in the next. For how many impious people have perished, perish, and will perish by water, fire, iron, etc.! In hell, fire and other creatures will torment them, either in themselves or in the memory of them. For it wonderfully torments the damned that by abusing God's creatures they provoked against themselves the wrath of the Creator, and consequently of all creatures, and therefore are tortured and tormented by all in hell. Hence also at the last judgment all creatures, like lictors, will stand by Christ the judge, to spring upon the reprobate and afflict and punish them, according to Wisdom V, 21: "The whole world shall fight with Him against the foolish. The lightning bolts shall go directly, etc. And from stony wrath full hailstones shall be sent, the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the rivers shall rush upon them violently. Against them shall stand the spirit of power, and like a whirlwind shall divide them." Hence the Syriac translates: These turn out well for the good, and for the evil are turned into a curse.
Parallel to this statement of Sirach is that of Solomon, Wisdom XIV, 14: "The creatures of God were made hateful (that is, turned by the impious) and into a temptation for the souls of men, and into a snare for the feet of the foolish." Hence Origen, on chapter V of Joshua: "For the sinner," he says, "every creature is an enemy; for the just man all things serve." The antistrophe, however, is that saying of Plato in the Theaetetus: "That man," he says, "I call wise, who by changing the nature of those things that seem and are evil to any of us, makes them both seem good and truly be good." Hence he concludes: "Therefore we must endeavor to flee from here to there (from human society to the divine) as quickly as possible; and the flight consists in becoming as like God and conformed to Him as possible; and what makes us like God is justice and holiness joined with wisdom." For which reason Bede says in the Proverbs: "God must be invoked continually, that He may deign to grant us both the will and the ability to do good."
33. THERE ARE SPIRITS THAT WERE CREATED FOR VENGEANCE, AND IN THEIR FURY THEY SHALL CONFIRM THEIR TORMENTS. — So reads the Roman edition, although Jansenius and others read their scourges; for this is what the Greek μάστιγας properly signifies. But the sense comes to the same. The Syriac has: There are spirits that were created for retributions, and in their fury they uproot mountains. He continues to show how good things are turned into evil for the impious, because God on account of their sins turns all things into scourges and chastisement for them, in order to demonstrate how great is God's severity and wrath against the impious, as well as His clemency and beneficence toward the pious. Therefore He created, that is, destined and deputed spirits for vengeance against the impious, justice dictating this, which, as Lyranus says citing St. Augustine, "does not permit the disgrace of guilt without the beauty of justice."
You may ask, who are these "spirits"? I answer: some take them as winds, storms, typhoons, waterspouts, firewinds, whirlwinds, hailstorms, lightning bolts, thunderclaps, etc., with which of old under Moses God struck Egypt, and often strikes impious provinces and kingdoms, according to Psalm X: "He shall rain upon sinners snares: fire and brimstone, and the spirit of tempests, shall be the portion of their cup." And Psalm CXLVIII: "Fire, hail, snow, ice, the spirit of tempests: which fulfill His word."
Secondly, and more fittingly, by "spirits" you should understand angels — both good ones, who are ministers of divine justice, and therefore struck the Sodomites with heavenly fire, the Egyptians with ten plagues under Moses, and also the Assyrians under Sennacherib, Isaiah XXXVII, 36 — but more especially the evil ones, namely demons; for He created them, that is, having created them but after they fell into sin, He deputed and authorized them as executioners and lictors of impious men, to chastise and punish them, according to Psalm LXXVII: "He sent upon them the wrath of His indignation; indignation, and wrath, and tribulation, missions through evil angels." For just as by a king are created prefects, consuls, and magistrates, so demons were created by God as avengers, executioners, and torturers of the impious. Or He properly "created" them, because although primarily and per se He created them for their own good and that of the whole universe, yet secondarily and as it were per accidens — namely, if they should sin, as He foresaw they would — He created them for the punishment of the impious. So says Dionysius.
Armed both in this air, says Palacius, and in the waters, and in the caverns of the earth, and finally in hell, demons dwell who chastise the crimes of impious men as ministers of God; so that those to whom the impious voluntarily subjected themselves in guilt, they should involuntarily be subjected to in punishment, says Lyranus. So also Rabanus: "After man," he says, "created by God, was seduced through the devil's suggestion, he was justly delivered into his power; because, transgressing the commandments of his Lord, he consented to the perverse persuasions of the wicked enemy. And so God Almighty (who is supremely good, indeed the supreme good, the best orderer of all things) subdued proud men under the dominion of proud angels, so that, corrected by them, they might learn how great is the distance between the servitude of a true and most loving lord and that of a most cruel tyrant."
And this is the reason why the demon frequently predicts future events, for example, diseases, deaths, and violent ends through his diviners, witches, and magicians, saying, for example, to someone who consults them about their lot and the manner of death that awaits them: You will die by water, you by fire; in such a year you will fall into fever, consumption, plague; in such a year, in such a manner you will die. Because the demon predicts what he himself intends to do, namely that in such a year he will bring upon or procure for them such a disease or death. For God subjects those who consult the demon to him, and gives him power over them to punish their apostasy from God.
AND IN THEIR FURY THEY CONFIRMED THEIR TORMENTS. — Thus the Complutensian and Roman editions read αὐτῶν, that is, of them, meaning their own. Some, however, read αὐτοῦ, that is, of Him, namely of God. Some explain this of the demons, who driven by despair into fury and rage against God and against men as God's images and special possession, tempt them to sin, in order to drag them along with themselves into hell, and thus confirm and increase their torments — especially since the damned in hell roar like dogs and tear one another apart with curses, indeed even with teeth and hands, as if to say: The demons, "in their fury," that is, through their inconvertible and obstinate aversion from God, merited irrecoverably to be condemned. For there is in them a senseless fury, says St. Dionysius the Carthusian. "For just as their sin is irremediable, so also their torment is interminable," says Lyranus. And as Rabanus says: "The demons confirm their torments, because they themselves at the future judgment will undergo eternal punishments for their own wickedness and for their seduction of the human race." But take this with a grain of salt. For the demons merited and received the entire essential penalty of damnation through their own wickedness, namely through the pride by which they rebelled against God. Therefore they cannot increase this penalty through the seduction of men, especially because they themselves are no longer on the way but at the terminus, namely they are not in a state of meriting or demeriting, but in a state of suffering for their demerits. Therefore through the seduction of men—
they only increase their accidental punishment. So say St. Thomas and the Scholastics, I part, Question LXII, article 9, and Question LXIV, article 2. Therefore the Master of the Sentences errs in book II, distinction XI, letters D and G, where he holds that the angels, even the good ones, progress in merit and reward until the day of judgment.
Others interpret this passage of demons assailing and insulting not only men but also one another through reproaches, curses, and whatever other means they can. They draw this from the phrase confirmed their torments, as if to say: The demons applied not only others' but also their own torments to one another, so that demons might be tormented by demons in whatever ways they could. But this sense is irrelevant and incongruous to this passage. For the discussion here is about the punishment not of demons but of men, whom God punishes through demons. Therefore demons among impious men "in their fury confirm their torments," because out of the hatred with which they burn against God and men, they rage against them, and therefore from fury they "confirm," that is, firmly and constantly carry out and wield against them their scourges and torments, so that no one can resist them. Hence the Tigurina translates: There are spirits created for vengeance, who furiously wield their scourges; Vatablus: Who by their fury strengthen their scourges; or by their determination they establish punishments; others: There are spirits who were created for vengeance, and in their wrath they make firm their scourges.
Furthermore, Dionysius the Carthusian says: Some, he says, explain this of the punishment of the reprobate in hell — namely, that they are to be punished by demons. Commonly, however, the Doctors say that after the day of judgment the execution and punishment carried out through the ministry of demons will cease, and that then men and reprobate angels will be punished by common fire; because, as the Apostle says, 1 Corinthians XV, 24, then the Lord "will abolish all rule and authority." So also Francisco Suarez, treatise On Angels, book VIII, chapter XVIII, number 1, asserts that demons have no ministries and no actions in hell regarding damned souls, but only regarding travelers in this life, to tempt them. Nor, he says, do they properly punish the damned, because regarding the punishment of fire they can have no particular ministry. Yet the same author, chapter XX, number 1, limits this to the essential punishment, namely of fire; for they can, he says, be ministers of accidental punishment — such as violently and ignominiously carrying the souls of the damned into hell, and detaining or guarding them, or even afflicting them by their appearance, insults, and the recollection of their evils; and finally, transferring them from one place to another, from one punishment to another, from one rack and torment to another, and violently applying it to them. On this matter, more at verse 35. Moreover, the Apostle, 1 Corinthians XV, 24, only denies that there will be subordination and obedience of lower orders to higher ones among the demons after the day of judgment, because this was established by them only
by common consent to tempt men in this life; yet it is consistent with this that demons will always be the torturers of men, inasmuch as men in this life willingly subjected themselves to them by consenting and sinning. For since it is clear from revelations that they are tormented by demons before the judgment, why should they not also be tormented by them after the judgment? Read the history of Udo of Magdeburg.
34. IN THE TIME OF CONSUMMATION THEY SHALL POUR OUT THEIR POWER (in Greek ἰσχύν, that is, their strength, vigor, fortitude): AND THEY SHALL APPEASE THE FURY OF HIM WHO MADE THEM. — So reads the Roman edition. Less correctly, Jansenius and others, instead of shall appease, read shall confound; and so they explain it as: The spirits created for vengeance shall confound the fury of God, that is, they shall carry out God's fury with a great confusion of things, involving and disturbing everything. For the Greek is κοπάσουσι, that is, they shall halt, calm, and cause to rest. So the Complutensian and Roman editions, which our translator renders as shall appease. For when vengeance is exacted for sins, then the fury of God is appeased and calmed. So too the anger of men is calmed and satiated by vengeance and the blood of their enemies; for this vengeance brings them immense joy. This is what God says in Isaiah I, 24: "Ah, I shall be consoled over My enemies, and I shall take vengeance on My foes." So concerning Phinehas, zealously killing the prince of the tribe who was fornicating with the Midianite woman, and thus calming the wrath of God, the Psalmist says, Psalm CV, 30: "Phinehas stood up and appeased, and the destruction ceased."
The day of "consummation," in Hebrew גליון killaion, he calls the day of consumption, destruction, end, ruin, and slaughter, on which God decreed to cut them down, finish, destroy, and consume them, and on which He determined to consummate and fully pour out His justice and vengeance upon them, as if to say: When the time destined by God for their end, destruction, and ruin arrives, then immediately the spirits created for vengeance shall pour out upon the impious all their strength, and all their power of chastising and afflicting; and in this way they shall appease the fury of God their maker. Hence the Tigurina translates: At the time of destruction they pour out their strength, and they consummate the wrath of their creator; the Syriac: In the time of fury they show their strength, and they cause the spirit of Him who created them to be at rest.
Anagogically, Rabanus says: "In the time of consummation," that is, at the end of the world near the day of judgment, all the elements and all creatures, as if enraged, shall pour out all their forces upon the impious, namely those horrible plagues which St. John recounts, Revelation chapters VIII and IX, and Christ in Matthew XXIV. For the Greek συντέλεια properly signifies consummation, end, terminus. And, as Damascenus says, there is a twofold συντελεία μερικὴ καὶ κοινή, that is, partial and common: the partial consummation of individuals is θάνατος, that is, death; the common consummation of all is ἡ κοινὴ ἀνάστασις, that is, the universal resurrection.
35 and 36. FIRE, HAIL, FAMINE, AND DEATH — ALL THESE WERE CREATED FOR VENGEANCE (the Tigurina has: for the sake of punishment); THE TEETH OF BEASTS, AND SCORPIONS, AND SERPENTS, AND THE SWORD AVENGING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE IMPIOUS. — The Tigurina: And the sword inflicting deadly punishment on the impious; others: And the sword avenging unto the destruction of the impious. For hail it reads χάλαζα with the Roman, Tigurina, and others. Now the Complutensian reads θάλασσα, that is, the sea. For serpents it reads ὄφεις; but now they read ἔχεις, that is, vipers. He alludes to that passage of Moses, Deuteronomy XXXII, 23: "I will heap evils upon them, and will fill My arrows upon them. They shall be consumed with famine, and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite; I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of those that creep upon the ground and of serpents. Outside the sword shall destroy them, and within, terror."
The first kind of God's avengers were the spirits created for the vengeance of the impious, verse 33. The second He assigns here, namely fire, hail, famine, and death. For fire was the sixth plague of Egypt; for Moses, taking fiery ashes from a burning furnace and throwing them into the air, by them produced ulcers on the Egyptians, Exodus IX, 8. Hail was the seventh plague of Egypt, at verse 18 of the same chapter. Famine was the ninth; for the locusts sent by God, having devoured all the crops and grass, brought famine upon Egypt, Exodus X, 4 and 5. The death of the firstborn, both of men and animals, was the tenth plague of Egypt, Exodus XI, 5. The same plagues God has often sent upon the impious in other ages, and even now often sends them. For premature death is understood here, or pestilence, that is, mortality.
The third kind of avengers are beasts and wild animals, namely lions, wolves, bears, leopards, etc., likewise scorpions, serpents, and the enemy's sword — all of which God sent upon the impious Hebrews on account of their rebellions, murmurings, idolatry, and other crimes in the desert. Hence Moses had also threatened them with these, Deuteronomy XXXII, in the words cited a little above, and Ezekiel chapter V, 17, and chapter XIV, 21, where he reduces all these plagues to four: "If I send My four worst judgments upon Jerusalem — sword, and famine, and evil beasts, and pestilence — to destroy from it man and beast."
Therefore the Syriac translates: Fire, and hail, and stones of death, all these were created for judgment: beasts, and scorpions, and serpents, the sword of vengeance for destroying the impious.
Moreover, these scourges God sends upon the impious not only in this life, but also the same or similar ones He sends upon the damned in hell. For although Lyranus and Dionysius hold that only fire is formally in hell, which has the power of tormenting them, such as the sword, scorpions, serpents, etc., nevertheless others probably hold that other things too will formally be there, by which the damned will be tormented; and this is what Sirach insinuates here, as well as in chapter VII, 19, where I showed the same. The same is confirmed by the apparitions of the damned, and by the revelations and visions shown to saints, which the Venerable Bede and others recount. Blessed Peter Damian favors this view in his sermon On St. Nicholas, in
where he speaks of the punishments of hell thus: "That fire is one that is not kindled; a worm that does not die; a dreadful cold." And below: "There alternating evils tear the impious apart without end." St. Thomas follows, in book IV, distinction 50, Question II, article 3, small question 1, where in the body he says that the damned feel not only the punishment of fire but also many others. And Paludanus and Durandus in the same place affirm that not only fire but also all the elements will be instruments of divine justice for tormenting the damned. So also St. Bonaventure, in book IV, distinction 44, part II, Question II, teaches that not only fire but all the elements torment the damned, to avenge the injuries done to their Creator; and concluding at point 4, he says: "Hence there will be burning fire, and freezing water, and unrest and disturbance of the air, and stench of the earth." Hence St. Gregory: "In hell there will be unbearable cold, inextinguishable fire, intolerable stench." So says St. Bonaventure. Richard teaches the same, in book IV, distinction 44, article 10, and proves it from Wisdom chapter VI, 21, and Job chapter XXIV, 19: "Let him pass," he says, "from the waters of snow to excessive heat, and his sin even unto the nether regions."
Finally, Francisco Suarez, treatise On Angels, book VIII, chapter XII, number 29: It is certainly most probable, he says, what St. Thomas said above in book IV, that after the day of judgment there will be many bodies in hell that will torment the damned men in their bodies. Because when this sublunary world has been purged by the fire of the conflagration, all its refuse and putrid, foul-smelling bodies will be gathered into the place of hell. And perhaps by a special ordinance of God many things will be made anew, to increase the horror and stench of the place. And so many things are recounted by the Fathers cited, especially by Cyril of Alexandria in his oration On the Departure of Souls. Nevertheless there is always a difference, because the punishment of fire is, as it were, essential among the punishments of sense; the others are accidental. And therefore in the torment of fire I do not believe there is any alternation or cessation, but perpetuity in the same state and intensity. In the others, however, there will perhaps be some variation according to the diversity of places, or through some other occasion unknown to us. Whether indeed there will be snow or water there, and similar bodies contrary to fire, is more uncertain because of the incompatibility, although God could easily arrange everything if He wished.
Add that sometimes primarily and of itself these things are created by God for the vengeance of the impious, as when He created the fire of hell to torment the damned; when He produced hail, gnats, locusts, plague, and other plagues to inflict them upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. So also today He often produces storms, hailstorms, lightning, locusts, pestilences, etc., for this sole purpose, that He may punish the sins of men.
Finally, sinners are fittingly punished thus for their sins. "Fire" indeed chastises and punishes their lust and the pleasures of the senses, in which they indulged against God and God's law. "Hail" strikes down their arrogance and pride. "Famine" torments their gluttony and excess. "Death" is owed to their impious and criminal life. "The teeth of beasts" fittingly punish their violence and tyranny, by which they oppressed the pious and the poor, and as it were devoured them with their teeth. "The scorpion" punishes their harmful deeds, fights, blows, and slaughter. "Serpents," or as the Greek has it, vipers, punish their venom, envy, malice, and parricides, by which they ungratefully and wickedly rose up against God, angels, parents, relatives, and friends, and plotted death and other evils against them. For vipers, because in being born they are said to kill their mother, were once the punishment and torturers of parricides. "The sword" perpetually piercing, tearing, and rending the body causes them to suffer eternal death continually, and yet they do not die, as they wish, nor are they ever dead, but are reserved and fed as perpetual fuel for continuous and eternal death and hell. See here how great an evil sin is, which deserves such great punishments and yet cannot be expiated by them, but endures perpetually, and therefore is perpetually tormented. When sin, therefore, invites you to itself, look upon these its companions and attendants, who will immediately attack you, and therefore flee from sin as from the face of a serpent. Wisely St. Augustine, sermon 250 On Time: "A moment of lust," he says, "begets eternal reproach and torment for the unhappy soul."
Note: "Fire, hail, etc., were created for the vengeance of the impious" — not that this was the primary end of their creation, as Origen held, namely that God created them to punish sins of souls committed before their embodiment; but because through the malice of men they are turned and taken up by God for this use, and therefore, to terrify the wicked, they are said to have been created for that effect. And so St. Ambrose responds to the Manichaeans, book III of the Hexaemeron, chapter IX, and St. Augustine, in the book On Genesis Against the Manichaeans, chapter XVI, and from them Francisco Suarez, book I On the Work of the Six Days, chapter I, number 16.
37. IN HIS COMMANDMENTS THEY SHALL FEAST, AND UPON THE EARTH THEY SHALL BE PREPARED FOR NECESSITY, AND IN THEIR TIMES THEY SHALL NOT PASS OVER HIS WORD. — He says three things about the plagues just reviewed. First, that at the "commandments" of God, by which God sends them to carry out His vengeance on the impious, they "shall feast," in Greek εὐφρανθήσονται, that is, they shall rejoice, they shall exult — both properly, for serpents, beasts, and scorpions rejoice when they feed on the flesh of the slain, as on banquets pleasing and delicate to them, just as worms, maggots, and toads rejoice when they feed on the fat flesh of men who in life devoted themselves to gluttony and luxury; and metaphorically, because all animals and all plagues, as creatures of God, by natural appetite take delight and rejoice, as though they were sumptuously feasting, in obeying the will and vengeance of their Creator. So often elsewhere by prosopopoeia joy is attributed to inanimate or irrational things. Second, that upon
the earth they shall be "prepared" by God "for necessity": so that when it is necessary to use them for avenging crimes, they may immediately be ready for it and present themselves like lictors before God the judge. Thus pestilence presented itself to God to punish David, because contrary to God's will he had numbered the people, 1 Chronicles XXI. And death presented itself to God to slay the Philistines, because they detained the ark of God; and the Bethshemites, because they had looked upon it, 1 Samuel chapter V, 19. For in necessitatem it reads with the Roman editions εἰς χρείας; but the Complutensian reads εἰς χεῖρας, that is, into His hands, so that they may be at God's hand. Again, for in mandatis with the Roman editions it reads ἐντολῇ, but the Complutensian reads ἐν ἀνατολῇ, that is, at the rising.
Third, that at the appointed time they shall execute God's commands to the letter, and shall not deviate from them by a nail's breadth, but shall precisely and punctually carry them out. The commands of men, even of judges and princes, are often refused by soldiers, lictors, wild beasts, and swords, as when of old tyrants let loose lions, tigers, and serpents against Blessed Thecla and the Martyrs, which reverently kissed and licked the feet of the Martyrs. But there is no one who can refuse or is able to refuse the efficacious commands of God. Hence the Tigurina translates: They rejoice at His command, and gird themselves upon the earth where there is need, nor do they pass over His commands at their appointed times; others: At His precept they rejoice, and upon the earth they are prepared for necessary uses, and in their times they do not transgress His word; the Syriac: In the time when He commands them they rejoice, and in all their days they do not resist His word, because they were created from the beginning.
38. THEREFORE FROM THE BEGINNING I WAS CONFIRMED, AND I TOOK COUNSEL, AND I REFLECTED, AND I LEFT WRITINGS. — Because, he says, the matter stands as I have said — namely that all His works are of supreme power and benevolence toward the good, and of justice and severity toward the evil — therefore "from the beginning" and for a long time I have firmly resolved within myself that this is so, and by meditative thought I have known it to be so, and therefore I have also left in writing those words which I have just spoken; which I also repeat, as things I especially wish to impress, and which contain the sum of what has been said — namely that all the works of the Lord are good, etc. For those two phrases, I took counsel and I reflected, there is one Greek word διενοήθην, which he has already several times translated as to take counsel in the sense of to meditate and to know. For I left writings, the Greek is ἐν γραφῇ ἀφῆκα, that is, I left in writing — namely what follows, and it was the beginning of the preceding poem, says Jansenius. Hence the Greek reads: Therefore from the beginning I was confirmed, and I meditated, or reflected, and I left it in writing. The Tigurina: Therefore, confirmed from the beginning, I meditated on these things and committed them to writing.
39. ALL THE WORKS OF THE LORD ARE GOOD, AND HE SHALL SUPPLY EVERY WORK AT ITS HOUR. — So it should be read with the Roman editions, not He supplied, as if to say: All the works of God are good, because He Himself supplies and provides every necessary or useful work in its time and hour, namely when it is opportune and the matter itself requires it. Hence the Greek reads: All the works of the Lord are good, and every use they shall supply at its time; the Tigurina: The works of the Lord are all good, and He Himself in His time supplies whatever necessity demands; others: And He will supply whatever things are necessary at their time. For example, suppose God delays rain for a time, and inexperienced men think it is delayed too long; nevertheless at its time, which He in His wisdom sees to be most fitting — if not for this or that place, certainly for the whole universe according to the eternal reasons and dispositions of His providence — He will provide it.
40. IT IS NOT TO BE SAID: THIS IS WORSE THAN THAT, FOR ALL THINGS SHALL BE APPROVED IN THEIR TIME. — As if to say: God made nothing wicked, that is, evil and blameworthy, but all things good and praiseworthy. Therefore it is not permitted to say: This is worse than that, since all things are good; and although this may not seem so to crude or covetous men, nevertheless "in their time" those things "shall be approved" — namely, proved not to be wicked and evil, but good and useful. For example, that the pious are afflicted here while the impious prosper, grow rich, and are exalted seems evil to men; but on the day of judgment God will show that He did this very well and had the best reasons for doing it. Hence the Tigurina translates: It is not to be said, This is worse than that, for all things find praise in their time. Let no one therefore say: Our times are worse than former ones, because more wretched on account of wars, famine, pestilence, etc. For God in His time will show that all things were optimal and most proven, and most excellently disposed by Him through their ages, days, and hours. Boethius says admirably, book IV of the Consolation: "The divine power alone," he says, "is that for which even evil things are good, since by using them competently it elicits the effect of some good. For a certain order embraces all things, so that what has departed from the assigned reason of order, this same thing, although into another, nonetheless falls back into order; lest anything in the kingdom of providence be permitted to rashness."
41. AND NOW WITH YOUR WHOLE (that is, entire — the universal whole is put for the integral whole, by metonymy) HEART AND MOUTH PRAISE AND BLESS THE NAME OF THE LORD. — And is equivalent to therefore, as if to say: Therefore, now that you have heard so many praises of God, and of the divine wisdom, goodness, and justice, with your whole heart — that is, with the whole affection and spirit of your soul — and therefore with your whole mouth, praise and celebrate the name of the Lord, that is, the Lord Himself, most wise, most good, most just, etc. So the Tigurina. For He is your absolute Lord and the Lord of all things, indeed the King of kings and Lord of lords. Hence St. Bernard in the Sentences: "Behold," he says, "He who made heaven and earth is at the doors; He is also your Creator, you the creature; you the servant, He the Lord; He the potter, you the vessel. Therefore everything that you are, you owe to Him from whom you have everything — to that Lord especially who both made you and did good to you, who ministers to you the courses of the stars, the tempering of the air, the fruitfulness of the earth, the abundance of fruits," etc. Furthermore, the Syriac renders this entire passage from verse 38 to here as follows: Understand, sons of men, that in scripture all these things are written,
and all His works are good, and all things were created for their time, and there is none who can say, This is better than that; because all things are gathered in His treasuries, and in the instant of their time they are confirmed. Therefore with your whole heart bless God, and praise His name.