Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 538] Severus of Antioch on Wisdom 7:2

After the banishment from paradise and the loss of immortal life, Adam knew his wife, and thus carnal relations were introduced, this mixture of emissions that is more appropriate to animals than to human beings endowed with intellect and that is the foreboding of corruption and death, though it assures the continuance of the race. Acting, then, with such wisdom and love toward humanity, what does Emanuel do? He reunites both natures in one, that is, the creature that had been privileged with the grace of immortality (the soul) and that linked to corruption (the body) in a birth that comes from their union. He who in the beginning fashioned human beings from the earth was fashioned from the Virgin, taking flesh from the Holy Spirit and from her. This flesh is consubstantial with ours, which is animated by a soul endowed with intellect. And this did not take place through sleep, by concupiscence or with the emission of human seed. What characterized our creation at the beginning was a coming in the flesh without seed. But for us, what distinguishes this second way of coming into existence is to come entirely from the woman. (Likewise, the conception took place in time, because “the time came for her to have her child.”) The sacred Scriptures say on the one hand regarding the mother of God that this took place in a marriage but on the other hand that everything began without her having experienced carnal union and was accomplished in virginity, since, after the birth, the seal of her virginity remained intact.

Source: CATHEDRAL HOMILIES 7:10-12

[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Wisdom 7:6

Beloved, what has been celebrated in you? What has been accomplished this night in your regard that did not take place on previous nights? In what way have you been brought, each of you, from hidden places, to be shown before all the church? Down there, after bowing your head, which was wrongly exalted before, was your examination celebrated, with the humiliation of feet placed in sackcloth? Was the proud devil rooted out of you when the humble and most high Christ was invoked over you? You were all, therefore, humble, and you implored humbly, praying, singing and saying, “Test me, Lord, and know my thoughts.” He has tested, he has examined, he has touched the hearts of his servants with fear. He has cast out the devil by his power and freed his family from his dominion. Here the poor and the rich have not been treated differently, or the master and the slave. In fact, “all enter life in the same way.” If this is true for this fragile, fleeting life, how much more will it be true for the life that is immortal and eternal?

Source: SERMON ON THE CREED 1:1

[AD 384] Pseudo-Ambrose on Wisdom 7:7

Beloved brothers and sisters, how is it that Solomon, though possessing wisdom in such great abundance and knowing all those things hidden in the secrets of mysterious providence, says that some things are impossible to know? He clearly received wisdom from God. He knew the beginnings of the ordering of the world7 and about the heavens that all see, suspended at an unreachable height. He knew how the world is surrounded and covered by air, balanced in equilibrium in its midst and attracted downward by its inert weight. He knew the reasons why the eager course of the waves of the liquid element roils within the limits fixed by the shores. He knew the principles and ends of things and the relationship between the two. Nor were the divisions and changes of times unknown to him. He understood how the years succeed one another, as the world completes its cycle, and why the stars followed their course, sometimes unexpectedly going ahead or remaining behind, as well as the place of their rising and setting. And he knew many other things, because he was told them by wisdom. It is surprising that he would say that some things were beyond his reach or that he could not know or see them. But, because everything collected in the divine books by the proclamation of the prophets had its preordained time, it is right that Solomon could not know, prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, about the flight of an eagle, or a serpent on the rock, or a boat that ploughs the waves or the way of a young man in his youth. It was not yet the time in which the reality would emerge from shadows or the truth from the image. To us, however, our Lord Jesus Christ has shown that everything concerning him was written in the Law11 and that, for us, nothing is hidden that will not be revealed. And after that book sealed with seven seals, which no one could open except Christ, it was permitted and granted to us to see. We know all things, as the Lord says, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you kept these things hidden to the wise and have revealed them to the simple.” Furthermore, “To you it has been given to know this mystery.” And I have said all this, not as a reproach to Solomon because he did not know things that he could not have known but to indicate that it was not yet the time to know them.

Source: SERMON 42:2

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:7

God at times opens the heart through trials. Then the heart becomes so vast that, like the sands of the sea, it cannot be measured. Listen to holy Solomon, who speaks to us of this openness: “Therefore I prayed, and in me prudence was increased. I implored, and the Spirit of wisdom came to me.” So as to receive wisdom from God, he did not ask for riches or noble descendants or power, but he asked for wisdom. And he obtained everything that he did not ask for. For this reason Scripture says that the vastness of his heart was so great that, like the sand of the sea, it could not be measured. So that you would understand this greatness, he consciously says of himself, “Write it in the vastness of your heart.” Therefore, one who has wisdom should not keep it hidden, not even for an instant, but should celebrate it in public. He should proclaim everywhere, with authority, what prudence inspires in him.

Source: EXPOSITIONS ON THE PSALMS 43:93

[AD 484] Vigilius of Thapsus on Wisdom 7:10

The Son was in the bosom of the Father from the beginning, and from the Father’s heart he has poured forth a good word. And how can one fail to believe that he who is in the Father’s heart, together with him, dwells in inaccessible light? Could the Father have remained in the Son without light or rest without light in the tabernacle of the Son, given that the Son is the radiance of the eternal light20 and the spotless mirror of the divinity? Solomon says to have preferred this light to his health, wanting always to delight in its beauty. Does he not say, “I loved her more than health and beauty, I preferred the possession of her to light itself, because the splendor that comes from her never sets”? For this reason, having desired this light, in his distress the prophet David proclaimed, “Send forth your light and your truth.” And also, “In your light we see light.” In the splendor of this light the Son anticipated his manifestation on the mountain to the three disciples. They prostrated themselves, deathly afraid, convinced that their lives were about to end. In fact, the Son proclaimed this light by showing it in himself, admonishing his disciples that they should walk in it: “Walk while you have the light.” And further, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” And the Evangelist also says, “He was the true light, which enlightens every person who comes into this world.” If it has been shown that this light that is promised to the faithful is in the Son and is eternal along with him who is eternal, how is it that you separate the Son from the Father’s inaccessible light?

Source: AGAINST VARIMADUS 1:66

[AD 749] John Damascene on Wisdom 7:13

Everything that exists must give thanks to God, rendering him perpetual veneration, since all things have being from him and subsist in him. Without stint he gives a share of his gifts to all without being asked, and he wants everyone to be saved and to partake of his goodness. He is patient33 toward us sinners. He makes the sun rise on the righteous and the unrighteous and makes it rain on the bad and the good, also because for our sake the Son of God became like us, making us partakers of his divine nature, since we will be like him, as John the theologian says in the catholic epistle.

Source: THREE TREATISES ON DIVINE IMAGES 3:30

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:16

Since concerning everything that must be explained in the light of faith and love, there are many things to say and many ways in which experts can speak about them, who knows, at the present moment, what would be useful for us to say or to hear, except the one who sees the hearts of all? And who makes us say what should be said, in the right way, if not him in whose hands are both we and all of our words? Therefore, even if one learns everything there is to teach, all that he ever wanted to know and teach, and acquires the ability to speak, as is appropriate to a church leader—when the moment comes to speak, he should remember that what the Lord says is more fitting than all his valid arguments. “Do not worry about how and what you are to say, because what you are to say will be given you in that moment. Indeed, it will not be you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” If, then, the Holy Spirit speaks in those who have been handed over to persecution for Christ, why would he not also do so in those who hand over doctrine to those who want to know Christ?

Source: CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION 4:15.32

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 7:17

In John it is written, “As the Father knows me, so I know the Father.” And in Psalm 45 it is written, “Be still and you will know that I am God.” Therefore the principal end of knowledge is to know the Trinity, and secondly to know what has been created by him, after the one who said, “Indeed, he gave me true knowledge of what exists.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 1:8

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 7:17

You see that the human heart is not small, because it understands many things. And you must not suppose that human greatness is in the size of the body but in the capacity of the senses, which can grasp so effectively the knowledge of the truth. And so that you might believe concerning the greatness of the human heart, I will offer some simple examples drawn from everyday life, such as the following. If we pass through a city, we preserve it in our spirit. In our heart are present the characteristics and locations of its squares, its walls and its buildings. We remember, both as an image and as a description, the street by which we entered and the sea we crossed to get there. As I said, the human heart is not small, which can understand so many things. Since it understands many things (and therefore is not small), in it the way of the Lord is prepared and the path straightened, so that the word and the wisdom of God might walk on them. Prepare the way of the Lord by good behavior, and level the path with excellent works, so that the Word of God might walk in you without encountering obstacles, making you know his mysteries and his coming.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 21:6-7

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 7:21

The writer of divine wisdom, after having listed everything one by one, concludes by saying that he has acquired knowledge of what is hidden and what is manifest. By this he showed that each of the things that are manifest has a relation with something hidden—that every visible thing, that is, has a likeness and a formal relationship with invisible things. Given, then, that it is not possible for a person who lives in the flesh to know anything about hidden and invisible realities unless he receives some image and likeness of it from visible things, for this reason I think that the one who created everything in wisdom created all the species of visible things on earth in such a way as to bear within them a principle of the knowledge of invisible and heavenly realities. Through them, therefore, the human mind can raise itself to spiritual understanding and seek in heavenly realities the principles and causes of things. Thus, instructed by the wisdom of God, it also can say, “I have known everything that is hidden and manifest.” In this sense it also knows the essence of the world, not only the visible and corporeal world that is before the eyes of all but also that incorporeal and invisible world that is hidden. It knows the elements not only of the visible world but also of the invisible world, and the properties of the one and the other.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 2:9

[AD 384] Pseudo-Ambrose on Wisdom 7:22

As light does not admit darkness, so the Holy Spirit is by nature incapable of all that is sordid. He departs from thoughts that are without God. He infuses himself into holy souls, transforming them into servants of God and prophets. Therefore, if someone does not have the Holy Spirit, neither the Father nor the Son—from whom he is, and with whom he is one God—will come to him to make their dwelling in him. This is the spirit of wisdom, who is consequently called manifold, since he has many things in himself and is what he has—and in everything he is still one. The things he does do not change him in any way, like the image of a ring left in wax, without leaving the ring.

Source: ON THE TRINITY 7

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:22

We will now speak of the fact that no one is without sin, except God. We ask of our adversaries to teach that there is sin in the Holy Spirit. They cannot teach this, however, instead demanding an authoritative testimony showing why we teach from the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit has not sinned, as one reads of the Son that he has not committed sin. And they would accept that we teach with the authority of Scripture, since it is written, “Because in wisdom there is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, penetrating, without blemish.” The Scripture calls him “without blemish.” But has it perhaps lied regarding the Son, so you might believe it has also lied regarding the Spirit? In fact, the prophet said in the same passage of the book of Wisdom that “nothing defiled gains entrance into her.” Wisdom is without blemish, and its Spirit is without blemish. If, therefore, there is no sin in the Spirit, he is God. But how could the one who forgives sins be guilty of sin? Therefore he has not committed sin. And since there is no sin in him, he is not a creature. Every creature is in fact subject to sin. Only the eternal divinity is exempt from sin and without blemish.

Source: On the Holy Spirit 3.18.134-36

[AD 425] Severian of Gabala on Wisdom 7:22

The image has come into the world and investigates nature. He looks for plants and finds them—investigating their roots, he understands. He becomes an artisan and the inventor of all things. But so that he does not think to have found these things by himself and not thanks to the power of him who gave this capacity to his nature, by a single discourse it is indicated that God is the teacher of all of these things to our nature. Blessed Solomon came, saying, “He has given me an unerring knowledge of all that exists, to understand the structure of the world and the power of the elements, the beginning, the end and the middle of times, the cycle of the years and the position of the stars, the nature of animals and the instincts of wild beasts, the various plants and the properties of roots. All that is hidden and all that is clear, I know.” And how did the image know this? “Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.”

Source: ON THE VERSE “PUT YOUR HAND” 4

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:22

After many descriptive phrases it says of the Spirit of wisdom, “Acute, mobile, certain, immaculate.” Thus the Wisdom of God is also mobile. Now, if it is mobile, when it dwells in one place, does it perhaps not dwell in another? Or if it is here, does it depart from there? What, then, about speed? Its speed derives from this: that it is always everywhere, and nothing can contain it. But we are incapable of thinking of such things—we are slow. Who could ever think of them? In fact, brothers and sisters, I have said something to you as best I can (if I have in fact understood something), and likewise you have understood as best you can. But what does the apostle say? “To him who can accomplish more than all we can ask or think.” What can we deduce from this? That even when we understand, we do not understand how things really are, objectively. Why is this? “The corruptible body weighs down the soul.” Therefore, as long as we are on earth we will be cold, whereas speed burns with heat—and all hot things are fast, but what is cold is slow. We are slow, and thus cold, while Wisdom runs at the maximum limit of speed. It is therefore exceedingly hot, and no one can escape its heat.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 147:22

[AD 435] John Cassian on Wisdom 7:22

“I said, ‘You are gods, and all children of the Most High.’ And yet you will die like human beings and fall like one of the mighty.” Thus they fell from the true discipline dictated by the knowledge of nature, that which was passed down to them by their ancestors and that the first man, he who appeared just after the creation of the universe, could obviously perceive directly and pass on to his posterity with his certain reason. That first man saw the very infancy of the world, when it was still young and, in a certain way, throbbing and uncultivated. The fullness of wisdom, however, dwelled in him to such a high degree, along with the grace of being able to see the future, given him by divine infusion, that he was able to name all the living creatures, though he was still only a rude inhabitant of this world. And he not only knew how to distinguish all the species of beasts and the fury of serpents but also the virtues of herbs and plants, as well as the qualities of minerals. He also knew the changes of the seasons, even when they had not yet occurred, such that he could say of himself, “He has given me the knowledge of what exists, to understand the structure of the world and the power of the elements, the alternations of times and the succession of the seasons, the cycle of the years and the position of the stars, the nature of animals and the ferocious instincts of wild beasts, the power of spirits and the thoughts of human beings, the variety of plants and the properties of roots. All that is hidden and all that is clear, I know.”

Source: CONFERENCES 1:8.21

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Wisdom 7:22

Because the Holy Spirit is God and coeternal with the Father and the Son from before all time, we must ask ourselves why it is said that he moves. In fact, one who moves goes to a place were he was not and leaves a place where he was. Now, why do we say that the Holy Spirit moves, given that he contains everything and there is no place where he is not? As it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe.” And yet, when Wisdom’s praises are sung, it is added, “In her there is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile.” And a little later, “friend of human beings, stable.” These words raise a big problem for us. Why is it said that this Spirit who fills everything is simultaneously mobile and stable? If we recall, however, the usual way in which human beings express themselves, it will not be difficult for us to discover the writer’s meaning. A person moves about freely in the area in which he lives—he might be found anywhere, and often he is in places we would hardly believe. Now, it says that the all-powerful Spirit is both mobile and stable, to indicate his universal presence. It says that he is stable, because by his essence he encompasses everything; that he is mobile, because he reaches even those who do not know it. He is called stable, because he holds all things together, mobile because he makes himself present to all. Thus the brightness of the fire moves in the midst of the living winged creatures, with its glow, because the Holy Spirit makes himself present simultaneously to each and to all. He enkindles those he reaches and enlightens those he enkindles, so that, after their former coldness, ablaze, they would burn, and with the fire of the love they have received, they would emit the flames of a good example.

Source: HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 1:5.9-10

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:23

If the Spirit came from one place and went to another, then the Father would also be in a place, as well as the Son. If he were to leave a place when sent by the Father or the Son, it would certainly seem, as in godless interpretations, that the Spirit, moving and going to a place, would leave the Father and the Son, as with a body. I say this after the manner of those who say that the Spirit has a descending movement. But the Father is not circumscribed by a place, since he is above all things—not only those of a corporeal nature but also invisible creatures. Nor is the Son limited by the places and times of his works, because as the creator of every creature he is above every creature. And neither is the Spirit of truth, being the Spirit of God, circumscribed by any kind of corporeal limit. Indeed, being incorporeal, he is higher than every intelligible created being, because of the unspeakable fullness of the divinity. He blows where he wills16 and inspires whom he wills, endowed with power over all things.

Source: On the Holy Spirit 1.11.117-18

[AD 450] Quodvultdeus on Wisdom 7:24

For other heretics [the Arians], Christ, who is the very way by which one goes to the Father, is not equal to the Father according to his divinity. And even if he says, “I and the Father are one,” they say, “If he was sent by the Father, he is inferior. The one who sends is greater than the one who is sent.” This is a human argument, not a divine testimony. O heretic, the Trinity’s way of doing things is different from yours, and you do not understand it, because you understand it carnally. Your heart is not pure, even regarding God. In fact, Christ is called “sent” in that he assumed human existence. As God, he is equal to the Father. Where did the Father send the Son that he himself would not be, together with him? Where did the Son go, that he would not be with the Father, as he says, “I am in the Father and the Father in me,” and, “Philip, one who has seen me has seen the Father.” He is the one who says through the prophet, “I fill heaven and earth,” and of whom Solomon says, “He reaches from one end of the earth to the other with power, governing all things well. By his purity he pervades and penetrates all things.” But you, heretic, say that the one who sends is greater and the one who is sent less, because you think in terms of intervals of time. But you err greatly by placing within time the one who made time. If you profess that the Father is God and that the Son is God and believe that the Father and the Son are eternal, do not consider the Son inferior because he made you, just because he made himself inferior to redeem you. But, you reply, he said, “The Father is greater than I.” If you mean this phrase regarding the humanity he assumed, you err no longer. He says, “The Father is greater than I” in the same way that the prophet said of him, “You have made him a little less than the angels.” Tell me, under what aspect do you consider him to be inferior? Power? “The Father judges no one, only the Son.” Works? “Everything was made through the Son.” If you believe, regarding time, that because you are older than your son, it is like this with God and his Son—may God keep the faithful from hearing these words! It is unworthy to believe such things of God. If in fact the Son is the Word according to the divinity of God, as John the Evangelist says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” could there have been a time when the Father was without the Word, or was there a beginning before the beginning itself, given that the Son said that he was the beginning? Indeed, when the Jews asked him, “Who are you?” he replied, “The beginning.” Thus what is written in Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” refers to the Son, who is the beginning. So, the Father is always God and the Son is always God, because the former has never not been Father and the latter has never not been Son. The Father did not diminish himself in generating the Son but generated from himself another like him, so that he would remain entirely in him. The Holy Spirit is not separated out as though he were a portion of that from which he proceeds; rather he is complete from another who is himself complete. And by proceeding from him, the Spirit does not diminish him, nor by being united to him does the Spirit make him any greater. And these three are one God, of whom the prophet says, “You are the only great God.”

Source: ON THE NEW SONG 7:1-17

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 7:24

The psalm sings truthfully, “Great is the Lord our God, almighty, his wisdom has no limit.” And to show the limitless immensity of this infinite eternity, it says elsewhere, “Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise; his greatness cannot be measured.” Indeed, it is necessary that he who is by nature eternal also be proclaimed immeasurable by nature, since what always exists cannot be measured, and what is everywhere cannot be enclosed in a place. Thus finally another testimony of Scripture says, “By her purity she pervades all things.” And a little later, “She reaches mightily from one end to the other, and governs all things well.” And if now we hear that wisdom reaches from one end to the other, we must understand that if she reaches from one end to the other, she surpasses both ends by the immensity of her infinite nature. Indeed, only one who cannot be enclosed within creation can reach the entire creation, since, if in filling the heavens she is immeasurable, she is likewise infinite in reaching from one end to the other.

Source: THREE BOOKS TO TRASAMUNDUS 3:7

[AD 264] Dionysius of Alexandria on Wisdom 7:25

Because the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, since he is light from light. If there is a parent, there is also a Son. If there were not a son, how, and of whom, would there be a parent? But both exist, and exist always. Since God is light, Christ is radiance. Since the spirit exists (in fact, “God is spirit”), by analogy Christ is called emanation. Indeed, “he is an emanation of the power of God.”

Source: TO DIONYSIUS OF ROME 4

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 7:25

Although it is said of Wisdom that it “is an emanation of the power of God,” nevertheless the Holy Spirit also, whose nature is fire, can be correctly compared (to the extent that the knowledge of divine things requires it) with an emanation, according to the words of the apostle, “Be fervent in the Spirit.”

Source: AGAINST FABIANUS, FRAGMENT 22

[AD 392] Gregory of Elvira on Wisdom 7:26

If, about what we all profess, you wanted to suggest some similitude in God, I am not sure if you could specify your comparison more clearly. For example, if you were to say “light from light” and had to explain it in detail, I would ask you how you conceive of this light from light. Perhaps like a lamp from a lamp, or a sun from the sun? Or would this example lead you to deduce that there are two lamps or two suns, as though there were two gods? Or would you understand the light from light as the effect of the light of the lamp itself or as the brilliance of the sun shining from the sun itself, comparing the figure of the Father with the source of the light and the Son with the brightness of its radiation? In fact, of this the prophet said, “In you is the source of life, and in your light we see light.” Or Solomon, when he says, “She is a reflection of the eternal light, a spotless mirror of the majesty of God and an image of his goodness.” The apostle also preached that our Savior is the image of the invisible God, because the image of the sun is its light, which proceeds from the sun itself.

Source: ON THE FAITH 5

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:26

The apostle says that Christ is the image of the Father. He says in fact that he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creatures. He speaks of the firstborn, and not of the first created, so that we would believe that by nature he is generated, and first from all eternity. Elsewhere the apostle says, “He made him heir of all things, and through him he also made the world, the one who is the radiance of his glory and the imprint of his being.” The apostle says that he is an image, and Arius says that he is different. Why, then, speak of an image, if he were not the same? People ordinarily do not accept the image of a portrait as being different from the original, but Arius asserts that the Father is different from the Son. He maintains that the Father generated someone who is different from him, as though he were incapable of generating someone like himself. The prophets say, “In your light we see light.” They say, “He is a reflection of the eternal light, an unspotted mirror of the majesty of God and an image of his goodness.” See in how many ways they speak. “Radiance,” because the brightness of the Father’s light is in the Son. “Unspotted mirror,” since the Father is visible in the Son. “Image of his goodness,” since it is not one body seen reflected in another but the whole power of the Godhead in the Son. “Image” teaches that here is no difference. “Imprint” indicates that he is the manifestation of the Father. “Splendor” bespeaks eternity. In fact, the “image” is not the bodily face, nor is it made with colors or from wax but is simply from God. He is from the Father, pouring forth from the spring.

Source: Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.7.48-49

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:26

The Son is sent, not because he is not equal to the Father but because he is “a pure emanation of the light of God” almighty. Here what is emanated and that from which it emanates are of one, identical being. It is not an emanation like that of water springing from a natural opening in the earth or in a rock but like that of light from light. When it says “splendor of the eternal light,” what else can be meant but that it is the light of the eternal light? Light’s splendor—what is it, except light? It is therefore coeternal with the light of which it is the light. Nevertheless, the Scripture preferred the expression “splendor of the light” to the other, “light of the light,” so that no one would believe that the light that emanates is darker than that from which it emanates. Rather, hearing it called its splendor, it is easier to think that the one owes to the other its brilliance, rather than that one shines less brightly than the other. But because there was no chance that anyone would think the generating light to be inferior (no heretic has dared to assert this, nor does it seem believable that one would dare to do so), the Scripture anticipates the notion that the emanated light would be darker than the generating light. It eliminated this conjecture by saying, “It is the splendor of that light,” that is, of the eternal light, thus showing his equality. Indeed, if it were inferior, it would be the shadow, not the splendor. And if greater, it would not emanate, because it could not surpass that from which it was emanating.

Source: ON THE TRINITY 4:20.27

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:26

Look at God, contemplate the Word, and unite yourself intimately to the Word who speaks. His word is not comprised of syllables; rather, his word is the resplendent brightness of wisdom. It is said of his wisdom that “it is the splendor of the eternal light.” Observe the splendor of the sun. The sun is in the heavens and pours its splendor on all the earth and over all the seas, yet its light is only corporeal. If you could separate the sun’s splendor from the sun itself, so also could you separate the Word from the Father. I have spoken of the sun. A weak little flame from a lamp, however, which can be blown out with a breath, also sheds its light all around. See the light given off by the flame. See that it originates from the flame—you do not see the light without the flame. Convince yourselves, then, beloved brothers and sisters, that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparably united among themselves and that this Trinity is one God—and that all of the works of this one God are works of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Source: TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20:13

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 7:26

The Arians clearly show themselves to worship two gods when they deny that the Son is equal to the Father. And they declare him less, not regarding the assumption of the flesh (which the truth of the faith teaches) but with respect to the nature of the immeasurable divinity, even though it is said of him who is the wisdom of God that he is “a reflection of the eternal light.” It is also said of him, in the letter to the Hebrews, “that he is the radiance of his glory and the imprint of his being.” They should look at the “reflection of the eternal light” and recognize that, as that eternal light is infinite, so its reflection is in no way secondary or inferior by nature. Its eternity, rather, is identical to its infinity and its infinity to its eternity.

Source: BOOK TO VICTOR AGAINST THE SERMON OF FASTIDIOSUS THE ARIAN 6:3

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 7:26

So as to show that the Son is infinite along with the Father, the sacred Scripture was careful to say of wisdom, “It is the reflection of the eternal light, a spotless mirror of the majesty of God and an image of his goodness.” In this testimony are shown the oneness of nature, the distinction of persons and the infinite equality of the Father and the Son. No one can doubt that in this passage the Father is called the light and the Son the reflection. About this, the apostle also says authoritatively, “He is the radiance of his glory and the imprint of his being and sustains all things with the power of his word.” See that it is said that the Son is the reflection and governs all things. If someone thinks that the Father is infinite but that the Son has limits, let him show us in what way the light and its reflection could be different beings, when, even if they are differentiated by name, they are not distinct in kind, nor do they differ in extension. In fact, the light and its reflection do not have the same name, but neither do they have different natures.

Source: THREE BOOKS TO TRASAMUNDUS 2:9

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:27

“O the depths of the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments and unsearchable his ways! In fact, who has ever known the thoughts of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given him something, so as to receive something in return? Since from him, because of him and for him all things are. To him be glory forever.” Of whom does this speak—the Father or the Son? Perhaps of the Father? But the Father is not the Wisdom of God, because the Wisdom of God is the Son. And what can Wisdom not do, of whom it is written, “Though one, she can do all things; though remaining in herself, she renews all things”? Thus we read that Wisdom is not something temporary but permanent. According to Solomon, then, Wisdom is all-powerful and permanent. You will also read that it is good, because it is written, “Against wisdom, wickedness cannot prevail.”

Source: ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 4.143-44

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:27

Observing, then, all the other things put beneath you, I discovered that they neither wholly exist, nor do they wholly not exist. They exist, since they are from you, but they also do not exist because they are not what you are. For only what exists immutably, truly exists. It is good for me to be in union with God then, since, if I do not remain in him, neither can I remain in myself. He, by contrast, “remaining stable in himself, renews all things.” “You are my Lord, because you have no need of my goodness.”

Source: Confessions 7.11.17

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:27

You believe in God, the Father almighty, invisible, immortal, king of the ages, creator of all things visible and invisible, and so on according to what is said of him, either by right reason or by the authority of sacred Scripture. From this greatness of the Father, then, you must not exclude the Son. Because these are things that are not said exclusively of the Father, as though he were unrelated to the one who said, “I and the Father are one,” and of whom the apostle said, “Who, being divine in nature, did not consider robbery his equality with God.” Robbery is the usurping of something that belongs to another, but this equality is his by nature. Consequently, how is the Son not almighty, through whom all things were made, who is also the power and the wisdom of God, that wisdom about which it is written, “Being one, she can do all things”? That nature is therefore also invisible, by the very fact that he is equal to the Father.

Source: SERMON 212:1

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:27

If spiritual light was created when God said, “Let there be light,” you must not think that this was the true light, coeternal with the Father, through whom all things were created73 and who enlightens every person. Rather, it was that light of which Scripture could say, “Among all things, Wisdom was created first.” In fact, when that eternal and immutable Wisdom, which is not created but generated, communicates itself to spiritual and rational creatures—as to holy souls so that, enlightened, they might shine—he constitutes in them, so to speak, a state of enlightened reason that can be understood as the creation of the light when God said, “Let there be light!” If there already existed a spiritual creature called by the name “heavens” in the passage where it is written, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” these heavens are not the corporeal heavens but the incorporeal. They are superior to any body, not by the ordering of space into levels but because of the exceeding dignity of their nature.

Source: ON GENESIS 1:17.32

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:27

The world is the greatest of the visible beings. God is the greatest of the invisible beings. But we see that the world exists, and we believe that God exists. No one makes us believe with more certainty that God created the world than God himself. And when did we hear this? Nowhere better than in the holy Scriptures, where his prophet said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Was this prophet perhaps present when God created the heavens and the earth? No. But the Wisdom of God was there, through whom all things were made. Entering holy souls, this Wisdom makes friends of God and prophets, silently making her works known in them. With them the angels of God also speak, who always see the face of the Father, and communicate his will to those to whom it must be communicated. And one of these was this prophet who said and wrote, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And this is a text so trustworthy for belief in God that, thanks to the same Spirit of God through whom he knew these revealed things, he also predicted, long ago, the advent of our faith.

Source: City of God 11.4.1

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:27

If Adam had been capable of understanding the word that God communicates to angelic spirits through his own essence, it cannot be doubted that God, without being moved himself through time, would have moved Adam’s spirit in a mysterious and ineffable way. He would have taught him a useful and salutary precept of truth and, by the same Truth, what punishment awaited its transgressor. This is how all the salutary precepts of unchanging Wisdom that are communicated to holy souls at particular moments, at this or that time, should be seen and understood. If, however, Adam was righteous only to the extent that he still needed another holier and wiser creature through whom he would come to know the will and command of God (as we have had need of the prophets, and they of the angels), why should we doubt that God would have spoken to him through such a creature, using a language that Adam could understand?

Source: ON GENESIS 8:27.50

[AD 484] Vigilius of Thapsus on Wisdom 7:27

The Father renews, the Son renews, and the Holy Spirit does the same. About the Father, we read in Jeremiah, “Make us return to you, Lord, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.” About the Son, in Solomon, “She reaches mightily from one end to the other and governs all things well.” And also, “Though one, she renews all things.” The Holy Spirit, in the letter to the Romans, “But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.”

Source: AGAINST VARIMADUS 3:47

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 7:28

In your opinion, even those who are born foolish—whom sacred Scripture says should be pitied more than the dead—receive their foolishness as fate from God their creator. But even with these, God undoubtedly loves their souls in some way, because they exist, live and feel, and in any case they are greater than beasts, even if they are dull-minded souls. But that love is different, of which it is written, “God loves no one so much as the one who lives with wisdom.” You, however, ask why God has more love for the souls of babies, for whom he provides the washing of regeneration, sending them to the kingdom, and why would he not give this benefit to others, since babies have no merits of the will to distinguish them, nor is there preference of persons with God. This is a completely stupid argument, which you are always bringing up to us. That where it was said, “You love souls,” it did not say “all souls,” there is no question. Perhaps it was said this way in the sense that God creates all souls but loves only those whom he distinguishes from the others, not based on their merits but by the generosity of his grace, so that they might live with wisdom, as it is written, “God loves no one so much as the one who lives with wisdom—but the Lord gives the wisdom!”

Source: UNFINISHED TRACTATE AGAINST JULIAN 4:125

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Wisdom 7:29

Who would ever ruin the loveliness of a beautiful face by joining it with a beast-like body and claws? Indeed, the appearance of virtue is admirable and splendid, and especially the beauty of wisdom, as the succession of events narrated by Scripture demonstrates. Wisdom is more dazzling than the sun, and, compared with the light of the constellations, it surpasses them all. Indeed, whereas the night absorbs their light, wickedness cannot overcome wisdom.

Source: On the Duties of the Clergy 2.13.64

[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 7:30

If our physician is an expert, he can heal every infirmity. If he is our merciful God, he can forgive every sin. A goodness that does not prevail over every evil is not perfect, nor is a medicine perfect if some disease cannot be cured by it. Indeed, it is written in the sacred texts, “Evil does not prevail over wisdom.” Our physician’s omnipotence is proclaimed in the psalm with these words, “Bless the Lord, my soul, and all my being bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all his benefits. It is he who pardons all your sins, who heals all your weakness, who rescues your life from the grave, who fulfills your desires with good things, who crowns you with mercy and goodness. Your youth will be renewed like the eagle’s.” I ask you: What should we think cannot be forgiven us, since the Lord is kindly in all our misdeeds? Or what should we suppose cannot be healed in us, since the Lord heals all our weaknesses? Or how is it possible that one who is whole and righteous would still have some lack—one who is content to desire good things? Or up to what point do we think that one could not avail himself of the benefit of the full remission of sins—one who has been crowned with goodness and mercy? Let no one, therefore, remain in his infirmity, despairing of the physician. Let no one destroy himself in sins, belittling the mercy of God. The apostle declares that “Christ died for the godless.” And he likewise says, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”

Source: LETTERS 7:4.3