Chapter 6
Chapter VI.
(Verse 1.). Wisdom is better etc., as if to say: since the powerful who lack understanding are treated in this way, better, that is, more useful, is wisdom, concerning divine things, which, according to the Gloss, "always rightly governs the soul"; than the strength of the body, which often casts one headlong into sins: Ecclesiastes 9: "I said that wisdom is better than strength." And a prudent man, in human affairs, according to the Gloss, not only in eloquence: more than a strong man: Gloss: "In body." Whence one ought not to glory in such strength, according to that saying from Jeremiah 9: "Let not the strong man glory in his strength."
Part II. Exhortation to Wisdom.
Hear therefore, O kings, etc. After he has admonished princes and the powerful toward justice, here he begins to admonish them toward seeking and loving wisdom, and first by a reason taken from the peril of the office of those whom he admonishes; second, by a reason taken from the example of him who admonishes, namely in the seventh chapter; third, by a reason taken from the many benefits of wisdom, to which he admonishes, namely from the tenth chapter to the end.
First he takes his reason from the peril of the office of superiors.
In the first part he first touches upon the punishment and suffering of unwise rulers; second, on the contrary, the reward of wise rulers: To you therefore; third, he admonishes both groups to desire wisdom: Desire, etc.; fourth, he promises to teach it: What wisdom is.
First, concerning the punishment of unwise rulers.
In the first part he first requests from rulers a hearing; second, he adds the reason for hearing: Because it has been given, etc.
(Verses 2–3.). Hear therefore, etc., as if to say: since wisdom is so useful, hear therefore, with the outward hearing, O kings: Gloss: "Prelates"; and understand, with the inward hearing: Proverbs 1: "A wise man hearing shall be yet wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governance": Matthew 13: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth, that is, of distinct lands or provinces. Kings
are called prelates by directing toward the good; judges, by discerning between good and evil. Learn, I say, wisdom, because it is necessary for judges: whence Deuteronomy 1: "Give from among you wise and knowledgeable men."
Give ear, namely both the outward and inward ear, you who restrain, by holding back from evil, the multitudes of peoples committed to your care: Proverbs 14: "In the multitude of the people is the dignity of the king." And you delight in yourselves among the throngs of nations, that is, you glory in your prelacies: against which Gregory says in the Pastoral Rule: "As often as a prelate delights in ruling over men, so often does he fall into the crime of apostasy."
Because it was given etc. Here he adds the reason for listening, namely so that they may be able to escape the punishment to be inflicted for the abuse of power. And first he touches upon the conferral of power; second, the abuse of what was conferred: Because, when you were: third, the judgment for abuse: Horribly etc.; fourth, the equity of the judge: For he will not withdraw.
(Verse 4). Because etc. And you ought to listen, because power was given to you by the Lord: whence Romans thirteen: "There is no power except from God": power: Gloss: "Judiciary on earth," namely as regards the definition of the sentence: John nineteen: "You would have no power against me at all, unless it had been given to you from above." And strength: Gloss: "Of punishing," as regards the execution of the sentence. Or: power in civil cases, strength in criminal cases. From the Most High, namely God established above us: Psalm: "You, Lord, are most high over all the earth." Who will examine: Gloss: "In judgment"; Luke sixteen: "Render an account of your stewardship." Your works, namely exterior ones: Ecclesiastes, last chapter: "All things that are done, God will bring into judgment," etc. For he did not so give power that he would not demand an account; therefore Sirach eighteen: "Before judgment examine yourself, and before God you will find propitiation." And he will search out thoughts, that is, interior works: Gloss: "As one about to judge concerning all things"; above, chapter one: "There will be an inquisition into the thoughts of the ungodly." He will search out: Zephaniah one: "I will search Jerusalem with lamps"; nor will he only search out, but he will also make manifest: whence First Corinthians four: "He will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts."
It should be noted, moreover, that a threefold examination will be made of the prelate: first, how he entered: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you enter here," etc. Second, how he lived: Isaiah twenty-two: "What are you doing here? Or as who are you here?" Third, how he ruled and guarded the flock entrusted to him: Jeremiah thirteen: "Where is the flock that was given to you, your glorious cattle?"
(Vers. 5.). Since, when you were etc. I have rightly said that he will examine etc.: and deservedly so, since, when you were ministers, not lords, of his kingdom, that is, of the Church Militant: 1 Peter 5: "Not as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart"; likewise 1 Corinthians 4: "Let a man so account of us as ministers of Christ" etc. You did not judge rightly, namely others: whence Isaiah 1: "They do not judge for the orphan, and the cause of the widow does not come before them"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "They did not judge the cause of the widow, they did not direct the cause of the orphan." Neither did you keep the law of justice, namely in yourselves: in the Psalm: "They did not keep the covenant of God, and in his law they refused to walk"; Isaiah 59: "Judgment is turned backward, and justice has stood afar off"; likewise Jeremiah 5: "These have rather broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds." Neither did you walk according to the will of God, sinning against God: Jeremiah 7: "They went after the pleasures and the depravity of their evil heart."
Or it can be said that he touches upon the threefold manner in which a sentence is called unjust: first, from the cause, namely when no just cause underlies it; second, from the procedure, as when the order of law is not observed; third, from the intention, as when one proceeds against someone with a corrupt intention: against which it is said in Deuteronomy 16: "You shall justly pursue what is just."
(Vers. 6.). Dreadfully, that is, terribly: Hebrews 10: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God": and swiftly he will appear to you: whence Zephaniah 1: "Near is the great day of the Lord, and exceedingly swift." And although the day of the general judgment be far off,
yet the day of the particular judgment, that is, of death, is near: whence Ecclesiasticus 38: "Remember my judgment, for so also shall yours be: yesterday for me and today for you." And truly he will appear dreadfully to you prelates, for a most severe judgment shall be upon those who are set over others. Hard indeed, because they entered badly; harder, because they undertook badly; hardest, because they ruled badly. Or: hard on account of the sins of their subjects; harder on account of the sins of their ministers; hardest on account of the multitude and enormity of their own sins.
Prelates will be punished more harshly than others, first by reason of what was entrusted, according to that of Luke 12: "To whom they have entrusted more, more will they demand from him." By reason of sin, because, other things being equal, the sin of a prelate is graver than that of a subject: Jeremiah 5: "These have broken the yoke all the more" etc. By reason of harm, because namely they corrupt others by their example: Gregory: "When the pastor walks through steep places, it is necessary that the flock follow into the precipice." By reason of scandal, because they scandalize the Church: whence Malachi 2: "You have scandalized very many in the law." By reason of judgment, because namely they are not judged here, according to that of the Psalm: "Against you alone have I sinned" etc.; and therefore in the future they will be judged more harshly both all at once and totally, according to that of 2 Maccabees 6: "For the Lord does not wait patiently, as with other nations, so that when the day of judgment has come, he may punish them in the fullness of their sins." By reason of office, because they also sin by exercising their office unworthily: Romans 2: "In that you judge another, you condemn yourself."
(Vers. 7.). For to the little one, that is, to the weak and humble: whence the Gloss: "To those who have sinned through ignorance, or frailty, or necessity, and have blotted it out by humble penance": mercy is granted: Gloss: "The remission of sins," as regards punishment, whether wholly or in part, here or in the future: Isaiah, last chapter: "To whom shall I look but to the poor little one" etc. But the mighty, that is, those who have abused their power unto sin, shall suffer torments mightily, that is, strongly inflicted, on account of sins, because for their own sins and those of their subjects: whence Numbers 25:
"Take all the princes and hang them up on gibbets against the sun"; likewise 3 Kings 20: "Guard this man, who if he shall have escaped, your life shall be for his life"; likewise Ezekiel 32: "The mightiest of the strong shall speak to him from the midst of hell."
(Vers. 8. 9.). For the Lord will not withdraw, namely from punishment and torment, the person of anyone, namely of the small or the great, out of private affection: Ezekiel eighteen: "I will judge each one according to his ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord." "God is not a respecter of persons," Acts ten. Then he gives the reason, saying: Who is, that is, because He is, the ruler of all; Revelation nineteen: "King of kings and Lord of lords." Nor will He fear the greatness of anyone, namely out of fear, because He Himself is "the great Lord and a great king above all gods," as is said in the Psalm, and again: "Of His greatness there is no end"; whence He surpasses beyond all proportion every other greatness. Because He Himself made the small and the great: Malachi two: "Is there not one father of us all? Has not one God created us?" And because He created all, therefore He will judge all, the small as well as the great, as His creatures: Revelation twenty: "I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the sight of the throne." And He has equal care of all.
Against this: First Corinthians nine: "Does God have care for oxen?" as if to say: no.
It must be said that the care of discipline belongs to God only with respect to rational creatures; but the care of providence belongs to Him with respect to all things.
But if His care of providence is equal with respect to the good and the wicked, then it makes no difference to Him whether one is good or evil.
I respond: it must be said that he speaks of natural providence, not of gratuitous providence. Or: equally, that is, similarly.
And although His care of all things is equal, nevertheless He will not punish all equally.
However, in the sense of "but." For the stronger, in evil, a stronger torment awaits, in punishment, as is evident in Lucifer and the other demons.
Second, concerning the reward of wise rulers.
To you therefore etc. Here he determines and shows the reward of wise rulers: and first he arouses to wisdom: second, of the wise he sets forth the recompense or the declaration of the recompense.
(Vers. 10.). To you therefore etc. Because a stronger torment awaits the stronger, to you therefore, O kings etc: Gloss: "Having finished the discourse to the mighty, he turns his exhortation to the rulers of the Church": Gloss: " O kings, that is, rulers of the Church, or all those to whom the governance of their souls has been entrusted". To you are these my words, namely concerning the pursuit and love of wisdom: whence it follows: that you may learn wisdom: Gloss: " Divine ", not worldly: concerning both, First Corinthians chapter three: " If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may be wise". These words, to be heard and retained and fulfilled in deed, according to that passage of Jeremiah chapter fifteen: "Your words were found, and I ate them ". And do not fall away, namely from justice " through transgression of the commandments of God ", according to the Gloss . For wisdom is the salt that preserves from the corruption of sin: but neglect of wisdom causes one to fall into sin: whence Proverbs chapter seventeen: "He who avoids learning will fall into evils ", that is, into the evil of guilt and into the evil of punishment.
(Vers. 11.). And rightly did I say: that you may learn wisdom, lest you fall away from justice: for they who have kept justice, which is the way to wisdom, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus chapter one: " Son, if you desire wisdom, keep justice "; shall be justly judged, Gloss: " They shall receive the reward of their justice ", namely in good: whence Isaiah chapter three: "Say to the just man that it is well: for he shall eat the fruit of his doings "; likewise Ezekiel chapter eighteen: " The justice of the just shall be upon him "; Luke chapter six: " With what measure you shall measure " etc. And they who shall have learned , namely through wisdom, just things: Gloss: " Right faith and works ": shall find what to answer, namely at the judgment concerning sins charged against them: Habakkuk chapter two: " I will stand upon my watch etc., and I will contemplate, that I may see what is said to me, and what I may answer to him who reproves me".
Third, an admonition to wise and unwise rulers to desire wisdom.
Desire etc. Here he admonishes rulers, both good and bad, to desire wisdom: and first he sets forth an exhortation to desire it: second, the ease of acquiring it: She is bright etc.: third, the benefit of acquiring it: To think etc.: fourth, he admonishes to love it, at the passage: If therefore you delight.
(Verse 12). Desire therefore etc. Since wisdom is so useful that it causes one not to fall from justice, etc.: desire therefore my words, to be heard concerning wisdom: Ecclesiasticus twenty-four: "Come over to me, all you who desire me." And love them, namely those already heard, according to that word of the Psalm: "I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz," etc. And you shall have discipline, namely through my very words: the Gloss: "He who loves wisdom preserves discipline in his conduct," according to that word of John fourteen: "If you love me, keep my commandments."
She is bright. Here he shows the ease of acquiring wisdom: first by this, that she is bright for seeing; second, because she is ready to show herself: She anticipates; third, because she is near for approaching: He who watches for her at dawn, etc.
(Verse 13). She is bright, etc., as if to say: you ought to desire her, because wisdom is bright: namely by her own beauty and self-evidence, because she is light: whence below in chapter seven: "I purposed to have her for my light." And she never fades, that is, she never falls from her beauty: whence the Gloss: "The beauty of wisdom is unfading." For she is not subject to time, but is above time, as divine wisdom. And easily, etc., as if to say: nor should one despair of acquiring her, because she is easily seen, namely by the eye of the intellect, by those who love her, namely with affection: whence John fourteen: "He who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him." For love purges and illuminates the interior eye for seeing: whence Ecclesiasticus two: "You who fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be illuminated." And she is found by those who seek her, in effect: Luke eleven: "Seek, and you shall find," namely if she is sought where she ought to be sought. For she "is not found in the land of those who live pleasantly," Job twenty-eight, but in the harshness of sustenance and penance; whence Daniel found wisdom by the merit of his abstinence, as is clear from Daniel one.
(Verse 14). She anticipates, namely before she is found by the zeal of the seeker: the Gloss: "Offering herself freely: for she herself is the way, the truth, and the life, whence through her one goes to her and arrives." She anticipates, I say, that is, she goes before those who desire her, so that she may first show herself to them: because they would not come before her unless they were first come before and illuminated by her, just as the light of the sun illuminates in order to be seen itself: Bernard: "True wisdom, which is Christ, can be found, but cannot be anticipated."
(Vers. 15.). Who from the light etc. I have rightly said that she is found by those who seek her, because who from the light, that is, as soon as the light rises for him: Gloss: "From the beginning of the shining of faith," not from the night, as sinners always remaining in the night, but as the just, of whom Proverbs 4: "The path of the just is as a shining light" etc.: First Thessalonians 5: "You are all children of the light." Shall have watched for her, against negligence: Proverbs 8: "They who watch for me in the morning shall find me." Shall not labor, because the sweetness of the thing sought and found will alleviate the labor: Sirach 6: "In her work you shall labor but little, and soon you shall eat of her fruits." For sitting etc., that is, in quiet and without motion ready to enter, just as the ray of the sun sits at a closed window. Sitting, I say, at his doors, namely the spiritual ones, namely the intellect and the affections: he shall find her: Revelation 3: "I stand at the door and knock" etc. She herself also has doors through which one enters to her: whence Proverbs 8: "Blessed is the man who hears me and watches at my doors daily": which are faith and charity: through faith the intellect enters to her, through charity the affections.
To think therefore upon her etc. Here he shows the benefit of those who acquire her, first in the present: second in the future: The beginning etc.
The benefit in the present is shown to be fourfold: first, understanding in the rational faculty: second, security in the irascible faculty: And he who shall have watched: third, gladness in the concupiscible faculty: For those worthy etc.:
fourth, foresight of future things. And in all foresight.
(Vers. 16.). To think therefore upon her: as if to say: she is given not only to one who watches and seeks, but even to think upon her, not with a simple thought, but an affective one: whence the Gloss: "With the desire of divine contemplation": Sirach 14: "Blessed is the man who shall dwell in wisdom, etc., and in his understanding shall think upon the circumspection of God": is perfect understanding, that is, complete, because wisdom perfects the understanding of man, because, according to Hugh of Saint Victor, "wisdom is that in which the form of the perfect good consists." Or: To think upon her is perfect understanding, that is, then the understanding is perfectly ordered when it devotes itself to wisdom, according to that saying of Augustine: "The end of man on the way is to seek truth perfectly." And he who shall have watched: Gloss: "With intention of mind," on account of her, to acquire or to guard her, shall quickly be secure, namely from evil: "because the attainment of her is true security," according to the Gloss: Proverbs 11: "He who guards against snares shall be secure." This is the good security, of which Proverbs 15: "A secure mind is like a continual feast."
(Verse 17). For those worthy of herself: as if to say: I have rightly said that he will quickly be free from care, for those worthy of herself, namely those clean of heart and body: whence above in the first chapter: "Into a malevolent soul wisdom will not enter" etc. She goes about seeking, that is, from every side continuously offering herself and unceasingly: which unceasingness and continuity is given to be understood through what it says: she goes about: for rectilinear motion cannot be continued in the way that circular motion can. Thus incarnate Wisdom went about through the villages, as is evident from Mark 6. And in their ways, namely in precepts and counsels observed: concerning which, Proverbs 3: "Her ways are beautiful ways, and her paths are peaceful": she shows herself to them, according to that word of the Psalm: "From your commandments I have understood": cheerfully, gladdening them, namely in this, that she gives herself to them freely: 2 Corinthians 9: "God loves a cheerful giver," as does man also: whence Seneca: "The more delay you add, the more you subtract from the favor." And in all providence, concerning future things, perfectly providing for them the things necessary for salvation: she meets them; the Gloss: "As helper," just as incarnate Wisdom, rising again, met the women, as is recorded in Matthew 28.
The beginning etc. Here are touched upon the steps of glory to be acquired through wisdom: and first he touches upon the beginning; second, the progress, at: Care therefore; third, the consummation: But the keeping of laws etc.; fourth, the end of the consummation: The desire therefore. The first step, therefore, that is, the beginning of wisdom, is the desire for discipline: from the desire for discipline, love: from love, the keeping of the law of God: from the keeping of the divine law, incorruption of mind and nearness to the divine likeness: from the divine likeness, the glory of the heavenly kingdom: therefore from the first, from the desire for wisdom, heavenly glory is obtained.
(Verse 18). This is what he means to say: For the beginning of it, namely of wisdom etc.: as if to say: thus wisdom meets and shows herself. Nor is her showing and meeting useless. For, in the sense of because: the beginning of it, namely that by which a man begins to become wise: "for no one suddenly becomes the highest," as the Gloss says: is the truest for discipline, that is, for wisdom, desire. Concerning this desire it is said in the Psalm: "My soul has longed to desire" etc. For the desire for wisdom is itself a certain part of wisdom, according to that word of Sirach 6: "If you love to listen, you will be wise."
But it seems that fear, and not love, is the beginning of wisdom, because it is said in Sirach 1: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
It must be said that fear is the first beginning, but love is the proximate beginning; or: fear is the extrinsic beginning, love the intrinsic beginning.
Most true but the desire is called here in contrast to the threefold vain desire, of which it is said in First John 2: "All that is in the world is either the desire of the flesh" etc., which arises from the threefold vanity, of which Ecclesiastes 1 says: "Vanity of vanities" etc.
(Verse 19). Care therefore, as if to say: since it is the case that the desire for discipline is the beginning of wisdom, therefore care for discipline, that is, the desire for discipline, is love, that is, the cause of love for wisdom itself: for what we desire, we love when we possess it. And note that he calls wisdom and discipline the same thing, because they are the same in reality, although they differ in concept, because it is called wisdom insofar as it delightfully affects the mind inwardly; discipline, insofar as it orders and arranges outward actions. Or thus: desire etc. is love, that is, the cause of divine love: below in chapter seven: "God loves no one except him who dwells with wisdom": Hebrews 12: "But if you are without discipline, then you are not sons but illegitimate." And love is the keeping of her laws, that is, the cause of keeping them: Romans 13: "The fullness of the law is love," that is, the cause of the fulfillment of the divine law: First Timothy 1: "The end of the commandment is charity"; of laws, namely the natural, Mosaic, and evangelical: concerning which Isaiah 24: "They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
But the keeping of the laws is the consummation of incorruption, that is, the cause of consummated spiritual incorruption, namely of both mind and body in the present; or: of incorruption, "that is, of immortality" in the future, according to the Gloss: Proverbs 3: "Keep my law and my counsel, and it shall be life to your soul."
(Verses 20, 21, 22). But incorruption makes one to be near to God: whence it is sung of virgins that "they follow the Lamb wherever he goes," Revelation 14.
Therefore the desire for wisdom, which is its beginning, will lead to an everlasting kingdom: the Gloss: "Which consists in the knowledge of the Divinity," according to that saying in John 17: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the true God" etc.
If therefore you delight etc., as if to say: since he gives an everlasting kingdom, therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters: The Gloss: "He admonishes kings to love wisdom, without which they cannot reign: for the commonwealth is well governed when philosophers reign and kings philosophize. Rightly therefore the rulers of the Church are assiduous in the meditation of the divine law: for whoever follows it by learning, teaching, and practicing will attain the crown of the heavenly kingdom." If therefore you delight in thrones, of judicial power, and scepters, of royal dignity, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-three: "They love the chief seats," etc.; another reading has senses, with respect to discernment, and crowns, with respect to dignity: if you delight, I say, O kings
of the people, that is, the greater rulers and prelates, both secular and ecclesiastical: love wisdom, that you may reign forever: Proverbs eight: "By me kings reign."
(Verse 23). Love the light of wisdom, for the illumination of souls: below in chapter seven: "Compared to light she is found to be prior": because she illuminates spiritual things, which is greater than to illuminate corporeal things. All you who rule over peoples, that is, you also who are lesser princes and prelates.
Fourth, the promise concerning the teaching of wisdom, where four things are touched upon.
But what is wisdom, etc. Here lastly he promises to teach wisdom: and first he touches on the manifestation of the teaching: second, the faithfulness of teaching: And I will set forth in light: third, the usefulness of hearing: For a multitude, etc.: fourth, he subjoins his exhortation to hear: Therefore receive.
(Verse 24). But what is wisdom, as if to say: thus I have invited you to wisdom, and that you may assent, I will relate, etc. Or it may be continued thus: up to this point I have admonished you to wisdom: but, standing for "however": from now on I will relate what wisdom is, etc. Behold, a great promise; "for she is hidden from the eyes of all the living," Job twenty-eight; nevertheless she can be known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. What is, I say, wisdom, uncreated, that is, of what quality: for concerning her it cannot be known or said what she is, namely according to essence, but of what quality, since she is good, eternal, omnipotent, etc. But concerning created wisdom it can be known and said what it is: whence Augustine says: "Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things." And how she was made, that is, how she was begotten from the Father, namely the eternal Wisdom, who is the Son of God: First Corinthians one: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Or: how she was made, that is, created, if it is expounded of created wisdom: Ecclesiasticus one: "Wisdom was created before all things": likewise in the same book, chapter twenty-four: "From the beginning and before the ages I was created," that is, disposed to be created. And I will not hide from you the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret works of the wisdom of God.
To the contrary: Tobit 12: "It is good to hide the secret of a king."
It must be said that it should be hidden from tempters but revealed to lovers; whence John 15: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you." Likewise, it must be hidden from the proudly wise, but revealed to humble little ones: whence Matthew 11: "You have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones," that is, the humble. Likewise, not to the gluttonous, but to the abstinent, as is clear from Daniel 1.
But from the beginning of birth, that is, of human birth, or of wisdom itself; I will search out, by showing that she proceeds from God the Father. And I will bring to light, namely the light of manifestation, the knowledge of her, by teaching clearly: Sirach 24: "Those who elucidate me shall have eternal life." And I will not pass over the truth, by mixing in falsehoods: Sirach 37: "Before all works, let a truthful word precede you"; Augustine: "It is the distinguished mark of good minds to love the truth in words, not the words themselves."
(Verse 25.) Nor with wasting envy, that is, envy that causes wasting: Proverbs 14: "Envy is the rotting of the bones"; likewise in the Psalm: "The sinner shall see and shall be angry, he shall gnash his teeth and waste away." Will I travel, because she is the worst companion, for she devours a man like a wild beast: Genesis 37: "A most evil wild beast has devoured him, a beast has consumed Joseph." Such was Moses, that is, not envious, for he said: "Who would grant me that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit?" Numbers 11. Because such a man, namely the envious, will not be a partaker of wisdom: whence above, chapter 1: "Into a malevolent soul," etc.; Sirach 14: "To an envious man," that is, one full of envy, "what good is gold?" that is, wisdom, which is called gold on account of its preciousness: Proverbs 3: "For she is more precious than all riches."
(Verses 26–27.) But a multitude etc., as if to say: and you ought to listen; but, meaning because; because a multitude of the wise: the Gloss: "The assembly of preachers"; is the health of the world, that is, the cause of health: Proverbs 11: "Where there is no governor, the people shall fall; but there is safety where there are many counsels." Whoever therefore opposes the multiplication or multitude of the wise opposes the salvation of the world, and therefore such a one ought to be hated by the whole world. Such were those of whom the Apostle speaks in 1 Thessalonians 2: "They do not please God and are adversaries to all men." And a wise king is the stability of the people:
Sirach 10: "A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be stable." But this applies most especially to Christ, in whose person it is said: "I am the salvation of the people."
And because wisdom is so useful, therefore receive discipline, that is, wisdom, through my words, excitatively or occasionally, but through divine inspiration effectively and causally: whence Ecclesiasticus 1: "All wisdom is from the Lord God." And it will profit you, because it is said in the last chapter of Ecclesiastes: "The words of the wise are as goads," namely by provoking to good, "and as nails fastened deep," preserving from falling into evil.