Bonaventure

In his own words on Isaiah

• Isaiah 1:3

  Hence again in Isaiah: "An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger; but Israel does not know, My people has not understood." The ox represents the order of the apostles, wherefore Paul calls himself "a Hebrew of Hebrews": for they were oxen furrowing the earth. The ass was the gentile people.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

• Isaiah 1:11

  Then came the time of the prophets who showed them clearly that they could not be saved through the Law. Hence, in Isaiah: "Your new moons and festivals I detest. — I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure." And they killed them, and their followers too, and they received false prophets, thus revealing their malice.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 1:14

  Then came the time of the prophets who showed them clearly that they could not be saved through the Law. Hence, in Isaiah: "Your new moons and festivals I detest. — I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure." And they killed them, and their followers too, and they received false prophets, thus revealing their malice.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 1:26

  Within the order of laymen, there is a threefold order, that is, of the holy people, the holy masters and the holy leaders. As Isaias writes, "I will restore your judges as at first." For good leaders have good masters. And good leaders together with good masters have good people, since they teach them. On the contrary, evil leaders have evil masters, and consequently, they teach the people improperly. Bad people choose bad leaders.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

• Isaiah 2:4

  Another distinction is in relation to duality. The Old Testament comprises two times: before the Law, and under the Law. In the New Testament, likewise, there are two corresponding times: the time of the calling of the Gentiles that corresponds to the first, and the time of the calling of the Jews that corresponds to the second. This time is not yet, for then will be fulfilled these words of Isaiah: "One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again." For this is not yet fulfilled since both swords are still active: there are still disputes and heresies. Hence the Jews, who are waiting for this believe that Christ has not yet come. The fact that the Jews will be converted is certain because of Isaiah and the Apostle who teaches authoritatively: "Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sands of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." And again: "A partial blindness only has befallen Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles should enter." Isaiah continues: "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob." And later: "One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again." The Jews oppose to this the fact that none of it has come about as yet. But the prophet is not speaking of the first advent nor of the first calling, but of the last, when "the Lord will have His day against all that is arrogant." Nor should it be understood that in so doing, the Lord is dismissing these branches.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

• Isaiah 4:1

  Second, their fecundity is represented by the seven women in Isaiah: Seven women will take hold of one man on that day. A man, because these virtues produce virility; and one, because they do not divide him, but make him stable and fruitful.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 7

• Isaiah 4:2

  The third mode of generation is by means of propagation, and this in a fourfold way: as of a growth coming from a seed, a tree from a root, a conceived offspring from the belly or womb of the mother, or children from a begetting father. In the first mode of generation, formal beauty is lacking, for in the seed the form is vague and hidden. It is not so in the case of the Son. In the second, conformity is lacking, for although there is a single root, it is different in shape from the branches even though they produce a single tree. In the third, actuality is lacking, for although the mother is in a certain sense the active principle of the offspring, yet she is much more of a passive principle. In the fourth, eternal coexistence is lacking. Now, take away these defects and suppose first formal beauty. In this sense, there is Isaiah: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." Second, suppose conformity: The Son conforms to the Father to the point that He is "the tree of life... in the midst of the garden." Hence, in Proverbs: "She is a tree of life to those who grasp her." Third, suppose actuality: in this sense, you have the Psalm: "With Thee is the principality in the day of Thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot Thee. From the womb," says the Psalmist, which is in relation to the warmth of the Father's bosom, from which He does not withdraw. Fourth, suppose eternal coexistence. In this sense, there is the Psalm: "This day I have begotten You," that is in eternity, or in My eternal today.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 11

• Isaiah 4:2

  Fourth is the fullness of restoring fruits. Isaiah says: "The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor." And when was this? When the woman said: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!"

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 5:13

  "Therefore my people are led into captivity, because they did not have knowledge," namely neither in the head nor in the members.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

• Isaiah 5:20

  Opposing adherence to peace, we have the spirit of malice and cruelty, of hatred and anger, and these two lead to complete perversion: the malicious man turns every good into evil, while the angry man turns every evil into good and considers good the actual rendering of evil. Hence they "change darkness into light, and light into darkness." Such as these are unqualified to listen to God's Law.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 1

• Isaiah 6:1

  In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized through prophetical visions, and this in different ways: for one saw Christ as "a branch of the watching-tree," another saw Him "seated on a high and lofty throne," while yet another saw Him "dressed."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 6:1

  There is a twofold dimension to the firmament: one concerned with the highest, the other with the lowest; one which makes known the eternal God, the other which reveals God made man. Of these two aspects, Isaiah says, in chapter six, in a vision which was the root of all his other visions: "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple." And immediately there follows upon this the blinding of the Jews and the enlightenment of the Gentiles. Wherefore Isaiah says "I saw," that is, through the vision of understanding lifted up by faith and stabilized in the height of eternal wisdom, in which there is a twofold light, inflaming and seraphic.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

• Isaiah 6:2

  "Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, with two they hovered aloft." There are two Seraphim established in us through faith. Our intellect enlightened by faith is made to resemble a Seraph, that is, it is enlightened and inflamed through faith. Faith is both toward the eternal God and toward God made man. Faith toward the eternal God contains one explanation of the six wings: in reference to the distinction of the Persons, there are three articles—concerning the unbegotten Father, the only-begotten Son proceeding from the Father only, and the Holy Spirit breathed by both. These are the three wings on the right side, that is, in eternity. Likewise, on the left there are three wings inasmuch as there is diffusion into the creature out of a single essence, power and operation: the one God is the Creator, the Sanctifier and the Retributor. The other Seraph is closer to us and also has six wings: three in the order of descent and three in the order of ascent. These are the three articles concerning the incarnation, crucifixion and descent into hell. Likewise, there are three in the order of ascent: resurrection out of hell into the world, ascension out of the world into heaven, and the coming out of heaven for the judgment. These six wings are the six perfect considerations of God in the three Persons and the three operations; the other six in the second series are the six considerations of God incarnate. In these things, therefore, are contained the twelve articles of faith, of which the twelve apostles were the preachers. For a wing lifts up in order to transcend every human reason. In the absence of this twofold consideration, there is no worshiper of God.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

• Isaiah 6:2

  These six considerations having therefore been traversed, as if they were the six steps of the throne of the true Solomon, by which one arrives at peace, where the true peaceful one rests in a peaceful mind as in an interior Jerusalem; and as if also the six wings of the Cherub, by which the mind of the true contemplative, filled with the illumination of supernal wisdom, may be borne upward; and as if also the first six days, in which the mind must be exercised, so that it may at last arrive at the sabbath of rest; after our mind has contemplated God outside itself through vestiges and in the vestiges, within itself through the image and in the image, above itself through the similitude of the divine light shining upon us and in that light itself, insofar as is possible according to the state of wayfaring and the exercise of our mind; when at last in the sixth step it has arrived at this point, that it contemplates in the first and highest principle and the mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ, those things whose likenesses can in no way be found in creatures, and which exceed all keenness of the human intellect: it remains that, in contemplating these things, it should transcend and pass beyond not only this sensible world, but also itself; in which passing over, Christ is the way and the door, Christ is the ladder and the vehicle, as it were the mercy seat placed upon the ark of God and the mystery hidden from the ages.

  Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

• Isaiah 6:2

  Just as God completed the whole world in six days and rested on the seventh, so the lesser world may be led in most orderly fashion through six stages of successive illuminations to the repose of contemplation. As a figure of this, one ascended by six steps to the throne of Solomon; the Seraphim that Isaiah saw had six wings; after six days the Lord called Moses from the midst of the cloud, and Christ after six days, as is said in Matthew, led the disciples up the mountain and was transfigured before them.

  Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 1

• Isaiah 6:3

  This, indeed, is the Monarch who exerts power to the supreme degree, who is supremely wise in discerning the truth, supremely holy in loving the good, and supremely constant in distributing what is just. The Seraphim correspond to supreme holiness, for in them there is holy love, wherefore they cry out, Holy, Holy, Holy; the Cherubim, to wisdom, for in them there is the fullness of understanding; the Thrones, to constancy, for in them there is a high seat, open to receiving.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 21

• Isaiah 6:3

  To be sanctified is to be drawn away from any love that sullies and corrupts and may lead the soul to ruin. In this must the creature resemble the Creator: "You shall be holy," He said, "because I am holy." This holiness makes one God-conformed. That is why the Seraphic spirits cried out: "Holy, holy, holy."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2

• Isaiah 6:3

  Our intellect enlightened by faith cries out three times: "Holy, holy, holy." There are two Seraphim established in us through faith, and each one makes the triple exclamation, but refers only once to the Lord God. For the understanding of God is the understanding of three Persons with unity of essence. And so the intellect is made to resemble a Seraph, that is, it is enlightened and inflamed through faith, and cries out "Holy" three times. The other Seraph answers "Holy, holy, holy," for as in the eternal God there are trinity of Persons and oneness of essence, so also in God made man there are trinity of natures and unity of Person. And these are the two roots of faith, and a man who ignores them believes nothing: they refer to the body, the soul and the divinity. The holy Christ has a holy body, the holy Christ has a holy soul, the holy Christ has a holy divinity. He is holy without, holy within, and holy above.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8

• Isaiah 7:9

  There is no salvation except through wisdom. But wisdom is neither disclosed nor obtained except through faith. Hence: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." For you should not "be more wise than it behooveth to be wise,... according as God hath divided to every one the measure of faith." For faith is not had except through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 7:9

  Isaiah according to the Septuagint translation says: "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." And Augustine says: "Unless a man captivates his understanding and follows through faith what he hears, he is not disposed to the gift of understanding." A man is disposed to receive worthily the gift of understanding through the captivation of the intelligence. He who wishes to search sacred Scripture according to the light of his own intelligence thinks the most false errors. In this life we are little ones, and "the learner must believe." For it is necessary to believe God, and especially in sublime matters that transcend our understanding. The first Angel erred because he presumed upon himself.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

• Isaiah 7:14

  The full accord of the witnesses is found in the words of Scriptures. Isaiah says: The virgin shall be with child; and Luke: Thou shalt conceive. One says: Christ shall be slain; and the Evangelist: Put Him to death. Whatever, then, had been foretold by the prophets was fulfilled through Christ.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

• Isaiah 7:14

  Where shall that price be found? Certainly nowhere except in the womb of the glorious Virgin. Whence Isaiah: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Emmanuel is interpreted "God with us." It was not fitting for the Virgin to have a son unless he were God, nor for God to have a mother unless she were a Virgin. That price could not be found except in the Virgin. It is "from afar and from the uttermost boundaries," because in him the highest is joined with the lowest, and the first with the last. That price is "from afar," by which the entire human race is redeemed: because what is redeemed is the lowest, therefore it is the highest; because what is redeemed is the last, therefore it is the first. Man among creatures was created last.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

• Isaiah 8:6

  Next to these mysteries are the mystery of the tree of life and the mystery of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For he who seeks nothing but knowledge tastes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And this is pointed out in Isaias: Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that go with silence, and hath rather taken Rasin and the son of Romelia: Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river, strong and many. But as Jerome says, the waters of Siloe run with a great rumble: wherefore it is evident that the meaning here is different. The waters that go with silence are Holy Scripture which cannot be learned except in silence: and in that there is enlightenment. As a sign of this, it is said to the blind: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe (which is interpreted 'sent')." For these waters are found through revelation. But it is fitting first to anoint the eyes with clay made of spittle and dust. Spittle is wisdom. Dust is Christ's flesh. Clay is faith concerning the mystery of the incarnation. But those who have taken Rasin and the son of Romelia are those who seek external sciences. Wherefore the prince of the Assyrians shall have power over them: the Lord willed it. And here it should be noted that the sons of Israel despoiled the Egyptians of their silver vessels: and after that, the Lord never wanted them to be returned.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

• Isaiah 8:6

  Going down to philosophy implies the greatest danger. Isaias says: "Because this people has rejected the waters of Siloe that flow gently, and melts with fear before the loftiness of Rasin and Romelia's son, therefore the Lord raises against them the waters of the River, great and mighty, the king of Assyria." We should no longer return to Egypt. Let the masters beware, then, not to commend or appreciate too highly the sayings of the philosophers, lest the people take it as a pretext to return to Egypt, or dismiss because of their example the waters of Siloe in which is supreme perfection, and go to the waters of the philosophers in which there is eternal deceit.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

• Isaiah 8:7

  Next to these mysteries are the mystery of the tree of life and the mystery of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For he who seeks nothing but knowledge tastes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And this is pointed out in Isaias: Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that go with silence, and hath rather taken Rasin and the son of Romelia: Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river, strong and many. But as Jerome says, the waters of Siloe run with a great rumble: wherefore it is evident that the meaning here is different. The waters that go with silence are Holy Scripture which cannot be learned except in silence: and in that there is enlightenment. As a sign of this, it is said to the blind: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe (which is interpreted 'sent')." For these waters are found through revelation. But it is fitting first to anoint the eyes with clay made of spittle and dust. Spittle is wisdom. Dust is Christ's flesh. Clay is faith concerning the mystery of the incarnation. But those who have taken Rasin and the son of Romelia are those who seek external sciences. Wherefore the prince of the Assyrians shall have power over them: the Lord willed it. And here it should be noted that the sons of Israel despoiled the Egyptians of their silver vessels: and after that, the Lord never wanted them to be returned.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

• Isaiah 8:7

  Going down to philosophy implies the greatest danger. Isaias says: "Because this people has rejected the waters of Siloe that flow gently, and melts with fear before the loftiness of Rasin and Romelia's son, therefore the Lord raises against them the waters of the River, great and mighty, the king of Assyria." We should no longer return to Egypt. Let the masters beware, then, not to commend or appreciate too highly the sayings of the philosophers, lest the people take it as a pretext to return to Egypt, or dismiss because of their example the waters of Siloe in which is supreme perfection, and go to the waters of the philosophers in which there is eternal deceit.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

• Isaiah 8:13

  In the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, our sanctification is sought, and this through the gift of fear, when he says: "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name." Isaiah: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and let him be your dread and your fear."

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

• Isaiah 9:3

  Whatever is said in the Bible of the sun shedding light, or of other diffusions, or of banquets, is said of His bounty. Hence, in the Psalm: "The household shall divide the spoils." And in Isaiah: "They rejoice before You as men make merry when dividing spoils." These are the gifts of Christ's lavishness.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Isaiah 9:4

  In the mystery of the establishment of judges, Christ is symbolized by Gedeon, of whom Isaiah speaks: "As on the day of Madian."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 9:6

  But who is the good counselor? Certainly that one of whom it is said: 'His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.' He is the Angel of great counsel: this is he to whom we ought to attend with a pure heart. Ecclesiasticus says: 'Before all works let a true word precede you, and before every act a stable counsel.' The true word, which can neither be deceived nor deceive, is the only-begotten Son of God and his doctrine and his life. Let this word precede you and this stable counsel. Stable counsel is none other than that of my God; 'the counsel of the Lord remains forever.'

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

• Isaiah 9:6

  Supposing I wanted to know how the Word of God can be the Restorer: Isaiah speaks of it: "A child is born to us, a son is given us; upon His shoulder dominion rests. They name Him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace." He it is who restored the hierarchy of heaven, and that below heaven which had totally fallen. Hence He must needs have touched both heaven and earth. This Hierarch had to be preeminent, endowed with awareness, acceptable to God, victorious, most generous, and just. He is called "Wonder" because He had to be preeminent in power, showing the miracle of miracles in His own Person, the plurality of natures. He is called "Counselor" because He was the best Counselor and the most wise, and from Him come forth documents of the greatest certainty. He is called "God" because He was acceptable to God, not only because in the form of God, but as God. He is called "Strong" because He overcame the world, despoiled Hades, and restored Paradise. He is called "Father of the age to come" because He is the Principle of those influences by which we will live in the future. He is called "Prince of Peace" because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Isaiah 9:8

  And Isaiah shows this: "The Lord has sent word against Jacob, it falls upon Israel." He has sent word against Jacob. Jacob is a name of nature, for He was of his seed; but it falls upon Israel: Israel is a spiritual name. We are the sons of Israel and the sons of Abraham according to the promise, for we are the imitators of Abraham's faith.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 15

• Isaiah 11:1

  Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Isaiah 11:1

  Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. Flowers appeared when the prophet said: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 11:2

  The third ground of the influx of fortitude is from God indwelling. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety"; and he places fortitude in the middle, because Christ does not dwell in us unless we have these two, namely the Spirit of the Lord and fortitude; and therefore he placed fortitude in the middle. Peter denied at the voice of a maidservant, yet stood firm against the emperor, because without the Spirit of the Lord the soul is weak, and with the Spirit of the Lord it is strong. He stood firm against the emperor, because with the Spirit of the Lord he was then strong.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

• Isaiah 11:2

  Although the gifts of gratuitously given grace are very many, and generally all habits divinely given can not absurdly be called gifts of God, yet specially and appropriately there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which Isaiah enumerates and names, speaking of the flower that proceeded from the root of Jesse, that is, Christ, of whom he says that the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. In this enumeration he proceeds by descending from the highest and by combining, so that at once the distinction, connection, origin, and order of the gifts may be shown. The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the restorative principle through supreme liberality gives grace not only for rectifying against the crookedness of vices through the habits of virtues, but also for freeing against the impediments of infirmities through the habits of gifts; therefore the gratuitous gifts must be multiplied according to what is necessary for sufficiency of freedom. Since therefore our soul needs to be freed in a sevenfold manner, hence it is that from a sevenfold cause it is necessary that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be sevenfold. First, therefore, for most expeditiously repelling the crookedness of vices, there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely: fear against pride; piety against envy; knowledge against anger, which is as it were a kind of madness; fortitude against sloth, which renders the mind powerless for good; counsel against avarice; understanding against gluttony; and wisdom against lust. Second, for freeing the natural powers, the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be seven. For the irascible power needs to be freed for good things both in prosperity and in adversity: in prosperity it is freed through fear, in adversity through fortitude. The concupiscible power needs to be freed with respect to affection toward the neighbor, and this is done through piety; and with respect to affection toward God, and this is done through the taste of wisdom. The rational power indeed needs to be freed in the speculation, choice, and execution of truth: through the gift of understanding it is freed for speculating upon the true, through the gift of counsel for choosing the true, through the gift of knowledge for executing what has been chosen. Third, for the carrying out of the seven offices of the virtues there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For fear disposes to temperance, since fear transfixes the flesh; piety to true justice; knowledge to prudence; fortitude to fortitude or patience; counsel to hope; understanding to faith; wisdom to charity. Whence, just as charity is the mother and consummation of all the virtues, so wisdom is of the gifts. Fourth, for readiness in suffering conformably to Christ, there are seven habits of the gifts. Now Christ was moved to suffer by the paternal will, human necessity and the vigor of virtue. The divine will indeed moved him, as known through understanding, as loved through wisdom, as held in reverence through fear. Our necessity also moved him, for the knowing of which knowledge is necessary, and for the pitying of which piety is superadded. The vigor of virtue moved him no less, as provident in choosing through counsel, as vigorous in enduring through fortitude. And thus the gifts must be seven. Fifth, for readiness in acting, seven gifts are given by the Holy Spirit. For ready action, we must be made ready to turn away from evil, which is done through fear. We must also be made ready to advance in good of a twofold kind: either of necessity, or of supererogation. Regarding the first, we are made ready through knowledge and piety, such that one directs and the other executes; regarding the second, through counsel directing and through fortitude executing. We must also rest in the best, both as regards the understanding of the true and as regards the affection for the good; the first is done through the gift of understanding, the second through the gift of wisdom, in which there is rest. For readiness in contemplating, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are seven in number. For the hierarchical and contemplative life requires the soul to be purged, illuminated, and perfected. Now it must be purged from concupiscence, from malice, from ignorance, from weakness or impotence: the first is done by fear, the second by piety, the third by knowledge, the fourth by fortitude. Illuminated we also need to be regarding the works of restoration and of the original creation: the first is given by counsel, the second by understanding. Perfected we are to be through approach to the highest, which consists in one, and this through the gift of wisdom; and thus the mystery of contemplation is consummated. Finally, for readiness in action and contemplation there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the contemplative life, on account of its turning toward the Trinity, must have three expediting gifts: with respect to reverence for majesty, fear; with respect to the understanding of truth, understanding; with respect to the savor or taste of goodness, wisdom. The active life, however, which is engaged in doing and enduring, must have four, namely piety for doing and fortitude for enduring; and the directive gifts of these two, namely knowledge and counsel. Whence, because direction is necessary for readiness, there arises a combination of gifts; and more gifts pertain to the intellect, because the light of knowledge greatly avails to direct one's feet into the right path.

  Breviloquium, Part 5

• Isaiah 11:2

  "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." John in the Apocalypse saw in the midst of the throne a Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit horns and eyes. There is a certain efficacy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which all evils are combated; there is another efficacy of the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things. And because strength resides in horns, therefore the gifts by which evils are combated he calls horns. And because the power of readiness resides in the eyes, therefore the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things he calls eyes. Through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, designated by the seven horns, the seven mortal sins are destroyed, and seven virtues are introduced. The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty; the gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness; the gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces mourning; the gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice; the gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy; the gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart; the gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2

• Isaiah 11:3

  Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Isaiah 11:4

  Just as "feigned righteousness is not righteousness, but double iniquity," so feigned holiness is not holiness, but rather iniquity. Against such the Apostle says: "In the last times there will be men who are lovers of pleasures, having the appearance of piety, but denying its power." Those having the appearance of piety are hypocrites. For such a one is a son of perdition. Of such a one it is said: "With the breath of his lips he shall strike the impious one," namely him who will have the greatest appearance of piety.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 3

• Isaiah 11:5

  Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3

• Isaiah 11:9

  In relation to the abundantly flowing multiformity of the spiritual meanings, there are many outpourings, of the waters from clouds, rivers, fountains, and all come from the sea. If you ask: How? It is through various detours and motions: this is how the cloud, the river, the fountain answer. Hence, in Isaiah: "The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea." And before this: "There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain." Now this refers much more directly to the time of the New Testament, when Scripture was made evident, and mostly toward the end, when those Scriptures were understood which had not been understood before. For then there shall be a "mountain," that is, the contemplative Church; then, "there shall be no harm" when the monsters of heresy shall flee on account of the proper use of wisdom.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 13

• Isaiah 11:9

  Beyond philosophical knowledge, God gave us theological knowledge, which is the pious awareness of credible truth: because the eternal light, namely God, is a light inaccessible to us as long as we are mortal and have the eyes of a bat. Hence Augustine says: "The weak gaze of the mind is not fixed upon so excellent a light unless it is cleansed through the justice of faith." Therefore theological knowledge is founded upon faith: just as the philosophical sciences are founded upon their first principles, so the science of Scripture is founded upon the articles of faith, which are the twelve foundations of the city. Concerning this knowledge it is said in Isaiah: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain": there follows: "because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters of the sea covering it." Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries, on account of the manifold variety of its senses and on account of the establishment of the Churches.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

• Isaiah 12:2

  This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. Whence Isaiah says: "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation; you shall draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior." These are the waters in which the soul is strengthened, purified, redeemed, sanctified, and snatched from the power of demons.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

• Isaiah 12:3

  And so, two kinds of water are distinguished. For one knowledge is described as being external, and the more one drinks of it, the more he thirsts; the other, as being internal, of which it is said: "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, 'From within Him there shall flow rivers of living water.'" He said this, however, of the Spirit whom they who believed in Him were to receive. And these are the waters from the fountain of salvation, that is, awareness of those graces that sustain souls.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 17

• Isaiah 12:3

  This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. Whence Isaiah says: "The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become my salvation; you shall draw waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior." These are the waters in which the soul is strengthened, purified, redeemed, sanctified, and snatched from the power of demons.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5

• Isaiah 13:12

  That price is most precious. On account of this Isaiah says: "A man shall be more precious than gold, and a human being than pure gold of Ophir." This he says of Christ, who made us precious.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 6

• Isaiah 14:12

  The first among the Angels, Lucifer, presuming upon his private good, sought private excellence, wishing to be raised above the others; and therefore he fell together with the rest who consented to him. Falling, moreover, he became impenitent, obstinate and blinded and excluded from the contemplation of God and disordered in operation, striving with all his effort to subvert man through manifold temptation. Since through the free choice of the will he could tend toward the supreme good or turn toward his private good, Lucifer, aroused by the consideration of his own beauty and loftiness to love himself and his own private good, presumed upon the loftiness he possessed and sought his own excellence, yet not one that was obtained; and by this, in presuming, he made himself his own principle, glorying in himself; and in seeking, he made himself his own supreme good, resting in himself. But since he was neither the supreme principle nor the supreme good, it was necessary that by his disordered ascent he should fall; and by equal reason, all who consented in this. And immediately when he fell into sin, together with the rest who adhered to him, he lost the highest place, namely the empyrean, descending to the lowest, namely the murky air or hell, so that the fall into guilt was through free choice, but the fall into punishment was through divine judgment.

  Breviloquium, Part 2, Chapter 7

• Isaiah 14:15

  For as long as vain, transitory, passing good is loved, man is "passing over." And such passing over Wisdom reproves. This passing over is the cause of every evil. In this way Lucifer passed over, to whom it was said: "Down to the nether world you go, to the recesses of the pit!" He was thrown first by sin, then by the judgment. Adam did the same: after he had given up the tree of life, he hid. Indeed, he saw himself denuded of all good habits. Wherefore he was thrown out of Paradise.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 19

• Isaiah 16:13

  In the mystery of prophetical revelation, Christ is symbolized by word, which people heard while they could see no one, as they said: "This is the word that the Lord spoke to Moab."

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 19:1

  Isaiah had said: The Lord is riding on a swift cloud on His way to Egypt; the idols of Egypt tremble before Him. This came about in Christ. Never was any prophet or philosopher found who could do away with idolatry: yet that is what Christ did through His apostles all over the earth.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

• Isaiah 19:18

  It is fitting that there be a father of fathers, whom we call the Pope, who yet, because of his humility, has four patriarchs: those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. And of these Isaias says: "There shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Chanaan and swearing by the Lord of hosts." But Rome is universal, wherefore "one shall be called 'City of the Sun.'" For while the other four sees have full authority over the neighboring churches, yet, like the sun, Rome in its universality has the fullness of power over them all.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22

• Isaiah 26:12

  All our merits are rooted in the merit of Christ, whether satisfactory for punishment or meritorious of eternal life, because we are worthy neither to be absolved from offense against the highest good, nor to gain the immensity of the eternal reward, which is God, except through the merit of the God-man, to whom we can and ought to say: All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord.

  Breviloquium

• Isaiah 28:9

  "Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand the message? Those weaned from milk and drawn away from the breasts." We dispose ourselves to receive the gift of understanding through holiness of life. Milk signifies the sweetness of carnal delights, by which sweetness the carnal and the infantile are nourished, that is, those who follow infantile impulses. And as long as a man is joined to these carnal consolations, he is called a nursing infant and is not fit to receive the solid food of life and understanding. If we wish to bless God and receive this gift, it is necessary that we be drawn away from these consolations and separate ourselves from the milk of concupiscences.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8

• Isaiah 28:16

  Christ is the foundation of this faith. For other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. For He is the cornerstone of which Isaiah and Peter speak: See, I am laying a stone in Sion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation. And the Apostle: You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9

• Isaiah 29:11-12

  Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries. The sea is deep, nor can a man wade across it: so great is the profundity of the mysteries of sacred Scripture that, however illuminated a man may be and however great his industry, he cannot attain to their depth. Hence Isaiah says: "The vision of all things shall be to you as the words of a sealed book, which when they give to one who knows letters, they will say: Read this; and he will answer: I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book shall be given to one who does not know letters, and it shall be said to him: Read; and he will answer: I do not know letters." Neither the learned nor the unlearned will be able to read it. Who then will read it? I say that he who wishes to enter the sanctuary of God with pride will not be able to, even if he is learned; similarly, if a learned man wishes to enter, he would be foolish. It is necessary, therefore, that one have both learning and the spirit.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4

• Isaiah 30:1

  In this are reproved certain ones who wish to be governed by their own knowledge; of whom Isaiah says: 'Woe to you, deserting children! That you would take counsel and not from me, and would begin a web and not through my Spirit.' They weave spider's webs who cite sacred Scripture for evil purposes. Bernard says: 'You will never understand Paul unless you find the spirit of Paul.'

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7

• Isaiah 30:2

  Scripture is the mouth of God. Hence Isaiah: "Woe to you who walk to go down into Egypt," that is, to secular sciences, "and have not asked at My mouth," that is, Sacred Scripture. We need not go down to other sciences in order to gain certainty before having had the witness on the mountain, that is, of Christ, Elias and Moses, meaning of the New Testament, of the Prophets and of the Law.

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 12

• Isaiah 31:9

  But if you ask how these things come about, ask grace, not doctrine; desire, not understanding; the groaning of prayer, not the study of reading; the Bridegroom, not the master; God, not man; darkness, not clarity; not light, but the fire that wholly inflames and carries into God through ecstatic anointings and most ardent affections. Which fire is indeed God, and his furnace is in Jerusalem, and Christ kindles this in the fervor of his most ardent passion, which only he truly perceives who says: My soul has chosen hanging, and my bones death. Whoever loves this death can see God, because it is indubitably true: No man shall see me and live. Let us die, therefore, and enter into the darkness; let us impose silence upon our cares, concupiscences, and phantasms; let us pass over with Christ crucified from this world to the Father, so that, when the Father is shown to us, we may say with Philip: It suffices us; let us hear with Paul: My grace suffices for you; let us exult with David, saying: My flesh and my heart have failed, God of my heart and God my portion forever. Blessed be the Lord forever, and let all the people say: So be it, so be it. Amen.

  Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7

• Isaiah 38:10

  In the mystery of the anointing of kings, Christ is symbolized by David, Solomon, Ezechiah and Josiah. Christ is symbolized by Ezechiah: "Once I said, 'In the noontime of life I must depart! To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned.'"

  Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14

• Isaiah 40:9

  He who wishes to teach well must put his hand to strong things. In the book of Kings it is said: "Enter, for you are a strong man and one announcing good tidings"; and in Isaiah: "Ascend upon a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion." If the arm is weak, even if the sword be strong and good, the blow will not be good. Some are full of words and have little of works.

  Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5