Pseudo-Augustine

In his own words on Wisdom of Solomon

• Wisdom of Solomon 1:3

  Certainly, every year we celebrate the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit. However, we must act in such a way as to invite him, with pure actions and feelings, so that he comes to us every day. We must be pure and clean in our senses and in our thoughts, and we must dedicate ourselves to watching over our speech and our hearts, so as to render ourselves always worthy of his visitations and his illumination and so that it may be evident that we are free from all impurity in our thoughts. He has said in fact that "perverse thoughts separate people from God." Let us make every effort to be free from all backbiting and malice, because "wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul or dwell in a body enslaved to sin." By their anger and pride, the hearts of the careless find themselves without the vigilance and protection of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us not sadden the Holy Spirit by these passions. Rather, let us invoke him, that with the grace of humility and the mildness of peace he would enter our hearts and that we would gladden him by our works and our initiatives. He himself has said, "With whom will I make my resting place? With the humble one, who has a contrite spirit and trembles at my word."

  SERMON 182:6

• Wisdom of Solomon 1:7

  We will show that the Scriptures say that the Son is almighty like the Father, so that not only reason, but the divine witness as well, would persuade the shameless minds of heretics. The Father is called almighty, because the prophet says, "Thus says the almighty God." The Son is called almighty when the apostle John says in Revelation, "From Jesus Christ our Lord, who is, who was and who is to come, the almighty." The Holy Spirit is also called almighty: "The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe, and he who embraces all things, knows." Is it possible that the one who encompasses everything not be almighty?

  SERMON ON THE CREED 4:8

• Wisdom of Solomon 2:2

  In Wisdom it says, "He who created the world from formless matter," and the opposite, "We were made from nothing." The sense of Scripture affirms that God created the elements all at once, and they were all mixed together, with darkness mixed in with them. And God called this confusion of elements (that is, air, fire, water, land, darkness) formless matter, as it says in Genesis, "The earth was a formless waste." He created the universe from this confusion, establishing the firmament, so that, once the waters were gathered in it, in a single place, the dwelling of the human race would be created. After having distinguished and separated the elements, he made an inhabitable dwelling in the cavity that remained. - "Questions from the Old Testament 2.20"

• Wisdom of Solomon 2:6

  These are the words of people who despair of eternal life and, hoping in the ephemeral corruption of the flesh, it is as if they put their hopes in the sand in a stream.

  SERMON 392:4

• Wisdom of Solomon 3:4

  How great is the constancy of the martyrs! How excellent is the faith of the saints who willingly accepted many torments for the name of Christ and who, nevertheless, despising these torments, defeated the devil who was in their persecutors! Indeed, Solomon said of them, "Even if to human eyes they suffer punishments, their hope is full of immortality." Therefore the saints had a great hope, because they believed that, enduring a temporary passion, they would receive in the resurrection what they hoped for. And what did they hope for in suffering these things? It is easier to speak of what they suffered, because who can speak of what they hoped for? Listen to the apostle Paul: "The sufferings of the present moment cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us."

  SERMON 316:1

• Wisdom of Solomon 3:7

  As fellow citizens of the saints and members of God's family and as heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, let us examine, to the extent possible, the renowned happiness of our city. Let us say with the prophet, "Oh, wonderful things are said of you, city of God, the home of all who rejoice in you!" You are the sum of all the joys of earth. In you there is no old age or the misery of old age. In you there are no cripples, or lame, or hunchbacks or deformed, but all "arrive at the stature of the perfect person, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ." What can be more beautiful than this life in which there is no fear of poverty or the sadness of disability; where no one is hurt or angry or envious; where no concupiscence flares up, nor is there desire for food, and where we are not agitated by ambition for honor or power? There is no fear of the devil there or of the snares of demons, and the fear of hell is long gone. There is death neither of the body nor of the soul but a life made joyous by the gift of immortality. There will be no more discord; rather, everything will be harmonious, of one heart, because there will be one unanimity among all the saints. Everything will be peaceful and joyful, calm and serene. There will be a perpetual splendor, not the one we see now but a greater brightness to match the greater happiness. Therefore, as we read, that "city will have no need of the light of the sun," but the almighty Lord will enlighten it, "and its lamp is the Lamb," where the saints will shine like stars forever, and those who teach many, like the splendor of the firmament. Thus, there will never be night or any darkness. Clouds will not gather, nor will there be cold or heat or bitterness. Rather, everything will be such that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man," except those found worthy to enjoy it, "whose names are written in the book of life."

  MANUAL 17

• Wisdom of Solomon 3:7

  Will it perhaps be that one who is cold must clothe himself, there where it will not even be necessary to cover the body, in the presence of that cold of which the prophet says, "Who can withstand his cold?" Or, where the one who has lost his wedding garment will be naked forever? Where the wicked person with a stained conscience will be clothed with darkness, and the good person with a mantle of immortality and blessedness. Where our merits will be our dress, as the Lord says, "The righteous will shine like the sun." And the prophet, "Your priests are clothed with righteousness," or, "The queen is at your right hand, in a gown of spun gold." Where an eternal light will shine that will replace the tunics of holy bodies. Where a garment that will never be removed will be changed into a body. Where the garment will be the prize and the angelic clothing will no longer be a covering or a garment but nature?

  SERMON 262:4

• Wisdom of Solomon 4:14-15

  Similarly, in the book of Wisdom it says, "Because the grace of God is in his saints." It is said as a general rule that no one has ever been or is holy without the grace of God. But so this grace might be in the saints, to confirm them, they receive it freely through the faith that comes from God. They did not have it prior to faith. As David says, "You will save them without price."

  HYPOMNESTICON 3:12.27

• Wisdom of Solomon 5:15

  If wisdom is pleasant in the knowledge of created things, how much more pleasant will be the Wisdom that created all things from nothing? If a great abundance of pleasures are found in pleasant things, what, and how great, will the pleasure be in him who made pleasant things? O, for the one who will enjoy this good! What will he have, and what won't he have? He will surely have everything he will want and nothing that he won't want. In that place there will truly be the goods of body and soul, "those things that eye has not seen or ear heard, nor have they even entered the human heart." Poor person, why then do you wander here and there seeking what is good for your body and soul? Love the one good in which all good things are, and that is enough. Desire that simple good that is every good, and that is enough. What do you love, my flesh? What do you desire, my soul? Everything that you love is there. Everything you desire is there. If beauty delights you, "The righteous will shine like the sun." If it is swiftness, strength or a freedom of the body that nothing can hinder, "They will be like the angels of God," since "a natural body is sown, and a spiritual body is raised"—by his power, of course, and not by nature. A long, healthy life is already an object of delight. There, there will be an eternity without evils, and eternal health, since "the righteous will live forever" and "the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord." If one speaks of fullness, they will be filled when the glory of the Lord appears. If of intoxication, "They will be filled with the abundance of the Lord's house." If of melody, up there the choirs of angels sing endlessly to God in unison. If of any kind of pure desire, the Lord will give them to drink of the stream of the delights of his divinity. If of wisdom, "They will all be taught by God" in such a way that wisdom itself will teach them. If of friendship, they will love God more than themselves and one another as themselves. And God will love them more than they love themselves, since they will love him, loving themselves and one another in him, and he will love them in himself. If one speaks of harmony, they will all have a single will, because they will have only the will of God. If of power, they will enter into the power of the Lord, and their wills will be almighty, like that of God.

  BOOK ON THE SPIRIT AND THE SOUL 64

• Wisdom of Solomon 6:12

  Do you want to love? Love wisdom, desire fervently to acquire it. Put the inner person in order, so that its appearance will not horrify you. As lustful eyes seek the beauty of the body, so you should seek that of the heart. And this beauty will not come from your riches, because wisdom hates the proud and those who in some way or another want to boast of what they have. "What do you have that has not been given to you?" Wisdom will give you what pleases her. Love her greatly, and she will care for you. "Hold her close and she will exalt you, honor her and she will embrace you. She will put a graceful crown on your head." "Wisdom is radiant and unfading; she is easily contemplated by those who love her and found by those who seek her."

  SERMON 391:5

• Wisdom of Solomon 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?

  SERMON ON THE CREED 1:1

• Wisdom of Solomon 8:1

  Since the world was corrupted by original sin and actual sins, the Creator of the world wanted to heal its fall with a secret and wonderful plan, through the mystery of the incarnate Word. By the same word through which he had created everything from nothing, he would restore what was lost. In fact, "he speaks and everything is made; he commands, and all exists." Let us not think that this power is diminished or changed in him "in whom there is no alteration or shadow of change" or that he is less powerful or wise in restoring than he was in creating. The hand of the all-powerful potter, whose paths are all truth and mercy and who, taking mud from the earth, raised it to the dignity of a rational nature, wanted in this way to reconstruct in fragile vessels what had been ruined. Thus the man's sin would not remain unpunished, since God is just, nor did it remain unhealed, since he is merciful. If the one whose wisdom "extends mightily from one end of the earth to the other and governs all things well" were only just, he could have fought by his power against the seducer of the human race, bringing the lost sheep back under his dominion in the flock. But, by doing so, he would have only shown the excellence of his power and would not have exercised his healing mercy for the redeemed. Nor would it have become apparent with how much charity the Creator loved his creation—a creation he called to love him, offering in exchange considerable rewards—since miserable humanity, prior to receiving grace, would have obtained by merit what they otherwise would have received as a reward, even if they hardly deserved it. What the wisdom of God could have done with wisdom and power, he wanted to do with tenderness, uniting himself to the weakness of our flesh, which he had healed in the first place in himself. By this work, like a physician, he restored the human race to health. Not that it could not have been otherwise due to the skill and power of the Physician, but because an antidote corresponding to the illness could not have been more easily obtained. "The weakness of God is stronger than human beings, and the foolishness of God is wiser than human beings."

  SERMON 247:1

• Wisdom of Solomon 8:16

  Make it your purpose to possess [wisdom]. Yearn for her, burn with desire for her, be consumed by her. Deny yourself, and do not deny her so as to please yourself. "In her company there is no bitterness." If you are lovers, love her. If you are beautiful, be pleasing to God. If you are young, conquer the devil. Daniel was called a man by the angel, on account of his desires. What were his desires, if not those by which he fervently aspired to the beauty of wisdom? Indeed, at his young age he trampled lust underfoot, as a prisoner he crushed the pride of kings, and, shut in, he shut the mouths of lions.

  SERMON 391:5

• Wisdom of Solomon 10:21

  If only I could sing like the choirs of angels! Oh, with what devotion I would pour myself out in your praises, reciting unceasingly and most excellently the hymn of your glory in the middle of the assembly! Will I perhaps keep silent because I cannot sing like them? Lord, woe to those who keep silent on your account, because "you open the mouth of the mute and loosen the tongue of infants." Since infants can only babble your praises, I ask you to accept the sacrifice from the tip of my tongue, from the love of my heart.

  MIRROR 23

• Wisdom of Solomon 11:17

  In Wisdom it says, "He who created the world from formless matter," and the opposite, "We were made from nothing." The sense of Scripture affirms that God created the elements all at once, with darkness also mixed in with them. And God called this confusion of elements (that is, air, fire, water, land and darkness) formless matter, as it says in Genesis: "The earth, moreover, was invisible and formless." And from this confusion he then created the world, also establishing the firmament, so that, once the waters were gathered in a single place, it might be the dwelling of the human race. Having distinguished and separated the elements, he made an inhabitable dwelling in the cavity that remained. - "Questions from the Old Testament 2.20"

• Wisdom of Solomon 11:23

  Let us hear what the Lord says to the prophet Jeremiah concerning idolaters: "Go and say, 'Return, house of Israel, says the Lord. I will not show you an indignant face, because I am compassionate, says the Lord. I will not maintain my anger forever. Rise, acknowledge your guilt. You have been godless and followed strangers under every green tree.' " See what God promises to those who return after they fall: to forgive their sins, once they have turned from their apostasy. And the Lord says further by the mouth of Jeremiah, "My pampered children have had to trod bitter paths, pushed along like a flock kidnapped by the enemy. Have courage, children, cry out to God, because he who has tested you will remember you. Just as you thought to separate yourselves from God, return to him, seeking him with ten times the zeal, since the one who afflicted you with so many calamities will also give you, with salvation, everlasting joy." O the mercy of God! How he calls to those who have fallen, that they might rise again! How he exhorts them so that, after their errors with idols, they would return to him! Like a benevolent Father he promises the eternal joy of salvation to his children if they mend their ways. Among other things, he says further by the same prophet, "I will lead them back to this country. I will firmly reestablish them and will not destroy them. I will plant them, and never again will I uproot them." In fact, since he had threatened, "The one who sacrifices to the gods will be uprooted," so that those who had sinned would not despair (as though, having been uprooted for having sacrificed to idols, they could not be replanted), he exhorts them, since if they repent they can be restored to their prior state. If they do not correct their crime, however, the sentence will be carried out. Moreover, it was preached to the Ninevites that their city would be destroyed after three days. Why after three days, if not that they might repent and the sentence be cancelled, or that they might remain in their sin and have even greater reason to perish? This is as he said through the prophet, "I do not desire the death of the one who dies, but that he would return to me and live." And thus it happened that the Ninevites, destined to die for their sins, were pardoned because of their repentance. And why did the construction of the ark by Noah take a hundred years, if not so that those who saw and heard what was threatened would correct themselves? Indeed, God wants no one to perish. This is why we read in Solomon, "The Lord had mercy on sinners." And further, "You have compassion on all, because you can do all things. You overlook people's sins, that they might repent." It is in this sense that the Lord, deploring the faithlessness of the Jews, says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you, how often have I wanted to gather your children, like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!" Everywhere in the Law, then, the Lord exhorts sinners to conversion, not wanting that his creatures fall into perdition. And the Law that was given had no other purpose than that men and women would turn from error to the truth. Nonetheless, in the New Testament the author of the Law reveals himself as being more merciful, since he wanted to be more generous and rich in mercy at that time when he deigned to manifest the sacrament of his Son our Lord, so that grace would be more abundant through the preaching of the Son than through the preaching of the servants.

  QUESTIONS FROM BOTH TESTAMENTS 102

• Wisdom of Solomon 11:24

  The Lord is true and merciful, and he does not delight in the destruction of the living. What is the ruin of the living if not death? But the death of the living who live badly, who will perish in the second death, not that of the living who are righteous, that is, who seek God and are not subject to the second death but only to the first, which is a result of the sin of Adam with which they were born. If then God were the author of death, he should rejoice in the destruction of the living as though it were one of his good works, since it is written, "The Lord will rejoice in his works," and he made nothing out of hate, but everything that he made was very good, as it is written, "Since you love everything that exists, and you despise nothing that you have created. If you had hated something, you would not have created it."

  HYPOMNESTICON 1:1