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| Chapter XLV
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Chapter XLV.
But that the object of Christianity3571
is that we should become wise, can be proved
not only from the ancient Jewish writings, which we also use, but
especially from those which were composed after the time of Jesus, and
which are believed among the Churches to be divine. Now, in
the fiftieth Psalm, David is described as saying in
his prayer to God these words: “The unseen and secret
things of Thy wisdom Thou hast manifested to me.”3572
| 3572 τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ
τὰ κρύφια τῆς
σοφίας σου
ἐδήλωσάς
μοι. | Solomon, too, because he asked for
wisdom, received it; and if any one were to peruse the Psalms, he would
find the book filled with many maxims of wisdom: and the
evidences of his wisdom may be seen in his treatises, which contain a
great amount of wisdom expressed in few words, and in which you will
find many laudations of wisdom, and encouragements towards obtaining
it. So wise, moreover, was Solomon, that “the queen of
Sheba, having heard his name, and the name of the Lord, came to try him with difficult questions, and spake
to him all things, whatsoever were in her heart; and Solomon answered
her all her questions. There was no question omitted by the king
which he did not answer her. And the queen of Sheba saw all the
wisdom of Solomon, and the possessions which he had3573
and there was no more spirit in
her.3574
| 3574 καὶ ἐξ
αὑτῆς
ἐγένετο. | And she said to the king, The report
is true which I heard in mine own land regarding thee and thy wisdom;
and I believed not them who told me, until I had come, and mine eyes
have seen it. And, lo, they did not tell me the half. Thou
hast added wisdom and possessions above all the report which I
heard.”3575
It is
recorded also of him, that “God gave Solomon wisdom and
understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand
that is on the seashore. And the wisdom that was in Solomon
greatly excelled the wisdom of all the ancients, and of all the wise
men of Egypt; and he was wiser than all men, even than Gethan the
Ezrahite, and Emad, and Chalcadi, and Aradab, the sons of Madi.
And he was famous among all the nations round about. And Solomon
spake three thousand proverbs, and his songs were five thousand.
And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the
hyssop which springeth out of the wall; and also of fishes and of
beasts. And all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and
from all the kings of the earth who had heard of the fame of his
wisdom.”3576
| 3576 Cf. 1 Kings iv. 29–34. The text reads, περὶ
πάντων τῶν
βασιλέων τῆς
γῆς, for which παρά has been substituted. |
And to such a degree does the Gospel desire that
there should be wise men among believers, that for the sake of
exercising the understanding of its hearers, it has spoken certain
truths in enigmas, others in what are called “dark”
sayings, others in parables, and others in problems.3577
| 3577 καὶ ἄλλα διὰ
προβλημάτων. | And one of the
prophets—Hosea—says at the end of his prophecies:
“Who is wise, and he will understand these things? or prudent,
and he shall know them?”3578
Daniel,
moreover, and his fellow-captives, made such progress in the learning
which the wise men around the king in Babylon cultivated, that they
were shown to excel all of them in a tenfold degree. And in the
book of Ezekiel it is said to the ruler of Tyre, who greatly prided
himself on his wisdom, “Art thou wiser than Daniel? Every
secret was not revealed to thee.”3579
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