Philosophia Perennis Vol. I: An Introduction to Philosophy as Wisdom

I. Wisdom is the Art and Science of Salvation

1. That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations. (Psalm 66:3)

2. Moses refers to the law of salvation revealed in Holy Scripture and says to the people:

“This is your wisdom, and understanding in the sight of nations.” (Deuteronomy 4:6)

3. In all ways remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin. (Ecclesiasticus 7:40)

4. The sons of wisdom are the church of the just: and their generation, obedience and love. (Ecclesiasticus 3:1)

5. …Jesus Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)

6. The wise shall possess glory. (Proverbs 3:35)

7. …but the wise took oil in their vessels…. (Matthew 26:4)

8. For the wisdom of doctrine is according to her name, and she is not manifest unto many, but with them to whom she is known, she continueth even to the sight of God. (Ecclesiasticus 6:23)

9. He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just. (Luke 1:17)

10. Os justi meditabitur sapientiam (The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom). (Psalm 36:30)

II. Appreciation of Wisdom

1. The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite. (Ecclesiastes 1:15)

2. Better is wisdom than weapons of war. (Ecclesiastes 9:18)

3. She is more precious than all riches, and all the things that are desired are not to be compared with her. (Proverbs 3:15)

4. Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom. (Proverbs 3:13)

5. With me (wisdom) are riches and glory. (Proverbs 8:18)

6. Every man of understanding knoweth wisdom and will give praise to him that findeth her. (Ecclesiastes 18:28)

7. Wisdom is better than strength. (Wisdom 6:1)

8. Now all good things came to me together with her (wisdom). (Wisdom 7:11)

9. I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone. (Wisdom 7:8-9)

10. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom. (Wisdom 7:28)

11. For wisdom is more active than all active things. (Wisdom 7:24)

12. The kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46)

13. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:34)

III. True Wisdom is from God

1. All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with Him, and is before all time. (Ecclesiasticus 1:1)

2. Because the Lord giveth wisdom. (Proverbs 2:6)

3. And I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me. (Wisdom 7:7)

4. But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God. (James 1:5)

5. But who shall know thy thoughts, except thou give wisdom. (Wisdom 9:17)

6. I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. (Matthew 11:25)

7. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay. (Luke 21:15)

8. And God was with him (Joseph) . . . and gave him wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. (Acts 7:10)

9. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (I Corinthians 1:20)

10. To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength. (Daniel 2:23)

11. When I was yet young, before I wandered about, I sought for wisdom openly in my prayer. (Ecclesiasticus 51:18)

12. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness, and he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. (Isaias 11:2)

IV. The Way of Wisdom

1. For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sin. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful. (Wisdom 1:4, 5)

2. The children of Agar also, that search after the wisdom that is of the earth, …but the way of wisdom they have not known. (Baruch 3:23)

3. If the iron be blunt …with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 10:10)

4. To give subtlety to little ones. (Proverbs 1:4)

5. I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to little ones. (Matthew 11:25)

6. The sons of wisdom are the church of the just: and their generation obedience and love. (Ecclesiasticus 3:1)

7. Tradition — How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us. (Psalm 77:3)

8. Inquire of the former generation, and search diligently into the memory of the fathers. (Job 8:8)

9. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 110:10; Proverbs 9:10)

10. I wisdom dwell in counsel. (Proverbs 8:12)

11. The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. (Psalm 18:8)

12. But where is wisdom to be found…? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of them that live in delights. (Job 28:12, 13)

13. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness. (I Corinthians 1:23)

V. Wisdom: Imbedded in the Universe

1. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 13:35; Psalm 77:2)

2. …and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:9)

3. The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. (Matthew 13:31)

4. …and let them be for signs and for seasons. (Genesis 1:14)

5. He that maketh the earth by his power, that prepareth the world by his wisdom. (Jeremias 10:12; 51:15)

6. Thou hast ordered all things in measure and number and weight. (Wisdom 11:21)

7. For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. (Psalm 50:8)

8. …but where is wisdom to be found? (Job 12:12)

9. I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to them that seek wisdom. (Ecclesiasticus 24:46)

10. She (wisdom) reacheth from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly. (Wisdom 8:1)

11. But that the works of thy wisdom might not be idle: therefore men also trust their lives even to a little wood, and passing over the sea by ship are saved. (Wisdom 14:5)

12. The Wisdom of Solomon — For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are . . . for wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me. (Wisdom 7:17, 21)

VI. Folly: The Inclination of Our Fallen Nature

1. The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite. (Ecclesiastes 1:15)

2. The wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God. (Romans 8:7)

3. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. (I Corinthians 3:19)

4. False Wisdoms — For this is not wisdom, descending from above: but earthly, sensual, devilish. (James 3:15)

5. For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. (Luke 16:9)

6. Fools hate them that flee from evil things… a friend of fools shall become like to them. (Proverbs 13: 19, 20)

7. It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool trusting in his own folly. (Proverbs 17:12)

8. Am I then become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? (Galatians 4:16)

9. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil. (Exodus 23:2)

10. Are you so foolish, that, whereas you began in the Spirit, you would now be made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3)

11. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever. (I John 2:16-17)

12. And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take rest; eat, drink, make good cheer. But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:19, 20)

VII. Attributes of True Wisdom

1. Deep — O, Lord, how great are thy works! Thy thoughts are exceeding deep. (Psalm 91:6)

The spirit searcheth . . . the deep things of God. (I Corinthians 2:10)

2. Noble — She glorifieth her nobility by being conversant with God. (Wisdom 8:3)

The love of God is honorable wisdom. (Ecclesiasticus 1:14)

3. Beautiful — I became a lover of her beauty. (Wisdom 8:2)

She is more beautiful than the sun. (Wisdom 7:29)

The wisdom of a man shineth in his countenance. (Ecclesiastes 8:1)

4. Holy — For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins. (Wisdom 1:4)

Os justi. The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom. (Psalm 36:30)

5. Salutary — He that gaineth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)

6. Sweet — My spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. (Ecclesiasticus 24:27)

7. Dwells in Counsel — I wisdom dwell in counsel. (Proverbs 8:12)

8. Incompatible with Deceit — For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful. (Wisdom 1:5)

9. Concerned with the Last Things — In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin. (Ecclesiasticus 7:40)

10. Traditional — How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have told us. (Psalm 77:3)

11. Stable — A double minded man is inconstant in all his ways. (James 1:8)

12. Chaste — But the wisdom, that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation. (James 3:17; Wisdom 7:22-24)

VIII. Wisdom Must Radiate

1. Better is the man that hideth his folly, than the man that hideth his wisdom. (Ecclesiasticus 41:18)

2. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

3. The wisdom of a man shineth in his face. (Ecclesiastes 8:1)

4. For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of his goodness. (Wisdom 7:26)

5. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome wisdom. (Wisdom 7:29, 30)

6. He that walketh with the wise shall be wise. (Proverbs 13:20)

7. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. (Matthew 14, 15)

8. As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruits of honour and riches… I, wisdom, have poured out rivers. (Ecclesiasticus 24:23, 40)

9. And to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:9)

10. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)

11. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5)

IX. Wisdom is a Person

1. I love them that love me: and they that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

2. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. (John 1:1, 14)

4. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: for the life was manifested; and we have seen and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father, and hath appeared to us. (I John 1:1, 2)

5. And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. (Apocalypse 21:6)

6. Doth not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence put forth her voice? Standing in the top of the highest places by the way, in the midst of the paths, beside the gates of the city, in the very doors she speaketh saying: O ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. (Proverbs 8:1-4)

7. Wisdom hath built herself a house. (Proverbs 9:1)

8. Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children. (Wisdom 9:4)

9. …Jesus Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2, 3)

10. The Queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold one greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:42)