Texts in Conversation
The Christian theologian Hilary of Poitiers uses the Wisdom of Solomon as an authoritative source for theology to teach how creation points to its creator, repeating its idea that the beauty and order of the world reveals the one who formed it.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 13:5
Deuterocanon
1 For truly all men who had no perception of God were foolish by nature, and didn’t gain power to know him who exists from the good things that are seen. They didn’t recognize the architect from his works. 2 But they thought that either fire, or wind, or swift air, or circling stars, or raging water, or luminaries of heaven were gods that rule the world. 3 If it was through delight in their beauty that they took them to be gods, let them know how much better their Sovereign Lord is than these, for the first author of beauty created them. 4 But if it was through astonishment at their power and influence, then let them understand from them how much more powerful he who formed them is. 5 For from the greatness of the beauty of created things, mankind forms the corresponding perception of their Maker. 6 But yet for these men there is but small blame, for they too perhaps go astray while they are seeking God and desiring to find him.
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Early Christian
So, although my soul took joy in perceiving this majestic and unfathomable Mind, because it could worship so limitless an Infinity as its own Father and Creator, it sought with an even more eager desire to know the true appearance of its infinite and eternal Lord, so that it might be able to believe that this immeasurable Deity was clothed in splendor fitting the beauty of His wisdom. Then, while the devout soul was baffled and lost through its own weakness, it caught from the prophet's voice this admirably expressed standard of comparison for God: By the greatness of His works and the beauty of the things that He has made, the Creator of worlds is rightly discerned. The Creator of great things is supreme in greatness, and the Creator of beautiful things supreme in beauty. Since the work surpasses our thoughts, the Maker must surpass all thought.
Date: 355–360 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... Turning to the Western Church, the earliest evidence comes from Irenaeus (died 202), who, although he never quotes from the Book of Sirach, includes quotations from Baruch and the Additions to Daniel in his Against Heresies. He cites these as the works of 'Jeremiah the prophet' and 'Daniel the prophet,' respectively, and also quotes from the Wisdom of Solomon. This suggests that he likely considered the books of the Apocrypha as canonical. Tertullian (died 220) also quotes from our book in works such as Against the Gnostics and On the Exhortation of Chastity, using the same formula, "as it is written," that he employs for the Hebrew Canon. Cyprian (died 258), in his Testimonies and letters, frequently quotes from the Book of Sirach and introduces them with phrases like "as it is written" or "Divine Scripture says." Methodius (circa 311), bishop of Lycia and later Tyre, freely quotes from the Book of Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Baruch, treating them as 'Scripture.' Hilary of Poitiers (died 368) lists the books of the Old Testament in his Prologue to the Book of Psalms, including only the Epistle of Jeremiah from the Apocrypha but adds that some also count the Book of Tobit and the Book of Judith, totaling 24 books to align with the number of Greek letters. Nonetheless, he cites Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon as 'prophets,' implying his belief in their canonicity ..."
R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford University Press, 1913), 302.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,