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Wisdom of Solomon describes wisdom as a reflection of God's power and goodness. Augustine uses this description to identify wisdom with God, so that a philosopher, a lover of wisdom, becomes a lover of God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 7:25
Deuterocanon
22 for wisdom, that is the architect of all things, taught me. For there is in her a spirit that is quick to understand, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, freely moving, clear in utterance, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving what is good, keen, unhindered, 23 beneficent, loving toward man, steadfast, sure, free from care, all-powerful, all-surveying, and penetrating through all spirits that are quick to understand, pure, most subtle. 24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion. Yes, she pervades and penetrates all things by reason of her purity. 25 For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty. Therefore nothing defiled can find entrance into her. 26 For she is a reflection of everlasting light, an unspotted mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. 27 Although she is one, she has power to do all things. Remaining in herself, she renews all things. From generation to generation passing into holy souls, she makes friends of God and prophets.
Augustine, City of God 8.1
On the City of God Against the Pagans
Early Christian
Now, if wisdom is God, who made all things, as is attested by the divine authority and truth, then the philosopher is a lover of God. But since the thing itself, which is called by this name, does not exist in all who glory in the name — for it does not follow, of course, that all who are called philosophers are lovers of true wisdom — we must select, from among those whose opinions we have been able to learn by reading, some with whom we may fittingly take up this question. For I have not undertaken in this work to refute all the vain opinions of the philosophers, but only those that concern theology, which Greek word we understand to mean an account or explanation of the divine nature.
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Notes and References
“... Patristic writers cited the work frequently, especially in formulating Christological and trinitarian doctrine. Thus Ignatius applied to Christ language from 7:29–30 about Wisdom, and from 18:14–15 about the logos (Ephesians 18.2–3; Magnesians 8.2). Origen cited Wisdom’s attributes in 7:22–8:1 to support the eternal generation of the Son by the Father and the sharing of the Father and Son in the same essence (On First Principles 1.2.5, 9; Against Celsus 5.10; 8.14). Augustine used the same passage to argue for the full equality of the persons of the trinity (On the Gospel of John 21.2; 22.10; 111.2; On the Trinity 2.5, 8; 4.20). Augustine also drew often on 9:15–17, according to which the perishable body weighs down the soul and spiritual insight requires the gift of the spirit, to formulate his anthropology (e.g. Confessions 7.17; City of God 19.24; Enchiridion 64); and he saw in the portrayal of the persecuted righteous one in 2:12–20 a prediction of Christ’s passion (City of God 17.20). ...”
Chesnutt, Randall D.
"Wisdom of Solomon" in Adams, Samuel L., and Matthew J. Goff (eds.) Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature
(p. 118) Wiley-Blackwell, 2020
* 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.
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