Sabiduría · Vulgata Clementina
Sabiduría 13 Vulgata Clementina
1 [Vani autem sunt omnes homines in quibus non subest scientia Dei; et de his quæ videntur bona, non potuerunt intelligere eum qui est, neque operibus attendentes agnoverunt quis esset artifex:
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 sed aut ignem, aut spiritum, aut citatum aërem, aut gyrum stellarum, aut nimiam aquam, aut solem et lunam, rectores orbis terrarum deos putaverunt.
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 Quorum si specie delectati, deos putaverunt, sciant quanto his dominator eorum speciosior est: speciei enim generator hæc omnia constituit.
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 Aut si virtutem et opera eorum mirati sunt, intelligant ab illis quoniam qui hæc fecit fortior est illis:
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 a magnitudine enim speciei et creaturæ cognoscibiliter poterit creator horum videri.
5 For from the greatness of the beauty of created things, mankind forms the corresponding perception of their Maker.
6 Sed tamen adhuc in his minor est querela; et hi enim fortasse errant, Deum quærentes, et volentes invenire.
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.
7 Etenim cum in operibus illius conversentur inquirunt, et persuasum habent quoniam bona sunt quæ videntur.
7 For they diligently search while living among his works, and they trust their sight that the things that they look at are beautiful.
8 Iterum autem nec his debet ignosci.
8 But again even they are not to be excused.
9 Si enim tantum potuerunt scire ut possent æstimare sæculum, quomodo hujus Dominum non facilius invenerunt?]
9 For if they had power to know so much, that they should be able to explore the world, how is it that they didn’t find the Sovereign Lord sooner?
10 [Infelices autem sunt, et inter mortuos spes illorum est, qui appellaverunt deos opera manuum hominum: aurum et argentum, artis inventionem, et similitudines animalium, aut lapidem inutilem, opus manus antiquæ.
10 But they were miserable, and their hopes were in dead things, who called them gods which are works of men’s hands, gold and silver, skillfully made, and likenesses of animals, or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
11 Aut si quis artifex faber de silva lignum rectum secuerit, et hujus docte eradat omnem corticem, et arte sua usus diligenter fabricet vas utile in conversationem vitæ;
11 Yes and some woodcutter might saw down a tree that is easily moved, skillfully strip away all its bark, and fashion it in attractive form, make a useful vessel to serve his life’s needs.
12 reliquiis autem ejus operis ad præparationem escæ abutatur,
12 Burning the scraps from his handiwork to cook his food, he eats his fill.
13 et reliquum horum quod ad nullos usus facit, lignum curvum et vorticibus plenum sculpat diligenter per vacuitatem suam, et per scientiam suæ artis figuret illud, et assimilet illud imagini hominis,
13 Taking a discarded scrap which served no purpose, a crooked piece of wood and full of knots, he carves it with the diligence of his idleness, and shapes it by the skill of his idleness. He shapes it in the image of a man,
14 aut alicui ex animalibus illud comparet: perliniens rubrica, et rubicundum faciens fuco colorem illius, et omnem maculam quæ in illo est perliniens;
14 or makes it like some worthless animal, smearing it with something red, painting it red, and smearing over every stain in it.
15 et faciat ei dignam habitationem, et in pariete ponens illud, et confirmans ferro
15 Having made a worthy chamber for it, he sets it in a wall, securing it with iron.
16 ne forte cadat, prospiciens illi: sciens quoniam non potest adjuvare se: imago enim est, et opus est illi adjutorium.
16 He plans for it that it may not fall down, knowing that it is unable to help itself (for truly it is an image, and needs help).
17 Et de substantia sua, et de filiis suis, et de nuptiis votum faciens inquirit: non erubescit loqui cum illo qui sine anima est.
17 When he makes his prayer concerning goods and his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to speak to that which has no life.
18 Et pro sanitate quidem infirmum deprecatur, et pro vita rogat mortuum, et in adjutorium inutilem invocat.
18 Yes, for health, he calls upon that which is weak. For life, he implores that which is dead. For aid, he supplicates that which has no experience. For a good journey, he asks that which can’t so much as move a step.
19 Et pro itinere petit ab eo qui ambulare non potest; et de acquirendo, et de operando, et de omnium rerum eventu, petit ab eo qui in omnibus est inutilis.]
19 And for profit in business and good success of his hands, he asks ability from that which has hands with no ability.
Lo que dijeron los Padres
Pasajes de los Padres de la Iglesia que comentan o citan este capítulo, tal como aparecen en la edición de Schaff (traducciones inglesas del siglo XIX, de dominio público). Los textos están en inglés.
Cómo se eligieron
«Comentario» es el comienzo de una homilía o exposición sobre este capítulo (homilías de san Juan Crisóstomo; tratados, sermones y comentarios a los Salmos de san Agustín). «Cita» es una frase en la que las notas de la propia edición identifican la cita de un versículo de este capítulo; solo se conserva si el texto coincide con el versículo. Solo se usan obras de autoría segura. Los Salmos siguen la numeración hebrea (Agustín usa la de los Setenta: su Salmo 50 es aquí el 51).
… philosophers, I used to compare some teachings of theirs with those long fables of the Manichæans and the former things which they declared, who could only prevail so far as to estimate this lower world, while its lord they could by no means find out, seemed to me the more probable.
Leer en contexto · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… to see with eyes of flesh: but from the works, which are Divine, it is possible to attain to some conception of His power, according to Solomon, who says, For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably the Maker of them is seen.
Leer en contexto · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… but, saith He, "he that is able to receive it, let him receive it." Vain, assuredly, are all men in whom the knowledge of God is not, and who could not, out of the good things which are seen, find out Him who is good. But I was no longer in that vanity; I had surmounted it, and by the …
Leer en contexto · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… incorporeal and invisible, that thou mayest abhor those who blaspheme the wise and good Artificer, and from what is spoken and read, and whatever thou canst thyself discover or conceive, from the greatness and beauty of the creatures mayest proportionably see the maker of them, and bending the knee with godly reverence to the Maker of the worlds, the …
Leer en contexto · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… use of the rules discovered and laid down by those who are rebuked by Holy Writ in these terms: "For if they were able to know so much that they could weigh the world, how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?"
Leer en contexto · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)