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Library / Commentaries and Disputations on Genesis, Volume I

Book Five — the state of innocence

QUESTION III. Whether Adam was wiser than all mortals

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QUESTION III. Whether Adam was wiser than all mortals.1

QUAESTIO III. Vtrum Adam sapientior fuerit cunctis mortalibus.

Tertio loco quaestio illa tractanda est, utrum Adamus fuerit omnium mortalium sapientissimus. Non includimus in hanc comparationem dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, quem, etiam qua homo fuit, quemadmodum aliis omnibus perfectionibus, ita perfectione scientiae ac sapientiae cunctis mortalibus praecelluisse certum est. Ad quaestionem igitur propositam respondemus, vocabulum sapientiae non unius tantum esse significationis, sed quatuor modis posse accipi. Primo quidem pro uno ex septem donis Spiritus Sancti: et hac ratione tanta est in uno quolibet homine sapientia, quanta in eo est charitas et gratia gratum faciens. Et quia in beatissima Virgine et Apostolis maiorem credimus fuisse gratiam quam in Adamo, idcirco maiorem quoque fuisse in illis sapientiam existimare convenit. Altero modo nomen sapientiae accipitur pro scientia rerum divinarum et myste-...
In the third place, that question must be treated, whether Adam was the wisest of all mortals. We do not include in this comparison our Lord Jesus Christ, who, even as he was man, just as he excelled all mortals in every other perfection, so it is certain that he excelled them in the perfection of knowledge and wisdom. To the proposed question, then, we answer that the word ‘wisdom’ is not of one signification only, but can be taken in four ways. First, indeed, for one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: and in this sense there is as much wisdom in any one man as there is in him of charity and of sanctifying grace. And because we believe there was greater grace in the most blessed Virgin and in the Apostles than in Adam, it is therefore fitting to suppose that there was also greater wisdom in them. In the second way, the name ‘wisdom’ is taken for the knowledge of divine things and myste-...2
...riorum Fidei, quae vel humano studio et diligentia comparata, vel gratis Dei munere homini data est: et hanc sapientiam credibile admodum est maiorem fuisse in Apostolis et in quibusdam Ecclesiae Doctoribus quam in Adamo. Etenim mysteria Fidei ac rerum divinarum, post adventum Christi uberius, subtilius, distinctius, et enodatius percepta et cognita sunt. Tertio modo nonnunquam vocabulum sapientiae ponitur pro scientia rerum moralium et civilium, idemque valet atque prudentia politica et scientia bene regendi alios: atque hoc genus sapientiae facile adducor ut excellentiorem fuisse credam in Salomone quam in Adamo: haec enim sapientia magis necessaria erat Salomoni, innumerabilem nempe recturo populum: eamque praecipue Salomon a Deo petiit, et Deus ei perfectissimam tribuit, ut in tertio libro Regum, cap. tertio, scriptum est. Postremo, vox sapientiae in usu est apud Philosophos et Theologos pro perfecta et consummata rerum omnium scientia; quae cum alias doctrinas complectitur, tum potissime Metaphysicam, cui praeter ceteras disciplinas nomen sapientiae convenire, in primo libro Metaphysicorum docet Aristoteles. De hac autem sapientia intelligi debet quaestio proposita, utrum Adamus sapientior fuerit cunctis mortalibus: id quod nos, ne quod satis per se manifestum est disputando longius faciamus, sine ulla dubitatione et censemus et affirmamus.
...[and myste]ries of the Faith, which is either procured by human study and diligence, or given to man by the free gift of God: and it is quite credible that this wisdom was greater in the Apostles and in certain Doctors of the Church than in Adam. For the mysteries of the Faith and of divine things, after the coming of Christ, have been perceived and known more fully, more subtly, more distinctly, and more clearly. In a third way the word ‘wisdom’ is sometimes put for the knowledge of moral and civil things, and is equivalent to political prudence and the science of governing others well: and this kind of wisdom I am readily led to believe was more excellent in Solomon than in Adam, for this wisdom was more necessary to Solomon, who was to govern an innumerable people; and Solomon especially asked it of God, and God bestowed on him a most perfect [measure of it], as is written in the third book of Kings, chapter three. Finally, the word ‘wisdom’ is in use among the Philosophers and Theologians for the perfect and consummate knowledge of all things; which, while it embraces other disciplines, embraces most of all Metaphysics, to which, beyond all other disciplines, the name of wisdom belongs, as Aristotle teaches in the first book of the Metaphysics. Now of this wisdom the proposed question must be understood—whether Adam was wiser than all mortals: which we, lest by disputing we make longer what is sufficiently manifest of itself, both judge and affirm without any doubt.3
Tribus autem modis Adamus sapientia praecessit ceteros mortales. Primum quidem amplitudine scientiae: habuit enim Adamus, ut supra ostendimus, scientiam omnium rerum naturalium, quod nulli adhuc mortalium contigit. Deinde, praestantia modi sciendi: namque alii pleraque norunt probabili tantum ratione, vel non ex causis, sed ex effectis, vel non ostensiva demonstratione, sed ducente ad impossibile: Adamus vero perfectam cuiusque rei, et ex propriis eius causis ductam scientiam tenebat. Tertio, firmitate atque immobilitate scientiae: non enim in statu innocentiae amitti scientia potuisset. Siquidem quatuor ex causis accidit ut amittatur scientia: vel per diuturnam cessationem ab actu sciendi: huiusmodi enim habitus sicut assidua exercitatione acquiruntur, ita longa cessatione perduntur. Verum in statu innocentiae non ea fuisset cessatio, quippe cum exercitatio animi in cognoscendis et contemplandis rebus, quotidiana fuisset et iucundissima hominis occupatio. Perditur etiam scientia corruptione interioris sensus quem appellamus Phantasiam, quae vel morbo vel alio casu penitus corrumpi potest: ita ut litteratissimi homines omnium quae sciebant, etiam proprii nominis memoriam perdiderint. Mirum dictu, quod tamen affirmate Plinius libro 7, capite 24, et Solinus capite 7, tradunt, Messalam Corvinum, oratorem in primis clarum ac nobilem, ex diuturno et vehementi morbo in tantam rerum omnium quas noverat venisse oblivionem, ut etiam nominis sui non recordaretur. Verum, Adamus in statu innocentiae ab omnibus morbis, vitiis, incommodis, et defectibus corporis et sen-...
Now in three ways Adam surpassed the rest of mortals in wisdom. First, in the extent of his knowledge: for Adam had, as we showed above, the knowledge of all natural things, which has befallen no mortal up to now. Next, in the excellence of his manner of knowing: for others know most things only by probable reasoning, or not from causes but from effects, or not by ostensive demonstration but by [reduction] leading to the impossible: but Adam held a perfect knowledge of each thing, drawn from its own proper causes. Third, in the firmness and immovability of his knowledge: for in the state of innocence knowledge could not have been lost. For it happens from four causes that knowledge is lost: either through long cessation from the act of knowing—for such habits, just as they are acquired by constant exercise, so are they lost by long cessation. But in the state of innocence there would have been no such cessation, since the exercise of the mind in knowing and contemplating things would have been the daily and most delightful occupation of man. Knowledge is also lost by the corruption of the interior sense which we call the Imagination (Phantasia), which can be utterly corrupted by disease or some other mishap: so that the most learned men have lost the memory of all they knew, even of their own name. It is wonderful to tell, yet Pliny in book 7, chapter 24, and Solinus in chapter 7, affirm as a fact that Messala Corvinus, an orator foremost in renown and nobility, from a long and violent disease fell into such forgetfulness of all the things he had known that he did not even remember his own name. But Adam, in the state of innocence, was empty and free of all diseases, vices, inconveniences, and defects of body and of the sen-[ses]...4
...suum tam interiorum quam exteriorum vacuus et liber fuisset. Amittitur etiam habitus scientiae propter contrarium ignorantiae habitum, quem quis captiosa et fallaci ratione persuasus atque deceptus induit. Sed hoc nequaquam poterat accidere Adamo: eius namque clarissima et certissima erat scientia, nec fallaciis circumveniri aut in errores induci poterat. Legimus praeterea accidisse nonnullis oblivionem disciplinarum quas tenebant ex ipsorum voluntate et dono Dei, quippe qui eam oblivionem, ut ad quietem et tranquillitatem animi et spiritus consolationem magno futuram adiumento, studiose et obnixe a Deo petierant. Narrat Tostatus quaestione 11 in caput tertium libri tertii Regum, Albertum Magnum summis precibus orasse B. Virginem, ut sibi a Deo impetraret oblivionem humanarum doctrinarum et eorum quae in Philosophia didicerat: idque obtinuisse. Ponam hic verba Tostati, quo magis lectori satisfaciam.
...[of the sen]ses, both inner and outer. Knowledge is also lost on account of the contrary habit of ignorance, which a man puts on when, persuaded and deceived by captious and fallacious reasoning, [he embraces error]. But this could in no way befall Adam: for his knowledge was most clear and most certain, nor could it be circumvented by fallacies or led into errors. We read, moreover, that forgetfulness of the disciplines they held befell some men by their own will and as a gift of God, inasmuch as they had earnestly and resolutely asked that forgetfulness from God, as something that would be a great help toward the rest and tranquillity of mind and the consolation of the spirit. Tostatus relates, in question 11 on the third chapter of the third book of Kings, that Albert the Great with the utmost prayers besought the Blessed Virgin to obtain for him from God the forgetfulness of human doctrines and of the things he had learned in Philosophy: and that he obtained it. I shall set down here the words of Tostatus, the more to satisfy the reader.5

‘It is reported,’ he says, ‘of Albert the Great, a German of the Order of Preachers, who had been greatly excellent in the natural disciplines, that he prayed to Our Lady not to let him die amid the opinions of the Philosophers, but in faith alone: and he obtained it; for during the five years before his death, as is handed down, he was wholly ignorant, so that he did not even know his letters.’ Thus Tostatus. But indeed this would not have befallen Adam: for to a man in the state of innocence the knowledge and handling of these doctrines would have brought no detriment or hindrance to the spirit, but rather a great help and an incitement to the love and worship of God.6

Fertur, inquit, de Alberto Magno Teutonico ordinis Praedicatorum, qui in naturalibus disciplinis excellens valde fuerat, orasse eum Dominam nostram, ut non sineret ipsum mori in opinionibus Philosophorum, sed in sola fide: et obtinuit: per quinquennium enim ante mortem, ut traditur, omnino ignorans fuit, ita ut nec litteras sciret. Haec Tostatus. At enim, hoc non accidisset Adamo: nimirum homini in statu innocentiae cognitio et tractatio harum doctrinarum nullum spiritui detrimentum aut impedimentum, quin etiam magnum adiumentum et ad Dei amorem atque cultum incitamentum attulisset.

Sed huic opinioni, quae Adamum sapientia praefert cunctis mortalibus, adversari videtur divina Scriptura, faciens Salomonem sapientiorem omnibus hominibus qui eum antecesserant, quique post eum futuri erant. Sic enim loquitur Deus cum Salomone in tertio capite libri tertii Regum: Dedi tibi cor sapiens et intelligens, in tantum ut nullus ante te similis tui fuerit, nec post te surrecturus sit. Atque hic locus Scripturae adeo movit Tostatum, ut is in quaest. 7 super illud caput Scripturae non dubitaverit dicere Salomonem fuisse Adamo sapientiorem. Cui tamen ego minime assentior: quin potius arbitror Adamum omni genere scientiae ac sapientiae humanae praestantiorem fuisse Salomone: tum quia Adam creatus est, et in statu innocentiae, hoc est perfectissimo, et ipse tam corpore quam animo perfectissimus: perfectio igitur scientiae quae est hominis propria magis decebat statum illum hominis perfectum, magisque conveniebat Adamo quam Salomoni: tum etiam quod perfecta scientia rerum naturalium non tam necessaria aut utilis futura erat Salomoni quam Adamo: quippe qui primus futurus erat magister humani generis, primusque omnium disciplinarum doctor. Quod autem Scriptura dicit Salomonem excelluisse scientia omnes qui ante eum fuerant, ne opinioni nostrae videatur officere, quatuor modis commode interpretari possumus. Primo, Salomonem fuisse sa-...
But to this opinion, which prefers Adam in wisdom to all mortals, divine Scripture seems to be opposed, making Solomon wiser than all the men who had preceded him and who were to come after him. For thus God speaks with Solomon in the third chapter of the third book of Kings: ‘I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, insomuch that there hath been none like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee.’ And this passage of Scripture so moved Tostatus that he, in question 7 on that chapter of Scripture, did not hesitate to say that Solomon was wiser than Adam. To whom, however, I by no means assent: rather I judge that Adam was more excellent than Solomon in every kind of human knowledge and wisdom: both because Adam was created in the state of innocence, that is, the most perfect, and he himself was most perfect in body as in soul—the perfection of knowledge, then, which is proper to man, more befitted that perfect state of man, and was more fitting to Adam than to Solomon; and also because the perfect knowledge of natural things would be not so necessary or useful to Solomon as to Adam, inasmuch as Adam was to be the first teacher of the human race and the first instructor in all the disciplines. But as for the fact that Scripture says Solomon excelled in knowledge all who were before him, lest it seem to stand against our opinion, we can fittingly interpret it in four ways. First, that Solomon was wi-...7
...pientiorem omnibus, uno tamen excepto Adamo: non enim raro universales Scripturae sententiae non universaliter accipiendae sunt, sed ut plurimum et maxima ex parte. Vel sit comparatio Salomonis cum omnibus aliis hominibus qui proprio studio, industria, et diligentia sapientiam sunt adepti, extra quorum numerum est Adamus, qui eam sibi divinitus inditam habuit; namque velimus nolimus, ex illa generali sententia dominum nostrum Iesum Christum excipere necesse est. Vel dictus est Salomon sapientior omnibus, non quidem simpliciter omnibus hominibus, sed omnibus Regibus et principibus qui ante eum praefuerunt Hebraeo populo: aut etiam quibuslibet gentis Hebraeae, qui doctrina ullo tempore excelluerant Hierosolymis.
...[that Solomon was] wiser than all, yet with one exception, Adam: for not seldom the universal statements of Scripture are not to be taken universally, but for the most part and in the greatest part. Or let the comparison of Solomon be with all other men who attained wisdom by their own study, industry, and diligence—outside whose number is Adam, who had it divinely implanted in him; for, willing or unwilling, from that general statement we must except our Lord Jesus Christ. Or Solomon was called wiser than all, not indeed than all men simply, but than all the Kings and princes who before him had ruled the Hebrew people: or even than any of the Hebrew nation who at any time had excelled in learning at Jerusalem.8
Quam interpretationem valde probabilem facit, quod de se ipsemet Salomon scripsit sub finem primi capitis libri Ecclesiastae: Ecce, inquit, magnus effectus sum, et praecessi omnes sapientia qui fuerunt ante me in Hierusalem. Vel denique Scriptura non loquitur de sapientia quae est scientia speculativa rerum naturalium et divinarum, sed de scientia politica quae est prudentia bene regendi ac moderandi civitates ac populos. Et haec interpretatio fidem capit ex ipsa Scriptura, quae illo ipso loco narrat Salomonem petiisse a Deo non scientiam rerum naturalium, sed prudentiam regendi populum Hebraeum; haec enim ita loquentem facit Salomonem: Dabis, Domine, servo tuo cor docile, ut populum tuum iudicare possit, et discernere inter bonum et malum: quis enim poterit iudicare populum istum, populum tuum hunc multum? Et Deus respondit ei: Quia postulasti verbum hoc, et non petisti tibi dies multos, nec divitias, nec animas inimicorum tuorum, sed postulasti tibi Sapientiam ad discernendum iudicium: Ecce feci tibi secundum sermones tuos, et dedi tibi cor sapiens et intelligens, in tantum ut nullus ante te similis tui fuerit, nec post te surrecturus sit.
Which interpretation is made very probable by what Solomon himself wrote about himself toward the end of the first chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes: ‘Behold,’ he says, ‘I am become great, and have surpassed in wisdom all that were before me in Jerusalem.’ Or, finally, Scripture is not speaking of the wisdom which is the speculative knowledge of natural and divine things, but of the political knowledge which is the prudence of governing and moderating cities and peoples well. And this interpretation gains credit from Scripture itself, which in that very place relates that Solomon asked of God not the knowledge of natural things, but the prudence of governing the Hebrew people; for it represents Solomon speaking thus: ‘Thou shalt give, O Lord, to thy servant a docile heart, that he may be able to judge thy people, and to discern between good and evil: for who shall be able to judge this people, this thy great people?’ And God answered him: ‘Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself many days, nor riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself Wisdom to discern judgment: behold, I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, insomuch that there hath been none like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee.’9
Praecipue autem Dominus Salomoni dedit incredibilem perspicaciam ingenii atque solertiam, ut in rebus maxime obscuris et dubiis, in quibus scilicet veritas nullis indiciis et argumentis certo investigari et deprehendi potest, videret ipse et ubi verum esset et quid fieri oporteret: quam quidem solertiam et prudentiam mirabiliter ostendit Salomon in illarum duarum mulierum disceptatione. Quapropter cum Scriptura Salomonis super ea controversia iudicium et sententiam enarrasset, subiunxit: Audivit itaque omnis Israel iudicium quod iudicasset Rex, et timuerunt Regem, videntes sapientiam Dei esse in eo ad faciendum iudicium. Non est tamen negandum etiam rerum naturalium scientiam amplissimam Salomoni esse datam: id enim apertissime traditur in libro Sapientiae capite 7, quem locum paulo supra commemoravimus. Et in capite 4 libri 3 Regum sic est: Praecedebat sapientia Salomonis sapientiam omnium Orientalium et Aegyptiorum, et erat sapientior cunctis hominibus. Et disputavit super lignis, a cedro quae est in Libano usque ad Hyssopum quae egreditur de pariete: et disseruit de iumentis, et volucribus, et reptilibus, et piscibus, et veniebant de cunctis populis ad audiendum sapientiam Salomonis.
But especially the Lord gave to Solomon an incredible keenness of intellect and skill, so that in matters most obscure and doubtful—in which, namely, the truth can be investigated and detected with certainty by no signs or arguments—he himself might see both where the truth lay and what ought to be done: which skill and prudence Solomon wonderfully displayed in the dispute of those two women. Wherefore, when Scripture had narrated Solomon's judgment and sentence upon that controversy, it added: ‘And so all Israel heard the judgment which the King had judged, and they feared the King, seeing that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.’ Yet it is not to be denied that a most ample knowledge of natural things too was given to Solomon: for this is most openly handed down in the book of Wisdom, chapter 7, which passage we mentioned a little above. And in the fourth chapter of the third book of Kings it is thus: ‘The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all men. And he disputed about trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fishes, and they came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon.’10

Translator’s notes

  1. Question divider opening the third of the five questions. ↩
  2. Marginal gloss: 'Vocabulum sapientiae quatuor modis esse in usu' (the word 'wisdom' is used in four ways). Christ excepted from the comparison. First two of four senses of 'sapientia': (1) the gift of the Holy Spirit (proportional to grace—hence the Virgin and Apostles exceed Adam); (2) knowledge of divine things and mysteries. Catchword 'riorum' (signature XX 3); continues to next page. ↩
  3. The four senses of 'sapientia' completed (1st was the gift of the Spirit, p.533): (2) the mysteries of Faith; (3) moral/civil/political prudence (greater in Solomon—1 Kings 3); (4) perfect/consummate knowledge = Metaphysics (Aristotle, Metaph. I). The question concerns sense 4, and Pererius affirms Adam was wisest. Catchword from p.533 was 'riorum'. ↩
  4. Marginal glosses: 'Tripliciter Adamus cunctis hominibus praestitit sapientia' (in three ways Adam surpassed all men in wisdom); 'Quatuor causae amissionis scientiae' (four causes of the loss of knowledge). The three modes of Adam's excellence: extent, mode of knowing (from proper causes), and permanence. First causes of losing knowledge: cessation, and corruption of the Phantasia (Pliny NH 7.24, Solinus 7: Messala Corvinus forgetting his own name). Continues to next page (catchword 'sensuum'). ↩
  5. Completes the four causes of losing knowledge (contrary habit of error). Marginal gloss: 'Tostatus mirum narrat de Alberto Magno' (Tostatus tells a wonder about Albert the Great). Tostatus, q.11 on 3 Kings 3. Lead-in to the Tostatus block-quote about Albertus Magnus. ↩
  6. Block-quote of Tostatus's anecdote about Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great, OP) losing his learning before death, ending with the attribution marker 'Haec Tostatus.' Pererius adds: such loss could not befall Adam, for whom learning was pure help. ↩
  7. Marginal gloss: 'Vtrum Adamus sapientior fuerit Salomone' (whether Adam was wiser than Solomon). Objection from 1 Kings 3:12 ('a wise and understanding heart'); Tostatus q.7 held Solomon wiser. Pererius disagrees, then offers four interpretations of the Solomon text. Catchword 'pientiorem' continues to next page. ↩
  8. Marginal gloss (continued from p.535): 'Explicatur locus scripturae in 3. capite libri 3. Regum de praestanti scientia Salomonis' (the passage of 3 Kings 3 on Solomon's surpassing knowledge is explained). First three interpretations: universal statements taken broadly; comparison only with self-taught men (excepting Adam and Christ); comparison only with Hebrew kings/sages. ↩
  9. Fourth interpretation: Solomon's wisdom = political prudence, not speculative science. Quotes Ecclesiastes 1:16 and the prayer and answer of 1 Kings 3:9-12. ↩
  10. Solomon's prudence shown in the judgment of the two harlots (1 Kings 3:16-28). Yet he also had natural knowledge (Wisdom 7); quotes 1 Kings 4:30-34 ('disputed about trees... from the cedar... unto the hyssop'). Catchword 'QVAE' heads the next question (QUAESTIO IV). ↩