Bad Men Cannot Have True Knowledge

Someone who does not carefully weigh every word of what has been said cannot rightly grasp the force of the statement. We said at the start that men of this sort have only skill in debate and ornaments of speech, but cannot get through to the very heart of Scripture and the mysteries of its spiritual meanings. True knowledge is gained only by true worshipers of God. And certainly it is not possessed by the people to whom it is said: “Hear, O foolish people, you who have no heart: you who have eyes and do not see, and ears and do not hear.” And again: “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from serving as my priest.” For since it is said that in Christ “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden,” how can we hold that someone has gained spiritual knowledge who has scorned to find Christ, or who, when he is found, blasphemes him with ungodly lips, or who at least defiles the catholic faith by his impure deeds? “For the Spirit of God will flee from deceit, and does not live in a body that is subject to sin.” [a]

There is, then, no way of arriving at spiritual knowledge except the one a prophet has finely described: “Sow for yourselves for righteousness; reap the hope of life; enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge.” First, then, we must sow for righteousness: that is, by works of righteousness we must spread practical perfection. Next we must reap the hope of life: that is, by driving out the sins of the flesh we must gather the fruits of spiritual virtues. And so we will succeed in enlightening ourselves with the light of knowledge. The psalmist also sees that this order ought to be followed, when he says: “Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who seek his testimonies.” He does not say first, “Blessed are those who seek his testimonies,” and then add, “Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way.” He begins by saying, “Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way,” and so shows clearly that no one can properly come to seek God’s testimonies unless he first walks undefiled in the way of Christ by his practical life.

So the men you mentioned do not possess the knowledge that the impure cannot reach. They possess the knowledge the Greek calls pseudonymos, that is, “falsely so called,” of which the blessed apostle speaks: “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding profane novelties of words and the oppositions of the knowledge that is falsely so called.” In the Greek this reads tas antitheseis tes pseudonymou gnoseos. Of those, then, who seem to gain some show of knowledge, or who apply themselves diligently to reading the sacred book and memorizing the Scriptures and yet do not abandon the sins of the flesh, it is well said in Proverbs: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, so is the beauty of an evil-minded woman.” For what does it profit a man to gain the ornaments of heavenly eloquence and the most precious beauty of the Scriptures if, by clinging to filthy deeds and thoughts, he destroys it by burying it in the foulest ground, or defiles it by wallowing in the dirt of his own lusts? The result will be that what is an ornament to those who use it rightly not only cannot adorn such men, but is itself soiled by the added filth and mud. For “praise is not fitting in the mouth of a sinner,” and to him the prophet says: “Why do you declare my righteous acts, and take my covenant on your lips?” There are souls like this, which never hold in any lasting way the fear of the Lord, of which it is said, “The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom,” and yet try to get at the meaning of Scripture by constant meditation on it. Of them it is fittingly asked in Proverbs: “What use is wealth to a fool? For a senseless man cannot possess wisdom.”

But this true and spiritual knowledge is so far removed from that worldly learning, which is stained by the sins of the flesh, that we know it has sometimes flourished most splendidly in men who had no eloquence and were almost illiterate. This is shown very clearly in the case of the apostles and many holy men, who did not spread themselves out in an empty show of leaves, but were bowed down by the weight of the true fruits of spiritual knowledge. Of them it is written in the Acts of the Apostles: “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were astonished.” So if you are eager to reach that never-failing fragrance, you must first strive with all your might to obtain from the Lord the purity of chastity. For no one in whom the love of the passions of the flesh, and above all of sexual immorality, still holds sway can gain spiritual knowledge. For “in a good heart wisdom will rest,” and, “He who fears the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness.”

That we must come to spiritual knowledge in the order we have already described, the blessed apostle also teaches us. He wanted not merely to list all his own virtues, but rather to describe their order, to explain which follows which and which gives birth to which. So after some others he goes on like this: “In vigils, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in patience, in gentleness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love.” By this list of virtues he plainly meant to teach us that we must come from vigils and fastings to chastity, from chastity to knowledge, from knowledge to patience, from patience to gentleness, from gentleness to the Holy Spirit, and from the Holy Spirit to the rewards of sincere love. When, then, by this method and in this order, you too have come to spiritual knowledge, you will certainly have, as we said, no barren or idle learning, but one that is vigorous and fruitful. The seed of the word of salvation that you have entrusted to the hearts of your hearers will be watered by the abundant showers of the Holy Spirit that will follow. And, as the prophet promised, “rain will be given to your seed, wherever you sow in the land, and the bread from the grain of the land will be most plentiful and rich.”