Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts
Proverbs 17:16
There is 1 footnote for this reference.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 443, footnote 11 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part II. Containing Conferences XI-XVII. (HTML)
Conference XIV. The First Conference of Abbot Nesteros. On Spiritual Knowledge. (HTML)
Chapter XVI. The answer to the effect that bad men cannot possess true knowledge. (HTML)
... sinner praise is not comely;” as to him it is said by the prophet: “Wherefore dost thou declare My righteous acts, and takest My covenant in thy lips?” of souls like this, who never possess in any lasting fashion 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 continual meditation on them, it is appropriately asked in Proverbs: “What use are riches to a fool? For a senseless man cannot possess wisdom.”[Proverbs 17:16] But so far is this true and spiritual knowledge removed from that worldly erudition, which is defiled by the stains of carnal sins, that we know that it has sometimes flourished most grandly in some who were without eloquence and almost illiterate. ...