ARCHANGELUS

FRIAR MINOR original: "Minoritae." A member of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscans.

OF BORGONOVO IN THE TERRITORY OF

PIACENZA, ON THE EXPLANATIONS

An Apologetic Preface to the Reader. In this context, "apologetic" refers to a formal defense of a religious or intellectual position against critics.

AMONG the so varied and manifold gifts which we have received from God—the best and greatest giver of all good things—dearest Reader, no one who thinks rightly will believe that anything more noble or beneficial has happened to mortals than wisdom. For this governs the whole life of man. It teaches first how the soul is to be formed toward God, and then how the whole of life is to be established. Indeed, wisdom is the knowledge of things divine and human. The former, which deals with divine matters, is received by the heart alone through formed faith original: "fidem formatam." In medieval theology, this refers to faith animated by love or charity, rather than a mere intellectual belief.; the latter, however, which regards internal and external human actions, is passed down to posterity on parchments The author distinguishes between "divine wisdom" (spiritual experience) and "human wisdom" (written laws and science).. This human wisdom disposes the outward and civil life of man, and draws the soul toward the consideration of created things; but the divine is a certain most lively spirit, which cannot be expressed by the killing letter original: "occidente litera." A reference to the Apostle Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 3:6, "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.", but is written by the finger of God in the hearts of the faithful, according to that testimony of Jeremiah Hieremias: I, the Lord, will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts Jeremiah 31:33. This verse was central to the idea that true religion is internal and spiritual rather than just a matter of external laws..