The Influence of Mother Wisdom on Augustine

3.1 Introduction

In this section, I will discuss a text of Augustine from his tractates on the Gospel of John (In Iohannis evangelium tractatus). The genre of the tractates can be understood as an exegetical sermon, in which Augustine comments on a Bible text verse by verse. The central text in this section comes from Tractate 98, which he wrote between 418 and 420. Augustine explains here a Paraclete text in which Jesus makes known to his disciples that he still has a lot to say, but that they cannot bear it yet (John 16:12–3). After his passing away, Jesus will send the Spirit of truth to his disciples, who will instruct them.

In this tractate, Augustine deals with the teaching of the Faith in the early Christian church. As bishop he was responsible for the formation of the Faith of the competentes, those who are preparing for Baptism. In this teaching Augustine places Mother Wisdom in the foreground. He describes her as an eternally nourishing person, who is constantly giving life. She is transforming her gifts for her “children:” the competentes in the early Christian church.

In this section, I will start with the context of the early Christian church, in which Augustine has placed Mother Wisdom (1). I will continue with Augustine’s text in which Mother Wisdom comes in the fore and the function given her by Augustine (2). Then I will describe how he has adopted and adapted her person to his tractate (3), the theology of Mother Wisdom (4) and the working of Mother Wisdom expressed in the symbolism of a suckling mother (5).

5.1 Augustine’s text from Io.eu.tr. 98, 6

But far be it that incompatible with this milk is the food of spiritual things, which must be grasped with firm understanding, which was lacking to the Colossians and the Thessalonians and had to be supplied. For when what was lacking is supplied, what was there is not rejected. For even in the nutriments that we take, solid food is not incompatible with milk, even so much so that [solid food] itself turns into milk whereby it can be suitable for infants to whom it comes through the flesh of a mother or a nurse; so also did Mother Wisdom herself, who, although on high she is solid food of the angels, deigned, in a manner of speaking, to turn into milk for the little ones, when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. But this very man Christ who, in his true flesh, true cross, true death, true Resurrection, is called the pure milk of little ones, when he is correctly apprehended by spiritual human beings, is found to be the Lord of the angels (Io.eu.tr. 98, 6).^[8]

5.2 Analysis of the Mother Wisdom in Augustine’s text

At the beginning of this fragment, Augustine speaks about a supply in the faith, based on the letters of Paul (Col. 2:5^[9] and 1 Tess. 3:10).^[10] Augustine adapts these texts so that he can speak about lack of faith in Jesus Christ. That which is lacking in faith has to be supplemented. Thus, he pointed to the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, the deeper insight into Jesus Christ after his death, which is given to the perfect believers. Augustine described the Spirit of Truth as “solid food” compared to the “milk” of catecheses. However, for Augustine both “solid food” and “milk” come from Mother Wisdom.

Mother Wisdom has her residence in the highest heavens, where she feeds the angels with “solid food.” The bread of the angels is found in Wisdom of Solomon (Wisdom 16, 20–1).^[11] It tells of God feeding his people with the food of the angels prepared in heaven. However, in Augustine’s tractate, it is not God but Mother Wisdom who feeds the angels. In turn, she reveals herself in the highest heavens as eternal nourishment. Thereby, Augustine depicts the eternal food and Mother Wisdom as the same thing. Her personification coincides with the gift she represents: Mother Wisdom is the bread in heaven, with which she satisfies the angels.

Because it is not possible for the competentes to comprehend this eternal food, Mother Wisdom transforms it into grace. Augustine compares this transformation with the symbolism of a lactating mother: a mother converted (lactescere) the food that she consumes into breast milk for her baby. With this motherly symbolism he describes the preparation of food by Mother Wisdom. This does not correspond at all with the meals that Wisdom prepares for her guests in Proverbs and Ben Sirach (Prov. 9, 4; Sir. 24, 21). In Augustine’s tractate, Mother Wisdom is only hostess for the angels in heaven, not for her “children” on earth: the competentes.

Mother Wisdom mediates her graces through Jesus on earth to her children on earth: the competentes in the early Christian church. Although mother Wisdom prepares the gifts of grace, she does not present these gifts herself. The role of hostess is taken over by Jesus. He presents her gifts of grace to her children who were working towards Christian initiation. He is her instrument. In this tractate, the relationship between Mother Wisdom and Jesus is expressed in the feeding of “milk.” Jesus represents her gift of graces, in that he is “milk.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:51), but he is not the “milk.” In Augustine’s texts, “milk” refers to grace.^[12] Grace is prepared by Mother Wisdom and Augustine places her grace in the context of Christian initiation. Grace facilitates growth in faith so that “flesh” is transformed into “spirit,” so that the competentes are able to receive the Spirit of truth that leads to a deeper understanding of Jesus Christ.

5.3 The function of mother Wisdom in Christian initiation

In this fragment of the tractate on the Gospel of John (Io.eu.tr. 98, 6), Mother Wisdom is not the same as the Creator who bestows himself in abundant love; neither does she coincide with the incarnated Word, nor with the Holy Spirit. Instead, she has a permanent revelatory status in the highest heaven. Her revelation has to do with eternal food for the angels and with grace for the competentes. She is as an eternally nourishing mother, who is constantly giving life to the angels. She is related reciprocally in heaven with the angels, who open themselves to abundant nourishment. They are her heavenly disciples. Her earthly disciples are the competentes who open themselves to her grace mediated by Jesus Christ. He represents her divine gifts (grace) that transform their “flesh” into “spirit.” In this way, Mother Wisdom involves the competentes in discipleship by feeding them as an eternally nourishing Mother in Christian initiation.

6.1 Wisdom as person

The person Mother Wisdom can be found in the Latin translation of Sirach 24, 24–5. The Latin translation of Sirach 24 of Ecclesiasticus is more extensive than the Greek text in the Septuagint (LXX).^[13] The Latin text has 47 verses, and the Greek text has 34 verses. Verse 18 from chapter 24 is in the Latin text verse 24. Here we find a completely different text about Mother Wisdom:

Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis et timoris et agnitionis et sanctae spei (24). In me gratia omnis vitae et veritatis, in me omnis spes vitae et virtutis (25).^[14]

In English:

I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is the grace of the whole life and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.

Augustine adopts the person of Mother Wisdom from the Latin translation of Sirach 24, 24.

He does not adopt her properties – fair love (pulchra dilectionis), fear (timoris), knowledge (agnitionis) and holy hope (sanctae spei) – but rather the abstract concepts of grace and truth from verse 25:

I am the mother […]. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth (Sir. 24:24–5).^[15]

Grace and truth are attributed to Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John in the Latin translation of John:

For the law was given by Moses: grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).^[16]

However, Augustine attributes grace and truth not to Jesus Christ, but to Mother Wisdom. Augustine expresses these abstractions with Paul’s imagery “milk” and “solid food” (1 Cor. 3, 2). The “milk” refers to the earthly grace obtained in relation to Jesus Christ and the “solid food” refers to the deeper understanding of Jesus Christ that is obtained after his death and resurrection. This deeper insight is given by the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13). Augustine attributes Paul’s imagery of “milk” and “solid food” to Mother Wisdom.

The children for whom Mother Wisdom prepares her milk are not mentioned in the Latin text of Sirach 24:24, Vulgate. Augustine may have based this mother and child relationship instead on Luke 7:35, which describes Wisdom’s relation to her children as justification:

But Wisdom is justified of all her children (Luke 7:35).^[17]

Augustine may also have used the letters of Paul and Peter to describe the children who still need milk (1 Cor. 3:1–2). In relation to the Corinthian community, Paul describes himself as a mother who had to feed her children with “milk,” intended for the “children of the faith.” They had received the basic principles of the Christian faith. Likewise, in his letter Peter calls on the newborn to long for the milk so that they grow and be saved (1 Petr. 2:2).

6.2 The residence

In this tractate, Mother Wisdom has her residence in the highest heavens, which connects to the residence of Wisdom in Sirach: She has put up her tent in heaven (Sir. 24:4). Wisdom has no place on the earth, as is the case in Proverbs. It is told that she has built her house on her seven pillars to receive her guests (Prov. 9:1). In the Book of Ben Sira, Wisdom says that after many wanderings in heaven and on earth, she eventually finds a place to stay on Zion in Jerusalem (Sir. 24:10–1). Her wanderings refer to the way of Wisdom in the book of Enoch, in which it is said that she went out to find a place to stay among the children of men, but found no place of residence there. Therefore, she returned to her place and took her seat among the angels (1 En. 42:1–2).^[18] She was given a place to stay in the heavens. Likewise, Augustine depicts Mother Wisdom as residing in heaven where she feeds the angels.

8.1 Historical-cultural context

The iconography of the lactating mother goddess Isis was widespread in the Roman Empire.^[23] The worship of Isis continued throughout the third and fourth centuries, despite the growing influence of Christianity.^[24] Augustine was likely familiar with it. It could be that he was affected by the presentation of the milk feeding goddess-mother from the cultural context in which he lived.

Isis was the mother of Horus, who – after the death of her husband Osiris – in a special way was conceived. In the iconographic representation, she is pictured as feeding her son Horus on her breast (Isis lactans).^[25] The Isis cult was still prevalent in North Africa, which in Augustine’s time was a province of the Roman Empire. So, Apuleius of Madaura (ca. 125–ca. 180) says in his novel Metamorphoses (150) over a certain Lucius who was turned into a donkey and regains his human form at his initiation into the mysteries of Isis. Augustine heard of Apuleius, for he wrote about Apuleius and about his work The Golden Ass in The City of God (ciu. 18, 18). Moreover, Augustine attended high school (secondary education) in the university town Madaura, which boasted to be the birthplace of the Platonist orator Apuleius.^[26] But the symbolism of the suckling mother does not appear in The Golden Ass.

8.2 Theological context

Another context which may have influenced Augustine is the theological context of North Africa. The image of a church that her “children” feeds on spiritual nourishment (“milk”) we see in St. Clement of Alexandria. The motherly imagery also appeared among African spiritual authors like Tertullian and St. Cyprian.^[27] Tertullian (ca. 160–222) personifies the church as a mother who feeds the faithful on her mother’s breasts. In his work Ad Martyras, he shows a deep respect for her which he expresses in the words: Domina Mater Ecclesia (Lady Mother Church).^[28] St. Cyprian (205–58), who was bishop of the North African Church province of Carthage, where Augustine would study later, writes about the Christian parents: God as Father and the church as a mother. Using the motherly symbolism, he stressed the unity of the church:

There is only one head and only one source, only one Mother abounding in the issue of her fruitfulness. By her bearing are we born, by her milk are we nourished, by her are we animated.^[29]

The authors of these texts ascribe the symbolism of motherhood to the church, but Augustine links this motherly symbolism to both Wisdom and the church.

8.3 Autobiographical context

It is possible that the symbolism of the nursing mother has an autobiographic context, because of the repetition of this symbolism. In his Confessions, Augustine describes that his mother Monnica played a role of huge importance in his religious development. We also know that Augustine had a lasting relationship with a woman for fourteen years, with whom he had a son. He had experienced his partner’s motherhood from close up. Given their loving bond as partners and parents, traces of her daily mothering can be seen throughout the Confessions, in which he tells the story of his life. Implicitly, the symbolism appears where Augustine describes himself as a baby who has been nursed by his mother and his nurses, events which he was unable to personally remember as an adult (Conf. 1.6.7). It is possible that he remembered the nursing of his son by his partner, whereby he was a partaker of the intimate intercourse between mother and son.^[30] However, in the Confessions, Augustine did not render her motherhood explicit, due to associations with sexuality and sin (Conf. 3.4.5; 4.2.2).

In summary, the three contextual elements may have influenced Augustine and encouraged him to use the symbolism of the lactating mother. The most personal of these elements may have been the experience of his mistress nursing their son. This means that this symbolism is associated with gender, because cultural and social factors have played a role in the construction of the symbolism of motherhood. The social factors point especially to the mistress of Augustine whose motherhood he experienced from close up. The iconography of Isis lactans may have inspired the expression of the symbolism of the lactating mother, but in Augustine’s writings we find no explicit reference to her. Finally, it is evident that the writings of the Church Fathers have contributed to the theological content of this symbolism of motherhood in Augustine. It should be noted that they attribute this symbolism to the church, but not to Mother Wisdom as Augustine did.