In the early Masonic texts, Wisdom is the attribute of King Solomon : "King Solomon has been adopted in Speculative Freemasonry as the type or representative of Wisdom, in accordance with the character which has been given to him in the First Book of Kings (iv, 30-2): "Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about." (source : http://www.masonicdictionary.com/wisdom.html)
In the main traditional Masonic rites, there are three small columns (or pillars) which are placed at the three corners of the lodge carpet and are called Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. The "Wisdom" column, in Corinthian style, is placed at the southeast corner.
And how about that Chinese proverb:
"The palace leads to glory, the market to fortune...
and solitude to wisdom".
The Philosophia Perennis of Notre-Dame de Paris in the "Medallion of Wisdom".
source: Heraldie
Wisdom in other traditions!
"The 48 Ways of Wisdom" by Rabbi Noa'h Weinberg...
Solomon's Prayer "God of my fathers and Lord of Mercy, give me Wisdom:
"God of my fathers and Lord of Mercy, by Your Word You made the universe, You formed man by Your Wisdom to be master of Your creatures, to rule the world with justice and holiness, to render righteous judgments.
Give me Wisdom, sit down with You; do not cut me off from the number of Your children: I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, a frail man who lasts little, too weak to understand precepts and laws. The most accomplished of the children of men, if he lacks the Wisdom You give, will be counted for nothing. You have chosen me to reign over Your people, to rule over Your sons and daughters; You have commanded me to build a temple on Your holy mountain, an altar in the city where You dwell, imitating the holy dwelling that You founded from the beginning. Now Wisdom is with You, who knows Your works; she was there when You made the universe; she knows what pleases Your eyes, what is in conformity with Your decrees. From the most holy heavens, deign to send her, bring her down from the throne of Your Glory. Let her work by my side, and teach me what pleases Thee.
For she knows all things, understands all things, will guide my actions with prudence, and guard me by her glory. Then my works will be pleasing to You, and I will judge Your people justly, and be worthy of my father's throne. What man can discover the Intentions of God? Who can understand the Will of the Lord?
The thoughts of mortals are uncertain, and our thoughts are unstable; for a perishable body weighs down our soul, and this clay covering weighs down our spirit with a thousand thoughts. It is hard for us to imagine what is on earth, and we find with effort what is within our reach; what is in the heavens, who then discovered it? And who would have known Your Will, if You had not given Wisdom and sent Your Holy Spirit from above? Thus the paths of the inhabitants of the earth became straight; thus men learned what is pleasing to Thee and, through Wisdom, were saved. So be it. »
King Solomon (970-931 BC) - The Book of Wisdom, Chapter 9, verses 1-18
(Text by Marie-Christine PÉRI, lay preacher for the United Protestant Church of France, in the Paris region, Protestant service broadcast on France Culture on March 3, 2019).
I will not propose to you this morning, a reflection on this theme based on the writings of this or that ancient or contemporary philosopher, that is not the purpose of this program, I leave that to our specialists; but I will propose to you in this Protestant, and therefore Christian, Service, to approach this question from an extract from the Book of Proverbs which is in the Bible, in the Old Testament. (read more)
The Advaita Vedânta (Non-Duality), the very heart of Hinduism, is the universal science of life, which is addressed to everyone, regardless of their background or religion. Although Vedânta was born in the context of Hinduism, it is not necessary to be or become Hindu to study it. On the contrary, this thought, which is a metaphysics of great purity, will help the believer to better understand his own religion and to deepen it. (read more)
Taoism, a wisdom of non-duality, Interview of Yves Huguet on Paroles de traverse ( to discover on )
Wisdom in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assmann: "Like the languages of Mesopotamia and Sanskrit, the Egyptian language does not know a word that corresponds to the Hebrew hokmah, the Greek sophia, the Arabic hikmah, the Latin sapientia. But the absence of a term does not mean the absence of the concept. The Egyptians had a well-defined notion of what we can best render by "wise" and "wisdom". The most explicit expression of the Egyptian concepts of "sage" and "wisdom" is found in a papyrus from the 19th dynasty, where it refers to ancient authors who became classics:" (read more)
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