7:1 I too am a mortal man, the same as all the rest, and a descendant of the first man formed on earth. And in my mother’s womb I was molded into flesh
7:2 in a ten-months' period-body and blood, from the seed of man, and the pleasure that accompanies marriage.
7:3 And I too, when born, inhaled the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth; wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all.
7:4 In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured.
7:5 For no king has any different origin or birth,
7:6 but one is the entry into life for all; and in one same way they leave it.
7:7 Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
7:8 I preferred her to scepter and throne, And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
7:9 nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
7:10 Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, And I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
7:11 Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands;
7:12 And I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these.
7:13 Simply I learned about her, and ungrudgingly do I share- her riches I do not hide away;
7:14 For to men she is an unfailing treasure; those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God, to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them.
7:15 Now God grant I speak suitably and value these endowments at their worth: For he is the guide of Wisdom and the director of the wise.
7:16 For both we and our words are in his hand, as well as all prudence and knowledge of crafts.
7:17 For he gave me sound knowledge of existing things, that I might know the organization of the universe and the force of its elements,
7:18 The beginning and the end and the midpoint of times, the changes in the sun’s course and the variations of the seasons.
7:19 Cycles of years, positions of the stars,
7:20 natures of animals, tempers of beasts, Powers of the winds and thoughts of men, uses of plants and virtues of roots-
7:21 Such things as are hidden I learned and such as are plain;
7:22 for Wisdom, the artificer of all, taught me. For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, Manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, Not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly,
7:23 Firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, And pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.
7:24 For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.
7:25 For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.
7:26 For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness.
7:27 And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; And passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.
7:28 For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom.
7:29 For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence;