31. And who said this but he who asked for
and obtained wisdom, to know how the world was made, and the power of
the elements, the course of the year, and the dispositions of stars, to
be acquainted with the natures of living creatures, the furies of wild
beasts, and the violence of winds, and to understand the thoughts of
man! Wisd. vii. 7, 17 ff. How, then, should mortal matters be
hidden from him, from whom heavenly things were not hidden? He
who penetrated the thoughts of the woman who was claiming the child of
another, who by the inspiration of divine grace knew the natures of
living creatures which he did not share; could he err or say what was
untrue with regard to the circumstances of that nature, which he found
in his own personal experience?