Proverbs 4:7

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Wisdom is the principal thing; (therefore) get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. The world's maxim, on the contrary, is,-Money is the principal thing; therefore get money: and with all thy getting get more. ('Quaerenda pecunia primum est, Virtus post Nummos,' Juvenal.) Contrast the wise man's admonition (). The will and heart must be inclined by the Holy Spirit to it; otherwise precepts are vain (). 'You begin to be wise when you begin to love and seek wisdom: as Seneca says, It is a great part of goodness to wish to be good'-provided you do not content yourself with idle wishes (Cornelius a Lapide). "With all thy getting get understanding" - i:e., amidst all thy acquisitions acquire this, without which the others will be useless, and even hurtful (Menochius).