I know fairly well what sapient means and I do not confuse it for sentience. Self-awareness and sentience are rather minor things. Your definition of wisdom is a poor one. Sapience is impossible for non-sentient creatures, even by that. As any creature too simple for sentience has no significant memory, they have merely conditioning.
Sapience is what is supposed to help man stand apart. It is no common thing. It requires intelligence and judgement. By contrast, sentience merely requires the ability to perceive, a pre-condition of the other.
Edit: Also, adjectives can be used as nouns. TMYK
The meek shall inherit the earth.