If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; The last two quotations are not pure proverbs, but what Mr. Moulton calls 'epigrams.' They are injunctions, and not maxims. The motive of the former spoils the value of the bidding. It is for us to appropriate and follow the noble bidding, but to neglect and ignore the unworthy motive. In the second epigram the motive is twofold. The stimulus of expected or deserved reward will, I hope, appeal nowadays to but few; the meaning of the 'coals of fire' is more doubtful. It probably refers to the painful stings of conscience which a requital of good for evil will awaken in the evil-doer. Such pains it is right to cause, for they are healing: they bring repentance and amendment. § 11. Wisdom and folly.-From the peculiar point of view of the sages, righteousness, as I have said before, is closely connected with wisdom. The one may indeed be said to be merely another aspect of the other. Here are a few of the aphorisms about wisdom and folly. The higher and more detailed praise and picture of wisdom we shall hear later on. How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is preferable than to get silver! Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly. A scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not: But knowledge is easy to him that hath understanding. As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, So is a beautiful woman without decorum. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: The simple believeth every word: But the prudent man looketh well to his going. The wise feareth, and departeth from evil : But the fool rageth, and is confident. Folly is joy to him destitute of wisdom: But a man of understanding walketh straightforwards. It is pleasure to a fool to do wickedness: And so is wisdom to a man of understanding. WISDOM AND GOODNESS Understanding is a fountain of life unto him that hath it: But the chastisement of fools is folly. Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. And by understanding it is established: And by knowledge are the chambers filled A wise man is better than a man of strength; Yea, a man of knowledge than one mighty in power. A foolish purpose is sin : And the scorner is an abomination to men. 35 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him. The rich man is wise in his own conceit; But the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out. In these proverbs we have to remember (1) That the wisdom of the sages, while not without a marked intellectual element, is yet mainly moral. (2) That worldly prudence has not yet been clearly differentiated from the higher wisdom or the higher goodness. (3) That the sharp-cut antitheses answer to tendencies rather than to facts of experience. The 'scorner' seeks 'wisdom,' but does not find it: in truth the wisdom which he seeks is not wholly the 'wisdom' which the sages inculcate. He may seek for knowledge and for intellectual ability, but by his very nature he cannot seek for that moral wisdom which is founded on humility and the fear of God. And indeed we may say quite generally that the truest wisdom, as a state of the mind, is not compatible with pride and conceit. Without being able to give a philosophical explanation of their thought, and without feeling the necessity of analyzing it, the sages seem to have possessed a deep conviction that if the disposition or heart be set towards wisdom and rooted in the fear of God, all else comes 'easy'; whereas, given the disposition set towards folly or 'scorning,' all development is in the wrong direction. The one kind of man gets better and better; the other gets worse and worse. The one gets wiser and wiser; the other stupider and stupider. Though this view is not wholly true, it has elements of truth in human nature, and it has been largely adopted and inculcated (in a variety of different forms) by many religious teachers of different ages and lands. What several of them feel is that we are, as it were, in the midst of the divine life, seeing that God is omnipresent. He who is humble, loving and pure becomes increasingly more apt to receive and assimilate the divine light which shines always, but which only the eye of an enlightened soul can see. The 'scorner' in his pride and conceit draws the curtain so that no light can pass through. His soul becomes darker and darker. To some these metaphors may mean little; to others much. They rest on the belief that wisdom and goodness are divine, and still divine even when ours. Whatever is best in us is not merely given us from God, as I give a toy to a child, but is in itself divine, so that what is most truly ours is most essentially from him. In the fifth section of our book there occurs what Mr. Moulton calls 'a proverb cluster about fools.' A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, Lest he seem wise in his own conceit. 'Answer not a fool': i.e. do not be carried away by annoyance or anger to make a foolish retort to a foolish speech. 'Answer a fool': i. e. do not by silence or untimely assent let the 'fool' think that you approve his words. § 12. Discipline and reproof.-There are two fundamental requirements for a man's attainment of wisdom, of which one has to do with his fellow-men, and the other with God. First, then, the student of wisdom, the aspirant to goodness, must know how to receive and how to profit from discipline and reproof. DISCIPLINE AND REVERENCE He is in the way of life that regardeth discipline, But he that refuseth reproof erreth. By pride there only cometh contention, 37 But with them that let themselves be counselled there is wisdom. A fool despiseth his father's discipline: But he that regardeth reproof is prudent. The ear that heareth the reproof of life Abideth among the wise. He that refuseth discipline despiseth his own soul: Than a hundred stripes into a fool. He that reproveth a man shall find thereafter More favour than he that flattereth with his tongue. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth discipline: But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. 'Open reproof.' Love which never expresses itself, whether by the encouragement of praise or by counsel and criticism, is valueless. Frank 'reproof' is better than such sleepy affection. § 13. Reverence and the Fear of the Lord.-The second and most fundamental requirement of all is the Fear of God: the Reverence of God, as we may more fitly say, for it is no craven fear of punishment, but a reverence for One who is not merely all-powerful but all-wise. Better is little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and disquietude. The fear of the Lord is the discipline of wisdom; By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for: And by the fear of the Lord men avoid evil. In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: The reward of humility, the fear of the Lord, Is riches, and honour, and life. The fear of man bringeth a snare: But he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. §14. God and man.-The sages have many aphorisms about God and of his dealings and relations with man. A false balance is abomination to the Lord: But just weights are his delight. They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord: Beholding the evil and the good. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: But the prayer of the upright is his delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord; But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. Sheol and Abaddon are before the Lord: How much more then the hearts of the children of men! The thoughts of wickedness are an abomination to the Lord: But words of pleasantness are pure before him. The Lord is far from the wicked: But he heareth the prayer of the righteous. Commit thy works unto the Lord, And thy purposes shall be established. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord : He shall surely not be unpunished. A man's heart deviseth his way: But the Lord directeth his steps. Just balance and scales are the Lord's: All the weights of the bag are his work. Divers weights, and divers measures, Both of them are alike abomination to the Lord. The name of the Lord is a strong tower: The righteous runneth into it, and is safe. |