molest others But I can see no reason why Maldonate should favour the LXX Translation who against the stream of all other Interpreters apply these words to an ungodly man's digging up evil to himself as if the meaning were he digs a pit for himself and the words he speaks are the cause of his punishment as if he were burnt unless it proceeded from his fondness for the Spanish Inquisition which he was desirous to introduce every where The very best of them it appears by him who was one of the most learned and judicious Interpreters in the Romish Church are most devoutly bent to our destruction For he cannot forbear here to alledge that Inquisition as a proof of Solomon's words Id exemplo Inquisitionis Hispanicae perspicuum est c. This is apparent by the example of the Spanish Inquisition whereby he that speaks any thing rashly against the faith is deservedly delivered to the fire which I WISH WERE DONE EVERY WHERE Thus in the most literal sense this Jesuits lips are as a burning fire in which he would have us not onely singed but devoured in pursuance of this Maxim of Solomon Which others honestly interpret of those calumnies discords seditions which evil men raise by their tongues to the destruction of their neighbours For so it follows v. 28. A froward man soweth strife c. 1. THE preparation of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the LORD 1. MEN may deliberate and contrive and order in their mind what and in what manner and method they will speak but whether they shall perswade and prevail or no for such an Answer as they expect nay be able to deliver themselves with such elocution as they imagine cannot be resolved by them but depends upon the pleasure of the Lord. See Arg. a 2. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes but the LORD weigheth the spirits 2. Such is the blindness of self-love that men can find no fault in themselves but imagine all that they contrive and doe to be free from blame which when the Lord examines who searches into the very intentions of mens hearts is found to be very defective if not vitious 3. Commit thy works unto the LORD and thy thoughts shall be established 3. When thou undertakest any thing implore the Divine blessing and committing the success of it to God's Providence leave it to Him to give what issue to it He pleases which is the surest way to have thy honest designs accomplished 4. The LORD hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil 4. The Lord disposeth all things throughout the world to serve such ends as He thinks fit to design which they cannot refuse to comply withall For if any men be so wicked as to oppose his Will he will not lose their service but when He brings a publick calamity upon a Country employ them to be the executioners of his wrath See Arg. b 5. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD though hand joyn in hand he shall not be unpunished 5. There is no man so great but if his mind grow lofty and arrogant forgetting God and insolently oppressing his neighbour he is hatefull beyond all expression unto the Lord who will take vengeance on him and pull him down though he make never such strong confederacies to support himself for if he avoid one punishment another shall overtake him nay his wickedness shall pursue him from generation to generation XI 21. 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil 6. The most effectual means to appease mens anger for private offences or to divert the anger of God in publick calamities is to exercise mercy and loving kindness with justice and faithfull performance of promises especially when they proceed from an awfull regard to God and Religious dread of his displeasure which will make a man carefull to decline every thing that is evil and thereby escape the punishment that attends upon it 7. When a mans wayes please the LORD he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him 7. The best to have our enemies reconciled unto us is for us first to be reconciled unto God for such is the reverence men bear to Vertue and such is the love which the Lord hath to vertuous persons that when all their designs and actions are such as He approves He inclines even those that were their foes to become their friends 8. Better is a little with righteousness then great revenues without right 8. A small estate honestly gotten and charitably enjoyed is much to be preferred before vast incomes heaped up by oppression and kept without hospitality 9. A mans heart deviseth his way but the LORD directeth his steps 9. The mind of man designs an end and contrives what means to use and reckons perhaps what success they will have but the Lord determines what the event shall be and orders his motions perhaps to such an issue as never came into his thoughts 10. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king his mouth transgresseth not in judgment 10. God is present in a singular manner unto a pious King inspiring his mind to divine sagatiously in dubious and obscure things that his resolutions and decrees may be received like Oracles and all causes be decided by him so justly and exactly that no man be wrong'd in the judgment which he passes See Arg. c 11. A just weight and balance are the LORDS all the weights of the bag are his work 11. And it is worthy of his care that there be no corruption in private no more than in publick justice for it also is of divine Institution the great Lord of all requiring just and equal dealings in all our commerce one with another which He hath ordained should be managed with scrupulous integrity in the smallest as well as in the greatest matters 12. It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness for the throne is established by righteousness It is not enough to good Kings that they doe no injury but they abominate with the highest detestation all oppression cruelty extortion c. not onely in themselves but in others for they know that Justice Mercy and true Religion support their authority and make their Kingdoms durable 13. Righteous lips are the delight of kings and they love him that speaketh right 13. And calumniators or flatterers find no acceptance with such Princes but they delight in those that will not deceive them by false unjust and malicious informations and make him their favourite who deals sincerely and tells them the truth though it may seem ungratefull to them 14. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death but a wise man will pacifie it 14. The wrath of a King strikes such terrour into him with whom he is offended as if the sentence of death were pronounced against him
lays snares or c that he is himself insnared by his prevarications In the same manner I have comprehended more senses than one in several other verses which if I should particularly mention it would inlarge this Preface beyond its just length Else I should have made some remarks upon v. 15. where the danger of self-love and self-conceit is represented which hath ever this effect that it makes men slight if not reject good counsel out of a vain opinion that none can advise them better than themselves which is to follow the direction of a fool For it is a certain note of folly to rely wholly upon a man 's own judgment as it is of prudence to hearken to the advice of others 1. WHoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge but he that hateth reproof is brutish 1. IT is an excellent sign that a man will be wise and good who not onely patiently bears with those that tell him of his faults but loves and is thankfull for reproof which he who not onely declines but hates and is thereby inraged gives way to such brutish passions passions and desires that there is little hope he should ever be a man 2. A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD but a man of wicked devices will he condemn 2. He that studies how to doe good to others attracts the good will and blessing of the Lord upon himself but he who contrives mischievous designs under a specious shew of Religion and the publick good shall be judged by Him who knows the heart to suffer what he deserves 3. A man shall not be established by wickedness but the root of the righteous shall not be moved 3. For no man though never so subtil or powerfull shall be able to establish himself and his family who lays the foundation of his greatness in wickedness But the righteous like a tree that hath taken a deep root in the earth though shaken with storms and tempests shall remain unmovable in a flourishing estate 4. A vertuous woman is a crown to her husband but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones 4. A wife that strenuously imploys her self in her domestick affairs and can prudently command her own passions and desires is a singular ornament and honour to her husband who may well glory in his happiness but she whose laziness or lasciviousness or other infamous quality makes him down his head for shame is an incurable grief and vexation consuming him and all that he hath 5. The thoughts of the righteous are right but the counsels of the wicked are deceit 5. The designs of good men are managed with exact justice and truth but the contrivances of the wicked are carried on with fraud dissimulation and all manner of deceit 6. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for bloud but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them 6. Nay such is the height of their wickedness they consult one with another and lay plots to take away secretly the life of those who stand in the way of their designs but men sincerely good give the best advice they can to deliver such innocent persons from their bloudy snares 7. The wicked are overthrown and are not but the house of the righteous shall stand 7. And God befriends them also who not onely defeats those wicked projectours in their designs but so totally overthrows them and their families that no footstep of them remains whereas He not onely continues but settles the just man's family in a durable succession as I have often said v. 3. and X. 25 30. XI 35. when they that assaulted them are quite extinct 8. A man shall be commended according to his wisedom but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised 8. True prudence directing a man to effect his ends by fair and honest means will procure him the greatest esteem and the most lasting praise but he who contrives by fraud and such like crooked ways to attain his aim shall fall into utter contempt and be scorned by all as a foolish knave 9. He that is despised and hath a servant is better than he that honoureth himself and lacketh bread 9. He is far happier who makes no shew in the world but hath a competent estate than he who appears in great splendour and pomp abroad but wants bread to eat when he is at home 10. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel 10. A good man takes care that his beast be well used and have food and rest convenient for it which is more than men bent upon wickedness will doe for their neighbours For their very kindnesses being treacherous are a cruel cheat nay the highest expressions which they make of tenderness and compassion whereby they induce others to repose a trust in them are intended merely as a cover for the mischief they mean more securely to doe them See Arg. b 11. He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding 11. He that takes pains in an honest employment suppose in tilling his land shall find it requite him with sufficient if not plentifull provision for himself and his family but he that is idle falling into the company of loose and wicked persons will find at last by the desperate courses into which they will lead him that he wants not onely bread but understanding 12. The wicked desireth the net of evil men but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit 12. The wicked desires two things first to doe as much mischief as he can by his wiles and arts of deceiving and then to be secure in his wickedness but the righteous make every body the better for them and thereby enjoy that safety which the other have onely in their wishes and desires 13. The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips but the just shall come out of trouble 13. The wicked insnares himself by that deceitfull talk wherewith he designed to have insnared others but the righteous escapes the danger nay by his prudent discourse avoids very great difficulties wherein otherways he might have been intangled See Arg. c 14. Aman shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth and the recompence of a mans hands shall be rendred unto him 14. There is no man gives good counsel and advice especially in publick affairs but he shall reap the fruit of it abundantly himself and there is no good work he doth for the benefit of others but God will requite it and make it turn to his own good account 15. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise 15. A fool is so conceited that he consults no body but himself for whatsoever he doeth in his own opinion he is always in the right but a wise man will not rely upon his own judgment alone but suspecting himself makes use of
love and kindness 23. The fear of the LORD tendeth to life and he that hath it shall abide satisfied he shall not be visited with evil 23. Nothing makes a man lead so happy a life as a religious care to please the Lord in all things which is attended with abundance of blessings but especially with inward satisfaction of mind which makes a man sleep quietly and securely without fear of any evil that can invade him See Arg. g 24. A slothfull man hideth his hand in his bosom and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again 24. All things seem so difficult to a lazy wretch who indulges himself in sloth and loves his ease that he would not willingly pull his hands from under his armes no not to put his meat into his mouth See Arg. h 25. Smite a scorner and the simple will beware and reprove one that hath understanding and he will understand knowledge 25. Punish a derider of Religion severely and though it doe him no good yet those incautious persons whom he hath deluded will be awakened by it to greater circumspection but it is sufficient onely to chide a well-disposed person for his faults of which he himself will receive the benefit and learn to amend them See Arg. i 26. He that wasteth his father and chaseth away his mother is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach 26. A Son that leads a debauched life too often wastes all his Father's estate and either turns his Mother out of doors or makes her weary of the house which is so disgracefull that it makes them ashamed to shew their heads and will bring him to greater confusion at the last 27. Cease my son to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge 27. My Son beware of their discourse who under the shew of greater learning seduce thee from the plain doctrines of Vertue or if thou hast been unhappily engaged in such company quit it presently and stick to those that honestly instruct thee for remember this to leave off hearing the instruction of good men is the first step towards a departure from all Religion 28. An ungodly witness scorneth judgment and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity 28. A wicked witness who hath perfectly discharged all sense of good and evil mocks if you tell him of Law and Justice or of the judgment of God upon perjured persons for there is no iniquity so great but there are men as leudly impious who will not so much as boggle at it but swallow it down as glibly as drunkards do their liquour See Arg. k 29. Judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools 29. But they shall not mock always for terrible punishments shall certainly be inflicted upon those that scoff at Conscience and Religion nor shall other wicked men escape who are such fools as to flight these good instructions but feel at last to their smart the dolefull effects of their sin in indelible marks of the divine displeasure CHAP. XX. ARGUMENT a The first precept in this Chapter is against Drunkenness as an enemy to Wisedom even in common things much more in those of everlasting consequence For that it commonly expells out of mens minds all reverence both to God and to others inclining them to take the license to say or doe any thing without restraint or discretion and what unruly passions it excites when the brain is disturbed with it is known to all and need not be here recited The word Homeh which Solomon here uses and which we render raging or outragious includes them all signifying that discomposed unquiet and restless state of mind which expresses it self in some wild motion or other according as men are naturally inclined But nothing worse can be said of it than this that it makes men either stupid sots or profane scoffers at Religion and all sobriety b Next to this he advises every man to take heed how he suffers himself to be drunk with anger For nothing else but an intoxication therewith can make a man so distracted as to fly in the face of Majesty For so that word hithabber properly signifies not to provoke the King though most Interpreters even Bochartus himself so render it but to be angry at him which is a kind of madness For thereby he is provoked to such fury as is in young Lions who are the fiercest of all others I have therefore expressed both senses of the word c In the next verse I take ish to signifie a more than ordinary man one of the highest rank and that in Wisedom For it is opposed to a fool and therefore so I have expounded it d As I have also understood it in v. 5. where Solomon observes that there are no men so cunning but there are others as subtil to find them out Concerning which Art of finding out men the Great Lord Bacon hath given many notable rules in his second Chapter of the VIII Book of the Advancement of Learning for though the knowledge it self falls not under precepts because it is of Individuals yet instructions for the deducing of it may be given And he observes six ways whereby the knowledge of men may be drawn out and disclosed By their faces and countenances by words by deeds by their nature by their ends and by the relations of others What he says upon these heads the Reader may there find I shall onely mention this single observation of his That the weakest and simplest sort of men are best interpreted by their Natures according to which they commonly act but the wisest and most reserved are best expounded by their ends and aims e The next verse is very variously expounded but our Translation seems to come nearest to the sense of the Hebrew words Which may admit also of this construction which approaches nearer than any other beside that which we follow It is the common inclination of mankind when they are in need or danger to call for relief or help from him whom they have obliged but there are very few that in such a condition will approve themselves to be faithfull friends f The eleventh verse also may be expounded quite contrary ways Because the word ithnakker signifies both to make ones self known and to make ones self a stranger unto others All the ancient Interpreters follow as ours doth the first sense which seems most genuine for Nature commonly betrays its inclinations in children so plainly and they are so strong and violent that they cannot dissemble them Yet that which is the other is no absurd sense which some give of these words Even children are so cunning as to hide their inclinations and therefore it is not easie to guess in their childhood what they will prove when they come to man's estate But this is not so common as the other g The next verse some good Interpreters expound wholly concerning the happiness a people is in when the Subjects are
satisfaction 8. The way of man is froward and strange but as for the pure his work is right 8. For a man whose life is nothing but wiliness and craft imposture and deceit is so alienated from God that he is very odious to Him and to all good men but he that is sincere and free from all fraud and guile approves himself in all his actions and is most acceptable and dear to both See Arg. d 9. It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top than with a brawling woman in a wide house 9. It is much more desirable to live poorly and solitarily in the open air exposed to all the injuries of the weather nay to be thrust into a little corner on the top of the house than to have a spacious habitation and numerous family governed by a contentious wife whose perpetual scolding and brawling within doors upon the least occasion is more intolerable than the thunder and the lightning and blustring winds which may molest him without 10. The soul of the wicked desireth evil his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes 10. An impious man is so set upon mischief that he is not satisfied till he hath effected his desire nor will he spare either Friend or Foe to serve his ambition his covetousness or whatsoever evil affection it is that reigns in him 11. When the scorner is punished the simple is made wise and when the when the wise is instructed he receiveth knowledge 11. Lay a heavy fine or other punishment upon a derider of Religion and though it doe him no good yet such simple persons as were onely incautiously deluded by him will make some wise reflexions on it and be the better for it as for him that is wise already it is sufficient onely to give him good admonitions of which he himself will receive the profit and amend what is amiss in him See Arg. e 12. The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness 12. A just Judge makes a prudent but strict scrutiny into all the actions of a wicked man's family that he may so punish them for their rapine violence and extortion as to deprive them of all power to doe any further mischief See Arg. f 13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor he also shall cry himself but shall not be heard 13. He who is so far from relieving the poor though they lie under most grievous calamities that he plainly declares their petitions are very troublesome to him shall fall into the like straits and pressures himself and which is worse be denied when they force him to cry for help 14. A gift in secret pacifieth anger and a reward in the bosom strong wrath 14. Men do not love to be thought so weak as to doe any thing for money but such is its power if it be secretly conveyed that they will resign their strongest resentments to it their anger for instance will yield to a gift nay a rich present prudently placed will extinguish that wrath which was thought implacable 15. It is joy to the just to do judgment but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity 15. The execution of justice is a joy to him that hath observed the Laws but a terrour to those that have violated them by their wicked deeds who look upon themselves as in danger to be undone thereby 16. The man that wandeth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead 16. He that will not live by those wise Laws which God hath prescribed him but follows the conduct of his own foolish lusts and passions shall after all his extravagances be sent down to hell and there confined to the company of the old Giants who giving themselves over to debauched courses were swept away with a deluge See II. 18. IX 18. 17. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man he that loveth wine and oyl shall not be rich 17. Nay before he goes thither he may suffer very much for it is too frequently seen that voluptuous men destroy their own pleasures by wasting their estates and bringing themselves to extreme beggary at the best he can never thrive who loves to feast and to live delicately 18. The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous and the transgressour for the upright 18. Nay such is the distinction which Divine Providence makes between the good and the bad that righteous men are not onely strangely delivered from those dangers which others fall into but preserved from mischief by its seising on the wicked and men sincerely vertuous escape in a common calamity when they that prevaricate with God and with Religion by that very means which they thought was best for their safety are overwhelmed in it 19. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman 19. It is more eligible as was said before v. 9. to dwell quietly in the most rufull place upon earth than to live in a palace with a contentious wife whom nothing can please but is uneasie and angry at every thing and always gives provoking language 20. There is a treasure to be desired and oyl in the dwelling of the wise but a foolish man spendeth it up 20. Wisedom furnishes a man not onely with the necessaries but with all the conveniences and pleasures of life that he can reasonably desire which it teaches him also to enjoy with great satisfaction though but in a small habitation but such is the folly of a wicked man that he lavishly spends all those treasures which he knows not how to get nor how to live without 21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life righteousness and honour 21. He that makes it his business to be good not contenting himself merely with doing no harm but greedily laying hold on all occasions to exercise justice and mercy shall lead a most happy life for besides the satisfaction and pleasure he hath in doing good he shall preserve himself from being injured and oblige all to be kind to him and be highly esteemed honoured and praised every where 22. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof 22. The vertue of the mind is of greater force and more prevalent than strength of body For a whole City of mighty men are not able to resist a wise and pious Commander that besieges them but they are either taken by his cunning stratagems or they yield themselves to his eminent goodness unto which they trust more than to their fortifications 23. Whose keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles 23. He that is wary and cautious in his talk thinking seriously before he open his mouth and taking care to offend neither God nor man by what he speaks preserves his mind from a great deal of trouble and himself from dangerous distresses 24. Proud
birds whose property it is to wander and fly up and down over the head of him against whom they are directed and never touch him Melancthon by curses in this place understands calumnies of which the world is too full which shall not rest upon a good man long before they be confuted But he himself is forced to confess that sometimes they doe great mischief first and instances in Joseph Palamedes Aristides Theamenes and Socrates who lost his life by this means After which he observes the Tragedy of Palamedes being acted in which the Poet bewailed the death of the best of the Greeks who sung like a sweet nightingale but hurt no man the Citizens expelled the accusers of Socrates out of Athens But this doth not so well agree with the Hebrew word which signifies such evil speaking as amounts to a curse which the Wise man saith shall not rest upon a man when it is causeless but fly away like a bird that settles no where till it comes to its proper place As the curse returns many times and settles upon him that made it when it lights not on him that was cursed which sense one reading of the Hebrew words expresses plainly enough and therefore I have not omitted it c After which observations there follows another to shew that a leud fool should rather be sent to a house in correction than have any preferment v. 3. Nothing less will cure him as it follows v. 4 5. where he admonishes us how vain it is to hold any discourse with him any further than merely to shew that he is a fool and if it be possible to confute not what he says but the vain opinion he hath conceived of himself Saint Cyprian hath given a good account of these two verses in the beginning of his Letter to Demetrian who having babled a long time against Christianity like a mad man with loud clamours onely and no sense the good Father thought fit to answer him with neglect and overcome rage with patience thinking it to no more purpose to go about to repress an irreligious man with Religion or restrain a mad man with meekness than to offer light to the blind or speak to the deaf or reason with a brute But when Demetrian at last offered something that lookt like an Argument S. Cyprian could not any longer keep silence lest his modesty should be thought distrust of his cause and whilst he disdained to refute false criminations he should seem to acknowledge the crime Melancthon wholly refers both verses to reproaches and calumnies which he shews it is fit either utterly to neglect or to confute in a few words d Then the Wise man proceeds to shew that such a fool is very unfit to be so much as sent on a message which he will neither deliver right nor return a good answer The first seems to be expressed by cutting off the legs as much as to say a business committed to such a person will no more proceed than a man can go without legs the latter by drinking in injury as much as to say instead of having satisfaction in what he desires he must be content to swallow abundance of affronts and ill dealing e After this follow several other observations about Fools in some of which there are words of no small difficulty which I cannot here particularly explain as some may desire because it would take up too much room But I have expressed the sense of them as well as I could in the Paraphrase As for example the word Dalju v. 7. signifying something of elevation or lifting up I have explained dancing than which nothing is more unsutable to a lame man as speeches full of reason in themselves are most absurd when witlesly applied by a fool f And the word Margoma in the 8th verse which is very variously translated by Interpreters I have expressed in two senses of it but look upon it as superfluous to trouble the Reader with what learned men such as Scaliger and Selden c. have written concerning the heaps of stones in the high-way into which superstitious people were wont to cast one as they passed by in honour of Mercury c. For I do not think this custom was as old as Solomon's time Nor is it necessary to understand such a heap of stones as covered the dead bodies of those who were stoned to death but in general any heap of pebles or else a sling as the Chaldee and the LXX whom we follow expound it g And v. 10. the first word rab great may be applied either to God or to a Prince and that either good or bad All which I have taken notice of and expressed the different senses wherein the word cholalti is used But there is one signification more of the word rab which the Lutherans generally follow which I think fit to mention here because I have not touched on it in the Paraphrase and it makes no improper sense of the place who take it for a Master in any sort of Art or Learning and expound it thus A master in his art forms all things excellently well but he that hires a fool or a bungler as we speak gives his money to have his work spoiled Thus Melancthon who takes it to be an Admonition belonging to prudence in the choice of fit persons for every business not believing those that crack and brag what they are able to doe c. ex gr plurimi sunt impostores qui volunt videri medici plurimi indocti concionatores qui adulantur vulgo aut potentioribus And he heaps up many excellent sayings to this purpose that men should meddle onely with that which they understand concluding with this Admonition to the people which they should always remember Ignorance makes men impudent And thus Castalio took the word rab but to this sense A wise man does his business himself and not by fools who marr it all h Among other examples of the Wise man's observation v. 11. Melancthon mentions this which is not commonly noted The Sodomites being divinely delivered by the help of Abraham who overthrew the Army that had spoiled them and recovered the spoil forgetting their former punishment and marvellous deliverance ran furiously into more foul sins wherein they utterly perished by a most terrible vengeance i Then follow after one observation concerning a conceited fellow several observations about Sloth some of which had been noted before in the foregoing parts of this Book but are here put together by the men of Hezekiah in some order and with some additions For here seem to be three degrees of sloth represented The first when a man is loth to stir out of doors about his business in the field v. 13. the second when he is loth so much as to leave his bed v. 14. and the third and highest when he will scarce put his hand to his mouth v. 15. by which hyperbolical expression he most admirably sets forth the incredible laziness
shall prolong his days 16. But it is very great ignorance not onely of Religion but of all things else that makes a Prince grievously oppress and pillage his people which makes his reign short as well as unhappy when he that hating such exactions is kind to his Subjects prolongs his days in much tranquillity See Arg. f 17. A man that doeth violence to the bloud of any person shall flee to the pit let no man stay him 17. He that murthers a man and pressed with the weight of his guilt or pursued by the avenger of bloud flies to save himself shall never think himself safe but lead a restless life to his very grave for all men looking upon him as a common enemy shall refuse to succour him no though they see him falling headlong into a pit which he is not aware of they shall not stop him but let him perish 18. Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once 18. There is no such way to be safe as to be honest and sincere in all a man's words and actions for he that indeavours to preserve himself by fraud and deceit though he can wind and turn and hath several shifts he thinks to save himself yet in one or other of them he shall perish for the time will come when he will blindly chuse the wrong course and commonly when he begins to fall he sinks utterly and cannot possibly recover himself 19. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough 19. He that is a good husband in the management of his estate shall have the satisfaction of providing sufficiently if not plentifully for himself and his family but he that is careless and follows the courses of loose and wicked companions can reap no other fruit of his negligence but the most miserable want and beggary 20. A faithfull man shall abound with blessings but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent 20. He that is true to his word and just in all his dealings shall have abundance of blessings from God and be well spoken of by men but he whose eager desires make him heap up wealth by right or by wrong brings such guilt upon himself as makes him execrable unto both 21. To have respect of persons is not good for for a piece of bread that man will transgress 21. It is a wicked thing in a Judge to incline to consider the quality of the person and not the merits of the cause that is brought before him For though perhaps at the first he could not be corrupted under a great sum of money yet having accustomed himself to it he will at last sell his Sentence at the lowest rates nay be moved by the smallest considerations to forsake the rules which ought to guide him See Arg. g 22. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him 22. An envious covetous wretch that cannot look upon what another hath without grudging is push't on by his impatient desires to get riches without making any distinction between good and evil never considering in that disturbance of mind wherein he lives that all may be gone in a moment and he then stand in need of the mercy of those whom he would not pity 23. He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue 23. He that rebukes a man for his evil courses may displease him nay anger him at the first but when he considers that he could have no other end in it but his good he will have a greater kindness for such a man than for one that humours him in every thing and with flattering words sooths him up in those faults which he ought to take the freedom to reprehend 24. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother and saith It is no transgression the same is the companion of a destroyer 24. He that lays hands upon all that he can rap and rend from his father or mother and thinks it is no sin or no great one pretending they keep him too short and have no need of it themselves or do not use it c. not onely keeps the company of spend-thrifts but is wicked enough to be a high way man and murther others to feed his own luxury 25. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat 25. A man of a proud and insolent spirit of ambitious and vast desires is never quiet but as he lives in perpetual quarrels so hath no satisfaction in what he injoys nay many times wastes it all in suits and contentions but he who confiding in the good Providence of the Almighty hath an humble and contented mind lives peaceably with others and comfortably within himself nay thrives many times and abounds with plenty of all good things 26. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool but whoso walketh wisely he shall be delivered 26. He that relies wholly upon his own judgment is like to miscarry because he follows the conduct of a fool but he that distrusting himself takes good advice and follows it escapes many mischiefs into which the other rashly runs and is delivered out of many dangers in which the other perishes 27. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse 27. He that relieves those that are in want shall be so far from wanting himself that he shall thereby procure God's blessing to increase his estate but he that regards not the miseries of others nor is willing so much as to know them for fear of having his compassion moved towards them shall draw upon himself the curse of God as well as men and fall into many and grievous misfortunes 28. When the wicked rise men hide themselves but when they perish the righteous increase 28. When wicked men are advanced unto power and authority they favouring such onely as are like to themselves it makes good men scarce who are forced to withdraw and hide themselves from their tyranny but when they perish as they shall at last and good men come in their place then the righteous openly shew themselves and the number of them increases by their example and by the incouragement they enjoy under righteous Governours See Arg. h CHAP. XXIX ARGUMENT a This Chapter concludes the Collection of Proverbs made by the men of Hezekiah and contains more advices proper to a Prince as he was than any of the rest but ushers them in with a General admonition how dangerous it is not to profit by reproofs or corrections such as He and his people had by the hand of Senacherib which when they work upon mens spirits there is some hope of them but when they become refractory inflexible and obstinately reject them they
wisedom d Vpon this subject Agur inlarges ver 3 4. wishing his Scholars especially Ithiel who I suppose askt the question in the name of the rest to be sensible how imperfect all humane knowledge is by considering how little or nothing we know of the works of God which none can understand though they be perpetually before our eyes but he alone that made them And therefore advises him to make it his principal study to understand what belonged to his own duty which is the best part of knowledge v. 5. and herein also to be content with what God hath revealed and not pretend to be wiser than He hath made us v. 6. e After which he gives Answers as I take it unto other questions which Ithiel propounded to him And first about Prayer For Agur having repressed their busie humour of inquiry into all manner of things had raised we may suppose some devotion in his Scholars hearts which made them desire to be directed in it And he gives them most wise advice v. 7 8. to be very cautious what they prayed for just as in Plato Alcibiad 2. we find Socrates giving Alcibiades instructions about this as a principal part of vertue in the practice of which he tells him there had need to be the greatest care lest we imprudently ask those things that are not good for us But he could not give Alcibiades such directions about this matter as Agur here gives Ithiel and the rest of his Scholars Whom he informs that the true knowledge of God is the chiefest good and therefore to be desired in the first place above all other goods and then according to our Saviours rule in after-times having first sought the things that belong to Religion he directs them to beg of God moderate desires of all earthly things believing that we are safer in a mediocrity or middle estate than either in fulness or in want To which purpose Melancthon and others have gathered together many sayings out of other Writers But none have given such reasons for this choice of a middle state as this wise man v. 9. f After which he seems to answer a question which Ithiel propounded about moral vertue which having been largely treated of by Solomon he onely gives him one caution against hard heartedness to Slaves and Servants v. 10. of which the Hebrew Nation were generally very guilty and thereby unmeet for that favour which they begg'd of God in their Prayers which ought to have disposed them to be favourable unto others g And then he gives the character of four sorts of men who are execrable unto God and therefore ought to be avoided by all those that would be good v. 11 12 13 14. which I must pass by without any further account of them but what I have given in the Paraphrase because the fifteenth verse hath much difficulty in it and therefore requires some time to be spent in opening it Bochartus thinks to solve some of the difficulty by giving a new signification of the word Aluka But all Interpreters in a manner taking it for that thick worm in watrish places which we call an horse-leech I do not think fit to forsake our Translation nor to refer the beginning of the verse to that immediately foregoing as some do in this manner detractors can no more leave off evil speaking than the horse-leech leave off sucking c. but rather to those words immediately following in this same verse which notwithstanding I take to have some connexion with all the four foregoing as I have expressed it in the Paraphrase For it seems to me to be an Answer to some such Question as this which the Desciples had propounded to their Master Agur after the manner of oenigmatical discourses or riddles what is most unsatiable which he chuses to give an account of in this place the better to represent the nature of those wicked men he had spoken of before especially of the two last the proud and the tyrannical or extortioner whose desires are a gulf that can never be filled And at the first he seems to have thought but of two things viz. the grave and the barren womb which might be called the daughters of the horse-leech because they are so perfectly of the like nature in regard of their unsatiableness But he presently adds another nay a fourth came into his mind as no less greedy viz. the thirsty earth which in those hot Countries sucks up all the rain as fast as it falls though never so much and the fire which devours all the fewel that is laid upon it And this he expresses after the manner of the Hebrews who intending to mention four things or more separate them at first and begin with a lesser number and proceed then to all that they designed There are many examples of it in I. Amos 3 5 9 c. and here in this Book of Proverbs VI. 16. and below in this Chapter v. 18 21 c. Indeed there is no example like this where the sentence begins with two and then says three and then four but that might be usual of which we have no exact example and therefore I do not look upon this as a sufficient objection against this way of explaining this verse Which the LXX hath taken in the Roman Edition which runs thus the horse-leech hath three beloved daughters and these three are never satisfied and there is a fourth that saith not it sufficeth There are those who compare certain vices with these four unsatiable things and not ineptly the desire of revenge to the grave libidinous desires to the barren womb covetousness or rather drunkenness to the thirsty earth and ambition to the devouring fire And it is easie to shew how fitly all these are resembled to the horse leech it being the vulgar saying that harlots for instance are the horse-leeches of young men sucking all their money from them and exhausting their bodies too And the Servant in Plautus when he was about to rob the Chests of the two old men says jam ego me vortam in hirudinem c. now I will turn my self into a horse-leech and suck out their very bloud But I forbear such things because there are others more necessary to be added for the understanding the rest of the Chapter h And that which next follows v. 17. is a reflexion upon the first generation of wicked men mentioned v. 11. who sinned against the first Commandment of the second Table as we speak and for their rebellion against their Parents were adjudged to death by the Law of Moses XXI Exod. 15 17. XX. Lev. 9. XXI Deut. 18. And to make them more detestable their carkases perhaps were thrown into some lothsome places called the valley of carkases or dead bodies XXXI Jer. 40. and the valley of crows as Bochartus conjectures or ravens whom the Wise man here speaks of And besides this they who abused their Parents being of a villanous nature were likely to turn