especially among those Great Persons spoken of before who seriously considers it and believes that the souls of all mankind go to God that gave them XII 7. to be judged by Him v. 17. of this Chapter whereas the Souls of Beasts perish with them No herein they differ not at all from Beasts that having buried their minds in brutish pleasures they have no more sense of a future life than they but imagine that their souls die together with their bodies So senselesly stupied are they that trample upon the rest of Mankind and yet have such ignoble thoughts of themselves that they imagine their very souls are no longer-liv'd than a Beast See Annot. k 22. Wherefore I percieve that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoyce in his own works for that is his portion for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him 22. And therefore considering that our Bodies have no privilege above the Beasts and that Mankind are so liable to be abused by those who should protect them v. 16 19 20. I was confirmed in my former Opinion II. 24. that it is best for a man herein also to imitate the Beasts by enjoying freely the good things God hath blessed him withal and taking all the comfort he can find in them at present without solicitous care about the future For this is all he can be sure of it being in no mans power to secure him he shall enjoy that hereafter which he makes no use of now much less when he is dead can he be brought back again to take any pleasure in the fruit of all his labours or see what becomes of them ANNOTATIONS a V. 1. season The Hebrew words Zeman and Gneth signifie either that point of time when things being ripe come forth of themselves by the constitution of their several Beings as all natural things do or that occasion which serves our voluntary actions and is fit for effecting what we design The Hebrews observe that Solomon here reckons seven opposite Seasons of each sort as a complete demonstration by induction of the truth of this General Proposition in the first Verse Which bolds good even in Vertue it self which is not proper but in its place For Fortitude hath not always been successful as the Lord Herbert observes nor Temperance safe nor Justice opportune the fury and insolence of the outragious people having in some insurrections grown to that excess that is hath been greater Wisdom to pass by a while than to punish them And it is very apparent also in our Councels when they are conducted merely by humane Wisdom which is not able without a Divine direction to chuse the most fortunate as we call them and happy Seasons for undertakings Brutus Cicero Hertius Pansa all thought to restore the ancient estate of the Roman Commonwealth as Melancthon notes but were deceived and after the same manner many are still and will always be deceived Then businesses proceed when we obey his Divine directions and He assists and yet then sometimes more and sometimes less difficultly b V. 3. kill In the third Verse I have taken the liberty of following my own Judgment in expounding the first part of it which I have not referred to punishing and sparing Offenders as Interpreters do but to the condition of Diseases that are in our own Bodies For though the other be an excellent sense yet this seems to be more agreeable to the Wise mans meaning Because he is hitherto speaking of things Natural and the word heal also directs rather to that sense which I have given of killing than the common one The same may be said of the next part of the Verse there being a craziness in Buildings as well as in the Body of man and some Weather so improper to raise a Fabrick that the parts will not hang together but that which cements them moulders so fast away that that time were better spent in pulling down an house than in building it up As for the rest of the Calender or Ephemeris as the Lord Bacon calls it which the Wise man hath made of the diversities of times and occasions for all actions I need give no further account of it here than I have done in the Paraphrase c V. 9. What profit Nor is it hard to expound the inference he makes in this Verse from the foregoing induction which I have expressed as fully as I could in the Paraphrase and more largely in the Argument of this Chapter Gregory Nazianzen thinks he only intends to reflect upon the great inconstancy as of all earthly things so of humane actions sometimes for instance men are madly in love with a Woman and in time they as much hate her now they are eager to get and at another time they profusely spend sometimes they kill and sometimes are killed sometimes do nothing but talk and at another time have not a word to say c. and therefore all his labours are vain But I have extended it further with a respect to other things which the forenamed induction suggests to us d V. 11. world in their heart There is greater difficulty in this Verse if we connect it with the rest of the Discourse as we ought to do Which I have endeavoured to explain by taking the word Haolam the World for the present state of things in this Age wherein we live which is a genuine sense of it whereof God hath given us some understanding but not so perfect as to be able to give an account of the reason and scope of every thing that we see happen in this World because we are ignorant of what went before and of what will follow after when we had or shall have no Being here It is commonly understood of the works of Nature And in this sense the Lord Bacon in the beginning of his Book of the Advancement of Learning hath admirably expounded it in this manner In these words He hath placed the world in mans heart c. Solomon declares not obscurely that God hath framed the mind of man as a Mirrour or Looking-glass capable of the Image of the whole World and as desirous to receive it as the eye is to entertain the light and not only delighted in beholding the variety of things and the vicissitude of times but ambitious to find out and discover the immoveable and inviolable Laws and Decrees of Nature And though he intimate that this whole Oeconomy of Nature which he calls The work that God hath wrought from the beginning to the end cannot be found out by man it doth not derogate from the capacity of his mind but is to be imputed to the impediments of Learning c. There is one Interpreter Corranus who by Olam World understands the Circular motion of things for the service of man But I can find no such use of the word any where else the sense would be elegant enough which arises from thence viz. that this revolution being remote
weight of it having lost their power to support him his teeth likewise so rotten or worn away or fallen out that they cannot thew his Meat and the sight of his eyes which were wont to show him things at a great distance now so failing him that he cannot know one man from another though they stand hard by him See Annot. c. 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low 4. Is this the time to gain acceptance with God when he is despised by men and excluded the publick Assemblies because his voice is so low that no Body can hear him Nay his Lips look as if they were closed and fall so inward that he can but mumble by reason of the loss of his Teeth the weakness of his Lungs and the defect of other Instruments of Speech Nor can he recruit himself as he was wont by rest for sound sleep departs from his eyes and he wakes as early as the Birds but is not pleased at all with their Songs his hearing being so dull and flat that he is not moved by the best Musick in the World though he listen and incline his ears unto it with never so much diligence See Annot. d 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high and fears shall be in the way and the almond-tree shall flourish and the grashopper shall be a burden and desire shall fail because man goeth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets 5. For joy and all such pleasant passions being fled away melancholy fear alone remains which makes him scarce dare to tread in the High-way much less his head is so giddy to go up a Pair of Stairs nay he thinks himself unsafe in the strongest Fortress Such is the feebleness of Old Age which looks venerably by its Grey Hairs but they are an early sign of approaching death and are made contemptible by his crumpled Shoulders Hips and Back which as they are of themselves a sufficient Load so are relieved and supported by no bodily pleasures the very desires of which now fail him for there is but a very short step between him and his Grave unto which if he be carried with the usual Solemnities it is all his Friends can do for him See Annot. e 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl be broken or the pitcher be broken at the fountain or the wheel broken at the cistern 6. Remember therefore thy Creator while the noble Faculties of sense and motion remain intire and are strong and lively for the time will come and that will be very unfit for this or indeed any other business when they will be totally disabled the Nerves for instance will shrink up and be dispirited the Brain it self and all those precious Vessels wherein it is contained be of no use at all unto thee For the very Fountain of Life the Heart will fail and the Veins and Arteries no longer carry the Blood round the Body but the motion will cease by the decay of that power which now thrusts it forward in a contitinual Circulation See Annot. f 7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it 7. And then what remains but that the Soul and Body being parted they go to their several Originals The Body tho' now so fair a Fabrick to the Earth out of which it was taken according to that ancient Doom passed upon it Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return but the Soul unto God to be judged by him according to what it hath done in the Body since He sent it thither See Annot. g 8. ¶ Vanity of vanities saith the preacher all is vanity 8. And if this be the Conclusion of all our labours I have reason to conclude this Book as I began it and listen I beseech you again to him who proclaims nothing to you but what he hath proved in this Discourse that there is no solid satisfaction to be found in any thing here below where all things are both full of care and trouble as well as uncertain and perishing and therefore it is the height of folly to take great thought for this present life and to lay up nothing for the life to come See Annot. h 9. And moreover because the preacher was wise he still taught the people knowledge yea he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs 9. Perhaps you may still think otherwise and therefore I have this now to add and so shall summ up all I have said that I am as likely to judge aright as another man being indued with Wisdom from above by an extraordinary gift of God 1 Kings III. 12. IV. 30 c. whose Goodness also I have imitated in communicating my knowledge freely unto others Nay knowing that by sloth or envy the greatest Wisdom may be lost the more I understood the more diligent I was in informing others Nor did Divine illuminations make me either neglect my own Studies or other mens inventions but I listned unto all from whom I might hope to learn any thing and both weighed what they said and also made an exact search into things my self of which that not only the present Age but Posterity also might reap the benefit I have gathered together and aptly disposed and fitted to all capacities abundance of excellent pithy Sentences for instruction in Wisdom and Vertue 1 Kings IV. 32. See Annot. i 10. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words and that which was written was upright even words of truth 10. Thus I that preach these things have employed my pains in seeking with no less diligence than covetous men do for money both the most pleasant and the most useful and most certain Knowledge and having found what I sought I may safely affirm that Nothing is said by me but what ought to be most acceptable being apt to give the greatest contentment and delight Nothing written by me but what I found in the Divine Writings or is so exactly agreeable thereunto that it is a straight and faithful Rule of life there is nothing frivolous or doubtful in them but they contain the most solid Wisdom as sure and true as truth it self See Annot. k 11. The words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastned by the masters of assemblies which are given from one shepherd 11. And there is the same power in them as there is wont to be in all the acute Sayings of those that are wise and good to excite and stir up the minds of slothful men to the practice of Vertue that there is in a Goad to prick the dull Oxe forward to draw the Plow Nor do they only sting and move the mind for the present but are apt to stick as
under restraint what we have seized As the Philistins are said to have taken David had him in their power in Gath in the Title of Psal LVI Thus I have expounded it here as most agreeable to the sense of the place d V. 4. great works includes all that follows to the end of v. 8. consisting either in Buildings or in Plantations and Water-works belonging to them or in his Houshold or his Stock upon his Land or his Exchequer and Magazines or in things that were for mere state and magnificence viz. Royal Furniture or in great variety of vocal and instrumental Musick to which some add a kind of Seraglio of the most beautiful Women that could be found though for this last there is no ground to think it here mentioned but what lies in two hard words of which I shall give an account presently e V. 5. gardens The Hebrew word Gennoth some will have to be properly places for Flowers Herbs Sallets and all manner of Fruit-Trees and Pardesin which we translate Orchards to be only Woods Forests or Parks Of which there is no certainty for this last word Pardesin is used but twice more in the Holy Scripture and in the first of those places we translate it Forests II. Nehem. 8. and in the other IV. Cant. 13. it signifies a place were Pomegranates grew And therefore it indifferently signifying either of these I have expressed both in the Paraphrase And if we judge of such places by what the Greeks from this word call a Paradise they were so large as to comprehend not only all sorts of Trees both Fruit-Trees and others such as Cedars Cypress c. but Fountains and Fish Ponds and Aviaries and Walks for all kind of Beasts both wild and tame in short whatsoever could make a place pleasant either by Nature or Art f V. 6. pools The word Berecoth carrying in it the Notion of Blessing some Interpreters will have it to signifie places filled and supplied by the great Blessing of Rain But there is no reason for this limitation it being as capable to signifie any Lake or large hollowness in the Ground or upon it for the reception of Water either from the Clouds or from Springs or from Rivers which are beneficial for sundry uses as I have expressed it in the Paraphrase g V. 7. Though the word Bakar properly belong to Oxen and Cows yet we well translate it the greater sort of Cattel comprehending Camels Asses c. In like manner Tzon is commonly used for Sheep but comprehends Goats also and therefore is well translated by us the lesser sort of Cattle All which both great and small are comprehended under the general word Mikneh which we translate Possession h V. 8. peculiar treasure The word Segullah signifies either the things themselves that are rare and precious or the place where such things are reposited and kept viz. a Treasury But the greatest difficulty in this Verse and indeed in this Chapter is to tell what is meant by Siddah and Siddoth which he calls in the Conclusion of this Description of his Magnificence the delights or delicious pleasures of the Sons of men These Bochartus hath probably conjectured to be most excellent Composition in Musick or most elegant Verses set by a rare Artist among the Phaenicians called Sido to the most ravishing and melting Notes And therefore I have not so much as taken notice of their Interpretation who deriving these words from an Original signifying spoil and devastation understand hereby beautiful Women taken captive in the Wars of which the King had the first choice as he had of the rest of the spoil For there were no Wars in his time till the latter end of his reign and then he was rather worsted than victorious Some indeed to keep this sense derive it from Saddaim the Breasts or Paps because no small part of Womens beauty which they would have to the delights here spoken of consists in the fine shape and decent position of this part of their Body But this seems to be far fetcht and therefore I have let it and divers other Interpretations alone and only expressed the sense of our own Translation which takes these for Musical Instruments and those of such extraordinary sweetness that they left no part of a mans soul untoucht nor room for any other pleasure so some derive it from a word signifying abundance and had some regard to the LXX who understand it of such as waited upon him at the Table Cup-bearers and such like Officers where Musick also was seldom wanting but made a part of the entertainment of great persons as I have expressed it in the Paraphrase i V. 9. my wisdom remained For it was not the manner of Great Men in ancient time to pass their Feasts only in eating and drinking and after the sottish Custom now to send the Cups going round when all was taken away but to spend the time in pleasant but learned Discourses or in telling Stories or propounding and resolving Questions which might whet the Wit and form mens manners or open the Secrets of Nature and at the same time both refresh and instruct the mind As we see at Samson's Marriage-Feast he propounded a Riddle to be unfolded concerning the Generation of Bees out the Carkase of a Lyon In Plutarch's Symposiacks there are abundance of such merry and learned Questions resolved And Athenaeus in his Diepnosophists hath exerpt the Flower of all Arts and Authors Poets Philosophers and Historians in Virgil also at the end of his First Book of Aeneids Jopas is introduced singing a Philosophical Song at the Feast which Dido made concerning the Motions of the Moon and the Sun and in short of all that Atlas that most famous Astronomer had taught And in another place Aeneas himself relates the Destruction of Troy k V. 10. my portion Though Wisdom thus bridled his pleasures yet it did not restrain him from such a free and plentiful enjoyment of them that there was no sort which he did not taste as highly of as was possibly without making himself a mere Fool. This he calls his portion by a Metaphor taken from Inheritances which being divided into parts every one of the Children had his part given him or from Lots which as they were used among Merchants so sometimes in the dividing of Inheritances when the Heirs could not agree among themselves about the aequality of the portions which were set out for them l V. 11. I looked Having considered the value of this portion he could not say it was much worth but rather that there was very little in it and therefore he here prefers Wisdom much before all this pleasure and still far more before sottish and mad pleasure v. 12. And yet for all that after he had taken the benefits of Wisdom into a second consideration v. 13 14 he could not but conclude again that there is a Vanity in that also Which is threefold as there are three ends
present possession be not much moved with this fond humour nor make any great matter of it as neither Scylla nor Tiberius did nay they smile it is possible at the levity of men and do not stand to fight with Dreams for Hope is but the Dream of a man awake yet it cannot but inwardly vex them to see themselves slighted even by those on whom they have bestowed many benefits merely in hope of receiving more from their next supposed Successor For they cannot reasonably expect more perhaps from him that now reigns and therefore they make timely applications to the next Heir He hath done enough for them and therefore they betake themselves to him who hath yet done nothing And besides old men grow tenacious morose and sowre whereas Youth is commonly liberal jocound without care and ambitious to do great things especially at his entrance upon the Kingdom This saith another learned Writer makes the long life of Princes and their power troublesome and grievous both to Courtiers and people of which they that live at Rome do not want ocular demonstration There is nothing more needful for the explication of this Verse but only to observe that the Child or Youth who is here called the second doth not suppose another Child or Youth that is first but only signifie that this Youth is second in the Kingdom Not second in respect to another Son but second in respect to his Father who reigns before him and when he dies this Son succeeds him i V. 16. The first words of this last Verse L. de Dieu seems to me to have expressed better than any other Interpreter they running thus word for word in the Hebrew There is no end to any people That is no end of their fickleness no bounds to their inconstancy but one Nation is as subject to it as another And as this Age follows the former so the next will follow this in its levity and mutability And therefore those young Princes who are transported with the acclamations of the people do but feed upon Wind as some I observed upon the first Chapter translate those words which we render vexation of Spirit For their applauses are like to their affections as changeable as the Wind which will turn another way to some other person when this present Prince grows old or he rules ill or the peoples fancy and humour alters And then it will indeed be a sore affliction to him to see himself despised by those who formerly cried him up as if he had been their Darling It may be referred also to the very Government it self with which the Israelites were not pleased For when they were under Judges they desired a King and then they were not pleased with the Monarchy but wished for the old Aristocracy again Though that in truth was the most exeellent Monarchy which they would not understand under the immediate Government of God Himself CHAP. V. ARGUMENT Under an ill Government in the State Religion it self is commonly corrupted in the Church And therefore having set forth the miseries people endure under the oppressions of an abused Power and the extreams of folly into which it drives them he begins this Chapter with a Correction of those errours that are in Religion Which is the only remedy indeed the only comfort we have against all the troubles to which we are subject in this World but such is the Vanity of Mankind they spoil their very remedy and take away all the Vertue of that which should be their support turning it into mere Ceremony whilst their minds remain impure and without any true sense of God For they do not consider that He who is a pure mind Himself must be better pleased with pure thoughts and affections composed to the observance of his Will and acquiescence in his pleasure than with all the Sacrifices and Offerings in the World which the wicked may bring Him as well as the good To prevent therefore this new folly into which men are apt to run when they intend to cure all the rest Solomon shows all those who would attain true tranquillity of mind what they must do and what they must avoid in the Worship of God And about the middle of the Chapter as I shall observe in the Annotations proceeds to consider the last of those four things wherein men place their happiness 1. KEep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools for they consider not that they do evil 1. AND now lest any man add to the affliction and torment of his Spirit even by that which is the only cure for it let every one who would be a true Worshipper of God in whom alone lies the happiness we seek take care to avoid that negligence which is observable in many people and to opproach with all reverence both of Body and Soul into his Blessed Presence but do not think to please Him with mere postures of Devotion no nor with Sacrifices and Incense without the Oblation of an obedient heart disposed to do what He would have thee For the worst men in the World may be able to offer Him the richest Sacrifices but are very impious as well as foolish if they think He delights in the fat and the Blood of Beasts save only as testimonies of love to Him and acts of obedience unto his Will for in that very thought they offend Him and make no conscience what evil they do while they believe their Sacrifices atone for all See Annot. a 2. Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few 2. And next to this when thou makest thy Prayers to God or givest Him thanks for his benefits deliberate with thy self beforehand what it is fit for thee to ask of Him or to vow unto him and let not any sudden passion make thee inconsiderately either with thy mouth or in thy mind desire what is nor fit for thee to have or promise what is not fit for Him to receive or thou art not able or willing to give But remember first how infinitely great the Lord and Governour of the World is who comprehends all things and then how little and vile thou art who prostratest thy self before Him and therefore do not dare to speak to Him as an Equal whatsoever comes into thy mind much less to make Him large promises which thou canst not perform but let a sense of his Majesty and of thy meanness overcome thee into a profound Reverence of Him expressing it self rather in ardent sighs and groans than in abundance of words which signifie nothing but want of a serious apprehension of Him See Annot. b 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business and a fools voice is known by multitude of words 3. It is so difficult at the same time
with this Meditation which some call sententia intercalaris that the greatest Blessing a man can enjoy in this life is to have an heart to use what God hath given him for his own honest pleasure with due acknowledgments to God and charity to others v. 18 19.20 Where v. 19. there are two words to express abundance of worldly goods as I have paraphrased them The last of them nekasim is larger than the former comprehending all manner of Goods Cattel and all which a man gathers together For it seems by a transposition of Letters to be derived from kanas to collect or gather Chap. II. 8. from which comes the Latin word census the revenues which a man is esteemed to have and accordingly is rated and pays Subsidies CHAP. VI. ARGUMENT The first ten Verses at least of this Chapter are a continuation of the same Argument he handled in the latter part of the foregoing And therefore ought to be connected with it For they set forth the vanity of Riches in the possession of a covetous Wretch who only increases the number of unhappy men in this World being never the better for any thing he enjoys as he shows in the Conclusion of the Chapter 1 THere is an evil which I I have seen under the sun and it is common among men 1. BUT alas this Divine benefit tho' above all others is coveted by very few for I have observed this most wretched miserable humour reigning among Mankind which though it be the greatest mischief is grown so common that it hath overspread the face of the whole Earth See Annot. a 2. A man to whom God hath given riches wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof but a stranger eateth it this is vanity and it is an evil disease 2. When a man is blessed by God with such abundance of Money and Goods and heighth of Honour that he need not unless he will want any thing which his largest desires can wish should administer to his pleasure yet so great is his ingratitude to God and his uncharitableness to men that for these and other sins God denies him the power to enjoy these Gifts of his Bounty to which he is a Slave rather than their Master for he possesses them as if they were not his own but kept by him for some body else and those not his Children nor his Kindred but a mere Stranger perhaps who either in his life-time or after he is dead devours all that he hath saved What can be more senseless than this Nay what sorer Plague can infest Mankind See Annot. b 3. ¶ If a man beget an hundred children and live many years so that the days of his years be many and his soul be not filled with good and also that he have no burial I say that an untimely birth is better than he 3. Unless it be this that one of this sort of men being blessed also with abundance of Children and with an exceeding long life yet thereby is made only so much the more and so much the longer miserable being so solicitous for Posterity that he hath no heart to take the comfort of any thing he possesses at present no nor so much as to take order for his decent Funeral when he is dead but he goes out of the World without any notice that he hath lived in it Of such an one I pronounce That an Abortive which came into the World before its time is not so despicable as he See Annot. c 4. For he cometh in with vanity and departeth in darkness and his name shall be covered with darkness 4. For though in this they are both alike that they come into the World to no purpose and go our of it so obscurely that no body minds their departure and leave no memory behind them that they have been in it See Annot d 5. Moreover he hath not seen the sun nor known any thing this hath more rest than the other 5. Yet in this they differ that an Abortive having never seen the light of the Sun much less been acquainted with any thing in this World had no desire to enjoy that of which it was perfectly ignorant and was as utterly insensible of grief and pain as it was of joy and pleasure Whereas this mans unsatiable desires carrying him after every thing he sees torment his Soul with anxious thoughts care and labour which not only make him pine away with grief for what he cannot get but deprive him of the comfort of what he hath And how much better is it never to live at all than to live only to disquiet a mans self with restless solicitude of mind and toilsome pains of body for that which he can neither keep nor part withal with any contentment 6. ¶ Yea though he live a thousand years twice told yet hath he seen no good do not all go to one place 6. Men are so fond of life indeed that because the one lives long and the other not at all they imagine the former to be incomparably more happy but let us suppose this covetous Wretch to live more than as long again as the oldest man that ever was what is he the better for it when his greedy desires not suffering him to enjoy his Goods multiply his miseries equally to his years Which will expire also at last and then what are his Riches able to do for him can they privilege him from going down into the Grave and rotting there like the Abortive See Annot. e 7. All the labour of man is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not filled 7. And while he lives to what purpose is his restless labour Seeing if he desire only what is necessary it is easily provided and having Food and Rayment a man may be contented and if he extend his desires further they are infinite and therefore can never meet with any satisfaction 8. For what hath the wise more than the fool what hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living 8. For let a man be otherways never so wise as well as rich yet if he bridle not his desires he is little better than a Fool and he that is poor but hath so much understanding as to know how to behave himself among men suitably to his condition and to be contented therewith is incomparably the wiser and the happier man See Annot. f 9. ¶ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandring of the desire this is also vanity and vexation of spirit 9. It being much better to enjoy what a man hath at present than to live upon the hopes of that which his ravenous desires continually pursue which sure is a very foolish thing and another great part of the miseries of humane life that men are still craving more when they know not how to use what they have already and neglecting what they possess wish for
taken away from thee which now thou wilt not bestow upon needy people c. c V. 3. In this Verse he illustrates both the Duty and the reason of it The former by the Clouds which are a fit Emblem of Charity the second by the Trees which can bring forth Fruit no longer than they continue joined to their Root from which being separated they bear no more nor can be fixed to their Root as the Clouds may be filled with Water again So I have interpreted the latter part of this Verse which Grotius understands as if it meant no more than the foregoing Do good to men without distinction like him who when he cuts down a Tree regards not which way it falls I omit other Interpretations and shall only mention Maldonate's Gloss upon this Verse which is ingenious enough He urges us saith he to do good while we live by two Reasons First From the profit of it because we shall receive more than we give like the Clouds which receive from the Earth but a thin Vapour which they return to it in most copious Showres The second From the impossibility of being in a capacity to do good when we are dead for then like a Tree we must continue as we are when Death seizes us and never be restored to our former condition again Corranus alone as far as I can find expounds the latter part thus in his Annotations A Tree in what place soever it is planted there abides and brings forth Fruit and so ought we to help others by all manner of means in whatsoever place or time we live And he takes North and South for all Parts of the World If any think fit to apply this unto the unalterable condition wherein we must remain in the other World like a Tree cut down which if it fall toward the North cannot change its positure and turn to the South they cannot follow a fitter Gloss upon the Words than this of Luther's If the Lord find thee in the South that is fruitful and rich in good works it will be well but if in the North that is barren of good works it will be ill with thee Howsoever thou art found so thou shalt be judged and so thou shalt likewise receive d V. 4. And then follows here an Admonition to take the first opportunity of doing good and not to deferr it because now it may seem unseasonable and we fansie it may do better another time Which the Lord Bacon extends unto all other things as well as Alms. There is no greater or more frequent impediment of action saith be in the Conclusion of the First Chapter of the VIIIth Book of Advancement of Learning than an over-curious observation of decency and of that other Ceremony attending on it which is too scrupulous election of time and opportunity For Solomon saith excellently He that observeth the Wind c. We must make opportunity oftner than find it And thus that great Prince Xerxes otherwise not very prudent speaks very discreetly in Herodotus L.VII. Be not fearful of all things nor consider every thing minutely for if in the considertion of business thou wilt weigh every thing alike thou shalt never be able to do any thing And thus Melancthon understands this place As events are not in our power which he takes to be the meaning of v. 3. so he that will have certain and circumscribed events that is such and such things come to pass before he act will never attempt any thing And so a great Divine of our own expounds it If we will suspend our resolution till we can bethink our selves of something free from all inconveniencies in most of our deliberations we shall never resolve upon any thing at all God having so tempered things that every commodity hath its incommodiousness every conveniency some inconvenience attending it which many times all the wit and industry of man is not able to sever Bishop Sanderson's Sermon upon 1 Corinth X. 23. p. 245. Saint Hierom also elegantly accommodates these Words to negligent Pastors who will not preach but when the people are very desirous to hear and there is a fair Gale breathing to favour their design And gives this Advice to us Do not say this is a fit time that is unprofitable for we are ignorant what is the way and what is the will of the Spirit which dispenseth all things e V. 5. In this Verse he seems to pursue the same Metaphor of the Wind which blows uncertainly and no body knows whence nor from what causes And therefore from our ignorance of that and indeed of all other things which we are here conversant withal of our own Soul for instance which our Translators understand by the Word Ruach Spirit and of our own Body or of that vis formatrix how it goes about its Work to make this Body of ours in the Womb which may possibly be meant by Spirit XXXIII Job 4. CIV Psal 30. Solomon perswades us not to presume to know how God intends to order the course of this World in his over-ruling Providence and therefore to do our Duty and leave events to Him f V. 6. Imitating the Husbandman with which Metaphor he began this Discourse and now concludes it who not knowing which will prosper sows both early Corn and late So Symmachus understands this Verse to be an allusion to those that sow some very forward Seed which perhaps may hit when that which is sown at the ordinary time doth not Or perhaps both may succeed and bring forth Fruit to their great enriching Others take morning and evening only to signifie all times g V. 7. I have continued this Verse with the foregoing and supposed what all Interpreters do in the third and fourth Verses that the comparison is imperfect there being only the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Hermogenes speaks the Proposition of the Sentence and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which answers unto it left to be made by the Reader Which I have supplied from the sense of the whole foregoing Discourse in this Chapter Others think a new Discourse here begins for the Conclusion of the whole Book and that after all he had said of happiness he advises every one to think of another life and not expect to find it in this Or as some understand him his meaning is Now you have seen wherein happiness doth not and wherein it doth consist therefore do not either imagine there is none at all here in this World or that it is greater than really it is But take a middle course which I have shown you and look upon this life as having pleasure in it but not absolutely perfect yet such as our condition will permit begun here and to be completed in another World h V. 8. The beginning of this Verse I have expounded according to the Hebrew where the Words run thus as St. Hierom himself translates them If a man live many years let him rejoyce in all these things
His receiving Fruit from his Garden is expressed in these Words I have gathered my Myrrh with the rest of the Spices mentioned in the former Chapter Then follows the Feast which they always made when they gathered the Fruits of the Earth in these Words I have eaten my Honey comb with my Honey c. Which is put instead of all other things because it was one of the greatest entertainments of those Countries As appears from hence that it was among the Presents sent to Joseph when Viceroy of Egypt XLIII Gen. 11. and brought to David by the Great men of the Country as part of his provision while he dwelt among them in his Banishment 2 Sam. XVII 29. and is mentioned also by Homer as the entertainment which Hecamede gave Nestor and Patroclus before whom she set green or fresh Honey And as that comprehends all Royal Dainties that were to be eaten so Wine and Milk all the Liquors at the Feast whereby is represented the joy He took in the Fruit of his Garden In which joy he would have all good men and Angels themselves XV. Luke 7 10. to participate in the highest measure that their joy as our Lord speaks might be full For that 's the meaning of Drink yea drink abundantly O Beloved I have not adventured to be very particular in specifying the things to which these expressions may be applied but have only mentioned the Evangelical Doctrine and the Good Works of Christians If by Myrrh and Spices any special thing be designed I should think it is the Martyrs who offered up themselves most acceptable Sacrifices unto Christ and made greater joy in Heaven than the meer repentance of a Sinner could do And the joy that Christ took in such victorious Souls as laid down their lives for Him nay did but heartily entertain his Doctrine is expressed by their feasting with Him III. Revel 20. The last Words Eat O Friends drink c. may soberly be applied to the Eucharist where we feast with Christ on his Sacrifice and He feasts with us beholding our love to Him and one to another b V. 2. Here now begins a new Scene or Part of this Pastoral Song Wherein Solomon represents himself as having lost that clear sight of the Messiah which he had in the foregoing Vision Chap. III. 4 for they could not always keep up their minds to such a pitch of contemplation But falling into a trance thought he heard his voice though he saw not his person speaking to his Spouse Whom Solomon conceives to be in the same condition wherein he then was himself and to hear those Words spoken v. 1. between sleeping and waking So the first Words of this Verse signifies I sleep but my heart waketh the same with those of Baalam XXIV Numb 4. falling asleep but having my eyes open In which condition the Greeks describe their Saturn of whom they say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sleeping he saw and waking he slept She having therefore but an imperfect sense of his kindness to her and presence with her He awakens her to attend more lively to his love which He was desirous more fully to discover and therefore calls upon her by more names of endearment than ever For here are four put together the following rising still higher than the foregoing And he represents after the manner of Lovers what He had suffered to gain her affection which seems to me to be the meaning of the last Words My head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night Wherein He is represented as a beautiful Nazarite having bushy Hair and many Locks as Samson had who having travelled all night to visit her was thereby very wet For there were two sorts of Dew the Morning Dew which was soon gone VI. Hos 4. XIII 3. and that Dew which fell in the Night and lay long and wet those who were in it very much Whereby is signified in Scripture hardships and great afflictions IV. Dan. 25. There are those indeed who by Dew understand the Evangelical Doctrine by which innumerable Souls were begotten unto Christ as David prophesied CX Psal 3. But this is not agreeable to what follows and their reason for this Exposition is not true that Dew is always taken in a good sense for I have shown the contrary and the dropping of the Prophets a Metaphor taken from Dew is their prophesying against a place and threatning Judgments to come upon it XXI Ezek. 2. VI. Amos 16. which makes me think that Solomon here rather alludes to the last Verse of the CXth Psalm if he had that Psalm in his eye which predicts the troubles and afflictions of the Messiah by drinking of the Brook in the way If this Exposition of this difficult Verse be not allowed it may be supposed that the Messiah is here represented as coming in the person and condition of a poor man to beg entertainment and having not where to lay his head as our Lord speaks was thereby exposed to the cold Air c. Which will make this a commendation of Charity to the Church showing also the danger of neglecting it c V. 3. And then this Verse agrees perfectly with what we read in the Parable XI Luke 7. Where the good man of the house was unwilling to be troubled even by his Friend that came to beg his assistance when he was going to compose himself to rest But I take it to be a description of the dullness which is sometimes apt to creep upon the most excellent minds who in some tempers are so listless as not to be much affected with the best motions that are made to them Of which infirmity Solomon having had many Examples in the History of his own Nation might well conceive the Spouse her self to be backward to entertain the Grace which was offered to her There are no difficulties in the Words which signifie plainly that she having composed her self to rest and being half asleep was unwilling to be disturbed For going into Bed she had put off her cloaths and washed her feet as the manner was that no filth which they had contracted in the day time they wearing Sandals only not Shoes as we do might foul the Sheets and it would have been a trouble to do all this over again which is the meaning of the last Words How shall I defile them i. e. I cannot easily perswade my self to it I shall only therefore set down the pious note of Theodoret upon these Words Let us learn from hence what mischief sloth and laziness doth and in what troubles and pains it engegeth us For the Spouse here excusing her self and not being willing presently to rise to the Bridegroom is compelled a little while after not only to rise and run to the door but to run through the City and wander about the Streets and fall among the Watch-men and by them to be wounded and after all could scarce find her Beloved to whom if she had
presently hearkned and obeyed his heavenly call she had avoided all these inconveniencies There are those not only among us but also in the Romish Church who apply all this laziness to the State of the Church after the time of the Great Constantine For which I see no warrant but think we may rather apply it to those Churches who presently after our Saviour's departure to Heaven left their first Love and grew cold as we read in the second and third Chapters of the Revelation For it seems probable by the VIth Chapter of this Book in the beginning of it that here he speaks of particular Societies not of the whole Body of the Church d V. 4. Yet such is the infinite Goodness of the Divine Nature he immediately represents the Messiah as not provoked by this neglect wholly to cast off his Spouse but rather stretching forth his hand to awaken her out of this security For so it follows He put in his hand by the hole i. e. at the Window or Casement as if he would draw her out of her Bed or as it may be interpreted in a threatning manner to punish her for her sloth For so putting forth the hand signifies to do some execution 1 Sam. XXVI 9 11 23. Which agrees with what follows that presently she was mightily moved thereby and more than awakened being full of solicitude and fear and grief and trouble Which shows indeed that she did not intend to deny but only to delay Him and yet He took this so ill as to put her in great fear of some danger from it as our Saviour doth in his Letters to the Churches II. Revel 5 16 22 23 c. For the Word Bowels signifies the affections and passions and the Hebrew Word hamu which we translate was moved signifies made a noise or was tumultuous and therefore denotes the passion of trouble and grief and of fear also nay of great fear and perplexity For so St. Hierom here renders it My Belly trembled as he doth in VII Ezek. 16. where it is applied to Doves to whom the Spouse was here compared ver 2. and we translate it mourning but it should be rather trembling like Doves For that is their nature XI Hos 11 all Authors observing them to be exceeding timorous and therefore so it may be translated here I was so full of trouble that I quivered like a Dove Others by putting forth the hand understand the touches He gives by his Holy Spirit which doth not contradict what I have said threatnings being employed by Him for that purpose e V. 5. And having had this glance of Him whose voice only she heard before v. 2. she starts up immediately and endeavours to correct her errour And is here represented as making such haste to open the door that she broke the Vessel of myrrh which she snatcht up when she rose intending therewith to anoint and refresh his head which was wet with Dew Or rather her hands shaked in that panick fear wherein she was and so she spilt some of the Myrrh and it ran about her Fingers By which is denoted the great speed she made to shake off her sloth now she saw her danger and the fear that came upon her lest she should lose her Beloved to whom she now resolved to express the greatest affection imaginable For it was not barely Myrrh which was one of the most excellent Spices XIX Joh. 39. but the most precious Myrrh which she took up to carry to Him So mur ober signifies which we well translate sweet-smelling Myrrh but word for word is current Myrrh Either in that sense wherein Money is called current XXIII Gen. 16. as some fansie or as Rasi thinks because the Spirit that is the odor of it diffused it self round about the place where it was that is was exceeding fragrant or as Bochart will have it was that which wept as they speak and dropt from the Tree of it self which as it was the most unctuous so was the richest and best for all manner of uses See his Phaleg L. II. C. 22. And besides this Theophrastus observes that out of Myrrh being beaten there flowed an Oil called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was very precious as I find in Athenaeus L. XV. C. 11. And accordingly the Chaldee and Aquila translate ober in this place choice Myrrh Symmachus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the prime from whom the Vulgar the most approved Myrrh f V. 6. But notwithstanding her repentance she was thus far punished for her sloth that her Beloved absented himself from her for a time and she could not hear the least tydings from Him or notice of Him Which cast her into such an excess of grief and fear that she swooned away and was like a dead Body so that Phrase my Soul went forth signifies to die XXXV Gen. 18. XLII 28. and other places And recovering her self again was extremely troubled by the reflections she made upon his kindness and her insensibleness of it For which she askt his pardon and sought his favour but could receive no tokens of it g V. 7. I take Watchmen here in a good sense as before III. 3. unto which I refer the Reader And only observe that to find a person signifies sometimes in Scripture-Phrase as much as to fall upon him as we speak and that on a sudden I. Judg. 5. XXI Psal 8. CXIX 143. X. Isai 10. And so I have expounded it here and referred the smitting and wounding her to the reproaches they cast upon her For there is a smiting with the tongue as well as with the hand and that not only by Enemies unjustly XVIII Jer. 18. but by Friends out of love and charity CXLI Psal 5. For there is not a greater kindness than sometimes even to upbraid us with our faults Which is further expressed by taking away her Veil from her as much as to say exposing her to shame a Veil being thrown over Womens faces for modesty-sake as well as in token of subjection XX. Gen. 16. And so St. Hierom in his Epistle to Laeta takes this Veil or Pallium as he calls it to be pudicitiae signum a sign of chastity and therefore to take it away was to represent her as an impudent whorish Woman Greg. Nyssen adds that it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. XII upon this Book the Nuptial Veil which together with the face covered the whole Body and therefore to be disrobed of it was the greater reproach because it was to disown her to be his Spouse as she professed her self h V. 8. This Verse is very plain expressing the admirable temper of a true Penitent who leaves nothing unattempted to recover the favour of her Lord for finding no comfort from the Watchmen she implores the help of all good people and yet doth not complain of what she suffered nor of the harshness of those who should have helpt to restore her and not dealt so severely with her according to that of the Apostle