(b) From the Vegetable Kingdom we note first of all the proud question by which Jereiniali dis- tinguishes himself from his rivals : ' What is the chatt'to the wheat?' (23^''). To the same category partially belongs also the saying about the eating of sour grapes (Jer 31'-^, Ezk 18"), as well as the following sentences : ' Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred there- with ' (Pr 15" II 17') ; ' Wine is a mocker ' (Pr '20') ; ' Drowsiness shall clothe (a man) with rags' (23-"') ; cf. 'Seek not to be a mighty man at wine' (Sir 34^) ; ' Like a new wine, so is a new friend ' (9'*) ; and ' Wine and women will make men of under- standing to fall away' (19^).
(c) From the Animal Kingdom are derived the following general sayings and proverbs : first comes the caution, ' Thou slialt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn' (Dt '25^) ; next, the ear- nest question, ' Can the leopard change his spots ? ' (Jer 13-^) ; to which may be added the general sayings, ' Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise' (Pr 0") : 'Where no oxen are, the crib is clean' (14^ cf. Sir '26'); 'A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back' (26») ; 'Skin for skin' (Job 2*); ' Doth the wUd ass bray when he hath grass ? ' (6°) ; ' Small among flying creatures is the bee, and her fruit is the chief of sweetmeats' (Sir II'); 'Who will pity (?) a charmer that is stung?' (12'* trans- lated from the Heb. by C. Taylor) ; ' All flesli loveth its kind' (13"» iro nnx- -ic-n.n '?3 ; cf. the Arabic, ' One camel kneels again in the place of another,' ap. Schultens, Gram. Arab. p. 297 ; ^Xf ^XiKo rlpwei. ; ' Pares cum paribus facillime con^:re- gantur' ; ' Qui se ressemblent s'assemblent ' ; ' Birds of a feather flock together'); 'What fellowsliip shall wolf have with lamb?' (Sir 13"* 3ni -law no r33 \k) ; ' Flee from sin as from a serpent,' etc. (21^) ; ' The true proverb. The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and, The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire ' (2 P 2-^).
(rf) Other sayings in the Bible which border on the realm of proverbs, or belong to it, are borrowed from the human sphere ; and if it is desired to divide this large group into its particular species, these may be given as follows : — (a) Many proverbs
PEOVERB
PROVERBS, BOOK OF
139
are derived from the life of tlie individual. To this category belong tlie frequently cited 'As Nimrod,' etc. (Gn 10"") ; ' Is Saul also among the prophets?' (1 S lO''' || 19") ; 'As is the mother, so 18 her daughter ' ( Ezk lO"'') ; ' Treasures of wicked- ness prolit notliing' (Pr 10^; ef. the Arab. matal"", ' Poverty is better than unlawful riches and unrighteous gain,' ap. Schultens, Gram. Arab. p. 2S4 ; 'Ill-gotten goods do not prosper'; 'Bien mal acquis ne protite pus ') ; ' Tlie memory of the just is blessed,^ etc. (Pr 10' 13"- =") ; 'Kighteous- ness exalteth a nation' (H**); 'A soft answer turneth away wrath' (15'); 'In all labour there is profit' (14^*^), cf. the following negative par- allels: 'The siurjgard will not phjugh by reason of the cold,' etc. f-'O^ 22" 24^» 2G'^-»^» ; ' A sluggard may be compared to a dirty stone' (Sir 22'; cf. the Arabic saj'ing, ' SU)th and much sleep lead away from God, and bring poverty,' ap. Schultens, Gram. Arab. p. 281 f.); 'It is better to dwell in a comer of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house' (Pr 21"; similar sayings about women are found in v." 25-'' 27", cf. the extravagant hyperbole in ' I would rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than in a house with an angry woman ' (Sir 25"')) ; ' A friend will not be known (•;t\') in prosperity,' etc. (Sir 12^, translated by C. Taylor) ; ' \\ hoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein' (Pr 26", and simUarly Ec 10», Sir 27^; cf. ' He wlio digs a pit for another, may soon fall himself therein,' or 'celui qui creuse la fosse y tombera ') ; ' Give to a brother, and let tliy soul fare delicately' (Sir 14'°*, Heb. text 'Ji nn'? jn) ; 'A slip on a pavement is better than a slip with the tongue' (Sir 20'^) ; ' A /ie is a foul blot in a man ' (v.^^; cf. the Arabic, 'The tongue of the dumb is better than the tongue whicli speaks lies,' ap. Schultens, Gram. Arab. p. 284); 'He who multi- plies words occasions sin' (PirlcS Aboth, i. 17); 'A rough (or boorish) man fears not sin' ("i'i3 px K2n Ni;, ib. ii. 5) ; ' Whoso makes much llesh makes many worms' (ib. ii. 7; cf. Is 14"" 6G=^^ Job 7°' IjHt. gia"" 242»« 25*').— (^) Other proverbs draw a lesson from the life of nations or other wider circles of the human race : ' They shall surely ask counsel at A bel ' (2 S 20'") ; ' Can the Ethiopian change his skin?' (Jer 13'-"); 'As the man is, so is his strength ' (Jg S*") ; 1 S 24''' ; ' The vile person will speak villainy ' (Is 32*') ; Jer 31="= Ezk 18^. — (7) In that oliservation of human life which led to the constructing of proverbs, regard has also been had to the life of the warrior, as in 'As Nimrod,' etc. (Gn 10"''), and in 'Let not him that girdetli on (his harness) boast himself as he that i)utteth it oil' (1 K 20"") ; the conduct of the trader is noted in ' skin for skin ' (Job 2*, cf. the case of Shylock) ; the sphere of the physician is in view in ' Physician, heal thyself (Lk 4''') ; and the hard lot of the husbandman suggests the lesson, ' One soweth and another reapeth ' ( Jn 4").