(shagah), as in eh. v. 20. Beware of that intoxication of the senses and fancy which leads to such an end. For she is a feller of men, a cruel murderess (ver. 26). Her house is as the vestibule of hell, the facilis descensus Avel"ni-the passacre0 to the chambers of death (see on eh. ii. 18; v. 5). LESSONS. 1. Folly and vice are characteristic11.lly the same in every aero. Hence t~ese s?enes have los_t no_ne o~ theJr dramatic power ,or moral suggestion~ 2. Only virtue 1s capable of mfimte d1vers1ty aud charm. 'Ihe pleasures of mere passion violent at first, pass into monotony, thence into disgust. 3. The character of th~ utter harlot has never been made other thau repulsive (even in Fronch fiction as Zola's 'Nana') in poetry. ,vhat exists in practical form is mere dregs and refuse: 4. The society of pure and refined women is the best antidote to vicious tastes. For to form a correct taste in any matter is to form, at the same time, a distaste for coarse and spurious quality. Perhaps reflections of this order may be more useful to ;young men than much declamation.-J. Vcrs. 1-27.-Tlie two ways. Here we have- r. Tm; wAY OF SIN AND DEATH. This is: 1. The way of thoughtlessness. It is the "simple ones," the "young men void of understanding" (ver. 7), those who go heedlessly "near the corner," "the way to the house" of the tempter or the temptress (ver. 8). It is those who "do not consider," who do not think who they are, what they are here for, whither they go, what the end will be ;-it is these who go astray and are found in the way of death. 2. The way of darkness. (Ver. 9.) Sin hates the light; it loves the darkness. It cannot endure the penetrating glance, the reproachful look, of the good and wise man. It prefers to be where it can better imagine that it is unseen of God. 3. The way of shame. (Vers. 10-20.) The result of habitual sin is to rob woman of her native purity, to make her impudent and immodest. How sad, beyond almost everything, the effect of guilt that will put shameful thoughts into a woman's mind, shameless words into a woman's lips I If sin will do this, what enormity of evil will it not work? 4. The way of falsehood, of pretence, of imposture. (Vers. 14, 15.) 5. The way of weakness and defeat. (Vers. 21, 22.) A man, under the power of sin, yields himself up; he is vanquished, he surrenders his manliness, he has to own to him.self that he is miserably beaten. The strong man is slain by sin, the wounded is cast down (ver. 26). He who has gained victories on other fields, and won trophies in other ways, is utterly defeated, is taken captive, is humiliated by sin. 6. The way of death and damnation. (Ver. 27.) II. THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LIFE. (Vera. 1-5.) This is: 1. The way of attention. The will of God must first be heeded and understood. 2. 'l'he way of holy love. We must take Divine wisdom to our heart, and love it as that which is near and dear to us (ver. 4). 3. The way of wise culture. (Vers. 1-3.) We are to take the greatest pains to keep God's thought in our remembrance, before the eyes of our soul. We are to take every needful measure to keep it intact, whole, flawless in our heart. We are to find it a home in the inmost chamber, in the sacred places of our spirit. Then will this path of righteousness prove to us to be: 4. The path of life. Keeping his commandments, we shall" live" (ver. 2). We shall live the life of virtue, escaping the snares and wiles of the vicious (ver. 6). We shall live the life of piety and integrity, beloved of God, honoured of man, having a good conscience, cherishing a good hope through grace of eternal life.-C.
EXPOSITION. manner the nothingness of the deceiver's CHAPTER VIII. gifts. One is reminded of the celebrated Vers. 1-36.-14. Fourteenth, admonitory episode of the choice of Hercules, delineated diBcourse concerning Wisdom-her excel- by Xenophon, 'Memorab.,' ii. 1. 21, eto. The lence, her origin, her gifts. She is con- chapter divides itself into four sections. (1) trasted with the strange woman of eh. vii., Introductory (vers. 1-3); Wisdom calls on and the exceeding greatness of the blessings all to listen, and gives reasons for trusting which she offers e~ibits in the most marked to her (vers. 4-11). (2) Silo display1 her orr. vm. 1-36.] THE PROVERBS. 161