The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 270

•• Contra verbosos noli oontcndere verbis: imprudence,' he ma.de it plnin that he oe.lled Sermo datus cunctis, nnimi sapientia pau- prudence • the riohes of tho wise•" (Oxford cis. 0 tmnsl.). I "Againsttho wordy strive not thou in words; Ver. 25.-A true witneBB delivereth souls Con verso with i>ll, but to the fornured few (ver. 5; eh. xii. 17). A true witness eaves Impart thy heart's deep wisdom."' persons who are in danger owing to false accusation or calumny; sav&s lives; "saves Oriental proverbs: '' Sweet words, empty from evils," se.ys the Septuagint. lint a lrnnds;" "To speak of honey will not make deoeitful witness speaketh lies, and there- the mouth sweet;" "We do not cook rice with endangers lives. Literally, He who bv babbling" (Lane). Turkish, "The lan- b1·eatheth out lies is deceit; he is a per- guage of actions is more eloquent th11n the sonification of fraud, dominated and informed lang-nage of words." by it ; it has beoome his very nature. Yer. 24.-The crown of the wiso is their "Falsehood is the devil's daughter, and riohes. 'fhis is taken by some (' Speaker's speaks her father's tongue." Septuagint, Commentary') to mean the glory of the "But a deceitful wituess kindles (/1<,c<tlEL) wise man, the fame and splendour which lies." surround him, constitute Lis wealth; but Ver. 26.-In the fear of the Lord is strong it is better to interpret it thus: Riches are con1idenoe. The fear of God casts out all an ornament to a wise m11n; they enhance fear of man, all despairing anticipations of and set off his wisdom in the eyes of others, possible evil, o.nd makes the believer confi- enable him t-0 use it to advantage, and are dent and bold. St. Gregory (' Moral.,' v. not the snare wllich they might be because 33), "As in the way of the world fear gives they are employed religiously and profitably rise to weakness, so in the way of God fear for the good of others. Eccles. vii. 11, produces strength. In truth, our mind so "Wisdom is good together with an inheri- much the more valorously sets at naught all tance, and profitable to them that see the the terrors of temporal vicissitudes, the sun." The Septuagint has, "The crown of moro thoroughly that it submits itself in the wise is the clever man (1r1:tvoiip-yos)," fear to the Author of those same temporal for which has been substituted by some things. And being stablished in the fear editors, in agreement with the present of the Lord, it encounters nothing without Hebrew text, 1ri\oiiTos a.im•v, "their wealth." it to fill it with alarm, in that whereas it is The Greek translators, according to their united to the Creator or all things by a reading, denote that one eminently clever righteous fear, it is by a certain powerful man is a glory to the whole body of wise influence raised high above them all." Comp. men. But the folly of fools is only folly; Ps. xxvii. 1 and St. Paul's words, "If God that is, even though it were accompanied be for us, who can be age.inst us?" (Rom. with riches. Decorate folly as you may, viii. 31). Septuagint, "In the feo.r of the trick it out in gaud and ornament, it is still Lord is hope of strength." And his ohildren nothing but folly, and is discerned as such, shall have a place of refage (Ps. xlvi. 1). and that all the more for being made con- There is an ambiguity as to whose children spicuous. Schultens, followed by Words- are meant. The LXX. renders, "And to worth, finds a play of words here. The his children he will leave a support." Thus words rendered "fool" and "folly" imply many refer the pronoun to the Lord named "fatness," like the Greek 1raxvs and the in the first clo.use-God's children, those Latin c-rassus, which have also this double who love and trust him, and look up to meaning. So the sentence reads, "Riches him as o. Father, an expression used more are e. crown to the wise; but the abundant specially in the New Testament than in the fatness of fools is only fatness." The last Old. But see Ps. lxxiii. 15, and passages clause is translated by the LXX., "But the (e.g. Hos. xi. 1) where God call.J Israel hie fools' way of life (~t<tTp1fH1) is evil" St. son, a type of all who are broaght unto him Gregory (' Moral,' x:x:ii. 8) comments on this by adoption and grace. Others, age.in, refer verse tllus: "It was these riches of wisdom the pronoun to "the fear of the Lord," "its that Solomon having before his eyes, saith, children," which would be quite in con- 'The crown of the wise is their riches.' formity with Hebrew idiom; as we have WJ,ich ea.me person, because it is not metals " sons of wisdom," " children of obedience," of earth, but understanding, that he calls equivalent to" wise," ''obedient," eto. Dut by the name of riches, thereupon adds by most modem commentators explain it of way of a contrary, • But the foolishness of the children of the God-fearing man, com- fools is imprudence.' For if he called paring Exod. xx. 6 and Pa. ciii. 17. Such a Parthly riches the crown of the wise, surely one shall confer le.sting benefits upon his he would own tho senselessness of fools to posterity ( oh. xiii. 22; xx. 7). So God be poverty rather than imprudence. But blessed the descendants of Abraham and wheree.s he added,' the foolishness of fools is David; so he ahows mercy unto thousands, arr. XIV, 1-35.] THE PROVERBS. 275