Ver. 17.-The love of pleasure. The love of pleasure is here described as a cause of po_verty. No doubt this was meant to refer to physical destitution. But we caunot f3.1l to see many other forms of poverty resulting from the same foolish infatuation. I. IT IMPOVERISHES A ML'>'s PURSE. 'l'his direct meaninu of the text is not without its value. No man desires to come down in the social scale°and to lose the comforts of life. But least of all will the pleasure-lover welcome such a prospect. High-minded, unselfish, unworldly men submit to the loss of all things, and "count them but dung" for the sake of some n0ble end. The pleasure-lover is not of this category. 'fo him earthly loss must be a terrible infliction. Therefore, while the text may be of use for all, it is a direct argumentum ad hominem for such a person. Now, experience proves the truth of it. 1. For pleasure a man neglects his business. In the present day of hard comretition such folly is fatal. 2. Many pleasures are costly. They cannot be had without great expenditure, and the passion for them leads to reckless extravagance. 3. Some pleasures destroy the business powers of a man. They are literally dissipations. Brain and nerves are weakened, and the degraded slave of self-indulgence becomes a wreck, unable to fight the stern battle of life. The drunkard is incompetent. The dissolute man is lacking in business promptness and energy. Other men will not trust the pleasure-seeker, and so business forsakes him. 4. 'l'here are pleasures that directly impoverish. Gambling-now so fearfully prevalent-is a direct road to poverty. II. IT IMPOVERISHES A MAN'S INTELLECT. Even though the pleasure-seeker be prudent e□ ough to preserve his fortune from shipwreck, or so ex?ee?ingly "'.ealth,r that he cannot easily squander all his possessions, he may !lnd he will 1m.11ovensh h1?1self. Though he may always have money in his purse, his own mmd will be emptied of all worthy possessions. 'l'he lo'°'e of pleasure directly weakens t~e int~llect. The physical effect of dissipation impoverishes ~he brain .. 'l'~e exciting d!stra~t10ns of a hfe of gaiety destroy the powers of deep, con!muous thmkm_g. The mmd 1s _tln~s wasted away in frivolity. The pleasure-seeker will not have patience to ~tudy s~lid literature, to think out great trnths, to discuss with serious men grave questions of life and ~eath. Exciting novels and plays will be his staple intellectual food, and the result will be mental ruin. ]JI. IT IMPOVEBIBHEB A MAN'S HEART. The pleasure-seeker is often snp~~ed to be a good-natured man because he is a genia) compani?n .. No doubt many l~ose-hvmg, self- indulgent men have shown great generosity to their friends. But th_at I~ because they are not given up to pure pleasure-seeking. In itself pleasu,e-~ee~mg 1s selfish, hard, cruel The Romans of the old empire made a fine art of the cult1vat1on of pleasure, and they became monsters of cruelty. 1'he tortures of the an:iphitheo.tre fu~nished them w_ith the most exquisite cielights. Pleasure-loving Roman lnd1es treated then· poor slo.ve-g1rls OII. l l l , 1-31.] THE PROVERBS. 413
with heartlee_s cruelty. I~ is a gr?SB mistake to suppose that kindliness goes with pleasurc-seekmg, and that its opposite is a sour, ill-natured Puritanism. IV. IT IMPOVERISHES A MAN'S souL. The greatest loss is not that of money nor even that of though~ or heart.. The chief treasure which the pleasure-lover los~s is the pearl o_f great price-the kingdom _of heaven. He may gain the whole world, but he l~ses his own so~!.. Pleasure-seekmg de~troye the spiritual faculties. It is not required that the Chr1~tian should be an ascetic, denyin" himself innocent deli"hts nor is it to be supposed that all pleasures are evil. The evil is the love of pleasur; Even the love of pleasures that are innocent in themselves may be the rock on which a soul is ruined, if this be the supreme passion of that soul, eclipsing the Jove of God.