The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 425

"Jupiter ementitur OJ>e& morto.Iibus ipse, so is he. The verb here used is "1!)1? (shaar), Bio visum ut fuent, cuicunque, bonove, "to estimate," "to calcnlate," And the clause me.love." is hest rendered, For as 07le that calculates Septuagint, "If thou art poor, measure not with himself, so is he. The meaning is that thyself (µ.¾ ,rr,p.,,.,.,lvou) with a rich man, this niggardly host watches every morsel but in thy wisdom refrain thyself." which his guest eats, and grudges what he Ver. 5.-Wilt thou aet thine eyea upon Bppears to offer so liberally. In the Autho- that whioh ia not 1 more literally, wilt rized Version the word "heart" occurs twice thou let thine eyes fly upon it, and it is gone 1 in this verse, but the Hebrew words are Why cast longing looks townrda this wealth, different. The first is nephesh, " breath," and so prepare for yourself loss and disap- equivalent to "mind;" the second is leb, pointment? The pursuit is vain, o.nd the "heart." The Vulgate paraphrases the result is never secure; what you gained by clause, QU011iam i,1 similitudinem arioli et long toil and prudent care may be lost in an conjectoris, ;estimat quod ignorat, "For like hour. Do you wish to incur this danger? a soothsayer or diviner he conjectures that Wordsworth quotes Persiue, 'Sat.,' iii. 61- of which he is ignorant." Eat and drink, aa.ith he to thee. He professes to make you " An passim eequeris corvoe testaque lu- welcome, and with seeming cordiality in- toque?" vites you to partake of the food upon his For riches certainly make themselves wings. table. But bis heart is not with thee. He The subject, unexpressed, is riches, and the is not glad to see you enjoy yourself, and Hebrew phrase implies absolute certainty: his pressing invitation is empty verbiage Making they will malre JOT themselves. They with no heart in it. The Septuagint, point• :11.y away as an eagle toward heaven ; or, ing differently, translates, "For as if one like an eagle that jlieth to1Dard heaven, where should swallow a ho.ir, so he eats and drinks." not even sight can follow. Pub!. Syr., 255, The Greek translators take the gnome to " Longinquum est omne quod cupidit.as apply to one who invites an envious man to flagitat." The Telugu compares worldly bis table, and finds him eating his food as prosperity to writing upon wo.ter. Saye the if it disgusted him. They ~o on, "Bring Greek moralist- him not in to thee, nor eat thy morsel with B{/3r,1ov oiil'ilv lv J3•<t· 601<,i 'lrEAE<V, him; for (vcr. 8) be will vomit it up, and outrage thy fair words." In agreement with "There's naught in life tbo.t one can deem the guome above, we find in the To.lmud, secure!' "My son, ent not the bkad of the covetous, Septuagint, "If thou fix thine eye upon him nor sit thou at his table. The bread of the (the rich patron), he will nowhere be seen, covetous is only pnin and nnguiah; the for wings like o.n eo.gle'e are rendy prepo.red bread or the generous man is n source of for him, and he will return to the house of health nnd joy." bia me.star ( Tov wpo«TT1Jl<&Tor arJToii), o.nd Ver. 8.-Themorael which thou hast ea.ten leave you to shift for yourself." shalt thou vomit up. Food thus grudgingly Vors. 6-8.-Another maxim, here a hep- bestowed will only create disgust, and do thee no good; thou wilt feel annoyed to taetich, concerning temperance. have eaten it, and wilt long to get rid of it. Ver. 6.-Eat thou not the bread of him And lose thy sweet words. You will have that ho.th an evil eye ; the envious and expended in vain your civil speeches and jealous mo.n, in contrast to the "good of thanks for the entertainment proviile,l for eye" (eb. xxii. 9). Vul11:ate, Ne comedas you; you really owe no gmtitude for farn cum homine invido. Septuagint, avBpl so grudgingly bestowed. Some think tho.t /Ja1T1<11vrp, the man who bas the evil eye that by the "sweet words" are me,rnt the con- fascinates, which, however, is a later idea.; ve~atiou at tuble with which you have en- here the notion is rather of a grudging, sor- deavoured to o.muse your host-the witty did temper, tho.t cannot bear the sigl,t of sayings, enigmas, and apotllegms, wliich others' happiness or prosperity (comp. Deut. entered so largely into the progmmmo of n xv. 9 ; Mutt. xx. 15). Ecclus. xvi. 8, Ilov11pbr goou to.Iker. All such efforts are thrown d /3111T1<11lvow o,p8a.>..µ.rji, "The envious mnn lmth away on the jealous, morose host. Ilut the an evil eye; he turneth away his fe.ce, and former explanation is more agrceo.ble to the he is one who deepiseth men." Dainty context. mea.ta; ns in ver. 3. The word (matammoth) Ver. 9.-Ilere is another cnso in which occurs also throughout Gen. xxvii., where "sweet words" nr,, lost. Speak not in the it is rendered, "savoury meat." Talmud, ears of a. fool. This does not ruetLn, as it "To oak a fe.vour from a mieor is as if you would in our English phrase-whisper not to asked wisdom from a woman, modesty from a fool; but do not take the trouble to try a be.riot, fish ou the dry land." to make him understand, impart nothing to Ver, 7,-:ror as he thinketh ill hia heart, him. The "fool" here (keail) is the dull,  4-4-2 THE PROVERBS. [on. xxm. 1~35.