The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 481

absolutely antagonistic to the purport of the Lnther's interpretation, "As doncin"' to a preceding verse; but it is not so really. cripple, so it becometh a fool to t~lk of The words, "according to his folly," in this wisdom." But the word could never signify verse mean, as his folly deserves, in so plain anything but "limping," and could not a way as to expose it, and shame him, and express the elegant motion of dancing. The bring him to a. better mind. Leet he be wise Authorized Version considers the Hebrew in his own conceit; thinking, it may be, to mean, "a.re lifted up," i.e. are llllequal that he has said something worth hearing, one being longer or stronger than the other'. or put you to silence by his superior in- but this loses the force of the comparison'. telligence. There seems to be no better interpretation Ver. 6.-B:e that sendeth a message by than that mentioned above," The legs of the the hand of a fool. This clause comes in lame hang loose," i.e. are unserviceable, the Hebrew after the next. Cutteth off the however sound in appearance. St. Jerome feet, and drinketh damage. To entrust an has expressed this, though in a stran"'e important commission to a. fool is to deprive fashion, "As it is vain for a lame man to one's self of the means of having it properly have seemly legs." So is a parable in the executed, and to bring upon one's self mou~h of a ~ool. "Parable" (mashal), sen- shame and injury. A man wbo is so silly tentious saymg, the enllllciation of which, as to employ such an unfit messenger, as it as well as the recital of stories, was always were, cuts off the feet which should bear a great feature in Eastern companies, and him on his errand, and, instead of enjoyiug o.fforded a test of a. man's ability. A fool the satisfaction of seeing the business well fails in the exhibition ; he misses the point performed, he will be mortified and damaged of the wise saying which he produces; it by the blunder and stupidity of his emissary. falls lame from his mouth, affords no in- Septuagint," He me.ketb for himself reproach struction to others, and makes no way with from his own ways (d6wv, ? 1ro6wv) who its hearers. Siracides gives another reason sendeth a word by a foolish messenger." for the incongruity, "A parable shall be The Vulgate reads the first participle in o. rejected when it cometh out of a fool's passive sense, claudus pedibus; but this is mouth; for he will noL speak it in its unnecessary. We have simih1r phrases to season" (Ecolus. xx. 20). Septuagint, "Take "driuketh damage" elsewhere; e.g. Job xv. away the motion of legs, and transgression 16, "drinketh in iniquity;" x.xxiv. 7, (1ra.pa.voµ(a.11,? 1ra.po,µta.v, Lag.)_from tLe mouth "<lrinkcth up scorn; " and with a different of fools." word, eh. xix. 28, "devoureth iniquity." Ver. 8.-As he that bindeth a stone in a Ver. 7.-The legs of a lame man are not sling, So Septunginl, •os a.1ro8E11µ.iu« .\18011 Iv u4>,v66vp. This gives a very good sense, equal. The first word of this verse, 1•7:r, the point being either that the stono, after has oocasioued some difficulty. It is con- being firmly fitted in its place, quickly pr1sses sidered as au imperative from ~~,, "draw away from tho sling, or, if more stress is off," "take away." Thus the Septuagint, laid on the word •• bindeth," that the stone ci4>•.\ov; Venetian, /1rdpa..-,. But the verb is so firmly fixed that it cnnnot be slung, seeIW! never to ha.ve this meaning; nor, if it o.nd therefore never reaches the m[U'k. The hod, would the sense be very Blltisfactory, altorna.ti ve rendering adopted by the Re- for, as Delitzsoh points out, Jo.me legs a.re vised Version is this, "As n. bag of gems better than none, a.nd there is a great differ- in o. heap of stones;" where the incongruity onoe between the perfectly crippled or would consist either in exposing jewels ou pnralytio who bas to be carried, and the a. cairn, or sepulchral monumeut, whence fomo mnn (".IF.!;>) who can limp or get along they could easily bo filched, or in 1\ttract- on crutches. And when wo explain the ing undesimble ottentiou. But thel'e ure proverb in this sense (ns Plumptl'e), "T11ke grammatical and etymological rensons I\Wny the legs of the lame mau and the against this intcrprcto.tion; nnd the Autho- po.rable from the mouth of fools," for both rized Version is to ho coosiucred correct. alike are useless to their possessors, and 'l'ho Vulgato is curious: Sicut qui mittit their loss wouhl not be felt-we must lapiclem in acernum Mercurii. This render- recognize tha.t the conclusion is not true. ing points to the custom, with which No one would think of amputating a man's Jerome must have been familiar, of erect- legs simply because he wus lo.me, 11nd such ing statues of Mercury ou the highwn.ys, a. one's legs cannot be considered absolutely which were thus placed under his protection. useless. Others regard the wol'd llB third Round thcso statues were riinged het1ps of plural kal, "the legs hang loose;" though the stones, to which every wo.yfarer contributed form is not sufficiently o.ccountcd for. All by throwing a pebble 08 he possed. The explanotions of the word as o. verbal form absence of the critietil faculty which dis- h11ve such difficulties, thot somo take it as cerned no absurdity in this unnt'hrouisrn is o. nou11, meoning "dcmcing," which is sufficiently remarkoble. 'fho Latin soying  500 THE PROVERBS. [on. XXVI. 1-28,