The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 172

of 'l'l"isdom, m9kes him no bett.er than a fool inflated, conceited man, who thinks all must (comp. Hos. i,·. 11, '\'\"here the same effect is be nrrnnged according to hie notions is never ntt.ributed to whoredom and drunkenneas). resig_ncd or cont.ent, but rebels ag~inst the The Septuagint has, a,ro,\,\110"1 T¾iv Ka.pola.v ordamcd course ofevonta. "In your patience ,i,,,,nias ati-rov, "destroys the heart of his ye _shall win your souls," said Christ (Luke no11ility;" the Vulgale. perdet robur cordis xx1. 19); and a. Sc0tch proverb declares illills, •· mll destroy the strength of his wisely, "Ho thnt weel bides, weel betides." henrt." The interpretation given above Ver. 9.-Be not he.sty in thy spirit to be seems to be the most reasonable way of angry, A f~irther warning ngninat the dealing 'l'l"ith the existing text; but N owaok arrogance which murmurs nt Providence and "Volek adopt Delitzsch's emendation. and revolts against the checks of the Divine Vers. 8-14.-Section 2. Here follow soma a.r!-"6ngement. The injunction in eh. v. 2 recommrndations to patience and resignation amight be taken in this sense. It is not general admonition against unrighteous wider the ordering of God's providence. aug:er, but_ is levelled at the haughty indig- Such cnnduct is shown to be true wisdom. nation which e. proud man feels when things Yer. 8.-Better is the end of a thing than do not go as he wishes, and he deems that the beginning thereof. This is not a repe- he could have managed matters more satis- tition of the assertion in ver. 1 concerning factorily. For anger resteth in the boaom of the day of death and the ds.y of birth, but fools, Such unreasonable displeasure is the states a truth in a certain sense generally mark of a foolish or sceptical mind and if true. Tbe end is better because we then cau it rests (Prov. xiv. 33), is foster~d and form a right judgment about a matter; we cherished there, may develop into misan- see what was its purpose ; we know whether thropy_ o.~? ath~i~m. If we adopt the it has been advantageous and prosperous or rendermg word rn var. 8, we may see in not. Christ's maxim, often repeated (see this injunction a warning against being Matt. x. 22; :uiv. 13; Rom. ii. 7; Heb. quick to take offence ~t a. rebuke, as it is iiL 6, etc.), is, "He that shall endure unto only the fool who will not look to the the end shall be saved." No one living can object of the censure and see that it ought be said to be so absolutely safe as that he to be patiently submitted to. On the can look to the great day without trembling. subject of anger _St. Gregory writes, "As Death puts ihe seal to the good life, and often as we restram the turbulent motions obviates the danger of falling a.way. Of of the mind under the vil"tue of mildness couxse, if a thing is in itself evil, the gnome we are essaying to return to tho likeness of is not true (comp. Prov. v. 3, 4; xvL 25, our Creator. For when the peace of mind etc.); but applied to things indifferent at is lashed with anger, torn and rent, as it the outset, it is as correct as generalizations were, it is thrown into confusion, so that it can be. The lesson of patience is here is not in harmony with itself, and loses the taught. A man should not be precipitate force of the inward likeness. By anger in Lis jndgments, bat wait for the issue. wisdom is parted with, so that we are left From the ambiguity in the expression wholly in ignorance what to do; as it is dahar (see on eh. vi. 11), many render it written, 'Anger resteth in the bosom of a "word" in this passage. Thus the Vnlgate, fool,' in this way, that it withdraws the light MelioT est finis orationis, quam principium ; of understanding, while by agitating it and the Septuagint, • A')'"9¾ i<Txd.-r11 ""'Y"'" troubles the mind" (' Moral/ v. 78). v,r,p &px¾v a./rroii, where ,po,,,.fi, or some such Ver. 10.-The ea.me impatience leads a word, must be supplied. If this interpre- man to disparage the present in comparison tation be preferred, we must either take the with e. past age. What is the ea.use that the maxim as stating generally that few words former days were better than these t He are better than many, and that the sooner does not know from any adequate infor- one concludes a speech, so much the better mation that preceding times were in any for speaker and hearer ; or we must con- respect superior to present, but in his moody sider that the word intended is a well- diacont1,nt he looks on whe.t is around him merited rebuke, which, however severe with a jaundiced eye, and sees the pa.et and at first disliked, proves in the end through a rose-tinted atmosphere a.a an age wholesome and profitable. And the patient of heroism, faith, and righteonsn:as, Ho1·e.ce in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. finds Bllch a character in the morose old "Patient" is literally "Jong of spirit," as man, whom he deecribee in 'De Arte Poet.,' the phrase, "short of spirit," is used in 173- Prov. xiv. 29 and Job xxi. 4 to denote one " Difficilis, querulus, laude.tor ten1poris acti wh? loses his temper and is impatient. To Se puero, castigator oenBOrq ue minornm." wn1t calmly for the result of an action, not to be Laety in anaigning Providence, is the " Morose and querulou, praising former po.rt of a. pntient man : while tho proud, days OH, VII, 1-29.] ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PRE.A.CHER. 159