The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 278

Vers. 2-15.-From the second verse of this chapter to the fifteenth we have a series of proYerbs lciosely strung together, but all bearing upon the wholesome influence OJ w1',;dmn and the baneful effects of folly in the varying circumstances of daily life, It would be waste of ingenuity to ~ry to show any logical connection betw,een the proverbs that are thus crowded together ma small space. And we must content ourselves with a few elucidatory remarks upon them in the order in which they come. , ~- A J?OUBLE ;ROVERB_ON TH~ D~n-ERENCE BETWEEN WISDOM_ AND FOLLY, (Vera. 2, 3.) ' The wise man s heart 1s at bis nght hand; but a fool's at his left;" better1 "inclineii towards bis right, towards his le~t." The heart of the wise man leads him in the proper dJrect10n, that of the fool leads him astray. It would be absurd to speak of their hearts as differently situated. The ', is that of direction; and that which is at the riaht band means the duty and work which belong to us, that at the left what concern; us less. The wise man recognizes the path of duty, the fool wanders aimlessly away from it. Others give a slightly different turn to the thought. "The one with his heart, i.e. his mind, ready, at bis right side, as he walks along the track that images human life, ready to sustain and guide him; the other, the fool with his wits at the left side, not available when needed to lean upon" (Bradley). The fool proclaims his folly to all (ver. 3); every step he takes reveals his deficiency, but, so far from being ashamed of himself, he displays his absurdity as though it were something to be proud of. II. WISDOM APBOTECTIONINTRYINGCIRCUMSTANOES. (Vers. 4-7.) The first picture (ver. 4) is that of the court of a despotic king, where an official has either deservedly or undeservedly incurred the anger of the sovereign ("spirit" equivalent to "anger," as in J udg. viii. 3; Prov. xxix. 11). The natural feeling of indignation or resentment would prompt such a one to throw up the office entrusted to him, and by so doing probably draw down on himself a still greater storm of anger. The wise courtier will yield to the blast and not answer wrath with wrath, and either pacify the anger he has deservedly incurred, or, if he be innocent, by his patience under injury, avoid giving real cause for offence. We must remember that it is of an Eastern court our author is speaking, in which the Divine right of kings, and the duty of passive obedience on the part of subjects, are doctrines which it would be thought impious to deny. Similar advice is given in Prov. xv. 1. It is not to be supposed, however, that the Preacher regarded all existing governments as commanding respect, and taught only servile maxims. In vers. 5-7 he speaks of grievous inequalities in the state; faults of ntlers, the frequent exaltation of the base and the depression of the worthy. His words a.re studiously cautious, but yet they describe the evil in sufficiently clear terms. It may often be prudent to bow to the wrath of rulers, but rulers are not always in the right. One class of evils he bad seen arising from "something like an error" (so cautious is be of speaking evil of dignities), which proceedeth from the ruler-the selection of unworthy men for high positions in the state. "Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place." By the rich he means the nobles-those endowed with ample inheritances received from a. line of ancestors who have had the leisure, and opportunities and means for training themselves for serving the Btate, and from whom e. wise king would naturally choose co11I1sellors and magistrates. But in Oriental courts, where "the eunuch and the barber held tbe reins of power," men of no reputation or character had a chance of promotion. And even in Western courts and more modern timea the same kind of evils has been only too common, as the history of the reigns of Edward II. and Ja.mes I. of England, and of Louis XI. and Henry Ill of France, abundantly proves. The reason for making favourites of low-born and unprincipled ad venturers is not far to seek • they have ever been ready tools for accomplishing the designs of unscrupulous prin~, for doing services from which men who valued their station and reputation in society would shrink. "Regibus multi," ea.ye Grotius, "suspecti qui excellunt sive sapientia sive nobilitate aut opibus." Even the Preacher's self-control ie insufficient to suppress the indignation and contempt which any generous mind must feel at snch a Btate of matters, and he concentrates his scorn in the stinging sentence, "I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth" (ver. 7). Among the Persians only those of noble birth were permitted to ride on horseback. Thus oue of the circumstances of the special honour bestowed on Mordecai was his riding on horse- back through the streets of the city (Esth. v. 8, 9). But this distinc~ion the P~cacher had seen set aside; his eyes had been offended by the spectacle of pnnces we.lkmg on CII, X, 1-20.] ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PRE.A.CHER. 273