The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 371

things; to make us alive to the things of God; and, above all, to impress on us the worth of the soul and spiritual life. We have seen that if a man could possess the whole world_ he might s~ill ~ unh~pp_y-ay, perfectl! mi~erable; fearH harassing him~ conscience tormenting him, affhct1ons overwhelmmg him, death overtaking him, and his worldly all departing from him amid" the swellings of Jordan." But in general men stop far short of what has been thus supposed. They are willing to lose the soul for infinitely less than the world: at all events, a small thing takes the plaoe of all the world to the sinner, and is made the means of his losing the soul. Thus, to the drunkard, the indulgence of his passion for strong drink is the horizon that bounds the world of his happiness and of bis hopes; while to gain his object he submits to the loss of his soul. So with the licentious; the gratification of their low lust is all the world to them, and to it they sacrifice the soul. "Avoid," says the apostle," youthful lusts that war against the soul." So with the ambitious; the attainment of the object 0 ~ which their heart i~ set is th_eir world of gratification, and, for the sake of it, they will not only run the risk of losing the soul, but rush upon sure destruction. We might enumerate many and various classes of sinners-the horse-racer, the gamester the blasphemer, the liar, the murderer-all ruining their own soul for the sake of que;tion- able pleasures; at all events, pleasures that last but for a season, and that perish in the using. With sinners of every- grade the i1;1dulgence of sin is their world of gratification, their all of wretched happmess, for which they are every day throwing away their chances of salvation and deliberately damning their own soul. Oh, what fearful folly! Wbat unspeakable madness! Oh, may we not with propriety appeal to that sinful man, to whatever category or class his sin belongs, and with all the earnestness of our nature plead with him to spare his own soul? Should we not urge him, with all the powers of persuasion we can possibly command, to part with.his vice at once and for ever, rather than plunge his soul into a hell of eternal misery? 2. Exegetical note. (1) The word tl<>..'/1 is not" will" of futnre time, but" will "connected with choice or purpose. It is correctly rendered " would " in the Revised Version, 'l'he word is also dis- tinguished from /Jo{,}l.oµ..tU, which expresses a wish-mere willingness or inclination. Homer employs the latter for the former in the case of the gods, for with them wish is will. Thus the meaning is," Whosoever may will [ or choose] to save his life;" while in the next clause it is taken for granted that no one, of his own free will and choice, would desire to lose it, and therefore the expression is different, being literally, Whosoever slwl,l (as a matter of fact) destroy (l,:,ro}l.ltru) his life, (2) The word +ux¾i is the bond of union between the body and the spirit in the triple trichotomy of "body, soul, and spirit" (1 Thess. v. 23). Viewed in connection with the body, it is the natural or animal life, but in its relation to the spirit it is the spiritual or higher life. Thus in one sense it is less than what we understand by soul, and in another sense it is more, comprehending not only the immortal life of the soul, but the never-ending life of soul and body when·reunited. (3) Z71µ«.,er, denotes forfeiture, and so it is correctly rendered in the Revised Version "forfeit;" while a.J1Tc£M..-yµa (from the roots rwrl, instead of, and A>..>..os, another) denotes one thing given in exchange for another, and so an equivalent or ransom, the idea being that if a man have lost, by way of mulct or forfeiture, his life or soul, what ransom will he be able to give in order to buy it back or redeem it Y The expression in St. Luke is, "What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and destroy himseU" or "suffer forfeit?" 3. .A celebrated choice. The fabled choice of Her- cules has at least a useful moral. Two ladies of gigantic stature-one graceful and modest with raiment white as snow, the other florid and affected; the former called Virtue,'the latter Pleasure, though self-named Happiness, approached the youthful hero. The latter promised him the possession of all pleasures, and that his path in life would be strewed with flowers, if he chose to follow her, reminding him at the same time that the path of virtue was tedious and thorny; the former promised to make his name glorious to posterity, aud introduce him at death into the society of the gods, remind- ing him that the pleatJlll'eS of the senses are the enjoyments of the brute, and that true plea.sure springs from virtuous conduct. The hero, as the fable goes, did not long hesitate, but, giving his hand to Virtue, bade her be his guide, saying, "Lead on, and I will follow yotL" Vil. THE VA.LUE OF THE SOUL, OB EVERLASTING LIFE. 1. Value of the soul variOU,sly estim.ated. We may estimate the value of the so•1I in several ways ; we may enumerate o, vm. 1-38.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 369