Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Votive Offering to the Virgin Mother of God, Parent of Eternal Wisdom
Your work, O Virgin, I offer to you — indeed, I return it to you. For you have been the inspirer and prompter of all my labors, but especially of this one. For it is you whom this Solomon sings of everywhere; it is for you and for your Son that he preluded: for "greater than Solomon is here" — the King of peace, and our peace. For both of you he prepared this fourfold and Cherubic chariot of his wisdom. For whom else does he depict in living colors, if not you and your Jesus? — when in Proverbs 8 he thunders with a heavenly voice: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning. From eternity I was established, and from of old, before the earth was made: the depths did not yet exist, and I was already conceived; the springs of waters had not yet burst forth; the mountains had not yet settled with their great mass; before all the hills I was being brought forth, etc. I was with Him composing all things, and I delighted day by day, playing before Him at all times, playing upon the face of the earth: and my delight was to be with the children of men."
And whose riddle, if not yours and your Son's, is that passage of chapter 30, verse 18: "Three things are difficult for me, and a fourth I am utterly ignorant of: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent upon the earth, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man in youth" — in Hebrew, baalma, that is, in a virgin? And that passage of chapter 31: "A valiant woman, who shall find her? Her worth is from afar and from the farthest boundaries."
And what else are the Canticles of Solomon than the wedding hymn of the Word with human nature, which you, O Virgin, gave to Him? For who communicated a human body to the Word, if not you, O Mother of God? Who was the instrument, mediatrix, and cause of that same Incarnation, if not you, gracious Mother of God? Indeed, this is also your wedding hymn of that union by which God the Father chose you as His bride, and the Holy Spirit betrothed you to Himself, so that from you the Holy One would be born, who would be called — and truly be — the Son of God. And to whom do those fiery and heavenly loves and ardors of the Canticle belong, if not to you, who, full of God, full of the Word, gave a body to Love itself, carried Him in your womb for nine months, and brought Him forth for the salvation of mankind?
"All rivers," says Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:7), "flow into the sea, and the sea does not overflow: to the place from which the rivers flow, they return, that they may flow again." You are the sea of wisdom and grace, O Mary our mother: therefore let the rivers of wisdom, which you have poured out upon us, flow back to you, that they may flow again. You taught wisdom to the great Gregory the Wonder-worker, the Moses of his age, lest he stumble into the errors of his master Origen, when you assigned to him Saint John — the son entrusted to you by Christ on the cross — as his teacher, who handed down to him the Creed of orthodox faith and wisdom. You gave this same Saint John as master to John of Antioch, who placed the book of Sacred Scripture in his hands, and by this very act made him a great interpreter of the same, as well as a Chrysostom — that is, a golden-mouthed herald of the Gospel — and authorized him. You inspired Albert the Great when he sought Philosophy, who thereby became the prodigy and wonder of the philosophers of his century. You implanted in Rupert, Abbot of Deutz, so great a knowledge of divine letters that at that time no one equal or similar to him could be found in the world.
In short, however many became wise, however many became saints, however many became illustrious, they became so through you: "Because God placed the fullness of all good in Mary, so that consequently if there is any hope in us, if any grace, if any salvation, we may know that it overflows from her, who ascends abounding in delights. Take away this solar body that illuminates the world — where is daylight? Take away Mary, this star of the sea — what is left but engulfing darkness and the shadow of death? Therefore with all the marrow of our hearts, with all the affections of our inmost being, and with all our prayers, let us venerate this Mary: for such is the will of Him who willed that we should have everything through Mary," says the honey-flowing Bernard, to whom likewise you, O Virgin, instilled these honeys of his with your milky rain. Whence he also adds: "The Fountain of Wisdom, the Word of the Father on high — this Word through you shall become flesh," and it has already been done: so that through you and the flesh assumed from you, He might communicate His wisdom to us, and might pour forth the hidden mysteries of divinity, concealed from the foundation of the world in the bosom of the Father.
Nearly six hundred years before, foreseeing this very thing by the revelation of the Spirit of God, Jeremiah in chapter 31 exclaimed with exultation: "God has created a new thing upon the earth: a Woman shall encompass a Man." And much earlier still, Isaiah in chapter 7, verse 14: "Behold," he says, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." But who is this? Chapter 9, verse 6 explains: "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty One, Father of the age to come, Prince of peace" — that is, the Word as an infant, the wise child, God nursing at the breast.
You therefore, O Mother of God, are the throne of Solomon, the parent of the Creator, the admirable mother. You are the enclosed garden, the sealed fountain, the well of living waters. You, by an unheard-of miracle of all the ages, are at once the daughter, bride, and parent of the eternal God. You are the paradise of delight, the tree of life, the mother of the living. You are the fountain of light, the gate of heaven; the mother of fair love, of knowledge, and of holy hope. You are the ark of the covenant, the temple of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. You are the seat of wisdom, the morning star, the woman clothed with the sun. You are the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of our people.
Teach us in these Proverbs of your Solomon to recognize and cultivate every virtue; in Ecclesiastes, to contemplate and despise the vanity of vanities of the world; in the Canticles, to be united and joined to God alone as our Spouse. Receive therefore, O wise and blessed Virgin, these commentaries of mine — or rather yours — on the threefold wisdom of the Wise One, so that by the same channel wisdom may return to the bestower of wisdom, from whom it flowed. Offer them to your beloved Jesus with your most pure hands, which are the whitest lilies; nor shall the lover of lilies complain that he was not found among lilies, since he shall find it among the lily-white hands of his virgin mother. Obtain from Him, I beg, for all who shall read these works, light and grace, that from them they may learn true wisdom and peace, by which they may come to know Jesus and Mary, the fountains of wisdom and peace, so that through them they may be directed along the straight path, may press onward and arrive at the essential and uncreated Wisdom and peace, which is the Holy Trinity itself, threefold happiness, blessed ETERNITY. Amen.
Commentaries on the Proverbs of Solomon: Introduction
From Sirach, in an order fitting both in subject matter and in method, I pass to Solomon — that is, from the stream to the fountain, from the spark to the fire, from the ray to the sun. For both treat the same subject of moral wisdom concerning conduct and virtues; but Solomon, as he was prior, so also he was far wiser than Sirach and all other mortals, and thus was the master and prince of all wise men. Therefore here I shall premise no prolegomena, or only a few, for what I premised to Sirach serves also for Solomon. I therefore attack the subject, since the work is vast and time is short — that is, a great sea must be ploughed here — if first in a few words I indicate the book's subject, division, method, title, author, use, purpose, parallels, and commentators.
Solomon's Three Names and Three Books
St. Jerome notes that the Author was distinguished by three names: for he was called first Solomon, that is, "the peaceful"; second, Cohelet, that is, "the Ecclesiast" (Preacher); third, Jedidiah, that is, "beloved of the Lord"; and according to these three names of his, he likewise produced three volumes, namely Proverbs, in which he chiefly instructs beginners in the study of wisdom and virtue; Ecclesiastes, in which he instructs those who are progressing; and the Song of Songs, in which he forms the perfect. The same is handed down by Blessed Gregory of Nyssa, Homily 1 on the Song of Songs.
Hear St. Jerome himself, in his letter to Paulinus on all the books of Sacred Scripture: "Solomon, the peaceful, and beloved of the Lord, corrects morals, teaches about nature, joins the Church and Christ, and sings the sweet wedding song of holy nuptials." More fully, however, at the beginning of his Commentary on Ecclesiastes: "The Scriptures most clearly teach that Solomon was called by three names: the Peaceful, that is, Solomon (Shelomoh); and Jedidiah, that is, beloved of the Lord; and what is now called Kohelet, that is, Ecclesiastes. Now in Greek he is called Ekklesiastes, who gathers the assembly, that is, the church — whom we may call 'the Preacher,' because he speaks to the people, and his discourse is directed not specifically to one person, but generally to all. Furthermore, he was called 'the peaceful' and 'beloved of the Lord' because there was peace in his kingdom, and the Lord loved him."
And shortly after: "He therefore, according to the number of his names, published three volumes: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. In Proverbs, teaching the young child, and, as it were, instructing him in duties through maxims — whence the address to 'his son' is frequently repeated. In Ecclesiastes, however, forming a man of mature age, so that he may not think anything in worldly affairs is permanent, but that all things we see are passing and brief. Finally, the man now perfected and, having trampled the world underfoot, prepared, he joins to the embrace of the Bridegroom in the Song of Songs. For unless we first abandon vices, and, renouncing the pomps of the world, prepare ourselves ready for the coming of Christ, we cannot say: 'Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth.' Not far from this order of teaching do the philosophers also educate their followers: first they teach Ethics, then they explain Physics; and the one whom they perceive to have made progress in these, they lead all the way to Theology."
St. Jerome adds that Solomon himself signifies the same thing by the different titles he gives himself at the beginning of his books. "For in Proverbs it is noted: 'The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.' In Ecclesiastes, however: 'The words of Ecclesiastes, son of David, king of Jerusalem' — for 'Israel' is superfluous here, which is wrongly found in Greek and Latin codices. In the Song of Songs, however, neither 'son of David' nor 'king of Israel' or 'Jerusalem' is inscribed, but only 'The Song of Songs of Solomon': for just as Proverbs, being a basic instruction, pertains to the twelve tribes and to all Israel; and just as contempt of the world befits none but metropolitans, that is, inhabitants of Jerusalem: so the Song of Songs properly refers to those who desire only heavenly things. For beginners and those progressing, both paternal dignity and the authority of his own kingdom are rightly indicated: but for the perfect, where the disciple is taught not by fear but by love as a son, his proper name suffices, and the master is an equal, and does not know himself to be king."
Finally he adds the allegory concerning Christ: "Moreover, he says, according to the spiritual understanding, our Peaceful One, and the Beloved of God the Father, and our Ecclesiastes is Christ, who, having destroyed the middle wall, and having abolished enmities in His flesh, made both one, saying: 'My peace I give to you, and My peace I leave to you.' Of whom the Father says to the disciples: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him' — who is the head of the whole Church: speaking not to the Synagogue of the Jews but to the multitude of the Gentiles, King of Jerusalem built with living stones." In a similar manner, Abbot Paphnutius in Cassian, Conference III, chapter vi, gradually applies these three books of Solomon to the threefold renunciation.
St. Jerome passes over the book of Wisdom, because he doubted its author as well as its authority — namely, whether it is canonical Scripture; about which, therefore, a more careful treatment must be given in its proper place.
Canonicity and Prophetic Character
Furthermore, that these three books already cited are Solomon's, dictated to him by the Holy Spirit, and consequently that they contain divine truth and possess the canonical authority of Sacred Scripture, is acknowledged by all — Hebrews, Greeks, and Latins alike, both orthodox and heterodox, and even heretics. St. Basil, Olympiodorus, and others agree with St. Jerome. Hear St. Basil at the beginning of Proverbs: "First of all, he says, the book of Proverbs is a certain instruction in morals, and also a correction of the disturbances of the soul; in short, a comprehensive guide for life, containing frequent and brief precepts for what ought to be done. Ecclesiastes, however, touches on natural philosophy, and openly shows us the vanity of this life, so that a man should not at all be devoted to things that quickly pass away, nor should he place the cares of his soul in vain things. The Song of Songs demonstrates the manner of the soul's perfection: for it contains the harmony of bridegroom and bride, that is, the soul's intimate familiarity with God the Word." In the same place, St. Basil teaches that Solomon in Proverbs discourses exactly on each individual virtue, none omitted; and therefore he hands down not only Ethics properly so called, but also Economics and Politics, which are the three parts and species of Ethics taken in its general sense. For here Solomon instructs not only the private individual — how to govern himself — but also the head of a household — how to govern his family — and the prince — how to govern and rule the commonwealth. For some virtues befit the private person, others the head of a household, others the prince.
One alone, Theodore Bishop of Mopsuestia, dissented (who at first was a practitioner and companion of the solitary and monastic life with St. Chrysostom, but then fell into the mire of luxury, from which St. Chrysostom tried in vain to extract him, in his letter to the fallen Theodore — for this was the man of Mopsuestia, as Baronius at the year of Christ 428, and others report; and this is clear from Hesychius of Jerusalem in the Fifth Council, session 5. Whence, having fallen further into various heresies, he became the teacher of Nestorius. Therefore, since he had given himself to a more licentious life, he could not bear these weighty maxims and corrections of Solomon, especially against luxury, which he inserts in chapters vi, vii, and frequently thereafter; and he was not afraid to say that Solomon, when he wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, had not received the grace of prophecy, but had composed them solely by human prudence — as is reported and condemned in the Fifth Council of Constantinople, session 4. From which condemnation you may infer that Solomon truly, when he wrote these things, had received the grace of prophecy and was a Prophet; and this will be clear from chapter xxx, verse 1.
Furthermore, some Hebrews and Talmudists believe that the Proverbs were spoken by Solomon orally, and that, having been celebrated and worn on the lips of the people, they were finally written down by Isaiah two hundred years later, and handed down to posterity. What is to be thought about this matter, I shall say at chapter xxv, verse 1.
Moreover, Lyranus, Vatablus, and some others think that these maxims were spoken and composed by Solomon, but in a varied and random order; and therefore they were gathered together and arranged by some other person into this series and order in which they now stand in this book. However, the opposite is more true, namely that these aphorisms were written by Solomon himself in the order in which they now stand. For the connection and, as it were, concatenation of the matters and maxims among themselves seems to require this, at least from the beginning of the book up to chapter x. For after chapter x, that connection and order is no longer visible; whence it is established that some of them were brought here not by Solomon, but by later persons, and arranged in their own order. This is clear from the title of chapter xxv and following, where it says: "These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah transferred" (Vatablus: "brought here"). Where the word "also" implies that the other maxims of Solomon which precede chapter xxv were likewise collected and arranged in their order not by Solomon, but by others. However, it is better to refer the word "also" to the proverbs themselves, not to their order — as if to say: Up to this point were proverbs of Solomon; what follows are also his; but they were not brought here and arranged in this order by Solomon himself, but by the men of Hezekiah.
The same is clearly evident from chapter xxiv according to the edition of the Septuagint corrected by the Romans. For there the order is very different from that in the Latin Vulgate translator. For at the beginning of the chapter are placed those things which the Vulgate has in the same chapter xxiv up to verse 23, as the Scholiast also noted there; then some maxims are added which do not appear in the Vulgate. After these are placed those things which appear in the Vulgate at chapter xxx, and the beginning of chapter xxxi up to verse 10: "Who shall find a valiant woman?" Then in chapter xxv are found the same things that are read in the Vulgate from the same chapter to the end of the book. Again, "Who shall find a valiant woman?" — some Greek codices place it at chapter xxiv, others at chapter xxxi. Although the Complutensian Greeks, Vatablus, and others agree with the Vulgate translator in all respects regarding order, and so does the original Hebrew text itself.
Structure and Division of the Book
There are two primary parts of this book. The first, from chapter I to chapter IX, contains an exhortation to wisdom. For Solomon urges all to pursue it by setting forth its dignity, nature, and all its causes — namely the material, formal, efficient, and final — as well as its effects, that is, the enormous fruits and advantages which wisdom bestows with a full hand upon those devoted to it.
The second part, from chapter IX to the end of the book, contains the actual doctrines and precepts of wisdom. For in chapter IX, wisdom institutes a sacrifice, and from it a sacred banquet, which you may rightly call the banquet of wisdom; and immediately she introduces Solomon, the wisest, as if presiding over and directing this banquet, expounding the doctrines of wisdom through various weighty, keen, and elegant aphorisms, and proclaiming them in banquet fashion to all men invited to this feast. Whence Plato imitated this banquet of wisdom and Solomon in his Symposium; Plutarch in his Symposium, where he introduces the seven sages of Greece conversing wisely at table; Athenaeus in his Banquet of the Learned; and others everywhere. Therefore Clement of Alexandria, in Book I of the Stromata, asserts that Plato borrowed or stole many things from the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes of Solomon. I shall say more about this banquet at chapter IX.
This second part, however, can be subdivided into two or three sections. For its first section runs from chapter IX to chapter xxv, where Solomon speaks intermittently, putting forth his proverbs like oracles. The second runs from chapter xxv to chapter xxx, where are placed the proverbs of Solomon gathered and arranged by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah, as is stated at chapter xxv, 1. The third, from chapter xxx to the end, comprises the enigmas and maxims "of the Gatherer, son of the Vomiter" — that is, as the Hebrew has it, the aphorisms of Agur son of Jakeh, and of King Lemuel. Therefore our Salazar thinks that Solomon introduces three interlocutors in this wisdom-banquet — namely Solomon himself, Agur, and Lemuel — and that therefore in the Septuagint version the words of Agur and Lemuel are placed immediately after chapter xxiv, as if they are interlocuting, and Solomon gives them their turns to speak; and when they have finished, he himself resumes and continues the discourse to the end of the book. I shall discuss this in the proper places. Thus, imitating Solomon, Plato, Plutarch, Athenaeus, and others in their convivial Dialogues introduce Socrates, Protagoras, Alcibiades, Homer, and other sages as interlocutors.
Nevertheless, all agree that everything contained in this book, even the words of Lemuel in chapter xxxi, belongs to Solomon himself — even though Solomon there, as also elsewhere occasionally, introduces his mother speaking and teaching him as a child. Only about chapter xxx could there be doubt whether it belongs to Agur or to Solomon. Nor is Agur introduced there as an interlocutor as in a dialogue, but as a teacher of wisdom through enigmas who was famous in that age. Finally, it is Solomon himself who speaks in the person of Agur, as I shall show at chapter xxx.
From this it follows that in these proverbial aphorisms one seeks in vain for order and connection among them, since often no such thing can be found or assigned. For granted that occasionally he heaps up two or three on the same topic and the same virtue, there is in general no continuous thread.
Title and Inscription of the Book
Furthermore, Solomon wrote Proverbs in an ethical and persuasive style, not a prophetic one. Hence St. Cyril, Book VII Against Julian, asserts that "Solomon is not called a Prophet by Christians"; and hence the Proverbs were formerly chanted in the synagogue in a voice suited for persuasion. Hear Zamora, Book I of his Grammar, chapter IV: "The Pentateuch, he says, and the historical books were sung in a plain and gentle manner; the Prophetic books, in a severe and satirical manner; the Psalter, in a contemplative and grave manner; Proverbs, in a good and advisory manner; the Song of Songs, in a lively and joyful manner; Ecclesiastes, however, in a severe manner; but to understand this, one would need the experience of their living voice." Yet Solomon does mingle some true prophecies here, as will be evident from chapter xxx, verse 1 and following; indeed, the Song of Songs is a continuous prophecy about Christ and the Church, at chapter I, verse 1. Therefore Solomon is called, and truly was, a Prophet, though inferior to David his father. Hence St. Gregory Thaumaturgus on Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verse 1: "Solomon, he says, son of David the Prophet, the most illustrious of all mortals, and the wisest Prophet." And St. Augustine, Book XVII of The City of God, chapter xx: "In Proverbs, he says, in Ecclesiastes, and in the Song of Songs, Solomon is found to have prophesied about Christ and the Church." The same, on Psalm cxxvi, asserts that "through Solomon the Holy Spirit wrought saving admonitions and divine Sacraments." And not only the bishop of Neocaesarea, but Hilary too, Canon 5 on Matthew, calls him "a great Prophet, and one dear to God by the merit of his beloved wisdom"; likewise Ambrose, in his book On Solomon, honors Solomon not merely with the common title of the other Prophets, but with one pre-eminently excellent: "Before the coming of Christ, he says, many Prophets, having conceived the Holy Spirit, announced future things, among whom Solomon too is numbered in his place and order according to the times; but between the others and him there is some difference, and therefore the rest spoke by the Spirit alone; but Solomon spoke both by the Spirit and by wisdom joined to it." Isidore also, in his book On the Life and Death of the Saints, chapter xxxiv: "Solomon, he says, revealed the Sacraments of the Church." Prosper adorns Solomon with the same title, Part II of On Predictions, chapter xxvii, and Rupert, in his prologue to the book of Psalms, chapter I. St. Anthony also in his History everywhere calls him a Prophet. Finally, Francis George, in volume V of his Problems, which concerns the teaching of the Seven Sages, section 1, problem 2, asserts that "Solomon was anointed by Nathan the prophet in order to indicate that he would have the chrism of the prophetic spirit, by which he would predict some future events and reveal many hidden things, though enigmatically; for each and every one of these requires the prophetic spirit."
This book is entitled in Hebrew Mishle, in Greek by the Septuagint Paroimiai, in Latin Proverbia (Proverbs) or Parabolae Salomonis (Parables of Solomon), because it contains weighty maxims and, as it were, ethical axioms of such authority, truth, and certainty that they cannot be contradicted — as St. Athanasius says in his Synopsis of Sacred Scripture, chapter xiv — which educate and direct a man in every circumstance or encounter to act wisely and to order his life prudently. Therefore among them, some are proverbs or adages, others are parables or comparisons and similitudes, others are apophthegms, others are strophes and enigmas, about which I shall say more at chapter I, verse 1. Furthermore, some maxims are ethical, others economic, others political, others finally theological. Moreover, some are didactic and doctrinal, some consolatory, others practical and exhortatory. Hear St. Basil at the beginning of Proverbs: "The name 'Proverbs,' he says, was composed among the pagans from that which is commonly said, usually about those things that are spoken in the streets. For oimos among them means 'road.' Whence a proverb (paroemia) is defined as a word along the road, worn by the use of many, which can be transferred from a few to many similar cases. But among us, a proverb is a useful discourse expressed under a fitting shadow and figure, embracing much both of use and of gravity, and concealing in its depths much profound meaning. From which the Lord says: 'These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The time comes when I shall no longer speak to you in proverbs, but shall speak to you plainly' — as though proverbial speech does not have a clear and open way of speaking, but narrates its meaning and thought under a certain covering, and in enigma, and in other words."
Hence in the Arabic Bibles this book is given this title: 'The Proverbs of Solomon the Wise, that is, his discourses, who reigned over the children of Israel.' In the Syriac, however: 'The Book of the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.'
The Nature of Proverbial Maxims
But here it must be carefully noted that these proverbial maxims are not true in the sense that things always happen this way. For they indicate not what always happens, but what usually happens, or what ought to be done; sometimes they also note only an outcome, though rare. For they indicate what good or evil may follow from this or that deed, and what may be hoped or feared — whatever may happen in any given case — as: "Divination is on the lips of the king; in judgment his mouth shall not err" (Proverbs xvi, 10). Similar are chapter x, verse 22; chapter xviii, verse 12. I showed this same point at greater length in Canon 7 on Ecclesiasticus.
The Versions: Vulgate, Septuagint, and Others
Furthermore, to the Latin Vulgate version I shall add the version of the Septuagint, of Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, the Chaldean, the Syriac, the Arabic, and others. Here it should be noted that the Septuagint here, as also often elsewhere, disagrees with the Hebrew and the Latin Vulgate, because, as St. Augustine astutely observes in Book II of On the Harmony of the Evangelists, chapter lxvi, the Septuagint translators, moved by the Spirit of God, were often not merely translators but also paraphrasts. It must be added that the Septuagint read certain things differently in the Hebrew than our translator, especially when the letters are similar: for then they easily substitute one for another, and hence writers and codices vary. Thus for the letter daleth they sometimes had and read in their codices the letter resh; for kaph they read beth, as I shall show in the proper places. Finally, over so many centuries many errors could have, and in fact not a few did, creep into the Septuagint version.
Finally, the author of the book is Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, who excelled in Ethics as well as in all wisdom and knowledge, and was by God's gift and the judgment of all mortals the wisest of all. For he spoke three thousand parables and five thousand songs, some of which — and those the better ones — were inserted in this book (III Kings IV, 32). Therefore Solomon, as in age and antiquity, so also in wisdom far surpassed the seven sages of Greece and all others. For Solomon began to reign in the year 2929 from the creation of the world, 1272 from the flood, 980 from the birth of Abraham, 473 from the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, 144 after the capture of Troy, 239 before the Olympiads, 262 before the founding of Rome, 482 before the Persian monarchy (that is, before Cyrus, under whom the seven sages of Greece flourished), 679 before Alexander the Great (under whom Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle flourished), and 1013 before the birth of Christ. See the chronological table which I prefixed to the Pentateuch. At the same time, Hiram was reigning in Tyre, and Vaphres in Egypt, whose daughter Solomon took as wife, according to Eupolemus and Eusebius, Book IX of the Preparation for the Gospel. Among the Lacedæmonians the king was Stratis, among the Corinthians Ion, among the Athenians Archippus, among the Latins Alba Sylvius son of Æneas Sylvius; in Asia the Amazons ruled, in Ethiopia the Queen of Sheba. About the same time flourished Homer and Hesiod, according to Eusebius. Hence also Cyril, in Book VII Against Julian, makes Homer a contemporary of Solomon: for Homer was born in the twentieth year of Solomon's reign, and lived 104 years, as our Salianus proves at length in volumes III and IV of his Annals. Therefore Homer could have heard the wisdom of Solomon and learned it.
But the wisdom of Solomon was divine, not human, inasmuch as it was implanted in him not by man but by God: "I have given you" (says God to Solomon, III Kings III, 12) "a wise and understanding heart, so that none like you has been before you, nor shall any arise after you." And chapter iv, verse 29: "God also gave Solomon wisdom, and exceedingly great prudence, and breadth of heart, like the sand on the seashore. And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalchol, and Dorda, sons of Mahol; and he was renowned among all nations round about. Solomon also spoke three thousand parables, and his songs were five thousand and one."
Furthermore, Origen, in his prologue to the Song of Songs: "The Proverbs of Solomon, he says, contain immense and perfect meanings in concise and brief maxims." Indeed, Solomon himself says in Wisdom viii, 2: "Her (wisdom) I loved and sought from my youth, and I sought to take her for my bride, and I became a lover of her beauty. She glorifies her noble birth, having intimacy with God (in Greek: she lives with God); and the Lord of all loved her. She is the teacher (in Greek mystis, that is, an initiatress, a priestess — for just as a priest worthily handles divine things, so also the wise man through wisdom worthily worships God and holily handles holy things) of the discipline of God, and the chooser (in Greek, follower; others, discoverer; others, evaluator) of His works." See what follows. For this reason Remigius, on Colossians II, 9: 'In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily': "He dwelt, he says, in Solomon through wisdom, in Daniel through chastity, in the Prophets through holiness, in Moses through meekness, but in Christ through every virtue and innocence."
Thus Trismegistus says to his son Tatius concerning heroes and princes, that "having received mind from God, they are held to be immortal, embracing all things by their intelligence" — in accordance with what I said shortly before from Scripture, that Solomon had "breadth of heart like the sand on the seashore" — that is, as Vatablus explains, God gave him a most capacious mind, comprehending many things by its intelligence; as if to say: He gave him as ample a mind as the ample space occupied by the sand that is beside the sea. Hence Nazianzen in his poem On Virginity calls Solomon the summit of Wisdom.
Indeed, Abulensis in III Kings III, Question XI, ranks Solomon above Adam in wisdom, although Pererius in Book III on Genesis, Question III, Valentia in volume I, disputation vii, Question II, point 1, and Pineda in Book III On Solomon, chapter XI, number 12, place Adam above Solomon.
From what has been said, it is clear first that those err who think Solomon drew some of his doctrines from the philosophers and sages of the Gentiles, or that he alludes to the rites, sayings, and deeds of the Gentiles. This is wrong, first, because Solomon was prior to all of them and equally wiser, so that he was no one's disciple but everyone's master; second, because the Hebrews wished to have no communion with the Gentiles, as a holy people, separated from the Gentiles and consecrated to the one God; therefore the Gentiles rather drew their ideas from Solomon and the Hebrews than the Hebrews from the Gentiles, as Eusebius teaches throughout the Preparation for the Gospel, St. Augustine in The City of God, Theodoret, and others; and finally because the wisdom of Solomon was divine and infused by God: therefore it far transcended all the sayings and doctrines of the Gentiles.
Scope, Purpose, and Usefulness
It is clear, secondly, how great are the antiquity, dignity, majesty, and usefulness of Solomon's parables. Therefore St. Jerome, in Letter 7 to Laeta, wife of Albinus, concerning the education of her daughter Paula, advises that she should imbue her with these parables from a tender age: "Let her learn, he says, first the Psalter, let her divert herself with these songs, and let her be educated for life in the Proverbs of Solomon." For here are beautifully handed down maxims which we may use in every place, in every step (whence they are called Paroemiae, as travelers' itineraries, because they direct the way and journey — that is, all our steps and actions), in speech and in action, for walking rightly, speaking rightly, and acting rightly. For this reason, the maxims of Solomon and Sirach exist separately from the other books of Sacred Scripture, contained in a small booklet, so that they can be carried, read, and worn by anyone along the roads, and received as a constant companion on the way — indeed a guide — and, as that saying goes, a "Vade mecum" ("Come with me"). Thus the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Matthias Hovius of pious memory, when I was recently in Belgium, Archbishop of Mechlin, used to carry about with him constantly — even on roads and journeys — this booklet containing the aphorisms of Solomon and Sirach, and in his carriage and at his lodgings (in the manner of that great Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, who presided over the Council of Trent) he diligently read and re-read it. Hence he knew its maxims — which teach and prescribe particular prudence in all matters, both human and divine — to perfection, and according to their prescription and guidance he regulated and directed all his actions, both private and public. And therefore he governed his Archdiocese so well and holily that he left and impressed upon those present a great longing for himself, upon his disciples an example, and upon posterity the model of a perfect Pastor and Bishop, with a posthumous fame.
For this reason, among the praises of Solomon, Sirach especially celebrates this one, saying: "And you filled riddles with comparisons; your name was spread to distant islands, and you were beloved in your peace. In songs, and proverbs, and comparisons, and interpretations, the lands marveled" (Ecclesiasticus xlvii, 17). See the comments there, and Josephus, Book VIII of the Antiquities, chapter ii.
The aim and purpose of these Proverbs is to prescribe for every age, sex, station, and class of people, in every circumstance, laws for right action and a norm for an honest life, by which they may please God, so that after the brief labors of this short age they may be endowed by Him with eternal happiness and happy eternity, and may lead those subject to them — whether in the home and family, or in the commonwealth and kingdom — to the same. This purpose the Author indicates at the beginning of the book, saying: "The Proverbs of Solomon, for knowing wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of prudence, and for receiving the instruction of doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity."
Therefore scarcely any other book among the books of Sacred Scripture is more suited than this one for speaking, for preaching, for persuading, and ultimately for forming and reforming the morals of men. For this reason St. Gregory, who is the best master of morals and virtues, frequently uses its maxims. And for this reason, just as Ecclesiasticus, so with even greater right this book may be called panaretos, that is, the teacher of all virtues, and manaretos, that is, to be chosen and read above all others.
Therefore the Emperor Basil, instructing his son Leo, surnamed the Philosopher, for the governance of the empire, gives him this final precept: "Study the maxims of the ancient sages, to cultivate your morals in every respect: for you will find many very useful precepts in them, especially in the works of Solomon and the writings of Isocrates. Add also, if you wish, the teachings of Jesus Sirach, from which you can draw much civil and royal prudence."
Finally, St. Jerome on Ecclesiastes chapter xii, at verse 9 — "And investigating, Solomon composed many parables" — says: "They have one thing in the marrow, another promising on the surface. That Proverbs indeed do not mean what is literally written, we are also taught in the Gospels — that the Lord spoke to the people in proverbs and parables, but privately explained them to the Apostles (Matthew xiii). From which it is clear that the book of Proverbs does not contain precepts that are plain on the surface, as simple people think; but just as gold is sought in the earth, the kernel in the nut, and the fruit hidden under the bristly coverings of chestnuts: so in them the divine meaning must be searched for more deeply."
Hebrew Division of the Old Testament
The Hebrews divide the Old Testament into three parts: the Law or Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. To the Hagiographa they assign Proverbs and the other books of Solomon. St. Augustine, however, in Book II of On Christian Doctrine, chapter viii, dividing the Old Scripture into historical and prophetical, numbers the books of Solomon among the prophetical — especially because, as he himself observes in Book XVII of The City of God, chapter xx, in this book true prophecies properly so called about Christ and the Church are contained, which I shall show to be most true in the proper places.
Furthermore, since in the Proverbs Solomon pours forth all his wisdom, the Proverbs are called by the Fathers "The Wisdom of Solomon." Hear Eusebius, Book IV of his History, chapter xxii: "Furthermore, not this man alone (Hegesippus), but Irenaeus and the whole body of the ancients affirmed that the Proverbs of Solomon are sophia panaretos, that is, filled with every virtue (or, as others translate literally, 'all-virtuous,' or 'all-studious')." And in chapter x, from Melito: "The Proverbs of Solomon, he says, or his wisdom." Clement of Rome, Book I of the Constitutions, chapter vii, when he recites nearly the whole of Proverbs chapter vii about the wicked woman: "Let us hear, he says, what the holy word commands in the Wisdom: 'My son, keep my words, etc. Say that wisdom is your sister.'" And in chapter viii, again citing the passage from Proverbs xxxi about the valiant woman: "Let your husband's Wisdom praise you, when through Solomon it says: 'Who shall find a valiant woman?'" And again in chapter x: "The word that is written in the Wisdom of the Lord: 'It is better to dwell in solitude than with a talkative and quarrelsome woman, etc.'" — which is from Proverbs chapter xxi. And lest anyone think this is some accidental lapse of memory in Clement, let him know that not only the book of Proverbs, but furthermore all the books of Solomon, are designated by the name of Wisdom. For in the letter to James the brother of the Lord, he likewise calls the Song of Songs "Wisdom": "The love of God, he says, is compared to death, as Wisdom says: 'Love is strong as death,'" etc. On this one should absolutely consult our Turrianus in his Explanations of Clement, chapter vii. And indeed also St. Cyprian, Book III of the Testimonies to Quirinus, chapter xvi, which concerns the good of martyrdom: "In the Wisdom, he says, of Solomon: 'A faithful witness delivers souls from evil'" — which words are taken from Proverbs chapter xiv; and in chapter lvi he adduces a passage from Proverbs xv: "In the Wisdom, he says, of Solomon: 'In every place the eyes of God observe the good and the evil.'" On which see Pamelius on chapter xvi, number 40, who judges with certainty that all the books of Solomon, and not only Proverbs, are inscribed with the title of Wisdom by Cyprian. Finally, the Church calls these books "sapiential" (wisdom books) and "the Wisdom of Solomon." Hence when it recites anything from these books in the Mass or the Ecclesiastical Office, it affirms that it is drawing it from the book of Wisdom.
Order of Composition
The Rabbis think that Solomon first wrote the Song of Songs when he was still a young man, the Proverbs in his mature years, and Ecclesiastes in his old age. However, the order and progression of the subject matter indicates the contrary — namely that he first wrote Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes, finally the Song of Songs — and in this order the books are placed in the Bible. For in Proverbs he instructs beginners; in Ecclesiastes, those who are progressing; in the Song of Songs, the perfect, as I said at the beginning from St. Jerome.
The Vulgate Translation
St. Jerome translated this book from the Hebrew, and his version is the one we have in the Latin Vulgate. But, since at that time the version of the Seventy Translators was widely used and received throughout the world, St. Jerome — so as not to appear to want to change it entirely — often inclines toward it, even though it differs from the Hebrew. For this reason, our version does not in all respects exactly correspond to the Hebrew, but from time to time veers and, so to speak, deviates into the Greek.
Here note that the Seventy occasionally add certain things that are not now in the Hebrew — either because in their time these existed in the Hebrew, or because they added some things for the sake of explanation; or because they were not merely translators but also inspired sacred writers, as St. Augustine teaches in Book IV of On Christian Doctrine, chapter vii. Therefore, inspired by the Holy Spirit, they could at His prompting dictate certain maxims not found in the Hebrew, and therefore these have the authority of Canonical Scripture, and as such the Church has received and approved them.
Furthermore, from chapter x to the end of Proverbs, it is easy to discern in the Vulgate edition which maxims are found in the Hebrew and which are not. For those to which a number is individually prefixed in the margin to indicate the order of the verse are found in the Hebrew; but those to which no number is prefixed, but which are appended to the number of the preceding verse, are not found in the Hebrew.
Furthermore, the Septuagint version, where it is pure and genuine, was formerly the Vulgate and therefore Canonical Scripture, and accordingly it remains such even now. But that it is occasionally less pure and genuine is evident from the variety of readings found in it. Therefore, wanting always to harmonize it with the Hebrew and the modern Vulgate is superfluous, indeed impossible. Where reconciliation is easy and straightforward, I shall indicate it; where it is difficult and forced, I shall pass over it. For I intend to explain the modern Vulgate as the genuine Sacred Scripture authorized by the Church.
Parallels between Sirach and Solomon
Finally, so that it may be seen clearly how accurate a teacher of wisdom and ethics Solomon is in these books, and how later sages followed his doctrines — especially Sirach, the author of Ecclesiasticus, who lived 540 years after Solomon — I shall here set out in order the more notable aphorisms of Sirach, which he drew and borrowed from Solomon, partly as to sense, partly word for word, as the following parallels of both authors will show.
1. [Sirach:] All wisdom is from the Lord God, and has been with Him always, and is before all ages (Ecclesiasticus I:1). [Solomon:] The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning (Proverbs viii:22).
2. [Sirach:] Wisdom was created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting (Ecclesiasticus I:4). [Solomon:] I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made (Proverbs viii:23).
3. [Sirach:] And He poured her out upon all His works, and upon all flesh (Ecclesiasticus I:10). [Solomon:] When He prepared the heavens, I was present, etc. I was with Him forming all things, etc., and my delights were to be with the children of men (Proverbs viii:27, 30).
4. [Sirach:] The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Ecclesiasticus I:16). [Solomon:] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs I:7).
5. [Sirach:] Gold and silver are tested in fire; but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation (Ecclesiasticus II:5). [Solomon:] As gold in the furnace He proved them, and as a burnt offering He received them (Wisdom III:6).
6. [Sirach:] Seek not the things that are too high for you, and search not into things above your ability (Ecclesiasticus III:22). [Solomon:] He who is a searcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory (Proverbs xxv:27).
7. [Sirach:] Do not be anxious about unjust riches; for they will not profit you in the day of calamity and vengeance (Ecclesiasticus V:10). [Solomon:] He who trusts in his riches shall fall; but the just shall spring up as a green leaf (Proverbs xi:28).
8. [Sirach:] Do not quarrel with an angry man, and do not go into the desert with a reckless man (Ecclesiasticus VIII:19). [Solomon:] Do not be a friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a furious man (Proverbs xxii:24).
9. [Sirach:] Do not give your soul to fornicators in any matter, lest you destroy yourself and your inheritance (Ecclesiasticus IX:6). [Solomon:] Do not give your honor to strangers, and your years to the cruel one (Proverbs v:9).
10. [Sirach:] As the judge of the people is, so are his ministers (Ecclesiasticus X:2). [Solomon:] A ruler who gladly hears lying words has all his ministers wicked (Proverbs xxix:12).
11. [Sirach:] The freeborn shall serve a sensible servant (Ecclesiasticus X:28). [Solomon:] A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shall divide the inheritance among brothers (Proverbs xvii:2).
12. [Sirach:] Better is he who labors and abounds in all things, than he who boasts and lacks bread (Ecclesiasticus X:30). [Solomon:] Better is the poor man who suffices for himself, than the boastful man who lacks bread (Proverbs xii:9).
13. [Sirach:] Before you hear, do not answer a word (Ecclesiasticus XI:8). [Solomon:] He who answers before he hears shows himself to be a fool and worthy of confusion (Proverbs xviii:13).
14. [Sirach:] There is one who grows rich by acting sparingly, etc. And he does not know that time will pass, and death will approach (Ecclesiasticus XI:18). [Solomon:] There is one alone, and he has no second; and yet he does not cease to labor (Ecclesiastes IV:8).
15. [Sirach:] In a man's prosperity, his enemies are in sadness; and in his adversity, a friend is known (Ecclesiasticus XII:4). [Solomon:] He who is a friend loves at all times, and a brother is proved in distress (Proverbs xvii:17).
16. [Sirach:] And if he goes bowed down in humility, be on your guard and watch yourself against him (Ecclesiasticus XII:11). [Solomon:] When he lowers his voice, do not believe him; for there are seven wickednesses in his heart (Proverbs xxvi:25).
17. [Sirach:] The rich man acts unjustly and rages; but the poor man, when hurt, will be silent (Ecclesiasticus XIII:4). [Solomon:] The poor man speaks with entreaties, and the rich man answers roughly (Proverbs xviii:23).
18. [Sirach:] The rich man, when he is shaken, is supported by his friends; but the humble man, when he falls, is expelled even by his acquaintances (Ecclesiasticus XIII:25). [Solomon:] Riches add many friends; but from the poor man even those he had are separated. The brothers of the poor man hate him; moreover, his friends have withdrawn far from him (Proverbs xix:4, 7).
19. [Sirach:] Before your death, work justice; because among the dead there is no finding food (Ecclesiasticus XIV:17). [Solomon:] Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly; because there will be neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in the netherworld, where you are hastening (Ecclesiastes IX:10).
20. [Sirach:] Blessed is the man who dwells in wisdom, etc., who looks through her windows, and listens at her doors (Ecclesiasticus XIV:22, 24). [Solomon:] Blessed is the man who hears me, and who watches daily at my gates, and waits at the posts of my door (Proverbs viii:34).
21. [Sirach:] She is far from pride and deceit (Ecclesiasticus XV:7). [Solomon:] Arrogance and pride, and the evil way, and the double tongue, I detest (Proverbs VIII:13).
22. [Sirach:] Do not say: It is through God that she (wisdom) is far from me; for do not do what He hates (Ecclesiasticus XV:11). [Solomon:] The folly of a man violates, or ruins, his ways; and he blames, or accuses, God in his heart (Proverbs xix:3). St. Augustine cites these words from Proverbs according to the Septuagint in On Grace and Free Will, chapter II.
23. [Sirach:] Before a man are life and death, good and evil; whichever pleases him shall be given to him (Ecclesiasticus XV:18). [Moses:] Consider that today I have set before you life and good, and on the other hand death and evil (Deuteronomy xxx:15).
24. [Sirach:] From the dead, confession perishes as if it were nothing. You shall confess while living; alive and healthy you shall confess, and shall praise God (Ecclesiasticus XVII:26). [Isaiah:] Hell shall not confess to You, nor shall death praise You, etc. The living, the living, he shall confess to You (Isaiah xxxviii:18).
25. [Sirach:] A drunken worker shall not grow rich; and he who despises small things shall fall little by little (Ecclesiasticus XIX:1). [Solomon:] Those who linger at their cups, and contribute to drinking bouts, shall be consumed, and drowsiness shall be clothed in rags (Proverbs xxiii:21).
26. [Sirach:] He who uses many words shall hurt his soul; and he who takes power upon himself unjustly shall be hated (Ecclesiasticus XX:8). [Solomon:] In a multitude of words there shall not want sin; but he who restrains his lips is most prudent (Proverbs x:19).
27. [Sirach:] A parable shall be rejected from the mouth of a fool; for he does not speak it in its time (Ecclesiasticus XX:22). [Solomon:] As a lame man has fine legs in vain, so a parable is unseemly in the mouth of fools (Proverbs xxvi:7).
28. [Sirach:] Presents and gifts blind the eyes of judges, and as a muzzle on the mouth turn aside their corrections (Ecclesiasticus XX:31). [Moses:] You shall not accept gifts, which blind even the wise and pervert the words of the just (Exodus xxiii:8).
29. [Sirach:] The knowledge of the wise man shall abound like a flood, and his counsel shall remain like a fountain of life (Ecclesiasticus XXI:16). [Solomon:] An overflowing stream is the fountain of wisdom. The instruction of its possessor is a fountain of life (Proverbs xviii:4; xvi:22).
30. [Sirach:] A fool raises his voice in laughter; but the wise man will scarcely laugh quietly (Ecclesiasticus XXI:23). [Solomon:] As the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool (Ecclesiastes vii:7).
31. [Sirach:] Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron are easier to bear than an impudent man (Ecclesiasticus XXII:18). [Solomon:] A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty; but the anger of a fool is heavier than both (Proverbs xxvii:3).
32. [Sirach:] I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before all creatures. From the beginning and before the ages I was created (Ecclesiasticus XXIV:5, 14). [Solomon:] The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning. I was set up from eternity (Proverbs viii:22).
33. [Sirach:] I made an unfailing light rise in the heavens; I alone encompassed the circuit of heaven, and penetrated the depth of the abyss, and walked in the waves of the sea, and stood in all the earth (Ecclesiasticus XXIV:6-7). [Solomon:] When He prepared the heavens, I was present; when He enclosed the depths with a sure law and circle, etc.; when He weighed the foundations of the earth (Proverbs viii:27).
34. [Sirach:] Come to me, all you who desire me, and be filled with my fruits; for my spirit is sweeter than honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb (Ecclesiasticus XXIV:26). [Solomon:] Now therefore, children, hear me: Blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise. Blessed is the man who hears me, etc. He who finds me shall find life, and shall draw salvation from the Lord (Proverbs viii:32).
35. [Sirach:] Grace upon grace is a holy and modest woman (Ecclesiasticus XXVI:19). [Solomon:] He who finds a good wife finds good (Proverbs xviii:22). The Septuagint reads: he finds charitas, that is, graces.
36. [Sirach:] He who discloses the secrets of a friend loses trust, and shall not find a friend to his liking (Ecclesiasticus XXVII:17). [Solomon:] He who walks deceitfully reveals secrets; but he who is faithful of spirit conceals a friend's confidence (Proverbs xi:13).
37. [Sirach:] He who throws a stone on high, it shall fall upon his own head. He who digs a pit shall fall into it (Ecclesiasticus XXVII:28-29). [Solomon:] He who digs a pit shall fall into it; and he who rolls a stone, it shall return upon him (Proverbs xxvi:27).
38. [Sirach:] As the potter's clay is in his hand, to fashion it and arrange it, etc. So is man in the hand of Him who made him (Ecclesiasticus XXXIII:13). [Jeremiah:] As the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel (Jeremiah xviii:6).
39. [Sirach:] He who fears the Lord shall not tremble, and shall not be afraid; for He is his hope (Ecclesiasticus XXXIV:19). [Solomon:] The just man, trusting as a lion, shall be without terror (Proverbs xxviii:1).
40. [Sirach:] The Most High does not approve the goods of the wicked, nor does He look upon the offerings of the unjust (Ecclesiasticus XXXIV:23). [Solomon:] The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable to the Lord; the vows of the just are pleasing (Proverbs xv:8).
41. [Sirach:] You shall not appear before the Lord empty (Ecclesiasticus XXXV:6). [Moses:] You shall not appear in My sight empty (Exodus xxiii:15).
42. [Sirach:] Who trusts a man who has no nest, and who turns aside wherever darkness falls? (Ecclesiasticus XXXVI:28). [Solomon:] As a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who leaves his place (Proverbs xxvii:8).
43. [Sirach:] All things that are of the earth shall return to the earth, and all waters shall return to the sea (Ecclesiasticus XL:11). [Solomon:] To the place from which the rivers go out, they return, so that they may flow again (Ecclesiastes I:7).
44. [Sirach:] The riches of the unjust shall dry up like a river, and shall resound like a great thunderclap in the rain (Ecclesiasticus XL:13). [Solomon:] As a passing storm, so the wicked man shall be no more; but the just is as an everlasting foundation (Proverbs x:25).
45. [Sirach:] The descendants of the wicked shall not multiply their branches, and unclean roots make noise upon the top of the rock (Ecclesiasticus XL:15). [Solomon:] Bastard plants shall not take deep root, nor establish a firm foundation. And if they flourish in branches for a time, standing unsure, they shall be shaken by the wind, and by the force of winds shall be uprooted (Wisdom IV:3).
46. [Sirach:] Take care of a good name; for this shall continue with you more than a thousand precious and great treasures (Ecclesiasticus XLI:15). [Solomon:] A good name is better than great riches; above silver and gold is good grace — that is, to be in the favor and goodwill of others (Proverbs xxii:1).
The remaining things that Sirach hands down from chapter xxiv to the end of his book are praises of Solomon, David, Moses, the Patriarchs, and the Prophets, which are drawn from each one's own book, history, or prophecy, and are therefore compendiums of those; this is clear to anyone who examines them.
Moreover, Sirach was so much a follower, disciple, and emulator of Solomon that most of the Fathers, as well as more recent authors, attribute the book of Ecclesiasticus to Solomon — as though Solomon were the author of its maxims, and Sirach were merely their collector and copyist. Therefore St. Augustine and the other Fathers designate and cite Ecclesiasticus under the name of Solomon.
Wherefore I intend to encompass in this one volume, if possible, the entire wisdom of Solomon — namely Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, and perhaps the Song of Songs — just as I encompassed the entire wisdom of Sirach in one volume, especially since I have already explained many of Solomon's maxims in my commentary on Sirach, who borrowed them from Solomon.
The Use of Gentile Wisdom
Finally, I shall from time to time cite similar maxims of Sirach and other sages, even pagan philosophers, which shed light or lend beauty to their Solomonic counterparts — both to restore the streams to their source (for each drew from Solomon), and to show how great is the force of wisdom, that is, of truth and virtue, since even unbelievers have sometimes not dared to deny it, though they were blind in many other matters and erred shamefully. That the orthodox teacher should do the same, St. Augustine teaches admirably in Book II of On Christian Doctrine, chapter xl:
"The philosophers, he says, who are so called, if they have perhaps said some things that are true and accommodated to our faith — especially the Platonists — these things are not only not to be feared, but are even to be claimed from them as from unjust possessors for our own use. For just as the Egyptians not only had idols and heavy burdens which the people of Israel would detest and flee, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and garments, which that people departing from Egypt secretly claimed for themselves for a better use — not by their own authority, but by God's command, the Egyptians unknowingly lending them things which they were not using well: so all the teachings of the Gentiles not only have counterfeit and superstitious fictions and heavy burdens of unnecessary labor, which each one of us, with Christ as leader, departing from the society of the Gentiles, must abominate and avoid; but they also contain liberal disciplines more suited for the use of truth, and certain most useful moral precepts, and some true things are found among them concerning the worship of the one God: which, like their gold — which they themselves did not establish, but dug out of, as it were, certain mines of divine Providence, which is poured out everywhere, and which they perversely and injuriously misuse for the service of demons — when one separates oneself in spirit from their wretched society, the Christian must take away from them for the just use of preaching the Gospel" (Acts vii). I have said more on this matter in the proem to Ecclesiasticus.
Furthermore, in this matter one must guard against excessive license, by which some who are versed in the books of the Gentiles accommodate Sacred Scripture to the histories, rites, and customs of the Gentiles which they have preconceived in their minds — indeed they explain Scripture through them — when rather all these things ought to follow Sacred Scripture as a handmaid follows her mistress (as St. Augustine says), and serve it. The same fault was formerly attributed to Arnobius, who, having converted from paganism to Christianity at an advanced age, occasionally writes in a pagan manner in his works, because, having been imbued with no other than Gentile literature, he could think and express nothing other than what he had read and learned among the pagans over so many years. But pardon must be granted him, since as barely a catechumen he wrote an apology for Christians harassed by a cruel persecution, concerning the Christian religion which he did not yet fully know. For what wonder if, still a Gentile, he sprinkled pagan blemishes upon it? Those therefore who intend to write on Sacred Scripture must sooner and more quickly transfer themselves from polished literature to sacred literature, and must thoroughly imbue their mind with it.