Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Maxims concerning the wise son, the guarding of the mouth and the one who is rash in speaking: concerning the poor rich man and the rich poor man: concerning the lamp of the wicked, hastily acquired wealth, the deferral of hope: concerning the wicked messenger and the faithful one, concerning the fields of fathers: that all things should be done with counsel, and that one should associate with the wise: concerning the one who spares the rod, and the insatiable belly of the wicked.
Vulgate Text: Proverbs 13:1-25
1. A wise son is the instruction of a father: but he who is a scoffer does not listen when he is reproved. 2. From the fruit of his mouth a man shall be satisfied with good things: but the soul of transgressors is wicked. 3. He who guards his mouth guards his soul: but he who is rash in speaking shall experience evils. 4. The sluggard wills and does not will: but the soul of the industrious shall be enriched. 5. The just man detests a lying word: but the wicked man confounds and shall be confounded. 6. Justice guards the way of the innocent: but wickedness overthrows the sinner. 7. There is one who seems rich, though he has nothing: and one who seems poor, though he is in great wealth. 8. The ransom of a man's life is his riches: but the poor man does not endure rebuke. 9. The light of the just makes glad: but the lamp of the wicked shall be extinguished. 10. Among the proud there are always quarrels: but those who do all things with counsel are guided by wisdom. 11. Hastily acquired wealth shall be diminished: but what is gathered little by little by hand shall be multiplied. 12. Hope that is deferred afflicts the soul: a tree of life is desire fulfilled. 13. He who speaks ill of anything binds himself for the future: but he who fears the commandment shall dwell in peace. Deceitful souls go astray in sins: but the just are merciful and show mercy. 14. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside from the ruin of death. 15. Good doctrine gives grace: in the way of scorners is an abyss. 16. The shrewd man does all things with counsel: but the fool exposes his folly. 17. The messenger of the wicked shall fall into evil: but a faithful envoy is health. 18. Poverty and shame come to him who forsakes discipline: but he who yields to reproof shall be glorified. 19. If desire is fulfilled, it delights the soul: fools detest those who flee from evil. 20. He who walks with the wise shall be wise: the friend of fools shall become like them. 21. Evil pursues sinners: and good things shall be repaid to the just. 22. The good man leaves heirs, his children and grandchildren: and the substance of the sinner is kept for the just. 23. Much food is in the fallow ground of fathers: and for others it is gathered without judgment. 24. He who spares the rod hates his son: but he who loves him disciplines him diligently. 25. The just man eats and fills his soul: but the belly of the wicked is insatiable.
Verse 1: A Wise Son Is the Instruction of a Father
For instruction, the Hebrew has מוסר musar, that is, discipline, training, education. This maxim gives a sharp spur both to parents, that they may train their children in every discipline of virtue, and to children, that they may embrace the same with their whole mind. The sense therefore is, meaning: A wise son hears the instruction of his father and obeys it. "But he who is a scoffer and mocker," that is, a fool who laughs at and scorns the advice of his father, does not listen to him when he reproves, when he is corrected by him for his vices. So the Chaldean says: a wise son, he says, receives the instruction of his father; the Syriac: a wise son listens to his father, but the wicked one, who does not receive reproof, will perish; the Septuagint: a shrewd (cautious, prudent, wise, as Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate) son obeys his father, but the disobedient son is headed for destruction.
Note: Our translator renders more forcefully from the Hebrew instruction rather than the instruction, namely, he hears. First, because it is proper to a son to be trained by the instruction of his father, just as it is to suckle milk from his mother; for a father's instruction flows into the mind of his son in a paternal, natural, and gentle way, and bends him wherever it wishes, and makes him like himself. Hence the Zurich Bible: a wise son is the discipline of his father, that is, says Vatablus, from the discipline of his father a son becomes wise. It is a metonymy; for the effect of paternal discipline is shown, namely that it causes and produces wisdom in the son. The glory of a father is a wise son, just as the disgrace is a foolish one. Here the maxim of Sixtus the Philosopher in his Sentences, no. 245, applies: "Let children who live badly torment you more than those who die." And no. 164: "The sins of students are the reproach of their teachers."
Second, more closely and significantly: "A wise son is the instruction of his father," because he not only receives it but also reflects and represents it, just as an image represents its original. Just as the form and figure, for example of Alexander, is represented and seen in his image, so that seeing the image we say: This is Alexander; so likewise the father and the father's instruction are represented and shine forth in the wise and obedient son, as in a living image of himself, so that seeing the son you can say: This is the father, this is the father's instruction, because the son is a living mirror of the father's virtue and wisdom. Therefore instruction here is more properly and forcefully taken as a nominative case than as an ablative; although it can also be taken in the ablative, meaning: A wise son becomes or turns out wise through the instruction of his father, that is, by means of the father's instruction; yet more significantly in the nominative, a wise son is called "the instruction of his father" by metonymy, that is, the effect of the father's teachings, a living image in which you behold the father's doctrine and virtue; a living book in which you read the father's wisdom expressed, so that you say of him: Behold, here is the father's wisdom. Hence in Hebrew a son is called בן ben, as it were a structure sculpted in the father's likeness: for the root בנה bana means to build and construct, and in Greek τέκνα, as it were the offspring of the father; and in Latin natus, from being born; and filius, as it were φίλος, that is, the father's love, says Sipontinus.
Hence Cicero, Book II of On Ends: "The image of a father's uprightness is his son." The same to Cæcinna: "The image of mind and body is a son." Hence the Son of God the Father is called the Father's image, character, wisdom: "The brightness of His glory and the figure of His substance," Hebrews 1:3. Let the sons of men imitate this Son of God, so that they may reflect and represent the wisdom and virtue of their father, and especially of God, who is the supreme parent of all.
Moreover, a son who receives the father's instruction is called and is wise, because through the reception of paternal instruction he obtains first: wisdom; second, the reputation and fame of wisdom; third, a larger inheritance from his father. For a father will leave more goods to an obedient and wise son than to a disobedient and foolish one.
Third, properly and precisely Bede says: A wise son is the instruction of his father, that is, he teaches his father. "So great," he says, "is the difference between the wise and the foolish, that the former sometimes by the progress of his learning comes to teach the one who had taught him; while the latter does not know how to listen even when reproved." So the servants, that is, the attendants of Naaman taught him to obey Elisha, namely to wash in the Jordan; having done so, he was cured of leprosy. 2 Kings 5:13. So St. Francis Xavier, through the children of the Indians whom he had instructed, was instructing and converting their parents. The same is frequently seen in our schools, in which students teach their parents what they have learned.
Verse 2: Of the Fruit of His Mouth a Man Shall Be Filled
For good things, the Hebrew has תוב tob, that is, good as a neuter noun, and good as a masculine. Now because the Hebrews lack cases, hence for of the mouth others translate the mouth of the good, or of the just man. Moreover, because these proverbial sayings are parabolic, they are equally sharp and concise, and leave much for the reader to investigate and supply. Hence first, the Septuagint, understanding the word justice (for the fruit of the good and just man is none other than the fruit of justice and of just works), translates: from the fruits of justice the good man shall eat, namely the mouth of the good; but the souls of the wicked shall perish prematurely, meaning: The just man, on account of his just works, enjoys a holy and pleasant longevity, and reaps the fruits of a justly spent youth in a good old age, namely wisdom, joy, counsel, honor, authority, hope of the future and blessed life, prudent, grave, and honored children and grandchildren; but the wicked, through revelry, lusts, and other crimes, shorten their lives, or are punished by God with a swift death, so that they die prematurely and do not reach old age, or obtain a wretched and miserable one; just as unripe fruits are bitter, so their life and old age is bitter; conversely, just as ripe fruits are sweet and flavorful, so a sweet and pleasant age and old age comes to the just. Hence St. Jerome to Nepotianus: "The old age," he says, "of those who instructed their youth with honest arts and meditated on the law of the Lord day and night, becomes more learned with age, more certain with experience, wiser with the passage of time, and reaps the sweet and mature fruits of earlier studies."
Second, Pagninus, repeating the phrase from the fruit, translates thus: from the fruit of a man's mouth a man shall eat; and from the fruit of the soul of transgressors the wicked man shall eat.
Third, Cajetan translates: from the fruit the mouth of the (good) man shall eat good, and the soul of liars iniquity, and he explains it thus. In general, he says, it is stated here that
Paul specifically said: "We are the good fragrance of Christ, to some a fragrance of life unto life, to others a fragrance of death unto death." For from one and the same fruit of the law, of faith, of justice, and of doctrine, diversely disposed men eat different, indeed contrary, foods. For the mouth (that is, the mind) of a man infected by no evil affection will eat good, and the soul of those who lie to God with their iniquities will eat evil, interpreting the fruit of faith, or of justice, or of doctrine, in an evil sense.
Fourth, the Hebrew may be plainly translated thus: from the fruit of his mouth each person will eat good; but the soul of sinners violence, which Vatablus explains as meaning: Transgressors will be subjected to injury. For just as they themselves were violent and injurious to others, so likewise by the law of retaliation and God justly disposing, they themselves will experience others violent against them, and will suffer wrongs; and the Chaldean: each person from the fruit of his mouth will be satisfied with good; but the soul of plunderers with dejection, repeated: they will be saturated; the Syriac: they will be destroyed. Our translator intended the same in rendering: from the fruit of his mouth a man shall be satisfied with good things, but the soul of transgressors is wicked; in Hebrew, with iniquity, repeated: it shall be saturated, meaning: Just as a good soul is satisfied with the fruit of its good speech, by which it taught good things to others, and will rejoice on account of this that it provided such good and that others benefited from it, and therefore will be rewarded with great prizes either by men or certainly by God: so conversely the soul of transgressors, who transgress against God's law and justice, and teach others to transgress, is wicked, that is, injurious and violent to others, and therefore this iniquity or force and violence will rebound upon their own heads, so that on account of it they are compelled to suffer and endure many harsh things violently. Just as therefore their soul was wicked in force and guilt, so likewise it will be wicked in violent punishment, by which their iniquity and violence will be justly chastised, and which they will be compelled to undergo: for punishment that is otherwise (that is, before sin) unjust, after sin becomes fair and just, and so the iniquity of the punishment directly corresponds to the iniquity of the fault, and properly matches and is owed to it. For the soul that has treated God and God's law unjustly deserves to be treated unjustly, unworthily, and tyrannically by torturers and executioners, especially demons, according to Hosea 10:13: "You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity, you have eaten the fruit of lies." And that verse of the Psalmist about God, Psalm 17:26: "With the holy You will be holy, etc., and with the perverse You will be perverse," meaning: You, O God, will show Yourself holy, innocent, good, and benign to the holy; but with the crafty and perverse You will act not benignly but in a harsh and perverse manner, that is, severely and shrewdly, and You will reverse Your own proper manner, which is to have mercy and do good, because they themselves have been reversed and perverted from what they ought to have been. So St. Jerome at that passage. Hence the Chaldean translates: with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the pious, You have multiplied piety; with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who devised evil designs against Your people, You have thrown them into confusion in their own designs.
Verse 3: He Who Guards His Mouth Guards His Soul
The Chaldean: he who covers his mouth takes care of his soul; and he who opens his lips, terror hangs over him; the Arabic: and he who is bold with his lips will make his soul tremble; the Syriac: he makes destruction for his soul, he guards his soul: first, from all distress and grief; second, from many sins that are committed by the mouth; third, from dangers, enemies, and snares. Hence Vatablus: He guards his soul, that is, he says, his life. For as Pliny says: "Often a word rashly uttered returns through the throat." He frequently emphasizes the guarding of the mouth and tongue, because it needs to be guarded as much or more than a city surrounded by enemies; hence just as a city is fortified with walls, gates, and bars, so nature and God have fortified and enclosed the tongue with the palate, teeth, and lips. Again, just as a watchman stands guard at the gates of cities, lest an enemy break in or creep in, so the mind and reason stand guard above the gates of the mouth, lest anything go out from the mouth, or enter in, that would create evil for a man. Therefore Ecclesiasticus, ch. 28, verse 29: "Smelt your gold and silver," he says, "and make a balance for your words, and right bridles for your mouth; and take care lest you slip with your tongue, and fall before your enemies who lie in wait for you, and your fall be incurable unto death." See what is said there.
For shall experience evils, the Hebrew has מחתה לו mechitta lo, which first you may translate with Pagninus and Vatablus: for him who opens his lips there is destruction; the Syriac: he brings about ruin for himself, meaning: He who speaks rashly will be crushed, broken, and destroyed; indeed, by his own rashness of speech he will crush, break, and destroy himself. Second: there is terror for him; the Chaldean: terror hangs over him; Theodotion: confusion; the Septuagint: and he who is reckless with his lips will terrify himself, meaning: He will bring upon himself many anguishes and terrors; for he exposes himself to terrible evils and troubles. For this reason the Psalmist earnestly prays: "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, and a door of enclosure about my lips," Psalm 140:3.
Verse 4: The Sluggard Wills and Wills Not
The Hebrew concisely has: desires, and not, the soul, or the soul of the sluggard. Which first the Chaldean fills out and expounds thus: the soul of the sluggard desires something, and it does not come to him; the Syriac: at all times the man who does not work lies in desires; so also the Arabic and Pagninus: the soul of the sluggard desires, and there is not for him what he wishes; but the soul of the diligent shall be enriched; the Zurich Bible: the spirit of the idle craves and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be enriched. Vatablus: the soul of the sluggard desires and does not obtain its wish, meaning: The sluggard desires many things but does not obtain them, because he does not want to work, nor to prepare for himself by labor the things he desires. For idleness makes him desire many things, but laziness prevents him from attaining them, because he always clings to idle desires and does not progress further to put his hand to work and labor, by which he might obtain what he desires. The following antithesis aptly corresponds to this exposition: "But the soul of the industrious shall be enriched;" because he does not shrink from work and labor, but by it prepares for himself the things he desires. The sluggard therefore is a "nevolus (one who does not will), and therefore a multivolus (one who wants many things);" for he wants to have nothing by working, but wants to have everything by being idle; hence nothing suffices for his will and desire: for he is full of desires and burns with them, since he does nothing else but desire; therefore he himself seems to be nothing other than desire and longing itself; for where there is no labor of wealth, there the idle wind of concupiscence fills everything.
Second, our translator fills out and explains the Hebrew thus: He desires, or wills, and not, supply and repeat, wills the soul of the sluggard. And this is more forceful; for the previous exposition already given touched upon the end and effect of the evil; but this touches its root and assigns the cause, meaning: The cause of sloth and laziness, and of all the evil that follows from it, is that the will of the slothful and lazy is languid and torpid, so much so that you do not know, indeed the person himself does not know, whether he wills or does not will; for because it is languid, it is barely felt, and it changes with the slightest impulse and suggestion, so that what he wills now he soon does not will. Hence it comes about that it is irresolute and wavering, and undertakes nothing, but is caught in perpetual consultation and deliberation, and concludes nothing; and like the pans of a scale, it now rises by willing, now sinks by not willing. Again, the sluggard wills, that is, he inefficaciously wishes for riches, wisdom, virtues; but he does not will absolutely and efficaciously: therefore in him there is only a velleity, not an absolute will: for he wills, that is, he would like the end; but he does not absolutely will to employ the means, namely the labor necessary for attaining the end. Hence some translate literally from the Hebrew: he wills and there is no spirit in the sluggard, which the Italians expressively say: Non gli basta l'animo, that is, his spirit does not suffice him; which our translator clearly renders: the sluggard wills and does not will, meaning: The sluggard wills feebly, and does not will efficaciously; hence he struggles with himself, now willing, now not willing; and in this vain balancing and struggle of the will he consumes all his time, and does not progress further to the pursuit of the thing desired: therefore he does not attain it; but the soul of the industrious, by working, pursues and attains the desired thing, and thus enjoys it and is enriched. The reason is that it is resolute and efficaciously wills what it wills, and therefore applies all labor opportune for attaining the thing, especially because the wisdom and virtue it desires is properly situated in the efficacious will. For virtue is nothing other than the love and desire of the honorable good. Therefore he who resolutely wills to be humble, patient, strong, temperate, etc., by this very fact at least in an incipient way becomes humble, patient, strong, temperate, etc., and is so reckoned before God.
Third, the Septuagint fills it out thus: he desires, and does not, supply, do anything else, the soul of the sluggard, meaning: He does nothing but desire. Hence they translate: in desires is (or, as the author of the Greek Catena has it: is tossed, thrown about, and fluctuates like the waves and surge of the sea) every idle person: every, properly; and every, that is, wholly, meaning: The idle and lazy person spends all his leisure in bare and barren desires, in these he expends and consumes his energies and his time; therefore nothing remains for him to spend on the work and labor necessary for attaining the desired thing. So also the Syriac says: at all times he lies in desires, he who does not do works; and St. Jerome on Ezekiel ch. 16, verse 49, on the words, Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance, and idleness: "In desires," he says, "is every soul of the idle; because namely something must always be done, lest the field of our breast, when the hand ceases, be filled with the thorns of evil thoughts."
Finally, for wills the Hebrew has מתאוה mitauue, from the root אוה aua, that is, to desire, to will, to long for. Now mitauue is a participle of the hitpael conjugation, which signifies a reflexive action, namely when the agent and the patient are the same, or when the agent acts upon himself and reflects his action back upon himself. Therefore mitauue means the same as desiring, exciting in himself desire and longing, willing within himself: one who namely does nothing externally, but turns the whole action of desiring and willing inwardly back upon himself, and does nothing else than will and desire, that is, to stir up and foster within himself the surges and waves of velleities and concupiscences. For the slothful and lazy are full of desires and longings, just as bellows are full of wind: hence they are not capable of work or any other solid thing.
BUT THE SOUL OF THE INDUSTRIOUS (in Hebrew הרוצים charutsim, that is, of the diligent, the industrious, the vigorous, as I said at ch. 12, verse 14. Hence the Chaldean translates: the soul of the strong; the Syriac: of the mighty; the Septuagint: but the hands of the strong are in diligence) SHALL BE ENRICHED, meaning: The vigorous and diligent, when they want and desire riches, wisdom, and virtues, do not deliberate long about what needs to be done, but immediately put their hand to the work, and by working strenuously prepare for themselves the riches and virtues they desire: therefore they are enriched by them, that is, they are filled, satisfied, and abound. Otherwise the Arabic: and the hand of the bold, he says, is in diligence.
Hear Bede, and from him the Gloss: "Rightly is one designated by the word sluggard who wants to reign with the Lord and not suffer for Him; rewards delight when they are promised, contests frighten when they are commanded; of whom James says: A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, James 1. And the son of Sirach: Woe to the sinner who walks the earth on two paths! Sirach 2. But those who carry out the commands of the Lord do so because their soul, perfected by heavenly sweetness, is refreshed, according to him who beseeches the Lord, saying: Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness, Psalm 62. Or certainly the soul of the industrious shall be enriched, because those who sweat in pious labors for the Lord will be endowed after their labors with a heavenly and unfading crown." Beautifully, the Angel, in the Lives of the Fathers, against the tedium of labor, suggests a pleasant alternation of occupations, which the Poet rendered thus in verse:
Now read, now pray, now labor with fervor: So the hour will be brief, and the labor itself light.
Therefore St. Jerome, in his letter to Rusticus, advises him to flee idleness as a plague: "Do some work," he says, "so that the devil may always find you occupied." And further: "Let books also be written, so that the hand may work for food, and the soul be satisfied with reading. For every idle person is in desires. The monasteries of the Egyptians maintain this custom, that they receive no one without work and labor, not so much for the necessity of sustenance as for the salvation of the soul, lest the mind wander in pernicious thoughts, and like the fornicating Jerusalem spread its legs to every passerby." Hence Abbot Abraham in Cassian, Conference 24, ch. 2, responded to certain persons who were revealing to him their temptation to revisit their parents under the appearance of piety: "The wandering of your desires proclaims the idleness of your hearts, etc.; and therefore I perceive that you are suffering from that sickness of idleness which is marked in Proverbs thus: Every idle person is in desires." See the same author, Book 10 On the Spirit of Sloth, ch. 21. Indeed, Pharaoh too attributed the desire of the Hebrews to leave Egypt to their idleness and sloth: "They are idle," he said, "and therefore they cry out, saying: Let us go," etc. Hence, cutting off the cause: "Let them be oppressed with labors," he said, "and let them fulfill them," Exodus 5:8.
Verse 5: The Just Shall Detest a Lying Word
In Hebrew: but the wicked man causes to stink and brings shame; the Chaldean: the wicked man causes to rot and to be reviled. Our translator, for the Hebrew יחפיר iachpir in the hiphil, that is, will cause shame and blushing, reads in the qal יחפור iachpor, that is, will blush, be confounded, be put to shame; or certainly he took the hiphil as standing for the qal, as sometimes happens among the Hebrews. So also the Septuagint, who accordingly translate: but the wicked man shall be confounded and shall not have freedom of speech; and the Syriac: he shall be confounded and blush; Pagninus: the just man will hate a lying word; but the wicked man will cause his works to rot and will bring shame upon his soul; the Arabic, finally: the just man hates the word of oppression, and the wicked man will be relaxed and will not have confidence.
For a lying word, the Septuagint translates: the just man hates an unjust word, which first, by metonymy customary in Scripture, you may take for an unjust thing or deed, meaning: The just man hates the unjust work which he sees or hears being committed by another, and he reproves and convicts it; but the wicked man dissimulates and connives, and so causes the evil to fester, that is, by repetition it tends toward the worse, and like a rotten thing it spreads shame from itself, which creates reproach, disgrace, and confusion.
Second, you may take lying word properly as a slanderous calumny or detraction, by which a false crime is imputed to another. For the just man abominates this: but the wicked man fabricates it, or fosters and praises it, and therefore confounds others and causes them to stink, that is, he afflicts them with shame as though with the stench of a ruined reputation; but finally, when the truth is discovered, the man himself, as a liar and slanderer, will be confounded, put to shame, and rejected. Hence St. Chrysostom, homily 32 to the People, compares detraction to the mire of pigs: "Do you not see," he says, "pigs eating and wallowing in muck? So too are these detractors. For what is more foul than the words that the insolent speak?" Indeed, he compares it to dung, in homily 5: "If someone," he says, "were to stir up dung as you passed by, would you not heap insult and abuse on the one doing it? Do the same with the detractor; for stirred-up dung does not strike the cartilage (of the nostrils) that receives its stench as much as others' sins shaken out and stirred up, and the impure life of others exposed, customarily saddens and disturbs the minds of those who hear."
Third, by lying word you may understand false praise and flattery, by which a false virtue or quality is attributed to someone through obsequious agreement. For this confounds and shames the one who is praised, when what he does not have is falsely attributed to him: and consequently, when the flattery is discovered, the flatterer himself will be put to shame and confounded.
Finally, by lying word you may understand any lie, deceit, or falsehood, especially that which is an injury to God or harmful to one's neighbor. For this is a mortal sin, and therefore the just man abominates it, as a lover and son of truth and virtue: for which reason he merits and obtains great honor and praise before God and men; but the wicked man loves lies, deceits, and tricks, because he is a hater of truth and justice, and therefore he merits shame and disgrace, and brings it upon himself.
The Philosophers support Solomon. Of Sixtus, or Sextus, the Pythagorean, in his Proverbs or Sentences, no. 153, this is the truthful saying: "It is better to be defeated while speaking the truth than to conquer while lying." And no. 158: "Nothing is so native to wisdom as truth." And no. 20: "Consider the best purification to be harming no one." And no. 33: "Let the world revere your life; admit nothing that would bring you a mark of dishonor." Aristotle, when asked what liars would gain, said: "That those who speak the truth will not be believed." So Laertius reports, Book 5, ch. 1. Cyrus's maxim was: "One must absolutely not lie. For an open lie is the greatest impediment to obtaining pardon." So Xenophon reports, Book 2 of the Education. Epaenetus, according to Plutarch in the Laconian Sayings, used to say that liars are the authors of all crimes and injuries. Finally, wise men, both Philosophers and Christians, universally reject Plato's paradox: "Falsehood should sometimes be used like hellebore. Lying should be permitted to physicians, but by no means to others." The common saying is: "Show me a liar, and I will show you a thief."
Verse 6: Justice Guards the Way of the Innocent
In Hebrew: justice guards the upright in the way, but wickedness deflects, or twists, or makes crooked, or perverts (for all these things are signified by סלף salaph) sin; the Zurich Bible: justice observes the upright way; but wickedness deflects toward sinning; Vatablus: wickedness overthrows the sinner, that is, he says, it frustrates his desire; Pagninus: justice guards the perfect one in the way; but wickedness will pervert the way of the sinner; the Septuagint: justice guards the innocent in the way; but sin makes them wicked, evil (depraved, perverse); Symmachus forcefully: but injustice attracts sin; the Chaldean: but the unjust man will be unstable because of sin; the Syriac: justice guards him who is innocent in the way; but the sinner is destroyed by his own crimes. All these come to the same thing, but they amplify the matter and sense. The sense therefore is, meaning: Justice guards the just man so that he always walks on the straight path of justice, and therefore protects and guards him from every evil both of fault and punishment: but wickedness, erring and wandering, makes one deviate and deflect from the path of reason and justice, and therefore the wicked man who follows it slips from one sin into another and another, so that he becomes worse day by day and liable to greater fault and punishment: therefore "the wickedness of sinners" (which namely causes the wicked man to slide continually from one sin into another, nor does he do anything but accumulate sins for himself — for peccatorum is a genitive from the nominative peccatum [sin], as is clear from the Hebrew הטאת chattat, not sinner) "overthrows" the wicked man, that is, tramples and presses him underfoot as one guilty of every fault and evil. Again R. Solomon: The sinner, he says, is called chattat, that is, sin, on account of his enormous wickedness, just as we call a notably wicked person a crime. Therefore wickedness "overthrows" the sinner, that is, it turns him upside down, throws him down, drives him sideways, so that he stumbles everywhere, and like a pig wallows in the mire of shameful deeds. And Aben-Ezra: Wickedness, he says, sin, that is, it overthrows one bound to sin, and drags him into crookedness. And R. Levi: The habit, he says, to which an upright man has become accustomed by living justly will preserve for him the rectitude of life which he displayed in individual matters; for he treads the path of integrity because of his attachment to justice, which he maintains most tenaciously. But it is otherwise with one who has become accustomed to wickedness; for by it he is overthrown and driven sideways from the things toward which he was tending, so that he cannot accomplish what he had intended in his mind. Thus we see sinners, after hearing sermons or admonitions, frequently feel compunction and propose to amend their lives, but by their ingrained habit of sinning, as soon as enticements are offered, they are immediately snatched toward them like horses to feed. For there is a chain of virtues, just as there is of vices: for just as in a chain the preceding link pulls the following one, so virtue pulls virtue, and wickedness pulls another wickedness.
This is what Origen says, homily 23 on Numbers: "From justice, justice is generated, and from chastity, chastity. For if anyone has first begun to be chaste even slightly, having received the leaven of chastity he becomes more chaste day by day." Hence St. Dominic, surnamed Loricatus (the Armored) from the iron corselet he wore against his bare flesh, when asked by what means he could perform such great penances of disciplines (which he performed through entire psalters daily), hair shirts, and fasts, replied that he had progressed gradually from lesser to greater, and therefore they had become easy for him: "For sleep entices sleep," he said, "vigils beget vigils, and whatever the human body is gradually nourished on, in that it is afterward strengthened through increments."
St. Basil, on ch. 9 of Isaiah, presents the simile of grass: For just as grass that is mowed or eaten by horses grows back, and one blade after another springs up: "So one sin," he says, "receives another as though born with it, step by step, as fornication follows fornication, and the very habituation to lying becomes the mother of lying; and he who has long exercised his mind in stealing now undertakes iniquity without any difficulty. For the sin that has already seized him becomes the occasion of another sin."
Another simile, that of the magnet, Bede presents in his sermon On the Nativity: "As a magnet," he says, "so sin draws to itself." Likewise, as an iron ring adhering to a magnet lifts another, and this in turn another, until there is a chain, so sins depend one upon another. A third simile is that of thread, string, and rope. For just as thread pulls thread, one part of string and rope pulls and embraces another; so likewise one virtue ties and draws another: and one vice interweaves another and draws it to itself, as Symmachus translates, according to Isaiah 5:18: "Woe to you who draw iniquity with the cords of vanity!" Where I said more on this matter.
Verse 7: One Man Is as It Were Rich
In Hebrew: there is one who enriches himself, and nothing is his; there is one who impoverishes himself, and much substance; the Septuagint: there are those who enrich themselves having nothing, and there are those who humble themselves in great riches; Symmachus: those who beg; Theodotion: πτωχοφανής, that is, one who appears a beggar, who presents the appearance of a beggar; the Chaldean: there is one who makes himself rich, and has nothing; there is one who makes his soul poor, and has much substance; the Syriac: there are those who enrich themselves and have nothing; there are those who make themselves poor and possess much.
First, R. Solomon, Aben-Ezra, and Cajetan expound it thus, meaning: There is one who by his own industry or fortune becomes rich, when previously he had nothing; and there is one who by his own laziness, imprudence, or misfortune falls into poverty, though he has many possessions and riches. Second, the same R. Solomon, meaning: There is one who becomes rich by theft, stealing goods from the poor, who finally, stripped of all riches, will fall back into his original poverty. Third, Hugo and others, meaning: The wealthy man, not content with his riches but insatiably desiring more, seems rich, that is, he appears rich; but he is not truly rich, since he has nothing, that is, he thinks he has nothing or little; or he has nothing because he does not have peace of mind to be content with his lot: for he who does not have that has nothing; conversely, the poor man, content with his meager lot, is in great riches: for it is not wealth that makes a man rich, but a mind for which what it has suffices, and which is calm and happy with its lot, according to the saying of the Poet:
Who is rich? He who desires nothing. And who is poor? The greedy man.
Hence St. Ambrose, Book 3, letter 25 to the Church of Vercelli: "But do you wish," he says, "to be rich? Be poor. Then you will be rich in all things, if you are poor in spirit. It is not wealth but the mind that makes one rich. There are those who humble themselves in great riches, and rightly and prudently. For the law of nature is sufficiently rich for all, for which you may quickly find what abounds. But for desires, all abundance of riches is poverty. In short, no one is born poor, but becomes poor. Poverty therefore belongs not to nature but to opinion; and so one is quickly found rich by nature's standard, but with difficulty by the standard of desire; for the more each person acquires, the more he thirsts, and he burns as it were with a certain intoxication of his desires." He then pursues and shows this at length, that the truly rich man is only the just and holy one who can say: "The Lord is my portion."
Fourth, others, according to Vatablus, translate: There are those who in the want of all things know how to be rich; there are those who, though they abound in immense wealth, know how to be frugal and poor. And to this sense, which is very apt, the Vulgate version can be expounded. For it is a matter of great prudence to show one's wealth and generosity at the right time; and conversely, when the time requires it, to spare expenses and show one's frugality. Such was Paul, who says: "I know both how to be humbled, I know also how to abound (everywhere and in all things I am instructed), and to be filled and to be hungry, and to abound and to suffer want," Philippians 4:12. The wise man therefore knows when to conduct himself as a poor man, and when as a rich man.
Fifth and genuinely, meaning: There are those who pretend to be rich when they have nothing; and conversely, there are those who pretend to be poor when they abound in riches. That this is the meaning is clear first, from the word quasi (as though), which signifies simulation and external appearance. Second, because in Hebrew it is מתעשר mitasser, that is, one who makes, feigns, simulates himself to be rich, and מתרושש mitrosces, that is, one who makes, feigns, simulates himself to be poor, when in reality he is not poor but rich. For both are of the hitpael conjugation, which often signifies to feign, simulate, or present oneself as. Third, because so translate the Septuagint, the Chaldean, the Syriac, and Theodotion, cited a little earlier, and Vatablus, Pagninus, R. Levi, and others.
This maxim means that a man should not easily be judged by external appearance, because it often deceives, since those who appear rich outside are poor at home, and vice versa. For the rich sometimes conduct themselves as poor, and the poor as rich, and this either from pride, or from avarice, or from prudence, or from humility and modesty, or some other virtue.
Moreover, this maxim is universal and can be applied to various particular cases: First, to nobles and the avaricious, meaning: There are nobles who, to maintain the dignity of their nobility, pretend to be rich, and therefore go about publicly attended by splendid garments and servants, when at home they hardly have bread to eat; conversely, there are rich people who abound in wealth but who, because they are avaricious, pretend to be poor, lest they be compelled to live splendidly, give alms, pay heavy taxes, etc. Second, to princes and commoners, meaning: There are kings and princes who appear rich when they have nothing, indeed are in heavy debt, because they spend the great wealth they have on public works, and especially on soldiers and armies; conversely, there are commoners who appear poor though they abound in wealth. So today we see kings and princes exhaust their treasury in wars, so that they are truly poor; conversely, commoners abound in wealth, and proportionally in their station and rank live better than kings and are more comfortable and wealthier.
Third, to the proud and the humble, and Solomon seems especially to mark these here, meaning: There are proud people who splendidly boast and display themselves and their possessions, as though they were rich, when in truth they have nothing or little; conversely, there are humble and modest people who, though they abound in wealth, modestly conceal it, so that they appear to be poor. In like manner, you may apply the same to the prudent and the imprudent; for the prudent conceal their wealth, the imprudent display it. Hence, Tropologically, you may turn this proverb against the arrogant who claim for themselves knowledge or virtue they do not have. Or against those who boast as though they were rich, because they are powerful in wealth, not in virtues. Hence the Author of the book On the Twelve Abuses, in volume 9 of St. Augustine: "The first abuse," he says, "is a wise man without works; the second, an old man without religion; the third, a youth without obedience; the fourth, a rich man without almsgiving; the fifth, a woman without modesty; the sixth, a lord without virtue; the seventh, a contentious Christian; the eighth, a proud poor man; the ninth, an unjust king; the tenth, a negligent bishop; the eleventh, a people without discipline; the twelfth, a nation without law." And to the eighth, namely the proud poor man, he applies this maxim of Solomon: "There is one who seems rich when he has nothing; and one who seems poor when he is in great riches. One who seems poor therefore in great riches," he says, "is the rich man humble in spirit; and one who has nothing yet seems rich is the poor man proud in the disposition of his mind. Therefore a noble poverty is humility of mind, and inept riches are the enormity of souls."
Again, Bede mystically applies this maxim to those who are rich in wealth but poor in good works, such as the rich man Dives, and to those who are poor in wealth but rich in virtues, such as Lazarus.
Cyril embellishes this maxim in Book 3 of the Moral Apologues, ch. 3, with the apt fable of the crocodile and the little bird, adorned with charming similes, under the title That the greedy, however much they have, are poor. A certain little bird, he says, having entered through the crocodile's mouth, tore its entrails and fatally wounded it: then having come out and flying away, to the crocodile who accused it of injury, it replied: "If justice, the friend of all, is common to all, certainly everyone who has harmed anyone is justly guilty. But you, depraved model of insatiable greed, have given yourself entirely to the abyss, since with mouth not closed but open you sleep as though never satisfied; and with a wider gape, flanked by the row of your teeth and armed with the enormity of your claws, although things to devour never fail you, because as long as your voracity is filled, you do not discern the quality of what you have seized. Therefore on account of your greed you justly lose your vital parts, so that just as you gave the form of wicked action, so you may bear it. Thus indeed the greedy man vomits more than he drains. For no one loses more than he who loses himself. For what is it that you possess, when avarice swallows you? Fire never says: Enough, nor was desire ever satisfied. Therefore the destruction of the heart is avarice, and it devours all possessions. An emptied stomach craves, and by the natural fire of the parched limb one hungers. An emptied space attracts, and with heat the chest of a feverish person thirsts all the more." Hence, concluding, he adds this moral: "Therefore greed is the poverty of the mind, and all the greater, the more avid its flame was. Diogenes, desiring nothing outside himself, scorned the world; but Alexander, possessing everything, desires still more: who then is richer? Is it not the one who scorned? For an overly full stomach belches, and then a river overflows when it floods its banks. You see therefore that to desire more is an unhappy poverty, but to desire nothing is supreme wealth? Having said this, their words ended with the crocodile's life."
Again, the rich man who has nothing is the wealthy person who has a wide domain but no or little use and enjoyment of it, either because he is a minor and ward, or because he is a spendthrift, or because his estates are encumbered with debt, or for a similar reason; but the poor man who has great riches is one who has little ownership but the use of many things, as are Religious who "have nothing and yet possess all things." Expounded in this way, the proverb has the character of a riddle.
Bede continues: "That rich man," he says, "seemed wealthy to himself, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day; but because he did not have God, he discovered in the end that what he had was nothing. Hence it was said of such people: They have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands. On the contrary, Lazarus appeared poor, who lay at his gate full of sores; but he was in great riches, because he had the virtue of humility, because he carried in his heart the Creator of all riches, namely God." Bede borrowed this from St. Augustine, sermon 212 On the Seasons, where he treats this saying and the following one at length, and among other things says: "There are those who pretend to be rich when they are poor, that is, they appear just when they are wicked, etc.; they want to appear just when in the chamber of their conscience they do not have the gold of justice. And those who are full are the more humble, the richer they are, of whom it is said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Gold gleams, but faith gleams more." And of these he said a little before: "There are the rich in heart, the rich full of strength, fat with piety, abounding in charity; they are rich within themselves, they are rich interiorly." And throughout the whole sermon he teaches that true riches consist in an abundance not of gold, but of faith and virtues. Hence after the beginning he says: "But the disease of riches is great pride. For it is a great mind that among riches is not tempted by this disease. Greater than his riches is the mind that conquers them not by desiring but by despising. Great therefore is the rich man who does not think himself great because he is rich. But he who thinks himself great for that reason is proud and needy. He bursts in the flesh, but begs in the heart; he is puffed up, not full." And further: "All good believers are therefore rich. Let no one despise himself, poor in his room, rich in his conscience. For one who is rich in conscience sleeps more securely on the ground than the rich man in purple. There malicious anxiety does not disturb a contrite heart. Keep the riches in your heart which the poverty of your Lord has conferred upon you. Indeed, employ Him Himself as your guardian; lest what He gave perish from the heart, let Him who gave it preserve it. Therefore all good believers are rich, but not rich of this world. Finally, they themselves do not even feel their riches; they will feel them hereafter."
Verse 8: The Ransom of a Man's Life Is His Riches
For ransom, the Hebrew has copher, which Cajetan translates as price, and gives the sense, meaning: A man's riches are his price; we value a man as much as he is wealthy: for the common people place all dignity in wealth and esteem each person according to his riches; conversely, the poor man is so abject and of so little worth that he is not even admitted to hear a rebuke, but is repelled from the sight and conversation of men as refuse. But copher properly does not signify price, but ransom, expiation, satisfaction. Hence Symmachus and Theodotion translate, propitiation; the Septuagint: ransom; the Syriac: the salvation of a man is his riches. St. Jerome notes on Ezekiel ch. 18 that it is said significantly his own riches: "Lest," he says, "we turn bread sought from plunder and usury and another's loss into mercy."
Therefore first, St. Augustine, sermon 212 On the Seasons, expounds thus, meaning: Riches give a man courage and strength, so that he delights in whatever adversities befall him: for from these riches of his he can free and ransom himself; but the poor man is of a timid spirit and is struck down by any sharper rebuke; therefore he yields to the one who threatens, even so as to cooperate in his crime. "When," he says, "it is said to him by some powerful person: Say this word against my enemy, give false testimony so that I may oppress the one I wish; and he gives a gift. Perhaps he refuses, saying: I will not do it, I will not bring sin upon myself. But he refuses only until the rich man begins to threaten; for the poor man does not withstand threats," but yields and succumbs to them. To this is added the exposition of St. Jerome on chapter 22 of Ezekiel: "The poor man," he says, "does not endure rebuke, that is, injury or evil aimed at him," meaning: The poor man is easily oppressed by injuries and overthrown by threats of harm, and as the saying goes: "He who has nothing in his purse pays with his skin."
Second, others expound it thus, as if these words were said in praise of riches, meaning: Riches free and ransom the rich man from whatever evil befalls him; but the poor man does not endure rebuke, because before correction, as soon as he is accused, he is condemned, according to the saying of the Poet:
Judgment spares the crows and vexes the doves.
Third, the Rabbis in the Midrash Agadah say: These words pertain to the half-shekel that was commanded in the law for the ransom of the soul, Exodus 30:12; which the poor man was obliged to pay equally as the rich man, with the same debt, lest the poor man hear reproach and rebuke from the rich man boasting that he had a greater share in the common sacrifice of all.
Fourth and genuinely, Solomon here points out the advantage of riches and the advantage of poverty; and he prefers the latter to the former, meaning: Riches will bring the rich man this advantage, that if perhaps he falls into danger of his life, that is, of his person and existence, he can easily shake it off and ransom himself with gold, according to Ecclesiastes 7: "For as wisdom protects, so money protects." But the poor man often escapes rebuke, accusation, and lawsuits for this reason alone, that he is poor, namely that he does not have the wealth which accusers covet, to extort it by their charges. He gives the reason why there are those who want to appear rich and conversely those who want to appear poor, as I said in the preceding verse: namely, the rich want to appear so in order to ransom danger with gold; the poor, in order to avoid and escape danger by their poverty. So Aben-Ezra, Jansenius, Vatablus, and others. This sense is required by the Hebrew which has: and the poor man does not hear; the Syriac: does not receive rebuke.
Hear St. Chrysostom, in the Greek Catena: "What are you saying? What are you doing? Why do you extol money so highly? He did not say that just any money or riches have that power; but one's own, that is, those acquired by just labors, not seized by force or fraud: for those are not one's own. But a beggar does not endure threats. Is poverty then a bad thing? Or perhaps he wished to say what immediately follows? Behold, poverty is so secure and safe a thing that no one can even threaten a poor man with despoliation, much less despoil him; for how can anyone terrify one who has absolutely nothing? For such a life, as far as cares go, is utterly secure and free from worry. These words can also be referred to the fear of punishments; for those who are pressed by adverse fortune do not dread the threat of punishments." Here applies that saying of Theodoret, Oration 7 On Providence: "The poor man does not fear the clamor of the forum, nor dread the herald's voice, nor is he terrified by the stern countenance of the judge and his eyes breathing fire." And that of the Poet:
So that man is practically guilty from whom a legal victory could be profitable: the deeds of the powerless go unavenged.
And that:
The empty-handed traveler will sing before a robber.
So St. Hilarion, as St. Jerome testifies in his Life, when surrounded by robbers and asked by them: "What would you do," they said, "if robbers came to you?" replied: "A naked man does not fear robbers." And they: "Surely," they said, "you can be killed. I can be," he said, "I can be, and therefore I do not fear robbers, because I am prepared to die." And St. Francis, when similarly asked who he was, fearlessly replied: "I am the herald of the great God." And St. Martin, captured by bandits, declared that he feared absolutely nothing: "For I know," he said, "that God is more present in greater dangers, and helps more those who trust in Him." So Severus in his Life.
Mystically: "The ransom of a man's life is his riches," that is, his own riches, and therefore not temporal ones: for these are foreign and alien, not proper and domestic; but spiritual ones, namely virtues, about which St. Paul says: "That in all things you were made rich in Him, in all speech and knowledge," 1 Corinthians 1:5. So St. Jerome, in his letter to Lucinus: "We can indeed," he says, "understand riches that are not from another's property, not from plunder, according to the saying: Honor God from your labors; but better is the understanding that we recognize as our own riches the treasures (of virtues and good works) laid up in heaven, which no thief can dig under nor violent robber snatch away." And Bede: "But what true riches avail, and what true poverty does, he reveals by adding: The ransom of a man's life is his riches; but the poor man does not endure rebuke. Therefore whoever wishes his soul to be ransomed from future wrath, let him gather the riches of good works. For he who lacks such riches cannot endure the rebuke of the strict judge, about which the Psalmist petitions, saying: Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chastise me in Your fury. Otherwise the poor are not rebuked there by the Lord, but receive the blessing of eternal inheritance."
Moreover, above all other works, almsgiving is the ransom of the soul. Hence St. Chrysostom: "The rich man," he says, "receives wealth to the peril of his soul: therefore when he hoards it, he causes loss to his soul; but when he gives generously to the needy, he frees his soul. Because the ransom of one's own soul is riches." Finally, St. Jerome on ch. 2 of Galatians: "The poor man," he says, "does not endure threatening. For one who is poor in faith, poor in grace, not having spiritual riches, cannot hear the terror of future punishments;" and St. Ambrose in his Annotations on Exodus, ch. 30, to Justus: "The ransom of the soul," he says, "is mercy. For the ransom of a man's soul is his riches, by which mercy is indeed performed, which helps the poor at its own expense. Therefore faith is grace, grace is mercy, mercy is the ransom of the soul, which is expended as a drachma, that is, as the full price of a greater sum." Hence also that counsel of Daniel given to Nebuchadnezzar, ch. 4: "Redeem your sins with alms." The same St. Ambrose, Book 3, letter 25 to the Church of Vercelli: "The ransom of a man's life," he says, "is his riches, since he who gives to the poor ransoms his soul."
Verse 9: The Light of the Just Gives Joy
The Septuagint: light is always for the just, but the light of the wicked shall be extinguished; the Chaldean: the light of the just will exult, that is, will make both them and others exult. In Hebrew it is ישמח iismach in the qal, that is, it will rejoice, that is, it will cause to rejoice. For iismach is used in place of ישמח iesammach in the piel; and perhaps our translator read it thus: for the same letters are in both, with only the vowel points changed.
You may ask: what is this light? First, Aben-Ezra and Pagninus take it as the soul of the just man, which is called light because wisdom shines and lights the way for others. Hence Pagninus translates: the soul of the just, which is like a light, will rejoice; the soul of the wicked, which is like a lamp, will be extinguished. For the soul of the just man is similar to the light of the rising sun, which endures, indeed grows; but that of the wicked to a lamp, which lacks the firmness of light and is consumed, says Aben-Ezra. Second, Vatablus says: "Light" is understanding, about which Christ says, John 8: "He who follows Me does not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life;" but the understanding of the wicked will be extinguished, according to Luke 8: "Whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." For the just increase the light of reason and faith by cultivating it and living justly: but the wicked, by living unjustly, gradually diminish and extinguish it, according to that saying of St. Ambrose, Book 1 of On Abraham: "The pride of arrogance and the moisture of pleasure smothers that light which was implanted in man by God together with his mind."
Third, "light" is a symbol of joy; for the sun with its light cheers all. So the sense will be: As the risen sun cheers the world with its light, so the cheerful minds and faces of the just easily dispel the sorrows and troubles of this world, meaning: The serene and joyful mind of the just will make others joyful, or in his own light and pure conscience each of the just will be joyful; but the lamp of the wicked, that is, their joy and gladness, is vain and deceptive, and therefore quickly fades and vanishes. So the author of the Greek Catena.
Fourth, "light" is a symbol of prosperity and happiness, just as darkness is of adversity and unhappiness, meaning: The happiness of the just is solid and endures, because it is founded on justice, and therefore brings solid and clear joy both to themselves and to others: but the lamp, that is, the small and brief happiness of the wicked, is more quickly extinguished and perishes, especially when, as is their custom, they display it, and thus arouse envy and jealousy against themselves; for the envious and jealous often extinguish it. So Lyranus, Baynus, Salazar, and others. This sense is very apt.
Fifth, "light" is a symbol of fame, renown, and glory, meaning: The fame and glory of the pious is like a great light that illuminates, cheers, and gladdens all: but the lamp, that is, the brief and slight fame of the wicked, is immediately extinguished, and therefore cannot bring solid renown and joy.
Sixth and more sublimely, "light" is a symbol of doctrine, justice, virtue, and grace, which is heavenly and divine light, about which Christ says, Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven," meaning: The just, by their splendid doctrine and glorious life, and especially by their beneficence and alms both spiritual and corporal, illuminate and gladden all. Hence they are called by Christ "the light of the world," Matthew ch. 5. But the lamp, that is, the small doctrine, virtue, and glory of the wicked, which seems to shine in the night of this life and world, often in this life, and always after it, or when it is over, shall be extinguished, and at the dawning of the day of eternity and heavenly glory, like stars at the rising of the sun, shall set and vanish. He alludes to Job 18:5: "Shall not the light of the wicked be extinguished, nor the flame of his fire shine? The light will grow dark in his tent, and the lamp that is over him will be extinguished." The Septuagint suggest this sense, when after this verse by way of explanation they add this verse, which is not in the Hebrew: "Deceitful souls go astray in sins; but the just are merciful and show mercy," which our translator places below and connects to verse 13. So the anonymous author in the Greek Catena.
Note: The wisdom, virtue, dignity, joy, and happiness of the just is compared to אור or, that is, to a broad light, such as that of the sun, because it is solid, vast, continuous, stable, and diffusing itself through all parts of the world, according to Proverbs 4:18: "But the path of the just, like a shining light, proceeds and grows to the perfect day." See what is said there. Such was the light of Christ, who was the sun of the universe, about whom Psalm 18:7 says: "He exulted like a giant to run the course; from the highest heaven is His going forth, and His circuit to the end of it, nor is there anyone who can hide from His heat." Hence Aben-Ezra: "The light of the just," he says, "is similar to the light of the world to come" (indeed it begins it and ends in it, according to Psalm 35:10: "For with You is the fountain of life, and in Your light," namely in the light of glory, "we shall see light"), or to the splendor of salvation, according to Isaiah ch. 9, verse 2: "For those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen for them." Finally, the or of the just is אור ur, that is, fire, namely brightness and zeal, by which they inflame others with the love of God. But truly the wisdom, virtue, joy, and prosperity of the wicked is compared to a lamp, because it is unstable, small, brief, cold, evanescent, and is extinguished by the slightest adverse wind blowing.
Note secondly the antithesis: for the word makes glad is opposed by metalepsis to shall be extinguished; for the light of the just, because it solidly endures, grows, and increases, therefore makes glad both themselves and others: but the lamp of the wicked, because it is immediately diminished and extinguished, therefore cannot bring solid joy, but only shadowy and deceptive joy, which as it vanishes ends and terminates in even greater grief and sorrow. Such is the light, that is, the doctrine and splendor of heretics, hypocrites, the fraudulent, liars, etc., which, once the heresy, hypocrisy, fraud, or lie is detected, immediately vanishes. Again, the light of the just makes glad, or, as the Hebrew has it, rejoices, that is, it is joyful, ample, bright, because it is daily intensified and becomes more brilliant: but the lamp of the wicked languishes as though sad, and like a lamp whose oil is running out, dies and is extinguished. Hence our Salazar: "The light of the just makes glad," he says, that is, it increases; but the lamp of the wicked decreases and is extinguished: thus a joyful crop is called great, increased, and ample. So the Hebrews call a great palm a palm שוחק schocek, that is, laughing and joyful; but a small palm they call a palm עצב atseb, that is, sad and sorrowful. So in ch. 10, verse 1, it is said: "A wise son makes glad his father:" makes glad, that is, magnifies and makes great. For joy gives increase and life to things, but sadness decrease and destruction.
Morally, our Alvarez de Paz, Book 3 of On Perfection, part 2, ch. 14, says: Light, that is, the life and conduct of the just, gladdens God, the Angels, and men: God, to whom they show the purest honor; the Angels, whose disciples and imitators they show themselves to be; men, whom they teach the holiness of life and the perfection of good works. If perfect men pray, they pray with such fervor of spirit, such reverence and fear, such confidence and love, that they seem not so much frail men as certain earthly angels. If, compelled by necessity or charity, they speak, they speak with such circumspection and modesty that they allow nothing idle, nothing gloomy, nothing harsh to their hearers to proceed from their mouth. If they sustain the body with food and drink, they maintain such abstinence and sobriety, they restrain their appetite with such strictness, that knowingly they do not exceed the measure of temperance even in the slightest. If they do anything else, they act so as not to abandon the circumstances of a good and perfect action: for they are like the most skilled artisans of virtue and the wisest painters, who do not allow any unpolished or less decorous work to leave their hands. For Thomas Aquinas, explaining by what reasoning God does all things well, exhorts us to His imitation with almost these words: Likewise we too ought to apply diligence, so that we may do each of our works, as best we ever can, from every virtue of the Lord Jesus Christ, and with every desire of the Church triumphant and militant, and under the name of the Creator, as if our whole salvation, and all the praise of God, and the benefit of the whole universe depended on one work, as if we were never going to return to that work, nor ever going to begin another work afterward. So says he.
Verse 10: Among the Proud There Are Always Quarrels
In Hebrew: only in pride (the proud man) gives strife, and with those who are counseled is wisdom. The Septuagint: the evil man acts evil things with insult; but those who are knowers of themselves (they seem to have read יודעים iodeim, that is, knowers, whereas our translator and others read נועצים noatsim, that is, counseled or counselors) are wise. The Syriac follows the Septuagint as usual: the evil man, he says, works evil with insult; Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, whom Lucifer of Cagliari follows in the Apology for St. Athanasius, and St. Jerome against Rufinus: the evil man in pride gives battle; Theodotion continues: and in those who employ counsel is wisdom; the Chaldean: yet in pride comes contention, and those who take counsel are wise; the Zurich Bible: arrogant rashness excites nothing but quarrels, but with those who take counsel is wisdom, that is, as Vatablus says, it is peculiar to the proud man to stir up strife, etc.
The sense is, meaning: Pride causes the proud to constantly litigate and quarrel; for it causes each person to want to surpass another, and to be considered wiser and more honored than him: therefore in a council the proud man wants his opinion preferred to the judgment of all others, and does not tolerate yielding to anyone, even one who is wiser; hence strife and quarrels. But truly "he who is a knower of himself," as the Septuagint translates, that is, one who is conscious of his own weakness and ignorance, willingly hears the counsel of others, prefers it to his own, and acquiesces in it; therefore he has no quarrels, no discord, but peace with all, and conducts affairs prudently and successfully, and therefore is wise. Hence we see among heretics as many quarrels, as many sects as there are heads. Hear St. Augustine, On the Shepherds on ch. 34 of Ezekiel, 10: "One sect," he says, "is in Africa, another heresy in the East, another in Egypt, another in Mesopotamia, for example: in different places there are different ones, but one mother, pride, has begotten them all; nor is it surprising that pride begets dissension: for this is her own genuine offspring." The same, letter 120 to Honoratus, explaining Psalm 21: "And from the horns of the unicorns my humility: By unicorns," he says, "the proud are understood, because pride hates all fellowship."
The antithesis here is again obscure; it would be clear if he had said: "Among the proud there are always quarrels, but among the humble concord and peace always flourish;" but in his usual manner, through metalepsis and metonymy, he wished to teach that the companion and effect of humility is the hearing and following of counsel, and equally so the wisdom of concord and peace. For the reason there are quarrels among the proud is that they refuse to hear and follow the sound counsel of others, and for both reasons they are foolish; for it is the mark of fools to quarrel, just as it is to follow their own proud and foolish brain. On the contrary, among the humble peace prevails, because they willingly hear and follow the judgments of others, and for both reasons they are wise. For true wisdom is humility, and the knowledge and abasement of oneself. Hence that wisest oracle of the Delphic Apollo: γνώθι σεαυτόν, that is, know yourself. Hence again, true wisdom is not to rely on one's own judgment, but to do all things with the counsel of wise men. Pride therefore is the cause of quarrels, dissensions, schisms, heresies, lawsuits, wars: but humility is the cause and mother of concord, peace, union, and charity. This is what the Hebrew means, which has: truly, or only in pride (the proud man) gives strife: in pride, that is, on account of pride; for from pride and arrogance alone dissension and quarrel arise, says R. Solomon; but with those who act with deliberation, wisdom is, because wisdom professes to dwell in counsel, Proverbs 8:12: "I, Wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present among learned thoughts." So also Aben-Ezra: "It signifies," he says, "that from arrogance quarrels arise; but those who take counsel, lest they conduct themselves proudly, with them is wisdom." Examples are found in the civil wars of the Romans and Greeks, which had their origin in ambition; such as those of Sulla and Marius, of Caesar and Pompey, of Augustus and Antony, of the Antiochi and the Seleucids, propagated to their descendants in continuous succession for 150 and more years.
Verse 11: Hastily Gathered Substance Shall Be Diminished
In Hebrew: riches from vanity shall be diminished, but he who gathers by hand shall increase, supply, his riches. Hence he who always gathers and takes care of and preserves what he has collected, increases them.
First, R. Levi expounds it thus: Riches that are heaped up from vain things shall be greatly diminished, because vain and fragile things are easily broken and vanish. I saw at Louvain a certain man who was spending his wealth on making glass cups and vessels, in order to sell them at a high price elsewhere, and when he had loaded a cart with them, it struck a rock on the road and overturned, and he smashed and shattered all the glass against the stones: thus from a rich man he suddenly became a poor man.
Second, Cajetan refers the phrase from vanity to shall be diminished, not to substance, meaning: Substance that is spent on vain things will be diminished through this vanity: because the master devotes himself to parties, banquets, splendid clothes, horses, servants, carriages, and other vanities; but he who gathers by hand, that is, who preserves his wealth and multiplies it by working with his hands, will increase it.
Third, others, meaning: Substance from vanity, that is, which is collected casually and superficially, shall be diminished. So R. Solomon: He who pursues his studies, he says, in a heaped-up and desultory fashion, shall be diminished, that is, he will gradually consign them to oblivion.
Fourth, the same Cajetan, and following him our Salazar: "Substance," he says, "from vanity shall be diminished;" Symmachus: from emptiness, that is, which cost its possessor no labor or industry, because he either received it from ancestors or obtained it by some sudden fortune. And indeed our translator (in my opinion) called this hastily acquired, accelerated, or sudden substance, which someone suddenly received without his own industry or labor. This therefore will be diminished, because a person values less the riches he obtained without labor, and therefore squanders them recklessly. But what is gathered little by little by hand shall be multiplied: namely that substance which over a long time is acquired by hand, that is, by labor and one's own industry, is not recklessly spent, but rather is daily increased. For he who acquired it in that way values it very highly, and therefore spends sparingly, and takes care to increase it more abundantly each day. Here applies that saying of the Trevirian: "The air," he says, "which early in the morning prematurely raises mist and clouds, generally sends abundant rain by lunchtime: so sons do not usually retain what fathers have hoarded avariciously," namely they squander and waste the patrimonies avariciously accumulated by their fathers.
Fifth and genuinely: substance from vanity, that is, acquired by vain and wicked methods and arts, such as magic, usury, plunder, fraud, etc., shall be diminished: because, with God as avenger, it will fly from the unjust and violent possessor to another, either just or less unjust; but what is gathered by hand, that is, by just, vigorous, and continuous labor of the hands, shall be multiplied. Our translator rendered it hastily acquired, that is, acquired in haste, because what is so acquired is usually scraped together by illicit means, right or wrong. In addition, it seems our translator read מבהל mebohal, that is, hastily acquired, instead of מהבל mehebel, that is, from vanity, by metathesis. So also the Septuagint, who however seem to have read both, namely with an elegant paronomasia in this way: חוץ מהבל מבהל hon mehebel mebohal, that is, as they translate, substance ἐπισπουδαζομένη μετ' ἀνομίας, that is, hastily acquired with iniquity, becomes less; but he who gathers with piety shall be filled. The Septuagint adds: the just man has mercy and lends; and the Chaldean: wealth acquired by the iniquity (the Syriac: from the iniquity) of the possessor shall be diminished, and he who gathers and gives to the poor (the Syriac: but what is justly accumulated) shall be multiplied. In addition, the reading mebohal rather than mehebel is found in ch. 20, verse 21, where the sense is nearly the same: "An inheritance," he says, "to which one hastens (in Hebrew, mebohelet) in the beginning, in the end will lack a blessing." So Aben-Ezra, the Author of the Greek Catena, Lyranus, Jansenius, and others explain it. The Philosophers agree. Menander:
Never did a just man become rich quickly.
To this referred the one who said to Sulla when he was boasting: "How can you be a good man when you possess such great wealth, when nothing was left to you by your father?" So Plutarch in the Life of Sulla. It is a maxim of Quintilian, Book 10, ch. 3: "Nature herself wished nothing great to be accomplished quickly, and placed difficulty before every most beautiful work; she made this law of birth as well, that the larger animals should be contained longer in the womb of their parents."
Moreover, the reason why riches quickly collected quickly dissipate, while those gathered gradually endure, is first the one I already stated, namely that riches quickly collected are often acquired through usury, plunder, fraud, or other crimes. And what is ill-gotten is ill-spent. Second, that riches quickly collected are collected precipitously and recklessly without consideration and prudence. Hence the Hebrew mebohal signifies haste with precipitousness and rashness; and what one scrapes together recklessly and imprudently is easily liable to some tax, tribute, mortgage, obligation, or other burden or defect, which when later discovered diminishes or takes away the riches themselves. Again, this precipitousness causes the collected riches not to be secured and preserved with sufficient prudence; therefore they are easily snatched or overturned either by man or by some accident. But he who gathers riches gradually does so prudently, and therefore makes them firm and stable for himself. Third, that riches quickly and easily collected are spent lavishly and liberally, indeed squandered; but he who prepares riches gradually with labor spends them sparingly, and strives daily to add something to them and accumulate more. Finally, the saying is well-known: "What comes quickly, perishes quickly."
Moreover, this maxim applies not only to temporal riches, but also to spiritual ones. For thus we see those who hastily strive to become learned, and therefore simultaneously study Grammar, Rhetoric, and Philosophy (which happened to our Holy Father Ignatius at the beginning of his conversion), make little or no progress, and waste their time. Again, we see those who want to quickly become perfect in virtue through immoderate fervor fail to attain it, because that fervor quickly cools: hence such people quickly abandon what they suddenly embraced. On the contrary, virtue and knowledge that is gradually acquired by moderate and continuous study, through humility and scholastic exercises, grows and endures.
Hence some translate the Greek ἐπισπουδαζομένη as: effervescent substance shall be diminished. For, as Plutarch aptly says in his Moralia, those premature and tumultuous increases of wealth, knowledge, and virtue are similar to milk or water boiling over a fire and bubbling, of which the greater part passes off into foam and vapor, and spills over the rim of the pot; the rest, as soon as it is taken from the fire, subsides and appears diminished and consumed; just as therefore milk, more than other liquids, is raised by heat, and by the same heat is consumed and depressed: so too the untimely fervor of Novices raises them up, but also weakens and consumes the powers both of mind and of head and body, and so will depress and prostrate them into greater dejection of spirit, so that they suddenly become as languid and torpid as they had been vigorous and fervent a little before.
The type and symbol of this untimely fervor is the Maurusian donkey, whose running, as Aelian writes, Book 14 of On Animals, ch. 10, is at first extremely swift: you would say it flies, not runs; but this fervor immediately cools, and its speed degenerates into the greatest slowness. In a similar way, those with ardent beginnings often burn at the start, grow tepid in the middle, and are cold at the end: which means that those who conduct themselves thus never arrive at solid wisdom and virtue, for which perseverance is most especially needed. Lucretius gives the reason, in Book 4 of On the Nature of Things, saying:
For however lightly what is frequently struck by a blow, It is nevertheless overcome in the long run and gives way. Do you not see that even drops of moisture falling on rocks Pierce the rocks in the long space of time?
Hence the well-known saying: "Make haste slowly," whose symbol is a dolphin entwined around an anchor, which was the emblem of the Emperors Augustus and Titus. Here applies that saying of Accius in Chrysippus:
It is a greater crime to have been too hasty than too slow.
Again, the symbol of premature growth is the willow tree, so called because it grows into branches and leaves with such speed that it seems to leap (salire), says Verrius (although Festus Pompeius gives the willow a different etymology); but soon with the same speed the willow sheds its leaves in autumn, and its branches are cut off. So Pierius, Hieroglyphics 32, ch. 29.
A symbol of the same is a gourd embracing a pine tree with this motto: "What is quickly born quickly perishes." And an eagle standing upon a tortoise, about which the Poet says:
Beware of being both too slow and too hasty. Wise is he who in everything holds the middle course.
Hear Thucydides: "Two things are most opposed to right judgment: anger and haste." Hear also the Comic poet:
The more brightly the fire has shone, the more quickly it is extinguished. What is born quickly cannot be famous. What is known cannot be both long-lasting and precocious. Things obtained do not endure when they have reached their end so soon. Speed is one thing, maturity another. Nature wished nothing great to be made quickly. The hasty bitch gives birth to blind puppies. What is done well is done quickly enough. Fortune rapidly destroys the one it rapidly raises up. Haste is forgetful and not sufficiently in possession of itself. The more you hurry, the more slowly you accomplish the thing.
Tacitus says excellently, Book 3 of the Annals, ch. 66: "Haste has ruined many good men, who, scorning what comes slowly with security, rush prematurely even to their ruin." Here applies the fable of the gourd that grew quickly and the olive tree that grew slowly. For the olive tree marveled that a gourd born next to it had grown in a short time to be far taller than itself, which had remained for many years in the same place. But when, as winter approached, the gourd dried up: "One need not envy," said the olive tree, "those that grow quickly, for whom destruction is prepared just as quickly." This fable signifies that things done too hastily are not long-lasting.
A similar fable of the gourd and the palm tree exists in Cyril, Book 3 of the Moral Apologues, ch. 14: "A gourd," he says, "sprang up next to a palm tree, having a root by no means firm, and in a few days was raised on high, and equaling the very ancient palm tree with its faster growth, it proposed, saying: Sister palm, how old are you? To which the palm replied: A hundred years. Then the gourd, rejoicing that it had grown more quickly, said gratefully to nature: Thank you for giving me a day instead of a year; for what the palm received in a year, the day has given to me. Then the palm, in order to humble its pride, is reported to have said: You are rightly a gourd, since you have a curved judgment. For if you judged soundly, you would observe that nature, disposing all things with admirable regularity, measures the periods of duration according to the modes of growth." He proves this with an a priori argument, which he confirms with the example of the ephemeral fish, the elephant, and the torrent: "For indeed what grows quickly declines quickly; and what grows gradually lasts long. The ephemeral fish, growing with sudden increases, dies on the same day it is born; and the elephant reaches the limit of three hundred years because it did not have rapid growth. A rapid torrent is quickly consumed, but a slow one with moderate pace lasts longer. It is better therefore to grow little by little and live very long than to outgrow more quickly and be finished by desiccation all the sooner." Hence he adds the late repentance of the gourd, saying: "Having heard these things not without distress, the gourd, sighing, said: Who taught you this? To which the palm replied: The antiquity of my certain slowness; for in the ancients is wisdom. Then, with a hidden sadness arising in it, the gourd, instructed by the palm's learned words to its own disadvantage and others' benefit, exclaimed with tears and said: O the all-too-unhappy rapacity of desire and its violent root! O the most happy moderation of equity! For what violent rapacity quickly devours is poured out after a little while; but what equity gradually acquires never fails, because the foundation of justice endures forever. Having said these things, it fell silent."
Verse 12: Hope That Is Deferred Afflicts the Soul
First, Baynus judges that here the hope of temporal goods is compared and opposed to the hope of spiritual and eternal goods: because the former, being perishable and vain, is always deferred and never comes, and so deceives and torments those who hope; but the latter, being stable and true, comes at once: both because the eternal goods we hope for are held, as it were, in the hand by a certain hope; and because they will arrive when they are to be shortly held and possessed: therefore this hope, like a tree of life, nourishes and delights the soul. Hence St. Gregory says: "Hope raises the mind to eternity, and therefore does not feel any external evils that it endures." And Origen, homily 9 on Exodus: "The hope of future things produces rest and consolation for those who labor, just as for those in a contest the hope of the crown soothes the pain of wounds. The Apostle shows this with many examples in Hebrews, throughout ch. 11, as I showed there. Therefore the promises of God, like His gifts, are golden and jeweled: on the contrary, the promises of the world are golden, but the hope and reality are of glass; for the world promises a gem, when it scarcely delivers crystal.
Second, the Septuagint of the Complutensian edition renders this verse thus: the just man has mercy and lends; but a good or honorable desire is a tree of life, because just as from the tree of life the finest fruits were born, which prolonged a man's life: so from good desire good works are born, by which the just man, through showing mercy and lending, imparts life to others. But the Roman Septuagint has it thus: better is he who begins to help from the heart than he who promises and leads into hope; a tree of life is good desire; and the Syriac: better is he who begins to help than he who keeps hope in suspense; and the Chaldean: better is he who casts his sickle than he who hangs in hope. But I believe, says Giggeius, that there is an error, and that instead of משרי demisde, that is, who casts, one should read דמשרי demisre, that is, who begins. Hence you may translate thus: better is one who begins (to help, as the Septuagint and Syriac translate) than one who hangs in hope.
Therefore, from those versions our Salazar explains the Vulgate thus: "Better is he who begins to help from the heart," that is, far more welcome will be the one who immediately and promptly from the heart begins to do good and to provide assistance to his neighbor, than the one who, promising great things, torments the mind of the recipient with prolonged hope. He adds moreover: "A tree of life is desire fulfilled," that is, the desired thing, not indeed delayed but coming quickly into the hands of the one who desires it, is similar to a tree of life. Here applies the saying: "He who gives quickly gives twice." And: "He who bestows quickly upon the needy doubles the benefit." The author of the Greek Catena thus clearly translates and explains the Septuagint: "Better is he who helps from the heart and in reality, and begins to help, than he who promises to help and raises a hope of assistance. It is a fine thing to begin virtue in good time, and not to beguile God and men with vain hope by waiting from day to day. For he who hopes that tomorrow he will make a beginning is utterly ignorant of what the next day will bring. For this is what it means when it says: He who begins to help from the heart." This sense is true and fitting, but too narrow: for it does not fully match or exhaust the whole force of the sentence. Hence, third, fully and adequately: "Hope" is used metonymically for any desired thing, as is also common elsewhere. So it is said in Romans 8:24: "Hope (that is, the thing hoped for) that is seen is not hope." Hence the Apostle, explaining, adds: "For what a man sees, why does he hope for it?" And so the sense is, says Jansenius: When any thing that is hoped for, whether from a man, or from an angel, or from the weather, or from another creature, or from God, is deferred, this delay distresses and torments the mind; but when the thing long or greatly desired arrives for the one who desires it, then it nourishes, delights, cheers, and strengthens him like a tree of life. For just as the fruit of the tree of life would have restored, refreshed, and returned to its former vigor the strength and heart of a man growing old with age, weakened and languishing: so precisely when someone obtains and enjoys a thing greatly desired, for the desire of which he had been languishing, he is refreshed, cheered, restored to health, and strengthened by it. Hence in the Hebrew the antithesis is clearer; for it has: protracted hope is languor and sickness of the heart. For to the weakness of the heart, says Jansenius, the tree of life is aptly opposed, whose function is to vivify and heal its weakness. It is signified therefore that protracted hope makes the heart and spirit of a man languid, so that he is impeded from most of his functions, and does not care to live; conversely, from the presence of things that are desired, the heart and spirit are vivified, strengthened, and cheered, no less than if someone had eaten from the fruit of the tree of life that was in paradise. Hence Vatablus clearly translates: delayed expectation wastes the heart; but when what is desired comes, it is like a tree of life; the Chaldean: a tree of life is (he who) brings the desire, meaning: As welcome as the tree of life was, so welcome is he who brings and presents the desired thing.
Parallel to this sentence are the maxims of the Philosophers. Of Publilius Syrus: "Even speed in desire is delay." Of Epictetus: "What is the longest thing? Hope. What is hope? Sleep for the waking, an uncertain outcome for the waiting." Of Seneca: "When the wait is longer, the spirit grows old and the mind is weakened." Of the Comic poet: "Any delay is hateful to one who desires. The nearness of the absent person sharpens desire. After hope, every desire is most impatient." Of Nazarius, in his oration for the Emperor Constantine: "The desires of souls are burning when they have lost the consolation of things hidden." Of Symmachus, Book 3, letter 46: "Grievous is the thirst for good things, for which only the constancy of enjoyment provides a remedy." So Jacob languished with desire for Rachel, and served her father Laban for seven years: "And they seemed to him but a few days because of the greatness of his love," Genesis 29:20. So the bride, languishing with love and desire for the bridegroom: "Support me," she says, "with flowers, surround me with apples, for I am sick with love."
Holy men experience this, who yearn for heaven so as to enjoy God and Christ; about whom the Apostle says, Romans 8:22: "We know that every creature groans and is in labor even until now. And not only it, but we ourselves also, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, awaiting the adoption of the children of God, the redemption of our body." And ch. 7, verse 24: "Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" And Philippians 1:23: "Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Where I said much on this subject.
Hence Bede explains this passage concerning the desire for heavenly glory thus: "Hope that is deferred afflicts the soul; a tree of life is desire fulfilled. Because indeed," he says, "as long as the hope of eternal things is deferred, the soul of the faithful is afflicted, either for the delay of the goods it loves, or for the infliction of the evils it endures. But when what it desires has come, it easily forgets what it had endured, because it begins to live eternally with its Redeemer, whom it sought with its whole intention; for He is the tree of life for those who embrace Him."
So the Blessed Virgin insatiably desired to depart from this life so as to enjoy her Christ, and this desire made her languish and gradually consumed her; and therefore Francis Suarez, Ribadeneira, and other theologians judge that she died not from disease but from this desire.
So the souls of the fathers in limbo, and especially of Adam, Eve, Seth, Enos, etc., who for three thousand years in the limbo of hell awaited the coming of Christ who would free them from there, were afflicted by this long expectation. Hence they cried out continually: "Drop down dew, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One; let the earth be opened and bud forth the Savior," Isaiah 45:8. So souls in purgatory, besides the fire and the pain of sense, are wonderfully tormented by the pain of loss, namely the desire for the hoped-for but delayed beatitude and vision of God; and indeed among them there are some whose purgatory consists not of fire or any other sensible pain, but solely of desire and expectation, by which they languish and are tormented, because they clearly perceive how great and how desirable is the good they await, from which they are delayed on account of their own fault. Hence from the apparitions of souls it is established that by this purgatory of expectation, among other things, those souls are tormented who were more loving of this life, and therefore departed from it more slowly, and less eagerly desired death and the heavenly homeland.
That is to say: He who despises the evil threatening him closely, and does not endeavor to take counsel on how to ward it off, will therefore undergo destruction and suffer extreme consequences; but he who fears and observes the precepts of God will enjoy peace, despising the evils threatening him, because he has placed his hope in God.
Second, Baynus takes "the thing" to mean household affairs, as if to say: He who neglects the care of his household will suffer its loss.
Third, and most genuinely, by "the thing" we should understand a good and honorable thing commanded or approved by the law of God, namely an honorable work or act of any virtue. For the antithesis demands this, as if you were to say: He who despises or disparages a good thing approved by the law, namely virtue, binds himself to judgment, that is, to condemnation, to the wrath and vengeance of God; but he who fears the commandment and observes the things commanded therein will dwell in peace. And thus this sense coincides with the Hebrew according to the third sense assigned a little earlier. So Baynus. The meaning, he says, is as if to say: He who disparages sacred things by criticizing what has been ordained by God, or who detracts and speaks against good people, having transgressed God's commandment and dissolving peace among men, will be liable and bound to the penalty established by the law or by God for transgressors. On the contrary, he who, observing God's commandment, loves his neighbor and everything honorable, has peace with God and with men, according to that verse of Psalm 118: "Great peace have those who love Your law."
The author of the Greek Catena contributes to this, who in the Septuagint, reading τάγμα (that is, order, ordinance, commandment) instead of πρᾶγμα (that is, thing), translates thus: he who despises the commandment will in turn be despised by it; but he who reverences the commandment is endowed with a sound mind. And he explains it thus, as if to say: "He who despises virtue and patronizes malice receives like for like, because in turn he will be despised by it; and he will be entangled in it, and not unjustly, for the nature of the thing demands this" — as if to say: Virtue despises the one who despises it; conversely, virtue honors and protects the one who honors and observes it, and heaps upon him peace, that is, prosperity, abundance of things, and every good, and blesses him.
However, this maxim can also be extended to an evil thing and turned against detractors who criticize the faults of their neighbors. Thus Lyranus: "He who," he says, "disparages any thing by vituperating it, binds himself for the future to not commending it, because he would otherwise dishonorably contradict his own word. But he who fears the commandment, that is, the transgression of the divine commandment, will dwell in peace, namely in a threefold peace: first, in internal peace as regards conscience; second, in fraternal peace, because he acts justly with his neighbor; third, in heavenly peace, because he ultimately attains glory." So far Lyranus. And Jansenius says: He who speaks ill of any thing, whether it be good or bad, binds himself for the future, because if he speaks ill of a good thing, he makes himself liable to punishment and condemnation. But if he speaks ill of an evil thing, he binds himself all the more to avoid that evil, lest what he blamed in another, he afterwards be justly reproved for on the same account, according to that saying: "You who preach not to steal, do you steal?" (Romans 2). Beda expounds it in much the same way. But it would be simpler, and more fitting to the latter part, if it is understood only of the disparagement of a good thing, to which properly the term "detraction" applies; for he who disparages it binds himself for the future to a penalty, reproof, or defense, by which obligation he throws himself into great perplexity and disturbance of mind. On the contrary, he who fears the divine commandment, by which both detraction is forbidden and what each person ought to do is determined, will both here dwell in peace of conscience and tranquility of mind, and will also have peace with men, and in the world to come will enjoy eternal and unshakable peace. For those who are curious investigators and detractors of others' lives cannot have peace of mind; but he who, according to the Apostle's precept, tests his own work and measures it by the Lord's commandments, has glory and peace in himself. To this St. James alluded, chapter 4, verse 11, saying: "He who speaks against a brother, or who judges his brother, speaks against the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge," etc. Where I have reviewed the various explanations of that passage.
Verse 13: He Who Speaks Ill of Anything Binds Himself
In Hebrew, he who despises the word יחבל לו (iechobel lo), that is, binds or pledges himself; Baynus: destroys himself; Vatablus: will suffer harm; others: will be corrupted. "He who despises the word," they say, "will be corrupted, or corruption is upon him." Again, for "will dwell in peace," in Hebrew it is ישלם (iesculam), which can secondly be translated as "will be recompensed." Hence Vatablus translates: he who despises the thing will suffer loss; he who fears the commandment, to him it shall be repaid. Pagninus, however: he who despises anything will be corrupted on account of the contempt itself; and to him who fears the commandment a reward shall be given.
Now first, Aben-Ezra explains it thus, as if to say: He who despises the word, that is, correction and instruction, his plans will have an unhappy outcome and will collapse; but he who fears the commandment, that is, he who reverences God and therefore reverences His precepts, will sit in peace and enjoy tranquility.
Second, the rest of the Hebrews, as if to say: He who despises the word, that is, the decree or edict of a prince, will be punished by him and put to death.
Third, better yet, R. Solomon and others generally take "the word" to mean the law of God; and thus the antithesis is established, and the meaning is clear, as if to say: He who spurns the law of God binds himself, that is, makes himself guilty and liable to judgment, that is, to the condemnation and penalty established for transgressors; but he who fears and therefore observes God's precepts, being free from penalty, will dwell in peace as one dear to God. Hence the Chaldean translates: he who despises the word will suffer harm from it (the Syriac: will be destroyed by it); but he who fears the commandment will be compensated with good things (the Syriac: will be liberated).
But the Hebrews often take "word" metonymically to mean the thing signified by the word, as when it is said in Luke 1: "Nothing shall be impossible with God — every word," that is, any thing. Thus our translator, R. Levi, Vatablus, and others took "word" to mean "thing" here. Now by "thing" R. Levi understands a threatening evil.
DECEITFUL SOULS WANDER IN SINS; BUT THE JUST ARE MERCIFUL AND SHOW MERCY. — This verse is not in the Hebrew, but our translator transcribed it from the Septuagint, which has it at verse 9, where I explained it. In the Roman Septuagint it is placed at chapter 14, verse 15. The Syriac, following the Septuagint as usual, says: to the deceitful man there will be no good; and the way of the wise man, whose works are upright, will also be placed at the head; that is, as the author of the Greek Catena clearly translates from the Septuagint: "To the deceitful son no good shall come; but for the wise servant, prosperous actions shall succeed, and his course shall be happily directed." And he explains it thus: "He calls Israel the deceitful son in this passage; but by the wise servant he means those who, converted from the Gentiles, believed in Christ, whose way He preserves and rightly directs as faithful ones." But this sense is rather symbolic and mystical; for the literal sense is clear, which the words themselves express.
In passing, note here that those verses which are not in the Hebrew do not have their own number in the Latin Vulgate edition, but are joined to the preceding verse and assigned its number, and this is done so that it may be known which verses exist in the Hebrew and which do not. Such is the case here.
Verse 14: The Law of the Wise Is a Fountain of Life
In Hebrew: the law of the wise is a spring of lives, to lead back from the snares of death. The Septuagint: the law of the wise is a fountain of life; but the foolish one shall die under the snare. Some less correctly read "to the wise" (in the dative) instead of "of the wise," and give this sense, as if to say: The law of God is for the wise man himself the fountain and origin of living rightly and moderating his life, to avoid and escape all mortal dangers. That is the difference between the wise man and the foolish, the upright and the wicked: that for the wise and upright man the law is the beginning of the conduct of life, turning him away from evil and directing him toward good; but for the foolish and wicked man the same law becomes the cause of ruin. For the law presents precipices and occasions for stumbling, which the fool either does not know how to avoid or does not wish to. Hence it happens that he whom perhaps ignorance would have excused from guilt before the knowledge of the law, now knowing the law, sins knowingly and willingly.
But the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin have "of the wise" (not "to the wise") in the genitive, that is, the law which flows from the mind and mouth of the wise man, or which the wise man himself teaches. The sense therefore is, as if to say: The law which the wise man teaches and dictates brings life, so that both he himself and any disciple of his who follows his law may turn aside from and escape the snares and dangers of death. Hence the Syriac translates: the law of the wise is a fountain of life for those who turn aside from the snares of death. By "life" understand both temporal life, and the spiritual life of grace, and the eternal life of glory. Hence in Hebrew it is "fountain of lives" in the plural.
Thus R. Levi: "The law of the wise," he says, "is a fountain of life, because from it the immortality of life flows forth and the ruin of death is avoided, besides the fact that God has a special care for the wise man on account of it." The reason is that the wise man teaches prudence and virtue, namely to live prudently, justly, and holily; and prudence, virtue, and holiness are the cause of both present and eternal life, because they prudently avoid the dangers of death, and attract the supports of life, and from God they merit and receive the reward of a longer life in this world and an eternal one in the world to come. Thus the old law dictated by the wise Moses promised and provided the Jews with a long and happy life (Leviticus 18:5). The new law dictated by Christ brings Christians the life of grace and eternal glory (John 5:24).
Thus the laws and rules dictated to ascetics and religious by St. Anthony, Pachomius, Basil, Augustine, Benedict, Dominic, and Francis confer upon their followers a holy, religious, and glorious life. Conversely, the laws and doctrines of the foolish — namely of heretics, politicians, Saracens, and philosophers — bring present and eternal death. Such are the doctrines of Epicurus: that all good and man's happiness consists in pleasure; that there is no Divinity and no providence of God; that the soul does not feel after death, but perishes with the body. And of the Stoics: that all things happen by fate and necessity; that mercy is a weakness of mind, and therefore one should not show mercy; that the wise man can, indeed must, kill himself lest he live wretchedly; that all the gods are mortal except Jupiter; that one should not forgive the offender; and many similar things which I reviewed at Acts 17:17.
Verse 15: Good Instruction Shall Give Grace
In Hebrew: good understanding will give grace, but the way of transgressors is hard. The Septuagint: good understanding gives grace, and to know the law belongs to a good mind; but the ways of the contemptuous leads to perdition. The Chaldean: the strong way of robbers shall perish. The Syriac: the path of the wicked leads to perdition. The Zurich Bible: good understanding wins favor (Vatablus: makes a man pleasing), but the way of the transgressors is hard. For "abyss" the Hebrew has איתן (ethan), which first, R. Solomon translates as "difficulty," as if to say: The way of the contemptuous, that is, their manner of living, is difficult and burdensome both for themselves and for others. Second, Aben-Ezra, Vatablus, and Pagninus translate it as "hard," as if to say: The contemptuous are so obstinate that, although the wise man employs all the arts of wisdom, he nevertheless cannot recall them from their criminal way. Third, R. Levi translates it as "rough," as if to say: The way and doctrine of the transgressors is rough, as if it were overgrown with thorns and strewn with stones. Fourth, others translate it as "pertinacious and unstable." Fifth, Marinus in his Lexicon translates: the way of the transgressors is strength, or, force and vehemence, as if to say: The actions and morals of the transgressors are strong, vehement, and violent. Sixth, our translator best translates it as "abyss," namely of ruin and perdition, as the Septuagint, the Chaldean, and the Syriac translate it.
The sense is, as if to say: "Good teaching," that is, wise and prudent instruction and discipline, wins the favor of God and men, and makes both the teacher and the student acceptable to God and men, so that, drawn by the sweetness of his way of life, they may embrace, imitate, and express in their morals his life and doctrine, says R. Levi; and thus, like their teacher, they win for themselves the favor of God and men. But "the path," that is the life and doctrine, "of the contemptuous," that is, of those who despise sound doctrine and transgress God's law, is "an abyss" of perdition and Gehenna, into which they cast both themselves and their disciples. Hence Barlaam, in Damascenus' History, chapter 12, represents to King Josaphat the vanity and folly of sinners through the parable of a man hanging from a tree, who tastes a little honey from it, but soon falls with it into the abyss below, where he is devoured by serpents, dragons, and scorpions. A similar abyss of sinners was beheld in a vision by St. Carpus, as testified by St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Epistle 8 to Demophilus. The way of the wicked is therefore ethan, that is, hard, inhuman, savage, devouring others, striking with horror, and like an abyss swallowing and destroying, and dragging them into the abyss of ruin and Gehenna. Thus in Psalm 73:13 it is said: "You dried up the rivers of ethan," that is, strong rivers, namely deep, swirling, and rapacious ones, which snatch and plunge everything into their abyss. And Amos 5:24: "A strong torrent" — in Hebrew ethan — is called rapid, which snatches and plunges everything into its abyss.
Moreover, others explain these things differently. First, Jansenius, from the mind of the Rabbis: The sense, he says, is as if to say: Good instruction gives men grace, that is, makes them gracious, because it makes them merciful and humane; but the way of those who despise good instruction makes them inhuman, harsh, and intractable, and on that account hated and detested.
Second, Baynus, who translates ethan as "hard," or strengthened by habit: The life of the transgressors, he says, who having the eye of their mind darkened by the shadows of their errors, just as they judge badly, so they act badly, is strong and hard, and most difficult to correct, inasmuch as they err in both kinds of understanding, namely the speculative, which discerns badly, and the practical, that is, in actions flowing from error, since they do not understand how great is the difference between heavenly and earthly things. Otherwise: Good understanding, or he who is good in his understanding and prudence, will give great grace to others, both so that they may conceive right faith and find grace in the eyes of many; but against the way and habit of living of the transgressors, no understanding will prevail, however good, however great the doctrine, once their heart has been hardened, or their manner of living has been hardened by habit, like a path frequently trodden. The proverb teaches that understanding and integral faith are first and foremost necessary for wisdom, that is, for uprightness of life. So far Baynus.
Third, Cajetan translates: good understanding will give grace, and the way of liars is hard; and he explains it thus, as if to say: He who is endowed with good understanding and a docile disposition is gracious, that is, benevolent and generous toward others; but he who has a dull and obtuse disposition (such as are here called liars), his way, that is, his life and morals, are hard and harsh.
Fourth, our Salazar: Good understanding will give grace, that is, he says, facility of disposition and gentleness of manners wins the favor and benevolence of all; but the way, that is, the manner of life of the contemptuous, that is, of forward and obstinate men, whose morals are difficult and harsh, is an abyss — that is, in their company there lies a great and precipitous occasion of falling; for those who associate with a harsh and difficult person, like those who travel along a rough road, more often stumble and fall. Furthermore, a man of good understanding or disposition is called gentle and mild; for just as becoming angry and raging degenerates into the nature of beasts and wild animals, so being gentle and meek especially befits human beings. Hear St. Chrysostom, Homily 34 on Genesis, where he says thus: "For this is the surest sign by which one recognizes a man endowed with reason and intelligence: if he is gentle, if he is mild, if he is meek, if he is modest and calm, if he is not led and dragged about like a slave by anger or by other passions, but by reason conquers those internal disordered movements, and preserves his noble dignity, lest through negligence he degenerate into the ferocity of brutes."
Fifth, the same Salazar, as if to say: Sound and true doctrine is pleasing and welcome of itself, without enticements and embellishments; but the doctrine of the contemptuous, who despise the truth and hand down deceitful teachings, is suspect, and no one trusts it; for there is always a lurking suspicion of a pit or abyss, that is, of some hidden error into which the mind may be led or may slip. But the meaning given at the beginning was set forth by the Vulgate version, the Septuagint, the Chaldean, and the Syriac.
Verse 16: The Shrewd Man Does All Things with Counsel
In Hebrew: every shrewd man conducts his affairs with knowledge; but the fool will reveal, or spread out, foolishness. The Septuagint: he will spread out his wickedness. Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion: ἀφροσύνη, that is, folly. "Shrewd" — in Hebrew ערום (arum), that is, prudent, cautious, discreet, shrewd. Hence the Zurich Bible: the cautious man does everything skillfully (Vatablus: with knowledge, that is, with discernment, namely discreetly). But the fool betrays his foolishness — that is, says Vatablus, he is inept who does not perceive what is fitting, as if someone were to dispute about obscure questions before an uneducated populace, meanwhile omitting the doctrine of the fear of God and of faith. The Chaldean: every work of the shrewd man is knowledge; but the fool spreads out his foolishness for himself. The Syriac: the shrewd man does everything with knowledge; but the fool talks idly.
The sense is clear, as if to say: The shrewd man, that is, the cautious and prudent man, does everything with knowledge, that is, with reason, with counsel, with deliberation, with foresight. For before he undertakes anything, both by himself and through others whom he brings into counsel, he thinks about and foresees the difficulties, the outcomes and results of the matter, as well as the means by which the difficulties may be overcome and the business completed. Therefore he arranges his actions prudently and successfully, and in all things shows his wisdom. But the fool, without counsel or counselors, rashly undertakes things that are either impossible, or inopportune and untimely, or opportune indeed but pursued through incongruous and unsuitable means. This fool betrays — indeed spreads out before everyone — his stupidity, because either from the work he does or from the means by which he does it, he appears and is recognized by all as foolish, and as acting foolishly. This maxim Solomon already impressed upon us above, chapter 12:15: "The way of a fool," he says, "is right in his own eyes; but the wise man listens to counsel." And chapter 2:10: "If wisdom enters your heart, etc., counsel will guard you."
Verse 17: The Messenger of the Wicked Shall Fall into Evil
For "messenger of the wicked," from the Hebrew with Aquila and Theodotion you may translate "a wicked messenger"; and indeed the messenger of the wicked, who carries and announces the wicked man's impious designs, must himself be wicked, for he cooperates with his wickedness and carries it out. Again, for "faithful ambassador," the Hebrew has "ambassador of truths" or "of faithfulnesses" — is health or medicine. The Septuagint, reading מולך (melech), that is "king," instead of מלאך (malach), that is "messenger," translates: a reckless king will fall into evils; but a wise messenger will deliver him. Aquila and Symmachus: a hostage of faith is health. Theodotion: a guardian of faith. The sense is, as if to say: A reckless king often provokes others to war, and so is captured by them; but an ambassador or hostage sent by the state or by another prince, mitigating by his prudence the anger of those whom the king provoked, will deliver him.
But the Hebrew consistently reads malach, that is, messenger, not melech, that is, king.
Therefore from the Hebrew, first, some give this sense, as if to say: The wicked messenger, that is, the unfaithful one, who unfaithfully and deceitfully announces the matters entrusted to him by a prince or anyone else, or betrays his secrets — this man, as a traitor and betrayer, will be punished and struck down by the prince or judge, or by the one who sent him. But the faithful ambassador, who faithfully announces the commands or commissions of his prince or master, will win for himself health, that is, safety; for an ambassador who faithfully and honorably performs his mission is, by the law of nations, everywhere safe and inviolable even among enemies. Furthermore, a faithful ambassador who announces the faithful counsels of his master — that is, equitable, just, and holy ones — brings salvation to many, and sometimes to the entire commonwealth. Thus a wicked messenger was Balaam, says R. Solomon, who, sent by King Balak to curse Israel, gave the king the wicked counsel to destroy the Hebrews through beautiful young women, and therefore perished by the sword of the Hebrews (Numbers 25 and 31). But Moses was a faithful ambassador, who saved Israel. An ambassador therefore is health, that is, salutary both to himself and to the master who sends him, and to those to whom he is sent.
Second, as if to say: The messenger of a wicked prince or man, who announces his wicked wiles and deceits by which he plots evil against others, will pay the penalty when these are detected, because he cooperated with the wiles and deceits of the wicked man. As if to say: The fraud of a wicked ambassador is eventually discovered, and once discovered is punished. But the faithful ambassador, who announces the true, faithful, and just commands of his prince or master, will bring safety both to himself, to his prince, and to the commonwealth. This is the genuine sense of the Vulgate translation.
Third, our Salazar, taking "faithful" as a genitive opposed to the genitive "of the wicked," explains thus: "The messenger of the wicked will fall into evil," that is, an ambassador sent by a wicked king or prince will be treacherous to his own prince, for he will betray his plans and designs to the enemy. This is what the phrase "will fall into evil" means — that is, he will act maliciously and treacherously. Which is as much as to say: A wicked prince and tyrant, because of his wickedness and tyranny, will employ a treacherous and traitorous ambassador. But on the other hand, "a faithful ambassador is health" — namely, the ambassador of a just and non-tyrannical prince, who legitimately and in good faith administers the affairs of war and peace — such an ambassador will faithfully carry out the mandates entrusted to him, and will bring safety to the prince and security to public affairs. And so, according to this exposition, Solomon presents the contrast between a just prince and a tyrant based on the fact that the just man employs faithful ministers, but the tyrant employs treacherous and rebellious ones.
But "faithful" is rather in the nominative case. For in Hebrew "messenger of faithfulnesses" is the same as a very trustworthy and faithful messenger; and this is opposed to the messenger of the wicked obliquely and indirectly (for the antitheses here are frequently not direct but oblique), because ordinarily as the messenger is, so is the master who sends him. Therefore the messenger of the wicked is likewise wicked, and conversely a faithful messenger is usually sent only by a faithful master, according to what Solomon adds: "He who walks with the wise will be wise; the companion of fools will become like them."
Morally, Bede says: "A faithful ambassador is health" — that is, he says, "every Catholic preacher acquires eternal health for himself and for his hearers." Thus Gabriel, sent by God to Daniel, chapter 9, announcing to him the liberation of Israel from Babylon and the coming of the Messiah after seventy weeks, brought strength and health to the languishing Daniel, and joy and salvation to the whole people. Thus the same Gabriel, sent by God and announcing to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, the conception of the Eternal Word, brought salvation to her and to the whole world. The Angels did the same for the shepherds, announcing Christ's nativity and therefore singing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will" (Luke 2:14). All other Angels do the same, who by office are angels, that is, faithful messengers of God to men, according to that saying: "All are ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).
Thus all the Prophets and Apostles were faithful ambassadors of God sent to save mankind. For "Apostle" in Greek is the same as "ambassador" or "one sent" in Latin — sent by God into the world, as is clear from Isaiah chapter 6, and from Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the others at the beginning of their prophecies. The leader and chief of these was Christ, sent by the Father for the redemption of the human race, who therefore says in Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me; He has sent Me to announce good tidings to the meek, to heal the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are shut up." See the comments there.
Verse 18: Poverty and Shame to Him Who Refuses Discipline
For "discipline," in Hebrew it is musar, that is, instruction, correction, chastisement, such as is given to boys, whose appetites and frivolities must be corrected and chastised by their instructor.
For "who forsakes," in Hebrew it is פורע (porea), that is, who dissolves, nullifies, enervates. Furthermore, "to him" is not in the Hebrew; and instead of "poverty and shame," it can be translated "poverty and shame" (in the accusative). For Hebrew nouns, since they lack case endings, can be translated in any case. Hence the Septuagint translates thus: discipline removes poverty and shame. Conversely the Chaldean: the poor man, and he who is shameful, forsakes discipline. And the Syriac: poverty and tribulation render discipline useless. And Symmachus: poverty and shame dissolve correction. Both are true, both are fitting. For the inseparable companions and attendants of discipline — that is, of virtue and an honest life — are wealth, modesty, and honor, which put to flight poverty and shame as the inseparable companions of vice and a dishonorable life, diametrically opposed to themselves. For just as virtue begets modesty, so vice begets shamelessness, which is the cause of the abandonment of modesty and virtue. For when someone hardens his brow and puts on shamelessness, as the poor, beggars, and the infamous do, then he casts off modesty, and with it discipline and virtue, its companion. Conversely, he who casts off modesty and virtue and becomes shameless and vicious immediately takes on poverty and shame as the companions of vice. In sum, just as poverty and shame dissolve and put to flight discipline, so conversely discipline and virtue dissolve and put to flight poverty and shame. Hence the man endowed with virtue becomes wealthy and honored, while the vicious man becomes poor and despised; and conversely, just as the honored and wealthy put on honesty and virtue, so the poor, the beggars, and the despised put on vice and engage in indecorous, disgraceful, and infamous pursuits, because with hardened brow nothing any longer shames them.
The sense is clear, as if to say: He who forsakes discipline and correction, because he wishes to indulge his own freedom and concupiscences, will fall into poverty and shame, both because by indulging the belly and Venus, the luxurious, having broken the bridle of shame and modesty, have lost the modesty that restrains them from crime. Parallel to Solomon are these maxims of the wise. St. Chrysostom, Sermon On Discipline: "Correction instills shame; and shame deters from crime." Aristotle, Problems 6: "The poor and infamous feel no shame." St. Ambrose, Book 1, On Duties, chapter 18: "Modesty is the companion of chastity, by whose company chastity itself is more secure. For modesty is a good companion for governing chastity; if it stands guard against the first dangers, it will not allow chastity to be violated." St. Bernard in the Declamations:
"Shamelessness and brazenness, when it has hardened so that one does not tremble, hesitate, or shudder — that at last is desperation." St. Gregory Nazianzen in the Paraenesis to Olympias: "When modesty is once extinguished, all evils immediately rush in." Hence that saying of the impious Emperor Gaius Caligula: "I approve nothing in my nature more than my lack of shame" — a saying considered more worthy of an executioner than of a Caesar. Diogenes used to say that modesty is "the dye of virtue," as Laertius testifies in his Life. Demetrius Phalereus used to admonish young men "to revere their parents at home, those they met on the road, and themselves in solitude." For modesty most effectively deters young men from sinning, a modesty that is everywhere present if one reveres oneself. So Laertius, Book 5, chapter 5.
Therefore he who flees a lesser trouble will fall into a greater one. But he who humbly and modestly acquiesces to the one who reproves him, and according to his admonitions cuts away his vices and corrects his morals, will certainly be glorified, because it is glorious to obey one who counsels well, and equally to rightly compose one's morals. Finally, God honors those who honor Him and disgraces those who disgrace Him; therefore He bestows wealth and glory on those who keep His law and discipline, but sends poverty and shame upon those who spurn it. So explains St. Augustine in Questions on the Old and New Testament, chapter 34 — although this book is not by St. Augustine but by an author of suspect reliability, perhaps Hilary the Roman Deacon, who propagated the schism of Lucifer, as Bellarmine shrewdly conjectures in On Ecclesiastical Writers, under Ambrose and Augustine.
Verse 19: The Desire That Is Accomplished Delights the Soul
In Hebrew: a desire that has come to be, or existing, is sweet to the soul; and it is an abomination to the foolish to depart from evil — just as pigs abominate being pulled from the mud in which they delight to wallow. For "if fulfilled" in Hebrew it is נהיה (niia), which R. Levi, Cajetan, Pagninus, and others translate as "broken, crushed," from the noun הוה (houa), that is, breaking, crushing. Hence they translate: a broken desire, or a weakened appetite, will be sweet to the soul; and they give this sense: when appetite is weakened and subdued, the mind and spirit are flooded with delight, because the mind exercises dominion over it and forces it into subjection. But this is hateful to fools, for they resent being forbidden to obey their appetites, and they detest being restrained from doing evil. But niia is the same as "made, fulfilled," not "broken and overthrown"; for it is a passive participle from the root היה (haia), that is, "was, existed." By "desire," therefore, understand only what is good and honorable; for the antithesis with the foolish, who detest those who flee evil, demands this. Hence the Chaldean translates: an honorable desire is sweet to the soul. And the Septuagint: the desires of the pious (reading εὐσεβῶν in the Roman edition; the Complutensian wrongly reads the contrary ἀσεβῶν, that is, of the impious) delight the soul; but the works of the impious are far from knowledge. The Syriac: the pollution of the wicked is torn from knowledge.
The sense, therefore, is, as if to say: The just desire honorable things, namely to do good and to depart from evil; and they wish for this both for others and for themselves. Therefore when this desire is fulfilled, and when they hear something has been done honestly and holily by others, they are marvelously delighted and refreshed by this very fact. Conversely, the wicked desire dishonorable things, namely to do evil and to depart from good; therefore they detest the pious who flee from evil, and love the wicked who pursue evil things. For they fear that if the number and strength of the pious should grow, the kingdom of impiety, which they love, would be weakened and overthrown. Therefore when that kingdom grows with the growing number and strength of the wicked, they rejoice and are delighted. The same thing, therefore, that delights the wicked grieves the pious: namely, growing virtue delights the pious and grieves the wicked; but growing vice delights the wicked and grieves the pious. Thus we see heretics grieved by the growth and victories of Catholics, but rejoicing when heretics like themselves dominate and triumph. Conversely, Catholics rejoice at the prosperity and growth of Catholics, but grieve at the success of heretics.
The reason is that desire is like the hunger and thirst of the soul, which hungers and thirsts for the desired thing. Therefore, just as if a hungry man eats honey and a thirsty man drinks nectar, he is plainly refreshed, restored, and reinvigorated, so likewise if the hunger and thirst of desire are satisfied by the presence and taste of the desired thing, the mind is affected with a wonderful sweetness and is delighted, according to the saying of Christ in Matthew 5: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied." And Psalm 42:1: "As the deer longs for the streams of water, so my soul longs for You, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God (so the Hebrews read, although many Latin texts read 'fountain'); when shall I come and appear before the face of God?" etc.
Now just as the pleasure and delight of eating and drinking are greater in proportion as the hunger and thirst were greater, so likewise the greater the desire, the greater is the delight in its fulfillment, namely when it is completed and perfected. Hence the Blessed, who supremely desired in this life to enjoy God, are supremely delighted when they see and possess Him. The measure of the preceding desire, therefore, is the measure of the delight that follows upon attaining the thing desired.
Furthermore, the Septuagint, which translates: the desires of the pious delight the soul, but the works of the impious are far from knowledge, gives this sense, as if to say: The pious not only outwardly exercise good works, but also inwardly adorn the mind with pious and holy thoughts and desires, by which they are wonderfully nourished and delighted. But the wicked, because they not only inwardly think and desire evil things, but also outwardly commit them in deed, are thus very far from knowledge, namely practical knowledge, that is, from prudence and virtue.
Verse 20: He Who Walks with the Wise Shall Be Wise
In Hebrew there is an elegant paronomasia ורועה כסילים ירוע (veroe kesilim ieroa), which first the Chaldean translates: he who has fellowship with fools, evil will come upon him. The Syriac: he will be harmed. R. Solomon: he will be broken or dashed. Second, Vatablus: he who joins friendship with fools will be afflicted with evil. Third, Pagninus: he who is a friend to fools will be crushed. R. Levi: will be cut off. Fourth, Baynus: the companion of fools will fare badly or unhappily. Fifth, Cajetan: the comrade of fools will be broken. Sixth, others: he who feeds fools, or who feeds with and dines with fools, will be broken. For the Hebrew ירוע (ieroa) means both to act badly and to suffer evil: רע (ra) signifies evil both of guilt and of punishment. The Septuagint, reading ק instead of ו, that is, reading יודע (iadea) meaning "will be known" instead of ירוע (ieroa), translates συμπορευόμενος (the Complutensian reads συμπεριφερόμενος, that is, who is carried about together; the Scholiast: συμπλανώμενος, that is, who wanders together), meaning: he who walks with the foolish will be recognized. But the correct reading is ieroa, that is, will be afflicted with evil, as Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate.
Finally, our translator skillfully translates ieroa as "will become like," because ierea derives partly from רוע (roa), that is, "was evil" or "was afflicted with evil," and partly from רעה (raa), that is, "was a friend, was a companion," that is, "was similar." For a friend is similar to his friend, a companion to his companion. For often among the Hebrews the forms of related weak verbs, such as roa and raa, are mixed together, and one borrows its inflection or meaning from the other. And the antithesis demands this, as well as the paronomasia roe, ieroa — as if to say: The friend of the evil man will be a friend and become like him in evil and foolishness.
The sense is therefore plain, as if to say: He who is familiar with the wise, that is, with prudent and upright men, and associates with them, will become prudent and upright. But he who associates with fools, that is, with the imprudent and wicked, will likewise become imprudent and wicked. For we generally become like those in whose company we delight. For frequent and habitual conversation and association gradually instills, impresses, and imprints its ideas, its affections, and its morals upon the one with whom it engages, even without his knowing it — especially if one loves and is loved in return, and delights and rejoices in the other's words and deeds. Just as those who walk in the sun are warmed and heated by its rays even without knowing it, so those who stay in cold air silently absorb its cold; for the air accompanies us everywhere, and drawn in through breathing, it penetrates the innermost organs of a person and imparts to them its heat or cold.
Furthermore, the expression "is carried about" or "is turned around" signifies one who, associating with a companion in whom he delights, bends, accommodates, and turns himself to all his companion's nods, affections, movements, and actions, so that if the companion is upright, he absorbs all his upright morals, but if wicked, he absorbs all his wickedness. For the contagion of evil is greater than that of good; vice is more easily contracted and learned than virtue. Hence we see that one scabby sheep infects the rest; and that one glutton, one proud man, one lustful, slanderous, or impious person makes all those with whom he associates gluttons, proud, lustful, slanderous, and impious. While conversely many chaste people can scarcely make one unchaste person chaste, and many humble people can scarcely make one proud person humble, and so with the rest. Thus a little gall, myrrh, or wormwood makes an entire cup of milk or wine, or even honey, bitter; while conversely an entire cup of honey can scarcely sweeten a glass of myrrh or wormwood. For vice is gall, virtue is honey. The Sage therefore signifies that companionship and conversation are a matter of the greatest importance in one direction or the other, inasmuch as uprightness or wickedness depends upon them, and consequently a person's eternal salvation or damnation. Therefore parents must impress upon their children, teachers upon their students, confessors upon their penitents, above all, that if they wish to save their souls, they must flee the company of the wicked like a basilisk, and seek the companionship of the upright as the sole refuge of salvation. For, as Bede says quoting Isidore in the Commonplaces, chapter 62: "Just as the common life of the saints has many goods, so the fellowship of the wicked brings many more evils. It is therefore better to have the hatred of the wicked than their fellowship; for just as it is desirable that the good should have peace with one another, so it is desirable that the wicked should be at discord with one another." Hence St. Gregory Nazianzen excellently admonishes in Poem 50 of Nicobulus to his son:
Do not join yourself to a companion who teems with vices: For a grave pestilence seizes even strong limbs. You will not bestow virtue, but you yourself will receive disgrace, And will be infected with profane vices.
And the Comic poet: A person is thought to be such as the company he keeps. But night and day do not dwell together; good and bad — The fellowship of conflicting morals scarcely lasts a day. A sober man can scarcely dwell in the same house as a drunkard. Do you wish to become wise? Use the fellowship of the wise. Vices themselves never unite with virtues. You play dangerously with a serpent.
And another: You will learn to limp if you have even one lame man as your companion. The company of the good makes a bad man good: And likewise leaven communicates its force to flour. Nothing but filth will you draw from servile fellowship. Nothing is more pestilential than the fellowship of the wicked. By the company of the wicked you will be made wicked. Everyone's morals are drawn from those with whom he associates. Do you wish to know the king? Get to know his intimates.
This is clear in the case of Rehoboam, 3 Kings 12.
Finally, Crates, Epistle 12 to Origen: "Neither the country," he says, "makes men good, nor the city bad, but the commerce of the good and the bad. Therefore, if you wish your children to turn out good and not bad, send them not to the farm but to the Philosopher's house, where those who frequented it also learned virtue. For virtue consists in practice, and does not force itself into men's minds of its own accord as malice does."
Verse 21: Evil Pursues Sinners
The Septuagint: those who sin evils shall pursue; and good things shall overtake the just. By "evil" understand both the evil of guilt and, more especially, of punishment, retribution, and vengeance. For the guilt once committed pursues the one who committed it, and continually prods, stings, distresses, and torments his conscience, so that the man conscious of his crime trembles in fear and apprehensively awaits the executioner or God's vengeance. Hence St. Basil in Antonius' Melissa, Part 1, Sermon 16: "Just as shadows follow bodies," he says, "so sins will follow souls, and present vivid images of their crimes." Thus in the Lives of the Fathers we read that the shadow of a boy killed by a murderer continually pursued the murderer, even after he had become a monk, and perpetually presented itself to his imagination, saying: "Why did you kill me?" — so that the monk, overcome by anguish and weariness, left the monastery and voluntarily handed himself over to the judge for punishment. No wicked man escapes this scourge of conscience. Hence the Poet:
Do you think they have escaped, whom the mind conscious of a dire deed Holds thunderstruck, and beats with a silent blow, As a hidden torturer shakes the scourge within the soul?
And another: These are they who tremble and grow pale at every flash of lightning.
On the contrary, "the just man is as bold as a lion." Pacatus excellently says in his Panegyric to Emperor Theodosius, chapter 43: "The wicked mind," he says, "has powers, has certain internal executioners, or rather the conscience itself is its own executioner." And Quintilian, Declamation 15, section 18: "O sad remembrance! O conscience, heavier than all torments!" And Chrysologus, Sermon 15: "He falls, he is destroyed, he cannot stand, whom conscience forsakes and guilt drives on." Philostratus, Book 7, On the Life of Apollonius, chapter 7: "It is conscience that punishes men, when they recall that they have acted badly. For it was conscience that imposed the punishments of the Furies upon Orestes, when he raged against his mother." St. Augustine on Psalm 36: "Whoever is evil fares badly with himself. He must be tormented; he is his own torment. For his punishment is himself, whom his conscience torments; he flees from his enemy where he can — but where will he flee from himself?" St. Gregory on Psalm 113: "There is no greater affliction than the conscience of one's crimes. For when a man suffers outwardly, he takes refuge in God. But if, bearing the tribulation of an evil conscience, he does not find God in the secret place of the heart, where will he find consolation? Where will he seek rest?" Conversely, a great good and reward of the just is the testimony of a good conscience — to spend time fruitfully, to devote oneself to holy purity, to attend to God in tranquility and sincerity, says Eusebius of Emesa, and from him Dionysius here.
Moreover, the punishment and vengeance of God, as well as of judges and men, pursues the sinner to exact the deserved penalties from him. For the justice of God allows no crime to go unpunished, and conversely allows no good deed to go unrewarded. Hence Bede in the Proverbs: "Before the face of God, no wickedness stands unavenged." And the Poet: "Rarely has punishment on its lame foot abandoned the criminal who goes before it; retribution follows the guilty head." Therefore, just as the magistrate pursues thieves to hang them, so vengeance pursues the sinner to punish him. Well known is the emblem of the rhinoceros representing vengeance:
As the rhinoceros gathers its wrath from goads that scarcely prick, But once aroused cannot satisfy its anger: So at last divine Nemesis, overflowing against the guilty, Comes tardily but with greater interest to punish.
Orosius excellently says, Book 7, Against the Pagans, chapter 22: "Forgetful malice," he says, "provokes its own punishment. For impiety, when tormented, does feel the scourges; but, hardened as it is, it does not perceive from whom it is scourged. Thus the guilty man feels the executioner before he sees him." And: "There is no wicked man who does not have his punishment behind him."
Verse 22: The Good Man Shall Leave Heirs
In Hebrew: a good man causes the children of his children to inherit, and stored up for the just are the possessions of the sinner. The Septuagint: and the riches of the ungodly are treasured up for the just. The Syriac: the riches of sinners which the world has not seen. This maxim is clear and signifies not what always happens, but what frequently or often happens, especially in the Old Testament, to which temporal goods had been promised by God. Therefore at that time a good and upright man commonly left his children and grandchildren as heirs of his goods — especially if they followed their father's goodness and were heirs of both their father's uprightness and his substance. The same frequently happens now as well. But the wicked and dishonest often do not pass on their goods to their descendants and grandchildren, especially if the goods were unjustly acquired, according to the saying:
The third heir does not enjoy ill-gotten gains.
Indeed, not infrequently God preserves, that is, stores up and transfers the substance of the sinner to the just, so that whatever was left by the sinner is transferred to the use of the just, according to the saying: "The wicked man will prepare, and the just man will put it on." I say that this does not always happen, but frequently or now and then, because we also frequently see the contrary happen — namely, good people being stripped of their goods by the wicked, according to Hebrews 10:34: "You joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods."
Examples of this maxim are found in the faithful Jacob, to whom God gave the cattle and wealth of his unfaithful father-in-law Laban (Genesis 31:9); in the Hebrews, who departing from Egypt by God's command, borrowing vessels of gold and silver from the Egyptians, etc., afterwards retained them (Exodus 12:35); of whom it is accordingly said in Wisdom 10:19: "Therefore the just carried off the spoils of the ungodly." Likewise, under Joshua's leadership, conquering the land of Canaan, they seized the wealth and goods of the Canaanites. Similarly today heretics are not infrequently deprived of their goods according to Civil and Canon law, and these are given to Catholics. In the Theodosian Code, Book 16, Title 5, there are laws of Honorius and Theodosius (43, 52, and 54) in which it is ordered that buildings, estates, and places that had previously belonged to the assemblies of the Donatists or other heretics should be claimed by or associated with the Catholic Churches. When Petilianus the Donatist objected to these laws as unjust to Catholics, St. Augustine responded to him from this passage of Solomon, in Book 2, Against Petilianus, chapter 43: "But if," he says, "you complain about the ecclesiastical properties or places which you once held and no longer hold, the Jews too could call themselves just and accuse us of injustice, because Christians now possess the place where they once impiously reigned. What then is so unworthy if Catholics hold, according to the equal will of the Lord, what the heretics held? For to all such — that is, to all the impious and wicked — that word of the Lord applies: 'The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing justice.' Was it written in vain: 'The just shall eat the labors of the impious'? Therefore you should marvel more that you still hold anything, than that you have lost something." And in chapter 59, when Petilianus objected: "It is written: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.' You plunder our things to have them as your own" — St. Augustine responds: "Even if you have begun to possess what, once you were cut off, the Lord gave to us because it was offered to us, we do not therefore covet what belongs to others, because by the command of Him to whom all things belong they have become ours, and are justly ours. For you used them for division, we for unity. Otherwise, even those who were expelled from the face of the first people of God by divine power because they misused that land could accuse them of coveting others' property; and the Jews themselves, from whom the kingdom was taken according to the Lord's words — 'And it has been given to a nation producing justice' — could accuse of coveting others' property, because the Church of Christ possesses what the persecutors of Christ once ruled." All of which was transferred from St. Augustine into Canon Law, and is found in Causa 23, Question 7, canon 2.
The antistrophe to this maxim is found in chapter 28, verse 8: "He who heaps up riches by usury and interest gathers them for one who will be generous to the poor." Where I shall say more on this matter.
Mystically, Bede and Baynus say: The vineyard and heavenly substance, that is, the law of God, grace, and the Church with other goods once stored up for the Jews, taken from them as from wicked farmers, are given to the Gentiles justified in the blood of Christ (Matthew 21:33 and following). Thus the just Matthias succeeded to the grace and apostolate of the traitor Judas. Hence it is said in Revelation 3:11: "Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may take your crown." See the comments there.
Verse 23: Much Food in the Tilled Land of Fathers
In Hebrew: much food in the furrows, or in the plowing, of the heads (chiefs); and it is gathered or consumed without judgment. Various interpreters fill out and explain these words in various ways. For the Hebrew ראשים (rascim) means both "heads," that is, fathers and chief men, and also "poor men." Again, נספה (nispe) means both "to be gathered" and "to be consumed and destroyed."
First, therefore, Cajetan translates thus: much food is in the furrows of the heads, and it is consumed without judgment. And he explains it as if to say: One field produces abundant crops, and another is found to be consumed without judgment, that is, without reason why this one is consumed and not that one — understand this in terms of human judgment and reason, for God does not make this disparity without judgment, which we often see occurring.
Second, Aben-Ezra, R. Solomon, and Vatablus translate: much food is in the fallow land of the poor; but where it is not managed with judgment, there is want. Or thus: there is one who perishes for lack of right, that is, because he does not properly cultivate his field, because he does not observe the customary laws of tilling the field. For the Hebrew משפט (mispat), that is "judgment," signifies reason, custom, law, right, usage. The Chaldean refers the word "perishes" not to the field but to the person, namely the farmer, who perishes and comes to want because he does not exercise good judgment in cultivating his field. Hence he translates: much food comes to the poor man, and there is one who meets death beyond what is just. But Baynus most fittingly refers "perishes" to the food, or the grain supply; for this frequently perishes for farmers when it is not dispensed at the proper time, or when it is left to spendthrift heirs. Thus the sense will be, as if to say: There will be much food for the poor when the seeds in the earth grow, and they cultivate it diligently with judgment, that is, according to the laws of agriculture. For as he said in chapter 12, verse 11: "He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread." But if they cultivate the land carelessly and negligently without judgment, the crops will be lost and they themselves will perish from hunger. Hence Isidorus Clarius clearly translates: much food is in the fallow lands of the poor; but he who is lost is without judgment — that is, he says, he who in his field omits at the proper time to perform the due tasks of plowing, harrowing, weeding, reaping, etc. — his fallow land will produce nothing.
To this point the fable of the farmer and his sons in Aesop is relevant: "A certain farmer," he says, "about to depart this life, and wishing to give his sons experience in agriculture, called them and said: 'My sons, I am now departing this life; but if you search for what has been hidden by me in the vineyard, you will find everything.' They therefore, supposing a treasure had been buried there, dug over all the earth of the vineyard after their father's death. They did not find a treasure, but the vineyard, beautifully dug, produced manifold fruit. This is the fable. The moral signifies that labor is the treasure of men."
Mystically, our Salazar and others refer these words to almsgiving, as if to say: The poor are indeed plowed, reworked, and renewed fields which, when they have received the seed of alms, produce the most abundant fruits. Therefore, "for others it is gathered without judgment" — namely, food — as if to say: Those who, when they could scatter their riches among the poor and transfer themselves along with them to heaven, instead heap up and hoard them for others, are utterly devoid of judgment and sense. Hence St. Ambrose, in On Naboth the Jezreelite, chapter 7, on the words "Sow for yourselves in justice" (Hosea 10): "Be," he says, "a spiritual farmer. Sow what may benefit you; the heart of widows is good soil for sowing. If the earth returns to you fruits more abundant than it received, how much more will the recompense of mercy repay in multiplied measure what you have given? Whatever you bestow on the needy profits you; whatever you spend on the poor grows for you; it is sown in the earth, it sprouts in heaven; it is planted in the poor, it blossoms forth before God." And St. Basil, Homily to the Wealthy and Avaricious: "Just as grain falling into the earth," he says, "produces profit for the one who casts it, so does bread cast to the hungry." St. Chrysostom says many similar things in Homilies 42 and 55 on Genesis and Homily 5 on Matthew.
Third, the Septuagint and the Syriac understand "fallow lands" as years, because every year the fields are plowed and renewed — so that there is a metalepsis similar to that of Virgil:
"After some harvests I shall marvel, seeing my kingdom."
Moreover, by rascim, that is "heads," they understand the just, who before God are the heads and leaders of men. Finally, by "food" they understand wealth; hence they translate: the just spend many years in wealth with pleasure (as the Septuagint has it in the Greek Catena); but the unjust will perish shortly. The Septuagint, however: many years consume wealth, and men have utterly perished. According to the Septuagint, therefore, this verse connects with the preceding one, explains it, and amplifies it by intensification, as if to say: The just will not only leave their children and grandchildren as heirs of their goods, but they themselves will also enjoy their goods for many years in long life. The unjust, however, will so far from leaving their goods to heirs that they themselves will be short-lived, and will shortly be stripped of both life and goods.
Fourth, others translate: much food in the fallow lands of princes is consumed without judgment. The sense is clear, as if to say: Princes have many estates from which they collect great crops and wealth indeed; but because they squander and consume them without judgment, that is, without discernment, recklessly on servants, followers, and parasites, they end up poor and naked, as if they had no such great estates.
Fifth, our translator most aptly translates: much food is in the fallow lands of the fathers; and for others it is gathered without judgment. Here note especially: A "novale" (fallow land) is a new field, and this in three senses. First, fallow land refers to ground then first broken up for sowing, says Servius. Hence Virgil, Eclogue 1:
"Shall an impious soldier possess these fallow fields so well cultivated?"
A fallow land, therefore, is a meadow or forest which becomes a field when the trees and bushes are cut down and it is subdued by plowing. Second, fallow land is what is sown in alternate years. Hence Varro: "The land that is left fallow is called 'novalis' from 'novare' (to renew)." Third, any field, while it is being renewed by plowing, as it were, is called fallow land. Hence Festus: "A novale," he says, "is a field left from a new cutting." And Servius: "A novale," he says, "is new ground that is renewed every year by sowing." Again, instead of "for others" (aliis), thirteen manuscripts read "other" (alii); which reading is favored by the Hebrew and Chaldean. For in Hebrew the text reads: and it is (food) gathered (nispe) without judgment. If therefore you read alii ("other," nominative), the antithesis is clear. For the sense, says Jansenius, is as if to say: Sons prepare much food for themselves from the fallow lands of their fathers — that is, if they persist in the labors of their fathers and emulate their diligence, because food thus obtained is multiplied by divine blessing. But there are other foods, that is, some foods which are gathered by many people unjustly, not with due judgment, because they do not discern how food ought properly to be prepared — they gather it whether by right or wrong, whether honestly or dishonestly; and how unjustly acquired goods soon slip away. This maxim therefore teaches, according to this interpretation, that some people gather for themselves prudently and honestly, others imprudently and dishonestly.
But because the manuscripts corrected in Rome and the others generally have aliis ("for others," dative), not alii, which reading also agrees with the Hebrew — for mispe signifies contraries, namely both "to gather" and "to take away" or "to remove." Hence "to gather" is sometimes used in Scripture for "to take away" and "to destroy," and "gathering" is called death and destruction, as in Hosea 4:3: "And the fish of the sea shall be gathered," that is, shall be taken away, shall fail, shall die, as the Septuagint and the Chaldean translate. The reasons for this usage and meaning I assigned in the same place.
Therefore the food that is gathered for others is in Hebrew called mispim, that is, taken away, removed, lost, because what is gathered for others is taken away and removed from the master, and thus perishes for the one who gathered it. And so this meaning comes to the same thing as the second meaning given a little earlier, which is that of most of the Hebrews: there is one who perishes for lack of judgment; or, as the Zurich Bible puts it: where matters are not conducted with judgment, there is want.
The sense, therefore, is, as if to say: There are those who, although they have much food from the fallow lands of their fathers — that is, from fields plowed, renewed, and cultivated — in other words, although sustenance abounds for them from the estates and wealth of their paternal inheritance, nevertheless all these things are gathered by them without judgment for others, that is, foolishly and imprudently. As if to say: Most people are so foolish that what has been left to them by their fathers they do not use for themselves, but foolishly heap it up for others, because they are prodigal and pour out their goods on others, or are negligent and improvident and allow their goods to perish and be seized by others. This proverb therefore signifies that the rich estates of parents are often squandered and dissipated by their children, because they lack the judgment and prudence to cultivate, conserve, and frugally manage them. Thus we see great patrimonies overthrown when they are left to heirs who are spendthrift, improvident, or careless — that is, when what industrious parents gathered with great labor, prodigal sons squander and senseless heirs dissipate. Hence the well-known saying:
"Oh what a great revenue is frugality!" From this it is clear that this maxim — "Much food is in the fallow lands of the fathers, and for others it is gathered without judgment" — is parallel to the one that preceded it: "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children and grandchildren, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the just." For the sinner is the one who gathers his goods without judgment for others, especially for the just.
Mystically, Bede, and from him Dionysius, say: in the fallow lands, that is, in the books, teachings, and examples of the Fathers, there are many spiritual nourishments, which are gathered for others without judgment when someone preaches such things to his neighbors, yet does not himself profit therefrom nor is his own mind refreshed. Thus St. Gregory, at the beginning of the Moralia, chapter 1, and at the beginning of the Dialogues, confesses that he is wonderfully stirred to virtue by the examples and conversations of the Saints, and that he therefore writes their lives in the Dialogues. St. Bernard testifies the same about himself in Sermon 14 on the Song of Songs. See our Alvarez de Paz, Book 5, On Perfection, Part 2, chapter 23.
In like manner, apply this proverb to priests, pastors, and preachers, who in the fallow lands — that is, in the teaching, writings, and deeds of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Leo, St. Gregory, etc. — have great spiritual and doctrinal nourishment and encouragement. But some, for whom the flesh and the world are more appealing than the spirit, leave these things for laypeople to read, meditate upon, and put into practice. Similarly, Religious have rich and delicate spiritual nourishment stored up for them in the fallow lands of their fathers — that is, in the written rules and examples of their founders, fathers, and predecessors, for example, St. Anthony, St. Basil, St. Benedict, St. Bernard, St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, etc. But those who are lukewarm or sluggish leave these things for others, even seculars, to imitate, who will consequently precede them in the kingdom of God, to their great shame and confusion, according to the saying of Christ in Matthew 12:41: "The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here," etc. And chapter 11, verse 21: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you," etc.
Lyranus explains this proverb differently: Much food is in the fallow lands of the fathers, because the ancient fathers, he says, cultivated with their labors the previously uncultivated lands, which are called fallow lands; and thus food was multiplied for the sustenance of those who came after. And for others it is gathered without judgment, that is, without labor — that is, because those who come after do not pursue such things as the reward of their own labor, in which there is a certain execution of justice, which properly is judgment. Mystically you may explain it of the food of the mind: because the ancient fathers and philosophers labored greatly in the discovery of sciences and arts, by which their posterity is refreshed without such labor. So far Lyranus, whom Hugo follows.
Our Salazar explains it differently, thinking that agriculture, as the most innocent and useful of arts, is being compared to and preferred over commerce. As if to say: The best and most just industry for acquiring abundance is in cultivating fields, which parents ought to use to enrich their children. Those parents deal very well with their children if they leave them ample farms and estates for cultivation by hereditary right. "And for others it is gathered without judgment" — namely, by other methods or arts food, that is, wealth, is heaped up for children without judgment, that is, unjustly, and against right, by fraud and injury. For commerce and business dealing are very much subject to frauds and injuries, but agriculture is the most innocent of arts.
Symbolically, the same author (although he himself thinks this is the literal sense) takes "fallow lands of the fathers" to mean their children, as if to say: The fields and farmlands of parents are the minds of their children, which parents ought to plow and sow with good precepts and instruction, so that they leave them as worthy heirs of their wealth. "And for others it is gathered without judgment" — that is, if a father heaps up and gathers for others rather than for these properly cultivated and instructed children, he is certainly imprudent and senseless. A father does this when he devotes more attention to amassing wealth and estates to leave to his son in order to enrich him, than to overseeing his son's instruction, discipline, and virtue. For such a son, lacking discipline, will not know how to use the wealth left to him, but will squander it and consume it on harlots and parasites — for whom, therefore, the father gathered it, not for his son. So Plutarch, in his treatise On the Education of Children: "Just as in the cultivation of fields," he says, "the soil must first be good, then the farmer skilled in sowing, and finally the seeds must be good: in like manner you will compare the son to the soil, the teacher to the farmer, and the courses of study and precepts to the seeds." And St. Chrysostom, in Homily 9 on 1 Timothy: "Do you wish," he says, "to leave your son rich? Teach him to be good and kind; for thus you will be able to make the family estate even greater. But if he is bad, even if you leave him infinite wealth, you have not left him a guardian. Again, for children not properly educated, it is better to be poor than rich; for poverty restrains them even against their will and keeps them within the bounds of virtue. But wealth does not allow them to live chastely and temperately even when they wish to, but causes them to go astray and corrupts them, and subjects them to innumerable evils."
Verse 24: He Who Spares the Rod Hates His Son
In Hebrew: he who withholds or restrains his rod hates his son; and he who loves him rises early, that is, seeks chastisement for him in the morning, chastises him in the morning. The Septuagint: diligently instructs. The Scholiast: applies chastisement to him at dawn. St. Jerome: but he who diligently corrects loves. The sense is clear, as if to say: He who does not chastise his sinning child lest he afflict him, may seem to omit this out of excessive love for him; but in reality this is not love but hatred, because it is the cause of the son becoming lazy, rebellious, wicked, and such a one that the father must almost necessarily detest and hate him. Hence the saying:
The soft indulgence of fathers makes their sons lazy.
But he who truly and heartily loves his son constantly instructs him — in Hebrew שחר (iescar), in Greek παιδεύει — that is, trains, forms, corrects, and when necessary chastises him, in order to cut away vices and implant virtues.
Hence Hugo of St. Victor excellently says in Instruction for Monastic Novices, chapter 10: "discipline is the prison of evil desires, the bridle of wantonness, the yoke upon pride; it tames intemperance, restrains levity, and stifles disordered movements of the soul."
But why do the Hebrew words add "in the morning" or "at dawn"? I answer, first, because the morning time is most suitable for instruction, teaching, and discipline; for in the morning the mind, spirit, and intellect are at their sharpest. So R. Solomon and Aben-Ezra.
Second, because what a son learns in the morning he remembers, retains, and puts into practice throughout the rest of the day. Therefore morning discipline is for him a reminder and safeguard until evening, lest he commit any wrongdoing.
Third, "in the morning" means from boyhood, from the earliest age; for this is, as it were, the dawn of one's whole life. So R. Levi.
Fourth, because in the morning the mind is calmer and more tranquil, says Jansenius, so that one may correct and chastise not from anger that has already subsided, but from reason, for the faults of the preceding day. In like manner God chastises those whom He loves, according to the saying of chapter 3, verse 12: "Whom the Lord loves, He corrects; and as a father He delights in His son." Therefore, just as it is the greatest sign of God's hatred and indignation when He does not correct sinners, so it is the greatest sign of His love when He chastises them, according to Psalm 98:8: "O God, You were gracious to them, and avenging all their offenses." And 2 Maccabees 6:13: "For not to leave sinners alone for a long time to act according to their own will, but to chastise them immediately, is a sign of great kindness."
Following Solomon as usual, Ben-Sira in his Maxims declares: "Gold needs hammering, and a boy needs beating" — that is, "gold must be beaten, and a boy must be struck." But if you spare the rod, he becomes worthless and useless, just as gold is less useful unless it is hammered into a definite form. The Scholiast explains it this way: Just as gold, if you beat it, shines more brightly, so a boy, if you chastise him, becomes better. For just as clay, so the tender age follows whichever direction you lead it; but once the disposition has hardened, it is not easily reshaped into another form. Therefore Solomon wisely commands that we not deprive a boy of chastisement when it is needed (Proverbs 23:13). Since he has foolishness bound up in his heart, which the rod of correction drives away, as he says in chapter 22, verse 15. Accordingly, he who loves his son hastens chastisement, as he says in chapter 13:24, by which he wins wisdom for him, as chapter 29:15 says, and for himself the pleasures of the soul (ibid., verse 17). Lastly, what is greatest, he defends his son's soul from hell, as chapter 23:14 says.
Remarkable in the education of children were the Lacedaemonians or Spartans, of whom Plutarch says in the Laconic Sayings: Among the Spartans, he says, if a boy who was chastised by someone brought a complaint to his father, it was shameful for the father if, upon hearing this, he did not correct his son again. For from the tradition of their ancestors they had this mutual trust, that they believed there was no one who would command anything dishonorable to anyone's children, whom each man regarded as his own. The earliest age, since it does not yet understand what is shameful and what is honorable, needs beatings. But boys, when beaten by their teachers, are accustomed to complain to their parents about the cruelty of those who punished them. Since this diminished the authority of the other elders, the Spartans closed this window for their children, so that all elders would have the same authority over the boys as their fathers.
Themistocles, since as a young man he seemed to have a fierce and changeable disposition, used to say to those who marveled at his reformed character: "Rough and untamed colts become the best horses, if someone applies discipline and proper training to them." So Plutarch in his Life. His tutor used to say the same: "You will be nothing mediocre, boy; for you will be either a great good or a great evil to the Republic." For a noble disposition, if proper education is added, is a great good to the fatherland; but if it degenerates into vice, it brings enormous evil. So Plutarch in his Life of Themistocles. Demetrius Phalereus used to say that the loftiness of arrogant young men should be pruned in their education, but their sobriety should be preserved. This most wise man taught that such dispositions should not be despaired of, but that what is excessive should be trimmed in their formation. So Laertius, Book 5, chapter 5.
Verse 25: The Just Eats and Fills His Soul
In Hebrew: the just man eats to the satisfaction of his soul (that is, of his desire, says Vatablus — that is, he fulfills his desire); but the belly of the wicked shall fail, or be in want. The Septuagint: but the souls of the wicked are needy. Baynus expounds "shall fail" thus, as if to say: The just man, maintaining temperance in food, preserves the strength of his stomach so that he can eat to satisfaction; but the wicked man, by indulging his gluttony and carousing, so weakens his stomach that he rejects food and is unable to take in and digest the food necessary to sustain life.
Others explain "shall fail" thus: Because, they say, the avaricious, out of avarice, in order to increase their wealth, do not dare to eat to satiety, but waste away their growling bellies with hunger.
But the Vulgate translation demands a different sense, as if to say: The just man eats to satiety and satisfies his soul, that is, the hunger and desiderium (desire) of his soul. This maxim is often true in bodily goods, both because the prudent and generous man uses his possessions frugally and temperately for the just sustenance of himself and his family; because by his own labor he prepares the food with which to satisfy himself; and finally, because by God's blessing it comes about that the just man acquires the nourishment necessary for his satisfaction, and that this sufficiently feeds, satisfies, strengthens, and cheers him for better fulfilling his duties and serving God. But the "belly of the wicked is insatiable," because their hunger and gluttony are never satisfied — either because they always desire new, more numerous, and more delicate things, and therefore their appetite is insatiable; or on account of the poverty and want into which they fall either through laziness or through God's curse. Hence in Hebrew it reads "shall fail" or "shall be in want." Hence "insatiable" could also be taken as "unsatisfied," as if to say: The belly of the wicked is not satisfied but is consumed by want and hunger. Thus "incredible" is used for "incredulous" in Titus 1:16; Baruch 1:19; Sirach 1:36, and elsewhere. Similarly Jeremiah, chapter 15:18, says: "My wound is incurable (that is, despaired of) — it refuses to be healed."
There are therefore three reasons why the just man is satisfied: first, that by his labor he prepares the food with which to be satisfied; second, that he moderates his appetite through temperance; third, that God blesses his labors and crops and grants them the power to satisfy and nourish. There are equally many reasons why the wicked man is not satisfied: first, the laziness by which he is sluggish and does not wish to work to procure food; second, that he indulges his gluttony, and gluttony is insatiable. "The beginning of man's life is water and bread," says Ecclesiasticus 29:28; but for gluttons, so many kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs are not enough: new fish are sought from the sea, new wild animals from the land, new birds from the air; poultry is fattened, new spices are mixed in with these, new seasonings, and provocations to gluttony are stuffed in. Third, that God curses the crops and food of the wicked, takes away their power to nourish and satisfy, and, as it were, blows it away, according to what He threatens in Hosea 4:10: "They shall eat and not be satisfied"; and Haggai 1:6: "You have sown much and brought in little; you have eaten and have not been satisfied; you have drunk and have not been inebriated; you have covered yourselves and have not been warmed; and he who earned wages put them into a bag with holes." See the comments there.
Thus the manna satisfied the just and indeed gave them every sweetness of flavor (Wisdom 16:20); but it provoked nausea in the wicked (Numbers 11:4).
Hence allegorically St. Jerome takes these words to refer to the food of the word of God by which the Church is fed. Hear him on Amos chapter 8, toward the end: "From which we understand," he says, "that when doctrine is absent from the Churches, chastity perishes, charity dies, all virtues depart, because they have not eaten the word of the Lord. He who has eaten it, fattened by it, will hear through Solomon: The just man eating satisfies his soul; but the souls of the wicked shall hunger. And David used to sing: I was young and now am old, and I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his offspring begging for bread. How many martyrs perished from hunger in the persecutions and were in need of grain and bodily food! Therefore he speaks of that Bread who descended from heaven; whoever eats it can neither hunger nor thirst."
Tropologically, Dionysius says: The just man, he says, refreshes himself with spiritual food and fills his soul with pious affections. But the belly of the wicked is insatiable — that is, their heart is not satisfied with earthly things; indeed, like those with dropsy, the more they acquire, the more they desire, and just as the thirst of those with dropsy grows with drinking, so for them desire grows with attainment. Hence Seneca: "The poor man," he says, "lacks few things; the miser lacks everything." Therefore the belly must be restrained — that is, the desire and greed of the heart. And Hugo the Cardinal says: The just man eats, he says, everywhere and fills his soul; but the belly of the wicked is insatiable. And shortly after: The belly of the wicked is covetousness, which is insatiable, as it is said in Ecclesiastes chapter 5: "The covetous man shall not be filled with money." And it is insatiable for many reasons. First, because it has no bottom; for it is like a bag full of holes. Second, because it always grows, even from the mere sight of food, that is, of riches. Third, because nothing of what it desires is sent into this belly; for covetousness is in the heart, where money cannot enter. How then can money placed in a chest extinguish the hunger of the heart? Fourth, because these coveted things are not capable of filling the human heart, where the hunger of covetousness resides. For just as he would be delirious who tried to fill a chest with wisdom, of which it is utterly incapable, so certainly many are delirious who try to fill the human heart with money. Fifth, because all such coveted things are vain and produce emptiness rather than fullness, according to Genesis 1: "And the earth was void and empty." So far Hugo.