Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Canons Which Shed Light on Ecclesiasticus and the Other Sapiential Books
Canon 1: Not All Precepts Bind Under Sin
This book delivers moral precepts for living honorably and rightly; yet not all of them bind under sin, so that whoever does the contrary immediately sins against God: for some refer only to one's own advantage and convenience, and especially to a peaceful and comfortable life. Such is that passage in chapter 8, verse 1: "Do not contend with a powerful man, lest you fall into his hands;" and verse 2: "Do not quarrel with a wealthy man, lest he bring a lawsuit against you;" and verse 4: "Do not dispute with a man of sharp tongue, and do not pile wood on his fire;" and verse 5: "Do not associate with an unlearned man, lest he speak ill of your offspring."
Canon 2: Common Topics for Preachers
It is worthwhile for the studious person, especially a teacher and preacher, to note the common and rich topics occurring throughout, and treated at length concerning individual virtues and their contrary vices, such as friendship, fidelity, chastity, revenge, etc., which I shall accordingly indicate and note in the summary of each chapter, verse by verse.
Canon 3: Sirach Imitates Solomon
Sirach greatly imitates Solomon, especially his Parables or Proverbs, both in substance and in words, as will be evident from the parallels between the two, which I shall append after the Canons.
Canon 4: The Latin Translator Grecizes
The Latin translator here Grecizes considerably: perhaps he was himself Greek, and not very proficient in Latin. Therefore the force of the Greek word, and sometimes of the Hebrew (insofar as it can be investigated and conjectured from other passages of Scripture; for Ecclesiasticus no longer exists in Hebrew), must be carefully weighed and examined here. From this you will learn how great is the usefulness of knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, and how important it is to search the Hebrew and Greek sources in the Scriptures. On this matter see St. Augustine, book II of On Christian Doctrine, chapter 11.
Canon 5: The Meaning of Wisdom
Wisdom here, as also in Proverbs 8 and Wisdom 7, is taken generally, insofar as it applies to both created and uncreated wisdom; and it principally signifies the practical ethics of the Saints, namely the judgments and dictates of practical prudence about obeying God and His law, and its execution, fear, and love. For this practical wisdom is the knowledge of God and of the ultimate end and the means, namely the laws leading to it, and the devout affection, love, and desire for them. Hence wisdom is now called understanding, now prudence, now discipline, now doctrine, now knowledge, now shrewdness, now correction, now learning: all of which in substance are the same, although they differ in etymology and precise signification.
Canon 6: Omitted Verbs and Purposes
Very frequently, in the Hebrew manner, the verb "is" or "are" is left unexpressed here. Likewise many other things are left unexpressed, and often the very purpose and aim of a sentence. Thus Proverbs 20:12 says: "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord made them both." But to what end? Supply: Therefore thanks must be given to the Lord, the maker of both, and both must be used for God's honor. And Proverbs 22:2: "The rich and the poor met each other: the Lord is the maker of both." Supply: therefore, since they are equal by creation, though unequal in wealth, the rich man should not be proud, nor the poor man grieve; but each, content with his lot, should assist the other and serve God. For God did not wish all to be rich, since then no one would want to work; nor all to be poor, since then they could not feed themselves. Poverty is just as much a gift of God as riches are: for just as God gives riches to the wealthy for the purpose of charity, so He gives poverty to the poor as material for labor, patience, and merit, with grace proportioned to each.
Canon 7: Proverbs Describe What Generally Happens
Maxims and Proverbs do not signify what always happens, but what generally happens; sometimes also merely an event that is infrequent and rare. Thus chapter 27, verse 28: "He who throws a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head; and he who digs a pit will fall into it."
Canon 8: Temporal and Spiritual Goods
The temporal goods that are promised here to the wise and to those living uprightly properly pertain to the Jews and the Old Testament; but spiritual goods pertain to Christians and the New Testament.
Canon 9: A Collection of Maxims Without Strict Order
There is here a collection of maxims on every matter of conduct, which we may use on any occasion, in any place and time, against the vices, dangers, and temptations that arise. Therefore one should not seek here a strict order and connection among them: for they are set down promiscuously, as maxims. Often, however, Sirach heaps up several maxims on the same virtue or vice, and reviews its various species, modes, and fruits; and then appends their contraries, so as to illustrate the virtue by antithesis. Having done this, he not infrequently passes on to what is neighboring and related.
Canon 10: Various Kinds of Precepts
Various kinds of precepts and counsels are given here: some ethical and concerning private individuals, some pertaining to household management, others political, and still others theological. Again, some are didactic and doctrinal, some consolatory, others exhortatory.
Canon 11: Antitheses of Wise and Foolish
Antitheses between the wise man and the fool are frequent; for he calls the wise man the practical ethicist: conversely, the fool designates one ignorant of this Ethics, depraved and perverse. The wise man therefore is a good man; the fool is a wicked man. For by wisdom here, ethical and practical wisdom is understood, namely goodness and virtue. Hence in Proverbs 1:1, malice is opposed to wisdom.
Canon 12: The Conjunction "And" as Comparison
The conjunction "and" (et) often means the same as "so" or "just as"; for it connects similar things, and therefore, as a mark of comparison, it compares them with each other. For example, Proverbs 25:3: "The heaven above, and the earth below; and (that is, so) the heart of kings is unsearchable." And verse 25: "Cold water to a thirsty soul; and (that is, so welcome and pleasant is) good news from a distant land." Such expressions are frequent in Proverbs.
Canon 13: Beginnings and Outcomes
The Sage customarily attributes to us or to creatures the willing, the beginning, and the endeavor of a work, as being easy with the ordinary concurrence of God, which he presupposes; but the happy completion and outcome he ascribes to God, both because this outcome is more difficult, on account of the many obstacles that arise, and also because the end in a work is what is most desired and intended, and therefore is customarily attributed to the first and highest cause.
Canon 14: The Foot as Symbol of the Way
St. Cyril, book 9 Against Julian: "It is the custom of Sacred Scripture to take the step of a foot, and sometimes the whole foot, enigmatically for that which shows one's way, that which each person must do, as Proverbs 23: 'Make straight steps for your feet, and direct your ways.'"
Canon 15: The Meaning of Misle (Proverbs)
The Hebrews call Misle, that is Proverbs, any illustrious maxim, as if predominating and excelling over others (for the root mascal signifies to excel, to rule), whether it be an adage, a parable, or an enigma: whence in Scripture these terms are often confused and taken as synonymous: parable, proverb, saying, enigma, etc.
Canon 16: Greek Text More Concise Than Latin
The Greek text here is much more concise than the Latin: hence most maxims that are three-membered in the Latin are two-membered in the Greek. Accordingly, the Greek at times does not seem to present the complete maxims of Sirach, but to abbreviate them. The Vulgate Latin version is not to be corrected from the Greek text, as Isidore Clarius thinks, but rather the Greek should be accommodated to the Latin, since the Council of Trent, session IV, decreed that the Vulgate Latin version is to be held in all respects as authentic and canonical Scripture.
Canon 17: Repeated Maxims
The same maxims are from time to time repeated and impressed with different words. In a similar way St. Gregory, what he said in one phrase, he is accustomed shortly to say in another, to repeat and impress. Some are not the same but related and similar.
Canon 18: The Translator's Archaic Words
The Latin translator is very ancient, for he preceded the time of St. Jerome; therefore he has many words customary in that ancient age but now obsolete: most of them I have reviewed and collected at the end of chapter 6 of the Prolegomena.
Canon 19: Imperatives Expressing Consequences
When, after a precept, he adds in the same tenor an imperative or a future tense, signifying the fruit or harm following from the observance or transgression of the precept, then the imperative or future must be interpreted in a subjunctive sense, so that it signifies not another precept, but the fruit, punishment, or reward of the precept already given: therefore the conjunction "and" must then be taken as meaning "so that." For example, chapter 8, verse 13: "Do not kindle the coals of sinners by rebuking them, and (that is, so that you may) not be set on fire by the flame of their sins."
Canon 20: One Greek Verse Rendered as Two Latin
In the Vulgate version of Ecclesiasticus, from time to time one and the same Greek verse, because it is ambiguous and signifies multiple things, is rendered by two Latin verses: or the same Greek verse, rendered differently in Latin, was transcribed in both forms into the Latin Vulgate, so that the version might be fuller.
Furthermore, in my custom I shall endeavor to be concise, methodical, clear, genuine, and exact, so that I may embrace Sirach — so copious and prolix in its many chapters, maxims, and subjects — in one volume; especially because, God willing, I shall soon publish Solomon, who treats the same subject matter, and to whom, as to the source, I rightly reserve many important things.