Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He teaches that all sin must be most carefully avoided, and especially pride; second, from verse 14, he depicts the manners of the fool and contrasts them with the manners of the wise man; third, from verse 23, he describes the fool's immodesty in laughter, sight, hearing, voice, and speech.
Vulgate Text: Ecclesiasticus 21:1-31
1. My son, have you sinned? Do not add to it again; but also pray concerning your former sins that they may be forgiven you. 2. Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent: and if you approach them, they will seize you. 3. The teeth of a lion are its teeth, slaying the souls of men. 4. Like a two-edged sword is all iniquity; there is no healing for its wound. 5. Reproach and injuries will bring substance to nothing: and the house that is exceedingly wealthy will be brought to nothing by pride: so the substance of the proud man will be rooted out. 6. The prayer of the poor man will reach from his mouth to the ears of God, and judgment will come swiftly upon him. 7. He who hates correction walks in the footsteps of the sinner: and he who fears God will turn to his own heart. 8. He who is mighty with a bold tongue is known from afar: and the sensible man knows how to avoid him. 9. He who builds his house at the expense of others is like one who gathers his stones in winter. 10. The assembly of sinners is like gathered tow, and their end is a flame of fire. 11. The way of sinners is paved with stones, and at their end are hell, and darkness, and punishments. 12. He who keeps justice will grasp its meaning. 13. The perfection of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding. 14. He who is not wise in good will not be instructed. 15. But there is a wisdom that abounds in evil: and there is no understanding where there is bitterness. 16. The knowledge of the wise man will overflow like a flood, and his counsel endures like a fountain of life. 17. The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, and it will hold no wisdom. 18. Whatever wise word a knowing man hears, he will praise it and apply it to himself: the dissolute man hears it, and it displeases him, and he casts it behind his back. 19. The talk of a fool is like a burden on a journey: but on the lips of the sensible man grace will be found. 20. The mouth of the prudent man is sought in the assembly, and they will ponder his words in their hearts. 21. Like a house in ruins, so is wisdom to a fool: and the knowledge of the senseless man is words without meaning. 22. Doctrine to a fool is fetters on the feet, and like bonds of hands upon the right hand. 23. A fool raises his voice in laughter: but a wise man will scarcely laugh quietly. 24. Doctrine to a prudent man is a golden ornament, and like a bracelet on the right arm. 25. The foot of a fool is quick to enter his neighbor's house, but a man of experience will be abashed before a person of power. 26. A fool peers into the house from the window: but the educated man will stand outside. 27. It is the folly of a man to listen at the door, and the prudent man will be grieved by such disgrace. 28. The lips of the imprudent will tell foolish things: but the words of the prudent will be weighed on a balance. 29. The heart of fools is in their mouth, and the mouth of the wise is in their heart. 30. When the ungodly man curses the devil, he curses his own soul. 31. The whisperer will defile his own soul, and will be hated by all: and he who abides with him will be odious: the silent and sensible man will be honored.
First Part of the Chapter
Verse 1: My son, have you sinned? Do not add to it again
1. MY SON, HAVE YOU SINNED? DO NOT ADD TO IT AGAIN; BUT ALSO PRAY CONCERNING YOUR FORMER SINS THAT THEY MAY BE FORGIVEN YOU. — The Tigurina has: if you have sinned, my son, do not continue to sin, but pray for forgiveness of past deeds. He says "if you have sinned," because, as the Arabic proverb has it (Century 2, no. 57): "The omission of sin is more upright than the performance of penance" — that is to say, it is better not to sin than to repent after sinning; innocence is better than penitence; it is more advantageous not to have occasions for repenting than to repent. Now the meaning is as follows: After committing a sin, as after receiving a mortal wound, I suggest two remedies necessary for your salvation. The first is not to repeat the sin; for there are many who, when they have committed one sin, as if despairing now that innocence and grace are lost, rush headlong into every crime and wallow like swine in the mire of pleasures, as harlots and fornicators do. To these he says: "My son, have you sinned? Do not add to it again," both because the repetition of sin is a new sin and a new wound to the soul. Just as one who has received one wound takes care not to receive a second, so too one who has committed one sin should take care not to commit a second; both because one sin is more easily cured than two, three, or more — just as one wound is more easily healed than many — and because in the repetition of sin there is a willfulness and lust of the soul that gravely offends God and makes the cure of the fallen and the pardoning of fault difficult. The Hebrew proverb is relevant here: "Precept draws precept, and sin draws sin" — that is to say, one observance of the law, one virtue draws another; so one sin attracts and entices to another.
The second remedy: "But also pray concerning your former sins that they may be forgiven you" — that is to say, it is not sufficient for the pardon of sin merely not to repeat it, or to amend one's life, as if penance were nothing other than a change of mind, as Calvin and Luther pretend; but in addition it is necessary to grieve over the sin committed and to humbly and sorrowfully beg pardon for it. So teaches St. Augustine, book 1, On Marriage and Concupiscence, chapter 26, where from this passage he teaches that the transient act of sin leaves behind it a state of guilt, or a permanent stain on the soul, by which a man is reckoned and is a sinner, and is bound and liable to God's wrath and to hell. "For if to cease from sinning," he says, "were the same as not having sin, it would suffice for Scripture to warn us: My son, have you sinned? Do not add to it again. But that does not suffice; for it added: And pray regarding your former sins, that they may be forgiven you. They remain, therefore, unless they are forgiven. But how do they remain if they are past, unless it is because they have passed in act but remain in guilt?" So says St. Augustine.
Morally and mystically, St. Gregory, book 4 of the Moralia, chapter 19, says: "He adds sin to sin who also defends his evil deeds; and he does not leave that solitary night who joins the patronage of defense to the darkness of his fault" — as Adam did in excusing his sin, indeed throwing it back upon God: The woman whom You gave me as a companion, she gave me from the tree, and I ate (Genesis 3:12) — as if to say: You provided the occasion for sinning by giving me the woman. So says St. Gregory.
Morally, learn here that penance must be done quickly after sin, and after penance one must guard against relapse and persevere steadfastly in justice and God's grace. Hear St. Gregory, part 3 of the Pastoral Rule, admonition 31: "Those are to be admonished who bewail their sins yet do not abandon them; let them know and carefully consider that they wash themselves in vain by weeping when they defile themselves wickedly by their manner of living, since they wash themselves with tears only to return clean to their filth." And shortly after: "The sow, when washed in the wallowing-place of mud, is made more filthy; and he who bewails his sin yet does not abandon it subjects himself to an almost graver fault, since he despises the very pardon which he could have obtained by weeping, and rolls himself as it were in muddy water; because, while he withdraws the cleanness of life from his tears, he makes even the tears themselves filthy before the eyes of God." Wherefore Christ gives this warning to the sick man He had healed (John 5:14): "Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest something worse befall you." On which St. Cyprian, in his book On the Conduct and Dress of Virgins, says: "These are the words of the Lord who saves and teaches, who heals and warns alike — He gives a rule of living, He gives a law of innocence after conferring health, nor does He afterwards allow wandering with free and loose reins; but rather, having bound the man by the very means by which he had been healed, He threatens more gravely — namely, that it is a lesser fault to have sinned before, when you did not yet know the discipline of God; but there is no pardon for sinning further after you have begun to know God." St. Fulgentius brings a similar passage, On Faith, to Peter, chapter 3: "No one among men ought under the hope of mercy to remain longer in his sins, since even in the body no one wishes to remain sick longer under the hope of future health; for those who neglect to withdraw from their iniquities and promise themselves pardon for them are sometimes so overtaken by the sudden wrath of God that they find neither time for conversion nor the benefit of forgiveness."
Verse 2: Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent
2. FLEE FROM SINS AS FROM THE FACE OF A SERPENT; AND IF YOU APPROACH THEM, THEY WILL SEIZE YOU. — The Interpreter read the Greek as "they will receive/seize": so also St. Augustine reads in the Speculum. But others read it as "it will bite": for the Greek dexesthai means to bite, while dechesthai means to receive. But the meaning comes to the same thing, namely: sins will seize you like serpents with their coils, to bite you and instill their venom into you, by which they will so injure your soul that you cannot be healed naturally by yourself, but to be healed you need the supernatural grace of God. The Tigurina renders: as from the sight of a serpent, flee from sin; others: flee sin as you would a serpent; for if you approach, it will bite you.
He alludes to the serpent by which the devil drew Eve to sin. Sin therefore is like a serpent and a basilisk, which kills those it looks upon by sight alone; indeed it is more harmful than the serpent and the devil himself, and so sin made the most beautiful and most blessed angel into the most foul and most wretched devil. Hence Rabanus says: "He explains 'from the face of a serpent' as from the face of the devil. For that ancient serpent, who always dwells in the shadows of sinners and reigns in the children of darkness, desires our destruction without ceasing, and therefore suggests wicked deeds to us." The Syriac has: my son, you have been greatly fleeing from sin; if you approach it, it will bite you. By this bite understand every harm that sin inflicts on the soul, and especially the remorse of conscience, according to God's word to Cain (Genesis 4:7): "But if you do evil, sin will be present at the door" — in Hebrew, it will crouch — that is, in the manner of a serpent and a surly dog, which allows no one to go out or come in peacefully, but always disturbs with its inopportune barking. In this sense your sin will perpetually be before your feet and before your eyes, so that though God may leave you unpunished for a time, the very bite of sin, the serpents, the furies will keenly press, agitate, and pursue you; wherever you go, sin will accompany you, will thrust and force itself upon your conscience, and as a restless evil will not permit you to find peace of mind.
Moreover, St. Chrysostom, in homily 8 on the Epistle to the Romans, notes the phrase "if you approach": "For sin does not approach us; rather, we flee over to it." And he adds that the devil dwells among us "like a certain robber and tyrant, who, unless he has seized someone unarmed and alone, descending into his dens, cannot endure to approach." He adds that the devil is like a serpent: first, because he strives to drag us downward to earth and earthly things; second, because just as a serpent lurks in thorns, so a demon lurks and hides himself in riches — and if you cut down the thorns, he will immediately flee; third, just as a serpent is charmed by song, so the devil is exorcised and put to flight by the invocation of the name of Christ and the power of the Cross.
Verse 3: The teeth of a lion are its teeth, slaying the souls of men
3. THE TEETH OF A LION ARE ITS TEETH, SLAYING THE SOULS OF MEN. — The Tigurina renders: the teeth of a lion are its teeth, deadly to the souls of men. The Syriac has: like the teeth of a lion is falsehood (for every sin is called in Scripture, and is in practice, a lie, because it is contrary to truth and to the true dictate of reason, law, and virtue), and it corrupts the souls of men. He compared sin to a serpent because of its venomous and stealthy lethal bite; now he compares it to a lion, because of the savagery and ferocity with which it cruelly tears and kills the soul, both by taking away grace and by driving it to hell.
Verse 4: Like a two-edged sword is all iniquity
4. LIKE A TWO-EDGED SWORD IS ALL INIQUITY; THERE IS NO HEALING FOR ITS WOUND. — In Greek, iasis, that is, healing, or remedy and cure. For "two-edged" the Greek has distomos, that is, double-edged, having two cutting edges, as it were two mouths, with which it cuts, bites, and devours the sinner. He compared sin to a lion and a serpent; now he compares it to a large sword that cuts on both sides — that is to say, sin is like a most sharp sword that cuts through and severs the very bones; for thus sin cuts through the innermost parts of the soul and kills the soul itself.
Morally, learn here how great is the harm of sin. For sin itself does more damage to the soul than a basilisk, than a lion, than a two-edged sword, because cutting as if from two sides, it pierces through soul and body alike, kills, and sends to hell. See Bellarmine, On the Groaning of the Dove, at the beginning of book 2, where he piously and learnedly shows that sin is the supreme evil, and supremely injurious and harmful both to God, and to man, and to all other creatures, and even to hell itself and to the damned — because it increases their punishment. So also St. Anselm, in his book On Similitudes, chapter 101: "By sinning we have not only merited the wrath of God, but have also stirred up every creature against us. The earth can say to us: I ought not to sustain you, but rather to swallow you up. Food and drink also can say: You have not merited that we should nourish you. The sun likewise: I ought not to shine for your salvation, but rather to be withheld for the vengeance of my Lord."
Finally, sin strikes at the very throat of God and Christ, so much so that if the heart of God could be pierced by any weapon, it would be pierced by none other than sin. Sin therefore, as far as it is in its power, removes God from the midst. Sin is a killing of Christ, indeed a killing of God. Wherefore so great is the malice of even one mortal sin, so great is the injury against that infinite Majesty, that it cannot be compensated by all the acts of service, praises, worship, prayers, humiliations, penances, and afflictions of all the Saints, Angels, and men put together. Since therefore no remedy appeared, either on earth or in heaven, for healing our evils, divine mercy devised an unheard-of, admirable, ineffable, incomprehensible plan — namely, that the Son of God, the begotten Wisdom through whom all things were made, should unite our nature to Himself and in it and through it restore the entire human race.
Verse 5: Reproach and injuries will bring substance to nothing
5. REPROACH AND INJURIES WILL BRING SUBSTANCE TO NOTHING: AND THE HOUSE THAT IS EXCEEDINGLY WEALTHY WILL BE BROUGHT TO NOTHING BY PRIDE; SO THE SUBSTANCE OF THE PROUD MAN WILL BE ROOTED OUT. — He descends from the genus to the species, that is, from sin to pride, because pride is the queen of sins, indeed the mother, fountain, and root. For "reproach" the Greek is kataphlegmos — a proud, severe, and harsh rebuke, horrible and formidable, which shakes, strikes down, and stupefies the minds of subjects and servants. The meaning therefore is: a master or lord who proudly rebukes, inflicts injuries, and tyrannically treats his servants, subjects, and others, will diminish and reduce to nothing his substance and wealth; because through excessive harshness, arrogance, and injuries he will make his servants and ministers into fugitives or thieves. Thus Rehoboam, because of his proud and harsh response to the ten tribes of Israel, alienated them from himself and lost the kingdom (3 Kings, chapter 12). This happens by the just judgment of God, who justly deprives and punishes the proud of their wealth, kingdom, and dominion.
Verse 6: The prayer of the poor man will reach God's ears
6. THE PRAYER OF THE POOR MAN WILL REACH FROM HIS MOUTH TO HIS EARS, AND JUDGMENT WILL COME SWIFTLY UPON HIM. — "His" refers to God, whose special property it is to hear and answer the prayers of the poor. He gives the reason why the substance of the proud and violent is brought to nothing — namely, because the subjects and poor who are oppressed by them cry out to God, and God hears them; hence, as a just avenger, He swiftly pronounces His judgment upon them. Note the phrase "from his mouth to his ears" — the mouth of the oppressed poor is, as it were, near to the ears of God, so that the prayer immediately touches and strikes the ears of God. For the oppression of the poor is a sin crying to heaven, which instantly provokes God's vengeance. The Syriac elegantly says: the prayer of the poor man is as from his own mouth to his own ear, and it ascends before the Judge of the ages — that is to say, the mouth of the poor man is the mouth of God, and conversely the ear of God is the ear of the poor man.
Verse 7: He who hates correction is in the footsteps of the sinner
7. HE WHO HATES CORRECTION IS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE SINNER: AND HE WHO FEARS GOD WILL TURN TO HIS OWN HEART. — It is great pride and a great sin to hate the one who corrects you. For this hatred is a sign that the soul is confirmed and hardened in sin, so that it does not admit admonitions or admonishers, but hates, spurns, and execrates them as enemies. Conversely: "He who fears God will turn to his own heart." The Tigurina: but he who reveres the Lord will come to his senses from the heart. A sinner who is corrected hates the correction; but he who fears God, if he is corrected for any fault, returns to his heart, acknowledges the fault, repents, and changes and amends his life. Therefore the "mark," that is, the proof of an absolute and consummate "sinner," is to hate correction; for he who fears God, as soon as he is corrected, returns to his heart to amend himself. There are therefore degrees in this matter. For one can love correction, one can endure it, and one can hate it. The first is a sign of predestination, as the last is of reprobation.
Correction is like a mirror, which shows us the blemishes that disfigure and disgrace us, so that we may wash them away. Hence Clement of Alexandria, book 1 of the Pedagogue, chapter 9: "Just as a mirror is not evil for the ugly person, because it shows him what he is like, so neither does the one who reproves wish evil to him who is troubled in soul." Again, correction is a medicine that washes away stains and heals the diseases of the soul; therefore he who hates it hates his own health. Hence St. Bernard exclaims in sermon 42 on the Song of Songs: "What a marvelous perversity: he is angry at the physician but not angry at the archer."
Verse 8: He who is mighty in bold speech is known from afar
8. HE WHO IS MIGHTY IN BOLD SPEECH IS KNOWN FROM AFAR: AND THE SENSIBLE MAN KNOWS HOW TO WITHDRAW FROM HIM. — That is to say, he who excels in boldness of speaking is known far and wide, celebrated and famous: for the common people and the unrefined crowd admire his boldness and eloquence; but a prudent and sensible man perceives and knows that he boldly utters many false and reckless things, and that if one believes and clings to him, one will be deceived and deluded, and fall into many troubles and dangers. Therefore the wise man does not believe him and guards himself from him. These things also pertain to the proud and to pride: for pride itself is the mother of boldness and makes the tongue bold and unbridled.
Verse 9: He who builds his house at the expense of others
9. HE WHO BUILDS HIS HOUSE AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS IS LIKE ONE WHO GATHERS HIS STONES IN WINTER. — From the first species of sin, namely pride, he descends to the second that flows from it, namely injustice. For the proud rich are accustomed to increase their wealth through unjust forced labor, exactions, and oppression of the poor. He who builds his house not at his own expense, but at another's — unjustly, by violence, fraud, or injustice — is like a man who gathers stones for construction in winter, at an inopportune time. For in winter, because of the cold, the mortar freezes, or because of moisture it dissolves; as a result, buildings erected in winter develop cracks and easily collapse. In a similar way, the possessions of others never cohere; but being loose and disjointed they fall apart. He who builds a house from plunder will not enjoy it for long; but either he himself will die soon, or the house will collapse or be transferred to another, as God thus avenges his injustice.
He alludes to — indeed cites — that passage of Jeremiah 22:13, about the wicked king Jehoiakim: "Woe to him who builds his house with injustice and his upper rooms without judgment." Habakkuk followed Jeremiah, chapter 2, verse 9: "Woe to him who gathers evil gain for his house. Woe to him who builds a city with blood and establishes a town with iniquity."
Verse 10: The congregation of sinners is like gathered tow
10. THE CONGREGATION OF SINNERS IS LIKE GATHERED TOW, AND THEIR END IS A FLAME OF FIRE. — He assigns punishment to guilt: the mighty and the proud think themselves unconquerable; but in reality their entire assembly is fragile, like gathered tow. For just as tow is immediately caught and ignited by a nearby fire, and the greater the amount of tow, the more easily the fire is kindled, so likewise the fire of divine vengeance will most easily seize and consume all sinners. Moreover, the fire that consumes the wicked is fivefold: first, the fire of God's indignation; second, the fire of vengeance, by which God destroys the wicked in this life; third, the fire of the conflagration of the world; fourth, the fire of the most severe divine judgment on the last day; fifth, the fire of hell.
Morally, let sinners learn here that their strength, wealth, conspiracies, and alliances are vanishing, and that these are nothing other than tow gathered for a great conflagration. The just and pious should fear them not at all, and be certain that they will shortly be consumed like tow by the fire of divine vengeance.
Verse 11: The way of sinners is paved with stones
11. THE WAY OF SINNERS IS PAVED WITH STONES, AND AT THEIR END ARE HELL, AND DARKNESS, AND PUNISHMENTS. — In Greek: at their end is the pit of hell. The way of concupiscence along which sinners walk at first appears elegant, beautiful, pleasant, and delightful, as if paved with flat stones; but afterwards it appears rough, gloomy, and horrible, for its end leads to hell, where there is the densest darkness and the most atrocious punishments. Conversely, the way of virtue is at first rough and narrow, but for those who progress along it, it gradually becomes wider, easier, and more pleasant, and finally leads them to eternal glory. He alludes to Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end leads to death." This is what Christ says in Matthew 7:13: "Wide is the way that leads to destruction, and many are they who enter by it. How narrow the gate and strait the way that leads to life, and few are they who find it!"
Verses 12 and 13: He who keeps justice will grasp its meaning
12 and 13. HE WHO KEEPS JUSTICE WILL GRASP ITS MEANING. THE CONSUMMATION OF THE FEAR OF GOD IS WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING. — He calls "justice" the observance of the law, for this is what makes a man just. He who observes the law attains the understanding of the law; he perceives and sees through to the mind and meaning of the law, so as to see what the law commands and intends, and its purpose and cause, as well as its wisdom and order. For the law of God is learned and understood not so much by speculation as by practice, as St. Bernard teaches in epistle 108: "This knowledge is hardly grasped easily except by one who has been crucified to the world."
From which Sirach rightly infers: "The consummation of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding," that is: The perfection of the fear of God, which consists in the perfect observance of the law of God, begets true wisdom and understanding, and therefore is itself true wisdom and understanding. For he is truly wise and understanding, not who speculates on lofty things, but who fears God and carries out His commandments in deed.
Second Part of the Chapter: Contrasting the Manners of the Fool with Those of the Wise Man
Verses 14 and 15: He who is not wise in good will not be instructed
14 and 15. HE WHO IS NOT WISE IN GOOD WILL NOT BE INSTRUCTED. BUT THERE IS A WISDOM WHICH ABOUNDS IN EVIL: AND THERE IS NO UNDERSTANDING WHERE THERE IS BITTERNESS. — He distinguishes a twofold shrewdness and wisdom. One in good, which is true; the other in evil, which is counterfeit, feigned, and false. True shrewdness and wisdom consists in the observance of the law of God. There is a certain shrewdness "which abounds in evil," so as to craftily contrive and perpetrate many evils, according to that saying of Jeremiah 4:22: "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." This is not true wisdom; for there is no true understanding "where there is bitterness" — that is, malice which embitters the soul and makes it bitter both to itself, to God, and to its neighbors. First, because anger and rancor darken the judgment; second, because God does not bestow His heavenly light upon those in whom this bitterness dwells. Whence St. James 3:14 says: "If you have bitter zeal and contentions in your hearts, this wisdom is not descending from above, but is earthly, sensual, diabolical."
Verse 16: The knowledge of the wise man shall abound like a flood
16. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WISE MAN SHALL ABOUND LIKE A FLOOD, AND HIS COUNSEL SHALL REMAIN LIKE A FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. — Just as when the moon waxes the sea rises, so that at the full moon it overflows and irrigates the neighboring fields, so with the growing illumination and grace of God the knowledge of the wise man grows, to such a degree that it overflows upon others. His counsel and teaching is like a fountain of life, which perpetually flows with living waters of wisdom. Christ said: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life" (John 4:14).
Morally, learn here that a teacher must always pour forth sound and holy doctrine, whether the hearers be few or many, poor or rich. So Christ acted, teaching one Samaritan woman, and forming poor fishermen into Apostles. St. Chrysostom says: "The veins of waters flow even if no one comes to draw water, and fountains send forth their springs even if no one draws from them."
Verse 17: The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel
17. THE HEART OF A FOOL IS LIKE A BROKEN VESSEL, AND IT WILL HOLD NO WISDOM. — The mind of the wise man is like a fountain of life, perpetually pouring forth the waters of salutary doctrine; but the mind of the fool is like a broken flask, and therefore it will retain no wisdom that it reads or hears. The Syriac says: the heart of the wicked is like a broken cistern, and in all the days of his life he will not learn wisdom. Here applies the apophthegm of the Hebrews in the Pirke Avoth: "There are four types of people standing before the wise. Some are like a sponge, which absorbs moisture from every direction; others are like a pierced barrel, which lets water flow out on the other side; others are like a wine-strainer, which retains the dregs; and some are like the sieve of a perfumer, which keeps the fine flour."
Verse 18: Whatever wise word a knowing man hears
18. WHATEVER WISE WORD A KNOWING MAN HEARS, HE WILL PRAISE IT AND APPLY IT TO HIMSELF: THE DISSOLUTE MAN HEARS IT, AND IT DISPLEASES HIM, AND HE CASTS IT BEHIND HIS BACK. — A wise man ruminates on all wisdom that he hears or reads, like a sheep, and transfers it into his inward parts, so that he may grow; but the fool who prefers his pleasures to wisdom turns away from it, and casts it behind his back, lest he be forced to look upon it, and from it either change his life or be continually rebuked. Just as lyres that are similar and tuned in the same way respond to one another through a certain sympathy, so also a wise man acquiesces to a wise man and sings along with him, absorbing his sayings from afar. The same happens between fool and fool. So great is the force of similarity: just as strings made from wolf sinews clash against strings made from sheep sinews through natural antipathy, so a fool clashes against the sayings of the wise man.
Verse 19: The talk of a fool is like a burden on the road
19. THE TALK OF A FOOL IS LIKE A BURDEN ON THE ROAD: BUT ON THE LIPS OF THE SENSIBLE MAN GRACE WILL BE FOUND. — He has said what the heart of the fool is like; now he says the same about the mouth; for the mouth follows the heart and the mind. The talk of the fool is like a burden, because it is heavy and troublesome, and weighs down hearers — both because it is importunate, verbose, and insipid. But on the lips of the sensible man grace is found, because their speech is discreet, prudent, elegant, sweet, useful, and salutary. Hear St. Ambrose, book 1, On the Prayer of Job, chapter 3: "The talk of a fool is a burden on the road. For what else is sin but a burden? Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28).
Verse 20: The mouth of the prudent man is sought in the assembly
20. THE MOUTH OF THE PRUDENT MAN IS SOUGHT IN THE ASSEMBLY, AND THEY WILL PONDER HIS WORDS IN THEIR HEARTS. — In a gathering, people seek to hear the wise and prudent man, so that they may be instructed by his teaching, corrected by his admonition, and directed by his counsel; and therefore they will weigh and ruminate upon his words in their heart.
Verse 21: Like a destroyed house, so is wisdom to a fool
21. LIKE A HOUSE IN RUINS, SO IS WISDOM TO A FOOL: AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SENSELESS MAN IS WORDS WITHOUT MEANING. — The phrase "so is wisdom to a fool" has a double meaning. The first: The wisdom of the prudent man, which is gratefully sought in the assembly, is ungrateful and contemptible to the fool. The second and more genuine sense: The wisdom that is in the fool, which he heard from a wise man, when proposed by the fool himself crudely, ineptly, and confusedly, is like a destroyed house. For the speech of a wise man, being orderly, truthful, and beautiful, is like a fair house; but the fool mixes into the wisdom things that are foolish, insipid, and contrary, which overturn its fabric. The senseless man brings forth his knowledge in an unintelligible manner, so that if you were asked "What did that fool say?" you would answer "I do not know." Here that saying of Gregory Nazianzen is true: "An ape is an ape, even if clothed in purple. An ass, even when laden with gold, does not therefore cease to bray."
Verse 22: Fetters on the feet — to a fool is instruction
22. FETTERS ON THE FEET — TO A FOOL IS INSTRUCTION, AND LIKE BONDS OF THE HANDS UPON THE RIGHT HAND. — He gives the reason why fools hate wisdom: because it is like a fetter binding and constraining their feet, so that they may not advance to perform foolish deeds. The same is like a manacle constraining the right hand, so that it may not perform anything foolish. Because wisdom, by its discipline, restricts and restrains the disciplined affects, steps, and actions of fools, it is therefore hateful to them. Whence they, in order to follow their desires, shake off these bonds of wisdom and say: "Let us break their bonds, and let us cast away their yoke from us" (Psalm 2).
Third Part of the Chapter: On the Fool's Immodesty in Laughter, Sight, Hearing, and Speech
Verse 23: A fool lifts up his voice in laughter
23. A FOOL LIFTS UP HIS VOICE IN LAUGHTER: BUT A WISE MAN WILL SCARCELY LAUGH QUIETLY. — The fool on any occasion, indeed for no reason at all, breaks into laughter, and laughs effusively, broadly, with mouth agape, and foolishly, at things for which he ought rather to mourn and weep. But the wise man laughs rarely and moderately, and does not so much laugh as smile; because the wise man has a serious, mature, and steadfast disposition, and he knows that he lives in this world full of miseries, as it were in a valley of tears. He alludes to Ecclesiastes 7:5: "The heart of the wise is where there is sorrow, and the heart of fools where there is mirth."
Thus Christ the Lord is read to have wept frequently, but never to have laughed, so as to teach Christians that here is the time for weeping, and in heaven will be the time for laughing. St. Basil prescribes: "Do not utter laughter with loose lips, for it is madness to laugh with noise; but indicate the joy of the mind only by smiling." St. Bernard, in his sermon on St. Malachy, Archbishop of Ireland, praises his modest laughter: "His laugh either manifested or provoked charity, and yet even so it was rare. Indeed, sometimes drawn out, but never forced; which so announced the joy of the heart that it did not diminish but increased the grace of his countenance." By much laughter you may recognize a fool.
Verse 24: A golden ornament is instruction to the prudent
24. A GOLDEN ORNAMENT IS INSTRUCTION TO THE PRUDENT MAN, AND LIKE A BRACELET ON THE RIGHT ARM. — This is an antithesis: in verse 22 he said instruction is like fetters to the fool; here he contrasts the wise man. For to the wise man instruction and wisdom are like a golden ornament — a necklace and chain — because it adorns him, and will adorn him all the more if as a teacher he communicates it to others. Just as a golden and jeweled ring adorns the right hand, so wisdom adorns the wise man.
Verse 25: The foot of the fool is quick into the neighbor's house
25. THE FOOT OF THE FOOL IS QUICK INTO THE NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE: AND A MAN OF EXPERIENCE WILL BE ABASHED BEFORE THE PERSON OF THE POWERFUL. — He has distinguished the wise man from the fool in heart, mouth, and laughter; now he distinguishes them in their manner of going. The fool, because he is curious and shameless, easily enters the neighbor's house, to curiously investigate what is done there. But the man of experience, who has learned how unwelcome to people is the curious scrutiny of one's house, this man will be abashed and show reverence. The wise man is modest and reverent; but the fool is shameless and irreverent.
Verse 26: A fool peers through the window into a house
26. A FOOL WILL PEER THROUGH THE WINDOW INTO A HOUSE: BUT AN EDUCATED MAN WILL STAND OUTSIDE. — If the fool cannot enter the house because the doors are closed, he will rudely and curiously peer into the house through the cracks. But a well-bred and well-mannered man will stand outside, knocking at the door. Xenocrates used to say that it makes no difference whether you set your feet or your eyes into another's dwelling; indeed, the inhabitants fear more from eyes than from feet.
Verse 27: It is folly to listen at the door
27. IT IS THE FOLLY OF A MAN TO LISTEN AT THE DOOR: AND THE PRUDENT MAN WILL BE GRIEVED BY THE DISGRACE. — This is the third gesture of the fool, who, if he cannot enter or peer in, shamelessly applies his ears to the door to hear what is said within. The prudent man considers it a grave thing to commit this incivility, immodesty, and shamelessness. The sum of all these points is that the fool is careless of his own affairs but curious about others' affairs; whereas the wise man is unconcerned about others' affairs but attentive to his own, and considers it uncivil and disgraceful to arrogate the care of others' business to himself.
Verse 28: The lips of the imprudent will tell foolish things
28. THE LIPS OF THE IMPRUDENT WILL TELL FOOLISH THINGS: BUT THE WORDS OF THE PRUDENT WILL BE WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE — both on the balance of reason by the prudent before they utter them, and on the balance of authority by those who hear them. For the hearers will greatly esteem them as spoken with gravity and wisdom. Here applies the principle of St. Bernard: "Let your words come twice to the file before they come once to the tongue." The file of words is the mind, is reason, is prudence, is consideration.
Blessed Peter Damian excellently says in Letter 10: "He who thinks that talkativeness is eloquence goes wrong. Just as an unbridled horse passes through winding paths and pathless places, so the tongue of fools pours forth frivolous things indifferently and lightly. But the prudent man weighs what is to be said, and like a cautious traveler carefully watches where he plants the step of his tongue."
Verse 29: In the mouth of fools is their heart
29. IN THE MOUTH OF FOOLS IS THEIR HEART: AND IN THE HEART OF THE WISE IS THEIR MOUTH. — Fools blurt out with their mouth whatever they have in their heart, for they do not know how to conceal their thoughts; hence they seem to have their heart placed in their mouth, open and exposed to all. On the contrary, the wise utter nothing except what they have first carefully weighed in their heart; therefore they seem to have their mouth hidden in their heart. In fools the mouth rules — garrulity and boldness of speech — and thus the mouth governs their heart. In the prudent, the heart rules, and it governs their mouth, according to Proverbs 16: "The heart of the wise instructs his mouth."
St. Gregory Nazianzen writes an apologue of swallows and swans: swallows have their heart in their mouth, while swans have their mouth in their heart. "Better is the silence of swans than the chattering of swallows."
Verse 30: When the ungodly curses the devil
30. WHEN THE UNGODLY MAN CURSES THE DEVIL, HE CURSES HIS OWN SOUL. — When the ungodly man execrates the devil, he execrates himself; because he himself is similar to the devil. Foolishly, therefore, the fool execrates the devil, since he does not cease to imitate him — indeed, to venerate and worship him — while he obeys his suggestions and prefers his inspirations to the inspirations of God. Note here how base sin is, which made a most beautiful angel into a most hideous devil, and makes a man like the devil — indeed, a devil — according to that word of Christ about Judas: "Have I not chosen you twelve? And one of you is a devil?" (John 6:71).
Sirach says this to explain what he said in verse 28: "The lips of the imprudent will tell foolish things." The imprudent constantly have the devil in their mouth, because they always have him in their heart. But the wise and pious have God constantly on their lips. Hence in adversity as in prosperity they say with holy Job: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has been done: blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
Verse 31: The whisperer will defile his own soul
31. THE WHISPERER WILL DEFILE HIS OWN SOUL, AND WILL BE HATED BY ALL: AND HE WHO ABIDES WITH HIM WILL BE HATEFUL: THE SILENT AND SENSIBLE MAN WILL BE HONORED. — Among the foolish things which fools are accustomed to tell, one very common one is whispering — that is, secret detractions — by which they secretly tear apart the reputation of someone who is absent, render him hateful to the listener, and thus dissolve friendship on both sides. The whisperer and detractor, first, defiles his own soul with the guilt of detraction; secondly, he will be hated in all places; thirdly, not only he himself, but also whoever associates with him will be detested. But the silent and sensible man, who suppresses in silence the faults of his neighbor, will be honored for his prudent, friendly, and just silence.