Wise sayings on divers subjects.
An other admonition against slouth, 3. dissolute children, 6. and mirth out of season. 7. Fooles are hardly corrected, 10. more to be bewayled then the dead. 14. Much talke doth not profite them. 24. Offend not, nor seare not a freind. 33. Kepe alwayes guard of thy torgue.
1The sluggard is pelted with a dirty stone, and all men will speak of his disgrace.Il pigro è lapidato con sassi coperti di fango: e tutti parleranno di lui con dispregio.THE sluggard is stoned with a durtie stone, & al men wil speake of his disgrace.In lapide luteo lapidatus est piger: / et omnes loquentur super aspernationem illius. 2The sluggard is pelted with the dung of oxen: and every one that toucheth him will shake his hands.Il pigro è lapidato collo sterco di bue: tutti quelli, che ne toccano, scuotono le loro mani.The sluggard is stoned with the dung of oxen: and euerie one, that shal touch him, wil shake his handes.De stercore boum lapidatus est piger: / et omnis qui tetigerit eum excutiet manus. 3A son ill taught is the confusion of the father: and a foolish daughter shall be to his loss.Il figliuolo mal educato è la vergogna del padre, e la figlia sarà poco stimata.The coufusion of the father is of a sonne without discipline: and the daughter shal be made of lesse account.Confusio patris est de filio indisciplinato: / filia autem in deminoratione fiet. 4A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband: but she that confoundeth, becometh a disgrace to her father.La fanciulla prudente è un'eredità pel suo marito: ma quella, che reca disdoro, è l'obbrobrio del genitore.A wise daughter is an inheritance to her husband. for she that confoundeth, is made a contumelie to her father.Filia prudens hæreditas viro suo: / nam quæ confundit, in contumeliam fit genitoris. 5She that is bold shameth both her father and husband, and will not be inferior to the ungodly: and shall be disgraced by them both.Quella, che è sfacciata, disonora il padre, e il marito, e non la cederà agli empj, e sarà vilipesa dall'uno, e dall'altro.She that is bold shameth father and husband, and shal not be inferiour to the impious: but of them both she shal be dishonored.Patrem et virum confundit audax, / et ab impiis non minorabitur: / ab utrisque autem inhonorabitur. 6A tale out of time is like music in mourning: but the stripes and instruction of wisdom are never out of time.Un ragionamento fuor di tempo è come la musica del duolo: ma la sferza, e l'istruzione in ogni tempo sono saggezza.Musike in mourning is a tale out of time: scourges and doctrine are at al time wisdom.Musica in luctu importuna narratio: / flagella et doctrina in omni tempore sapientia. 7He that teacheth a fool, is like one that glueth a potsherd together.CUi ammaestra uno stolto è come chi vuol rimettere insieme un vaso di terra rotto.He that teacheth a foole, is as he that gleweth together a potshard.Qui docet fatuum, / quasi qui conglutinat testam.
8He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is like one that waketh a man out of a deep sleep.Chi fa parole con uno, che non ascolta, fa come chi vuole svegliare il dormiente dal suo letargo.He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is as he that raiseth vp a man sleepeing out of an heauie sleepe.Qui narrat verbum non audienti, / quasi qui excitat dormientem de gravi somno. 9He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a fool: and in the end of the discourse he saith: Who is this?Chi collo stolto ragiona di sapienza, parla con un, che dorme; e questi alla fine del ragionamento dice: chi è costui?He speaketh with him that sleepeth, which vttereth wisdom to a foole: and in the end of the narration he saieth: Who is this?Cum dormiente loquitur qui enarrat stulto sapientiam: / et in fine narrationis dicit: Quis est hic ? 10Weep for the dead, for his light hath failed: and weep for the fool, for his understanding faileth.Piangi il morto, che è privato della luce, e piangi lo stolto perché è privo di senno.Weepe vpon the dead, for his light hath failed: and weepe vpon a foole, for he faileth in vnderstanding.Supra mortuum plora, defecit enim lux ejus: / et supra fatuum plora, defecit enim sensus. 11Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.Ma piangi per poco un morto, dapoichè egli ha riposo.Weepe a little vpon the dead, because he is at rest.Modicum plora super mortuum, quoniam requievit: 12For the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.Ma la pessima vita dell'empio stolto è peggiore della morte.For the wicked life of the very wicked, aboue the death of a foole.nequissimi enim nequissima vita super mortem fatui. 13The mourning for the dead is seven days: but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of their life.Il morto si piange per sette giorni; ma lo stolto, e l'empio per tutto il tempo della loro vita.The moorning of the dead is seuen daies: but of a foole and of the impious, al the daies of their life.Luctus mortui septem dies: / fatui autem et impii omnes dies vitæ illorum. 14Talk not much with a fool and go not with him that hath no sense.Non parlar molto coll'empio, e non andar insieme coll'insensato.Speake not much with a foole, and goe not with the vnwise.Cum stulto ne multum loquaris, / et cum insensato ne abieris. 15Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and thou shalt not be defiled with his sin.Guardati da lui per non avere inquietudini, e affinchè non ti si attacchi macchia dal suo peccato.Keepe thy selfe from him, that thou haue no molestation, and thou shalt not be defiled with his sinne.Serva te ab illo, ut non molestiam habeas, / et non coinquinaberis peccato illius.
16Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be wearied out with his folly.Schivalo, e sarai tranquillo, e non soffrirai il tedio di sua stoltezza.Turne aside from him, and thou shalt finde rest, and shalt not be wearied with his follie:Deflecte ab illo, et invenies requiem, / et non acediaberis in stultitia illius. 17What is heavier than lead? and what other name hath he but fool?Qual altra cosa si nominerà, che pesi più del piombo, fuorché lo stolto?What shal be heauier then lead? and what other name hath it but foole.Super plumbum quid gravabitur ? / et quod illi aliud nomen quam fatuus ? 18Sand and salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear, than a man without sense, that is both foolish and wicked.E più facile a portarsi l'arena, il sale, e una massa di ferro, che un imprudente, uno stolto, un empio.It is easier to beare sand and salt, and a masse of yron, then an vnwise man, and a foole, and impious.Arenam, et salem, et massam ferri facilius est ferre / quam hominem imprudentem, et fatuum, et impium. 19A frame of wood bound together in the foundation of a building, shall not be loosed: so neither shall the heart that is established by advised counsel.Un legamento di travi unite insieme nel fondamento di un edilizio non si scompagina; così un cuore appoggiato a ben pensato consiglio.A frame of wood bound together in the fundation of a building, shal not be dissolued: so also the hart confirmed in the cogitation of counsel.Loramentum ligneum colligatum in fundamento ædificii non dissolvetur, / sic et cor confirmatum in cogitatione consilii. 20The thought of him that is wise at all times, shall not be depraved by fear.Le risoluzioni dell'uom sensato non saranno alterate dal timore in nissun tempo.The cogitation of the wise at al time, yea by feare shal not be depraued.Cogitatus sensati in omni tempore metu non depravabitur. 21As pales set in high places, and plasterings made without cost, will not stand against the face of the wind:Come i pali piantati in luogo alto, e le muraglie a secco non resistono all'urto dei venti;As stakes in high places, and plaisteringes laid without cost, shal not abide against the face of the winde:Sicut pali in excelsis, et cæmenta sine impensa posita, / contra faciem venti non permanebunt: 22So also a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool shall not resist against the violence of fear.Così parimente il cuor dello stolto, timido ne' suoi pensieri non resisterà all'impeto del timore.so also a feareful hart in the cogitation of a foole shal not resist against the violence of feare.sic et cor timidum in cogitatione stulti / contra impetum timoris non resistet.
23As a fearful heart in the thought of a fool at all times will not fear, so neither shall he that continueth always in the commandments of God.Siccome il cuor dello stolto, che paventa ne' suoi pensieri, non in ogni tempo temerà; così colui, che sta saldo ne' comandamenti di Dio è sempre senza timore.As a trembling hart in the cogitation of a foole, al time wil not feare, so also he that continueth alwaies in the preceptes of God.Sicut cor trepidum in cogitatione fatui omni tempore non metuet, / sic et qui in præceptis Dei permanet semper. 24He that pricketh the eye, bringeth out tears: and he that pricketh the heart, bringeth forth resentment.Chi punge l'occhio ne spreme le lagrime, e chi punge il cuore, ne tragge fuori gli affetti.He that pricketh the eie, bringeth forth teares: and he that pricketh the hart, bringeth forth feeling.Pungens oculum deducit lacrimas, / et qui pungit cor profert sensum. 25He that flingeth a stone at birds, shall drive them away: so he that upbraideth his friend, breaketh friendship.Chi scaglia un sasso contro gli uccelli, li fa scappare, così pure chi parla male dell'amico, scioglie l'amicizia.He that casteth a stone at fowles, and shal throw them downe: so he that speaketh reprochefully to his freind, dissolueth freindship.Mittens lapidem in volatilia, dejiciet illa: / sic et qui conviciatur amico, dissolvit amicitiam. 26Although thou hast drawn a sword at a friend, despair not: for there may be a returning. To a friend,Quand'anche tu avessi tirata fuori la spada contro l'amico, non di sperare; perocché puoi tornare in grazia con esso.Although thou drowest a sword at a freind, despaire not: for there is returning to a freind.Ad amicum etsi produxeris gladium, non desperes: / est enim regressus. / Ad amicum 27If thou hast opened a sad mouth, fear not, for there may be a reconciliation: except upbraiding, and reproach, and pride, and disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for in all these cases a friend will flee away.Se avrai dette all'amico parole d'ira, non temere, v'è luogo alla pace, purché non vi sia stata maldicenza, né rimprovero, né superbia, né manifestazione del segreto, nè colpo di tradimento; per queste cose tutte l'amico si fuggirà.If thou open a sad mouth, feare not for there is agreement: except taunt, and reproch and pride, and reuealing of secret, and a traiterous wound: in al these thinges a freind wil flee away.si aperueris os triste, non timeas: / est enim concordatio: / excepto convitio, et improperio, et superbia, / et mysterii revelatione, et plaga dolosa: / in his omnibus effugiet amicus.
28Keep fidelity with a friend in his poverty, that in his prosperity also thou mayst rejoice.Serba fede all'amico nella sua povertà, affin di godere delle sue prosperità.Possesse fidelitie with a freind in his prouertie, that in his goodes also thou maist reioyce.Fidem posside cum amico in paupertate illius, / ut et in bonis illius læteris. 29In the time of his trouble continue faithful to him, that thou mayst also be heir with him in his inheritance.Mantienti fedele a lui nel tempo della tribolazione, affin di essere chiamato a parte della sua eredità.In the time of his tribulation continew faithful to him, that in his inheritance also thou maist be heire with him.In tempore tribulationis illius permane illi fidelis, / ut et in hæreditate illius cohæres sis. 30As the vapour of a chimney, and the smoke of the fire goeth up before the fire: so also injurious words, and reproaches, and threats, before blood.Il vapore, e il fumo si alza dalla fornace prima che il fuoco, così le maldicenze, le contumelie, e le minacce precedono lo spargimento del sangue.Before the fire the vapour of the chimney, and the smoke of the fire riseth on high: so also before bloud euil wordes, and contumelies, & threates.Ante ignem camini vapor et fumus ignis inaltatur: / sic et ante sanguinem maledicta, et contumeliæ, et minæ. 31I will not be ashamed to salute a friend, neither will I hide myself from his face: and if any evil happen to me by him, I will bear it.Io non mi vergognerò di salutare l'amico, non mi nasconderò da lui, e se mi verrà del male da lui, lo sopporterò.I wil not be ashamed to salute a freind, from his face I wil not hide myself: and if there chance euiles to me by him, I wil beare it.Amicum salutare non confundar, / a facie illius non me abscondam: / et si mala mihi evenerint per illum, sustinebo. 32But every one that shall hear it, will beware of him.Ma chiunque ne sarà informato, si guarderà da lui.Euerie one that shal heare, wil beware of him.Omnis qui audiet cavebit se ab eo. 33Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?Chi porrà una guardia alla mia bocca, e un sigillo inviolabile alle mie labbra, perch'io non cada per loro colpa, e la mia lingua con sia la mia perdizione?Who wil geue a gard to my mouth, and a sure seale vpon my lippes, that I fal not by them, and my tongue destroy me?Quis dabit ori meo custodiam, / et super labia mea signaculum certum, / ut non cadam ab ipsis, / et lingua mea perdat me ?
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Calmet
Sluggard. Who neglects his own and others' welfare. (Calmet)
Worthington
Disgrace. He is still despised here, and punished eternally, Matthew 25:30. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Pelted. Greek, "compared to a lump of dung." (Haydock)
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Calmet
Bold. In speaking and acting without restraint. (Calmet)
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Mourning. St. Jerome (ep. ad Julian) quoting this sentence, calls it "divine Scripture," Proverb 25:20.
Haydock
Of time. Or "stripes and instruction well-timed, are wisdom." (Haydock)
Only the wise know how to correct with advantage.
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Fool. Who is incapable of understanding. Those who have sense may be corrected, though they may have taken evil courses.
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This? The Athenian philosophers and Festus derided St. Paul, Acts 17:32.
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Challoner
For the fool. In the language of the Holy Ghost, he is styled a fool that turns away from God to follow vanity and sin. And what is said by the wise man against fools is meant of such fools as these. (Challoner)
Worthington
Their wicked life is worse than death. (Worthington)
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Days. There was a longer time assigned for great men, Genesis 50:3., Numbers 20:30., and Deuteronomy 34:8.
St. Augustine
Life. This is understood of those who have lost all reason, or sense of religion. St. Monica wept for her son, hoping that he would repent, as a certain bishop had comforted her. (St. Augustine, Confessions 3:ultra.[last chapter])
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Lead? Gold alone is heavier. But the fool is compared with lead, and is most insupportable.
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Calmet
Cost. Of lime. (Calmet)
Haydock
Greek omits this comparison, as well as the 23d verse. (Haydock)
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Calmet
Not fear. This seems contrary to what goes before. But fools are sometimes intrepid even to harshness. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Resentment. Or "sense," (Haydock) by means of pungent reprimands. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Away. Greek literally, "will knock them down," dejiciet. (Haydock)
Calmet
Deliberate provocations (ver. 27.) are pardoned with more difficulty than a sudden impulse of wrath, ver. 26. On such occasions we may withdraw our confidence, but not our charity and patience, Matthew 5:11. (Calmet)
Worthington
A true friend will not be lost for a temporal damage; but he must not be slighted. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Inheritance. Greek adds, "for poverty is not always contemptible, nor is the senseless rich worthy of admiration." (Haydock)
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Calmet
Of him. Yet I will not follow their example. (Calmet)
Haydock
If my friend has behaved ill to me, he will be the greatest sufferer. (Haydock)
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Calmet
Not. Psalm 140:3. Who can sufficiently guard his tongue? (Calmet)
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For the fool.... In the language of the Holy Ghost, he is styled a fool, that turns away from God to follow vanity and sin. And what is said by the wise man against fools is meant of such fools as these.
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Contempt & ignominie is the worldlie punishment of the slouthful, besides his eternal damnation at the day of iudgement. Mat. 25. •. 30.
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In this and other places is not vnderstood a foole that by defect of natural vvitte is ignorant, or an ideote, but he that is voide of grace, ful of malice, and wickednes. For the wicked life of such a one is worse then his death. v. 12.
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Concordance Gen 50.
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Concordance Prou. •3.
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Prou. ••.
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A true freind wil not be lost for temporal damage no• danger.
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But the vices of derision, reproch, and the like violate al freindshipe with wise and good m•n.
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Concordance Ps. 140.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 118.1
Holy scripture says: “a tale out of season is as musick in mourning.”
… was put out, or, rather, when the Roman Empire was decapitated, and, to speak more correctly, the whole world perished in one city, “I became dumb and humbled myself, and kept silence from good words, but my grief broke out afresh, my heart glowed within me, and while I meditated the fire was kindled;” and I thought I ought not to disregard the saying,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 68.1
… Another reason for my delay was the protracted illness of the pious and venerable Paula. For, while occupied long in attending upon her in severe illness, I had almost forgotten your letter, or more correctly, the letter written in your name, remembering the verse, “Like music in the day of mourning is an unseasonable discourse.”
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St Methodius † AD 311 Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna On the Day that They Met in the Temple 1
… wherefore the house in which they boasted was filled with smoke. Now smoke is a sign and sure evidence of wrath; as it is written, “There went up a smoke in His anger, and fire from His countenance devoured;” and in another place, “Amongst the disobedient people shall the fire burn,”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 15.7
… Every man without God hath a dead soul. Thou dost bewail the dead: bewail the sinner rather, bewail rather the ungodly man, bewail the unbeliever. It is written, “The mourning for the dead is seven days; for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of his life.”
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 5.1
… first, Gluttony or the pleasures of the palate; secondly, Fornication; thirdly, Covetousness, which means Avarice, or, as it may more properly be called, the love of money, fourthly, Anger; fifthly, Dejection; sixthly, “Accidie,”
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Early Popes (Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) The Epistles of Pope Fabian 2.2
… In like manner also, all persons who underlie the charge of any manner of turpitude and dishonour, are rendered infamous; and all who arm themselves against fathers are rendered infamous. “Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear than a man without understanding, and foolish and impious.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 9
… “Though thou drewest a sword at thy friend, yet despair not: for there may be a returning again to favor. If thou hast opened thy mouth against thy friend, fear not; for there may be a reconciliation: except for upbraiding, or disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for for these things a friend will depart.” (
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 3.22
… “For a faithful friend is the medicine of life and the grace of immortality.” Give way to a friend as to an equal, and be not ashamed to be beforehand with thy friend in doing kindly duties. For friendship knows nothing of pride. So the wise man says: “Do not blush to greet a friend.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 3.22
… If necessary, let us endure for a friend even hardship. Often enmity has to be borne for the sake of a friend’s innocence; oftentimes revilings, if one defends and answers for a friend who is found fault with and accused. Do not be afraid of such displeasure, for the voice of the just says: “Though evil come upon me, I will endure it for a friend’s sake.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Instructions to Catechumens 1.4
… stretching forth his hands to God, the prophet said, “Let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice, set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips;” and he who before admonished, himself too says again “Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my lips?”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 40
… For it is not enough to put away the things that hinder; the things that establish must also be forthcoming. Now Sirach tells us the things that are subversive (of friendship), and does not go on to speak of the things which make union. “Reproaching,” he says, “and revealing of a secret, and a treacherous wound.” (cf.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 32
… For this is faith itself, which obtains by prayer what the law commands. He, indeed, who said, “If thou wilt, thou shalt keep the commandments,” did in the same book of Ecclesiasticus afterwards say, “Who shall give a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my lips, that I fall not suddenly thereby, and that my tongue destroy me not.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.7
… What more natural than to love one who loves us? What so implanted and so impressed on men’s feelings as the wish to let another, by whom we want to be loved, know that we love him? Well does the wise man say: “Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend.” And again: “I will not be ashamed to defend a friend, neither will I hide myself from him.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.8
… that can put an end to immediate dangers, foresee future ones, point out those close at hand, can explain a subject, bring relief in time, is ready not only to give advice but also to give help,—in such a man confidence is placed, so that he who seeks advice can say: “Though evil should happen to me through him, I will bear it.”
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1 and 2. THE SLUGGARD IS STONED WITH A DIRTY STONE, AND ALL SHALL SPEAK OF HIS SHAME. THE SLUGGARD IS STONED WITH THE DUNG OF OXEN; AND EVERY ONE THAT TOUCHETH HIM SHALL SHAKE HIS HANDS. — By a dirty stone he means not a brick formed from mud, but a stone besmeared and defiled with mud: for thus the Greek προδαλωμένω signifies. He is stoned, that is, he is accustomed to be stoned: for thus the Hebrews by one tense signify the others. Again by metonymy, he is stoned with a dirty stone, that is, by stoning he is besmeared with mud, as if to say: The sluggard is so vile, contemptible and hateful that men deem him worthy to be struck with filthy stones and the dung of oxen: for all spurn him as torpid and filthy, so that they are unwilling to touch him and converse with him; but all flee and turn away from him, just as one who touches a filthy stone or dung immediately shakes it from his hands. He pursues one species of the foolish and of foolishness, namely sloth and laziness; for this makes a man not only idle, useless to himself and others, but also harmful and stains him with many vices: for idleness and laziness is the cause of all evil. Our text reads κατεβλήθη, that is, he was struck with darts or stones, or συνελιθάσθη, that is, he was stoned, from λιθάζω, that is, I stone, as if to say: The sluggard is so vile to all that they pursue him with stones as if he were a common reproach of nature, and cast upon him stones dipped in mud, filth and dung. Now they read συνεβλήθη, that is, he is compared; whence the Greek texts thus have it: the sluggard is likened to a defiled or polluted stone, and all hiss at his infamy; and the sluggard is compared to the dung of dungheaps: every one who takes it shall shake his hands; the Complutensian and Roman editions: the sluggard is compared to a besmeared stone, and all shall exult in his shame, the sluggard is compared to the dung of oxen from dungheaps, every one who takes it shall shake his hand; the Zurich edition: the sluggard is to be compared to a besmeared stone, whom all for shame's sake mock; the sluggard is to be compared to the dung of a dungheap: whoever touches it shall shake his hands; the Syriac: as a filthy stone which is cast in the street, and every one flees from its odor; so also the fool, and every one shall withdraw from him. When any one goes out into the street, he is reviled, and every one who sees him claps his hands; the Arabic briefly touches the matter: the foolish man has already acquired for himself shame and evil. Moreover Isidore in book X of the Origins: The lazy man, he says, is called as if sick in his feet. The same, in On the Differences of Words, number 46: Between slow, lazy, inert and sluggish there is this difference, that slow is said of one who drags out time; inert without skill, capable of no duty; lazy in all things similar to a sick man; sluggish is removed from heat and fire. Fittingly he assigns to the lazy man the punishment of ox dung rather than that of horses or other animals, because the ox, being heavy, is slow and tardy: it is a symbol and figure of the lazy man. Whence that verse: The lazy ox desires the saddle, the horse desires to plow. Thus Palacius: The lazy man, he says, is compared to a stone defiled with filth, and to ox dung. For just as one who unexpectedly touches a stone so filthy, or ox dung, immediately shakes both from his hands; so he who has a lazy servant shakes him off and repels him from himself. For thus we flee from lazy servants as from dung, as from mud-covered stones. From this explanation of the Greek letter we have the sense of the Latin, which is this: Such is the lazy man, as if we had pelted him with stones filthy with mud, or with ox dung; for thus he is foul in the eyes of men, as if he were defiled with filthy things; and therefore all will speak concerning his rejection, saying how much he is to be despised, nay even to be shaken off and repelled. If the lazy man is despised by temporal masters, if he is shaken off and repelled by them, how much more will he be despised and repelled by God! For because thou art lukewarm, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth; and, because thou doest the work of God slothfully, thou shalt be cursed. O how great a thing it is to be cursed and repelled by God, namely into eternal fire! Apocalypse III, 16; Jeremiah XLVIII, 10; Matthew XXV, 41. Add that the ox, although slow, is nevertheless laborious; wherefore it signifies that the lazy man ought to overcome his slowness and laziness by labor, in imitation of the ox. Hence on coins, for instance didrachmas, the figure of an ox was formerly impressed, as Pollux says in book IX, because labor produces money and wealth, but laziness produces want and hunger. Fittingly therefore in the reproach and chastisement of the lazy man ox dung is assumed, so that by the ox he may know himself to be worse and lazier, and from the ox may learn to overcome his tardiness by labor. It is added that ox dung serves for dunging fields, so that, when seed is cast in, they may bear a copious harvest. This field is the lazy man: he is therefore dunged with ox dung, so that, when the seed of diligence is cast in, it may bring forth copious fruits for him. Thus Palacius: The lazy man, he says, is compared to a stone defiled with filth, and to ox dung. For just as one who has held a defiled stone in his hand immediately shakes it off: so also he who has touched a lazy man washes his hands, etc. If the lazy man, he says, is despised by temporal masters, if he is shaken off and repelled by them, how much more by God! because thou art lukewarm, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth; and because thou doest the work of God negligently, thou shalt be cursed. O how great a thing it is to be cursed and repelled by God, namely into eternal fire! (Apocalypse III, 16; Jeremiah XLVIII, 10; Matthew XXV, 41).
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3. THE SHAME OF A FATHER IS AN UNDISCIPLINED SON: BUT A DAUGHTER (undisciplined and foolish, as the Latin Complutensian has it) SHALL BE IN DIMINISHMENT. — From the reproach of the lazy man it descends to the reproach of sons, which the ill-behaved bring upon themselves and their parents, as if to say: A father is confounded and afflicted with shame and disgrace if he has a son badly brought up and dissolute: but a daughter similar, namely ill-behaved and dissolute, shall be in diminishment, that is, shall become lesser and contemptible, so that no one will wish to have her as a wife: again the diminishment, that is, loss, shall bring harm to her and hers. For Sirach uses the Greek ἐλάττωσις, that is, diminishment, for loss, as I showed above. Whence in the following verse by antithesis he opposes to it a prudent daughter and well-behaved, who brings advantage to her husband, nay even an inheritance. Thus the Syriac: Fracture, he says, to a father is a foolish son; and a woman is generated to defect or to detriment; the Greek Complutensian: shame to a father in the generation of the undisciplined, but a daughter is made in diminishment; the Zurich: shame to a father is an idle son, and a daughter (idle) comes to be esteemed as lesser; others: disgrace to a father from the procreation of the uneducated, but a daughter (uneducated) is born to detriment, both of reputation and of substance and wealth, nay often and of life. For a dissolute daughter brings infamy upon herself and her father, squanders her dowry and her father's wealth, and not rarely is the cause of grief and death to him.
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4. A PRUDENT DAUGHTER IS AN INHERITANCE TO HER HUSBAND: FOR SHE WHO BRINGS SHAME BECOMES A REPROACH TO HER FATHER. — That is to say, the best inheritance and dowry of a daughter is prudence, and this is more to be desired and sought by her husband than the richest dowry and inheritance of wealth; because through prudence and a prudent spouse, any riches are preserved and increased. The Greek texts have, "a prudent daughter shall be heir to her husband," which the Complutensian editors translate as, a prudent daughter shall be heir to her husband; because husbands are accustomed to entrust their affairs to their wives, if they are prudent and obedient, and to make them their heirs. Others, reading "virum" (man) instead of "viri" (of a man), translate it, she shall inherit her husband, that is, she shall possess her husband as an inheritance, so that she may rule and direct him as a household. Or rather, that is to say, with a good inheritance, namely her prudence and wisdom, she shall endow him, so that she may prudently administer his house and substance, and may communicate and teach him her prudence. To the prudent woman he opposes the imprudent and foolish, when he adds: For she who brings shame becomes a reproach to her father, that is to say, she who brings disgrace and reproach through her levity, dissolution, imprudence, and foolishness; this produces reproach to her parent and father and family equally as to her husband, who often complains to her parent and expostulates about her bad upbringing. The Greek texts have, she who is shameful or disreputable brings sadness to her father; for a parent is saddened by shameful and disreputable behavior in his daughter. Whence the Zurich edition translates, a prudent daughter is to her husband in place of an inheritance, and she who lives shamefully brings sadness to her father; but the Syriac version, the foolish daughter shall confound her father and mother, and she herself shall be dishonored by both. Mystically and tropologically Rabanus says: A prudent daughter, that is, a soul which serves and adheres to Christ prudently and devoutly, is an inheritance to her husband, that is to Christ, who has espoused her to himself.
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5. A BOLD WOMAN SHAMES FATHER AND HUSBAND (namely, a woman and daughter: for in Greek it is "the bold woman"), AND SHALL NOT BE MADE LESS BY THE IMPIOUS; BUT BY BOTH SHALL SHE BE DISHONORED. — That is to say, a bold and shameless daughter shall cover her father equally as her husband with shame and ignominy; because in pride, lust, gluttony, drunkenness and other vices she will not be inferior, nor will she yield to impious men. Whence by both, namely by father and husband, she shall be dishonored. The Greek text, as is its custom, in two parts thus has it, she who is bold brings shame to father and husband, and shall be covered with infamy by both; the Zurich edition, the shameless woman brings ignominy to father and mother (and is no less than the impious); wherefore she shall be condemned by both.
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6. MUSIC IN MOURNING IS INOPPORTUNE (St. Jerome, in epistle 33, reads it as untimely) DISCOURSE; SCOURGES AND TEACHING IN EVERY TIME IS WISDOM. — The Complutensian editors read, in the time of wisdom; the Roman edition, in every time is wisdom. He alludes to Proverbs chapter twenty-five, verse twenty: Vinegar upon nitre, he that singeth songs to a heavy heart, that is, to a most sorrowful heart, as Symmachus translates it, that is to say, just as vinegar sharpens and exasperates nitre, so song exasperates the sadness of the sorrowful. On the other hand, the Nazianzen in his work addressed to Antony in the Melissa: "Mag- The Syriac version indicates this sense, when it translates, just as music amid mourning is inopportune discourse, and (that is, so) correction and teaching in every time is wisdom, that is, produces wisdom. St. Jerome cites the former part and gives the reason for his silence on account of Rome laid waste by the Goths in the Preface to Ezekiel. "After," he says, "the most brilliant light of all lands has been extinguished, or rather the Roman empire trun-
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7. HE WHO TEACHES A FOOL IS AS ONE WHO GLUES TOGETHER A POTSHERD. — That is to say, he who teaches a fool labors uselessly and in vain, and undertakes a difficult or impossible task, just as one who attempts to glue together a broken potsherd. For the brain and head of a fool is as a broken potsherd, both because he has imagination and common sense as it were scattered and fractured; and because he has the powers of mind and spirit dispersed and as it were torn apart; so much so that his soul appears broken and divided into two parts, namely into the concupiscible and rational, so that the concupiscible is unwilling to be subject to and connected with the rational as it ought; and because he has his concepts, thoughts and volitions disparate, indeed often contrary; which he cannot combine and connect with one another, just as a fractured potsherd cannot be glued together so that it coheres firmly as it did before, when it was whole. Finally, just as a broken potsherd cannot contain liquid, namely wine or oil, so neither can the head of a fool contain wisdom. Two symbols of Pythagoras pertain to this. The first: Do not sing a poem to a quadruped; that is, do not utter serious matters to the ignorant and stupid. The second: Do not write in snow; that is, do not entrust your teachings to incapable and soft-hearted souls.
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8. HE WHO TELLS A WORD TO ONE NOT LISTENING, IS LIKE ONE WHO AWAKENS A SLEEPER FROM DEEP SLEEP. — He compared the fool to a broken vessel; now he compares him to one sleeping. Whence the Greeks combine these thus: he glues together a vessel who teaches a fool, and labors to awaken one sleeping from deep sleep. Thus the Zurich version, meaning: You speak the dictates of wisdom to a fool in vain, because he is lulled to sleep by his own desires; wherefore, like one sleeping, he will not hear what you say; or, if he is half-awakened at some point and hears something faintly, he does so lightly and as it were half-conscious, and soon relapses into sleep of his pleasures; for being intent and absorbed in these, he does not attend, nor perceive, indeed he turns his mind away from the warnings of the wise; because these are contrary to what he so loves and in no way wishes to abandon. He alludes to Proverbs XXIII: Speak not in the ears of the unwise. And: Where there is no hearing, pour not out thy word. The following verse explains this more clearly. He aptly compares the fool, namely the sinner, to one sleeping: first, because just as this man sleeps sweetly and deliciously in sleep, so he sleeps in sin, that is, in pleasure; second, just as in the sleeper the mind and reason are bound: so in the fool reason and prudence are bound by the chains of concupiscence; third, just as the sleeper lives an animal life, not a rational one, so also the sinner; fourth, just as the sleeper is deceived and mocked by various dreams and phantasms: so also the sinner is deceived by the appearance of creatures, as it were by mistresses, according to that: And those who love themselves fashion dreams. For what are all the enticements of this life? What are all things and the hopes of mortals, but the dreams of the waking? as Plato used to say. Finally, just as children sleeping deeply must be awakened from sleep by whips and blows: so also fools, namely the impious, must be torn from the lethargy of sins by strokes. To this pertains the proverb of Ben-Sira, in the alphabet, at the letter Lamed: Correct the wise with a nod, and the fool with a rod, namely correct and amend. For the wise man, warned by a word, performs his duty, which the fool does not do unless forced by blows. Thus Pharaoh yielded to God only when forced by ten plagues, and let the Hebrews go.
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10. WEEP OVER THE DEAD; FOR HIS LIGHT HAS FAILED (St. Augustine, in the Mirror, reads it thus): AND WEEP OVER THE FOOL, FOR HIS SENSE HAS FAILED. — In Greek, his understanding has failed, that is, his intellect; whence Rabanus reads, his sense has failed; others read, he has abandoned; whence they translate, he has abandoned understanding; for σύνεσεν can be taken both actively, so as to signify he abandoned, and neutrally, so as to signify it has failed, having suffered an eclipse like the moon. He compared the fool to a broken vessel, then to one sleeping; now he compares him moreover to a dead man. For the sleeper has the appearance of the dead, according to that: Fool, what is sleep but the image of cold death? and many sleepers are suffocated in sleep by catarrh, or are killed by apoplexy or some other ailment. The sense therefore is, as it were: The fool, namely the sinner, is not only sleeping, but also dead through sin, to which he clings fast. Wherefore just as you weep over the death of a dead friend, because his light has failed, that is, his life, by which he saw and enjoyed the light of the sun in this world: and (that is, thus, or similarly; for the Hebrew et is a note of likeness and comparison, as I have often noted) mourn and weep over the fool, because his sense has failed, that is, his prudence and wisdom, which is as it were the life and soul of the soul. Again—
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11 and 12. WEEP A LITTLE OVER THE DEAD, BECAUSE HE HAS FOUND REST (from labors, pains and countless miseries of this life). FOR THE WICKED LIFE OF THE WICKED IS WORSE THAN THE DEATH OF THE FOOL. — That is: Weep a little over the dead, because death itself is rest from labor and pain: but weep much over the life of the fool (as some manuscripts add); for the wicked life of the wicked is worse than the death of the fool; that is, because the fool, namely the impious and wicked, has a wicked life, and therefore a worse, that is, more evil, more miserable, and therefore more to be lamented than Wherefore St. Blanche gave this golden teaching to her son St. Louis IX, king of France: My son, flee sin above all things. For I would rather see you, my son, dead than committing mortal sin. I say more: Life in sin is precisely and formally worse than the death which the damned undergo in hell. For sin is worse than hell; because sin is guilt, hell is punishment: but guilt is of a higher order and far more grave than any punishment whatsoever. Thus St. Anselm, as his Life records, used to say, and held this as it were premeditated and fixed: If on one side I beheld the burning of hell, on the other the horror of sin, and I were forced to choose one or the other; I would rather leap into hell than commit sin. For sin is an offense against God, and the greatest and most grave offense, and therefore sin is the slaying of Christ and the slaying of God, as I have explained elsewhere.
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13. THE MOURNING OF THE DEAD FOR SEVEN DAYS; BUT OF THE FOOL (and it means, that is) THE IMPIOUS, ALL THE DAYS OF THEIR LIFE. — namely, they are to be mourned and lamented. He gives the reason why the fool is to be mourned more than the dead, as if to say: Seven days are sufficient for mourning the dead; but the fool, that is the impious, all the days of his life are to be mourned, because these are not so much days of life as of continuous death. The Syrian indicates this reason, for adding: For the mourning of the dead is seven days, and the mourning of the fool all the days of his life. He does not deny that the dead may be mourned for more days than seven: for the Hebrews mourned Moses for thirty days, Deuteronomy XXXIV, and Jacob for seventy, Genesis cap. L, but because seven days are sufficient, and therefore among the Hebrews, whom Christians afterwards followed, this seven-day mourning of the funeral was received by custom; for the number seven is a number of fullness and revolution; for after a week of seven days, the same days revolve, and return in a circle. Whence the Zurich Bible: the dead is lamentable for seven days; but the fool and impious for all the days of his life; others: the mourning of the dead is of seven days; but of the fool and impious of all the days of his life. Add that mourning ends on the seventh day; because the eighth is a symbol of resurrection, joy and happiness. Whence St. Augustine, sermon 13 On the Saints, from recently discovered works at the end of volume X, weighing the cited passage of Ecclesiastes, and showing that just as man dies when the soul departs, so the soul dies when God departs from it; he adds: But truly, he says, are there not in you the bowels of Christian compassion, that you mourn the body from which the soul has departed; and do not mourn the soul from which God has departed? As if nothing could be more perverse and inverted. they added slowness which lasted through an entire year. In this funeral mourning among the Romans there was a cessation of public business; the consuls sat in the common seat in the senate house; the fasces were carried inverted; they avoided all joyful things; they abstained from public life; they fled from banquets; they did not kindle the hearth; to wives already widowed by the death of their husband, it was not permitted to enter into another marriage, both so that they might mourn their husband honorably, and so that they might appease his shades (which was a superstition of the Gentiles); then, as Ulpian says, lib. VIII ad Edit., "on account of the disturbance of blood," lest, if perchance the wife left by her dead husband should be pregnant, and she should marry another within the legitimate time, it could be doubted whose the offspring was. Thus Romulus circumscribed the time of mourning within the space of ten months (for he himself defined the year by so many months, as Macrobius testifies, lib. XI, cap. XII, to whom Julius Caesar afterwards added two, and made it so that there were twelve months in the year) so that for so much time a man's death should be mourned as the time in which he is born. For nine or ten months a man is formed in the womb of his mother. Whence Ovid, lib. I of the Fasti: What is sufficient for the womb of the mother while the infant comes forth, This Romulus established as sufficient for a year. For so many months from the funeral of her spouse the wife sustains in her widowed home the sad signs. The same teaches Cicero, oration for Cluentius. And Seneca, epistle 63. "The ancients, he says, established a year for women for mourning, not that they should mourn for so long, but that they should not mourn longer: for men there is no legitimate time, because there is no honorable one." Thus of Junius Brutus the Roman consul Livy says lib. II: "The matrons mourned him for a year, because he was so keen an avenger of violated chastity." Thus also Gratian, Valentinian and the Emperor Theodosius prescribed a year for mourning a husband, as appears lib. II of the Code of Theodosius. What is sufficient while the infant comes forth from the womb of the mother, This Romulus established as sufficient for a year. So many months also after death does the spouse mourn As she bears in her lap the sad pledges of the house. they added a slowness which lasted through a whole year. In this funeral mourning among the Romans there was a cessation of public business; the consuls sat in the common seat in the senate house; the fasces were carried inverted; they avoided all joyful things; they abstained from public life; they fled from banquets; they did not kindle the hearth; to wives made widows by the death of their husband, it was not permitted to enter into another marriage, both that they might mourn their husband honorably, and that they might appease his shades (which was a superstition of the Gentiles); then, as Ulpian says, in book VIII on the Edict, "on account of the disturbance of blood," lest, if perchance the wife left a widow by her deceased husband should happen to be pregnant, and she should marry another within the lawful time, it could be doubted whose the offspring was. Thus Romulus circumscribed the time of mourning within the space of ten months (for he himself defined the year by so many months, as Macrobius testifies, book XI, chapter XII, to which Julius Caesar afterwards added two, and made them twelve months in the year), so that in so much time a man's death should be mourned as the time in which his birth takes place. For in nine or ten months a man is formed in his mother's womb. Whence Ovid, book I of the Fasti: "What suffices for the womb of the mother while the infant comes forth, he established that this should suffice for a year of time. For so many months from the funeral of her husband the wife sustains in her widowed home the sad signs." The same teaches Cicero, in the oration for Cluentius. And Seneca, epistle 63: "The ancients," he says, "established a year for women to mourn, not that they should mourn so long, but that they should not mourn longer: for men there is no lawful time, because there is no honorable one." Thus concerning Junius Brutus the Roman consul Livy says in book II: "The matrons mourned him for a year as a parent, because he had been so keen an avenger of violated chastity." Thus also Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius the Emperor prescribed a year for mourning a husband, as appears in book II of the Theodosian Code.
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14. DO NOT SPEAK MUCH WITH A FOOL, AND WITH A SENSELESS MAN DO NOT GO. — This is the conclusion of the foregoing sayings, as if to say: Since fools, that is, the impious, fixed in their sins, are incorrigible, so that they do not wish to be admonished, nay, they do not hear admonitions as if they were asleep and dead; hence I infer and advise that you beware of their company, and do not speak much with them, walk or converse with them; both that you may not be forced to hear and tolerate their dull and wicked words and manners; and that they may not breathe their foolishness and wickedness into you: for he who associates with the proud, even if he is humble, gradually takes on his pride; he who associates with the avaricious, his avarice; he who associates with the gluttonous, his gluttony; he who associates with the lustful, from his obscene words and deeds which he sees daily, imbibes obscenity also, unknowingly and unwillingly. Whence Solomon in Proverbs, chapter XIII, verse 20: "He that walketh with the wise," he says, "shall be wise: but a friend of fools shall be like to them; and that the fool and the impious may not rub their evil name and infamy upon you: for those who associate with the wicked are reckoned wicked and of evil repute; and finally, because with them, as being desperate, you lose your oil and labor. Whence the Greek Complutensian adds, not perceiving (not hearing, unwilling to attend to and heed your admonitions) for he will despise all your words; the Zurich version translates it, do not make many words with the unwise, nor go to the senseless; others, with the fool do not multiply speech, and do not go to the senseless; the Syriac, with the fool do not please yourself in words, and with the swine (the impious and carnal, who speaks and lives filthily, like a swine and pig) do not walk in the way. This is what Solomon says in Proverbs XXIII, 9: "Speak not in the ears of a fool, because he will despise the instruction of thy speech." And chapter IX, 8: "Rebuke not a scorner, lest he hate thee. Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." 15. KEEP THYSELF FROM HIM, THAT THOU MAY NOT HAVE TROUBLE, AND THOU SHALT NOT BE DEFILED BY HIS SIN. — For the impious are wont to bring their familiar friends and companions into danger by their crimes—into danger of lawsuits, quarrels, imprisonment, loss of goods, infamy, death, sin and hell. In Greek for sin it is, in the shaking of him, that is, in the concussion of him. Whence the Zurich version, lest you contract a stain from the shaking (Vatable, from the destruction, or when he casts something forth) of him; others, lest you be defiled by those things which he has shaken off; the Syriac, withdraw from him lest he sadden you, and lest he defile you, when he himself has shaken himself off, when, namely, he has uttered his impious words and deeds: just as when a beggar shakes out his tattered cloak, he fills his neighbors with filth and worms. Whence our translator aptly renders it, "and thou shalt not be defiled by his sin." To this pertains the proverb of the Hebrews: "Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbor." And: "He who dwells with the wicked, with him is beaten;" And: "On account of the leaf the stalk is beaten," that is, on account of the wicked the righteous who are familiar with them are reviled. Morally, learn here how harmful is the society of the foolish, that is, of the perverse, who are driven not by reason, but by foolishness, that is, by concupiscence and imprudence. For their counsels, conversations, laughter, actions, etc., are pestilential, and like a plague they breathe forth their contagion and poison to others. "For neither," says Nazianzen, oration 21, "does cloth receive dye so easily, nor does he who has drawn near to a foul or sweet odor become its partaker, nor does some morbid and harmful vapor spread into the air with equal facility and impart itself through the air to living creatures, as we truly call a plague, so that subjects of magistrates are wont to be imbued and filled with the vice of their rulers most swiftly, and indeed much more easily than with virtue." Moreover, the society of the wicked is far more harmful than the society of the good is salutary, both because we are more inclined to evil than to good, and because good is difficult and arduous, while evil is easy and at hand. Hear St. Augustine, in the book Against Fulgentius the Donatist, chapter XVI: "More easily," he says, "does a holy man joined to this most wicked nation become wicked, than does that nation change for the better; because the mind runs more readily to the imitation of evils than is it stirred up to the virtues of the good. Just as a little wormwood mixed with much honey draws swift bitterness: but honey, even if double the amount be added, will not be able to obtain its sweetness." The same comparison of honey and wormwood is used by Nazianzen for the same purpose, and he brings forward other things not to be passed over: "More swiftly," he says, "can a small vice be imparted most abundantly and most generously to anyone, than can even the most copious virtue be communicated sparingly: for a small wormwood will impart its bitterness to honey most swiftly; but honey, on the contrary, even if double the amount, will not infuse its sweetness into wormwood: and when a small stone is removed, a river is drawn entirely downward; but its force can scarcely be checked and restrained even by the firmest embankment." A symbol of this matter was among the Jews, that unclean and polluted flesh polluted by its contact all things which it touched; but holy flesh offered to God did not sanctify those who touched or ate it, as Haggai teaches in chapter II, 12. See the things said there. 16. TURN AWAY FROM HIM, AND THOU SHALT FIND REST, AND THOU SHALT NOT BE WEARIED (afflicted with weariness) IN HIS FOOLISHNESS. — Others, in his madness; whence the Zurich version, nor shalt thou receive sorrow from his madness; the Complutensian, in his idleness. For in Greek it is en aponoia autou. Now aponoia is said, first, as it were aponos, that is, without labor, namely idleness, sloth, negligence; second, hyponoia is anoia; for it is derived from nous noou, that is, mind, with apo, that is, without; and thus aponoia is the same as without mind, madness, insanity, a life flagitious and contaminated: likewise cunning, pride, arrogance, contumacy, desperation. The Syriac, withdraw from him, and thou shalt find rest, and he shall not weary thee with the multitude of his narratives. Wherefore wisely the Father Syrus the Mime in his Sayings: "The foundation of friendship," he says, "is wisdom." 17. WHAT SHALL BE HEAVIER THAN LEAD? AND WHAT OTHER NAME HAS HE THAN FOOL? — The Complutensian read corruptly, than lead. The sense is, as if to say, Lead is the heaviest among all metals and things; but heavier, more burdensome and more troublesome than it is the fool, that is, the impious man, especially because he casts himself and his own into grave calamities, and indeed into the danger of hell, depresses and submerges them, as if you were to say: The impious man is leaden, nay, lead and heavier than lead. The Zurich version, what else dost thou name that is heavier than lead, than a fool? The Syriac, for he is very much heavier than lead: and what is his name but fool? It alludes to Proverbs XXVII: "A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty: but the anger of a fool is heavier than both." Truly St. Bernard, in the tract On the Life of Solitude: "An evil man," he says, "never dwells safely with himself, because he dwells with an evil man; and no one is more troublesome to him than he is to himself;" if to himself, therefore also to others. 18. SAND, AND SALT, AND A MASS OF IRON ARE MORE EASILY BORNE THAN A MAN IMPRUDENT, AND FOOLISH, AND IMPIOUS, — that is, than an impious man, who is imprudent and foolish, because imprudently and foolishly he prefers earth to heaven, time to eternity, hell to glory, the pyre to the kingdom, lust to God. For these are not three distinct things, but one and the same having three aspects Therefore Boethius, in Book IV of the Consolation of Philosophy, teaches that the foolish, that is the impious, are not so much men as beasts. "It happens therefore," he says, "that whom you see transformed by vices, you cannot believe to be a man. Does avarice burn, a violent robber of others' wealth? You would call him like a wolf. Is he fierce and restless, exercising his tongue in quarrels? You will compare him to a dog. Does the deceiver rejoice in having stolen by hidden frauds? He will be equated with foxes. Does untempered anger rage? He is believed to carry the spirit of a lion. Is he fearful and fleeing, dreading things not to be feared? He is held to be like a deer. Is he sluggish and stupid, torpid? He lives as an ass. Is he light and inconstant, changing his pursuits? He differs nothing from birds. Does he plunge into foul and unclean lusts? He is held by the pleasure of a filthy pig. Thus it comes to pass that he who, having abandoned probity, has ceased to be a man, since he cannot pass into the divine condition, is turned into a beast." From this he draws these paradoxes, but in reality most true. First: "Just as therefore probity itself becomes a reward for the upright, so wickedness itself is a punishment for the wicked." Second: "Since good itself is beatitude, it is clear that all the good become blessed by the very fact that they are good: but those who are blessed must be gods." Third: "It is necessary that the wicked be more miserable when they have accomplished what they desired, than if they were unable to fulfill what they desire. For if it is miserable to have wished for evil,
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19 and 20. "A WOODEN BOND BOUND TOGETHER IN THE FOUNDATION OF A BUILDING SHALL NOT BE DISSOLVED: SO ALSO A HEART CONFIRMED IN THE THOUGHT OF COUNSEL. THE THOUGHTS OF A SENSIBLE MAN IN EVERY TIME SHALL NOT BE DEPRAVED BY FEAR" — "Loramentum" properly is a lorum, by which, as by a restraint, dogs, oxen and other beasts of burden are bound and held, such as are the reins of horses. Hence by catachresis loramentum signifies any bond and ligament whatsoever, whether it be made from leather straps, or from chains, or from wood, or from other material. Here therefore it signifies a wooden bond, or a suitable connection and joining together of pieces of wood, which is done by wooden nails. The same is signified by the Greek imantosin, that is, a binding together, a joining: for himas is a leather strap or thong by which things are bound together; likewise an iron band of a wheel. Again, imantosis is a piece of wood which is placed in the middle of a structure to hold the walls together, as St. Jerome and Suidas say. The Syriac for imantosin reads himatismos, that is, a garment. Whence it translates, as a garment made of linen or white wool (for Eulin signifies both wood and linen or woolen, namely cotton; xylon is cotton, or bombax or bombasum) does not stand before a storm: so also the heart of a fool is broken in his bowels, and before tribulation it cannot stand. The Greek texts add sysseismo, that is, in a shaking. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Just as "loramentum," that is, a binding or joining together of the beams of a building, which are bound together most firmly by wood and wooden nails as by leather straps, is not easily dissolved, nor shaken by the force of winds: so neither is the prudent and firm counsel of the wise man easily dissolved, or broken or shaken by the force of temptations, adversities, persecutions: for it is joined and compacted together by strong reasons as by nails: whence it comes about that the mind of the wise man is not easily drawn away from his purpose, previously well weighed and deliberated: therefore the thoughts of a sensible and prudent man are not bent or shaken by fear of the powerful and any difficulties whatsoever, so that his purpose be overturned or depraved: for he compares fear to a shaking. Whence from the Greek the Complutensian editors thus translate: A wooden connection bound in a building is not dissolved by shaking: so a heart confirmed in the thought of counsel shall not fear in any time; the Zurich Bible: as wooden joinings and fastenings placed in a building are not dissolved by a shock: so a mind confirmed by weighed counsel shall never be afraid. Vatablus for joinings translates, subscudes. "Subscudes are small boards," says Festus, "by which boards are fitted together to each other; so called, because where they are inserted, they are cut away." Again, subscudes are wooden fastenings, which are also called secriculae from their form, as if securiculae, by which two beams are bound together most tenaciously. The French call them swallows' tails. Thus Vitruvius, book XVIII, chapter X, calls subscudem the iron band of a mill, which holds the millstone. And Pacuvius: "Nor does any subscus hold the framework together." Others translate: a wooden framework connected in building is not dissolved by motion: so a heart confirmed by deliberate counsel shall never be afraid; the Syriac: as a structure of wood bound together in the walls of the corners of a house: so a heart understanding in the counsel of its mind, and all fear shall not move it. This is what the Psalmist sings in Psalm CXI: "His heart is ready to hope in the Lord, his heart is confirmed: he shall not be moved." The reason is that the prudent man prudently foresees all things, examines them, arranges them and connects them, and against all temptations and difficulties fortifies and arms himself. For he imitates God, whose providence and provident disposition persists certain and unshaken, reaching from end to end mightily, and disposing all things gently; because He has so wisely connected together the series and orders of all things by their mutual reasons, that they cannot be overturned by any force of men or demons. This unshaken and inviolable wisdom God breathes into the just, as it were into His friends and sons, through grace: whereby it comes to pass that their counsels, as it were divine, stand unshaken against all the forces and frauds of demons and men. Thus the Romans said of Fabricius: "It is easier to turn the sun from its course than to turn Fabricius from his purpose." Such was St. Athanasius, who for 46 years could not be turned from his purpose of defending the homoousios against the Arians by any persecutions of emperors, bishops, and the whole world. Such were St. Basil, St. Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazianzus and the other heroes of the Church. Such were the Martyrs, of whom the Church sings: These for thee the furies and ferocity of men trampled down, and cruel stripes; The rending claw yielded to them mightily, Nor did it tear the inner sanctum. Morally, learn here through God's grace and counsel to strengthen thy heart in the purpose of serving God, so that thou mayest firmly resolve to shrink from the worship of God by no fear, price or reward. For while this purpose persists, it grows not old by any lapse of time, it is not overturned by any fear of tyrants. If the building of the saint— Mystically, Rabanus says: "The wooden bond bound to the foundation of the building is not dissolved, because the ends of the passion of Christ joined in the hearts of believers with the teaching of the Apostles makes an indissoluble building of the Church, and held together by the glue of true charity, it is never permitted to be destroyed either by the threats and scourges of persecutors or by the snares of heretics: for the foundation of the Lord stands firm, and the heart of a faithful man confirmed in such dogmas cannot be weakened by any adversity; but strengthened by the hand of the supreme artificer, it remains unharmed forever."
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21 and 22. LIKE STAKES (some less correctly read straw; for in Greek it is charakez, that is a stake, that is stronger stakes to which the vine is bound; the Latins call it a foundation and base) IN HIGH PLACES, AND MORTAR LAID WITHOUT EXPENSE AGAINST THE FACE OF THE WIND WILL NOT REMAIN: SO ALSO A TIMID HEART IN THE THOUGHT OF A FOOL AGAINST THE ASSAULT OF FEAR WILL NOT RESIST. — To the heart of the wise man, firm, which is shaken by no fear, because he directs himself in all things by sound counsel and prudence, he opposes "a timid heart" of the fool, which because it is destitute of counsel and prudence, is agitated by fear of difficulties that occur, just as reeds and "stakes in high places" are agitated by wind, Fear therefore distinguishes the heart of the wise man and the fool; for it conquers the heart of the fool, but is conquered by the heart of the wise man. The stake is a foundation of vineyards, which is usually made of oak and juniper, and then olive. The stakes therefore are oaken, or juniper, or olive, or elder stakes, etc., which support the vines: which the Romans do with reeds, or canes of rushes. Moreover the Greek and Latin codices vary wonderfully here. See Francis Lucas here; but we must follow the Latin Vulgate corrected at Rome. The Syrian: a small binding upon an elevated stone, and he who is not very good before the wind will not be able to stand. Christ attests Sirach in Matthew VII, 24: "Everyone," He says, "that heareth these words of mine, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And everyone that heareth these words of mine, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof." 23. AS A TREMBLING HEART IN THE THOUGHT OF A FOOL, AT ALL TIMES WILL NOT FEAR, SO ALSO HE WHO PERSEVERES IN THE PRECEPTS OF GOD ALWAYS. — Jansenius and Francis Lucas think that this verse has crept in from a variant translation of the preceding verse, both because this verse is lacking in the Greek, and Rabanus omits it, and because it seems to have an incongruous sense, and because it appears to contradict the preceding verse. But, because most Latin Bibles, even those corrected by the Romans, constantly read it: first, Jansenius connects and expounds it thus: "At all times will not fear thus," namely, "as the fool," "and," that is also, "he who perseveres in the precepts of God always," as if to say, The fool will fear, but the wise man and the just will not do so. Whence the Bible of Bessarion, the Bruges and Arras editions, which Francis Lucas cites, omit "as a trembling heart in the thought of a fool," and thus read as if it follows: "And at all times will not fear he who perseveres in the precepts of God always;" which reading is indeed full and apt in this place. Most excellently St. Gregory of Nazianzus in the Distichs: "As a very great anvil," he says, "does not fear blows: so the wise mind repels every loss. As the rustling of leaves frightens hares, so the shadows of things frighten timid and cowardly men." The wise man therefore dares like a lion, the foolish man fears like a hare; his heart is lion-like, his is hare-like. Hence St. Pancras the martyr to Diocletian: "Do not," he says, "Emperor, be deceived in vain, because you see me a boy. For the Lord Jesus Christ infused into me such a mind, that I fear none of the terrors of princes or judges." And St. Acathius the centurion and martyr: "Behold," he says, "my body most ready for scourges, use it as you please; but the purpose of my mind neither the Emperor, nor all the malice of demons will be able to overturn."
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24. HE THAT PRICKS THE EYE BRINGS FORTH TEARS, AND (that is, likewise, in like manner) HE THAT PRICKS THE HEART, BRINGS FORTH FEELING. — For feeling the Greek is not obstetoo, that is, wisdom, prudence, but aisthesin, that is, sensation. He aptly compares the heart to the eye. First, because each is the most excellent member of man, and equally the most tender. Second, because each is highly sensitive. Whence as the eye is the seat of tears, so the heart is the seat of the passions and affections of the soul. Third, because there is sympathy between the heart and the eye; for the heart indeed shows its affections of love, hatred, anger, joy, sadness, fear, anxiety most especially through the eyes. Fourth, because what the eye is in the head, this the heart is in the breast; for as the principal external sense, namely sight, by which man perceives and senses all things, is in the head: so the principal internal sense, by which all the affections of the soul concerning any things whatsoever are felt by man, is in the heart. Wherefore as the eye is as it were the heart of the head and of the external senses: so conversely the heart is as it were the eye of the breast and of the internal senses. Fifth, as the eye, because tender, immediately upon being pricked signifies its pain through tears: so the heart upon being pricked signifies its sensation through internal and external affections. Furthermore this saying, because it is general, can be fitted to any pricking of the heart, and to any sensation of it; yet properly Sirach regards the pricking by which a friend and friendship are wounded, for he treats of this in what follows, as if to say: As he who pricks another's eye, afflicts him with pain, and causes him to indicate his own pain through tears: so he who pricks a friend's heart with biting and stinging words, or with injurious deeds; he afflicts it with pain, and causes him to signify this sensation of his pain through groans, murmurs, sighs and sorrowful words; for since the heart is the seat of sadness, the heart pricked with insult flows abundantly with groans and tears, which are witnesses of great grief. Thus the Syrian: the blow (or striking) of the eye, he says, causes tears to descend, and the blow of the heart takes away friendship. He tacitly admonishes therefore that we beware of all injury and bitterness, lest we offend a friend thereby, and overturn friendship. The same thing is signified more clearly in the following verse, by another similitude of birds. Whence Palacius thus explains it: "Do you wish," he says, "to know by what sense anyone is? prick his heart, stimulate him by some word, afflict him by some injury or trouble. For as it is natural for the eye when pricked to bring forth tears: so it is for the heart when pricked to produce and indicate its nature. You can easily hide your heart if you are given time to think; but if you are suddenly pricked, you will suddenly show who you are, namely whether you are meek, patient, humble, or the contrary." 25. HE THAT CASTS A STONE AT BIRDS, SHALL DRIVE THEM AWAY (Greek aposobei, that is, drives away, repels, shakes off, alienates) THEM: AND SO HE THAT REVILES A FRIEND, DISSOLVES FRIENDSHIP. — As if to say: As he who casts a stone at birds, drives them away and repels them from the tree in which they rest, and causes them to fly away: so "he that reviles a friend," drives him away and repels him, and "his friendship" alienates and "dissolves." He admonishes therefore that in friendship one must most carefully beware of reviling, as being as it were a weapon cast at a friend, putting him to flight and offending him. For friends do not bear reproaches from friends, but wish to be cultivated and honored by them. But he transgresses this law of friendship who, putting on the nature of an enemy, afflicts a friend with dishonor, and brings his faults into public, striking him with the point of reviling. For he treats here of reviling not light and familiar, but grave, which takes away or greatly harms a friend's reputation. Whence the Syrian: he who casts a stone at a bird, causes it to fly away; and he who defrauds his companion, takes away (another reading has loses) his friendship; the Zurich version: he who strikes birds with a stone, shall drive them away: he who casts reproach at a friend, breaks friendship. The Syrian adds: do not change toward your friend, and if you have changed, do not hope for future friendship with him. To this pertains the maxim of Publilius Syrus: "It is not permitted to harm a friend even in jest." And: "To lose a friend is the greatest of losses. A man without a friend is worth as much as a body without a spirit." Namely "a friend is a faithful harbor of solace. You would more readily endure the worst things with friends than the best things alone." 26. TO A FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU HAVE DRAWN A SWORD, DO NOT DESPAIR: FOR THERE IS A RETURN. 27. TO A FRIEND, IF YOU HAVE OPENED A SORROWFUL MOUTH, DO NOT FEAR: FOR THERE IS RECONCILIATION; EXCEPT FOR REVILING, AND REPROACH, AND PRIDE, AND REVELATION OF A SECRET, AND A TREACHEROUS BLOW: IN ALL THESE THE FRIEND WILL FLEE. — "A sorrowful mouth," that is, an angry mouth, so that he may have uttered angry, morose, bitter, threatening words. Thus sorrowful is taken for angry, cruel and threatening, when it is said: "Acheron sorrowful, war sorrowful, arms sorrowful," because sorrow on the face of a man is an indication of cruelty, anger, threats. Hence Virgil, II Aeneid: Whither the sorrowful Erinys, Whither the roar calls. Likewise: Let my sorrowful deeds be told to him, And degenerate Neoptolemus remember to recount. Likewise: And he brings back these sorrowful words from the shrine: sorrowful, that is, threatening. And Lucilius: "Surely in that matter let it not be more sorrowful to me," that is, more angry. For sorrow and anger accompany each other; for we grow angry at the evil over which we grieve, and conversely we grieve over He shows how reviling is harmful to friendship from a comparison of other injuries, as if to say: Even if from sudden anger and choler you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not despair of friendship; for it will easily be possible through submission and repentance to return into favor with him. Much more so if from precipitousness of mind, passion, and disturbance you have opened a sorrowful mouth, so that you have cast a more bitter word against a friend and saddened him, do not fear that he will renounce friendship; for there is a way and place for reconciliation. Except, however, deliberate reviling, pride, revelation of a secret, and a treacherous blow: for in these the heart of friendship is wounded. Wherefore if a friend is assailed by these, as if pierced by lethal weapons, he will flee irrevocably and will be irreconcilable. Hence the Zurich Bible, or Vatablus: if you have drawn a sword against a friend, do not cast away hope: for there is a return into favor. If you have made an attack with words against a friend, do not fear; for there remains a place for reconciliation; provided that reviling, or pride, or disclosure of a secret, or a treacherous blow be absent: for by these every friend will be put to flight; Syriac: against your friend even if you have drawn a sword, do not lose heart, for there is a return for him. And if you have opened your mouth against a friend, do not fear, because there is reconciliation for him. He is a son of shame who reveals a secret; a blow of destruction (or fraudulent) takes away friendship. Therefore Sirach teaches here that injuries done to a friend, whether by words or deeds, which are committed from sudden passion, are reconcilable, and therefore do not take away honor and reputation from the friend: but those are irreconcilable which are perpetrated with deliberate and premeditated intent, and are therefore signs not of sudden anger, but of lasting hatred; or which take away honor and reputation from the friend. He teaches that such is, first, reviling, that is, reproach deliberate or premeditated, cast upon the good name and dignity of a friend, and wounding or taking away the same. This happens often and commonly, if you regard ordinary nature and grace, but not always. For outstanding divine grace surpasses all things, and perfect charity absorbs these and more, nor does it allow itself to be violated by anything, but rather by any offenses as if by fans, its flame is kindled more and burns more intensely. Hence St. Ambrose, lib. II On the Intercession of Job, cap. II, explaining that passage Job cap. XIX, vers. 7, according to the Septuagint: Behold I laugh at reproach, and do not speak, says Job to laugh with joy in insults. Moreover, in the tolerance of revilings he assigns three degrees, namely to be silent, to laugh, to bless. In the first he places David, who, although he was king, and was petulantly cursed by the vile Shimei, received the reproaches silently, groaning and praying. In the second, certainly higher and more perfect, he places Job, who laughed at insults as an emulator of Evangelical perfection, and a partaker of that blessedness which Christ constituted in the eighth place, as it were the highest, as the summit of perfection, saying: Blessed are ye when men shall curse you; rejoice and be glad, for your reward is very great in heaven, Matt. v, 11. In the third finally, the athlete of the Gospel Paul, blessing the Jews while they cursed, he places as the chief: And if a servant, he says, has been insolent, and if a poor man is reviled, the just man is silent; and if a sinner casts reproaches, the just man laughs; and if a weak man curses, the just man blesses. David was silent when Shimei cursed, Job laughed, Paul blessed, as he himself says: We are cursed, and we bless, 1 Cor. IV. Wherefore Palacius rightly exclaims: O grace of Christ, with whom reconciliation lies open, even if we have wounded him by all these things. To him also be grace, who commanded that even wounded by all these things, we be reconciled to our neighbor. For if we do not forgive from our hearts, neither shall we be forgiven. Therefore those times of the old law did not demand friendship of us as the Evangelical times do. Then it was said: You shall hate your enemy; but now: Love your enemies.
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28. KEEP FAITH WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR IN HIS POVERTY, SO THAT YOU MAY ALSO REJOICE IN HIS GOODS.
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What he said concerning poverty, he now says concerning any tribulation, namely, that faith must be kept toward a friend in all circumstances. He assigns as a reward participation in an inheritance, namely, when a friend has obtained the inheritance of a father, uncle, or relative, he will make his friend a participant in it, who in tribulation, and especially in the expectation and litigation of the inheritance, has faithfully stood by him with resources, aid, and labor, indeed he will sometimes even appoint him as heir. Note here that it was once a custom to leave some portion of an inheritance to friends by will, as can be seen in Roman histories. For thus Maecenas appointed Augustus Caesar, as it were a friend, as his heir entirely. Whence the Zurich translation renders it, keep faith with him in the time of calamity, so that you may come with him into possession of his property; others, in time of adversity remain with him, so that you may become heir of his patrimony; the Syriac, in the time of distress be his companion, so that you may also be heir in his inheritance. Hence Palacius morally infers: Therefore, since Christ in his members, namely in the poor and afflicted, suffers poverty and tribulation (for he himself said to Saul, Acts IX: Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?), let us be faithful to him, communicating aid and our resources to the least of his, so that he himself may then communicate to us his far more joyful and abundant blessings.
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30. BEFORE FIRE COME VAPOR AND SMOKE OF FIRE EXALTED: SO ALSO BEFORE BLOOD COME CURSES, AND REPROACHES, AND THREATS. He aptly compares reviling to smoke, slaughter to flame: first, because just as hidden fire produces smoke, so from anger and heat of mind proceed revilings and quarrels; secondly, because hidden fire gathers smoke on high, so anger multiplies revilings and quarrels, and from light matters gradually ascends to grave, graver and gravest ones. Thirdly, just as smoke clouds the eyes of the body, so that they see neither the flame, nor the thing which the flame burns, nor the inhabitants, nor anything else; so anger and quarrels cloud the eyes of the mind, so that the angry see neither their own anger, nor the harms from it befalling themselves and others. Fourthly, just as smoke turns into a great flame, which lays waste all things; so quarrels on both sides kindle the minds of those quarreling, so that they proceed to mutual blows and slaughter. The Greeks briefly have it thus in the usual manner, before fire come vapor of the hearth and smoke, so before bloodshed come revilings; the Zurich translation, vapor of the hearth and smoke precede fire; thus revilings, reproaches and threats precede the shedding of blood; the Syriac, before fire smokes smoke, and before one shedding blood comes reproach. Whence, just as smoke elicits, drives forth and rolls smoke, and conversely is elicited, driven forth and rolled by another following; so also reviling of one elicits, drives forth and rolls reviling of another into whom it is cast, and conversely by the other returning like for like is said and driven forth; wherefore the reciprocal succession, exaltation and rolling of smoke is an expressed species and image of quarrel, fight and duel.
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31. LET ME NOT BE ASHAMED TO GREET A FRIEND (others read, be not ashamed), I WILL NOT HIDE MYSELF FROM HIS FACE; Note: For greet, Jansenius thinks we should read protect. For in Greek it is σκέπασαι, that is, to guard, protect, defend. But Our author reads ἄσπασαι, that is, to greet (for it is the part of a friend to greet a friend benevolently, indeed to anticipate in greeting: for silence ruptures many friendships), and thus St. Ambrose reads it, lib. III of Duties, cap. vii: "I will not, he says, be ashamed to greet a friend, and I will not hide myself from his face; for Ecclesiasticus cap. vi testifies that he is a medicine of life and immortality. And no one will doubt that he is the highest protection in charity, since the Apostle says: Charity suffereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, I Corinthians xiii, and cap. viii. But if you have found one who excels in liveliness of wit, vigor of mind and authority, and it comes to pass that he is more ready by example and practice, let his presence solve dangers, provide for the future, announce impending things, settle disputes, bring remedy in time, be prepared not
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33. WHO WILL GIVE A GUARD TO MY MOUTH, AND A SURE SEAL UPON MY LIPS, THAT I FALL NOT BY THEM (through them), AND MY TONGUE DESTROY ME? After he has shown what great losses follow among friends from insults and vices of the tongue, he exclaims: Who will give, etc., as if to say, O that someone would give me a guard for my mouth, by which as with a sure seal, that is, A sure seal therefore is a seal that is cautious and prudent, which rests upon certain solid reasons, which prudence dictates, and from this is trustworthy and secure. This seal therefore, and guard of the mouth, is prudent and cautious circumspection and premeditation, what, how much, in what manner, whom it is fitting to speak to here and now; which God places, without which our providences are uncertain, the same man also places, because he himself ought to watch over his mouth and carefully lock it. Thus St. Chrysostom in Psalm cxl, to that passage: Set, O Lord, a guard to my mouth, assigns a twofold guard of the mouth and a twofold seal: one of God, namely, the aid of divine grace; the other, ours, namely, reason and continence: Let us therefore, he says, guard our mouth perpetually, applying reason to it as a key. Not that it be perpetually closed, but that it be opened at a fitting time. For sometimes silence is more useful than speech, just as speech also is more useful than silence. And therefore that most wise man said (Eccles. cap. iii): A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. For if it were fitting that mouths be perpetually open, gates would not have been made; but if they were to be perpetually closed, there would be no need of a guard. For what is closed, why would anyone guard it? But for this reason there are gates and a guard, that we do all things at a fitting time. On this seal of the tongue I shall say more at cap. xxviii, vers. 28 and 29. Anatomists relate that the tongue has two veins, one of which tends toward the heart, the other toward the brain; by which nature signifies that the tongue ought to speak nothing, even if the heart desires it, unless the brain, that is, the mind and reason, consent, and approve the same as right. For the heart ought to serve the brain, that is, appetite ought to serve reason; for this is in man the presiding and ruling power, governing appetite. Didactically St. Augustine, On Grace and Free Will, cap. xvi, from this passage against the Pelagians teaches the necessity of God's grace, and namely that we cannot without it moderate the tongue; for, as Solomon says in Prov. xvi, 1: It is the part of man to prepare the soul, and of the Lord to govern the tongue; wherefore this aid of grace ought to be assiduously implored by one willing to live and speak well, as Sirach implores it in the following cap. And Esther cap. xiv, 13: Grant, he says, a composed word in my mouth, in the sight of the lion, and turn his heart to the hatred of our enemy. Therefore when you are about to speak or handle something grave, pray that God may compose the words in your heart and mouth, in such a way that they may strike the hearts of the hearers, and persuade them of what you are about to say, and therefore say with the Psalmist: O Lord, thou wilt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare thy praise. Symbolically, a cunning seal is one which has hidden locks, which can be opened only by certain signs, such as those which are made up of various circles, and to each circle its own letter is inscribed; wherefore the circles must be turned until they produce a certain word, for example John. Thus our mouth has its locks, when vanity, detraction, murmuring, anger, etc., occur; but it is opened only when honest and holy things are to be said, according to that of St. Ambrose: Let Christ, the Word of God, be the seal of your mouth. Christ therefore opens our mouth.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.