Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Verſ. 1.
THE Words] Golden words, weighty and worthy of all acceptation, grave and gracious Apophthegmes, or rather Oracles, meet to be well remembred: Solomon's Sapiential Sermon of the Soveraign good, and how to attain to it; Solomons Soliloquie, ſo ſome ſtile it; others, his ſacred Retractations; others, his Ethicks, or Tractate de Summo bono, of the chiefeſt good,Serranus. compiled and compoſed with ſuch a picked frame of words, with ſuch pithy ſtrength of ſentences, with ſuch a thick ſeries of demonſtrative arguments, that the ſharp wit of all the Philoſophers compared with this Divine diſcourſe, ſeems to be utterly cold, and of ſmall account;foreign. Ariſt. Experientia optima magiſtra. their elaborate Treatiſes of Happineſs to be learned dotages, and laborious loſſe of time. How many ſeveral opinions there were amongſt them concerning the Chief Good in Solomon's days, is uncertain: divers of them hee confuteth in this book, and that from his own experience, the beſt School-dame. But Varro (the learned'ſt of the Romans) reckoneth up 280 in his time; and no wonder, conſidering mans natural blindneſs, not unlike that of the Syrians at Dothan, Aug. de civ. Dei lib. 18.or that of the Sodomites at Lots door. What is an eye without the optick ſpirit, but a dead member? and what is all humane wiſdom without divine illumination, but wickedneſs of folly, yea fooliſhneſs of madneſs, as our Preacher not without good cauſe calleth it? A ſpirit there is in man, ſaith Elihu (viz. the light of reaſon, and thus far the Animal-man goes, and there hee makes an halt,Eccleſ. 7.15. hee cannot tranſcend his orb) but the inſpiration of the Almighty giveth them underſtanding, Job. 32.8. God had given Solomon wiſdom above any man; Abulenſis ſaith, above Adam in his innocency (which I believe not:) He was foreign (as Macarius was called) a man at twelve years old.Niceph. His Father had taught him, Prov. 4.4. His Mother had leſſoned him, Prov. 31.1. The Prophet Nathan had had the breeding of him. But beſides, as he was Jedidiah, loved of God, ſo he was foreign, taught of God. And being now, when hee penned this Penitential Sermon, grown an old man, he had experimented all this that hee here affirmeth. So that hee might better begin his ſpeech to his ſcholars, than once Auguſtus Caeſar did to his ſouldiers, Audite ſenem juvenes, quem juvenem ſenes audierunt, Young men, hearken to mee an old man, whom old men hearkened unto when I was yet but young. Have not I written for you excellent things in counſels and knowledge? Prov. 22.20. Or, Have I not written three books for thee, (ſo ſome read thoſe words) Proverbial, Penitential, Nuptial? See the Note there.
—Neſcis temerarie, neſcis
Ovid. Metam.Quem fugias, ideoque fugis.
Job. 4. Eſay. 55.Surely if thou kneweſt the gift of God, and who it is that ſpeaketh unto thee, thou wouldſt encline thine ear and hear, thou wouldſt liſten, as for life it ſelf. Knoweſt thou not that I am a Preacher, a Prince, Son of David, King in Jeruſalem, 2 Cor. 3.1. Regis epiſtolis acceptis, quo calamo ſcriptae ſint, ridiculum eſt quaerere. Greg. Luke 13.28. Bellarminus Solomonem inter reprobos numerat.and ſo do come multis nominibus tibi commendatiſſimus, much commended to thee in many reſpects? But need I, as ſome others, epiſtles of commendation to my Readers, or Letters of commendation from them? Is it not ſufficient to know, that this book of mine, (both for matter and words) is the very work of the Holy Ghoſt ſpeaking in mee, and writing by mee? For Prophecy comes not by the will of man, but holy men of God ſpeak it as they are moved by the holy Ghoſt, 2 Pet. 1.21. And albeit this be proof good enough of my true (though late) repentance, whereof ſome have doubted, ſome denied it, yet take another.
Of the Preacher] Or, of a preaching Soul, (for the Hebrew word Koheleth, is of the feminine gender, and hath Nepheſh, Soul, underſtood) or of a perſon re-united and reconciled to the Church,Anima congregata, & cum Eccleſia ſe colligens. Cartw. and in token of reconciliation to God, re-admitted by him to this Office in his Church; like as Chriſt ſealed up his love to Peter after his ſhameful fall, by bidding him feed his lambs; and to the reſt of the Apoſtles that had baſely forſaken him, by ſaying to them after his reſurrection, Peace be unto you: As my Father hath ſent mee, even ſo ſend I you, Receive yee the holy Ghoſt, John 20.21. See the like mercy ſhewed to St. Paul, 1 Tim. 1.12. Howbeit ſome learned men here obſerve, that it is no new thing in the Hebrew tongue, to put feminine names upon men, as Ezra is called Sophereth, deſcriptrix, a Shee-ſcribe, in the very ſame form as Solomon is here called Koheleth, a Preachereſs; and the Goſpel-preachers Mebaſeroth, Pſal. 68.11. with Eſay 52.7. either to ſet forth the excellency and elegancy of the buſineſs, or elſe to teach Miniſters to keep themſelves pure as Virgins; whence they are alſo called Wiſdomes Maids, Prov. 9.3. and Chriſts Paranymphs, John 3.29. to preſent the Church as a chaſte Virgin to Chriſt, 2 Cor. 11.2.
The Son of David] So Chriſt alſo is ſaid to be, Mat. 1.1. as if David had been his immediate father. The glory of children are their fathers, Prov. 17.6. to wit, if they be godly and pious. The Jews made great boaſts that they were the ſeed of Abraham, Mat. 3.9. John 8.33. And that caitiff Elymas the Sorcerer,Act. 13.6. had ſurnamed himſelf Barjeſus, or the ſon of Jeſus, as if hee had been of neereſt alliance to our Saviour, of whom all the families of heaven and earth are called. Eph. 3.What an honour is it now accounted to be of the poſterity of Latimer, Bradford, Ridley, &c? How much more of David, that man of renown, the Father of our princely Preacher, who himſelf took alſo not ſcorn to teach and do the office of a Preacher, Pſal. 32.9. and 34.11. though he were the Governour of Gods people, Pſal. 78.71. and head of many Heathen, Pſal. 18.43? The like may be ſaid of Joſeph of Arimathea, who of a Counſellor of State became a preacher of the Goſpel: ſo did Chryſoſtome a noble Antiochian, Ambroſe Lieutenant and Conſul of Millain, George Prince of Anhalt, Earl Martinengus, John a Laſco a noble Polonian, and ſundry others of like quality and condition: Pſal. 138.4, 5. and 119.72. the Pſalmiſt ſhews by prophecying, that they that have taſted of the joys of a crown, ſhall leave the throne and palace, to ſing with the Saints, and to publiſh the excelling glory of God and godlineſs.
King in Jeruſalem] and of Jeruſalem. The Pope will allow the Duke of Millain to be King in Tuſcany, but not King of Tuſcany: Solomon was both, Prov. 1.1. See the Note there.Spec. Europ. Hither came the Queen of Sheba from the utmoſt parts of the earth to hear him: here hee wrote this excellent book, theſe words of delight, which he had learned from that one Shepheard, the Lord Chriſt, ch. 12.10, 11. and hath left them faithfully ſet down for the uſe of the Church; ſo honouring learning with his own labours, as Sylverius ſaid of Caeſar. Here laſtly it was that he ſoveraigned over Gods own peculiar, the people of his purchaſe, Iſrael, Gods firſt-born, and in that reſpect higher than the Kings of the earth, Pſal. 89.37. So that if Maximilian the Emperour of Germany could ſay, Rex hominum Hiſpanus, aſinorum Gallus, regum ego, Joh. Mant.The Spaniard is King of Men, the French is King of Aſſes, and I am King of Kings; how much better might Solomon have ſaid ſo!
Verſ. 2. Vanity of Vanities] Or, moſt vain vanity: therefore no happineſs here to be had but in the reverential fear of God, chap. 12.13. and this is the ſum of the whole Sermon, the reſult of the Diſcourſe, the impartial verdict brought in by one that could beſt tell; and hee tells it over and over, that men might the ſooner believe him, without putting themſelves to the fruitleſs pains of trying any further concluſions. Sinne hath hurled confuſion over the world, and brought a vanity on the creature. This our firſt parents found, and therefore named their ſecond ſon Abel, or Vanity. David comes after, and confirms it, Pſal. 144.4. Adam is as Abel, or, Man is like to Vanity; Adam is Abels mate. Omnis Adam eſt totus Abel. Nitſub, fundatus, conſtitutus.there is an alluſion in the Original to their two names: yea, All-Adam is all-Abel, when hee is beſt underlaid, (ſo the Hebrew hath it) every man at his beſt eſtate, when he is ſettled upon his beſt bottome, is altogether vanity: Surely, Selah, 'Tis ſo, 'Tis ſo, you may ſeal to it, Pſal. 39.5. But who (alas) hath beleeved our report? Theſe outward things are ſo near to us, and ſo natural to us, that although we can ſay (nay ſwear) with the Preacher, Vanity of Vanities, a heap, a neſt of vanities, It is naught, it is naught, ſaith the buyer, yet, when gone apart, wee cloſe with them,Fulg. triumphes Romanos ludoſve cum ſpectarit appellavit vanitatem. Author vitae apud Sur. Procop. lib. 2. de bello Vand. albeit wee know they are naught, and will come to naught, 1 Cor. 2.6. Neither will it ever bee otherwiſe with us, till with Fulgentius we have found, after much trial, the vanity of all earthly triumphs: till with Gilimer King of Vandalls led in triumph by Belliſarius, wee cry out, as here, Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity: till with Charles the fifth Emperour of Germany, (whom of all men the world judged moſt happy,) wee cry out with deteſtation to all our honours, pleaſures, trophees, riches,*Philip. Morn. Abite hinc, abite longe, Get you hence, let me hear no more of you.
Verſ. 3. What profit hath a man] What durable profit? Quid reſidui? what overplus, what more than will ſerve to ſatisfie back and belly?Iſa. 57.10. Our life is called the life of our hands, becauſe it is maintained by the labour of our hands. Si ventri bene, ſi lateri, as hee in Horace ſaith, If the belly may be filled, the back fitted, that's all that can here be had, and that moſt men care to have: Which if they have (ſome have but Priſoners pittance, ſo much as will keep life and ſoul together) yet Quid amplius, as the Vulgar renders this text, what have they more to pay them for their pains? Surely when all the account is ſubducted (ſuch a labouring mans happineſs reſolved into its final iſſue and concluſion) there reſteth nothing but ciphers. This ſhould make us more moderate in our deſires and indeavours after earthly things: ſith we do but labour in the very fire, and weary our ſelves for very vanity, Hab. 2.13. They that ſeek after the Philoſophers ſtone, they muſt uſe ſo much gold, and ſpend ſo much gold: and then they can turn as much into gold by it, as they have ſpent in making of it: and ſo they have their labour for their pains: Quid emolumenti? What profit hath a man? Do we not ſee many take a great deal of pains to go to hell? whereinto at length they are turned as a Sumpterhorſe is at night, after all his hard travell, with his back full of galls and bruiſes.
Verſ. 4. One generation paſſeth away, &c.] Therefore no happineſs here, becauſe no aſſurance of life or long continuance.
Omnia ſunt hominum tenui pendentia filo:
Et ſubito caſu, quae valuere ruunt.
Xerxes, looking upon his huge Army, wept, to think that within leſs than an hundred years, not one of thoſe many ſhould be left alive. Mortality is the ſtage of mutability: Meer man is but the dream of a dream, but the generation of a fancy, but an empty vanity, but the curious picture of nothing, a poor feeble, unable dying flaſh. How then can he here work out unto himſelf an happineſs worth having?Hab. 2.6. Why ſhould he lay up and load himſelf with thick clay, as if his life were rivetted upon eternity?
But the Earth endureth for ever] As a ſtage, whereon the ſeveral Generations act their parts, and go off: as the center of the world, and ſeat of living creatures, it ſtands firm and unmoveable.
That was an od conceit of Platoes, that the earth was a kind of living creature, having ſtones for bones, rivers for veins, trees for hairs, &c. And that was worſe of Ariſtotle, teaching the worlds eternity: which ſome ſmatterers in Philoſophy fondly ſtrive to maintain out of this text; not rightly underſtanding the force of the Hebrew phraſe, For ever, which oft-times and here ſignifies a periodical perpetuity, a long indefinite time, not an infinite: See 2 Pet. 1.3, 10. The whole Engine ſhall be changed. By ever then is meant, till the end of all things.
Plutarch. foreign. Pauſ. Pſal. 19.3.Verſ. 5. The Sun alſo ariſeth] That ſweet and ſwift creature, (the Perſians deified it:) So ſweet, that Eudoxus Profeſſed himſelf willing to bee burnt up by the Sun preſently, ſo hee might bee admitted to come ſo near it, as to learn the nature of it. So ſwift, that the Perſians dedicated an horſe to their God the Sun, as the ſwifteſt on earth to the ſwifteſt in heaven. He courſeth about the world with incredible ſpeed, and rejoyceth as a Gyant to run a race. Hee exceedeth the Eagles flight, more than it goes beyond the ſlow motion of a ſnail. Whether it run nearer the earth now by 9976 German miles, than it did in Ptolomies days (as ſome Mathematicians affirm) I know not. But that, being of a fiery nature,Hóm. 8. ad pop. Antioch. it ſhould, contrary to the nature of fire, (which is to fly upward) ſend down its beams, its heat, light, and influence, this I admire with Chryſoſtome, as a gracious work of God, in making this great Servant of the world,foreign. (as his name in Hebrew ſignifies) ſo ſweetly ſerviceable.
And haſteth to the place] Heb. panteth, as if tired and even breathleſs. A figurative ſpeech, like that Dan. 9.21. where the Angel Gabriel is ſaid to fly ſwiftly, or with wearineſs of flight, to inform Daniel. For uſe hereof, hear the Poet.
Soles ucidere & redire poſſunt, Nobis cum ſemēl occidit brevis lux, Nox eſt perpetua una d…rmienda. Catull.The Sunne doth ſet and riſe,
But wee contrariwiſe.
Sleep after one ſhort light,
An everlaſting night.
Verſ. 6. The wind goeth toward the South, &c.] It is a very ſmall thing at firſt, a little vapour riſing out of the earth; but by circuiting and whirling about, it gathers ſtrength, now ruſhing toward the South, and anon toward the North,Virg. Aneid. &c. the Original is very lively in expreſſing the manner of it. Ʋna Euruſque Notuſque ruunt, &c. The reſtleſneſs of theſe inſenſible creatures, and diligence in doing their duties, as it taxeth our dulneſs and diſ-affection, ſo it re-minds us of the inſtability of our ſtates, and that we ſhould ſeek and ſet up ou… reſt in God alone. All earthly things are to the ſoul, but as the air to the ſtone; can give it no ſtay, till it come to God the center.
Verſ. 7. All the Rivers run into the Sea] And the nearer they come to the Sea, the ſooner are they met by the tide; ſent out, as it were, to take their tribute, due to the Sea, that ſeat and ſource of waters. Surely as the Rivers lead a man to the Sea, ſo doe all theſe Creatures carry him to God by their circular motion. A circle (we ſay) is the perfecteſt figure, becauſe it begins and ends; the points doe meet together, the laſt point meets in the firſt from whence it came; ſo ſhall we never come to perfection or ſatisfaction, till our ſouls come to God; till he make the circle meet. A wiſe Philoſopher could ſay, that man is the end of all things in a ſemicircle; that is, All things in the World are made for him, and he is made for God; to whom he muſt therefore haſten.
Unto the place from whence the Rivers come] Sc. from the Sea, through the pores and paſſages of the earth, where they leave their ſaltneſs. This is Solomons opinion (as it was likewiſe the opinion of the ancient Philoſophers) which yet Ariſtotle findes fault with, and aſſigns another cauſe of the perennity of rivers, of their beginning, and original,Hinc Poetae flugunt Inachum fluvium ex Oceano genitum. viz. that the air thickned in the earth by reaſon of cold, doth reſolve and turn into water, &c. This agrees not with that which Solomon here ſaith by the inſtinct of the Holy Ghoſt. And therefore Averroes is by no means to be hearkned unto in that exceſſive commendation he gives Ariſtotle, viz. That there was no errour in his writings,Alſted. Chronol. p. 460. that his doctrin was the chiefeſt truthes, and that his underſtanding was the utmoſt that was by any one attainable, himſelf the rule and pattern that Nature invented to ſhew her moſt perfect skill, &c.
Verſ. 8. All things are full of labour] Labor eſt etiam ipſa voluptas. Chiron, cum ob juſtitiam Dii permitterent ut perpetuo viver…t, maluis mori, quod offenderetur taedio rerum ſemper eodem tenure recurrentium.Moleſtation and miſery meet us at every turn: The whole world is a Sea of glaſſe (for its vanity;) mingled with fire (for its vexation) Rev. 4.6. Vota etiam poſt uſum, faſtidio ſunt, All things are ſweeter in the ambition, than in the fruition. There is a ſingular vanity in this ſplendid miſery. One well compares it to a beautiful Picture, drawn with white and red colours in ſackcloth: which afarre off is very lovely; but near by, it is like the filthy matter of a ſore or wound, purulent rottenneſſe, or the back of a galled horſe. No man ever yet found any conſtant contentation in any ſtate: yet may his outward appearance deceive others, and anothers him.
Man cannot utter it] If Solomon cannot, no man can: for what can the man doe that cometh after the King? chap. 2.12.
The eye is not ſatisfied with ſeeing] Though theſe be the two learned ſenſes, (as Ariſtotle calls them) whereby Learning is let into the ſoul: yet no man knows ſo much, but he would know more. Herillius therefore, and thoſe other Philoſophers that placed the happineſs of a man in the knowledge of Natural cauſes and events, were not in the right. There is a curſe of unſatisfiableneſs lies upon the creature. The ſoul, that acts in and by the outward ſenſes, flickers up and down, as Noahs Dove did, but finds no firm footing; ſharks and ſhifts from one thing to another for content, as the Bee doth from flower to flower for hony, and deſires ſtill more things in number, and new things for manner. Hence the particles in the Hebrew that ſignifie And and Or, foreign & foreign of foreigncome of a word that ſignifieth to deſire: becauſe the deſires of Man would have this, and that, and that, and another: and doth alſo tire it ſelf, not knowing whether to have this or that, or that or tother, ſo reſtleſſe it is, after utmoſt endeavours of plenary ſatisfaction; which this life affords not.
Verſ. 9. The thing that hath been it is that which ſhall be] Hiſtory therefore muſt needs be of noble and neceſſary uſe: becauſe, by ſetting before us what hath been, it premoniſheth us of what will be again:Plato in Cratylo. Macrob. Joſeph. Plin. ſith the ſelf-ſame fable is acted over again in the world, the perſons only are altered that act it. Plato will therefore have Hiſtory to have its name, foreign of ſtopping the flux of endleſs errours, and reſtleſſe uncertainties. His conceit of a general revolution of all things after thirty thouſand years expired, is worthily exploded, and learnedly confuted by St. Auſtin. De Civ. Dei, lib. 12. cap. 13. but in no wiſe confirmed by this text, as ſome would have it, and Origen among the reſt. Plato might haply hint at the general Reſurrection, called the Regeneration by our Saviour, Mat. 19.28. See the Note.
Verſ. 10. Is there any thing whereof it may be ſaid, See, this is new?] Hoc ego primus vidi, ſaith Zabarel. But how could he tell that? Many men have been ſo befooled. Wee look upon Guns and Printing as new inventions; the former found out by Birchtoldin the Monk, Anno Dom. 1380. the other by Frier Fauſtus, Anno 1446. But the Chineſes are ſaid to have had the uſe of both theſe long before. Should we then ſo eagerly hunt after Novelties, thoſe meer New-nothings, till we loſe our ſelves in the chaſe? Nil admirari prope res eſt una Numici. Get ſpiritual eyes rather to behold the beauty of the New Creature, (all other things are but nine dayes wonderment) the bravery of the new Jeruſalem: Yea get this natural itch after novelties kild by the practice of mortification: and get into Chriſt, that thou mayſt be a new creature. So ſhalt thou have a new name upon thee, Iſa. 62.2. A new Spirit within thee, Ezek. 36.27. New alliance, Epheſ. 2.14. New attendance, Pſal. 91.11. New wages, new work, Iſa. 62.11. A new Commandement, 1 Joh. 2.8. A new Covenant, Jer. 31.33. A new way to Heaven, Heb. 10.20. And a new Manſion in Heaven, Joh. 14.2. 2 Cor. 5.8.
Verſ. 11. There is no remembrance of former things] None, to ſpeak of. How many memorable matters were never recorded? How many ancient records long ſince periſhed? How many fragments of very good Authors are come bleeding to our hands; that live (as many of our Caſtles doe) but only by their ruines? God hath by a Miracle preſerved the holy Bible from the injury of times and Tyrants, who have ſought to aboliſh it. There wee have a true remembrance of former things, done in the Church by Abraham and his off-ſpring: when the Grandees of the Earth; Ninus, Belus, &c. lye wrapt up in the ſheet of ſhame, or buried in the grave of utter oblivion. Diodorus Siculus confeſſeth, that all Heathen antiquities, before the Theban and Trojan Warres, are either fabulous relations, or little better. Ezra (that wrote one of the laſt in the Old Teſtament) lived afore any Chronicles of the world now extant in the world.
Neither ſhall there be any remembrance] Unleſs tranſmitted to poſterity by Books and Writings, which may preſerve and keep alive their memory, and teſtifie for their Authors, that ſuch have one day lived.
— Quis noſſet Eraſmum,
Chilias aeternum ſi latuiſſet opus?
Niniveh that great City is nothing elſe but a ſepulture of her ſelf: no more ſhall Rome be ere long. Time ſhall triumph over it, when it ſhall but then live by fame (if at all) as others now doe.
Verſ. 12. I the Preacher was King over Iſrael] And ſo had all the helps that heart could wiſh: the benefit of the beſt Books and Records, that men or mony could bring me in; the happineſſe of holy conference, beſide mine own plentiful experience, and therefore you may well give credit to my verdict. Mr. Fox had a large Commiſſion under the Great Seal to ſearch for all ſuch Monuments, Manuſcripts, Regiſters, Legier-books, as might make for his purpoſe in ſetting forth that worthy Work, the Acts and Monuments of the Church of England. And the like had Polydor Virgil for the framing of his Hiſtory: though with unlike ſucceſſe: for he had the ill hap to write nothing well, ſaith one,Peacham. ſave the life of Henry the ſeventh, wherein he had reaſon to take a little more pains than ordinary, the Book being dedicated to Henry the eighth his Son. See the note on verſ. 1.
Verſ. 13. And I gave my heart to ſeek and ſearch out by wiſdome] God had given Solomon a large heart, and great ſtore of wiſdome: and this made him not more idle, but more induſtrious, more ſedulous and ſerious in ſeeking and ſearching out by wiſdome] i. e. by the beſt skill that hee had, maturely and methodically, the cauſes, properties, and effects, with the reaſon of all things that are, and are done under heaven. Neither did he this in pride and curioſity, (as Hugo de Sancto Victore here ſharply cenſureth him) but ſoberly and modeſtly, ſetting down his diſquiſitions and obſervations of things Political and Natural for the uſe of poſterity. And foraſmuch as theſe are now loſt (becauſe haply too much admired and truſted to,1 King. 4.3… by thoſe that had the uſe of them under the firſt Temple, in and with the which ſome Jewes ſay they were burnt) what an high price ſhould we all ſet upon this and the other two Books of Solomon, the wiſeſt of men, as (not Apollo, but) the true God of Heaven hath called him, and commended him unto us? Surely, as in the Revelation, Heaven never opened but ſome great Myſtery was revealed, ſome Divine Oracle uttered: So we may be confident, that the Holy Ghoſt never ſets any Pen-man of Scripture a work, but for excellent purpoſe. And if we diſ-regard it, he will complain of us, as once,Hoſ. 8.12. I have written for them the great things of my Law; but they were counted as a ſtrange thing. As for thoſe other worthy Works of Solomon (the fruits of this privie ſearch into the natures of the Creatures here mentioned) that the injury of time hath bereft us of; how much better may we ſay of them,Rolloc. de vocatione, p. 130. than a godly and learned man once did of Origens Octapla? Hujus operis jacturam deplorare poſſumus, compenſare non poſſumus, This great loſſe we may well bewayl, but cannot help.
Verſ. 14. I have ſeen all the works that are done,] I have ſeen them, and ſet down mine obſervations of them, 1 King. 4.33. Pliny did ſomewhat like unto this in his Natural Hiſtory; which work of his ſaith Eraſmus, Non minus varium eſt quam ipſa rerum natura: imo non opus, ſed the ſaurus, ſed vere mundus rerum cognitu digniſſimarum, it hath as much variety in it as Nature her ſelf hath. To ſpeak truth, it is not a Work but a Treaſury, nay a world of things moſt worthy to be known of all men.
And behold all is vanity and vexation of ſpirit] Nothing in themſelves, and yet of ſufficient activity to inflict vengeance and vexation upon the ſpirit of a man: ſo farre are they from making him truly happy. They doe but feed the ſoul with wind (as the text may be rendred) wind gotten into the veins is a ſore vexation.
Verſ. 15. That which is crooked cannot bee made ſtreight] Moſt men are ſo wedded and wedged to their wicked wayes, that they cannot bee rectified but by an extraordinary touch from the hand of Heaven:foreign. Heſ. Heſiod ſpeaking of God ſaith, that he can eaſily ſet crooked things ſtreight, and only hee. Holy Melanchthon being himſelf newly converted, thought it impoſſible for his Hearers to withſtand the evidence of the Goſpel. But after he had been a Preacher a while, he complained, that old Adam was too hard for young Melanchthon; and yet beſides the ſingular skil and learning that God had given him (for the which he merited to be called the Phoenix of Germany) Ad cum modum in hoc vitae theatro verſatum Philippum Melanchthonem apparet, ſaith a friend and Scholar of his, i. e. It well appeareth, that Melanchthon was (Solomon-like) on this wiſe buſied upon the Theatre of his life, that ſeeing and obſerving all he could, he made profit of every thing; and ſtored his heart (as the Bee doth her Hive) out of all ſorts of flowers, for the common benefit. Howbeit he met with much croſneſs and crookedneſs that wr…ng many tears from him (as it did likewiſe from St. Paul, Phil. 3.18.) not in open enemies only, as Eccius, and other Papiſts, but in profeſſed friends, as, Flaccius, Oſiander, Melch. Adam in vita. Mel Melanchthon mortuus tantum, non ut blaſphemus in Deum cruci affigitur. Zanch. Miſcel. ep. ded.&c. who not only vexed him grievouſly whiles alive, but alſo fell foul upon him when he was dead, as Zanchius complaineth. Of all Fowl we moſt hate and deteſt the Crowes, and of all Beaſts the Jackalls (a kind of Foxes in Barbary) becauſe the one diggs up the graves and devours the fleſh, the other picks out the eyes of the dead. But (to return to the text) ſinful men grow aged and crooked with good opinions of themſelves, and can ſeldome or never be ſet ſtreight again. The Phariſee ſets up his Counter for a thouſand pound, I am not as other men, ſaith he, nor as this Publican, hee ſtands upon his compariſons, nay upon his diſpariſons, and although he turn aſide unto his crooked ways (as Sampſon did to his Dalilah) yet he thinks much to bee led forth with the workers of iniquity, Pſal. 125.5. Hab. 2. Luk. 13.11.but cryes, Peace ſhall bee upon Iſrael. How many are there, that having laden themſelves with thick clay are bowed together, as he in the Goſpel was, and can in no wiſe lift up themſelves? They neither can not will (O curvae in terras animae, &c.) but are frample and fooliſh.
foreign.The Greek word for crooked, comes of an Hebrew word that ſignifies a fool, and every fool is conceited; he will not part with his bable for the Tower of London: Try to ſtreighten theſe crooked peeces, and they will ſooner break than bend, venture all than mend any thing. Plato went thrice to Sicily to convert Dionyſius, and could not doe it. A wiſer than Plato complains of a perverſe and crooked generation, Deut. 32.5. See Acts 2.40. Phil. 2.15. It is the work of Gods Spirit only, by his corrective and directive power, to ſet all to rights, Luk. 3.5. Philoſophy can abſcondere vitia, non abſcindere, chain up corrupt nature, but not change it.
And that which is wanting cannot be numbred] & ſtultorum infinitus eſt numerus, ſo the Vulgar renders it, there is a numberleſſe number of fools, ſuch as are wanting with a witneſſe; witleſſe, ſapleſſe fellows, ſuch as have principium laeſum, their brains crackt by the firſt fall, and are not cured of their Spiritual phrenzie, by being re-united to the ſecond Adam. Of ſuch fools there are not a few;foreign. Deteriorum magna eſt natio, boni ſingulares. Cic. ad Attic. all places are full of them, and ſo is Hell too; the earth is burdned, the air darkned with the number of them, as the Land of Aegypt was with the Flies that there ſwarmed. Bias the Philoſopher could ſay, that the moſt were the worſt; and Cicero, that there was a great Nation of bad people, but a few good. Rari quippe boni, ſaith Juvenal: there is a great paucity of good people. And thoſe few that are, find not a few wants and weakneſſes in themſelves, quae tamen non nocent, ſi non placent, theſe hurt us not, if they pleaſe us not; for God conſiders whereof we are made, and will caſt out condemnation for ever,Lud. de Dieu. Euphor. Amama. Pſal. 19. as one renders that place, Matth. 12.10. Triſte mortalitatis privilegium eſt, …icere aliquando peccare. Our lives are fuller of ſins than the Firmament is of ſtarres, or the Furnace of ſparks. Nimis auguſta res eſt nuſpiam errare. David ſaw ſuch volumes of infirmities, and ſo many Erratas in all that he did, that hee cries out, Who can underſtand his errours? O cleanſe thou mee from ſecret ſins.
Verſ. 19. I communed with mine own heart, ſaying, &c.] Here Hugo de Sancto Victore proceeds to cenſure Solomon (as hee had done before, verſ. 13. See the note there) of pride and vain-glory, but with greater pride. For Puerilis jactantiae eſt accuſando illustres viros ſuo nomini famam quaerere. It is a childiſh vanity to ſeek for fame by aſperſing better men.Hicronym. Solomon might without boaſting ſay of himſelf, as here he doth, Loe, I am come to great eſtate; or, I have greatned and added wiſdome above all that have been before me. Doth not God ſay as much of him, 2 King. 3. & 4. & 5. & 10? And had hee not good reaſon to praiſe himſelf in this ſort? For whereas ſome might here object, that the cauſe that men get not happineſſe by the knowledge of Natural Philoſophy is, becauſe they underſtand it not: That cannot be, ſaith the Wiſe-man, for I have out-gone all that went before me in wiſdome and perſpicacity; and yet I can doe no good on't: try you another while, if you think you can out-doe mee. I think a man may break his neck before his faſt of theſe ſublunary felicities.
Verſ. 17. And to know madneſſe and folly] That by comparing of contraries, I might the ſooner finde and fiſh out what I ſought for. Sed fruſtra fui, but I diſquieted my ſelf in vain. Philoſophandum igitur, ſed paucis; there is a deceit in Philoſophy, Col. 2.8. and hee who chooſeth to hold faſt this lying vanity, doth by his own election forſake mercy, Jon. 2.8.
Verſ. 18. For in much wiſdome is much grief] And herein children and fools have the advantage; as they want wit, ſo they want woe; as little is given to them, ſo little is required of them. Nihil ſcire vita jucundiſſimae, foreign. Soph.To know nothing is the braveſt life, as the Greek Proverb hath it. But this muſt be taken with a grain of ſalt; and wee muſt know, that heavenly wiſdome hath infinite pleaſure; and ſo farre, as all other Arts and Sciences are ſubſervient to it, and regulated by it, they afford to the mind an incredible delight and ſweetneſſe.