Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ecclesiastes · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. Verſ. 1. There is an evil that I have ſeen under the Sun.
THis wretched life is ſo peſtered with evils, that the Preacher could hardly caſt his eye beſide one or other of them. A diligent obſerver hee was of humane miſeries, that hee might hang looſe to life, and the better preſs upon others the vanity of doting upon it. One would wonder (ſurely) that our life here being ſo grievouſly afflicted, ſhould yet bee ſo inordinately affected; and that even by thoſe that are in deaths often, that have born Gods yoak from their youth, that have ſuffered troubles without, and terrours within, and who, if they had hope in this life onelyonly,1 Cor. 15. were (by their own confeſſion) of all men the moſt unhappy. And yet ſo it is, God is forced to ſmoke us out of our clayie cottages, and to make life unto us to bee nothing better than a lingering death, that wee may grow weary of it, and breathe after a better,Aeterna vita vera vita. Aug. where are riches without ruſt, pleaſure with out pain, youth without decay, joy without ſorrow; Ubi nihil ſit quod nolis, & totum ſit quod velis, where is all that heart can wiſh, &c. The skilful Chirurgeon mortifieth with ſtraight binding the member that muſt bee cut off: So doth God fit us for our cutting off,Bern. by binding us with the cords of afflictions. Hee crieth not when God bindeth him, Job 36.13. ſaith Elihu of hypocrites; a Generation of men, than the which nothing is more ſtupid and inſenſible; till at length,Hypocritis nihil ſtupidius Pareus Iſa. 28. God making forcible entry upon them, doth violently break that curſed Covenant that they have made with Death and Hell, daſh the very breath out of their bodies with one plague upon another, turn them out of their earthly Tabernacles, with a firma ejectione, and ſend them packing to their place in Hell, from which they would not bee ſtopped, by all thoſe croſſes, that, for that purpoſe, hee caſt in their way.
And it is common amongſt men] Proper to men, (for beaſts are not ſubject to this evil diſeaſe) and common to all ſorts of men. One evil may well bee common among many, when many evils are ſo commonly upon one. It fell out to bee a part of Mithridates miſery, that hee had made himſelf unpoiſonable. And Cato ſo left this miſerable life,Cic. in Tuſc. quaſt. ut cauſam moriendi nactum ſe eſſe gauderet, that hee was glad of an occaſion to go out of the world.
Verſ. 2. So that hee wanteth nothing] Nothing but every thing, becauſe hee dare not make uſe of any thing almoſt; but is Tantalized by his own baſeneſs. Hee famiſheth at a full feaſt, hee ſtarveth at a fire ſide. And this is often repeated in this book, becauſe it can never enough bee obſerved and abhorred.
Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof] i. e. Hee with-holdeth his grace from him, that hee cannot uſe it to his comfort. Herein hee is like a Stag that hath great horns, but no courage to uſe them: or rather like an Aſs loaded with gold and victuals, but feeding upon thiſtles. Pray wee therefore,1 Tim. 6.17. that God would together with riches give us all things richly to enjoy. Vel mihi da clavem, vel mihi tolle ſeram. Either give mee the key, ſaith One, or take away the lock. The Greeks deſcribe a good houſholder to be foreign, a good husband, as in getting, keeping and ſetting out what hee hath to the beſt, ſo in making good uſe of it, for his own and others behoof and benefit.
But a ſtranger eats it] God ſo providing, that if one will not, another ſhall; that if the owner will not eat, but ſit pidling or ſparing, a ſtranger, and perhaps an enemy ſhall take away.Deut 28. That if men will not ſerve God with chearfulneſs in the abundance of all things, they ſhould faſt another while, and be forced to ſerve their enemies in hunger, and thirſt, and nakedneſs; and by the want of all bee taught the worth of them, carendo quam fruendo.
Verſ. 3. If a man beget an hundred children] As Ahab did half an hundred, after that God had threatned to cut off all his houſe, as it were in contempt of the divine threatning: And as Proculus Caeſar got twenty Maids with child in fifteen daies ſpace,Lib. 7. Eraſm. in Chiſia. Hier, epiſt. 7. as Pliny reporteth. Eraſmus mentioneth a Maid of Euboea, called Combe, that being married to an husband, brought him an hundred children. Like enough it might bee luctuoſa foecunditas, as Hierom ſaith of Laeta, who buried many children.
And live many years] So that hee bee triſaecliſenex, as Neſtor was of old, and Johannes de temporibus, a French-man, not many ages ſince: to whom I may add that old, Parre.old, very old man, that died of late years, having been born in Henry the ſevenths daies, or Edward the fourths.
And his ſoul bee not filled with good] Though hee bee filled with years, and filled with children, that may ſurvive and ſucceed him in his eſtate, yet if hee bee a covetous caytiff, a miſerable muckworm, that injoyes nothing (as in the former verſe) is not Maſter of his wealth, but is maſtered by it, lives beſide what hee hath, and dies to ſave charges.*As hee in Camd. Remains.
And alſo that hee have no burial] Hee leaves nothing to bring him honeſtly home, as they ſay, or if hee do, yet his ungrateful greedy heirs deny him that laſt honour,Jer. 22.19. ſo that hee is buried with the burial of an Aſs, as Coniah; ſuffered to rot and ſtink above ground, as that Aſſyrian Monarch, Iſa, 14. 19, 20. and after him Alexander the Great, who lay unburied thirty daies together. So Pompey the Great, of whom Claudian the Poet ſings thus,
Nudus paſcit aves, jacet en qui poſſidet orbem,
Exiguae telluris inops. —
And the like is ſtoried of our William the Conquerour, and divers other greedy engroſſers of the worlds good. See here the poiſonful and pernicious nature of niggardiſe and covetouſneſs, that turns long life, and large iſſue, (thoſe ſweeteſt bleſſings of God) into bitter curſes: And withall take notice of the juſt hand of God upon covetous old men, that they ſhould want comely burial; which is uſually one of their greateſt cares, as Plutarch obſerveth. For giving the reaſon why old men, that are going out of the world, ſhould bee ſo earneſtly bent upon the world, hee ſaith, it is out of fear that they ſhall not have foreign, friends to keep them whiles alive, and ſome to bury them when they are dead.
I ſay that an untimely birth] I affirm it in the word of truth, and upon mature deliberation, That an untimely birth (not onelyonly a naked young childe, (as aforeſaid) that is carried ab utero, ad urnam, from the womb, to the tomb, from the birth, to the burial) but an abortive, that coming too ſoon into the world, comes not at all; and, by having no name, findes it ſelf a name, as Pliny ſpeaks of the herb Anonymus.
Verſ. 4. For hee cometh in with vanity, &c.] As nothing, being ſenſeleſs of good or evil. And departeth in darkneſs, is buried in huggermugger. And his Name ſhall bee covered, &c. that is, there is no more talk of this abortive.
Verſ. 5. Moreover hee hath not ſeen the Sun] A ſecond priviledge and prerogative of the poor abortive. None are ſo miſerable wee ſee, but they may bee comparatively happy. It is ever beſt to look at thoſe below us, and then wee ſhall ſee cauſe to bee better contented.
This hath more reſt than the other] The Corn that is cropt as ſoon as it appeareth, or is bruiſed in peeces when it lies in ſprout, is better than the old weed that is hated while it ſtandeth, and in the end is cut down for the fire.
Verſ. 6. Yea though hee live a thouſand years] Which yet never any man did (Methuſalah wanted thirty two of a thouſand.) The reaſon thereof is given by Occolampadius, quia numerus iſte typum habeat perfectionis, ut qui conſtet è centenario decies revoluto, becauſe the number of a thouſand types out per…ection, as conſiſting of an hundred ten times told. But there is no perfection here ſaith hee.
Yet hath hee ſeen no good] For, All the daies of the afflicted are evil, ſaith Solomon. And mans daies are few and full of trouble, Prov. 15.15 Job 14.1 Gen. 47.9ſaith Job. Few and evil are the daies of my pilgrimage, ſaith Jacob, and I have not attained to the daies of the years of the life of my Fathers, &c. For Abraham lived one hundred ſeventy five years, and Iſaac one hundred eighty, near upon forty years longer than Jacob, but to his ſmall comfort, for hee was blinde all that time: yet nothing ſo blinde as the rich wretch in the Text, qui privatus interno lumine, tamen in hac vita din vult perpeti caecitatem ſuam, as one ſpeaketh, who being blind as a Mole, lies rooting and poring unceſſantly in the bowels of the earth; as if he would that way dig himſelf a new and a nearer way to Hell, and with his own hands addeth to the load of this miſerable life. As hee hath done no good, ſo hee hath ſeen or enjoyed none; but goes to his place (Do not all go to one place?) the place that Adam provided for all his poſterity, the houſe appointed for all living, as Job calls it,foreign. Heb. 12.23 chap. 30.23. the Congregation-houſe, as One renders it. Heaven the Apoſtle calls the Congregation-houſe of the firſt-born, whoſe names alſo are there ſaid to bee written in Heaven: But covetous perſons, as they are called, the inhabitants of the earth, Rev. 12. Jer. 17.13in oppoſition to thoſe Coelicola, Citizens of Heaven, the Saints; ſo their names are written in the earth, becauſe they have forſaken the Lord,Jer. 2.13 the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out ciſterns that can hold no water. What marvel then if they live long, and yet ſee no good? if they are driven to that doleful complaint that Saul made, God hath forſaken mee,1 Sam. 28.15 and the Philiſtims are upon mee, ſickneſs, death, hell is upon mee, I am even now about to make my bed in the dark, and all the comfort I can have from God is, that diſmal ſentence, This ſhall yee have of mine hand, yee ſhall lye down in ſorrow, Iſa. 50.11. Loe, this is the curſed condition of the covetous carl, as hee hath lived beſide his goods, having jaded his body, broken his brains, and burthened his conſcience; ſo hee dies hated of God, and loathed of men; the Earth groans under him, Heaven is ſhut againſt him, Hell gapes for him, 1 Cor. 6.8, 9. Phil. 3.18. Thus many a Miſer ſpins a fair threed to ſtrangle himſelf, both temporally and eternally. O that they would ſeriouſly think of this before the cold grave hold their bodies, and hot hell torment their ſouls! before death come with a writ of Habeas corpus, and the Devil with a writ of Habeas animam, as once to that rich fool, Luk. 12.
Verſ. 7. All the labour of man is for his mouth] That is,Dii boni quantum hominum unus exercet venter! Seneca. Deus homini auguſtum ventrem, &c. Sergius PP. for food and rayment, as 1 Tim. 6. a little whereof will content nature, which hath therefore given us a little mouth and ſtomach, to teach us moderation, as Chryſoſtome well obſerveth; to the ſhame of thoſe beaſtly belly-gods, that glut themſelves, and devour the creatures, as if they were of kin to that Pope that was called Os porci, fatning themſelves like boars, till they bee brawned, and having, as Eliphaz ſpeaketh, collops in their flank. A man would think by their greedy and great eating, that their throats were whirl-pools, and their bellies bottomeleſs: that they were like locuſts which have but one gut,Ariſtot. the Aſſe-fiſh that hath his heart in his belly, or the Dolphin that hath his mouth in his maw, as Solinus ſaith.Quicquid avi… volitat, quicquid piſcium natat, quicquid ferarum diſcurrit, noſtris ſepelitur ventribus.
And yet the appetite is not filled] And yet what birds ſoever flye, what fiſhes ſoever ſwim, what beaſts ſoever run about, are all buried in our bellies, ſaith Seneca. Heliogabalus was ſerved at one ſupper with ſeven thouſand fiſhes, and five thouſand fowls. Hee had alſo ſix hundred harlots following him in Chariots, and yet gave great rewards to him that could invent any new pleaſure. His thirſt was unquenchable, his appetite like the hill Aetna, ever on fire after more. Now as in water face anſwereth to face, Prov. 27.19ſo doth the appetite of a man to man; we are all as irregular if God ſuffer us to range.
Verſ. 8. For what hath the wiſe more than the fool?] Nothing at all in this vanity of humane nature, that it needeth ſtill new ſupply of nouriſhment to preſerve it. When a wiſe man hath eaten, is hee not again hungry? and muſt not his hunger again bee ſatisfied as well as a fools hunger? Indeed, as any man is more wiſe, hee is more temperate; hee eats to live, not lives to eat. Hee needs not much, nor is a ſlave to his appetite, or to his palat. Hee can feed upon gruel (for a need) with Daniel, upon Coleworts with Eliſha, upon a cake on the coals,foreign. Mat. 24.38 and a cruſe of water with Elijah, upon locuſts and wilde-honey with the Baptiſt, upon Barley bread with the Diſciples, upon an Herring or two, as Luther, &c. This a fool can ill frame to. Hee eats as a beaſt with the old world, and feeds without fear, Jud. 12. hee caters for the fleſh, Rom. 13. ult. and overchargeth it with ſurfetting and drunkenneſs, Luk. 21.34. hee meaſureth not his chear by that which nature requireth, but that which greedy appetite deſireth, as if therein conſiſteth his whole happineſs.
What hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living] viz. The poor wiſe man that lives by his wits, can ſerve the time, in St. Pauls ſenſe (if ever hee meant it there, Rom. 12.11.) and make an honeſt ſhift to rub through the world? what hath ſuch a one more than a ſimpler man in this particular? doth not his hunger return, his ſtomach crave new nouriſhment? Animantis cujuſque vita eſt fuga, ſaith the Philoſopher: Were it not for the repair of nutrition, the natural life would bee ſoon extinguiſhed.
Verſ. 9. Better is the ſight of the eyes, &c.] i. e. (as ſome ſenſe it,) Better it is to over-look dainty diſhes, than to over-charge the ſtomach with them; to fill the eyes than the belly, to gratifie that, than to pamper this: though that is a vanity too in the iſſue, and may prove a vexation of ſpirit, may breed inward inquietation; the beſt that can come of it, is repentance, and ſelf-revenge, 2 Cor. 7.11. as in Epaminondas. Symmachus reads the words thus, Melim eſt providere, quam ambalare ut libet, Better it is to provide, than to walk at randome. The Septnagint thus, Melius eſt videre quod cupias, quam deſiderare quod neſcias, Better is it to ſee what thou deſireſt, than to deſire what thou knoweſt not. The beſt Expoſitors make it an anſwer to an objection: For whereas the rich man might reply, Better ſee wealth, than bee alwaies ſeeking it; better have it, than hawk after it: The Preacher anſwers, that Miſery may bee ſomewhat mitigated by this means, but never fully cured or caſhiered.
Verſ. 10. That which hath been, is named already] Or thus, That which is the name of it, hath been named already (viz. Eccleſ. 1.2, 3.) and it is known that it is Adam, or earthly man. The very notation of his name, argues him mortal and miſerable; whether hee bee wiſe or fooliſh, rich or poor, &c. that alters not the caſe: Homo ſum, ſaid one, humanum nihil a me alienum puto: I am a man,foreign, &c. Iſoc. and therefore may not think ſtrange of miſery, whereunto I am born, as the ſparks fly upward, Job. 5.7. hee that forgets not that hee is a man, will not take it ill that evils befall him, ſaith another. When Francis King of France being held priſoner by Charles the fifth Emperour of Germany, ſaw the Emperours Motto, Plus Ultra, written on the wall of his chamber, Hee under-wrote theſe words,Job. Man. loc. com. p. 175. Hodie mihi, cras tibi. To day is my turn to ſuffer, tomorrow thine. The Emperour obſerved it, and wrote underneath that, Fatcer me eſſe hominem, I confeſs I am a man, and therefore ſubject to miſery. Metellus was by the Romans counted and called Felix, Happy, ſo was Sylla, Dictue potim eſt quam fuerit foelix Sylla. Solin. c. 7.But hee proved true that holy proverb, Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning, for hee died miſerably of the louſie diſeaſe, that daſhed all his former happineſs. The Delphian Oracle pronounced one Aglaus a poor contented Arcadian, the onelyonly happy man alive. Solon preferred Tellus the Athenian, and Cleobis, and Bitus alſo, before rich Croeſus, telling him further, that hee might bee called rich and mighty,Valer. Max lib. 7. cap. 3. but not Bleſſed, till hee had made an happy end; and ſo confuting his fond conceit of an imaginary felicity. The Greeks, when they would call a man thrice-miſerable, they call him thrice a man. foreign. Herodot.The Hebrews, whereas they name a Bee from the order of her working, a Graſs-hopper from devouring, an Ant from gnawing, an Adamant from ſtrokes-bearing, a Serpent from curious obſerving, a Horſe from neying, &c. they give man his name Adam, from the duſt whereof bee was made, and Enoſh ſorry-man, ſick of a deadly diſeaſe, and ſo no way fit to contend with God that is much mightier than Hee, to require a reaſon of his judgements, which are ſometimes ſecret, alwaies juſt. God hath ſhut up all perſons and things (as it were cloſe priſoners) under vanity, by an irreſiſtible decree. To ſtrive againſt this ſtream, and by heaping riches, honours, pleaſures, to ſeek to break priſon, and to withſtand Gods will, is loſt labour. Miſery need not go to finde ſuch out, they run to meet their bane: which yet will (as wee ſay of foul weather) come time enough, before it is ſent for.
Verſ. 11. Seeing there hee many things that encreaſe] Seeing it is in vain to wraſtle or wrangle with God, to ſeek to ward off his blow, to mo… up ones ſelf againſt his fire: Why ſhould vain man contend with his Maker? Why ſhould hee beat himſelf to froth, as the ſurges of the Sea do againſt the Rock? Why ſhould hee (like the untamed Heifer unaccuſtomed to the yoke) gall his neck by wrigling? make his croſſes heavier than God makes them, by croſſeneſs and impatience? The very Heathen could tell him that,
—Deus crudelius uritTibul. Eleg. 1.
Quos videt invitos ſuccubuiſſe ſibi.
God will have the better of thoſe that contend with him: and his own Reaſon will tell him, that it is not fit that God ſhould caſt down the bucklers firſt: and that the deeper a man wades, the more hee ſhall bee wet.
Verſ. 12. For who knoweth what is good for man] Hee may think this and that to bee good, but is (moſtly) miſtaken and diſappointed. Ambroſe hath well obſerved, that other creatures are led by the inſtinct of Nature, to that which is good for them. The Lion when hee is ſick, cures himſelf by devouring an Ape, the Bear by devouring Ants, the wounded Dear, by feeding upon Dittany, &c. in ignoras, O homo, remedia tuo, but thou, O man, knoweſt not what is good for thee. Hee hath ſhewed thee, O man, what is good, ſaith the Prophet; and what doth the Lord require of thee but this (inſtead of raking riches together) to do juſtly, and to love mercy, and (inſtead of contending with him) to humble thy ſelf to walk with thy God? Micah 6.8.
For who can tell a man what ſhall bee after him] When the Worms ſhall bee ſcrambling for his body, the Devils (haply) for his ſoul, and his friends for his goods. A falſe Jeſuite publiſhed in print,Camd Eliſ. Dilexi virum qui cum corpore ſolveretur magit de Eccleſiarum ſtatu, &c. ſome years after Queen Elizabeths death, that ſhee died deſpairing, and that ſhee wiſhed ſhee might after her death, hang a while in the air, to ſee what ſtriving would bee for her Kingdome: I loved the man (ſaid Ambroſe of Theodoſius) for this, that when hee died, hee was more affected with care of the Churches good, than of his own.