(a) In our Dealings with Women
VII. 23. All this have I tried with understanding; I was minded to acquire wisdom, but it remained far from me. 24. Far off is that which is,[288] and deep, deep; who can fathom it?
25. I turned away, and my heart was bent upon understanding, sifting, and seeking the outgrowth of wisdom and knowledge, madness, and folly. 26. Whereupon I found that more bitter than death is woman—that snare whose heart is a net, whose arms are fetters: the God-favoured shall escape her, but the sinner shall be entangled by her.
27. Lo, this have I found, saith the Speaker, piecing one thing with another in order to discover a result: 28. What my soul hath ever sought for, yet never fallen upon, is this: I have discovered one man, among thousands; and of all these there was not one single woman. 29. Behold, this only have I found: that God made men upright, but they go in search of many wiles.
(b) In our Relations to the Monarch
VIII.1. A man's wisdom brightens up his countenance.And transforms the coarse rancour of his face.2. The wise man hearkens to the king's command,By reason of the oath to God.
3. Steer clear of evil causes![289]For he[290] doeth even what he listeth.4. Mighty is the word of the monarch;Who dares ask him: "What dost thou?"[291]
X.2. The wise man's heart straineth to the right,The heart of the fool to the left.3. Even out of doors he lacketh sense,Saying unto every one: "I am a fool."[292]
4. Though the wrath of the ruler should swell against thee, yet forsake not thy post. For composure avoids grave mistakes.
5. There is an evil which I beheld under the sun, like unto a blunder, proceeding from the ruler!
6. Folly is set in high places,The great ones must sit low down;7. Slaves have I beheld on horseback,And princes trudging on foot.
(c) In the Conditions of Everyday Life
X. 8. He that diggeth a pit may fall into it; him who breaketh down walls a serpent may sting. 9. Whoso removeth stones may be hurt therewith; he who cleaveth wood may be endangered thereby.
10. If the axe be blunt it demands more strength:[293]Only through intelligence doth exertion avail.11. If the serpent bites before the spell,Then bootless is the charmer's art.
12. Speech from the wise man's mouth is grace,The lips of a fool swallow him up;13. The first words of his mouth are folly.And the end of his talk rank madness.
II.15. For in self-conceit babbles the fool,[294]X.14_a_. The silly man multiplieth his words;15. The fussiness of the fool jadeth him.Who knows not yet the way citywards.[295]
Exhortation to enjoy Life
X. 14_b_. Man knoweth not what shall come to pass, and who can tell him IX. 3. during his life, what shall befall after his death? Afterwards they go down to the[296] [dead, and there none can tell him aught nor can he apprehend anything. Even could he take it in, it would avail him nothing, for inSheolthere is no participation in life]. 4. For whosoever may enrol himself in the company of all the living, can rest content, seeing that a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5. For the living know at least that they shall die, whereas the dead know not anything at all, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6. As well their love as their hatred and jealousy has long since passed away, neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun.
7. Go, eat thy bread with joy, And quaff thy wine with merry heart.
For God hath countenanced beforehand this thy doing. 8. Let thy garments be always white and let thy head lack not ointment. 9. See life with a woman whom thou lovest throughout all the days of thy empty existence which he hath given thee under the sun, during all thy vain days! For that is thy portion in life[297] and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do that with thy might. For there is no work, nor cogitation, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in theSheol[298] whither thou goest. XI. 7. But sweet is the light and pleasant it is for the eyes to gaze upon the sun. 8. For how many years soever a man may live, he should enjoy himself during them all, and bear in mind the days of darkness that they shall be many. Everything that is to come, is vain.
9. Rejoice, young man, in thy youth![299]And let thy heart make thee glad!And walk in the ways of thine heart,And according to the seeing of thine eyes!
10a.Drive sorrow from thy heart;And put away care from thy flesh!XII.1a.And bethink thee of thy fountain,[300]In the days of thy youth!
XI.10b.For youth and dawn are fleeting.
XII.1b.Dreary days are drawing near,And years approach devoid of joy.2. Then darkened shall be sun and moon,And clouds come after rain alway.
3. The keepers of the house[301] shall quake,The sturdy ones[302] shall bend themselves;Darksome shall the windows[303] be,4. And closed shall be the portals.[304]
The roar of the mill[305] shall be as the sparrows twitter,The daughters of song[306] shall bow low;5. Likewise of heights shall they be afraid,For dread shall lie in wait.
3. The grinding maids[307] shall leave off work,5. The almond-tree[308] shall shed its blooms;The grasshopper[309] shall be burdened,And the caperberry[310] unavailing.
For man goeth to his everlasting home and the mourners are in readiness in the street.
6. Asunder snaps the silver chain;Shivered is the golden lamp;The pitcher shattered at the brook;The scoopwheel falls into the well.
8. O Vanity of Vanities, saith the Speaker; all is vanity![311]
Footnotes:
[254] For the convenience of the reader I give the chapters and verses asthey are in the ordinary Hebrew Bible, so that they can be foundat once in the Authorised Version. The letteraafter theverse number indicates the first half of that verse, the letterbthe second half.
[255] The meaning is almost the opposite of that of the AuthorisedVersion. Eye and ear are wearied and bewildered by the incessantwhirl of the vast machinery of the universe.Cf.Schopenhauer, ed. Grisebach, vol. v. p. 295, § 144. The metre ofthe strophe is identical with that of the "Poem of Job."
[256] It is interesting and instructive to compare this with theidentical doctrine of Buddha, as set forth in the canonical book,"Samyuttaka-Nikayo," vol. i. vii., 2 P, 2 Suttam. It isaccessible to most readers in the admirable German translation ofDr. K. E. Neumann, Leiden, 1892. Pp. 156, 157.
[257] The Authorised Version has "shall not be satisfied with silver." The meaning is that he who loves silver shall not enjoy the good things it can purchase.
[258]I.e., The care and anxiety which accompany the possession of wealth. The Authorised Version has: "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." The Hebrew wordsaba'can signify both wealth and repletion. Here it manifestly means the former; but some well-intentioned person whose ideas of physiology were defective, having taken it to mean repletion, confirmed his view by interpolating the words: "whether he eat little or much."
[259] Here a portion of the original text has been lost, as is evident from the passage beginning "What profit," two sentences lower down, which sums up the troubles of the rich man and makes them consist not merely in the loss of what he actually possessed, but likewise in the hardships and privations which he endured in order to produce his wealth. I give in brackets the words which Professor Bickell conjecturally supplies in lieu of the lost passage.
[260] And therefore extremely doubtful. When Koheleth wishes to express the idea of inexorable law, or Fate, he has recourse to the notion of God.
[261] It is only on earth that one can hope for some approximation to happiness. If we fail to obtain it here—and the odds are very much against us—there is no hereafter to look forward to; for weall—the miserable as well as the fortunate—are drifting steadily into one place—the drearySheol, where there is no pleasure, no striving, no life.
[262]I.e., not merely, as commentators generally suppose, that desire is not satiated; but that the enjoyment for the sake of which alone we desire life, and toil to sustain it, is never attained. The aim of labour is enjoyment, without which existence is a burden; but the real result of it all is the mere support of life without its redeeming pleasures.Cf.Schopenhauer, vol. v. pp. 300, 301.
[263] That is to say, is a very uncertain outlook.
[264] This is a remarkable sentence, which, if it could be supposed to be the fruit of the writer's own speculations, would entitle him to a high place in the Pantheon of speculative philosophers. This proposition, which underlies all Buddhistic doctrines, would be formulated by Kant or Schopenhauer somewhat as follows: Time, space, and causality are given to man as thea prioriconditions of all thought; they are the stuff his mind is made of. As they are likewise the three ingredients of which the universe is composed, it follows that the world is the web of his own intellect, and, in so far as it is knowable, exists for the intellect alone. That which underlies all the shadows of existence, the one eternal force or will, he never beholds.
[265] Schopenhauer would express it thus: Our sources of knowledge—inner and outer observation—are identical with those of animals, the difference consisting in that faculty of imparting to our intuitions the form of abstract ideas.
[266] That is to say, is highly uncertain; for, as we learn in the following lines, happiness and misery depend upon chance or luck. God gives his favourites an agreeable life, leaving the drudgery to all the rest. And his choice is not determined by any ethical acts of man.
[267] "Sinner" is not the correct translation of the Hebrew wordkhôtehere; otherwise the author could not say that this too (i.e., the punishment of the sinner) is vanity.
[268] The Jews frequently give to piety and morality the name of wisdom.
[269] The sense of this passage, which has become proverbial, is generally misunderstood. What it means is that man's work, be he never so skilful, be it never so easy, is absolutely dependent for success upon conditions which are wholly beyond his control, and that undertaken under any other conditions is inevitably doomed to failure.
[270] Here Professor Bickell supplies the words: "Against this no man can strive."
[271] The utmost that physical science can teach us is the where, the when and the why of the appearance of the forces of nature. Thewhatremains for ever a mystery.
[272] Wisdom here is taken to mean the one eternal reality which underlies the shadowy appearances that we see and know. The same use of the word and exactly the same thesis occur in Job. (Cf. A.V. Job xxviii. 21, 22.)
[273] He cannot answer even for his own sentiments, completely thoughthey may seem to be under his sway.
[274]I.e., without ethical distinctions between the good and thebad.
[275] It is curious to note that a comparison strikingly similar to this occurs in the ancient Indian collection of fables entitled "Pantschatantra." (Ed. Kosegarten, p. 105.)
[276] Literally: tyrannical.
[277] This line is no longer found in the Hebrew or Greek texts. It is required, however, by the sense and metre, and is inserted by Professor Bickell.
[278] Here the Hebrew text contains a play of words which cannot bereproduced in English.
[279] "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." ("Measure forMeasure.")
[280]I.e., for mankind.
[281] Here a portion of the text is evidently lost. Professor Bickell suggests that it ran somewhat as follows: "Who received him with applause and reviled the old king. For inasmuch as he had spurned the counsel of the wise, in order to misgovern and grind down the people, therefore they hated him as those had hated him" who were before them.
[282] As an antidote to the so-called "piety" founded upon the scrupulous observance of the law, which had become a very Upas tree of self-complacency. Mankind is already encompassed by so many and such terrible evils, that it would be sheer madness to turn religion into a means of multiplying them.
[283] Another passage is wanting here, which most probably was to the effect that they know not that God asks no sacrifices at their hands but only works of justice; and that therefore they take courage "to work evil."
[284] Various commentators have offered various explanations of this obscure passage. As none of them is convincing, I prefer to leave them unnoticed. It is not impossible that it may contain an allusion to some popular tale or fable, analogous to that of the man who called upon death in his despair, and when the grim visitor made his appearance, asked him merely to help him to carry his burden.
[285] Professor Bickell supposes that here some words have fallen out, such as: "Brood not over that which is too marvellous and too lofty for thee, neither say of the dreams of thy heart and the babbling of thy lips, 'I have found the knowledge of the Holy One.'"
[286] This passage is a bitterly ironical onslaught on bureaucracy.
[287] This distich is rhymed in Hebrew.
[288] What Kant would calldas Ding an sich. Everything we see and know is but appearance. The underlying substance, "that which is," is unknowable.
[289] Political plots.
[290]I.e., the king.
[291] Ironical.
[292] By his unconsidered acts.
[293] Literally, "it must be the more lustily wielded."
[294] This line is found only in the Septuagint.
[295] Probably a proverbial way of saying that a man knows nothing.
[296] The words in brackets are supplied conjecturally by ProfessorBickell.
[297] The Authorised Version has "in this life." But it deviates from theHebrew original.
[298] The nether world where the dead are but shadows.
[299] This and the following quatrain are rhymed in the original; as is also the preceding distich.
[300] Thy wife.
[301] The arms.
[302] The legs.
[303] The eyes.
[304] The ears.
[305] The voice.
[306] The tones.
[307] The teeth.
[308] The white hair.
[309] Fascinum.
[310] [Greek: Kreis].
[311] The epilogue forms no part of the original text.
* * * * *
* * * * *
On God
Sentence of the man who has worried himself about God:I have worried myself about God and succeeded not;For I am more stupid than other men,And in me there is no human understanding.Neither have I learned wisdom,So that I might comprehend the science of sacred things.
Who has ascended into heaven and come down again?Who can gather the wind in his fists?Who can bind the waters in a garment?Who can grasp all the ends of the earth?Such an one would I question about God: What is his name?And what is the name of his sons, if thou knowest it?[312]
On Four Insatiable Things
There be three things which are never satisfied,Yea, four exclaim: "It is not enough!"The Ghoul hath two daughters:"Give, give!"—the grave and the womb.[313]The earth is not filled with water,And the fire sayeth not, "It is enough!"
On Four Inscrutable Things
There be three things too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I fathom not:The way of the eagle in the air,The way of the serpent upon a rock,The way of a ship amidst the ocean,And the way of a man with a maid.[314]
Four Insupportable Things
Under three things the earth quakes,And under four it cannot stand.Under a slave when he seeks to reign,And under a fool when he is filled with meat;Under an odious woman when she gets a husband,And under a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.[315]
Four who stride majestically
There be three things which go well,Yea, four are comely in going:A lion—the hero among beasts,Who turneth not aside for any one;A greyhound and a bell-goat,And a king who riseth up for his people's sake.
Exhortation to denounce ambition
Whether thou hast acted foolishly in exalting thyself,Or whether thou hast done wisely, lay thy hand upon thy lips![316]For pressure of milk produces butter,And pressure of vanity produces anger;Pressure of the nose[317] produces blood,And pressure of wrath produces strife.
Footnotes:
[312] To this and the following Sayings, Agur's orthodox opponent repliesthus:
Every word of God is purified:He is a shield to them that put their trust in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I demanded of thee, O Jahveh,Deny me them not before I die:
Frivolity and blasphemous wordsAnd negation remove far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with food suitable for me.
Lest I be sated and deny thee,And say, Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and yield to seductionAnd offend against the name of my God.
Accuse not a servant to his master,[312a]Lest he curse thee and thou be found guilty.
There is a bad generation that curses its fatherAnd doth not bless its mother,[312b]
A bad generation which is pure in its own eyes,And yet is not washed from its filthiness.
A bad generation, how lofty are its eyes!And how uplifted its eyelids!
A bad generation whose teeth are as swords,And whose jaw-teeth are as knives
To devour the poor from off the earth,And the needy from among men.[312c]
[312a] As if Agur were an aristocrat from blind unreasoning sympathy forthe heathen aristocracy. Allusion to Agur's 4th Saying.
[312b] Against Agur's 2nd and 3rd Sayings.
[312c] Against Agur's 4th Saying.
[313]I.e., birth and death. (Cf. Agur, the Agnostic, pp. 139, 140.) The champion of orthodoxy evidently took the passage literally and consequently condemned Agur as guilty of a lack of filial respect for his mother, venting his feelings in the following lines:
"The eye that scoffeth at the grey hair of the fatherAnd that despiseth the old age of the mother,
The ravens of the valley shall pick it outAnd the young eagles shall devour it."
[314] Verse 20 A.V. is an addition inserted by a later writer who having misunderstood the last line of the fourth sentence, deemed it his duty to give it a moral turn.
[315] The Sentence following (vv. 24-24 A.V.) dealing with Four Cunning Ones is probably not from Agur's pen; for not only has it five distichs, but it lacks the point which characterises his Sayings, besides which it does not begin, as his "numerical" Sentences do, withthreebefore proceeding tofour.
[316] Keep silence.
[317] In Hebrew the same word signifies "nose" and "strife."
* * * * *
* * * * *
Adversary, the, "a son of God"Agur, the Sayings of—their literary placecharacter oftheir position in Proverbstheir present formAgur and his orthodox opponentblunders of the latterOriental influence traceable in the Sayingsthe mystery of generationdate of compositionAgur shows no respect for the doctrine of retribution, forMessianism, revelation, &c.; no belief in a personal Godhis antagonism to Jewish theologianshis views of right conductAngelsAnimals, the tenderness of Buddhism towardsAryans and Semites, contrast of mental characteristicsAsterisks, Origen's, in the HexaplaAuthorship of Job
Bickell, Professor, and the laws of Hebrew metrediscovery of the Saidic version of Jobon the theophany in Jobtheory as to the chaotic state of Kohelethand the "Praise of Wisdom"textual conjectures"Book, That mine adversary had written a"Book of Job (see Job)Buddhism and the theology of Joband Job's moral systeminfluence of, on KohelethBuddhism, spread of, into Syria, Egypt, &c.influence of, on Agurand the doctrine of Renunciationits tenderness towards animals and plantsByron's "Cain" and Job
"Cain" (Byron's) and Job"Canticles of Scepticism," Heine's description of KohelethCheyne, Prof., and the date of Joband the laws of Hebrew metreand Prof. Bickell's theory of the plan of Kohelethon the "theism" of KohelethJob, strophe liii. and Ps. viii. 5 compared.Christ and the doctrine of RenunciationChristianity not incompatible with Koheleth's scepticismClement of Alexandria and a lost version of JobCornill, Dr., and the date of JobCouncil of Constantinople and the historical truth of JobCritical apparatus applied to text of Job
Date of Jobof earliest extant MS. of Jobof Kohelethof the Sayings of Agur
Ecclesiastes (seeKoheleth)Ecclesiasticus, dropped leaves causing transposition of chapters inElephantiasisEternal justice, Job's belief inKoheleth's belief inEvil (seeGood and Evil)Ewald and the laws of Hebrew metre
Firmament, theFree-will and the origin of evilFuture life, Job knows nothing ofKoheleth knows nothing of
Ghoul, the (Tanha) Good and Evil, problem of free-will and the origin of evil the Oriental theory of Gregory the Great and the Book of Job
Hebrew metre, Prof. Bickell and the laws ofHeine and the "Canticles of Scepticism"Hitopadeça, the, and the Sayings of Agur
Inspiration of Job not affected by reconstructive changesInterpolations in Job, examples ofIsaac of Antioch, transpositions in poems caused by dropped leaves
Jesus Sirach and the Book of ProverbsJob, the Poem of—compared with Lucretius,De Nat. Rerumits inclusion in the Canonits appeal to all agesopinion of Gregory the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Tennyson,Lutherits place in literature
the problem of traditional theology the mystery of good and evil no conception of a future life nor of the Resurrection or Atonement the poet's view of the problem free-will and the origin of evil the Oriental theory of these Brahmanism and Buddhism Job's illumination the same as Buddha's
authorship ofdate ofthe question of historicitydate of earliest extant MS. ofa lost version ofvarious causes for changes in textthe chief cause, a horror of blasphemyapparatus for detecting these changeslaws of Hebrew metreparallelismevidence of the SeptuagintTheodotion's version of the Old Testamentthe Hexaplathe Saidic or Thebaic version of Job
examples of interpolations reconstructive changes do not affect inspiration Job's natural philosophy his dynamic theory of the Universe his monotheism not Jewish his moral system, based on pity, found in Buddhism, and here first preached in the Old Testament belief in eternal justice the secret of Job's resignation
the ancient legend of Job, use of it by the poet analysis of the Poem the appearance of Jehovah not literal but symbolical of Job's illumination Judaism, the influence of Buddhism on
Kant and KohelethKoheleth—its inclusion in the Canonthe literary problem ofits metaphysical basis the same as that of the philosophy ofBuddha, Kant, and Schopenhauer
chaotic and conflicting character of text Prof. Bickell's theory as to the confusion of the book instances of similar confusion in other works the proposed re-arrangement illustrations in support of Prof. Bickell's theory
Koheleth's theory of lifesource of happiness not wealthnor wisdomnor virtueKoheleth's systemrelation of God to manthe practical moralthe view of "moral order"the world all Maya, illusionKoheleth's theory not inconsistent with Christianitythe reach of our knowledge; happiness the only true goodKoheleth knows nothing of future life or of divine promises orrevelations
his belief in eternal justice renunciation, the great doctrine wisdom the great boon content and moderation the golden rule the sources of his philosophy opposition of Jewish orthodoxy to the book admission of the book to the Canon its incompatibility with Messianic hopes of Israel disbelief in a personal God in retribution and immortality Greek influences questioned; probable influence of Buddhism date and locality of Koheleth
Life to come (seeFuture Life)Lucretius compared with JobLuther and the Book of Job
Magicians mentioned in JobMaya, illusion, the teaching of KohelethMetre in Hebrew, laws of
Nirvana, Koheleth's only real goodview of
Old Testament, untrustworthiness of historical booksOrigen and the Hexapla
Parallelism in Hebrew poetryPaul, St., and a lost version of Job"Praise of Wisdom," its place in "Proverbs," Prof. Bickell's discoveryPriests' Code, the"Proverbs," analysis ofnot written by Solomontheir historydate ofPlants, tenderness of Buddhism towards
Renunciation, the teaching of Koheleth, Buddha, Christ, etc.Resurrection, the (in Job)"Redeemer liveth, I know that my"
Saidic or Thebaic version of Job Sariputto, and the desire for life (tanha) Satan, "a son of God" Scotus Erigena and free-will Schopenhauer and Koheleth and Renunciation and the four things insatiable Semites, remains of ancient speculation among and Aryans, contrast of mental characteristics Septuagint, the value of, in regard to text of Job
Tanha, the terrible GhoulTennyson's opinion of JobThebaic or Saidic version of JobTheodore of Mopsuestia condemned for declaring Job to be fictionTheodotion's version of the Old TestamentThomas Aquinas on JobTransmigration of souls
Veda, theVedanta, theVowel points in Hebrew
"Wisdom, Praise of," its place in "Proverbs," Prof. Bickell's discovery
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