Page:Job and Solomon (1887).djvu/157

 12, xx. 2, 8, 26, 28, xxii. 11); it is not so in the Hezekian collection. The king however is not identified with the Deity, as in Egypt; we are told that the will of the monarch is pliable in the hand of Jehovah (xxi. 1), and the true glory of a nation is, not in the prowess of its king, but in righteousness (xiv. 34). And even if we must confess that the spirit of the more secular proverbs is utilitarian, the utilitarianism is sometimes a very refined one, as for instance where the refreshing character of a quiet, contented mind is contrasted with the dull reaction which follows on an outburst of passion (xiv. 30). In conclusion, I will quote a few proverbs interesting chiefly as characteristic of their age, and then a few more of the gems of the collection.

(a) The poor is hated even by his neighbour, but the rich has many friends (xiv. 20). Whoso withholds corn, him the people curse, but blessing is on the head of him who sells it (xi. 26). The beginning of strife is as when one lets out water, so leave off quarrelling before the teeth be shown (xvii. 14). The gift of a man makes a free space for him, and brings him before the great (xviii. 16). 'Bad, bad,' says the purchaser, but when he goes away, he boasts (xx. 14). (b) The righteous regards the life of his cattle, but the heart of the wicked is cruel (xii. 10). The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger cannot intermeddle with its joy (xiv. 10). He that covers transgression helps forward love, but he that repeats a matter separates best friends (xvii. 9). There are friends (good enough) acting their part, and there is a loving friend who sticks closer than a brother (xviii. 24; comp, xvii. 17). Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? (xx. 9.) Say not, I will recompense evil; wait for Jehovah, and he will deliver thee (xx. 22).