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 THE HEBREW TEXT, AND A LATIN VERSION 
 OF 
 
 THE BOOK OF SOLOMON, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 ECCLESIASTES; 
 
 WITH 
 
 OEIGINAL NOTES, 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL AND EXEGETICAL, 
 
 AND A TRANSLATION OF THE COMMENTARY OF MENDLESSOHN 
 FROM THE RABBINIC HEBREW. 
 
 A NEWLY ARRANGED ENGLISH VERSION OF ECCLESIASTES, WITH 
 INTRODUCTORY ANALYSES OF THE SECTIONS; 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED 
 
 A PRELIMINAEY DISSERTATION. 
 
 BY THEODORE PRESTON, M.A 
 
 FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND; 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, J. & J. J. DEIGHTON. 
 
 M.DCCC.XLV. 
 
®ambrit(gt : 
 
 ^rinUO at ttie SInittersltji $uss. 
 
THE PREFACE. 
 
 The object of the following pages is the exhibition and 
 verification of a method of translating and dividing the book 
 of Solomon called Ecclesiastes, which will be found, I thhak, 
 to contribute not a little towards a complete demonstration of 
 the perspicuity of its language and style, and the uniform 
 accordance of its arguments and conclusions with the general 
 tenor of scriptural doctrine. The manifest imperfection in 
 these important qualities of our received Enghsh and other 
 approved versions of it cannot fail more or less to have en- 
 gaged the attention of their readers, and to have produced 
 a corresponding desire for satisfactory evidence that the same 
 defects do not belong to their original. Such at least had 
 long been the case with myself, and especially since I found, 
 on consulting several of the most distinguished Commentators, 
 that many of the most obscure passages in them had been 
 either totally neglected or very insufficiently explained, and 
 that others, whose sense was apparently at variance with the 
 rest of Holy Writ, had on that account been unhesitatingly 
 construed into a sense nearly the reverse of their primary 
 and obvious one. 
 
 I am therefore desirous to express my obligations to Mr 
 Bernard, the learned and accomphshed teacher of Hebrew in 
 this University, as well for important assistance in the acqui- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 sition of the Sacred Tongue, as for having some time since 
 directed my attention to the commentaries of Mendlessohn on 
 this book. My speedy conviction of their value led me to 
 form the design of rendering them accessible to those of my 
 countrymen who may not possess the opportunity of ^ studying 
 them in the original. In this undertaking I have not been 
 anticipated by any English writer, and the existence of a 
 translation of them by J. J. Rabe, the translator of the 
 Mishneh, does not lessen its necessity or importance ; in the 
 first place, because he wrote in German ; and in the next, 
 because the only edition of his work, pubhshed in the year 
 1771, is not to be met with in this country, and has already 
 become so scarce in Germany that I have not been able to 
 procure a copy of it. 
 
 As I proceeded with my task I found not a few instances 
 in which Mendlessohn's annotations, admirable as they are, 
 appeared by no means sufficient, and conceived that by form- 
 ing an entirely new translation of Ecclesiastes I might succeed 
 in combining the results of his explanations with such sugges- 
 tions on the part of others or myself as might be manifest 
 improvements upon them. This translation I now present to 
 the pubUc. In order that the reader "\)rbl ^'^'2WD may as 
 far as possible be satisfied of its correctness, I have given an 
 original Latin version of it on alternate leaves with the He- 
 brew Text of the book as revised by Van der Hooght and 
 Hahn, arranged for facility of comparison so as for their cor- 
 responding verses to be on opposite pages, and below both 
 copious notes, principally original, but partly compiled from 
 various sources, modern and Rabbinic, in which I have fully 
 discussed the passages of which my translation diflfers from 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 that in ordinary use, in the endeavour to establish the supe- 
 riority of the former. Along with these notes will be found 
 at each verse a Hteral rendering from the Rabbinic Hebrew 
 of Mendlessolin's commentary, which will at once be recog- 
 nized by the accompanying inverted commas and the addition 
 of his name. Its occasional deviations from strictly elegant 
 English, arising from close resemblance to the original, will, I 
 hope, be atoned for by its being thereby rendered more ser- 
 viceable to the student of Rabbinic Hebrew, whose advantage 
 is peculiarly contemplated in the following work. 
 
 The utility and convenience of the arrangement to which 
 I have alluded will doubtless approve itself to the scholar, and 
 perhaps suggest to others who may possess higher qualifica- 
 tions and greater leisure than myself to edit on a similar plan 
 other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures which require more than 
 ordinary illustration. Such a work would ensure to all readers 
 of the Bible the removal of many obscurities and paradoxes 
 which it now presents to them, the discovery of fresh eluci- 
 dations and parallelisms, together with a higher appreciation 
 of its classical elegance as well as its majestic subUmity, and 
 to those who have made themselves acquainted with its original 
 language a supply of comprehensive and valuable objects for 
 the application of that knowledge which would render it in- 
 creasingly valuable. It might appear at first sight that an 
 English version of Ecclesiastes renders unnecessary a Latin 
 one which corresponds with it in sense so closely as mine ; 
 but I think it will be found that in many obscm'e and con- 
 troverted passages the double version exhibits the sense which 
 I have finally determined to attach to them much more defi- 
 nitely and exphcitly than a single one in either language could 
 
Vm • PREFACE. 
 
 do. As instances of this, I would particularly direct attention 
 to chap. iii. from verse 19 to 22 inclusive, and chap. ix. 
 from verse 1 to 13 inclusive, which in the Latin translation 
 I have turned into the obliqua oratio, a form of speech in 
 which the English like the Hebrew language is very de- 
 fective, but which in those places ought to be introduced, in 
 order that the intention of the author may be fairly repre- 
 sented, and that it may be borne in mind in reading them 
 that they express not his own opinions, but the inferences 
 which would necessarily follow from an imperfect view of 
 the Divine government. In other places also, particularly in 
 the 12th chapter, ambiguities unavoidable in the English ver- 
 sion are obviated in the other by the greater precision of the 
 Latin tenses and adverbs. 
 
 ,With regard to the division into Sections, and the intro- 
 ductory analyses of my English Translation, I would refer 
 the reader to some remarks at the end of the Prolegomena 
 at pages 93 and 94. 
 
 Wherever the Masoretic various readings indicated by the 
 words """Ip and y*r\D occur, a statement to that effect is made 
 in the Notes to the text. 
 
 The editions which I have used in translating Mendles- 
 sohn's commentary and the DlbSDH "IIKl, (from which I have 
 extracted various grammatical observations embodied with the 
 Notes) are that printed at BerUn, and dated 1833, or in 
 Jewish figures, '^WWH ^bi^b "l")i."p"ny and that printed at 
 Ofenbach, and dated p"2b "id"dY^> i- e- 1808. 
 
 It now remains for me to say a few words as to the 
 course which I have pursued in the Prolegomena of the fol- 
 lowing work. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 In the first part of it, it has been my principal object to 
 correct certain errors arising from mistranslation or misappli- 
 cation of passages of Ecclesiastes into which several writers of 
 eminence have fallen with respect to it. Accordingly I have 
 had occasion to notice a chapter of the " Moreh Nevochim," 
 or " Guide of the Perplexed," in which Maimonides quotes it 
 in proof of the future eternal duration of the world, a doc- 
 trine seemingly at variance with our belief as Christians ; and 
 I have endeavoured to shew that it is quite possible to re- 
 concile with the prophetic revelations of the New Testament the 
 verses (Eccles. i. 4, and iii. 14) as well as others which he 
 adduces, without departing from that method of rigorously 
 Uteral interpretation which he apphes to them and to which 
 like most Rabbinic writers he attaches paramount importance. 
 It is solely therefore for the purpose of exhibiting this pos- 
 sibility and so, in a manner, refuting Maimonides on his own 
 ground, that I have suggested a theory of explanation for 
 those passages, the novelty of wliich makes it require some 
 apology . At first sight it may appear fanciful or chimerical ; 
 and the more so to some readers, because it is based on the 
 most Uteral interpretation of the prophecies wherein the re- 
 storation of the Jews to the land of Palestine, and the eternity 
 of the Divine favour to them as a nation, seems to be pre- 
 dicted. But, though I am far from adopting it as an article 
 of my creed, I am inclined to think that on closer exami- 
 nation it will be allowed to be at least as reasonable as any 
 definite speculations concerning the visible and material cir- 
 cumstances of " the consummation of all tilings" can be. The 
 truth of it indeed is necessarily uncertain in the same degree 
 with that of the method on wliich it is founded; and iny 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 reason therefore for proposing it is not that I hold it to be 
 essentially correct, but merely because it seems to me a suf- 
 ficiently successful attempt at what I had in view, the establish- 
 ment of a theoretic agreement between the passages in question 
 by means of that very system of literal interpretation which, 
 if differently applied, as it has been by Maimonides, might lead 
 to the opposite result. 
 
 In the latter part of the Prolegomena, along with a sketch 
 of the life of the great Commentator to whom I am princi- 
 pally indebted, I have quoted considerable extracts from his 
 controversial writings which contain the developement of certain 
 opinions with regard to the ancient Jewish polity which may 
 be new and therefore startling to some readers. I wish there- 
 fore to state distinctly, that I am neither prepared nor de- 
 sirous to maintain the truthfulness of these opinions, nor indeed 
 to enhst myself on either side in the controversy connected 
 with them. My only object in introducing these extracts is 
 to give the reader an opportunity of deciding on the justice 
 of an insinuation which has been made, that Mendlessohn was 
 an apostate from the faith of his forefathers. I am anxious 
 that the Biblical annotations of one whom I consider a most 
 successful Commentator, should be received with a prejudice 
 rather in their favour than against them, and imagine that 
 this cannot be more effectually accomplished than by present- 
 ing to the reader the very passages which alone can have 
 given rise to the suspicion I allude to, in order that he may 
 perceive that the discussions wliich they contain are perfectly 
 guiltless of impugning the Divine origin of the Je^vish polity, 
 and that he may be convinced by their general tenor, that 
 Mendlessohn's reverence for the religious creed of his ances- 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 tors and the inspiration of the Scriptures is unimpeachable. 
 For these then, as well as for many other portions of the 
 following work, I crave his indulgence ; and venture to com- 
 mend it to his notice, in the hope that it may not prove an 
 altogether unprofitable contribution to Biblical literature. 
 
 Trinity College, Feb. 1, 1845. 
 

 
 ERRATA. 
 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 LINE 
 
 FOR 
 
 READ 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 " we are" 
 
 " I am." 
 
 12 
 
 last 
 
 "his" 
 
 "its." 
 
 28 
 
 last 
 
 "resort" 
 
 " recourse." 
 
 29 
 
 2 
 
 " uncontrovertibly" 
 
 " incontrovertibly. 
 
 33 
 
 9 
 
 " nn^n " 
 
 '' ^"lini." 
 
 65 
 
 last but two 
 
 T 
 
 T • - 
 
 66 
 
 2 
 
 "titles" 
 
 " tittles." 
 
 96 
 
 4 
 
 "5i5p" 
 
 " i5i.p." 
 
 111 
 
 1 
 
 " he eat" 
 
 "he should eat." 
 
 137 
 
 3 
 
 ^^iiD" 
 
 " lib." 
 
 148 
 
 6 
 
 "cognitonem" 
 
 " cognitionem." 
 
 159 
 
 3 
 
 "omne" 
 
 "omni." 
 
 164 
 
 II. 19 
 
 " esset" 
 
 "sit." 
 
 167 
 
 2 
 
 " laboraverit" 
 
 "laboravit," 
 
 180 
 
 16 
 
 "n^^" 
 
 " ■/^^f ." 
 
 183 
 
 3 
 
 "meros" 
 
 " meras." 
 
 184 
 
 2 
 
 "obnoxios" 
 
 " obnoxias." 
 
 223 
 
 6 
 
 "hoc" 
 
 "haec." 
 
 270 
 
 last 
 
 t: 
 
 T ; 
 
 275 
 
 19 
 
 ^^D^ns" 
 
 '^Diins." 
 
 T : • 
 
 281 
 
 last but one 
 
 '^-ipj^" 
 
 ~ T 
 
 291 
 
 10 
 
 " eque" 
 
 "atque e." 
 
 295 
 
 last 
 
 " Num. xviii." 
 
 " Num. xxiii." 
 
 295 
 
 IX. 12 
 
 " fatali" 
 
 "exitiali." 
 
 335 
 
 2 
 
 " tremebunt" 
 
 " trement." 
 
 ADDENDUM. 
 
 At page 317, after line 8. 
 " It would have been more usual, agreeably with the above rendering, that the 
 participle Ctl^JI should have been in construction with UT]/, and become 
 "•tJ^'y ' but instances of this kind are found elsewhere, as in Jon. ii. 9, 
 "id") i^W 'hir\ DnSti^Dj 'Those who regard lying vanities, i^c' where 
 '•nSti'Q would have been more usual. Besides D^tt'^ refers not only to 
 Urb, but also to \^\ and ^V>'2 ." 
 
CONTENTS OF THE PROLEGOMENA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The obscurity of former Versions of Ecclesiastes *! 
 
 The excellence of Mendlessohn's elucidations and arrangement. The au- 
 thorities to whom he refers *2 
 
 A German translation of them has been made. Mendlessohn's attention to 
 
 the accents. Buxtorf de Punctis Hebraeis 1 
 
 Benjoin on Jonah. His inaccuracy 2 
 
 Importance of establishing the antiquity of the accents and vowel-points 3 
 
 The character of Mendlessohn's style and language. The scope and object of 
 Ecclesiastes as represented by him. Another theory respecting it main- 
 tained by the author of a recent interpolatory commentary 4 
 
 A strong objection against that theory. The opinion of Dathe and Doeder- 
 
 lein on the question who is the author of Ecclesiastes !i 
 
 A discussion of all their arguments on that subject, and an attempt to prove 
 
 that Solomon was the real author of it fi 
 
 Luther's view of this book. The preface to his commentary thereon 8 
 
 False inferences of several authors derived from it 12 
 
 The treatment of it by the Talmudic Rabbins. A Rabbinic extract from 
 
 Aramah, in which he comments on their remarks respecting it 13 
 
 His explanation of them is more ingenious than probable 17 
 
 The application of two verses of Ecclesiastes made by Maimonides in his 
 
 Moreh Nevochim 18 
 
 A translation of the above passage 19 
 
 The true rendering of the verses which he misapplies 20 
 
 An attempt to reconcile other passages of the Old Testament which he quotes 
 with the declarations of the New Testament on the same subject, all being 
 
 interpreted according to their most literal signification 21 
 
 Bishop Warburton's quotation of Ecclesiastes to prove that the Jews of old had 
 no revelation of a future state. His arguments derived from it are based on 
 
 a mistranslation 25 
 
 Errors of Maimonides and the Talmud arising from their treating Ecclesiastes 
 
 as a series of unconnected maxims 30 
 
 The preference given by the Rabbins to oral tradition above canonical Scrip- 
 ture. Their Biblical authority for so doing 33 
 
XIV CONTENTS OF THE PROLEGOMENA. 
 
 I'AfiK 
 
 Desveux's edition of Ecclesiastes. Mendlessohn's respect for the Masoretic 
 
 text 34 
 
 The utility of the Septuagint version of it 35 
 
 A discussion of passages thereof, of which the Hebrew text used by the Greek 
 
 translator must have differed from the Masoretic 36 
 
 The Vulgate version. Notices of the lives of Raschi and Aben Ezra 38 
 
 A memoir of Moses Mendlessohn 40 
 
 His works. His view of Christianity. His controversy with Von Dohm on the 
 
 power vested in Jewish synagogues 43 
 
 His "Jerusalem." Extracts from it, containing his opinions on the nature of 
 
 the Jewish polity 48 
 
 A reason for the insertion of those extracts 59 
 
 Mendlessohn's preface to Ecclesiastes, the contents of which are as follows : — 
 A description and illustration of the four methods of interpreting Scripture 
 
 employed by the Rabbins 61 
 
 Instances of Cabalistic refinements 68 
 
 His own motives for writing annotations on this book, viz. the imperfection 
 of former commentaries, and the decision of the Talmud respecting its ex- 
 cellence 73 
 
 A passage from the Zohar respecting it 76 
 
 The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is conveyed by it 77 
 
 A reconciliation of apparent contradictions in it 78 
 
 A passage from the Zohar respecting the fourth of these contradictions 86 
 
 The sections into which he has divided this book, and the reason of his neglect 
 of the chapters and verses. The real use of these, and their original inten- 
 tion, was only to facilitate reference 89 
 
 The authorities to whom he has had recourse 91 
 
 The importance of the accents. The repetition in reading of the last verse 
 
 but one, at the end of four books of the Hebrew Bible 90 
 
 An introduction to the new English version of Ecclesiastes. The plan pur- 
 sued therein ^2 
 
 The importance of its introductory analyses 93 
 
 An apology for its occasional deviation from ordinary Biblical language 94 
 
 The utility of a Latin version in addition to the English. A specimen of 
 Mendlessohn's commentary in the Rabbinic Hebrew 95 
 
PROLEGOMENA, 
 
 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 
 
 Viewed through the medium of the translations commonly 
 in use throughout Europe, the portion of the Bible which forms 
 the subject of the following pages had long presented an as- 
 pect singularly perplexing. To general defects of arrangement, 
 connectedness, and perspicuity there seemed added in particular 
 passages an unquahfied permission to thoughtless enjoyment of 
 present good on the ground of the utter uncertainty of the 
 future. And it is probable that a similar misconception of the 
 meaning of its inspired author, combined with the record of 
 his frailties and the silence as to liis penitence in the annals of 
 the Kings, gave rise to the melancholy legend which Oriental 
 mythology has attached to his name. The attempt had indeed 
 been made to account for the occurrence of the passages alluded 
 to by representing them as ironical. With respect however to that 
 at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth chapters this 
 method is clearly inapphcable ; and in the rest it would compel 
 us to recognize an undistinguishable mixture of ironical per- 
 mission with serious exhortation Httle in accordance with that 
 correctness of writing ("liy"* l^irs) which Solomon tells us he had 
 sought to attain, and which shines conspicuously in his earher 
 writings. His discourses in the book of Proverbs, addressed 
 like this book to mankind in general, consist entirely of grave 
 reproof, earnest warning, or persuasive and encouraging counsel. 
 
*2 
 
 a gentler treatment of moral malady than the caustic of irony, 
 whereby its symptoms might be aggravated rather than miti- 
 gated, confirmed rather than eradicated. It was therefore most 
 important that the author of Ecclesiastes should be satisfactorily 
 vindicated from the charge implied by those translations of 
 having written obscurely or inconsistently, and the compilers of 
 the Sacred Canon from that of having inserted therein a book 
 unequal with the rest in style and irreconcileable with them in 
 doctrine. This vindication, though undertaken by many an able 
 commentator during successive centuries, had been very inad- 
 equately performed, and might till now have remained imperfect, 
 had the ingenuity of Mendlessohn been less happily directed or 
 less equal to his task. It remained for him to bring to light 
 the true order and connexion of the portions of this book, the 
 conclusiveness of its arguments, and the excellence of its doc- 
 trines ; and to demonstrate that its author, after testing through 
 a hfe of prosperity the vanity of all earthly enjoyments, discovered 
 at last true happiness to consist in cheerful contentment and in 
 acting conformably to the inevitable doctrine of a future judg- 
 ment. The learning which this great writer brought to bear upon 
 the subject is regarded by his own nation as almost unrivalled 
 among themselves ; and, as ne tells us, he has not trusted to his 
 own resources alone in his edition of this "roll," but, at the same 
 time that he has not neglected to consult the commentators 
 " not of the seed of Israel," has introduced all he deemed 
 valuable in the annotations upon it of the distinguished Rabbins 
 of an earlier age, especially Yarchi and Aben Ezra. A trans- 
 lation of his commentary will therefore exhibit specimens of 
 the writings of those 'laborious expositors on a subject which, as 
 imconnocted with the explanation of prophecy, they are most 
 likely to have illustrated without prejudice, and will tend, I 
 think, to convince the reader that in some at least of their 
 commentaries they merit our praise and gratitude for their 
 ingenuity and research, rather than our indiscriminate or un- 
 
qualified censure for defects fairly attributable to their national 
 and educational circumstances. 
 
 It is surprising that Mcndlessohn's discoveries (for they 
 deserve no less an appellation) with respect to this book 
 should not hitherto have been made more accessible to the 
 Enghsh public than they are in the language in which they 
 wore originally developed. A translation of his commentary 
 into German appears to have been published about seventy years 
 ago, which is noticed by Rosenmuller in the Elenchus Inter- 
 pretum prefixed to his Annotations on Ecclesiastes ; but at the 
 time when he wrote his Scholia it had probably become already 
 so scarce that he had not the opportunity of consulting it. 
 Otherwise it seems unaccountable that he, who has availed 
 himself of assistance and suggestions from every quarter, Jew- 
 ish, Patristic, and modern, for the elucidation of the Bibhcal 
 text, has neglected even to allude to explanations which, for their 
 critical ability and the consistent sense they for the first time 
 exhibit of passages which others have loft in hopeless obscurity, 
 are almost unequalled. 
 
 A chief excellence of Mcndlessohn's commentary consists in 
 his invariable attention to the accents and careful adaptation of 
 his explanations to them. Some of his most important corrections 
 of the translation of difficult passages are based entirely on the 
 interpretation of these marks, which have been doubtless trans- 
 mitted from the earUest times for the purpose of perpetuating 
 the correct understanding of the sacred text. The judgment of 
 all the literary authorities among the Joavs, with the exception 
 of a single grammarian, is in favour of their extreme antiquity, 
 and it is to them that all authentic information on the subject 
 is exclusively confined. I need only refer the reader to the 
 most learned and elaborate work of that profound Hebraist, the 
 younger Buxtorf, " On the Hebrew vowel-points and accents," 
 to convince him of the striking concurrence of Rabbinic writers 
 from the age of the Zohar to more modern times in the opinion 
 *1 
 
that they were invented by Ezra and his colleagues when the 
 use of Biblical Hebrew as a vernacular language began to de- 
 cline^ ; an opinion by which they are referred to an aera nearly 
 a thousand years prior to that to which their introduction is 
 attributed by EUas Levita, and their concurrence in which can- 
 not be justly attributed to prejudice or partiality, since the 
 copies of the Hebrew Scriptures esteemed by the Jews most 
 sacred and as such used in their synagogues have been always 
 without points. And so convinced was Buxtorf of the great 
 importance of the question, that he devoted his whole energies 
 to its investigation, and has done all that the most elaborate 
 examination and careful discussion of authorities could effect in 
 order to decide it finally in favour of that opinion, which he 
 has shewn to be held by the Rabbins almost without a dissen- 
 tient voice. The author of a dissertation on the book of Jonah 
 
 * At the end of a chapter, in which he quotes and examines •with 
 consummate learning and ability the observations of ancient authors on 
 this subject, he says at page 316 : " Sic plerorumque Hebraeorum est senten- 
 tia, Punctorum Vocalium et Accentuum figuras Esrse tempore vol natas esse, 
 vel renatas ; et hunc in finem ab eo vel inventas, vel renovatas et in usum 
 revocatas, ut Sacrosanctum Dei Verbum in posterum, delicientibus Pro- 
 phetis et invalescentibus populi Judaici calamitatibus, hoc medio tanto 
 purius et integrius ab omni corruptione conservari, ac tanto majore 
 cum facilitate et voluptate a quibusvis legi posset." And at page 325, 
 after noticing the high qualifications of the Rabbins who were thus unani- 
 mous, and their consequent claim to speak with decision, he thus compares 
 the weight of their testimony with that of Elias Levita: "Hi omnes" 
 (sc. R. Saad Gaon, R. Solomon, R. Aben Ezra, R. Kimchi, &c.) "sane ita 
 sunt comparati, ut nullus illorum sit qui non multis modis Eliam superet, 
 et longe post se relinquat. Hi enim plerique non solum Grammatici sed 
 etiam aliis artibus ac scientiis abundantissime instructi fuere, ut nesciam 
 qua ratione Elias, nudus et merus Grammaticus, illis prseferri debeat. 
 Minimus horum digitus crassior est lumbis Eliae, imo unguis digitonim 
 ipsorum praestantior illius ventre ; si in stateram cimi ipsis ascendat, 
 vanitate et niliilo ipso levior deprehendetur bonus alioquin Elias." 
 
published along with a new version of it towards the conclusion 
 of the last century, can hardly have been aware of the over- 
 whelming amount of testimony he is setting at nought when he 
 states as if it had never been called in question the very account 
 of this matter which Buxtorf had taken such pains to disprove, 
 viz. that the points were not invented or introduced into the 
 text till the Gemara had been completed and the Masora had 
 ended, i. e. during the fifth century of the Christian sera. This 
 statement moreover he has not taken the trouble to distinguish 
 f .jm certain very imperfectly translated sentences out of the 
 Preface to the Yad Hachazakah or Mishneh Torah, among 
 which he has placed it, thereby giving an incautious reader 
 the false impression that it rests on the authority of Maimo- 
 nides, and so implying a reflection on the accuracy or candour 
 of Buxtorf, who, if such a passage had existed, ought to have 
 noticed it and fairly discussed it as a most important feature 
 in the controversy. Such misrepresentation, whether intentional 
 or accidental, deserves the severest censure, as tending to a 
 depreciation of the value of the Hebrew Text of the Scriptures ; 
 for if it be once conceded that so important a portion of it as 
 the vowel-points and accents was interpolated at a later period, 
 when the Hebrew had become a dead language, and the spirit of 
 inspiration had long ceased from among men, it is impossible 
 that in so far as it is affected by such interpolation it should 
 continue to be regarded with unqualified reverence or unsus- 
 pecting confidence. Mendlessohn's opinion is sufficiently indi- 
 cated by his constant appeal to the accents as a guide to inter- 
 pretation, and the decided manner in which he recognizes them 
 as a component part of the text, of the faithfulness of the 
 transmission of which there was no reasonable doubt. 
 
 The Rabbinic Hebrew in which he has written his commen- 
 taries is concise in the highest degree ; but in his hands it is 
 unusually elegant as well as devoid of that extraneous ad- 
 mixture of words from other languages which often obscures 
 
 *1 2 
 
the works of Raschi. His style moreover is grave, perspicuous, 
 and cogent in argument, and when he appears to have put forth 
 his energies for the estabhshment of a particular system of 
 translation he is almost unanswerable. These excellencies ren- 
 der that work of his which I have translated, as well as his 
 elaborate commentary on the Pentateuch, deserving of the at- 
 tentive study of the Hebrew Scholar. 
 
 With regard to the scope and object of the book of Eccle- 
 siastes, Mendlessohn has shewn in the course of his commentary, 
 that while two principal topics treated of in it are the evi- 
 dences of the immortality of the soul, and the duty of cheer- 
 fulness in this life and a contented enjoyment of it, along with 
 a recollection of duties to God who will bring us to account, 
 the discussion of these topics is interspersed with various re- 
 commendations, religious, political, and domestic, which come 
 under no general denomination. An attempt, however, has 
 been made by a modern author to demonstrate that the book 
 has one single object, viz. the discovery of the chief good, 
 (an idea suggested by Doederlein). His intention is excellent ; 
 but the method he has chosen of carrying it into effect ob- 
 jectionable, if not dangerous. He has followed the example 
 of another writer of undoubted abihty, in encumbering and 
 diluting the sacred text with an interpolatory commentary, and 
 consequently has run the risk of mingling the results of an 
 erroneous impression with the very words of divine truth, 
 and so distorting them to a purpose remote from their real 
 intention ; and in fact he has been far from establishing his 
 position even by the method in question ; a method clearly 
 improper in dealing with any book of classical authority, and 
 much more with that of inspiration. While those remains of 
 antiquity which the preference of subsequent ages has per- 
 petuated through the wreck of time are ever regarded as 
 exemplars too perfect to be interlarded with extraneous and 
 intrusive illustration, tlie fine gold of canonical Scripture has 
 
been rashly alloyed with the dross of human commentary. 
 Whatever be the character of the pubhshed interpretations of 
 the sacred text, so long as they are kept distinct from it, 
 the worst they can do is to misrepresent its meaning, while 
 it remains its own witness, and speaks for itself; but as soon 
 as they are inserted between its words and sentences, truth 
 may be so distorted as to be no longer recognised, and error 
 imperceptibly obtain a sanction by means of the very boldness 
 of its intrusion. 
 
 An a priori objection to the theory of the above-mentioned 
 author is, that it would seem to involve the hypothesis that 
 the book itself is falsely attributed to the author of it ; and 
 that it really belongs to a later age, when the speculations 
 of Greek philosophers had already found their way, and 
 were esteemed, among the Jews. (These speculations, in a 
 great measure, occasioned the formation of the controversial 
 sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees.) Such a theory, if 
 established, might be added to the catalogue of objections 
 which have been made by Eichorn and Doederlein, to the 
 opinion that Solomon was the author of this book, of which 
 Dathe pronounces that they are unanswerable. He says, 
 "Non Salomonem, sed serioris, setatis scriptorem hujus libri 
 auctorem esse, post Grotium, qui id ipsum jam viderat, argu- 
 mentis tam gravibus probarunt Eichornius in Introduct. in 
 Vet. Test. Part iii. p. 561 ; et Doederleinius passim, ut non nisi 
 morosior traditionum antiquarum defensor illud sit negaturus." 
 With the opinion of Dathe here expressed I cannot at aU 
 agree. Several of the alleged arguments, as I shall shew, 
 are removed by a more correct translation ; and others may 
 be appUed equally well to prove the contrary hypothesis, viz. 
 that the book is written by Solomon. Let it not be sup- 
 posed, however, that the opinion mentioned above indicates 
 any scepticism on the part of Dathe or his authorities, as to 
 the canonical authority of the book : it merely expresses un- 
 
certainty to which of the kings of Israel, after David, it is 
 to be attributed; and whether it should not be classed along 
 with the books of Joshua, Judges, and Job, whose authors 
 are unlcnown, although they be unquestionably canonical. As 
 to the arguments in question, it has been said that, in Chap. iv. 
 45, allusion is made to the king's successor, and his inability 
 to govern the people ; and that if Solomon had been this 
 king, he would have taken measures to prevent his accession 
 to the throne. Now it will be shewn, at the place, in the 
 commentary, that this reasoning is perfectly false. The re- 
 ference made is clearly only to the popularity of Jeroboam, 
 who was a slave of Solomon's, and drew away the people 
 after him, so that it seemed very likely that, if he did not 
 supplant Solomon on the throne, he might at least succeed 
 him ; and Rehoboam is really not alluded to at all. Thus 
 this passage is altogether a strong presumptive evidence on 
 the other side. Again, the passage, " I was king over Israel 
 in Jerusalem," which has been employed as an objection, is 
 the strongest of all arguments in favour of Solomon's having 
 been the author. Besides that the author had already stated 
 himself to be the son of David, we know that David held his 
 court both at Hebron and Jerusalem, whereas Solomon reigned 
 only at Jerusalem, so that this "kmg" cannot have been Da- 
 vid; and after him those who "reigned at Jerusalem" were 
 not kings of Israel, but of Judah, as they are always styled 
 in the Jewish histories of the kings. In fact, Solomon was 
 the only " king over Israel in Jerusalem," and this may be 
 called an undesigned evidence. It has been objected by Jahn 
 that it was "idle to state a fact so universally known;" but, 
 as will be shewn in the commentary, his reason for so doing 
 was to point out that he had greater opportunities than fell 
 to the lot of men in general for pursuing his philosophic in- 
 vestigations. And so, where he says, " I was richer than all 
 in Jerusalem before me," this was not an idle boast, but his 
 
design is to shew that he had ample means for pursuing 
 worldly pleasure, as well as philosophy, to its full extent, and 
 had nevertheless discovered its emptiness and vanity. Again, 
 who was so qualified by his own experience to pronounce 
 ** that the making of many books is an endless thing, and 
 much useless study a mere weariness of the flesh"? And, be- 
 sides, his sweeping condemnation of the female sex, along with 
 the number of 1000, as used in the same passage, are in per- 
 fect accordance with what we might have expected from the 
 known hfe and history of that monarch. As to the difference 
 of style between this and his other transmitted works, this 
 may be fully accounted for by the different nature of the sub- 
 jects. The Proverbs consists of detached maxims, and the Song 
 of Songs is a series of amatory idyls, replete with mystic 
 meaning, while this book is a treatise, written in the manner 
 of open discussion, on pohtical and moral philosophy. The 
 non-occurrence of the name of Jehovah is a perfectly futile 
 argument, as this is also observable of the Song of Songs, 
 and other books of the Bible. Again, it has been objected 
 that the Talmud aftirms that Isaiah wrote his own book. 
 Proverbs, Canticles, and Ecclesiastes ; and again, that Ezekiel 
 wrote Isaiah, and these three. But these two passages ex- 
 plain one another, and shew that all that can be meant by 
 the word 2ri3 wrote in these expressions, is either that they 
 "copied and disseminated" these books, or that they "inserted 
 them into the canon of scripture ;" for Isaiah and Ezekiel 
 cannot both have been the authors of the book which bears 
 the name of the former. Finally, Eichorn quotes a number 
 of words in this book, which he pronounces to be foreign, 
 and not pure Hebrew. But the Chaldee, Arabic, and He- 
 brew, having all emanated from the same source, it is mani- 
 festly impossible to pronounce with certainty, on a word oc- 
 curring in so confessedly an ancient book as Ecclesiastes, that 
 it belongs to either of the two former and not to the latter. 
 
because the further we trace these dialects back, the greater 
 will be their similarity: and even supposing some of the words 
 he mentions to be foreign and Aramaic, (several of them are 
 found in the Pentateuch, and are therefore cited erroneously,) 
 Solomon may easily have acquired them through his constant 
 intercourse with the neighbouring nations, or from his foreign 
 wives, especially as this book was written late in hfe ; for he 
 quotes the murmuring people as speaking of himself as an 
 old and foohsh king, and comparing him with Jeroboam, to 
 the advantage of the latter. But far more difficult to dispose 
 of than the above objections, would be that which might be 
 derived from the fact of this book being a disquisition on 
 the " summum bonum," could that be estabhshed. It might 
 then be argued with much plausibility, not only that tliis book 
 is not written by him to whom it is commonly ascribed, but 
 that it is not genuine at all, nor written by a king of Israel, 
 but inserted into the canon at some later period, when the 
 Pharisees and Sadducees had already derived many of their 
 opinions from the Greek pliilosophers. 
 
 We are glad to find that the opinion of the learned and 
 pious Luther, respecting the scope and object of this book, coin- 
 cides with that of Mendlessohn, except that he takes it to be 
 more hmited than perhaps it really is, and does not appear to 
 have noticed how much of it is devoted to a proof of the im- 
 mortality of the soul, and a future judgment. He pronounces 
 its scope and object to be " the recommendation of the cheerful 
 enjoyment of the good things of this life, along with the per- 
 formance of known duty." We find in this, as well as in all 
 his comments on Scripture, various allusions to the abuses of 
 the church of Rome, as might be expected in one whose mind 
 was necessarily so much engrossed with that subject. He 
 speaks as follows, in the preface to his Latin commentary on 
 this book : " Not only is this book one of the most difficult 
 " in the whole Bible, so that no one has yet fully ascertained 
 
9 
 
 " its meaning, but it has been so distorted by the glosses of 
 " many unworthy commentators, that it has become almost a 
 " work of greater labour and importance to clear and vindicate 
 " the author from the dreamy fancies with which they have 
 " encumbered liim, than to point out his true meaning. There 
 " are two reasons which make this book more obscure than 
 " others; one, that they did not perceive the scope and design 
 " of the author, which, as it is important to bear in mind and 
 " follow in every sort of composition, so especially is it so here; 
 " another, their ignorance of Hebrew, and a singularity of phrase 
 " on the part of the author himself, wliich is frequently at 
 " variance with the common use of Hebrew, and exceedingly 
 " remote from our present mode of expression. The consequence 
 " has been, that tliis book, worthy on many accounts to be con- 
 " stantly in the hands of all, and especially to be much studied 
 " by persons in high authority, (as a book m which, more than 
 " in any other part of Scripture, the administration of human 
 " affairs, both pubhc and private, is graphically treated of) has 
 " been hitherto miserably neglected and degraded, so that at 
 " this day we do not derive from it the use or profit which 
 " we ought to have done. So much mischief has the temerity 
 " or ignorance of commentators occasioned. Our first business 
 " then is to ascertain and make ourselves masters of the scope 
 " of the book, and its object and design ; for unless these are 
 " settled, it will be impossible to understand the style and phrase. 
 " The main object then of this book is, that Solomon wishes to 
 " render us calm and cheerful in the common affairs and acci- 
 " dents of tliis hfe, and to teach us to enjoy present things 
 " contentedly, without care or eager desire about future things 
 " (as St Paul says, ' I would have you without carefulness,' 
 "'sme cura et sohcitudine agentes'); for that anxiety about 
 " future tilings annoys to no purpose ; but Solomon infers, by 
 " a sort of perpetual induction from the vanity and fruitlessness 
 " of particular pursuits and efforts of mdividuals, a general con- 
 
10 
 
 " elusion that all the occupations of men are vain. For he 
 " says that ' the race is not to the swift, nor sustenance to the 
 "wise, nor the battle to the powerful; and that the more wise, 
 " hoi J, and diligent a man becomes, the less he does ; and his 
 " wisdom, justice, and diligence, become useless.' If these 
 " things then be of no avail, all things must necessarily be 
 " vain and fruitless. But here we must first remove the 
 " erroneous and injurious opinion of many, in thinking that the 
 " author recommends the contempt of God's creatures, which 
 " the tenor of Scripture is far from intending to be despised 
 " or condemned as injurious. For all things which God has made 
 " are very good, and made for the use of man, as St Paul 
 " distinctly states in 1 Tim. iv. 4 : ' Every creature of God is 
 " good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanks- 
 " giving, and it be sanctified by the word of God and prayer.' 
 " Consequently it is foolishly and impiously that many preachers 
 " inveigh against glory, power, dignity, wealth, gold, honour, 
 " beauty, women, expressly condemning God's creatures. Power 
 " is a divine ordinance, gold and wealth are given by God. 
 " Woman is a blessing intended as a help-mate for man. 
 " God has made them all to be good and adapted to some 
 " use of man. What is condemned therefore in this book is, 
 " not the creatures of God, but the depraved passions and ( 
 " desires of man, who are not content with the creatures of 
 "God presented to their use, but are always anxious to ac- 
 " cumulate wealth, riches, honour, and glory, as if they were 
 " to live here for ever, spurning at the same time present 
 " good, and always pursuing one thing after another. For this 
 "is the height of vanity and wretchedness, to deprive oneself 
 " of the use of the good things we possess, and to be use- 
 " lessly anxious about securing future good. These evil lusts, 
 "I say, and not the creatures themselves, are what Solomon 
 " here condemns. For as to the use of the creature, he says 
 " himself, that there is nothing better than to be cheerful and 
 
11 
 
 " enjoy one's life, and eat, and drink, and delight in one's 
 " employment ; where he would be contradicting himself, if he 
 " also condemned the things themselves, and not rather the 
 " abuse of them, wliich consists only in human passions. Some 
 " foohsh persons, not understanding these tilings, have absurdly 
 " taught contempt and flight from the world, and have done 
 " many absurd things themselves, as we read in the lives of 
 " the fathers, that there were some who even shut themselves 
 " up from ever seeing the sun, reminding us of the j^cissage 
 " where Solomon condemns him ivho eats all his dags in the 
 " dark, (well they deserved to have their eyes put out) and 
 " for the sake of religion lived in the most sordid phght. 
 ^ " Wlicreas hving above the world is not hving out of it. Nor 
 " does he despise money who altogether rejects it, like the 
 " Franciscans, but he who lives in the midst of the world, and 
 " is not carried away by the passions and lusts we have men- 
 " tioned. This is the first thing to be remembered by the 
 " readers of Ecclesiastes. Another thing to be carefully borne 
 " in mind is, that in this book Solomon speaks simply of the 
 " ordinary affairs of life, of the pursuits, and desires, and plans 
 " of men. Let us not then fancy, with the interpreters, that 
 " he intends to condemn natural Philosophy and even Astro- 
 " nomy as vain and useless speculations ; whereas these sciences 
 " have great and many advantages which are constantly pre- 
 " senting themselves to us. Besides, enquiry into the nature 
 " of things is not only useful, but very dehghtful. The sub- 
 "ject matter then of this book is simply 'the human race,' 
 " which is so foolish, that it seeks and aims at many things 
 " which it cannot attain to ; or, if it does attain to • them, 
 " does not enjoy them, but has great pain and distress in the 
 " possession of them ; a fault not of the things themselves, but 
 " of their foolish passions. If men gain affluence they are 
 " soon disgusted with it ; if not, they are insatiably and rest- 
 *' lessly desirous of it. So Ovid says : 
 
12 
 
 " ' Quod licet ingratum est, quod non licet acrius urit ; 
 
 " Quod sequitur fugio, quod fugit ipse sequor. 
 " Nemo sorte sua contentus vivit ; et intra 
 
 " Fortunam didicit nemo manere suam.' 
 
 " Such is the vanity of the human heart, that it is never 
 " content with the present gifts of God, but, neglecting them, 
 " always seeks one thing after another, and never rests till it 
 " attain its desires, and then despises them, and looks after 
 " other objects still. To return then ; it is the design of this 
 *' book to teach us to use with thankfulness those creatures of 
 " God, which we have in our present possession, which are 
 " bountifully given to us and bestowed upon us by the blessing 
 " of God, without anxiety about future temporal blessings ; only 
 " to have a quiet and tranquil heart, and a mind full of cheer- 
 " fulness and contentment with the will of God, as Christ says, 
 " ' Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.' Well saith Au- 
 " gustine, ' Jussisti Domine supphcium esse homini non contento 
 " suis irrequietum animum'." 
 
 The learned Huet and others have asserted that Luther 
 spoke disparagingly of the book of Ecclesiastes ; but the fact is, 
 that the remarks in his Table Talk, which led them to say so, 
 are not with respect to this book, but to that of Jesus the son of 
 Sirach ; indeed, the passage quoted above is sufficient refutation 
 of the assertion. Luther clearly alludes, in tliis passage, to a 
 eulogy based by St Jerome on this book of monastic or rather 
 ascetic life, wherein he infers from Solomon's demonstrating 
 the vanity of all human labour, and the false notions with 
 which men pursue happiness, that it is the path of duty and 
 wisdom to fly from the world and live in desert seclusion. 
 A better refutation of this notion could not be furnished than 
 Luther's preface. 
 
 Jerome is not at all singular in having attempted to de- 
 rive unscriptural doctrines from the book of Ecclesiastes. Some 
 have cited it in defence of Epicurean opinions, and others 
 have taken offence at his reflections on the fruitlessness of 
 
13 
 
 scientific investigation. The Rabbins themselves are recorded 
 in the Talmud to have had great difiiculty in reconciling this 
 book with the precepts of the law, and in explaining away 
 its apparent inconsistencies. Beside the reason assigned in the 
 celebrated passage so fully discussed by Mendlessohn and 
 others for their wishing to secrete this book, we find an 
 additional one in the Medrasch Cohelcth, fol. 114 a. 82 6. 
 Jn:''^: yh ^^^yy^ nnn n ytX^'Oi'^ i. e. " Because they found in 
 it words inchning to heresy," i. e atheism. Such sentences as 
 these, coming to them with authority only second to that of 
 Scripture itself, the more recent Jewish writers have made the 
 greatest exertions to paUiate and elude. As an instance of this 
 I think it worth while to quote the preface to Coheleth of 
 Rabbi Isaac Aramah, (who, a. d. 1492, published the " Five 
 Rolls" with Yarchi's Commentary, and his own), because it 
 is a curious specimen of the old Rabbinic style, and fur- 
 nishes a more than ordinarily ingenious explanation of the 
 remarkable Talmudic passage to which I have alluded. It 
 is this. 
 
 pir'p n?p D'Dipp? ni3P3i on?p3 'du'3 "jiJ3 ^:j<i 
 D'Dipp D' : D'piip ifi D'pSppp cpfiipi D'jnpfin o'^iDfi^? 
 •cpinri DHPPJ DCD rr:p n373 dm "O'piPii ont d'ddp3 ipifi 
 Dr3D P1D? 7i:i : D'p'7i cuporii '^'■^'sn u idit di7 7"j; d'i 
 
 ]p; Dr3 7pfi 651 ''piPP ''")373 IPyU pfi PUDi D'pP7J oi^D 
 
 ippi r'fi'-)3 5:fip fi'iu rip? \o o'p'ppp D'pyu3 p3d5 dpd i3 
 D'POP iDp3 'D'p'pnp np:i up:d 656 7iy 65i 'O'pppp 6i' 
 Dn37i pnipu nnp6 i9ipi ip5pp ifiPD 656 p5rp ipp fij:5 
 D'p'PD o'-)37?i 65pji ")i n r6i : o'pi^p j'p 53pi o'ppup 
 \^-}> x6 D'65 V137 PP93 pprpr ris ipp5 v"iid ijj'6 Pf 5:i 
 01? V)p65i v:p5 vr» ■)d6 5dp d'^pp o ":inbi "" pni> v5i; 
 Po5p d6") p5dpp 5yi 56x' ph'pi d'w o'pn? T365 ipi6 ipp' 
 6i?D iipp' 13 106 6du? p6td rpp DJi •D7pp td D5Dn' 
 
14 
 
 593P1 PTPDP ]P V")373 1?:?? D^ipp^ ]10? P'5dP3 "JTIP'D 3"PP 
 
 •)n'3i vpiip pp^pni vpin iiDps pn-prri ptpd? oiiwi inirri) 
 33 p:riDi Dippi) fiii Dipi 10613 v:'i? osnr' '3 vpuim VD)i\i 
 •ppii:?) nr!") wp 'v 3n 'i nriN"! nsn : dipp5i dipp5 jri^ui juid 
 vivD 'Dh cnrp PP31 "prifi cpifiD riinp ip'3 'pStp 'P3D 
 oyp? if" : iiwpp P1P33 npfii 76p psi? fi^fii iiw ]a vp6ipi 
 
 Pli ]'3 P1PP PPP 'Df^t)^) 'PpP7 '5 Utf" PUP '2 "" pfi PTlfi 
 'JP5 PJP701 PUD3 PUD 'Pp:0J1 'ppP7 'V)l DVi ^3 fi5P3 Pli3 
 P'pfiiP •D'i;7n D'PDP P3 POii fi'P Pipj Ofil PU1DP1 P3np p7 
 
 D'u")3 Dpi I'fi iDf" p:'3v PU73 ':ir»3 onippii '3 3T 3iD fiiipo 
 poni? P'P'fi") '3 'pjispp Piw: 5u fppii onDVT' np 3j^ ji73 
 i33 '2 p d:i d'pupjp iif> isp 'iipdi d'ppui d';»";i? 333 
 
 13P2: 63 l36 nof) ifiD' qP33 DP'3y D7pp P713U dpi: '3")7 P'3")7 
 
 63 'D 3t"p pi'3pi n)pi) i:7p3 1:3-77 '•2 b'^) : 3P3'3 dp D'm6t 
 p6t3 p") 10^3 iDp3 D':v:?pp 3i6 V3)]::' )r>Di P)b't>v 'Dip 'jpp 
 '3ip 33p3 d'j6ppp P11P 3d p:ip d'736pp 11 q6 it 63 ]ippp 
 
 ''f^ll^f^Z 'p3 ''bliT^ D'31P3P 'UDPP Pj6iP D'Dp3P DPI jITP P7'pD 
 
 id6 1P1P1 ip3pp i6iPD ]i'3 ipioj 63d i]^f^ Pr3i '''hv 3n3i 
 
 D:p6 'D'PD Ph' DP3 P1DDPP pf^O DP '7' "706 ''Pippp DP 
 •V")7P 163' P1?'7*P qpi331 •1'-)P6 IDPP' 71P3p ppiDP3 1D6 D'Dj6p 
 
 71? "3p6p p6 n7ir'i n'P' •dp3 d33 -jipp '3 •dp'36 dp7pp ]'6 
 .i33P ypp nil 6iip3 1P1P1 id6")p dp3 p3:: nD6p 733 [pppd 
 
 The translation of which is as follows : 
 
 "I, In my humility, have considered the writings and 
 " compositions of those who have commented on the book of 
 " Ecclesiastes, both the more ancient and those of later date, 
 " and have found that they divide themselves into several classes ; 
 " some have explained it by strange and far-fetched primary 
 " interpretations ; and some by deep and subtle scientific disqui- 
 
15 
 
 " sitions ; and some by the method of recondite interpretation 
 " have drawn from it just and right doctrines ; but the phase 
 " of resemblance between them is, that they have all been 
 " forced to alter its sense with glossing expressions, and not 
 " one of them has given us reason by any sufficient causes 
 " which he alleges, to give it any higher praise than that 
 "of * a rock which produces wholesome food ;' or 'a strong 
 " lion from whence cometh forth sweetness ;' " (i. e. something 
 very unpromising, but yet from which good may be ob- 
 tained by searching for it.) " And not only so, but these 
 " pious men have, as it were, put it to the vote and set- 
 " tied, that ' the sages sought to hide the book of Ecclesiastes ; 
 " but that when they found its beginning and end to be pure 
 " expressions and tried words and free from all blemish, they 
 " allowed it to remain.' Now this is strange and wonder- 
 " ful, and a thing hard to understand, and all this is in- 
 " consistent with a book hke this, attributed in the opening 
 " of it to a man respecting whom came the sure testimony 
 " of Jehovah, that he was wiser than all who came before 
 " and after him, even if his father should be compared with 
 " him, the mightiest of shepherds, the sweet psalmist of Israel, / 
 " and who was over the government of the head of king- 
 " doms, Jerusalem the holy city. And besides, from what is 
 " seen to be the subject which is investigated in it, that it 
 " is the subhmest of all contemplations, and that it holds a 
 " place above the highest in perfection of wisdom, it was be- 
 " fitting and consistent that it should be arranged in perfec- 
 " tion of order, with an excessive degree of caution in its 
 " expressions against obscurity and repetition and superfluity, 
 "and with strong; watchfulness and attention to the connexion 
 " of its parts and the agreement of its portions and the per- 
 " spicuity of its sections and subjects ; for the wise man's eyes 
 " are in his head, to explain and not to conceal, and at the 
 " same time to refute and silence the arguments of every 
 
16 
 
 " adversary and objector. For a long time this was a strong 
 " and powerful motive with me to give up the research ; I 
 " turned back as it were many miles from the doors of its 
 " house ; and many times have I approached its gates and 
 " found it a closed garden and feared very much to take 
 " hold of the handle of the bar. But now I will praise the 
 " Lord, for he hath inclined his ear to me ; I have sought 
 " and have found an aperture, as it were, opened to me be- 
 " tween board and board, to supply me with refreshing cncou- 
 "ragement," (this refers to a method of interpretation which 
 he afterwards describes) ; "I have pressed in and have entered 
 " line by line ; and a ready and clear way presented itself be- 
 " fore me, and one which, though it may be easy to walk in 
 " for the wise and learned, I have found as one that findeth 
 " great spoil for myself and those who like me are Uttle in know- 
 " ledge and skill, nor possess ability (Uterally ' legs') to leap on 
 " the mountains of wisdom and bound on the hills of intelli- 
 " gence. For I have observed it to extend to every topic and 
 " meaning of the hook, and to be free from all ambiguities, 
 " and moreover that in all its paths there are ways of pleasant- 
 " ness, by means of which the service of the Most Holy may be 
 " borne as an easy yoke upon the neck, and that consequently, 
 " though not described in writing, it well deserves to have 
 " been so. By means of it I have been led to perceive the 
 " real sagacity and elegance of that saying of our sages of 
 " blessed memory ; and that it was not on account of the 
 " difficulty of discovering the real excellence of the book with 
 " reflecting persons that they sought to hide it, but for fear 
 " of the multitude and people in general, who waste the 
 " treasures of the law, and refusing to receive the yoke of 
 " vigorous thought are content to seek profit from primary 
 " interpretations of Scripture which are regarded by the Lord 
 " as utterly unprofitable ;" (literally " like dense thickets." In 
 explaining Scripture the Rabbins often discarded its primary 
 
17 
 
 " sense), and on tliis account he says that they did not hide 
 "it, viz. because they found with respect to the beginning 
 " and end of it, which are the parts of a book handled by the 
 " fingers of common people, that in these, I say, the fear of 
 " God was inculcated. Indeed, those men in whom is the 
 " desire of learning will seek after it ; and by earnestly pur- 
 " suing knowledge will at length arrive at her chambers. 
 " There is nothing to be apprehended from them ; for their 
 " heart is established witliin them ; and they will constantly 
 " incite and spur on their own desire of knowledge, until it will 
 "be eager, only from what is revealed to them at the begin- 
 " ning and end, to draw profit from the whole of it." 
 
 Thus Aramah explains Avhat is said in the Talmud, that 
 *' the Rabbins allowed the book of Ecclesiastes to remain in the 
 Canon, because the beginning and end of it were found to be 
 in accordance with the law," in this way ; that they did not 
 mean to say, that the middle portions of the book were in- 
 consistent with the law, but that, though they were obscure, 
 it was not at all to be apprehended that the intelligent and 
 tliinking portion of the community, who would read the book 
 through with attention, would derive any harm from it ; and 
 that as for careless and ignorant people, they, according to 
 their custom, would look only at the beginning and end of 
 the book, which contain no obscurities, and are manifestly, and 
 at first sight, in accordance with the law. Tliis reasoning is 
 ingenious ; but it may nevertheless be doubted whether the Rab- 
 bins in question saw through all the diflicultics in the middle 
 of the book so clearly as to be able to demonstrate that it is 
 all in accordance with the rest of scripture. Even the great 
 Maimonides, in his Moreli Nevochim, Ub, ii. chap. 29, wliile he 
 is defending Solomon from the erroneous opinion attributed to 
 him by some commentators, that the world has existed from 
 all eternity (that is, in its present state), allows him to be in 
 favour of another doctrine, which we as Christians do not hold, 
 2 
 
18 
 
 viz. That the earth is to remain in its present state to all 
 
 eternity. His words are as follows : 
 
 " Many men who hold our law think that Solomon believed 
 in the existence of our world from all eternity. But it is 
 wonderful that any one holding the law of Moses should be- 
 lieve in tliis doctrine. And if it had come into the mind of 
 one who did not behove the statements of our law, it would 
 not be wonderful ; but God has shewn that this cannot have 
 been the case with Solomon, because all the prophets and 
 wise men received his writings as canonical, and never called 
 them in question, nor even after his death spoke at all dis- 
 paragingly of him on this ground, as we find that they did 
 with respect to certain ' strange women,' and several other 
 matters ; but what has led men to think so is the fact, that 
 ' our wise men sought to hide the book of Ecclesiastes because 
 of the apparent inconsistencies of many of its expressions ;' 
 and there can be no doubt that that book, taken in its obvious 
 sense, contains expressions apparently repugnant to behef in 
 the law. But as to the existence of the world from eternity, 
 there is no passage to indicate that such was his belief, though 
 there is one, it is true, which shews that he believed that 
 the world will not perish, but last for ever. Because then 
 they saw that there was a verse proving the stability of the 
 world, they thought erroneously that he behoved that the 
 world was not created. Now the verse which speaks of the 
 future eternal duration of the world is this : ' The earth abides 
 for ever.' Some have interpreted the expression D^iy^ as 
 signifying only for a ' definite' time. But I should like to 
 know what they will make of the passage which we find in 
 David, Ps. x. 4, 5 : 'He has founded the earth on its basis 
 that it should not be removed for ever and ever,' Tyi D^lV. 
 But if you should say that the expression lyi dSv <loes not 
 demonstrate its eternal duration, but only its duration for a 
 definite time, you will necessarily say at the same time, that 
 
19 
 
 " the Creator will only reign for a definite time, as we find in 
 " Ps. X. 16 : ' The Lord is king T^) U^')^ for ever and ever.' 
 " Now it is generally allowed that Qbl^ does not denote eter- 
 " nity of duration except when joined with "f>^. Solomon there- 
 " fore speaks less strongly than David ; but David furthermore, 
 " in the 148th Psalm, assures us that the heavens and all things 
 " they contain will last for ever, and will suifer no change ; 
 " where he says, ' Praise the Lord in the heavens, &c.' to 
 " where he says, ' he hath estabUshed tliem for ever and ever,' 
 "nbr/7 rj? DTZD^^I and he adds, -lUy^ i^h^ in3 pn, i.e. 'be- 
 
 T : - T ■••-:-; -: - : -t ' t ' 
 
 " cause the precepts which he has given will not be changed ;' 
 " where by ' precepts' he intends ' the laws of nature,' i. e. ' the 
 " laws of the constitution of heaven and earth ordained before 
 " they were created.' But that they were created, is clear 
 " from what he says, ' he commanded, and they were created."* 
 " Jeremiah also says, ' Thus saith the Lord, who maketh the 
 " sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and 
 " the stars for a light by night ; if those ordinances depart from 
 " before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall 
 " cease from being a nation before me for ever.' Here he in- 
 " forms us that those laws arc never to be abrogated, though 
 " they were at first put into operation by supreme power. 
 " Solomon says, too, that ' all things wliich God has made,' 
 " (viz. the world and all things in it) ' are stable in their 
 " nature, although all are created things ;' for he has these 
 " words, ' All things which God has made shall be for over ; 
 " no one can diminish from them or add to them ;' and ho thus 
 " at the same time states that the world and all that is in it is 
 " the work of God, and assigns the reason of their eternal 
 " duration in the words, ' There is no adding to them or di- 
 " minishing from them ;' as if he had said, ' everything which 
 " suffers change, suffers it cither in consequence of some defect 
 " in it, where there is a want of perfection, or of some supcr- 
 " abundance of something not necessary to its perfection ; but 
 
 2 — 2 
 
20 
 
 " since the works of the Creator are absolutely perfect, and 
 " no addition or diminution can be made in them, they will 
 " necessarily remain as they are, because there is nothing to 
 " induce change in them'." 
 
 I have asserted in the commentary, in a note on the 
 verse, "the earth abideth for ever," that the passages which 
 Maimonides appears to take in the sense, that " the heavens 
 and earth are to remain for ever in their present state," do 
 not necessarily bear that signification. I shall now endeavour 
 to establish this assertion, and shew that these passages are 
 consistent both with themselves and with the rest of scripture. 
 As to the two passages which that illustrious author quotes from 
 the book of Ecclesiastes, it may be confidently affirmed, that, when 
 correctly translated, they will not serve his purpose at all, and 
 that he is consequently one of those (with all due respect be it 
 spoken for so great a name) who have unintentionally perverted 
 and misrepresented the words of this difficult book. 
 
 The first of them is far more consistent with the general 
 sense of the chapter, if we take it, with Mendlessohn, to mean 
 that while plants and animals are continually nourished by the 
 earth, and returning again to it by the processes of corruption, 
 the mass or bulk of the earth continues precisely and invariably 
 the same, because not a particle of matter perishes, and nothing 
 (as far as we can conceive) is ever added from without to the 
 mass of the earth, so that the element is going a constant re- 
 volution, Uke air, fire, and water; and the second passage 
 should be translated "all that God appoints (not 'makes') is 
 fixed for ever." 
 
 Far more important as respects his argument are the cita- 
 tions which he makes as parallel passages to these two, (for it is 
 the belief of Solomon on the duration of the world that he is 
 discussing). They are, Ps. civ. 5 : "He hath founded the earth 
 on its basis that it should not be removed for ever ;" which 
 merely expresses the stability of the earth's motions, and no 
 
21 
 
 more implies that It is absolutely at rest than the word " rise" 
 as applied to the sun, either in scripture or in ordinary con- 
 versation, imphes that he actually moves round the earth ; again, 
 Ps. cxlviii. 1 — 4 : " Praise ye the Lord ; praise the Lord from 
 the heavens, praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his 
 angels ; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and 
 moon ; praise ye him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye 
 heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 
 Let them praise the name of the Lord ; for he commanded, and 
 they were created. He hath also estabUshed them for ever and 
 ever ; he hath made a decree which shall not pass ; " and Jere- 
 miah xxxi. 35, 36 : " Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the 
 sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and 
 stars for a hght by night, wlilch divldeth the sea when the 
 waves thereof roar ; the Lord of hosts is his name : If those 
 ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed 
 of Israel also shall cease to be a nation before me for ever." 
 From these passages In their Hteral signification, Malmonides 
 evidently collects that the present condition of external and 
 visible things is to continue the same for ever. I would ex- 
 plain them, however, without deviating from the system of literal 
 interpretation which Malmonides adopts, as referring entirely 
 and exclusively to the permanence of the laws and motions of 
 the orbs of our system, not to that of the present face of nature, 
 wliich is even continually undergoing change, and, as we are 
 expressly informed by the New Testament, is at some time to 
 be destroyed by fire. And such change or convulsions in the 
 mass of the earth are quite possible along with the Immutability 
 of the motions and bulk of the earth with reference to the 
 other bodies of the solar system, as the results of geology 
 abundantly testify ; and it is this immutability alone that is 
 asserted by the Psalmist, and appealed to by the Lord tlirough 
 Jeremiah. Besides, it is very remarkable that the Lord by his 
 prophet Isaiah appeals to the perpetuity of a new order of 
 
22 . 
 
 things in heaven and earth, hereafter to be produced, as an 
 evidence of the same eternal favour which in the above pas- 
 sage of Jeremiah he declares to be equally permanent with 
 the laws of heaven and earth. He says, " Behold, I make 
 new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be 
 remembered nor come into mind ;" and afterwards, in the 
 Ixvith Chapter, " As the new heavens and the new earth wliich 
 I will make shall remain before me, so shall your seed and 
 ' your name remain ;" and again, " The heavens may depart, and 
 the earth be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from 
 you, nor the covenant of my peace be removed." These pas- 
 sages must have escaped the recollection of the great author of 
 the Moreh Nevochim, or he surely would have discussed them 
 at this place. They can only be reconciled vdth the above 
 passages from the Psalms and Jeremiah, as well as with the 
 prophecies of the New Testament, when all are taken in their 
 obvious and primary signification, by supposing that a superficial 
 change is to take place in the face of nature, while the laws of 
 the great phenomena of heaven and earth continue unaltered. 
 
 In order to estabUsh this theory more fully to the satis- 
 faction of the reader, I would first direct his careful attention 
 to several portions of the prophecy of Isaiah, which, however 
 apphcable they be in their secondary interpretation to the 
 prosperity of the Church of Christ, can never, in their primary 
 and obvious meaning, be taken to express anything else than 
 this ; that though the nation of Israel be long " forsaken and 
 hated," and " desolate," they do not cease to be the chosen 
 people of God, and that at some future time, however distant, 
 his favour to them will be again openly manifested as it was 
 of old ; that " though the mountains depart, and the hills be 
 removed, the Lord's kindness will not depart from them," but 
 that they will be restored to their own land and to all the 
 privileges which they have long forfeited, and that all the nations 
 of the earth, " the Gentiles," will contribute to this consumma- 
 
23 
 
 tion, and thenceforth regard " Jerusalem" as " the holy city," 
 and its inhabitants as " the priests of the Lord," themselves 
 performing the offices of servants, "plowmen and vinedressers" 
 to the holy people ; that they will build up the walls of Jeru- 
 salem ; and, whereas " they had afflicted her, they shall bow 
 themselves down at the soles of her feet.'" This humiliation 
 of the Gentiles before the chosen people must clearly have 
 respect to events to take place in our world and " in time." 
 Such acts of national service and allegiance are inconsistent with 
 the idea of a spiritual state. And we also learn from another 
 passage which has been already quoted, that the peculiar favour 
 of God to Israel as a nation is not to cease with time. The 
 Lord says, " Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, 
 and the former shall not be remembered or come into mind ; 
 but be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create, for 
 behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, &c." 
 (Is. Ixv. 17). 
 
 The passages to which I would direct the reader's careful 
 attention, with respect to the restoration of the Israelites to their 
 own land, are Is. liv.. Is. Ix. Ixi. Ixii. Ixv. 17 — 25, Ixvi. 5 — 23. 
 
 Assuming, then, that the favour of God to the Israehtish 
 race is to be eternal, as the primary signification of these pas- 
 sages unquestionably proves, let us now tm^n to the verses in 
 Jeremiah in ch. xxxi. the whole of which is to the same effect as 
 the above chapters of Isaiah, and where we find a declaration 
 very much to our purpose : " Thus saith the Lord, If heaven 
 above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched 
 out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all that 
 they have done." In juxtaposition with this most decisive de- 
 claration, whose primary interpretation is unquestionable, we 
 have, " Thus saith the Lord, who maketh the sun for a light 
 by day, and the ordinances (laivs) of the moon and of the stars 
 for a light by night, &c. If those ordinances depart from be- 
 fore me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease 
 
24 
 
 from being a nation before me for ever." Now here we have 
 the eternal stabiHty of the laws and phenomena of the heavenly 
 bodies with respect to the earth appealed to as an evidence of, 
 and coexistent with, the eternal favour of God to his people 
 Israel as a nation in this world, and to the redeemed of them 
 in the next. If then those laws and phenomena are to be altered 
 or confomided, when the superficial heavens and earth are to be 
 remodelled, (which will not be the case if the earth and planets 
 continue to revolve about the sun,) the prophet would be here 
 appealing to a mutable thing as an evidence of, and coeternal 
 with, the duration of an immutable, and placing the impossi- 
 bihty of measuring illimitable things in the same category with 
 the eternal stability of what is destined to be subverted, viz. 
 that of being equally certain with the endless endurance of 
 God's favour to Israel. On the contrary, according to the 
 hypothesis which I have adopted, the whole of this important 
 prophecy is perfectly consistent, even on its most literal inter- 
 pretation (which in the words of divine truth ought to be first 
 attended to), both with itself and the revelations of the New 
 Testament ; an argument in favour of that hypothesis, which 
 I think it would be difiicult if not impossible to remove. It 
 cannot be that in this place, as is the case in several passages 
 of the Bible, which never seeks to reveal physical truths, the 
 Lord is speaking in condescension to the ordinary ideas and 
 language of those whom he addressed. The Jews had no 
 revelation in the Mosaic law touching the eternal stability of 
 the " ordinances of heaven and earth," any more than they had 
 about a future state, or any matters not immediately affecting 
 their temporal interests ; but allowing, which is just possible, 
 that such a behef was prevalent among them, arising from the 
 above-mentioned verses in the Psalms to this effect, it cannot 
 be supposed that, if this behef were false, the Lord would thus 
 even indirectly sanction an unmitigated error, in favour of which 
 they had not even the fallacious evidence of the senses. Where 
 
25 
 
 the sun is spoken of as moving round the earth, &c., scriptural 
 language is adapted to common parlance, and is correct in re- 
 spect to relative and apparent motion ; and so of other instances 
 wliich might be mentioned ; but here no such explanation can 
 exist, and therefore no evasion of the hteral and obvious mean- 
 ing. It was not the intention of the Deity in this place, any- 
 more than in other parts of scripture, to reveal physical truths, 
 the knowledge of which is not necessary to the well-being of 
 mankind; but that which is incidently involved here cannot, I 
 think, be evaded, or explained away. 
 
 The next misappUcation which I have occasion to notice 
 of passages in this book is one arising entirely from the defects 
 in our Enghsh version. Bishop Warburton in his celebrated 
 book entitled, "The Divine Legation of Moses demonstrated," puts 
 the main part of his argument in the following form : (l) "That 
 the ancient lawgivers and the most wise and learned nations 
 of antiquity universally beheved, what is undoubtedly true, that 
 the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments is 
 necessary to the well-being of a civil society, unless it be sup- 
 ported by an extraordinary providence, or, in other words, be 
 a Theocracy ; and that if a civil society be not supported by 
 the doctrine of a future state, it can be supported only by an 
 extraordinary providence. (2) That Moses, an ancient law- 
 giver, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, (the prmcipal 
 branch of which wisdom was inculcating the doctrine of a future 
 state), did institute a civil society which had no doctrine of a 
 future state for its support ; and that as Moses cUd not teach, 
 or rather forbore to teach, the doctrine of a future state, so 
 neither had the people of Israel, at least so long as their civil 
 polity retained its original form, any certain knowledge of 
 it. (3) That the conclusion from these premises is, that 
 Moses beUeved that the civil polity which he estabhslicd 
 was supported by an extraordinary providence ; i. e. was a 
 Theocracy, and that it actually was so, and continued to be 
 
26 
 
 so, until the people proved themselves unworthy of such a dis- 
 tinction." 
 
 In estabhshing the minor of the above premises, he has 
 occasion to quote several passages of scriptural writers from 
 the time of Moses downwards, in which the existence of a 
 future state, so far from being recognised, appears rather to be 
 altogether denied ; thus, that Job says, "As the cloud is con- 
 sumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave 
 shall come up no more ;" and again, " There is hope of a tree, 
 if it be cut down, that it will sprout again — though the root 
 thereof wax old in the ground, and the stock thereof die in the 
 earth, yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring 
 forth boughs, like a plant. But man dieth and wasteth away, 
 yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ? as the waters 
 fall from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so 
 man lieth down and riseth not till the heavens be no more ; 
 they shall not awake or be raised out of then' sleep ;" thus, 
 contrary to the argument of St Paul, opposing the revival of a 
 vegetable to the irrecoverable death of a rational animal ; and 
 again, that the Psalmist says, " In death there is no remem- 
 brance of thee ; in the grave who shall give thee thanks ?" 
 and again, " What profit is there in my blood, when I go down 
 to the pit ? shall the dust praise thee, shall it declare thy 
 truth ?" and, " Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ? Shall 
 the dead arise and praise thee ? Shall thy loving-kindness be 
 declared in the grave, or thy faithfulness in destruction ? Shall 
 thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in 
 the land of forgetfulness ?" and in another place, " The dead 
 praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence ;" 
 but besides saying, that the dead forget God, that he goes 
 further, and says, that God forgets them. " I am counted with 
 them that go down into the pit, — free among the dead, hke the 
 slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, 
 and arc cut off from thine hand ;" where the words " free," 
 
27 
 
 and "cut off," indicate, as he shows, "utter separation," and 
 that they arc no longer the objects of the divine providence, or 
 moral government ; and that Hezekiah says, " They that go 
 down into the grave cannot hope for thy truth." 
 
 Now all these passages are very much to liis purpose, 
 because they are evidently spoken with reference to the current 
 behef of the people of Israel at that time, (such as we might 
 have expected it to be from 'the entire omission in the Mosaic 
 law of any reference to future rewards and punishments, as a 
 motive of faithful allegiance to the divine Ruler), and, conse- 
 quently, indicate what that behef was ; viz. that though the 
 soul might survive the body, it simply returned to God who 
 gave it. But they do not at all prove that eminent individuals 
 among that nation, as for instance, these very writers, held 
 themselves the sentiments expressed in them. That they had 
 a deeper insight into the hidden meaning of the Mosaic law, 
 and had derived more certain knowledge of a future state from 
 nearer converse with the Deity, appears from expressions of 
 theu' own to a very different effect, where they are evidently 
 recording their own assurance and experimental behef ; as where 
 Job says, " I know that my Redeemer hveth," &c., and the 
 Psalmist, " In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right 
 hand pleasm^es for evermore ;" and, " I shall be satisfied when 
 I awake in thy likeness." On the contrary, a passage in the 
 book of Ecclesiastes, which the bishop quotes from our English 
 version, would, if he had rightly apphed it, and taken it in 
 connection with the rest of the argument of which it forms a 
 part, when correctly explained, have answered his purpose 
 equally well, without conveying the paradox which it at present 
 does, as it stands isolated in his book ; I mean, that the wisest 
 of men in a grave and cool discussion, wherein he states the re- 
 sults of liis own reasoning, without reference to popular opinion, 
 should assert " that the dead know notliing at all, and have no 
 more any reward, for that their very memory is forgotten ;" 
 
28 
 
 and again, should speak of it as a matter of the most absolute 
 uncertainty, whether the spirit of man has an upward tendency, 
 and a higher destiny, than that of the beast. It will be seen, 
 by reference to my translation, that the wise man in both these 
 places, instead of denying, is using the most subtle arguments 
 he can devise to prove the doctrine of future rewards and 
 punishments, and that it is only on a most imperfect view of 
 the condition of man, that it is possible to come to the conclu- 
 sions mentioned in those verses. 
 
 It is true that when Solomon dedicated his new-built temple, 
 he addressed a long pubhc prayer to the God of Israel, con- 
 sisting throughout of a solemn petition for the continuance of 
 the old covenant made by the ministry of Moses, (the efficacy 
 of which there was some reason to fear had begun to decline,) 
 and that while he therein states at large the sanction of the 
 Jewish institutions, he speaks of nothing but temporal rewards 
 and punishments, without the least intimation of a future state ; 
 but this silence cannot be taken to imply anything with re- 
 gard to his own behef on that subject. He is there praying for 
 the continuance of a temporal Theocracy, of which temporal 
 rewards and punishments, and not future, are the necessary 
 sanction. But in the book of Ecclesiastes, wliich is evidently 
 the result of mature dehberation, he endeavours to prove, to 
 the satisfaction of the individual reader, the existence of a 
 future state by the same arguments which uninspired reason 
 would lise on that subject. He writes in the way of open 
 discussion, employing, to the best of his ability, that degree of 
 wisdom wherewith he was endowed. But while divine super- 
 intendence prevented him from writing what was erroneous, so 
 that his disquisition comes to us with the authority of inspira- 
 tion, it does not appear to have revealed to him any matters 
 ' above ordinary human ken ; otherwise he would not have had 
 occasion to confess his inability, by all the methods of inves- 
 tigation, to discover the origin of evil, or to have resort to 
 
29 
 
 the ordinary arguments of human reason to demonstrate a 
 future state. Now it is evident that the book of Ecclesiastes, 
 when thus understood, agreeably with Mendlessohn's elucida- 
 tions, would have proved a far more incontrovertible argument 
 in favour of the bishop's statement, than the garbled quotations 
 mentioned above. If it be true that Solomon has treated the 
 existence of a future state of recompence, as an article of faith 
 in his own time by no means satisfactorily established, or, at 
 least, as one which he was not authorised in taking for granted 
 by any previous direct revelation, and which therefore required 
 demonstration by the deductions of human reason ; and if he 
 has accordingly compared the respective merits of various argu- 
 ments for it, and at last decided that it is best inferred from 
 the fact that it is theoretically requisite in order to explain the 
 moral condition of man in this life consistently Avith the justice 
 of the divine government ; — if all tliis, I say, be true, (as it 
 will at once be seen to be by a reference to the version of 
 Ecclesiastes wliich follows) the inference is well-nigh inevitable, 
 that the information of the Hebrews on this subject as a nation, 
 and therefore as derived from the Mosaic law, was extremely 
 limited and imperfect, and that correct and influential specula- 
 tions concerning it were confined to a few pliilosophic individuals, 
 and did not extend to the multitude. Tliis inference has been 
 unfortunately lost to the bishop, evidently in consequence of his 
 having neglected in this place to consult the original Hebrew of 
 the verses he quotes, whereby he might have perceived that the 
 sense which the received translation has led him to attach to 
 them, is not permitted by the context. 
 
 In pointing out this inaccuracy in Warburton's most learned 
 and conclusive discourse, I hope I may not be suspected of 
 presumptuously attempting to detract in the slightest degree 
 from its incomparable merits. All I have sought to shew is, that 
 the argument which he has so uncontrovertibly established, 
 might in this particular article of the proof have been more 
 
30 
 
 ably and successfully supported, had he considered a little more 
 carefully the nature and design of the book of Ecclesiastes, 
 Tvhich in fact bears at least quite as much upon his subject 
 as that of Job, to which he devotes so much space. 
 
 Mendlessohn states in his preface, that the commentators 
 who had preceded him, had given no attention to the connec- 
 tion of the verses of the book of Ecclesiastes, but had treated 
 them as separate and unconnected maxims, thereby abusing the 
 division into verses, which was originally intended merely to 
 facihtate reference to a word or passage. This error seems 
 to have been of very ancient date, and to have given rise to 
 the misunderstanding and consequent misapplication of many 
 single verses, which when explained by means of the context, 
 bear a totally different sense from that in which they were 
 quoted. Thus the verse, " Let thy garments be always white, 
 and let thy head lack no omtment," cannot be taken by itself, 
 the rest of the passage of which it forms a part being ab- 
 solutely necessary to its explanation. The context shews it to 
 be nothing but a recommendation to man, if his only portion 
 be in this life, to make the enjoyment of it his sole and un- 
 ceasing study, and to indulge liimself in every possible species 
 of luxury and comfort, but only if that be the case. The 
 writers of the Babylonish Talmud, however, and after them 
 Maimonides, have employed the verse as an isolated maxim, 
 and based upon it the doctrine of the duty of a constant state 
 of penitence for sin, as the best preparation for death, wliich 
 may overtake us at any moment. (White garments, it must 
 be observed, were then, as they are with the Komish church, 
 the sign of penance.) The passage in the Babylonish Talmud, 
 Treatise Schabbas, sect, xxiii. is tliis, " Rabbi Eleazar used to 
 say, ' Repent one day before thou diest.' On Ws disciples 
 asking him, ' How can a man know the day on wliich he is 
 to die ?' he said to them, ' So much more ought he to repent 
 to-day lest he die to-morrow, and consequently he ought to be 
 
31 
 
 engaged in repentance all his days,' according as Solomon said, 
 ' Let thy garments be always wliite, and let thy head lack no 
 ointment'." And then follows a parable in illustration of this 
 by Rabbi Jochanan, wherein he describes a number of guests 
 invited to a feast without the time being appointed ; and some 
 of them kept themselves constantly dressed and in readiness, 
 knowing that in a king's house a feast might be served at a 
 moment's notice ; while others went about their own business, 
 thinking that because a feast takes time to prepare, they would 
 surely have time to dress ; the king summoned the guests sud- 
 denly, and then those who were not dressed had to stand and 
 look on while those who were • dressed feasted. 
 
 Maimonides' remarks on the subject of penitence are to the 
 same effect. Similarly, Maimonides employs another verse, 
 which occurs in the same passage with the above, as an iso- 
 lated maxim and an absolute truth, whereas it in fact contains 
 nothing but a false hypothesis, (as Mendlessohn has ably shewn 
 in his preface and commentary,) and takes ^3 to mean " for," 
 where it can have no other meaning to suit the context but 
 " if," or " for that," which in an argument may mean the same 
 as " if." We mean the verse, " If there be no work, nor device, 
 nor knowledge, nor wisdom m the grave, &c." which the context 
 clearly imphes is far from being the case. The passage in 
 question in the Yad-Hachazakah is translated by Mr Bernard 
 in his Selections from that book, and is very interesting, as 
 shewing what I have already stated, that the more pious and 
 intellectual of the Israohtish nation comprehended the hidden 
 meaning of the Mosaic law, so as to perceive its institutions 
 to be types of a future state, and its precepts instructions how 
 to prepare for that state. He says, " What means that which 
 " is written through the whole of the law, ' If ye obey, such 
 '* and such tilings shall come upon you ; but if ye obey not, such 
 " and such things shall bcfal you ;' all these bemg things which 
 " relate to this world, as for instance, plenty or famine, war or 
 
32 
 
 " peace, kingly power or degradation, possession of the land or 
 " captivity, success in enterprise or total ruin, and other worldly 
 " concerns ? Now all these things actually have come to pass, 
 " and will again come to pass, so that whenever we fulfil all 
 *' the commandments of the law, all the good things of the 
 " world are to come upon us, and whenever we trespass against 
 " the same, the evil things recorded in the law are to befal us. 
 " But still these good things are by no means to be the ultimate 
 " reward bestowed for the fulfilHng the commandments, nor 
 "■ these evils to be the ultimate punishment inflicted on him 
 " who trespasses against all these commandments. But these 
 " blessings and curses ought to be understood as signifying, 
 " ' If ye do serve the Lord joyfully, and keep his way, he will 
 " bountifully diffuse over you all these blessings, and remove 
 " from you all these curses, so that ye may hve at leisure 
 " and ease, grow wise by the law, and employ yourselves in 
 " studying and fulfilUng the same, to the end that ye may 
 " attain unto the hfe of the world that is to come,' ' that it 
 " may be well with thee ' in that world wliich is altogether 
 " good, and that thou may est prolong thy days in that world 
 " which is to endure very long ; and consequently ye will par- 
 " take of the blessings of both worlds, namely, of a happy life 
 " in this world, such as will also serve to bring you into the life 
 " of the world to come ; for if a man were not to acquire wis- 
 " dom and perform good actions here below, he would have no 
 " means of rendering himself worthy of the blessings of the 
 " world to come, seeing that it is said, ' For there is no work, 
 " or device, or knowledge, or wisdom in the grave.' But if ye 
 " forsake the Lord, and are absorbed in carnal pleasures, he 
 " will bring upon you all these curses, and remove from you 
 " all these blessings, so that your days shall be wasted in con- 
 " fusion and terror, so that ye shall neither have peace of mind, 
 " nor perfect good health, such as are requisite to enable you 
 " to fulfil the commandments, to the end that ye may forfeit 
 
33 
 
 " your lives in the world to come. And consequently ye will 
 " have forfeited both worlds, inasmuch as when a man is troubled 
 " in this world Avith ilhiess, war, or famme, he can neither cm- 
 " ploy himself in the pursuits of wisdom, nor in fulfilling the 
 " commandments, which arc the only means of attaining unto 
 " the life of the world to come." 
 
 Again, we find that the Rabbins based on Eccles. xli. 12, 
 " But more than these {the words of the wise) is to be well 
 advised in practice," tlicir hackneyed phrase '•ll'l^ ''•7|*7 ""^^ 
 rn*\T\ ''"12'^D IPV D"'1S1D "My son, attend or take heed to 
 the words of the scribes more than to those of the law ;" 
 where, by "the words of the scribes," they intended the oral 
 tradition recorded in the Mishna and Gemara. We may here 
 mention that there are several strong expressions of the Jewish 
 sages to the same effect. Thus, when Rabbi Eleazar was on 
 his death-bed, and some of his disciples asked him to teach 
 them the way of life, that they might so attain the life to 
 come, he replied, (vid. Cod. juris Berachoth, fol. 28. ii.), 
 
 ' •• • : T • T • ■.■••: : • v •• • r: : • : T • 
 
 □"•Q^nn ''3H i. e. " take heed to honour your fellow-disciples, 
 and turn away your children from biblical study, and place 
 them between the knees of the sages ;" where the gloss of 
 a commentator informs us that ]V:i»"irT ]D ^;;3D means ^}'? 
 
 ■•I^ID im*' J^lpID Dl^'^J'II^ " Ne assuefaciatis vos in lectione 
 
 • T • T T ': • • : " 
 
 biblica plus quam satis est." And so in the Jerusalem Talmud, 
 Berachoth Captitor, fol. 121, ninu; Ty^ Vl^ -lOSf NIT 
 D"'J<U3 ''"12'TO D'*n''in D''n21D, Rabba said, " Know that the 
 words of the scribes are more lovely than the words of the 
 prophets ;" and the reason assigned for the common phrase, 
 D^J^''33Q WiS^'Vi! D"*pDrT " sapientes prsestantiores sunt prophetis," 
 was, " that the prophets were obliged to confirm their doctrine 
 by miracles and signs," but of the sages it is absolutely and 
 ♦3 
 
34: 
 
 simply said, Deut. xvii. 10, " Thou shalt observe to do all 
 that they shall teach thee." 
 
 Mendlessohn has unquestionably done more than all other 
 commentators put together towards vindicating Solomon from 
 past aspersions on his consistency with himself and the rest of 
 Scripture, and preventing false inferences from his writings for 
 the future. With his exception, those who have done most 
 towards the elucidation of this book, have not been those who 
 have edited it separately, but those who have published vo- 
 luminous and learned editions of the whole Bible, as Dathe, 
 Michaelis, and Rosenmuller, especially the latter, whose work 
 is one of unrivalled merit and execution. 
 
 Desveux, who pubhshed a heavy quarto edition of this book, 
 has done httle for it. His new version and analytical paraphrase 
 are immeasurably inferior in accuracy and clearness to our 
 biblical version, and therefore had better have been dispensed 
 with. His philological notes contain much valuable, though 
 occasionally inaccurate, information. They are unfortunately so 
 ill arranged, that the absence of an index greatly impairs their 
 utility. There is one striking point of contrast between this 
 learned author and Mendlessohn. While the former devotes 
 nearly the whole of his attention and research to the discovery 
 of new readings, by means of which he hopes to present a more 
 intelhgible version of the book to his reader ; Mendlessohn, who 
 from his Jewish education, and profound erudition, was best of 
 all men quahfied to form a decisive judgment on the subject, 
 had such a scrupulous veneration for the recension of the Ma- 
 sora, and the received text of the Old Testament, that both 
 here, and in* his edition of the Pentateuch, he disturbs not a 
 single vowel-point or accent, but invariably shapes his inter- 
 pretation agreeably to them ; nor did he, with philological and 
 antiquarian ostentation, ransack libraries and travel in search of 
 MSS. and copies, or pretend to supply chasms, prune redun- 
 dancies, or alter readings. Accordingly, the Masoretic text is 
 
35 
 
 closely followed in the following version and annotations ; and I 
 have simply made it my business to elicit the most lucid and 
 consistent sense from it, and to establish the renderings finally 
 determined on by the most satisfactory arguments I could devise. 
 The result has invariably been, that however unpromising or 
 impracticable some verses appeared at first, the more patiently 
 and accurately they were considered the more did they gra- 
 dually approve themselves as the true readings, till at last they 
 were found to yield a clear meaning in perfect accordance with 
 the sense of the context. This is far from being the case with 
 confessedly corrupt passages in classical writers, and is therefore 
 a strong testimony in favour of the excellence and accuracy of 
 our Hebrew text. For some time I was inclined to think that 
 a better sense might be obtained in xii. 10. 11. by a different 
 division of those verses, i. e. by altering the place of the pDS (: "7) 
 between them, and placing it before the last two words of 10. ; but 
 closer Qonsideration convinced me of the correctness of the text. , 
 As for the version of the Septuagint, though it be too close 
 a rendering of the original to be good Greek, or even sense, in 
 many places, it is sometimes valuable as shewing what the 
 readings were in the copy from which that version was made ; 
 but ^till it must be recollected that the first interpreters, who- 
 ever, and in whatever number they were, translated none but 
 the first five books of Moses. The other books of the Old Tes- 
 tament were translated at different times and by different hands, 
 as appears from the difference of the style and method ; so that 
 marginal notes to the Septuagint in general, intended to illus- 
 trate one passage by another, can be of little use. The inter- 
 preter of this book, as is constantly the case in Aquila's version, 
 makes no allowance for the difference of the genius of the two 
 languages, but renders hterally, and word for word ; and even 
 translates a Hebrew word which bears different senses in dif- 
 ferent places invariably by the same Greek word, which does 
 not admit of the same modifications of meaning ; thus ho renders 
 
 * ,3 2 
 
36 
 
 "^Jlh?" by " a-uv," where it is merely the sign of the accusative 
 case, as well as where it is used as a preposition. 
 
 I will give a few instances of his style, and of the infer- 
 ences wliich may be made with regard to the Hebrew copy 
 from which he translated. He renders ch. v. 7. " on ev irkrfiei 
 evvKvioDv" K. T. \...." oTi Tov 9eov (poliov." Now to render ""D 
 invariably "because" or "for," (Gr^ce "on,") would make 
 nonsense of half the Bible. It is an adverb which bears every 
 variety of sense, and here signifies in the first place " for," and 
 in the latter, " but," (as I have rendered it,) or, as some com- 
 mentators have taken it, " surely." Again, in ver. 1, we have 
 " /cat e'yyys tov aKoveiu, vwep oojua twv acppovtov Ovcria crov 
 oTi ovK elcTiv e'l^ores tov Troirjaai kukov" which is perfect non- 
 sense ; and yet the Greek and Hebrew words, taken separately, 
 correspond each to each, except with respect to the word aov. 
 Here his copy must have read the afiix ?f. In x. 4, he renders 
 KS1D by laiJia, wliich was probably the only rendering he 
 knew of the word, but in this place makes no sense at all. 
 In xii. 10, he places " yeypa/ujuevov,'''' as if it agreed with 
 " Xo-yous ;" at any rate, if yey pafxjuevov^ be not substituted 
 for it, there is no construction. It is quite clear that his copy 
 cannot have been a Masoretic one (and this is some evidence 
 in favour of the opinion of the more recent date of the Maso- 
 retic text, maintained by Elias Levita, who attributes it to the 
 synagogue of Tiberias, and an age subsequent by two centuries 
 at least to the Christian era, whereas the judgment of antiquity 
 is in favour of its ascription to Ezra and his colleagues) ; for in 
 several places, where, according to his custom, he has put words 
 together that make no sense, rather than alter a single letter 
 in his Hebrew copy, it manifestly must have differed from the 
 Masoretic text. The above passage in verse 1 of vth chapter, 
 is an instance of this. Again in ii. 3. he writes " ws olvov" 
 regardless of the sense, (where we have " with wine" from ]y<yj 
 so that his reading must have been po. In ii. 12, he has 
 
37 
 
 " aw ra ocra eiroirjaev avrrju,'''' as a rendering of ^H^W^ ^WV(-r\ijt 
 so that he must have read ^n''5£'V, and understood these words 
 to mean, " what he" {the king) " did before," not " what they" 
 (others) "did before." In vii. 15, he has " ecrri ^ikuios diroWv- 
 fx€vo<5 ev ^iKauo avTov." Here he must have read Ip'^TVl^ instead 
 of "ipl^l, and has rendered hterally, though it was as evident 
 then, as it is now, that ev SiKauo made no sense. lie must have 
 had some strangely different reading at viii. 12, " i^ton "iti'^ 
 ■)'? "^ni^^D^ nJ^p y~) n^l^V/' which he renders os rjfxaprev 
 eiroirjae to ttovyjoov airo Tore Kai airo fxaKpoTr/TO^ avToov. 
 As this passage stands in our Hebrew text, it is a very difficult 
 one, because we have to supply D>72 {times) after JlStp to 
 make it signify " a hundred times," and DN^V^^ before "^HNp. 
 Probably he read nyo (iiy tempus), since the next passage 
 wliich we shall mention suggests the idea that the interpreter 
 may have rendered the text from the Hebrew as read to him 
 by another, when such a mistake might easily arise. And in 
 the word ri^Q ho must have regarded p as the preposition 
 " from," as well as the p in "rj^Np ; and the rest of the word, 
 which he perhaps read "Ijni* as Symmachus does, as a sub- 
 stantive denoting " length ;" and as for lb, it cannot be said 
 how he disposed of it. The passage we allude to, where 
 perhaps his ear deceived him, is x. 10, where he has /cat avTo<s 
 irpocrwirov eTapa^e, as a rendering of bj^bp D''i32 iib ^?^^^ 
 where he must have read brhfl, which is similar in sound to 
 ^nbp and derived it from b^'H or bbV], which both mean some- 
 times Tapaaaeiv ; but as no sense can be made of that ren- 
 dering, he might have suspected its genuineness, had not his 
 scheme been here, as elsewhere, merely to give for every He- 
 brew word which he found in his copy a particular Greek 
 word which he had fixed upon as equivalent to it, and to re- 
 tain this invariably, without enquiring whether the general 
 sense of the version corresponded with that of the original. 
 
38 
 
 The version of the Vulgate cannot be of much service in 
 the elucidation of so difficult a book as the present, because 
 its author, St Jerome, does not appear to have been deeply 
 versed in the Hebrew language, and, consequently, followed 
 the Septuagint version wherever he met with any difficulty ; 
 and he hved at an age when as yet little had been done for 
 the elucidation of the difficulties of the Old Testament, and 
 before those distinguished commentators flourished, from whom 
 Mendlessohn has so largely drawn, as he himself informs us 
 in his preface that he has done. 
 
 Those commentators of whom Mendlessohn speaks in the 
 highest terms, and who are confessedly, with Kimchi, the first 
 of Jewish literati, are Yarchi and Aben Ezra. The first of 
 these, the most voluminous of Rabbinical commentators, is 
 usually designated by the word "''::'"1 a contraction for ""l") 
 pr\1'' p ilD^ti^, and the name " Yarchi " has been given to him 
 rather by a most unaccountable common use, than for any 
 assignable reason. Some have even devised the far-fetched 
 reason that he was born at Lunel, a town in Aquitania, (which 
 however was not really the case), and that he was called 
 'I'n'y^ because n*T* in Hebrew means the moon, " luna," so 
 that he was "quasi lunaris." He was, in fact, born at Trecis, 
 or " Augusta Tricassinorum," in France, as authors of high 
 authority say, in the year 1030, and that he hved seventy- 
 five years. This makes it very remarkable that Moses Mai- 
 monides, who was born in 1131, and is generally unsparing 
 of liis panegyric, hardly makes any allusion to him. The only 
 probable mention of him in his writings is where he says that 
 he had abstained from writing certain commentaries, from finding 
 that he had been anticipated by a Gaul. We can only ex- 
 plain this silence by the fact that Maimonides had a strong 
 prejudice against the French Rabbins, which may have pre- 
 vented him from giving Raschi the attention which he deserved. 
 He warns his son against them in one of his letters, telling 
 
39 
 
 liim that, though they studied the Talmud diligently, they 
 were sensuaHsts, and indulged their bodily appetites. He says, 
 
 (Gaul) rnai^ ^W2ii niin nn ni^p T.yp Tptifs: linw^ 
 and ends thus, / pn-irr DnD^i / n'lQtti Dmi'm / luy D.T^■'?^? 
 
 ' •• T ■• V •• ; T T : -: v •• v: 
 
 : pTT p2nn-'7J<l His remarks do not apply in justice to Rasclii, 
 who was remarkable for his purity of life ; but nevertheless he 
 includes them all in this sweeping condemnation. At the same 
 time he recommends Aben Ezra*'s writmgs to his especial study. 
 Raschi wrote commentaries on nearly the whole of the Talmud, 
 as well as the whole of the Bible ; and his interpretations are 
 esteemed above all others. Their style, however, is very con- 
 cise and obscure, with a frequent mixture of French words ; 
 and several commentaries on his writings have been pubhshed. 
 He was called " ^niin -)ihJan/' "the great light," and "the 
 light of the captivity," and also /car' e^oy^rjv, " PtlH ^^12^ " 
 " interpres legis," also m^H^ ""lOlIi^ li^J^h, from the letters 
 "•li;"!, i. e. " princeps tribuum JudaB." 
 
 Rabbi Abraham Ben Mcir Aben Ezra (Aben is Arabic 
 for grandson) was the first of Jewish literati, and the best 
 Hebrew scholar that ever lived. He died in the year 1194, 
 aged seventy-five, {eleven years before Maimo^iides.) He was 
 born at Toledo, in Spain. He lived at Rhodes in the latter 
 part of his life. Maimonides eulogizes him in the highest de- 
 gree. He is far superior to Raschi in perspicuity and elegance 
 of style. He wrote on grammar, philosophy, astronomy, medi- 
 cine, and many commentaries on the Bible and Cabala, as well 
 as poetry. 
 
 The preface of JNIendlessohn to liis commentary, wherein he 
 states his obligations to these and other distinguished commen- 
 tators, is well worthy the reader's attentive consideration, as 
 furnisliing a correct statement of the several methods of inter- 
 preting scripture in use among the Jews, and the reasons the 
 Rabbins had for adopting them, and containing likewise valuable 
 
40 
 
 remarks on several passages of this book, which do not occur In 
 his commentary. Allowance must be made for the almost re- 
 ligious veneration with which he, as well as the rest of his nation, 
 regard the Rabbins quoted in the Talmud and Zohar. He al- 
 ways takes it for granted that whatever they said or did im- 
 plied the deepest and most comprehensive wisdom, and therefore 
 makes it his business to discover their implied meaning. Of 
 the Rabbinical writers of later date he ventures to speak more 
 freely. 
 
 Before I lay his preface before the reader, I shall give 
 a sketch of the life and opinions of this distinguished man, 
 which I have chiefly compiled from M. Samuels. 
 
 Moses Mendlessohn was born in September, 1729, at Des- 
 sau in Germany. According to the then prevailing system of 
 educating Jewish boys, Mendlessohn was sent to the public 
 seminary, where children were taught to prattle mechanically 
 the Mishna and Gemara, concerning laws of betrothing, divorce, 
 legal damages, sacerdotal functions, and other similar matters 
 above their comprehension, before they were able to read and 
 understand a single text of scripture correctly. Mendlessohn, 
 however, was not Hke other children ; already at that tender 
 age, the spirit of inquiry stirred within liim, and he appre- 
 hended that he was not pursuing the proper course to arrive 
 at solid knowledge. Finding that without knowing the He- 
 brew language grammatically, it would be out of his power to 
 see his way clearly through any Commentary, it being impos- 
 sible to verify the rules and directions laid down by the later 
 commentators, without knowing how to trace the outUnes marked 
 by the primitive teachers ; he resolved to make scripture his 
 principal study, and to use himself to write Hebrew with pu- 
 rity and elegance; an accompHshment which he seems not to 
 have been long in acquiring ; for before liis tenth year he had 
 composed Hebrew verses, which however, when he arrived at 
 a riper age, so httle pleased his taste as a critic, that he would 
 
41 
 
 never after compose another line of original poetry in that lan- 
 guage. " I have no genius for poetry," he would say. " My 
 mind is more disposed to penetrate into the deep recesses of the 
 understanding, than to roam in the hghter regions of fancy." 
 Nevertheless his metrical translation of the Psalms, and other 
 scriptural books, are splendid proofs of his eminent knowledge 
 of the art of poetry, although he liimself had but a mean opinion 
 of his powers in this respect ; witness the letter he wrote to the 
 celebrated bard, Professor Rammler, in which he requested the 
 professor to let the Psalms undergo the ordeal of his examina- 
 tion, before they were pubhshed. Thus industrious, Mendlessohn 
 soon made himself master of the text of the Talmud, under the 
 public tuition of Rabbi David Frankel, then chief Rabbi at 
 Dessau, and of Scripture, without any teacher at all. And it 
 has been asserted, by a creditable person who associated with 
 him in liis youth at Berlin, that he knew nearly the whole 
 of the Law and the Prophets by heart. 
 
 At that time Maimonides' Moreli Nevochim, (i, e. the Guide 
 of the Perplexed), fell into his hands. To discover its tran- 
 scendent beauties, and to strain every nerve in studying it, was 
 one and the same thing with him. He meditated on it by day 
 and night, till he had dived into the depth of its sublime 
 thoughts ; and, to his last moments, he acknowledged the benefit 
 he had derived from this work. In early life he struggled 
 with various difficulties, not only in the pursuit of knowledge, 
 but even of a bare subsistence. He was not, however, doomed 
 to pine all his life in obscurity and distress. Mr Bernard, an 
 opulent man of the Jewish persuasion, hearmg of Mendlessohn's 
 talents and high moral character, admitted him into his house, 
 and intrusted him with the education of liis children. His 
 salary now enabled liim to supply his deficiency in books, and 
 to take lessons in the Greek language, with which he had been 
 hitherto unacquainted ; while he devoted, as usual, his leisure 
 hours to study and meditation. There was not a branch of 
 
42 
 
 mathematics to which Mendlessohn did not apply liimself; 
 his knowledge of algebra, fluxions, and judicial astronomy, is 
 said to have been considerable ; and in general and natural 
 history he was far above mediocrity. 
 
 The great mass of Jews in Germany and the surrounding 
 countries, were, at that period, most deplorably deficient in 
 education and useful knowledge. Even ordinary information 
 and reading had almost vanished from amongst them, and few 
 could be met with who knew Hebrew grammar, fewer still 
 who knew that of any other language. Unsophisticated theo- 
 logians and logical Talmudists too, had become perceptibly 
 scarce in proportion as the vice of wandering from good sense, 
 and the intelligible precepts of the primitive doctors, — of harp- 
 ing incessantly on philological quibbles, conjuring up doubts, 
 inventing hypercriticisms, and interposing obstructions, when the 
 straight and level road lay before them, — ^liad got the ascen- 
 dency. The advantages of subtleizing the understanding, and 
 sharpening the powers of perception, usually pleaded in favour 
 of this practice, did not, by any means, outweigh its pernicious 
 effects in disfiguring truth, so as even to render it indiscernible. 
 Far-fetched and distorted quotations, arbitrary and preposterous 
 definitions, together with eccentric deductions, became the grand 
 points of Talmudic excellence, and the main qualifications for 
 Rabbinical fame and preferment. A mind like Mendlessohn's 
 must have been long disgusted with this folly ; and at length he 
 felt an irresistible impulse to warn the youth of his nation 
 against this corrupt system, animate them to study grammar 
 and literature methodically, and lead them in the path of rational 
 inquiry, the only object of learning, in order that there might 
 be, in future, fewer Talmudical mountebanks, and more sohd 
 scholars. His principal aim was to operate the cultivation of 
 his brethren by means of Scripture ; a method which has been 
 strongly recommended by several of his learned successors. 
 Scripture forms a Jew's rehgious and civil code, and is, con- 
 
43 
 
 sequently, the source of his most important knowledge ; useful 
 truths, when conveyed through this medium, make the deeper 
 impression, and become in a manner sacred to him. To this 
 end he wrote his admirable translation of the Pentateuch, with 
 a most elaborate commentary, which has since been the basis 
 of religious and moral education with the Jews. Besides, he 
 was ten years occupied on a metrical translation of the Psalms 
 of David, with an ingenious preface on Hebrew poetry and 
 music; to these must be added his translation of the Song of 
 Songs, and his commentary on Ecclesiastes. 
 
 His love for his own nation was intimately united with his 
 love for the religion of his ancestors ; but while he lived and 
 died a conscientious and consistent supporter of the doctrines of 
 that rehgion, he invariably expressed in his writings the 
 greatest veneration for the rehgion and morality of the New 
 Testament : if he could with truth be called a free thinker, it 
 was on this subject alone. He says, " I never openly con- 
 " troverted the Christian religion, nor will I ever engage in a 
 " controversy with any one of its sincere followers. And lest 
 " it should be said of me, that by that declaration I mean, 
 "as it were, to give to understand that I am well provided 
 " with formidable weapons, wherewithal to combat that religion, 
 " if I were so inclined, and that the Jews may possibly be 
 " in possession of secret traditions, of records now become scarce 
 " and unknown, whereby historical facts would be made to 
 '* appear in a light different from that in which they are re- 
 " presented by Christians ; in order once for all to remove 
 '•' all suspicions of that kind, I herewith affirm, before the 
 " public, that I have at least nothing new to bring for- 
 " ward against the faith of the Christians ; that, for aught 
 " I know, we are acquainted with no other accounts of the 
 •' historical facts, and can produce no other records than those 
 " which are universally known ; and that I, on my part, have 
 " nothing to advance that has not been said and repeated 
 
44 
 
 *' innumerable times by Jews and Theists, and answered over 
 " and over again by the other party." 
 
 Again, in writing to one who had claimed him as a Chris- 
 tian on account of such expressions, he says, " You seem to think 
 " it somewhat extraordinary, that I, a Jew, should speak in a 
 "respectful manner of the religion of Jesus, that I do not hate 
 " the Christians, and launch no invectives against them ; I there- 
 " fore suppose that you give few if any of my brethren credit 
 " for that sort of discretion. Aben Ezra throws out only a few 
 " cursory remarks on the Christian religion. Maimonides, to 
 " my knowledge, never wrote against it. I readily and cor- 
 " dially agree with you in what you say of the morahty of 
 " the New Testament. Christianity like yours. Sir, would 
 " transform earth into a paradise ; it is merely another name for 
 " the purest system of Ethics. I was somewhat surprised at youi* 
 " question, why I did not seek to make proselytes. The duty 
 " of converting evidently arises from the principle, that out of 
 " the pale of the estabUshed church no salvation is to be expect- 
 " ed. Since I as a Jew am not bound to adopt that position, as 
 " according to the doctrine of the Rabbins it is possible that the 
 " good and virtuous of all nations shall enjoy eternal felicity, the 
 " reason for proselyting falls to the ground. We certainly think 
 *' our external religion the best of all external religions, because 
 " we believe it to be divine ; but it does not thence follow that it 
 " is absolutely the best. It is best for us and our posterity. 
 " What external religion may be best for other nations perhaps 
 '* God has announced to them also through prophets. The same 
 " principles of internal religion must be common to all." 
 
 As Mendlessohn, however, was accused of being sceptical as 
 regarded the faith of his own nation, it is desirable to lay before 
 the reader a statement of the origin of those charges. Men- 
 dlessohn will thus be seen to exculpate himself, at the same time 
 that he gives us a view of the Jewish dispensation which comes 
 to us on the authority of one who, from his education and 
 
45 
 
 learning, and the direction of his studies, which for years were 
 entirely devoted to the Pentateuch, must be eminently quahfied 
 to speak with decision. 
 
 It is clear from the passage last quoted, that it was his 
 opinion that Judaism admits of no religious intolerance, or 
 authoritative interference with the creed of those Avho profess 
 it. Accordingly when Von Dohm, in his celebrated treatise on 
 the Condition of the Jews as citizens of the state, " recom- 
 mended that the elders of the synagogue should be invested 
 with the power of punishing every Jew who deviated from 
 the essentials of his creed with anathema, excommunication, 
 and expulsion from their congregations, his spirit was roused 
 to reply, and he did so in his preface to a translation of 
 Manasseh Ben Israel's, " Vindicia) Judseorura." He there dis- 
 cusses the question, " whether it be proper to give men the 
 power of arraigning and punishing others for their religious 
 opinions." (It is to be remembered that through tliis contro- 
 versy he is speaking as a Jew, and that where he speaks of 
 a church and its authority, he always means a Jewish church.) 
 He says, " Civilized society requires of its members two things, 
 " rectitude of conduct, and purity of intention, as the founda- 
 " tlon of confidence and security in all mutual transactions 
 " through life. With regard to the pubhc conservation of the 
 " first, ' rectitude of conduct,' it belongs to the magistrate, 
 " whose province it is to punish the offender, and to right 
 " the injured. The magistrate being thus invested with au- 
 " thority by the sovereign, it can make no difference to us 
 " whether he be of this or that rehgion ; for so soon as we 
 " behold him on the judgment-seat, it behoves us to trust to 
 " him to execute even justice to all alike, whether Jews or 
 " Gentiles. The patient on the bed of death takes whatever 
 " the physician prescribes, without enquiring whether he believes 
 " in the God of Israel or no, because he knows that, as far as 
 " ho is concerned, all the physician's business is to cure the 
 
46 
 
 " sick, and give relief, if possible. And if we act thus where 
 " life and death are concerned, we may surely in matters only 
 " relating to property and external things, place our reUance 
 " on the constituted judge, without fear that a difference of 
 " behef will influence his decision. On the other hand, the 
 " second requisite for the well-being of society, ' purity of in- 
 " tention,"" is vested in the heart of every rational being ; it 
 " does not depend on the will, but on the understanding ; and 
 " is therefore not subject to magisterial controul, nor ought its 
 " opposite to be liable to punishment by the hands of man. 
 " What sensible person would pretend to reform his neigh- 
 " hour's thoughts, or to chasten his heart by coercion ? If 
 " we meet in society with a man with a froward heart, with 
 " wild and improper notions on the fundamental points of re- 
 " ligion, we have no other power, but to reason Avith him in 
 " a mild and concihatory manner, and to try to persuade liim, 
 " by patient argument, to dismiss his erroneous opinions, and 
 " return to the wholesome doctrine ; and to persevere in this, 
 " until we are certain that the delusion has left him. If we 
 " find him incorrigible, it will be better to discontinue our efforts, 
 " lest we should convert a sceptic, who had at least the merit 
 " of sincerity, into a hypocrite and a har. Would it not be 
 " preferable to rouse liis conscience, and mortify his presump- 
 *' tion, by shewing him the humbleness of his condition, in 
 " regard to the Deity whom he disparages, than to stun him 
 *' with abuse, heap shame and ignominy on liis character, and 
 *' perhaps prove liis ruin ? It is a widely different case when 
 " such a man is offensively licentious or blasphemous in public, 
 *' when he sets a bad example to the community he belongs to, 
 " by proceedings subversive of moraUty, decency, and social 
 " order ; then he steps out of this class, enters the first, and 
 *' his conduct becomes cognizable to the magistrate, who, if he 
 " find him guilty, is to punish liim for what he has been doing, 
 " but not for what he has been thinkino;. After the most scdu- 
 
47 
 
 ** lous search in the Talmud, and in the whole range of philo- 
 " sophical and ethical learning, I have not been able to find a 
 " single passage to justify sovereigns and governments in per- 
 " secuting sectarians or dissenters from the established rehgion. 
 " If these dissenters are occasionally in the wrong, they are 
 " not wiLfully so. The Creator implanted in them, as in all 
 " men, a longing after knowledge and perfection ; they suppose 
 " themselves to be in the path of truth ; — if they swerve from 
 " it in the integrity of their hearts, is that a sufficient reason 
 " for hatred and persecution ? Beware then, brethren, of judg- 
 " ing uncharitably of your neighbours ; desist from deahng out 
 " anathema and excommunication on him who falls inadvertently. 
 " Rather draw him unto you with mild words and gentle per- 
 " suasion. Forbid him not your meetings ; let not the doors 
 " of assemblies and places of worship be shut to him when 
 " he comes to pour out his heart before his Maker. If ye do, 
 " if ye cast hira off, and consider him as a stranger, ye cut off 
 " the return to repentance ; the guilt is yours, he is doubly 
 " innocent. The house of God should be accessible to all ; it 
 " is properly the abode of universal love, and peace should 
 " encompass it ; let, then, every mortal enter it, and adore the 
 " Supreme Being as his individual feelings guide liim. Moreover, 
 " king Solomon prayed, ' concerning a stranger that is not of 
 " thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy 
 " name's sake, &c. When he shall come and pray towards 
 " this house, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do 
 " accordhig to all that the stranger calleth to thee for.' 1 Kings 
 " viii. 43. And ye, esteemed Christians, eminent for wisdom 
 " and learning, if it be your wish to promote peace and bro- 
 " therly love amongst mankmd, do not countenance with the 
 " force of your intellect the sway of one man over the reU- 
 " gious opinions of another. God alone searches the heart, and 
 " knows our secret thoughts. We are but of yesterday, and 
 " know nothing. Shew me a single instance in our holy law, 
 
48 
 
 " where it gives man a correctional jurisdiction over the thoughts 
 " and opinions of others. Our Rabbinical doctors ordain that 
 " sacrifices are to be accepted of the transgressors of Israel, 
 " to give them a chance of repentance. Do not deem it wise 
 " to rule the people with a rod of iron. Leave supremacy to 
 " God, and love each other like brethren," &c. &c. 
 
 During the same year in which Mendlessohn published 
 the above, an anonymous work appeared, entitled " Search 
 after Light and Right," in which Mendlessohn was attacked on 
 account of his sentiments thus expressed on ecclesiastical power, 
 which the author pronounces as diametrically opposite to the 
 Mosaic law, which ordains stripes for disobedience, and curses 
 on scepticism. This induced Mendlessohn to declare again his 
 full opinion of religion and toleration, and in 1787 he pub- 
 lished " Jerusalem," or " Ecclesiastical Authority and Judaism," 
 where he says he once for all declares his sentiments on theolo- 
 gical matters, by which he intends to abide as long as he should 
 live. 
 
 In the first section he defines, on the principles of the social 
 compact, the extent of the church's authority as vested in elders 
 over such members of it as dissent from its fundamental doc- 
 trines, and inquires whether they have a right in such cases to 
 inflict anathema or excommunication. His answer to this ques- 
 tion, deduced by a long series of argument, is, that according 
 to reason, which is a divine voice in all, neither the state nor 
 church are qualified to assume in theological matters any part 
 but that of instructing, any power but that of persuading, any 
 discipline but that of reason and principle, which may be other- 
 wise expressed by saying, that the assenting or not assenting 
 of any individual to certain immutable truths, neither gives 
 him or takes from him any right or quahfication to command 
 other men's minds at his own pleasure. 
 
 He proceeds in the second section to say, that these con- 
 clusions of his had excited alarm for the foundations of eccle- 
 
49 
 
 siastical law, but tliat nono of his opponents had attempted to 
 controvert his arguments, or to demonstrate the least necessary 
 connexion between doctrine and pi'ivilege. " They have all," 
 he says, " started with the jjetitio principii, that there is such 
 a thing as ' Jus sacro sancto,' while they model it each in his 
 own way, and, as it were, take different means of determining 
 the latitude and longitude of a meteor which they all assume 
 to be visible. Thus they oppose to my arguments the sacred 
 authority of the Mosaic religion which I profess, and exclaim. 
 What are the laws of Moses but a system of religious go- 
 vernment, and of the power and rights of rehgion? Now 
 here is involved an erroneous opinion of Judaism. Judaism 
 knows nothing of a revealed rehgion in the sense in which 
 it is taken by Christians, as enjoining belief in dogmas and 
 immutable truths, wliich admit of being demonstrated and 
 warranted by human faculties. These the Lord has chosen 
 to reveal to us {the Jews) by nature and events, but never 
 in words or written characters. All the Israchtes had was 
 a divine legislation, i. e. laws, rules of life, and lessons how 
 to conduct themselves in order to attain temporal and spiritual 
 happiness, but no obhgations of abstract rehgious belief where- 
 by one man could be entitled to sit in judgment on the reh- 
 gious creed of another. This distinction has been httle minded ; 
 supernatural legislation has been mistaken for supernatural 
 revelation, and Judaism has been considered by Christians as 
 a sort of earher revelation of rehgious propositions and tenets 
 necessary for the salvation of man. We call such truths im- 
 mutable or eternal as are not subject to time, but continue 
 the same to all eternity. They are either necessary, immu- 
 table in and of themselves, or casual ; that is, their perpe- 
 tuity is founded cither on their nature, and they are true so, 
 and not otherwise, because they are cogitable so, and not 
 otherwise ; or on their reality, when they are generally true, 
 i. o. when they are so, and not otherwise, because they bc- 
 4 
 
50 
 
 " come real so, and not otherwise, because of all the possible 
 " truths of their kind they are the best so, and not otherwise. 
 " In other words, necessary as well as casual truths flow from 
 " a common source, from the fountain-head of all truth ; the 
 " former from reason, the latter from the will of God. The 
 " propositions of necessary truths arc true, because God con- 
 " ceives them so, and not otherwise ; and those of casual truths 
 " are true, because God deemed them good, and considered 
 " them to be in conformity with his wisdom so, and not other- 
 " wise. The propositions of pure mathematics and logic are 
 " examples of the former kind ; the general propositions of 
 " natural philosophy, pneumatology, and the laws of nature, by 
 " which the universe, the material and spiritual worlds are go- 
 " verned, are examples of the latter. The former are immutable 
 " even to omnipotence, because God himself cannot make his 
 " infinite wisdom mutable ; the latter, on the contrary, are 
 " subordinate to the wiU of God, and are immutable only so 
 " far as it pleases his holy will ; that is, so far as they answer 
 " his purposes. His omnipotence might introduce other laws 
 " instead of them, and may let exceptions take place, when- 
 " ever they are of utility. 
 
 " Besides those eternal truths, there are also temporal or 
 " historical truths ; things which did occur at one time, and, 
 " perhaps, will never occur again ; propositions which, through 
 " a confluence of causes and effects, have become true in one 
 " point and space of time, and which, therefore, can be con- 
 " ceived as true in respect to that point of space and time only. 
 " All historical truths, in their widest extent, are of this kind — 
 " things of remote ages, which did once take place, and are 
 " narrated to us, but which we ourselves can never observe. 
 
 " These classes of truths and propositions differ no less in 
 " their nature than in respect to their means of evidence ; that 
 " is, the mode and process by which men convince themselves 
 " and others of them. 
 
51 
 
 " The doctrines of the first class, or that of necessary 
 " truths, arc founded on reason, that is, on an unalterable co- 
 " herency and real connexion of ideas, in virtue of which they 
 " either presuppose or preclude one another. All mathematical 
 " and logical demonstrations are of that kind. They all shew 
 " the possibiUty or impossibility of associating certain ideas in 
 " the mmd. He who Avould instruct his fellow-men in them, 
 " must not recommend them to his beUef, but, as it were, force 
 " them upon his understanding ; he must not cite authorities, 
 " and appeal to the trustworthiness of men, who maintained 
 " exactly the same thing, but he must analyse the ideas in all 
 " their distinguishing characteristics, and continue to hold them 
 " up to his pupil, one by one, until his internal sense perceives 
 " their junctures and connexion. We cannot, as Socrates justly 
 " observes, put anything into his mind, which it does not 
 " actually contain already ; but we may facilitate the labour it 
 " would cost him to bring to light what is hidden, that is, to 
 " render the unperceived perceptible and obvious. 
 
 " The truths of the second class require, beside reason, 
 " observation as well. If we would know the laws which the 
 " Creator has prescribed to his creation, and by what general 
 " rules the mutations therein take place, we must experience, 
 " observe, and make experiments on single cases ; that is, we 
 " must, in the first place, make use of the evidence of the 
 " senses ; and next, educe by means of reason, out of sundry 
 " single cases, what they have in common. In doing so we 
 " shall indeed be obliged to trust in many things to the faith 
 " and credit of others. Our natural hfe does not last long 
 " enough for us to experience everything ourselves ; and we 
 " are, in many cases, necessitated to rely on credible fellow- 
 " men, and to suppose the correctness of their experience, 
 " and of the experiments they pretend to have made. But 
 " we confide in them only as far as we know, and arc certain 
 " that the objects themselves still exist, and that the experiments 
 
 4 2 
 
52 
 
 " and observations may be repeated thereon, and put to the 
 " test, by ourselves, or by those who have the opportunity and 
 " the requisite skill. Nay, when the result becomes of impor- 
 " tance, and has a material influence on our own happiness, or on 
 " that of others, we are far from being satisfied with the report 
 " of even the most creditable witnesses, who state to us their 
 " observations and experiments, but seek an opportunity to 
 " repeat them ourselves, and to become convinced of them by 
 " their internal evidence. Historical truths, on the contrary, or 
 " those passages which as it were occur but once in the book 
 " of nature, must either explain themselves, or remain unintel- 
 " hgible ; i. e. they can be observed by means of the senses 
 " only by those who are present at the time when, and at the 
 " place where, they happened ; every one else can only take 
 " them on authority and testimonials ; while those who hve at a 
 " subsequent period must absolutely depend on the authenticity 
 " of the testimonials ; for the thing testified of no longer 
 " exists. The object itself, and the direct inspection thereof, to 
 " which perhaps an appeal would be made, are no longer found 
 " in nature. The senses cannot convince themselves of the 
 " truth. In historical matters, the narrator's reputation and 
 " his credibihty constitute the only evidence. We cannot be 
 " persuaded of any historical fact unless by testimony. Were 
 " it not for authority, the truth of history would vanish along 
 " with the events themselves. 
 
 " Now whenever it suits with God's design that mankind 
 " should be satisfied of any truth, his wisdom also afi'ords them 
 " the aptest means to arrive at it. If it be a necessary truth, 
 " he grants them the degree of judgment which it requires. If 
 " a law of nature is to be promulgated to them, he inspires 
 " them with the spirit of observation ; and if a fact is to be 
 " preserved to posterity, he confirms its historical certainty, 
 " and places the narrator's credibility beyond all question. Con- 
 " sistently with the dignity of supreme wisdom, he instructs 
 
53 
 
 " mankind with respect to truths merely historical in a human 
 " manner, i. e. by means of words and wi'itings confirmed by 
 " miracles and signs whenever such evidence of their authority 
 " or credibility was required. But eternal and necessary truths, 
 " on the other hand, so far as they are important to thq welfare 
 " and happiness of man, God teaches in a manner more suitable 
 " to the Godhead ; not by words or written characters, which 
 " may be inteUigiblo here and tliere, and to this or that man, 
 " but by creation itself, and its internal relations, which are 
 " legible and intelligible every where and to all men. Nor 
 " does he ccrtily them by signs and miracles, which affect only 
 " historical belief; but he stirs the mind created by him, and 
 " affords it an opportunity to observe those relations of things, 
 " to observe its own self, and to become persuaded of the truths 
 " of which it is destined to acquire a knowledge here on earth. 
 " I therefore do not behove, that the resources of human rea- 
 " soning are inadequate to the persuading of mankind of the 
 " eternal truths requisite for their happiness ; and that God 
 " had need to reveal them to them in a preternatural manner. 
 " They who maintain this, deny to the omnipotence or the good- 
 " ness of God in one way that which, in another way, they 
 " imagine they are attributing to his goodness. He was, in 
 " their opinion, good enough to reveal to mankind the truths 
 " on which then* happiness depends ; but he was neither om- 
 " nipotent nor good enough to grant to them the faculties of 
 '•' discoverino" them themselves. 
 
 " Accordingly we find that Judaism boasts of no exclusive 
 " revelation of immutable truths indispensable to salvation — of 
 " no revealed rchgion in the sense in which that term is ge- 
 " nerally taken. A revealed religion is one thing, a revealed 
 " legislation is another. The voice wliich was heard on mount 
 '* Sinai did not say, ' I am the Lord your God, the eternal, 
 " self-existing Being, omnipotent and omniscient, who rewards 
 " men in a future life according to their works.' All tliis is 
 
 *4— 3 
 
54 
 
 " the universal religion of mankind, without which they can be 
 ** neither virtuous nor saved, and was not to be revealed only 
 " then and there. All this was supposed to be already known, 
 " or, perhaps, was taught, and explained by human reasoning, 
 " and placed beyond all doubt, during the days of preparation. 
 " But the divine voice said, 'I am the Lord thy God, who brought 
 " thee out of the land of Egypt ; who dehvered thee from 
 " bondage. &c. ;' thus announcing an historical fact on which 
 " the legislation of that particular people was to be founded, 
 " since laws were to be revealed there, commandments and 
 " judgments, but no immutable theological truths. ' I am the 
 " Lord your God, who made a covenant with your forefathers, 
 " Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and swore to them to form out 
 " of their seed a nation of my own. The time has at last 
 " arrived when that promise is to be fulfilled. For that pur- 
 " pose I delivered you from the bondage of the Egyptians. I 
 " delivered you from it amidst unheard-of miracles and signs. 
 " I am your deliverer, your chief, your king ; I even make a 
 " covenant with you, and give you laws, after which you shall 
 " hve, and become a happy nation in the land which I shall 
 " put you in possession of :' all the^e are historical truths, 
 " from their nature resting on historical evidence, which must 
 " be attested by authority, and may be corroborated by mira- 
 " cles. According to Judaism, miracles and extraordinary signs 
 " are no evidence either for or against immutable self-evident 
 " truths. Hence the Scripture itself directs, that if a prophet 
 " teach or counsel things which are contrary to decided truths, 
 " we are not to hearken to him, even if he confirm liis legation 
 " by miracles : nay, if he seek to entice to idolatry, we are 
 " to put the wonder-doer to death. For miracles can only 
 " attest depositions, support authority, and confirm the credi- 
 " bihty of witnesses ; but all depositions and authorities together 
 " cannot subvert a decidedly self-evident truth, nor yet place 
 " a questionable one above doubt and suspicion. 
 
55 
 
 " Now, altliough that divine book, which wc have received 
 " through Moses, is supposed to bo properly a code of law, and 
 " to contain judgments, rules of life, and precepts, yet it is well 
 " known to include withal an inscrutable treasure of self-evident 
 " truths and theological dogmas, which are so identified with 
 " the laws as to form but one whole with them. All the laws 
 " are referriblo to, or are founded on, immutable self-evident 
 " truths, or put one in mind of, and cause one to ponder on 
 " them : hence our llabbins justly observe, that the laws and 
 " dogmas stand in the same relation to each other as the body 
 " does to the soul. All those excellent theorems are, never- 
 " theless, presented to knowledge and proposed for meditation, 
 " without being forced upon belief. There is not, amongst all 
 " the precepts and tenets of the Mosaic law, a single one which 
 " says, ' Thou shalt beheve this,' or, ' Thou shalt not beheve 
 " it,' but they all say, ' Thou shalt do,' or, ' Thou shalt forbear.' 
 " There faith is not commanded ; for faith takes no commands 
 " but what get to it by the road of conviction. All the com- 
 " mandments of the Mosaic law are addressed to the will of 
 " man, and to his acting faculty. Nay, the word in the original 
 " language, which is usually translated 'to believe,' in most 
 " cases, properly means, ' to trust in,' ' to rely on,' ' to have 
 " full confidence in what is promised or caused to be expected.' 
 " ' Abraham trusted the Lord, and it was counted to him for 
 " piety.' Gen. xv. 6. ' The Israelites saw, and had confidence 
 " in the Lord, and in his servant Moses.' Exod. xiv. 31. Where- 
 " ever the question is of etel-nal self-evident truth, there is 
 " nothing said of behoving, but understanding and knowing. 
 " ' Know, therefore, this day, and consider it in thine heart, 
 " that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and in the earth 
 " beneath ; there is none else.' Deut. iv. 39. ' Hear, Israel : 
 " the Lord our God is one.' Deut. iv. 4. In no place is it 
 " said, ' Beheve, Israel, and thou shalt be blessed ; forbear 
 " doubting, O Israel, or this or that punishment shall betide 
 
56 
 
 " thee.' Commandments and prohibitions, rewards and pmiish- 
 " ments, are for actions only, for life and morals ; all which 
 " depend on man's will and pleasure, and are governed by 
 " notions of good and evil, and therefore, also, by hope and 
 " fear. Belief and doubt, assent and dissent, on the contrary, 
 " are not to be regulated by our vohtion — not by wishes and 
 " desires, not by fear and hope ; but by our discernment of 
 " truth or untruth. For this reason, too, ancient Judaism has 
 " no symbolical books, no articles of faith. No one needed be 
 " sworn to symbols, to subscribe to articles of faith. Nay, we 
 " have not as much as a conception of what is called ' oaths of 
 " creed ;** and, according to the spirit of true Judaism, must hold 
 " them inadmissible. That eminent teacher of the nation, Hillel 
 " the elder, who lived before the destruction of the second 
 " temple, reduced and comprehended the whole law in one 
 " practical precept. ' Rabbi,' said a Pagan to him, ' wilt thou 
 " teach me the whole law while I am standing on one leg ?' 
 " Shammai, to whom he had made the same proposal before, 
 " dismissed him with contempt ; but Hillel, celebrated for his 
 " imperturbable temper and his mildness, said, ' Son, love thy 
 " neighbour as thyself. This is the text of the law ; all the 
 "rest is commentary. Now go thy ways, and study'." 
 
 Farther on in the work he says, " Judaism consists, or, 
 " according to the founder's design, was to consist of, 
 
 " 1st. Religious dogmas and propositions of immutable 
 " truths of God, of his government and providence, without 
 " Avhich man can neither be enhghtened nor happy. These 
 " were not forced on the behef of the people, by threats of 
 " eternal or temporal punishment, but, suitably to the nature 
 " and evidence of immutable truths, recommended for rational 
 " consideration. They needed not be suggested by direct re- 
 " velation, or promulgated by words or writing, wliich are 
 " understood only in this or that place, at this or that time. 
 '* The Supreme Bemg revealed them to all rational beings by 
 
57 
 
 " events and by ideas, and inscribed them in their soul, in a 
 " character legible and intelligible at all times, and in all places. 
 " Hence sings the Psalmist: ' The heavens tell the glory of God; 
 " and the firmament sheweth his handy-vrork. One day tellcth 
 " tliis unto another, and night therein instructeth night. It is 
 " not a lesson and discourse whose sound is not heard ; its chord 
 " rings through the entire globe ; its words penetrate to the 
 " extremes of the inhabited world, where he set a tabernacle 
 " for the sun, &c.' Ps. xix. 1. Their effect is as universal as 
 " the salutary influence of the sun, which, while revolving round 
 " its orbit, diffuses light and heat over the whole globe, as the 
 " same bard still more distinctly declares, in another place ; 
 " ' From where the sun rises to where it sets the name of 
 " the Lord is praised ;' or, as the prophet Malachi says in 
 " the name of the Lord : ' From where the sun rises to where 
 " it sets my name is great among the Gentiles ; and in all 
 " places, incense, sacrifice, and pure meat-offerings, are offered 
 " unto my name ; for my name is great among the heathen.' 
 
 " 2ndly. Historical truths, or accounts of the occurrences of 
 " the primitive world, especially memoirs of the lives of the 
 " first ancestors of the nation, of their knowledge of the true 
 " God, even of their failings, and the paternal correction im- 
 '• mediately following thereon, of the covenant which God 
 " entered into with them, and his frequent promise to make 
 " of their descendants a nation dedicated to himself. These 
 " historical truths contain the ground-work of the national 
 " union ; and, as historical truths, they cannot, according to 
 " their nature, be received otherwise than on trust : authority 
 " alone gives them the necessary evidence. And they were, 
 " moreover, confirmed to the nation by miracles, and supported 
 "by an authority which sufficed to place faith beyond all doubt 
 " and hesitation. 
 
 " 3rdly. Laws, judgments, commandments, rules of life, which 
 "■ were to be pccuhar to that nation, and by observing which 
 
58 
 
 " it was to arrive at national — as well as every single member 
 " thereof, at individual — happiness. The lawgiver was God 
 "himself; God, not in his relations as Creator and Preserver 
 " of the universe — but God, as Lord Protector and ally of their 
 " forefathers ; as the liberator, founder, and leader, as the king 
 " and ruler of that people. And he gave the laws a sanction, 
 " than which nothing could be more solemn ; he gave them 
 " publicly, and in a marvellous manner never before heard of, 
 " whereby they were imposed on the nation and on their de- 
 " scendants for ever, as an unalterable duty and obhgation. 
 
 " As directions to general practice, and rules of conduct, 
 " the ceremonial law was the bond for uniting practice with 
 " speculation, conduct with doctrine. They lead inquiring rea- 
 " son to divine truths ; partly to eternal, partly to historical 
 " truths, on which the rehgion of that nation was founded. 
 " Under that polity, state and religion were not united, but 
 " one ; not alUcd, but identical. The relations of man to so- 
 " ciety, and the relations of man to God, converged into one 
 " point, and could never come in coUision. Hence civil life 
 " amongst that nation assumed a holy and rehgious cast, and 
 " every service to the public was, at the same time, true divine 
 " service. The congregation was a congregation of the Lord ; 
 " their concerns were the Lord's ; the public taxes were heave- 
 " offerings to the Lord ; and, to the least measures and regu- 
 " latious for the public safety, everything was rehgious. The 
 " Levites, who lived on the pubHc revenue, received their main- 
 " tenance of the Lord. They were to have no part or inherit- 
 " ancc in the land ; for the Lord is their inheritance. As to 
 " offences, every offence against the authority of God, the 
 " lawgiver of the nation, was an offence against majesty, and 
 " therefore, a poUtical or state offence. He who reviled God 
 " committed high treason ; he who wickedly broke the sabbath, 
 " abrogated, as far as lay with him, a fundamental law of civil 
 " society ; for on the institution of that day rested a material 
 
59 
 
 " part of the polity. ' The sabbath shall be an eternal cove- 
 " nant between me and the children of Israel,' says the Lord, 
 *' ' a perpetual sign, that in six days, &c.' Exod. xxxi. There- 
 " fore under that polity those offences could, nay must, be 
 " punished civilly, not as false opinions, not as misbeUef, but 
 " as misdeeds, as contumacious pohtical offences, which aim at 
 " the abohshing, or at least at weakening, the lawgiver's au- 
 " thority, and thereby undermining the state itself. It was 
 " not misbeUef, not false doctrine or error, that was punished ; 
 " but contumacious offences against the majesty of the lawgiver, 
 " daring misdeeds against the fundamental laws of the state 
 " and the civil government ; and it was punished only then, 
 " when the crime, in hcentiousness, exceeded all bounds, and 
 " was approaching to rebellion ; when the offender did not mind 
 " having the law quoted to him by two fellow-citizens, and 
 " being threatened by them with the regular punishment, nay, 
 "even took the punishment upon himself and committed the 
 " offence in their sight. This was tantamount to high treason, 
 " and the rehgious reprobate became a state criminal. Be- 
 " sides, the Talmudic doctors expressly declare, that ever since 
 " the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, corporeal and 
 " capital punishment, nay, all fines, so far as they were merely 
 " national, ceased to bo legal. Now this perfectly accords 
 " with my principles, and cannot be explained except on them. 
 " The civil bonds of the nation being dissolved, rehgious in- 
 " fractions no longer constituted state offences ; and religion, 
 " as such, knows of no punishment, of no penance, but what 
 " a repentant sinner voluntarily imposes upon himself. It dis- 
 " claims all coercion, smites with the wand of ' gentleness' only ; 
 " and acts only on the mind and on the heart. Let them try 
 " to explain rationally the above Talmudic assertion any other 
 " way than on my principles." 
 
 I have submitted to the reader these long extracts from 
 Mendlessohn's most controverted writings in order that he may 
 be enabled to form an intelligent judgment on a suspicion which 
 
60 
 
 has been entertained, as I think, most unreasonably, that their 
 author was a Sceptical Jew, that is, one who, while he professes 
 the religion of Judaism, undervalues or calls in question the 
 authority and inspiration of the canonical Hebrew Scriptures, 
 as several of the school called Neologian have recently done. 
 That he should be found to vindicate himself from such suspi- 
 cion is so far important to the favourable reception of this 
 Volume, as, if unremoved, it would lead cautious persons to 
 distrust as an interpreter of the Bible the commentator whose 
 suggestions have been most frequently adopted in the following 
 Version of Ecclesiastes. I cannot doubt however that after the 
 perusal of these extracts it will be allowed by the most cautious, 
 that while he was a man of the most vigorous and independent 
 thought, his exercise of it was ever under the wholesome re- 
 straint of the profoundest veneration for the venerable creed 
 and institutions of his ancestors, though it be true that he dif- 
 fered from some of his brethren as to the origin and sanction 
 of certain portions of that creed, considering that they are dis- 
 closed to all men ahke by events and by ideas implanted in the 
 human mind, and that they neither needed to be nor are promul- 
 gated in the Pentateuch, and by peculiar revelation to the Jews. 
 
 I sliall conclude the above notice of his life with stating, that 
 his imwearied appHcation to Hterature never forsook him. One 
 of the most important of his works, besides those which I have 
 mentioned, was the " Phaedon," or " On the Immortahty of the 
 Soul." The catalogue of them is of considerable length. Though 
 remarkable for the most rigid abstemiousness, he was very fond 
 of company, and excelled in a playful and harmless satire. He 
 died in the year 1786. It has been pronounced of him by those 
 best acquainted with his writings, that " while he would have 
 been an ornament to any nation, he was unrivalled in his own." 
 
 The following is a translation from the Rabbinic Hebrew of 
 the Preface to his Commentary on Ecclesiastes, a production of 
 a somewhat difficult and recondite description, but sufficiently 
 curious and valuable to merit the attention of the reader. 
 
THE PREFACE OF R. MOSES MENDLESSOHN. 
 
 The commentaries on om' Holy Law, as is well known, 
 follow four different methods, viz. those of simple, recondite, 
 allegorical, and mysterious interpretation'. Now these four sorts 
 of commentary are all to be regarded like the words of the 
 Uving God, as all riglit and compatible one with another ; nor 
 is the fact of their being so contrary to good sense or analogy, 
 or strange or surprizing to the human understanding, as I shall 
 explain by the help of the Lord. 
 
 Now every discourse has a meaning agreeable to all the 
 purposes of the speaker and hearer, and corresponding exactly 
 with the succession and connexion of the things said, without 
 exceeding or falhng short of them ; and this is called its pri- 
 mary meaning, and the exposition of tliis meaning is called 
 IDJ£^2. And with respect to this primary meaning our Rabbins 
 said, "No passage of Scripture goes beyond its primary meaning"." 
 The method of the Joi2^2, or exposition of the primary meaning, 
 is to notice the meaning and not the words used in expressing 
 it. Now as to sense, there is no difference between ")bT and 
 nbv^; or again, between l'iDnJ3l ih and n)lStiiri ^^"'?■' ; for what 
 is intended by them according to their primary me'aning is in 
 
 » They are called in Hebrew tOtL^i) W")! ]b') and TID. 
 
 2 llOlli^S ''TD ^^}i'l'' K"1pD ]''^^ i. e. it exactly corresponds to it, 
 and the text is always of the right length, and no more, to express it. 
 
 ^ These words occur in the corresponding accounts of the delivery of 
 the law, to express corresponding ideas, in the part of Exodus called 
 by the Jews the "section Jcthro," (i. e. several chapters, of which the 
 20th is one), and in Deuteronomy. 
 
62 
 
 itself only one sense, as Rabbi Abraham Aben Ezra has ex- 
 plained at section Jethro. Now any one in conversation^ is at 
 liberty to employ synonymous terms or phrases, similar in sense, 
 as he may think proper ; and though in fact each of the syno- 
 nymous nouns has its own pecuUar shade of meaning which 
 distinguishes it from its cognate word, so much so that two 
 nouns will not be found expressing exactly the same thing, 
 without any difference in force or want of force, or distinction 
 in respect of modification of expression, and much less any two 
 phrases be found entirely similar in signification; stUl sometimes 
 this distmction is exceedingly small, so that with respect to the 
 sense there is no use or importance in it, or it would be trouble- 
 some to the speaker or hearer to look to every single word in 
 order to determine whether such an one would be more agree- 
 able to the sense according to that subtle consideration ; and 
 then the speaker will employ either of the two synonymous 
 words or phrases without discrimination, and with freedom and 
 ease of speech ; and thus sometimes they are employed for the 
 elegancies of poetry, either for repeating the same meaning in 
 different words after the manner of writers of songs, or in 
 case the nature of the style should require the same subject to 
 be mentioned two or three times, when it is for the beauty of 
 the poetry to express it in different words, as is known to 
 every beginner in the art of poetry and song. In short, the 
 natural speaker for the most part considers the sense of what 
 he says, and not the words he uses : and so it is with a prophet 
 or one who speaks by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. His first 
 intention regards the sense with peculiar care, and arranges the 
 words according to the beauty of language, and the elegancies 
 of poetry and song, without appropriating a particular meaning 
 or thing signified to each of all the varieties of expression. 
 
 But when the natural and human speaker discriminates and 
 weighs the signification of each separate word in the scales of 
 ^ Literally, "master of a tongue." 
 
63 
 
 correctness, and without any licence, then he employs each of 
 the words or phrases of similar meaning, and not its cognate 
 word which resembles it in grammatical form and sense, not by 
 chance or accident, or even by way of ornament or elegance, 
 but to indicate and point out by means of it a particular 
 meaning which he does not choose, or which it would not be 
 right to explain with the full interpretation^ either for the sake 
 of brevity, or for some other reason ; and the thing signified by 
 that refinement will be a sort of secondary meaning. And 
 this the speaker intends to bo taken not by itself, or as the 
 primary meaning, but merely as a piece of subtilty and in- 
 genuity^. As an instance of this, Judah said to Joseph, " Thou 
 art as Pharaoh." Yarchi* interprets it thus, "Thou art ac- 
 counted as a king in my eyes." This is its JDti^S or simple 
 interpretation, and its ^T\D or recondite interpretation is, 
 " Thy end may be that thou may est be smitten for him^ with 
 leprosy, as Pharaoh was on account of Sarah thy grandmother, 
 &c." The first method is called the simple method of interpret- 
 ing it, or its ^rt^a ; and it was clearly the primary meaning of 
 the speaker, as appears from the connexion of the preceding 
 and following events ; since it was in fact the intention of Judah 
 to plead with the lord of the land, but in fear and submission, 
 
 '^ n"*I2n is here used adverbially. 
 
 ^ Observe that Mendlessohn does not praise this or other absurdities 
 which he quotes ; he merely mentions them as specimens of the various 
 kinds of commentary, the IDti/S ID"!, &c. 
 
 * This is the name by which that distinguished commentator is 
 usually kno^\^l, and we have, therefore, adopted it in this i)lace and 
 elsewhere; but Wolfe has shown in his Bib. Rabb. that "''tin is 
 properly a contraction for pHlJ^ 12 nj2?5i' l^ Rabbi Solomon ben 
 Isaac, and that the name Yarchi has crept in no one knows how, in 
 the course of ages. Buxtorf says, "''^'^ is put for ""nT nb?Ii? "l 
 which is wrong. For a short notice of his life, vid. p. 38, supra. 
 
 "^ Benjamui. 
 
64 
 
 as would be consistent with prudence and wisdom for a stranger 
 in a strange land, not to speak harshly with him or provoke 
 him, and consequently, it is evident that he meant to praise 
 him in saying of him, " Thou art as Pharaoh;" but since he has 
 expressed his words indefinitely, and has not said plainly, "Thou 
 art a great prince, or regarded in my eyes as a king," it would 
 seem that the secondary meaning was to warn him, that even 
 if he was of equal account with Pharaoh, he was not better 
 than he, and that it was quite possible he might be plagued 
 as Pharaoh was ; and such is the way of the intelligent man, to 
 moderate his expressions^ before Idngs and great men of the 
 earth, when he wishes to reprove them to their face, or to say 
 before them a thing which will be unpleasing in their eyes. He 
 cloaks liis words under the cover of praise and flattery, and the 
 wise ruler will apprehend their secondary meaning, and lay it to 
 heart. Now there is no doubt that Judah said this to Joseph 
 after the manner of a natural and human speaker, but that he 
 nevertheless liinted at the secondary meaning, which is very 
 much in agreement with the business in which he was engaged ; 
 but with respect to the connexion and succession of the events, 
 we see that this was not the primary meaning. 
 
 Now as for him who speaks by prophecy or by the Holy 
 Spirit, there is no doubt that nothing ever occurs in his dis- 
 course without its pecuHar meaning, and if he chooses one of 
 similar words or phrases, that he has some wish or purpose in 
 so doing with regard to the sense, and consequently not 
 only observes their meanings, but also the similarity and inter- 
 change which exists between them ; and that all the changes of 
 phrase, whether great or small, refer to a secondary meaning, 
 even though that sometimes be remote from the primary 
 meaning ; and the interpretation of this secondary meaning is 
 called W)l or recondite interpretation. An instance of this we 
 have with regard to the words ")Dt and "iJDli^ and agam m^J/^J^ 
 ' For the phrase mil ^3^3^ vid. Ps. cxii. 6. 
 
65 
 
 and nanjl, though accordhig to the first meaning the thing 
 signified by them be the same, still there can be no doubt that 
 in the discourses of the great God, this change cannot occur 
 by accident or chance, as we explained that it may in human 
 speech, because Supreme Wisdom does nothing without a useful 
 object and purpose ; and again, we cannot attribute this change 
 to beauty of poetry, since the intention of altering the ex- 
 pressions in Deuteronomy from what they were in Exodus, 
 (section Jethro), was not to give sweetness of expression to the 
 poetry by a change of words, and consequently it is evident 
 that all this was for a peculiar purpose and meaning, viz. to 
 raise the well-instructed and intelligent person to the meaning 
 which they explain^ minutely by one of the methods of recon- 
 dite interpretation received among our nation ; and consequently 
 our wise men of blessed memory have done well in that they 
 have commented reconditely according to these methods on the 
 alteration and interchange between the first expressions and the 
 latter, and all their words are true. Though the rule which 
 Aben Ezra mentions be also true, that the Hebrew observes 
 the sense and not the words ; for the Rabbi spoke there only 
 with reference to the primary meaning as we have described 
 it, and you will find that our wise men themselves too some- 
 times mentioned the recondite interpretation, and afterwards 
 asked TJID "'^<D1 ^^1pl ^IDU)^ "The simple interpretation of 
 the text, how does that run?" as is seen in many places of 
 the Talmud^. And consequently we see clearly that our wise 
 men did not reject the simple interpretation and primary mean- 
 ing which neglects the words and only observes the sense, al- 
 though they took care also to notice the secondary meaning, 
 
 ^ i. e. is explained. 
 
 ' He calls the Talmud D"lDn i. c. D'^'^ID Uli'tS^n sex ordines vcl 
 partes operis Talniudici, i. c. the D"'V"^I / iy_)D / Wm , rp"'t3 / DT7i^_ 
 
 and ni-ino. 
 
 T T 
 
66 
 
 wliich refinedly treats on every word and letter, or even horn 
 of a letter'. For among the words of the living God nothing 
 occurs accidentally, or without a meaning, just as he has created 
 nothing in his world without a particular purpose, as is seen 
 clearly hy every intelhgent person. 
 
 Now the distinguishing mark of the secondary meaning is, 
 that the thing signified in it is not in accordance in every 
 respect with all the intentions of the speaker and hearer, or 
 with the whole connexion of the passage and its union with 
 what precedes and follows. And sometimes the writer of re- 
 condite interpretation pays no regard or attention except to 
 the phrase he is actually engaged with, and seeks a secondary 
 meaning for it according to the customary methods by which 
 the law is reconditely interpreted, although this meaning be not 
 in accordance with the passages preceding and following, as 
 it should be. And so you will find for the most part in the 
 recondite commentaries of our sages, that they did not inter- 
 pret by means of them the connexion of the verses, and their 
 arrangement one after another, but wrote recondite commen- 
 taries on every single phrase by itself, and sought a secondary 
 meaning in them ; and the fact that there is no connexion or 
 agreement between them, is not at all at variance with the 
 method of the secondary meaning, as is known to every scholar. 
 
 ^ The horns of letters are the little corners which give them a 
 finished appearance, as in the top of the letter ^- Buxtoif mentions 
 the following curious passage on this subject. We give his words as 
 they stand. In the Talmud. Menach. fol. 29, ii. n\DD ilb)}^ (l^tt^l 
 
 &c. nvj^ij^'^ nnjiD -ittfipi ^wvm n"2pnb m^^d dhd^ i. e. 
 
 Quo tempore ascendit Moses in altum invenit Deum sedentem et ligan- 
 tem coronas ad literas (i. e. apices quibusdam Uteris inscribentem) et 
 dixit ei, " Domine mundi, quis retardat manum tuam ?" respondet Deus, 
 "Homo quidam qui venturus est post multa secula, nomine Akiva ben 
 Joseph, qui commentaturus est super unumquemque apicem literse 
 infinitos cumulos interpretationum." These are the Kepaiai "titles" men- 
 tioned in Matt. v. 18. 
 
67 
 
 And accordingly you will see that Yarchi, the hght of the cap- 
 tivity, who has proceeded in his commentary on the Bible" on 
 the method of recondite interpretation, sometimes has explained 
 each passage of scripture according to a sense separate and 
 distinct from that of the passage which is next to it in place, 
 without any connexion or union between them, as there ought 
 to be according to the first meaning. 
 
 Now if the sense, as developed by the method of recondite 
 interpretation, be derived from observation, not of the words and 
 phrases in the way that we have described, but of beginnings 
 and endings of words, their combination, their numerical value, 
 and the points over the letters ; and in short, if the meaning is 
 reconditely interpreted from observation of the letters and points, 
 that method of commentary is called ^D1 ; as in the word 
 D^^"1l^l Gen. ii. 4^, (where the letter n is written small), and 
 
 T : T • : 
 
 they interpret tliis word, " he created them by the letter n of 
 his holy name mil''^" Again, at the passage in Gen. xxxii. 4, 
 " I have sojourned with Laban," Yarchi remarks, Tl'lJ 111 " 
 
 "□"'yin Vm^^DD ••mD'? i.e. the word •>ri"i:i is used after 
 the method of J<"'")tOD''J or transposition of the same set 
 of letters, and becomes therefrom y\D, and the meaning 
 of the passage is, " I have sojourned with Laban, and kept 
 
 ^ Literally, "law, prophets, and Hagiographa." 
 
 ■' "In their being created." 
 
 ■• Or, "according to the letter H, which is made up of separate 
 Imes, to indicate that the heavens and earth are only composed of 
 parts which will be dissolved and diminished, as is further denoted by 
 the small size of the letter. They also remark, with respect to the 
 ^"iT'Ii, or combination of letters in this word, that the same letters 
 also spell D^"^2l^?^J to denote that the world was created for the 
 faithful, who alone see the glories of God in creation. The word 
 ^TT'iJ is thus explained by Buxtorf: "Apud Cabalistas combinatio lite- 
 I'arum est quarum tcqualibus numeris vel mutua pcnnutationc aliquid 
 occulte et mystice significatur." 
 
 . 5—2 
 
68 
 
 the 613 commandments, and have not learnt any of his evij 
 practices \" 
 
 And sometimes, when the sense of the ]J2r) or allegorical 
 commentary is a mysterious and wonderful one, it is proper to 
 conceal and hide it from the multitude, and not to reveal it, 
 
 ^ The Jews held, that this was the number of commandments obliga- 
 tory upon them, vid. a note to Mr Bernard's Maimonides. Mr Bernard 
 says, "The Rabbins count in the Mosaic law 613 commandments, 
 248 of which they call Htt^y /IliiD positive commandments, and 365 
 (Itt'yn is7 JmiQ negative commandments. Thus they say, j"^"iri 
 
 : Dlh} b^ ^n2"'^^ i:i]D TW'^ n"D~) / 6I3 commandments have 
 been enjoined to Moses in Sinai; 365 negative (commandments) ac- 
 cording to the number of the days of the year, and 248 positive 
 (commandments) corresponding to the (number of) the limbs of a 
 man." Mendlessohn says, in his Jerusalem : " Ancient Judaism has no 
 articles of faith. No one needed to be sworn to symbols, to subscribe 
 articles of faith. Nay, we have not so much as a conception of what 
 are called 'oaths of creed;' and according to the spirit of true Judaism 
 we must hold them inadmissible. It was Maimonides who first con- 
 ceived the thought of limiting the religion of his forefathers to a 
 certain number of principles, ' in order,' says he, ' that religion, like 
 all sciences, may have its fundamental ideas, from which all the rest 
 may be deduced.' But he (Mendlessohn) here refers to the 13 arti- 
 cles of the Jewish Catechism, which answer to our 39 articles, and 
 not to the 613 commandments mentioned above, wliich the Rabbins 
 had counted up in the Mosaic law, long before these articles of faith 
 were drawn up. Those 613 were commandments relating to practice, 
 and not to belief." 
 
 Buxtorf, at the word i^'^ltDDJ Geometria, has the following re- 
 marks : Geometria est Cabalse species qua ex diversarum vocum aequali 
 numex-o eundem sensum colligunt ; verbum ortum videtur ex Graeco 
 j€u3fX€Tpia vel potius (Tv/ifxeTfiia. Sic ex illis verbis, "Ecce ego adduc- 
 turus sum servum meum HD^ (Germen) Zach. iii. 8, colligunt per 
 nCiJ intelligendum esse Messiam, qui debebat appellari DH^P conso- 
 lator, juxta illud ' Longe recessit a me DH^P ' in Threnis, i. e. 
 consolator aut Messias, ut idem Talmude explicatur (vid. Sanhedrim, 
 fol. 98). .Tarn litera? vocis HD^ in numero valent 138, totidem ctiam 
 
69 
 
 except to the choicest among men, and then it is called TlD. 
 And since we see from the many instances of Supreme Wisdom's 
 intending one work for many purposes, that this may be set 
 down as an attribute of Supreme Wisdom in general", and we 
 see in the works of creation in general, and in the hmbs of 
 living creatures in detail, that their Creator has intended each 
 hmb for several different purposes ; for instance, he has made 
 the nose for smelling, for breathing, for discharging the super- 
 fluous humour of the eyes, and to ornament the form of the 
 face ; and he has made the air for the hving creatures to 
 breathe, to convey the voice, for the blowing of the wind, for 
 
 vocis DTOD. Cum itaque Propheta dixit, 'Adducam sei-vum meum 
 nD2i ' perinde est ac dixisset servum meum DH?^ Messiam ;" (so 
 Aben Ezra and Kimchi on Zechariah iii. 8.) (Observe that the He- 
 brew method of notation is merely the addition as they stand of the 
 numbers denoted by the separate letters, beginning at either end, because 
 they have no scale of notation ; thus, "jnn =3 + 10 + 200 + 400 
 = 613, and nD!i = 8 + 40 + 90 = 138, and DHDO = 40 + 8 + 50 + 
 40 = 138, the letters having no local value). Again, in Gen. xxv. 21, 
 il^Wii npl"l inm and " Rebekah his wife conceived," or " Rebekah 
 
 : • T ; • - — 
 
 conceived ^J^Wi^l " Now 1^*^)^ = 6 + 400 + 300 + 1 = 707, and Wi^ 
 W\y) = 300 + 100 + 6" + 300 + 1 = 707. So that Wa^h? is equivalent 
 to li^p"! ^i^ fire and stubble, i. e. Jacob and Esau, as we find in 
 Obad. 18, ''W\:b It^V m^ yViji 2pV2 J^**?." "The house of 
 Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Esau stubble." Again, in Gen. xi. 1, 
 "And all the earth was of one speech," i^^^^ *^^^- ^^^ ^?^ 
 r\r\i^ = 400 + 8 + 1 + 5 + 80 + 300 = 794, and Wipn ]wb = 300 
 
 T V 
 
 + 4 + 100 + 5 + 50 + 6 + 300 + 30 = 795. The Rabbins make these 
 two numbers the same (how I cannot presume to say), and draw 
 from thence an equivalence between the "one speech," of which all the 
 world was before Babel, and the tt^lpH ]wb^ or Hebrew language. Again, 
 Buxtorf says, " lib'^W i«Jl^ veniet Shilo valet 358, quod et Jl''tt'P "; 
 hence the identity between Shilo and the Messiah is established. 
 
 ^ Literally, "that this defines supreme wisdom." 
 
 * 5 — 3 
 
70 
 
 the descent of rain and dew, for the ascent of flame, &c. ; 
 (observe how he has intended a single thing for many uses, 
 and so various!) such being the case, I say, it is not to be 
 wondered at that the intention of this Supreme Wisdom in one 
 expression should be for many different meanings to be ex- 
 pressed, and all of them true ; and so say our sages, " One 
 passage of scripture is to be reconditely interpreted in many 
 senses," and so they have said in the Zohar, at the text, 
 " Who knoweth the spirit of man ? &c." which it is difficult 
 to understand according to the tOti^2 or simple interpretation. 
 
 They said, •'bo b^ ^{"l^ om : n^i n^f^ r3'n;r hdd ^*'^p ^an 
 m^?^ in^Di . nm in b:^^ r^iij hdd ^<n^m^<^ i. e. " as for this 
 
 passage, there are many meanings* in it, and thus it is with 
 all the words of the law, there are many meanings in every 
 single one of them, and all of them are right and good f and 
 accordingly they have interpreted this verse in many places in 
 different ways. 
 
 And you will understand hereby, how it is proper to ex- 
 plain every expression uttered in prophecy or by inspiration of 
 the Holy Spirit by several methods, viz. the W11, the tD"), and 
 the IIDj and that all of them agree with the IDti^S, since that 
 is the most necessary of them all ; but there is no difference 
 between the truthfulness of the IOtt/2 and that of the VJll, since 
 there is no doubt that everything that proceeds from the lips 
 of him who speaks by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and every 
 single movement of his lips intends a peculiar sense and mean- 
 ing, and that there is not one unprofitable word among them, 
 just as there will not be found among the works of the Creator 
 a single thing devoid of all purpose or use ; and for every one 
 of the fibres of a fly's wing, or an ant's foot, there is a par- 
 ticular use, even though human skill would be wearied out with 
 discovering them in detail, as is known to investigators in na- 
 tural history ; and consequently, there is no doubt that in every 
 
 ' Literally, "coloure." 
 
71 
 
 place which our sages have reconditely interpreted according 
 to their usual method, they have not shunned the plain inter- 
 pretation, or neglected the primary meaning which is agreeable 
 with the connexion of the passages, but that they have seen 
 in their wisdom, that the method of simple interpretation is 
 not sufficient for the purpose of the details of the passage, and 
 the discrimination of them, as we have mentioned. 
 
 As for instance ; the wise man has said, " A hve dog is 
 better off than a dead Uon." You will see in my commentary 
 on this passage by the method of l^itD^, that he here speaks 
 after the opinion of those who deny the immortality of the 
 soul ; for according to them the same accidents happen to men 
 and beasts, and the death of the one is as the death of the 
 other ; and since the most despised of animals, the dog, is 
 esteemed above the carcase of a lion, the most noble among 
 the beasts of the earth, in the opinion of those infidels the same 
 is the case also with the sons of men, that the most afflicted 
 and impoverished, despised and debased of men, he, I say, is 
 more happy when alive than the most perfect of human kind 
 after death, since that in their opinion is the destruction and 
 annihilation of the soul, and that Avould be the very height of 
 ignominy and disaster, (see my comment at the place) ; and con- 
 sequently this passage is not at variance with what he says, 
 that " The day of one's death is better than that of one's 
 birth;" for there he speaks after the opinion of those who 
 possess the true knowledge, who beheve in the immortahty of 
 the soul, according to Avhose opinion death is to the righteous 
 a going to real life, and truly desirable fehcity, as I shall explain 
 in its place. And as to the objection against the above passage 
 which Rabbi Tenachom, the writer of recondite commentary, 
 (Talmud, Schabbath, fol. xxx. page 1) has drawn from what 
 Solomon himself says, " So that I was ready to praise the dead 
 who are dead already, &c., and as better off than either, him 
 who has not yet been," that apparently he only said this 
 
 *5— 4 
 
72 
 
 agreeably to the opinion of the unbehevers whom I have men- 
 tioned ^ and how, he would say, should he, according to their 
 perishable doctrine, praise the dead or him who is not yet 
 born? since according to their doctrine a live dog is better off 
 than a dead lion. Now according to the simple interpretation 
 of these passages they agree together. For such is the cha- 
 racter of this perishable doctrine ; it perverts the paths of skill 
 and investigation, and brings its professor into great perplexity, 
 till he knows not which to choose, whether life or death ; for if 
 he who denies the immortahty of the soul, looks at the evil 
 work done under the sun, it is quite likely that he should be 
 disgusted with life, and say that death is better than life, or 
 curse his birth-day as Job did ; many evils and distresses alarm 
 him, and he has no comforter ; to-morrow he wUl have to go to 
 his long home, and return to nothingness, as his expectation was 
 nothingness; or if (on the other hand) he lay to heart that 
 there is no greater evil than utter annihilation and destruction, 
 the conviction of good sense will as it were compel him to 
 choose a life of distress and sorrow before the death and 
 destruction of the soul ; and so sometimes he will say to him- 
 self, "Do all that is in the power of thy hand to do, since 
 there is no judgment and no account ;" and sometimes he will 
 be disgusted from doing anything great or small, and will say, 
 " The race is not to the swift, &c." (as is explained in the 
 commentary) ; and thus liis thoughts will trouble him, and shng 
 his soul as in the hollow of a slinof from confusion to faintness 
 of heart ; and there will be for ever a strife in his mind be- 
 tween the judgment of the understanding and the tumults of 
 nature ; and on this account " there is no peace, saith the Lord, 
 to the wicked ;" for " like a troubled sea their heart cannot 
 rest;" and from this perplexity a man cannot be delivered except 
 by a belief in the immortality of the soul and recompense in the 
 life to come, as I shall explain in its place, and as I have 
 ' i. e. as quoting their opinion. 
 
73 
 
 written at length In my book on the ImmortaHty of the SouP. 
 But all this belongs to the plain interpretation of the passage 
 and its primary meaning. But it was not without an especial 
 purpose that he Avho spake by the Holy Ghost chose the illustra- 
 tion of the dog and the lion ; and though it be truly conducive 
 to poetic beauty, it is nevertheless probable that he also intended 
 by it a secondary meaning, after the manner of U)in, viz. to 
 point out that with respect to cases of the law, they make it 
 lawful to carry about on the sabbath to supply the necessity of 
 a live dog, but not for a dead man, though he be a hero ; and 
 that as Solomon mentions the superiority of a living body over 
 a dead one, he meant to hint at what occun^ed to himself with 
 respect to his illustrious father's body when the spirit had left 
 it ; and this is what Rabbi Tenachom refinedly comments on 
 this passage^. 
 
 Now as for myself, a humble individual, I have undertaken 
 to explain this roll in the way most agreeable to the literal 
 signification of the text, and the connexion and sequence of 
 the subjects contained in it. For I have observed that nearly 
 all the commentators who had preceded me have almost entirely 
 failed in doing justice to their task of interpretation^; and, (at 
 the same time that I say it, I crave forgiveness from those great 
 and glorious men^), I have not found in one of them an inter- 
 pretation adequate to the correct explanation of the connexion 
 of the verses of the book ; but according to their method, nearly 
 every verse is spoken separately and unconnectedly ; and this 
 would not be right in a private and insignificant author, and 
 
 ^ Mendlessohn's Phaedon. 
 
 '* There is probably a Talmudic stoiy that David died on a sabbath- 
 day, and his son would not pennit funeral honors to be paid him on 
 that day. 
 
 * The phrase IJI^in "'T' ^?!i^ signifies "egi-editur manus officii sui," 
 i. e. liber est ab officio suo, satisfecit officio suo. 
 
 * i. e. with all due respect be it said. 
 
74 
 
 much less in a wise king to whom testimony is borne, that he 
 spake by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And as if it were not 
 enough for him to be destitute of connexion and arrangement, 
 even great contradictions are found in the words of tliis able 
 man, according to the commentaries of most of the writers upon 
 him ; sometimes they make him assert a proposition, and some- 
 times deny it, and sometimes pronounce right, and sometimes 
 wrong, what is in itself exactly the same thing ; so that Rabbi 
 Aben Ezra noticed these contradictions at the verse, " vexation 
 is better than laughter," and says, that since the Scripture has 
 borne testimony to Solomon, that after him there never will 
 arise a wise man hke him, we may be sure that there is no 
 contradiction or inconsistency in his words, but that they are 
 all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find 
 knowledge; and he has rephed, though but briefly, to these 
 instances of inconsistency ; but my mind has not been set at 
 rest by all that he has written there. 
 
 Now it is true that in the chapter y^p'blD ild^ we read, 
 
 " Judah son of Rabbi Samuel son of Shilath said in the name 
 of Rav, ' The wise men sought to secrete the book of Eccle- 
 siastes because its words were contradictory to each other.' " 
 But our sages doubtless meant that they seem so to him who 
 has only informed himself about them at first sight, and sought 
 to hide it only on account of the danger that may arise from 
 it to men of levity of mind ; for these holy men have shewn 
 us themselves the way to solve the difficulties and contradictions 
 which occur in the words of the wise man, and accordingly it 
 
 is added, isiDi Hmn n2i in':'njic:^ ''22D imi:i:i xb no ^:2di 
 
 •min "'"in i- e. "the reason why they did not secrete it was, 
 because its beginning and end were consistent with the law ;" 
 and "therefore," as Yarchi remarks in commenting on this 
 
 ^ Mischna, Schabbas, ch. x. 
 
75 
 
 passage of the Talmud, " much more whatever is between 
 the beginning and end." And afterwards they discussed the 
 explanation of the contradictions they found there ; so that 
 when they came to secrete also the book of Proverbs on ac- 
 count of the contradictions they found there, they came round 
 and said, ]Tyb >D3 ^3n ilf^Vi:^ ]Tn:i^ii) l^r^V flSlp ISD 
 i.e. "we have looked closely into the. book Coheleth, and disco- 
 vered a meaning in it. Here, too", let us look closely." You 
 see then that our sages, forbid it heaven, did not absolutely de- 
 termine that Solomon's words were at variance with each other; 
 for this would be in the highest degree reprehensible in any intel- 
 ligent man, and much more in one who spake by the Holy Ghost. 
 Consequently it becomes our duty to loose the bundles 
 of doubts and undo the bands of the contradictions, which Aben 
 Ezra has mentioned, in a manner agreeable to the simple in- 
 terpretation of the text, according to the method I have pur- 
 sued in my commentary, as is proper for one who undertakes 
 to explain the primary meaning. And before I proceed to the 
 interpretation, I shall premise to thee the known and approved 
 rule in investigating the difficulties in the words of the book, 
 viz. to recollect that all the things said in it do not represent 
 the real opinion of king Solomon, but that sometimes he speaks 
 after the manner of those who support two opposite sides in a 
 discussion, an enquirer, and an answerer, as it is with those 
 who are examining into difficult subjects ; for those pursuing 
 after truth by means of the exercise of the understanding, do 
 not reach the object of their pursuit, unless they hear the 
 contradictory arguments, and compare all the forms of the 
 alleged doubts, and weigh in the balance and scales of justice 
 the matter in debate and its converse, and bring the con- 
 flicting opinions into comparison, each beside each, until they 
 distinguish truth from falsehood, and certain from doubtful. 
 And since we have seen that the author of this roll wrote in 
 
 ^ i. c. in the Proverbs. 
 
76 
 
 the way of investigation and open discussion, it is consistent 
 with this, that no part of it should be attributed to himself', 
 except the law which he has laid down in the beginning of his 
 discourse, before the doubts and contradictory arguments started 
 up, and the conclusion he arrives at* after the discussion and 
 the completion of the investigation. And this is the meaning 
 of what our wise men said about the beginning and end of it 
 being agreeable with the words of the law. And if we find 
 any of the intervening passages apparently strange and repug- 
 nant to the law of truth, it is proper to attribute these to the 
 part of the objector, and they will then be represented as the 
 opinion of the infidel or the sceptic, so that the wise man may 
 be saved from blame. And in this way is interpreted in the 
 book Zohar^ what is written in the 3rd chapter of this book, 
 
 ^ As his own opinion. 
 
 ^ Literally, "the ascent to agreement or accordance." 
 ^ The *^rn? Zohar is a most ancient Jewish commentary on the 
 Pentateuch, which likewise contains much collateral matter, principally of 
 a cabalistic and very recondite description. It is attributed to Rabbi 
 Simeon, son of Jochanan, or, as he is called by contraction, "i^ti^^. 
 He was the disciple of Rabbi Akiva, a Talmudic Rabbi, who was slain 
 fifty years after the destruction of Jerusalem, in Adrian's war against 
 the Jews, about the year 120 a.d. The Jews say, that he lay hid 
 in a cave twelve years, for fear of the emperor, and in the mean time 
 wrote this book, which by the time he had finished it, was of such 
 bulk, that R. Gedaliah, in the Schalscheleth, says, h^lff inTin Hf 
 
 " This composition was so very great, that if it was all of it collected 
 together, it would be a camel's burden." In many places it is repug- 
 nant to the doctrines of the Talmud ; but where it treats of those things 
 which are not discussed there, it is looked on by the Rabbins as of 
 paramount authority. The author nowhere mentions the Gemara, or 
 any Talmudic book, and this has led the Jews to suppose the com- 
 pilation of the Talmud to be of a later date. Mendlessohn expresses 
 his surprize at meeting with anything like a simple interpretation in 
 it. Its language and style are very abstruse and difficult, and it is more 
 replete with Syriasms than the Talmud. 
 
77 
 
 viz. on the hypothesis that they are hard words and apparently 
 (forgive us, heaven, for saying so) contradictory to the truth 
 of providence and the immortahty of the soul, which are 
 the foundations of the law of truth ; they say, that irifi 65 
 
 'lip ]U'fi iiof^ f^bb , I'ip \\yb i^DO ''PiJP fi^p '6? rri:: 
 npp D7fip ripp '3 nr>fi '^pi ^p nrifi? ^ fipir? '^dput 
 'fr? npf" ^T^^zvi, ]'33PPP fiii I'D?' 657 'fiDPU 'ui rppDr" 
 Difip P")pn 656 ^ ip"5i; n:D6 65 ^''^pi ^ r'ipn3 5'i6 6p5i; 
 '6dpi; ]u'63 5'ipp6 rp5D 70i 'ui 7p6 nppi ^ ppcip npni 
 DPP PPP3 ir"P-)j '7:!P ]i^'67 ^ PPP^ ]i:'5 'ip ^ 67 '■)p6p7 
 ^ ]'56 ]'5p ]'-)p67 ]'J3 " Solomon did not speak this passage 
 in his own person, hke the rest of his words ; but he is 
 here repeating the words of ignorant men of the world, who 
 said so ; and what did they say ? ' That the same accidents 
 happen to men and beasts, &c. ;' ignorant that they are, and not 
 knowing common sense, in that they say that this world goes 
 by chance, and that the Holy One takes no care about it, 
 but that ' the accidents of men and beasts are the same, 
 and one chance happens to both of them,' and since Solo- 
 mon knew them to be ignorant in that they said so, he calls 
 them beasts, for that they made themselves mere beasts in 
 that they said these words." You will see by referring to the 
 place that the writer has commented on the connexion of these 
 passages in a method approaching to the simple method of 
 interpretation. 
 
 But still I in my humility have apphed myself to interpret 
 them after another manner ; for after I had meditated on all 
 this section from the beginning of it to its end, the simple sense 
 of the passage seemed to be, that the most strong and certain 
 proof of the immortality of the soul, and recompence in the 
 life to come, was to be derived from the existence of wrona: 
 and violence in the world, viz. that as for the place of justice, 
 wickedness was there, &c. For he who believes in the attri- 
 
78 
 
 butes of God and his providence, cannot escape from one of 
 these alternatives, either to believe that souls exist after death, 
 and that there is hereafter a time of account for every action, 
 whether good or bad, or\ to impute evil and wrong to the 
 breast of the blessed God. This is a proof which it is impossi- 
 ble to evade. But the nature of the soul and its formation is 
 not by itself quite so strong a proof; for the caviller may per- 
 haps choose to deny the superiority of man over the beast, and 
 argue that both have the same breath. (See my commentary 
 at the place, on chap, iii.) And in my opinion this interpretation 
 of mine is more in accordance with the connexion of the pas- 
 sage, and agreeable to what is found in subsequent sections of 
 this book ; for the things there said appear at first sight more 
 difficult and more remote from the radical principles of the law 
 of truth even than what is said in the third chapter. And by 
 the help of the blessed God I have laboured and found a right 
 way, and, as I think, a true one, to dispose of every dif- 
 ficulty in those sections, and to explain the words of the wise king 
 in a method by which they will be found to be not opposing, 
 but strengthening the foundation of the law of truth. 
 
 "Now our Rabbins of blessed memory discussed carefully by 
 the methods mentioned above whichever of his expressions are 
 contradictory to one another. They say, "It is written, 'Vexa- 
 tion is better than laughter,' and again it is written, ' I said of 
 laughter, i^lpT '?'?inQ.' It is written, ' I praised mirth,' and 
 again it is written, ' I said of mirth, What doeth it ?' There is no 
 contradiction or inconsistency in saying, ' Vexation is better than 
 laughter,' i. e. ' better is the vexation wherewith God is vexed 
 against the righteous than the laughter wherewith the Deity 
 laughs at the wicked in this world,' and in saying likewise, 
 'I said of laughter, ^<^^T '?b^^D^' i.e. the laughter wherewith 
 
 ^ He inserts, " Forgive us, heaven, for saying it." 
 ^ For the original of this passage, see page 95. 
 •' It is excellent. 
 
79 
 
 the Deity laughs with the righteous in the world to come; 
 and again in saying, ' I was praising mirth/ i. e, the mirth 
 of the commandment, and in saying hkewise, ' Of mirth I said, 
 AVhat doeth it ?' i. e. the mirth, not of the commandment, &c." 
 It is clear from these their words that they interpreted bblHD 
 as a word expressing praise, Ayhereas, as Yarchi has explained 
 it, and according to the simple interpretation of the passage, 
 its sense will be as though it were derived from the word 
 nhb^n in the phrase Jl^bpDI ni'^^'in ; and so it appears from 
 what is clearly implied by the connexion of the sentences, " I 
 said in my heart. Come now, I will try thee with mirth, and 
 enjoy pleasure, and, behold, this also was in vain." " I said of 
 laughter, J*n bb)r\D, and of mirth, What doeth it?" and 
 consequently it is evident that he is reprobating laughter, and 
 saying of it that it is a thing in which there is no substantial 
 good ; but that our sages of blessed memory commented thus 
 in consequence of the wise man's having employed the word 
 ^'^inP in this place, since its signification is sometimes that of 
 praise and high excellence, as HT]) U^ bbriD (Ps. cxlv. 3, and 
 ex. 3), and sometimes of folly and want of understanding, so 
 that it would seem that the secondary sense is, that sometimes 
 laughter is excellent, and to be praised. But it is impossible 
 to speak of laughter as "of the commandment," for they had 
 already said, "The Schechinah dwells not in the midst of 
 laughter^;" which Yarchi explains by saying that "the mind 
 
 * The passage here alluded to is in Bab. Talmud, Psachim, Lect, x. 
 
 and is as foUows : "iHs^T nTy>D vb); nDimm iDbD / "iibtj: in'? 
 
 : • • T : 
 
 inj^i nTttr -|Q^?ttr id'?^ / in'p iidiq , ni^^ -idj>? "ij^ 
 •^iriD i^b n-)}^ n^Dt:?."! i^av ttid'?'? , m^Dt:^ vb); nniw ^3 
 'r\)bp ':\)nD kVi pintLT -^i^dd i6) mi^iv "^r^riQ bib} m^^iv 
 b\D nnDi:^ -in vr\D i^bi^ D>btoi onai ^ino s*bi wa^ 
 vb:; \7rii ]mn ||;d ^rr^i^ ]|;o •^b ^np np\V) -^Di^:^ m:iD 
 
 •I^p!* '^l That is to say, "Unto David a Psahn." This infonns us 
 
 that 
 
80 
 
 of the laughing person is not well regnlated, and though he 
 he not guilty of scorning, still he has no regulation of mind ;" 
 where it seems that his meaning was to explain why our sages 
 praised what they called " the laughter of the commandment," 
 and again found fault with it ; and that he means that laughter 
 in a child of man was condemned by them at all events, be- 
 cause it engrosses and unsettles the human mind. And you may 
 observe with surprise that the sages have not thought proper 
 to praise laughter in a child of man, and nevertheless have 
 attributed it to the Creator, blessed be his name, (they say, " I 
 said of laughter, i^in bb'HD, i. e. the laughter wherewith the 
 Deity laughs with the saints ;" and so of vexation they say, 
 " The vexation wherewith God is vexed with the righteous, 
 &c.") because in the case of a man who laughs or is vexed, 
 his mind is not well regulated or settled in him, and through 
 means of laughter and vexation he proceeds to folly and mad- 
 ness, and therefore in a human bosom they are culpable ; but 
 
 that the Schechinah dwelt upon liim (first), and that after that he uttered 
 the song of praise : " A Psahn unto David." This informs us that he 
 sung the song of praise first, and then the Schechinah dwelt upon him 
 afterwards ; for the Schechinah dwells neither amidst apathy nor amidst 
 melancholy, laughter, levity, or idle prattling, but amidst the cheerful- 
 ness of the commandment ; (i. e. arising from the fulfilling of it, or in 
 accoi'dance with, and in subordination to it) ; for it is written, " But 
 now bring me a minstrel;" "and it came to pass when the minstrel 
 played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him." It is true, as 
 Mendlessolm says, that the Rabbins are here guilty of apparent incon- 
 sistency ; but I think it is clear that Avhere they spoke in the Medrasch 
 on Ecclesiastes, of "the laughter of, or agreeable to, the command- 
 ment," they meant exactly the same as what they express in the above 
 passage of the Talmud, by "the cheerfulness (nHDii') of the com- 
 mandment;" which is so continually recommended throughout the book 
 of Ecclesiastes ; just as where they speak of the " laughter of the Deity 
 with the saints in the world to come," they can only mean his sub- 
 lime joy, and undisturbed felicity, not the convulsion which we call 
 laughter. 
 
81 
 
 the great God is not aiFected by tliem at all, but ho, so to 
 speak, laughs in righteousness, and is vexed in judgment in 
 his simple will, without suffering^ diminution or change in any 
 of his attributes ; and consequently in every place where the 
 scripture praises laughter or vexation, it is proper that you 
 should refer it as to its secondary sense to the blessed God, 
 because with hira those qualities are free from all defect or 
 cause of blame. Wherefore our sages in their recondite com- 
 mentary have referred the word '^'^IfTD to the laughter of the 
 Holy One with his saints in the world to come ; and whereas 
 this laughter is highly indeed to be praised, he says in con- 
 clusion, of the laughter which is not of the commandment, 
 " What doeth it ?" For it is good to restrain oneself from 
 that paltry mirth^. And their recondite commentary on the 
 verse, " Vexation is better than laughter,'"* is very much in 
 accordance with my explication of the passage ; for the pri- 
 mary meaning there is, as you will see hereafter in my 
 commentary, that the intelligent poor man, of whom he has 
 spoken in the preceding verses, is not altogether destitute of 
 happiness, as the mass of fools imagine ; for in truth man knows 
 not what is good for him in the term of his hfe under the 
 sun, and sometimes his temporary prosperity will be to his hurt; 
 and on this account he says, "Vexation is better than laughter,"" 
 for in gloominess of looks the heart may be cheerful. He 
 means that sadness is not always evil, nor laughter absolutely 
 good for man, and sometimes that the heart is happy when 
 the face is sorrowful ; but because it is not proper to commend 
 vexation in a child of man, because this passion womids his 
 soul, and brings him under " the category^ of error," as our 
 sages say, on this account our sages interpreted it of the 
 
 ^ Forgive us the thought. " End of the specimen, vide p. 90. 
 
 ^ In Pcrkc Avoth, Lcct. 3. Wi^-) ^\^bp^ pinti? IDIJ^ N^TpV ^^"> 
 •nnyb DIJ^H ri.^ ]''b''J1D Rabbi Akivah said, " Laughter and levity 
 of mind accustom men to lewdness." 
 6 
 
82 
 
 vexation of providence against the righteous in this world ; for 
 even if the Deity be vexed against the wise poor man, and he 
 seems to the sons of men as though he were altogether des- 
 titute of happiness and struggling against life ; still it is better 
 for him to be the object of tliis vexation, than of the laughter 
 wherewith God laughs against the wicked, who prospers in his 
 hour, and eats his only portion in this world. 
 
 And now let us proceed to the contradictions which A ben 
 Ezra mentions; and we shall reply to them according to our 
 method in the commentary on the text, viz. according to the 
 simple interpretation of it. 
 
 Now the first difficulty is in the use of the word DV3- It 
 is written, " Vexation is better than laughter," and the contrary 
 of this, " Vexation rests in the bosom of fools ;" and so " In 
 much wisdom is much vexation," and its opposite, " Put away 
 vexation from thy heart." Now the word Di^3 is used in 
 Hebrew^ for the boiling wrath of the mind and its indigna- 
 tion against an act of wrong and violence. For it is part of 
 the nature of the intelligent soul to experience pain in be- 
 holding oppression of the poor and perversion of judgment 
 and justice ; and to put on the garment of indignation to take 
 vengeance on him who does the wrong. And this outrage may 
 be either a real or only a seeming one ; for sometimes a man 
 is vexed with his neighbour from supposing that he has done 
 him wrong or violence when such is not the case, but the 
 thing was for his good. Now vexation against real wrong is 
 proper and laudable in itself, as is clear to every intelhgent 
 man ; though as respects the feelings of the heart, the man who 
 gives way to vexation cannot escape pain and suifering, and 
 his mind is not in a settled state as it should be ; and thus it 
 is that vexation brings a man " under the category of error," 
 as we have said ; and it is quite proper for a man to try 
 with all his might to hate evil and abominate violence, and to 
 
 ' As ii nnun. 
 
83 
 
 take vengeance on the perfidious, provided only that he continue 
 free from all passion or ebullition of feeling whatever, if this be 
 possible for one born of woman ; for this is a part of that 
 middle course which our sages have so highly commended". 
 
 ^ Vid. Mairaonides, Yad Ilachazakah, " Precepts on the Government 
 of the Temper," Chap. i. § 3, p. 151, in Mr Bernard's translation: — 
 
 "III. But between each disposition and the disposition opposed to 
 *' it [^namely]] that at the other extreme, there are intermediate dispo- 
 "sitions, which are also in opposition to each other. 
 
 " IV. The two opposite extremes in different dispositions, are not 
 " the right way ; nor does it become a man to proceed in the same, 
 " nor to discipline himself to the same ; if, therefore, he finds that he 
 " is inclined towards one of them by his nature, or that he is disposed 
 " to become inclined towards one of them, or that he has already 
 "acquired one of them and practised the same, he ought to turn back 
 "for the better, and to proceed in the way of the good which is the 
 " right way. 
 
 "V. Now the right way is that middle state, wliich is found in all 
 " the dispositions of man, namely, that disposition which is equally 
 "remote from the two extremes, so that it is not nearer to the one 
 " [extreme] than it is to the other. The sages of old have therefore 
 " directed, that a man should always estimate (i. e. that he should be 
 "aware of the power or force of) his dispositions, and that he should 
 "calculate and direct the same, [so as to keep] the intermediate way, 
 " to the end that he may preserve a perfect harmony [even] in his 
 " bodily constitution. 
 
 " VI. For instance, he ought neither to be a passionate and irritable 
 " man, nor yet like a dead man who has no feeling at all ; but [he 
 " should keep] between [these two extremes] ; so as never to be irri- 
 " tated, except by some serious matter, such as ought to be resented, 
 " in order that the same thing may not be done a second time. He 
 " ought likewise to wish for such things only as the body stands in 
 "need of, and without which it is not possible to subsist, just as it 
 "is said: 'The righteous eateth to the satisfying of the soul,' (Prov. 
 "xiii. 25). Again, he ought not to toil too much in his business, 
 "unless Qit be] to obtain those things which are necessary for his 
 "temporary life, just as it is said, 'A little that a righteous man hath 
 "is better,' (Ps. xxxvii. 16). Neither ought he to shut his hand, nor 
 
 "to 
 G— 2 
 
84 
 
 But vexation against only apparent violence is folly. It arises 
 from want of knowledge, and dwells chiefly in the bosom of 
 fools, because they cannot distinguish between good and evil. 
 And now all these verses will be seen to be plain and straight- 
 forward. He says, " Vexation is better than laughter ;" i. e. 
 (as we have observed above) it is better for the poor but 
 wise man mentioned in the preceding verses to suffer vexation 
 and annoyance at seeing violence and oppression, than to in- 
 dulge in the laughter of the wicked who fling arrows of death, 
 and say, Are we not in sport? But in chapter vi. he speaks 
 
 " to waste all his mammon ; but he ought to give alms in proportion 
 " to the means he possesses, and also to lend to him who stands in 
 "need, as becomes [a generous man]. Moreover, he ought to be neither 
 " a jocose or a gay man, nor a sullen or melancholy man ; but should 
 " always manifest a pleasing cheerfulness, and a friendly countenance ; 
 " and so it ought to be with regard to all his other dispositions ; this 
 " way being the way of the wise. 
 
 "VII. The man whose dispositions are altogether modified and in- 
 "termediate, is called Q^H a wise man; but he who is stUl more 
 " careful about himself, and who [occasionally and seasonably] declines 
 " somewhat from intermediate dispositions towards the one side or the 
 "other, is called TDH a pious man. 
 
 " VIII. For instance, if one were to recede from haughtiness of 
 "mind so far as [to reach] the opposite extreme, and [consequently] 
 " become an exceedingly humble-minded man, one would then be called 
 " a pious man, this being the virtue of piety ; but if one were to recede 
 " [from it] as far as the middle [point] only, and become an unassuming 
 " man, one would be called a wise man, this being the virtue of wis- 
 " dom ; and so it would be with all other dispositions. 
 
 " IX. Now the pious men of old used [occasionally] to bend their 
 " dispositions from the intermediate way, towards the two extremes ; 
 "one disposition they would bend towards the lowest extreme, and 
 "again another disposition they would urge on towards the highest 
 " extreme, [as the case might require] ; now this is [said to be] more 
 "even than [what] the line of justice [would require]. 
 
 " X. With regard, however, to ourselves, we are commanded to walk 
 "in the intennediate ways, which are the ways of the good and of 
 "the righteous." 
 
85 
 
 against him who murmurs against the providence of God in 
 this world, and does not take into consideration the termina- 
 tion of the thing, and what shall be in the end of it. He 
 had said in the preceding verse, " Be not quickly excitable in 
 thy spirit to vexation, &c." as much as to say, Since all the 
 ways of God are righteousness and judgment, it follows that 
 the tranquillity of the wicked, and the chastisement of the just 
 in this world, is not really evil (forgive us heaven for the 
 thought) ; for God is glorified by it ; but only seemingly evil 
 to the sons of men who lack understanding. Therefore be not 
 quickly excitable to vexation at the accidents of the sons of 
 men, for this sort of vexation is cherished only in the bosom 
 of fools. As to what he says, " that in much philosophy is 
 much vexation," that is said with reference to his meaning that 
 it is impossible for man to escape distress and sorrow altoge- 
 ther, when he observes how man oppresses his neighbour, and 
 that the wicked swallows up him who is more righteous than 
 himself; and from increase of wisdom, a man becomes more 
 sensitive to wrong and violence, and thereby more vexation is 
 generated ; for only one among a thousand can be found who 
 can always command liis temper so as not to be vexed. But 
 at the end of the book he advises man to dispel vexation from 
 his heart, and to strengthen himself against the tumults of 
 nature with all his might. Now there is a great difference 
 between the precepts of wisdom, and the practice of the wise 
 man. For wisdom commands to do good, and to depart from 
 evil, and prescribes by Avay of an instance of it, " Remove 
 vexation entirely from thy heart;" meaning, that if the liberty 
 and power to do so had been committed to man, it were pro- 
 per for him to shun the distress and perturbation of vexation 
 altogether. But the wise man, as being a mere human creature, 
 is not free from defect by reason of his humanity, and he is 
 the wisest whose defects are the fewest ; and since it is one 
 of the consequences of investigation and reflection, to increase 
 
86 
 
 our sensibility to harm and benefit, and to enlarge our per- 
 ceptions of the distinctions of good and evil, it is quite con- 
 sistent that he should say, that " in much philosophy is much 
 vexation." 
 
 And the second contradiction which Aben Ezra mentions is, 
 that it is written, that " that which is good, that which is ex- 
 cellent, is to eat and drink," and the contrary of this, "It is 
 good to go to the house of mourning." According to the ex- 
 planation I have given from the connexion of the verses, there 
 is no contradiction at all here ; it is evidently more good and 
 excellent for a man " to eat and drink, and see good done to 
 others by his labour," than that he should labour for wind, and 
 " eat all his days in the dark, and be vexed, and suffer illness and 
 peevishness." And nevertheless going to the house of mourning 
 is not always bad, nor going to the house of feasting always 
 good and advantageous for man ; and this is all the meaning of 
 the passage where he says, "It is better to go to the house 
 of mourning than to that of feasting," as I shall by God's help 
 explain at the place. 
 
 The third contradiction is one which our sages have men- 
 tioned, that it is written, " I praised mirth,*" and the contrary 
 of this, " I said of mirth, What avails it ?" And here we 
 have already had their explanation, where they speak of what 
 they call " the laughter of the commandment," as we have men- 
 tioned. And besides as to what he says of mirth, viz. "What 
 avails it?" the fact is, he had wished to find perfect good and 
 happiness for man in mirth, and di^uiking, and song, and after 
 he had made trial also of this method, he repented and said 
 of laughter. It is mad, and of mirth. What doeth it ? 
 
 The fourth contradiction is that we have, " What advantage 
 has the wise man above the fool?" and the contrary of this, 
 " Wisdom has an advantage over folly." Now I have noticed 
 in the book Zohar a recondite comment on this latter verse, 
 nearly approaching to a simple commentary, and this is surprizing. 
 
87 
 
 The original in the Zohar is as follows : — mfii pp9 o"P '") 
 
 U3 m3p TPpfi) ''5'7 rf":p fip>^2n3 fijpjDfii fi^ip pp3d7 >h'V2 
 'D'h) ipfi 'fipfi /'3 fi53Pp63 p'6 flip '6? ^ fiD'7p fiii'p u5 
 
 P7' f'57 ]fip ^i'pfi ^ ]fipp fiil 'VI' fi5 fipil? 03 ifiD >:) of" 
 Pli>3P? ]P CPSPi ])1D' D'D U7' ^3 PJDf" tb) '1PV ]P fipPDP 
 
 OP 636 ofi 'jrfi") -7^61 ''PiJ P3D fiiPi ^ -jDPP ]n i)bo ]nP'3 
 |P iPiio Piiopp ]r» PP2P5 ]np' d'd 06 'P'fiii /o fijfip 
 6pii;3 fipiuD PDPDfi 65 6iri67 ^ ^pPDpi 6p5i;ip 'p6 dpp piisp? 
 
 f|'il67 D; 13 iP 61? 63VP 6j6p1 ^ Mipi 6PP3P U71PPD6 63 
 
 'o'J3 'pP3p3 6p3nip 'p67 ]':i3 p3 y7:p3i 'piud ]r) q3'r'3 f^Dy):iv 
 i;7iPPD6 63 631DP 63p367 ^ 63idpp 6-)ir';3 6p3pip 'p67 ?p3 
 6'P '6p 6")mp7 6j'pp /o ''j'P 6p3d3 6p3ii;p 6'p6 63i 6")ip: 
 pipp3 3dp ppi' '3") ip6 ^6-}iip u7ippd6 63 tvD)f^ 63p36i 6poi6 
 6p'pp '6p3 7'3:; ]br> f^mr^ ''vvi iv f^^'DVi f^r)D\3 dj'6 vi' 637 nps 
 PI ppir'3 PI p6 dj ('i p3pp) 3'P07 u"pi t^mr) 't'O imf^ mp 
 .d"j; /idi PDU "Rabbi Chaiim opened his mouth and said, 'As to 
 the passage, I saw that wisdom has a superiority over folly, &c. 
 in many places I have made myself acquainted with the words 
 of king Solomon, and contemplated the great Avisdom which was 
 his ; and I have found that he concealed liis words in the inner- 
 most recesses as it were of a holy templet This passage too 
 is such that it must be looked into. Why does he say, I 
 have seen, as if the rest of the sons of men do not know or 
 perceive it? even he Avho has not known wisdom all his hfc, 
 and has not contemplated it, knows that wisdom has a supe- 
 riority over folly, as light has over darkness ; but Solomon 
 praises liimself, and says, I have seen ; but in so saying he 
 teaches'" — and so on. "'But I have seen that wisdom has an 
 advantage jyb^^D, i. c. that absolutely from folly is derived 
 an advantage to wisdom, since if there were no folly in the 
 ^ That is, that he wrote in a very mysterious manner. 
 
88 
 
 world, wisdom and its lessons would not be appreciated ; and 
 he means to teach that it is necessary for a son of man who 
 would learn wisdom, to learn from folly and to be acquainted 
 with it, because that advantage accrues to wisdom by means of 
 it, like the advantage which accrues to Ught from darkness, 
 since but for darkness light would not be perceived to be light, 
 nor any effect from it come into the world,'" — and so on, — "'and 
 the beauty of whiteness, wherein does it consist ? in (its contrast 
 to) blackness ; and but for blackness, whiteness would not be 
 appreciated.' Rabbi Isaac gives an illustration from the re- 
 lation of bitter to sweet, since no one appreciates the taste 
 of sweetness, till he have tasted bitterness. ' What has made 
 this to be sweetness ? we must say, that bitterness has.' 
 And this is the meaning of what is written, ' He has set 
 this over against the other,' &c." Quern vide. But here, too, 
 according to the explanation I shall by God's help there 
 give, according to the simple interpretation of the text, there 
 is no contradiction at all. But on the contrary, the one was 
 an expression of surprise on the part of the wise man, " I 
 have seen that in respect of inteUigence the wise man has 
 an advantage over the fool, but nevertheless I perceive that 
 in respect of chance they are all on an equahty, and the same 
 chance happens to both of them !" (see my commentary on this 
 passage.) And again, as for his expression, " What advantage 
 has the wise man over the fool ?" this is merely an argument 
 of the murmuring objectors, as by God's help I shall ex- 
 plain. 
 
 As for the fifth contradiction, our sages have mentioned it. 
 " I praised the dead, &c." and the contrary of this, " that a 
 live dog is better than a dead hon." I have already gone to 
 some length upon this above. 
 
 The sixth contradiction is, that "there is no work, or device, 
 or knowledge, or wisdom in the grave," and the contrary of 
 this, that " there is a time for every work there." I have 
 
89 
 
 gone to some length on these passages in my commentary ; 
 and, according to my method, both of them really refer to one 
 subject, the immortality of the soul, and recompcnce in the hfe 
 to come; and as to liis expression Htt^V^ ^''^< O its interpreta- 
 tion is, "if there be no work, &c." (See my commentary at 
 the place ; for there is no good in repetition.) 
 
 And so with regard to the seventh and eighth contradic- 
 tions, if you will acquaint yourself with my commentary on 
 them, you will see and understand that his expression, " And 
 shall not good happen to the wicked, &c." is not at all re- 
 pugnant to his remark, " There is the case of a bad man 
 j)rolonging his days in his injustice ;" for the former verse, as 
 explained from those preceding it, is to be read with a note 
 of interrogation. " Why should not the wicked attain at least 
 to apparent prosperity in this world ?" and consequently it is 
 not repugnant to the latter verse, " There is the case," &c. ; 
 besides, tliis verse is spoken with reference to the adminis- 
 tration of kingdoms, as I have there explained. And so in 
 saying, "It shall be good to the fearers of God," he speaks 
 of the true good and prosperity in the world to come, as is 
 there set forth ; and in his saying that " There are bad men 
 to whom it happens as if they had done the work of the 
 just, &c." he speaks of the unsatisfactory state of things under 
 the sun ; and the beginning of the passage is, " There is an 
 unsatisfactory thing which takes place under the sun, that there 
 are just men to whom it happens as if they had done the work 
 of the wicked," &c. 
 
 Now the reader will see in this my commentary, that I 
 have not paid any attention to the divisions of chapter and 
 verse in ordinary use among us. And in this respect I have 
 walked in the steps of former commentators ; for most of them 
 did not regard the pauses of the chapters and verses. For these 
 signs are received among our people as intended for no other 
 purpose but that of saving trouble to the reader in seekmg a 
 
90 
 
 verse or word in the bible' ; not for that of judging by means 
 of them at what place a subject begins or where it ends ; but 
 the liberty was allowed to every commentator of placing those 
 marks ^ according to his own plan in the interpretation of the 
 sense ; and you will see many passages of this roll where it 
 is impossible, on any of the interpretations, for the end of the 
 sense of the subjects to coincide with the present places of the 
 marks. Now at first it occurred to me to place the signs of 
 the chapters and verses in the places agreeable with my inter- 
 pretation. But since I had observed that in the index ^ of the 
 Talmud, the printers have proceeded with reference to the signs 
 in ordinary use among us, and I was afraid to make a change 
 which might only cause trouble to the reader, when he wishes to 
 discover a passage he seeks for ; and I also observed that some- 
 times they had altered the place of a pause for a good reason^, 
 
 ^ This is a very important remark of our author's. From the scru- 
 pulous exactness of Mendlessohn in deviating in no instance from the 
 Masoretic text, either in tliis roll, or in the Pentateuch, it is quite 
 clear that he agreed with the opinion of aU the literary authorities of 
 his own nation, (Elias Levita alone excepted), in holding the extreme 
 antiquity of the system of points, and therefore of the divisions of chapter 
 and verse, which form a part of it, and in ascribing them to Ezra and 
 his coadjutors, who, it is said, fearing that the pronunciation and inter- 
 pretation of the sacred text might be entirely lost in case of the re- 
 currence of such national calamities as the Babylonish captivity, which 
 had already occasioned a great coiTuption of the Jewish language, took 
 these means to perpetuate it. Nevertheless, he gives this decided opinion 
 about the pauses of chapter and verse. 
 
 ^ jV^, a mark. 
 
 " The index of the Talmud here spoken of is an index of the 
 passages of scripture quoted in it. 
 
 * There are several books in the Bible, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Lamen- 
 tations, and Malachi, which end with a harsh expression; and in all 
 the Hebrew Bibles the preceding verse ev(j)r)iiias x^P'" ^^ printed over 
 again, and so read in all the synagogues. They are thus designated : 
 ^ stands for Isaiah ; p for H^'^p^ or Lamentations ; p for ^V*^?' or the 
 Preacher; and D for "1^3^ ''"nr^, 2 + 10-12, i.e. the minor pro- 
 
91 
 
 viz. not to stop at a harsh expression ; I was induced by these 
 considerations to leave the marks in their original places^. 
 
 And know, dear reader, that it is not out of the stores of 
 my own mind that I have produced all the things stated in this 
 my Commentary, but that the greater part of them I have col- 
 lected from other books of preceding authors ; and the book of 
 the •'SI'' bb^D'^ of Rabbi Solomon''' has been a help and ad- 
 vantage to me in the commentary on words, and the gram- 
 mar of the language ; and in that on the sense of the text, 
 I have closely followed those great commentators, Yarchi and 
 Aben Ezra, except in places where it was necessary to differ 
 from them ; and in every place where I have found their 
 method agreeable with the simple sense of the words, and the 
 original intention of the wise king, I have put down their 
 words, word for word, without alteration or change ; and 
 because our wise men have counselled us to receive truth from 
 whoever speaks it, I have also sought in the works* of the 
 commentators who are not of the sons of Israel; and where- 
 ever I found in their mouths a word of truth, I offered it 
 to the Lord, and it became holy. 
 
 phets, of which Malachi is last, C')^ being Chaldee for two). These 
 
 letters are formed into one word pp 'r)*'} and we find in the Masoretic 
 
 notes at the end of each of these books pp JT* ]^''P written.) 
 
 ^ But at the same time he has j)ointed out where the divisions 
 would be according to his plan. 
 
 •^ Perfection of beauty. 
 
 '' This book of R. Solomon was written in a.d. 1490, and printed in 
 1567, at Salonica. 
 
 ^ Literally, "sacks," in allusion to Gen. xUv. 12. 
 
 THE END OF MENULESSOHN'S PREFACE. 
 
92 
 
 In presenting to the reader the new Version of Ecclesi- 
 astes, to which the preceding pages have been introductory, 
 I am desirous to preclude an impression which an imperfect 
 view of it might lead him to form, that it is in any respect 
 a paraphrase. Though not divided into the chapters and 
 verses of our received translation, (these being merely noted 
 in the margin to facilitate reference), it is a most close and 
 literal rendering of the original. Whenever a word is intro- 
 duced to which there is no word corresponding in the Hebrew 
 text, it is printed in italics, a practice which has long been 
 adopted in translations of the Bible into modern languages. 
 Nor let the reader be startled by the total discrepancies 
 which he will meet with in many passages between this version 
 and that which he has hitherto been accustomed to use. Much 
 he will perceive to be unaltered ; but whenever those discre- 
 pancies occur, let me intreat him to consider carefully the 
 arguments in their behalf detailed in the annotations to the 
 text, where he will always find each fully discussed. Our 
 received translation of the Sacred Text is in general one of 
 admirable, nay wonderful, correctness, and for majesty of style 
 unrivalled; but with regard to this book, perhaps more than 
 any other, very much additional elucidation has been effected 
 since the time of King James I. ; and surely the discoveries 
 and manifest improvements of a later period ought not to be 
 rejected in the translation of the Bible, any more than in other 
 branches of ancient literature, wherein the accumulation of cor- 
 rect knowledge must necessarily be the progressive work of 
 successive ages. It must be allowed by the most prejudiced 
 admirers of the received translation, that the version of Eccle- 
 siastes contained in it is in many places either so obscure as 
 to be unintelhgible, or so apparently opposed in doctrine to the 
 rest of scripture, that a sweeping system of adaptation and far- 
 
93 
 
 fetched commentary must be adopted in order to justify the 
 inspired writer. And these obscurities and difficulties afford a 
 reasonable suspicion, which reference to the original will in- 
 crease to certainty, of the inaccuracy of the translation of a 
 book which is not prophetic in its character, but evidently 
 intended for the general instruction of mankind. On the con- 
 trary, that which I here present to the reader, every word 
 and expression of which has been weighed with the most assi- 
 duous and prolonged attention, will be found to convey through- 
 out a clear and obvious sense which needs no paraphrase ; and 
 the somewhat bulky annotations which follow, are necessary, not 
 to explain its meaning, but to establish its claim to be con- 
 sidered a faithful rendering of the original. I would there- 
 fore again intreat the reader not to content himself with the 
 sense therein presented to him, but to verify it by reference 
 to the annotations. 
 
 I have folloAved the example of the authors of our received 
 version, in prefixing to each of the sections into which the sense 
 of the book divides itself, an introductory analysis, containing a 
 concise view of the topics therein treated of. These it will 
 be well for the reader on no account to pass over, as they 
 form in themselves perhaps the best sort of commentary, as 
 preparing him to see clearly and follow easily the sometimes 
 subtle and intricate argument of the section. And occasionally 
 he will find that should the first perusal of a section have 
 failed to satisfy him of the perspicuity of its contents, a second 
 reference to the analysis will make it perfectly clear to him. 
 This remark apphes especially to Sections VI. X. and XL, 
 which are of no ordinary difficulty, and the following version 
 of which is entirely new. 
 
 For my neglect of the divisions of chapter and verse in 
 ordinary use, there is ample apology in Mendlessohn's remarks 
 on that subject in the conclusion of his preface (vide p. 89) ; 
 and for my having placed the marks of tliose divisions on the 
 
94 
 
 side of the page, instead of inserting them into the text and 
 dividing it at each, abundant precedent is furnished by numerous 
 editions of the Old and New Testament in the originals, and 
 several translations in our own language. I have endeavoured, 
 as far as possible, to adhere to the phraseology of our biblical 
 version, on account of the very natural partiality which is 
 generally felt for it, and its real dignity and simplicity, which 
 render it a more befitting garb for the revelations of divine 
 truth, than could be furnished out of a more modern vocabulary, 
 though this might convey to the modern reader a more correct 
 and intelligible representation of the sense of the original. 
 Nevertheless it has been found necessary to employ words not 
 to be met with in a Biblical Concordance in several places, 
 where the peculiar modification of meaning of Hebrew words 
 seems not to have been perceived by those translators. As 
 instances of this, it will be found that the word '^IH is some- 
 times rendered " unsatisfactory," and sometimes " transitory," 
 in passages where the word " vanity" by no means adequately 
 represents it, and that IflV D^nr^JJI bi^ is rendered "affect 
 not excessive penetration." It must be recollected that this 
 book is unique in its character, and the only specimen in the 
 sacred volume of open discussion on philosophy and political 
 economy, and that consequently, it might be expected that a 
 vocabulary sufficient for the translation of the other portions 
 of it should be found inadequate to the full and correct ex- 
 hibition in our language of the reasonings of the royal sage. 
 I trust, then, that such deviations from ordinary bibhcal phrase- 
 ology as I have laboured in vain to avoid, as well as whatever 
 beside he may regard as blemishes in this version, will meet 
 with the reader's indulgence, if he finds, as I may venture to 
 hope that he will, that by means of it this portion of the 
 sacred volume approves itself to him, in a greater degree than 
 it did before, as " plain to him that under standeth, and right 
 to them that find knowledge." 
 
95 
 
 It will bo seen that I have given along with each verse of 
 the Hebrew text an original Latin translation, which generally 
 coincides closely in sense with my English version. My object 
 in so doing was to determine the sense more rigorously than 
 can possibly be done by a literal translation in a single lan- 
 guage, which from its ambiguities may occasionally fail in con- 
 veying to the reader the exact meaning intended by the 
 translator. An additional advantage of a Latin translation is, 
 that it will render this volume not altogether useless to persons 
 unacquainted with English, should it chance to fall into their 
 hands. 
 
 I subjoin the following specimen of the original of Mendlessohn's 
 Preface, vide p. 'J8. 
 
 3'P3 ^ iiirp 'Pinfi piPDi> yDZ) piPDn ovd 3id 2'dd ^ n J^f' pr 
 3)v ''DP 63 ^ VD)v rr r»P vvmh) 3'P3i T'Vvdv nb ofi 'pp3Di 
 ppDrD piPDr> D'p'Ti? bv r"3pp pyi:D ov:) 31D ^wtiv dd^ 
 ppDPD piPD n iiipn 'Pivb piPD3i ^ T'c^w cpDir" bv v>"2^)0 
 iD rpPD ipi rpPDP pfi ':fi p3Di ^ 3"py3 o'p'iip oi; r'"3pr' 
 'i3i ^ ni)? 5d pj'6d pppd in rDii» rr rn r'PPDii ^ nip 
 'Pii 5"t '"dtpd ir3 ^ P3D ]iDi> iiirp idtpd Dpn37r rf)-)^ 
 
 PIUPDPP Pfi")^ ]31 ^ Pi3dP1 miilp ]1Dip 'T' fi-)pp io 1U1DP 
 
 31U3 r^ii rpPD3 r^pjf' 6: r^i '333 06 'mpf) d'3ip3P iDn:^ 
 y'fii ^ roip PI PP PPPDii i3i?p 'Pipfi pipDi ^ 33P p; dj p:)Pi 
 ''PDPD 636 , DPP 13 ]'6d 121 61PD r3]; ip^m pipDP pj'jd '6713 
 Dfp ip6iipd ^ 33ipp P3'P3 '3PP DPPDPD ivf^n p lD-)7 3"t 
 p^noPD UPDP py7p ■)7i;pi 'i33pp DDP1 PTD'p r'3j;ppi r3DP 
 
96 
 
 I'fiD 5"f '"dt ''PI 'o piPD -jipp f>i P11D rj'SDi"' |'f> npfi -733 
 
 ^ 5"dp 31D' 13 I'fi Oipp iOP ]li5 13 ]'f> ''Pfil P3DVP ppiD? DDl 
 6il nip 5d PPPD D'POP ''P3D UHP Dlpi PI3 '"Ul JIOD Pf>"7^ 
 533 PJ1JP 076 ]33 pIPDP Dpi ''PD "OPfipi ^ PliP iD pIPD ''P3D 
 
 fiipppi pfiii ^ d76p Dvi r)f> bibzm 7nup fiiPD ':pp ^ ]pif> 
 
 1P1PP' Pt is Dyi ^ 07^ ]33 piPDP Pfi P3Di i"l U'PDP )il Wd 
 
 pipD 1PI , iiiPP 'D-^nf^ piPDi npfii ^ ipd -\i3fl' f^Dio if> 
 
 pyOD PWP 31U nPft , PPDP ]D1 , D'p'7iP DP p"3pP pPIDD 
 WDl j'f" PUIDP 16 pPIDP D7f'PD 'Pi '131 D'p'7iP DP p"3pP 
 ]3il ^ PliilPl PliDpi PDOPI pIPDP '7' ip f'3 filPI Vil? P3D1'P 
 
 ^ bh op'7' ii? ii?PD' 65 IPD piyp' DDP i36 ^ ipp3 'oi:p dp 
 
 jHPP 'J7i3P ^ U1DPP i:ili"53 UPDP3 PDIOI p7i3 pPID il3'33 filPl 
 p6 r3DP 31P3r'D DipP i33 3"f'1 j VP17PP PPfiS l"p 'UD if" 
 liifiD 'pi 'r' DDP if" '':>DP P:iiDP 1P3'DPD ]5P' pr3P lfi piPDP 
 P3'P i"lP 1D-)7 pi , P1:J i3P1 jHPP i3P PipUP ilip P17PP 
 PIP piPDPD nvf^) , 3"py3 D'p'7iP DP p"3pP pIPD ip iiiPP 
 '3 ^ PD1P PI T>V PliP iD PJ'fiD PPPDi "jPlfil D"PP ^ 7lfip P31DP 
 
 .b'T>T> pprap PPPDP |P iPip pf" Pi:pi 3iu 
 
 THE END OF THE PROLEGOMENA. 
 
THE BOOK 
 
 OP 
 
 SOLOMON, 
 
 CALLED 
 
 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 THE FIRST SECTION. 
 
 Solomon asserts the vanity of all human jmr- 
 suits. As a general proof and illustration of 
 this assertion, he shews that the four elements 
 and consequently all earthly things are moving 
 in a round of constant recurrence, so that what- 
 ever happeyis must have happened before, though 
 there he 7io record of it, and must happen 
 again; and that therefo7-e human labour can 
 produce nothing new. 
 
 Chap. 
 I. 
 
 1 nPHE words of the Preacher", the son of David/ ?com. 
 
 king in Jerusalem. 
 
 2 Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher% vanity 
 
 3 of vanities, all is vanity. What advantage has 
 man in all his lahour which he performs under 
 
 4 the sun ? One generation of earthly things de- 
 parts, and another generation comes, while the bidk 
 
 5 of the earth remains for ever the same. The sun 
 
 also arises and the sun sets, and is hasting" to 'foJ'."""' 
 his place there while rising here; going to the 
 7 
 
98 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 south, and returning to the north ; the wind goes 6 
 round and round, and the same wind returns on 
 its circuits again. All the rivers go into the sea, 7 
 and yet the sea is never too full; to the place 
 where the rivers are going, thither they will be 
 
 ''HS/i» going again. All things are in activity''; man 8 
 cannot describe it all, as the eye cannot be satis- 
 fied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. 
 What has been, is that which will be, and what 9 
 has been done, is that which will be done ; and 
 there is nothing new under the sun. Should there lo 
 be anything whereof it should be said, "Behold 
 this is new ! " it has already been in the ages which 
 
 'S/''i.°e'!' "^^^^ before us^ The former things are not re- ii 
 ouAfme." membered, and likewise the latter things which 
 will be, will not be remembered in the time of 
 those that shall be hereafter. 
 
 THE SECOND SECTION. 
 
 He points out in detail the unprofitableness of 
 the several departments of human labour ; and 
 first as to philosophy and science, he says that 
 having piirsued them to their utmost extent, amid 
 all the advantages for so doing that he pos- 
 sessed, he had found them so unsatisfactory as 
 hardly to hear comparison with folly and ig- 
 norance. 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 99 
 
 12 T THE Preacher was king over Israel in Jeru- 
 
 13 salem ; and I applied myself to examine and in- 
 vestigate philosophically concerning all that is done 
 under the sun. Sad is this employment which God 
 has given an impulse to the sons of men to be 
 
 14 engaged in. I contemplated all the works which 
 are done under the sun ; and, behold ! all were 
 
 15 vanity and a mere windy notion. The perverted 
 could not be set right, and the deficient could 
 
 16 not be supplied. I spake within myself, saying, 
 " Lo, T have extended and propagated philosophy 
 above all that were before me in Jerusalem, and 
 ray mind has seen much philosophy and science." 
 
 17 And so I set myself to compare^ philosophy with 'j^„<'o^^;,pjJ"^. 
 madness and folly. I found that this too was a and to 
 
 •' know folly 
 
 18 mere windy idea. For in much philosophy is much rie^»°' 
 vexation, and he who increases science increases 
 disappointment. 
 
 THE THIRD SECTION. 
 
 He next made trial of what is farthest removed 
 from philosophic inve^sfigation, mirth and hila- 
 rity, and came to a similar conclusion. 
 
 Chap. 
 
 11. 
 
 1 T SAID in my mind, " Come now, let me try thee 
 
 with mirth," and " enjoy pleasure" ; and, lo, 
 
 2 this too was in vain. I said of laughter, " It is 
 mad," and of mirth, "What does this avaiP?" 'Heb."do." 
 
 7—2 
 
100 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 THE FOURTH SECTION. 
 
 He then tried to combine these two extremes, and 
 applied his wisdom and science to the refine- 
 ments of taste and luxury, hoping to find satis- 
 faction in the union of animal and intellectual 
 enjoyments, but with the same want of success 
 as he had before experienced. 
 
 T SOUGHT in my mind how to cherish my bodily 3 
 
 frame with wine, and my mind still training it- 
 self in philosophy to retain folly likewise, till I 
 might find what is the best thing for the sons to 
 do under heaven, during the term of their life-time. 
 I extended my works; I built myself houses; I 4 
 planted myself vineyards: I made myself gardens 5 
 and parks, and planted them with every sort of 
 fruit tree : I made myself reservoirs of water, from 6 
 which to water the plantation for rearing trees: I 7 
 procured men-servants and maid-servants, and I 
 had a household; I had also large herds of great 
 and small cattle above all that were before me in 
 Jerusalem : I also amassed to myself silver and 8 
 gold, and the treasures of kings and provinces : I 
 trained for myself men-singers and women-singers, 
 and those delights of the sons of man, several 
 captive women. And I became great and opulent 9 
 above all that were before me in Jerusalem ; be- 
 Literaiiy, sides mv philosophv was an assistance^ to me. Aud lo 
 
 "stood by •' •"■ *■ •' 
 
 ™lto7d me nothing that my eyes desired did I withhold from 
 them ; nor did I refrain myself from any enjoy- 
 
ECCDESIASTES. 101 
 
 ment, for my mind derived enjoyment from all my 
 occupation, and that was the profit" I looked for\¥po^JJ^' 
 
 o n 11 derived 
 
 irom all my labour. fromit." 
 
 11 But I turned to all the works which my hands 
 had made, and to all the labour which I had toiled 
 
 12 to perform: and, lo! it was all a mere breath and 
 windy notion, and there was no profit under the 
 sun. 
 
 THE FIFTH SECTION. 
 
 He tells us that he relinquished this experiment 
 as hopeless, convinced that no ofie could ever 
 give it a fairer trial than he had done ; and 
 next mentions several other instances of the 
 fruitlessness of human labour for the attain- 
 ment of wisdom or wealth, or the retention of 
 them when acquired; the observation of which 
 had inspired him with such contempt and despair 
 of life, that eveii the reflection that the good 
 things of this life are disposed of by the hand 
 of God alone, and that it is on this account 
 that our efforts often fail, only made the view 
 of human affairs appear to him still more dark 
 and unsatisfactory. 
 
 13 QO I turned away from the contemplation of phi- 
 
 losophy in union with'' madness and folly: for'^^J^,, 
 in such a matter what can any one else effect who 
 comes after a king? only what has" already been \^,^^;t 
 
 14 done. Now I perceived that philosophy has an aiireadr*^ 
 
 done." 
 
 advantage over ignorance, just as light has an 
 
102 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 advantage over darkness ; yor that as for the phi- 
 losopher, his eyes are in his head, but the fool 
 v^^alks in darkness: and yet I found also that the 
 same chance may happen to both of them : and 15 
 I said to myself, "Just like the chance of the 
 
 "tJ^itmay ^'^°^' ^^ *^ mysclf also*" it may happen to me; 
 ^appen o ^^^ ^^ what purpose then am I wiser than he?" 
 so I said to myself, that this also vs^as in vain. 
 For the wise man as well as the fool will not 16 
 always be remembered, inasmuch as in future ages 
 they will already both have been forgotten. And 
 alas! how dies the wise man? like the fool! So 17 
 I hated life ; for sad to me was all the work done 
 under the sun, because all of it was a breath, and 
 a mere windy notion : and I hated all my labour is 
 which I had performed under the sun, inasmuch 
 as I am to leave it to one who shall survive me, 
 (and who knows whether he will be a wise man 19 
 or a fool ?), and is to be master of all my work which 
 my toil and wisdom have produced under the sun ; 
 and this is unsatisfactory. I even turned to give 20 
 
 "Heb. "To my mind up to despair'' about all the labour which 
 
 make my 
 
 ^!j"^jj^- I had performed under the sun; because there are^ 21 
 "There mcu whoso labour is skilful and scientific and 
 
 IS a man. 
 
 *'<=•" successful, and who have to resign their profit from 
 it to those who have had no part in that labour; 
 and this is an unsatisfactory thing and a pre- 
 vailing evil ; for what is the practice of man 22 
 with respect to all his labour and the ideas of 
 his mind in which he employs himself under the 
 sun? that all his days are wearisome, and his 23 
 occupation vexatious, so that even in the night 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 103 
 
 24 his mind rests not, while it is all in vain. It is 
 no great good for a man to eat and drink, and 
 enjoy himself in his employment : and even this I 
 
 25 perceived to he from the hand of God alone ; (for 
 
 26 who shall eat, and enjoy, if I could not?) but that 
 it is to him who is good in His sight that He 
 gives wisdom, and knowledge, and enjoyment: while 
 to the sinner He assigns the occupation of accu- 
 mulating and amassing wealth to resign it to him 
 who is good in the sight of God : and this was 
 unsatisfiictory, and a mere windy notion. 
 
 THE SIXTH SECTION. 
 
 He now develops the true theory which he had 
 arrived at after the doubts and experiments 
 detailed above. He shews the fruitlessness of 
 excessive diligence and anxiety about worldly 
 things from the consideration that every thing 
 happens in its otvn appointed time according 
 to a decree of the most High, who has pre- 
 ordained from eternity what is to happeyi at 
 each moment, and what employment each indi- 
 vidual is to perform, so as for the best final 
 residt to be produced. That such being the case^ 
 every thing must be looked on in the most 
 cheerful light as excellent in its own season ; 
 and our true hajjpiness is to be cheerful in the 
 employment allotted to us, and if we are also 
 blessed with bodily comforts and enjoyments, and 
 so enabled to be cheerful, to be thankful for 
 
104 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 them as the gift of God, who has immutably 
 fixed the whole order of events, and willed that 
 such should he our condition. So far from al- 
 lowing that the existence of icrong and violence 
 and the imperfect recompense of the good and 
 had in this life constitute an ohjection against 
 this absolute superintendance of divine wisdom, 
 he shews that we are therehy furnished with the 
 most cogent argument for the certainty of a fu- 
 ture state of retribution, observing that it is 
 better so i7f erred than from the common opinion 
 of the superiority given to men over beasts ; since 
 with respect to outward and prima facie appear- 
 ances, they are really all on a level; and as to 
 their intellectual parts and the respective na- 
 tures and destinies of them, that is too subtle 
 a speculation for any but the most acute; so 
 that on the gromid of that opinion alone the 
 commoti conclusion of mankind might well he, 
 that the future being so uncertain they had best 
 enjoy what manifestly is their portion here. ^ 
 
 III.' 
 
 T^HERE is an appointed time and a season for i 
 every business under the sun : a time for 2 
 bringing forth, and a time to die ; a time to plant, 
 and a time to abstain from planting ; a time to 3 
 kill, and a time to heal ; a time to break down, 
 and a time to build up ; a time to mourn, and a 4 
 time to laugh ; a time to lament, and a time to 
 dance ; a time to throw away stones, and a time 5 
 to collect stones; a time to embrace, and a time 
 to refrain from embracing ; a time to seek, and a 6 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 105 
 
 time to lose ; a time to keep, and a time to throw 
 7 away ; a time to rend, and a time to sew together ; 
 s a time to be silent, and a time to speak ; a time 
 
 to love, and a time to hate ; a time to make war, 
 
 and a time to be at peace. 
 9 What advantage then has the active man in 
 
 10 his labour? I contemplated the occupation which 
 God has given an impulse to the sons of men to 
 
 11 be engaged in; that He has made it all excellent 
 in its season, and has even implanted in their heart 
 
 the love of the present life% so that a man cannot "Sorid"'^ 
 but find the employment, which God has appointed 
 
 12 for Mm from beginning to end. I found then that 
 
 there is no good for them, but in each being 
 
 13 cheerful, and doing good in his life; and besides 
 that every one who eats and drinks and sees good 
 effected by all his labour, to him it is the gift of 
 
 1"* God ; for I know that all that God appoints is 
 fixed for ever, that none can add to it, and none 
 diminish from it, and that God has so appointed 
 it in order that men might fear before Him alone ; 
 
 15 that as that which has been has already taken place, 
 so that which will be is as though it had already 
 taken place; and that it is God who requires the 
 recurrence of the past". '"Godre- 
 
 16 But ao-ain, I saw under the sun, that as for pmsu«i," 
 
 ^ i.e. "the 
 
 the place of justice, injustice was there; and as for fj^pJ^'jIeS 
 
 17 the place of righteousness, wrong was there ; where- future." 
 fore I said to myself, God will judge the righteous "^ ^.^'j^lVhe" 
 
 and the wicked, for there is a doom there *" for -i i.e. " dis- 
 tinguished 
 
 18 every business and for every action. — Respecting f'jg'^sje- 
 the saying of the sons of men, that God has chosen'' choice." 
 
106 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 them, I argued with myself that they ought to see 
 that by themselves they are but beasts; for that 19 
 the sons of men are creatures of chance, and the 
 beasts are creatures o/' chance, and the same chance 
 happens to them ; the death of the one is like 
 the death of the other, and they have both the 
 same breath of life ; and that man has no supe- 
 riority over the beast, for that both of them are 
 as a mere breath ; that both go to the same place, 20 
 both are from the dust, and both are returning to 
 the dust; that he only who hath understanding 21 
 understands about the spirit of man that it goes 
 upwards, and the life of the beast that it goes 
 • Literally, dowH to the carth ; so that I concluded^ that no- 22 
 
 "saw." ' 
 
 thing would be better than for man to take delight 
 '^•ofi't"' u. ^^^ ^^^^ employment, as his only profit^ from it : since „ 
 theVi-^otit who should bring him to see into what shall be IV. 
 
 derived 
 
 emj^ioj^-^ after him? I therefore returned^ to the contem- 1 
 «i"e"''in plation of all the oppressions which are done under 
 
 order to 
 
 derive ^the thc suu, aud, bchold ! the weeping of the oppressed, 
 elusion." ^^^^ j.j^gy 1^^^ ^^^ comforter; and on the side of 
 
 the oppressors there was power, so that they had 
 none to comfort them ; and I was ready to praise 2 
 the state of the deceased in that they were already 
 dead, more than that of the living because they 3 
 were still alive, and as better than either his who 
 had not yet been, because he had not seen the evil 
 deeds done under the sun. 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 107 
 
 THE SEVENTH SECTION. 
 
 He now proceeds to give j)^(^c^pfs ^f 'practical 
 wisdom and duty. He recommends a middle 
 course between that excessive exertion of ivhich 
 envy is the origin and consequence; and the 
 indolence of the man who devours his patrimony 
 till he has nothing left. He points out the folly 
 of the solitary miser, the advantage of marriage 
 and social intercourse, and the vanity of ambition 
 as exhibited in the fickleness of popidar favour. 
 
 4 T HAVE also seen with respect to all industry, and 
 
 all successful work, that it is i^^f^epcirable from^ ^^^^^^^^"^^^^ 
 each man's jealousy of his neighhour; so that that emyofhil 
 
 neigh- 
 
 .'5 too is a mere hreath and windy notion. The fool ^°"''" 
 folds his hands, and devours as it were his own 
 
 Gflesli. A quiet handful is better than both hands 
 full of trouble and a mere windy notion. 
 
 7 And I returned to the contemplation of what 
 
 8 is vain under the sun. There is the solitary man, 
 
 who has none connected with him^ and has no\^^^;"^^°^ 
 son or brother, and yet of all whose labour there ^'^™"''" 
 is no end, and whose eye is never satisfied with 
 wealth ; and, if I were he, for whom should I be 
 toiling and denying myself enjoyment ? This too 
 
 9 then is a vain thing, and bad" employment. Two ?/^^^,"J,^,V. 
 are better off than one alone, because they are well baTman*!" 
 
 10 rewarded for their labour. For should they fall, 
 the one will lift up his companion ; but woe to 
 the single man should he fall ! because there is no 
 
108 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 second person to raise him up. Also, if two lie n 
 together^ they will be warm : but how shall the 
 * How shall single man** have warmth? And should an indi- 12 
 
 It be warm & 
 
 Seman?' vidual ofFer violence to either of the two, they 
 will both stand up against him; and a triple cord 
 is not quickly broken. 
 
 "An indigent but wise youth is better than 13 
 an old and foolish king, who is too old to be 
 advised, even though he have come out of a house 1* 
 of bondmen, for he too who is born in his royalty 
 is born poor." Thus have I seen all the people, 15 
 that walk under the sun, taking part with the 
 youth next in succession, who is to stand up after 
 him. For it seems to all the people that there 16 
 'ft.?"7he ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ that^ is in their own time; and 
 
 govern? yct thc ucxt generation will not take delight in 
 
 ment." 
 
 him ; but this too is a mere breath and windy 
 notion. 
 
 THE EIGHTH SECTION. 
 
 He inculcates the duty of profound reverence in 
 the worship of God with the punctual payment 
 of vows^ and of avoiding the ostentatious and 
 wordy petitions of the wicked. As a next step 
 to the fear of God, he teaches submission with- 
 out murmur to existing governments, and shews 
 that defects in their administration are not rashly 
 to he laid to the fault of the king. The pain- 
 ful responsibility of kingly station reminds him 
 of the vanity of large possessions and trains of 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 109 
 
 dependants. He sheivs that the head of a large 
 domain cannot enjoy it all himself, for that his 
 ivealth is divided among others; nay, that his 
 very rank and luxury are a burden to him ; 
 and that in many cases his elevation makes 
 him a mark for the plots of villains, who strip 
 him at last of all that it had cost him so much 
 pain and self-denial to acquire. How much 
 hetter then, he concludes^ than this selfish anxiety 
 which so often ends in disappointment, is a 
 spirit of cheerful and benevolent contentment 
 mingled with thankfulness for whatever super- 
 fluities it may be our lot to possess ! To induce 
 us thereto, he reminds us that life is short, and 
 that God intends us to be happy. 
 
 JHAP. 
 
 V. 
 
 1 TIE circumspect^ when thou goest into the house 'Heb. 
 
 Ij 1 & « Keep thy 
 
 of God; and to draw near to hear is better ^°°^'" 
 than the sacrificing of the fools, of the fools, I 
 say, for they know not that they are doing wicked- 
 
 2 ness. Be not rash with thy mouth, and even in 
 thy mind be not in haste to utter a word before 
 God ; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth ; 
 
 3 therefore let thy words be few. For as a dream 
 
 is made up'' of a multitude of matters'"; so is the "Heb. 
 
 "comes 
 
 prayer'* of a fool of a multitude of expressions^ '"'nc'onse- 
 
 4 When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to of," or, 
 
 "under 
 
 pay it ; for there is nothing pleasing to God in off"^""" 
 
 " Uncon- 
 
 5 fools: pay that thou vowest. It is better that nectl.™anci 
 
 irrele- 
 
 thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest dHeb. " 
 6 vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause 
 
110 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 'H/Jj,"*''y tliee^ to sin; nor say to the priest, that it was 
 tak™''^" ^" oversight *^: why should God be provoked by 
 
 *" voice" ^^^y words^ to^ destroy the work of thy hands? 
 
 '"fnd." For in the multitude of dreamy' and vain matters 7 
 "dreams words also may'' be multiplied: but of God stand 
 
 and vaiii- •' ••• 
 
 "LHer'ally, thoU iu aWe. 
 
 many," If thou seost IU a province oppression of the 8 
 
 ''shmud°'^poor, and perversion of justice and right, be not 
 
 be many • i i r ^ 
 
 witiiout surprised at the matter ; for the great are one 
 
 impro- " 
 
 pnety." ^bovo the otlior in office, and there are great ones 
 again above them ; and the excellence of a coun- 9 
 try is in the entire state of it ; even the master 
 of a field is served bi/ others. As he who loves lo 
 money will not be satisfied with money ; so he 
 who delights in a retinue has no advantage from 
 it; for that too is a vain thing. For in the in- ii 
 
 1 Heb." eat crease of property those who live' upon it are 
 also increased ; and what advantage has the owner 
 
 "pleasure of ^^ it, cxccpt thc" looklug ou with his eyes? The 12 
 on°."'"^ sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat 
 much or little : but the satiety of a rich man suffers 
 
 -Literally, i^jni not to sleop. Thcro is a sore" evil I have is 
 
 "a sickly 1 
 
 "amo'ra*i' seon uudcr the sun, riches kept to the injury of 
 fJct"*'ac ^^^i^ owner, when those riches perish through a 
 some""^ nefarious" design, and the son he has begotten i4 
 
 prevailing _ 7/>-i'ii i i 
 
 evil." has nothms: fe/t m his hand; that as he came 15 
 
 " Masora, » t/ ' 
 
 design of a out of his mothcr's womb naked, he should re- 
 turn as he came, and acquire nothing by his labour 
 which he may carry away in his hand. This, 1 16 
 sai/, is also a sore evil, that exactly as he came 
 so he should depart : and what advantage is it 
 then to him that he labour for wind? and, be- 
 
ECCLESIASTES. Ill 
 
 J 7 sides, that all his days he eat as it were in the 
 dark, and snffer anxiety, and illness and peevish- 
 ness should be upon him ? 
 
 18 What I saw then to be good, what / saw to 
 be excellent, is for a man to eat and drink and 
 see good effected by means of all his labour which 
 he does imder the sun during the term of his life- 
 time which God has given him, for that that is his 
 
 \9 only profit y)'OW it; and that as for every one to 
 whom God has given wealth and riches, and en- 
 abled him to eat of them and to obtain that profit 
 from them, and to be cheerful in the midst of 
 
 20 his labour, this is the gift of God to him ; for 
 let him remember that the days of his life are 
 not many, and that God responds to the cheer- 
 fulness of his heart. 
 
 THE NINTH SECTION. 
 
 It occurred to him, however, in the way of ohjection 
 against the goodness of' God, that frequently, 
 when he apjiears to have j)ut within a mans 
 reach every sort of earthly haj)piness ivhich 
 wealth can confer, he permits him not all his 
 life to enjoy it, hut keeps him toiling inces- 
 santly and insatiably ; and in the same way 
 with respect to the literary man, though he 
 attain to much information he never satisfies 
 himself ivith it, hut seems condemned to go on 
 amassing fresh stores of knowledge, ivithout 
 being able to apply what he has already ac- 
 
112 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 quired to smooth the i^ath of life. In cmsiver 
 to these discontented reflections^ he shews that 
 the overruling providence of God orders all 
 things for the best, and that those circum- 
 stances which at first sight appear less cheer- 
 ful and flattering, are often really the best for 
 us, and as such would be preferred by the 
 wise man. He therefore recommends content- 
 ment, patience^ and resignation to the Divine 
 will. 
 
 Chap. 
 VI. 
 
 "T^HERE is, however, an evil I have seen under i 
 
 the sun to be very prevalent on mankind. 
 The case of the man to whom God gives wealth 2 
 and riches and honour, and who w^ants nothing for 
 himself of all that he could desire, and yet God 
 enables him not to enjoy it, but a stranger enjoys 
 it. This, / say, is an unsatisfactory thing, and a 
 bad defect. If such a man beget a hundred chil- 3 
 dren and live many years, and the days of his 
 «Heb."his years be many, while he never^ has full enioy- 
 
 soul IS not J J •> J 
 
 satisfied." ^^^^ Qjp ^|-,g^|. prosperity himself, and no honourable 
 burial is his, I should say an untimely birth is 
 better off than he. For since the untimely birth 4 
 comes forth in vain, and goes away in darkness, 
 and its name is buried in darkness, and besides it 5 
 "peHty"?' ^as not sccu or known the sun^ it has more 6 
 tranquillity than he ; and even had he lived twice 
 a thousand years without enjoying prosperity, do 
 
 the labour ^hcy uot both ffo to thc same place? As man 
 
 of man is .' o r 
 
 mouth." is"" always labouring to supply his mouth, so his 7 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 113 
 
 8 mind too is never satisfied ; for what advantage 
 has the wise man above tlie fool? what good is 
 it to the indigent man who hath understanding 
 
 9 to he actively struggling against life ? the mere 
 satisfaction*^ of the eyes is better than that activity 'fJl^to/llfe 
 of the mind ; so that it likewise is as a vain and 
 windy notion." 
 
 10 Whatever it has been, the condition of each 
 was already fixed, and it was known what each man 
 was to be, so that he cannot enter into judgment 
 
 11 with Him who is stronger than he. For there are 
 many things which only increase vanity; what is 
 
 12 the advantage of them to man ? For who knows 
 
 what is good for man in life, during the days of 
 
 his transitory life, that he should make them as his 
 Chap. '' i 7 • 
 
 VII. shelter, since who shall tell a man what calamity 
 
 1 may be awaiting'' him under the sun? A good " « ^ewnd' 
 name may be better than precious ointment ; and 
 
 the day of one's death better than the day of one's 
 
 2 birth. It may be better to go to the house of 
 mourning, than to go to the house of feasting, 
 since that*^ is the end of every man, and the'h^g^,^,, 
 
 3 living will lay it to heart there. Sorrow^ may be funJ'rli!" 
 
 eOr, "vexa- 
 
 better than laughter, for in sadness of countenance t'O"" 
 
 4 the heart may be cheerful. The thought'' of the'-HeJ^^^,, 
 wise man is in the house of mourning, and the 
 
 5 thought of fools in the house of mirth. It may 
 be better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man, 
 than for one to be listening to the song of praise 
 
 Qi of fools. For as the noise of thorns under the pot, 
 7 so is the joking of fools ; it also is in vain ; for the 
 oppression of fools will drive a wise man mad, but 
 *8 
 
114 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 "liS' th^ir kindness' will break his heart. The end of 8 
 '"''■ a thing ma)^ be better than its beginning, and the 
 patient better off than the high spirited. Be not 9 
 hasty to feel vexation in thy mind; for vexation 
 rests only in the bosom of fools. Say not. How lo 
 was it that the former days were better than 
 • Heb. "out these? for thou wouldest not have asked wiseW 
 
 of WIS- .' 
 
 about this. Wisdom is valuable along with an ii 
 inheritance, but of superior value for those who see 
 the sun ; " for to he under the shelter of wisdom 12 
 is to he under the shelter of money," but the su- 
 periority of knowledge is that wisdom can maintain 
 its owner hij itself. Contemplate the appointments 13 
 of God ; for who can set right what He has made 
 perverted^ ? In the day of prosperity continue in 14 
 
 dom 
 
 I Or, 
 "crook- 
 ed." 
 
 in good." what is ffood"; and in the day of adversity observe ! 
 
 -Adversity, O ' J J 
 
 ° Literally, 
 " exactly 
 
 spondinff order that men might not find out anything against 
 
 God hath made the one" to balance" the other^ in 
 
 THE TENTH SECTION. 
 
 He says that in the present state of the world 
 we do not always find justice and injustice meet 
 with their due rewards; nay more, that the 
 perfection of wisdom and justice can neither 
 he looked for ifi others nor affected in our- 
 selves, unless we would overwhelm ourselves 
 with disappointment and vexation, and that we 
 had therefore hest adopt a middle course of 
 forbearance and moderation. The investigation 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 115 
 
 of the primanj cause of this unavoidable ad- 
 mixture of evil in human affairs he confesses 
 to he a subject beyond his grasp. He tells 
 us he therefore sought to discover its secondarij 
 causes, assuming sin to be the fruit of human 
 folly and ignorance ; and that this maxima com- 
 bined with the observation he had made on fe- 
 male depravity, had led him to the opinion that 
 carnal desire, as confotmding the distinctions 
 between real and apparent or present good, is a 
 general source of wickedness. Another source 
 of it which he had noticed, was the progress of 
 human invention and science, which generate 
 and foster envy and other bad passions hi the 
 human breast. He concludes however with the 
 remark that if we understood this subject aright, 
 we should certainly see no reason to repine at 
 the Divine appointment in this matter, but should 
 be always cheerful and happy in the contempla- 
 tion of it. 
 
 15 T)OTH these cases have I seen in my transitory 
 
 life ; the just man perishing in his justice, and 
 
 16 the wily man living lone^ in his evil way. Look not'Heb. 
 
 JOG J " prolong- 
 
 for justice'' too much, nor affect superior penetra- bHfb."be 
 l7tion; why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be i"j''"'j*^- 
 not too wily, nor be simple to an extreme ; why mucS-'' 
 
 18 shouldest thou perish prematurely? It is best for dealings 
 
 ' ^ ■^ with 
 
 thee to retain a hold on the one course, and at c or^,*"" be' 
 the same time not to withdraw thy hand from the ef."'^^' 
 other ; for he who fears God will come out of both 
 
 19 extremes. This maxim will be confirmed to a 
 
 8—2 
 
116 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 wise man from any ten rulers that have been in 
 a city, that there is no just man in the world, 20 
 who does right and never does wrong. Still do 21 
 'Literally, jjot give attention'' to all that they say, so as not 
 mind." ^^ YiQQ^Y it if thy servant speak lightly of thee; 
 
 for thou knowest in thine own mind that thou too 22 
 hast often spoken lightly of others. 
 
 All this I examined philosophically ; 1 thought 23 
 I should understand it, but it was far removed 
 °"what ^^^"^ ™^- '^^^^ past^ is remote and very deep*^; 24 
 'Heb.'"'"' who shall find it out? So I turned myself to 25 
 
 "deep, . 1 . . 
 
 deep." ascertain and mvestigate and seek out a wise 
 
 explanation and a theory, so as to understand how 
 
 wickedness is the result of ignorance, and madness 
 
 ' 3°"ma'' ^ ^'°^ly- ^^^^ I fi"^ woman ^ to be a cause ofit^9.6 
 
 dono'r more malignant than death ; for that as to her 
 
 agree in 
 
 g:enderin hcai't sho is as ucts and snares, and her hands 
 
 the He- ' 
 
 iHeb.' as bonds, and he who is good in the sight of God, 
 
 " snares - i n -i 
 
 and nets." jg savcd ffom hcr, but the sinner is taken captive 
 
 by her. Lo ! this is a reason I found ; compila- 27 
 
 ineth(!dof ^^®^* ^^^^ ^^ ^^' ^^^ ^^^^ must be laid to fact, to 
 tion.'^''^' find out a theory. Since what I have long been 28 
 seeking diligently I have never found : one man 
 out of a thousand I have found ; but one woman 
 among all that number I have never found. Be- 29 
 sides, lo ! this is a reason I found ; that God made 
 man upright, but they have sought out many de- VIII. 
 vices. He who is like a wise man, and understands 1 
 fid'ence, thc triic explanation of the thinff, the wisdom of 
 
 boldness," " 
 
 frdm"a ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ eulighteu his countenance, and the 
 Ilea"." cheerfulness'' of his face will be doubled. 
 
KCCLESIASTES. 117 
 
 THE ELEVENTH SECTION. 
 
 He inculcates again submission without gainsaying 
 to regal authority, reminding us that for kings 
 there is a time of account, and that if they do 
 not exercise their functions aright, God, to whom 
 alone they are accountable, may punish them in 
 this life with one of his three great jilagues. 
 He nevej'theless allows it to be a matter of 
 observation, that wiched men are often prosper- 
 ous and in high authority to the end of their 
 lives, and then buried with distinction, and good 
 men oppressed and despised. And this notice 
 of apparent maladministration in the world, 
 recalls his attention to an argumerit he had 
 already drawn from it for the existence of a 
 future state, and he proceeds to enlarge upon 
 it. He observes, that the imperfect recompense 
 of the good and bad in this life is made by 
 most men an argument for hardened impiety 
 and voluptuousness ; but that in reality, it is 
 for the life to come that the full rewa?'d of 
 the good is reserved; and why, he asks, may 
 not some portion of the blessings of the present 
 life be allowed to the wicked f as otherwise 
 there would be no temptation to draw us away 
 from the path of virtue, and consequently no 
 claim to reward in adhering to it. He shews 
 that the contemplation of this life alone can 
 afford no explanation of the ways of God with 
 man; and that ice must therefore look at the 
 
118 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 whole of his dispensations in this world and the 
 next. The good and had are liable to the same 
 calamities and accidents here; and were it not 
 for the anticipation of a future state, where all 
 will he set right, the condition of man helow 
 would he sad indeed. We should then he living 
 here without motive to virtue, and therefore full 
 of impiety and folly, and after that go to the 
 grave, a truly miserable end of a miserahle life ; 
 for if death he annihilation the most wretched 
 life is preferable to it; so that surely in this 
 case we had best enjoy this life while we have 
 it, and give up our whole minds to the attain- 
 ment of worldly good, which, however, no human 
 efforts can secure with certainty, since here he- 
 loiv everything appears to he disposed of by 
 chance and accident, and men are ignorant what 
 prosperity or adversity may await them. The 
 existence of a future state must therefore, as 
 he has already intimated, be taken into account, 
 in order for a satisfactory explanation of the 
 present life to be obtained. 
 
 I 
 
 ADVISE thee to observe the king's word, and 2 
 an elevated person the subject-matter of the oath 
 of God. Be not hasty in going out of his pre- 3 
 'H^eb. "do sence, nor be engaged^ in anything wrong ; for he 
 rr"'per- can do all he pleases; since the king's word is an- 4 
 
 thoritative; and who shall say to him, "What 
 God"'"' doest thou?" He who keeps the commandment'' 5 
 will appear not to know that the king's word is 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 119 
 
 wrong; but at the same time the mind of the 
 
 wise man knows that there will he a doom'' and ° Jac'."™^ 
 
 , 1 • 1 count." 
 
 a judgment. For there is a doom*" and a judg- 
 ment for every matter ; for manifold are the cala- 
 
 7 mities prevalent upon man ; for he knows not 
 which may befall him, since who can tell him how 
 
 8 the future may be? There is no man who has 
 power over the wind, to restrain it ; and there is 
 no exercising authority over the day of death ; 
 and there is no certain rescue in war; and rest- 
 
 9 lessness will not save a man Jrom them. All this 
 I observed so as to be able to consider aright any 
 case that occurs under the sun when one man 
 rules over another to his injury. 
 
 10 But in fact I have seen wicked men to be 
 Jiotiourably interred, and that they went in and 
 
 out at the place of the holy man'', while those 'i./^y'^be: 
 who have done right are forgotten in a city : and theYiofy 
 
 11 this was unsatisfactory. Because no speed is made 
 with the execution of the sentence on an evil deed, 
 
 12 the sons of men are bold" to do evil. But sup- " j^g^^j of ''*' 
 posing that the sinner does evil a hundred times, meif?^ 
 
 * ^ , . full." 
 
 and God is long-suffering to him ; still I know 
 that it will be for the good of those who fear 
 
 13 God, that they stand in awe of Him : and may 
 not the wicked man be prosperous or have a 
 long life, which is still a mere shadow, because 
 
 14 he does not fear God? It is an unsatisfactory 
 thing which takes place in the world, that there 
 are just men to whom it happens as if they had 
 done the work of the unjust, and unjust men to 
 whom it happens as if they had done the work 
 
120 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 of the just. I thought that this too was unsatis- 
 factory ; and I commended mirth, as that there was 15 
 no good for man under the sun, but to eat, and 
 drink, and be merry, and that this should con- 
 tinue with him in his employment, during the 
 days of his life which God has assigned him under 
 the sun, while I applied my mind to learn wisdom 16 
 'Heb. "andin Contemplating^ the vanity of all the business 
 
 to contem- i o j 
 
 plate." tiQng under the sun even though men give their 
 
 eyes no sleep by day or night. So I contemplated 17 
 
 the whole work of God; for man cannot find out 
 
 the part of it which is done under the sun, hy 
 
 itself; inasmuch as man labours to find it out, 
 
 and never discovers it, and even if the wise man ^ 
 
 Chap. 
 
 thinks he understands it, he cannot really find it ix. 
 *j?^''i"i. out. For I had taken all this into consideration^, 1 
 
 had laid to ' 
 
 ^^^^" SO as to explain fully how it is that the just and 
 the wise and their works are in the hand of God, 
 and yet that men cannot perceive either his love 
 
 "^"ftha't'^ or his hatred in all they see around them*"; for 2 
 time."'^ that everything happens to each as to all ; that 
 the same chance befalls the just and the unjust, 
 the good and pure and the impure, him who 
 sacrifices, and him who does not sacrifice ; that 
 the sinner is as the good man, and he who fears 
 an oath, as he who swears ; and that this would 3 
 be a defect in all that takes place under the sun, 
 that the same chance should happen to all, and 
 besides that the minds of the sons of men should 
 be full of evil, and infatuation should possess their 
 
 'i.e. minds all their lives, and after that they should 
 
 " choose 
 
 whom you g^ ^^ ^]^g dead; for that whosoever is chosen', all 4 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 121 
 
 people are sure with respect to him that "a living 
 
 5 dog is better off than a dead lion," because the 
 living know indeed that they must die, but the 
 dead know nothing at all, and so have no longer 
 
 6 any reward, as though the very memory of them 
 were forgotten ; and their love as well as their 
 hatred and their jealousy have come to an end 
 long ago, and they have no longer any profit for 
 
 7 ever from all that is done under the sun. Go 
 then, it would follow, eat thy bread with cheer- 
 fulness, and drink thy wine with a merry heart ; 
 for that God has already accepted thy actions : 
 
 8 let thy garments be always white ; and let oil 
 
 9 never be wanting on thy head : enjoy life with 
 the woman whom thou lovest all the days of thy 
 transitory life'', which God hath given thee under '""tl'^y"''*'^ 
 the sun, all thy transitory days\ for that this is "days'of 
 
 •^ •> ■' thy va- 
 
 all thy profit from life, and from thy labour which "''^•" 
 
 10 thou performest under the sun : do all that thy 
 hand finds in thy power to do, for that there is 
 no action, or speculation, or knowledge, or wisdom, 
 in the grave whither thou art going. 
 
 11 I recalled' myself to observe that the race is'"turned." 
 not always won by the swift, or the battle by the 
 mighty, or sustenance by the wise, or wealth by 
 
 the prudent, or favour by the learned, but that 
 
 12 destiny and chance befalls all of them ; for that 
 man moreover knows not his doom, like fishes 
 which are caught in a fatal net, and like birds 
 caught in a snare, like them the sons of men 
 are snared in a fatal time, when it falls suddenly 
 upon them. 
 
122 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 THE TWELFTH SECTION. 
 
 Intelligent men, though poor, should he chosen as 
 his ministers by a king. He illustrates this 
 opinion by a tale. The wisest and best minis- 
 ter is he whose caution is always on the alert, 
 and so avoids signal errors. If he sees those 
 in office and high place who are altogether 
 unworthy of it, he will rather acquiesce than 
 try the dangerous experiment of remodeling a 
 government. He depicts this danger in highly 
 metaphorical language. Folly is finally con- 
 trasted with wisdom. 
 
 HTHIS instance of wisdom also I have observed 13 
 aHeb.«and uiider tlic sun, and it has had great influence^ 
 
 it was ' O 
 
 me."'''*'' with me. There was a small city, and but few 14 
 men in it; and a great king came against it, and 
 besieged it, and built great towers against it; but 15 
 there was found therein a poor but wise man, who 
 delivered the city by his wisdom, and yet no one 
 had noticed that poor man. So I said to myself, 16 
 Wisdom is better than might ; though the wisdom 
 of an indigent man is despised, and his words not 
 '" heard m heard. The words of wise men, quietly spoken'', 17 
 
 quiet." 
 
 c i. e. whose are better than the clamorous speech of one who 
 
 haraiio;ues i 
 
 minds of bears rule*" among fools. Wisdom is better than 18 
 fools. -IT Chap 
 
 "Hfb.^g^^^ -weapons of war; but one error may spoil much ^ ' 
 
 caus'Vsto good. As dead flies each of them cause the oint- 1 
 
 vesce." ment of the apothecary to effervesce with a foul 
 
 Heb. 
 " pre- 
 fious. 
 
 odour**, so will a little folly him who is esteemed' 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 123 
 
 2 for wisdom and honour. The mind of a wise 
 man is at his right hand, and the mind of a 
 
 3 fool at his left. And even when the fool is 
 walking by the way, his mind fails him, and he 
 proclaims to every one that he is a fool. 
 
 4 If the spirit of a ruler he roused against thee, 
 do not lay down thy office, for submission atones 
 
 5 for^ great offences. There is an evil I have seen '|^jf^gsi'^' 
 imder the sun, which looked like an oversight 
 
 6 proceeding from the ruler ; folly was set in many 
 
 7 high places, and great men sat in humiliation. I 
 have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking- 
 like slaves on the ground. 
 
 8 He that diggeth a pit may fall into it ; and 
 he who digs down a wall, a serpent may bite 
 
 9 him. He who cleaves wood may be endangered 
 
 10 thereby, if the iron be blunt, and he have not 
 sharpened^ its edge, and so he /las to increase ^i^^ ' .^poushed 
 force ; but superiority of success belongs to pru- faces'." 
 
 11 dence. If the serpent o?ice bite, its bite will be 
 without cure"", and then the babbler' will have no ''»<"''•„„ 
 
 "spell." 
 
 12 advantage. The words of a wise man's mouth are ' owl^ci o? a 
 " Shew favour," but of the lips of a fool, " Destroy 
 
 13 him." The beginning of the words of his mouth 
 is folly, and the end of his speech is fatal mad- 
 
 14 ness. And the fool is given to much"" talking ; yet ■'j'j^'jjjj'',"'" 
 no one knows what will be t/ie consequence of it; words." 
 and who can tell him what may be awaiting' him? 'h^^.^^ ^^ 
 
 15 The labour of every fool"" will weary him out ; Jy;!,"''""' 
 since he is as though he knew not the way" to a -«'',',••"'<» 
 city. 
 
124 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 'Heb. 
 " son of 
 nobles." 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 Solomon compares the misery of a country whose 
 rulers are mdolent and luxurious, with the hap- 
 jiiness of one where they perform their duties 
 aright. At the same time he warns against 
 slanderous aspersions on those in power. 
 
 W 
 
 OE to thee, O land, if thy king be childish, and 16 
 thy princes feast in the morning. Happy art 17 
 thou, O land, if thy king is noble^ and thy princes 
 feast in due season, for strength, and not for drunk- 
 enness. Through indolence the roof of a house will is 
 fall in, and through remissness of the hands a 
 house will drip through ; to the derision of those 19 
 'ihdn"!"^ who acquire bread, and wine that cheers life^ and 
 ' ov''an. money that supplies everything''. Blame not a king 20 
 pole!^"^^"^" ^^^^^ "^ ^^^y thought; nor speak lightly of a great 
 man in thy bed-chamber; for the bird of the sky 
 may convey the expression, and the winged fowl 
 may report the thing. 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 125 
 
 THE FOURTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 He recommends the active pursuit of merchandize 
 and agricidture, without respect to the ftrognos- 
 tics of divination. 
 
 Chap. 
 XI. 
 
 bread.' 
 
 1 QEND out thy substance* upon the waters; for \Heb 
 
 in length of time thou wilt find it again. 
 
 2 Commit shares^ of it to seven vessels, or to eight; "Heb. "a 
 
 ~ ' share. 
 
 for thou knowest not what misfortunes may happen eaciiofthe 
 
 3 on the earth. If the clouds are full, they will 
 empty their rain on the ground ; and if a rod 
 falls northward, or southward, in the place where 
 
 4 the rod falls, there it will lie*". One who watches 'i;*'/.'^"^ 
 
 ' that IS all 
 
 the wind may consequently not sow, and one who knmrfrom 
 
 thera." 
 
 5 observes the clouds reap no harvest. Just as thou 
 art ignorant of the course of the wind, as thou 
 art of the formations inclosed in the womb of her 
 that is with child, so thou knowest not the pur- 
 
 6 poses'^ of God who appoints all things. In the''H«''J- 
 morning sow thy seed, and in the evening lay not ''"^'^ " 
 down thy hand ; for thou canst not tell which will 
 prosper, this or that, or whether both of them will 
 
 be good alike. 
 
126 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 Solomon inculcates the duty of cheerfulness in the 
 enjoyment of life, and especially of youth ; but 
 of cherishing likewise a recollection that they 
 m?ist quickly end, and that we shall have to 
 give account of our use of them. 
 
 'T^HE light also is sweet, and it is pleasant to the 7 
 eyes to see the sun ; for if a man live many 8 
 years, he should be cheerful in them all ; but he 
 should remember also that the days of darkness to 
 come may be many, and everything that has past 
 fruitless. Be cheerful in thy childhood, O youth ; 9 
 and let thy heart rejoice thee in the days of thy 
 youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart and 
 "s^ght" ^fter the satisfaction^ of thine eyes; but be mind- 
 ful also, that God will bring thee to account con- 
 cerning all these things. And remove sorrow from 10 
 thy mind, and dispel pain from thy body, for the ^jf' 
 childhood and morning of Ife are transient ; but 1 
 remember also thy Creator in the days of thy 
 youth, while as yet the days of evil come not, 
 or the years arrive of which thou wilt say, " I 
 have no pleasure in them ;" while as yet the sun, 2 
 and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are 
 not obscured to the sight, or the cloudy humours 
 'Heb- come afresh after the tears''; in the day when the 3 
 
 "rain." ^ J '^ 
 
 c i.e. "the ffuards" of the house will tremble, and the men'' 
 
 hands." " 
 
 'thighs!"^ of might will become crooked, and the grinders^ 
 * teeth." ^ will cease when they have become few; and those 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 127 
 
 that look out at windows^ will have become dim, ''■•'• "J^e 
 
 ' eyes." 
 
 4 and the street-doors will be closed, since the sound 
 of the grinding is low, and one will start up at 
 a bird's note, and all the powers of song will be 
 
 5 brought low, and they will be afraid of what is 
 high, and the road will be full of alarms, and the 
 almond-tree* will bloom, and the grasshopper** wilKiiMr'yh''a'ir 
 become inactive", and appetite will fail, (when a ^^l-'L „ 
 man is going to his eternal home), and the mourn- dveamf 
 
 k Ml 1 • 1 • 1 1-1 nimble." 
 
 6 ers will be passino- round in the street ; while as ' Literaiiy, 
 
 i- o ' "a burden 
 
 yet the silver cord is not entangled, or the golden kl°e'.'"the 
 bowl broken, or the pail shattered at the spring, ofdeatk""^ 
 
 7 or the wheel broken at the well, or the dust re- 
 turns to the earth as it was, and the spirit to 
 
 8 God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, said the 
 Preacher, all is vanity. 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 Solomon states that much profit may be derived 
 from the perusal of the compositions and com- 
 pilations of wise and learned men ; hut more 
 from attention to the practical suggestions of 
 wise counsellors ; and that excessive application 
 to hooks furnishes no adequate reward to the 
 laborious student. 
 
 A ND the more the Preacher"* became wise, the more ' ^^^^"J^°™" 
 
 he taught the people knowledge, and listened 
 to lifrom others, and sought it out, and composed'' '[i^iged/' 
 
128 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 many maxims. The Preacher sought to find out lo 
 "wHtten pleasing expressions and a correct" style in writing 
 nes^of' words of truth. The words of wise men are ii 
 
 words of 77 , . T . ^ 
 
 truth." ail like the points of goads, and the sayings of 
 the authors of compilations like nails implanted ; 
 '"been"^' ^^^7 i^fiig^it havc proccedcd'' from one thinking 
 ^onh," i.e. miticl. But study more than these, my son, to be 12 
 
 "been pro- n i • i 
 
 "edhed."' ^^^^ advised: making many books is an endless 
 thing ; and much useless study a mere weariness 
 of the flesh. 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 T ET us hear the conclusion of the whole sub- 13 
 ject; fear God, and keep His commandments, 
 'ri«?vof* for this is the whole cluti/'' of man; for God will 14 
 manf" bring to account every action with respect to every 
 
 secret motive whether good or evil. 
 
 THE END OF ECCLESIASTES. 
 
T ' : • - 
 
 nhnb 
 
 LIBER SALOMONIS REGIS 
 
 DICTUS 
 
 CONCIONATOR. 
 
130 ECCLKSIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 nSnb 
 
 THE FIRST SECTION. Chap. 
 
 I. 
 
 <•■ -: • IT T I • I V <.-.• • T I V vJv I •■ : • 
 
 Ver. 1. "From this place to the 12th verse we have a sort 
 " of introduction to this roll ;" (this is one of the five books of 
 the Bible called by the Jews, ni^JD, i. e. rolls, because they 
 were always written on a roll of parchment.) " He states in 
 " it the subject of the book, and what he is going to explain 
 "in it. 
 
 " The word Pbnp is not a proper name, but a noun of 
 " quality, and it must refer to Solomon, for there was no son 
 " of David king in Jerusalem, except Solomon. And he was 
 " called so, because he compiled (Heb. Sip) many wise dis- 
 " courses of instruction, and eloquent speeches, or perhaps, be- 
 " cause he was in the habit of delivering his addresses in the 
 " pubhc assembly (Sip)." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The Medrash derives this word from Sip, to as- 
 semble, "Slp2 nnD^iD mm Vn::^" "because his words were 
 
 T T : • T v: V T T : t v 
 
 spoken in an assembly," as we find in 1 Kings viii. 1, " Then 
 Solomon assembled (Sip**) the elders of Israel, and there were 
 assembled ('iblp^l) to Solomon all the men of Israel," on which 
 occasion he prayed for all the assembly (Sip) ; and the ren- 
 dering accordingly would be " the Preacher," Avhich agrees 
 with the Septuagint and the Vulgate. But Grotlus and the 
 
 2 
 
CHAP, f.] ECCLESIASTES. 131 
 
 LIBER SALOMONIS REGIS 
 
 DICTUS 
 
 CONCIONATOR. 
 
 Cap. SECTIO PRIMA. 
 
 I. 
 
 1 Sermones Concionatoris {she " Collectoris") Da- 
 
 2 vidis filii, regis in Hierosolyma. Vanissima, inquit 
 
 Arabic version take it, with Mendlessohn, in the sense of " a 
 collector or compiler of wise sayings." Others, again, derive 
 it from a word of the same sense as the Greek koXcw, and 
 render the phrase, " the words of one crying or calUng out," 
 like the expression about John the Baptist, " the voice of one 
 crying in the wilderness." At any rate it is not a proper 
 name ; and its being in the feminine form is not an anomaly, 
 as we have many such forms used as masculines, as Me- 
 phibosheth, iMespereth, Lapidoth, &c. I have chosen to render 
 it " Preacher," because this word is more familiar to the ear 
 than such a word as " Compiler," when inserted in the sacred 
 text, and it is uncertain which rendering is the most correct. 
 Still the word rbnp, when used as a feminine with niQ}*} as 
 
 V V T : T ' 
 
 it is in a single passage, must be rendered " compilation," and 
 it would therefore be more consistent to render it " Compiler" 
 elsewhere. The passage where it is so used, ch. vii. 27, seems 
 to have inclined Mendlessohn strongly to the latter rendering. 
 
 Observe that "Ijbo is used with the preposition 2. ; wc find 
 it afterwards in ver. 9, with the preposition b. 
 
 Ver. 2. " Every thing which you see on the earth is vain, 
 " void, and empty, so that nothing can be more so; and you must 
 
 9—2 
 
132 KC'CLESIASTES. [sECT. T, 
 
 Concionator, vanissima sunt omnia. Quae utilitas 
 homini contingit omni labore suo quo sub sole fun- 
 gitur? Prseterit setas, venit altera astas, dum moles 
 
 " not imagine that any one thing is an exception ; for every 
 " thing is vain, and there is not under the sun any jjermanent 
 " substance, or real existence." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. 7211 signifies a thing which has no solidity, like the 
 breath which proceeds from a man's mouth ; and the occurrence 
 of the singular number in a state of construction with the plural 
 of the same noun of quahty denotes an intensity of that quality, 
 with the sense that nothing can exceed the individual referred 
 to in that respect, as " HebreAv of the Hebrews," " King of 
 Kings." The word '?in has the vowel -: under its first syllable, 
 because it is in a state of construction. Now the absolute form 
 is never found in Scripture except with six points, (thus, 7in) ; 
 and since an instance is not found of a word of six points, 
 (that is, with two segols,) which changes its vowels in construc- 
 tion, it is necessary to conclude that there is besides ^in 
 another absolute form, bin. like blU which occurs in construc- 
 tion thus, D^* '?1^?D, i. e. " Like a mourner of, {or for) his mo- 
 ther," As for bl'i^, it is a verbal adjective from b^ik, and 
 
 •• T - T 
 
 signifies, " a mourner," and is not a participle. Very probably 
 the (v) is put under "^li"?, where we find a (•) under t'lll on 
 account of the similar vowel under □^^ , for the sake of variety. 
 
 Ver. 3. "x\ll the diligence of the sons of men, and their 
 " labour and toil, is in vain and fallacious ; for every thing 
 " takes place agreeably to a preordained decree which bears 
 " rule in all parts of the world ; and as things have been, so 
 " they will be from the beginning to the end ; and man labours 
 " to no purpose all the days of his life." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 4. " He begins with the four elements, and he savs 
 
CHAP. I.] ECCLKSIASTES. 133 
 
 V IT J - V- T -: ^- -: V V I J- T • T -: 
 
 < V IT - - J- <.'-:]-■.• T -: T : at t it I i. : • 
 
 " with respect to the earth, (for that is the element called earth), 
 " that ' a generation departs ' and comes to an end ; for the 
 " plants and the living creatures and the bodies of men 
 " return to the earth ; and ' a generation comes', that is, the 
 " plants spring up from the ground, and the living creatures 
 " and the sons of men live on them ; and by means of this 
 " revolution the earth continues always of constant magnitude ; 
 " for all things that perish return again to the dust, and those 
 " things that are generated afresh are generated from the 
 " dust." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, The word *Ti'l expresses not merely a generation 
 of men, but of animals, plants, &c. What is here intended, 
 is that the element called earth is going a constant revolu- 
 tion like water, fire, and air, without receiving any addition or 
 diminution in bulk ; and that the nourishment derived from the 
 earth, after forming a portion of plants, animals, &c. again 
 returns to the earth, and afterwards goes through the same 
 process time after time. It is remarkable that the Arabic 
 
 verb .\^, evidently cognate with in, signifies to go about, 
 
 or move in a circle. 
 
 The word "Ifbn is used in Josh, xxiii. 14, and in 1 Kings 
 ii. 2, to express " going the way of all the earth," i. e. " de- 
 parting," as in this place. Observe that the word ^}^l, which 
 here, as usually, means " to come," is technically used of the 
 setting of the sun, a sense more akin to the ordinary one of 
 ■jfVn. See Gen. xxviii. 11. 
 
 The qualification introduced by the insertion of the words 
 " the bulk of," is necessary for the exhibition of the true sense 
 
134 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 ^2:s^n niTT :m»j; oSiy^ yi^n) «ii nn*i TjSn 5 
 
 V w - ■>- T : V It '^ JT '^ : I V IT T : ▼ J : I " 
 
 of the passage, and is an important correction on the usual 
 literal translation, which is apparently quite as inconsistent with 
 the belief of Christians as derived from the New Testament, as 
 the opinion combated by Maimonides, (vid. Prolegomena, p. 18) 
 of the duration of the earth from all eternity, is with that of 
 both Jews and Christians, as derived from the Old Testament. 
 We say " apparently ;" for when it is said, " that the earth is 
 to remain for ever," it seems to have been very naturally sup- 
 posed by Maimonides and others, that what is meant is, that 
 it is to remain for ever in its present state. This, however, 
 we are taught by the New Testament to believe is not to be the 
 case, and we may therefore reasonably infer, that such was not 
 the intention of the sacred writer in the passage before us ; nor 
 would such appear to be his meaning, if the above be translated 
 as I have rendered it. Similarly, the other passages which 
 Maimonides quotes from Jeremiah and the Psalms to the same 
 effect (vid. Prolegomena) may be so explained as to appear in 
 perfect accordance with the prophecies of the New Testament. 
 He there misapplies another passage of this book, viz., that in , 
 the third chapter, where we read, ii^n Wtibi^n tl'w^ "IWH'bD 
 dViv^ HNT', which unquestionably means, not "all things which 
 God makes are stedfast for ever,"" but, " all that he ap- 
 points," " his appointments," are " fixed for ever" ; so that 
 whatever argument he derives from these two passages of Solo- 
 mon is based on mis-translation. In the other passages there 
 is no mis-translation, but as I have already shewn in the Pro- 
 legomena, they may be imderstood differently from the sense in 
 which he explains them, and yet quite as literally as he is 
 disposed to take them. 
 
 Ver. 5. " ^aw is a word signifying haste, and activity. And 
 " the received interpretation of this verse, according to the ar- 
 
CHAP. I.] ECCLESIASTES. 135 
 
 5 terrae stat semper eadem. Oritur quoque sol, et 
 occidit sol, et ad locum suum illic, jam oriens, an- 
 
 " rangement of the accents, is of this kind. 'As the sun arises, so 
 " he sets, and to the place in which he sets, thither he is already 
 " panting to arrive, and darting his beams when he is rising.* 
 " And the order of the words agreeably with the accents will 
 " be ^^!)rT mi'r ^if!W UW ")Dipp■b^f^ , as much as to say, that 
 " the changes of the sun, (which represents the element fire) 
 " are also in recurrence, following in close and necessary con- 
 " nected sequence, his setting, his rising, liis setting, and then 
 " his rising again ; agreeably to the expression which the 
 " arrangers of our liturgy have employed, '>320 ")1t? bb>M 
 " n"i>? '•;)2,p Tti?''irn. '^IW'in, i.e. 'Rolling away light from before 
 " darkness, and darkness from before hght ;' and at the hour 
 " when the sun is rising in the east, he straightway begins to 
 " seek, as it were, Avith eager desire and to dart his beams 
 " and shape his course to the place of his setting." Men- 
 dlessohu. 
 
 Note. The word IQIpD has a disjunctive accent of the 
 second class, and i^^n a disjunctive accent of the third class, 
 so that UW must be taken with "iDlpO. In chap. iii. 17, n^ 
 is in the same way separated from DJ£^ which is used abso- 
 lutely ; and the construction is very similar to that in this 
 verse ; " There is a doom for every work, and every action 
 there." Mendlessohn therefore renders the passage, " And is 
 already panting for his place there, wlien he is rising (here);" and 
 so Michaelis couples ^<!|^ and iiniT together, and renders them 
 " Dum exoritur," or, " quum vix exortus est," and observes that 
 UW, as in verse 7, implies motion to a place, which shews that 
 
 T 
 
 he does not understand the passage, as Rosenmuller and others 
 do, " And is hastening to his place where he is (next) to 
 arise," understanding Itl^NI with UW, so that the order must bo 
 
136 ECCLKSIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 helans properat ; vadens ad austrum, et circumiens ad 6 
 aquilonem ; continuo circumit ventus ; et per cir- 
 cuitus suos redit ventiis. Omnia flumina eunt in 7 
 mare, sed mare non redundat : in quem locum eunt 
 
 inverted, and stand thus, m] N'^H U^ pti^l^) "IDIpp-'^K ^ij^"^^, 
 where UW "IC'SJ is rendered " in quo," " ubi." I have placed 
 a semicolon at the end of this verse in the translation, and 
 likewise at the end of the clause, " vadens ad austrum et cir- 
 cumiens ad aquilonem," because, as Mendlessohn shews in his 
 comment on the next verse, this clause may be either spoken 
 of the sun, and joined with verse 5, or of the wind, and joined 
 with the latter clause of 6. 
 
 Ver. 6. "He now speaks of the wind, which represents the 
 " element air, and says that it also goes and comes in revolution. 
 " For the wind is nothing but a strong agitation produced in the 
 " atmosphere which surrounds the earth ; and since the atmo- 
 " sphere is a rare and elastic body, this agitation does not con- 
 " fine itself to one spot, but extends from place to place, till 
 " it comes back in the course of its revolution to the place in 
 " which it began ; and thus if the wind goes to the south, it 
 " returns in its circuit to the north. And it is possible that he 
 " may be speaking here of the wind which bloAvs under the 
 " equator, which is well known to sea-faring men, which always 
 " goes the course of the sun ; and in the months of March and 
 " September goes from east to west, and in the summer-time, 
 " tends northward, and in the winter returns to the south." 
 (When the Hebrews speak of a south wind, a north wind, &c., 
 they mean a Avind which blows southward, northward, &c,, 
 respectively.) " And in this point of view the expression, 
 " * Going to the south, and returning to the north,' apphes 
 " both to the sun and to the wind, because they both have 
 " the same course." Mendlessohn. 
 
CHAP. I.] KCCLESIASTES. 137 
 
 I •• IT (. - ; • \j- I : V : v at - jt 
 
 T I J • •• s • I A T V V : T 
 
 7-Sx rD'::hn tD'h'min-h^ :nnn nti^ vnh^nD-Svi 
 
 J- : I • T : - T -IT 7T IT !• : '- ; 
 
 Note. If the first part of the verse be referred to the sun, 
 it of course relates to his motion in the echptic to the north and 
 south of the equator, in consequence of which motion, he is seen in 
 tropical climates at mid-day sometimes at the north and sometimes 
 at the south of the zenith, and between these times in the zenith ; 
 or if it referred to the trade wind, we must recollect that this 
 always blows towards that quarter where the sun is vertical 
 to supply the place of the rarefied air which its greater ver- 
 ticallity causes to rise. IID HID is nothing more than our 
 phrase, " round and round." The trade- wind cannot be said 
 to go round the compass, because it never blows from west 
 to east ; but, as Mendlessolm says in the first part of his com- 
 mentary on this verse, the allusion may here be to the freedom 
 of the air, and the meaning be that the disturbance once begun 
 is propagated on and on, till it comes round the world to the 
 same place again. It is remarkable that this passage in all 
 its bearings corresponds with the results of modern science as 
 to the motions and shape of the sun and earth, and the way 
 in which the springs are supplied, &c. 
 
 Vcr. 7. "All the rivers proceed from their fountains and 
 " springs in the top of the mountains, and pour out their waters 
 " one into another, till at last thoy all reach the great sea which 
 " encompasses all the world. And such being the case we should 
 " expect that the waters of the sea would be accumulating from 
 " the creation to the end of the world through all generations 
 " which go on multiplying through all time and at every moment ; 
 " but nevertheless we do not see the sea become full over all its 
 " shores, so as to overflow its border and cover the earth; and con- 
 
138 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 tD'^hh rD'hr\:inti^ tj)bf2'h^ i<hf2 ^i^rx tz)*n"i LD*n 
 
 • : I • T : - <v I : v a- t jv •• v.t- : t - 
 
 I f. .. . J- T : - T V It T «.• T J-- -jr 
 
 " sequently the water too must necessarily go round and round, 
 " and return from the sea, (since that is the place he speaks 
 " of them as returning from,) to the sea, (since that is the 
 " place he speaks of them as going to) ; and this is effected 
 " equally, whether the waters return by subterranean passages 
 " under the mountains to their fountains, or there be conti- 
 " nually rising from the sea to the sky the place of the sun 
 " many vapom's and mists which form the greater part of the 
 " clouds, and this vapour turns into rain-water, (on which ac- 
 " count we call the waters of the sea J^mpH, 'the meeting or 
 " collection of waters'), and pours it down, and from this rain- 
 " water the fountains are produced, and by these again the 
 " rivers are supplied, (since all rivers proceed from fountains) ; 
 " for as to the waters of the sea being bitter, and rain-water 
 " sweet, the fact is that the vapour when it ascends leaves 
 " the heavy particles of salt behind, and only takes up the 
 " sweet particles of water on account of their hghtness. It 
 " is clear then, that all things in nature, viz. the four 
 " elements, fire, air, earth, and water, are always moving in 
 " a circle, and shifting through all time and at every moment, 
 " so that they are never left one instant in the same condition, 
 " but go the round of all those changes, till they return to 
 " the place where they were at the beginning of their motion, 
 " i. e. to the place they came from." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Michaehs and Rosenmuller both agree with Men- 
 dlessohn in rendermg □"'^b'in D'''?n3rTtt^ DipP"'7>*, " ad locum 
 quo flumina eunt,"" though some take it to mean, "unde ex- 
 eunt." Rosenmuller joins U^ to this clause, neglecting the 
 
CHAP. I.] ECCLESIASTES. 139 
 
 Sflumina, illuc eadem iterum sunt ituni. Cunctae res 
 motu laborant ; nemo id satis potest enarrare : sicut 
 oculiis visu non potest satiari, neque expleri potest 
 
 accent zakeph gadol. It properly goes with il^S"? U^2^ DH 
 i. e. " illuc revertuntur eundo," " thither they go again ;" for 
 the participle in such constructions is used adverbially as in 
 Psalm cxxvii. 2, D^p '^D'^2iWD, "mane surgentes," literally, "ma- 
 tutlnantes surgere." And again, r\2W ''"ins^D, " tarde," i.e. 
 " sero sedentes," literally, "tardantes sedere;" also Psalm cxiii. 5, 
 rilti^':' TflJD, " superne sedens," literally, " supernans sedere," 
 (where the •• is merely a poetical affix), so also chap. v. 14, 
 DDhb IW"^, "he will go again;" c^D% "to add," is used in the 
 same way, as pnhh ^DD\ " and she brought forth again." 
 Mendlessohn seems inclined to understand D before UW in 
 
 T 
 
 this place, as he says, JID'?'? U"''2.'6 DH Dtt^Sl^ D'^H T'D UVvI^"' 
 
 A «/ V V T • T •• T • V T - ' • : 
 
 DNT"'?*^, and would render it, " the place where the rivers go 
 to, thence they return again." But, beside the anomaly of 
 supplying or understanding D where it makes the difference 
 of sense between " thither," and " thence," the other rendering 
 expresses the revolution of the watery element much more fully. 
 Luther observes that Aristotle has discussed much the origin of 
 springs and rivers, without throwing much light on the subject ; 
 whereas Solomon has given the only true explanation of it. 
 
 Ver. 8. " All things seem as if wearied and exhausted by 
 " their constant labour and work, since they never rest or cease 
 " a single moment in their destined task, but always go on 
 " changing in a circle, as we have described ; so that it is im- 
 " possible for a mortal man to describe and explain it all by 
 " utterance of the lips. And not only the elements which we 
 " have mentioned, but the spirit of mankind is also in the 
 
140 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 auris auditu. Quod fuit, idem futurum est ; et quod 9 
 factum est, idem fiet ; nee quidquam sub sole novum 
 est. Si forte sit aliquid de quo dicat homo, ' En 10 
 hoc novum est!' jamdudum extitit priscis tempo- 
 
 " same state, and his senses are as though they never ceased 
 " from fatigue. For the eye is never satisfied Avith seeing, 
 " and it is always in great desire to see what it hitherto has 
 " not seen, as is known by experience. And just so the ear 
 " is always listening, as though it was thirsting to hear, and 
 " was never satisfied so as to say, ' Enough.' And consequently 
 " the senses also of the sons of men are always at work with- 
 ** out cessation, and changing at every moment." Mendlessohn. 
 Note. Some commentators have rendered W^^'^ "weary- 
 ing," " wearisome" in a transitive sense ; but had this been 
 intended it would doubtless have been put in the Pihel con- 
 jugation. Hurwitz renders it, " All things are in a state of 
 activity, so that man cannot describe it all."" The meaning 
 is, " Man cannot enumerate all the instances of constant motion 
 and revolution of created things, just as the eye and ear of 
 man cannot satisfy themselves with, or exhaust the objects of 
 sight and hearing, but are incessantly employed." The abrupt- 
 ness with which the latter half of the verse is introduced, shews 
 that it must be a comparison, or simile; that "just as the eye 
 and ear are never satisfied, so a man will never come to the 
 end of speaking, if he try to enumerate all the instances of 
 this sort." This is much more natural than to suppose that 
 Solomon meant to speak of the eye and ear as particular in- 
 stances of this unwearied activity, immediately after stating that 
 the instances of it are so numerous, that it would be useless to 
 attempt to enumerate them. Mendlessohn however appears to 
 understand the passage in this latter sense. The accents allow 
 
f'HAP. I.] ECrLESIASTKS. 141 
 
 •>T T ^- V IT - - /- ^T T T I ^•- : AV >|-V i 
 
 nsj^x £D^6SyS n\-i nn^ xin cj'in nrni^^ n^N*^^ 
 
 •»•••": • T : jTT T : a jt t u- •• : j- 
 
 us to render it thus, "All things that are toiling, one cannot 
 describe," or " IIow all things are toiling, one cannot describe ;" 
 but probably in this case Dnn^n-^3 would have been pre- 
 ceded by n^^. 
 
 Ver. 9. " Now since all things are going round and round, 
 " it necessarily follows, that what has been in past time, will take 
 " place also in future time ; and that what has been done will 
 " be done, so that there is nothing new under the sun ; for that 
 " all things return to what they have been, and from thence 
 " proceed in a circuit, as though they moved along a circular 
 " line which returns into itself. For all created things are 
 " toihng either to exhibit a particular substantial form, and to 
 " superimpose it on the works of God, or gradually to efface 
 " such form, until it have disappeared ; at least, all their ope- 
 " rations relate to form and shape, the separating what is 
 " united, and the uniting what is separated, the settino- in 
 " motion what is in rest, and the setting at rest what is in 
 " motion ; and consequently there is nothing new under the 
 " sun." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 10. "And if there be sometimes a thing of which the 
 " sons of men say, See this ! it is new ; you must not attend 
 " to what they say, for it has already happened in past time, 
 " before we came into the world." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. We have here b before WDb]}. It is often put 
 before words of time, and then means " in," or '•' at ;" vid. 
 Prov. vii. 20 ; Job xxi. 30 ; Jon. iv. 7. Observe that D^D^j? is 
 here treated as if it were in the singular number, and is tlie 
 antecedent to n\1. ^^''IJS-^D signifies " before us," "out of ' or 
 
142 EOCLESIASTES. [sECT. I. 
 
 D^i'inxS DJi D^JEJ'KiS |n:3T m :)y:si^^ n\iii 
 
 -: I- It - ; "• !• t i k : • i j- i- t : . it t 
 
 (T -: I- IT 1 : (• V }• I r • :• r <v : I- • *• " 
 
 " before our time," just as ^y>2ih would mean " in our time," 
 vid. Eccles. ii. 9 ; iv. 16. Thus in Ps. Lxxii. 6, we have 
 ni"' "'3S'^, " in the moon's time," i. e. as long as it lasts ; ^2^b 
 being synonymous in this phrase with U}J in that immediately 
 preceding it, viz. WD^H U^, i.e. "in the time of the sun's 
 existence," "while the sun endures," just as in ver. 11, ^iNTtt^ DV 
 TOin^^'?, means "in the time of those who shall be hereafter." 
 U^^ih however always means " formerly," " before that time," 
 not " at that time," vid. Deut. ii. 10 ; Ruth iv. 7 ; and >)^b 
 sometimes signifies " before," in point of time, as in Amos i. 1, 
 " two years ^'^IH ''Z^b i. e. before the earthquake," and in 
 Eccles. i. 16, ''isb is " before my time." 
 
 -T : 
 
 Ver. 11. " But in length of time the former times are for- 
 " gotten ; therefore, they say vainly of this thing, that it is new ; 
 *' and so also the things which shall be in future times will have 
 " no remembrance in the times which shall come after them, 
 " and with the sons of men who shall be hereafter. Thus far 
 " Solomon's words are a sort of introduction. Now he begins 
 " to explain in detail, about all the things that suggest them- 
 " selves to the mind of man, that they are vanity and emptiness ; 
 " and the conclusion of all the investigations and all the 
 " reflections and discussions, after you have heard the 
 " objections and the answers to them, the argument and the 
 " opposing argument, behold, this is the whole of man, to fear 
 " God and to keep his commandments, as the wise man states 
 " at the end of the roll." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 11 expresses the reason why some things are 
 falsely supposed to be new, viz. man's forgetfulness of the past. 
 
 If we understand D"'D"' with D''li:yJ<">, &c. we may also 
 
 • T • • 
 
 understand it before ViT'ltr If we understand D'^in, we 
 must supply D''{i'3J^, or U'^D\ before the second VtTti^. 
 
f'HAP. I.] ECCLESIASTES, 143 
 
 llribus qua? ante nos fiierunt. Nulla est priorum 
 memoria ; nee erit posterorum quae futura sunt ulla 
 memoria apud eos qui postea futuri sunt. 
 
 It has been objected against the maxim, " There is nothing 
 new under the sun," that " the miraculous conception," was 
 " a new thing," and that God says, " Behold, I make a new 
 thing," &c. ; " I make new heavens and a new earth ;" and 
 again, "I make all things new." But it is to be remembered, 
 that Solomon here speaks of human affairs alone, and is merely 
 stating that like the elements in their changes, human labour 
 can produce nothing new, but must follow in a track already 
 trod, so that the anxiety and toil of man are fruitless. 
 
 Observe that ]"i"lpf in the beginning of verse 11, is the con- 
 struct form of jllDt, which occurs in the same verse afterwards, 
 though Buxtorf, deceived apparently by the b which follows, 
 seems to have taken ]i")3t also in his lexicon as an absolute 
 form. The *? before D''3tt^h?1 is merely a sign of the genitive 
 case, as we have in Dan. i. 1, noSp':' wibw n^t:'!, " In the 
 third year of the reign of, &c." where r\W is the construct 
 form of n^^, "a year." In the same way we have afterwards 
 at verse 9, Hl'wb "^bD, "owner of a field," to which Mendles- 
 sohn quotes as a parallel passage, ^hJIcb 'ibD, "king of Moab." 
 Again, in the headings of the Psalms, we have irh "llblD, 
 "a Psalm of David," ^Di<b "llblD, "a Psalm of Asaph," and 
 sometimes there is an ellipsis of lIDfD, as in the heading of 
 Ps. Lxxii. ilbibwb, i. e. "« Psalm of Solomon," that Psalm 
 bcino; a Pravcr of Solomon for himself, that God would endue 
 liim with wisdom, and a prophecy of the blessings whicli would 
 thereby accrue to his people and kingdom. 
 
 For the sense of TH'^W QV» see the note on the last verse. 
 
144 KCCLESIASTES. [sFCT. II. 
 
 SECTIO SECUNDA. 
 
 Ego Concionator {she "Collector") rex fui super 12 
 Israel in Hierosolyma. Et applicui mentem meam 13 
 ad disquirendum et investigandum philosophice quae- 
 cunque sub coelo faciuntur ; h^ec est molesta occu- 
 patio quam Deus dedit hominibus, ut sese in ea 
 
 Ver. 12. " ' I the Compiler was a king," i. e. one who has 
 " the power and authority to do according to his pleasure; and 
 " ' I was king over Israel,' i. e. a wise people, and in the city 
 " Jerusalem, that nurse of wise men." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 13. "The word "llJl signifies ' to investigate and make 
 '' research,"' as in the passage below, '^^'1 "TllJ^. At first, he 
 " says, I applied myself to examine philosophically and to in- 
 " vestio-ate the condition of created things which are made under 
 " the heaven. For investigation is attractive to the sons of 
 " men, and men think now that investigation is the true and 
 " the real happiness of the intelligent man, and the substantial 
 " good, the final perfection of all that is good and desirable ; 
 " as though man who is ' born of woman and full of trouble' 
 " could find rest and tranquiUity by means of human investiga- 
 " tion ; but in reality this is not the case, but it is a sad em- 
 " ployment. Now it is true, he says, that God has implanted 
 " the inclination in the heart of the sons of men to investigate 
 " and examine philosophically all that is done under the sun, 
 " so that they are always longing to know what they do not 
 " know, and to understand and comprehend what is concealed 
 " from tlicm ; but it is also tnie that it was the purpose of 
 
CIIAP. I.] KCOLESIASTES. 145 
 
 THE SECOND SECTION. 
 
 •IT T I • I- T : • "^ \:- .J-- • J.^ -. ...| j- -; 
 
 i3i£j^N-^3 h); nh^n:i i)rh) 25^ni^ ^iiS-nx *nn:n 
 
 ;v -: T r>- T : T I- t : < : • • . -.• • j- t •: 
 
 :r v: I s- T '^ T 'j~: • J • at t - - j- \.t "i;!- 
 
 " God, that man should not find perfect tranquillity in the midst 
 " of philosophy and examination into the productions of nature ; 
 " for investigation alone does not make the investigator happy." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. riDDni is equivalent to an adverb, and signifies 
 " scientifically," *' by the method of philosophy." 
 
 The simple form of the word j''^);, when taken absolutely, is 
 spelt with a ( T ), as in the passage y^y^^H r\i^ '^JVi^l, and here it 
 is necessarily pointed with a pathack ( - ), because it is in a state 
 of construction with the word VI, which comes after it. Mendles- 
 
 T ^ 
 
 sohn makes the p^ refer to the practice of philosophic investiga- 
 tion; but this is somewhat forced. It refers more naturally to 
 the " works done under the sun," of wliich he pronounces the 
 futihty in the next verse, in order to explain his having said that 
 it is a sad employment that God has given to the sons of men; 
 for it is to be recollected, that all his reflections through this and 
 the next chapter arc of a gloomy and discontented kind, wliile 
 in ch. iii. he speaks in a different strain. " The sons of men" is 
 a general expression for the human race, whereas philosophic 
 investigations are pursued by very few. However T have 
 10 
 
146 EOCLESIASTES. [sECT. II. 
 
 • '^:l- I- T V • • T I J "^M- (.T T IT )•■ : • 
 
 :nn n!ip!) ^^in '^jdh n^ni ^f2^n nnn iib'j;-!^ 
 
 - I r; : V IV -J - ^•- • : v at - - j- i "^i I- v 
 
 IT*: J- r I I : V : Ma:* j- | ^t^. : 
 
 preserved the ambiguity in the translation. Vide viii. 16, where 
 P^V is used precisely in the same sense as in this passage. 
 
 It is clear that the words n^V and )''3V are closely akin in 
 sense, and that the first means " to be busy," " to bestow labour 
 on anything," the second, "the business in which one is en- 
 gaged," and these words do not here imply distress or suffering 
 
 b)f expresses the object of research. 
 
 He here states that his research did not relate to God, or 
 the angels, or anything celestial, but simply to terrestrial and 
 human affairs, and to these only his conclusion refers, that "it 
 is a sad employment," Hterally, " an occupation of evil." 
 
 Ver. 14, 15. "He says, After I had seen and considered 
 " all that has been done under the sun, I found that the reflec- 
 " tions of the sons of men were reflections of vanity, and ideas 
 " of wind, which cannot profit, and cannot make happy. And 
 " what profit has a man in all his diligence and labom' ? Be- 
 " hold, if there be anythmg perverted or depraved in liis con- 
 " dition, it cannot be set right, and if there be any tiling 
 " defective in it, it cannot be supphed ; for it is impossible 
 " for him to change his destiny ; and, consequently, it is in 
 " vain that he devises so many plans for attaining happiness." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Verse 15 must be joined with 14, because verse 15 
 is included under the word (1311, which expresses the result of 
 his contemplations. Instead of retaining the Hebraism, "Be- 
 hold," the passage may be rendered, " Comperique omnia ceu 
 halitum esse aut ventosam imaginationem, perversum non posse 
 corrigi neque defectum suppleri." 
 
CHAP. 1.] ECCLESIASTES. 147 
 
 14occupent. Contemplatus sum omnia negotia qu£e 
 
 sub sole fiunt ; et en ! omnia ceu halitus erant, aut 
 
 15 ventosa imaginatio ; non poterat perversum corrigi, 
 
 The word ri!)V"1 is of the form n^Dl, " likeness." This is 
 the form of verbal nouns derived from verbs which have a 
 quiescent H for the third radical. It is always in the sin- 
 gular number. Its meaning is cognate with that of the verb 
 n^l in the passage nn rtJ^H Dp2^^, " Ephraim has ideas of 
 wind," Hosea xii. 2. i. e. " His ideas are unsubstantial, like the 
 wind;" or in the expression, Ps. xxxvii. 3, n^^DJ* 11)71, "Think 
 truth," or " Imagine ideas of truth ;" for in both these cases 
 the verb may either express " to think," or " have ideas," as 
 it does in Chaldee, or else, " to feed on," " pascere," as it more 
 ordinarily does in Hebrew ; in which latter case it would be 
 metaphorically used of the intelHgent soul, because " thought is 
 as it were the food of the soul, in which it luxuriates and enjoys 
 itself," as the Rabbinic commentator says ; and the rendering 
 of nn n^V*? ^^d also of nil jVV"' would be " ventosum stu- 
 dium." Mendlessohn inclines to the former rendering, " a windy 
 notion," " a fleeting and unsubstantial idea." The renderino- of 
 n^V"^, "vexation," is entirely without foundation, as n^l in Chal- 
 dee is the same as the Hebrew n^il, " voluit," which would give 
 quite a different and opposite sense, viz. " pursuit," " object of 
 desire," " studium," as above, and hence the Septuagint renders 
 it Trpoaipecri^ Trvevnarog. 7211 means literally, as we have ob- 
 served, "a breath proceeding from the mouth," and is frequently 
 used metaphorically in this book along with n^ll Jl^i^l, and both 
 together may be rendered, "like a mere breath and windy 
 notion." 
 
 The substantive JIlDn is of the form jVli*. Some have 
 
 10—2 
 
148 ECCLE8IA8TES. [sECT. II. 
 
 neque suppleri poterat defectus ! Loquebar equidem 16 
 mecum, dicens, *' En ! auxi et propagavi philoso- 
 phiam plusquam omnes qui ante me prsefuerunt 
 Hierosolymffi, et mens mea multam habuit philoso- 
 phise scientiseque cognitionem ! " Itaque mentem 17 
 adhibui meam, quum ad cognitonem philosophise 
 tum ad cognitionem vesanise et stultitiae; comperi 
 
 rendered the latter clause of verse 15, " The defects could not 
 be numbered;" but we should then have had JIIDn in the plural 
 number, and the parallehsm, so necessary in Hebrew, would not 
 be equally well kept up. 
 
 JTl^Dn'? must signify here, as in Isaiah liii. 12, " To be 
 reckoned with," and " in addition to." Now what is wanting 
 cannot be reckoned along with what is present, unless it be 
 " supphed ;" but when anything wanting is supplied, it can 
 then be reckoned along with the rest of its class, which before 
 it could not be. 
 
 Ver. 16. " Then I said to myself. Behold, I have increased 
 " pliilosophy by two methods of increase, viz. extension, and 
 *' propagation. For of the philosopher who by his genius invents 
 " a new subject of philosophy, it would be said, that ' he has 
 " extended the hmits of philosophy ;' and of him who teaches 
 " philosophy to others, that ' he has propagated it ;' and he 
 " says, ' I have extended and propagated"" philosophy above 
 " all who were before me in Jerusalem." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. As Jerom observes, Solomon only says he was 
 wiser than his predecessors in Jerusalem, not than Moses, 
 Abraham, and the Patriarchs. 
 
 r\2irf is in fact the infinitive Hipliil of Hin, but is used 
 as an adjective, and, as the Rabbinic commentator observes, 
 is a noun adjective ending in n and with a (••) under the last 
 
CHAP. I.J ECCLESIASTES. 149 
 
 :/• • : ■ AT T I : "^ I- T : rr t v -: t rj- t ; t 
 
 17 n6:2n n^iS ^sS n^nxi rnyni n2D::n nam nxi 
 
 T : T -J-T • • <T : VlT "^ ITT JT : T V : - JT T 
 
 ' J : - V r.' - V • ^ - T A ; • : V " I '^ ;- : 
 
 syllable, and which consequently cannot receive a plural ter- 
 mination. In the same way we find 2tD''rT often used, as 
 in Deut. ix. 21, adjectively, to express intensiveness, though 
 it is really the infinitive mood Hiphil of 1J0\ "to be good." 
 So also in Prov. xxvii. 14, we find D^^'l^' "^^^^ surgere," for 
 " mane." The two forms of the infinitive Hiphil of HI") are 
 
 T T 
 
 niirr and rm"in, wliich are therefore also the two forms of 
 the verbal adjective, and the latter is not the plural of the 
 former. For the word min is also used as a plural (as being 
 a noun of multitude), as in the passage in this book, niin '•3 
 
 It is remarkable that we have here, as in the verses i. 
 10, ii. 7, the verb TVn in the singular number, where the 
 
 TT * ' 
 
 antecedent is plural ; we can only say that the class is taken 
 collectively. On the contrary, in ii. 7, we have !|\"T{ii ^3, and 
 
 T V 
 
 not rvnw b2i. 
 
 TT ■.- 
 
 Ver. 17. " And now when I came to apply myself to as- 
 " certain the difference between philosophy, and madness and 
 " folly, I found that that too was a mere windy notion, for 
 " that in the superiority of philosophy there is not any real 
 " prosperity nor happiness for man." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The literal interpretation of this passage according 
 to the accents is, " To understand philosophy on the one hand, 
 and to understand madness and folly ow the other," that is, 
 
150 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT, II. 
 
 ft^Dv nvi ft^Din Dp-!in hj^jdh nhs ^2 :nni8 
 
 I ;• "• ^- I ^' : '- AT T vT : T J : -r " ' 
 
 " to ascertain their relative merits," or, as I have rendered it, 
 " to compare them." m'?'?')/! is rendered by the Rabbinic 
 commentators, " The being bereft of understanding," and " con- 
 sequent departure from the way of wisdom." We find respecting 
 the word ri^bsii^ the following remark in the Masora, that 
 " every word denoting folly" is written with a D, except one, 
 which is written with a it; in the passage n!|b!)b} Jli'^blH T\)iy\. 
 "VVe have several times, in the book of Job, the word tt^V^, 
 in the same sense in which DV^ is elsewhere used, which is 
 
 T T 
 
 an anomaly of the same description. 
 
 Ver. 18. " For the more a man pursues philosophic re- 
 " search, the more is his vexation and trouble increased, since 
 " either from the small extent of his knowledge and his prone- 
 " ness to error he is disgusted with life at seeing that all his 
 " labour and all his trouble in philosophy and science do not 
 " bring him to his object, for that truth is deep, so that who 
 " shall find it out ? or on account of the inconsistencies which 
 " he sees in the world, (hidden from the eyes of all living are 
 " the ways of Providence, in the accidents which happen to the 
 " sons of men both to the just and the unjust ; so that many 
 " men of consummate ability have discussed this subject, and 
 " it is also noticed ever and anon all through this roll), or on 
 " account of the envy of others who hate and persecute cause- 
 " lessly the philosopliic person ; and the fool is safe from most 
 " of those annoyances,* which may be on account of his little 
 " sensibiUty, as our wise men have said, ' The fool feels no- 
 " thing,' XO^TsU:^ n^OItt^ ]''^*, or because he is not so exposed to 
 " accidents and chances, according to their saying, ' Accidents 
 
CHAP. I.] ECCLESIASTES. 151 
 
 18 banc quoqiie ventosam esse imaginationem. Nam in 
 multa pliilosopliia multum est tedium; et qui auget 
 scientiam auget quoque dolorem. 
 
 " happen not to the fool,' yj23 iUDItt^ ^ii. And there is enough 
 "in all this to shew the intelligent person that he will not find 
 " real prosperity in human investigation." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Just as b^ becomes ^2 before a Makeph, 21 be- 
 comes i"l, as DyD~11. 
 
 T ^ T T 
 
 D^l ^VV]. We must understand lUJ^n before ^V)\ A 
 similar abruptness of construction is found in vi. 12, where Iti'Nn 
 must be understood before b^2, and in Prov. xii, 17, H^^lDK n''2"' 
 plJi T'ilV "He who utters truth shews forth righteousness," and 
 elsewhere in that book ; and Psal. cxxvi. 6, nbl^ TT^"' '^Tit'll 
 
 T ■— T 
 
 "IDT n3"ll ii'y-i^l ^im-^WD i^'d;:, which our version ren- 
 
 T • : T '^ -T- V V •• ' 
 
 ders, "He that goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth 
 precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, &c." 
 but which I prefer to translate, as well as the latter part of the 
 Psalm, as a prayer for the restoration of Israel, "He that goes 
 forth (as it were) weeping and bearing a basket of seed, as 
 surely as he now does so, so surely let him come back again 
 with joy, &c," (Aben Ezra renders irirrt "^IW^, "a basket of 
 seed.") The Psalm begins thus, " When the Lord brings back 
 the captivity of Zion, then shall we be as in a dream (of deho-ht). 
 Then will our mouth be filled with laughter, &c." Then will 
 they say among the heathen, "The Lord hath done great thino-s 
 for these." Then shall we be exultingly shouting, " The Lord 
 hath done great things for us ;" and then the prayer beo-ins, 
 " Bring back our captivity, Lord, &c." The Bibhcal version 
 makes the Psalmist pray for the fulfilment of that event imme- 
 diately after speaking of it as having already taken place, 
 
 *10 — 4 
 
152 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. III. 
 
 SECTIO TERTIA. 
 
 Cap. 
 II. 
 
 Dixi mecum, " Age quseso, tentabo te per vo- 1 
 luptatem," et "fruere jiicunditate ;" sed ecce! h^ec 
 quoque vana erat ! De risu dixi, " Vesanus est," 2 
 et de hilaritate, "Quid hsec facit?" 
 
 Ver. 1. " After I saw that in philosophy there was no 
 " prosperity nor happiness for man, I said, I will cease from 
 " the pursuit of philosophy, and constantly employ myself in 
 " merriment ; and I said to myself. Come now, I will try thee 
 " whether thou canst find real good and happiness in mirth, 
 " drinking, and luxury. Behold, this too was in vain. There 
 " was not in luxury true happiness or feUcity desirable for man ; 
 " but if man proceeds to a great degree in making merry and 
 " enjoying luxury and constant mirth, in the end he will be dis- 
 " gusted with his hfe, and his mind will loathe merriment. 
 
 " l<3 n'Db is an expression for exhorting to activity and 
 
 T T : 
 
 " readiness for action ; and because motion in walking is a state 
 " of activity, and sitting still one of inactivity, he expresses the 
 " former by a word of motion Tf^V" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. ^<3 means qufeso, " I pray." The Targum renders 
 it by IVD, "now," and Aben Ezra at Gen. xii. 11, says, nbD 
 nny 1DD N3, i. 0. verbum ^^3 idem valet quod, "nunc." 
 
 Yarchi derives ^DD3^? from 1\D^, to pour out, and renders 
 
 T : - -: - T 
 
 it, " I will pour out wine with joy ;" and so the Vulgate trans- 
 lates it, "affluara deliciis." But Solomon seems rather to mean 
 that he intended to give up his mind to pleasurable sensations. 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 153 
 
 THE THIRD SECTION. 
 
 Chap. 
 II. 
 
 in«i!i nr\f2t2 nnDJx i<:i-n::h 'iiSa ^'jx ^nitsi^ 
 
 J" ; IT : • : jT : — ; .jr r : • • : • -: • : <" t 
 
 At : • : J- T I ^ : • v It v - r- • : a 
 
 IT ^ J - VT : • : 
 
 The (ID at the end of n^D^iV is the pronominal affix for tlie 
 second person feminine, and the root is nD3. 
 
 The construction of nD3 with 2. occurs also in 1 Ivings 
 X. 1, where the queen of the south is said to have tried So- 
 lomon with riddles, nnTll- 
 
 ^^^'^ with 2 denotes not merely sight and observation of 
 the substantive after 3., but full enjoyment of it. Thus we find 
 Ps. xxvii. 13, " Unless I had trusted to enjoy the goodness of 
 the Lord (""•'> IIDI m'j^"}^) in the land of the Hving." Psalm 
 xxxiv. 13, " One who is desirous to enjoy good in his life-time,'"' 
 ni'lDl r\)i^i7 ^V1 ^k}'^^ ■ ^^- cxxviii. 5, " Enjoy the happi- 
 ness of Jerusalem," D^tt^n"" llbl nKI &c. 
 
 • T T : : •■ : 
 
 Ver. 2. " And then he says of laughter, that it is an 
 " employment void of understanding ; and of mirth he says, 
 " ' What docth it ?' ' What good docs it bring man ? It does 
 " not make him happy or wise."* bh'inD means here 'infatu- 
 " ated.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. ':''7in?D is the participle Pohal. The active of this 
 verb, i. e. the Pohel is used in Ch. vii. 7, bb'itl'^, "it drives mad." 
 This word therefore means, "driven mad," "infatuated." We 
 find it in this sense in Psalm cii. 9, ^);2m ^1 '•b'^inp, "Those 
 
154 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. IV. 
 
 THE FOURTH SECTION. 
 
 V : V Jv -• "j- : • : J vrlv : t : t |- 
 
 ^jb* i«3DX2 t2't2^n nnn iisry^ 12^'^^ cbixn mS 
 
 J" : (.- : • • - T - - J- '^:r <v - t t it <•• : • 
 
 who are mad against me (i'?b'inp) have sworn against me," i. e. 
 " conspired against me." Dathe renders the word "magnum 
 splendorem habes," according to the sense which it bears in 
 several passages of the Psalms, where it signifies high excel- 
 lence and dignity, and is applied to Jehovah. And in this 
 sense the Rabbins took it in this place Ukewise, and were 
 obliged to have recourse to a somewhat far-fetched interpreta- 
 tion, as Mendlessohn relates in his preface (see p. 78). Another 
 reading of tliis passage is '?"»);in ilD, "What doth it profit?" 
 which the authors of the Syriac version seem to have fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 Observe that n? is in the feminine gender instead of tlj, 
 and its antecedent is nriDb. So in ix. 13, we find nD2n rrt 
 
 T : • T : T 
 
 " This piece of wisdom." Also nJi^V is the feminine participle. 
 The expression used here of mirth nt^y rfrnp may mean, 
 "What doth it profit?" "what good does it do?" or it may 
 be merely a phrase of checking and reprimanding, as in the 
 expression, " Who shall stay his hand ? or say to him, What 
 doest thou?" {np^r\ HD), which occurs in this book, at viii. 4, 
 and in Dan. iv. 33. 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 155 
 
 SECTIO QUARTA. 
 
 3 Scrutatus sum mecum quomodo corpus meum 
 vino foverem, et, mente mea philosophiam excolente, 
 ineptiam simul retinerem, usque dum viderem quid- 
 nam bonum esset hominibus quod sub coelo facerent 
 
 Ver. 3. " When I saw that wisdom by itself only increases 
 " vexation, and merriment by itself does not make happy, I 
 " sought a method of effecting a union between them ; to cherish 
 " and indulge my body with wine, (for ' wine cheers people'), 
 " and while my mind was training itself in philosophy at the 
 " same time to retain the enjoyments of folly, that is, the 
 " lusts of the world ; according to the doubtful conduct of a 
 " man who knows not where to find tranquilhty and rest for 
 " himself; and he says, 'I retained both this and that, till I 
 " might see what is the good acceptable and desirable for man.'' 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. "^IWD is " to indulge and train at the same time," 
 i. c, to cherish. The Arabic i^Ca^ is "continere;" and from 
 
 this word is derived ,y^^ . "food which renders the frame 
 robust." 
 
 :in3 is a transitive verb ; and 1D2iV (" itself") is to be 
 imderstood after it, as the Rabbinic commentators say, so that 
 '>2b is a nominative absolute, "my mind training or practising 
 itself in philosophy." 
 
 ••l^ is a particle, which when placed before pronouns 
 or adverbs gives them an interrogative signification ; and 
 tl^-'^ii means simply " what." 
 
156 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IV. 
 
 in numero dierum vitse sua?. Magnifica mihi opera 4 
 feci, fiedilicavi mihi Eedes, plantavi mihi vineas. Hor- 5 
 tos mihi feci, et paradises, et consevi in eis arbores 
 fructuosas omnigenas. Feci mihi stagna aquarum, 6 
 ex quibus irrigandum nemus producens arbores. Emi 7 
 servos et ancillas; habuique vernas. Item armenti 
 et pecoris greges mihi erant majores quam cuique 
 eorum qui apud me erant Hierosolymse ; congessi 8 
 quoque mihi argentum et aurum, regumque et pro- 
 vinciarum thesauros; comparavi mihi cantatores et 
 cantatrices, deliciasque hominum, plurimas captivas 
 mulieres. Et magnus factus sum, et plura acquisivi 9 
 quam uUus eorum qui apud me erant Hierosoly- 
 mae ; insuper sapientia mea mihi adjuvabat {vel as- 
 
 Ver. 5. ^"133 is from the root J^J, " to shelter," on 
 account of the trees in a garden which shelter with their 
 branches him who sits under their shade. 
 
 D11S is a quadriliteral, evidently cognate with the Greek 
 irapaSeiaos, signifying a pleasant garden formed into regular 
 parterres. 
 
 Ver. 6. D^iiV H^l^ '^i?'' means what we call in Enghsh a 
 " nursery ground." 
 
 Ver. 7. D''1-"'J1 is a phrase used collectively in Gen. xiv. 
 14, and xv. 2, for "slaves born in the family," "a household," 
 Large and small cattle are both called n3pD, because they are 
 the main part of human wealth. 
 
 I am inchnod to think that in this verse and in 9, ''^S^ does 
 not mean " before my time," but " in my time." See note on 
 chap. i. 10. So Dn''32^ in iv. 16, means, " in their time," or, 
 " apud eos," i. c. " around them, and under their observa- 
 tion." Accordingly I have rendered it in the Latin version, 
 
CHAP. II.] ECOLESIASTES. 157 
 
 • *: J- T • T ■ • c T AT '^ci- •:*.-:• Iv •• - 
 
 • *• J- T : A- •• : - I - . • J- "t !• t : v 
 I J : - : -AT J •• : v • r 'r • Iv t } y- v.v t 
 
 n\n n^in |«2fi ipin n:ip^ Qii ^S n\n n^n-^jni 
 
 TJT •• : - ' <T It T V I : • j- a- tjt , <.- •• : 
 
 8-d:i ^':' *nDi3 : CDSsj^n^s *j3^ vnt^ hbb ''^ 
 
 • ; <- t • it t I • I- t : j t iv .^ • 
 
 • 't a • : - : >.• T : J- •. : t t : I v jv 
 
 I • : jT • (.T T IT ;■• : :; ■•. "^i I- : t : j- t 
 
 9&X oStJ^n^s ^js':' n\ns5^ Sjd^ ^nsDini ^nSiJii 
 
 I J- • AT t I • I" T : jT t IV -J • • : - : • : j- t : 
 
 " apud me," supposing Solomon to mean that he was the most 
 opulent man of his own day, while in the English I have pre- 
 served the translation, " before me," i. e. " before my time," 
 which the word b^ before D^t:^^"!]' compels us to adopt in i, 16. 
 
 Ver. 8. " nbjD is a thing much in request, and precious, 
 " kept in a treasury, to take pride and dehght in, and which is 
 " only foimd in particular provinces." Mendlcssohn. 
 
 m'^ti'l rnti^ probably means " captive women taken in 
 war," as it were Jllintt^ ; and this construction expresses 
 "several," not an individual woman ; lOce □^'riOnni Dill, Judges 
 V. 30, "puella et dusB puellae," "several females;" n^tt^ being 
 derived from TFti^. 
 
 - t 
 
 Ver. 9. "TliipirT. Either we must understand some such 
 word as IW}^ after this verb, and translate, " I acquired more 
 than all, &c." " I became more opulent than, &c." or, if it be 
 taken intransitively, wc must render it, " I exceeded all, &c." 
 
158 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IV. 
 
 . : I- T ) - '■ J -: IT jv -; : v t : n i.- t : t 
 
 - .. T <• • I- T : • T • • • V • ": - T I Av •• 
 
 ... • J- T \- t *-•. T • K- : V >TT V : • T "^t T • 
 
 r\\r\\ nib^vS *n':'X2ysj^ S»yn^ n* ^ib^V^^ ^'syj^a-S:^!! 
 
 .. . : A ^: I- • : j-'r iv it't iv - t j "t iv - '^■.\- t : 
 
 V (T - - J- I V :••>••: - J •• V ■•• •» - 
 
 Mendlessohn observes that the expression "»b mpv means, 
 " It was an assistance to me, to help me to do works which 
 had not been done before me in Jerusalem." It may be well 
 rendered into EngHsh, " stood me in good stead," 
 
 Ver. 10. "I withheld not myself from any enjoyment, for 
 " man has no advantage from all the labour which he performs, 
 " except a merry heart, and why should I refrain myself from 
 " mirth ?" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. XVyU is an adjective. 
 
 The word pbn constantly means "the profit or advan- 
 tage derived from any particular method of pursuing hap- 
 piness ;" in this passage ''j^bn means " my profit," " the profit 
 I had in view in all my labour." Thus we find it used in 
 Eccles. iii. 21, " For that is his profit," i. e. " cheerfulness is 
 the only profit he can derive from his employment." So also 
 V. 18, a similar passage to the last. See also Psalm xvi. 5, and 
 Psalm xvii. 14, " Wlio have their only profit in this life." 
 
 Ver. 11. " Behold, after I had done all these works, I turned 
 " to consider them again, to see whether man can find happiness 
 " and prosperity in them ; and, behold, all were as a mere breath 
 " and windy notion, since in all these there is no real and sub- 
 " stantial good under the sun." Mendlessohn. 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 159 
 
 10 tabat). Ac nihil eorum quse oculi mei appetebant iis 
 denegavi ; non cohibui animum meum ab ulla la?ti- 
 tia ; animus enim mens leetatus est de omne labore 
 meo, et hie erat fructus mens, quern ex omni la- 
 
 1 1 bore meo exspectabam. At intuebar in omnia qu£e 
 manus mese opera fecerant, et in laborem quo in 
 peragendo versatus eram ; et ecce ! omnia ceu hali- 
 tus erant, aut ventosa imaginatio, nee quicquam erat 
 sub sole fruetuosum. 
 
 Note. "^W^^D bb2 ''i^''32> the same construction occurs be- 
 tween n^ti^ and 1. Vide at Exod. v. 9, -)pW ni^l ^)}W^ bi^^, 
 " and let them not look at (regard) vain words." We find the 
 verb n:2 in the sense "to look," in Exod. ii. 12, nbl Hb ]S'''l 
 W''ij( r^?"''? ^?■^|1% " And he looked this way and that, and saw 
 that there was no one" (near). Is. viii. 22, rh})Db n32^ " And 
 looked upwards." We may therefore either render the above 
 words as I have done in the Enghsh Version, " But I turned to 
 all the works," or as in the Latin Version, " Intuebar in omnia 
 opera, &c." " I looked at all the works," or, " I looked among 
 all the works," i. e. to find satisfaction. 
 
 Solomon had now exhausted all the means of earthly enjoy- 
 ment, without deriving substantial satisfaction from any of them. 
 After this he continued for a while, as we perceive from the fol- 
 lowing section, in a desponding and querulous frame of mind, 
 until the contemplation of the overruling providence of God 
 convinced him that all our affahs are ordered by Him for the 
 best, and that our highest wisdom consists in cheerful submission 
 to His wUl in the performance of our respective duties. Vid. 
 Chap. III. and Sect. vi. 
 
16Q Ef'CLESTASTES. [sEf'T. V. 
 
 SECTIO QUINTA, 
 
 Itaque convertebam me a consideranda sapientia 12 
 cum vesania et stultitia ; quid enim faciet alter qui 
 post regem ad eandem contemplationem accedet ? Id 
 quod dudum fecerunt {i. e. factum erit). Equidem 13 
 videbam tantam esse philosophise prag stultitia excel- 
 lentiam, quanta luci sit pras tenebris excellentia. Sa- 14 
 piens habet oculos suos in capite, sed stultus pergit 
 in tenebris ; sed tamen ego intellexi quoque eundem 
 
 Ver. 12. "As much as to say, ' I turned back from looking 
 " any longer for prosperity and happiness in all the works of 
 " madness and folly, though they be done scientifically ; for there 
 " is no good in them ; and say not " Perhaps a greater phUo- 
 " sopher than you would do them in such a way as to make him- 
 " self happy." For what should a man do or try who comes 
 " after a kino- ? What others have aheady done.' The meanmg 
 " of which is, that he cannot invent anything new which those 
 " anterior to him m time have not done." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn understands D before Jlli^")':?, or else 
 renders, ," I turned away (in despau-) at the contemplation, &c. 
 as nothing was to be derived from it of any value." We must 
 understand D again m the last verse of Chapter vii. after 12^ , 
 
 The expression "what they have already done," is equi- 
 valent to " what has been done already." 
 
 Ver. 13. " He is now returning to discuss a great and 
 " important question in the matter of philosophy and folly ; and 
 " that is, that with respect to reflection and inteUigence, every 
 " intelligent person must allow that there is a great difference 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCI.ESIASTES. ]()1 
 
 THE FIFTH SECTION'. 
 
 12)^3 r\)hDt)) n)hh)n) nbrin nixiS ^'jn ^n^jsi 
 
 J- A : • ; \. •• I : t : t j : • • -: • < t 
 
 nn3-i^"{< n« "n^^n nnx xn*^ Disn n^ 
 
 IT : V -; J" I ;■ V - J" -: I- TV T T IT Jv 
 
 A : • - I • >.T : T I- I .^ : • ;•••.• • t • j- t : I '^r 
 
 : jt '^^ T T IV I V I - I • It I ^ : I- 
 
 inx nipo^r ^Jx-DJ ^nyin 'n':'in Tisj^n!! S^Dsm 
 
 V.T V yv|: • V ■ T - • "7 j-t: (a- I v j - v.- : - : 
 
 " between wisdom and folly, and that the superiority of wisdom 
 "is as clear as the sun, so that no objector can possibly deny 
 " it ; (for the wise man sees good and evil, what is straight 
 " and what crooked, and chooses by means of his intelhgence 
 " the good and right way, but the fool knows not how to 
 " take heed and beware; 'he knows not at what he stumbles;' 
 " and consequently the superiority of wisdom is clear and ma- 
 " nifest of itself;) and yet that in habihty to accidents there is 
 " no difference between them ; and sometimes the wise man falls 
 " into a snare and the fool escapes, but generally the same 
 " accidents happen to both of them. He now proceeds to 
 " illustrate this difficulty in the following verses by means of 
 " a review and examination of the actions of men and the 
 " accidents that befall them." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, jlino is written for |'njT'3 ; for the letter ^ has 
 become quiescent, and the vowel been taken up by the servile 
 letter 3. 
 
 Ver, 14, 15. " * The wise man's eyes are in his head,' i. e. 
 " he understands in the beginning of any business what it will 
 11 
 
162 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. V. 
 
 • : j~ • : A" JT \- -; • : 5~ T t st ; • •• I: • j* ~: 
 
 '^ jT T (•-• I J : - I •• • V |T iv - V " • : 
 
 n^t^: hbn tij^xsn CD^22*n lise^s o'^iy^ ^^Dsn 
 
 • - J- V • •• T ; r : ~ vT T |v i T I ^" : 
 
 , - ,. ... ^T - - J- \T '=-:i- V V "=■: |- |- - "t •' <- a- 
 
 " turn out in its end ; but the fool walks as it were in the dark, 
 " so that he cannot take heed against a snare ; and nevertheless 
 " I found that the same accidents may happen to both of them ; 
 " so I said to myself that this too (viz. the superiority which 
 " wisdom has over foUy) is also vanity." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 15. For other examples of "'3^i^ used abso- 
 lutely, vid. Note to viii. 2, infra. Compare D3nn in ver 14. 
 
 Ver. 16. " ' If you should say that it is an advantage be- 
 " longing to the wise man that he will be in remembrance for 
 " ever, and that he wiU make himself a name in the world 
 " as the great men of their nations and their kings have 
 " thought to do, who have waged great wars and formidable, 
 " and have done notable deeds in the world in order that their 
 " remembrance might be left to future generations ; behold, this 
 " too is a vain idea. The wise man as well as the fool has no 
 " everlasting remembrance, but it lasts only for a little time 
 " and not many days ; for in coming ages all will be forgotten, 
 " and if this do not happen in the very next generation, it will 
 " happen in a generation more remote, and at all events their 
 " remembrance will not remain to the end. Alas ! how perishes 
 " the memory of the wise man with that of the fool ! and both 
 " of them are as if they had never been.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 163 
 
 15 utrisque casum contingere posse. Itaque dixi mecum, 
 " Secundum stulti casum, quod ad me attinet, mihi 
 quoque casus contingere potest, et quid igitur pro- 
 dest quod sapientia prsecellam?" quamobrem dixi 
 
 1 6 mecum hoc quoque vanum esse. Sapientis aeque ac 
 stulti nulla est sempiterna memoria, quandoquidem 
 diebus Venturis uterque dudum oblivioni datus fue- 
 
 17rit; et quomodo moritur sapiens stulti ritu ! Itaque 
 exosus eram vitam, nam displicebat mihi opus quod sub 
 
 Note. DDr6 inpT ^^?, "He has no remembrance," i.e. 
 " is not remembered;" ]")")3T is in construction, and h only the 
 sign of the genitive case. Vid. ch. i. 11. D^^ here expresses 
 "equally with," "like," in wliich sense we find it in Ps. Ixxiii. 
 25, V")K1 ""J^^iSn Kb ^Dy% "And there is none upon earth that I 
 
 V T T • : - T : • : 
 
 desire equally with thee." And in Job ix. 26, nT3^^ D^ ^Sbn, 
 " They are past away like ships." 
 
 W2. signifies " inasmuch as," as in Gen. vi. 3, i^^rt U^Wl 
 "^iUX " Inasmuch as also he is flesh." We find 'IWi^jL in the 
 sense " inasmuch as," at Eccl. vii. 2, " Inasmuch as that is 
 the end of every man." 
 
 Before D''^*i^ D'^D'H understand 2, as in 1 Sam. ii. 31, 
 
 • T - • TT : 
 
 and Jer. vii. 32. So we had in Ecc. ii. 3, D^O^ "1200, for 
 
 • T - : • 
 
 D"'D^ ")2DD1. natt'D means, "will have been forgotten." 
 
 bbn signifies here, as in many other places in this book, 
 
 " both of them." Rosenmuller agrees with my version of this 
 
 passage ; he renders it " eo quod jam-pridem diebus venienti- 
 
 bus uterque oblivioni tradetur," or " traditus fuerit." 
 
 Ver. 17. " Behold, this difficulty brings man to hate his 
 
 " life in this world when he sees that he has no profit in all his 
 
 " labour, for that all is a mere breath and windy notion in this 
 
 " world. 
 
 11_2 
 
164 ECCLESIASTKS. [sECT. V. 
 
 sole fit, quippe quod cunctum ceu halitus esset, aut 
 ventosa imaginatio. Exosus quoqiie eram cunctum 18 
 laborem meum quem sub sole elaboraveram, quippe 
 quem relicturus sim homini qui mihi superstes fuerit, 19 
 (et quis scit sapiensne sit futurus an stultus?) et potitus 
 erit cuncto labore meo quem tanto labore ac sapien- 
 tia sub sole perfecerim ; quae res quoque irrita esset, 
 (i. e. qua^ hujus vitee imperfectio esset.) Et conver- 20 
 tebam me ad desperare faciendum animum meum 
 de omni labore quem sub sole elaboraveram. Est 21 
 enim cujus labor sapienter et scienter et optimo cum 
 
 Ver. 18. " Here is the second objection against the excel- 
 " lence and superiority of wisdom ; ' Behold, I may labour and 
 " perform great works like a mighty king who possesses the 
 " power to do so, and to-morrow I may be dead and leave my 
 " kingdom to some one who may succeed me ; and who knows 
 " whether he will be a wise man or a fool ?' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The word bD)J is a verbal adjective from '^DV. 
 
 Ver. 19. " 'And be that as it may, he will be master of all 
 " my work which my labour and wisdom have effected under 
 " the sun.' Here may possibly be allusion to the bad promise 
 " of his son Rehoboam." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The expression, " Who knows whether he will be a 
 wise man or a fool?" must be regarded as in a parenthesis. 
 Where he says, " shall be master of all my labour," he means 
 " the fruits of my labour which my perseverance and skill have 
 enabled me to acquire." 
 
 Ver. 20. " So I turned myself to the resolution not to 
 " exercise any more forethought or anxiety about all my works, 
 " but to take a disgust to them, for that there was no profit or 
 " ground for confidence in them." Mendlessohn. 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES, 165 
 
 : nnx nM»^ dxS ^^n^^xsj^ ^»:i?n nnn S^jr 
 
 |T -; |- IV ; |- :• vt t |t v • - jv v at - - J" s.-'x 
 
 i9^S^^-S:)!i bStrn Si)D i« n\i^ D:3nn ynv "•ibi 
 
 • T '^: T ; ~ : • ; t t j ■•■ ; |- <;t t (v '^ .. J- 
 
 : Snn ni-tzi-i 2J^X2ts>n nnn ^n^5n^"i ^nS^ysj^ 
 
 ... |T ,^._. _ V AT - - J- • : V- T |v : • : i-'r iv 
 
 -V- : *T : T : y t '^:iv t t j- • v it - - j- 
 
 NoTE. Tmp is an intransitive verb, signifying, " I came 
 round," "I turned." 
 
 Wi^'^ is a verb in the Pahel conjugation, and consequently 
 transitive ; and the passage may be rendered, " I came to make 
 myself despair." The Rabbins used WH*' to express " despair 
 of recollecting anything." 
 
 Ver. 21. " Here is another objection still stronger than 
 " that which precedes it, and this is that even if a man think 
 " with himself, ' What have I to do with those that come after 
 " me ? I will labour and enjoy myself in my lifetime, and not 
 " be anxious about what may happen after my death ;' behold, 
 " even this enjoyment depends on a decree pre-ordained by 
 " God, and not on the efforts or choice of man. And sometimes 
 " one man labours philosophically and scientifically and suc- 
 " cessfully, and another enjoys the fruit of it, as if the one 
 " were made only to heap up and accumulate wealth, and tho 
 " other only to eat and make merry with what he has not 
 " laboured for ; and this is a great evil." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The word Ip^n is inserted to explain what is 
 
166 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. V. 
 
 >v - I : V jv : • ~ {T < V T T : • a : * : 
 
 T '^; X : T T (T <V |V • |T - 'JtT : V W 
 
 -Oil S'lh :i'2^-^h n'^^^a-Dii ir^y oyii nD^::^::!^ 
 
 r^nm S:D^^*^ cziix!! ^its-px : xin '^in nT24 
 
 T T ; J- V T T jT < I (V I V i" \" 
 
 ^jx 'T\'^i h-n^ iS^DV^ ^^2D i^srnx nxnni 
 
 meant by leaving one^s " labour" to another, that it is leaving 
 " the fruit of it" to others. 
 
 The expression nil nvn ^in Ht-DI may be either ren- 
 dered as referring to the man's labour, which he goes on to 
 describe in the next verse as unremitting by day or night, and 
 yet in most cases profitable only to his heir ; or it may be taken 
 to refer in general to the circumstance mentioned in the first part 
 of the verse, that men often toil only for theh' heirs, and 
 ni") r\'^ to mean " a widely prevaihng evil ;" and the next 
 verse would express the frequency of such cases. I have 
 adopted the latter sense in the translation. 31 most generally 
 denotes magnitude of number, but sometimes also of degree or 
 intensity. 
 
 Ver, 22, 23. " Our Rabbins of blessed memory have em- 
 " ployed rrin as a word expressing habit and custom. Thus 
 "they say, 'the thing usually (mini) written;' and so we 
 " may interpret it here. He speaks as one asking a question, 
 "■ ' For what is the practice of the sons of men with respect to 
 " all their labour, &c. ? ' and he answers it for himself, ' That 
 " all his days are wearisome, and his employment vexatious, so 
 ." that even in the night his mind sleeps not for thmking about 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 167 
 
 successu perfectus est, sed qui homini, qui non in 
 eo laboraverit concedere eum, nempe fructum suum, 
 debet ; et hoc quoque res irrita, (i. e. vitae imper- 
 
 22 feetio), et magnum malum est. Qusenam enim est 
 consuetudo hominis in omni ejus labore et mentis 
 ejus cogitatione, in quibus sese occupat sub sole? 
 
 23 quod cuncti ejus dies sunt fatigantes, et occupatio 
 ejus molestia, adeo ut ne noctu quidem animus ejus 
 
 24 quiescat, licet hoc quoque vanum sit. Non est exi- 
 mie bonum homini quod comedat et bibat et in 
 labore suo sibimet ipsi voluptatem prasstet ; sed hoc 
 
 " his business; and though this too is vain and foolish on the 
 ." part of those Avho so labour, nevertheless the practice of man 
 " is even so ; and how then should it not be a great evil to 
 "him for another to enter into the fruits of his labour?'" 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 24. " 'Behold, it is no such great good or happiness 
 " for man that the only profit he derives from his labour should 
 " be eating and drinking and enjoying himself, but even this 
 " amount of good is not at the disposal of man, but comes from 
 " God.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Rosenmuller would understand the passage IID yn 
 Uim, " Non est bonum penes hominem," i. e. " His eating and 
 drinking, and enjoying himself in his labour, is not a good in 
 the power or at the disposal of man." This agrees very well 
 with the following clause, " Even this I perceived to bo from 
 the hand of God alone," but it is unnecessary to adopt this 
 forced rendering of D^^?2, for 2 liD always means "good for." 
 Alendlessohn's interpretation gives the same general sense with- 
 out introducing this anomaly. 
 
168 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. V. 
 
 etiam comperi divinitus dari ; (quis enim comedere 25 
 aut quis voluptatem sentire poterit, si ego non 
 potuerim ?) sed honiini qui ipsi placet dare Deum 26 
 sapientiam et seientiam et Isetitiam, et improbo 
 dare opus colligendi et coacervandi qu£e mox hie 
 tradat ei qui Deo placet. Hoc quoque irritura ceu 
 halitus erat et ventosa cogitatio. 
 
 Ver. 25. " W^Jl signifies, * to be in haste or activity,' or 
 " else, as probably here, ' to enjoy with the senses.' ' For if 
 " it came from the hand of man to have mirth and enjoy- 
 " ment in his occupation, surely I should have enjoyed myself 
 " more than aU men, for there was no one to prevent me from 
 " doing what I pleased.' " Mendlessohn, 
 
 Note. ">3aD V^n. It is absurd to render this, "beside 
 me." It means rather, "without me," or, "exclusively of me." 
 " Who shall enjoy, if I could not ?" hke the Chaldee, >D 11. 
 
 Ver. 26. " ' But I find by experience that God gives to 
 " the man who is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge 
 " and enjoyment even without his labouring or toihng for it, 
 " and to the sinner he assigns the employment of laying up 
 " and amassing to give it them who are good in the sight of 
 " God; and truly this idea is a vain reflection and windy notion, 
 " for no one can see the difference between these two men, 
 " why one should be good in the sight of God, and the other 
 " be accounted a sinner. Therefore I turned to another theory, 
 " that perhaps every thing happens by a pre-ordained decree,' 
 " as he explains in what immediately follows." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Verses 24, 25, 26, are a somewhat difficult pas- 
 sage. Solomon has been describing his own repinings and 
 despondency on account of the fatal and unforeseen disasters to 
 which the wise and foohsh are ahke hable, and by which labour 
 and forethought may be frustrated in an instant. In verse 23, 
 
CHAP. II.] ECCLESIASTES. 169 
 
 V T }• ■)- r 1- y V v; |t >- • .)• 
 
 ;t : T ' )~ T T T ; a V T T : <• •]•.•• I / 
 
 •• T ; • : I J •■■; |v I T ; '^ I - T •• |- : at ; • : -v- : 
 
 - I 'i : V vv iv - • v; |T J.. . . . 
 
 he says that in fact the enjoyment of the fruits of his labour can- 
 not be secured by man, but is a gift of God alone to those on 
 whom He chooses to bestow it, (as otherwise, ver. 25, he him- 
 self would have attained perfect happiness if any one could). 
 This reflection leads him in verse 26 to suggest as an explana- 
 tion of the apparently fortuitous condition of mankind, that 
 since profit from labour is a gift of God, it must be the good 
 man that He enables and inspires with the desire to use what 
 his toil has acquired for the advantage of himself and others, 
 and the bad man that he impels to be always accumulating 
 what he will not enjoy himself but leave to him who is good 
 in God's sight, which (as the last clause "^^y\ bin nt"D2! might 
 be rendered) is an unsatisfactory task ; but Mendlessohn inge- 
 niously makes this clause refer to the explanation itself, and 
 considers Solomon to be declaring it to be unsatisfactory and 
 insufficient, as unsatisfactory as the fortuitous state of things 
 which it was intended to explain ; for that since we are still 
 ignorant whom God foreknows to be good or a sinner and re- 
 gards as such, it may still be said to be a matter of chance to 
 which class each of us belongs, nor is the uncertainty of our con- 
 dition at all diminished by this view of it. In the next Section 
 Solomon clears up the difficulty more successfully by shewing 
 that there is no such thing as chance, that we are responsible 
 creatures, that God has pre-ordained all events for our greatest 
 final good, and that it is therefore owy duty to be cheerful and 
 content. 
 
170 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI, 
 
 THE SIXTH SECTION. 
 
 Chap. 
 III. 
 
 *)•• • (T T - - I- } :• V T : I" : ' AT : ». - ' 
 
 '•< li : 1": V : I- I : • 1-: : • <•• 
 
 \v: I -; (- "j" A- T -; J : I-: • t -; I J- : - : 
 
 li^^'p n5?_ nil^{S nj;.") ^'(5^^ n^,, : pan?: pfi'ih 6 
 
 Ver. 1. " He now proceeds to explain, by means of trial 
 " and examination, that all things happen according to a pre- 
 " ordained decree determined by God ; and that consequently 
 *' for every thing there is its particular time and fixed season, 
 " and that it is not in the power of man to defer or accelerate 
 " this season in its approach." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 2. " He speaks of the beginning and end of man, as 
 " fixed seasons, and says that there are such fixed seasons not only 
 ^' for man, but also for things sown and planted." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Perhaps irh may be taken substantively for 
 " birth," and the sense be " tempus partus," scihcet " nativi- 
 tatis." The antithesis is thus better kept up than by trans- 
 lating it " bringing forth." Ji;^^ is another form of the in- 
 finitive of ;;:pD, beside yiDS, as if from VP^ 
 
 Ver. 3. " A time to kill and a time to heal." He docs 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 171 
 
 SECTIO SEXTA. 
 
 Cap. 
 III. 
 
 1 Sua cuique rei occasio est et tempus certum 
 
 2 omiii negotio sub coelo. Tempus nascendi {vel pa- 
 riendi), et tempus moriendi; tempus plantandi, et 
 
 3 tempus plantata exstirpandi. Tempus interficiendi, 
 et tempus sanandi ; tempus destruendi, et tempus 
 
 4 jedificandi. Tempus est plorandi, et tempus riden- 
 
 5 di ; tempus est lugendi, et tempus saltandi. Tempus 
 est disjiciendi lapides, et tempus colligendi lapides; 
 tempus amplexandi, et tempus ab amplexu absti- 
 
 6 nendi. Tempus est queerendi, et tempus perdendi ; 
 
 " not say, 'a time to make alive;' for there is no fixed time for 
 " that in the course of this world. His meaning here has re- 
 " ference to scientific opci-ations, that these too have fixed times. 
 " For sometimes the skilful physician labours philosophically and 
 " scientifically and correctly to cure a patient and avails not, 
 " but well nigh does him more harm than good ; whereas some- 
 " times when a physician altogether incompetent to his work 
 " proceeds foolishly and chooses for the patient a plan which 
 " is strange and quite foreign from the methods of science, the 
 " patient is nevertheless cured, merely because the time to cure 
 " has come." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 4 — 8. " A time for a man to resign himself of his 
 " own accord to Aveeping, and ' a time to laugh,' when he is 
 " ready to laugh at anything, and so also * a time to lament,' 
 " and 'a time to dance.' 'A time to cast away'; even an accident 
 
172 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 tempus servandi, et tempus abjiciendi. Tempus est 7 
 dissuendi, et tempus consuendi; tempus tacendi, et 
 tempus loquendi. Tempus est amandi, et tempus 8 
 odio babendi ; tempus belb, et tempus pacis. Quid 9 
 ergo rem aliquam agenti prodest quod m ed laboret? 
 Contemplatus sum occupationem quam dedit DeuslO 
 hominibus ut in ea occupentur. Omnem eam fecit 11 
 
 " has its own appointed season, just as there is a time ' to throw 
 " away useless stones,' and ' a time to build up those which were 
 " thrown away'. ' A time to embrace ;' even the sexual desire 
 " implanted in the human heart has its own particular season, 
 " for a man to embrace the wife of his bosom, and ' to abstain 
 " from embracing- her.' 
 
 " (5) Stones are thrown away when a field or vineyard is 
 " cleared. On the other hand they are collected in order to 
 " repair houses, strew roads, or inclose fields. 
 
 " Here, as in verse (6), he speaks of what frequently hap- 
 " pens in life, that at one time we squander or reject what at 
 " another time we carefully collect or amass. 
 
 " In (6) he goes on to illustrate this matter in detail from 
 " the passions and thoughts of men, their love and hatred, 
 " their reposing and their rising ; for all these take place at 
 " fixed times, the diligent man cannot hasten them, and the in- 
 " dolent man cannot defer them." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 7. The word yinp probably refers to the 
 rending of the garments in times of mourning. 
 
 Ver. 9. " 'And all this being the case, what advantage has 
 " the active man in the thing wherein he labours', or, 'in that 
 " he labours ? since his dihgence is in vain'." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The literal rendering of this verse would be, " Quid 
 emolumentum est agentis in eo quod laboriosc agit ?" 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 173 
 
 VT T IT /•• : • •)• v; I s- T V -; IT ; ^- \t •; • !• t 
 
 11 -nx Qi invn ns^ ntrj; SjDn-nx : is ni^jr^ 
 
 <- A '^' : j-T vT "t / - V I < '^:i- 
 
 Ver. 10, 11. "HS"' has the accent r\1\l}Dj a conjunctive 
 " accent of the second class, so that it is to be connected with the 
 " following word "IJl^l. The meaning is, that at a time fixed 
 " for a thing that thing will be good and excellent, and that all 
 " that God appoints is excellent in its season, even death and 
 " sickness, poverty and cHstress, famine and war, which are all evil 
 " in om' eyes who are short-sighted and cannot possibly attain 
 " to the comprehension of the proportion of all things to their 
 " time and place ; but if it were possible for man to comprehend 
 " all the works of God from the least to the greatest with all 
 " the proportions of time and place, he surely would know with 
 " certainty that nothing evil ever comes down from heaven, but 
 " that God has appointed every thing so as to be excellent in 
 " its own season. 
 
 ]r^3 Dil. "Behold, God hath implanted in the human heart 
 " the love of the world, i. e. of this present life, so that one 
 " should labour and another study philosophy, one should 
 " amass wealth and another build houses and another plant 
 " vineyards, one should love and another hate, &c. ; and with 
 " all this labour and energy, this toil and diligence in the busi- 
 " ness of the world they are never exempt from the decrees 
 " of providence, and only do the will of God and his previous 
 " pleasure ; and this is the case even though they think and 
 " imagine in their hearts that they are doing their own pleasure. 
 
174 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 T T (T JT ; • I sv -; • ; • T • ; I j-t t '^ |t 
 
 : ^iD-nvi 2^^123 C3\nS«n ne^y-i^x n2ry»n-n^i 
 
 " and not that of God. Behold ! he says, in the end it is im- 
 " possible but that they should find the employment of which 
 " God has decreed that it should be theirs from beginning to 
 " end. And the meaning of K^p^ iib '^tt'^>^ "hlD is exactly 
 " the same as that of KJiD** ''^^'^"l4l:^, ' that he must certainly 
 "find;' for if he had said N^^iD'' "1tt^^* 'hl'D, it would have 
 " been a negative proposition ; and therefore, since he says, 
 " i^'^t~i\ ih "^ly^f "'^4?^ ^^ ™^^t ^® ^ positive proposition, as 
 " though he had said, ' so that it is impossible that he should 
 "not find.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The interpretation of this passage must depend 
 entirely on the sense given to D'?'iv^"i^^^ . The Eabbinic 
 commentators coincide in rendering this "the world," i. e. the 
 " love of the world," or " of this present life," such being the 
 most common use of this word in the Talmud, and one which 
 agrees very well with this particular verse as well as the general 
 sense of the passage. Now it has been objected unfairly that 
 the word ub)^ is not elsewhere used in Scripture except to 
 express a long period of time definite or indefinite, and that 
 therefore it cannot have a diiferent sense here. This is true 
 with regard to the use of the word D^iV) but it is also true 
 that this is the only passage in which we find this word in the 
 singular number used absolutely, and with the definite article il. 
 Every where else it is either in a state of construction with 
 another noun, as D^V ri''"ll , " an everlasting covenant," or it 
 is -united with a preposition, as ub')}^^; or it is used adverbially, 
 as in the phrase, 1}!] d"?!;;* as also sometimes without lyi, but 
 I believe this is the only passage where ub)y is used abso- 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 175 
 
 eximiam esse in suo quamque tempore; atque in- 
 didit etiam eoriim animis hujus «vi amorem, quo- 
 minus non opus illud sibi quisque inveniat quod 
 
 lutely and with H, either in the subjective or objective case, 
 throughout the Old Testament, so that there is no evidence that 
 when so used, it ever bore the sense of eternal or even definite 
 time, and its sense in the present instance must be inferred 
 from the connexion of the passage and from analogy or au- 
 thority, as is the case with all aira^ Xeyo/meva, and not from 
 use elsewhere. Now as to analogy, we find D"'D'!'1^ in several 
 passages always in the sense of " ages," " long periods of time," 
 and that accordingly " atwces" is always used in this sense in 
 the New Testament. " aiwv' on the contrary is constantly used 
 there for " the world," " this present life ;" which must have 
 arisen from the use of D^lV i^ this sense among the later Jews, 
 and is an additional evidence to that of the Talmud that it 
 was so used; and surely with respect to a book of the date 
 of Ecclesiastes the ascertaining of this use must be of great 
 importance towards establishing the true sense of the word. 
 As far as authority goes, I have all the Rabbins on my side 
 in adopting the above sense. If it be objected that I do 
 not render it " the world," but the " love of the world," this 
 objection apphes equally to the other interpretation of the 
 passage, which is, " Et a)ternitatis sensum, (not ' a^tcrnitatem,') 
 indidit eorum animis, non tamen ut perveniant illi ad universi 
 opcris divini a principio usque ad finem intelhgentiam." It is 
 perfectly true that " though Ave have some vague ' perception 
 of eternity,"' we cannot comprehend the whole of the Divine 
 purposes in the government of the world," and that this re- 
 mark harmonizes very well with the rest of the sense of the 
 passage, which sets forth the propriety of cheerful and con- 
 tented acquicscal in the Divine appointments, over which man 
 
176 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 ei statuerit Deus ab initio usque ad finem. Com- 12 
 peri igitur nihil esse iis bonum nisi laetari et bene 
 agere in vita sua, et prasterea, quod aliquis come- 13 
 dat bibatque videatque bonum fructum omnis 
 laboris sui, id Dei munus esse. Comperi quicquidl4 
 statuit Deus id fore semper fixum ; neminem ei 
 addere et neminem detrahere posse; et ita Deum 
 
 cannot possibly have any controul, but which He has appointed 
 immutably from all eternity, even to the minutest details of 
 human life, in order that man might fear before Him, i. e. that 
 they might trust in Him, and not in themselves ; but a serious 
 objection to this sense of the verse, however good and consis- 
 tent with the passage, is the entire neglect on this iaterpre- 
 tation of the important monosyllable iib, which cannot be 
 silenced as in Greek, by saying that two negatives do not 
 make an affirmative, (vide Mendlessohn's comment.) Hurwitz 
 indeed says, " Two negatives are not equivalent to an affirma- 
 tive ;" but this notion he has derived from the passages, 
 Exod. xiv. 11, and 2 Kings i. 16, in both which the expression 
 ]''i«? 'hl^tl is used to express, " are there (or, were there) 
 none at all?" and is spoken with vehemence and indignation, 
 which sufficiently accounts for the repetition of the negative, as 
 we should have in Latin, "Nulline prorsus erant?" Buxtorf 
 evidently regards the double negative in those two passages as 
 an anomaly, and says, the ]''^< is pleonastic. Mendlessohn's 
 explanation avoids this error, and is perfectly consistent with 
 the general sense. ^2. and 'h^ are simple negatives like N? 
 and bi^, expressing both " non" and " ne." ni^ 'h2 1^ in 
 Ps. Lxxii. means " Till there be no moon," i. e. " as long as the 
 moon lasts." 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 177 
 
 iT T ; T T : J- X T |T T <" ; |T~ ; V 
 
 I J" T "t t '^ ; JV : I' < ■ v; |T <v'^-:|- V -J 
 
 5)10 TV"! t^J^IQ is somewhat ambiguous. Agreeably with 
 the accents it cannot mean, " wliich God has pre-ordained from 
 the beginning to the end of time," but either that "from the 
 beginning of the world to the end of it man will always find 
 exactly the employment appointed him by God," or that " man 
 performs from first to last, (that is, ' throughout,') precisely the 
 employment which God has pre-ordained that he should, wliile 
 he thinks he is following his own incUnation." 
 
 Ver. 12 — 14. " Since then this matter is true, and well 
 " estabhshed, behold I have now ascertained that both the remarks 
 " which I have made above arc true, and that they are not 
 " contradictory one to another. I found that it is the happiness 
 " of man to be cheerful, and to do good in liis life-time ; and 
 " I also found that this happiness is not entirely committed to 
 " the disposal of man, but that it is from the gift of God, since 
 " I had seen that the small part which depends on the move- 
 " ments and actions of men is overruled by the divine decree ; 
 " for as to all that God appoints lie has decreed with regard to 
 " it that so it must be, so that none can add to it, and none 
 " diminish from it. And if so, it is certain that cheerfulness 
 " and happiness in employment is not committed to man's dis- 
 " posal, but that this also comes from the hand of God, and He 
 " has appointed and willed that no creature should be able to 
 12 
 
178 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. VI. 
 
 JT ; ^ : I' '■•■ ~:i~ -""^ : ■^ "^ !•• 
 
 " add to His appointment or diminish from it, in order that 
 *' none might trust in their own doings, but fear before Him." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 12. Here we have again the phrase, 2. ll'tO, 
 in the sense of "good for." Aben Ezra renders liD PiW^jb, 
 "jucunde vivere," "animsB su8b bonum ostendere," " indulgere 
 genio," but it properly means, as in the rest of Scripture, (vide 
 Psalm xxxiv. 15, xxxvii. 27) "to do right," "to depart from 
 evil." So also in (13), 2)D iliil means, "sees good done or 
 effected," i. e. to himself and others by means of his labour. 
 
 The T before nr\U, and also before iliil, are of course 
 
 : f T ' _ T T 
 
 conversive after the future 7DX\ 
 
 In (14) U^ribiii rrt^VI "l*^'^"'^3 refers not to created things, 
 as Maimonides takes it in his Moreh Nevochim, which do not 
 continue immutable, but to the appointments of God in human 
 affairs. tl'wV has the same sense here as in verse 11, "The 
 work which God has appomted for him." T7V is to be con- 
 strued with c^"'Din'? in the sense, " to add to it." 
 
 Ver. 15. " The past event has already happened, and 
 " there is no changing it, and so the future event is fixed by 
 " God, as though it had already happened ; for he has already 
 " decreed respecting it that it is to happen ; and the condition 
 " of the past and future is not really different as being such ; 
 " for the one is past and has already been, and the other is 
 " future and will have been ; and when its time and season 
 " come, the future will become past ; for God has willed that 
 " things ■ should come and roll on one after another, as if the 
 " future constantly pursued or followed the past ; and this is 
 " what is meant by God's ' requiring the past to be pursued 
 "by the future,' tll"l!i"nN? tt^pl"*., that agreeably to the pre- 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 179 
 
 15 statuere ut ab hominibus ipse solus metuatur. Quod 
 fuit jamdudum fuit, et quodcunque erit est quasi 
 
 " ordained decree one event comes after another, and so they 
 " cleave in closely connected sequence one to the other, like the 
 " links of a chain, and roll one after the other in continual 
 " pursuit." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. ^)T^3"n^* ^l?.?''- Mendlessohn explains this as 
 merely signifying that God requires that sequence of events 
 wliich takes place in the world, the past to be followed by 
 the future, and that the future is just as much within His 
 grasp as the past, and that all events, past, present, and to 
 come, are viewed and overruled by liim simultaneously, and 
 required to make their appearance in the order which he has 
 fixed. RosenmuUer, agreeably with the rendering of the Vul- 
 gate, " Deus instaurat quod abiit," would apparently render it, 
 " God requires the recurrence of what is past," so that there 
 is nothing new in the world ; he says, " Deus propulsa qua^rit, 
 reparat." He cites, very much to his purpose. Job iii. 4, where 
 speaking of his bh-th-day Job says, b;^J2D nl'?};? ^"^^IT ^^y 
 " Ne requirat eam Deus superne," which he explains soon after 
 by saying, ^^')n^-'?^^ D^m^ -|SD01 'HIW ^D^3. ^TV^ hi^, "Let 
 it not rejoice among the days of the year ; into the number 
 of the months let it not come ;" so that Wll is there equivalent 
 to Wp2 in the above phrase, and Job means that he hopes the 
 recurrence of that day may not be required by God, but that 
 it may be expunged from the scries of the days of the year, 
 so that no other day may be annually placed in its room to 
 correspond to it. Though it seems strange at first sight to 
 make this passage mean, " that God requires the actual re- 
 currence of past events," it must be recollected that Solomon 
 has already said that whatever seems to us to be new has 
 
 12—2 
 
180 . ECCLESIASTES. [sECT, VI. 
 
 jamdudum fuerit, et repetit Deus quod fugatum 
 {vel " prgeteritum") est. Vidi autem praeterea sub 16 
 sole locum judicii ibi esse improbitatem, et locum 
 justitiee ibi esse injustitiam. Itaque dixi mecum, 17 
 " Justum et injustum judicabit Deus, tempus enim 
 est illic constitutum omni negotio omnique operi." 
 
 really taken place before, and that whatever has happened 
 will happen again, which seems to imply the same thing, and 
 the passage may therefore be rendered indifferently, " God 
 requires the past to be pursued or followed by the future," 
 or, " God requires the recurrence of the past." The Targum 
 takes t]Ti3 to mean, " the persecuted man," " God avenges 
 the persecuted," and " requires him at the hand of his op- 
 pressor ;" tliis sense agrees very well with the following passage, 
 but not at all with the former part of the same verse. Be- 
 side the reading in this case would probably have been, JIJ^J 
 
 ^r^^n, not sijirnsf. 
 
 Ver. 16. " He now begins to speak of the existence of 
 " the soul of man after the death of the body, and of reward 
 " and punishment in a future state. He says, ' I saw under 
 " the sun, and behold ! the world was full of oppression and 
 " violence ; the unjust man sought to swallow up him who was 
 " more righteous than himself, and the place from which we 
 " expect justice, that very place was the place of violence, and so 
 " also of the place of righteousness.' Now the recompensing evil 
 " to the doers of evil is called justice, (Diltt'D,) and the recom- 
 " pensing good to the doers of good is called righteousness, 
 " {pl%) and injustice, ^W^, is the opposite of both these, and 
 " accordingly we find it opposed to them both in the text. 
 
 " V^l. This is put for the abstract noun ^^W") on account 
 "of the pause; the noun of quality or adjective >;ti^1, is al- 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 181 
 
 - ^- • VT 1: ||T :• V I,..-. V- v: IX : att 
 
 I vvv - I, : " - V X X jx X : • - U ; v ax - 
 
 " ways written with a kamctz ( ^ ) under the last syllable, and 
 " Avould not have it altered to a pathack (-) at the pause." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 17. " Since I could not but wonder to see that the 
 *' perfidious man practised perfidy, and the plunderer plundered, 
 " and their way still prospered, and good men continued in 
 " poverty, and all their days were spent in trouble, though 
 "it is true that all the ways of God are judgment, for 'just 
 " and right is he,' I inferred that the truth must be, that 
 " God will judge the righteous and the wicked at some 
 " future time, and although this be delayed, it will at last 
 " take place in its proper hour, for there is a doom for everv 
 " action, and for every work there is a trial and account in the 
 " world to come. And indeed the truth is that the prosperity 
 " of the wicked and the chastisement of the just in this life 
 " is a sufficient proof of the existence of the soul after death ; 
 " for no person however perverse can deny that the judge of 
 " all the earth is ' a God of truth, and without iniquity ;' and 
 " unless God did justice and justified the righteous and con- 
 " demned the wicked, he could not escape the imputation of evil 
 " and violence, (heaven pardon the thought !). Consequently 
 " every one who beUeves in the divine attributes, that He is 
 " righteous and loving righteousness and justice, cannot escape 
 •* from one of these two alternatives ; either he must believe 
 •• in the immortahty of the soul and reward and punishment 
 
 * 12—3 
 
182 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 J... - : • ^- • ' : • —. • : <- T |t vv'=-:r|- 
 
 ;T ■• 
 
 " in the life to come ; or he must deny what he sees with 
 " his own eyes, and say that there is not found a righteous 
 " man perishing in his righteousness, or a wicked man pro- 
 " spering in his wickedness ; and here the wise man expresses 
 " himself briefly ; but in the 11th Section he afterwards en- 
 " larges on this topic, adducing strong proofs such as must be 
 " perfectly satisfactory to any inteUigent person." Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note, jyj^ means here "a time of account," just as in 
 viii. 6, where it is used as synonymous with IDSti'D. It may 
 be rendered " doom." 
 
 Ver. 18. "I said again to myself, It is clear that this is 
 " an argument to which there is no answer. Now part of the 
 " sons of men say that examination into the nature of the 
 " soul will suffice to make us beheve in its immortality, for 
 " that God has chosen and preferred man above all creatures, 
 " (and this is the meaning of ' with respect to their saying 
 "DTt'^^JH Dllb' i. e. that God has chosen them, and has 
 
 V; T T T : 
 
 " preferred them above all the creatures of the world, to grant 
 •' them knowledge and understanding and intelligence.) But I 
 " see that the truth is not so, but onb nZDH HDm, i.e. that 
 
 V T T •• T •• : 
 
 " the sons of men when deserted by the providence of God and 
 " left to themselves, are not in themselves at all superior to 
 " beasts ; and to express this he doubles the word DH, and says, 
 "Urh non, as we should say, 'that when left to themselves, 
 " (anS— nion) they arc like the beasts of the earth.' " Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 183 
 
 18 Quod ad dictum attinet hominum, " Deum ipsos re- 
 liquis animal'ihus pr^ferre," mecum ratiocinatus sum 
 cernere eos debere per seipsos se meros bestias 
 
 Note. The rabbinic commentators make the following re- 
 marks on this passage. 
 
 mi"! means the same as 1^11, that is, "what is said." 
 
 - : • T 
 
 D"ll is a verb in the past tense, and D''^!?^^^T Dll'' is 
 
 T T ■*■ ■ v: T T T : 
 
 equivalent in sense to □''^^^^^ D1ZI '^Ji'^?, "that God has 
 chosen them." Thouo-h it is not usual that the servile letters 
 "Dbsin should be joined as prefixes to verbs in the past tense, 
 still we find sometimes that such verbs have a servile n pre- 
 fixed to them when it can bo only interpreted to mean "W'^^ 
 "that;" thus in 2 Chron. xxix. 36, uh DM"'?^.'! J^^nrr ^V, 
 
 TT • v:t ' . .. t «s. > 
 
 " on the account," or, " because that God prepared the people." 
 (This may mean " established, confirmed the heart of the peo- 
 ple," l'? being understood after |''pn.) 1 Chron. xxix. 17, 
 ^l^lfpsn, "That were found," that is, "the people that were 
 found." 1 Chron. xxvi. 28, "tyi^ ^''7)7nn bb , " All that Samuel 
 consecrated ;" and we also find a servile 1 in this sense, as 
 in h r^ni, " That he established David for himself." In this 
 sense in all probabiUty ^ is used in this passage. And D"ll 
 is the past tense mi with the affix of the objective third per- 
 son plural, which causes tho n to disappear. This verb TT^l 
 bears here the same sense as it does in the passage D3 ? ^11 
 tt?**}*? , " Choose you a man." If we take it to be the infinitive 
 mood and the root T)l, there is a difficulty about the vowels. 
 It would have been then regular for the 1 to have under it 
 a kametz chatuph (fi), and the "1 to be dageshed, after the 
 form DJSnb, Dcut. ii. 15, (ad quassandum cos,) from DDH, (for 
 
184 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 esse ; namque homines casibus obnoxios esse, et 19 
 bestias casibus obnoxios, et unum eundemque casum 
 
 the kametz chatuph ( t :) and the kibbutz ( ~ ) are allied by the 
 nature of pronunciation, and consequently the form of the word 
 is not altered by the appearance of the one in the place of the 
 other). But because a ") refuses to admit a dagesh, kametz 
 gadol ( T ) will have been put under the 2, instead of ( f: ) on 
 this hypothesis, whereas kametz chatuph ought to have been 
 changed into a cholem ( ^ ) in this case, as being the parent 
 long-vowel of kibbutz and kametz chatuph, and the word should 
 have been Ulbb, as in the words Jinil, p^lb, ^"W, which 
 all occur in Scripture, and are Puhal forms where the ( =:: ) 
 has been changed into (i), because the *l will not admit a 
 dagesh. We must therefore take it from n"tl. 
 
 It must be observed with regard to these remarks, that 
 the rabbinic commentator, choosing to take the text as it stands 
 in the Masoretic copies, without admitting suggestions from any 
 others, seems to have assumed that the word D*12 is not a 
 
 T T 
 
 contracted form. This being assumed, its form cannot as he 
 says be any other but that of the tliird person singular prsB- 
 terite of the verb mi, with the objective pronominal affix D 
 of the third person plural ; for the verb Til under the same 
 circumstances would give us the form Dll? , and not D127 ; 
 and it has been satisfactorily shewn that it cannot be infini- 
 tive Kal of ")"ll, for then it would have been D*^i^ after 
 
 " T T ; 
 
 the form QJsnS in Deuteronomy. Observe that the verb mi 
 means only " to choose," and " to eat." 
 
 Yarchi, on the other hand, says that some copies read 
 DTll'?, (which would be the infinitive Pihel of *l")l with the 
 
 T : T : - T 
 
 affix: for we find this infinitive 111'? in Daniel iii. 11) and 
 that D"1lV must be a contraction for it, and renders it Dy">l'inS 
 
 T t: "r ' : 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 185 
 
 19 n^pt2) nbn^in n^t^f:^) izi^xn-^jn n'lpf:^ h : onS 
 
 T T IT !•■ 
 
 i, e. " Ut notum iis faciat." He takes the Chaldee sense of the 
 word "ini, viz. "purgare," " mundare," and hence, " diluci- 
 dare," " declarare." The whole sense of the passage would 
 thus be, " Cogitavi mecum de ratione et conditione fihorum 
 hominis earn talem esse ut declaret iis Deus et ut videant 
 quod ipsi per seipsos bestia3 sint." " I said to myself with re- 
 spect to the sons of men, that their condition is such that 
 God shews them clearly and that they can see that in them- 
 selves they arc but beasts." Supposing the above contraction, 
 and that n^l'^ bj^ means, " with respect to," " with respect 
 to the condition of," this rendering is quite compatible with 
 the Hebrew; but it is unworthy of the inspired writer, and not 
 to be put in comparison with the ingenious version of Men- 
 dlessohn. According to him, the conjunction 1 before DlV^'l'? 
 is merely conductive to the sense, and may bo expressed in 
 Enghsh by, "I say," as in Exod. xii. 15 and 19, ^n*^33"l 
 i^^nn 1^23!!, "That soul, I say, shall be cut off." Vid. 
 Eccles. iv. 10, 11, DH^ DH}, iD^l^nb ^y^ T^^., and numberless 
 other instances. Its use is to recall the attention after a paren- 
 thesis or after a description of the subject of the sentence ; and 
 I render ver. 18, "I thought with myself with respect to the 
 saying of the sons of men that God has preferred them by 
 his especial choice, I thought, I say, that they ought to see 
 that by themselves they are but beasts," m^<"l^ being here an 
 infinitive, expressing duty and obligation. So we frequently 
 find the infinitive used for an imperative, chap. v. 1, )!)^wb lllpl, 
 " And draw near to hear," and Exod. xxii. 8, HDt, " memento," 
 
 T 
 
 and Deut. v. 12, "IIDli^, " custodi," at the beginnings of sen- 
 tences. 
 
 Ver. 19, 20. " And if we were to form our judgment of 
 
186 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 hbh Tn« nni nr ni^ p nr niZDJD d<"iS '^n^< 
 
 ^ - V It V - J' I • T T •• : - I • <T T IT 
 
 hbn) isj;n-p n\n 93n nn^^ Dip22-^i< 'nSin 
 
 I - : T 't IV I • JTT - AT V I J T V K" 
 
 ;t '^ IT T T IT J- : - < '^ — J" It"!- Iv v ir 
 
 I V IT t r I- : (.• V jv - t •• : - - : t . at : <•• 
 
 " man and his condition from what wo see in this world only, 
 " behold the sons of men would be mere creatures of accident in 
 " this world, without any enduring substance" (jliDliV and H^pD 
 are opposed as ' accident and substance' by the schoolmen,) 
 " and the beast is also the creature of accident, and the same 
 " accidents belong to both of them in all the changes which 
 " pass over them. HlpD is written three times in tliis verse 
 " with a segol {-■), and this shews that each time it is in the 
 " absolute form, for if it had been in a state of construction, 
 " it would have taken a tzere ( ~ ) instead." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The meaning of the first part of verse 19, is, 
 " For the sons of men are mere chance, just as the beasts are 
 mere chance," 1 being a conjugation of comparison, as it is in 
 Job V. 7, and in Prov. xxv. 25, " Aqua frigida animse lassaB, et 
 (i. e. est sicut) nuncius bonus e terra longinqua.""* Observe that 
 JlID is the state of construction of PDD, "death," the verb to 
 die being ri^Q. 
 
 Ver. 21. " Some of the interpreters have thought that 
 " the meaning of this verse is, ' Who knows if the spirit of 
 " the sons of men goes up, &C.'' but this interpretation is con- 
 "trary to the accents, because the word D^^*^ has ( = ) sip?, 
 " a distinctive accent of the second class, and the word )J1V 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 187 
 
 utrisque posse contingere, sicut horum mortem 
 sic illorum mortem, ct eundem utrisque spiritum 
 vitcB esse, et nullam esse homini bestise preestan- 
 
 20 tiam, sed utrumque merum halitum esse, utrum- 
 que ad eundem locum ire, utrumque ex pulvere 
 
 21 ortum esse, et utrumque ad pulverem redire ; so- 
 lum scientem scire de spiritu hominum quod sursum 
 ascendat, et de spiritu bestiarum quod deorsum ad 
 
 " has the accent ITipS, or '•iTl") as it is otherwise called; where- 
 " as accordino; to this rendering the words Dl>^n ''32 n^ would 
 " have heen less separated by accent from the next words ; 
 " and the Avord yny> ought to have had the accent ( :) ^p\, as 
 " any one skilled in the accents will be aware. And agreeably 
 " to the accents it is explained thus; ' He only who is intelligent 
 " can understand and comprehend the nature of the spirit of the 
 " sons of men, whether it ascends upwards, and the nature of 
 " the spirit of the beast, Avhethcr it goes down to the earth ;' 
 " for the investigation into the nature of the soul is subtle and 
 " exceedingly deep, and it is difficult to bring from it proof that 
 " man is distinguished above the rest of creatures, as the sons 
 " of men say they are ; and as to the body they are alike in all 
 " the accidents which befall them." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. According to Mendlessohn's ingenious rendering, ^T* 
 must be suppUcd after ^IV from the latter Avord. Vid. Joel ii. 14, 
 where ^IT' ^D is used in exactly the same sense ; " He who is 
 intelligent, (who is wise in divine and spiritual things,) will 
 return and repent, and leave behind him with the priest an 
 offering to the Lord." And Jonah iii. 9, "He who hath un- 
 derstanding will turn back (from his evil way), and God will 
 repent and turn away from his fierce anger, &c." 
 
188 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 terram descendat: comperique nil melius esse quod^^ 
 ad istud dictum quam quod leetitiam quisque ex opere 
 suo perciperet, quippe quae solus ejus esset fructus; 
 quis enim eum duceret ut illud videret quod post iv. 
 eum futurum esset ? Itaque revertebar ad contem- 1 
 plan das cunctas oppressiones quse fiunt sub sole, et 
 ecce! lachrym^e oppressorum, nee quisquam iis con- 
 solator! et ex parte oppressorum potestas erat, et 
 
 Observe that this verse and the two preceding are all in 
 the "obUqua oratio," being all a portion of Solomon's reflections 
 on the "saying of the sons of men" mentioned above. The 
 same is the case with verse 22, from " nil melius esse." He 
 says that he perceived that on the ground of that " saying" 
 alone the best thing man could do would be to enjoy himself in 
 this life, as it would be impossible for him to discover any- 
 thing of the life beyond or about a future judgment. 
 
 Ver. 22. " ' And consequently but for the strong proof 
 " mentioned above of the immortality of the soul and rewards 
 " and punishments in a future state I should have concluded 
 " that there was nothing better for man than his enjoying him- 
 " self in his employment while he is yet aKve, for that this is 
 " clearly his portion ; since who should bring him to see into 
 " what shall be hereafter ?' Is not the understanding the nature 
 " of the soul a deep matter, and one that requires arguments 
 " which none but the ablest investigators can comprehend? and 
 " with respect to the body men and beasts are liable to the 
 " same accidents ; and how then can they derive consolation 
 " from that view of the subject ? whereas the above is a satis- 
 " factory proof of the immortality of the soul and reward and 
 " punishment in the life to come, as I have explained." Men- 
 dlcssohn. 
 
CHAP. III.] ECCLESIASTES. 180 
 
 T -: I- : T T It <- : • v -• i- I /• j- . . ^ | 
 
 LlIAP. J-- : I- V >■••• •• : • V • : <- J- I a : •.• i . 
 
 IV. 
 
 ':• -■ I •••.-: JT T V V : •/ |t • -; • : j- : It -: |- 
 
 I- - : vv T I ;•• : - V I •• : "i <- • •• - : v t 
 
 Note. He therefore returns to the consideration of the 
 unequal administration of justice in the world, as a more conclu- 
 sive argument than the above for the existence of a Ufe to come. 
 
 Ver. 1. "He says, ' I perceived that the investigation of 
 " the nature of the soul does not bring men out of doubt ; so 
 " I returned to contemplate all the oppressions done under the 
 " sun, and how that under the government of a God of truth 
 " who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity the oppressed 
 " were mourning and crying in the bitterness of their soul, 
 " while they had no comforter ; and that the oppressors were 
 " compelling them by the power and authority in their hands 
 " to all that they pleased, and that they were bending under 
 " their hands without any comforter, and much less a deUverer 
 " and sustainer ; and hence I inferred that the truth must un- 
 " boubtcdly be what I have said, that there is a time for every 
 " business and every work there, and that God will bring the 
 " oppressor and the oppressed to judgment, and render to them 
 " accordins: to their deserts.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. ^^<*^K'l ''Jyilti^, literally, " I returned and contem- 
 plated," i. e. " I contemplated again," or, " I returned to the 
 contemplation." 
 
190 ECOLESIASTES. [sECT. VI. 
 
 .jt -: . - J- I • /,•• jT : V V ■• - V -r -• - s- - : 
 
 I IV ^: V -: >•• •.•••:• : t iv '-: v - t r' 
 
 IT '^:r '••• - ' T T jv '^ I- r v t t i <v -: at t j 
 
 DrT'pt^V TD^, &c. Some render this, supplying ]"'^^ before 
 nb from what follows, " And there was no strength (to deliver) 
 from the hand of their oppressors, and no comforter." I have 
 preferred to render Tp, "ex parte," "on the side of." 1 in 
 the last clause may perhaps mean, " so that ;" otherwise there 
 seems to be a needless repetition of the same sentence, viz. 
 DH^p Dn^ ]''^J ; and the fact of their havmg no', comforter is 
 explained by mention of the overwhelming power of their op- 
 pressors, which deterred all from daring to offer consolation. 
 We find the word D^*?^l^^ evidently used in the sense of " op- 
 pressions" in Amos iii. 9. So Gesenius renders it in that pas- 
 sage, and in this. In the second case D''ptt^J)^. JIJ^D'^, it must 
 mean, " the oppressed," and it would therefore be more con- 
 sistent to render it the same in the first case also, but then the 
 word '^^'^^_ would be unsuitable. 
 
 Ver. 2, 3. " ' For if it were not so, I should have been 
 " praising the dead who are already dead above the living 
 " who are still alive ;' (nittr is the infinitive Pihel instead of a 
 " participle ;) (3) * and I should have been praising as better off 
 " than either of them him who has not yet been born and has not 
 " seen the evil deeds done under the sun ; and it is certain that 
 " God (heaven pardon the thought !) has not created man upon 
 " the earth for his evil, and to be always taking vengeance on 
 " him, but m his great mercy, to pour out of His goodness upon 
 " him ; and where is this goodness if man only live a few days, 
 " so as to see the tears of the oppressed, or to be himself op- 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 191 
 
 2 nemo iis aderat consolator ! adeo ut primo visu 
 feliciores pr^edicarem mortuos, quod jampridem 
 obiissent, quam vivos quod superstites adhuc es- 
 
 3 sent; et beatiorem utrisque qui adhuc non extiterat 
 quod non vidisset mala facinora qute sub sole fiunt. 
 
 " pressed and crushed, and after that should die like the death 
 " of the beast, and perish by an irreparable destruction ? Such 
 " are not the ways of God. The truth of the matter must be, as 
 " I have said, that God will judge the righteous and the wicked. 
 " Here ends the discussion on the immortaHty of the soul. 
 
 "(121^ is a contraction for r\T\ IV, 'as far as here;' and 
 " ^° \1^. ^s ^^^ 1(7 "'V' where the final n is wanting." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 2. •'^^? niti^l may be rendered, " So that I 
 was ready to praise," i. e. the view of the oppressions mentioned 
 above, without taking into consideration a future account, made 
 it appear preferable to this Ufe never to have existed at all, 
 so that the reality of a future judgment was necessary for the 
 demonstration of the benevolence of the deity. The expression 
 ^riD "113^* would seem superfluous after Q"'ripn, if we render 
 \D " who." It would be better therefore to render it, " in that," 
 as well as ")tt^h? in what follows. 
 
 Ver. 3. Q IID means here, as it docs in several passages 
 of this book, not " better than," but " better off than," " having 
 a better lot than." In this passage, as well as in the corre- 
 sponding one in Section xi, Solomon concludes his reasoning not 
 with an explicit declaration of the existence of a future state, 
 but with a hvely description of the hopeless misery of our con- 
 dition here without it, whereby he impUes its certainty, because 
 God must have formed his creatures for their good, and not for 
 His vengeance. 
 
192 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VII. 
 
 SECTIO SEPTIMA. 
 
 Porro animadverti omnem laboriosam industriam 4 
 et omnem operis successum, quod in invidia constant 
 qua quisque a vicino suo afficitur, adeo ut hsec 
 quoque ceu halitus essent aut ventosa imaginatio. 
 Ignavus complicat manus suas, et quasi suam ipsius 5 
 carnem comedit. Melior est pugillus quietis, quam 6 
 
 Ver. 4. "He says with respect to political prosperity, 
 " that according to the opinion of some statesmen, the state 
 " will be prosperous and happy if the men are laborious and 
 " diligent in all sorts of business, and if their employment 
 " consist in successful manufacture, i. e. such as is in the highest 
 " degree good and excellent and acceptable to merchants, and 
 " this is the opinion of most kings and princes in our times ; 
 " and it appears from Scripture that king Solomon too had 
 " been inclined to entertain it ; but now he saw that this too 
 " was in vain ; for that this sort of prosperity is founded on 
 " the jealousy of each against his neighbour ; that one wishes 
 *' to excel his fellow in his house, his clothes, his furniture, his 
 " ornaments, his valuables, and all things which he takes pride 
 " in ; and hence if you incite the men of a state to labour and 
 " successful manufacture, you will be kindhng in spite of yom'self 
 " the flame of jealousy and self-exaltation in their hearts ; and 
 " your reward will thus turn to your injury ; for it is better for 
 " them to be contented, and not seek superfluity ; and then they 
 " will not lift up themselves in pride each against his neighbour, 
 " but they will reject all ' pleasant pictures,' and thus there 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 193 
 
 THE SEVENTH SECTION. 
 
 V '^: I- I- ' J : • T •■ : t 't t • -: • • t : 
 
 - I 'i : V 1.V ;v - V'" I- v.- - :|- ;• -j- 
 
 it: v.- : T T 
 
 " will be no occasion for this successful manufacture." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note. ^nV'^p t^''N"n(S}3|'p means " The jealousy of a man 
 arising from liis neighbour," i. e. " with which he is affected by 
 seeing his neighbour's prosperity," or, as we say, " a man's 
 jealousy of his neighbour." From this unavoidable connexion 
 of industry with jealousy he infers that industry too is included 
 under the general denomination of vanity. 
 
 Ver. 5. " The dihgent man blames the indolent man, say- 
 " ing, ' The fool who folds his hands and eats up all he has 
 " without labouring to increase liis stock, is, as though he dc- 
 " vourcd his own flesh." Mendlessohn, 
 
 Note. I prefer to understand this verse as describing the 
 opposite extreme to that depicted in the preceding ; that where- 
 as one man is driven on by jealousy to laborious industry, 
 another lives on his patrimony in indolence, and exhausts it 
 without making any steps to repair the inroads he makes upon 
 it ; for this is the meamng of " devourmg his own flesh." There 
 is still another interpretation which connects this verse with the 
 preceding, without making any opposition between them, viz. 
 13 
 
194 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VII. 
 
 'i^ Vi^) "inx 25^* r^^DErn nnn ^nn ^^^1^^1 ^:ix8 
 
 I .. : T V J- V IT - -J- •■• vv •>••• : v It -r-- 
 
 . ; - V <•• - : •• ^ J- -: J- : v > ^ j- : • 
 
 •V- : - J- I ^ VT 0-: *• : v /.• ^v - t 
 
 " The fool wrings his hands, and gnaws his flesh with envy ;" 
 but the rendering I have adopted is supported by Prov. vi. 10, 
 where the sluggard says, ^^wb Dn^ pSfT ^):D, and D"!^ pill 
 expresses indolence, and not vexation. 
 
 Ver. 6. " And the indolent man answers, ' Better for me 
 "is it that I should be content with a little, with a handfid in 
 " peace and quiet, than have both hands full of labour and 
 " trouble, Hke the employment of the dihgent man, who la- 
 " hours all day with a mere windy notion, that is to say, 
 " devises empty schemes as to what he shall do on the morrow, 
 " whereby and how he shall get wages and the like.' a'^D is 
 " a noun substantive ; the hollow of the hand is called t]D , 
 "because it is 112^23, 'bent'." Mendlessohn. 
 
 t : 
 
 Note. I still venture to differ from Mendlessohn, and 
 take this verse as teaching a middle course between his who 
 squanders till he is reduced to beggary, and his who is always 
 labouring with toilsome industry to surpass his neighbour in 
 wealth. " Better is a quiet handful, i. e. the earnings of one 
 who is diligent without anxiety, than the enjoyment of the 
 fruits of an ill-directed industry." Observe that the words 
 ni") niV"^^ ^^® repeated to mark the reference to the labour 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 195 
 
 plena utraque vola laboris meragque ventosse imagina- 
 
 7 tioiiis. Equidem redii ad contemplationem vanitatis 
 
 8 sub sole. Est qui solus vivit, cui non est aliquis 
 secundus, cui neque filius est neque frater, et cujus 
 tamen laborum nuUus est finis neque oculus divitiis 
 satiatur; et quempropter ego si talis essem labora- 
 rem et genium meum voluptate defraudarem? sed 
 ista quoque vana est et mala occupatio, {sive mali 
 
 9 occupatio). Prtestant duo uni, quia est illis merces 
 
 of the jealous man spoken of above. The word J<?'^ip denotes 
 that with which anything is fuU, as in the phrase nJ^l'^D^ \'M^ 
 " The earth and all that fills it." c^D J^'Vip is " what can be 
 held in the hollow of one hand ;" D^^an N^'^p is " what can 
 be held within the two hands held together." 
 
 Ver. 7, 8. " He now speaks about the love of company, 
 " and shews that it is good for a man to seek a help-mate. 
 " He says, ' There is the case of a single man, who has no 
 " second person connected with him, that is, who has no wife 
 " or cliildren.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 o 
 
 The np on the word i'ly;; is ^y>)^. 
 
 Note. In verse 8, he supposes himself in the place of the 
 miser, and says, " If I had no connexions, for whom should I 
 be toihng ? and since I should have none to provide for, why 
 should I be avaricious and self-denying to no purpose ?" Some 
 read |'»3V instead of ]'»3V ; the sense would then be " the occu- 
 pation of a bad man." The same diversity of reading occurs 
 in verse 13, where the former is the preferable one, and that 
 adopted by Mendlessohn. Here perhaps the latter gives the 
 best sense. 
 
 Ver. 9. "In the king"*s desire to increase industry and 
 
 13—2 
 
196 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VII. 
 
 bona laboris sui. Nam si lapsi fuerint alter eriget 10 
 alterum; vas autem soli isti si lapsus erit, quum 
 nullus alter est qui eum erigat ! Quinetiam si una 1 1 
 cubant duo, calebunt; uni vero soli quomodo erit 
 
 " diligence in his dominions he here advises the people of his 
 " country that men and women should marry in order that 
 " they may have good reward for their labour ; for ' the happi- 
 " ness of a family is in the number of it.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. " They have a good reward for their labour," be- 
 cause they can often effect things in concert which singly they 
 could not perform, and because they enjoy their earnings better 
 together than they could alone. 
 
 Ver. 10. " For even if both of them are laid together on 
 " the bed of sickness, nevertheless each of them will be able to 
 " cherish and support the other on the couch of languishing 
 " with much prayer and watchful attention, till they rise from 
 " it and the sick person says, ' I am strong ;' but woe to the 
 " single man ! &c." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn takes ^23 here as referring to illness ; 
 but it may also refer to any loss or disaster, wliich a married 
 couple can better bear up under than a single individual. The 
 literal rendering of the first clause is, " Nam si lapsi fuerint 
 unus eriget socium suum." I have rendered the latter clause 
 agreeably to the accents ; the pause of the zakeph on 72"^^ is 
 neglected if we render it as some have done, " because he may 
 fall, and there be none to help him to rise." 
 
 Ver. 11. " When a man and woman warm and comfort 
 " one another, there is no need for them to procure themselves 
 " clothes to cover them on their bed to warm themselves in ; 
 " but for the single man, how shall he be warm on his bed at 
 " night by covering himself only with the clothes which he has 
 
CHAP. IV.] EUCLESIASTES. 0)7 
 
 j» It T '^-r I- V. ^T T -J-.- T I" sv -: '"t v it I • 
 
 hi"^ in^n )h'i^) n:3n-nj< ^'p'* innn ^h'i'-tD^ 
 
 • V T V IT J- : A •• -: V |j-T IT V it 
 
 J- : -i- : ^ : : • • ./- i !• -: i- <,• •' I j- : 
 
 " to wear ? He must necessarily procure blankets and coverlets 
 " to keep himself warm in ; and if so, he will not have good 
 " recompense for his labour." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Dn and DrT* are both impersonal forms from DDH. 
 
 T" '■ - T * 
 
 The first is the prfuterite Kal, the second the future Niphal. 
 DTlb Dm is rendered hterally, " It will be warm to them ;" the 
 ^ being merely conductive to the sense, and at the same time 
 conversive, because the preceding verb is in the future tense. 
 It may be here observed that the 1 is not conversive when pre- 
 fixed to a praeterite, unless there be a preceding verb in the 
 future tense or in the imperative mood immediately before it in 
 the sentence. The intervention of a clause containing several 
 participles, all of wliich follow the tense of the preceding future 
 verb, as in 2 Kings v. 18, does not deprive the T of its conversive 
 power. 
 
 Mendlessohn seems to have adopted an interpretation of 
 the phrase, " They have good reward for their labour," which 
 is somewhat frivolous and far-fetched ; he implies that a 
 married couple will make their wages go farther than a single 
 man, because they will not have to go to so much expense in 
 blankets, their contact keeping them warm. So we find him in 
 another passage explaining a miser's being said '' to eat in the 
 dark," by the remark, that such an one will not choose to pay 
 for candle-light, whereas in all probability the expression only 
 refers to the gloominess of a miser's disposition. Such notions 
 of parsimony could hardly have suggested themselves to the 
 royal and magnificent Solomon. 
 
198 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT, VII, 
 
 •V : - T V IT I: : • l- : rr-' I ;•• <.t v : av t 
 
 I I" T • IT •• : • ^ T ••. : I- - : a : v j : "^i- 
 
 yi*-«S '^e^*^« S^d^^ rpT •n^^^ Q^ni pDZ: ih' nitDis 
 
 I- -J- P a : • jt T V IT ^" • ^ f (.-• t • : 
 
 Ver. 12. " C]j2ri is a transitive verb. We find it also in 
 "Job xiv. 20, "Pid} ^inSpnri,' 'Thou wilt oppress him for 
 " ever.' In verse 12, vre have the other pronominal affix mascu- 
 " line joined with this verb, viz. i instead of '>\T\_. The rendering 
 " agreeably with the accents is, ' If an individual (in><n) shall 
 " oppress liim, i. e. either of the two who are united by friend- 
 " ship, the two will both of them withstand him, i. c. that in- 
 " dividual.' ('Resistent' is equivalent to 'resistere valebunt.') 
 
 " What is meant by the triple cord not being quickly 
 " broken is, that if they give birth to a son, he will be able 
 " to stand up with them against their adversaries ; and so says 
 " the Psalmist, (who in this case is Solomon), ' Like as the 
 " arrows in the hands of the giant, so are the young children. 
 " Happy is the man who hath his quiver full of them, he shall 
 " not be ashamed when he speaks with his enemies in the 
 "gate."' Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The oppressor here must necessarily be a single 
 individual, as, if there be more than one oppressor, the 
 advantage that two will have against them is not obviously 
 necessary. 
 
 Ver. 13, 14. " He here is directing his attention to go- 
 " vcrnment and regal authority, and the glory of a king in his 
 "servants and his people, and his prosperity on his throne; 
 " and he says, 'A man who has lived but few years, who is poor 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 199 
 
 IScalor? Quod si opprimuerit alterutrum unus qui- 
 
 dam, duo ei resistent; et filum triplex non cito 
 
 13rumpetur. "Praestat juvenis pauper et prudens regi 
 
 14seni et stolido qui nescit amplius admoneri ; etiam- 
 
 si e carcere vinctorum ad regnandum prodeat; nam 
 
 qui in imperio suo nascitur nascitur hie quoque 
 
 " but intelligent, is better off than an old and foolish king, who 
 " will not hearken to the voice of those who would put him on 
 " his guard, since he who is old in folly makes stiff his neck 
 " and hardens his heart to such a degree that he will not be- 
 " Have his servants when they tell him the truth. Even if this 
 " indigent man comes out of a house of bondsmen the case is 
 " still the same ; for even the old king was poor at the day of 
 " his birth.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. I venture in this place to differ from Mendlessohn's 
 method of explaining the arrangement and distribution of these 
 and the followino; verses. I conceive verses 13 and 14 to be 
 the murmurings of the discontented people of Israel desirous 
 to raise Jeroboam to the throne, who was the son of a slave of 
 Solomon's, as we find from Kings xi. 26. They said, " A poor 
 and indigent but wise youth is better than an old and foohsh 
 king, who is too old to bo advised, (hterally, ' who knows no 
 longer to be advised,') even if he come out of a house of bonds- 
 men to rule, for even he who is born to royalty has nothing 
 when he comes into the world." Solomon then answers their 
 objections by saying, that when Jeroboam is made king they 
 will soon want another, and thus points out the worthlessnoss of 
 popularity. ""S, "even though," thus in Tsal. xxv. 11, "Par- 
 don my iniquity," i^T[ IT ^3 " even though it be great ;" 
 Psal. xli. 5, " Heal my soul," '^b '^IM^^'H ^2, " even though 
 I liavc sinned against thee." Psal. Ixxi. 15, "' My mouth shall 
 
200 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VII. 
 
 pauper." Equidem videbam omnes vivos, qui ambu- 1 5 
 labant sub sole, juvenis istius partibus adhaerere qui 
 priori illi successurus est proximus. Nulla finis est 16 
 de cuncti populi sententia omnibus rebus quag tem- 
 pore existunt suo et se coram, neque magis in isto 
 posteri Isetabuntur; hoc quoque enim ceu halitus 
 est et ventosa cogitatio. 
 
 recount (number up) thy righteousness, thy salvation all day," 
 Jli"l"i2p ''J^yv K'V ''3, "although I know not the numbers of 
 it." WWr^ is contracted for DnJiDXH to facilitate the pronun- 
 ciation. The want of ^? is indicated by the ( t ) under the n, 
 and if vsritten out fully, it would be D'^'l^DSfn. For similar 
 elisions, vid. Job xxxv. ^l^S^D, for ^JS^^JO. Ezek. xxi. 33, /''Dn^, 
 for ^''D>}nb, and also 2 Sam. xix. 14, compared with xx. 9, &c. 
 This only happens in cases where the n and ^} have the same 
 vowel m the uncontracted form, for in the case of b'^^Jl the 
 ( - ) and ( -: ) are treated as the same. 
 
 ibl^ must be repeated again with 1^1, " He who was born 
 to a throne was born poor, and came naked out of his mother's 
 womb." 
 
 Ver. 15. "It should seem that the children of Israel were 
 " murmuring against Solomon with expressions of discontent, and 
 " extolling Jeroboam who stood high in the esteem of the peo- 
 " pie as appears from what we read in Scripture, Kings x. 11, 
 " And the king knew what they were murmuring in their bed- 
 " chambers ; and he here as it were answers their words, and 
 " says, ' I saw all the people going after the youth next in 
 " succession, who shall accede after the king, and their eyes fail 
 " with waiting for the time when he shall succeed to the throne 
 " of the kingdom ;' and he is called the youth next in sue- 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTES. 201 
 
 V : - : (- • - J- T V • • T IT J- «. : - : 
 
 r rnnn iby^ '^2^^'^^ ^itrn ih'n oy tj^xssrn nnn 
 
 It : - I '-:!- jv -; .... vjv- ^< v at - - j- 
 
 16 Oil CD.TJs'? ,Tn-is:^« ^7^^ Dvn-'?:]^ V?Ti^ 
 
 )- :•■•:• T T V -: < ; 't t t : I Ij- I i-- 
 
 ' ;": - : V w Jv - !• A : : • j ».• -; 1- rr 
 
 : nn 
 
 " cession, either (according to the simple interpretation of those 
 " words,) because he was to come after the then king, or, (still 
 " supposing Jeroboam to be here intended), since Rehoboam was 
 " the king's son, and had more right to succeed to the kingdom 
 " than Jeroboam, Rehoboam might be called the first in suc- 
 " cession, and Jeroboam the next." Mendlcssohn. 
 
 Note. The meaning of the word D''3>'nQ here is nothing- 
 more than "living," (unless we choose to neglect the accents, 
 and connect it with Dy in the sense of " walking with," " ad- 
 hering to,") and according to the accents the words '^bTlJ*? 
 "\y\ D''D>'nQn Q''^nn are a hyperbohc expression for the whole 
 Israelitish nation, and he says, " I saw the whole people of 
 Israel along with, that is, on the side of the youth next in 
 succession who is to succeed him i. c. the old king, and mur- 
 muring against him (the old king) in the words mentioned in 
 the two preceding verses." Indeed the definite article n be- 
 fore DOv'np shews that it is part of the subject and not of 
 the predicate of the sentence ; in other words that □'•dSiD 
 and Oy are not to be taken together. Mendlcssohn does not 
 make the two preceding verses represent the murmurs of the 
 people at all, but according to his interpretation (which by the 
 way has very little point in it or connexion with what precedes 
 or follows it,) it is Solomon's own sentiment, and lie would 
 
202 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 THE EIGHTH SECTION. 
 
 J It : • v: it j- v ) •• •• <v -: r I : : - j : 
 
 nib'y^ n^'Vi'v tz3y^i-^3 n:2T q^S^dsh nnx: y^sj^S 
 
 J r_.,. v : I jT •• !• -AT I- • : - J- • *^- : • 
 
 render "D IIJO, "better oif than," a meaning which it fre- 
 quenty bears in this book, but is not so common as " better 
 than." 
 
 Ver. 16. " Indeed I have seen, (he says), that such is the 
 " way of the people all along, that they dislike whatever they 
 " have in their own times, and wish for new things every 
 " morning, for they love change and alteration. The time 
 " seems long to them, and it appears to them as if there was 
 " no end or conclusion of all that they have in their own time ; 
 " for they are quite disgusted with it ; but I have found that 
 " posterity who will arise after them will not be any better 
 " pleased with the new king, and will choose novelties for 
 " themselves. But this too (popularity) is a mere breath and 
 " windy notion, and there is no substantial happiness in the 
 " honour and praise of the people." Mcndlessohn. 
 
 Note. The preposition b before U^Trb^ denotes, " in the 
 opinion of," " according to." In the idea of the people, there 
 is no end, &c. Dn''32'? means, " in their own time," as I have 
 already observed at i. 10. il means, in the new king. 
 
 Ver. 17. " He now begins to point out the desirable course 
 " of action by means of which we may attain to true felicity. 
 
CHAP. IV.] ECCLESIASTESv 203 
 
 SECTIO OCTAVA. 
 
 17 Cohibe pedem tuum cum £edem Dei adis; et 
 melius est accedere ad audiendum quam sacrificii- 
 oblatio stultorum, quippe qui nesciant se malum 
 
 " and eternal good. And he begins the subject with the service 
 " of God, observing that the fear of God should be upon thee 
 " continually, as Is proper for one born of woman, who goes to 
 " pray before the presence of the King of kings, the Holy One, 
 " blessed be he. ' And know,"* he says, ' that the drawing near 
 " to hear the word of God is better and more acceptable than 
 " a fooPs sinning and offering a sacrifice to atone for it f for 
 " ' to hear is better than sacrifice," as the prophets have admo- 
 " nished Israel at length on tliis subject. ' For they know not, 
 " &c.' Here he is giving the reason for his expression in that 
 " he calls the sinner a fool ; ho says, it is clear that the sinner 
 " is foohsh and ignorant, and that it is on that account that 
 " he docs evil ; for if he knew the difference between good 
 " and evil, he would choose the good. And our Eabbins of 
 " blessed memory have said, ' that no man is a sinner unless 
 " there be working in him the spirit of fatuity,' so that the 
 " sinner is rightly called a fool." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. " Keep thy foot." This is either a metaphor taken 
 from one who entering a palace is careful not to soil the o-or- 
 geous carpeting with his feet; or from one who walks care- 
 fully to avoid shpping or falling in a place where if not careful 
 
 o 
 
 he is very hablc to do so. The np on Ty>7J~} is ""• "T^JT*, i. c. 
 " the ^ is supcrfiuous." 
 
204 EOCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. q^^ 
 
 V.' 
 facere. Ne prseceps sis ore tuo, nee mens tua pra^- 1 
 properet verbum coram Deo proferre ; nam Deus 
 in coelo est et tu in terra, quamobrem sint pauca 
 verba tua. Sicut enim venit (i. e. constat) som- 2 
 nium in multitudine negotiorum, ita et sermo stulti 
 in multitudine verborum. Quotiescunque vovebis 3 
 Deo votum, ne cuncteris id exsolvere; in stultis 
 enim nil Deo gratum est; quodcunque voveris ex- 
 
 ^fhsih is both to hear the word of God from the mouth of 
 the priest, and to obey the commands of God, as in 1 Sam. 
 XV. 22, where he says, " To hearken is better than sacrifice," 
 where " to hearken," must mean, " to obey," because tliis word 
 l^ti^pn corresponds to it in the other clause, of which the second 
 is merely a poetic repetition in other words. Mendlessohn as well 
 as the other Rabbinical commentators understand lltO before 
 r\F\D, and render the passage thus, " And (know that) to draw 
 near to hear is better than the sacrificing (nil r\P\) of fools," 
 where, as Mendlessohn ingeniously observes, Solomon means by 
 " fools," the wicked, and explains in the next clause why he 
 calls them so. This is decidedly preferable to the rendering 
 Avhich must be adopted if li")p be taken in the sense of an 
 imperative, viz. " Accede potius ut audias quam ut sacrificium 
 ofi'eras ritu stultorum," as the phrase niT D''^^D3I1 DJ^D would 
 thus be very elliptical, whereas according to the former version 
 it signifies, " than fools' offering sacrifice," and inp is put for 
 nmpn, "the drawing near." 
 
 If y\^i^ be used here as an imperative, there would probably 
 be, according to Ilurwitz, an ellipsis of inpn immediately after 
 it. 
 
 Vcr. 1. " lie proceeds to admonish liira who worships and 
 " prays, not to pray hastily or precipitately, but with due rcgu- 
 
CHAP, v.] ECCLESIASTES, 205 
 ClIAP. 
 
 V. 
 
 w T J- ■/• - : - si : • ; I • '^ •• - : - ^ tt 
 
 I V T T '^- JT - : • - T - <••••: IT J- '>• v: it j-- : • 
 
 J : (. -: I- jr -j- !• '- : I (.v t : > : \- I -j • '- 
 
 snii iir\ i^i<2 : tDnn"! nh!! S^D3 h)p) p:ij; 
 
 V V • V -: I- !• T : J : v ; I j : I at: • 
 
 A- • ; - I V ^-^ I J-- •/ : - : •• - : - • f 
 
 " lation of mind, for that ' God above sees thee, and hears thy 
 " words, and he is in heaven in the highest heights of loftiness, 
 " and thou upon earth; there is nothing lower than thee; there- 
 " fore thou must not multiply words without due regulation of 
 " mind, lest thou be endangered.' " Mendlessolm. 
 
 Ver. 2. " As it has been paraphrased, NQ^H TlSn ND2N1 
 " D^^nj m's^^JDl NOV mmn b^ i. e. ' Just as a dream comes 
 " upon the fancies of the heart with an accumulation of different 
 " matters,' i. e. hke the natural dream which is made up of 
 " many different subjects and thoughts, without order or ar- 
 " rangement, so the voice of a fool comes out of his mouth 
 " with a multitude of words by chance and at random, with- 
 " out connexion, arrangement, or conclusion." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The phrase ~3. ^i2 means, " made its appearance 
 under (such a form,)" i. c. (in the present instance) " consists in 
 (it)." The voice of a fool means here his expressions in ad- 
 dressing the Almighty. 1 is here again a conjunction of com- 
 parison. 
 
 Ver. 3. " As I have commanded thee to keep watch over 
 " thy words, when thou art in the house of God ; so it is ne- 
 " cessary that thou shouldest take heed in every place and at 
 " every time to remember his name ; if thou vowest a vow to 
 " him, keep that which hath been uttered with thy mouth, for 
 
206 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 •Tin^ii-njiJ ii'mh '7['3-n« tg^i"':'^^ '^)!^^ ^i]^ 
 
 I < I: . T JT A- ITT : J- It:-- j-- : • - " : 
 
 ^zl^'^^^^^-n^5 ^5 n^iin Dnnn!) D^^nni rii^Sn 
 
 V v: It V J- A" : - ^' t : • t -:i- -: 
 
 " there is nothing pleasing in fools who mutter responses and 
 " observe religious festivals, wliile their heart is not with them." 
 Mendlessolm. 
 
 Ver. 4. " But know that abstaining from making vows is 
 " not sin ; as it is said in the Talmud, ' If thou refrain from 
 " vowing, thou wilt not be guilty of sin.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 5. " Why should thy mouth be productive of sin and 
 " wickedness in thyself, as it will be if thou dost not perform 
 " what thou hast spoken with thy mouth. And say not before 
 " "^J^^Sn, i. e. the messenger who comes to claim the eleemosy- 
 " nary offering which thou hast devoted in public, that the vow 
 " which thou hast vowed was a mistake. We may interpret 
 " ' ^n'^n-riJ^ ii^^rb,' like ' i:^S2n-n>^ r\^^V^,' to afflict oneself, 
 " i. e. to fast. Why should God be provoked by what is ut- 
 " tared by thy lips, so that he should destroy the work of thy 
 " hands?" Mendlessohn, 
 
 Note, ji^in bi^:, "Do not permit." So iJHD is used Gen. 
 XX. 9, xxxi. 7, Numb. xxii. 13. 
 
 - i^^'^rfl is contracted for J<^:pnn|?. ^^^'^ n^^^ ''3, i. e. " that 
 it was a mistake," " that you made the vow hastily and incon- 
 siderately, and now refuse to perform it." 
 
 " Destroy the work, &c." i. e. plague thee. Surely it is not 
 worth while to bring God's judgments upon thee by the utterance 
 
CHAl'. v.] ECCLESIASTES. 207 
 
 4 solvito. Melius est quod non voveas, quam quod 
 
 5 voveas et non exsolvas votum. Ne sinas os tuum 
 teipsum peccati reum facere, neque coram sacer- 
 dotis legato dicas "errorem id fuisse;" cur ofFensus 
 mera voce tua Deus manuum tuarum opus de- 
 
 6 struat ? Nam in multitudine somniorum et vanita- 
 tum verba quoque sint multa; at Deum timeto. 
 
 of a few thoughtless words. " Why should God be provoked?" 
 i. e. " Why should you provoke God to plague you by a few 
 careless words wliich you could so easily have suppressed?" 
 Why should you involve your whole person in the guilt and 
 consequences of sin, by the misuse of so small a member as 
 the tongue ? 
 
 Ver. 6. " He means, * In all those dreams and fancies and 
 " many vain things which come up into thy imagination, be sure 
 " thou fear God, and that his fear be always before thy eyes. 
 "Then thou wilt escape harm.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. D'^bim KlD^H 21 means the ordinary and trifling- 
 affairs of the Avorld, and Mendlessohn couples with this D*""]!!^ 
 niin, " and the gencrahty of matters." " In all these thou 
 shalt surely fear God, and have his fear always before your 
 eyes/' O being used as it constantly is by the Talmudists as 
 a particle of confirmation, as in Gen. xliii, 10, " Unless we had 
 loitered," D'^D^S HI ^215i^ nJ^j^ O, " surely we should now have 
 returned this twice." I am more inclined to render it thus, " In 
 the multitude of dreamy and vain matters, the ordinary affairs 
 of the world, words also may be multiplied, i. e. we may use 
 a superfluity of words about them if we like ;" literally, " words 
 too are many ;" or n^"nn may be taken to be the imperative 
 to correspond with J^"l^, " Multiply words too if you ivill." 
 
208 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 Si pauperis oppressionem et perversionem judicii et 7 
 justitias in civitate videris, ne hanc rem mireris; 
 pollens enim super alium poUentem auctoritatem 
 tenet, et super hos poUentiores alii. Et excellentia 8 
 terra in toto ejus constat; agri quoque domino 
 
 m'lrT, "multiply," corresponding to l"il, "multitude;" and 
 the rest will then be, " but fear thou God ;" i. e. " but as for 
 God, thou must not approach him with many words, but stand 
 in awe of him." This interpretation is far more in accordance 
 with the accents than Mendlessohn's ; according to his rendering 
 there would not have been any athnack ( ^ ) at all in the verse, 
 and the zakeph would not have been over the word D'^^IH, but 
 
 • T -: 
 
 over n2"in. 
 
 Ver. 7. - " He here speaks with reference to those who 
 " murmur against the political government and administration 
 " of a state, who are mentioned above. If thou seest in a 
 " state that sometimes they oppress the poor, and wrong the 
 " man who has justice and right on his side, do not wonder 
 " or feel surprise at this sight or at the king whose pleasure 
 " thou mayest imagine this to be, for that otherwise he would 
 " not remain an indifferent spectator when it is in his power to 
 " prevent it. I say thou must not blame the king with it ; for 
 " in a state there is one great man in office above another to 
 " superintend him, and each one in a rank higher only super- 
 " intends the rank next below him, and so onwards from him. 
 " And ' there are great ones above them,' i. e. to say, that the 
 " great men all of them only superintend those men whom they 
 " are immediately set over, those who are next below their ranlv 
 " and degree : for such is the method of a regular administra- 
 " tion, that each individual should have his own particular 
 " charge ; and it is impossible for him who is highest of all. 
 
, OHAP. v.] EOCLESIASTES. 209 
 
 nnii Sj^to niJ '^ y^nn-h); n^:nn-Si< nim^n 
 
 T \- ■■ - T J- I V A" - ^- (.- : • - T • : - 
 
 " viz. the king, to superintend every thing in detail which is 
 " done under his government ; but he leans for support on his 
 " prime nunister, and the prime minister on the princes, and 
 " princes on the overseers, and so on from them. For super- 
 " intendance of all things in detail belongs to God alone, who 
 " fainteth not neither is wearied, which is not the case with 
 " the mind of man. And accordingly you must not wonder if 
 " the administration be not good in the highest degree in all 
 " its details, nor free from every defect in all its parts. The 
 " word bu is in a state of construction, and the absolute form 
 " might be the same ; for substantives which have five points 
 " (i. e. a tzere and a segol) when in the absolute form, are not 
 " altered in construction. Thus we find Lev. vi. 24, nbl3 H/ni 
 " rrSl^O ibm." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Yi^n merely means " matter," " affair," in this 
 place. The Jewish commentator only says that "^tJ might be 
 the absolute form as well as the constructive, without concluding 
 that it is exactly of the form 2hr\ ; for in reahty its absolute 
 form is hu, wliich we should have expected as having tzere 
 under the last syllable to suffer no change in construction, but 
 nevertheless becomes bu ; and so we find "l^n and pT changed 
 in construction, thougli these have also tzere imder the ultimate. 
 1Dt£^ means here, " in ofiice" or " authority." 
 
 Ver. 8. "After first slicwing that the king and princes arc 
 " not to be blamed because a government is not faultless in 
 14 
 
210 ECCLESIASTES, [sECT. VIH. 
 
 )•• r I •. r '^ J- : ■ I I V V *•• IT*^; V w T : 
 
 " all its details, he proceeds to say that if you would ascertain 
 " the degree of excellence of a government, and how far one 
 " state excels another, you must not look at details ; for that 
 " the excellence of a country consists in the entire state of it ; 
 " the superiority of it is exhibited in its general administration 
 " and management, not in details ; for it is impossible that 
 " all these should be in complete perfection, as is known to 
 " every intelligent man. He says, 11^3 niti'b 1\bD, as much 
 " as to say, ' It is clearly impossible for a king to do all the 
 " business of an administration alone, without help from his 
 " princes and his servants, and on that account the great must 
 " necessarily be set one above another in office. Is not the 
 " owner of a field, who is only king over a field of agricul- 
 " tural produce, served by others who do his pleasure ? and it is 
 " not possible for him to do without other labourers, or by him- 
 " self, and how much less for a great king who rules over large 
 " provinces, and a strong people?' It is clearly impossible that 
 " his eyes should overlook every thing at once, as Jethro 
 " says m his advice to Moses. We find elsewhere 'ifpD with a ^^ 
 " as l^j}")D'? ihD> 'king of Moab.' And there is nothing strange 
 " in the word "!|'?0 being appUed to the owner of a field instead 
 " of b'^^ ; for so we find with regard to Araunah, that the Scrip- 
 " ture calls liim '!lbs»l, 'the owner,' 'landlord,' 'all these did 
 " Araunah, the owner, give to the king,' and besides that it 
 " was usual in ancient times, for a man who presided over the 
 " tillage of a field to be called by the title ' King of the field,' 
 " and to carry a staff in his hand after the manner of a regal 
 " sceptre, as we find in the ancient poets." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. K>n bbl. The Keri on ^^^•^ is ^^!|^. The ante- 
 cedent of this, as masculine, would necessarily be piJlN whereas 
 
OHAF. v.] EeCLESIASTES. 211 
 
 9 inserviunt alii. Qui amat argentum non argento 
 satiabitur; et qui gaudet turba (satellitum), nullus erit 
 
 that of ^<^1 would be yiii. With the reading i^-'n of the 
 Chethib the translation is, " The excellence of a land consists 
 in the whole of it," literally " all it ;" for bb must then be an 
 adjective, since, if it were a substantive and in construction with 
 J^NI, we should not have had b^2. (which is a contraction for 
 ^bni), but bbl, (because a noun m a state of construction never 
 has n prefixed). With the J^M of the Keri, yiiji jiin^ must 
 stand as a nominative absolute, and the translation be, " As for 
 the excellence of a land, it (^^^in) consists in the whole (land)," 
 literally, " in all (the land)," or, " in the entu^e state," " in the 
 sum total ;" in the first case bb2 bemg supposed to stand for 
 bbn \n}^2, and in the second bb being taken as a substantive, 
 and to mean, " the whole," " the sum total." Mendlessohn 
 adopts the reading of the Chethib, for he wi'ites the word ^<^"^ 
 in his commentary, probably because this gives the more simple 
 and unbroken construction, the general sense being the same 
 with either reading. There are however grammatical objections 
 to the reading of the Chethib which do not apply to the Keri, 
 and which must have induced the Masorites to preserve the latter. 
 In the first place, the usual method of expressing "in the 
 whole of it," would liave been Tlb'Dl, (which is a contraction 
 
 T "■. : 
 
 for i»J\"T b'22. or J^Nl'^^Jl, the aftix being substituted for the 
 pronoun ^^'•^, and bb or 'b^ which is a substantive in construc- 
 tion with ^^^■T being changed into b^i with a dagcsh in the b 
 to compensate for the shortening of the vowel). (Similar forms 
 to n'?32 arc rT^2 , " the whole of it" (Egypt), at Ezek. xxix. 2, 
 and "^^3, "the whole of thee," at JVIic. ii. 12). And in the se- 
 cond place, if tliis ordinary form be discarded, and H'^n is to 
 
 be written at full length, and bb to be used as an adjective, 
 
 14—2 
 
212 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 illi ex ea proventus; quare haec quoque vana est. 
 Cum incremento opulentiee increscunt quoque qui 10 
 earn consumant; et quis inde domino ejus fructus 
 est praster oculorum suorum visum? Duleis est 11 
 laborantis servi somnus sive parum sive multum 
 comederit ; at divitis satietas non ei permittit dor- 
 
 tlie correct form to express " in all (of) it," would be bSH hJ''rTl, 
 for an adjective with an article prefixed to it always follows the 
 noun substantive, and therefore, by analogy, the pronoun, with 
 which it agrees. 
 
 Some have rendered the latter clause of this verse, "The 
 king is served by means of the field," i. e. " The king is nothing 
 without his country." Others, "that the king be enslaved, 
 as it were, and devoted to the field," i. e. " to the agricultural 
 interest," translating the first clause thus, " The excellence or 
 prosperity of a land consists entirely in this, &c.'" But both 
 these renderings are contrary to the accents, by which j7J^ and 
 nii:^'? are closely united, but separated from "71^3. The literal 
 rendering of the latter clause is, " Agri quoque dominus inser- 
 vitur." 
 
 rnwb "^ba, "Owner of a field." As other mstances of b 
 used merely as a sign of the genitive case, see Tllp "^^DTD in 
 the headings of the Psalms, nbbpb "iblD, and verse 11 of 
 this chapter, where we have '^''W^b );2W, " the satiety of a rich 
 man;" and Daniel i. 1, D^P^IH^. DO^D^ W)b^ n^W2, " In the 
 third year of Jehoiakim, &c." 
 
 Ver. 9. " He speaks in blame of the love of money and 
 " rank, and says, ' He who loves money cannot eat that 
 " money, or be satisfied with it. And he who hkes to have 
 *' about him a retinue of men-servants and maid-servants to 
 " wait upon him, sets his mind on a thing which cannot yield 
 " him any profit.' This is the meaning of rTiy^^n ih, ' There is 
 
CHAP, v.] ECCLESIASTES. 213 
 
 T - : • V It vv - AT : J I V. T IV 
 
 J : • I- T V "t : I : • - t av : i i - 
 
 (.-•:- • : "j- : • •• '^ it j- : )t : it ^" 
 
 " no profit,' Every thing which man gains and earns by labour 
 " is called ^^<!1l^l. He will have no reward and no profit from 
 " this retinue, so that that too is a vain expectation ; as he says 
 " in conclusion." Mendlessohn. 
 
 irik^ with 1 seems to be either, "takes dehght in," or as 
 Mendlessohn renders it, " loves to be in," " to be surrounded 
 by," &c. 
 
 Note. HK^IH iib, "Non proventus erit illi." Supply 
 
 ib t^nn from nK^'in. 
 
 T T 
 
 Ver. 10. " If a man who loves a retinue have an accession 
 " of wealth and property, he will have to procure more men and 
 " women servants, and a household, and then the number of 
 " those who live on it will be increased ; and thus there will be 
 " no advantage for himself, but ' the looking on.' For since the 
 " property is his, while others live on it, he has no good from 
 " it except the pleasure of looking on." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The Masorites read for y^yv iT'J^l VTV JI'll^l 
 " The looking on of his eyes," i, e. his pleasure in contemplat- 
 ing the comfort of the dependants who are fed at his expense. 
 
 Here we have H'byi followed by "|'>3"'V, just as in verse 12 
 
 T V T : " T '^- " 
 
 of this chapter we have V7)^3. followed by inyn^, which are 
 instances of the use of wb^l in the sense of "a single owner." 
 b'^3. in construction in the singular is generally used to denote 
 a person of the quahty denoted by the following word, as 
 ^^ bj;!, "an angry man," 6)1); b'^2, "a winged creature." 
 For other instances of D'^^V^, "an owner," vid. Is. i. 3, Exod. 
 xxi. 29, 34, 36, xxii. 16, li, &c. 
 
 *14 — 3 
 
214 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 K^» im'h )h n^itt n^i^ yi^)^h yncrm S:)«*i2 
 
 ••< I I • I - J- - -j:- •• • 't IV '^ T T ' : ft" 
 
 VT ^ : • J T V "5 V AT - - J- • I" T T 5t T 
 
 r'ii -T^'^im v^ pjys x^nn i^j;n 'inKi : )nv^h is 
 
 I •• J- : '^ /IT 'j- . • : «. - V >r T •/" T : I "r it : 
 
 Dnv i?b5< ?t:!i^ x!^^ nsj^'^s : n»^«a n^:n p«n4 
 
 ._( "t • I V Jv • t t <v -: I- t I : it: I j- 
 
 K-* V T '-: r JT ■ T : AT V : V I.V T J t 
 
 I A"" I J" IT V J- '•: r T • VTT - i I T : 
 
 Ver. 11. " Behold, happier than he is the slave who 
 " works all day, and from his being faint and tired lies down 
 " and falls asleep, and his sleep is sweet to him. But the rich 
 " man cannot sleep, for his satiety and the abundance of his 
 " luxury suffer him not to rest." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Observe here, that we have another parallel case 
 to nihh '^bD, as meaning owner of a field. The accents shew 
 decisively here, as in that case, that "^^W^h )}l\i! means, " the 
 satiety of a rich man," and that the sentence cannot be con- 
 strued, "But satiety does not permit to a rich man to sleep." 
 Besides in this case V'? would be redundant. 
 
 Ver. 12, 13. " ' There is a sore evil,' i. e. sometimes the 
 " wealth alone, because it suffers him not to sleep ; and some- 
 " times it may have been kept for liim to his own hurt, because 
 " it may perish through the design of a man of evil practices 
 " who plunders by night, or of a robber who strikes him a mortal 
 " blow, so that ho dies in consequence of his wealth, and the son 
 " whom he has begot has nothing left of his father's property. 
 
 " tlb''i'n is a participle from root rbn, " to be sick," or else it 
 " is an adjective of form nillD, from the root 'p^n, with the sense 
 
CHAP, v.] ECCLESIASTES. 215 
 
 12 mire. Est malum gegritudine afficiens {sive in- 
 cidens) quod sub sole vidi, divitise domino suo in 
 
 13 ipsius damnum servatas; quum perdite sint ista^ 
 divitia? casu quodam adverso, et filio quem genuit 
 
 14 nihil prorsus sit in manu; quod quemadmodum 
 egressus est ex utero matris suse nudus iterum 
 rediturus sit sicut venerit, nee quicquam prorsus 
 labore suo acquisiverit quod secum auferat in manu. 
 
 15 Hoc quoque dico est malum a3gritudine afficiens 
 (vel incidens) quod omnino sicut venerit ita sit 
 
 " of that word in the passage tt^Nh b}! ^iS^riN ' They shall hght 
 " (fall) on the head' (of Joab), in which case tlb'i'n ni?"l would 
 " mean, 'an evil hghting on the sons of men,' or ' incident to 
 " them.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. rh)n H^^"! is literally, " malum a)grum," " a sickly 
 evil," " a disease ;" and here, spoken of moral condition, *' an 
 error," "a defect:" thus vi. 2, ^1 'h'H, " a^gritudo mala." In 
 both 12 and 15 a great error of judgment and practice is de- 
 noted. Here again the Masora mentions the reading ]l^]} for 
 P^V, which would give the meaning " through the designs and 
 practices of a villain." 
 
 Ver. 14. Note. There is an evident quotation here from 
 Job i. 21, where the very same Hebrew words occur. 
 
 ii'W2 means here, " To take or receive," in the sense of 
 
 T T 
 
 acquiring. 
 
 '^b^\i} , " Which he may cause to go away," i. c. " wliich he 
 may carry away." This is a contracted form for "If^V^. Tliis 
 verse is part of the sentence beginning with verse 12, and is 
 descriptive of the sore evil whicli he says ho had noticed. 
 
 Ver. 15. " And this too would be a sore evil, even if the 
 " property is not destroyed and dissipated through the design 
 
216 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 abiturus; et quid ergo prodest ei quod in ventum 
 laboret? quodque omnibus diebus suis in tenebris 16 
 
 " of a villain, that he should have no son, for then in every 
 " respect as he came so he will go." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. ryW'jJ'b^. Kimchi and the Rabbinic commentators 
 (vid. the m'?an '^"l^?l), and after them Buxtorf consider that 
 this is an anomaly and that the regular form would have been 
 naV^2 (after the form jtD^rr r\B'/?D, 1 Kings vii. 20, " In the 
 quarter of and corresponding to the projection."") This would 
 certainly have been a more satisfactory reading ; in the first 
 place, because we should thus have had the prefix 3, "as," 
 (which is changed into 2 before another letter with sheva) 
 to answer to ]2, " so," at the beginning of the other member of 
 the sentence ; and in the next place, because Jiay never occurs 
 without b , and with this prefix denotes, like 1J3 , " exact cor- 
 respondence in position and dimensions," (as at Eccl. vii. 14, 
 infra,) so that njsy^S would have the same sense as 1J33, 
 " exactly as," (vid. Gen. ii. 18, where nj33 means, " exactly 
 to match him, and to correspond with his tastes and desires.") 
 As an explanation however of the present reading, I would 
 suggest that 'W nSV'bs may be a euphonic contraction for 
 '^} PiD^b'b^, and signify, "altogether corresponding to the 
 way in which," i.e. "exactly as," like l)^~b^, Job xxvii. 3, 
 " All the time that," i. e. " as long as," and nS^'? may answer 
 to ]3, like "as" to "so," and therefore preclude the necessity 
 of a preceding 3, which indeed we do not always find, as in 
 Hos. xi. 2, Jud. V. 15. 
 
 I think that Mendlessohn's idea on this verse, that Solo- 
 mon intended by speaking of " the man's going as he came," 
 particularly to allude to his having no son, must be allowed to 
 be somewhat far-fetched. It seems more likely that no new 
 
CHAP, v.] ECCLESIASTES. 217 
 
 case is introduced here, but that Solomon is merely recapitu- 
 lating what he had just said, that it is a sore evil for a man to 
 carry nothing away with him after all his labour in this life, or 
 in other words, to leave it as he came. 
 
 Ver. 16. " ' I have noticed among men one who all his 
 " days eats in the dark ;' for the principal meal of the ancients 
 " was in the evening, and luxurious persons ate this meal in 
 " the company of their acquamtance, with hghts and torches 
 " burning ; whereas this niggardly person eats by himself in the 
 " dark, and is full of fear and faint-heartedness. 'And should 
 *' suffer vexation, and illness, and peevishness should be upon 
 " liim.' It is known by experience, that he who suffers much 
 " vexation falls into sickness, and that the sick man is more 
 " easily vexed than one in sound health. Consequently he says, 
 " ' I have found among men one Avho suffers much vexation, and 
 " I have also noticed the illness which has consequently taken hold 
 " on him, and the peevishness (which is a farther degree than 
 " vexation,) which he has contracted in consequence of that ill- 
 " ness.' DV2 is a verb pra3terite, because the first syllable has 
 " a kametz, and the second a pathack." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Again, instead of supposing here the introduction 
 of a fresh instance of mistaken principle and conduct, I prefer 
 to regard the whole of this verse as included under the phrase 
 in the preceding verse, '^ ]nn^ HQ ; " What profit then is it, 
 that he should labour for wmd, and eat in the dark ?" i. e. " in 
 gloomy and moody parsimony?" Or again, we may include it 
 all under rh)n HV"! HI Di!, " This is a sore evil that he should 
 go in all respects as he came, and yet should torment and vex 
 himself through life to no purpose," considering "iDl j'nn'' ilQ^, 
 and the whole of verse 16, in parenthesis. But the former render- 
 ing, which I have adopted in the translation, is the more simple. 
 
218 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 *n*^«1-1K^x n'in : tivpi 'vhr\) r\^^n dv:d^ ^:3n^i7 
 
 a- T V -; •• • I V ||TT i ; T : V ; " i~T : a- 
 
 ni)^ r\)kih) r\)mV) ^:3xS n3^-1a^^< iib ^jx 
 Dixn-^JD 0:1 : ipSn x^n-^5 D%iSxn i'^-inns 
 
 T T |T T J- l| : V i • V V; |T i ' -|T 
 
 Aben Ezra ingeniously explains his eating in the dark by 
 saying, that he is so busy aU day that he has not leisure to 
 eat till night. Rather it is a poetic description of the anxiety 
 which torments him even at his meals, (which ought to be taken 
 cheerfully), which together with vexation brings on illness, and 
 consequent peevishness, m")!! 0^31, "And that he should 
 suffer much vexation." 
 
 vbn, as Rosenmuller well observes, is for "h 'hTl, "Et 
 
 : T • t: 
 
 SBgritudo sit ei," just as in Psal. cxv. 7, we have DIT'l^ for 
 
 V T • -T 
 
 ^"ip), " Et ira sit ei," "h is to be supplied from the pre- 
 cedino; word vbT}. 
 
 Mendlessohn in this place, as in one or two others, seems a 
 little to forget the dignity of scriptural poetry. He interprets 
 b::i^^ "^Ttt^niL X'D'^'b^, of the miser who will not afford to eat 
 
 TT T 
 
 his supper by candle-light, but eats it in the dark out of parsi- 
 mony ; " the principal meal being in the evening with the 
 ancients." This is frivolous, as is likewise his interpretation of 
 the words, "that they may have a good reward for their labour," 
 which I have already noticed. " Ahquando bonus dormitat." 
 
 Ver. 17. " ' This then is that which is truly good, and 
 " which is truly excellent, &c. f that is to say, that ' if substance 
 " and treasures are the proper good of man, it can only be by 
 " eating and drinking and seeing good done among others by 
 " means of all his labour which he performs under the sun, i. c. 
 
CHAP, v.] ECCLESIASTES. 219 
 
 comedat, multumque vexetur, et eegritudo sit ei et 
 
 17 morositas? En igitur quod bonum ego quod pul- 
 chrum esse vidi hoc est, quod comedat quisque et 
 bibat et bonum videat efFectum ex omni labore suo 
 quo sub sole fungitur per totiim numerum vitte 
 sua3 dierum quos Deus ei concessit, quippe qui 
 
 18 solus ei sit fructus' lahoris sui. Vidi etiam quod 
 
 " by being happy himself, and making others happy, for that is 
 " his real profit from it, not to heap up wealth and collect riches, 
 ■■' which may perish through the design of a villain, or which 
 " he may leave to posterity ; for in this there is no substantial 
 " good for man.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. n2^ lli^S^ IID. Michaehs takes Itt^i^ here to be 
 merely a copulative, conjunction, and renders it, "good and 
 fair," referring to Jer. xvi. 14, HT^n DdS ]n^? N^ '^^^, " x\nd 
 I will shew you no pity," which may be rendered, " inasmuch 
 as I will shew you no pity ;" and (more to his point), Hosea xii. 8, 
 " Ephraim said, They shall not find in mo Ntpn "Itt^k^ jl'v/' " evil 
 and sin," " evil which is also sin ;" and here ho would translate 
 " the good thing, which is also the fair or excellent thing." I 
 have rendered the verse as if '•JT'J^") were understood after the 
 
 • T 
 
 second •^^t^^? , and so avoided this awkwardness of construction. 
 
 Mendlessohn explains niitO n'i^^'^^, "to enjoy the happiness 
 of oneself and others," not " to enjoy prosperity," as some 
 translate it. The words may bear the latter sense ; but Mcn- 
 dlessohn''s interpretation is more consistent with a sentiment 
 already expressed in iii. 12, that " there is nothing good for 
 man except to be cheerful, and at the same time to do good ;" 
 nUltD means either " prosperity," i. e. " one's own happiness," 
 or " kindness," i. c. " the promotion of the happiness of others." 
 In this instance it seems to unite these two meanings. For the 
 use of ("TiVI see note at vi. (>. "ipbn i^lH ""^ means, "for this is 
 
 T T ' : v 
 
 all the profit he can derive from it (his labour)." 
 
220 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. VIII. 
 
 ad hominem cui dederit Deus opes et divitias, et 
 copiam fecerit de illis comedendi et fructum ilium 
 suum capiendi et in labore suo Isetandi, hoc ei 
 donum Dei esse. Reminiscatur enim quisque non 19 
 multos esse dies vitse suae, sed cordis sui leetitiae 
 Deum respondere. 
 
 Ver. 18. " ' But if God has given him wealth and riches, 
 " and bestowed therewith the power and ability to eat of them,' 
 " (as he said before), 'and obtain real profit from them, which 
 "is to benefit others, and to see the good done of which it is 
 " said in the preceding verse that it is his portion in life for 
 " the world to come, and thus to rejoice in his labour with an 
 " everlasting joy ; all this is clearly from the hand of God ;' for 
 " unless a man possess the power and ability to derive enjoyment 
 " from his possessions and to do good with them, he may have 
 " 'wealth which would only be injurious,' as it is expressed elsewhere. 
 
 " riT is here again used for JlKt." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. In this verse a,nd the preceding he is stating in 
 fact exactly the same conclusion which he has before expressed 
 in different words ; viz. first, that what is best for man is to 
 enjoy cheerfully the good things of this life, and exercise hber- 
 ality to others, and secondly, that wherever a man is enabled by 
 the possession of wealth, health, &c. to do so, and to make the 
 right profit from the fruits of his labour, viz. to use them to do 
 good to others, this is the free gift of God, and must be a 
 matter of devout thankfulness to Him. Life is short, and 
 therefore ought to be made the most of; and consequently if he 
 have the power and inclination to make himself and others 
 happy, he may be sure that these are given him by God. 
 
 ipbn, as Mendlessohn has shewn, is here (18) the same as 
 in (17) "his right and proper profit from his labour," viz. to do 
 good to others as well as to himself with the fruits of it. 
 
 nt^W is the infinitive from i^bi, " tollere," "accipere." 
 
CHAP. V,] ECCLESIASTES. 221 
 
 5. AT- J" ; V V ; ■ ■■ ; ~ J ■< I" ^" "I 
 
 I • i- : • : vv*^: p -y •.■: it 
 
 Vcr. 19. " Let liim remember the days of his hfe that 
 " they are not many, that the days of man are short, and his 
 " wants few ; and why then should he heap up to no profit ? 
 " And he states that God responds in every respect to his 
 " cheerfulness and approves of it and gives him His consent ; 
 " for He grants liim wealth and substance and power to do with 
 "them as is good in liis eyes, (for 'he who desires to purify 
 " himself is always assisted from heaven,')" (Bab. Talmud, 
 " Treatise Yomah, Sect, iii), '• and removes from him all those 
 " circumstances of constraint which might prevent liim from 
 " accompUshmg his wishes." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The common rendering of the first part of this 
 verse, " (ille qui iUo dono Dei praeditus est) non multum recor- 
 dabitur dierum vitae sua?," is not in accordance with the accents 
 which disjoin ni'in from 12iV; besides it would be very strange 
 that forgetfulness of the past should be spoken of as a great 
 blessing. 
 
 Buxtorf renders "lib nnpii^S n;3VQ " respondet, annuit 
 Igotitia) cordis ejus," considering the use of the verb n^VH with 
 2 to be a phrase. Rosenmuller instances the passages in which, 
 when God is said to answer by means of fire, or in some other 
 way, this construction is used, and translates " God answers him 
 (as to his enquiries after happiness,) by giving him cheerfulness 
 of heart." Mendlessohn seems inchncd to render it, " furnishes 
 him with all the means of enjoyment in his enjoyment, and 
 thus expresses His consent to it and approbation of it," because 
 
222 ECCLESIASTES. [sE(!T. IX. 
 
 THE NINTH SECTION. 
 
 Chap. 
 VI. 
 
 V *T - : V AT - - a- • V T y; —. t t j" 
 
 . T ; V ' • v; |T J I V • jv -; J- |t t |T 
 
 v; |T <v 
 
 n^yD is in the Hipbil, and therefore means, "causing to fur- 
 nish," " granting that which grants," whereas in the sentence 
 " God gives him corn and wine and wealth which give him 
 enjoyment," the word " give" might be expressed in both cases 
 by the Kal of mv, as we find it used in Ps. lxv. 6, " Terrible 
 signs hast thou granted us, God," and in Eccles. x. 9, " Money 
 that furnishes (imparts) every thing." The general sense of 
 Mendlessohn's rendering is the same as that of Buxtorf 's, and 
 I have adopted it in preference to Rosenmuller's in the Version. 
 
 Ver. 1, 2. " He here repeats the words of an objector 
 *' against the providence and judgments of God, and mentions 
 " this instance in particular of an unsatisfactory state of things 
 " in the world, that sometimes God gives wealth and riches and 
 " honour to a man, so that if he choose he would not be in 
 ** want of any thing for himself of all that he could desire, but 
 " nevertheless he has no profit from his possessions, but leaves 
 
CHAP. VI.] ECCLESIASTES. 223 
 
 SECTIO NONA. 
 
 Cap, 
 VI. 
 
 1 " Est autem malum quod vidi sub sole frequens 
 
 2 hominibus superincumbere ; nempe quod cui largia- 
 tur Deus divitias et opes et honorem, adeo ut nulla 
 prorsus careat omnium quas rerum cupiverit, non 
 eidem copiam faciat Deus illis vescendi, sed alienus 
 veseatur illis : hoc irrita res {she hujus vitse im- 
 
 " liis substance and treasures to others whom he did not beget, 
 " but who may be called strangers to him, as those from whom 
 " he has never received any benefit in the world. ' Is not tliis,' 
 " he says, *a sad defect in our condition?' " Mendlessohn. 
 Note, nil means "numerous," "general," "extensive;" the 
 
 T T ^ 
 
 latter is probably the sense here. " It prevails over men exten- 
 sively ;" "it is very common in the world;" as RosenmuUer renders 
 the passage, " Und ist gemein bei den Menschen." non 132''i<1 
 Iti^S^'? Uterally, " And he is in want of, wants nothing for him- 
 self of all that he desires," i. e. " all whose wants are supplied."" 
 It is remarkable that Solomon has already applied the same 
 phrases ni") nyi and nVl ll'^in to the same case, viz. that 
 of a man who acquires wealth by hard toil, and never lives to 
 enjoy it, except that for the phrase rhyn H^l, " a sore evil," 
 or "a prevailing evil incident to mankind,"" he here uses V"i '•'^n 
 
 T • t:' 
 
 " a bad sore or disease," which when spoken of " a moral de- 
 fect in the constitution of the world,"'"' as in this case, where the 
 Preacher is detailing the murmurs of objectors against divine 
 
224 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 perfectio) est et malum vitium. Si gignat hie een-3 
 turn, et anni ejus sint multi, et dies annorum sint 
 plurimi, sed ipse nunquam opulentia istd perfruatur 
 neque exeqiiias sint ei, abortivum eo beatiiis esse 
 pr^edicarem ; quippe quod frustra nascatur, et ob- 4 
 scure efferatur, et cujus nomen obscuritate obruatur; 
 
 providence, means a "bad or serious defect." The sense is 
 analogous to that of bir\ as used here and in other passages 
 of this book preceding and following, where it is appUed to 
 certain circumstances in the constitution of the world and its in- 
 habitants, (as implying something apparently "futile," "unsatis- 
 factory," and in fact, "a moral difficulty which cannot be solved,"") 
 and always in a querulous or sceptical spirit, which is afterwards 
 removed by more just reasoning and more enlarged views after- 
 wards developed, as in the present chapter. In such cases I 
 have chosen to render bin, " an unsatisfactory thing." The 
 occurrence in this verse of the word 'hx], which must mean " a 
 moral disease or defect," renders " segrum," " a^gritudine affici- 
 ens," the most probable translation of the word n'^in above, 
 where " a sickly evil," " a malady," as applied to a man's moral 
 condition, would mean as it does here a defect in that condition. 
 
 Ver. 3. " And though his treasures be great all the days 
 " of his life, while yet his mind is never satisfied with what he 
 " longs for, happiness, because he does not enjoy his prosperity 
 " himself, or do good to others, and neither benefits himself or 
 " others with what God has bestowed upon him, and besides 
 " has no honourable burial or good name, I pronounced the 
 " untimely birth to be better off than he. 
 
 " n^D. It is usual in poetry to speak of a collection of 
 " things by the names of even numbers, as a thousand, a hun- 
 " dred, twenty, instead of using uneven numbers." Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
CHAP. VI.] ECCLESIASTES. 225 
 
 • T ; T ■• J- J- • 1 '^ VT r t:it V .)•.• ,r 
 
 I • : - r A t:jt vt): -; t -I- 
 
 ' V V - Ia-— J V J - VT :■,■■• - 1- VIT- vv - 
 
 Note. With ^^^X3 supply Q'^lb^^ from t'pIV 
 
 We have here again in the words "iS") H'TT' nil") D''3tt^1 
 the same indifference that I already pointed out about using the 
 singular or plural of the verb n^Jl, respecting a collection of 
 things. 
 
 11:^25% " While yet his appetite has not full enjoyment of 
 the prosperity," i. e. the prosperity and blessings described in 
 the preceding verse. i{i'S3 is here put for the man himself, 
 his powers of enjoyment for " himself." The 1 before W2^ 
 means, "while yet," or "yet since." 
 
 "No honourable burial is his," because his wealth has pre- 
 maturely fallen into the hands of a stranger. 
 
 ^23 abortivum quia 723 mortuum ex utero instar immaturi 
 fructus. The objector is here picturing the hapless lot of the 
 man within whose reach God seems to have placed happiness, 
 but who yet is denied the enjoyment of it. In the end of the 
 last verse 'hr\, "sickness," is a verbal from nbjl, "to be sick," 
 
 • -n T T 
 
 just as ••pi, "quietness," in Ps. Lxxxiii. 2, is from HDl, "to be 
 quiet." 
 
 Ver. 4. " For the untimely birth comes in vain, as it is 
 " here in vain, without suffering any pain, or bearing chastisc- 
 " ment, for it feels nothing ; and it departs in darkness, and has 
 " never seen happiness or wished for it ; and its name is con- 
 " cealed in the dark ; and it leaves no fame or remembrance in 
 " the earth." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 5. " And in this respect too the abortion is happier 
 15 
 
226 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 niS r\r\:i vt ^^S1 n«v^j'? lym-tD^ in^y )m5 
 
 VVT - )- ^ ATT J : \T T I V f; - |V •.. : I : 
 
 ^^S n^m Q^5j;3 CD^jsj^ ftS« n^n ^W^ :nT^6 
 
 J VT : • - '^—.j- • T I V <V T T J • : |V • " 
 
 Sto^-Ss : "Tj^in h'^n inx Qip^-'?^ x'^n n«i7 
 
 t-'^—. T I I" , - VT V I, T i) -: ATT I 
 
 " than he, that it hath never seen or known the sun of pros- 
 " perity so as to long for it ; whereas he is longing all his life 
 " for greater prosperity than he has, and does not attain it, and 
 " so has no rest, and his desire is sickening to his heart, and 
 " fatal to his soul. The untimely birth has more tranquiUity 
 " than the rich man who has no power to use his wealth." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. To render WD^, "the sun of prosperity,"" gives 
 indeed a good sense, but seems rather forced. The latter half 
 of the verse is literally, " There is more tranquillity to this 
 than to that ;" i. e. to the abortion than to the rich man, be- 
 cause it sees nothing of the troubles of life. The Hebrew is 
 abrupt; but we may supply "so that" before JlTO, "Besides 
 it has never seen or known the sun, so that it has more tran- 
 quiUity than he." 
 
 Ver. 6. Note. When he comes to the end of his hfe, even 
 if it have been a long one, siuce he has not enjoyed his prospe- 
 rity, he is no better off than the abortion ; both are at the end 
 of their earthly existence, and neither have had any enjoyment. 
 
 ^r^?*^ ih nn'CO. I have said at ch. V. 17, that Hllb means 
 
 T T T T 
 
 either " prosperity,"" i. e. " one's own happmess,"" or " kindness," 
 i. e. " the promotion of the happiness of others," and that it 
 seems there to bear a double sense. Its meanino; here must 
 be the same as in vi. 3, and therefore restricted to the former, 
 "prosperity."" So it is used in Ps. cvi. 5. It often means the 
 " Divine kindness to man," as in Ps. lxv. 11, Lxxxvi. 17, Neh. 
 V. 19. In Ps. xvi. 2, its sense is ambiguous ; " Thou hast said 
 
CHAP. VI.] ECCLESIASTES. 22Y 
 
 5 quodque solem etiam nee viderit nee noverit, ita ut 
 
 6 major est huic quam illi quies {s'we tranquillitas) ; 
 et etiamsi mille iterumque annos vixerit, neque 
 prosperitate qua 'potitus sit tamen fruitus sit ; nonne 
 
 7 abit uterque in eundem locum. Omnis est usque 
 labor hominum gul^e suae causa; ita et mens (hu- 
 
 (0 my soul) to Jehovah, ' Thou art my Lord, my prosperity 
 (or 'my kindness,' i.e. 'He who is kind to me'); there is none 
 that surpasses thee. As for the holy in the land and the ex- 
 cellent, all my delight is in them.'" Such is the rendering agree- 
 ably with the accents. Here and in verse 3, as well as in v. 17, 
 T\)X^ has the same meaning as in the phrase W^X^ n>?"l at ix. 
 9, viz. "to enjoy," in which sense it is usually followed by i. 
 
 The •^^^} DIpD is of course " the grave." Here again we 
 have '?2n in the sense of "both." 
 
 Ver. 7. " lilts'?, that is, ' for the sake of his mouth,' that 
 " it may be satisfied with food ; and this is never finally effected 
 " all his life long ; and just so his mind never attains its desires, 
 " for they are great and without end. h^'^'QJl ; when the mind 
 " attains all its wishes and desires, it is said to be satisfied, or 
 " literally~^filled.' As we find in Exod. xv. 9, '>tt^23 TO^fbJ^;J), 
 " ' my mind shall be satisfied with them, i. e. with defeating 
 " and plundering them.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The objector here suggests another ground of re- 
 pining against the condition of mankind on earth, viz. that just 
 as man devotes all his bodily labour to secure himself a supply 
 for his bodily appetites, and continues all his life to do so, 
 like the individual described above, as though they could never 
 be furnished with a sufiicicnt supply, so liis mind can never sa- 
 tisfy itself with intellectual acquirements. The conjunction "l is 
 here one of comparison. {i'SJSn used here in the abstract means 
 
 15—2 
 
228 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 mana) nunquam satiatur. Qusenam est in hdc re 8 
 sapienti stulti prsestantia? quid docto prodest pau- 
 per! quod contra vitam grassetur? {she luctetur?) 
 Melior est visus oculorum excursione mentis ; h^ec 9 
 
 " the mind of man.'" He thus repines at the unsatisfactoriness 
 of the accumulation of knowledge as well as of wealth. 
 
 Ver. 8. " He proceeds with the words of the objector. 
 " For what advantage, &c. ; i. e. what necessary advantage ? 
 " that is, allowing that the wise man has some advantage over 
 " the fool, this can be only if they are equal in their condition 
 '^ in this life ; but what does the intelligent poor man effect 
 " who acquires great and glorious stores of knowledge, while 
 " he continues poor and destitute ? Wliat good is it to him to 
 *' struggle against life, i. e. to seek only those things which are 
 " adverse and prejudicial to the life of man, never to be merry 
 '* or indulge himself nor to eat or drink enough to satisfy his 
 " appetite, but to be always storing his mind with the disco- 
 " veries of philosophy ?" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. I am inclined to explain the verse in this way. 
 What advantage in this respect has the Avise and well-informed 
 man over the fool, i. e. the ignorant man ? i. e. What advantage 
 has he over the fool as to the satisfactoriness of his pursuits, 
 (spoken of in the last verse) ? Does the intelligent poor man, who 
 is always pursuing literary researches, and struggling against 
 mental and external difficulties at the same time, derive satisfac- 
 tion from those researches ? He says, " The learned poor man," 
 because his case affords the means of making observation on 
 the satisfactoriness of mental possessions by themselves, and 
 complains that this is no greater than that of the possession of 
 worldly wealth. The Septuagint renders D''"'nn 1J3 "^Vh^ in 
 a way which scoms to coincide with Mendlessohn's intcrpreta- 
 
CHAP. VI.] ECCLESIASTES. 229' 
 
 f - •)• !•• T • / WV- - : A- : VT T |T 
 
 / ; V vv <v - VAT I T -; I" • V- '•• I" : - •) 
 
 tion, viz. TTopevQrivai KarevavTi t^9 ^a)»/s, though Desveux 
 pronounces it to be " absolute nonsense." It means, " that 
 advancement in knowledge which involves a struggle against 
 all the difficulties which nature and the circumstances and con- 
 ditions of human life throw in its Avay." The Avord '^r\ here 
 is well expressed by the Latin, " grassari," " incedere." Men- 
 dlessohn mentions this passage among the " contradictions dis- 
 cussed in the latter part of his Preface," (vid. page 86), and 
 refers to his Commentary. At page 81, he speaks of the 
 " wisdom" here alluded to as rather religious than scientific. The 
 Rabbinic commentators remark that yii^ is intransitive here, 
 and that it is separated by the accent zakeph ( • ) from the fol- 
 lowing word, so that it is joined as an adjective with ">jy, and 
 is equivalent to D3n. 
 
 Ver. 9. " He goes on to say in the words of the objector, 
 " ' Is not that which the eyes see clearly and sensibly better for 
 " man than all that the mind struggles after in dark thoughts 
 " and secret reflections, which have nothing substantial in them 
 " and do not come under the perception of the senses but are 
 •' a mere breath and windy notion?"' Mcndlessohn. 
 
 Note. " Better than the vain struggles of the mind are 
 even the possessions of worldly wealth, which you can see and 
 call your own. This too, {:i23"'n'^n , i. e. excursive speculation is 
 mere vanity, XVn n^i^")^ ^'?:\^.-' "^^^^^ phrase is here used as before 
 in a complaining and repining sense. I would here observe that 
 the word n^V** is synonymous with \y'^ which we find in Dan. 
 V. 6, in the sense of "thought," "idea." rT3^S"lT Nir^"?"!, 
 (Chaldce), "and his thoughts troubled him." 
 
230 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. IX. 
 
 J V -; vT ; ; jtI; • t ; t t |v - - | 
 
 J- |T T |T V" - V AT -■• : ~ V : - '* ^ : 
 
 iSan ^»n-^^* i3D^ D^»n!i id-ixS nit])-n;b yiv-^D 
 
 t:r2r!jSn^. The (t) under the word ihtlD is put for a 
 cholem (i), on account of the Makkeph following it. 
 
 TfVnD and Ty"'?)!^ in the last verse are the infinitive of "^btl 
 preceded by prepositions, and used substantively for " excursive 
 speculation." 
 
 Solomon proceeds in the next verse to answer the objections 
 contained in the last nine verses, beginning at vi. 1. 
 
 Ver. 10. "DlJ<?...nN"Tt:'"nD. 'Whatever each man has been, 
 
 T T T T V - 
 
 " i. e. whether poor or rich and so on, his name, (i. e. the name 
 " of his condition) had already been assigned, and it was fixed 
 " respecting him before he was born in the previous will of 
 " the Creator that he was to be so,' (as it is said respecting 
 " Cyrus, 'I knew thee by name,**) ; that is, 'it was already fixed 
 " from of old by the decree of the Creator what each man was 
 " to be in his time,' so that the murmurers complain in vain ; for 
 " the Divine decree cannot be changed, and consequently it is 
 " proper that living man should not murmur but sit ' in silence 
 " and submission,' for that ' He has laid it upon him.' (2 Sam. 
 " iii. 28.)" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. U^ is used here in the sense of " condition, 
 quality ;" thus it is frequently used in the Psalms for the cha- 
 racter or attributes of God : " According to thy name, i. e. 
 thy excellence, so is thy praise, &c."" Ps. xlviii. 10 ; and so in 
 Ps. cii. 21, where it can have no other sense ; and N"lp is often 
 used for "to determine, name specifically;" as in Is. xUv. 7, "Who 
 as P' n"?''J^l ^i'lp^ " shall determine and proclaim it," " announce 
 
CHAP. VI,] ECCLESIASTES. 231 
 
 10 quoqiie etiim vanitas est et inanis eogitatio." Quse- 
 cunque fuerit dudiim cujusque insignita erat nomine 
 conditio, notumque dudum erat quid quisque fu- 
 turus esset; adeo ut nequeat certare cum eo qui 
 
 11 potentior est ipso. Mult£e enim res sunt qu£e so- 
 lummodo augent vanitatem : quid prosunt homini. 
 
 12 Quis. enim novit quid sit homini in vita bonum 
 
 it before it come to pass," wliero the propliet is speaking of the 
 power of God to foretell specifically what is about to happen. 
 
 The antecedent of the pronominal affix in IDJi^ is Ul^, 
 " each man," to be supplied from the following clause. 
 
 "lD1 J^TliT, means, "And each man was known beforehand, 
 what he was to be." It has been rendered, " And he is known 
 that he is man :" but this sense would require the order in the 
 text to be " i^^H Dlh? "^WH vn'^l." 
 
 T T V -: - : 
 
 c^'»pn is an adjective, n having crept in between the ttf 
 and n , the word S)>pnn was supposed to be a verb Hiphil. The 
 Masorites say the H is superfluous. |n is " htigare,'"' and the 
 sense of the latter half of the verse is, " so that it is impos- 
 sible and out of the nature of things for a man to enter into 
 judgment with and call to account him who has such absolute 
 and eternal power over his destiny." 
 
 Ver. 11. "He mentions another argument against those 
 " objections, that though there be many things which the poor 
 " intelligent man is in want of, behold they only increase vanity 
 " and windy notions, and what is the good of them to man ?" 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Supply at the end of this verse, " And why then 
 should man complain of the want of them ?" 
 
 Ver. 12, " bl, i. e. a shelter from the light of the sun, under 
 " which men seek protection and refreshment in summer ; and in 
 " this book it is an expression applied to worldly good, in which 
 
232 ECqLESIASTES. [SECT. IX. 
 
 per numerum dierum vanae ejus vitse, quod tegmi- 
 nis illos loco sibi fingat? quum quis certiorem eum vil. 
 faciet quid post eum sub sole futurum sit ? Me- 1 
 lius est aliquando nomen honum bono unguento, 
 et dies mortis hominis die ejus nascendi. Preestat 2 
 
 " man enjoys himself for a season, as we find, ' ^^il T\Ci2V\ h'l^L 
 " "^JDD.' He means, ' If a man knew what was good for him in 
 " this world during the term of his hfe-time, he might be inchned 
 ** to say, * Behold, I will make the days of my life as a shelter to 
 " seek protection and enjoyment in, so that my lot may be one 
 " of cheerfulness ; I will not provide or care about what may 
 " be nnj^ , i. e. in the direction behind me, among other men of 
 " the world beside me ;' like a man who sits under a shelter and 
 " trusts in it for a season while there is no one to tell him what 
 " may be behind him under the sun, i. e. in the sunshine, where 
 " the shade does not extend or give shelter. But this cannot 
 " be the case, for in truth man does not know what is good for 
 " him in this world.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. '^j^S □ii'V.l'l means, " that he should make them as 
 a shelter," i. e. " that he should act as if his Hfe-time was 
 something he could reckon on with security." 
 
 "iDI "''P 1li^J<, "whereas there is no one to warn him of any 
 future calamity that may be threatening him as it were from 
 behmd on the earth, ti^DtS^n T\X}T\ ;" for this I think is all that is 
 meant here by that phrase, and such is the meaning it has always 
 borne in this book. Mendlessohn's interpretation of the passage 
 is exceedingly ingenious, and the only one at all satisfactory ; 
 but it is rather forced where he attempts to carry out the 
 metaphor of the shade, "la^^} means, "inasmuch as." 
 
 Vcr. 1. " The diligent man has really no advantage over 
 
CHAP. VIJ] ECCLESIASTES. 233 
 
 Chap ^'^'^^ n^n^nf^ oix^ T^'-'t2 "itj^^ ^5^3 tzjK^yn 
 
 VII. 
 
 " the intelligent poor man, although the latter be struggling 
 " against life ; since what is it that can really be called good in 
 " life ? Come and see how many uncertainties there are in this 
 " matter, sometimes a name and good reputation are better than 
 " the precious ointment with which kings are anointed, or with 
 " which persons perfume themselves for delight ; and a funeral- 
 " day better than a bu'th-day, for death ushers man into that 
 " real life which has no death after it." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. y)D ]^^D Dty 2)1^, an elegant paronomasia. So 
 we find in Is. v. 7, the famous paronomasia, n3ni DS^C^D^ ")p_''1 
 r\\)]!1 nsm npl^i':' U^WD ; and we have a somewhat similar 
 
 't T : •• • : 'tt : • - : • 
 
 figure, an afKpijSoXiay in ver. 6, ch. ibid. Jinri DH'^Dn b)p2 
 T'DH, and in Jud. x. 4, we are told that the sons of Jair rode 
 on thirty D''"l''y, " asses," and had as many □'•"T')^, " cities." 
 See also vii. 14, HK"! HV"! DV2^ 2)D2 n\"T nilD DV2. 
 
 He is pointing out, that sometimes those things which are 
 most esteemed are less valuable than those which are less 
 esteemed. 
 
 ID is here written large, this being one of the alphabet of 
 large letters scattered through the Bible, which with many other 
 marks were intended by the Masorites as a check on transcribers. 
 
 The literal rendering of the last clause is, " The day of 
 one's death may be better than the day of one's being brought 
 forth." 
 
 Ver. 2. " If you see the wise man going to the house of 
 " mom-ning, and the rich fool to a house of entertainment, 
 
234 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 T -• <•' 
 
 n^e^ yx:b^' ^^k^ tD:3n n^vii '^'mh i\h \r\r\W5 
 
 r '^-v • •• ATT j-*^:!" '^- V : • |T : • 
 
 pnt^ p n^Dn nnn czin^Dn Sip:: ^2 : d^S^ds 6 
 
 I _, . r^.. . _ - J- . . - 1^ . J. r • : 
 
 " think not in thy heart that this is bad for the former and 
 " good for the latter ; for sometimes it is good to go to the 
 " house of mourning, since death is the end of all men, and 
 " the living will lay to heart there, (i. e. in the house of 
 " mourning) where he is going and what he will be at his 
 " end." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. '^INf is almost invariably " luctus funereus," " fu- 
 neral wailing," and such must be its sense here. Otherwise 
 what can be meant by, " for that (im) is the end of every 
 man, of all mankind?" lb■'?^? r\Pt is used here in exactly the 
 same sense as l'?■'?^? U^'w in Isaiah xlii. 25 and xlvii. 7, where 
 serious consideration and reflection is implied. See also Eccles. 
 ix. 1. 
 
 Ver. 3. " How can a man know what is good for him in 
 " his transitory life ? For we see that sometimes vexation and 
 " suffering will be better for him than merriment and laughter ; 
 " and consequently sadness is not always bad, nor merriment 
 " always good for man ; for sometimes in sadness of the face 
 " the heart is cheerful." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn has commented on this verse at some 
 length in his Preface, (vid. page 82.) aD""^ in this place may 
 cither mean, " be cheerful," or be in a good and well-regulated 
 state, and free from the effect of vexation pr other passions. 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 235 
 
 aliquando ire in domum luctus quam ire in domum 
 convivii, quoniam finis est ille (sc. funereus luctus) 
 omnium hominum, atque ihi vivus finem smwi. menti 
 
 3 applicabit. Melior est aliquando tristitia risu ; in 
 vultus enim severitate bene se aliquando habebit 
 
 4 cor. Mens sapientum in sedibus luctus, et mens 
 
 5 stultorum in a^dibus la^titise versatur. Melius est 
 objurgationem sapientis auscultare, quam ut quis 
 
 6 auscultet adulatoriam cantionem stultorum. Qualis 
 
 Ver. 4. "It is not in the house of constant feasting and 
 " mirth that the happiness of man is really found. On the 
 *' contrary the wise do not close their eyes from beholding the 
 " afflictions and troubles of the sons of men, but go to the house 
 " of mourning, and comfort him who is in hard case, and cheer 
 " those who are in bitterness of soul, and by their conversation 
 " raise up the fallen ; and this is the happiness they delight in, 
 " and the prosperity they really desire. Not so the fools. They 
 " have no enjoyment but in the house of feasting and revelry ; 
 " and if they see ' failing knees,' they hide themselves from 
 " them." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 5. " If the wise man cliide thee, and turn to thee an 
 " angry look, be not sullen at his reproof ; for it is better to be 
 " listening to his rebuke than to the song of praise of fools ; 
 " for the reproof of a wise man profits the soul, but the song of 
 " praise of fools corrupts it." IMendlessohn. 
 
 Note. "T'tt^ must mean here, " a song of praise," " an 
 address of flattery ;" otherwise there is no antithesis whatever 
 between the clauses of the sentence ; and so it has generally 
 been rendered. 
 
 Ver. 6. " For hke the noise of the thorns under a covered 
 " cauldron set over a tire of clipped brambles, which blaze and 
 
236 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 enim est spinarum sub olla crepitus, talis est stulti 
 risus ; hie quoque vanus est. Oppressio enim stulti 7 
 vesanum faciet sapientem, munificentia autem men- 
 tem ejus opprimet. Prasstat postera pars negotii 8 
 
 " crackle far more than wood which is more esteemed and 
 " valuable (for logs of oak and pine do not crackle) ; so is the 
 " laughter of the despicable fool, who makes his voice heard to 
 " a distance among men, and whose mouth is full of unbounded 
 " and licentious laughter. The noisy mirth of such an one is 
 " vain and brings no good, like the crackhng of thorns which is 
 ** useless and gives no heat to that which is boiling in the 
 " cauldron." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The sense as indicated by the connexion of the 
 passage must be that the joking of the flattering and insincere 
 parasite is really as unprofitable to him who hstens to it for 
 amusement and gratification as the crackling blaze of thorns is 
 for the boiling of a pot, and that it will at last be found to be 
 so. 
 
 Vcr. 7. " It is true that if a wise man sees the oppression 
 " done in the world, the tranquilhty of the wicked and the 
 " foolish, and their overbearing conduct towards just and wise 
 '* men, he will be ready to turn mad, as though he went out 
 " of his mind ; and if the fool has the hberality in a fit of 
 " greatness of mind to open his hand to the poor man who has 
 " understanding, he will by so doing break that poor man's heart 
 " i. e. so distress him as entirely to deprive him of his mind and 
 " reason ; for the kindness of a fool is harder to bear than his 
 " oppression and cruelty." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The words ^l^<'• and il^nO do not agree in gen- 
 der, the latter being feminine ; so that, as Aben Ezra remarks, 
 some word between them must be lost. The sense therefore is 
 not quite complete. All wc can gather from this verse and the 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 237 
 
 7"73xn c=i!:n hh)r\' pmn '2 :Snn nroii h'^^in 
 
 context is that the general sense of the passage must be, that 
 to a wise man nothing will be so intolerable as the favour of 
 fools, i. e. their praise or their liberality. He would rather bo 
 suffering from their wanton oppression and unreasonable caprice, 
 which is sufficiently hard to bear and is enough to drive him 
 mad. But the commendation of fools would be so intolerable to 
 him, that it would quite break his heart. 
 
 Ver. 8. " Nevertheless it is not proper for a wise man to 
 " go mad at seeing oppression. Let him only call to mind that 
 " the end of a business is better than its beginning; for when a 
 " thing is only beginning, we do not know how it will turn out 
 " at last : and so the patient man who promotes love, and keeps 
 " silence before God and waits for him, may be better off 
 " eventually than the high-spirited who kicks and murmurs 
 " much against God and the ways of his providence." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note, "ij")}"?, and rllil of which rT121 is the construct 
 form, are both adjectives. I do not think with Mendlessohn 
 that this verse is at all intended to qualify the preceding. In 
 the last he is merely expressing the strong disgust which a wise 
 man ought to feel at the liberahty or approbation of fools, in 
 order to shew that blame is sometimes to be preferred to praise. 
 But here, and in the two next verses, he proceeds to recommend 
 submission to the Divine disposal and that spirit of patient 
 waiting to see what will be the final result of the decrees of 
 providence which is so opposite to the spirit of captious raur- 
 murcrs whose objections are mentioned in the former part of 
 this section ; for it is to be recollected that the whole of this 
 
238 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 T T jv - - -IT (■• • : I J- : '^ - 
 
 nSnrtziv nf^^n n:iiD : ni-bv J^'::'^^ nb2r\J2 ii 
 
 AT -; c- • IT : T JT iv '- T : J- T VT : T !■• 
 
 passage is an answer to them. He says, " The end of a thing 
 may be better than it a,t first promised to be ; and consequently 
 the patient man, who waits to see the end of it without mur- 
 muring or restlessness, may find himself better off at last than 
 he who has been impatient and precipitate. 
 
 Ver. 9. " Be not hasty in the beginning of a thing to 
 " conceive vexation at what thine eyes see of the ways of the 
 " providence of God ; for it is in the bosom of fools that such 
 *' anger rests ; since the ways of supreme providence are al- 
 " ways in perfect goodness, as is necessarily the case with Him 
 " who is good and does good to all ; and if man knew all the 
 " details and mysteries of providence, there is no doubt that all 
 " such anger would be appeased and such vexation set at rest ; 
 " and that he would ever be rejoicing in the ways and attri- 
 " butes of supreme providence, and praising it ; and consequent- 
 " ly such vexation is generated only in the lap of folly and 
 " defect of understanding." Mendlessohn. See the Preface. 
 
 Note. "Vexation will rest," n^^^. So Proverbs xiv. 33, 
 nODn n!l3n nb3 ^bl, i.e. "It is cherished." Mendlessohn 
 
 T : T - T ' T •• : 
 
 has a very interesting discussion in his Preface on the Bibhcal 
 view of anger and other passions as displayed by a child of 
 man, and as said to be displayed by the Deity in his dealings 
 with men. 
 
 Ver. 10. " Shouldest thou be brought down from thy rank 
 " and thy wealth, say not, * How did it happen ?' as fools say to 
 " themselves when their riches and treasures perish. In such 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 239 
 
 9 primordiis ejus ; prsestat lentus animi superbo. Ne 
 prfficeps sis ad vexationem concipiendam ; vexatio 
 enim in sinu stultorum tantum locum habebit. 
 
 10 Ne dicas, " Qui factum est ut dies priores his 
 prcesentibus fuerint meliores ?" parum enim sapien- 
 
 11 ter de ista re interrogares. Utilis est qiddem 
 
 " case, it seems to them as if the original order of things must 
 " have been changed ; but the intelUgent man knows that it 
 " is just the same as before, and that the supreme ordinances 
 " are left just as they were ; only that the recipients of the 
 " Divine bounty are changed, each according to his respective 
 " portion." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, vh'^'^ means here, " Thou wouldst have asked." 
 
 T : - T 
 
 Since there is no subjunctive mood in Hebrew, the tenses of the 
 indicative are necessarily used to supply its place, and the con- 
 text will generally indicate when tliis is the case. Here there 
 can be no doubt that it is so. The same is the use in Hebrew 
 when the potential mood is required, as T have already noticed 
 several times in this book where I have translated the futui'e 
 tense by " may," &c. 
 
 Ver. 11. " He says, ' If whilst thou wast rich, and owner 
 " of an inheritance, thou hast perceived that wisdom is valuable 
 " along Avith an inheritance ; now that thou hast lost that in- 
 " heritance, thou wilt find that wisdom has superior advantage 
 " for man to an inheritance. 12. For as a man can trust in 
 •' the protection wliich the possession of money affords liim, so 
 " he may trust in that which the possession of wisdom affords ; 
 " and in this respect at least they are equal in value ; but 
 " the superior advantage of the possession of wisdom is that it 
 " can mamtain him who possesses it when he is destitute of 
 " every thmg else.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
240 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX. 
 
 sapientia cum h^ereditate, sed praestantioris apud 
 illos qui solem aspiciunt utilitatis. "Idem enim est 12 
 sub tegmine esse sapientice quod sub tegmine esse 
 nummi ;" pr^estantia autem haec attinet doctrinae, 
 quod sapientia possessorem suum per se sustinere 
 possit {vel sustinebit). Contemplare opera Dei; 13 
 quis enim corrigere potest quidquid Ille fecerit 
 perversum ? Die prosperitatis sis in bono ; et die 14 
 
 Note. Ver. 11. Some would render DV in this place, 
 " equally with," the sense which it has in Eccles. ii. 16, 
 Psalm Lxxiii. 25, cvi. 6, Job ix. 26, &c., and translate, 
 " Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea, of more value than 
 it." But Mendlessohn''s rendering connects these verses with the 
 preceding, wherein we are forbidden to complain of the loss 
 of worldly wealth. Solomon says, that in such case we are 
 cast upon wisdom and philosophy for support, and that we shall 
 then find that whereas money without wisdom frequently is most 
 injurious and destructive, wisdom can preserve us alive when we 
 are stripped of this world's goods. 
 
 nri'» is a substantive, and is equivalent to ]")")n'», which is 
 used in place of it in the next verse. It means " superiority," 
 and here, '* superiority of utiht^," or " superior utiUty." 
 
 Ver. 12. The phrase c^dsH h'^3. HDDnn bl3. is clearly 
 proverbial, and is expressed with the usual brevity of adages, 
 and would be written in inverted commas if they were used in 
 Hebrew, hi means here, as in chap, vii. 12, " a shelter," 
 " a protection." We must understand ""Iti^i^n" before i?^l, 
 " He who is under the shelter of wisdom, is as though he 
 were under the shelter of money," which, like wisdom, gives 
 a man power and consequently a certain degree of security. 
 See Note to chap. i. 18, for instances of "Itt^J^H understood. 
 
CHAP, vil] ecclesiastes. 241 
 
 I v'-T - J" : IT : T I- f : .y :• it - >• : *.•• 
 
 J- '^: r <.-• : t Iv "r : ^v - : \.t : t l- '^ - I J : • : 
 
 < : I :^ Jv -: v.- I ]•• - : - <• J- a- v: It 
 
 J- A-- 
 
 Observe that the zakcph ( : ) is over r\)Jl, which therefore 
 is not in a state of construction with the next word. HD^nn 
 
 t : t - 
 
 is the nominative to the verb H^nr). 
 
 Vcr. 13. " Do not wish events to roll on at thy own 
 " pleasure, but contemplate the appointments of God, checking 
 " thy own wishes in submission to His, as though the events did 
 " not affect thee or took place in thy sphere, but thou wert 
 " only viewing and contemplating them from a distance, ' for 
 " who can make right what He has made perverted ?' He is 
 " the uncontrollable agent, and not thou ; therefore it is for thy 
 " good not to be perversely opposed to His decree, but to re- 
 " gulate thy thoughts and actions according to the Avill and 
 " appointments of the Creator." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, ilb^p may be rendered here " appointments," a 
 sense in which Ave meet with it several times in this book. 
 See vii. 17. " So I contemplated the whole of the Divine 
 appointments." See also iii. 14. " Contemplate," i. e. without 
 repining, like an uninterested spectator. It is useless to do 
 otherwise, as none can bring to greater perfection what He has 
 apparently left imperfect. This is all in answer to the objec- 
 tions recited above. 
 
 We have a parallel passage to the last clause of this verse 
 in i. 15, ]prh Sd^*" Kb n^VP, "the perverted cannot be set 
 right," i. c. in the condition of mankind. 
 16 
 
242 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. IX, 
 
 ST : • V . . . K. • v: IT JT "t V - '^. : 
 
 T I : VT -: I- .^ t I t 
 
 Ver. 14. " 'In the day of prosperity thou mayest continue in 
 " happiness ; and in the day of adversity ^^<"^ ,' i. e. (as before), 
 " ' contemplate it as from a distance, as if this adversity did not 
 " affect or extend to thee ; and seek out the cause which pro- 
 " duces it ;' that is to say, ' Consider from whom misfortunes 
 " come upon thee. It is God who hath caused prosperity to 
 "be counterbalanced by adversity, and distributed them so as 
 " to correspond to each other, and connected them together, 
 " in order that if man knew and comprehended their connexion 
 " and correlation, he might not find any reflection to make 
 "against God 0"»-inJ* "imn'?).'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, There can be no doubt that we have in the begin- 
 ning of this verse a fresh instance of paronomasia or alhteration. 
 nillD and ll'lD are words of different sense; the first, ni'lSD. 
 
 T ^ T ^ ' 
 
 invariably meaning, " kindness," or " prosperity," (the latter is 
 its sense here,) and ll'jD meaning, " good," morally, as in the 
 Psalms, " Depart from evil, and do good," Mendlessohn appears 
 to take 2l"jD2 flNI to mean merely, " enjoy that good, i, e. 
 prosperity ;" but I much prefer to understand it, " continue in 
 the practice of God's wHl, i, e, of good, and do not allow 
 worldly prosperity to pervert thee." The same alliteration oc- 
 curs in DNI nyi QVl between nyi and Tli^l. 
 
 •• : > T : T T •• : 
 
 This last phrase has been variously interpreted. We may 
 either with Mendlessohn take ^^^'^ as referring to n>?1 under- 
 stood, and translate it, " In the day of adversity contemplate 
 (that adversity) like an unconcerned spectator without repining;" 
 or we may take Hi^l absolutely or as referring to the following 
 clause and translate, " In the day of adversity observe ! (viz, 
 the fact that) God has established a balance between good and 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 243 
 
 infortunii eontemplare ! hoc quoque par illi fecit 
 
 Deus eo consilio, ne quid adversum Se (i. e. quod 
 Sibi exprobrent) homines invenirent. 
 
 evil, &c." Some indeed construe TMil before ilV^ DVl thus, 
 
 •• : TT : 
 
 " In the day of prosperity continue in what is good, and keep 
 in view the day of adversity, (i. e. in order that it may not 
 overtake thee unprepared) for God has made such an equal dis- 
 tribution of prosperity and adversity that man cannot know or 
 discover what may next befall him." This is an excellent sense; 
 but the evident similarity of construction of nV^ DV2, "in the 
 day of adversity," and nilQ DVl, "in the day of prosperity," 
 would thus be neglected. 
 
 "VVlien mn does not signify " a saying" or " subject of 
 discourse" as in iii. 18, and viii. 2, it means "a cause" or "a 
 reason," and therefore -yj Jlll'l'^V must be, " in order that." 
 
 Mendlessohn agrees with Yarchi in treating "iHiS? ^^kp^ as a 
 phrase to express, " to find matter of reflection upon, i. e. to dis- 
 cover a cause of complaint against," and with this rendering of 
 it the antecedent of the affix of "in^J must be Wtibi^n, and the 
 last clause mean, "in order that man might find no cause of 
 complaint against him" (God). If we do not take those words 
 to be a phrase, but "inj* to mean simply " after," or " behind," 
 we may either take Dli^H as the antecedent of the affix, and 
 
 V T T T 
 
 translate thus, " in such a way that man cannot find out anything 
 that may be behind him," i. e. " that may be about to befall 
 himself," (as at vi. 12, •|n^^? H^H'^u} HD) or, making D^1■'?^*^ 
 the antecedent, " in such a way that man cannot make any im- 
 provement after Him," i. c. " after what He has done, and the 
 perfect arrangement which He has made." But an objection 
 against both these renderings is that 'W Pill'n'b^l means, "in 
 order that," and not simply " in such a way that ;" and that it 
 
 16—2 
 
244 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA. 
 
 Utraque Ikbc vidi in diebus vanitatis meis; est 15 
 Justus qui perit in justitia sua, et improbus est 
 
 would not be a suitable answer to the objections against provi- 
 dence in chap. vi. to say that " God has distributed prosperity 
 and adversity equally in the world," either " in order that he 
 may be perfectly uncertain wliich of these is next to be his lot," 
 or " in order that he may not be able to improve his own 
 condition in the world." 
 
 Ver. 15. " The following circumstance and the reverse of 
 " it have I seen during the few days that I am living on the 
 "■ earth ; there is the case of a king righteous in all his ways, 
 " who never wrongs any man and does not molest the nations 
 " surrounding his kingdom, who perishes in his justice and 
 " does not prosper on the throne of his kingdom ; and there 
 " is also to be found the wicked man who molests all within 
 " his reach, and nevertheless lives long in his sovereignty in the 
 " midst of his wickedness." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. '72 here signifies " both." After "^jn^Q understand 
 
 TT 
 
 Mendlessohn gives '^'^'^ here the sense of " molestus," " a 
 troublesome, restless, man, who annoys others." Kimchi in his 
 commentary on the Psalms says of this word, ^tt'lH ]''JV»"T ""D 
 
 .r^T •^?.r>r"'^?^ ^^^4^ i- e. " The sense of the word Vtt'l is 
 'restlessness,' as in the passages. Job xxxiv. 29, 'Let him 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES, 245 
 
 THE TENTH SECTION. 
 
 i5ipnv3 inx pnx ^' ^Snn ^»^!i ^n^xi S^n-n^ 
 
 make still, and who shall make distm:'bed ?' 1 Sam. xiv. 47, 
 
 * Wherever he turned he caused confusion.' Eccles. vii. 17, 
 
 * Be not over restless.' " Still more to the purpose is Eccles. 
 viii. 8, y*ki^l IO>'D^ N^l, "Restlessness will never save (a man 
 from Divine judgments)," and Isaiah Lvii. 20, " The restless bad 
 man is hke the troubled sea when it cannot rest, &c." In short 
 this word denotes active mischief; not merely negative evil, the 
 absence of good, but that wickedness which is ever plotting, 
 and on the alert. Accordingly I have chosen to render );ii^1 in 
 the present passage by "wily;" (a word which is always used 
 in a bad sense, and answers to the Latin " vafer.") It is here 
 opposed to the appellation below of the good man, p'''^^, who 
 is so upright himself, that he does not suspect others of any 
 wrong, and may consequently perish through over simpHcity. 
 While the one is irreproachably upright, and supposes all 
 around liim to be as virtuous as himself, the other hves in an 
 atmosphere of evil, imagines nothing but evil, and looks on all 
 others as actuated by the same evil motives as himself. 
 
 'bin ■'^''2 is Uterally " in the days of my vanity," i. e. 
 " in my fleeting and transitory life." He says that all through 
 it he has observed an unavoidable mixture of evil in human 
 affairs, and that if we do not make allowance for it in our 
 dealings with man, the consequence to ourselves may be very 
 dangerous. 
 
246 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 •• : - I • - <• : - ^ T : \ \- -: t- ^ t t j-: 
 
 Ver. 16. " Do not be just to an extreme beyond what is 
 " expedient ; for he who is absolutely just," (and makes no al- 
 lowance for the existence of wrong and evil in the world) 
 " will not prosper in political administration ; and do not affect 
 " excessive penetration, or look upon thyself as wiser than all 
 " that have been before thee ; nor seek to manage every thing 
 " according to thy own opinion and forethought ; why shouldest 
 *' thou bring upon thyself the astonishment and disappointment 
 "of finding that thou hast been labouring to no purpose?" 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Rosenmuller agrees with Mendlessohn in considering 
 this advice addressed to a magistrate with regard to his adminis- 
 tration of justice. But such a Hmitation is quite unnecessary. 
 What Solomon is desirous here to inculcate is, that in our deal- 
 ings with others we should neither be bhnd to the wrong and 
 evil which prevails in the world, nor, on the other hand, be hke 
 the thoroughly bad man, who acts on the principle that every 
 one is bad as himself; in short, neither to be too cunning, wily, 
 and mischievous, nor to be too simple-hearted and good-natured. 
 " Be not too just," means, " Act not as if there were nothing 
 but justice in the world, or as if this were the only principle to 
 be taken into account in your deahngs with others ;" i. e. " look 
 not for justice too much." " Nor affect excessive penetration," 
 (in Latin, "nimiam solertiam,") "do not pretend too much to a 
 knowledge of the world, and a keen insight into the sinister 
 motives of others, always giving them credit for the worst, 
 (which is the opposite extreme to that other), since if you do so 
 you will make yourself miserable, and kill yourself with suspi- 
 cion and vexation." This interpretation is borne out by the 
 next verse, and also by verse 19, where he says, " Observation 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 247 
 
 16 qui vitam suam producit in nequitia sua. Ne sis 
 nimium Justus; neque solertiam nimium pree te 
 
 will shew you at once, that there is no good man in the world 
 who never does ^vrong, and therefore you must not expect it ; 
 but at the same time do not keep your ears open to every 
 slanderous report ; if you do, you will be sure to hear yourself 
 mahgned, and so to be seriously annoyed." I consider the two 
 clauses in this verse as antithetical to each other, and the next 
 verse as merely a repetition of the same idea in different lan- 
 guage, whereas Mendlessohn takes the two verses as antithetical 
 to each other. The method I adopt is more simple, and therefore 
 more in accordance with the genius of Hebrew style than that 
 of supposing, as he does, an inverted antithesis between the 
 corresponding parts of the two verses. This may exist indeed 
 according to my rendering, though it is not necessary to the 
 sense. For while I take T]1'y^ p"'"!^^'^ V^"^^ *^ ^^ opposed 
 
 to '^rji'' D^^rlrl^'^-b^f, and nT^n ):w^T\^''^'hi^ to be opposed 
 
 to b'2'D ^"TJ^'^^^"b^< ; since (3) expresses the same idea with mo- 
 dification as (2), and (4) as (1), (3) may be said to be opposed 
 to (1), and (4) to (2). But the existence of .this inverted 
 antithesis is not necessary to the sense of my rendering ; 
 whereas Mendlessohn's is entirely based upon it. 
 
 DDIti^i^. On this word the Rabbinic commentators make 
 the following remarks. " Either it is from a Ilithpohel con- 
 jugation, and the dagesh is inserted in the W to compensate 
 for the omission of the n of the conjugation ; (although for 
 sake of euphony this r\ docs not come before, but after ^ or D 
 in verbs beginning with either of those letters when in the 
 Ilithpohel, still in order to indicate the omission of it, the 
 dagesh is placed in the \]j, because the proper grammatical place 
 of it is before that letter), or, which is more probable, it may 
 
248 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 feras ; cur teipsum enecabis ? Ne sis nimium vafer, 17 
 neque sis ineptus ; cur ante tempus tuum peribis ? 
 Expedit ut hoc retineas, nee ab illo manum tuam 18 
 remittas; nam Dei metuens utraque ista extrema 
 
 be a verb Niphal from U12iW, a word of the class "]yi TtJ 
 "b '•blS^T (i. e. with a 1 for the middle letter, and the last 
 letter doubled, an additional anomaly) a class which is called that 
 of the ' squared' conjugation, (because ^7 may be represented 
 by y), like pibJH." He evidently considers pt'^ a quadrilite- 
 ral, and in the Kal conjugation, of which )313'" would be future 
 Niphal, (not taking it, as the Lexicographers do, to be the Pihel 
 of ]^3 which they say is the obsolete Kal form of the verb ;) and 
 inclines to think there are similar forms, QD"i{i^ and DDIti'''. 
 This is ingenious ; but the former derivation is less novel, and 
 perhaps gives a better sense. The Hithpohel of WDW, ('* to 
 lay waste," or " destroy,") almost always means to be " asto- 
 nished, amazed," vide Is. lIx. 16, Lxiii. 5, Ps. cxhii. 4, and 
 so Mendlessohn takes it here ; but I prefer to translate, " Why 
 shouldest thou kUl thyself (' teipsum eneces*') with suspicion?" 
 considering that Solomon is warning against the consequences of 
 "affecting excessive penetration." The fact of DSnnJ^ being 
 in the Hithpohel, seems to indicate that DOtC^Jp is in a similar 
 conjugation and bears a reflective sense. 
 
 %"TD is, of course, the apocopated form for n\"lJ^, like \"T> 
 for r\'^TV, which is always used with T conversive, and with ~b^. 
 
 Ver. 17. " But beware that thou incHne not to the other 
 " extreme, that thou be not mischievous to an extreme, or be 
 " foolish so as to believe every he thy servants tell thee with- 
 " out looking after them, lest they secretly devise a plot against 
 " thee to destroy thee prematurely." Mendlessohn. 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 249 
 
 isn^iS nijo : Tiny ^'i ni^n n»S S:)D \nn-S«i 
 
 jv -: < I IV ' I : 1. T T jT AT T J" : - : 
 
 D^^^'?^5 xn^-^2 Ti^r^-nx niin-S« h-t^-qji nb ThNn 
 
 I- v: >■■ : !• |av t v j- - - iv • - : v t j v: |v 
 
 Note. As I have already said, I take this verse not as 
 antithetical to the preceding, as Mendlcssohn does, but as 
 a repetition of it in stronger words, with a different order of 
 the clauses. " Be not too wily," corresponds to " affect not 
 excessive penetration," and " be not too simple""* to " look not 
 for justice too much ;" and the questions at the ends of the 
 two verses refer respectively only to the last clause of each ; 
 so that there is a warning; against both extremes. On the one 
 hand, the wily man is warned that he may wear himself out 
 with causeless suspicions, and on the other, the simple-hearted 
 man who supposes every one to be as good and as well-meaning 
 as himself, that he may fall a prey to the designs of the in- 
 sidious. 
 
 The word J^tt^lJ^ here is hardly capable of being represented 
 by a single word in Enghsh. It represents the spirit of the 
 mischievous and bad man, who in all his plans calculates on the 
 depravity of all he has to deal with, and therefore has recourse 
 to wiles wliich the simple-hearted is incapable of conceiving, and 
 is ever restless and on the alert in the prosecution of them. As 
 it is a stronger phrase than DSnrm, so ^DD Tin'^h? is stronger 
 
 than "ni-in N7n-bsf pn^." 
 
 Ver. 18. " It is expedient for thee to take hold on both 
 " of these courses, and to go in the middle patli between 
 " them ; for that is the right Avay for a man to choose." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mcndlcssohn's explanation of this verse is extremely 
 ingenious. He implies that when Solomon says, " Retain hold 
 
250 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 T T '^.-l- AT T 1: J T (.T : T I- IT •-. V >•• •• 
 
 I i- - I J" T T J- "l- T V T JV -: . . - 
 
 T : <- irwr: j : \. :• "i;]- jv -: I vat t 
 
 on the one extreme, and let not go the other," he does not 
 mean that a man is to practise either of them in the sUghtest 
 degree, for that " he who fears God will come out of both of 
 them," but that he is to be like one walking between two fences 
 and taking hold ever and anon of each of them to keep himself 
 in the middle. 
 
 n|jri and TV^l occur several times in this book in the sense 
 " to remit," " to let go," " to rehnquish." The Lexicographers 
 probably disliking the anomaly of a verb beginning with a 
 double 3, class these and their cognate forms (as n^3D) under 
 the verb T]y, from which they cannot be derived by any re- 
 gular form. The dagesh of the 3 indicates them to be derived 
 from a root n33, which is of the class called "s '•"ipn, though 
 n2]^ still remains an irregular form, for, as the regular Hipliil 
 from n33 , it should be TVlPi . 
 
 "We find ^<2^^ "egredi," used with an accusative in Gen. 
 xliv. 4, xxxiv. 24, Amos iv. 3. D?3 agam means " both of 
 them." ^ ' 
 
 Ver. 19, 20. " He says, ' If a wise man knew every thing 
 " done under the government of several rulers who have been 
 " in authority in any particular city, this maxim would be con- 
 " firmed and verified to him, 'that there is no just man in the 
 " world who does righteously and never does wrong, and that it 
 '* is impossible for a ruler to walk in the path of absolute jus- 
 " tice to such a degree as to do nothing but right to all who 
 " live under his government ;' therefore continue in the middle 
 " path, and it will be well with thee.' 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTE8. 251 
 
 19 evadet. Prasceptum hoc sapientiae apud sapientem 
 confirmabitur a decern quibuslibet magnatibus qui 
 
 20 urbi praefuerint; quod "nemo in terra adeo Justus 
 
 21 est, ut recte faciat nee unquam peccet." Ne tamen 
 ad omnia quse dicant homines verba mentem tuam 
 
 "Tyn is from the root HV, a word expressing strength and 
 " might, which is metaphorically apphed to the mind, as in the 
 " phrases tt^S3 ''■'i)l, Is. Lvi. 11, ' stout-hearted,' ' determined.' 
 " niljj ^3V^ P^^ov. xvili. 23, * answers confidently, boldly.' It 
 " is here metaphorically appUed to a thing's confirming and 
 " verifying itself to the mind of a wise man. 
 
 " The "D before fnii^V is the "D of place, and not of the 
 
 T T -: • * 
 
 " comparative degree, and expresses that a wise man will learn 
 " the truth of this maxim from them, from observation upon 
 " them, and it will confirm itself to him thereby." Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. We find in ix. 13, a similar use of nD3n, to de- 
 
 T : T 
 
 note "a piece of wisdom," "a wise maxim." 
 
 All the Commentators beside Mendlessohn take the "Q here 
 to be that of the comparative degree and consequently have not 
 seen the close connexion of verses (20) and (19), or made sense 
 of the passage. 
 
 " Ten" is used here for any collective number, as we say 
 " several." 
 
 Solomon is here, as I observed, giving a reason for what 
 he said above, that a man must not expect perfect justice in the 
 world or act as if he did ; i. c. that in his dealings, especially 
 in a magisterial capacity he must not look for perfection in 
 others or afi'cct it in himself; and he now proceeds to state why 
 we shoiUd not on the other hand be too suspicious and open to 
 slanderous reports. 
 
 Ver. 21, 22. " Now since thou hast chosen the middle 
 
252 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 applices ; quominus audias si tibi servus tuus oblo- 
 quatur ; quum tute tibi conscius sis te quoque 22 
 sfepenumero aliis oblocutum esse. Cunctam banc 23 
 rem tentavi sapientia {sive philosophiee) ; dieebam, 
 "Intelligam ;" sed ea procul a me remota erat. Pro- 24 
 cul remotum est quod olim fuit ; et arcanorum 
 
 " course, i. e. to take hold on the two extremes and so keep 
 " between them, thou oughtest not to pay attention to every 
 " tiling that others say of thy government and the administra- 
 " tion of thy kingdom, nor care for what people talk in their 
 " usual way of finding fault with every thing that is done with- 
 " out their personal co-operation in it ; and if thy servant speak 
 " disparagingly of thee and blame thy conduct, shut thy ears 
 " from hearing him do so, for ofttimes thou too hast spoken 
 " lightly of others and blamed their conduct, and sometimes 
 " when they were more in the right than thou ; therefore thou 
 " must not care about what they complainingly say, or about vain 
 " reports which have nothing substantial in them, nor depart 
 " from the right way which thou hast chosen." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 21. D| means in ver. 21, " yet," " still," 
 " nevertheless," in which sense we find it also in iv. 16 and 
 viii. 12 of this book, and again in Ps. cxxix. 2, "Yet they have 
 not prevailed against me," and Ezek. xvi. 30, " Yet thou wast 
 
 not satisfied with this." Ver. 22. The '^ID on r)ii is nriK. 
 
 I T _ T.- 
 
 Solomon says, " While you must not imagine all the world 
 
 to be just and upright, at the same time you must not be at- 
 tentive to the murmurs and slanderous reports that may be 
 abroad ; and if your servant speak disparagingly of you, you 
 must be as though you heard it not, knowing that such things 
 are often said thoughtlessly, and recollecting your own faihngs 
 in this respect." What is to be avoided by means of this 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 253 
 
 )- : • I -r- -: Iav I V- • - •• - ; jv -; . T : - 
 
 AT : T I- • J- • I T [■■•-: T : J- I- <.t - - jv -: 
 
 I V T •!•.•• |jT : V ; T T ; V • : J- T 
 
 determined inattention to the slanders of murmurers which he 
 recommends, is not the being found fault with by one's servant, 
 but the listening to it and being annoyed thereby, if he speak 
 disparagingly. As Luther says at this place, " He who from 
 suspicion wants to hear all that people say about him will some- 
 times hear things he would rather not have heard." 
 
 Ver. 23. " All this that I examined philosophically was 
 " but a very small part of the wisdom emphatically called so, 
 " viz. the supreme wisdom in the government of creation ; but 
 " when I said to myself, I shall understand it and attain to the 
 " perfect comprehension of it, I still found that it was far off 
 " from me." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. nD3 means here "to test;" vid. ii. 1. r7?"^3 is for 
 
 TT T 
 
 niVr':'^. "All this matter," "this unavoidable mixture of evil in 
 
 T 
 
 the world," I tested by the rules of philosophy, and thought for 
 a time that I should be able to explain it ; but I approached no 
 nearer by all my researches to the true and thorough explana- 
 tion of the thing. It still continued beyond my reach. 
 
 ^?^'^ refers not to riDpU, as Rosenmuller takes it, but to the 
 same antecedent as rtT which is also in the feminine o-ender viz. 
 " this phenomenon in the moral condition of mankind." 
 
 ••rinpi;? is here put for '^ibl ^:^? ''r\1Dii In chap. iii. 
 
 Ver. 24. " What has been is very remote, i. e. what took 
 " place in the beginning of this created world when man was 
 " yet in the supreme degree of felicity before the fall ; all that 
 
254 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 • • : <- -: - IV T ; • j" I «. "ir I j 't : at t iv 
 
 wn r\):ih) \):im) ntJiDn ti^p:i) i^rh) r\]:ih 
 
 DniDs nsS CD^xsini qhuz: 5<\visj^}< nEJ'xn 
 
 " is remote from man at present, and an exceedingly deep sub- 
 " ject, so that it is difficult to comprehend it in its true aspect 
 " by any effort of the understanding ; for man as he is at pre- 
 " sent is very far from that state of perfection, pbv is apphed 
 " to anything which man cannot attain to without difficulty and 
 " danger, and is here metaphorically applied to the contempla- 
 " tion of an obscure and difficult subject." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. He tried to account for the necessity of recognizing 
 the existence of evil in deahngs with our fellow-men, which he 
 who carries justice to excess neglects to do, or, in other words, 
 he endeavoured to ascertain the origin of evil, but found the 
 discovery of its primary cause too deep for him on account of 
 the extreme remoteness of the past. 
 
 Ver. 25. " And so I turned myself to examine the wisdom 
 " of the Divine administration, and the relation and proportion 
 " of natural evils to their causes and origins, and to understand 
 " how wickedness comes from folly and madness from ignorance; 
 " for that since no evil comes from God, of necessity evil must 
 " have arisen by reason of defect, and consequently ignorance 
 " must be the cause of sin in man, and it must be in consequence 
 " of his lack of knowledge that he acts madly and wickedly. 
 " (For ignorance is not sin in itself, but the fount and origin of 
 " sin, and he therefore sought to discover how folly turns into 
 " wickedness, and ignorance into madness.) jlSt^n is ' a theory 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 255 
 
 25 profundissimum ; qiiis id comperiet ? Itaque con- 
 vertebam meipsum, et sese mens mea convertehat, 
 ad cognoscendam, et ad explorandam, quaerendamque 
 rationem philosophicam et explicationem, scilicet ad 
 intelligendum quomodo fit improbitas ex ignorantia, 
 
 26 et e stultitia dementia. Et feminam comperibam 
 nialigniorem esse letho causam ; quippe quae quoad 
 
 " to account for the connexion between cause and effect.'" Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note. >l^l ^y^ ^ril'lD literally, " I and my mind turned," 
 the verb agreeing with the first person as more worthy. 
 
 Finding himself unable to discover the primary cause of the 
 existence of evil, he tried the hypothesis that (since all evil 
 must arise from defect,) evil originates in ignorance and folly ; 
 and on this hypothesis, as he tells us in the next verse, he 
 traced evil to carnal lust as a secondary cause, led away by 
 which the natural man distinguishes not between real good and 
 apparent or present good, and so falls into sin. 
 
 Better than Mendlessohn's interpretation of HDSn as " the 
 Divine wisdom," is to take it as expressing somewhat the same 
 idea as ]"i2l{^n, viz. " a wise, philosophic explanation." 
 
 We have here ni'?'?in used in the sense of wickedness, be- 
 cause sin is the highest degree of infatuation. It means " moral 
 obliquity," "perversion of the moral sense," as sometimes it 
 docs that of the intellect. So it is unquestionably used in ix. 3, 
 where it is employed as synonymous with ^1. Similarly ^23 
 means both " foolish" and " wicked." 
 
 Ver. 26. " nc^l^n, ('woman' in the abstract), is here used 
 " as an epithet of carnal lust and desire. This is the occasion 
 " of both those evils to us ; out of it arises our wickedness 
 " and infatuation, for it seduces the eyes of men, and perverts 
 
256 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. X. 
 
 men tern ejus ceu retia sit et laquei, et cujus manus 
 vincula sint ; servatur ex ea qui Deo acceptus sit, 
 peccator autem ab ea illaqueatur. En ! hanc ratio- 27 
 nem comperi ; indicavit earn miJii collectio ; res 
 
 " their thoughts ; and it is as a net and a gin to entrap souls 
 " and to make them fall into a snare, so as never to rise up 
 " again ; and its hands arc hke iron fetters to bind him who is 
 " decoyed by it. And after calhng it nets and gins, he goes on 
 " to say that it is 'a net for every sinner;' and this conveys a 
 " conclusive answer to the question mentioned above ; for when 
 " lust supervenes upon ignorance the result is necessarily wicked- 
 " ness and madness ; since if man knows not how to distinguish 
 " real good from apparent, and to make his choice accordingly, 
 " and lust, as is always the case where it exists, be ever busy 
 " and restless in him, it is impossible for man not to be brought 
 " into sin by lust ; and it will be just as if ignorance were con- 
 " nected with carnal desire, and thus engendered wickedness and 
 " madness." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. It must be recollected in reading the English trans- 
 lation, that what Solomon means in this place by " woman," is 
 carnal lust which he has personified in this way ; but consistently 
 Avith the method of literal translation which I have elsewhere 
 adopted, no other rendering of HtS'h? could be given. 
 
 ^J!i')D in the participle expresses that this was the result 
 he had come to, and which he still held to be the true one, as 
 we should say, " I find." 
 
 Observe that ")D does not agree with r\W^ ; I therefore 
 understand with 10 the word " cause," and translate it, " a 
 bitter occasion of evil." If it agreed with ntfi^J^, we should 
 have had HID ; nor would the ''U'>1"| have been over mO . 
 
 liyif^ means here, "inasmuch as," Latino, "quippe." ,13^ 
 
CHAP. VII,] ECCLESIASTES. 257 
 
 i^S>' xtDini nhf2t2 dS^^ Q^riSxn ^^sS niD nn" 
 
 ... jf . ^.. . y .. . J-. T • . v: IT <■• : • T AV T 
 
 smnxS nnx n'r^nb r\^J2^ ^n«^:^ ht nsn : ns 
 
 T T JV 
 
 is placed absolutely, as in Ps. Lxxxiii. 6, T^TX" iS ^^iii^l^, "They 
 have consulted together (as to, i. e. in) their heart ;" and iii. 8, 
 ^'Xh '^'T^'^'2~r\i^ n''3!l^ " Thou hast smitten all my enemies (as 
 to) the cheek-bone ;" where see Kimchi. The same is probably 
 the construction of TVy*. If so, the translation is tliis, " Since 
 
 T VT 
 
 she is nets and snares as to her heart, and bonds as to her hands." 
 Ver. 27. " ' If you lay one consideration by the side of 
 " another, and search out by the exercise of the understanding 
 '* the relation of each to each, you will find the above to be 
 " a theory connecting folly and ignorance with wickedness and 
 " madness.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. He had started with the hypothesis that wicked- 
 ness must proceed from ignorance because it must arise from 
 defect ; and next came the question how wickedness proceeds 
 from ignorance. To explain this he had amassed a large collection 
 (r^bnp) of facts, laying one by the side of another (J^^^?^ nnhf), 
 and contemplating their relative bearings ; and by this colliga- 
 tion of facts, had at last been led to the theory stated in the 
 preceding verse that carnal lust is the connecting link between 
 ignorance and sin. nSlp is hero (and here only) used as a 
 feminine, and must therefore in this place be an abstract noun, 
 and mean " compilation," or " collection." The expression nPINI 
 jilt^n ^idl Jl^^<^ is inserted merely to explain the word 
 rbr[\> , and to inform us why he adopted the method of " com- 
 pilation" in order to arrive at a theory of connexion between 
 ignorance and sin. JinX^ ^l^^<f is clearly a proverbial form of 
 expression ; a phrase ; like " Ij^p If^" in Isaiah, " line (must 
 17 
 
258 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 AT T J : I- : - JT I : • 1 .j-.- -: I I : v > : • 
 
 ^h n^^-h:i2 ntr«i *nxi^ ti':'^^ nnti oix 
 
 ^ V V T : .;t • : • t t I :• v •• cr v t t 
 
 be added or laid) upon line, &c." i. e. for instruction to be 
 successful. So here he says, " One fact," or " argument must be 
 laid to another," i.e. a colHgation of facts and observations must 
 bo made, in order for a true theory to be arrived at ; or he 
 may be stating that such was the method he pursued in order 
 to arrive at this particular theory. Thus rbtlp Hip^* means, " a 
 compilation told it me," i. e. the method of colUgation of reasons 
 led me to this result, and the latter clause either " one fact 
 was added to another to find out the theory," or, " fact must 
 be added to fact to find out a theory." The last is most in 
 accordance with the evidently proverbial character of the ex- 
 pression. It is remarkable that Solomon should have thus in- 
 cidentally described a method of research so closely analogous 
 to that of Induction, as that which he himself adopted in moral 
 philosophy. 
 
 Ver. 28. " There can be no doubt that when king Solomon 
 " perceived that his wives turned away his heart from after his 
 " God, his spirit was broken within him, and he repented of 
 " his past Hfe, and that it was in the bitterness of his soul 
 " that, after speaking severely of women, and laying on them 
 " the blame of his sin which he had sinned in transgressing the 
 " commandments of his God, and calhng sensual lust by the 
 " name * woman,' and declaring it to be more mahgnant than 
 " death, he now says besides that a good man may be found 
 " in a thousand, but that a good woman cannot be found in 
 " that number. Now this was the number of his wives, viz. a 
 " thousand, 'for he had seven hundred wives, (queens, or princes) 
 " and three hundred concubines (of lower degree,)' and one 
 " virtuous woman he had not found among them all. But an 
 
CHAP. VII,] ECCLESIASTES. 259 
 
 enim rei apponenda est ad explicationem invenien- 
 
 28 dam. Quoniam usque toto animo qusesivi nee tamen 
 
 inveni ; e mille viris unum inveni, unam vero inter 
 
 " intelligent man must feel sure that the king exceeded due 
 " bounds, and that if he had taken to liimself only one wife, or 
 " a few, agreeably to the commands of liis God, he might pos- 
 " sibly have found among them a help meet for him, as many 
 " have found who have not attained to the eminence of this 
 " wise man ; for there are good and bad among women as 
 " well as among men. But since Solomon overstepped the 
 ** bounds of moderation and went to excess and took to him- 
 " self a thousand wives, whereas God commands a king not to 
 " multiply wives to himself, it is not to be wondered at that he 
 " did not meet with help or love among them, or that attach- 
 " ment and conjugal affection which properly belongs to a single 
 " man who marries a single woman. And though that plurahty 
 " be not forbidden to a private person, still in respect of moral 
 " disciphne and propagation of offspring it is certainly advisable 
 " for a man not to have more than one wife." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. This verse is a record of his observation on the 
 depravity of women, which was one of the circumstances which 
 had led liim to the above conclusion. Mendlessohn in com- 
 menting on it speaks too hghtly of the words of the inspired 
 writer, who at least was prevented by the superintendance of 
 the Holy Spirit from asserting what was false. It is just pos- 
 sible, as he says, that Solomon may be alluding to the number 
 of his own wives ; but the idea is somewhat fanciful. 
 
 There can be no doubt that "liy>} in this verse means, " be- 
 cause," or " since," as it docs m verse 26 supra. Gen. xxxiv. 
 27, 1 Kings XV. 5, &c., and because nwp2 is in the Pihel and 
 therefore transitive, we must translate, " Since I have long sought 
 for a certain thing, but have never found it," and in the next 
 
 17—2 
 
260 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 cunctas totidem mulieres non inveni. Prseterquam, 29 
 en ! Imnc causam reperi, nempe quod probos fecerat 
 homines Deiis, illi autem multas machinationes ex- vill. 
 cogitaverunt. Quis erit sicut sapiens ? et quis hi/jus 1 
 
 clause ho explains that this was " one virtuous woman among a 
 thousand." The phrase " my mind has sought," is equivalent to 
 " I have sought earnestly." If "Wi^ were governed by TWpl, 
 and the sense, " that which I have sought," we should have 
 had -)tt^}^n-n>? or at least -)ti?>^n, and the 1 before >T\m'D vh 
 
 :• -: T V V -; T : • T T 
 
 would be superfluous, since the conductive ") is unnecessary in 
 so short a sentence. "V!^ is used here in the same sense (of 
 " usque," " incessantly,") as in Euth i. 14, " And he wept on his 
 neck ly^ * a long time,"' 'unceasingly';" Ps. Lxxxiv. 5, "They 
 will continually praise thee ;" and Jer. ii. 9. 
 
 Ver. 29. " Besides that which I have mentioned I have dis- 
 " covered this origin of evil in the world, that God made man 
 " at first upon the earth upright, (for all the powers and facul- 
 " ties implanted in the heart of man were given him by the 
 " Lord of goodness for a good and right pm^pose, and so man 
 " was upright before his fall as to all the faculties of his soul, 
 " walking in his integrity) ; but that they, i. e. Adam and Eve 
 " and theu" children after them have devised many inventions and 
 " ideas by means of which they have perverted that rectitude, 
 " and embittered that sweetness. For the state of the world was 
 " not always as it is now ; but all the works and successful ma- 
 " nufactures, and all the designs and performances of art which 
 " we see in our time and fancy that they are necessary to the 
 " subsistence of the human race, these, I say, never existed till 
 " after the sons of men had deserted the right way for which 
 " they were created and sought them out crooked paths. From 
 " these devices proceed each man's envy and jealousy of his neigh- 
 " hour, and covetousness of wealth and rank, which are the 
 
CHAP. VII.] ECCLESIASTES. 2G1 
 
 Chap, "" '- '^ '^ ^ ■■ ■• • ^ -^ ^••- • = - = • it t 
 VIII. 
 
 •< r- - V. : • >. I: • t ;•• : at t it t It 
 
 " occasion of evil and the origin of many sins in the world. 
 " But if man had continued in the condition in which ho was 
 " created, he would have been saved from all these dangers ; 
 " for he would have felt no jealousy or anger or covetousncss 
 " or desire of greatness ; for all these are the consequences of 
 " the devices which the sons of men have invented." Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. After lib understand "^Wiip ; for "D'Tlb is " be- 
 side," and tliis "^ty^{ is omitted on account of the next one. 
 
 nftlk^"), both here and in the 27th verse, is nothing 
 more than a demonstrative pronoun answering to "hicce" in 
 Latin, "ovroaL' in Greek, and "ceci" in French, and may be 
 represented by the English vulgarism, " this here." And the 
 literal order and rendering will be, " Beside that ("Ili^l^D 11^) 
 I discovered this (additional reason) nrni<?") ''^1^?•iQ." The prin- 
 cipal secondary cause of evil which he discovered was carnal 
 lust ; but besides this he observed the progress of human art 
 and invention (which did not make its appearance till after the 
 fall, vide Gen. iv.) to be a fruitful source of evil. 
 
 ]')lWn is masculine, but has a feminine termination in the 
 plural, like ls% QlpD^ ]1>, &c. 
 
 Ver. 1. " ' lie who should bo like the truly wise man, 
 " i. e. one acquainted with the supreme and real wisdom, viz. 
 " the providence of God and its exalted and mysterious ways, 
 " and like him understand the interpretation of this difficulty 
 " so as to be able to explain it in all its details, what is the 
 " origin of evil in the world, and what will be the end of it, 
 
262 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. X. 
 
 i^Nn izjnx n;t::)n n:ii ^^sa viv 'b) tzjinns 
 
 J- T T T <- : T AT T V J* '- V J- T T JV : 
 
 : fc^-i^^ vii3 ly^ vis 
 
 I-.--.. : «.T T "v : T T 
 
 ' and how God changes it into what is 'good and excellent 
 ' in its own season,' (for in what he has said above he has 
 ' approached this subject only by very indii'ect methods, and 
 ' merely stated that evil has been introduced among men 
 ' through means of ignorance and carnal lust, and that the 
 ' state of the world was different at first, and the like, but has 
 ' acknowledged that with respect to the details of this subject, 
 ' the investigation of it was beyond his powers,) ' whoever,' 
 ' he declares, ' should be like that truly wise man, it is certain 
 
 * that the Divine wisdom which he would possess would dispel 
 
 * from his mind all repining and sadness, (for such a wise man 
 ' will rejoice in every thing that takes place under the sun, since 
 ' he understands and has attained to the explanation why God 
 ' has decreed respecting it that it should be, and how it must be 
 
 * for a purpose good and pleasing to God) ; so that this wisdom 
 ' would enhghten his countenance, and the cheerfulness and 
 
 * confidence of his looks would be twice that of the looks of 
 ' other men. He would never feel peevishness or vexation ; 
 ' never be astonished or provoked to madness at events wliich 
 ' happen ; but his looks would always be bright, and his heart 
 ' cheerful about all the appointments of God from small to 
 ' great." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. DDnn is used kut e^o;^j;i', and means " the truly 
 wise man." ntya is connected with the Chaldee -)tt;2, which 
 means the same as the Hebrew "ir^S, " interpretatus est," in 
 Gen. XL. 8. Qi^a T'^^^ means, " to make the face cheerful and 
 
 • T • T 
 
 serene," hkc D|'3''V ~)''^?^ in Ps. xix. 9, and Ezra ix. 8 ; com- 
 pare 1 Sam. xiv. 29. 
 
 Mendlessohn has given us the true clue to the meaning of 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 263 
 
 rei interprctationem intelligens ? Illius viri sapientia 
 viiltum ejus illustrabit, et faciei ejus fiducia dupli- 
 cabitur. 
 
 this verse by shewing its connexion with the preceding instead 
 of the following passage. He translates it, " He who should bo 
 like the truly wise man, and he who should understand the 
 explanation of this subject, the wisdom of that man would en- 
 lighten liis countenance, and the cheerfulness (or ' confidence') 
 of his looks would bo doubled." According to this rendering, 
 lyi has here the same sense as in xii. 13, bbn *111 ^'io, "the 
 
 T T - T T ' 
 
 conclusion of this whole subject ;" (whereas if the verse be dis- 
 joined from the preceding passage the meaning of IIT is per- 
 fectly vague and indefinite), and i^W), the Puhal of i^^W, means 
 either " is repeated," i. e. " doubled," or " is changed," i. o. 
 "renewed," like tl^n in Is. xl. 31, nb 12^^n\ "they shall 
 change," i. e. " renew their strength," so that ty being rendered 
 " confidence," the two last clauses of the verse are quite consis- 
 tent in sense. 
 
 Those who connect this verse with the following passage 
 translate it thus, " Who can be compared with the really wise 
 man? and who with one that understands the true explanation 
 of any matter? (3 being supphed before ^ly from DSIinS). A 
 man's wisdom, (or ' the wisdom of such an one,') enhghtcns his 
 countenance, and the arrogance of his looks is removed." They 
 render H^W'' " is changed (into humility)," i. e. " is removed ;" 
 which is very forced ; and assert that D''I12 VjJ is always used in 
 a bad sense, for "arrogant," as in Dan. viii. 23, and Deut. 
 xxviii. 50 ; but in these places it may simply mean, " bold," 
 " resolute ;" and allowing that \^ is sometimes used in a bad 
 sense, as in Gen. xlix. 7, V)'^ has always a good sense, and 
 means nothing but " robur," i. o. here " confidence." Tliis 
 rendering of the verse in fact is an attempt to cstabhsh a 
 
264: ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 SECTIO UNDECIMA. 
 
 Ego moneo ut tu regis jussa observes, et auc- 2 
 toritate prasditus verba Divini jurisjurandi ohservet. 
 
 connexion of sense between tliis verse and those which follow 
 by making it mean that superior sagacity will always remove 
 arrogance, and so promote submission to regal authority. Whe- 
 ther this however is necessarily the effect of superior sagacity 
 is at least questionable, and the translation therefore improbable. 
 
 Ver. 2. " He speaks here of the relative duties of a long 
 " and his people, and discusses in what way they may best 
 " attain to political prosperity. He says, I warn and command 
 " every individual of the people to observe the king's word ; 
 " for he is in authority among the people to do according to 
 *' his wUl, and I advise the b)!, the governour who is set over, 
 " to observe the subject-matter of the oath of God ; i. e. either 
 " that obhgation, or oath as it may be called, which he con- 
 " stantly lies under to him who setteth up kings to consult the 
 " good of his servants and his people, or that oath which he 
 " took at the beginning of his reign not to transgress the laws 
 " and statutes of the state. At all events there is no one to 
 " whom a king is accountable except the Judge of all the earth 
 *' who tries the reins and heart ; and this is an important rule 
 " in poUtics, that the people should not have power put into 
 " their hands to judge the king's conduct whether it be good or 
 " bad. For the king properly judges the people, not the people 
 
CHAP, VIII,] ECCLBSIASTES. 26i 
 
 THE ELEVENTH SECTION. 
 
 2:Cl^l^^^t n]:pp nnn"! h}i) i5^ ^b^''^ '^^ 
 
 " the king ; otherwise the land will never have rest from re- 
 " belhons against the king and his administration." Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. After ""J^^ understand the word ?fTniQ, or ^^^p ; 
 or rather IDii, of wliich there is an ellipsis in Is. v. 9, 
 m><n^ np**, '•^fJ^l. Or possibly ^^^? may be put here abso- 
 lutely in the sense, " quod ad me attinet." " As for me, keep 
 the king's (my) word." So in Is. lIx, 21, "iDl •>^j>?, "As for 
 me, this is my covenant with them, &c." Eccles, ii. 15, " As 
 for myself also, it may happen to me." See also Gen. ix. 9, 
 Exod. xiv. 17, Dan. x. 17. (12 is used here for the words 
 which proceed out of the mouth. So in Exod. xvii. 1, " They 
 wallced according to the mouth of the Lord," nirf ''2 by. 
 
 by is separated from PHll by the accent b')12 ^IpT, and 
 therefore the two words cannot be equivalent to l^l'b^ as most 
 commentators have supposed ; but b^ must be used as a noun 
 of quaUty here and be equivalent to bw^D, as elsewhere we find it 
 used ; thus Hos. vii. 16, by iib ^2W^ ; xi. 7, ^l^^^"lp•> bu-^j^ • 
 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, b): Dpjl -)33n DS^;i!l. 
 
 According to Mcndlessohn's ingenious rendering, mi"7 must 
 mean "subject-matter," "the contents," or as the Latins say, 
 " verba jurisjurandi," " vel sacramcnti." 
 
266 ECCLESIA8TES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 T :r '>T JT T : <,—.)- - I .. .. T T • <•• T • 
 
 JT T ' V- •• J T : • J- IV '^: I- - I - I 
 
 Ver. 3. " Thou must not be in haste to go out of his 
 " presence, that is, to leave him directly he does anything that 
 "displeases thee; and be not a party to the counsels of rebels, 
 " in whom is ' framed ' an evil design against the king ; (Men- 
 dlessohn here uses the word pi^^ in allusion to Psalm xu. 9, 
 '11 p!|2i^ ^T!?^ "I?^/ ' an evil design is molten (or " cast") in 
 him,' a metaphor from the fusion and casting of metals) "for 
 " ho can do to thee according to his pleasure, since he is the 
 " ruler among his people. He has the supreme power and 
 " authority, and there is none but God above him." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note, ihj^ '^rjin . Here we have two consecutive verbs 
 unconnected by a conjunction like ^"'l'* W^i^y^ afterwards. The 
 first must therefore be taken adverbially ; "do not go out pre- 
 cipitately, without proper respect." (Such going out would in 
 fact be an announcement of open rebellion, and be the first step 
 to being engaged in a conspiracy ^1 121). Thus we have 
 1 Sam. ii. 3, ^IllP) ^^IPi '^h? , " do not speak much." Job 
 xix. 3, 'b 5)*13nr) W2Jj} ih, "Ye do not make yourselves 
 strange to me in a shame-faced way," i. e. " as if ye were 
 ashamed to do so." 
 
 We find the verb TDV used in the same sense as here in 
 the first Psalm, "hath not stood in the way of sinners," i. e. 
 "persisted in it," or "been engaged in it." 
 
 Ver. 4. " Wherever the word and law of the king extend, 
 *' there they arc authoritative as a fixed decree upon the sons 
 
CHAP. VIII.] EC0LESIA8TES. 267 
 
 3 E conspectu ejus ne prsepropere exeas ; ne in mal^ 
 
 4 re persistas ; nam quidquid ei libet facit ; quoniam 
 regis verbum est potens ; et quis ei dicet, " Quid 
 
 5 facis ? " Qui prteceptum Dei observat, quasi ne- 
 scibit si verbum regis malum sit ; sed judicii tem- 
 
 " of men, and who shall stay his hand, or say to him, ' What 
 " doest thou?' To no man does the right belong of summon- 
 " ing the king to account, or of questioning him as to the reasons 
 " of his conduct.'^ Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Here again we have "^{i^^?2 in the sense of " in- 
 asmuch as." 
 
 Ver. 5. " He who keeps the commandments of his God 
 " will not perceive that the word (of the king) is wrong ; i. e. 
 " he will obey it as if he did not perceive that it was wrong, 
 " and will not be a party to the counsels of rebels, even though 
 " iniquity be in the breast of the sovereign. And if the king 
 " do wrong, he will submit and not rebel against his commands, 
 " but put liis trust in his God, because it is he who settcth up 
 " and removeth kings ; and the wise man knows in his own 
 " mind that there is a fixed time of account for every business, 
 " and a judgment for every work ; and if tlic king have not 
 " done right among his people, he will patiently trust in the 
 " Lord and wait his time, as king David said, ' Who shall put 
 '* forth liis hand against the Lord''s anointed and be guiltless?' 
 " ' But the Lord may smite him [ivith plague) ; or his day may 
 " come that he shall die ; or he may descend into battle and 
 " perish.'' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. " He who docs right will not know," i. c. he will 
 act as though he did not know that the " word," i. c. " the 
 king's word (spoken of in the last verse) is wrong." " At the 
 same time that he submits quietly as if he did not perceive 
 the wrong of the command, he knows in his own mind that all 
 
268 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 pus fore novit mens sapientis. Cuique enim ne- 6 
 gotio est tempus suum judicii, malum enim homi- 
 num multiplex iis incumbit : ignorat enim quisque 7 
 quid sihi futurum sit ; quomodo enim futurum 
 sit quis e\ indicabit? {sive quis est qui indicet 
 ei?) Nemo auctoritatem habet in ventum, ad ven- 8 
 tum cohibendum ; nee est alicui auctoritas in diem 
 mortis, nee est eerta in bello salus {sive dimissio) 
 
 will hereafter be set right and that even the king will be re- 
 warded according to his deeds, and that he may be brought to 
 his account none can tell how soon bj one of the many evils 
 and calamities of mankind." 
 
 n^)il2 is used abstractedly kut e^ox^jv. T^^ means here, 
 " a time of account," a doom, as it did in Chap. iii. 17, " for 
 there is a doom for every business and every action there." 
 
 Ver. 6, 7. " Behold, many are the plagues incident to the 
 " sons of men, and the king may not escape all of them, for no 
 " one knows what is going to happen, and consequently he 
 " cannot be on his guard against whatever is about to befall 
 *' him ; and his calamity may come upon liim suddenly and in 
 " an instant, so that it would have been impossible for any 
 " one with whom he consulted for his own safety to forewarn 
 " him of it." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 6. 1~) almost always denotes multipUcity of 
 number, as I have already observed. In several passages above 
 it signified " prevalence" of evil, i. e. the multitude of the cases 
 of it ; here the context seems to shew that it rather means 
 the '•' variety of the species and multiplicity of the forms of 
 calamity incident to man, any one of which may overtake the 
 king." 
 
 Ver. 7. The antecedent of the pronominal affix of ^33''^? 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLE8IASTES. 2G9 
 
 7!):jr«-'3 :v^jr n3i QTxn nyn-^3 ds^!2!| ny 
 
 ' ■'" I I— V V : |- jv -; 1- •< AV : I- :■ - '^v 
 
 ht^h^ vi<) nnn-nwS i^)h:ih nnn d^W D"ix 
 
 I ; • ( ^.. . — ^ .. J , . _ ^ <;• — T T 
 
 - vv >•• - ; I : AT T : • - - V- : • i i- ; V T - J : 
 
 is necessarily DIJ^H, "mankind," in ver. (6), so that this verse 
 (7) is not spoken exckisively of a Idng, as Mendlessohn seems 
 to suppose, but is a general remark illustrative of the variety 
 and multifariousness of human calamity. He says tliis is so 
 great, that man knows not which of all these evils may befall 
 him, for who is there to tell him how the future will be ? The 
 particular application of this remark in the present passage 
 relates indeed to the king, but the primary meaning of it is 
 quite general. 
 
 Ver. 8. " He mentions here the three causes of death 
 " which king David enumerates in the verse I have quoted. 
 " He says, ' There is no one who has power over the wind to 
 " restrain it from hurting him.' This corresponds to ' Either 
 " the Lord may smite him (with plague ;) ' for those who die 
 " of plague cUe by the Avind which carries a pestinential vapour 
 " from place to place ; and this vapour is subtle and not per- 
 " ceptible to the senses ; and all the might of the kino* 
 " and his princes and his servants cannot prevent such wind 
 " from entering the king's bed-chamber and destroying him. 
 " ' And there is no exercising authority over the day of death.' 
 " This corresponds to * or his day may come that he shall die ;' 
 " for when the king's time of natural death arrives, all the 
 " glory of his kingdom will not save him. ' And there is no 
 
270 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 T : • • V I a T ; • • T <v T V It't ; 
 
 tD':525^ nsi'K nv t^^^'n nnn n^j;^ i^« nji^y^ 
 
 '• T ; • • T I •• : I >~ : vT T : jt t jt 
 
 " (certain) rescue in war,' corresponds to ' or he may descend 
 " into battle and perish ;' i. e. in war there is no place of con- 
 " fidence or refuge for the king to save himself in ; for ' rest- 
 " lessness will never save him,' i. e. restlessness will never pre- 
 " serve him from any of these evils." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. '}!W'^ means restless anxiety, or that wily disposi- 
 tion which is ever fertile in schemes and resources, a sense in 
 which we have already met with it. vb)^2. means the " subject" 
 of this temper or disposition ; hterally, " its owner." 
 
 Yer. 9. "I have noticed all this, that an unrighteous go- 
 ** vernment will not last for ever, but only for a limited time, 
 " and after that will be done away. For it is neither in accord- 
 " ance with the experience of history nor with reason that the 
 ^' many should bow submissively to an individual and hearken 
 " to the voice of his words not for their own happiness but their 
 ^' injm'y. Such a thing cannot last for ever." Mendlessolm. 
 
 Note. ''Pi^HI ^^^^"J^^} refers to the observation he has 
 
 • • T V T 
 
 just been mentioning on the calamities incident to man, any 
 one of which may overtake the unjust prince ; " All this," he 
 says, " I observed," or " contemplated." 
 
 The 1 before the infinitive ]in3 is conductive, and signifies 
 " so as," and the meaning of ")^) ''ib'DH JID^I is " so as (to 
 be able) to apply my . mind to any case that occurs, &:c." i. c. 
 " so as (to be able) to give it a fair consideration." We find 
 ^ prefixed to an infinitive in a similar sense at ix. 11, '>Pi2\V 
 HN*!"!, "I returned," i.e. "I recalled myself so as to observe, 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 271 
 
 9 nec dominum suum eripiet improbitas. H^ec omnia 
 
 contemplatus sum, quo mentem meam rectms ad 
 
 omnia applicarem quse sub sole facta sint quando 
 
 10 alius in alium in ejus damnum dominatus sit. At 
 
 revera quidem exequiis vidi improbos celebrari. 
 
 &c. ;" and sometimes when the infinitive has the b of the 
 
 T 
 
 "d'?31 prefixed to it to distinguish it from an imperative or 
 a noun substantive (vid. vii. 25, where l^ri and r\'^l have 
 this prefix, but ^"^3. has not), as in ix. 1, ^^^^"^l^^ "''i^'^l^ 
 "so as to explain all this, &c." and vii. 25, "\y\ jy^Jlb^, "so 
 as to understand how wickedness, &c." in all which passages 
 1 must be rendered " so as," and not " in order," because 
 it implies that the effect expressed bj the verb to which it 
 is prefixed was actually produced. 
 
 The literal rendering of the last clause is, " Whatever has 
 happened under the sun, when one man has ruled over another 
 to the injury of the latter." "^r^^? nv is "when," and \d76 
 an aorist. He now proceeds to say that nevertheless instances 
 are to be found when wickedness prospers and virtue suffers 
 and when what we should have expected from the above obser- 
 vations on human calamities does not take place, and they do 
 not light on the head of the unjust ruler, and that the fact of 
 such instances existing encourages the thoughtless in rebellion 
 against God. He therefore sets himself to explain this paradox. 
 
 Note. Ver. 10. Mendlessohn says he found this verse ex- 
 tremely difiicult. He certainly has mistaken the sense of D''"Hp 
 in taking it as a metaphor. He says, " 'But in fact I have seen 
 bad men whose name has now almost perished, who arc now 
 buried as it were in obUvion, who went on prospering in their 
 wickedness and came forth in the pride of their heart from the 
 
272 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 qui e sancti loco exibant eodemque redibant, dum 
 oblivioni in iirbe traduntur qui recte fecerunt; et 
 
 place of the holy man, i, e. the regal throne, while those men 
 who did right were forgotten in the same city, and were not 
 remembered even in the place which was the scene of their 
 good deeds.' And he concludes by saying that this too was 
 unsatisfactory." 
 
 pi, "in truth," "in fact." Such is the meaning of p in 
 Ps. cxxvii. 2, "Truly it is to his beloved ones that he gives 
 sleep," or, (if it have the same sense there as in the phrase 
 Wy p below), " "Well doth he give sleep to his beloved ones." 
 
 It is surely far better to render D'^'llp " honourably buried," 
 agreeably with the sense of nmp in vi. 3, where it can mean 
 nothing but " honourable burial," than to adopt Mendlessohn's 
 forced explanation. Construe "I have seen bad men buried 
 in state, and that they used to come, &c." The ) before ^Kl 
 is not conversive because there is no preceding future verb. 
 Mendlessohn renders ^^')^, in the same sense here in which '!jbn 
 is frequently used, viz. to express the continuousness of an 
 action, as HWp) Tf'Sl "^bpi, "went on continually and pre- 
 vailed," i. e. prevailed more and more, Judg, iv. 24, "![Sl '^b^^ 
 Si:i1, "And he waxed greater and greater," Gen. xxvi. 13, and 
 translates the passage, "They went on prospering and parading 
 in regal splendour." " I have seen the dead who are now 
 buried in oblivion, that they used to go on proceeding in state 
 (incedentes) from the place properly belonging to the holy man." 
 But Nil (which almost always means "to come," in opposition 
 to T^n, " to go,") seems to have been used in this way not by 
 biblical but only by rabbinical writers ; and ^<^l with !fbn is 
 used here just as we find it with ^^!i'♦ elsewhere, in the sense " to 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 273 
 
 V T i : 
 
 come in and go out," to express the daily habit of frequenting as 
 a place of residence ; (just as a king would be said in Hebrew 
 to go out and come in before the people in that capacity, i. e. 
 to exercise the functions of, and till the dignities of a king) vid. 
 1 Sam. xxix. 6. Probably the J) before DIpJSD acts as a 1 con- 
 versive, (the words 0>>n"' wSlp DIpSQ may be taken as one 
 word, and to represent a verb) so as to bring the verb OpH^ 
 into the same tense as !l^^l ; and the words W)lp Wip^O are 
 perhaps placed between the two verbs, instead of the order being 
 Ur\l\) Dl'pap ^^^n".} ^^^"^^ to shew that W)lp^ WipBD is to be 
 supplied with :)j^l as well as construed with OpiT, as we 
 should say, " They went to and from the place ;" whereas if 
 ^D^TT'I had come next to ^J*2"), Mendlessohn's rendering would 
 
 •• - :- TT 
 
 almost necessarily have been right. We find here, "the place 
 of the holy man," used for " the place properly belonging to 
 the holy man," i. e. the place of dignity and trust, just as 
 we had in chap. iii. "the place of justice and right," for 
 "the place where justice and right ought to be, the place 
 properly belonging to them." W)lp need not mean here " a 
 king," but merely a holy and uncorrupt man, such as ought 
 to hold all offices of trust ; such as ^WV ]2, a phrase which is 
 
 T 
 
 evidently used in the last clause of the verse as synonymous 
 with W)lp. |3 not unfrequently signifies "rightly," "aright;" 
 as in 2 Kings vii. 9, Ps. xc. 12, and perhaps cxxvii. 2. The 
 verb ^inSJ^tt''' being in the Ilithpahel expresses that their quiet 
 and unostentatious lives cause them to be forgotten, that " they 
 sink of themselves into oblivion." The future is evidently used 
 in this word as a frequentative tense, as we say, " The bad 
 man will never prosper," for " never prospers." 
 18 
 
274 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. XI. 
 
 Dins ncj^yrp^ "it^i^ \h^n ni-Dii ^ib^y-p i2j^«ii 
 tD-T^n-^J!! :ih i^% p-S^ n^nJ2 n);^n rimb 
 
 The whole of the verse is an objection against Divine pro- 
 vidence, and ends, " this too was unsatisfactory ;" Solomon pro- 
 ceeds to answer it, in the following passage. 
 
 ")">j;2 is of course put for "T'j^ni, and means, as Mendles- 
 sohn says, " In the very city where they had done right." 
 
 Ver. 11. " Because men see that that full retribution is 
 " not executed speedily on an evil deed which would be as it 
 " were a sentence on the deed carried into effect, and therefore 
 " an explanation of it, they imagine that there will never be an 
 " account or a judgment, and their heart within them ' is fully 
 " set' (is bold) to do evil. 
 
 " D5ns r\'Wi!) Yi^. Here apparently we have a feminine verb 
 " agreeing with a masculine noun ; since the word |"'^^ shews that 
 " nii^;i^3 must be the participle feminine Niphal. For the participle 
 " masculine is HW^'}, and if the word in the text had been the pre- 
 " terite masculine Niphal, we should have had iib instead of |"•^J 
 " which never is joined with tenses ; and that DJilS) is mascu- 
 " line appears from the passage in Esther i. Diin2 ^DWy\, ' And 
 " the decree was heard.' We must therefore either suppose the 
 " vowel-point under n\i) to be wrong, or devise some other 
 " construction out of the words, as making riV^ agree with 
 "nb^y" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. This verse may either be a further objection against 
 the inequality of condition of the good and bad, on the ground 
 that it forms an encouragement to men to do wrong boldly, or, 
 which is more probable, be a part of the answer to the objection 
 in the first verse ; and the general sense would then be, "many 
 men encourage themselves in bad practices from observing 
 
CHAP. VIII,] ECCLESIASTES. 275 
 
 hsec quidem res irrita est [vel hujus vitse imper- 
 il fectio). Quod nulla fit quoad sententiam de male- 
 facto latam festinatio, idcirco animosiores ad male- 
 
 that evil deeds do not meet with immediate recompense ;" 
 " but," he says, " they do not view the matter in its true 
 H<?ht, for though the sinner be allowed to go on sinning a lono; 
 tune, and enjoy somewhat of the transitory blessings of this 
 life, it will in the end be best for those who fear God, and in 
 a future state all will be set right." 
 
 D^nS is the Chaldee for "a decree," or "sentence;" vid. 
 
 T : • 
 
 Esth. i. 20, Dan. iv. 14, Ezra v. 37. Mcndlessohn seems to 
 take it to mean more than " the sentence," viz. the " execution 
 of it,'"" which, as he implies, would be a sort of explanation of 
 the permission of evil under the Divine government, the punish- 
 ment of it explaining this paradox. There is nothing in the 
 sentence for 7W)^1 to agree with but nT\D , and if it does the 
 
 T -;- " T •• : 
 
 sense is, " because no speed is made with respect to the execu- 
 tion of the sentence as to a deed of evil," i. e. " on an evil deed," 
 DiinS and ni^lpf TW)J't^ being placed absolutely, for DililS is not 
 the construct form. Some say that after DilflS the same word 
 should be supplied in a state of construction with ntl^^D, as in 
 Ps. Lx. 5, "Thou has made us to drink wine, astonishment;" i.e. 
 wine, the wine of astonishment, for it is X^_, and not ]'*'•; and in Job 
 xxxi. 11, Uhh^ ]1V5 where jiy is not in a state of construction; 
 and then the sense here would be, " the sentence, the sentence 
 of an evil deed." But this is unnecessary. The expression, 
 "no haste is made," is equivalent to, " God does not hasten," 
 and the clause means, " because God does not hasten the ex- 
 ecution of the sentence on an evil deed." For instances of 
 nouns placed absolutely vid. vii. 26. 
 
 18 — 2 
 
276 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 ficere audendum fiunt homines. Licet peccator cen- 12 
 ties malefaciat, ac diu porrigat ei Deus veniaWy 
 {vel "et diu ei dies porrigat,") nihilominus ego scio 
 Deum reverentibus bene futurum esse quod eum 
 revereantur. Idcircone autem fieri non potest ut 13 
 bona utatur improbus fortuna et vitam suam, sicut 
 umbram illam quidem fluxam, producat, quia 
 
 iihl^ is an adjective. " Their heart is full to do evil," i. e. 
 " they dare to do it." So Esth. vii. 5, " Who is he {^i^bp 'W^^ 
 ]3 T\)^)l> 111?) who is full as to his heart (dares) to do thus ?" 
 
 Observe that Utt^V.'? is in construction with the substantive 
 ni^l which follows it. 
 
 T T 
 
 Ver. 12. " Supposing that the sinner does evil a hundred 
 " times, and God is long-suffering to him, and does not take 
 " vengeance on him, that is no wonder in the eyes of the in- 
 " telligent man ; for I know too that in the end every one will 
 " receive Ms due reward." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. After ';T''1^^D understand iSJ^ ; and construe, " God 
 prolongs his forbearance to him." ("Long of nose," and "short 
 of nose," in Hebrew mean, "patient or long-suffering," "and 
 violent or impatient" respectively.) Or else understand ')'>Z3'' . 
 
 With rl^jJa understand D^2, " times." Q-l 13 is, " but 
 still," i. e. " nevertheless." " T know that their fearing God 
 will turn out to the good of those who fear him." 
 
 Ver. 13, " If then the fear of God brings abiding pros- 
 " perity and substantial happiness to man, why should not he 
 " who has not that fear of God possess at least apparent good, 
 " and prosperity fallacious as a dream that vanishes away ? For 
 " if there were no transitory happiness, no semblance of good 
 " connected with the wickedness of sinners, man would be almost 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 277 
 
 i2ni<^ yi nlyv ^bh ntj'x :p nwvh ana 
 
 J.. . . . ... . |. ^... -. . .^ '^j" - •<; A I J- ~: 1" 
 
 ■>■••: i- I : IT T : • v : i jv -: • ■••: |t 
 
 ^jfi^D xi^ i^rx ni^x ':'5^:3 tzi^tt^ *nnN*^-xS*i y^nS 
 
 " necessitated to do good and eschew evil in his actions ; for if 
 " a man were to eat gall and wormwood by choice, when regal 
 " dainties were spread before him, he would not be called a sin- 
 " ner but a fool or a madman ; and so it is with good and evil ; 
 " if good were always pleasant and agreeable, and evil offensive 
 " and bitter, the man who does evil would not be a sinner but 
 " an infatuated person, and the denial of man's free agency 
 " would almost necessarily follow. Hence evil must of necessity 
 " be sometimes sweet and pleasant for an hour ; while all the 
 " time it is in itself a mere apparent good and a fleeting pros- 
 " perity which has nothing substantial in it. Thus the sense of 
 " these two verses will be, ' I know that it will be a real good 
 " to the fearers of God that they stand in awe of him ; and 
 " why should not the wicked have happiness and length of 
 " days which is only as a shadow which vanishes and passes 
 " away, because he does not fear God ? It is strange that the 
 " contrary should be expected.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn is the only commentator who has per- 
 ceived that this verso ought to bo read with a note of interro- 
 gation. The words b^^ VD^ 'T^'^^J^'^'^1 ™ust be taken together 
 to mean, " nor have a long life, a transitory and fleeting thing 
 at the longest," " which is still a mere shadow." Or we may 
 take b^ to mean " a shelter," as it has already done ; " nor 
 have a long life as liis shelter and only trust ; (which must come 
 
278 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 J" jv -; I V T |T '^ JT ^—.\- av -; v v v ^• •.•; 
 
 ^riipN* D^|T'i!^n ng^^.^3 Dn^Ni J^',-?)^^ o^V^n 
 
 V : • : * v; |V • .)• V •.. - - J- T T |T < 
 
 '^J- T • • V • <-T V -; |- V IT - - )- V V; |T 
 
 to an end)." Dathe neglects the accents altogether, and renders 
 thus from '7^'^, " Umbrse similis est, qui nullam Dei habet re- 
 verentiam." (He has done well in the next verse in perceiving 
 at last that biT] sometimes means in this book, " an unsatisfac- 
 tory circumstance in the world," " imperfectio hujus vitse.") 
 
 Ver. 14. " It is true that this unsatisfactory state of things 
 " exists upon the earth, that there are righteous men to whom 
 " it happens as if they had done the deeds of the wicked, and 
 " vice versa ; but this fallacious and transitory prosperity of the 
 " evil-doers is no evidence at all with respect to true feHcity, 
 " and those who are to enjoy it." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Solomon is repeating the argument against the 
 Divine providence, "that the relative condition of the good and 
 bad is very unsatisfactory," and he states in the following verses 
 the inference he had formerly drawn from this argument before 
 he took a more enlarged view of the Divine government, as 
 including both this world and the next, or which he would have 
 drawn from if he had only contemplated this life without taking 
 the next into account. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] ECCLESIASTES. 279 
 
 1 4f Deum baud reveretur ? *' Est quidem," diceham, 
 "res irrita {vel imperfectio hujus vitte) quae fit in 
 term, quod sint justi quibus accidant improborum 
 factis digna, atqiie improbi quibus accidant justo- 
 rum factis digna." Uicebam banc rem irritam {vel 
 
 15 vitie imperfectionem) esse ; laudabamque l^etitiam, 
 "quippe nil esse homini sub sole bonum, pr^eter- 
 quam edere, ac bibere, ac l^etari, quodque hoc apud 
 eum maneret in labore ejus per dies vitse ejus quain 
 
 16 sub sole dederit ei Deus;" dum mentem meam ad 
 cognoscendam sapientiam applicabam laboriosum is- 
 
 Ver. 15, 16, " These two verses must bo taken together. He 
 " says, ' While I apphed myself to understand moral philosophy 
 " and practical wisdom so as to know the way in which a man 
 " should proceed in order to attain happiness, and at the same 
 " time confined myself to the contemplation of the matters which 
 " take place upon the earth, i. e, so long as I formed my judg- 
 " ment on this subject only from what passes under our daUy 
 " observation with respect to it, viz. the unavoidable chance 
 " which attends the sons of men on the earth, even if they 
 " labour incessantly by day and night, and sleep be driven from 
 " their eyes by reason of the multitude of their anxieties ; as 
 " long as I did this, I was for choosing the opinion of men of 
 " pleasure and praising mirth, for that there was no good under 
 " the sun but eating and drinking and merriment.' " Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 15. ■^tt^^? means, " as though," in this place. 
 M'h is jnit for i':' n"lS\ "adhere to him," i.e. "continue with 
 himf hko T[-);i\ Ps'.'v. 5, for TjpV i^j^ 
 
 Ver. 16. 'lliy^?3 is put for '^ty^J n^S . " at the time that," 
 
280 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 tud opus solum contemplando quod in terra fit, 
 quandoquidem nee diu nee etiam noctu somnum 
 oculis ejus uUum videat. Itaque contemplatus sum 17 
 totum opus Dei ; operis enim quod sub sole fit 
 non potest homo rationem comperire; quandoqui- 
 dem in exquirendo laborat nee tamen comperit ; 
 immo licet earn se putet sapiens intelligere non ix. 
 (revera) potest comperire. Nam que banc omnem 1 
 
 i. e. " when." 3 is a preposition of time ; as in Numb, xxiii. 23, 
 jl^3, "at the time,"' i.e. "at the time appointed by God," 
 which divination cannot affect. 
 
 " To learn wisdom and to observe, &c.'" is equivalent to, 
 " to learn wisdom by observing, &c." 
 
 The commentators differ as to the rendering of the words 
 DH ''2- Mendlessohn evidently renders them D>^ ^IS, i.e. "even 
 if," "even though," agreeably with the sense of "'S in iv. 14, 
 "Although he came out of the house of bondmen," and so in 
 Exod. V. 11, " Although none of your work shall be diminished, 
 &C.''' And the sense will then be, " While I apphed myself to 
 learn practical wisdom in contemplating the (vanity of the) 
 business done under the sun, even though a man labours in- 
 cessantly day and night, I approved of mirth." (We find )>3j; 
 used exactly in this way at i. 13 of this book, where he is 
 pointing out the futihty of all human occupations, and where 
 as well as in this verse in speaking of the "business which is 
 done under the sun" he intends to express the vanity of it, 
 which as we find in the first chapter had led him to make trial 
 of pleasure.) Others render D| ""D " since even." X^zyr must 
 then imply " laborious employment," a sense which I am not 
 inclined to give to it, and the translation will be that which 
 I have given in my Latin version, viz. " When I appHed my- 
 
CHAP. VIII,] ECCLESIASTES. 281 
 
 Chap. n^tsx^-DN* tzih i^)i^' i<h) tTpiS QiN^H hb];' 
 
 •••TV J- 1 : • V- i '^ - T T T IV 
 
 self to learn practical wisdom in contemplating the toilsome 
 work that is done under the sun, for that man even rests not 
 night or day, but labours incessantly." 
 
 Ver. 17. " But I turned back and said, ' If I wish to un- 
 " derstand even a portion of the ways of providence, I must 
 " necessarily make myself acquainted with the whole of the 
 " works of God, as to what they have been and what they will 
 " be in this world and in the world to come. For man cannot 
 " attain the understanding of anything of the ways of Divine 
 *' providence if he only make himself acquainted with the work 
 " done under the sun ; for that is hke a dream without an in- 
 " terpretation, or a question without an answer ; and man will 
 " not become acquainted with the true explanations of actions 
 " and the sentence (of the Deity) upon them, if he does not 
 " exalt his knowledge to what is remote, and what shall take 
 " place when time is at an end.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. -^Wi^ bw2 is for iWi^h liys^Z, "in respect of that," 
 i. e. " inasmuch as," " since." In Jonah i. 12, "hl^l is for 
 'h IWi^^., in respect of me, " on my account;" compare Jonah 
 i. 8, "^d? IWiil , " in respect of whom,'' i. e. •' on account of 
 whom." 
 
 IDi^ means again, " to think with oneself." 
 
 Ver. 1. " lie proceeds to explain how it is impossible for 
 
282 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 JT-:|- - A- -."IT J- : vv ••t'^:i- r -r —. r : 
 
 JV ~; |~ ~ I'." •• : • I - T T |T '^- •• I <•• T ; • 
 
 " a wise man to comprehend anything of the works or ways 
 " of God, if he only direct his attention to what takes place 
 " under the sun. He says, ' All these considerations I laid to 
 " heart in order fully to explain this, that the good and their 
 " actions are all in the hand of God, under his care and provi- 
 " dence, and yet that if a man considers only the contingencies 
 " of this hfe and confines his attention to them, he cannot know 
 " whether he is an object of love or hatred with the great God, 
 " for that every thing he sees before him and about him bears 
 " a uniform aspect and character as if God did not interfere 
 " with human affairs.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The first ilf'^STIi^ probably refers to the con- 
 sideration mentioned in the last verse, that if we would satis- 
 factorily understand moral phenomena we must contemplate the 
 next world as well as the present ; and he says, " I laid to 
 heart, I took into account all this consideration so as to be able 
 to investigate fully and satisfactorily the following paradox, that 
 though the righteous are in the hands of God, there is nothing 
 in the events and contingencies of this life to assure us whom 
 God loves or hates, or, in other words, there is no display of his 
 love to the good or his hatred to the wicked, for that the same 
 chances happen to all. The T before "112^ is merely conductive 
 as I said at viii. 9, "l3"l lin^l, and ")0/l means, "so as to ex- 
 
 t: t : 
 
 plain," as at verse 11 of this chapter rfi^ll meant " so as to 
 observe." 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 283 
 
 ratiocinationem ad meiitem meam applicui ad to- 
 tam haiic rem accurate disquirendam, scilicet "justos 
 et sapientes et opera eorum in manu esse Dei, 
 sed, quoad qusecunque illis ante oculos sint, turn 
 amorem Ejus turn odium neminem hominum posse 
 2 cognoscere ; etenim omnia cuique similiter ac reli- 
 quis omnibus evenire; eundem casum justo accidere 
 
 The Targumlst renders Dnni;^; by the Chaldee j'TT'imy, 
 (mny ill Chaldee being the same as nJi^>*Q) ; and this is right; 
 for if the word meant " servants," (i. e. disciples), the pointing 
 of it would be this Dn^lV? like DHOba and Dn^|?:in; but with 
 the kametz-gadol under the 2 it must be the plural of mi>)'_, 
 " a work." 
 
 23 .'..D5 are equivalent to the Latin " turn"..." turn," as 
 we find them again in ver 6, infra. 
 
 We must supply "whereas," or, "and yet," before the 
 second clause of the verse. The HebrcAV language is often 
 very abrupt. 
 
 " The righteous are in the hand of God," means that they 
 must necessarily be under his special favour, and that it rests 
 with him to reward and bless them. 
 
 Wo must supply " of God" after ^l^^^, from the last 
 
 b2ir\ is put absolutely, " as to all before them," i. e. " as 
 far as they can gather from observation on all that takes 
 place in their time." See Notes at i. 10, and ii. 7. 
 
 Ver. 2. "^2^ "•^'b"? "^^H means, 'Every thing happens 
 " to each individual just as to all the rest, and there is no dif- 
 " ferencc made between the good and the bad, Sic.'' ^^I0^^ IIDD 
 "is the same construction as TT1D3 ^3b2, 'I am as thou art;' 
 
 T • T 
 
 " '?IDy3 ""^V?? ' ^ly people as thy people.'" Mcndlessohn. 
 
284 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 et improbo, bono puroque et impuro, sacra facienti 
 et ei qui non sacrificet ; probum esse sicut peceatorem, 
 jusjurandum reformidantem sicut jurantem ; et hoc 3 
 sane malum esse in omnibus qu£e sub sole fiant 
 rebus, quod idem sit omnibus casus, atque animus 
 insuper hominum malitia plenus, et vesanise sint per 
 
 Ver. 3. " If the matter were finally left as it is in this 
 " world without any interpretation, as it were, of the dream, it 
 " would certainly be an absolute and unmixed evil for the same 
 " chance to happen to all, and that it should be as we see it is 
 " in the world, that there is no difference between the well-doer 
 " and the evil-doer, and that the righteousness of the righteous 
 " and the wickedness of the wicked should be like a fleeting; 
 " dream without profit to the good, or harm to the sinner. 
 " Shall not the judge of all the earth do right ? Far be it 
 " from God to sanction evil, and from the Almighty to permit 
 " injustice ; and yet since it must be allowed that greater wrong 
 " and evil and injustice cannot be conceived than for the same 
 " accidents to happen under all circumstances to the righteous 
 " and the wicked without any difference or respect of persons, 
 " it would follow according to this view of the subject, (heaven 
 " forgive the thought !) that God would be perverting justice in 
 " his dealings with the righteous on the one hand, and that with 
 " respect to the prosperous sinner on the other the permission 
 " of evil would be attributable to the Deity, if we do not beheve 
 " in the immortality of the soul and future retribution : for 
 " that this too would be a great evil and wrong that the heart 
 " of the sons of men should be full of evil, and madness should 
 "be in their hearts while they live, and after that they should 
 " go to the dead, i. e. should return to the grave and perish for 
 " ever, and not be chastened or tried as silver is tried that they 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 285 
 
 «bn3 nit33 n^T ^3r« ^^^h) ni-i^i xbtsSi 
 
 •• r - - A" J-- •■ vv -: r : - .. - . .. ^ _ . 
 
 3-i2j^« ^bs yi I HT : N**!^ nv)^^ n^N*3 yiii^iin 
 
 ... -. ^ . '^ .f jv |"T 'it : vv -; |- T : • - 
 
 Jj QJi S^dS Tn« n^ptt-^:D tj^^t^'n nnn nb'j;:) 
 
 J" J- : A ~ vT V jv I; • )• V - - J- T -;|- 
 
 D/T*n3 onnSs ni':'Sini j^v^^Sij onxn-oa 
 
 •.•••-; T T • • < •• I : T ■• T T T IT I" : 
 
 " may know and perceive that they did not do good, but went 
 " after vanity without distinguishing between apparent good and 
 " that which is real and substantial. Surely this would not be 
 " the work of a wise toeing to create intelligent souls, the glory 
 " and ornament of creation, and leave them to be full of evil 
 " and madness for a few years, and after that to go to the 
 " grave, and perish hopelessly and irrecoverably. Is it pos- 
 " sible either that God should form a creature merely to injure 
 " it and wreak upon it an irreparable vengeance, or that there 
 " should be found under the government of the Lord of mercies 
 " a Uving being whose condition is completely and absolutely 
 " miserable ?" (as would be the case if there were no hope of 
 an hereafter to make up for the inconsistencies of this present 
 life.) Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, Solomon is drawing a melancholy picture of the 
 condition of man as viewed with respect to this hfe only, which 
 is one of such unmitigated evil that a future state is necessary 
 in order " to justify the ways of God with man." The sense 
 is continuous from verse 1. of this chapter, and through several 
 verses which follow. They are all in the obUqua oratio. The 
 evils which he details in them are the difficulty which he says in 
 verse 1. he had explained by taking a future state into account, 
 and are included under nt'bSTlJ^ "^^ib. 
 
 T V T 
 
 RosenmuUcr would render D| in this verse " consequently," 
 agreeably with the verse, " Because the sentence on an evil 
 
286 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 -^5 h^ ihT 12J^'« ^^-^3 : IZl^n^n-S^5 vinKi4 
 
 T Jv - •.. : jv -: • . •• - ... 4T -: r : 
 
 t- : - IT I • J - V <... : |. I A T • J- <.•-!- 
 
 deed is not speedily executed, the sons of men are bold to 
 evil ;" but perhaps it is better as Mendlessohn does to take the 
 clause beginning with DJT as expressing an additional remark 
 on the evils of the world, that besides the indiscriminating 
 sweep of accident and calamity which includes the good equally 
 with the bad, the sons of men should be full of evil, malice, 
 and wickedness while they live, and then die without hope, a 
 truly miserable end of a wretched life, for if death be anni- 
 hilation the most wretched hfe is preferable, as he proceeds to 
 say in the next verse. It may also be implied, as Mendlessohn 
 says, that it would be an evil for the sons of men to be wicked 
 here, and not meet with the due reward of their actions in a 
 future state ; but on this interpretation it is difficult to trace 
 the connexion of argument between this verse and the following 
 indicated by the conjunction ''S at the beginning of the latter. 
 "Evil" and "madness" are probably only mentioned here as 
 internal sources of misery in the world, i. e. of mental misery 
 especially, the " accidents" expressing the external sources of 
 physical misery ; and the whole verse might be paraphrased 
 thus, " This surely would be an evil state of things in the 
 world, that externally we should all be liable to the same 
 chances, and internally, we should be miserable from the effects 
 of sin, and this all our lives, and that after that the grave 
 should be our only prospect." 
 
 Ver. 4. " ' AVlioever he be who shall be chosen.' ini'', 
 " the Keri on this word is IZinV The meaning according to 
 " the Chetib is, ' Whoever you may choose of the sons of men, 
 " even if he be the most abject, and afflicted, (as degraded 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 287 
 
 vitam in corde eorum, et postmodo ad mortuos 
 
 4 abeant : quilibet enim eligeretur, fiduciam esse cunctis 
 
 viventibus quod 'cani vivo melius sit quam mortuo 
 
 " among- men as the dog among animals) still he must be to 
 " all men a confidence, i. e. a sign and a proof that a live dog 
 " however degraded and scornfully treated is better oif than the 
 " noblest of animals when dead ; in other words, that the most 
 ". abject life is better tlian that death which has no life after it, 
 " and that this is an evil and a punishment which nothing can 
 " exceed ; the word W\ being used here for ^^W\, ' he is." The 
 " accents render it necessary to take D'"'nn''?3 bi^ as part of 
 " the predicate of the sentence, and therefore as connected with 
 " jintSl ti'V and not as connected with ini"» "^Wii ''Q or 
 " forming part of tlie subject of the sentence. If we read 
 " "llin"; with the Chetib, the rendering Avill be, ' Whoever is 
 " made up of body and soul, whoever has the two parts of 
 " our nature in union and not yet dissolved by death, how- 
 " ever degraded his condition, is dn evidence to all living, &c.' 
 " and the general sense is the same." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Solomon is here expressing the misery of dissolu- 
 tion bv death, if we do not believe in a future state and regard 
 ourselves merely as living the life of beasts, as is implied by his 
 using the adage contained in this verse, which is an ancient 
 Arabic proverb mentioned by Golius in his Adagia, Cent. ii. 
 No. 3. " It would be an evil thing surely that we should live 
 miserably here without recompense for virtue, and full of malice 
 and wickedness, and then die ; an end to which the most wretch- 
 ed life would be preferable ; for take whom you will, all arc sure 
 that even he the most abject of men is better off than the most 
 noble of the human race, if the latter have already died the 
 death of the beast, and perished body and soul." It is unneces- 
 
288 ECCLESIASTES, [sECT. XI. 
 
 leoni ;' nam scire quidem viventes se morituros 5 
 esse ; mortuos vero nil prorsus scire ; nee esse am- 
 plius iis mercedem, quasi periisset eorum memoria ; 
 turn amorem turn odium invidiamque eorum dudum 6 
 
 sary to take W'' in any but its ordinary sense of "there is." 
 "Take any living man, ...there is confidence to all; i.e. all 
 are sure, that he is better off than a dead man however illus- 
 trious in life, if he be now annihilated;" "quilibet eligeretur" 
 being parenthetic ; and " ehgeretur" in the imperative of the 
 obliqua oratio. 
 
 The literal translation of the phrase liD hJ^H '•PT 1^3^ 
 D?^n n'^'^iiil']D is, " As for a live dog he is better oif than a 
 dead lion." We have several times had "Q 21J0 in the sense 
 "better off than;" and of the construction *>n 2b J^, (which 
 is taken absolutely and means, "as to a hve dog"), we have 
 several other instances, as "l31 '^bdj, 2 Kings vii, 2, which 
 means "as to the king he leaned," as appears from 2 Kings v. 18, 
 and Ps. xvi. 3, U'Wllh, "as for the saints." The above sense may 
 be expressed in Latin by "melius est cani vivo quam leoni mortuo," 
 or in Greek, " kvvi ^wi^ti (ieXTiov ecrnv r} Xeovn reOvrjKOTi,^^ 
 but it would be incorrect to construe the passage thus, IID J^IPf, 
 "it is better," (i.e. "there is a more enviable lot") ""n ^b^b, 
 "to a live dog," mn nnKH-lp, "than to a dead lion;" 
 because the construction of riSpH nns^lTIp thus becomes im- 
 perfect, and i^'>n, not ^i1^, is the Hebrew for "it." 
 
 Ver. 5. " For the living know indeed that they must die ; 
 " and in spite of all the distress and apprehension involved in this 
 " knowledge, it is better than being dead and without knowledge 
 " altogether ; for the destruction of the soul is the very con- 
 " summation of evil to a rational being; and those who are 
 " absolutely annihilated with the destruction of the soul know 
 " nothing at all, and have no longer any reward, but are just 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 289 
 
 5d:)^k D^n^ni in23»tr n^on'v n^nn ^2 : nj^n 
 
 ST •• . .. - . f,..^ ... \- : \ .7-1- s' !■■ ~ 
 
 (.- : • J- T T V T "^ I I- : T : "j- : i 
 
 jT : vT T : I ■ - -yr T : • - st t -: |- j- It : • 
 
 " as if the very memory of them were forgotten (as far as they 
 " themselves are concerned)." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. If their posthumous fame be ever so great, on the 
 above hypothesis they are unconscious of it, so that it is no 
 reward to them for their labour and toil in life. 
 
 Observe that this as well as the verses which precede and 
 follow it are to be read as in the obliqua oratio (a very important 
 featm^e in my new version of this part of the book) ; they all 
 contain a statement of the inexplicable evils of the condition of 
 man upon earth on the hypothesis that there is no future state, 
 i. e. of the difficulties of which a more enlarged view of the pro- 
 vidence of God in the next world as well as in this had furnish- 
 ed the solution. It cannot of course, even on that hypothesis, 
 be said of all the dead that their memory is forgotten ; and the 
 meaning of the last clause must be, " the dead know nothing at 
 all, so that they have no longer any reward in fame, as if the 
 remembrance of them were forgotten;" i. e. "just as if the 
 very memory of them were actually extinct, because if they 
 are anniliilated in death, no posthumous reputation can be of 
 any value to them." isicr means htcrally, " wages." 
 
 Ver. 6. "All their works and actions, and the conceptions 
 " of their minds are as though they had never been ; theu' love 
 " and their hatred have perished, their hope and their fear, 
 " their pride and their clamour have consumed away like 
 " smoke." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. I have chosen here to render "I'p^n, " profit from," 
 19 
 
290 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 I .... _ ^ : . . < ...; I J-. V IT - -J- VT -: I- 
 
 V v: It >t t t : j- |av •• i v : J" '• 
 
 T : - T V -: JT • ' • - •• : it : v - ;l : " 
 
 <, ■.•:•- - J- 1:1- IT <v -: I v : v J" - " : t 
 
 Ttn^ xif^bri n^'j^ SjD : ^mn T\np\ hf^i; nni< 10 
 
 ■j\ : IT ST : • V -: v it - - r *•• t >t - 
 
 rather than, " portion in," as this is more in accordance with 
 other passages in this book where the same word occurs. 
 
 Ver. 7. " If there were nothing at all after death certainly 
 " men of pleasure would be in the right, in that they eat lux- 
 " uriously, and drink, and carouse all their days, while they 
 " say, ' Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die ;' so that 
 " agreeably with this perishable doctrine it would be proper 
 " to address a man in the words of this verse, ' Go eat thy 
 " bread in cheerfulness, &c., for God hath already approved 
 " of thy conduct, and given it his full consent, and thou art 
 " not about to undergo judgment and account before him.' " 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. If there be no judgment to come, God may be 
 said to have already and beforehand given his consent and ap- 
 probation to anything we may do, in having implanted in us the 
 inclination or propensity to do it without designing to call us 
 to account for it, and we are not in a state of probation, but 
 free and unaccountable agents. 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 291 
 
 periisse ; nee fructiim iis amplius esse in asternum ex 
 
 7 omnibus quse sub sole fiant rebus : iret igitur et come- 
 deret quisque la}tus panem suum, ac biberet hilari 
 corde vinum suum, quippe cujus jamdudum Deus 
 
 8 facta comprobaverit ; essent vestes ejus semper can- 
 
 9 didge, neque deesset ejus capiti unguentum ; frueretur 
 vita cum femina quam amet omnibus diebus vitee suse 
 evanida3 quos sub sole ei dederit Deus, omnibus, m- 
 quam, evanidis suis diebus, utpote cujus hie fructus sit 
 
 10 e vita, eque labore suo quo sub sole fungatur; ageret 
 quicquid comperiverit {vel invenerit manus sua) in po- 
 testate sua agendi esse, siquidem non sit in Oreo quo 
 
 ••2 must be rendered here "as if," (as it was in verse 5), 
 because the passage is in obliqua oratio, and the last clause of 
 this verse means "As if God had not placed thee here in a state 
 of probation, and were not going to call thee to account." So in 
 ver. 10, "as if there were no work, &c." or "for that there is no 
 work," which means the same ; see Mendlessohn's Preface, p. 89. 
 
 Ver. 8. " ' Always wear clean and white garments, and let 
 " thy head be supplied with good oil.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Ver. 9. "In the opinion of those who deny the immor- 
 " tahty of the soul, these sensual gratifications must be the only 
 " profit a man can gain from this life, or by the labour which 
 " he performs." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. " Life of thy vanity" means " thy transitory life," 
 as it has already done. "iS again means "as if," or "for that." 
 
 Ver. 10. " For is it not the case according to that doctrine 
 " that there is no action or reflection or knowledge or wisdom 
 " in the grave whither thou art going ? Do then all that is 
 " in thy power to beautify and adorn thyself, even though it be 
 
 19 — 2 
 
292 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XI. 
 
 vadat vel negotium vel ratiocinatio vel scientia vel 
 sapientia." Revertebar ad hoc sub sole observandum, 11 
 " non semper velocibus contingere cursus victoriam, 
 nee belli fortibus, nee sapientibus victiim, nee soUer- 
 tibiis divitias, nee doctis favorem, sed fatum casum- 
 
 " wrong and violence, rapacity or oppression. And what matter 
 " if it be? Thou wilt come at last to die and descend into the 
 " grave, so that thy only portion is whatever thou canst gain in 
 " this thy transitory life. Follow therefore without restraint the 
 " devices of thy own heart, swear, lie, kill, steal, commit 
 " adultery, deny thyself scarcely any enjoyment. See now to 
 " what a conclusion these arguments tend ; how thou wilt thus 
 " sink lower and lower, and be swallowed up at last in the 
 " depths of fatal doctrines if thou wilt not believe in the im- 
 " mortahty of the soul and recompense in the life to come." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. I have substituted the third person for the second 
 in the Latin version of verses 7, 8, 9, 10, in order that they 
 might be kept in the obliqua oratio, and " quisque" for " tu," 
 which is addressed to makind in general. "Irct," "frueretur," 
 &c. are therefore equivalent to imperatives. 
 
 Ver. 11. " He here proceeds to fortify himself with power- 
 " ful arguments against him Avho denies the immortality of the 
 " soul, and says, ' I saw on the other hand that even men of 
 " pleasure do not always attain to all their desires and wishes 
 " in this world, and that ofttimes all their labour is in vain, 
 " and their industry terminates in confusion ; for since they do 
 " not bcheve in an over-ruling providence they are a mark, as 
 " it were, for the arrows of chance and accident, and every 
 ** thing must happen to them fortuitously, because in the hand 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 293 
 
 iinxii ^nn^ :nG£j^ "rhn nn^ 1tr^^ Six^a nb:Drt*i 
 
 J T ; • : - T IT \j- IT - jv -: : • t : t : 
 
 : - < - : V V ^' T -: I- j - : t t : • - 
 
 " of man there is no power to effect anything with certainty,' 
 " and consequently the recommendation to ' do all that thou 
 " lindcst to be in thy power to do,' must be altogether vain 
 " and nugatory." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. AVe have here again the conductive l before rfi^"!. 
 " I turned back, I recalled myself so as to observe that to 
 act even in this world on the short-sighted doctrine detailed 
 above is practically impossible, for that man cannot make sure 
 of anything which he seeks to secure or enjoy, but is altogether 
 the creature of chance and accident ; so that without belief in a 
 future state our condition here is truly deplorable."" We find 
 from the above remarks of Mendlessohn that he translates the 
 first clause of the last verse thus, " AVhatever thy hand finds to 
 be in thy power to do, do ;" a rendering better in accordance 
 with the accents (by which the words ^nbl HW^b TJl"" i^'UDPi 
 are closely connected together) than the usual translation, 
 " Whatever thy hand finds to do, do with all thy might." (The 
 phrase " Whatever thy hand findcth," is equivalent to " What- 
 ever thou findest," l^ being put for a man's active powers ; see 
 1 Sam. XXV. 8, Lev. xii. 8.) Mendlcssohn's rendering is to be 
 preferred for the following reason. r\b always means " ability," 
 "power," not "might" or "strength," and T[nb21 must there- 
 fore signify, " within the compass of thy abiUty," " in thy 
 power," not " to the utmost of thy strength and might." The 
 
294 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XL 
 
 tD'ii^^i irij^-nx Dixn vt-s^S tziii *3 : n^JD 12 
 
 • T - ': V T T IT '^ -•• I - • ,T •.. 
 
 AT - V ••. -: (T • t: • - : "r t jt : • • r v: iv v 
 
 J • V : T T "j- : T T IT J'- : • It i •• t 
 
 latter should be its sense if we construe it with n'W}J, since this 
 verse is clearly a recommendation to make the most of this life 
 if there be none after it, not a warning against attempting any- 
 thing that is not in our power. But if we construe it with 
 JTi'Wilh the clause will have the sense which the context re- 
 quires, " Do all in thy power to do," " all thou possibly canst," 
 and Tfnbll bear its true meaning. 
 
 The phrase, " The race is not to the swift," &c. means, " It 
 is not necessarily won by him because he is swift," &c. 
 
 bp is "light," like the Latin " expeditus." \n means, "po- 
 pular favour," and may be rendered, " popularity." 
 
 Ver. 12. " He here compares the sons of men to birds 
 " and fishes which unwittingly fall into a snare, and there is 
 " none to say, ' Restore.' There is none to pity them or have 
 " compassion on them, for that was the purpose for which they 
 " were created, and such would be the actual condition of the 
 " sons of men if there were no judgment and no reckoning 
 " before Him who spake and the world was made. And now 
 " after all these reflections go and consider with thyself how 
 " much perplexity and confusion is necessarily brought upon 
 " thee, if thou dost not beheve that the soul will exist after the 
 " death of the body, and that it is about to give an account 
 " and a reckoning before the Eng of kings. Is it not an evil 
 " thing and bitter to have left the fountain of living waters, 
 "the waters of truth, which fail not? If there be nothing at 
 " all after death, (heaven forgive the thought !) God has created 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 295 
 
 12 que his omnibus accidere; nescire enim hominem 
 fatum suum, sicut pisces qui capiantur reti exitiali, 
 et sicut aves qu^e tendicula teneantur, sicut illas 
 irretiri homines tempore fatali, ubi iis inopinanter 
 incident." 
 
 " liis world only to injure intelligent creatures ; and what be- 
 " comes then of the glory of God for which he created all of 
 " them ? Where is his great mercy and kindness to all his 
 " works if he only created the choicest of creatures in order to 
 " injure him ? Very much to our present purpose is what a 
 " wise poet has said, ' The Creator has left us the fountain of 
 " life, in reserving for us blessing for our souls.' Thereby we 
 " can comfort ourselves about the vanity of terrestrial things, 
 " and the painfulness of the defects in our condition ; there God 
 " will judge the righteous and the wicked, and each will re- 
 " ccive the just reward of his actions. There there is a doom 
 " for every business and for every work. 
 
 " I have now placed you in possession of what I conceive to 
 " bo the true meaning of the wise man in the above passage. 
 " For surely he did not aim therein at exciting doubt in the 
 " mind of the believer, but rather at placing truth on its basis, 
 " and establishing the true faith in the soul of the intelligent 
 " man ; since tlv3 belief here developed is the foundation and 
 " radical principle of our Holy Law, as is known to every one 
 " who is called by the name of Israel." Mendlessolm. 
 
 Note. I have rendered D)} in the first clause of this 
 verse by " doom," which expresses the idea actually conveyed 
 by this word as placed absolutely and without any other word 
 to qualify it, much better than " time ;" for when so placed it 
 usually expresses " a period or crisis in man's life over which he 
 has no control." See Num. xviii. 23, nV3, "At the appointed 
 
296 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 SECTIO DUODECIMA. 
 
 Prseterea hoc exemplum sapientige sub sole vidi, 13 
 quod plurimum apud me valuit. Erat urbs parva, 14 
 et pauci in ea homines ; rex autem magnus ad eam 
 accessit, einxitque, et adversus eam ingentes turres 
 exstruxit. Inventus vero in eo est vir pauper, idem- 15 
 
 time," and so U^F))J in Ps. xxxi. 16, •' My ' times' or ' destinies' 
 are in thy hand,"" and in 1 Chron. xxix. 30, and Job xxiv. 1. 
 Astrologers were called " those who understand the ' times' or 
 ' destinies.' " Whether the period or crisis expressed by Jiy be 
 one of prosperity or adversity is frequently determined only by 
 the context. Instances of the first are Ps. lxxx. 16, and of the 
 second Is. xiii. 22, and xxvii. 7. In the verse preceding the 
 present as connected with VJ3 it signifies " a crisis either of good 
 or evil," and may be rendered by the general phrase " destiny" 
 or " doom," and such must consequently be its meaning here, 
 as it was also in iii. 17, where the nature of the crisis intended 
 is equally undetermined by the context. 
 
 Observe the difference between m^^O, "a net," used in 
 
 T : 
 
 this verse and DHI^iD in verse 14, which is the plural of lil^D, 
 and means " great towers," D''SlJQ. 
 
 Ver. 13. " He here speaks of the effects and consequences 
 " of wisdom in political affairs. He says the following instance 
 " of the excellence and value of wisdom had had great weight 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 297 
 
 THE TWELFTH SECTION. 
 
 i3xvn nh)i:\) ^mn nnn n»:]n ^n^xn ni-D-i 
 
 V ^T : V AT - - J- IT : T • ;• T -j 
 
 I •.•<••• T V •• T ^T : VT r T -; I- T - I. "j- It •• 
 
 : ^'hm Q^^i^^ n'hv n:^^) nfiwS nnoi '^n-i 
 
 !• : r : r v.v 'r jt t t j- t : t 
 
 V T V > - • t T I •• : • <* t t jt 
 
 " and influence with him, i. c. in leading him to make it a rule 
 " to appoint wise men to head mihtary expeditions, and not rich 
 " and powerful fools." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. HMn 71] is " this piece of wisdom, or " this case 
 of wisdom and its efficacy." 
 
 Ver. 14. " He pictures to us a small city, with but few 
 " inhabitants, and over against it and round about it a powerful 
 " king besieging it with a large force, the city being situated 
 " in a low place, so that he could build towers ' over it,' i. e. 
 " higher than it, and it seems doomed to be taken." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn appears to take Tl'h^f to mean " over" 
 or "above" it. It may mean merely "against." 
 
 Ver. 15. " This indigent man had never been mentioned 
 " by the people of the town before he delivered it by his wis- 
 " dom." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The word "IDT means either " thought of so as to 
 
 -T '-^ 
 
 recollect," or " made mention of." Perhaps the English word 
 " notice," expresses it very well in this place. 
 
 The noun substantive agreeing with K^iD is either Tf'^an, 
 the last person mentioned, or J^^ilDH understood. " Invenit 
 
298 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 - 1 1" : • - J- r V - T J T T : a t : t : 
 
 pDsn n^:r)ni nn^iniixs n^^n nnib ':35< *n'^^:^^u6 
 
 !••:•- <- : T ; at : • it : t jt • t • : j- t : 
 
 - V- : • t -: J" : • H' t : • jt •• vt t : t : 
 
 ■• • : - V b-:r. a-t : -^^^^^ 
 
 nnr : nsin niniD n!l^5* in^^ j^^in^ ^np ^S^^i 
 
 •• J : I- : - JT V - : t v jv : at I: j- : • 
 
 inveniens," i. e. " inventus est." See Gen. xvi. 14, where 
 " vocatus est puteus" is expressed by tlie words "m^b i^lp 
 scilicet J^lprr, &c. See also Is. ix. 5, Gen. xi. 9, xLviii. 1. 
 
 Note. Ver. 16. The whole of this and the following 
 verses are the reflections of Solomon on the occurrence he 
 has just been describing. 
 
 Ver. 17. '" Are not the counsels of wise men heard to 
 " the tranquillizing and refreshing of the mind more than the 
 " clamorous harangue of the overbearing ruler among fools ? 
 " And why will not men listen to them ?"" " Mendlcssohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn renders this verse, " the counsels of 
 the wise are heard more for peace and quietness, &c."" i. e. "have, 
 when heard, a greater tendency to promote peace than the 
 clamour, &c." However, it is more rigorously in accordance 
 with the accents to take D'*3^Dli'3 riTOl D'''?^'7 as opposed to 
 npV'i, and to understand D'^lilD before ]D, supplying it from 
 
 "t -:- • ■ 
 
 the miQ in the last verse. "A wise man speaks calmly, with- 
 out clamorous noise or violent gesticulation, and his counsel 
 spoken and ' heard' quietly is better than that of the popular 
 demagogue, who sways at his pleasure the minds of the foolish, 
 and is vehement and noisy in his harangues." Such is probably 
 the true meaning of D''V''D3^ '?ll^1D. It has been variously in- 
 
CHAP. IX.] ECCLESIASTES. 299 
 
 que sapiens qui sapientia sua oppidum servavit ; nee 
 quisquam pauperem ilium animadverterat {vel me- 
 
 16 morarat). Dicebam igitur, " Sapientia prsestat for- 
 titudini quamquam sapientia pauperis contemnatur, 
 
 17 nee audiantur ejus consilia. Consilia sapientum tran- 
 quille audita pra^stant clamori imperantis inter stul- 
 
 18 tos." Pr^estat sapientia instrumentis bellicis ; sed 
 ^' luius error multum bonum irritum reddet, {vel vi- 
 
 1 tiabit). Musc£E mortu£e singul^e quseque efficiunt 
 
 tcrpreted. Some take it to mean "the foolish ruler," ac- 
 cording to the construction ''11 JJ2 '!T<r\\ , " the Lord is among 
 my helpers," i. e. " the Lord is my helper," and OpblL mri"! 
 *'W^1. Others render it " the prince of fools," " stultissimus 
 stultorum." Others translate the verse, " The words of wise men 
 are heard in quietness, i. e. by the sedate (and are attended to), 
 more than the clamorous harangue of a leader is by fools." 
 
 Ver. 18. " ' It is true that this wisdom is better to defend 
 " and dehvor than weapons of war ; but sometimes when there 
 " exists one defect in a wise man or one good quaUty is lacking 
 " in him, much good is consequently spoilt." " Mcndlessohn. 
 
 Note. KJOIH is generally a participle, and means "a 
 sinner ;" but here the Rabbinical Commentators are inclined to 
 take it to be a noun abstract, signifying "defect," and of the 
 form "inV, (which is also a noun abstract, and signifies " ex- 
 cess" or " superiority"). This version agrees better with what 
 follows, where it is shewn by a metaphor that what is most ex- 
 cellent may be spoilt by a very slight admixture of what is bad. 
 I render ^4^?^ " may spoil." 
 
 Ver. 1. "lie says, 'As dead flics, even each singly and 
 " separately, cause the ointment of the apothecary to stink and 
 
300 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 ut fcetide effervescat unguentum pigmentarii ; ita 
 pretiosum sapientia et honore virum parva stultitia 
 corrumpit. Cor sapientis est ei ad dextram, cor 2 
 
 " to effervesce, so even a little folly causes to be in bad odour a 
 " man who is highly valuable and respectable on account of his 
 " wisdom and honours, and spoils his good name."" He had 
 " already drawn a comparison between good fame and good 
 *' ointment in a former chaj)ter." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. When a plural noun is used as here with a verb 
 singular, the verb is predicated of each of the individuals of the 
 subject separately, and wo should insert before it " each one," 
 or " each of them." Instances of this are, Exod. xxxi. 14, 
 where it is said of the Sabbath, nD^"* Jl^D n'hbnn, "Each 
 one who pollutes it shall surely be slain," and Prov. iii. 18, 
 '^Wii'a CnODnn) nOChl, "Blessed is each one who holds 
 her fast." He means here to illustrate by a metaphor the 
 mischief of a single error or defect in a wise counsellor by 
 stating that a single dead fly may cause a pot of ointment to 
 turn putrid, or at any rate that if a number of them cause this 
 to happen each contributes to the result. 
 
 V^^.** is the Hiphil of ^23, which here bears a sense cog- 
 nate to that of (li^O, "tumor," "pustula," in the Talmudic 
 language, and mv^3;l^?, "blains," in the Bibhcal. The two 
 words together may be rendered, " fcetide effervescere facit ;" 
 for Avhcn two verbs are thus placed in juxta-position without an 
 adverb or conjunction between them, the first is used adverbially. 
 See Ps. XLv. 5, IDl n^^, " Pide prosperously;" Ps. xLvi. 4, 
 VD'^Jp ''^'^^X^'!. ^^17.1 » " Its waters may rage boisterously ;" Ilosea 
 ix. 9, ^ririki^ p'^pyrr, " They have deeply corrupted ;" Ps. cvi. 
 13, y^W^^D ^'n2^ ^nnp, "Theyquicklyforgat his works;" and 
 Ps. Lxxi. 20. And Jeremiah says, " Humble yourselves, sit 
 
CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 301 
 
 i)22J2 n^^DH^ ip^ npn \f2ty tt ^'i<T nib 
 
 I : • I' : J" : • !• t t <•• "rr : j ; • 
 
 down," for " sit down humbly." Or perhaps the word y"'!'' 
 is used in the sense of " causing to liiss," for a putrid thing 
 frequently bubbles up and produces a hissing sound. In this 
 sense of "utterance of sound" we find ^13 in the Proverbs i. 23, 
 U^b nV2J< ""n^n, "eructabo (vel proferam, effundam) vobis 
 spiritum meum." 
 
 "lp'> with a kametz under the first letter is an adjective ; 
 but if there is a sheva there it means " honour," " glorv." 
 1^130 *^9?'7'^ is ^^ asyndeton. So in Ps. xxxii. 9, we have 
 1^23 D^D3, "Like the horse and like the mule;" Ps. Lii. 6, 
 "Thou lovest all words of devouring and the tongue of lying ;" 
 Is. Lxiii. 11, ■fav nWD, "Moses and his people;" and Habb. 
 iii. 11, IDV nn^ WDU!, "The sun and the moon stood still-" 
 
 - T - "T V V ' 
 
 in all which places the conjunction copulative must be suppHed. 
 Here we have Pt^bDW, which in i. 17, was spelt with a D 
 
 Ver. 2. " Because the right is the hand which is always 
 " most in readiness to do anything, he says a wise man's mind 
 " is at his right hand, in order to express that it is always 
 " ready for an occasion on which he may wish to employ it ; 
 " and he means that the sagacity of a Avise man who foresees 
 " consequences is recognizable in all his actions, and is con- 
 " stantly of service to him, as if it dwelt always in his rio-ht 
 " hand, which is man's chief instrument of action ; and that the 
 " fool's mind is as though it were in his left hand, because ho 
 " is sluggish and backward in the performance of any o-ood 
 " work." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. This verse and that which follows it are evidently 
 intended to express that seeing what great mischief may arise 
 
302 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 S^S nzix^i ion ):ih iiSn h^r^h^^ tti^^-qjis 
 
 I - ;- T : '<■• T J • K" jr T V : ' vj" - - • 
 
 ^ T J" V • /• T -; - V - •• ; - J- A- - 
 
 |. - - J- : • • VT V TT : • V AT - - J- • ^' T 
 
 |.. .. ... j: - ».. . 1:1- A- - V : - V V - I J- • 
 
 from one error on the part of a counsellor, the wise man will 
 be constantly cautious and wary against committing mistakes. 
 
 The word l'?"!^, which Mendlessohn uses here, and which I 
 have rendered " consequences," means literally that which is 
 " produced" in the womb of time. 
 
 Ver. 3. " In all liis business and occupation he shews that 
 " his mind and knowledge fail him, and if he even be merely 
 " waUdng by the way, he proclaims against himself and lets 
 " every one know that he is a fool." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The Keri on ^DDHtt^S is "n TJl''; "the n is re- 
 
 T T V : 
 
 dundant." 
 
 The preterite seems to be used here as an aorist or fre- 
 quentative tense. 
 
 ion may be either a verbal adjective or the verb itself, 
 which is thus pointed in the preterite. Whichever it be, its 
 sense is here intransitive. " His mind is deficient," or " his 
 mind fails." In this sense we find it in the future in Deut. xv. 
 8. It is generally used as a transitive verb with an accusative, 
 and therefore with r\i^. 
 
 Ver. 4. "If the wrath of the prince rise against thee, be 
 " not in haste to leave thy place and fly out of his presence ; 
 " but rather keep thy post of ofiice and do not exchange it for 
 " another, for a submissive neck and a soft tongue will dismiss 
 
CHAP. X,] ECCLESIASTES. 303 
 
 3 stulti ad sinistram ejus. Etiam in via cum stultus 
 ambulat excors est, et se stultum esse fatetur om- 
 
 4 iiibus. Si ira principis contra te orta erit, locum 
 tuum ne deseras ; magna enim delicta dimittet, 
 
 5 (i. e. expiabit) obsequium. Est malum quod sub 
 sole vidi quasi hallucinationem apud principem exo- 
 
 6 rientem. Evecta est stultitia ad excelsa loca multa, 
 
 7 dum manent nobiles in humili loco. Vidi servos equis 
 
 " and atone for great offences, and thou wilt thereby at length 
 " cause his displeasure to subside. iOlD is from the root >^21, 
 " and signifies submission and patience of temper. Mendlcssolm. 
 
 Note. I have already had occasion to notice the words 
 n3J]) and n''3'', derivatives of a verb never found but in the 
 Hiphil, which the Lexicographers unaccountably derive from 
 TO**, whereas they would be more regularly derived from 1123. 
 This verb is used in the sense " to let go," " to dismiss." 
 
 Ver. 5. " He says, ' Sometimes, it is true, the public ad- 
 " ministration will be bad, because the ruler may do things 
 " contrary to truth and justice, (which seem hke an oversight 
 " or mistake proceeding from him), without knowing how they 
 " will end.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Solomon speaks here of the errors of kings in the 
 most extenuating terms, as if unwilling to allow that they can 
 be guilty of anythmg worse than a mistake. 
 
 The regular form for ^^:i^ would be Tli^'^V ; but to prevent 
 too much stress being laid on the ^? the n drops out, and the 
 vowel falls back to the ^ so as still to distinguish the word as 
 the feminine participle from ><2iV, the ^{ becoming ~)DD3 TO 
 instead of the n. 
 
 Ver. 6, 7. " Sometimes a king gives ear to the voice of 
 " youths and detractors, and raises folly higher and higher in 
 
304 ECCLESIASTES, [sECT. XII. 
 
 invectos, principes autem humi servorum ritu am- 
 bulantes. Qui fodit foveam in earn cadet, et qui 8 
 maceriem perrumpit mordebit eum anguis. Qui lapi- 9 
 des amovet leedetur illis; qui ligna findit iis peri- 
 clitabitur, si hebetatum fuerit ferrum, neque ipse 1 
 aciem ejus exacuerit, at majores vires intendere 
 
 " rank, while great men are degraded and occupy a subordinate 
 " place by his order. And sometimes these upstarts are allowed 
 " by the reigning monarch to ride on horses, which was not 
 " permitted in ancient times to any but men of rank and noble 
 " birth ; while princes become poor men, and are forced to come 
 " down from their greatness and walk lil^e slaves on the 
 " sround." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 6. He shews however in what follows the 
 imprudence of slanderously aspersing persons in high office how- 
 ever ill chosen, and that he who tries to overthrow a corrupt 
 administration may be so rash and uncompromising in the 
 attempt, that all recovery and retracing his steps would be 
 impracticable or useless. 
 
 ]'F\1, "positus est," " constitutus est,*" as in Esth. vi. 8, and 
 Dan. ii. 2. 
 
 ^DD and b'^W are both abstract nouns, and mean respec- 
 tively " folly" and " humihation." 
 
 Ver. 8. "He who digs a pit for others may fall into it ; 
 " and he who pulls down a stone wall, a serpent such as Hves 
 " in the cavities of walls may bite him." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The Chetib here has the anomaly of a dagcshed 
 letter after a shurck (D^a'i^'pD) in the word V^^J ; and the 
 Keri accordingly substitutes a kibbutz ( •• ) for the shurek. 
 The Targum explains it by the Chaldee n^ilDp, "a great pit,'* 
 a word evidently cognate with \D>y, because J and p are both 
 palatals. 
 
CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 305 
 
 izin:i5;5 o^rjSn tzinb^i d^did-^jt an^v ^n^xi 
 
 (.- T '-: I- J- : \ -y t ; ft- '^ i- t '-: • !• t 
 
 ;v : ■ I.- T I ^^ ft • J I I.T ;•• I V IT T 
 
 9pD* tD'^V ypi3 Dn3 :}VV^ LD^hx y^D^ : ^nj 
 
 I V it • V 'i- "-Ij- ftv T V 'rr- • T -; '^ J- - IT T 
 
 I- : I- J- T I : •.•:-- jt|- • it 
 
 The digging a pit and demolishing a fence here spoken of 
 are highly figurative expressions for the undermining of an 
 administration, which may be attended with great danger. 
 Similar metaphors occur in the next two verses. 
 
 Ver. 9, 10. " He who removes stones from their quarries 
 " or elsewhere may stumble over them and cause liimself pain, 
 " and he who cleaves wood may be endangered thereby if he 
 " have neglected to sharpen the axe and has to use greater 
 " force, i. e. a workman will fare well or ill according to liis 
 " skill in his trade, and if he be awkward and careless in it 
 " he will always suffer for it, but the skilful workman does his 
 " work with less trouble, and attains his object quickly with 
 " less risk." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Solomon is here very aenigmatic and poetic in 
 his language. He introduces fresh metaphors to express the 
 danger of attempts to overthrow, by slanderous aspersion, the 
 authority of those in liigh station, and imphes that in po- 
 litical affairs discretion is the best safeguard ; that he who is 
 rash and uncompromising in his reflections on those in office 
 always endangers himself and may fail in attaining his object 
 of removing those unworthy of power, but that whoever waits 
 patiently and quits not his post will find obstacles gradually re- 
 move themselves from before him ; and his prudence will attain 
 superior success in poUtical affairs, just as the skill of the careful 
 artificer does in works of art. 
 20 
 
306 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII, 
 
 •ncj^'^-Qx : ntt^in y^:in hin^i i^^' iD^S^nui 
 
 I J • • IT : T v" ; - I J : • : a-- : v t -; i- 
 
 The futures in these two verses should be rendered into 
 Enghsh by means of the auxiliary verb " may." 
 
 Ver. 9. In removing large stones the awkward workman 
 may either stumble over them or make them fall upon himself. 
 
 The word pD"* is either "may be cut," or "may be 
 endangered." For the former sense of it we have BibUcal 
 authority, (inasmuch as the cognate word ]'»3iir is used for a 
 "knife," or some sharp instrument in Prov. xxiii. 2, where So- 
 lomon says that a man might as well put a knife to his throat 
 (^^^2 V^W) as forget to demean himself aright in the presence 
 of royalty) ; but for the latter only Talmudic, as where we have 
 il^^D nD"itt^ T2 r^D, "culter in manu stulti periculum est." 
 
 These two verses (9 and 10) must be taken together, for 
 there is no break in the sense between them. " He who cleaves 
 logs of wood may be endangered by them, if the iron be blunt 
 and he have to increase his force." 
 
 Ver. 10. nnp, is the Pihel of nnp^, "to be blunt." Bux- 
 torf, desirous to reserve its transitive sense to this conjugation, 
 renders it, " he has blunted ;" but then where is the r\ii be- 
 fore ^tlUHj and to what purpose would have been the word 
 ^?^^T which follows ? There can be no doubt that the Kal and 
 Pihel of T]ilp bear the same intransitive sense, as is also the 
 case with those of nUD, "to be faint." 
 
 D''3S ^P^p is Hterally, " has made smooth (poUshed) its 
 surfaces," which is equivalent to " sharpening its edge ;" be- 
 cause that is the method of whetting an edged tool. 
 
 ")"'li^Dn is a substantive from the Hiphil of "^WD, and means 
 success in work, (observe that there is no dagesh in D). Itt^^ 
 
CHAP, X.] ECCLESIASTES. 307 
 
 coactus fuerit; successus autem prsestantia sapientige 
 
 11 attinet. Si momorderit anguis, incantationi imme- 
 
 dicabilis morsiis erit; itaque garrulo nulla est suc- 
 
 almost always denotes success in this book, as at ch. xi. 6, 
 "Whether this or that shall prosper, ItJ^DV" 
 
 The phrase nDpH "1"''^3n |inO^"! tas a double meaning here. 
 As referring to the artificer it means that " superiority of suc- 
 cess is skill," i. e. belongs to skill and is a consequence of it, 
 because the skilful workman will not work with blunt tools and 
 so run the risk of wounding himself; and as referring to the 
 pohtician it means that the prudent man will succeed in attain- 
 ing his political objects, because he will not adopt dangerous 
 and obnoxious means in prosecuting them. 
 
 Ver. 11. " lie says that if a serpent bite him who breaks 
 " down a wall, then it (the bite) will be without enchantment ; 
 " there will be no cure for his wound ; and then you will see 
 " that the slanderer has no advantage or the man who says, 
 " ' My lips are my own, who is lord over me ?' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. N^l is " without," as in Numb. xxxv. 23, ^"1 
 Kl^?*^, " witliQut seeing." t:;r6, " a thing muttered," " a spell." 
 It becomes wvh at the pause. We must understand before 
 Ni^2 a word signifying " the bite," supplying it from ^tS^^ . 
 
 Probably jinn"' signifies the same as ~)''tt^pn ]Tir^^ in the 
 preceding verse, viz. "superiority of success." The garrulous slan- 
 derer cannot reckon with certainty on success like the prudent 
 man ; he has no advantage over other men in that respect. The 
 Talmudic Rabbins, according to their usual practice, took this 
 verse as an isolated maxim, and interpreted it, " If the serpent 
 bite, its bite is incurable by a spell ; and a babbler is no better 
 (i. e. than the serpent)." This appears from the following pas- 
 sage. Bab. Talm. Erchin, Sect. in. : wvh vhl Wr\T\ "^W^ DK 
 
 20—2 
 
308 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 cessits prsestantia. Verba oris sapientis sunt, " Cle- 12 
 mentiam adhibe" labiorum autem stulti, " Interi- 
 mas ilium." Initium verborum oris ejus est stultitia, 13 
 et vocis ejus finis exitialis insania. Verbis quoque 14 
 abundat stultus ; nescit tamen homo quid sit fu- 
 turum, et quid post ilium sit quis ilium certiorem 
 
 :"]S w^ r\i^'n .ID rrnj< ,by\vc\ ^'■m ixr /^din^ Din nj<j 
 
 ]wbn-hv'::b ;nn^ HD ^Urh -inih?, i.e. "Intheday of judgment 
 all the Leasts will assemble and come to the serpent, and say 
 to him, ' The lion tramples on his prey and eats it up ; the 
 wolf rends Ms prey but also devours it ; but thou, what plea- 
 sure hast thou in biting?' Then the serpent will say to them, 
 ' The babbler is no better.' " 
 
 Ver. 12. " The wise man is not like the garrulous slan- 
 " derer ; nearly all the words that proceed from his mouth are 
 " petitions for favour and clemency for every one, even for his 
 " enemies and persecutors ; not so those which proceed from the 
 " lips of a fool ; for he always says, ' Destroy him,' and there 
 "is no clemency or kindness in his heart. 
 
 " The word ^3V>J^ri is the second person masculine and 
 " not the third feminine, and it is the expression made use of 
 " by the fool, i. e. the slanderer." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The emphasis here is upon 0311 and '?''D3. He 
 says it is the part of the wise man to plead for favour to 
 others, and of the fool to seek their ruin. This is all in con- 
 tinuation of the above remarks. We see here the perplexity 
 which may sometimes arise from the abruptness of the Hebrew 
 language together with its want of inverted commas to mark 
 quotations. This is peculiarly apparent in the account of the 
 judgment of Solomon, from which at first sight it would appear 
 
CHAP. X,] ECCLESIASTES. 309 
 
 J- : • I I T - '- I- : I : ■ I J- : - at : (.t t - 
 
 •• ; • J- ■ : T v : - : ».■ : v : • : I a- it t 
 
 ^T T - : HT T I •• I • J- -: I- : a : • v 
 
 ,Tn^ isi'xi n\n*£^'-nto tinxn y^i^-xS Dnm nsi* 
 
 ... : |. <... -;!- ... : |. ... - T T IT '^ <-■• I A- T ; jv : - 
 
 that he adjudged the child to the woman who wished it to 
 be chvided, because she had spoken last in the narration and 
 the king says, " Give her the living child and in no wise slay 
 it ; she is the mother of it." But he is in fact repeating 
 the words of the other woman from recollection or minutes of 
 proceedings and then pronounces at once, " She (the woman 
 who used those words) is the mother of it." That ho is quoting 
 her words, appears further from the unusual Hebrew word 
 15|'?'> for " child," which she uses and which the king repeats. 
 This ingenious explication is due to Mr Bernard. It is pro- 
 bable that the word 1^'?'' is a vulgarism which such a woman 
 would use. 
 
 Ver. 13. " But if the beginning and primary effect of the 
 " words ho utters be folly tending to injure others, the end and 
 " final consequence of them is sad infatuation tending to his 
 " own hurt ; for he shall not go unpunished." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. il!i77in here is a feminine singular, similar in form 
 to ri^7pp. It cannot but be suspected however that by some 
 error !| has been written for i which is found in place of it in 
 the early chapters of this book, but then n>;"l would not agree 
 with it as it now does. 
 
 Ver. 14. " He talks much and yet knows not what will 
 " be on the morrow, and though it be already close behind him, 
 " he docs not perceive it and tlierc is none to tell him of it." 
 Mendlessohn. 
 
310 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XII. 
 
 jv -: >•.•:-: >.•••.- i- "h I J- - v t -: I- I" 
 
 Note. He had said in the preceding verse that when the 
 fool utters his thoughtless slanders he little thinks that he will 
 eventually prove to have been acting the part of a madman 
 and endangering himself, if not involving himself in certain 
 ruin, " that the consequence of his speeches is that of fatal 
 madness ;" and he now goes on to say that the fool makes free 
 with his tongue, though no one knows what may be the con- 
 sequence of his slanders to him, and there is none who can 
 warn him as to what will be his fate. Mendlessohn appears to 
 make DIXH mean " the man," i. e. the man who was last men- 
 
 T T T 
 
 tioned, " the fool." This however is inadmissible, as in that case 
 we should have had W'liin, or {>^^n. D^^^^ invariably means 
 
 • T T T T " 
 
 either "men in general," "mankind," or "any man," "any 
 body," as appears from many passages of this book ; see viii. 17, 
 " Inasmuch as man (DlJ^Il) labours to find it out and cannot," 
 
 TT T ' 
 
 and especially the beginning of the same verse, where there is 
 no previous mention of any man to whom DIJ^H can refer, " So 
 I contemplated the whole work of God, for man cannot find out 
 the part of it, &c." As an instance of the second use, see vi. 12, 
 "For who knows what is good for a man (D^^?b for Dll^n?) in 
 life ? since who can tell him what may be awaiting him ?" So 
 here the sense must be, " no man knows what may be about to 
 happen in consequence of the fooPs garrulity." The Hebrews 
 constantly use the definite where we should use the indefinite 
 article ; see Note to ver. 18, and D\'?"'p3n in ver. 15. 
 
 The last six words of this verse are nearly the same as 
 those at the end of chapter vi. In both places, " that which 
 is behind him" seems to mean "a calamity ready to fall upon 
 him." 
 
CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 311 
 
 15 faciet? Stultorum labor unumquemque eorum defati- 
 gabit, quia est quafii nescius ad urbem pervenire. 
 
 Ver. 15. " He compares a fool who likes to meddle in 
 " things too great and wonderful for him while he is ignorant 
 " of those things which every body sees and knows, to a man 
 " who wants to reach a city, and does not know the way, and 
 " so wearies himself without attaining his wish." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The Rabbinic commentators notice that the word 
 ID'y is raascuhne and therefore cannot agree with the verb. 
 Either therefore some word qualifying bov must have dropt out, 
 or It may be a solitary instance of that word being feminine, as 
 Aben Ezra observes is the case with 1123, which he says is 
 always masculine except in the passage in the end of Genesis, 
 " With their assembly mine honour shall not be united," 
 "•lil^ ■?^7^■S^}. Here however liT\F\ may be the second person 
 masculine, as well as the third feminine ; (which cannot be the 
 case with "iSyil^iJi) ; and the rendering will then be, " With their 
 assembly be not thou united, my honour." 
 
 Ver. 15 cannot be construed, " The labour of fools (i. e. 
 profitless toil) will weary out him who does not know his way 
 to a city he wants to reach," because the antecedent of a pro- 
 nominal affix in Hebrew always precedes the verb which has 
 the affix, beside that the verse would then convey a mere 
 truism. The first clause must mean either " The labour of fools 
 will weary out each of them (i. e. of the fools)," or " Profitless 
 labour will weary him (i.e. the slanderer spoken of above);" 
 and tlic second clause either, " like one who knew not his way 
 to a city when he wanted to reach it,'' (if "Wi^ mean " who"); 
 or " since he is as if he knew not his way, &c." (if "W^ mean 
 " since"). AVe had J?!"' followed by an infinitive with the prefix 
 ^ at Eccles. iv. 13. The phrase robb '^T'^ is hkc the 
 Latin " ncscit ire." 
 
312 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIII. 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA TERTIA. 
 
 Vae tibi, terra, quod rex tuus puerilis sit, et 16 
 principes tui mane comedant. Prosperitas est tua, 17 
 terra, quod rex tuus nobilis sit, et principes tui 
 justo tempore epulentur ad se roborandum et non 
 
 Ver. 16. " Woe to thee when thy king is childish and 
 " neglects to administer the affairs of the kingdom, and thy 
 " princes feast in the morning, before they have transacted 
 " the public business, contrary to the injunction of Scripture, 
 " ' Administer justice in the morning.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The hteral rendering would be, " Woe to thee, 
 land, in case that thy king should be childish," i. e. it would be 
 a woe, a great misfortune for thee that this should happen ; 
 and so with regard to the "t£^ in the next verse, " It would 
 be thy happiness, &C.*''' 
 
 Ver. 17. " ' When thy king is a son of nobles,' means, 
 " ' when he acts the part of great princes.' DHirTl^ as ap- 
 " plied to a prince is the opposite of bi^^'b^'jl, 'And thy 
 " princes eat in due season,' (i. e. after they have finished their 
 " day's work of administering justice in the country), and only 
 " for necessity, in order that their own vigour and strength 
 " may contribute to the general good, not for the sake of 
 "luxurious indulgence in wine and dainties." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The singular of the word D"'1t:^>*, viz. "itt'J^, is 
 
 o • T -: 
 
 very rarely placed, as the plural is, in construction with another 
 substantive, or with a pronominal affix united to it. Of the 
 latter case there is a single instance in Scripture, Prov. xxix. 18, 
 
CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 313 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH SECTION, 
 
 16 : ^SjN^ npins -^'im i^j '^s'?^^ X^-^ ^^''^ 
 
 !)^'^tt^^?, which is the singular with the pronominal aflfix of the 
 third person singular attached to it. In the same Avay ^^ and 
 nnn when joined with pronominal affixes and "^^^< in all its 
 combinations take a plural form. It is true that the construct 
 form of the plural is ''*^^^^^, but when D''n5i^i< is coupled with 
 affixes the two first vowels would continue unaltered if this word 
 followed the regular form, and we should have here !J"'~)tt^^^^ 
 so that but for the •• which marks the word "JJHki'J^ to be 
 really formed from the plural, we might have taken it to be 
 derived from the singular ; this however would have given 
 ':\1Wii like ^mtt^lSJ . Similarly we find Ps. cxxviii. 2, Tfntif J< ; 
 Prov. xxix. 18, "intt^NJ ; Is. xxxii. 20, DDni^N* ; which are all 
 formed from the plural of "iti^j^. 
 
 The hteral rendering of the first words of this verse is, 
 " Blessings are thine, O land, provided that thy king be, &c." 
 
 D"'mn"]4 is clearly opposed to ")^3 in the preceding verse, 
 tlie latter denoting unworthiness, the former worthiness of high 
 station. The Rabbinic commentators say that " □"'"Tin either is 
 equivalent to JTIT'n 'h)!^, i.e. (in the Talmudic language) 'those 
 possessed of freedom,' 'freemen,' or means 'fine white Hnen,' and 
 hence ' those who wear white linen,' as great princes are called 
 
314 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIII. 
 
 avIt : - I J- • • V- : - '^:i- i- : - j : (.t : • 
 
 Drt'p CD^jJ^v pinpS : n;5n S|S^^. d;t n^Ss^ii 19 
 
 in Arabic pibl." The derivation of the word *lirT however 
 
 is in all probability the Arabic -^ "liber," "ingenuus," and neither 
 of those mentioned by the Rabbinists. It is always used in 
 the plural ; as in 1 Kings xxi. 8, 11, Is. xxxiv. 12, and DniH"]! 
 is equivalent to mn, just as we have in Joel iv. 6, D''3"l^'l '•^l, 
 " filii Graecorum," for Wy\\, like yle? 'A-)(^ai(i)u. 
 
 2. is used in TIE^l and n^llZlJl in the sense "propter." 
 AVe find it in a similar sense at Ps. vii. 7, "because of" or 
 "on account of the fury of my adversaries;" and Jon. i. 14, 
 " Let us not perish W'^iiil ti^231 i. e. for the life of this man." 
 
 '■ -TV V : 
 
 Ver. 18. " When a man is indolent, and neglects to repair 
 " a small breach in the roof of a house, the beams will at last 
 " fall down ; and if the master of a house hang down his 
 " hands or fold them on his bosom, the rain will at last pour 
 " through into the midst of his house. He speaks here meta- 
 " phorically of a king and his princes, and means to say that 
 " if they employ themselves only in eating and drinking lux- 
 " uriously, and sluggishly neglect the affairs of the state, the 
 " kingdom will presently come to nought, lilce a house which 
 " gradually falls into ruins in consequence of the indolence of 
 " its owner." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Aben Ezra says that WPh^i^^ is in the dual num- 
 ber because it refers to the two hands ; so that D^JH^JiJlJl would 
 mean "when both the hands are sluggish." The singular number 
 is n'^^V, " indolence," which occurs in the Proverbs, "^ly is 
 the apocopated future Niphal of "^yDD. It means, "will sink down 
 
CHAP. X,] ECCLESIASTICS. 315 
 
 18 ad compotandum. Per pigritiam collabetur contig- 
 natio, et per manuum dimissionem perpluet domus, 
 
 19 in irrisionem illorum qui parant cibos, vinumque 
 quod vivos {vel vitam) hilarat, et peeuniam quae 
 
 of itself." We have here in the word r\'^3.'r\ an instance of what 
 is very common in Hebrew, the use of the definite article where 
 in Eno-hsh we should use the indefinite. See Note to ver. 14. 
 
 Note. Ver. 19. Mendlessohn here makes D''i£^'iv agree 
 with D''~)ii^ in the last verse but two, and, considering those 
 two to be in a parenthesis, renders this verse, " Who make 
 " great entertainments, not to strengthen the body, but for 
 " laughter and rejoicing ; (Dn? meaning a ' banquet,"' as well 
 " as ' bread ;' vide Dan. v. 1) and their wme cheers the people 
 " who carouse with them ; and so it is clear that money will 
 " answer every purpose with them ;" " and accordingly," says 
 Mendlessohn, " they constantly cry out as it were ' Give, give,' 
 and drain the resources of the country." 
 
 But though all the commentators agree with Mendlessohn, 
 (except indeed Yarchi and Aben Ezra who propose a somewhat 
 for-fetchcd and improbable interpretation, for which see Rosen- 
 mullcr at this verse) ; it must be allowed that to suppose a 
 parenthesis of the two last verses, 17 and 18, which are the 
 antithesis to the preceding one, is a very unsatisfactory method 
 of explanation, because, the word DHti^ occurring in verse 17, 
 as well as in 16, if D'^ti^V agree with this word at all it must 
 necessarily refer to it where it last occurs, and therefore not 
 as used in verse 16, so that there can be a parenthesis only 
 of the last verse (18). If this however be the case, verses 19 
 and 17 form together a sentence whose clauses are directly 
 contradictory to each other, and which therefore is absolute 
 nonsense. I therefore venture to propose, Avhat 1 believe is an 
 
316 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIII. 
 
 omnia suppeditat. Ne in cogitatione quidem tua regi 20 
 maledicas, neque in penetralibus quidem cubiculi 
 tui nobili viro obloquaris, namque avis cceli deve- 
 het vocem, et rem nunciabit aligera. 
 
 entirely new suggestion, to render this verse as a continuation 
 of the preceding one, thus, " Through remissness of the hands 
 a house drops through, to the derision of those who acquire 
 bij industry bread, and wine that cheers people, and money that 
 furnishes every thing." My arguments for it are these. iltt^V i^ 
 often used in the sense " to acquire," vide Gen. xxxi. 1, xii. 5, 
 Deut. viii. 17, 18. p\TW retains the same form when in a state 
 of construction ; and it always means " derision," or " a laugh- 
 ing-stock," as in Lament, iii. 14, pTW ''n^'Tl, " I became a 
 laughing-stock," " ludibrium fiebam." The omission of "Wi^ as 
 it is here omitted before the verbs T\^W*^ and T}1'^\ is a <3on- 
 struction not at all uncommon, see Ps. Lxxvii. 6, " In order that a 
 subsequent generation, children that should be born, (nt'1'' D''J1), 
 might know these tilings ; that they might arise and tell them to 
 their children;" Gen. xv. 13, Uvb ^ V"l^?^> "In a land which be- 
 
 V T ' V V : 
 
 longs not to them;" Ps. Lxxxiv. 6, and Ps. Lxxi. 18, " Till I have 
 declared thy goodness to every one that is to come," J^IT'b^b; 
 and a still more remarkable parallel passage in Ps. civ. 14, 15, 
 of a part of which the present passage seems almost a quotation, 
 
 "iDT l:^^3^J-ll'p naii': i^^i V?.^?n"^^ °^^ i^^'^'yrh, " To bring 
 
 food out of the ground, and wine that cheers the heart of 
 man." □'*^n may be either " Hfe," or " the living," " people." 
 Of course on the above rendering S)D5n must be in the accu- 
 sative case ; Pi^ is generally prefixed to this case when it is 
 in -'a definite" state, but is also not unfrequently omitted, 
 
CHAP. X.] ECCLESIASTES. 317 
 
 I "^c IT - : J- I - V j:-^-:\- I ■.•<.:• - : f^•- j :'•>.-: 
 
 IT T 
 
 (vide IIurAvitz). Perhtaps it is omitted liero for euphony on 
 account of the "ITTTIJ^ which follows almost immediately and 
 because the construction made it so obvious that this must be 
 in the accusative, as well as UTlh and p. 
 
 I have already discussed the meaning of the word n^y» at 
 chap. V. 19, on the supposition that it is in the Kal in the 
 present verse, when it will mean "grants," or "supplies." If 
 we take it to be in the Hiphil, (as it may be), it must mean, 
 "gives the means of procuring." ^'^n may be either "every 
 thing," or " both," i. e. " both bread and wine." 
 
 Observe that p'iTW may be the infinitive, and we then con- 
 strue, " So as for those to deride who acquire bread, &c." 
 and the sense is the same. 
 
 The rendering which I have adopted exhibits in this pas- 
 sage that repetition of an antithesis which several times occurs 
 in this book and is particularly remarkable in the two last 
 chapters of it ; for Solomon in the two first verses of this 
 Section contrasts the state of a country under a slotliful and 
 an active administration, and in the two verses which follow, as 
 I have translated them, the ruin consequent on indolence in a 
 family with the advantage resulting from dihgence. 
 
 Ver. 20. " He addresses him who lives under the o-ovcrn- 
 " mcnt of a ruler and says, ' If thou perccivcst that the king 
 " is childish, and the princes eat in the morning, restrain thy- 
 " self from talking about it ; and even in thy thoughts do not 
 
318 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIV. 
 
 THE FOURTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 tD*22*n nhn-^3 tD'f^n ^J3-^v "^^nh n^^ i 
 
 " blame or reprobate the king''s conduct ; nor speak lightly of 
 " his princes in the most secret place. Guard thy mouth and 
 " keep watch over thy tongue, and say not, I am in my 
 " chamber, who can hear me? for the bird of the sky' (hero 
 " he speaks mataphorically), ' that sits in thy window and hears 
 " thy words, and the winged fowl may report it to the men of 
 " power, so that they may hate and destroy thee.' He means, 
 " * Thou canst not be sufficiently on thy guard in tliis matter.' 
 " This repetition seems to indicate that the passage is written 
 " in poetry." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Tfl^t^D mm is literally " in the chambers of thy 
 
 bed." The Keri on D^S23n is "n n^n\ " "n is redundant." 
 
 Chap. 
 XI. 
 
 Ver. 1, 2. " According to the plain interpretation of this 
 " passage, he seems to be here addressing himself to merchants, 
 " and advising them to trade to a distance, even from one end 
 " of the world to the other ; as if he would say, ' Let them not 
 " be afraid to send their substance to those at a distance, or to 
 " transport it across the sea in trading vessels ; for in the course 
 " of many days they will by this means gain much profit and 
 " advantage.' He calls all mercantile occupation by the general 
 " phrase of ' going down to the sea.' For it was he who began 
 " the practice of sending ships to Ophir and Tarshish along with 
 " those of Hiram. And once every three years they brought 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 319 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA QUARTA. 
 
 Cap. 
 XI. 
 
 1 Mitte opes tuas super faciem aquarum ; nam 
 post multorum dierum intervallum recipies eas. 
 
 " thenco silver and gold and other kinds of merchandize, as is 
 " stated in Scripture. And it should seem that the king is 
 " seeking here to stir up and incite the minds of his servants 
 " and his people to do as he had done, in order that they might 
 " become rich and their wealth might be increased. In the second 
 " verse, according to its simple interpretation and its connexion 
 " with the preceding one, he seems to be advising a merchant 
 " not to invest all his property in one mercantile speculation, or 
 " to stow all liis goods in one ship, but agreeably to prudence to 
 " divide it among seven or eight ; and then if he lose by one 
 " he may make profit by another ; for he cannot tell what 
 " accidents may happen in the world ; and it is probable that 
 " he says ' seven or eight ' in order to dissuade his hearers 
 " from paying attention to those cliviners who select a certain 
 " number as hkely to bring good luck, and reject another under 
 " the idea that it will be unlucky, and that he says this im- 
 " plying, ' Commit portions of thy substance to seven or to eight 
 " vessels indifferently, and addict not thyself to divination by 
 " numbers.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The word Vibw has been incorrectly rendered in 
 this passage " cast," or " scatter," and by the Latin translators 
 " emitte,"" " projice." This verb, whether in Kal or Pihel, in- 
 variably means " to send," except as apphed to the discharge of 
 missiles from a bow or an engine, where its use is clearly tech- 
 
320 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIV. 
 
 Septem vel octo navihus singulis partem impone ; 2 
 
 nical. The sense of "casting" or "scattering" is appropriated to 
 the verb ^[bti^, which is always used in the Hiphil, as we find it in 
 iii. 5, "A time to keep, and a time to throw away," "^hwrh Tsyf]. 
 But if the passage be rendered as Lowth and nearly all the Rab- 
 binic commentators have explained it, " Scatter thy seed-corn 
 where there is no hope of a harvest ;" i. e, " bestow thy benefits 
 and bounty on those by whom thou canst not hope to be repaid," 
 the word rb'^ ought clearly to imply " scattering," and that 
 free and hberal distribution of charity which Christ recommends 
 where he says, "When thou givest a feast, call the poor, the 
 maimed, the halt, and the blind ; for they cannot recompense 
 thee ; but thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the 
 just." Again, the motive here held out for sending out our 
 bread, i. e. our livelihood or substance on the waters, is that we 
 shall " find it again ;" i. e. that same bread or substance, and 
 recover it, as it implied, with profit upon it. Now it could not 
 be intended that tliis should be our motive in Uberahty to the 
 poor ; for Christ says, " Call not thy rich neighbours, lest they 
 also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee," but it is 
 at the resurrection that he tells us we are to look for the 
 reward of it ; and we cannot suppose that that reward is to 
 consist in " bread," or " substance." 
 
 The second verse still more clearly indicates the correctness 
 of Mendlessohn's interpretation. 
 
 In the first place it is clear that through the whole of the 
 context Solomon is merely giving precepts of worldly wisdom. 
 For it has been shewn that such is the case in a number of 
 verses preceding ; and as to the following verses to the end of 
 this Section, the only conclusion drawn from them by the author 
 himself is, " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 321 
 
 J •< At : • J- : \t : • : I v j" i •: |v t : • 
 
 lay not- down thy hand, &c." Accordingly it would be more 
 consistent that in these two verses he should be merely recom- 
 mending the disposal of our goods into more vessels than one, 
 in order that we may not have our all staked in one freight 
 and so be as little as possible exposed to loss from accidents, 
 than that he should have interrupted the general style and 
 tenour of his discom^se to advise us to lay up treasure for 
 the hfe to come by liberahty to the poor in this. 
 
 In the next pla«e the exhortation conveyed in this verse to 
 commit portions of our substance to seven or eight individuals is 
 quite inconsistent with that to exercise a large and free liberahty 
 to the poor conveyed by Lowth's rendering of the former verse. 
 It is this species of hberahty which is spoken of by Christ as 
 to be recompensed at the resurrection, not the committal of our 
 substance to a few individuals after the manner of the unjust 
 steward who made himself friends with "the mammon of unright- 
 eousness." Besides, why should the number seven be fixed 
 upon ? It is perfectly inappropriate as employed in this place 
 except inasmuch as it is a sacred number, which conveyed a 
 certain charm or spell with its use, and might therefore be fixed 
 upon by a superstitious merchant as the number of his ships, or 
 even by a believer in spells as that of the friends to whom 
 he would entrust his property, but on no ground whatever 
 by a charitable person as the number of the poor recipients of 
 his bounty. But the opinion that the entrusting of portions 
 of our substance to several friends in order to increase its 
 security is here recommended, is inadmissible even on Lowth's 
 rendering of the first verse, and may be set aside at once ; and 
 consequently the mention of these particular numbers goes en- 
 tirely to support Mendlessohn's interpretation, and no other. 
 21 
 
322 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIV. 
 
 <• ^ Iv : IT • • I V IT T ^~ Vt jv : ,• - ' - •• 
 
 Finally, the motive held out to compliance with the exhorta- 
 tion in this verse is, " For thou knowest not what evil may 
 happen' in the world." Now if it had been intended here to 
 encourage us to exercise liberality to the poor, surely we should 
 have been reminded of the recompense of a future state, to 
 which there are so many allusions in this book, rather than of 
 the uncertainty of abiding prosperity in this life, (which in itself 
 would have been a motive to securing friends among the great 
 and rich, and not among the poor) ; and yet this is all that 
 those words can reasonably be supposed to mean ; for there 
 can be no doubt that if Solomon had intended by the second 
 clause of verse (2) to say, " for thou knowest not what losses 
 may befall thee in this world, aiid therefore thou hadst best lay 
 up treasure for another, i. e. by liberality to the poor" he 
 would have said this expressly, and not merely have implied it. 
 For the idea which it would then be left for the reader to 
 supply would not suggest itself to us so readily as it does unless 
 we were familiar with several passages of the New Testament, 
 as for instance that in which Christ exhorts his disciples to 
 make themselves friends in heaven by a due use of worldly wealth 
 in order that when they should have to leave it they might be 
 admitted to everlasting and heavenly habitations. 
 
 This is in fact a remarkable instance of the agreement of 
 Jewish and Christian commentators in the attempt to extort the 
 same far-fetched sense from a passage of Scripture, the method 
 of \0T\, or recondite interpretation on the one side, and that of 
 fancifully devising parallelisms where they do not exist between 
 the Old Testament and the New on the other, having led them 
 both to the same conclusion. 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 323 
 
 3 nescis enim quid mali futurum sit in terris. Si 
 plen^e fuerint niibes pluviam in terram efFundent; 
 ac si ceciderit lignum in austrum sive in septentrio- 
 
 p^n is put in the singular number distributively. The sense 
 is, " Give a portion, a share, to each of seven or eight vessels." 
 Ver. 3, 4. "He proceeds to speak of those diviners, who 
 
 * observe the clouds, and conjure up forms and shapes in them, 
 ' and by means of these think to ascertain and prognosticate 
 
 * at the outset of their proceedings whether they will prosper 
 ' or not, or who notice from what quarter the wind blows, and 
 
 * consult its advice as it were as to the direction in which they 
 
 * shall sow, or the course they ought to adopt in their mer- 
 ' cantile or military operations so that they may prosper ; as 
 ' though when the wind sets the clouds in motion it thereby gave 
 ' them in answer an intimation that they ought to direct their 
 ' operations towards the quarter whither it is going, and if 
 ' the clouds happen to be stationary and therefore the wind at 
 ' rest, this were a sign to them that they too ought to suspend 
 ' the operations which they were about to enter upon. And 
 ' such was the practice in those days, as we find from the 
 ' passage, ' enquiring of his piece of wood ; and his staff will 
 ' tell him,' "i"? Til^ ib)Pp1 l^i^^l biiiW ; that is, such a person 
 ' was in the habit of throwing his walking-stick into the air, or 
 •' shooting an arrow upwards, and observing by its fall the 
 ' direction in which the wind had carried it, or whether it fell 
 ' down to him again if there was no wind, and then rcgard- 
 ' ms it as a sijjn. Vide Ezek. xxi. 21, ' The kino- of 
 ' Babylon stood at the parting of the way (trivium) to use 
 ' divination ; he made his arrows bright,' &c. in allusion to the 
 ' method of divination by arrows. With respect to these per- 
 ' sons the Preacher says that wc must not attend to the vanities 
 
 21—2 
 
324 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIV. 
 
 nem quo loco ceciderit ibidem manebit. Qui ven- 4 
 turn observat forsitan non serat, et qui nubes spectat 
 forsitan non metat. Quemadmodum venti cursum 5 
 
 " of diviners ; for that such ideas have no reality in them, and 
 " such practices will give us no true information about the future 
 " in the affairs of men ; but that if the clouds are full of rain, 
 " all we can know from them is that they will pour it out on 
 " the ground ; and similarly the fall of the staff whether north- 
 " ward or southward cannot afford any sign or intimation. It 
 " is certain that, wherever the piece of wood falls, there it will 
 " lie ; this is all we can know from its falling ; but by its 
 " falling it gives us no information with regard to any matter 
 " further than this either for good or harm. Another Rabbi 
 " whom I have consulted explains this passage differently. He 
 " connects it with the last clause of the preceding verse, and 
 " says, it means, ' You must not imagine that there is danger 
 " only in marine trade; on dry land too you cannot tell what 
 " evil or misfortune may happen. If you are sowing your field, 
 " you cannot tell whether the clouds may be full of rain, and 
 " interrupt your work by pouring it down ; or whether a 
 " stormy wind may arise, and a great tree be blown down ; 
 " and then he who is walking by the way cannot tell whether 
 " it will fall northward or southward, and all his alarm and 
 " anxiety Avill be useless, for the tree will lie in the place 
 " where it falls. For these reasons a man should not indulge in 
 " fruitless and causeless apprehension.' Other Rabbins have ex- 
 " plained it still differently. But with none of the interpretations 
 " have I been able to reconcile the position in this verse of the 
 " accents wliich denote pauses ; for the word ^p'^'\'> ought to have 
 " had the athnack, and the word ]"i22i2 the zakeph, in order 
 " for each predicate to be connected with its respective subject 
 " according to the general rule. But agreeably with the pauses of 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 325 
 
 4>mi 1^^ '.^)n' D^ ryn Si3*^ Dip;b nfi^3 
 
 <l: I" V —. r I I: • > v'Viv ;••• : '^atv j 
 
 " the accents as they stand in our text it is requisite that the 
 " latter subject, viz. 'the place where it falls,' should refer to 'the 
 " cloud's being full of water,' as well as to the ' falling of the 
 " tree ;' and this is not in accordance with any of the methods 
 " of interpretation which I have noticed. In the next verse he 
 " proceeds to dissuade from attention to the same method of 
 " divination, observing that he who watches the wind, and does 
 " not choose to sow until it comes from a particular quarter, will 
 " sometimes wait in vain for it to do so, and consequently never 
 " sow or not till it is too late; and that similarly he who gazes 
 " at the clouds and consults the forms which he observes in 
 " them, will sometimes reap no harvest." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 3. As \"11 is formed from (iTf with the apoco- 
 pation of the final n, so t^^iT is formed from N*"li"l, the ^< not 
 admitting of apocopation. The form corresponding with TVTV 
 would be ^^TV. The meaning of these two verbs is the same. 
 
 Mendlessohn even hero docs not venture to suggest an al- 
 teration of the accents, though he iraphes that he is unable to 
 suggest any sense for the passage in accordance with them. 
 His meaning above where he says that the accents in this 
 verse do not answer to the obviously true correspondence of 
 subjects and predicates in it, is that if we stop the verse agree- 
 ably with the accents it will be on this wise, "If the clouds are 
 full (and) they pour down rain on the ground and if the rod 
 fall northward or southward, in the place where the rod falls 
 there it will lie," 
 
 Ver. 4. ynp and "lliip^ are clearly in the potential mood. 
 
 Ver. 5. " This is an inverted form of expression, and as 
 
326 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XIV. 
 
 T T AT " : - I V jv : V T '^:\- - T I V JV 
 
 r 
 
 " such must be interpreted backwards from the end to the be- 
 " ginning ; and its meaning then is, ' Thou canst know nothing 
 " of any one of the purposes of God before it is developed 
 " and has actually appeared in existence, just as thou knowest 
 " no more about the course of the wind than thou dost about the 
 " fetus and its formation in the womb of the mother.' " (At 
 the same time then he asserts that the degree of our acquaint- 
 ance with the course of the wind, and therefore of our power 
 to prognosticate by means of it, is the same as that of our 
 acquaintance with the progress of a formation which nature 
 has concealed from us, and states that we can know no more 
 of any of the purposes of God beforehand than we do about 
 either of these subjects.) "The order of the two members of the 
 " sentence introduced by the adverbs '^t^^J3 and n33 respec- 
 " tively is inverted in the same way as the order has been in 
 " the phrases On^D V"?.^? ""'"' 1^? ' ' ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^gJPt ^^^ 
 "like the garden of the Lord;' rTn-)n53 nnSJS'S, 'The mis- 
 " tress shall be as her maid ;' "131(25 ^})?^ > ' "^1^® seller shall 
 "be as the buyer;' these particles being used to compare 
 " sometimes the first with the second, and sometimes the second 
 " with the first. Yarchi ably connects this passage with the 
 " preceding verses thus ; he says, ' If it were possible that thou 
 " shouldest be acquainted with the laws of motion of the atmo- 
 " sphere of the world, so as to be sure in what direction it ought 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 327 
 
 ignoras siciit con form ationes inclusas in utero gra- 
 vidae; ita Dei qui facit omnia non opus intelligis. 
 6 Mane semen tuum semina ; et vespere ne remittas 
 manum tuam ; nescis enim utrum, hocce an illud, ma- 
 gis fuerit prosperum, sive utrumque seque bonum sit. 
 
 " to move agreeably to them at the time of thy augury, and 
 " thou shouldest find that its motion were then contrary to the 
 " laws of nature, in that case it might perhaps be at least a sort 
 " of sign to thee ; but if thou dost not comprehend the nature of 
 " its course, what sign can it possibly furnish thee in thy divi- 
 " nations ? perhaps its then direction may be exactly that of 
 " nature.' Yarchi interprets the word D"'Diiif in this place as 
 " derived from UTj^ in the phrase T'3''V D^IVj 'closing his eyes;' 
 " and therefore meaning ' the inclosures in the womb.' " ]Men- 
 dlcssohn. 
 
 Note. We have already had the word rwV in the sense 
 
 T T 
 
 "to appoint," and here again Hbyp must mean "appointment," 
 " purpose." 
 
 Ver. 6. " He means, ' Do not give attention to the signs 
 " of divination and augury ; but do thy own business in every 
 " respect ; sow thy seed in the morning, and in the evening let 
 " not thy hand be remiss. Be not indolently slack in doing 
 " thy duty ; and if thou be not prosperous to-day, perhaps thou 
 " wilt be so to-morrow, and if thou lose in the morning perhaps 
 " thou maycst gain in the evening.' " IVIendlessohn. 
 
 Note. AVlicn ^J^ is prefixed to the pronoun nt, it gives 
 it the sense of an interrogative pronoun, "which," "whether of 
 two," {nriii nrrr, "this or that"). We find it united with 
 other pronouns and adverbs, and similarly modifying their sig- 
 nification. 
 
328 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. XV. 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA QITINTA. 
 
 Suave quoqvie lumen est, et bonum oculis est 7 
 videre solem ; etsi enim multos annos vivat homo, 8 
 omnibus illis leetetur; at simul reeordetur tenebra- 
 tum dies, quod forsitan multi futuri sint, et irritum 
 quodcunque ei obvenerit {vel "et quodcunque prag- 
 
 Ver. 7. " ' The light also, &c.'* After exhorting to dUi- 
 " gence in mercantile and agricultural employments, he proceeds 
 " to encourage men to tranquillity and cheerfulness of heart. 
 " He says, ' The hght too is sweet, and it is a good thing to 
 " look at the sun when a man is reposing after his work is 
 " done.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Solomon means that while industry is very com- 
 mendable, tranquil enjoyment of life and the beauties of creation 
 is also a good thing. 
 
 Ver. 8, 9. " 'For though a man's life be long, it is proper 
 " that he should be cheerful through the whole of it ; but that in 
 " the midst of his cheerfulness he should bear in mind that the 
 " days of distress and adversity may be many, and that then 
 " all that has past and happened to him would be in vain ; for 
 " in the days of adversity man does not remember the days of 
 " past prosperity.' He then repeats this advice with the ac- 
 " companying warning. He says, ' Rejoice, (be cheerful,) 
 " youth, in thy childhood ;' know that melancholy and morose- 
 " ness is not the service of God, but that on the contrary it is 
 *' one of the commandments of God to us to receive our bless- 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 329 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 ••• IT - V ) : • -v- "^r ' : a t | i t 
 
 snw' a^:i2 CD-Txn nm' nam D':)ti^-CDX ^3 
 
 AT : • JT •.. ; VT T |T IV . (• .)•• . - ,• T • J- 
 
 V |T IT 
 
 " ings from liim in gladness and cheerfulness of heart ; as ' the 
 " friend ' says to ' king Hakoozar,' (2nd Dialogue, chap. 20.) 
 " * The holy law has not commanded us to be Pharisees,' " (this 
 name Si^nS was at first used with praise, and applied to every 
 sober man who separates himself from the grosser pleasures of 
 the world ; and the training oneself in such a manner of life 
 was called m{i'''12. But afterwards those who hypocritically 
 shewed themselves too punctilious in their abstemiousness and 
 fell into the grossest self-conceit were called C'^i^nSJ, "Puritans," 
 as a stigmatizing epithet. See Bernard'*s Maimonidgs), '"but to 
 " pursue the middle path, and to give its just portion to each 
 " of the powers of the body and mind, without excess or super- 
 " fluity ; for it is impossible for the portion allotted to one 
 " foculty to be excessive without that allotted to another portion 
 " becoming consequently defective. Thus he who inchncs be- 
 " yond the bound of moderation to the faculty of carnal desire 
 " must diminish and encroach upon the faculty of reflection and 
 " observation, and vice versa ; and he who incHnes in excess to 
 " the love of power and victory will lessen the efficiency of some 
 *' other faculty ; and much fasting is not necessarily doing God 
 
330 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XV. 
 
 T "^ $• T : I Av "• V : ~ : I ••• • j" : - : I •• - : 
 
 " service In a man whose bodily appetites are feeble, and whose 
 " powers are debilitated and frame emaciated. But it is proper 
 " for such a man to indulge and cherish his corporeal frame. 
 " Nor again is it serving God to reject wealth, provided that 
 " wealth come to a man in a right way, without excessive 
 " anxiety and toil on his part, and without his having been led 
 " to negligence of learning, wisdom, and good works in the 
 " acquirement of it. Indeed for one who has the additional 
 " expense of providing for children, and whose purpose it is to 
 " spend Ills wealth for God, the acquisition of property is most 
 *' proper. The sum and substance of this matter is that thy 
 " duty is made up of fear, love, and cheerfulness ; and in each 
 " of these states of feehng thou shouldest approach thy God ; 
 " nor is the humiliation and abstinence practised on days of 
 " fasting more acceptable than the cheerfulness suitable to sab- 
 " baths and feasts, provided that thy cheerfulness be under due 
 " regulation, and with a perfect heart,' and so on. (He has gone 
 " to some length in explaining this matter, as you may see by 
 " reference to the passage itself). The radical principle then 
 " is that the purpose of our heart must be to serve the God of 
 " heaven, and that it be constantly borne in mind that he who 
 " ' tries the reins and heart' will judge the secrets of our hearts, 
 " and call us to account with respect to all the meditations and 
 " reflections and passions of our souls, for our cheerfulness and 
 " our melancholy, our sorrow and our gladness ; and this is the 
 " meaning of the passage we are now considering; 'Rejoice, be 
 " cheerful, O youth, in thy childhood, for those are the days of 
 " cheerfulness, and let tliy heart cheer thee in the days of thy 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 331 
 
 9 teritum fuerit"). Lfetare, juvenis adolescentia tua, 
 et mens tua te exhilaret in juvenili tua a^tate, et i 
 quorsumcunque te ferat animus tuus et oculorum 
 tuorum visus; at scito Deum te in judicium de his 
 
 " childhood, and thou may est also walk in the ways of thy 
 " heart and in the satisfaction of thy eyes without being guUty 
 " of sin, if thou ever remember and forget not that God will 
 " bring thee to judgment concerning all these things, and that 
 " thou art about to give account before him as to what portion 
 " thou hast assigned to each faculty of body and soul ; for the 
 " natural propensities of man, and the enjoyment derived from 
 " the sense of sight were given to him at the beginning of the 
 " creation for a purpose and an end pleasing to the Creator; 
 " and if a man bear in mind the day of his account to which 
 " I have alluded, he will be sure to direct them aright, and in 
 " such a way as will be for his highest good and his happiness 
 " in the life to come, and will assign to each of them as he 
 " ought to do its due measure and portion without excess or 
 " defect.' And as to the injunction of Scripture, Numb. xv. 29, 
 *' * Ye shall not go astray ("^in) after your own hearts and 
 " your own eyes ;' there can be no doubt that all that is for- 
 " bidden is departure from the middle course, and that it is 
 " implied by the next words, ' which ye used to go a whoring 
 " after,' that they do not lead man into sin unless he goes a 
 " whoring after them, i. e. pursues them to excess and exclu- 
 " sivcly to the forgctfulness of his duty to God ; which he will 
 " not do if he recollects that for all these things God will bring 
 " him to account." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Ver. 8. Some translators render ^IH J^l'^'t'S, "All 
 
 V T TV T 
 
 that comctb," or " is about to be," " will be in vain ;" as if it 
 were an independent proposition. But if this were the case there 
 
332 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XV. 
 
 omnibus adducturum esse. Et amove ex animo tuo 10 
 moerorem, et dispelle malum a corpore tuo ; nam ju- £jj* 
 ventus et adolescentia evanescunt ; at memento quo- 1 
 que Creatoris tui in diebus juventutis tuee, quamdiu 
 neque dies mali veniunt, neque accedunt anni de 
 quibus dices, "Nil est mihi in illis gratum," quam- 2 
 diu non obscurus fit sol atque lux et luna et 
 
 would have been an athnack under 5)"»n"'. I have therefore taken 
 these words, as Mendlessohn has done, to be included under 
 ■•S "ibP, being omitted with an abruptness frequent in Hebrew; 
 see Note at xli. 9) and ^?l to be not the participle but the pre- 
 terite. The sense will then be, " Let him at the same time bear 
 in mind that many may be the days of darkness to come, (and) 
 every thing which has past (all his past happiness and cheerful- 
 ness) fruitless and in vain;" where the "days of darkness" are 
 those of adversity in this life, not of punishment in the life to come. 
 
 Ver. 9. The Keri on ^Nf1»3 is nJ^")Dl. 
 
 Ver. 10. " Youth will not last for ever, but presently 
 " vanish away ; therefore you should improve it while it lasts. 
 " n^"int^ is derived from "iHti^, 'aurora,' as in the phrase 
 " nbv 1'nW ''2 , ' for dawn arose ;' or in the versO) ' Then shall 
 
 T T ~ ~ • 
 
 " thy light break forth as the morning dawn (inti^).*' Just as 
 " youth was compared to the dawn of morning, old age was 
 " compared to evening, as in the verse, * In the morning sow 
 *' thy seed, and in the evening remit not thy hand,' alluding to 
 " the industrious employment of old age as well as youth. Or 
 " possibly Jl^nnti^ may be cognate with the word "iintt^, ' black,' 
 " with reference to the hair, which in youth has not become 
 ** hoary." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. This verse means, "Do not distress and vex thyself 
 
CHAP. XI.] ECCLESIASTES. 333 
 
 cin:3 ^kp« nbxn 1^^5 ti^i^j^ ly^m nyin ^^^ 
 2 nTni lixn"! ^^i^n "^g^riri-^S i^x ij; : pn 
 
 in thy youth, but enjoy it knowing that Uke the morning-dawn 
 it will soon vanish away." It need hardly be observed that 
 rinb*" and ri^in^i are in the singular number. I have rendered 
 the latter " the morning of life." 
 
 Ver. 1. " 'The evil days' means 'old age.'" Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. This verse is closely connected with that which 
 precedes it, and Solomon thus the third time exhorts the young 
 to be cheerful in the enjoyment of Ufe, along with a constant 
 recollection of duties to be performed, and of the transitory 
 nature of all earthly things. Similarly in Section x. he three 
 times inculcates the duty of neither judging harshly of others, 
 nor supposing that all the world are just and good. Some ma- 
 nuscripts and editions read ?fNI"113, striking out the Yod, in order 
 to make it in the singular number. This however is unneces- 
 sary, as we find in Is. uv. 5, "^^y "^^2^'^ ^^"l^ "The Lord is 
 thy husband and thy maker," where "husband" and "maker" 
 are both in the plural number. And in Pro v. ix. 1, JTiDDn 
 " wisdom," is used as a singular. There arc instances of a 
 ^' plural of excellence." 
 
 Ver. 2. " By reason of old age the moisture of the eyes 
 " becomes thickened ; and often it seems to him in consequence 
 " as if clouds passed before his eyes wliich hide the light, or 
 " in other words impair his sight ; and this moisture collects 
 " till it runs down ; and this happens repeatedly, as is implied 
 
334 ECCLESIASTES. [SECT. XV. 
 
 *^ '..TV - V |T - i v't|V it : A' T 1 - : 
 
 fiiinbn ^':'ton!i h'nn ^ej^'j« !inij;nni n^in nXD^j^' 
 
 -; I - < : |T -AT V J.. ; - ^ . _ . |. . . — J" : I 
 
 tD'nhi iiiiDi : nisij^s n)Hin Ji^j^'ni ^ibvx^ ^3 4 
 
 • - T : <:•..: i ■.. -:it v |t i : it ; "•• • j- 
 
 5in£rn ii55fn Sips ciipn n^ntsn Sip Ss^in pw^ 
 
 " by the expression, ' The clouds come again after the discharge 
 " of tears.' For did not the same cause of dimness recur, the 
 " discharge of the moisture from the eyes would cause the 
 " power of sight to return in perfection." Mendlessohn. 
 
 ISToTE. Observe that the ^ before ^2\i} is conversive, and 
 brings 'H2W into the same tense as "!JSi^nn, the last verb which 
 preceded it in the same sentence. 
 
 Ver. 3, " ' The keepers of the house,' signifies the hands 
 " and arms, because these defend the body, and prevent harm 
 " from happening to it ; and ' the strong men,' is a name for 
 " the thighs by which the whole body is supported and wliich 
 " in old age become bent from excessive weakness. ' Those that 
 " look out at windows' are the eyes, ^^p is from the same 
 " word 3;^? which we find in Esth. v. 9, yi iib) Dp ih, 'He rose 
 " not, nor moved,' and it means, ' trembling and quaking will 
 " take hold of them.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Mendlessohn says nothing in his commentary about 
 ^DJ^Q. The Rabbinic commentators are very unwilling to allow 
 it an intransitive signification, because it is in the Pihel conjuga- 
 tion. Such instances, viz. where the Kal and Pihel have both an 
 intransitive sense, are rare, but they do sometimes occur (see 
 Note at X. 10) ; and this is probably one of them. They would 
 translate it, " Because they have made small (i. e. ground) corn 
 so long," or "because they have already ground the corn" 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 335 
 
 sidera, neqiie rediunt post pluviam nubes ; sicut fiet 
 
 3 quo tempore domiis custodes tremebunt, et viri 
 robusti incurvescent et cessabunt molitrices quum 
 paiica? factse erunt, et caligabunt spectantes per 
 
 4 fenestras, claudenturque fores in platea submisso 
 molitionis sonitu, et subsiliet dominus ad avis vocem, 
 
 or else, "because they have diminished their grinding.'" The 
 last rendering involves a truism, and the two first are very 
 far-fetched. It is better to render '•3 , " when," (a sense which 
 it must bear in Hos. xi. 1,) and siJO^D, " they have become few." 
 And since 1 before each of the other verbs is conversive, !|tO>^D ""a 
 will then mean, "when they shall have become few." Solomon 
 in this and the next verse compares a man to a regal mansion, 
 and his limbs and senses to the several classes of its house- 
 hold, the thighs to " the men of war," the arms to " the porters 
 at the gate," the teeth to "the maidens that grind corn," the 
 ears and voice to " the singing girls," the eyes to " the ladies 
 who sit and look out at the windows ;" for JTi^ntO and n'i^^^^T 
 
 -. - T T 
 
 are both feminine, and the first may mean " ancilloe molitrices." 
 Before ver. 3, understand "as," i. e. "as it will be." 
 
 Ver. 4. " ' The doors' signify the outward apertures of 
 "the body, and 'the sound of the grinding' refers to the di- 
 " gestion of food, and its being ground and dissolved in the 
 " stomach ; for when this is impeded all the bodily organs are 
 " obstructed in their functions. ' And one will start up at a 
 " bird's note,' means that the old man will be roused from his 
 " sleep even by the chirping of a bird. ' And all the daughters 
 " of song shall be brought low.' This implies that the pipes of 
 " the lungs from which the voice proceeds shall fail in pcrform- 
 " ing their functions ; for an old man from weakness is unable 
 " to sing or exert his voice." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. The metaphor of the house is here carried on. 
 
336 ECCLESIASTES. £sECT. XV. 
 
 et deprimentur omnes cantus filias, timebuntque 5 
 etiam alta, et terrores erunt in via, et florebit 
 amygdala, et pigrescet {vel onusta sibi fiet vel onustam 
 se reddet) cicada, et extinguetur concupiscentia, 
 
 The old man is compared to a house whose inmates are in a 
 state of consternation and dismay, where the usual domestic 
 operations are suspended, the doors are closed as in time of 
 mourning, the lord of the mansion starts with anxious fear at 
 every noise, and all sounds of joy are mute. I have rendered 
 D^p"' " one will start up," but it probably refers to the master 
 of the house, and therefore metaphorically to the mind which 
 animates the old man, which is so easily alarmed and agitated ; 
 while the other clauses of these two verses refer to the do- 
 mestics of the house, and metaphorically to the limbs and senses 
 of the body. " The sound of the grinding being low," refers 
 either, as Mendlessohn takes it, to the operations of digestion, 
 or to the mastication of food in the mouth, since whichever of 
 these be suspended the consequence expressed by WThi ^II^D 
 \)W3. will equally take place. Some have interpreted T\')1'l 
 T^n to mean " the ears." Probably these as well as " the 
 lungs and throat" are intended. They are all expressed by 
 " the powers of song." It would be useless to enumerate in- 
 stances in which the word T\3., "daughter," is used in Hebrew 
 merely to express the subject of which the predicate is some 
 noun of quality with which it is in a state of construction. 
 Observe that the first 1 in this verse is conversive and the 
 others are not, so that aU the verbs have a future signification. 
 The word U'Tbl is in the dual number with an obvious allusion. 
 
 • - T : 
 
 Ver. 5. " The old man is constantly in alarm from the 
 " risings and inequalities in the road lest he should stumble 
 " over them, and continually meets with something to terrify 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 337 
 
 )<•• I- AT • -: |T V T : T T IV J- - : • : i-t • < ▼. 
 
 " him on his way. The word □"nnr^n is from rijnn ; the first 
 " and third letters of which are doubled, and the middle one 
 " suppressed. ' The almond-tree shall flower ;' yi^T^ is the Hiphil 
 "from X^^, the i* preceded by tzcre being put for t preceded 
 " by chirek. So we find in the Canticles, D^3iD")n !|^2n, ' The 
 " pomegranates have flowered.' The allusion is to the hoary 
 " hair which comes quickly upon a man just as the alinond- 
 " tree flowers early, before the other trees ; for in Jer. i. 11, 
 '* ' The rod of an almond-tree' is used as an emblem of speedy 
 " accomplishment. The commentators explain IJnn "^iripi by 
 
 "m^inn nn^^< ^bnnD^ i.e. 'mbinn ni^i* will become a 
 
 "burdensome appendage to him;' and agreeably with this ren- 
 " dering we may understand after "isn the word rTjn''^4' which is 
 " often united with it, and translate mVl^?^ '^^^\], 'and carnal 
 " desire will break its covenant with the body,' i. e. ' will desert 
 "it.' For n3VnJ^ comes from HIN, 'cupivit,' the place of the 
 
 T • -: T T 
 
 " n being supplied by \ (as is the case in the inflexions of 
 " such verbs), and means ' desire,' ' carnal appetite.' Solomon 
 "next remarks that this timidity and imbecility arise from 
 " the apprehension of death, and that all these symptoms of 
 " decay come before as precursors of death, like the hired 
 " mourners who walk in procession before a funeral, and that 
 " they visit the body as if to warn it of approaching dissolu- 
 " tion. Now if I were sure that 3Jn and ^2'l'•l^* were names 
 
 T T T • -: 
 
 " of well-known fruit-trees, I should have been for interpreting 
 " the passage in this way, ' that the symptoms of old age come 
 " quickly upon us, just as ( 1 ) the almond-tree flowers, the 
 22 
 
338 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XV. 
 
 iv : CDnsiDH p)^^ nnDi )bhv n^!i-S« CDixn 6 
 
 n- I- : I - I >■ ~ * : |T : x i j- -.• t t it 
 
 " 2yn ' becomes loaden' with fruit, and ' the n3l"'lh? bears fruit' 
 
 T T T • : 
 
 " in a very short space of time ;' and then isr> instead of being 
 " the Hiphil from ")!)2 would necessarily be derived from the 
 " verb of which i"lS is the verbal noun, viz. HIS , which 
 " would not give "1£)r\ regularly, but n"12ri or niSf^ ; this 
 " however would not have been of much importance. It is 
 " true that the Rabbins called a certain kind of caper by the 
 " name n^Vli^ , (possibly on account of its medicinal qualities) 
 " but there is no evidence whatever that Un was ever used 
 
 T T 
 
 " as the name of a tree, and consequently we must interpret 
 " the passage as above." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note, Another reason why the old man should be afraid 
 of what is high, is his short and asthmatic breath which tor- 
 ments him in walking up-hill. The metaphor of the house ends 
 with the last verse. The Ip'O} ought to mean some tree with a 
 white blossom as well as one that flowers early, whereas the 
 almond has a pink blossom ; and the property of flowering early 
 is" inapplicable here except on the second interpretation proposed 
 by Mendlessohn which he decides to reject. This interpretation 
 would certainly be far-fetched, on account of the extreme ab- 
 ruptness which it would compel us to recognize in the original. 
 
 7lD is " to carry," " to be burdened," and according to 
 Buxtorf signifies in the Hithpahel, " to make oneself burden- 
 some," i. e. " to cause another to be burdened," but it would be 
 better to render it, " to become a load or burden to oneself." 
 
 Un occurs in other passages of Scripture, and means there 
 " a locust or grasshopper," a creature remarkable for the nimble- 
 ness of its movements, and hence the Rabbinic explanation of it 
 in this verse. Setting aside however that explanation as not re- 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 339 
 
 (quum abibit homo in domum suam seternam) et 
 Qjamjam circumibunt in platea lugentes; quamdiu 
 
 markable for good taste, wc may suppose the Avord 2.^T\ meta- 
 phorically to express, " one as nimble as a grasshopper," and 
 I^Vitl bir\'D'^'\ would then mean, " and he who was once all 
 agUity and vigour will become a burden to himself, i. e. become 
 tardy in all his movements, as if he carried a heavy load ;" 
 literally, " the very grasshopper will become inactive." If we 
 choose to render 2yr\ literally, like ^3V1^* which follows, we 
 must take Buxtorfs interpretation of b^TSD'' and translate " the 
 grasshopper (the hghtest of creatures) would be burdensome 
 to him," i. e. " its weight would be felt by him." I have 
 adopted the former sense in the English Version. 
 
 For instances of the Hipliil of "l^iS united with JT»"ll, vide 
 Is. xxxiii. 8, Ezek. xvii. 16, where the Hiphil means " to frus- 
 trate," " to cause to fail." Perhaps it may mean here simply 
 " to fail" intransitively, and then rmi need not be understood. 
 
 I prefer to render ''S in this verse "when," (a sense which 
 it must bear m IIos. xi. 1) rather than " because." Mendles- 
 sohn adopts the latter, and cxj)lains it by saying that the old 
 man's impotence and timidity arise from apprehension of ap- 
 proaching death. But this is a far-fetched notion and hardly 
 a correct statement; besides Dll^H, as I have already observed, 
 always means " man," abstractedly, or " a man,"" generally, 
 wliich is its sense here, whereas if ""D be rendered " because," 
 we must take it to mean " the man," " the particular old 
 man spoken of before," wliich it cannot do, and I therefore 
 render the passage, " when a man is going to his eternal 
 home, and the mourners (precursors of death) will be, as 
 it were, passing round the streets," i. e. general decay will 
 
 22—2 
 
340 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XV. 
 
 neque longe distat ah aqua funis argenteus, neque 
 conteritur cisterna aurea, neque frangitur hydria 
 
 be giving notice of his approacliing end, just as mourners of 
 the approach of a corpse. Observe that this verse is all in- 
 cluded under the phrase, " in the day that," at the beginning 
 of the last verse. " The house of his eternltj," is put for 
 " his eternal house," just as the " days of my vanity," is for 
 " my vain," i. e. " transitory days." The interposition of the 
 participle '^'7\, which itself is used as a future, does not deprive 
 the T before ^IID of its conversive power, any more than the 
 intervening clauses containing an Infinitive mood and a participle 
 between the future nbD]* and the word •>mnjn:;^m in 2 Kings 
 V. 18, deprive the latter word of the future signification given 
 to it by the l on account of the preceding future nbp'', (a cir- 
 cumstance which determines that Naaman is there entreating 
 indulgence for the future, and not merely forgiveness for the 
 past). In fact the clause "iDI 'rj^irr '•3 , " when a man is going 
 to his eternal home," may be read as in parentheses. 
 
 Ver. 6. " pr»'^\ the reading of the Keri, means, 'shall 
 "become entangled, like the hnks of a chain,' (p^ijll is 'a 
 " chain,"") and the reading of the Chetib pnT* means, ' shall be 
 " far from reachmg to the water,' i. e. be too short to reach it 
 " by reason of its being entangled or from any other cause. The 
 " sense is therefore the same whichever reading and rendering 
 " be adopted. The metaphor is here taken from the working 
 " of a well and the drawing of water. For the pail is fastened 
 " with a cord, and this is passed round a wheel, and by means 
 " of this contrivance the water is drawn up from the well and 
 " then poured out into a bowl or cistern which stands before 
 " the well. And if the cord be too short from any cause, or 
 " the pail or the wheel or the bowl for receiving the water be 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 341 
 
 ■••<T • ; ATT - J- •.. I V. T ; I V V - V jv I ■• T|" ( <v -; 
 
 " broken, the well is no longer of any use. Such is the mcta- 
 '* phor ; and in all probabihty the thing signified by it is the 
 " human heart Avitli its veins and arteries, and the circulation of 
 " blood tlirough the body carried on by means of them ; for the 
 " arteries convey the blood from the left cavity of the heart 
 " to all the limbs of the body small and great, and the veins 
 •' again collect the blood from all these limbs, and return it to 
 " the right cavity of the heart ; and from thence the blood 
 " goes up through an artery to the lungs (there to be purified) ; 
 " and from the lungs it returns by means of a vein to the left 
 " cavity of the heart ; and thus it goes on a circuit round and 
 " round from the heart to the limbs and from the limbs to the 
 " heart ; and performs this circuit at least twenty -four or thirty 
 " times in an hour ; as is well known to anatomists, who have 
 " carefully investigated the structure of the human frame, and 
 " have shewn forth the wonders of God in the formation of 
 " the choicest of his creatures. And it is ascertained that it is 
 " impossible for man to live if these vessels are suspended in 
 " their action, for the motion of the heart is the fountain of 
 " man's life, and if the blood be at rest, it is impossible for the 
 " heart to continue in motion, and vice versa ; so that the wise 
 " man justly compared the revolution and circulation of the 
 " blood by a poetic metaphor to the system of a wheel, rope, 
 " pail, and bowl for drawing up water out of a well, and dc- 
 " signated the death of man consequent on the suspension of the 
 " motion of the heart and lunirs and arteries as * the entanirle- 
 " ment of the rope,"" and ' tlie breaking of the wheel, pail, or 
 " bowl ;' by any, or all of which circumstances the working of 
 " a well is interrupted. And if we cannot establish an exact 
 " corre.>[)ondcncc in detail between all tlie features of the figure 
 
342 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XV. 
 
 /V -; V v; |T V T - J T : ATT |V : I V VT T '^ 
 
 ' and the thing signified, we must recollect that it is usual 
 ' in poetry to introduce additional circumstances in the figure, 
 ' though there be no separate or distinct features in the thing 
 ' signified to correspond to them, and that this repeatedly 
 ' happens not only in works of song and poetry, but even in 
 ' the allegorical writings of the prophets ; as Maimonides tells 
 ' us in the opening of his * Book of Instruction,' He says, 'that 
 ' the metaphors of prophecy are of two kinds ; that there are 
 ' some in which every part of the metaphor corresponds to 
 
 * some particular feature of the thing signified ; and others 
 ' where the metaphor taken as a whole corresponds only to 
 ' the general sense of the thing signified ; and in this latter 
 ' species of metaphor many details will occur not a word of which 
 
 * will give us any further information about the things signified, 
 ' but which are inserted merely for the adorning of the figure, 
 ' and the due arrangement of its portions, or from an excessive 
 ' degree of care in concealing the hidden meaning of it, viz. 
 ' the thing signified by it, &c.' Quem vide." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. r"in. Here Yarchi reads yilD, or at least uses 
 
 ST ' T 
 
 this word for the other in his commentary. It is from the root 
 y^n, (which must signify here in the Kal, "to be broken," 
 though it usually means " to break,") so that, as a Rabbinic 
 commentator remarks, kibbutz is here unaccountably put for 
 cholem, as the regular form is after the paradeigm 21D which 
 makes IDJl. Observe that some of the Rabbins called "shurek" 
 the D^2 nVd or " mouthful," and that those who did so called 
 
CHAP. XII,] ECCLESIASTES. 343 
 
 ad fontem, neque conteritur trochlea ad puteum, 
 
 7 necdum redit pulvis ad terrain qualis fuerat aut 
 
 8 redit spiritus ad Deum qui eum dederat. Vanissima, 
 inquit Concionator, {vel "Collector"), vanitas sunt 
 omnia. 
 
 the '•'kibbutz" "shurek," (not using the name "kibbutz" at all,) 
 and the cholera by its own name. Others on the contrary, as 
 Yarchi, (vide his commentary on Exod. xv.) called the "cholem" 
 D^2 J^/.p and the other two vowels by their usual names. And 
 accordingly Buxtorf asserts that D^S N^Q means the " cholem," 
 which in the commentary on another place in this book it can- 
 not possibly be. (Yarchi at that passage in Exod. xv. calls the 
 point over '^'^'^^ and 1N3 a D^3 N^D, by wliich must be 
 meant a cholem.) 
 
 vhy would seem to be here a large vessel to receive the 
 water drawn up in the pail, wliich stood before the well, and 
 into which the 12 was emptied. We find this word in the same 
 sense, viz. a vessel for containing fluid, in Judg. i. 15, and 
 Zech. iv. 3. 
 
 ^13 would regularly be the preterite or participle Niphal 
 from Vn, "to run," after the form jb3 from J^Q, or 133 from 
 
 T T 
 
 ]13. But in this place it must be an irregular form for yi3 the 
 preterite Niphal of y:i"). 
 
 Ver. 7. " Here the wise king develops his opinion in a 
 " form agreeable with the law and with sound wisdom, that 
 " the soul of man is given to him by the Former of all 
 " things, and that it is not a mere accidental quality of the 
 " body, but a being distinct and created separately from it, 
 " not circumscribed by the limits of space, but surviving the 
 " death of the body, and then returning to God who gave it, 
 '■ when the body returns to the dust. And now it is clear that 
 
344 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XVI. 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA SEXTA. 
 
 Et quo sapientior fiebat Concionator {vel " Col- 9 
 lector") eo magis usque scientiam docebat populum 
 
 " my interpretation of former parts of this book was correct, and 
 " that it was never Solomon's intention to raise doubts about 
 " the fundamental principles of the law, without afterwards 
 " removing them." Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Observe that this as well as the whole of the last 
 verse is included under the phrase K'? '^li^^{ 1)^, " quamdiu 
 non." Mendlessohn seems to treat it too much as an isolated 
 maxim, and to be inchned to extract more from it than it really 
 contains. His previous interpretations of the passages he al- 
 ludes to do not need any corroboration from this or any other 
 passage. 
 
 Note. Ver. 8. We find the definite article n here placed 
 before rhTip, because in this place it is a noun of quality, 
 whereas in vii. 27, where n does not precede it, it is an 
 abstract noun and means "a compilation," or "the method of 
 compilation." Observe that the definite article n never pre- 
 cedes abstract nouns. Besides in vii. 27, JlSlp is marked as 
 an abstract noun by being used as feminine, Avhereas here it is 
 masculine. 
 
 Ver. 9. " ' The more the Compiler became wise," the more 
 " he taught the people knowledge, listened to it from others, (or 
 " ' weighed it in the balances of reflection') ' investigated it by 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 345 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 9Qvn-n« r\);i-if2)h nij; t^^n rhfip n%n^ nnn 
 
 " his intelligence, and set in order many proverbs ;' i. e. ' com- 
 *' posed"* them, ' for he spake three thousand proverbs,' the 
 *' object of all of which was either the instruction of others, 
 " or the pursuit of wisdom and investigation. ]•^^^ is either 
 " derived from the same root as D''3U^D, 'balances,' and signifies 
 " that he weighed one portion of knowledge against another, 
 " or from ]'\ii , ' an ear,' meaning that ' he inchned his own ear 
 " to hear,' or that ' he encouraged others to hear.' " Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. IDV is here an adverb, as in the next verse but 
 one, and means little more than " more," " in a superior de- 
 gree," just as when used as a noun it denotes " superiority." 
 
 The sense of ''weighing" Avhich Mendlessohn is here in- 
 chned to attach to ]i:jjf is entirely Rabbinic, and the name of a 
 balance in Hebrew is clearly owing to the circumstance of the 
 two sides of a balance being compared to two ears, and not to 
 its derivation from any word meaning " to weigh," there beino- 
 none such in use except by the Rabbins who have formed it 
 from D''ptXp, "balances." Aben Ezra wishes to make the Pihel 
 in ]•T^^ and "1{5n bear a causative sense, and DyH be governed 
 by them, and construes, "he taught the people knowledge, and 
 made them listen to it and investigate it." But the Pihel is a 
 transitive and not necessarily a causative conjugation, and the 
 
346 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XVI. 
 
 transitive sense is preserved by rendering the clause thus, " and 
 Hstened to it, i. e. knowledge {from others) and investigated it," 
 i. e. " sought for it dihgently ;" supplying ri^l after |•*^} and 
 "Ijpn. These two verbs cannot govern D"'bti^D, as appears from 
 the zakeph over "Ipn, and the absence of 1 before \'^Pi^ (which is 
 an instance of the same abruptness of construction as in ver. 8, 
 where ") is omitted before ^IH i^lU '^b); and |fj<? cannot sim- 
 ply mean " gave ear," intransitively. 
 
 Ipn in the Kal means "to be set right or in order," 
 and in the Pihel, transitively, "to set right," "to arrange," 
 "compose," "correct." Perhaps it means that he collected and 
 published a correct edition of them, as is more fully expressed 
 in the next verse. 
 
 Ver. 10. " He means that after all his research he tried 
 " to clothe the results of it in graceful expressions and pleasing 
 " phrases, and, while he wrote words of truth, i. e. gave the 
 " most veritable statements, to exhibit them in a correct style 
 " of composition, and with all the sweetness of poetry, in order 
 " that they might the better be acquired and retained by the 
 " minds of the readers, and make the deeper impression." Men- 
 dlessohn. 
 
 Note, "iti^"* I^TO is literally, " written correctness," i. e. 
 " correctness of writing." 'W'^ is in construction with >")!'?[ 
 (words of this form, as vHyi, "a month," do not suffer any 
 change in the state of construction ; vide Hurwitz), and I ac- 
 cordingly render, " a correct style of writing words of truth." 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 347 
 
 et ausciiltabat et perscrutabatur, et multa componebat 
 
 10 proverbia. Petivit Concionator invenire verba placen- 
 
 11 tia, et rectam veracium dictorum scripturam. Dicta 
 sapientum velut stimuli sunt, et velut clavi infixi 
 dicta auctorum collectionum, tanquam ex unius cogi- 
 
 Ver. 11. " ' For the words of the wise are lilce goads in- 
 " fixed in the heart of the intelhgent hearer ;' and as for the 
 " authors of compilations who select wise maxims from books 
 " and narrations, and publish collections of them, he says, 
 " * Their words are lilvc nails implanted in the soul of man ;' 
 " and this cannot happen without their making some impression. 
 " As the wise man says to king Hakoozar, (5th Dialogue, 
 " chap. 5) ' Attentive minds receive impressions from the 
 " warnino;s of the admonisher in the same desirec as he ad- 
 " monishes in pleasing expressions ; and every truthful admo- 
 " nition does at least some good ; for if it sometimes fail in 
 " turning the rebellious from his evil deeds, still it lights up in 
 " his mind as it were a spark of fire, and he sees that such 
 " and such conduct of his was bad, and this is the first and 
 " therefore an important step in repentance, &c.'' (vid. Note at 
 " p. 352.) The word nyh is probably used here in a sense cog- 
 " nate with that of "'i?*! in Ps. cxxxix. at the verse, ' Thou un- 
 " derstandest my thoughts afar off,' viz. in that of ' a thinker,' 
 " 'a reflecting mind.' And the sense of the passage will then be 
 " that 'those proverbs, speeches, and rules of wisdom, though 
 " collected from many different quarters, agree in one respect, 
 " viz. of teaching wisdom, just as if they had all been promul- 
 " gated by one thinker and investigator.' " Mendlessohn. 
 
 Note. Jll"!! is "the point at the end of a goad;" the 
 handle was called 1^7^. 
 
 Mendlessohn understands ''"IIT as repeated before "''?V2. 
 
348 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XVI. 
 
 tatione edita essent. At magis quam hgec, studeas, 12 
 mi fill, recte admoneri ; faciendi multos libros 
 nuUus est finis, atque multa inutilis eruditio mera 
 corporis defatigatio. 
 
 ^1T\1 must be rendered either " as if they had been pro- 
 duced," or " they might have been produced," i. e. " edited." 
 
 Yarchi translates nj^JI " shepherd," and says it means 
 " God," and construes the passage, " they have all been sug- 
 gested by the one great shepherd." But if this were correct, 
 and Solomon intended here to allude to inspired writings, he 
 would not speak of them so disparagingly as he does in the next 
 verse as compared with the admonitions of wise counsellors. 
 This in fact was the error into which the Talmudic doctors 
 fell, (vide Prolegom. page 33) in justifying from this passage 
 the preference of the Oral Traditions to Canonical Scripture. 
 Solomon speaks of works of philosophy in general. 
 
 The best parallel to the use of nj^h in the sense which 
 Mendlessohn here attaches to it is that of the same word in 
 Hos. xii, 2, Xyn nyh nnai^?, "Ephraim is a thinker of wind," 
 i. e. " has ideas of wind." Other instances of the same kind 
 are Ps. xxxvii. 3, and Dan. v. 6, see Notes at i. 14, and vi. 6, 
 where the word Jl^V"'' " ^^ idea," is discussed. 
 
 Ver. 12. " But more than to all the contents of books 
 " take heed, my son, to attend to the advice of wise counsel- 
 " lors, and to walk in their ways. For recondite learning and 
 " reading and research are not the fundamental and chief matter, 
 " but practice. This it is which constitutes the radical principle 
 " of all perfection. It is impossible for every thing to be con- 
 " tained in books ; and it is necessary for the wise man to hear 
 *' and increase learning for himself, not to confine himself ex- 
 " clusively to the study of authors ; for much study, without 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 349 
 
 " mental profit, wearies the flesh, and is of no good to body or 
 " mind. Jiph is * unprofitable reading and study.' " Mendles- 
 sohn. 
 
 Note. IJV again is an adverb, " more." " More than 
 these" means " more than you study these." 
 
 "inin is here, probably, the imperative, '»32 being a voca- 
 tive. Some take it to be an infinitive, and we must then con- 
 strue, " more important than these (i. c. the study of these) is 
 to be well advised," i.e. "to hearken to good counsellors." We 
 have already had intrT in the sense, "to be well advised by 
 others," in chap. iv. 13. Solomon is here perhaps, either in 
 the spirit of prophecy, or more probably from having already 
 noticed his son's unwise propensities, admonishing Rehoboam to 
 have recourse to good counsellors rather than even to the books 
 of wise men. Or this may be a general exhortation to practical 
 prudence, as of liigher importance than erudition. Some com- 
 mentators rather ingeniously explain the first part of this verse 
 thus, "And of whatever is more than these" i. e. "beside these" 
 " beware, my son." But the expression of so iUiberal a sentiment 
 cannot have been intended by Solomon. Besides it is clear that 
 the Talmudists, whose opinion on the grammar and rendering of 
 the passage must be respected, though we reject the inference 
 they draw from the verse, did not understand the words IJV or 
 nnin in this way ; but that since they explained the passage 
 as a statement of the superior excellence of oral counsel to the 
 maxims derivable from books, they must have rendered *in^ 
 " more," not " beside," and irrrri " to be well advised," as 
 Mendlessohn has done. 
 
350 ECCLESIASTES. [sECT. XVII, 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH SECTION. 
 
 -n«i 5^1^ tD^!i':'j<n"nN* ]^w^ hbn 11^ &iD 13 
 
 V : T : <• v: it v '^ at : • j - (.t t I ^ 
 
 :• .1- t V •< IT T It t tv • JT : • 
 
 • : (. • AT "• V T "j- vT : • : ;• t :;• v: it 
 
 ■■V3 
 
 Note. Ver. 13. Here we have another of the Masoretic 
 " litersB majuscula3." The cabahstic sense attached to them by 
 the Eabbins of indicating emphasis or importance is unusually 
 applicable in this case. For some of their explanations of the 
 reasons of the occurrence of the liter ae majuscula) et minusculas 
 in each place where they are found, see Buxtorf ""s Tiberias, or 
 " Discussion on the Masora." He omits the more curious and 
 far-fetched. 
 
 "Ill means here the "subject" of the book. 
 
 T T 
 
 Dl>^n"'?3 nt '•3 is translated by some, "for this is the duty 
 of all men," "for this belongs to all men," but it is more literally 
 rendered, " for this is the whole of man," i. e. " the sum and 
 substance and end of man's existence/' (as DVn"'?3 means " the 
 
 THE END. 
 
CHAP. XII.] ECCLESIASTES. 351 
 
 SECTIO DECIMA SEPTIMA. 
 
 13 Finem totius sermonis audiamus; Deum reve- 
 rere, et praecepta ejus serva ; hoc enim est totum 
 
 14 hominis qfficium. Namque omne factum adducet 
 Deus in judicium, de omni occulto ejus proposito 
 sive malum sit sive bonum. 
 
 whole of the day, &c.") or, as the Rabbins express it, '^\T')J 
 D^^<^ JT'bjm, "the foundation and end of man." 
 
 Ver. 14. "^^ means " concerning," " with reference to," 
 every secret motive. So it is used in Jer. ii. 35, JDHJtt^]] '>J3n 
 ";T^P^?"'7V '^i^i^{J "Behold, lam contending in judgment with 
 thee concerning thy saying," i. e. " about what thou hast said," 
 where the prophet is addressing Jerusalem. And in the same 
 sense we have met with it several times in this book, as at 
 iii. 18, "iD") nil'^'b^, "Concerning the saying of the sons of 
 men, &c." and vii. 10, " Thou wouldest not have asked wisely 
 about this, rwb'^J' 
 
 The 'p\)r\'^ p^D occurs at the end of this verse ; for an 
 explanation of which see Prolegomena, page 90. 
 
 LAUS DEO. 
 
Note. At chap. xi. 9, and xii. 11, Mendlessohn quotes 
 certain Hebrew dialogues between king 11^311 and a philoso- 
 pher, who is there called his "friend." n?!)!} or "IJ^SH is the 
 name (probably a fictitious one) of a king who in these dia- 
 logues is supposed to have entered into controversy with a 
 contemporary Jewish Rabbi, and to have been converted by 
 him to Judaism. All this, as well as the arguments used in 
 the controversy, is described in a very celebrated work, of 
 which Rabbi Judah Aben Tibur is supposed to be the author 
 or translator from the Arabic, and which Mendlessohn here 
 quotes. This Rabbi it was who translated into Hebrew the 
 Moreh Nevochim of Maimonides, which was written originally 
 in Arabic ; and the obscurity of his style accounts for the 
 much greater difficulty of this book as read in the Hebrew 
 than of the Yad Hachazakah, which was written in Hebrew 
 by Maimonides. 
 
AN INDEX 
 
 VERSES OF THE HEBREW BIBLE 
 
 EXPLAINED. OR QUOTED AS ILLUSTRATIONS OF GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTION 
 IN THE PRECEDING NOTES TO ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 
 pa(;k 
 
 OH. V, 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CH. V. 
 
 Genesis ii. 18 
 
 216.. 
 
 .V. 15. 
 
 Exodus 
 
 xxii. 18 .... 
 
 ...185. 
 
 iii. 18. 
 
 vi. 8 
 
 ..103. 
 
 .ii. 16. 
 
 
 xxxi. 14 .... 
 
 ..300. 
 
 .ix. 18. 
 
 ix. 9 
 
 ..205. 
 
 viii. 1. 
 
 Levit. 
 
 vi. 24 
 
 ..209. 
 
 .V.7. 
 
 xi. 9 
 
 ..298. 
 
 .ix. 16. 
 
 
 xii. 8 
 
 ...293. 
 
 ix. 11. 
 
 xii. 5 
 
 ..816. 
 
 .X. 19. 
 
 Numb. 
 
 XV. 29 
 
 ..831. 
 
 xi. 8, 9 
 
 xiv. 14 
 
 ..156. 
 
 .ii. 2. 
 
 
 xxii. 13 
 
 ...206. 
 
 • v. 5, 
 
 XV. 2 
 
 ..156. 
 
 .ii. 2. 
 
 
 xxiii. 23 ... 
 
 ...280. 
 
 .viii. 15 
 
 XV. 13 
 
 ..316. 
 
 .X. 19. 
 
 
 XXXV 23 
 
 ..307. 
 ...142. 
 
 X 11 
 
 xvi. 14 
 
 ..298. 
 
 .ix. 10. 
 
 Deuter. 
 
 ii. 10 
 
 i. 10. 
 
 XX. 9 
 
 ..206. 
 ..272. 
 ..130. 
 ..316. 
 
 .V. 5. 
 .viii. 10. 
 i. 1. 
 .X. 19. 
 
 
 ii. 15 
 
 V. 12 
 
 viii. 17, 18 . 
 ix. 21 
 
 .183. 
 
 .185. 
 ...316. 
 ...149. 
 
 .iii. 18. 
 
 xxvi. 13 .... 
 
 .iii. 18. 
 
 xxviii. 11 
 
 x. 19. 
 
 .. . xxxi. 1 
 
 
 i. 16 
 
 xxxi. 7 
 
 ..206. 
 
 .V. 5 
 
 
 XV. 8 
 
 ..302. 
 
 .X 3. 
 
 , . xxxiv. 24 
 
 .250. 
 ..259. 
 
 .vii. 18. 
 .vii. 28. 
 
 Joshua 
 
 xxviii. 50... 
 xxiii. 14 ... 
 
 ..263. 
 ...133. 
 
 .viii. 1. 
 
 xxxiv. 27.. .. 
 
 ..i. 4. 
 
 XL. 8 
 
 ..262. 
 
 .viii 1 
 
 Judges 
 
 i. 15 
 
 ..343. 
 
 xii. 6 
 
 xLiii. 10 .... 
 
 ..2*07. 
 ..250. 
 ..298. 
 ..311. 
 
 .V. 6. 
 
 vii. 18. 
 .ix. 16. 
 .X. 15. 
 
 viii. 1. 
 .ii. 11. 
 
 . iv. 24 
 
 V. 15 
 
 . V. 30 
 
 X. 4 
 
 i. 14 
 
 iv.7 
 
 ...272. 
 ...216. 
 ...157. 
 ..233. 
 ..260. 
 ...142. 
 
 .viii. 10 
 
 
 .V. 15. 
 
 XLviii. 1 
 
 Ruth 
 
 .ii. 8. 
 
 
 .vii. 1 . 
 
 
 ..263. 
 ..159. 
 
 •vii. 28. 
 
 Exodus ii. 12 
 
 .i. 10. 
 
 V. 9 
 
 ..159. 
 ..280. 
 ..185. 
 ..170. 
 ..26.5. 
 
 227. 
 ..265. 
 ..213. 
 
 ,213. 
 
 .ii. 11. 
 .viii. 15. 
 iii. 18. 
 .iii. 2. 
 viii. 2. 
 .vi. 7. 
 .viii. 2. 
 ..V. 10. 
 v. 10. 
 
 1 Sam. 
 
 ii.3 
 
 ii. 31 
 
 xiv. 29 
 
 xiv. 47 
 
 XV. 22 
 
 XXV. 8 
 
 xxix. 6 
 
 xix. 14 
 
 xxiii. 1 
 
 ...266. 
 ..163. 
 ...262. 
 ..245. 
 .204. 
 ..293. 
 ..273. 
 ..200.. 
 ..265. 
 
 viii. 3 
 
 V. 11 
 
 .ii. 16. 
 
 xii. 15, 19 . 
 
 .viii. 1. 
 
 xiv. 11 
 
 vii. 15. 
 
 xiv. 17 
 
 iv. 17. 
 .ix. 11. 
 
 XV. 9 
 
 
 
 viii 10 
 
 xxi. 29 
 
 2 Sam. 
 
 iv. 14. 
 
 xxii. 10, 11. 
 
 .viii. 2. 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 2 Sam. 
 1 Kings 
 
 2 Kings 
 
 1 Chron 
 
 2 Chron 
 Ezra 
 
 Nehem. 
 Esther 
 
 Job 
 
 Psalms 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xxiv. 28 210 
 
 ii.2 133. 
 
 . iii. 27 309 
 
 , vii. 20 21G. 
 
 viii. 1 130 
 
 X. 11 200 
 
 XV. 5 259. 
 
 xxi. 8,11 314. 
 
 i. 16 176. 
 
 . V. 18 288, 
 
 vii. 2 288. 
 
 vii. 9 273. 
 
 xxvi. 28 183. 
 
 xxix. 17 183. 
 
 xxix. 30 296. 
 
 xxix. 36 183 
 
 V. 39 275. 
 
 ix. 8 262. 
 
 V. 19 226. 
 
 i. 20 275. 
 
 V. 9 334. 
 
 vi. 8 304. 
 
 vii. 5 276. 
 
 i. 21 215. 
 
 iii. 4 179. 
 
 v. 7 186. 
 
 ix. 26 163. 
 
 xiv. 20 198. 
 
 xix. 3 266. 
 
 xxi. 30 141. 
 
 xxiv. 1 296. 
 
 xxvii. 8 216. 
 
 xxxi. 11 275- 
 
 xxxiv. 29 244. 
 
 iii. 8 259. 
 
 V. 5 279. 
 
 xvi. 2 226. 
 
 xvi. 3 288. 
 
 xix. 9 262.. 
 
 XXV. 11 199. 
 
 xxvii. 13 153.. 
 
 xxxi. 16 296. 
 
 xxxii. 9 301.. 
 
 xxxiv. 13 153. 
 
 xxxiv. 15 176.. 
 
 CH. V. 
 
 ,..v. 8. 
 ..i. 4. 
 ..X. 12. 
 ..V. 15. 
 
 • i. 1. 
 ..iv. 15. 
 ..vii. 28. 
 ..X. 17. 
 ..iii. 11. 
 .ix. 4. 
 ..Lx. 4. 
 ..viii. 10. 
 ..iii. 18. 
 ..ui. 18. 
 ..ix. 12. 
 ..iii. 18. 
 
 • viii. 11. 
 
 • viii. 1. 
 ..vi. 6. 
 ..viii. 11. 
 ..xii. 3. 
 ..X. 6. 
 
 • viii. 11. 
 ..V. 14. 
 ..iii. 15. 
 ..iii. 26. 
 .ii. 16. 
 ..iv. 12. 
 ..viii. 3. 
 ..i, 10, 
 ..ix. 12. 
 ..V. 15. 
 ..viii. 11. 
 
 •vii. 15. 
 ..vii. 28. 
 ..viii. 15. 
 ..vi. 6. 
 
 ix. 4. 
 
 viii. 1. 
 
 .iv. 14. 
 •ii. 1. 
 
 •ix. 12. 
 
 x. 1. 
 
 ii. 1. 
 
 iii. 11. 
 
 Psalms 
 
 xxxvii. 3.. 
 xxxvii. 27 
 
 XLi. 5 
 
 XLi. 9 
 
 XLV. 5 
 
 XLvi. 4. . . . 
 XLviii. 10.. 
 
 ...147. 
 ...178. 
 ...199. 
 ...266. 
 ...300. 
 ...300 
 ..230 
 
 Lii.6 301. 
 
 LX.5 275. 
 
 Lxv. 6 222. 
 
 LXV. 11 226. 
 
 Lxxi. 18 316. 
 
 Lxxi. 20 300. 
 
 Lxxii. 1 143. 
 
 Lxxii. 6 142. 
 
 Lxxii. 6 ......176. 
 
 Lxxiii. 25 ....163. 
 
 Lxxvii. 6 316. 
 
 Lxxx. 16 296.. 
 
 Lxxxiii. 2 225. 
 
 Lxxxiii. 6.... .257- 
 
 Lxxxiv.5 260.. 
 
 liXxxiv. 16 ...316.. 
 
 Lxxxvi. 17 ...226.. 
 
 xc. 12 273.. 
 
 cii.9 153.. 
 
 cii. 21 230.. 
 
 civ. 14,15 ...316. 
 
 cvi. 5 226.. 
 
 cvi. 6 240.. 
 
 cvi. 13 300.. 
 
 cxiii. 5 139.. 
 
 cxv. 7 218.. 
 
 cxxvi. 6 151.. 
 
 cxxvii. 2 139.. 
 
 cxxviii.2 312.. 
 
 cxxviii. 5 1 53. . 
 
 cxxix. 2 252.. 
 
 cxxxix.2 347- 
 
 Proverb, i. 2, 3 301.. 
 
 iii. 18 300.. 
 
 vi. 10 194.. 
 
 vii. 20 141.. 
 
 ix. 1 333.. 
 
 xii. 17 151.. 
 
 OH. V 
 
 • i. 14. 
 ..iii. 12. 
 ..iv. 14. 
 ..viii. 3. 
 ..ix. 18. 
 ..ix. 18. 
 ..vi. 10. 
 
 ..X. 1. 
 
 • viii. 11. 
 ..v. 19. 
 ..vi. 6. 
 ..X. 19. 
 ..ix. 18. 
 ..i. 11. 
 ..i. 10. 
 ..iii. 11. 
 -ii. 16. 
 ..x. 19. 
 
 • ix. 12. 
 ..vi. 18. 
 ..vii. 26. 
 ..vii. 28. 
 
 .X. 19. 
 • vi. 6. 
 ..viii. 10. 
 .ii.2. 
 ..vi. 10. 
 ..X. 19. 
 •vi. 6. 
 vii. 11. 
 ix. 18. 
 •i. 7. 
 v. 15. 
 .i. 18. 
 •i. 7. 
 x. 17. 
 .ii. 1. 
 .vii. 21. 
 xii. 11. 
 x. 1. 
 .ix. 18. 
 .iv. 5. 
 i. 10. 
 xii. 1. 
 i. 18. 
 

 
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 
 
 I'AUE 
 
 VH. V. 
 
 
 Proverb 
 
 xiii. 22 
 
 ...296. 
 
 •ix. 12. 
 
 Ezekiel 
 
 
 xiv. 83. ... 
 xviii. 23 . . 
 
 xxiii.2 
 
 XXV. 25 . . . 
 xxvii. 14... 
 
 ...238. 
 ...251. 
 ...306. 
 ..186. 
 ...149. 
 
 .vii. 9. 
 .vu. 19. 
 .X. 9. 
 -iii. 2. 
 .i. 16. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Daniel 
 
 
 xxix. 18 . . 
 
 i.3 
 
 ...312. 
 .213. 
 
 x. 17. 
 
 .V. 10. 
 
 
 Isaiah 
 
 
 
 
 V.7 
 
 ...233. 
 
 vii. 1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 V.9 
 
 ...265. 
 
 .viii. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 viii. 22 
 
 xxvii. 17 
 xxxii. 20... 
 
 ...1.59. 
 
 ...296. 
 
 ii. 11. 
 ix. 12. 
 
 
 
 
 
 ...312. 
 
 .X. 17. 
 
 
 
 
 
 xxxiii. 8 .. 
 
 ...339. 
 
 .xii. 5. 
 
 Hosea 
 
 
 xxxiv. 12. 
 
 ...314. 
 
 .X. 17. 
 
 
 
 XL. 31 
 
 ...26.3. 
 
 .viii. 1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 xlU. 25 . . 
 
 ...234. 
 
 .vii. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 xLiv. 7 
 
 xLvii. 7 ■■ 
 
 ...230. 
 ...234. 
 
 .vi. 10. 
 .vii. 2. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Liii. 12 
 
 Liv. 5 
 
 Lvi. 11 
 
 lLx. 16 
 
 ...148. 
 ...3.33. 
 ...251. 
 ...548. 
 
 i. 1.5. 
 .xii. 1. 
 .vii. 19. 
 .vii. 16. 
 
 
 
 Joel 
 
 
 
 
 Amos 
 
 
 Lix. 21 
 
 Lxiii. 5 
 
 Lxiii. 11 .. 
 
 ...265. 
 ...248. 
 ...301. 
 
 .viii. 2. 
 •vii. 16. 
 
 ..X. 1. 
 
 
 
 Jonah 
 
 
 
 Jerem. 
 
 i.ll 
 
 ..3.37. 
 
 •xii. 5. 
 
 
 
 
 ii. 9 
 
 ii. 35 
 
 vii. 32 
 
 xvi. 14. ... 
 iii. 14 
 
 ...260. 
 ...351. 
 ...163. 
 ...219. 
 ...316. 
 
 .vii. 28. 
 •xii. 14. 
 .ii. 16. 
 • v. 17. 
 .X. 19. 
 
 
 
 Micah 
 
 
 Habb. 
 
 
 Zedi. 
 
 Lament. 
 
 
 35.5 
 
 PAOB CH. V. 
 
 xvi. 30 252.. .vii. 21. 
 
 xvu. IG 339... xii. 5. 
 
 xxi.21 323...xi. 3. 
 
 xxi. 33 200... iv. 14. 
 
 xxix. 2 211. ..V. 8. 
 
 i. 1 143.. .i.ll. 
 
 ii. 2 304.. .x. 6. 
 
 iii. 11 184... iii. 18. 
 
 iv. 14 275. ..viii. 11. 
 
 V. 1 315.. .X. 19. 
 
 v. 6 229.. .vi. 9. 
 
 viii. 23 263... viii. 1. 
 
 X. 17 265. ..viii. 2. 
 
 vii. 16 265... viii. 2, 
 
 ix. 9 300.. .ix. 18. 
 
 xi. 1 335.. .xii. 3. 
 
 xi. 2 216.. .V. 15. 
 
 xi. 7 265.. .viii. 2. 
 
 xii. 2 147.. .1.14. 
 
 xii. 8 219.. .V. 17. 
 
 ii. 14 187...iii. 21. 
 
 iv. 6 314.. .X. 17. 
 
 i. 5 142.. .i. 10. 
 
 iv. 3 250... vii. 13. 
 
 i. 8 281. ..viii. 17. 
 
 i. 12 281. ..viii. 17. 
 
 iii. 9 187.. .iii. 21. 
 
 iv. 7.... 141. ..i. 10. 
 
 ii. 12 211. ..V. 8. 
 
 iii. 11 301. ..x.l. 
 
 iv. 3 343.. .xii. 6. 
 
The following are specimens of Mendlessohn's Commentary 
 in the Kabbinic Hebrew. 
 
 Chap. IV. 1. "a ."-J, page 189. 
 
 |P 07fi? 35 pb fi'iip fii Dpj? n7iiP3 ?j'n3P ?:? ipf" 
 
 , DPD? npP D'DW Xfi O'piDi;? i3 pfi 'P'fill 'P3D isfi ^ pPP? 
 
 of" PI b DD) , u")3 PifiiP o'3'i» ")ipu ';ip6 Sfi p5dpp ppp 
 
 , DP:P D?5 I'fil ^ ODW 1P3 O'P:^:^ D'313 O'piDPPD ^f^M 
 DP) OT "706 5o i6 07'3D fjpip) P03 OPlf) D'P'-)3P DP'pDIUI 
 i^ Ofil ^ -jPlPI U'DIP d"31 ^ OPJP Dpi I'fil DP'7' ppp D'91P3 
 
 PDi;p bii [PP ioi PD o ^ iJiPfi xfio ■737PD ppp yb flip 
 
 .oilPJS Dpi 3'DM ^ UPDP3 pDWP) pDinP T)b 6'3' Cpifipl ^ OD 
 
 Chap. IX. 3. "j .":o, page 284. 
 
 \)1P:> '53 t"pi?3 6lPD P1P3 PIP 137P ")fiD' ofi ^ ^"1 HI 
 ■)D^ 'P3 , 5o5 7pf> Pipp '3 uipiPI IIPJ i;-) Pt '6713 ^ Dlipp 
 
 ^ 6i;ip5 31UP PDiu ]'3 p573P ]'f> , pfip 5y dpdp ppp O'fin o6 
 '531 ^ 3io5 p5i;ip '53 , p:'Piyp Di5p3 i;d")P pi?D")i p'7ip pp7i 
 5iup 5f>5 p5'5p , ? DPDP PDU' 65 pbT^ 5^ upidp ^ f'i;ip5 po 
 p'7i5 7p6 P")pp pi'PP PPP1 yD")i 5iD 15 j'fi '^pi ^ddip '7Di 
 
 jP vlJPI : O'JP Pifi'D; '531 p573P '53 i5d Pifi'iPP 533 UD-)5l 
 71P q'DlPl , p'7iP 7JJ \3PDP P1UP ODP l"p ''P' pfftP TiiWT* 
 
 65 d6 odp p'P3 5ii? ''p' p'5ipp 6uipp 7jj ojd ^ P'jd pjfu 
 
358 
 
 lb ''p'D h)V) rii7j v>vi ?! Dj o ^ iiwri riDpjp PifiDPs I'rif': 
 ^ D'ppp 56 innfii , D?"n3 022^3 pi55ipi d") fiiri Difr 03 
 IDPi ^ <]0D qni3 ipiir ^ii , nov 65^ ^ nij3 n3f'M p5i6d5 i3id' 
 
 ]'3 l5'73P f'il , i^PP '")P6 o5p '3 ^ 1DI> :iD ^i O 1J'3'1 1P7' 
 fi"73'D , D2P iyiP ?! I'fi '^713 ^ jP^JI D"p 31D5 PPPP 3113 
 
 Di flip pv?i DP'JM ^ ?n-)69Pi PTi'? 71? ^ ri5'3Dr» pidpj 
 ?Pipp 'i3 i53M o'PP? i6 id5' ]d 'ip6i o'vv)v o'P' pi55i?i 
 ?ppj unp Dp:?3i ^ i5 mpi cpifi? 613' ?f'n3 06 ^ ?ipp ppf'31 
 07^ D'Pm? iw p5dpp ppd 6iP' i'6 16 ? ?Pipp ?'")p6 j'^d 
 
 . ? puipipi ODm ovi )P)f^'t>v ''?PD 'P 
 
 Chap. XII. 11. V ."!<. 
 ^ i'3DPP 13P1DP 33i>3 P131Pn PU13172 OP O'PDP? '")37 ^D 
 
 :^vDv '■)37 onpip 'PP1 onpp 'pp ''tjpii? dp pipipf" 'i)i;3i 
 pnPPP3 i5i? Pippf" 'hv3 nzizi ivf^ ^ oni3P dpp d'13ppi 
 
 Xfi^ ^ PP DDn IDD'D 'pi3P IDPf" '6) ^07^? DP:3 ''yi3pi o'yiu; 
 PP31P '7' 5i> ODO Pi53pp Pir»PiDP pidp: pio? -jipi ddpp ir>ff 
 
 piuiP PPfiS PP31P 525 DM ^ D'53ipP ''")373 P'DV 1D63 POIPP 
 
 p")? PiDi?P V1VVV pf* P3'DP p::'6 d'Pi?p5 ot) ^ d'jp 53 5y 
 
 '0 Pfini ^ 06 [li'J 1PD f"PP PPD1PP '■737P 1DP:3 P7pP PJP 
 
 Piinp up: : z>"v P3idpp ]p p5pppi p5p ipti ^ i;") 61?? pdppp 
 
 (u"5p D'5?p) ^ piPlP •Ul5 P:3 IPO P3DPP ]01?P ''P'D ]3P' , 7pfi 
 D'")PPP D'Upi5p DPD qfi PP2PP '5531 O'IPfippI D'5dPP 53D ")Pf" 
 ^ "^PIPI PP3P PD7 07fi5 7p55 ipb 121b IP'DP' d53 ?:? ^ P31P 
 
 .7p6 npipi ov)-)V d53 i;pj) i5f'3 
 
359 
 
 The following is a specimen of the ni'^JSn IINI, or "Verbal 
 Commentary," see p. 274, Note to vii. 16. 
 
 ^ pjnpp iy pniri ]"'D3 dj7 bi'Zi pD' p 'p ii; ^6 ^ ddipdp 
 
 |03 v"^i6-)p' xfi , 7"r'5p 'iipoi ]"'j;P 'p; pt:i3 iripj ]':>3P 't'D 
 
 .]o:p fiu"'i j^op 1PD ^ u^np 
 
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Publishing Monthly, Octavo, price 1*., 
 
 PRACTICAL SERMONS, 
 
 BY 
 
 DIGNITARIES AND OTHER CLERGYMEN OF THE 
 
 UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND. 
 
 In Part I. are Sermons by 
 
 The Right ReV. LORD BISHOP op ST. DAVID'S. 
 The Hon. and Very Reverend the DEAN of LICHFIELD. 
 The Rev. J. D. COLERIDGE, LL.D., Prebendary of Exeter. 
 The Rev. R. PARKINSON, B.D., Canon of Manchester. 
 The Rev. JAMES SLADE, M.A., Vicar of Bolton. 
 The Rev. II. ALFORD, M.A., Vicar of Wymeswold. 
 
 Part II. Sermons by 
 
 The Right Rev. LORD BISHOP of DOWN and CONNOR and 
 
 DROMORE. 
 The Very Reverend the DEAN of EXETER. 
 The Rev. WILLIAM GRESLEY, M.A., Prebendary of Lichfield. 
 The Rev. Sir G. PREVOST, Bart., M.A., Perpetual Curate of Stinch- 
 The Rev. JOHN JEBB, M.A., Rector of Peterstow. Qcombe. 
 
 The Rev. JAMES HILDYARD, M.A., One of Her Majesty's Preachers 
 
 at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall. 
 
 Part III. Sermons by 
 
 The Right Rev. the BISHOP of EDINBURGH. 
 
 The Venerable R. I. WILBERFORCE, M.A., Archdeacon of the East 
 Riding, and Prebendary of York. 
 
 The Rev. EDWARD CHURTON, M. A., Rector of Crayke, and Canon of 
 York. 
 
 The Rev. J. H. TODD, D.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. 
 
 The Rev. WILLIAM SCOTT, M.A., Christ Church, Hoxton. 
 
 The Rev. FRANCIS FULFORD, M.A., Rector of Croydon, Cambridge- 
 shire. 
 
 Each Monthly Part will contain at least Six Sermons. 
 
 John W. Parker, Publisher, West Strand. 
 
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BS1475.P941 
 
 The Hebrew text, and a Latin version of 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00070 1062