we threw the seed in a rapid river, in which it is carried away nobody knows whither, and seems

lost.

And so it may be applied also to ungrateful people, as I have touched in the paraphrase; and I shall not trouble the reader with other expositions, which may be found in most commentators, only naming this of Maldonate, (which agrees well enough with that which I have followed), "Give to the poor, whose miseries are so great that their faces are all wet and besmeared with tears." And though there be many of them, be not sparing, if thou art able to receive them, for waters signify sometimes a multitude of people in the scripture-language. But that is the sense of the next verse; and therefore upon the face of the waters," is as much as upon those "who will be gone presently," like the waters of a river, and never bring any thing back to us to reward us; if they do, it is more than could be expected.

As for the word bread, it signifies any benefit whereby the poor may be supported; especially all sorts of food, (1 Sam. xiv. 24. where it comprehends honey, and every thing that was edible), more particularly that food which is made of corn, Gen. iii. 19. and from thence signifies corn itself, of which bread is made, Isa. xxviii. 28. And so St Hierom here expounds it, agreeable to what I said above of sowing seed in the water.

[b] Ver. 2.] And as in the first verse he has respect to the quality of the persons unto whom we are to give, so here to the number of them, and the quantity of our alms, which is expected perhaps by a great multitude. Yet let not that damp it, (saith he), out of a fancy that it will undo us to relieve them all; but if we be able, let us help them; and though more still come, when we have extended our charity according to our utmost ability, let us rather go beyond it, (as the apostle saith the Macedonian Christians did, 2 Cor. viii. 3.), than let miserable creatures perish. Thus Greg. Nazianzen seems to understand these words seven, yea, eight. Seven is a complete number; eight added to it denotes something above that which we account perfection. His words are these, that "his father gave not only is is, out of his superfluity; but sois avafxaías, out of his necessaries, according to the prescription of Solomon, gave a portion not only to seven, but if an eighth came, he was not here sparing, but much more ready to give than others are to get." In short, he means give most liberally, pads, as Greg. Thaumaturgus here expresses it, not sparingly, but profusely. Iomit other glosses upon this verse, and the criticism which some make upon the word portion, which they think alludes to what was sent from feasts unto the poor, or those that were absent; of which there is no certainty. I will only note, that here again Solomon contradicts the vulgar principle upon which covetous wretches move; and directs the quite contrary. They think all is lost that is given away VOL. III.

in charity: No such matter, saith the preacher, (ver. 1.), the fruit of it will be found hereafter beyond what can be imagined. O saith the covetous man again, I know not what may be hereafter; now I have enough, but in the latter end of my life I may want, and therefore it is best to save whilst I may. No, saith the preacher, for that very reason give, for thou knowest not what may be hereafter, when that may be taken away from thee, which now thou wilt not bestow upon needy people, &c.

[c] Ver. 3.] In this verse, he illustrates both the duty and the reason of it. The former, by the clouds, which are a fit emblem of charity; the second, by the trees, which can bring forth fruit no longer than they continue joined to their root; from which being separated, they bear no more, nor can be fixed to their root, as the clouds may be filled with water again. So I have interpreted the latter part of this verse; which Grotius understands as if it meant no more than the foregoing: "Do good to men without distinction, like him who, when he cuts down a tree, regards not which way it falls." I omit other interpretations, and shall only nention Maldonate's gloss upon this verse, which is ingenious enough. He urges us, saith he, to do good, while we live, by two reasons. First, From the profit of it, because we shall receive more than we give, like the clouds, which receive from the earth but a thin vapour, which they return to it in most copious showers. The second, from the impossibility of being in a capacity to do good when we are dead; for then, like a tree, we must continue as we are when death seizes us, and never be restored to our former condition again. Coranus alone (as far as I can find) expounds the latter part thus, in his Annotations: "A tree, in what place soever it is planted, there abides, and brings forth fruit; and so ought we to help others by all manner of means; in whatsoever place or time we live." And he takes north and south, for all parts of the world. If any think fit to apply this unto the unalterable condition wherein we must remain in the other world, (like a tree cut down, which, if it fall toward the north, cannot change its posture, and turn to the south), they cannot follow a fitter gloss upon the words than this of Luther's: "If the Lord find thee in the south, that is, fruitful and rich in good works, it will be well; but if in the north, that is, barren of good works, it will be ill with thee. Howsoever thou art found, so shalt thou be judged, and so thou shalt likewise. receive."

[d] Ver. 4.] And then follows here an admonition to take the first opportunity of doing good, and not to defer it, because now it may seem unseasonable, and we fancy it may do better another time. Which the Lord Bacon extends unto all other things as well as alms. "There is no greater, or more frequent impediment of action, (saith he, in the conclusion of the first chapter of the eighth

whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they shall be both alike good.] Let nothing, therefore, discourage thee from taking all opportunities to give thy alms incessantly, early and late; when thou art young, and when thou art old; when things smile upon thee, and thou art in a declining condition; for thou knowest not which will hit to do the most good unto others, and to bring the greatest blessing back upon thyself, or whether all may prove alike beneficial unto both. See Annot. [f]

Ver. 7. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.] Let not love ¶ of thy own pleasure make thee regardless what becomes of other men; for though it is true, life is full of delight when we are in a prosperons estate, and we are entertained with a great variety of pleasure, when we look about us, and behold all the good things the sun shows the bounty of heaven hath provided for us; yet, believe it, there is no satisfac. tion comparable to that of having done abundance of good with that which he bestows upon us. See Annot. [g]

Ver. 8. But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.] If God, therefore, should bless a man with a healthful body and a very long life, I do not forbid him to take the comfort of it, but advise him rather, (as I have often done), with a mind free from solicitude and carefulness, to enjoy all the innocent pleasures it can afford him; only let them be tempered with these two reflections: First, That as the fairest sun that ever shone will set, and the night follow it, so the most merry life will have an end, and then we must lie down in our graves longer than we have lived, without the least glimpse of these joys. Secondly, That while we live, nothing which we expect hereafter can give us more contentment than what we enjoy at present; and will slide away also as fast, and leave us altogether unsatisfied, unless we have done some good with it. See Annot. [h]

Ver. 9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement.] ¶ And there is one thing, above all other, which if the most childish youth would consider, and always carry in mind, I might give him full liberty to be as jocund and merry as his frolic age inclines him; to banish melancholy thoughts, and, while he hath the briskest taste of them, to invent all manner of pleasures for his entertainment, denying himself nothing that he desires, and gratifying all his senses: It is this, that he must give a strict account of all his actions unto God; who will deal well with him, if he hath kept himself within his bounds, and enjoyed only lawful pleasures, with thankful acknowledgements unto him; but will punish him for all his extravagancies and forgetfulness of him, with torments infinitely greater than all his sinful delights.

And this, be it known to thee, whosoever thou art that readest this, is a certain truth. See Annot. [i]

Ver. 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thine heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.] And therefore, by the thoughts of this, I advise thee also to suppress and banish that fierceness, rage, sadness, fretting, and vexation, with all such like perturbations of mind, unto which, in the heat of thy blood, thou art subject when any thing crosses thee, (suppose when thou art only reproved for thy faults); and let no filthy desires, which then are strong, and would plunge thee in all wickedness, stay with thee: For if such care as this be not taken to lay restraints upon him, there is nothing more senselessly foolish, rash, inconstant, and froward, to ruin itself, than man in his childish youth; when he is in the dawning, as we call it, of his days, and comes first acquainted with the pleasures of this world. See Annot. [k]

ANNOTATIONS.

[a] Ver. 1.] Charity being the subject of his dis. course in the first six verses of this chapter, (as was observed in the argument), he begins with the proper object of it; those who, as our Saviour speaks, Luke, xiv. 14. are not likely to recompense us again. Thus this first verse, (about which there are various conceits), I think, may be most naturally expounded. And it is a very ancient exposition, as appears from the words of Gregory Thaumaturgus, which are these in English: "It is just to communicate unto others, &c.; for, though for the present it may seem to be lost, (and thrown away, as we speak), like the bread that is cast upon the water; yet, in process of time, thy love to mankind will appear not to be unprofitable and without fruit." And after the same manner, Greg. Nazianzen, in after-times, (orat. xix. page 298.), speaking of the liberality of his father to the poor, saith, He proceeded upon this maxim, that it is much better, for the sake of those who may be worthy, to give to those who are unworthy, than for fear of bestowing our charity upon the un-> worthy, let worthy people want it. To which that seems (saith he) to belong, which we read in Solomon," Cast thy bread upon the waters:" "Which is not thrown away and quite lost, in the account of him that justly estimates things, but is sent thither where all that we do is laid up, and shall in due season meet us again, though we think not of it."

And to strengthen this, it is observed by some, that waters in scripture signify great affliction and misery, Psal. xviii. 17. lxvi. 12. And therefore the sense of the proverb is not of sowing in a fertile ground by the rivers, or in a soil well watered, from whence men naturally expect a fruitful crop, (as some expound it), but of sowing (i. e. giving alms) there, from whence we expect no fruit, no more than if

we threw the seed in a rapid river, in which it is carried away nobody knows whither, and seems lost.

And so it may be applied also to ungrateful people, as I have touched in the paraphrase; and I shall not trouble the reader with other expositions, which may be found in most commentators, only naming this of Maldonate, (which agrees well enough with that which I have followed), "Give to the poor, whose miseries are so great that their faces are all wet and besmeared with tears." And though there be many of them, be not sparing, if thou art able to receive them, for waters signify sometimes a mulBut titude of people in the scripture-language. that is the sense of the next verse; and therefore upon the "face of the waters," is as much as upon those "who will be gone presently," like the waters of a river, and never bring any thing back to us to reward us; if they do, it is more than could be expected.

As for the word bread, it signifies any benefit whereby the poor may be supported; especially all sorts of food, (1 Sam. xiv. 24. where it comprehends honey, and every thing that was edible), more particularly that food which is made of corn, Gen. iii. 19. and from thence signifies corn itself, of which bread is made, Isa. xxviii. 28. And so St Hierom here expounds it, agreeable to what I said above of sowing seed in the water.

[b] Ver. 2.] And as in the first verse he has respect to the quality of the persons unto whom we are to give, so here to the number of them, and the quantity of our alms, which is expected perhaps by a great multitude. Yet let not that damp it, (saith he), out of a fancy that it will undo us to relieve them all; but if we be able, let us help them; and though more still come, when we have extended our charity according to our utmost ability, let us rather go beyond it, (as the apostle saith the Macedonian Christians did, 2 Cor. viii. 3.),' than let miserable creatures perish. Thus Greg. Nazianzen seems to understand these words seven, yea, eight. Seven is a complete number; eight added to it denotes something above that which we account perfection. His words are these, that "his father gave not only tos pies, out of his superfluity; but Tois avasxxías, out of his necessaries, according to the prescription of Solomon, gave a portion not only to seven, but if an eighth came, he was not here sparing, but much more ready to give than others are to get." In short, he means give most liberally, &pades, as Greg. Thaumaturgus here expresses it, not sparingly, but profusely. Iomit other glosses upon this verse, and the criticism which some make upon the word portion, which they think alludes to what was sent from feasts unto the poor, or those that were absent; of which there is no certainty. I will only note, that here again Solomon contradicts the vulgar principle upon which covetous wretches move; and directs the quite contrary. They think all is lost that is given away VOL. III.

in charity: No such matter, saith the preacher, (ver. 1.), the fruit of it will be found hereafter beyond what can be imagined. O saith the covetous man again, I know not what may be hereafter; now I have enough, but in the latter end of my life I may want, and therefore it is best to save whilst I may. No, saith the preacher, for that very reason give, for thou knowest not what may be hereafter, when that may be taken away from thee, which now thou wilt not bestow upon needy people, &c.

First,

[c] Ver. 3.] In this verse, he illustrates both the duty and the reason of it. The former, by the clouds, which are a fit emblem of charity; the second, by the trees, which can bring forth fruit no longer than they continue joined to their root; from which being separated, they bear no more, nor can be fixed to their root, as the clouds may be filled with water again. So I have interpreted the latter part. of this verse; which Grotius understands as if it meant no more than the foregoing: "Do good to men without distinction, like him who, when he cuts down a tree, regards not which way it falls." I omit other interpretations, and shall only mention Maldonate's gloss upon this verse, which is ingenious enough. He urges us, saith he, to do good, while we live, by two reasons. From the profit of it, because we shall receive more than we give, like the clouds, which receive from the earth but a thin vapour, which they return to it in most copious showers. The second, from the impossibility of being in a capacity to do good when we are dead; for then, like a tree, we must continue as we are when death seizes us, and never be restored to our former condition again. Coranus alone (as far as I can find) expounds the latter part thus, in his Annotations: "A tree, in what place soever it is planted, there abides, and brings forth fruit; and so ought we to help others by all manner of means; in whatsoever place or time we live." And he takes north and south, for all parts of the world. If any think fit to apply this unto the unalterable condition wherein we must remain in the other world, (like a tree cut down, which, if it fall toward the north, cannot change its posture, and turn to the south), they cannot follow a fitter gloss upon the words than this of Lu ther's: "If the Lord find thee in the south, that is, fruitful and rich in good works, it will be well; but if in the north, that is, barren of good works, it will be ill with thee. Howsoever thou art found, so shalt thou be judged, and so thou shalt likewise receive."

[d] Ver. 4.] And then follows here an admonition to take the first opportunity of doing good, and not to defer it, because now it may seem unseasonable, and we fancy it may do better another time. Which the Lord Bacon extends unto all other

things as well as alms. "There is no greater, or' more frequent impediment of action, (saith he, in the conclusion of the first chapter of the eighth

book of Advancement of Learning), than an overcurious observation of decency, and of that other ceremony attending on it, which is too scrupu lous election of time and opportunity. For Solomon saith excellently, He that observeth the wind, &c. We must make opportunity oftener than we

find it."

And thus that great prince, Xerxes, (otherwise not very prudent, speaks very discreetly in Herodotus, 1. vii.), "Be not fearful of all things, nor consider every thing minutely; for, if in the consideration of business, thou wilt weigh every thing alike, thou shalt never be able to do any thing.' And thus Melancthon understands this place, "As events are not in our power, (which he takes to be the meaning of ver. 3.), so he that will have certain and circumscribed events (that is, such and such things come to pass) before he act, will never attempt any thing."

And so a great divine of our own expounds it: " If we will suspend our resolution, till we can bethink ourselves of something free from all inconveniencies, in most of our deliberations we shall never resolve upon any thing at all; God having so tempered things, that every commodity hath its incominodiousness, every conveniency some inconvenience attending it; which many times all the wit and industry of man is not able to serve." Bishop Sanderson's Sermon upon I Corinth. x. 24. p. 245.

St Hierom also elegantly accommodates these words to negligent pastors, who will not preach, but when the people are very desirous to hear, and there is a fair gale breathing to favour their design. And gives this advice to us, Do not say, "this is a fit time, that is unprofitable; for we are ignorant, what is the way, and what is the will of the Spirit, which dispenseth all things."

[e] Ver. 5.] In this verse he seems to pursue the same metaphor of the wind, which blows uncertainly, and nobody knows whence, nor from what causes. And therefore from our ignorance of that, and indeed of all other things, which we are here conversant withal, of our own soul, for instance, (which our translators understand by the word ruack, spirit), and of our own body, or of that vis formatrix, how it goes about its work, to make this body. of ours in the womb, which may possibly be meant by spirit, (Job, xxxiii. 4. Psal. civ. 30.). Solomon persuades us not to presume to know how God intends to order the course of this world, in his over-ruling providence, and therefore to do our duty, and leave events to him.

[f] Ver. 6.] Imitating the husbandman, (with which metaphor he began this discourse, and now concludes it), who, not knowing which will prosper, sows both early corn and late. So Symmachus understands this verse to be an allusion to those that sow some very forward seed, which perhaps may hit, when that which is sown at the ordinary time doth not; or perhaps both may succeed, and bring

forth fruit, to their great enriching. Others take morning and evening only to signify all times. [g] Ver. 7.] I have continued this verse with the foregoing, and supposed (what all interpreters do in the 3d and 4th verses) that the comparison is imperfect; there being only the giraris, (as Hermogenes speaks), the proposition of the sentence, and the midoris, (that which answers unto it), left to be made by the reader; which I have supplied from the sense of the whole foregoing discourse in this chapter.

Others think a new discourse here begins, for the conclusion of the whole book, and that after all be had said of happiness, he advises every one to think of another life, and not expect to find it in

this.

Or, as some understand him, his meaning is, "Now you have seen wherein happiness doth not, and wherein it doth consist; therefore do not either imagine there is none at all here in this world, or that it is greater than really it is; but take a middle course, which I have shewn you, and look upon this life as having pleasure in it, but not absolutely perfect, yet such as our condition will permit; begun here, and to be completed in another world."

[h] Ver. 8.] The beginning of this verse I have expounded according to the Hebrew, where the words run thus, as St Hierom himself translates them: "If a man live many years, let him rejoice in all these things," &c. And the latter part of the verse, I have supposed, contains two motives to moderation in our present enjoyments, and to make us think of doing some good with them, as the highest pleasure of all. Because they will have an end, when we can no longer enjoy them; and because, while we have them, they run away apace, as all that follows will do; and leave us empty and dissatisfied, unless we have made a good use of them, upon which we may reflect, when they are gone, with some pleasure.

[i] Ver. 9.] To those motives, he here adds the most considerable thing of all; which is expounded two ways by interpreters: Some taking these words as a permission, under such restraints as he mentions in the end of the verse; others, as ironically and sarcastically (as the Greek phrase is) spoken, by way of mockage and bitter scoff. The two first phrases (" rejoice," and "let thy heart cheer thee") incline to the former way, being commonly used in a good sense; the two last, ("walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thy eyes"), unto the other way, being commonly used in a bad. Therefore the scope of the place, and the coherence must determine it. And as the LXX. and St Hierom go the first way, so it agrees best, in my opinion, with what went before, and therefore so I have paraphrased it. And considering that they are two different words in the beginning of the verse, which we translate as if they were the same, (viz. young man, and youth),

I have not done amiss, I think, but expressed them more significantly, by these words, childish youth. And so they are distinguished in the last verse; where that word which here we translate youth, we more truly translate childhood, which yet goes before youth.

[k] Ver. 10.] Here I have followed the judgement of St Hierom, who under anger (or grief) comprehends al the perturbations of the mind; and under evil of the flesh, all the hurtful pleasures of the body. And accordingly I have expounded the whole verse, with respect to the danger youth is in, by the fiery motions of both sorts; the former of which incline men to imitate the wild beasts; the other sink them into the condition of the dullest brutes.

The word we here translate youth, signifies the peep of day, in our language, the appearing of the morning; and therefore is to be understood of our entrance upon the most pleasant time of our life. Which, as well as childhood, is but vanity, that is, presently vanishes, (as some will have it), and will be soon gone; or rather, childhood and youth signifying all that is done in that age of our life, the meaning is, it is an age of great levity, folly, and indiscretion, &c.

And therefore, as Luther observes, the great care of mankind should be to season youth with right opinions and a good sense of things; and then it is not to be denied all pleasures, of which it is very desirous, much less shut up from the very sight of them, for it abhors solitude. And this is to begin at the wrong end of education, which must be applied first to the mind, not to the body; and when the mind is well tinctured, the body will be easily governed. That is, neither follow filthy pleasures, nor be carried away with furious pas sions, &c. the benefit of which will be unspeakable, for they that live pleasantly and quietly in youth, are likely to arrive at and enjoy a comfortable old age.

Some begin the 12th chapter at this verse, and others begin it with the foregoing; but I have followed our translation, and the most interpreters.

CHAP. XII.

THE ARGUMENT.-He continues his advice to young men, (begun in the two last verses of the foregoing chapter), wishing them to season their minds with such an early sense of God, and of their obliga. tions to him, that it might govern them in all their ways, and be a comfort to them in old age; which (by a long description of it) he shews will be a I melancholy time at best. After which discourse, he concludes the book with a brief sum of the scope and design of it; inserting something concerning the author, which might dispose the reader to attend the more heedfully unto the conclusion of the whole matter.

thy youth, while the evil days come not,

Ver. 1. REMEMBER EMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.] The best counsel, therefore, that I can give every man, is this, That he would awaken, and preserve in mind perpetually, an awful sense of God, unto whom he is so deeply indebted, that he received his very being from him; and therefore let him apply himself faithfully and affectionately to his service, in his most vigorous age, as soon as ever he can consider that he is not his own, but God's, who formed him in his mother's womb, took him thence, and brought him up to be a man. Do not defer this weighty business till thou art sick, or all thy faculties so broken by the infirmities of old age, that though it last several years, yet they shall prove flat and dull, irksome and tedious to thee; and no pleasure at all left in them, but only the remembrance of a well-spent life; without which, instead of thanking God, thou wilt be apt to do nothing but complain, or groan under the weight of one evil or other that falls upon thee. See Annot. [a]

Ver. 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain;] For what joy can a man have, or what misery can he be without, (and therefore what folly is it not to think of God before that time), when the natural heat and vigour is quite spent, and all the powers and faculties of soul and body in such a languishing condition, that he is altogether unfit for the offices of piety, particularly for the acknowledgement of God's benefits, the very remembrance of which is slipt out of his mind, or he hath but a dull perception of them; being no more sensible of the benefit of the sun itself, when it gives the brightest light, than he is of the moon or stars; but the day is as sad, and as full of pains and heaviness to him, as the night; and there is no end of them, no intermission, but they succeed one another, as the clouds do in a rainy season, when one is no sooner emptied, but another is gathered, and ready to discharge itself in showers. See Annot. [b]

Ver. 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shali tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened ;] Is this a proper time to be allotted to the service of God, when a man cannot serve himself? his hands being struck with a palsy, and made unable either to feed or defend his body; his feet bending under the weight of it, having lost their power to support him; his teeth likewise so rotten, or worn away, or fallen out, that they cannot chew his meat; and the sight of his eyes, which were wont to shew him things at a great distance, now so failing him, that he cannot know one man from another, though they stand hard by him. See Annot. [c]

Ver. 4. And the doors shall be shut, in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low; and be shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of mu