Proverbs 14

“The wise women built up their homes.” The church built its house with its patience and hope in Christ, that is, it has roused and restored those entering it with its doctrine and faith. “The foolish destroyed it with her own hand.” This is the heresy which becomes the cause for their eternal death.

Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, Fragment 14:1

And it was also said, “A wise woman builds a house, but the foolish will destroy it with her hands.” This means that the wise woman encourages her neighbor in the fear of God and the love which is in her heart toward her sister and her sisters. But, on the other hand, the foolish woman will destroy them by her words full of bitterness, hatred, wickedness and scorn, even as it is written, “A rod of scorn is in the mouth of the foolish,” and that means you.

Fragment 29, Letter to Antinoe 2:3-4

A wise woman will build her house, etc. And each faithful soul, and the universal Church throughout the world, builds her mansion in the heavenly homeland through good deeds; but the wicked, by living badly and sometimes openly resisting, dissipate what has been well ordered by the good. But why the foolish tear apart the acts of the wise is shown in the following words, as it is said:

Commentary on Proverbs

“He who walks straight, fears the Lord.” Not just any fear makes people walk straight, but the fear of God.… A life provided with virtue is quite illustrious, but the addition of fear makes persons more religious.

Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, Fragment 14:2

Walking in a right path, and fearing God, etc. For religion is an abomination to sinners. It seems foolish to the unbelievers when the faithful, due to the fear of God, not only cast away fear but also deride the torments of those who kill the body. About whom it is aptly added:

Commentary on Proverbs

What judgment harder than that of our hearts, whereby each one stands convicted and accuses himself of the injury that he has wrongfully done against his brother? This the Scriptures speak of very plainly, saying, “Out of the mouth of fools there is a rod for wrongdoing.” Folly, then, is condemned because it causes wrongdoing. Ought we not rather to avoid this, than death, or loss, or want, or exile or sickness? Who would not think some blemish of body or loss of inheritance far less than some blemish of soul or loss of reputation?

On the Duties of the Clergy 3.4.24

But it is the peculiar way with haughty preachers, that they are more desirous of strictly reproving their hearers even when distressed, than to cherish them in a kindly manner. For they study more to chide and reprove faults, than to encourage goodness with praise. For they are anxious to appear superior to other people, and they are better pleased when anger raises their feelings than when charity brings them down. They ever wish to find something, to smite sharply with reproof. Whence it is written, "In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride," because in truth he knows how to smite sharply, but not to sympathize with humility.

Morals on the Book of Job, Book 24, xvi.40

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, etc. Because the foolish through their idle talk afflict the humble whom they despise; but the same humble in spirit fortify themselves by the doctrine of wisdom so as not to be deceived.

Commentary on Proverbs

Where there are no oxen, the crib is empty, etc. These are connected with the preceding. For the oxen signify catholic teachers; the crib, the listeners of the assemblies; the crops, the fruits of good works. Therefore, it is in vain that the proud swell and uneducated eloquence strikes the ears and hearts of their subjects, because where there are no learned preachers, the crowd of common people gathers in vain to hear. But where many acts of virtue appear, it is most evident that it is not a heretic who babbled in vain, but he labored for the fruit of the word, who both ruminates the word with a chaste mouth and knows to walk the path of truth with the straight foot of discretion. Nor is it to be wondered at why we said that listeners are signified in the crib, since the ox is fed from the crib, and the teacher usually nourishes the hearers with the word. But it is to be noted that the crib is filled from the labor of the ox, and the ox itself is refreshed from its own fruit from the crib, because the faithful preacher both refreshes the hearers with the word and is himself refreshed with the same nourishment by the Lord; as is figured in the work of Elijah, who is both fed by and feeds the widow of Zarephath whom he sustains.

Commentary on Proverbs

These things we have said concerning those that in truth have been martyrs for Christ, but not concerning false martyrs, concerning whom the oracle speaks, “The name of the ungodly is extinguished.” For “a faithful witness will not lie, but an unjust witness inflames lies.” For he that departs this life in his testimony without lying, for the sake of the truth, is a faithful martyr, worthy to be believed in such things wherein he strove for the word of truth by his own blood. .

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles

These things we have said concerning those that in truth have been martyrs for Christ, but not concerning false martyrs, concerning whom the oracle speaks, “The name of the ungodly is extinguished.” For “a faithful witness will not lie, but an unjust witness inflames lies.” For he that departs this life in his testimony without lying, for the sake of the truth, is a faithful martyr, worthy to be believed in such things wherein he strove for the word of truth by his own blood.

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 5:1.9

The mocker seeks wisdom, etc. Caiaphas, who said to the Lord, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ"; because he sought badly, he did not deserve to find what he sought. But the disciples, who humbly submitted to the hearing of the truth, receiving the grace of the Spirit, not only deserved to know Christ the Son of God but also to understand the hidden things of the Scriptures. But then the doctrine of the prudent was easy when Cornelius with his household and others like him, humbly hearing the word, immediately believed, and receiving the Holy Spirit, spoke in all tongues. Now also, whoever is prudent, while being catechized, easily grasps the doctrine of the catholic faith; which the heretics, because they seek perversely, never truly find at all.

Commentary on Proverbs

Go against a foolish man, etc. Therefore the mocker does not find the wisdom he seeks because even if you openly proceed by disputing against his foolishness, he does not know how to understand what you say: like Arius, who contended that the word "consubstantiality" between the Father and the Son could nowhere be found in the Scriptures, although it was clearly objected to him, "I and the Father are one"; and "the Word was God," etc. Therefore, the doctrine of the prudent is easy because the lips of prudence with wisdom, that is, because whatever lips are governed by the moderation of prudence, they only delight in speaking and hearing wisdom, and they strive to devote themselves to its meditation with effort.

Commentary on Proverbs

“The wisdom of able men will understand the paths of wisdom, but the folly of fools goes in the wrong direction.” Prophecy says, “To whom shall I look if not to the man who is gentle and tranquil and who trembles at my words.” We have been taught that there are three forms of friendship. The first and best of these is based on virtue, since the love which proceeds from reason is firmly based. The second stands between the others and is based on mutuality. It involves mutual sharing and is beneficial to life. Friendship on the basis of free giving is mutual. The third, and last, comes, as we put it, from habit. Some say that it chops and changes, being based on pleasure.

The Stromata Book 2

The real use of Jokes or Humour is in quite a different direction, and it is specially promising among the English who take their "sense of humour" so seriously that a deficiency in this sense is almost the only deficiency at which they feel shame. Humour is for them the all-consoling and (mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame. If a man simply lets others pay for him, he is "mean"; if he boasts of it in a jocular manner and twits his fellows with having been scored off, he is no longer "mean" but a comical fellow. Mere cowardice is shameful; cowardice boasted of with humorous exaggerations and grotesque gestures can be passed off as funny. Cruelty is shameful--unless the cruel man can represent it as a practical joke. A thousand bawdy, or even blasphemous, jokes do not help towards a man's damnation so much as his discovery that almost anything he wants to do can be done, not only without the disapproval but with the admiration of his fellows, if only it can get itself treated as a Joke. And this temptation can be almost entirely hidden from your patient by that English seriousness about Humour. Any suggestion that there might be too much of it can be represented to him as "Puritanical" or as betraying a "lack of humour".

The Screwtape Letters, Chapter XI

The heart that knows the bitterness of its soul, etc. The elect have bitterness of soul as long as they are deferred from eternal joys; and the wicked, when they are afflicted by perverse desires. But the elect, because they walk in the light, foresee how their bitterness is to be changed into such great joy. But the wicked, blinded by their own will, do not see what they suffer in the present nor foresee what they will suffer in the future. Therefore, they will remain strangers to the future joys of the good because they do not know to be partakers of their present bitterness. Whence it is aptly added:

Commentary on Proverbs

The house of the wicked will be destroyed, etc. He indeed uses a house in dwelling, but tents on a journey; thus the house of the impious will be destroyed because they lose the habitation of the present life, in which they always desired to remain, as they die reprobate, and in the exile of perpetual damnation, which they did not foresee, they will undergo. But the tents of the righteous will flourish, because their present conduct, in which they are sojourners with God and strangers, with their merits constantly increasing, will reach up to the most delightful fruition of the heavenly homeland.

Commentary on Proverbs

We read in Proverbs, “There is a way that seems just to men, yet the end of it leads to the depths of hades.” You see, ignorance is also clearly condemned in this text, since man thinks otherwise and he falls into hades, seemingly having the truth. “There are many thoughts,” he says, “in the heart of man.” But still, it is not his will, which is uncertain and doubtful and changeable, that prevails but the counsel of God.

Against the Pelagians 1.39

A hermit said, ‘Do not be pleased at everything that is said, and do not agree with everything that is said. Be slow to believe, and quick to say what is true.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

The innocent believes every word, etc. John both prohibited this innocence and taught how to have this prudence, when he said, Beloved, do not believe every spirit; but test the spirits, whether they are of God (1 John IV).

Commentary on Proverbs

The fear of God is Deoj [in Greek]. But if fear is perturbation of mind, as some will have it that fear is perturbation of mind, yet all fear is not perturbation. Superstition is indeed perturbation of mind; being the fear of demons, that produce and are subject to the excitement of passion. On the other hand, consequently, the fear of God, who is not subject to perturbation, is free of perturbation. For it is not God, but failing away from God, that the man is terrified for. And he who fears this-that is, falling into evils-fears and dreads those evils. And he who fears a fall, wishes himself to be free of corruption and perturbation. "The wise man, fearing, avoids evil: but the foolish, trusting, mixes himself with it," says the Scripture.

The Stromata Book 2

The wise man fears and departs from evil, etc. Just as it is foolish to trust in one's own eagerness and wish to leap a fast river or a wider abyss, but wise to turn to a plain or bridge, so he who avoids sins as much as possible, fearing he may be involved in evils, is wise. But that man is foolish who sins with disdain, flattering himself that either he will repent of his actions at a later time, or if he suddenly dies, that he will bravely endure the punishments of hell.

Commentary on Proverbs

An impatient man works folly, etc. Certainly an impatient man is reprehensible, but far worse and more hateful to God is the cunning man, although he is considered better among men. For the former openly shows his folly to all, while the latter, in his perverse heart, often feigns simplicity and righteousness, and is pleased to be called holy in human judgment, while in the divine examination he is considered among the reprobate.

Commentary on Proverbs

The wicked will lie down before the good, etc. In the last judgment, when the righteous are crowned, the reprobate who oppressed them in the present will be condemned. For what is said, Before, that is, before the good, and before the gates of the righteous, pertains not to proximity of place, but to the sight of the good, because they always see the torments of the wicked, so that they may endlessly give greater thanks to their Redeemer. Hence Isaiah says of them, And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me. Their worm does not die, nor is their fire quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh (Isaiah LXVI). But what he says, They shall go forth, does not denote a movement of feet, but a gaze of the eyes, which, placed within the kingdom to see the punishments of the wicked, they send out whenever they wish.

Commentary on Proverbs

Another brother spoke with the same Theodore, and he began to talk about matters of which he had no experience. Theodore said to him, ‘You’ve not yet found a ship to sail in, nor put your luggage aboard, nor put out to sea, and you’re already acting as if you were in the city which you mean to reach. If you make some attempt to do the things you are discussing, then you can talk about them with understanding.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

The crown of the wise is their riches, etc. The wise do not have any earthly gain for riches, but only a crown, which they will receive for their virtues in the future. But the greatest folly of fools is that imprudent and unmindful of eternal things, they rejoice in present advantages only. Imprudence, in fact, is called improvidence.

Commentary on Proverbs

A faithful witness delivers souls, etc. Christ, who is the faithful witness, liberates souls, as we read in the Apocalypse; and, as the Apostle says, he testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate (I Tim. VI). The devil, who rightly is called the deceitful, proclaims lies, because he pronounces the evils which he suggests to be done as good, and promises eternal joys to those whom he prepares for the torments of hell. Likewise, the catholic teacher liberates souls, who faithfully proclaims, that is, correctly preaches, the testimonies of the Scriptures, and the heretic proclaims lies, or, as in another version it is clearly translated: He stirs up deceit with lies; it is implied he deceives the souls of those whom he has led astray by his error.

Commentary on Proverbs

“The fear of the Lord is the hope of courage.” When you fear the punishment that is threatened, you learn to love the reward that is promised; and thus through fear of punishment you keep on leading a good life, and by leading a good life you acquire a good conscience, so that finally through a good conscience you don’t fear any punishment. Therefore, learn how to fear, if you don’t want to be afraid.

Sermon 348:1

In the way of God fear produces strength; as Solomon witnesses, who says, "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence." For 'strong confidence' is said 'to be in the fear of the Lord,' in that, in truth, our mind so much the more valorously sets at nought all the terrors of temporal vicissitudes, the more thoroughly that it submits itself in fear to the Author of those same temporal things. And being stablished in the fear of the Lord, it encounters nothing without to fill it with alarm, in that whereas it is united to the Creator of all things by a righteous fear, it is by a certain powerful influence raised high above them all.

Morals on the Book of Job, Book 5.33

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, etc. The fear of the Lord provides the confidence of strength, because indeed our mind more valiantly despises the terrors of temporal things as much as it submits itself more truly to their creator through strength. The sons of the fear of the Lord are those who are governed by divine fear, just as the sons of power and the sons of resurrection, those who are zealous for virtues, or who pertain to the joys of the resurrection, who will have hope, according to that saying of the Psalmist, Those who fear the Lord, hope in the Lord (Psalm CXIII). Of which hope he consequently adds:

Commentary on Proverbs

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, etc. This then is the hope of those who fear the Lord, that turning away from the ruin of death, they may merit to come to Him who says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John XIV). But as it is said above, The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn away from the ruin of death, now it is said, The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn away from the ruin of death. From this it is clear that there is no earlier law of the wise by which one ought to avoid death and acquire eternal life, than to have the fear of the Lord. Wherefore it is also said elsewhere, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In the multitude of people is the dignity of the king, and in the paucity of people the disgrace of the prince. Where there is a multitude serving God, there especially is the glory of Christ. Where only catechumens, or those preparing for baptism, or recently born infants are still held under the kingdom of the devil, and they hasten in due time to be reborn in Christ, there is the manifest disgrace of the prince of the world. Or certainly in the conventicles of heretics, which are always fewer than the churches of Catholics, the disgrace is evident of those who have separated these from the unity of the church.

Commentary on Proverbs

Do you not see the athletes, how they exercise when they have filled the bags with sand? But there is no need for you to practice this. Life is full of things that exercise you and make you strong.… For it is said, “One who is long-suffering abounds in wisdom, but he who is small of soul is strongly foolish.”

On the Epistle to the Hebrews 19:5

Everyone knows that patience is derived from passion and endurance and therefore that you cannot call anyone patient unless he endures indignities without annoyance. So Solomon rightly praised the patient person: “Better is the patient man than the strong, and he who restrains his anger more than he that takes a city,” and “A long-suffering man is mighty in prudence, but a fainthearted man is very foolish.” Therefore, if a wronged man flares up in anger, the wrongful abuse should not be thought of as the cause of his sin but the manifestation of a hidden weakness.

Conference 18:13

While all our actions should be free from hidden malevolence, this is particularly the case in the selection of a bishop, whose life is the pattern for all his flock. Calm and pacific judgment is called for if you are to prefer to all his fellows a man who will be elected by all and who will heal all dissension. “The gentle man is the physician of the heart.” In the gospel the Lord declared himself the physician of the heart when he said, “They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.”

Letter 63:46

The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, etc. By flesh, certain weak and tender things; by bones, strong deeds are signified. It is well said, The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, because if the innocence of the mind is preserved, even if some things are weak outwardly, they are sometimes strengthened. And rightly it is added, Envy is the rottenness of the bones, because through the vice of envy those things perish before the eyes of God which seem strong to human eyes. For bones to rot from envy means that even some strong things perish.

Commentary on Proverbs

“He who slanders the poor irritates his own Maker.” Here there are two sins: slander and opposition to the poor. Why does he irritate his Maker? His Maker certainly made him and made it easy for him to be subjected to a tongue of a slanderer. “He who really honors God has pity upon the needy.” If God made the poor, why must the poor be pitied? Certainly I heard many saying: Is there any need to pity the poor man whom God would have not made poor if he loved him? How long will we play with our salvation? How long will we laugh at things in which the one who is wicked and loaded with countless sins should tremble and fear and be terrified? Tell me then whom God did favor: did he favor either Lazarus or the rich man? This is what ruins us, the fact that we easily slip into [bad] jokes.

Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, Fragment 14:31

Now here is an actual instance, a small case of how our social conscience really works: tame in spirit, wild in result, blank in realisation; a thing without the light of mind in it. I take this paragraph from a daily paper:--“At Epping, yesterday, Thomas Woolbourne, a Lambourne labourer, and his wife were summoned for neglecting their five children. Dr. Alpin said he was invited by the inspector of the N.S.P.C.C. to visit defendants' cottage. Both the cottage and the children were dirty. The children looked exceedingly well in health, but the conditions would be serious in case of illness. Defendants were stated to be sober. The man was discharged. The woman, who said she was hampered by the cottage having no water supply and that she was ill, was sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. The sentence caused surprise, and the woman was removed crying, 'Lord save me!'”

I know no name for this but Chinese. It calls up the mental picture of some archaic and changeless Eastern Court, in which men with dried faces and stiff ceremonial costumes perform some atrocious cruelty to the accompaniment of formal proverbs and sentences of which the very meaning has been forgotten. In both cases the only thing in the whole farrago that can be called real is the wrong. If we apply the lightest touch of reason to the whole Epping prosecution it dissolves into nothing.

I here challenge any person in his five wits to tell me what that woman was sent to prison for. Either it was for being poor, or it was for being ill. Nobody could suggest, nobody will suggest, nobody, as a matter of fact, did suggest, that she had committed any other crime. The doctor was called in by a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Was this woman guilty of cruelty to children? Not in the least. Did the doctor say she was guilty of cruelty to children? Not in the least. Was these any evidence even remotely bearing on the sin of cruelty? Not a rap. The worse that the doctor could work himself up to saying was that though the children were “exceedingly” well, the conditions would be serious in case of illness. If the doctor will tell me any conditions that would be comic in case of illness, I shall attach more weight to his argument.

A Miscellany of Men, The Mad Official (1912)

A minister of the kingdom who is understanding is acceptable. He indeed to whom it is said, Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord (Matt. XXV).

Commentary on Proverbs

His wrath will fall upon the useless. He indeed about whom the same says: And cast the useless servant into the outer darkness (Ibid.)

Commentary on Proverbs