short aphorisms, and sententious moral and prudential maxims,
usually expressed in numbers, or rhythm, or antithesis, as being more
easily remembered, and of more use, than abstruse and methodical
discourses. This method of instruction appears to be peculiarly suited
to the disposition and genius of the Asiatics, among whom it has
prevailed from the earliest ages. The Gymnosophists of India delivered
their philosophy in brief enigmatical sentences; a practice adopted and
carried to a great extent by the ancient Egyptians. The mode of
conveying instruction by compendious maxims obtained among the Jews,
from the first dawn of their literature, to its final extinction in the
east through the power of the Mohammedan arms; and it was familiar to
the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, as we learn from the testimony
of St. Jerom. The eloquence of Arabia was mostly exhibited in detached
and unconnected sentences, which, like so many loose gems, attracted
attention by the fulness of the periods, the elegance of the
phraseology, and the acuteness of proverbial sayings. Nor do the
Asiatics at present differ, in this respect, from their ancestors, as
numerous _amthâl_, or moral sentences, are in circulation throughout the
regions of the east, some of which have been published by Hottinger,
Erpenius, the younger Schultens, and others who have distinguished
themselves by the pursuit of oriental learning. “The moralists of the
east,” says Sir William Jones, “have, in general, chosen to deliver
their precepts in short sententious maxims, to illustrate them by
sprightly comparisons, or to inculcate them in the very ancient forms of
agreeable apologues: there are, indeed, both in Arabic and Persian,
philosophical tracts on ethics, written with sound ratiocination and
elegant perspicuity; but in every part of the eastern world, from Pekin
to Damascus, the popular teachers of moral wisdom have immemorially been
poets; and there would be no end of enumerating their works, which are
still extant in the five principal languages of Asia.” The ingenious but
ever disputing and loquacious Greeks were indebted to the same means for
their earliest instruction in wisdom. The sayings of the seven wise men,
the golden verses of Pythagoras, the remains of Theognis and Phocylides,
if genuine, and the _gnomai_ of the older poets, testify the prevalence
of aphorisms in ancient Greece. Had no specimens remained of Hellenic
proverbs, we might have concluded this to have been the case; for the
Greeks borrowed the rudiments, if not the principal part, of their
knowledge from those whom they arrogantly termed barbarians; and it is
only through the medium of compendious maxims and brief sentences that
traditionary knowledge can be preserved. This mode of communicating
moral and practical wisdom accorded with the sedate and deliberative
character of the Romans; and, in truth, from its influence over the
mind, and its fitness for popular instruction, proverbial expressions
exist in all ages and in all languages.
Proverbs, in the Hebrew language, are called _meshalim_, which is
derived from a verb signifying both “to rule,” “to have dominion,” and
“to compare,” “to liken,” “to assimilate:” hence the term denotes the
highly figurative and poetical style in general, and likewise those
compendious and authoritative sentences in particular which are commonly
denominated proverbs. This term, which our translators have adopted
after the Vulgate, denotes, according to our great lexicographer, “a
short sentence frequently repeated by the people, a saw, an adage;” and
no other word can, perhaps, be substituted more accurately expressing
the force of the Hebrew; or, if there could, it has been so long
familiarized by constant use, that a change is totally inadmissible.
The _Meshalim_, or Proverbs of Solomon, on account of their intrinsic
merit, as well as of the rank and renown of their author, would be
received with submissive deference; in consequence of which, they would
rapidly spread through every part of the Jewish territories. The pious
instructions of the king would be listened to with the attention and
respect they deserve, and, no doubt, would be carefully recorded by a
people attached to his person, and holding his wisdom in the highest
admiration. These, either preserved in writing, or handed down by oral
communication, were subsequently collected into one volume, and
constitute the book in the sacred canon, entitled, “The Proverbs of
Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.” The genuineness and
authenticity of this title, and those in chap. x, 1, and xxv, 1, cannot
be disputed; not the smallest reason appears for calling them in
question. One portion of the book, from the twenty-fifth chapter to the
end of the twenty-ninth, was compiled by the men of Hezekiah, as appears
from the title prefixed to it. Eliakim, Shebna, Joah, Isaiah, Hosea, and
Micah, personages of eminence and worth, were contemporary with
Hezekiah; but whether these or others executed the compilation, it is
now impossible to determine. They were persons, however, as we may
reasonably suppose, well qualified for the undertaking, who collected
what were known to be the genuine proverbs of Solomon from the various
writings in which they were dispersed, and arranged them in their
present order. Whether the preceding twenty-four chapters, which,
doubtless, existed in a combined form previous to the additional
collection, were compiled by the author, or some other person, is quite
uncertain. Both collections, however, being made at so early a period,
is a satisfactory evidence that the Proverbs are the genuine production
of Solomon, to whom they are ascribed; for, from the death of Solomon to
the reign of Hezekiah, according to the Bible chronology, was a period
of two hundred and forty-nine years, or, according to Dr. Hales, two
hundred and sixty-five years; too short a space to admit of any forgery
or material error, as either must have been immediately detected by the
worthies who flourished during the virtuous reign of Hezekiah.
usually expressed in numbers, or rhythm, or antithesis, as being more
easily remembered, and of more use, than abstruse and methodical
discourses. This method of instruction appears to be peculiarly suited
to the disposition and genius of the Asiatics, among whom it has
prevailed from the earliest ages. The Gymnosophists of India delivered
their philosophy in brief enigmatical sentences; a practice adopted and
carried to a great extent by the ancient Egyptians. The mode of
conveying instruction by compendious maxims obtained among the Jews,
from the first dawn of their literature, to its final extinction in the
east through the power of the Mohammedan arms; and it was familiar to
the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, as we learn from the testimony
of St. Jerom. The eloquence of Arabia was mostly exhibited in detached
and unconnected sentences, which, like so many loose gems, attracted
attention by the fulness of the periods, the elegance of the
phraseology, and the acuteness of proverbial sayings. Nor do the
Asiatics at present differ, in this respect, from their ancestors, as
numerous _amthâl_, or moral sentences, are in circulation throughout the
regions of the east, some of which have been published by Hottinger,
Erpenius, the younger Schultens, and others who have distinguished
themselves by the pursuit of oriental learning. “The moralists of the
east,” says Sir William Jones, “have, in general, chosen to deliver
their precepts in short sententious maxims, to illustrate them by
sprightly comparisons, or to inculcate them in the very ancient forms of
agreeable apologues: there are, indeed, both in Arabic and Persian,
philosophical tracts on ethics, written with sound ratiocination and
elegant perspicuity; but in every part of the eastern world, from Pekin
to Damascus, the popular teachers of moral wisdom have immemorially been
poets; and there would be no end of enumerating their works, which are
still extant in the five principal languages of Asia.” The ingenious but
ever disputing and loquacious Greeks were indebted to the same means for
their earliest instruction in wisdom. The sayings of the seven wise men,
the golden verses of Pythagoras, the remains of Theognis and Phocylides,
if genuine, and the _gnomai_ of the older poets, testify the prevalence
of aphorisms in ancient Greece. Had no specimens remained of Hellenic
proverbs, we might have concluded this to have been the case; for the
Greeks borrowed the rudiments, if not the principal part, of their
knowledge from those whom they arrogantly termed barbarians; and it is
only through the medium of compendious maxims and brief sentences that
traditionary knowledge can be preserved. This mode of communicating
moral and practical wisdom accorded with the sedate and deliberative
character of the Romans; and, in truth, from its influence over the
mind, and its fitness for popular instruction, proverbial expressions
exist in all ages and in all languages.
Proverbs, in the Hebrew language, are called _meshalim_, which is
derived from a verb signifying both “to rule,” “to have dominion,” and
“to compare,” “to liken,” “to assimilate:” hence the term denotes the
highly figurative and poetical style in general, and likewise those
compendious and authoritative sentences in particular which are commonly
denominated proverbs. This term, which our translators have adopted
after the Vulgate, denotes, according to our great lexicographer, “a
short sentence frequently repeated by the people, a saw, an adage;” and
no other word can, perhaps, be substituted more accurately expressing
the force of the Hebrew; or, if there could, it has been so long
familiarized by constant use, that a change is totally inadmissible.
The _Meshalim_, or Proverbs of Solomon, on account of their intrinsic
merit, as well as of the rank and renown of their author, would be
received with submissive deference; in consequence of which, they would
rapidly spread through every part of the Jewish territories. The pious
instructions of the king would be listened to with the attention and
respect they deserve, and, no doubt, would be carefully recorded by a
people attached to his person, and holding his wisdom in the highest
admiration. These, either preserved in writing, or handed down by oral
communication, were subsequently collected into one volume, and
constitute the book in the sacred canon, entitled, “The Proverbs of
Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.” The genuineness and
authenticity of this title, and those in chap. x, 1, and xxv, 1, cannot
be disputed; not the smallest reason appears for calling them in
question. One portion of the book, from the twenty-fifth chapter to the
end of the twenty-ninth, was compiled by the men of Hezekiah, as appears
from the title prefixed to it. Eliakim, Shebna, Joah, Isaiah, Hosea, and
Micah, personages of eminence and worth, were contemporary with
Hezekiah; but whether these or others executed the compilation, it is
now impossible to determine. They were persons, however, as we may
reasonably suppose, well qualified for the undertaking, who collected
what were known to be the genuine proverbs of Solomon from the various
writings in which they were dispersed, and arranged them in their
present order. Whether the preceding twenty-four chapters, which,
doubtless, existed in a combined form previous to the additional
collection, were compiled by the author, or some other person, is quite
uncertain. Both collections, however, being made at so early a period,
is a satisfactory evidence that the Proverbs are the genuine production
of Solomon, to whom they are ascribed; for, from the death of Solomon to
the reign of Hezekiah, according to the Bible chronology, was a period
of two hundred and forty-nine years, or, according to Dr. Hales, two
hundred and sixty-five years; too short a space to admit of any forgery
or material error, as either must have been immediately detected by the
worthies who flourished during the virtuous reign of Hezekiah.