PROVERBS, THE BOOR OF (prov'erbs).
That Solomon was the author of the Book of Proverbs has never been questioned. Some have indeed thought that he composed a part only of the Proverbs included in that book, and collected the others from various sources. It is probable, indeed, that he availed himself of any sayings already current which he regarded as useful and important. Whether he ever made any collection of his proverbs in writing is, however, doubtful. From the twenty-fifth chapter to the end, we are expressly informed, was written out and added to the previous portion. by order of King Hezekiah. The divine authority of the book is sufficiently proved by the quotations made from it in the New Testament (Rom. xii:16; Heb. xii:5, 6; z Pet. iv:8; t Thess. v:15).
(1) Characteristics of Proverbial Style. The characteristics of the proverbial style (in the more restricted sense of the word) arc, according to Bishop Lowth (i) Brevity ; (2) Obscurity ; (3) Elegance. The first of these is, however, the only one that can be considered at all universal. Many of the Proverbs of Solomon can hardly lay claim to elegance, according to the most liberal application of the term, and comparatively few of them are at all obscure as to meaning. The same remark applies with even greater force to the proverbs of every day life, e. g. Time and tide wait for no mat. Haste snakes waste. We must snake hay while the sun shines. A fool and his money are soon parted. We should be rather inclined to name, as a characteristic of the prov erb, a pointed and sometimes antithetical form of expression ; and this, in addition to brevity or sententiousness, constitutes perhaps the only uni versal distinction of this species of composition. Conciseness indeed enters into the very essence of the proverb; and this fact is probably indicated by the word itself ; proverbia, for, or instead of words, i. c. one word for many.
We were about to adduce examples from the book of Proverbs, of these two excellencies—sen tentiousness and point—but it is impossible to se lect, where almost every verse is an illustration. Nor should it be forgotten that the structure of the Hebrew language admits of a much higher degree of excellence in this particular than is possible in the English tongue. We give two ex amples taken at random. 'A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.' Here
are twelve words ; in the original seven only are employed. 'When a man's ways Please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at Peace with him.' Eighteen words ; in the Hebrew eight.
From what has been said of the characteristics of the proverbial or parabolic style, it is obvious that it possesses peculiar advantages as a medium of communicating truth. The proverb once heard remains fixed in the memory. Its brevity, its appositeness, its epigrammatic point, of ten aided by antithesis or paronomasia, not only ensure its re membrance, but very probably its recurrence to the mind at the very time when its warning voice may be needed. It utters in a tone of friendly admonition, of gentle remonstrance, of stern reproof, or of vehement denunciation, its wholesome lesson in the ear of the tried, the tempted, and the guilty. Such words are em phatically 'as goods and as nails fastened in a sure place.' (2) Probable Reason for Use. But Solomon must have had other reasons for selecting it, pe culiar to the age and country in which he lived. The Hebrews have been called a nation of chil dren. The mode of teaching by aphorisms is es pecially adapted to men in an early stage of cul ture, who have not yet learned to arrange and connect their various knowledges into a system. Accordingly we find this mode of writing ployed in the most remote ages; and wise maxims, apophthegms, constitute a large part of the early literature of most nations. Especially is this true of the Oriental nations. The fond ness of the people of the East for parables, enig mas, allegories, and pithy sayings, has itself be come a proverb. It is recorded as a proof of the wisdom of Solomon, that 'he spoke three thou sand proverbs' (i Kings iv :32) ; and Solomon himself says, that in his time, such sayings formed the chief study of the learned. A wise man will seek— 'To understand a proverb and the interpretation ; The words of the wise and their dark sayings: Recent travelers in the East assure us that this reverence for proverbs still exists there; and that nothing gives a man so much advantage in an ar gument as the ability to quote one of them on his side. We may therefore conclude that the wise king could have found no better mode of impressing truth on the minds of his countrymen than the one he has here chosen.