of the most vndoubted grace and saluation that God hath prohibited and geuen freely to vs And no lesse hurt haue diuers of the holy and notable fathers and Doctours in the Church done by misunderstādyng of the same booke who haue thought that Salomon had taught vs herein the cōtempt of the world as they call it that is to say of the creatures that God hath made and ordeined Amongest whom S. Hierome is one which by hys Commētary writtē vpon this booke allured his beloued Blesilla to become a Nunne From hēce hath flowed and rūne ouer all the church lyke a flud or inundatiō all that diuinitie of the religious houses or monasteries where they taught that it was the duty of a christiane to forsake the gouernaunce of hys house to giue vp his office yea to leaue the Byshoplyke or rather Apostolike ministery to get them into the wildernes to separate them from all company to lyue in quyete and silence saying that mē could not lyue in the world and serue God as though Salomon counted mariage gouernance of kingdoms bearing of office ministery of the word vanity all which in this booke hee meruelously extolleth calleth the gifts of God. And whereas Salomō declareth that men thē selues or rather their coūsels deuises are vanities these men peruertyng all thyngs call the things thē selues vayne and suppose that they their deuises are sounde good smothly dreamyng all thynges contrary to Salomons meanyng And to be short they haue drawen vs out of this most goodly and profitable booke nothyng but monsters and of most fine and pure gold haue made abhominable Idoles Wherefore the rather to discouer this darkenes and to abolish these filthy Idoles I haue suffered these annotations of myne noted and written by other as I spake them and framed after this order of speach for my selfe by reason of much businesse could write no sufficient and full Commentary vpon the booke to be published Which annotations albeit they are but slender and litle yet may they to them that haue no better or which haue been seduced heretofore with false gloses as I haue been geue occasion as vnto wise men to become the better and finde out and deuise better matter Surely a very small tast of this booke was to me a great pleasure after I was weryed in the same all my lyfe long and had in vayne vexed and corrupted my selfe with wicked opinions agaynst the fayth in Christ Wherfore I giue most harty thankes to the father of mercies which hath renewed this latter age with so many reuelations and so great light Therfore we will more aptely call this booke of the Preacher the politikes or Oeconomikes of Salomon not for that he giueth any rules or preceptes how to gouerne any Cities or to rule any families for that doth the law of nature or reason of man abundantly perfourme Wherunto all thynges in the world are subiect Gen. 1. which hath bene alway the fountaine Iudge and end must so remaine of all lawes aswell ciuile as domesticall but for that it giueth counsell to men in aduersitie whether they be publike or priuate persons instructyng their myndes strengthenyng them to patience by bearyng of misfortunes which many wayes fall out in such cases as the bookes of the holy hystories and all Poetes fables do declare such as are Hercules trauelles the monsters that Vlisses others ouercame the Beare the Liō and Goliath that Dauid vanquished He that in these pointes is ignoraunt at length falleth downe being tyred and great is his fall as was the fall of Timon Demosthenes Cicero and diuerse lyke Through the impatiencie hereof haue heretikes also styrred vp sects in the Church because such was the naughtynes of men that they forsooke their ministery As it is commonly sayd Desperation maketh Monkes For it is true that the wise mā sayth Office and authoritie sheweth what a man is But in deede onles we haue some Salomon to exhorte and comforte vs office and authoritie ouerwhelmeth casteth downe and vndoth a man. I commende therfore to the godly brethren this my Salomon rather pointed at and but touched then fully declared And I wish that some good and learned man of a more abundaunt spirit and happyer vayne then I am would stand vp expound and beautifie this booke according to the worthynes therof to the prayse of God and commēdation of his creatures to whom be glory for euer through Iesus Christ our lord Amen The Argument vpon Salomons booke called the Preacher THis booke is one of the most difficulte bookes of the whole Scripture whiche no man hath hetherto fully attayned vnto yea it hath been depraued with the vnworthy commentaryes of diuerse men in so much that it is a more trouble to purge the author therof from the dreames wherewith they haue defaced it then to restore the true sense therof agayn And two causes there haue been why it hath been more hard to vnderstand then other One was for that they perceaued not the intent and meanyng of the author which thyng as in euery kynde of writyng so chiefly in this and in all others it had been requisite they had kept and folowed The other was by reason they were ignoraunt in the Hebrew toung in the auctors peculiar phrase whiche many tymes swarueth from the common phrase of speach and differeth much from the custome of our tounge Hereby it came to passe that the booke which for many causes was worthy to be had in all mēs hādes and specially to be knowen to all gouernours of common weales for in it was most liuely set forth and in no place like the administration of affaires aswell publike as priuate hath hetherto been depriued of his name and dignitie miserably vnregarded and neglected so that to this day we haue had neither vse nor commoditie of it So much hath the rashnes and ignoraunce of some men been able to do Wherfore our first labour shal be to hold fast the certeine scope intēt of the booke what it requireth and whereto it tendeth For if we hereof be ignoraunt it shall be impossible to vnderstand the style and phrase in the same The meaning therefore and summe of thys booke is that Salomon wyll haue vs to be quieted and setled in our mynde that in all occurrēces and chaunces of thys lyfe we should liue cōtented wyth our present estate wythout care desire of thynges to come as Paul sayth liuing wythout carefulnes because vayne is the desire of future thyngs Salomon gathereth by a certayne perpetuall and cōtynued induction of particular thynges that mens deuises and enterprises are friuolous and vayne so that of particulars makyng a generall conclusion he prooueth that all mens deuises are vayne For he sayth that to get lyuyng riches it helpeth not to be wise to runne fast it auayleth not to be swift to gette the victory it booteth not to be strong
Thou art a preacher or minister of the word of God continue in reading the Scripture and in teaching be not drawen to any other trade before the Lord draw thée For whatsoeuer the Lord doth not say or commaūde profiteth not which thing he proueth by his owne experience saying I sawe the swifte preuayled not by running and many strong men which yet lost the victory I sawe also many notable wyse mē haue litle successe many diligent and good gouernours which litle preuayled It lies not in the person how industrious or witty soeuer he be Many tymes the strong are ouercōmed in warre of the weake and many tymes great hostes are slayne by small number of men because the matter consisteth not in strength So Troye was a most impregnable thing wāting neyther strēgth nor power and yet was it subdued and ouerthrowen For the tyme was come that God had ordeyned it should so be By the lyke reason in the yeares passed the Emperour tooke and vanquished the kyng of Fraunce notwithstanding he farre passed him in strēgth of mē Where he saith that running helpeth not the swifte it is an Hebrew phrase for with them to rūne is to beare office as Paul to the Corinthians So runne I not as at an vncertaine thing Agayne I haue fynished my course To be had in fauour it helpeth not to be cunning THat is many are skilfull in artes good learning and yet they are not regarded no man séeth to them or taketh care for them So with vs the worde is plentifull there are many good wyttes and yet we can not bring all men to the fayth and yet not withstanding we must not leaue of from preaching the Gospell For God raigneth euen in weakenes he shall gouerne our doinges bring them to passe The Lorde is able to kindle a greate fyer flame so we will preserue sparcles We are also meruelously troubled and vexed in our myndes about getting our liuing One because he would be rich becōmeth a Printer and loe he consumeth that he hath It is not therefore sufficient to be wise and industrious For many singular wyttes and excellent artificers are vtterly despised This is it he sayth The Successe of all thinges dependeth on fortune THat is I cā not determine or apoint what successe I shall haue when I haue donne all I can Doo thou onely that is thy duetye God shall finde a tyme to vse thy labour We cā not iudge of these thinges we must labour but appointe no ende and effect of our woorking Man knoweth not his tyme but as the fyshes which are takē with the angle as birdes that are catched with springesse so are they snared in the perelous tyme when it cometh svddenly vpon them VNderstand this tyme to be not onely the very end of life but euery hower and occasion as if he should say Thou must labour although thou know not what will followe thereof Therfore applie thy selfe to learning and if God so appoint he will giue thy study fruite and successe The lyke we must do in all other trades exercises of lyfe labouring and commytting all successe vnto god For the tyme of successe is not reuealed to vs. And as fishes c. WYth two feate similitudes he proueth that most tymes matters fall out cōtrary to our deuises and wéening the fishe is desirous of meate deuoureth the hooke The byrdes lykewise without all feare goe on féeding and thinke no thing of the grynne and sodenly they are caught So we when we haue chosen and hoped for that we thinke good are deceaued And when we thinke euil is toward then goodnes is at hand And we rushe in to those thinges which afterwarde we can not get out of in such a wyse as we perceaue not how we be circumuented And all this commeth to passe because we knowe not the tyme and hower So that experience teacheth vs how thinges are not ordered by our deuises but most tymes against them And hence procedeth the saying of misfortunat folke I thought not it would haue so fallen out This wisdome also haue I seene vnvnder the Sunne and me thought it a great thinge There was a lyttle Citie and a fewe men within it So there came a great kinge and beseeged it made great fortes against it and in the Citie there was found a pore mā but wise which through his wisdōe deliuered the Citie Yet was there no body that had any respecte vnto such a simple man Then sayde I wysedome is better then strength Neuertheles a poore mās wysdome is despised his wordes are not heard I suppose that this is set after his cōclusion in stead of an example whereby he declareth all that he hath sayde before It is a generall example the lyke whereof is foūde in many histories For thus in the ix Chapter of the Iudges a woman deliuered the Citie saying Abimelech the king with a peece of a mylstone He calleth it great wysedome because indeede that wisedome of gouernaunce is very greate that delyuereth a litle Citie of small force frō valyaunt enemyes But to forget this wisedome and so great benefites as most times it happeneth is greate vnthankfulnes Thus Themistocles employed many benefites vpon his Countrey men but he founde greate ingratitude for the same Thus Dauid benifited all Israell so did Salomon But afterward forgetting so great benefites tenne of the Trybes forsooke the house of Dauid Wherefore to pleasure and benefit the worlde is nought els but to lose our benefites and to cast golde into durt and Pearles before hogges The best is therefore to be mery and to labour for the tyme present casting of all care of things to come For it were better that my benefites perished then I to perish with my benefit also as sayth Phaedria in the comedye entituled Eunuchus And no man remembred the man. IN déede the wyse mans wordes were heard while he gaue good counsell but that done he was by and by forgotten The tenth Chapiter The wordes of the wyse are more heard in quietnes then the crye of him that ruleth among fooles THe effect of this place is to comfort and exhort them which are troubled with worldly affaiers next to rebuke those which are a let and hindraunce that wise and godly mens counsels goe not forward as he beganne with the example of a poore man that wisely brought a great matter to passe but assoone as the benefite was past it was forgotten For all present estate of men as was sayde before is despised Therfore Salomō perceauing this matter sayth weary not your selues you cā bring the world to none other passe nor yet the men therein If matters procéede according to your good deuise commytte them vnto God. The wordes of the wyse are hearde in quietnes c. THe wordes of the wise are not regarded therefore they are compelled to harken to the wordes of a foolishe ruler The crying of a
then is there néede of a wyse workmā that is It must be a cunning workmā that can well whet out an olde rustye Axe So it is néedefull he be a wyse man that can handsomly vse such euill tooles that is the worlde and such peruerse and vntoward men Men by nature are disspitefull But God hath authorized such men that at least they myght therfore be obeyed For he sayth I will that thou be obedient vnto this man for if thou disobeyest him thou contemnest me But yet they obey not by this neyther Therfore publyke gouernāce or howse keping is but such a rustie toole as is spoken of Vse therfore the same hatchet thou hast sins thou cāst handle none other as saith the Prouerbe He that hath no lyme must builde his wall with doonge or lome If thou be an householder or an officer thinke thou hast this rusty iron that is such as thou cāst not rule nor wil be ruled occupie it and cut with it as the canst that thou maist at least kéepe some parte and shew of a common weale For men shall neuer be able to doe so well in a common weale but much euel shall remaine there still Therefore he must be a good woorkeman that can so sharpen an olde rustye iron that yet he can vse it handsomely These are the thinges that must comforte vs in such cases If the Serpent byte when he is not charmed no better is a babler and blab of tounge THis perteyneth also to the common weale As a serpēt sayth he vncharmed that is vnknowen or vnlooked for for a serpēt that is charmed byteth not because he obeyeth the charmers voyce euen so byteth a blabbe of his toung Neyther is a blab of his toung better then a byting Serpent for he is not master of his owne tounge he curseth or speaketh euell of his ruler and gouernour Euen so it fareth whether in publike or priuate gouernaunce If thou be an housekéeper thou shall doe many thinges that shal offende thy wyfe and familie c. Emongst whom thou shalt fynde some that wil depraue the well doinges which the euill disposed will carry abrode to the Citizens and neighbours and this also thou shalte be compelled to beare with Thou shalt to thy power withstand it but if thou be not able to let it thou must suffer it It is in déede a tedious and greuous case to be thus dishonestly rayled at by tounges of ill willers thou not wytting it but what shalt thou doo These slaunders and detractors thou canst not stop Onely stop thine eyes eares do that thou art able Euen as we be compelled to beare with the woordes and workes of men that resist vs For the worlde will not cease to persecute magistrates and those that giue them good counsell The wordes of a wyse mans mouth haue grace but the lips of a foole deuoureth him THat is to say a wise man ordereth his doinges well and with a kynde of grace but because he is amonge euill tounges he hath litle successe For the detractor commeth and deuoureth and ouerwhelmeth the good mā with his words for so referre I this worde him to the wise man not to the foole For the word of the wyse that hath in it such grace is made in effectuall through the taulke of the foole If a good and wise man geue good counsell the slaunderer and deprauer cōmeth and ouerturneth his counsell So happened it to Paule in the Actes when he was in shippwracke Menne and bretherne sayth he you ought to haue obeyed me and to haue ryd it out in Creta c. To conclude the foole deuoureth the wyse and the woorse syde still preuaileth †The beginning of his woordes is foolishnes and the latter ende of his taulke is madnes THat is to saye thus it happeneth to fooles which will seeme wyse and iudge all other fooles in cōparison of thēselues whether they begin or make an ende yea all their taulke is nothing but foolishnes And the more a foole goeth about to séeme wise the more he plaieth the foole and yet he preuaileth aboue the wyse mā and deuoureth his good counsels Euen as the Pharises preuailed against Christ the best preacher the Iewes and false Apostles against the Apostles The Arrianes deuoured the good teachers in their dayes And we in these dayes preache Christ but the heretikes persecute and deuoure vs But let vs yet looke for greater matters taking it for a vauntage in the meane season that yet we retaine kéepe some goodnes for that some holde fast the true doctrine ¶ The foole multiplieth woordes A Wise mā dispatcheth briefly and in fewe woordes what he thinketh for truth is content with plaine and simple vtteraunce but fooles haue aboundance of wordes and can by no wordes be made holde their peace but for one worde will geue a thousand Thus Christ vsed allwayes in fewe wordes to aunswere the lawyers and Pharisies when they slaunderously sayd his doctrine was of the deuell and not of God. ¶ Man knoweth not what is before him who can tell him what shall be after him THat is man séeth not things present which are in his sight he is neuer cōtented with thinges present his eye is stil on other men and on things to come leauing that God hath geuen and appointed for him Now is the Gospel geuē vs but we geue our selues to other thinges but of this hath inough beene said before The labour of the foolishe doth weary him for hee knoweth not how to get into the Citie THat is although fooles multiplye wordes and preuaile yet get they naught thereby but multiplication of toyle and labour They scorne cast day and night with themselues how to bring their matters to passe but this trauell doth nothing but more and more disquyet them And these two contraries are to be well noted The foole of hys labour reapeth misery the wyse man myrth When the foole séeth that his deuise commeth not to passe he is vexed and troubled in his mynde for he can not nor knoweth not how to commit the successe vnto god But the wyse mā at all times is still of one mynde because he knoweth that thinges be not ruled by mās coūsels and deuises but by the will and appointment of god To him therefore he committeth all successe effect of his deuises They know not how to goe into the Citie THis is an Hebrew phrase such as is to be seene in the Psalmes and the way of the citie they haue not knowē that is they goe vp and downe wādring and can not hit on the way how to come to rest For all wayes lead to some place where men are dwelling but they wander in all wayes they continue in none whereas wise men abide in the way and kéepe their place although diuers daungers and impedimentes happen because they foresaw this woulde come to passe Let euery man therefore goe about hys