obscure passage. As none of them is convincing, I prefer to leave
them unnoticed. It is not impossible that it may contain an
allusion to some popular tale or fable, analogous to that of the
man who called upon death in his despair, and when the grim
visitor made his appearance, asked him merely to help him to
carry his burden.
[285] Professor Bickell supposes that here some words have fallen out,
such as: "Brood not over that which is too marvellous and too
lofty for thee, neither say of the dreams of thy heart and the
babbling of thy lips, 'I have found the knowledge of the Holy
One.'"
[286] This passage is a bitterly ironical onslaught on bureaucracy.
[287] This distich is rhymed in Hebrew.
[288] What Kant would call _das Ding an sich_. Everything we see and
know is but appearance. The underlying substance, "that which
is," is unknowable.
[289] Political plots.
[290] _I.e._, the king.
[291] Ironical.
[292] By his unconsidered acts.
[293] Literally, "it must be the more lustily wielded."
[294] This line is found only in the Septuagint.
[295] Probably a proverbial way of saying that a man knows nothing.
[296] The words in brackets are supplied conjecturally by Professor
Bickell.
[297] The Authorised Version has "in this life." But it deviates from the
Hebrew original.
[298] The nether world where the dead are but shadows.
[299] This and the following quatrain are rhymed in the original; as is
also the preceding distich.
[300] Thy wife.
[301] The arms.
[302] The legs.
[303] The eyes.
[304] The ears.
[305] The voice.
[306] The tones.
[307] The teeth.
[308] The white hair.
[309] Fascinum.
[310] [Greek: Kreis].
[311] The epilogue forms no part of the original text.
* * * * *
THE SAYINGS OF AGUR
TRANSLATION OF THE RESTORED TEXT
* * * * *
THE SAYINGS OF AGUR
FIRST SAYING
_On God_
I
Sentence of the man who has worried himself about God:
I have worried myself about God and succeeded not;
For I am more stupid than other men,
And in me there is no human understanding.
Neither have I learned wisdom,
So that I might comprehend the science of sacred things.
II
Who has ascended into heaven and come down again?
Who can gather the wind in his fists?
Who can bind the waters in a garment?
Who can grasp all the ends of the earth?
Such an one would I question about God: What is his name?
And what is the name of his sons, if thou knowest it?[312]
SECOND SAYING
_On Four Insatiable Things_
There be three things which are never satisfied,
Yea, four exclaim: "It is not enough!"
The Ghoul hath two daughters:
"Give, give!"--the grave and the womb.[313]
The earth is not filled with water,
And the fire sayeth not, "It is enough!"
THIRD SAYING OF AGUR
_On Four Inscrutable Things_
There be three things too wonderful for me,
Yea, four which I fathom not:
The way of the eagle in the air,
The way of the serpent upon a rock,
The way of a ship amidst the ocean,
And the way of a man with a maid.[314]
FOURTH SAYING
_Four Insupportable Things_
Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four it cannot stand.
Under a slave when he seeks to reign,
And under a fool when he is filled with meat;
Under an odious woman when she gets a husband,
And under a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.[315]
FIFTH SAYING
_Four who stride majestically_
There be three things which go well,
Yea, four are comely in going:
A lion--the hero among beasts,
Who turneth not aside for any one;
A greyhound and a bell-goat,
And a king who riseth up for his people's sake.
SIXTH SENTENCE
_Exhortation to denounce ambition_
Whether thou hast acted foolishly in exalting thyself,
Or whether thou hast done wisely, lay thy hand upon thy lips![316]
For pressure of milk produces butter,
And pressure of vanity produces anger;
Pressure of the nose[317] produces blood,
And pressure of wrath produces strife.
Footnotes:
[312] To this and the following Sayings, Agur's orthodox opponent replies
thus:
Every word of God is purified:
He is a shield to them that put their trust in him.
Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I demanded of thee, O Jahveh,
Deny me them not before I die:
Frivolity and blasphemous words
And negation remove far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with food suitable for me.
Lest I be sated and deny thee,
And say, Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and yield to seduction
And offend against the name of my God.
Accuse not a servant to his master,[312a]
Lest he curse thee and thou be found guilty.
There is a bad generation that curses its father
And doth not bless its mother,[312b]
A bad generation which is pure in its own eyes,
And yet is not washed from its filthiness.
A bad generation, how lofty are its eyes!
And how uplifted its eyelids!
A bad generation whose teeth are as swords,
And whose jaw-teeth are as knives
To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.[312c]
[312a] As if Agur were an aristocrat from blind unreasoning sympathy for
the heathen aristocracy. Allusion to Agur's 4th Saying.
[312b] Against Agur's 2nd and 3rd Sayings.
[312c] Against Agur's 4th Saying.
[313] _I.e_., birth and death. (_Cf. Agur, the Agnostic_, pp.
139, 140.) The champion of orthodoxy evidently took the passage
literally and consequently condemned Agur as guilty of a lack of
filial respect for his mother, venting his feelings in the
following lines:
"The eye that scoffeth at the grey hair of the father
And that despiseth the old age of the mother,
The ravens of the valley shall pick it out
And the young eagles shall devour it."
[314] Verse 20 A.V. is an addition inserted by a later writer who having
misunderstood the last line of the fourth sentence, deemed it his
duty to give it a moral turn.
[315] The Sentence following (vv. 24-24 A.V.) dealing with Four Cunning
Ones is probably not from Agur's pen; for not only has it five
distichs, but it lacks the point which characterises his Sayings,
besides which it does not begin, as his "numerical" Sentences do,
with _three_ before proceeding to _four_.
[316] Keep silence.
[317] In Hebrew the same word signifies "nose" and "strife."
* * * * *
INDEX
* * * * *
INDEX
Adversary, the, "a son of God"
Agur, the Sayings of--
their literary place
character of
their position in Proverbs
their present form
Agur and his orthodox opponent
blunders of the latter
Oriental influence traceable in the Sayings
the mystery of generation
date of composition
Agur shows no respect for the doctrine of retribution, for
Messianism, revelation, &c.; no belief in a personal God
his antagonism to Jewish theologians
his views of right conduct
Angels
Animals, the tenderness of Buddhism towards
Aryans and Semites, contrast of mental characteristics
Asterisks, Origen's, in the Hexapla
Authorship of Job
Bickell, Professor, and the laws of Hebrew metre
discovery of the Saidic version of Job
on the theophany in Job
theory as to the chaotic state of Koheleth
and the "Praise of Wisdom"
textual conjectures
"Book, That mine adversary had written a"
Book of Job (see Job)
Buddhism and the theology of Job
and Job's moral system
influence of, on Koheleth
Buddhism, spread of, into Syria, Egypt, &c.
influence of, on Agur
and the doctrine of Renunciation
its tenderness towards animals and plants
Byron's "Cain" and Job
"Cain" (Byron's) and Job
"Canticles of Scepticism," Heine's description of Koheleth
Cheyne, Prof., and the date of Job
and the laws of Hebrew metre
and Prof. Bickell's theory of the plan of Koheleth
on the "theism" of Koheleth
Job, strophe liii. and Ps. viii. 5 compared.
Christ and the doctrine of Renunciation
Christianity not incompatible with Koheleth's scepticism
Clement of Alexandria and a lost version of Job
Cornill, Dr., and the date of Job
Council of Constantinople and the historical truth of Job
Critical apparatus applied to text of Job
Date of Job
of earliest extant MS. of Job
of Koheleth
of the Sayings of Agur
Ecclesiastes (_see_ Koheleth)
Ecclesiasticus, dropped leaves causing transposition of chapters in
Elephantiasis
Eternal justice, Job's belief in
Koheleth's belief in
Evil (_see_ Good and Evil)
Ewald and the laws of Hebrew metre
Firmament, the
Free-will and the origin of evil
Future life, Job knows nothing of
Koheleth knows nothing of
Ghoul, the (_Tanha_)
Good and Evil, problem of
free-will and the origin of evil
the Oriental theory of
Gregory the Great and the Book of Job
Hebrew metre, Prof. Bickell and the laws of
Heine and the "Canticles of Scepticism"
Hitopadeça, the, and the Sayings of Agur
Inspiration of Job not affected by reconstructive changes
Interpolations in Job, examples of
Isaac of Antioch, transpositions in poems caused by dropped leaves
Jesus Sirach and the Book of Proverbs
Job, the Poem of--
compared with Lucretius, _De Nat. Rerum_
its inclusion in the Canon
its appeal to all ages
opinion of Gregory the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Tennyson,
Luther
its place in literature
the problem of
traditional theology
the mystery of good and evil
no conception of a future life
nor of the Resurrection or Atonement
the poet's view of the problem
free-will and the origin of evil
the Oriental theory of these
Brahmanism and Buddhism
Job's illumination the same as Buddha's
authorship of
date of
the question of historicity
date of earliest extant MS. of
a lost version of
various causes for changes in text
the chief cause, a horror of blasphemy
apparatus for detecting these changes
laws of Hebrew metre
parallelism
evidence of the Septuagint
Theodotion's version of the Old Testament
the Hexapla
the Saidic or Thebaic version of Job
examples of interpolations
reconstructive changes do not affect inspiration
Job's natural philosophy
his dynamic theory of the Universe
his monotheism not Jewish
his moral system, based on pity, found in Buddhism, and here
first preached in the Old Testament
belief in eternal justice
the secret of Job's resignation
the ancient legend of Job, use of it by the poet
analysis of the Poem
the appearance of Jehovah not literal
but symbolical of Job's illumination
Judaism, the influence of Buddhism on
Kant and Koheleth
Koheleth--
its inclusion in the Canon
the literary problem of
its metaphysical basis the same as that of the philosophy of
Buddha, Kant, and Schopenhauer
chaotic and conflicting character of text
Prof. Bickell's theory as to the confusion of the book
instances of similar confusion in other works
the proposed re-arrangement
illustrations in support of Prof. Bickell's theory
Koheleth's theory of life
source of happiness not wealth
nor wisdom
nor virtue
Koheleth's system
relation of God to man
the practical moral
the view of "moral order"
the world all Maya, illusion
Koheleth's theory not inconsistent with Christianity
the reach of our knowledge; happiness the only true good
Koheleth knows nothing of future life or of divine promises or
revelations
his belief in eternal justice
renunciation, the great doctrine
wisdom the great boon
content and moderation the golden rule
the sources of his philosophy
opposition of Jewish orthodoxy to the book
admission of the book to the Canon
its incompatibility with Messianic hopes of Israel
disbelief in a personal God
in retribution and immortality
Greek influences questioned; probable influence of Buddhism
date and locality of Koheleth
Life to come (_see_ Future Life)
Lucretius compared with Job
Luther and the Book of Job
Magicians mentioned in Job
Maya, illusion, the teaching of Koheleth
Metre in Hebrew, laws of
Nirvana, Koheleth's only real good
view of
Old Testament, untrustworthiness of historical books
Origen and the Hexapla
Parallelism in Hebrew poetry
Paul, St., and a lost version of Job
"Praise of Wisdom," its place in "Proverbs," Prof. Bickell's discovery
Priests' Code, the
"Proverbs," analysis of
not written by Solomon
their history
date of
Plants, tenderness of Buddhism towards
Renunciation, the teaching of Koheleth, Buddha, Christ, etc.
Resurrection, the (in Job)
"Redeemer liveth, I know that my"
Saidic or Thebaic version of Job
Sariputto, and the desire for life (_tanha_)
Satan, "a son of God"
Scotus Erigena and free-will
Schopenhauer and Koheleth
and Renunciation
and the four things insatiable
Semites, remains of ancient speculation among
and Aryans, contrast of mental characteristics
Septuagint, the value of, in regard to text of Job
Tanha, the terrible Ghoul
Tennyson's opinion of Job
Thebaic or Saidic version of Job
Theodore of Mopsuestia condemned for declaring Job to be fiction
Theodotion's version of the Old Testament
Thomas Aquinas on Job
Transmigration of souls
Veda, the
Vedanta, the
Vowel points in Hebrew
"Wisdom, Praise of," its place in "Proverbs," Prof. Bickell's discovery
* * * * *