Ecclesiastes — Chapter 10

Muscae morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.

Dying flies corrupt precious ointment; so a small folly outweighs wisdom and glory. Lapide offers seven mystical interpretations of the flies and ointment: flies represent impure thoughts, demons, or minor sins that corrupt the fragrance of virtue. He draws on SS. Jerome, Bonaventure, Olympiodorus, and Gregory, noting that even a single sin can destroy many goods, just as one dead fly ruins an entire jar of perfume. The second half-verse teaches that wisdom and its glory are more precious than a brief episode of folly.

Cor sapientis in dextera eius, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.

The wise man's heart inclines to the right, the fool's to the left. Lapide explains the right hand as signifying virtue, prosperity, and heavenly goods, while the left signifies vice, adversity, and earthly pleasures. He draws on Aristotle and the Church Fathers to show that the wise direct their efforts toward eternal goods, while fools pursue transient pleasures.

Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos aestimat.

Even when a fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking and he judges everyone else to be fools. Lapide explains that the fool, lacking wisdom, projects his own folly onto others; he cannot recognize true wisdom because he has no experience of it. Tropologically, this applies to sinners who consider the virtuous to be foolish.

Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne dimiseris.

If the anger of a ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness allays great offenses. Lapide counsels patience and humility before the wrath of a superior, advising that one should not abandon one's post or duty. He cites examples of courtiers who by calm deference pacified angry kings, and interprets tropologically of the soul maintaining its composure under temptation.

Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis: positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum. Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.

Lapide laments the common disorder whereby fools are exalted to high positions while the wise and noble are debased. He treats verses 5, 6, and 7 together as illustrating the vanity of worldly promotion: princes walk on foot like servants while slaves ride on horseback. He gives historical examples and notes that this inversion of merit is a frequent evil under the sun, arising from rulers' errors of judgment. Mystically, it signifies the exaltation of the proud and the humiliation of the humble in this world, reversed in the next.

Qui fodit foveam, incidet in eam; et qui dissipat sepem, mordebit eum coluber. Qui transfert lapides, affligetur in eis; et qui scindit ligna, vulnerabitur ab eis.

He who digs a pit will fall into it; he who breaks through a hedge, a serpent will bite him; he who moves stones will be hurt by them; he who splits wood is endangered by it. Lapide treats these two verses together as proverbs teaching that those who plot evil against others bring ruin upon themselves. He cites the examples of Haman, who was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and various other biblical figures, drawing tropological applications about the danger of breaking the hedge of divine law.

Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur; et post industriam sequetur sapientia.

If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen it, more effort is needed; but wisdom brings success. Lapide explains that just as a dull axe requires more labor, so a mind not sharpened by study and virtue labors ineffectively. After diligent effort (industria), wisdom follows as the reward. He applies this to the spiritual life: without the sharpening of grace and discipline, the soul labors fruitlessly against vice.

Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.

If a serpent bites before it is charmed, the secret slanderer is no better. Lapide compares the silent serpent to the detractor who strikes in secret; both do irreparable harm. He emphasizes that detraction is especially insidious because it attacks reputation without giving the victim a chance to defend himself, and draws parallels with the devil as the ancient serpent who whispers temptation.

Verba oris sapientis gratia; et labia insipientis praecipitabunt eum. Initium verborum eius stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus. Stultus verba multiplicat.

The words of a wise man's mouth win favor, but a fool's lips devour him; the beginning of his words is folly and the end is wicked madness; the fool multiplies words. Lapide groups these verses to contrast the speech of the wise and the foolish. The wise man's words carry grace and win goodwill; the fool begins badly and ends worse, compounding error upon error. He warns against loquacity, noting that the fool speaks confidently about things he does not know, including the future, which belongs to God alone.

Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.

The toil of fools wearies them, for they do not even know the way to the city. Lapide interprets the city as the goal of a well-ordered life, or heaven itself. The fool labors in vain because he does not know the path to his true destination. Tropologically, sinners exhaust themselves in worldly pursuits without knowing the way to the heavenly Jerusalem.

Vae tibi terra, cuius rex puer est, et cuius principes mane comedunt. Beata terra, cuius rex nobilis est, et cuius principes vescuntur in tempore suo.

Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose princes feast in the morning; blessed the land whose king is noble and whose princes eat at the proper time. Lapide contrasts the misery of a kingdom ruled by an immature or self-indulgent king with the blessedness of one governed by a mature and temperate ruler. He cites historical examples of boy-kings who brought ruin, and interprets tropologically: the child-king is the man ruled by passions, while the noble king is he who governs by reason and virtue.

In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.

Through slothfulness the roof sinks in, and through idle hands the house leaks. Lapide applies this both literally to a neglected house and figuratively to the soul: laziness in spiritual duties causes the edifice of virtue to collapse. He warns rulers and prelates that neglect of duty leads to the ruin of their charge, just as a neglected building falls into disrepair.

In risum faciunt panem, et vinum ut epulentur viventes; et pecuniae obediunt omnia.

Bread is made for laughter, wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Lapide explains that this verse describes the mindset of the slothful princes from v. 16: they live only for feasting and pleasure, and believe money can procure all things. Tropologically, he warns against the love of money and luxury as the root of all corruption in society and the soul.

In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, nor the rich in your bedchamber, for a bird of the air may carry your words. Lapide counsels absolute discretion regarding rulers, warning that secret thoughts and words have a way of becoming public. He cites the proverb about birds carrying messages, and interprets it both of the natural tendency of secrets to leak out, and mystically of the angels who report all things to God.