to call upon it only as a last resource. For let the fools finish
their babbling, and their chief get to the end of his talking; then, in
the silence that tells the limit of their powers, the quiet voice of
wisdom is heard again, and that to effect. Thus is wisdom better even
than weapons of war, although, sensitive quality that it is, a little
folly easily taints it."

Can we, my readers, fail to set our seal to the truth of all this? We,
too, have known something much akin to that "little city with few men,"
and one Poor Man, the very embodiment of purest, perfect wisdom, who
wrought alone a full deliverance in the crisis--a deliverance in which
wisdom shone divinely bright; and yet the mass of men remember Him not.
A few, whose hearts grace has touched, may count Him the chief among
ten thousand and the altogether lovely; but the world, though it may
call itself by His name, counts other objects more worthy of its
attention, and the poor wise man is forgotten "under the sun."

Not so above the sun. There we see the Poor One, the Carpenter's Son,
the Nazarene, the Reviled, the Smitten, the Spit-upon, the Crucified,
seated, crowned with glory and honor, at the right hand of the Majesty
in the heavens; and there, to a feeble few on earth, He sums up all
wisdom and all worth, and they journey on in the one hope of seeing Him
soon face to face, and being with Him and like Him forever.

[1] I believe this is distinctly the bearing of these words, and not as
in our version.

[2] There seems lo be an intensive force to these words, constantly and
in each phase becoming stronger, in evident antithesis to the "work,
device, knowledge, and wisdom," that Ecclesiastes had just counseled to
use to the utmost in order to obtain "good" in this life.

CHAPTER X.

The climax of Ecclesiastes' exercises seems to have been reached in the
previous chapter. The passionate storm is over, and now his thoughts
ripple quietly along in proverb and wise saying. It is as if he said
"I was altogether beyond my depth. Now I will confine myself only to
the present life, without touching on the things unseen, and here I can
pronounce with assurance the conclusion of wisdom, and sum up both its
advantages and yet inadequacy."

The proverbs that follow are apparently disjointed, and yet, when
closely looked at, are all connected with this subject. He shows, in
effect, that, take any view of life, and practically wisdom has
ma