約伯倫理 第 384 章

Verse 10. They shall teach thee; they shall speak to thee, and out of their heart shall they bring forth words. 65. The wicked sometimes bring forth good things, but not well. They smite themselves with their own sword. It is to be noted that above he had said: The spirit of the words of thy mouth is manifold; but now, having brought the fathers back to memory, he says: Out of their heart shall they bring forth words. As if the heretics, detesting the life of the holy Church, said: Manifoldness of spirit thou hast in thy mouth, in thy heart thou hast it not. But those are to be heard against thee who, bringing forth words from the heart, taught by living rightly. But often the wicked, while they are ignorant of the flaw of their own strength, boldly tear at the rectitude of others;

and when against the good they seize for themselves the authority of rebuke, either they bring forth those good things which they have learned not by seeing but by hearing; or, lying, they charge others with those evils which they themselves commit. But when they bring forth those good things which they scorn to keep, it is to be known that very often the truth so sounds through the mouths of adversaries, that, moving their tongue, it smites their life; so that, speaking the height of rectitude and being ignorant of it, they become both by their words judges, and by their deeds accusers. Whence Bildad indeed subjoins wondrous things against hypocrites, but with the sword of the word he assails himself, because a simulator of righteousness, unless he himself were such in some little measure, would by no means with such rashness presume to teach the just man. And indeed the things he says are very strong;

but these things he ought to have said to the foolish, not to the wise, to the perverse, not to the upright; because he too shows himself senseless who, when gardens are thirsting, pours water into the river. But meanwhile setting aside to whom it is said, let us weigh subtly what is said, that the things brought forth may instruct us, although they assail the merit of their own author. There follows: Verse 11. Can the rush be green without moisture, or can the sedge grow without water? To what Bildad compares the rush or the sedge, he himself presently discloses when he subjoins: