Chapter XXX.
Why was Cham then called the father of Canaan, when he had not yet been born; and in what way should we understand that all wicked men, if it happens that good men fall into fault, rejoice in the person of Cham deriding their father.
I now ask why did he not simply say: 'He saw the nakedness of his father,' but rather 'He saw the nakedness of his father, and told his brothers' (Gen. 9:22)? Surely Canaan was not born yet, so why did he add the name of the son, unless the inheritance of the author was marred by the fault of the heir, and the wickedness of the son burdened the reputation of the father? Thus, both the father in the son, and the son in the father are rebuked, having a common participation in foolishness, wickedness, and impiety. It could not happen that he would produce a good son, who himself was wicked towards his good father, and the son would degenerate from both his nature and his upbringing. This is according to the letter.
Moreover, when it comes to higher meaning, all the worst morals are delighted by the errors of others; not only by errors, but also by things that seem bad to them, even if they are not. For Noah did not feel himself naked, who was clothed with wisdom. Indeed, Adam, placed in paradise, did not consider himself naked until he committed the error of transgression. And when he was covered again with the clothing of wisdom and justice, being stripped by the transgression of heavenly commands, he saw himself naked and thought he should be covered with leaves. Therefore, Cham laughs at his naked father. For every wicked person, since he himself is deviant from discipline, not only takes pleasure in the mistakes of others as a consolation for his own error, because he has found companions in guilt, but he also rejoices with a wicked emotion, as if he himself had corrected his own faults. Therefore, an evil mind rejoices when something happens contrary to its intention; even if a physical mistake is considered, it should not be a fault, unless the mind is also inclined to guilt. Finally, judgments should be made about such errors, not pursued with hatred, not made a mockery. But the wicked mind, as I said, when it believes that a wise man has erred, thinks it appropriate to insult him whose character it considers to be contrary to its own, because its own sin is argued against by a kind of silent testimony of the wise; and it takes pleasure in this, that neither the wisdom of the wise man has benefitted him, nor has justice supported him, nor have the things that are according to the body had prosperous outcomes. For these things, indeed, are valued among the wicked as the highest goods, placed in wealth or honor, which nevertheless confer no benefit to the praise of virtue. Therefore, they seem to be defenders of folly, who consider the lover of virtue to be deprived of the reward of prosperity, and who think that every good should be valued more for temporal rather than eternal things.