First member of the third part. The twofold punishment which is the occasion of sin is shown. And since the punishment which is the occasion of sin is twofold, one namely from a defect of love, and this is proneness; the other from a defect of fear, and this is security: the first renders one prone to evil, and the second renders one secure, because one does not fear since one does not believe one will be punished: therefore this part has two sections: in the first he treats the vanity of proneness, in the second, the vanity of security: and the second part begins below in chapter eight: All these things I have considered, and I gave my heart, etc.
Abt. 1. Concerning the first occasion of sin, which is proneness to sin through concupiscence, the treatment is twofold.
And because the vanity of the proneness of concupiscence is perilous, nor is anyone freed except by the aid of divine wisdom: therefore first the discovery of concupiscence is noted. Second, the remedy of wisdom is subjoined, there: Who is such as the wise man is, etc.
First the discovery of concupiscence is noted, and first a diligent inquiry into the same is set forth, which is described according to three aspects.
And since, where there is a discovery of something hidden, a diligent inquiry precedes: therefore first the diligent inquiry into it is described; second, the discovery of concupiscence, there: And I found more bitter than death, etc.
The diligent inquiry into it, therefore, which was so diligent that it degenerated into curiosity, is described in this order: first with regard to the curiosity of his presumption, with regard to the loftiness of his inquiry, with regard to the studiousness of his consideration.
(Vers. 24. 23. 26.). Therefore, as regards the curiosity of his presumption, he says: I have tried all things in wisdom, that is, in inquiry—behold, the inquiry of curiosity: Ecclesiasticus three: "be not curious in many of his works ". I said: I shall become wise, behold, the elation of presumption: Isaiah five: " Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes " etc.; and First Corinthians three: " If any of you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise ".
As to the sublimity of the inquiry he says: And she withdrew farther from me than she was before, because the question seemed to him more difficult the more he inquired, and this by the divine severity of judgment: Romans 1: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" — and by the loftiness of the question: therefore he says: And a deep profundity, who shall find it? Deep is the profundity of the inquiry of wisdom: Sirach 24: "I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud." And therefore who can find it? Few sufficiently, but none perfectly: Sirach 43: "Labor not, for you shall not comprehend": and Romans 11: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God," etc.
As to the diligence of consideration he adds: I surveyed all things in my mind, that is, I went about and diligently considered from every side: Sirach 6: "As one who plows and one who sows, draw near to her." And the moving reason is touched upon: That I might know, in habit: and consider, in act: wisdom, in the appetites: reason, in operations. And conversely: That I might know the wickedness of the fool, in things to be done: and the error of prudence, in things to be believed: above in chapter 1: "I gave my heart to know prudence and learning, and errors and folly."
Second, the discovery of concupiscence itself is described, and its threefold condition.
And I found, etc. The diligent inquiry has been described; here the discovery of carnal concupiscence is described, and this as to its threefold condition. First is noted concupiscence's own proneness, second, its universality, third, its causality.
(Vers. 27.). First, therefore, the vehement proneness of concupiscence itself is touched upon, because it leads to the greatest bitterness under the appearance of sweetness. Therefore he says: I found a woman more bitter than death, and this after the perpetration of the wicked deed to which concupiscence drags one: whence Proverbs 5: "The lips of a harlot are as a dropping honeycomb, and her throat is smoother than oil." That concupiscence drags one to this,
which had its origin from woman and has its fuel in woman, which by its beauty ensnares through desire: therefore he says: It is the snare of hunters, that is, of demons, who hunt the souls of men. It ensnares by words and glances: Proverbs 7: "She entangled him with many words and drew him forth with the flatteries of her lips." It ensnares by the beauty of the face: Sirach 9: "On account of the beauty of a woman many have perished." It also ensnares by words: whence in the same place: "Her conversation burns like fire." Not only does it ensnare in desire, but it also swallows up in wicked deed: whence he says: And her heart is a net, when according to her wish one consents to the wicked deed. This is the dragnet of the devil: Habakkuk 1: "He lifted up the whole with a hook; he drew it in his dragnet." But afterward it binds through affection: and therefore he says: And her hands are bonds: Proverbs 7: "He follows her and does not know that the fool is drawn to bonds." From this inclination no one is delivered unless he is aided by the Lord, so great is it; therefore he says: He who pleases God shall escape her, according to that passage in 1 Corinthians 6: "Flee fornication"; Wisdom 8: "I knew that I could not otherwise be continent unless God should grant it." But he who is a sinner shall be captured by her: Proverbs 5: "His own iniquities capture the wicked man, and he is bound by the cords of his own sins."
(Vers. 28. 29.). Behold, this I have found etc. Here the second point is noted, namely the universality of concupiscence, the reason for which was difficult to discern; therefore he says: Behold, this I have found, said Ecclesiastes, one thing, namely the inclination of concupiscence itself, and another, namely its universality.
And I labored, supply, to find the reason, which my soul still seeks; this is the reason for the universality of concupiscence, why it is in all. And I did not find it, namely by my own ingenuity; because the philosophers did not know how to discover this: but nevertheless by faith he knew the reason and by experience he knew the effect, namely its universality. Therefore he says: One man out of a thousand I have found, and a woman out of all I have not found: it is a hyperbole, and he means to say that he found very few men in whom concupiscence did not reign: but he himself found no women: nor is this surprising, because Sirach 25: "All wickedness is short compared to the wickedness of a woman."
We could, however, expound this of Christ, who alone escaped from the corruption of original concupiscence, who alone was "free among the dead."
(Verse 30). Only this I have found. Here the third thing is noted, namely the causality of concupiscence, which indeed was not from God, but from the first sin. Therefore he says: Only this I have found, that God made man upright: Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "God created man from the earth, and made him according to his own image." And the sign of this is the uprightness of stature, which still remains in the body. And he himself, namely by his own freedom, entangled himself in infinite questions: because by withdrawing from the One he became inclined toward many and infinite things, because in them his concupiscence is neither ended nor satisfied; Proverbs thirty: "Three things are insatiable, and the fourth, which never says 'enough': hell, and the mouth of the womb, and the earth," etc.
QUESTIONS.
I. One may raise a doubt concerning what he says here: I tried all things in wisdom: whether in this he was blameworthy. That he was, it seems:
1. From the text itself: I said: I shall become wise, and it withdrew further from me.
2. Likewise, from what is said in Ecclesiasticus three: Do not be curious about his many works.
To the contrary: 1. The spiritual man judges all things, and he himself is judged by no one : therefore if Solomon had the spirit of wisdom, then it was his to judge concerning all things.
2. Furthermore, in the last chapter of First Thessalonians the Apostle says: Test all things: hold fast what is good: therefore it is good to test all things.
I respond: it must be said that to test something is twofold: in one way, to know through experience, as one knows and tests wine that one tastes; in another way, through examination and approval and disapproval. In the first way, only useful things are to be tested; but if one wishes to test more things, it is curiosity. But insofar as to test is the same as to examine, so Paul takes to prove, and thus all things are to be examined, not only good and useful things, but also useless things. Thus it is said that the spiritual man judges all things: thus also it is said: test all things, that is: examine all things, whether good or bad in our works, concerning which we can doubt; but in the works of God, concerning which we ought to suppose that they are well made, it is curiosity to prove or examine. Since therefore Solomon extended his examination beyond those things which pertain to salvation, therefore it was curiosity,
and this must be conceded.