they were of; but a cool spirit is one that is not soon
angry, calm, sedate, and not easily provoked to wrath:
the Keri, or marginal reading, is \^rqy\^, of an excellent or
precious spirit f; and such au one is a right spirit; a
spirit of faith and love, and of a sound mind; and of
such a spirit is a man of understanding in things divine
and spiritual; to have a spirit of prayer, and to be
tender-hearted, and of a sympathizing and forgiving
spirit, is to be of an excellent spirit. The Targum is,
"bumble in spirit ;. and a meek and quiet spirit is in
the sightof God of great price; the Lord has a great
regard to such who are of an humble and contrite
spirit: with these he dwells, to these he gives more
grace; these are like to Christ, and have the fruits of his
spirit, and are very useful and ornamental. The Sep-
tuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it, patient
or 1ong'-suffering; and to be of a patient spirit is to be
of au excellent spirit: such bear afflictions and re-
preaches quietly; wait God's own time for hearing and
helping them, and live in the comfortable expectation
of heaven and happiness; and such shew themselves
to be wise and understanding men.
Ver. 28. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is
counted wise, &c.] Not only one that is sparing of his
words, and is really a man of knowledge and under-
standing; but even a feel, if he is but silent, and does
not betray his folly by his words, will be reckoned a
wise man by those that do not know him; and, what-
ever fool he may be in other respects, yet in this he acts
the wise part, that he holds his peace and says nothing.
And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of
tierstanding; and keeps them shut, lest he should say
any thing rashly and hastily; a man that has so much
command of himself as not to speak unadvisedly,
through the heat of his own passions, and through the
provocations of others, will pass for a man that under-
stands himself, and knows how to behave well before
others.
Ver, 1. THROUGH desire a man having separated
himself, seeketh, &c.] Or, a separated man seeketh
dcsire{g}; his own desire, will, and pleasure. This
is either to be understood in a good sense, of one that
has a real and hearty desire after sound wisdom and
knowledge, and seeks in the use of all proper means to
attain it; and in order to which he separates himself
from the world and the business of it, and retires to his
study, and givcs up himself to reading, meditation,
and prayer; or goes abroad in search of it, as Aben
Ezra: or of a vain man that affects singularity; and
who, through a desire of gratifying that lust, separates
himself, not only from God, as Jarchi interprets it, pur-
suing his ceil imagination and the lust of Iris heart; and
from his friends, as the Septuagint and Arabic ver-
sions; but from all men, like the Jews, who please not
God, and are centtar!/ to all men; so such a man sets
himself to despise and contradict the sentiments and
opinions of others, and to set up his own in opposition
to them. This is truc of the Pharisees among the
Jews, who had their name from separating themselves
from all others, having an high opinion of their own
Wisdom and sanctity; and also of the Gnostics among
the Christians, who boasted of their knowledge, and
ú separated themselves from the Christian asscmblies;
and were sensual, not having the spirit, being vainly
puffed up with their fleshly mind. And intermeddleth
with all wisdom; the man who is desirous of being truly
wise and knowing grasps at all wisdom, every branch
of useful knowledge; would gladly learn something of
every art and science worthy of regard; and he makes
use of all means of improving himself therein; and
covets the company and conversation of men of wisdom
and knowledge, that he may attain to more; he inter-
mingles himself with men of wisdom, as Aben Ezra
interprets it, and walks and converses with them. Or
if this is to be understood of a vain-glorious person, the
sense is, he intermeddles or mingles himself with all
business {h}, as it may be rendered; he thrusts himself
into affairs that do not concern him, and will pass his
judgment on things he has nothing to do with; or he
monopolizes all knowledge to himself, and will not
allow any other to have any share with him. Jarchi
interprets this clause thus, "among wise men his re-
" proach shallbe made manifest;" and observes, that
their Rabbins explain it of Lot separating from Abra-
hath, following the desires of his heart: but R. Sandlab
Gaon better interprets it of an apostate from religion;
that objects to every thing solid and substantial, in a
wrangling and contentious man her; and shews his teeth i
at it, as Schultens, from the use of the Arabic word,
renders it.
Ver. 2. A fool hath no delight in understanding, &c.]
In natural understanding, and iu the improvement of
his mind in it; he delights not in books, nor in the con-
versation of men of learning and sense: or in spiritual
understanding, in the understanding of spiritual things;
these are foolishness to a natural man; nor does he
delight in reading the Scriptures, nor in hearing the
word, and attendance on it in the house of God, but is
weary of such exercises. But that his heart may dis-
cover itself; and the folly that is in it: such men only
desire to have some knowledge and understanding, to
make a shew of it, that they may be thought to be
wise, and to be capable of talking of things as if they
understood them, when it is only to the exposing of
themselves and their ignorance; some persons attain to
no more learning and knowledge than just to be ca-

{f} \^xwr rqy\^ pretiosus spiritu, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Ge-
jerus, Baynus.
{g} So the Targum.
{h} \^elgty hyvwt lkb\^ immiscet se omni negotio, Munster; omnibus
quae sunt immiscet se, Junius & Tremellius.
{i} Et in omne solidum dentes destringet, Schultens.