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Lectures on the Book of proverbs, ed. by J.S. Wardlaw
Lectures on the Book of proverbs ed by JS Wardlaw Author:Ralph Wardlaw Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTURE LXYII1. Paov. xxn. 1?6. " A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor me... more »et together; the Lord is the maker of them all. A prndent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. By humility, and the fear of the Lord, are riches, honour, and life. Thorns and snaras are in the way of the froward; he that doth keep his snul shall he far from them. Train up a, child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it." You will observe that the word "good" in the first of these verses is a supplement. In the original we have simply " a name." But this does not mean a mere name of renown. The verse must not be understood as a justification of the love of fame as a principle of action. Nor is it to be interpreted as expressing a preference of ambition to avarice,?of the love of power to the love of wealth. Many, alas! have there been, who, from mere eagerness to be distinguished,? with little consideration of either the nature or the means of the distinction,?have succeeded in "making themselves a name;" but a name which ought to be a name of infamy rather thfcn of honour. They have been great in power, and great in renown for all the evil which power without principle rendered them capable of doing. Solomon does not assuredly mean such a name. The "good" is a,proper supplement. "A good name" is a reputation among fellow-men for piety, wisdom, prudence, integrity, generosity, and any other virtues that enter into a good character. But remember it is not a mere reputation for these. They must not be assumed in appearance, and a reputation thus got for the reality. To aman's own inward enjoyment there can be few things more opposed than a hig...« less