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parents. The wise do not appear to have appealed directly to the individual before the age of ten or twelve. They sought to influence his earlier years simply by training his parents. Many of their proverbs have this practical purpose in view. They based their teachings on utilitarian as well as moral grounds (Pr. 2917):

Correct your son and he will be a comfort to you,
Yea, he will give you delight.

They believed thoroughly in vigorous discipline (Pr. 2915):

The rod and correction give wisdom,

But a child left to himself brings disgrace on his mother.

This proverb implies that in the earlier years the responsibility for the training of the child rested primarily with the mother. The responsibility for the more rigorous discipline of the son was thrown upon the father (Pr. 132, 1918):

He who spares the rod hates his son,
But he who loves him chastises him.
Chastise your son while there is still hope,
And set not your heart on his destruction.

Undoubtedly these proverbs are responsible for innumerable floggings in the past. Modern psychology and education are seriously questioning the practical value of this form of discipline except in rare and extreme cases. Wise parents are substituting for the rod methods of discipline more humane and effective; but the fundamental principle for which the wise were contending remains (Pr. 27):

Better is open rebuke

Than love that is hidden.

Though the thought is expressed negatively, love is here given the pre-eminent place. It is a parental love, however, which is strong and unselfish enough, if need be, to find expression in effective discipline.

The wise also emphasise the responsibility of parents to leave a good inheritance to their children. To the value of wealth they were not blind, but they realised that there were still more valuable goods to be bequeathed (Pr. 1322, 176b, 207):

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children,
But the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous.
The glory of children is their fathers.

The righteous man who walks in his integrity,

Blessed are his children after him!

The Duties of Children to Parents. The wise had much to say about the responsibilities of children to their parents. With remarkable beauty and force they here echo the teachings of the earlier prophets. It is evident from their proverbs that in that early day children were not always respectful or loyal to their parents (Pr. 2020, 1926):

Whoever curses his father or his mother

His lamp shall go out in blackest darkness.

He who maltreats his father and chases away his mother

Is a son who acts shamefully and disgracefully.

They recognised that one of the most difficult and yet the most important lessons that youth has to learn is to receive parental discipline appreciatively (Pr. 131, 2322):

The wise son loves instruction,

But a scoffer listens not to rebuke.
Listen to your father who begat you,

And despise not your mother when she is old.

With their marvellous knowledge of human nature the wise anticipated one of the chief dangers which threatened the Jewish youth. In that ancient society the authority and position of the father was safeguarded even to his declining years. He was the head of the family and the trustee of its wealth. The Semitic woman, however, early loses her beauty and her attractiveness, and her social position is not protected by cus

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tom. Hence, in many a Jewish family the supreme test of filial loyalty was consideration and respect for the mother. This truth is expressed in another proverb which was doubtless based not only upon keen observation but also upon profound experience (Pr. 1520):

A wise son makes a glad father,

But a fool despises his mother.

In another proverb the wise appeal to one of the strongest forces that hold the young in the path of rectitude, namely, loyalty to their parents and teachers in the hour of temptation (Pr. 2711):

Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,

That I may answer him who reproaches me.

Ben Sira, in the section (Ben S. 31-16) in which he discusses the duties of children to parents, sets forth five reasons why children should be loyal. The first is that "he who honours his father makes atonement for sin." The second is that "he will have joy in his own children.' The third is that "his prayers will be heard." The fourth reason is transcribed from the appendix to the fifth commandment-"he will have length of days." The final reason urged is that "every blessing will overtake him." With tremendous earnestness and in these varied and striking ways the wise emphasise the truth that unselfish devotion of parents to the interests of their children and the loyalty of children to their parents are the stable foundations not only of individual happiness but of human society.

The Rights and Duties of Masters and Servants. The wise have much to say about the relations of masters and servants. Like the prophets and lawgivers, they almost always champion the cause of the weaker. The servant or slave was still regarded as a member of the Jewish family. In behalf of the slave as well as the master they declare (Pr. 2921):

He who brings up a servant in luxury

Will in the end bring trouble upon himself.

At the same time they recognise that a faithful, efficient servant deserves the highest and most practical honours that the family to which he is loyal can confer (Pr. 172):

A wise servant shall rule over a son who acts shamefully
And shall share the inheritance among the brothers.

Ben Sira hints at the wrongs that many servants in his day suffered. At the same time he espouses the cause of the oppressed (Ben S. 720, 21):

Do not maltreat a servant who works faithfully,
Nor a hired servant who gives his life for you.
Love a wise servant as yourself;

Do not defraud him of his liberty.

The Rights and Duties of Rulers and Citizens. The point of view of the wise on political questions is that of the average well-to-do citizen. Their attitude toward their rulers is respectful but not slavish. Like the prophets, they were not blind to the defects of those in authority. Their aim is to hold up before kings and rulers ideals that will insure the well-being of society and the rights of the individual subject (Pr. 1612, 2914):

It is an abominable thing for kings to do wrong,
For the throne is established by righteousness.
A king who judges the poor equitably,

His throne will be established forever.

The proverb writers also wisely remark (Pr. 255):

Take away the wicked from the king,

And his throne is established in righteousness.

On the other hand they rightly observed that (Pr. 2912, 4),

If a ruler listens to falsehood,

All his servants are wicked.

A king by justice gives stability to a land,

But he whose exactions are excessive, overthrows it.

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Like Isaiah and the other prophets, the wise were keenly aware of the peril which threatened the land if its rulers were intemperate (Pr. 314. 5):

It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for rulers to mix strong drink,
Lest they drink and forget the law,

And disregard the rights of the afflicted.

In their exhortations to judges they present briefly and pointedly both the moral and the utilitarian reasons why impartial justice should prevail (Pr. 2821):

To show partiality is not good,

Nor that a man should do wrong for a piece of bread.

In their exhortations addressed to the ordinary citizens the wise were eminently conservative (Pr. 2421, 22):

My son, fear Jehovah and the king,
Have nothing to do with revolutionists;
For their calamity shall rise up suddenly,
And who knows the end of their years?

The following proverb well describes the rôle of the wise in public life (Pr. 298):

Scornful men set a city aflame;

But wise men turn away wrath.

It is possible that the sage who wrote this proverb had in mind the counsels of the wise woman of Abel-beth-Maacah (recorded in II Sam. 2014-22) which saved her city from destruction when its citizens had rebelled against David and were being besieged by his commander Joab. Especially appropriate in this day of dawning social consciousness is the wise observation (Pr. 11"):

By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted;
But by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.