What does Ecclesiasticus Chapter 30 say, and which statements belong to its speaker?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Parental discipline passages preserve explicit ancient wording and son/father comparisons. Health and bitter-life comparisons remain the speaker’s assertions. Joy and sadness counsel retains envy, anger and pensiveness without clinical guarantees.

Chapter breakdown

Ecclesiasticus 30 says love frequently chastises a son for later joy and avoiding groping at neighbor doors. Instruction brings household praise and glory, teaching enemy jealousy and friends' glory. Dead father seems not dead through a like successor: during life he rejoiced and at death lacked sorrow or enemy-confusion, leaving house-defender and friends' benefactor. For sons' souls he binds wounds and their cries trouble bowels. Unbroken horse and unattended child are stubborn and headstrong. Giving son his way brings fear, playing sorrow, laughter teeth-on-edge regret. Do not grant youth liberty or overlook devices; the text explicitly says bow neck and beat sides in childhood against future disobedience, and labor in instruction against offensive lewdness. These severe ancient instructions remain attributed, without softening into generic correction or independently endorsing a developmental guarantee.

Strong healthy poor exceed weak afflicted rich. Soul-health in just holiness exceeds gold/silver and sound body revenues; bodily health is greatest wealth and heart-joy greatest pleasure. Death and everlasting rest are called preferable to bitter life and continual illness. Hidden goods in closed mouth resemble meat around grave; idols cannot eat or smell offerings. The persecuted-by-Lord figure bears iniquity's reward, sees and groans like a eunuch embracing virgin and sighing. The passage's comparisons do not prove every illness a sin-penalty or give clinical or end-of-life advice.

Do not surrender soul to sadness or self-afflict through counsel. Heart-joy is called life, unfailing holiness-treasure and length of life. Pity soul, please God, contain self, gather heart in holiness and drive sadness away. Sadness is said to have killed many without profit; envy and anger shorten days and pensiveness brings early old age. Cheerful good heart continually feasts with diligent banquet preparation. The different claims are retained as the speaker's moral counsel rather than medical diagnosis or a guaranteed treatment for grief.

The story inside

Opening: Parental discipline passages preserve explicit ancient wording and son/father comparisons. Development: Health and bitter-life comparisons remain the speaker’s assertions. Conclusion: Joy and sadness counsel retains envy, anger and pensiveness without clinical guarantees.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Parental discipline passages preserve explicit ancient wording and son/father comparisons.
2
Health and bitter-life comparisons remain the speaker’s assertions.
3
Joy and sadness counsel retains envy, anger and pensiveness without clinical guarantees.

Test your recall

Which images and requests does the speaker use, and what does the chapter leave unresolved?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 76267–76274
30:1. He that loveth his son, frequently chastiseth him, that he may rejoice in his latter end, and not grope after the doors of his neighbours. 30:2. He that instructeth his son shall be praised in him, and shall glory in him in the midst of them of his household.
Lines 76308–76315
30:14. Better is a poor man who is sound, and strong of constitution, than a rich man who is weak and afflicted with evils. 30:15. Health of the soul in holiness of justice, is better than all gold and silver: and a sound body, than immense revenues. 30:16. There is no riches above the riches of the health of the body: and there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart.
Lines 76335–76342
30:23. The joyfulness of the heart, is the life of a man, and a never failing treasure of holiness: and the joy of a man is length of life. 30:24. Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God, and contain thyself: gather up thy heart in his holiness: and drive away sadness far from thee. 30:25. For sadness hath killed many, and there is no profit in it.