LECTURE 11
OF FOLLY AND WISDOM
[Of the discourse between two brethren and of their diverse interpretations of death]
Folly: Friend, knowest thou the time thou shalt die?
Wisdom: Nay brother, for never man knoweth the time of his departure save God, the Omniscient.
Folly: Why then sittest thou there in gloominess and loneliness? Carest thou not to join me in my feasting since never man knoweth the time of his departure? Have not I enough wine in the barrel here, and are there not enough maidens here by mine side? Come hither and make thyself happy; for life is too short and soon we will be gone and forgotten. Cheer up my friend, cheer up and come hither.
Wisdom: Nay, my brother, I shall do no such thing. For why shouldest I defile myself with thee?
Folly: But time glideth away so fast from thee and soon thou shalt pass thy prime age and lose all thy youthful exuberance. Who even knoweth if thou shalt live to see tomorrow. Shouldest thou not then cease upon the present and live as though it were thy last? Why not delight thyself in pleasure as though tomorrow were thy burial? Life is too good but too short and we ought to enjoy every bit of it NOW.
Wisdom: Why dost thou poison thyself so hard with this bitterness? Why hatest thou thy life so much? Please, infuriate not the opportunity of once living for there is a capital end for all men.
Folly: Declare thou this to me or to thyself? Art not thou he who so hatest his life? For why shouldest thou starve thy throat of good wine and thy loins of great pleasure? See how thy members art angry with thee for suppressing their fancies. Knowest thou not that in the grave we sharest not our bed with maidens nor enjoy we the rich nourishments and wines of life? Today is the time we ought to make ourselves happy since death abideth not far from us. I therefore conjure thee again to come hither. Come thou my friend and make the breast of these fair maidens thy pillow. Come ravish thy heart with their caressing for sooner or later we all shall turn into rotten carcasses. We shall be gone for good. We therefore ought to eat and drink and enjoy every moment of today for tomorrow we may die.
Wisdom: Indeed as thy name is so art thou. For Folly is thy name and folly is in thy heart. Though thy thoughts of death be right and sacred, thy actions be impious and cannot in any way be commended. Speakest not thou intimately of death to heighten thy pleasure and fooleries? My friend, thou indeed speakest well that life is short and that sooner or later, we all would die. But this is not enough license for thee to feast away thy days. If thou carest to know, we are not here to run a marathon of delight but to serve the Maker of all things and to perform the holy acts of religion. Thinkest not that death is the end; for man indeed liveth beyond the grave and after death abideth judgment of which two things yet remaineth - innumerable sorrows or eternal joy. Wherefore do I admonish thee to cease upon the present and adorn thy soul (with excelling virtues) that thou findest not thyself in that unquenchable and tormenting fire prepared for the sons of disobedience. Time abideth a little while for thee to change thy fate, and to decide where thou wantest to spend eternity. For the glory of the world passeth away so fast. Remember thou those words of the Preacher, Vanity Upon Vanity! All is Vanity!
THE INVITATION OF WISDOM
By James Montgomery
To us the voice of Wisdom cries,
Hearken, ye children, and be wise;
Better than gold the fruit I bear,
Rubies to me may not compare,
Happy the man who daily waits
To hear me, watching at my gates;
Wretched is he who scorns my voice,
Death and destruction are his choice.
To them that love me I am kind;
And those who seek me early find;
My Son, give me thine heart,--and learn
Wisdom from folly to discern.
The Lord possess'd me, ere of old,
His hand the firmament unroll'd;
Before He bade the mountains stand,
Or pour'd the ocean round the land.
Rejoicing then before his throne,
From everlasting I was known;
Rejoicing still, as in His sight,
With men on earth is my delight.
Mark, the beginning of my law,
--Fear ye the Lord with sacred awe;
Mark the fulfilment of the whole,
Love ye the Lord with all your soul.
We hear, we learn; may we obey;
Jesus, the life, the truth, the way,
Wisdom and righteousness, we see,
Grace and salvation all in Thee.
"THERE IS A GOD," ALL NATURE CRIES
By James Montgomery
"There is a God," all Nature cries
All Knowledge proves "there is a God:"
"There is no God," the Fool replies,
Whose heart is duller than the clod.
The grateful clod, refresh'd with rains,
Pours flowers along its Maker's path;
But the Fool's heart a Fool's remains,
Untouch'd by love, unmoved by wrath.
And yet the wretch himself deceives;
While fiends believe, and trembling fly,
He trembles though he disbelieves;
And conscience gives his life the lie.
Can guilt, can madness further go?
Yes, his who God in works denies,
Whose creed saith "Yes," whose life says "No:"
Am I more holy, just, and wise?
My soul, sink down in shame and grief;
So fair without, so foul within;
Thy faith is specious unbelief,
Thy righteousness, self-righteous sin.
O God! Thou art, Thou surely art,
And those who truly seek Thee find;
Put Thou Thy laws into my heart,
In mercy write them on my mind.
Light in Thy light I long to see,
Thy glory in Thy goodness trace;
Ah! then reveal Thy Son in me,
Through faith may I be saved by grace.