Commentary on Proverbs
By Philip Melanchthon.
Translated and edited by Derek Cooper and Timothy J. Wengert.
CLP Academic, 2023.
Hardcover, 282 pages, $29.95.
Reviewed by Manfred Svensson.
Who has the most ancient wisdom? Are Christians plundering “the gold of the Egyptians” when they use classical philosophy? Or did this gold originally come from the Hebrew Scriptures, plundered by pagan philosophers? This was a well-known dispute in patristic times, revealing both generosity and claims of priority. Wisdom may be found in the rival camp, but only because it had been stolen from us. Melanchthon begins his commentary on Proverbs by noting how this argument was made by Cyril in response to Julian the Apostate. When Julian stressed the abundance of wisdom in Phocylides and Theognis, Cyril replied that Solomon had lived not only before them, but even before Homer and Hesiod. And as far as Melanchthon is concerned, Cyril’s answer to Julian is not wrong. But it is insufficient. The wisdom of the Scriptures is not only earlier than that of pagans, but it comes in two forms. There is a wisdom that resembles that of the pagans, but there is also a wisdom of the gospel that is entirely unique to the Scriptures.
Melanchthon, of course, uses the word “gospel” as a Protestant. The term refers not only to the message contained in the New Testament. The dialectic between law and gospel, between divine imperatives and divine indicatives, runs throughout the Bible. The wisdom of the gospel is therefore also to be found in Proverbs. There are proverbs that we can easily relate to the commandments, but there are also those whose wisdom is “fruitful, effective, and redemptive.” After quoting some of Pindar’s Odes and reminding readers to be mindful of such sayings, he writes that “the wisdom of humankind has no knowledge of any remedies” against sin. The church, in contrast, knows of both its causes and its remedies. Since it contains this twofold wisdom, Proverbs “should be read on a daily basis among readers of all ages.” It is one of our chief duties to “accustom the young to read this in the schools.”
Melanchthon’s contemporaries were indeed accustomed. In their introduction to Melanchthon’s commentary, Derek Cooper and Timothy Wengert note that non-authorized versions of Melanchthon’s early Latin version of Proverbs circulated widely. His authorized translation with annotations, published in 1525, was later republished forty-five times. In 1550 he published the outcome of a new set of lectures, and its revised 1555 edition is the basis for Cooper and Wengert’s present translation. It is a rich and accessible contribution to our knowledge of Melanchthon. And while there is indeed gospel in the commentary, there is also much of law and many parallels with the understanding of that law in ancient poetry and philosophy. As Cooper and Wengert write, Melanchthon’s “knowledge of the ancient world and its stories may be seen on every page of his commentary—perhaps more so than in his other biblical works.”
Melanchthon’s commentary is also instructive for the way it subverts common assumptions about this period. The story of moral philosophy is still often told as if the unity of law, virtue, and wisdom disintegrated in the sixteenth century. But throughout his commentary, Melanchthon relates the wisdom of the several proverbs to different commandments and virtues. Take, for example, Proverbs 3:29: “Do not plot evil against your neighbor, but let him live beside you in peace.” Melanchthon quotes this verse and immediately comments, “Both this precept and the ones that follow pertain to the precept ‘Do not murder’.”
This is not a casual remark. Rather, it reflects a plan that is outlined by Melanchthon in the preface: “We often teach that the sum of the teaching about the virtues should be understood in some way as put into the frame of the Ten Commandments. This approach should likewise be taken here so that the classifications of the maxims are organized according to the Ten Commandments.” One can see how this conception plays out, for instance, when commenting on Proverbs 31, which is often described by commentators and preachers as an “Ode to a Virtuous Woman.” Melanchthon too describes it as a hymn about the virtues of a woman, but he stresses the central connection between these virtues, the commandments, and the wisdom that comes from fear of the Lord: “Just as the Ten Commandments should serve as a rule of life for all people, so in this song of praise the virtues found in the Ten Commandments are apportioned out here. Now, the first table of the law corresponds to this saying: ‘The woman who fears God will be praised’.”
Melanchthon’s discussion of specific virtues also integrates them with broader Christian themes and with some more specific Reformation concerns. Consider, for example, his commentary on chapter 6, which discourages the making of promises of payment. Here he quotes from Jeremiah 17:5: “Cursed is the one who trusts in a human being,” which leads him into a long discussion about suspicion. While the quote from Jeremiah might lead the reader to expect a “pessimistic” account of human relationships, Melanchthon strives to make room both for the often deceptive nature of human wills and for the necessity of trust—and he finds it in the golden mean of candor. There is “a virtue named Candor that distinguishes between wills. The extremes of the virtue of candor are deception and gullibility,” he writes.
Diligence is another virtue that is discussed and defined in detail. It is defined as “the virtue by which we constantly and consistently desire to perform the labor that is most consonant with our calling, for God’s sake and the sake of the common welfare and with God’s help, who has promised aid to those who ask.” Many of the major themes of this commentary are present in this definition, but its reference to specific vocations perhaps deserves some special comment. For vocation is, of course, a classic Reformation theme. However, its place in a commentary on Proverbs may surprise us. We imagine it being discussed in contexts such as the doctrine of creation or the priesthood of all believers. But why when discussing Proverbs?
That God has arranged ranks of offices and callings is in fact Melanchthon’s first observation when he begins his discussion of work and diligence. We should imitate the diligence of ants, but we should be careful to pursue the work of our own calling and not that of others. Hence the importance of seeing diligence as a virtue that excludes not only the extreme of slothfulness, but also that of meddlesomeness. Melanchthon goes out of his way to point out that rushing into the callings of others is actually a way of failing to be diligent. This observation, moreover, applies not only to individuals in their various vocations. Ecclesiastical teachers can also be meddlesome, “having one foot at court and the other at church.”
This is at the heart of Melanchthon’s teaching on virtue in his commentary on Proverbs. We must “not undertake anything without our vocation constraining us,” but within these vocations we must find the specific virtues that will adorn them and make our efforts useful. Even humility and pride are treated as virtues related to remaining in our vocations and seeking God’s help within them. Humility is “acknowledging and confessing one’s own weakness in the fear of God, not reaching beyond one’s calling, but rather, in the hope of divine aid, serving God within the confines of one’s calling, neither looking down upon nor seeking to outdo others.” Melanchthon’s role as a moral philosopher has never been forgotten, and his place as a biblical commentator has recently been restored. His Commentary on Proverbs is perhaps the best illustration of how these vocations intersect.
Manfred Svensson is Professor of Philosophy at the Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile.
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