The earthly elements can still be traced in it; the 'wise men' are not prophets but philosophers; indeed, the Seven Wise Men of Greece arose at precisely the same stage of culture as the Hebrew sages. It is true, the latter never (in pre-Talmudic times) attempted logic and metaphysics; they contentedly remained within the sphere of practical ethics. If a modern equivalent must be found, it would be best to call them the humanists, to indicate their freedom from national prejudice (the word 'Israel' does not occur once, the word ādām 'man' thirty-three times in the Book of Proverbs), and their tendency to base a sound morality on its adaptation to human nature. We might also venture to call them realists in contradistinction to the idealists of the prophethood; they held out no prospect of a Messianic age, and 'meddled not with them that were given to change.'[1] The sages whose 'wisdom' is handed down to us were not however opposed to the spiritual prophets. It is only 'the fool' (or, to employ a synonym from the proverbs, the 'scorner' or 'mocker') who 'saith in his heart, There is no God.' A mocking poet of a late period may demand the Creator's name (Prov. xxx. 4), but the writer who (if I may anticipate) has perpetuated this strange poem indicates his own very different mental attitude; and though religious proverbs are less abundant than secular in the early anthologies, such as we do find are pure and elevated in tone. For instance,
(1) Who can say, I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin? (xx. 9.)
(2) The eyes of Jehovah are in every place,
observing the evil and the good (xv. 3).
(3) Sheól and Abaddon[2] are before Jehovah,
how much more then the hearts of the sons of men!
(xv. 11.)
(4) The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
Jehovah has made them both (xx. 12).
(5) A man's steps are from Jehovah,
and man—how can he understand his way? (xx. 24.)
One point in which the wise men agreed with Amos and
