“Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know, them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?”
“For unto every one that hath to him shall be given and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
“Wheresoever the carcass is, there are the vultures gathered together.”
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn again and rend you.” Similar proverbs may be gathered from other sources. The Persian says, “It is folly to give comfits to a cow;” the Veman, “Though you anoint an ass all over with perfumes, it feels not your fondness, but will turn again and kick you;” the Telugu asks, “What can a pig do with a rose-bottle?” the Tamul says, “Like reading a portion of the Veda to a cow about to gore you;” and again, “Though religious instruction be whispered into the ear of an ass, nothing will come of it but the accustomed braying.”
“They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Such sayings of Jesus are true proverbs and instances of genuine wit.
Archbishop Trench says, “Any one who by after investigation, has sought to discover how much our rustic hearers carry away even from sermons to which they have attentively listened, will find it is hardly ever the course or tenor of the argument, supposing the discourse to have contained such; but if anything is uttered, as it used so often to be by the best Puritan preachers, tersely, pointedly and epigrammatically, this will have stayed by them while all the rest has passed away. Great preachers to the people, such as have ever found their way to the universal heart of their fellows, have ever been great employers of proverbs.” This principle helps to explain why, in the case of Jesus, “the common people heard him gladly.”
VI. REPARTEE.
“He that can define, he that can answer a question so as to admit of no further answer, is the best man. Jesus spent his life conversing with humble people on life and duty, in giving wise answers, showing that he saw at a larger angle of vision, and at least silencing those who were not generous enough to accept his thoughts.”—Emerson.