The elements and seasons, in one way or another, are referred to not infrequently. For instance, Pr. 2513, As the coolness of snow in time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him[109]: a proverb we might appreciate more fully if either we had to go harvesting under an eastern sun or if His Majesty’s postal system were suddenly abolished.
As clouds and wind without rain,
So is he that boasts of gifts ungiven (Pr. 2514).
—how tantalising to see the precious moisture far overhead and drifting hopelessly out of reach, in a land where rain was desperately needed!
One passage from the poetical chapter of Ecclesiasticus mentioned above has something of the Grecian charm, combining as it does grace of expression with precise observation of Nature. Save in the spring-song of Canticles, in one or two Psalms and in some exquisite chapters (e.g., chapters 28 and 38) of Job, it has few, if any, rivals in ancient Jewish literature. Mark the skilful transition from the raging of the tempest to the stillness of the snows:—
By His mighty power Jehovah maketh strong the clouds,
And the hailstones are broken small:
At His appearing the mountains shake,
And at His will the south wind rages,
And the northern storm and the whirlwind;
The voice of His thunder maketh the earth to travail.
Like birds flying down He sprinkleth the snow,
And as the lighting of the locust is the falling down thereof:
The eye will marvel at its white loveliness,
The heart be astonished at the raining of it.
So also the hoar-frost He spreads on the earth as salt,
And maketh the shrubs to gleam like sapphires (E. 4315-19).[110]
Some of the simplest allusions to natural phenomena are among the most memorable of these “Nature” proverbs perhaps because it happens that the clear and simple image from the world without is linked to some equally clear and simple, yet poignant, experience of human life:—
As cold waters to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far country (Pr. 2525).
As in water face answereth to face,
So answereth the heart of man to man (Pr. 2719).
As the sparrow in her wandering, as the swallow in her flying,
So the curse that is causeless alighteth not (Pr. 262).
Dreams give wings to fools (E. 341).