So is a man to his praise— The LXX read, And a man is tried by the mouth of those who praise him; and so Houbigant renders it. The meaning is, "That the mind of man is as easily discovered and tried by praises and encomiums, as gold or silver is by fire." The poet says well,
Cum quis te laudat, judex tuus esse memento. Plus aliis de te, quam tu tibi credere noli.*
[* When others praise thee, remember thou art the best judge of thyself. Be on thy guard, not to believe more in praise of thyself from the commendations of others, than thy own heart testifies to be true.]
Some would connect this verse with the following: The fining-pot purifies silver, and the furnace gold, and a man is purified by affliction: Proverbs 27:22. But a fool is incorrigible: though you should put him into a mortar, and bruise him like a grain of wheat, you will not make him more wise. See Calmet.