A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise [man] keepeth it in till afterwards.
Ver. 11. A fool uttereth all his mind.] He is full of chinks, and can hold nothing; his heart lies so near his mouth, that he will out suddenly. פתי, a fool, and פתאם, suddenly, are from the same root. He hath little command of himself at any time, but especially when he is angry; then he sputters and spews out all that he hath in his heart. The Septuagint here translate, A fool uttereth all his anger, θυμον; he pulls out his wooden dagger, and cares not whom he hits. Bishop Bonner, in his visitation, because the bells rang not at his coming into Hadham, nor the church dressed up as it should, called Doctor Bricket knave and heretic; and, striking at him, gave Sir Thomas Josselin, who then stood next to the bishop, a good buffet under the ear; whereat the knight, somewhat astonished at the suddenness of the quarrel, said, ‘What meaneth your lordship? have you been trained up in Will Summers' school, to strike him that stands next you?' The bishop, still in a rage, either heard not or would not hear. And when Mr Fecknam would have excused him by his long imprisonment in the Marshalsea, whereby he was grown testy, he replied merrily, ‘So it seems, Mr Fecknam; for now that he is come forth of the Marshalsea, he is ready to go to Bedlam.' a See Proverbs 14:23 .
But a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.] Or, In an inner room, b in the bottom and bosom of his mind, till he see a fit season; as knowing well that all truths are not fit for all times, but discretion must be used, and taciturnity counted a virtue. The Rabbis have this saying among them: Masosa sepes legi, decimae divitiis, vota sanctimoniae, silentiurn sapientiae. Silence is no less a mound to wisdom than vows are to holiness, tithing to riches, or their Masorite's pains to the law. Open heartedness is a fruit of foolhardiness. Gird up, therefore, the loins of your minds with the golden girdle of meekness, of wisdom; and "keep your mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before you." Psa 39:1
a Ibid., fol. 1340.
b Beachor, in interiori aliquo loco, in ulteriore animi recessu.