Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Ver. 27. Can a man take fire?] Lest any man should reply, ‘I will see to myself, and save one from the afore named mischiefs; I have more wit than to trust any harlot, and more skill than to let it come abroad to my disgrace and detriment'; the wise man answers, that it is as possible to take a live coal from the hearth, and bear it in a man's bosom without burning his clothes, or to walk upon fire without scorching his feet, as to attempt anything in this kind and to escape Scot free. Flagitium et flagellum sicut acus et filum. Sin and punishment go linked together with chains of adamant. Thy clothes will stink, at least, of that fire; thy feet will blister, at least, with those coals. If the great shower blow over thee, yet thou shalt be wet with the after drops.