“For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.”
The observation that one sees that the wise die as well as the foolish and the senseless perish together establishes the equality of death before all persons. The enumeration of the wise, the foolish, and the senseless suggests the inclusivity of death; no category of human persons escapes mortality. The verb sees suggests observation of this principle in action; contemplation of history reveals that death claims all persons regardless of intellect or status. The phrase about dying together emphasizes that death creates an equality that transcends all earthly distinctions. This verse establishes the fundamental equality before death as the basis for wisdom's perspective on mortality.
Church Fathers on Psalms 49:10
The First Part. 1. ...“Hear ye these things, all you nations” Psalm 48:1. Not then you only who are here. For of what power is our voice so to cry out, as that all nations may hear? For Our Lord Jesus Christ has proclaimed it through the Apostles, has proclaimed it in so many tongues that He sent; and we see this Psalm, which before was only repeated in one nation, in the Synagogue of the Jews, now repeated throughout the whole world, throughout all Churches; and that…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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