Butler and Ben Shira’s Aphorism

It is not well recognized that[aut]Yajima, Naoki Butler frequently drew the words of Ben Shira from the Book of Shira (Ecclesiasticus), which belongs to a long tradition of Wisdom literatureWisdom Literature. This chapter explicates Butler’s ethical thought that he exploits on Ben Shira’s remark: “All things are double from each other, but God did not create anything imperfect” (Ecclesiasticus 42:24). He elaborates on the insight of the double nature of the created world; the existence of the rich and the poor in a society represents its double nature. According to Butler, the duality of rich and poorRich and poor is the setting in which God fulfils the providential arrangement that obliges the rich to care for the poor. Butler thus established the ethical duty of the rich to help the poor for the common good of the flourishing commercial societyCommercial society.