Proverbs 27:17 - Exposition

Iron sharpeneth iron. The proverb deals with the influence which men have upon one another. So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. So the Vulgate, Homo exacuit faciem amici sui . The action of the file is probably meant ( 1 Samuel 13:21 ); and the writer names iron as the sharpener rather than the whetstone, because he wishes to denote that one man is of the same nature as another, and that this identity is that which makes mutual action possible and advantageous. Some have taken the proverb in a bad sense, as if it meant that one angry word leads to another, one man's passion excites another's rage. Thus Aben Ezra. The Septuagint perhaps supports this notion by rendering, ἀνὴρ δὲ παροξύνει πρόσωπον ἑταίρου . But the best commentators understand the maxim to say that intercourse with other men influences the manner, appearance, deportment, and character of a man, sharpens his wits, controls his conduct, and brightens his very face. Horace uses the same figure of speech, 'Ars Poet.,' 304—

" Fungar vice cotis, acutum

Reddere quae ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secaudi ."

On the subject of mutual intercourse Euripides says, 'Androm.,' 683—

ἡ δ ὁμυλία

πάντων βροτοῖσι γίγνεται διδάσκαλος

"Companionship

Is that which teaches mortals everything."