01_Biblica_1_F_Gregory_Layout 1 05/11/12 12:13 Pagina 327 327 SLIPS OF THE TONGUE IN THE SPEECH ETHICS OF BEN SIRA with public speaking in 13,21-23 10. Ben Sira’s characterization of some speech errors as falls, stumbles, or slips is, then, a natural ex- tension of this motif. In addition, this metaphor for speech errors comports well with Ben Sira’s anthropology. While it is true that Ben Sira affirms “free will” and views human moral choices in es- sentially voluntaristic terms 11, there is also a certain ambivalence, even nervousness on his part that inclinations to sin tend to gain momentum until the sinner has lost control to make good choices. Nowhere is this ambivalence clearer than in the subject of speech ethics 12. Not only does Ben Sira portray the tongue as something constantly threatening to break loose and wreak havoc, but several of his major discussions of speech ethics (5,9 – 6,1; 19,4-17; 23,7- 15) are juxtaposed with discussions of out-of-control passion (6,2- 4; 18,30 – 19,3; 22,27 – 23,6), which suggests that the two are connected in his thought. Thus, like Proverbs, Ben Sira views speech as an indicator of someone’s character, but the particular configuration of his views of anthropology and the nature of sin re- sult in a view of speech that includes a view of the tongue as being prone to slip out of control. Among the additional passages where the context and the evidence of the versions strongly suggest that the idea of a slip of the tongue can be attributed to Ben Sira rather than being only a conceptual gloss by his grandson, the clearest case shows just this kind of extension in the concept of “slipping”. 1. A Slip of the Tongue as a Poorly Timed Statement (Sir 20,18) After a pericope on the proper timing of a reproof and of silence (20,1-8), Ben Sira records a series of paradoxes in 20,9-17. Then in vv. 18-20 he returns to the subject of speech ethics. He observes: As water poured out on a stone rock, so is the tongue of the wicked among the righteous. 10 On this passage see J. CORLEY, Ben Sira’s Teaching on Friendship (BJS 316; Providence, RI 2002) 119-53. 11 J. HADOT, Penchant mauvais et volonté libre dans la sagesse de Ben Sira (Bruxelles 1970) 153-76, 193-206. 12 G. BOCCACCINI, Middle Judaism. Jewish Thought, 300 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. (Minneapolis, MN 1991) 99-104.