Ecclesiasticus, one of the books of the Apocrypha, ascribed to
Jesus, the son of Sirach, admitted to the sacred canon by the Council of
Trent, though excluded by the Jews. It contains a body of wise maxims, in
imitation, as regards matter as well as form, of the Proverbs of Solomon,
and an appendix on the men who were the disciples of wisdom. Its general
aim, as has been said, is "to represent wisdom as the source of all
virtue and blessedness, and by warnings, admonitions, and promises to
encourage in the pursuit of it." It was originally written in Hebrew, but
is now extant only in a Greek translation executed in Egypt, professedly
by the author's grandson.