Proverbs 20:14

naught i.e. an inferior article. Comp. 2 Kings 2:19. By decrying it he gets it cheap, and then goes his way and boasts of his cleverness. Mr Bridges, in his Commentary on Proverbs, quotes here from Augustine the well-known story of him who having given out that he would disclose to every man the secret desire of his heart, exclaimed to the crowd who came together to hear it, Vili vultis emere, et caro vendere, "You all wish to buy cheap, and sell dear" (Aug. de Trin. lib. 13. c. 3).