I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all:
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all. The Latin rendering Isaiah , "I speak with the tongues of you all," which suggests the question, What could be S. Paul"s meaning in this, since there was but one tongue in Greece, and at Corinth in particular, viz, Greek? Haymo"s answer is that he refers to the different dialects of Greek. A better answer would be, that foreigners and merchants of all nations flocked to Corinth as a great emporium, just as to-day, at Antwerp, Venice, or Paris, we find the commerce and language of the French, Italians, and English, and other nations, and that S. Paul is therefore referring to the different languages to be heard in the streets of Corinth, But Ephrem, Chrysostom, Jerome (ad Hedibiam), and others support the rendering of the text. All the tongues that you speak and more I speak: I do not extol, I do not condemn the gift of tongues, for I use it myself, but I do not use it, as you do, for ostentation, but to edification.
And this he does also in another place intending, namely, to take away the advantages of Judaism and to show that henceforth they are nothing, he begins by declaring that himself had been endowed with them, yea, and that in very great excess; and then he calls them loss, thus saying, If any man thinks to have confidence in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting the Church; as touching the righteousness which is the law, found blameless. Philippians 3:4-7 And then, having signified himself to have the advantage of all, he says, Howbeit what things were gain to me, those have I counted loss for Christ. So also he does here, saying, I speak with tongues more than ye all. Do not ye therefore glory as though ye only had the gift. For I also possess it, yea more than ye.
Paul claims the gift for himself in order to show how unimportant it is. He does the same thing elsewhere when he points out that he is a better qualified Jew than his critics are.
