Commentarii in Ecclesiasten

COMMENTARIES OF OLYMPIODORUS ON ECCLESIASTES. The Subject of the First Chapter. Solomon, the son of David, having received from God the unerring knowledge of things that exist—not only according to the flesh, but according to virtue—divided existing things threefold: into ethical, physical, and intelligible. And the ethical things he handed down through Proverbs; the physical through Ecclesiastes; the intelligible through the Song of Songs. But it is possible to find teaching scattered in Ecclesiastes concerning ethical matters, and in Proverbs concerning physical matters; nevertheless the treatises are specifically set apart. And the Song of Songs speaks wholly and entirely about intelligible things, and looks toward allegory. Nevertheless, both in Ecclesiastes and in Proverbs one may likewise find matters concerning intelligible things. Solomon called himself Ecclesiastes, as one who assembles all men and binds them into concord, and delivers natural contemplation in common. And this too must be known, that the wise Ecclesiastes sometimes brings his discourse in his own person, and sometimes in the person of one who is excited about this world. And these things are by way of preliminary survey. The first chapter contains the following: he states the lineage of Ecclesiastes, and his office, and the city in which his royal seat was established. And he declares that all things in this world are vanity—not blaming all things, but the evil choice of men, of those who place their hope in this world. And he teaches also concerning the course of the sun, discoursing on nature according to the surface meaning, but looking toward the deeper sense in theological allegory.

He says the same thing also about torrents rushing into the sea and not filling it. And from this he teaches that none of the works is recent, but that they remain as they were first appointed by the Creator; and that the eye will not be satisfied by seeing; and that we humans know neither the first of things that have come to be nor the last of things that will be, with exactness; and that God gave a toilsome distraction to the sons of men; and that by the choice of the spirit, that is, of the free will, and not by any necessity, humans do what they do; and that the perverse thing, when it is in its perversity, cannot be set right. And making his own account worthy of belief, in declaring that the things in the world are vain, he teaches that he was both wise and a king and rich, so that he might be readily accepted when he declares all things to be vanity. He teaches also that in abundance of wisdom there is abundance of knowledge; he teaches also about joy in the world. And he exercises them, to show whether it is possible for the flesh to be preserved by the rational substance within us. CHAPTER ONE. "Words of Ecclesiastes, son of David." All the words of the wise Ecclesiastes, teaching us to despise the vanity of life, urge the hearer to the word of faith in Christ. Of Ecclesiastes. As the words of wisdom are guarded in the Church of God, Solomon called himself Ecclesiastes. Son of David. The Ecclesiastes states his lineage and his rank, so that we, attending to the credibility of the person, might become more eager for the teaching. And as for the meaning, you will understand this:

David is interpreted as “mighty in hand”; and mighty in hand is the God over all things, and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has established for Himself one Church out of all the nations and the two peoples, the king of the true Israel. And Israel is interpreted as “a mind that sees God,” having its kingdom in the vision of peace, according to the words, “His place has come to be in peace.” For Jerusalem is rendered “vision of peace.” He himself declares that every purpose of worldly men is vanity, which he also calls, with emphasis, “vanity of vanities.” “What excess is there for man in all his toil, in which he toils under the sun?” All men are under the same sun; and of those who toil, some toil for the things above the sun, so that they may inherit the kingdom in heaven; others for the things under the sun, so that they may obtain empty glory, or money, or offices. What excess, then, does a man have over a man in toiling for the things under the sun, where we all, having left this life here, endure the common death? “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth stands forever.” Of things that have come to be, some are without succession, extending along with the present age, as heaven, and earth, and sun, and stars; others, being subject to corruption, are preserved by the succession of generation, as men, and birds, and fish, and plants. Why, then, do you toil, O men, about earthly things? When indeed the insensible element, the earth, stretches out for a long time, but you perish generation by generation? Or thus:

The earth stands forever, becoming your accuser, on which you committed lawless deeds. In terms of the deeper meaning: “A generation goes,” that of the Jews, being cast out; and “a generation comes,” that of those who believe in Christ. And the divine Scripture, called “earth” because of its immovability, fruitfulness, and all-receptiveness, remains forever under the Old and New Covenant, having unmoved both the promises to the righteous and the punishments threatened against sinners. “The sun rises, and draws to its own place.” He teaches the well-ordered course of the sun, sending us on to the understanding of the one who created the sun. And it moves in a circular motion, as some have noted from Esdras, who spoke thus: “Great is the earth, and high is the heaven, and swift is the course of the sun, and it turns in the circle of heaven, and in one day it comes to its own place.” And this great sun, he said, compared to the sun of righteousness, is vanity. In terms of the deeper meaning, you will understand it thus: the sun rises in the hearts of the faithful, guiding those who are just advancing to the things that must be done; but it also sets in them—when they search the depths of the doctrines, producing a greater longing for knowledge. Otherwise: the only-begotten Word of God rises from the Father’s bosom; he sets in the last days, having been made flesh toward the west of this life, and in some way concealing his own divinity. For to the faithful he was known as God, and as one who had become man without change; but to the unbelieving he was regarded as a mere man.

Again he rises in the flesh from Mary the God-bearer; and he sets when he comes to Hades; but again he rises, being raised from the dead. And in every manner of contemplation, he draws all the faithful into the kingdom of heaven, having spoken truly, "When I am lifted up, I will draw all to myself." "Rising, he goes there to the South, and circles to the North." He spoke of the climes through which the sun travels. In contemplation, symbolically, one may understand the South, being hot, as the prudence within us—for prudence is fiery and hot; and the North as courage—for it is hard and dexterous; and the West as temperance, which cools and dries up the pleasures of the body. And the East as justice, which passes through all the virtues. All the climes of the soul, then, he says, the Sun of righteousness illuminates and flashes upon. Otherwise: the incarnate Word of God went about through his own self the villages and cities situated in the South; and through the apostles, the northern parts, gathering the Church from the Gentiles, and going around all things, he urges all to salvation. "The spirit circles, circling it goes, and upon its circle the spirit returns." According to the history, he calls the sun a spirit, because of the swiftness of its motion. Some say, however, following the outside teachings, that it is also an ensouled living being. According to the deeper meaning, the Holy Spirit, being with the divine apostles, made them go about

Everywhere, and to preach the Gospel; but also, by returning, he prepared them to visit those who had been previously instructed in the word, as you will find in the Acts of the apostles. "All the streams go into the sea, and the sea is not filled." It is a custom of divine Scripture to call all, the majority; according to, "All have turned aside, together they have become useless"; not the righteous, not the prophets turned aside. So one must marvel at the wisdom of the Creator, how, though most rivers flow into the sea, it stands within its own bounds. And in the sense of the mind, the streams are the apostles, according to, "And you will give them drink from the stream of your delight." And the sea is understood as the present life; according to, "This is the great and spacious sea." So the evangelical and apostolic words sweeten the saltiness of this life; but the sea that is understood is not filled; for not all have faith. And figuratively, through the example, he hints at people sick with insatiable love of money; for the insatiable nature of their desire is not satisfied, even if wealth flows into them from every side like streams. "To the place where the streams go, there they return to go." Yet the prophet says, "He who calls the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth." So he seems here to be discoursing on nature: that the water of the sea, drawn up through the clouds and poured out upon the earth, makes the streams. So, he says, the streams, having received their origin from the sea, again go into it.

In terms of the deeper meaning: to the place where the apostles went, there they prepared those who had believed to turn back to God, so as to walk in the light of the Lord. Alternatively: those who fall from virtue into vice are carried down, like winter torrents from some high place, onto the sloping, hollow, and earthy ground; but even when they are in the place of vice they are able to revive, and to repent, and through conversion to walk again the road that leads to paradise, from which the first man was cast out. "All words are wearisome; a man cannot speak them." The words concerning the exact knowledge of existing things are wearisome, because not even those who are exceedingly brave in soul are able to grasp the whole of knowledge. Alternatively: all words, both those of secular wisdom and those of divine wisdom, involve labor in their teaching; but the former for the most part also become a cause of harm to those who are persuaded by them. The divine word, however, is always beneficial; and no one is able to speak it worthily, even if he is exceedingly intelligent, unless he has received the teaching gift and the word of wisdom. Alternatively: teachers always labor over the divine word, and for the most part are held back, gaining only labor, because of the slackness of their hearers. The word, then, strikes those who listen carelessly. Alternatively: one must first act, and then teach. It is a labor, then, and not an ordinary one but a dangerous one, to teach those things which you yourself have not first accomplished. For this reason even the perfect man, suspecting the magnitude of the matter, is held back from speaking.

And the eye will not be satisfied with seeing, and the ear will not be filled by hearing.” In terms of natural philosophy, the eye cannot encompass the whole sensible creation, nor receive all the accounts concerning it, since there is no man who speaks and teaches it all. Alternatively: the eye, being easily swayed, is always in a state of desire and insatiability. But also those whose ears are tickled always wish to learn and never come to the knowledge of the truth; therefore such words labor to make the eyes and ears of those who learn chaste. Alternatively: hearing and sight are the most authoritative and queenly of the senses, and the more rational; these perform their own activity, which is necessary, insatiably. But taste, smell, and touch grow weary more quickly and admit of satiety. “What is that which has come to be? It is the very thing that will come to be. And what is that which has been made? It is the very thing that will be made.” Of created things, some are single in kind and without succession, such as the sun and the moon and those that extend alongside the age; others are preserved by succession under the sun, such as animals and plants; and others are subject to generation and corruption. The discourse is therefore about those preserved by succession: a man has come to be from the beginning; when that one dies, another is born. A plant has come to be, a plant is born. “And there is nothing entirely new under the sun; who will speak and say, Behold, this is new? It has already come to be in the ages that were before us.” The age sometimes signifies human life, according to what is said, I will not eat meat forever, meaning throughout my whole life.

And again, “He shall be your servant forever,” meaning, until the end; and sometimes also the temporal extension of this whole universe, from the creation of the world until the consummation. It has been said, then, that there is nothing new in the successions of humans, animals, and plants. And in another sense: the virtuous are crowned in the coming age, while the wicked are punished. “What then has happened? The very thing that will be.” Meaning: Has someone pursued virtue? He will receive the rewards of virtue. Has someone pursued vice? He will pay the penalty for vice. Therefore the things that will be in the coming age are the recompenses of the things that have already happened in this life. “There is no memory of the first things, and even of the last things that will be, there is no memory for them with the things that will be at the end.” The things done by humans individually throughout the whole of past life are infinite, and it is impossible for us to remember them. But neither do we know what those after us will do; for example, what all humans from the creation have done, each one individually—neither having come to be for us, nor do we know it; but neither do we have perception of the deeds that will be done after us. For perhaps one can in some way conceive of things in general, but things individually are altogether impossible. There is therefore no memory of the first things, nor of the last things that will be. In another sense: those who have lived in virtue and are deemed worthy of the kingdom of heaven, when they come to be there, do not receive a sensory memory of the hardships in this life; but neither do they perceive sensibly the punishment of those being punished. There will therefore be no memory for them with the things that will be at the last, that is, of those being punished then.

Not that souls are held by forgetfulness, but that when enjoyment is present, forgetfulness of evils occurs, as it is said, "In the day of good things there is forgetfulness of evils." "I, Ecclesiastes, became king of Israel in Jerusalem." Since he exhorts us to despise perceptible things, and a counselor who has both acquired and looked down upon them is readily acceptable, he has set forth his own dignity, so that we may listen to what is said with attention. "And I gave my heart to seek and to examine in wisdom concerning all things that have come to be under the sun." Having, he says, received wisdom as a gift from God, I gave my whole mind to the examination of things under the sun. And note that Ecclesiastes does not examine the unattainable things above heaven, but the things under the sun. Not, he says, by human thoughts did I examine, but using the wisdom granted to me from God. "Because God has given an evil distraction to the sons of men, to be distracted in it." He calls "sons of men" those who gape after vain things, according to what is said in the psalm, "Sons of men, how long are you heavy of heart?" [Read "evil" with the accent on the antepenult.] I observed, then, through wisdom, that God has given a laborious distraction to the sons of men; for the fact that one should grow rich, or acquire empty glory, or gratify the belly—all this has been given to men usefully, to endure toil. For if we toil in order to acquire vain and passing things, where would we not be driven in wickedness, if these things came to us without toil? Usefully, therefore, has the laborious distraction been given to men.

But if virtue is also accomplished with toils, this too is useful. For if one must toil both for what is base and for what is good, and punishment awaits the base, while the good receives an inexpressible enjoyment, then the toil for what is noble is incomparably to be preferred. Besides, the virtuous man is not even distracted by many things, according to what was said: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; but few things are needed, or one" — he means the commandments, or the love that holds all together. In general, then, this toilsome distraction has been given to men usefully. "I saw all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, all things are vanity and a choice of spirit." Whatever, he says, men do — not for the sake of things above the sun, that is, for the sake of heavenly goods, but for the sake of things under the sun, earthly and corruptible things — I saw that all are vanity; for besides passing away, they also prepare punishment for themselves, because they do these things by choice and not by compulsion. And here he calls the soul "spirit" — the rational soul, the one honored also with free will. "What is twisted cannot be made straight, and a deficiency cannot be numbered." If the statement is from the person of the wise man, you will understand it thus: the one who is twisted and has fallen into vice, as long as he is in vice, cannot take up virtue; but if he departs from it, then he receives virtue, according to "Turn away from evil and do good." Nor, indeed, can the one who falls short of the grace of God, as long as he is in that deficiency and does not repent, be numbered among the godly. Otherwise —

There have been some who said that the world came into being of itself and is imperfect; to these the wise man will say: What is seen in the world that is imperfect, or distorted, so that it might also be adorned? Or what is lacking from the whole, so that it might be added and counted in? But if the statement is spoken in the person of those who hold that natures are the cause, who say that some are evil by nature and cannot be adorned, we refute their claim at greater length. For no one is evil by nature. Therefore Matthew too was called from tax collector to evangelist. But even the things that seem to be evil in the world, such as snakes and lions and the like, serve as healing remedies for human beings; and they serve to make a person turn back by their comparison, when he hears, Go to the ant, you sluggard; and to be ashamed when he is compared to them, hearing, He was compared to the senseless beasts. Nothing, then, in the world is evil, but all things are beneficial and useful. For God saw, it says, all things whatsoever he made, and behold, they were very good. Do not say, then, you people, that what is distorted will not be able to be adorned, and what is lacking will not be able to be counted. "I spoke in my heart, saying: Behold, I have become great, and I have added wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge, parables and sciences. I knew that this also is a choice of spirit, that in abundance of wisdom is abundance of knowledge, and he who adds knowledge adds grief." A person speaks in his own heart when, using his mind for understanding, he converses with himself.

He said, therefore, "I considered that I added wisdom beyond those before me." The phrase "I added" shows that wisdom was increased in him by progress. And wisdom is knowledge of divine and human matters, and of their causes; and knowledge is the contemplation of the nature of existing things. And those who have knowledge educate themselves, having been freed from ignorance; but those who have received the word of wisdom teach others words of truth as well. And wisdom and knowledge he no longer called vanity, but a choice of the spirit, teaching that the wise do not become wise by some fate, but by desiring wisdom, and laboring, and asking from God, and receiving. And if anyone, he says, longs for greater knowledge, let him add also labors in accordance with virtue. Or also in this way: the one who sins in knowledge is punished more greatly; therefore the one who adds knowledge adds pain. And since wisdom is more comprehensive than knowledge, he said that in abundance of wisdom there is abundance of knowledge. CHAPTER 2. "I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with gladness and with good things; and behold, even this is vanity." To the

I said to laughter, "It is a turning about," and to gladness, "What are you doing?" Considering worldly joy, he says, I examined whether it has any good in it; and I saw that even the very act of rejoicing through wealth—perhaps abundance, or glory, or some one of the things in the world—is vanity. Indeed, I said to such joy (for he calls joy "laughter") and to such gladness, "Turn aside, and depart from me; what are you doing?"—that is, "Why do you dispose me to rejoice in such things?" For it is vanity, and the pleasure that arises through such things is nothing else. "And I examined whether my heart would draw my flesh as wine." The drink swallowed by the one drinking becomes invisible. I considered, then, he says, whether in human prosperities and enjoyments the mind can be so courageous as to make fleshly desire vanish like wine that has been swallowed. "And my heart guided me in wisdom, and to take hold of gladness, until I should know what is the good for the sons of men, which they will do under the sun, the number of the days of their life." Solomon, having received wisdom from God, and an outpouring of heart like the sand of the sea, became most sharp-sighted in understanding; for he was able to touch divine words and to speak great mysteries, which indeed he is seen to do. He was able also, by the sharpness of his thought, to use his understanding skillfully concerning all things he wished; for just as one who has beautiful eyes, by the same activity of the eyes, sometimes uses them as is fitting, and sometimes looks intemperately—the activity of the eyes not being the cause, but the disposition of the soul—

Thus also the man whose mind has been enlightened by God, if he uses the gift as he ought, contemplates divine things; but if he is dragged down to earthly things, he dims the gift; yet even in these matters he applies himself with natural ability. For it is not the sharpness of the mind, but the disposition of the soul—which has used the gift either praiseworthily or blameworthily—that is praised or blamed. I gave, then, he says, my heart, that is, my mind, and I reasoned what sort of good there might be among men, and what those in the world might do to be able to spend their whole life in pleasure and gladness. Having reasoned, then, on such human things, and using a certain psychic wisdom, he gave himself over to doing what he lists in what follows. I magnified my work—not the work of God, but my own. For no one can add anything to the divine works. I built myself houses—finding an idiom in the language, he uses "I built for myself" and "I made for myself" in the narration of the passage. I planted vineyards for myself. Using royal authority and abundance of wealth, he ruled through every kind of possession. I made for myself gardens and parks. A garden properly speaking is one that bears vegetables; a park is one planted with various trees. Therefore he says, And I planted in them every-fruit-bearing tree. I made for myself pools of waters, to water from them a grove sprouting trees. Ambitionsly cultivating the parks, he planted around the parks the tall-growing plants that the earth nurtures of itself on the mountains, such as firs, or willows, or oaks, or pines.

Therefore he also mentions a handmade park, for which he needed very many waters: "I acquired male and female slaves, and homeborn servants were born to me." For since the homeborn were not sufficient for the service of his possessions, he necessarily also acquired servants bought with silver. "And indeed I had a great possession of herds and flocks beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem." I surpassed, he says, all the kings before me in flocks and herds, or also in all the things previously mentioned; for each can be understood. "I gathered for myself both silver and gold." Since many have possessions but not stored-up money, he added also the abundance of these. "And the revenues of kings and of the lands." But also, he says, I had kings tributary, and lands producing fruits; for the lands in Scripture are named the fruitful ones, according to what is in the Gospels: "Lift up your eyes, and see the lands, that they are white for harvest." And from this, then, he says, I had great abundance. "I made for myself male singers and female singers, in the luxury of a son of man." But not even, he says, did I neglect to charm the ear through songs; for those who revel in luxury through these are not sons of God, but sons of man. "Cupbearers, and cupbearer women." Either so that through the alteration produced by those who drink toasts he might further provoke appetite, or also as describing the person of one exceedingly luxurious and fond of women. "And I was magnified, and increased beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem.

And indeed wisdom remained with me." Thus, he says, having been exalted, I did not fail even in the things I had resolved and devised. "And whatever my eyes desired, I did not withhold from them; I did not restrain my heart from any gladness." So, he says, every desire of the eyes and the soul's appetite for pleasure—which he also calls gladness—I brought to fulfillment. "For my heart rejoiced in all my labor." From the labors previously mentioned, he says, I found this as my portion and lot: to attain the enjoyment that came from them. "And I looked upon all my works that my hands had done, and on the labor in which I had labored to do it; and behold, all was vanity and a striving of spirit." Having accomplished all these things, he says, through my active and productive powers, I found that all human pursuits are vanity, and there is nothing more for those who toil over things seen and under the sun, because all—rich and poor alike—undergo the common death. For those who labor for the things above the sun and leap over things seen have something more, according to the voice of the Savior, who said: "I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly"—namely, to be free from punishment and to be in the enjoyment of the promised good things. Note again that to be earnest about vain things and to devote oneself to pleasures are not movements of irrational fortune or the necessity of fate, but of our own choice and of the self-determining power within us.

And I turned to see wisdom, and folly, and madness, saying, 'Who is the man that will follow after counsel, in all that it has done?'" Having stripped bare the face of the wealthy man who is occupied with earthly things, he turns to wisdom, and tests it, setting wisdom and folly side by side—which he also calls a "turning about," either because it is carried about with every wind, or because it is a kind of distraction, that is, madness. And he says, Let us inquire whether the one who chooses folly is able at all to fulfill his own desires; for this is what "he will follow after counsel" means. Then he finds that rarely does anyone succeed in this. Therefore he set down, "Who"—rare. For neither does the one who wishes to be rich necessarily become rich, nor does the one who loves glory necessarily attain it; and likewise in other matters. But the one who loves wisdom, being guided by God, will certainly follow after counsel, that is, he finds what he strives for. Otherwise: He says this in amazement, "Who then is able always to turn back from his own desires, and to examine the impulse of his purpose, so as to be able to discern whether he is acting in wisdom or in folly?" Otherwise, he says, having come outside the body and having contemplated through wisdom that after the end of life no one can return in this life, and again come to be in enjoyment of the things he worked in it according to his purpose (for "who" is often used in place of "no one"), I preferred wisdom to folly. "And I saw that there is an abundance of wisdom over folly, as the abundance of light over darkness." Darkness comes about by the privation of light.

So that light exists in substance, but darkness is non-existent. Thus, he says, it is also with wisdom and with folly: for the works of folly pass away, having procured everlasting punishment for those who pursued them; but the works of wisdom remain everlasting, gladdening the lovers of wisdom eternally. And the phrase, "there is an excess in wisdom over folly," is not put comparatively; for things that destroy one another, as light and darkness, and wisdom and folly, are not compared. For neither is there gladness in evils, but by the choice of the one who chooses, he has attached the superiority, meaning rather, and incomparably well does the one who prefers wisdom to folly act. "The eyes of the wise man are in his head; and the fool walks in darkness." The head is a prominence, and higher than the whole body; but the feet are the lowest, and touch the earth. Whenever, then, the governing mind is purified, it looks at things above, and not at things on the earth, having its eyes in the head; but whenever the reasoning turns about earthly things, it has its eyes in its feet, writhing about the earth. Otherwise: the head of the Church is Christ; if the wise man fixes his gaze on him, walking as he also walked, he has his eyes in the head; but the fool walks in darkness, always looking down, and having his governing faculty darkened. "And I knew, even I, that one event will meet them all. And I said in my heart, As is the event of the fool, even so will it meet me also.

And why did I become wise? The wise man, exercising all things in relation to himself, speaks the objection of his opponents from his own person. Having found, then, that certain things are common and differ not, which he also calls happenings—such as being sick, being healthy, being rich, being poor, and above all death, which comes upon all—he takes up the person of the adversary and says: If these things are common to both the wise and the foolish, what need is there to pursue the labors of virtue and to become wise? Then, refuting this argument and showing the gain of wisdom, he adds and says: "And I then spoke excessively in my heart, because a fool speaks from abundance, that this also is vanity." Having set forth the objection of the fool as from his own person, he again resolves it from himself, and says: And I spoke excessively in my heart—that is, I recognized that such a thought is vain and superfluous, and that it belongs to a foolish reasoning to utter such things. For the fool, having boiled over and grown hot in his mind, brings forth the words of folly through his mouth; because a fool speaks from abundance, that is, from the folly that overflows in him. Then he also teaches the reason, refuting the fool's objection, and says: "Because there is no remembrance of the wise with the fool forever." For even if the things in this life, he says, differ not but are common to the wise and the foolish, yet in the age to come the wise man has an ever-remembered and unending enjoyment; but the fool's memory also is blotted out, according to what is said in the Psalms: Their memorial perished with a sound—that is, they are not even worthy of remembrance before God.

Because already in the days that are coming all things have been forgotten." In the age to come, he says, all the events of this life—whether sickness or health, whether wealth or poverty—come into forgetfulness. Then, bringing in the conclusion of the solution, he says: "And how shall the wise man die with the fool?" How then, he says, will you claim, O fools, that because of the common end of all men the wise man has no more than the senseless man—when in fact the memory of the wise man is perpetual before God, but that of the fool is no more? For even if the circumstances of this life are common, yet in the age to come the work of each one will follow. "And I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was evil upon me, because all is vanity and vexation of spirit." For this reason the Wise Man says, I hated the toilsome life, and my own labor, which I toil over because of the things under the sun; for he calls the painful and wretched life of sinners an evil work. Here too the Wise Man hates the fleeting life and seeks after the life that endures forever; and having put on the person of the fool, he said, that The work was evil upon me, the work done under the sun; for the wise man does not endure to toil for the things under the sun.

For even if he toils for the sake of the necessity of making a living, yet he does not primarily spend all his zeal on things visible, but only toils for as much as is needed for necessary food; but all his zeal he spends on virtue, despising things that do not remain and are temporary, and laying claim to things eternal and not seen. "And I hated all my labor which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? And whether he will have authority over all my labor which I labored and applied wisdom to under the sun? This also is vanity." The Wise Man, having hated the toilsome accumulation of possessions and money, states the reasonableness of his hatred together with a demonstration of it: first, that possession is not permanent for the one who has it, but he himself departs from life bringing nothing with him, and what was acquired by his toil another succeeds to. Second, that he does not even know who the successor will be—whether he will manage the wealth living in prodigality or in prudence. Third, that even if we grant that the one receiving the property is prudent, it is uncertain whether he will be master of it, since money is always passing at different times to different people, for many and various reasons. And even if we grant, he says, that the heir will be both prudent and become master of the property, yet this also is vanity.

But the reason why he has left it to us to consider, that it is better for us, having disposed of wealth ourselves and spent it on the need of the needy and the poor, to have an unfailing treasure in the heavens, than to pass the money on to others, whatever sort they happen to be. "And I turned to renounce my heart in all my toil in which I toiled under the sun." The wise man, having condemned the things previously spoken of, runs to the evangelical life, almost saying, like Peter, to the Savior: Behold, we have left all things and have followed you. Then he takes up the previously stated cause, of hatred toward things temporary. And he says: "For there is a man, that his toil is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in courage; and a man to whom he did not toil in it, he will give his portion; and indeed this is vanity, and great wickedness." For what, he says, is the profit to a man who toils in human wisdom, and prudence, and courage, and acts wickedly, that is, does not share, but always adds to what he has, whenever another, neither having labored nor toiled, succeeds to his wealth? But it is also possible to understand it thus: I turned to renounce my heart, in all my toil in which I toiled under the sun, having considered that another will receive my wealth, but I will bear the anxiety. And having inserted in between the words, "For there is a man, that his toil is in wisdom, and in understanding, and in courage," he teaches this: I despised the toil for vain things, he says, having reasoned that there is another toil that is praised, the one from virtue, and always gathering wealth that remains.

This toil is what a man toils at, in order to acquire wisdom, and knowledge, and courage. Having therefore preferred this toil to that other, I turned to set my heart apart in every toil with which I toiled under the sun, that is, concerning vain things. "For it happens to a man in all his toil, and in the purpose of his heart, with which he himself toils under the sun, that all his days are pains and the distraction of his anger. And even in the night his heart does not sleep; and even this is vanity." The toil, he says, which a man toils at by choice happens to him either as good or as bad. For if the toil is expended on the virtues, it is praiseworthy; but for the one who does not toil for the sake of the good, all his days are full of pains, and anger, and distraction, and sleeplessness. For these things all follow upon those who are distracted by the vain pursuit of this life; wherefore even this is vanity. "And there is no good for a man except that he should eat and drink, and show his soul good in his toil. And even this I saw, that it is from the hand of God, that, who shall eat and drink apart from him?" And the middle

Indifferent things are supplied by God to men, such as wealth, health, and good repute. Therefore the Ecclesiast, assuming the person of the one who raises the counter-argument, says that if these things are given by God to men, then there is nothing good among men except the enjoyment of foods and drinks. Then again, resolving the objection, he adds: "Because to the good man before his face he gave knowledge, and wisdom, and gladness; and to the one who sins he gave distraction, to add and to gather, to give to the good before the face of God, because even this is vanity and a choice of spirit." Do not say, he says, O you, that the passionate enjoyment of foods is good; for to the good man God gave knowledge and wisdom, so that in these things he might be glad before the face of God—that is, being sheltered by the overseeing power of God. But to the sinful man he gave the distraction concerned with sensible things, so that he might be distressed in toiling and gathering. And if he remains toiling and gathering, even this is vanity, and a choice of spirit. But it must be known that God gave the distraction to the one who sins and gathers, not so that he might sin and gather, but so that, pondering and growing weary over this vain pursuit, he might come to a perception of this toilsome life, and might long for the ageless and painless life, the one stored up for the saints in the age to come. CHAPTER 3. "To all things there is a time, and a season for every matter under the sun." Of existing things, some are temporary, and some eternal; the eternal and invisible things are also above the sun.

The discourse concerns these things that are under the sun, which are under time, since they also began from time, coming to be in the fitting season. And time is the interval in which something is done; but season is the suitable time for the work. So that time can also be a season, and a season is time—but the good timing of the thing done, occurring in time. And all things from God have come to be in good season, as summer, and autumn, and winter, and spring; but our own affairs, if they come to be in good season, are praiseworthy; but contrary to season, or beyond season, they are blameworthy. In season a man has intercourse with his own wife, desiring the begetting of children; contrary to season, when he does this for pleasure. He who sows in summer sows before the season; he who hastens to reap in winter undertakes this contrary to season. And from this lesson we are taught in everything to avoid deficiencies and excesses, because of the excesses that lie close to each thing. Deficiency of courage produces cowardice, excess produces recklessness. Understand therefore time also according to another sense, as being a certain due proportion; and season, as the good timing; for he who does all things with due proportion and in good season, using these as a kind of rule and balance, will easily accomplish the whole of virtue. "A season to give birth, and a season to die." Often in the case of opposites the seasons are different; but it happens that both also occur at the same season; physical birth, then, for the most part has one season, and physical death another.

But the spiritual birth through the bath of regeneration has one and the same season as both birth and death. For those who are reborn in the divine bath were buried together with Christ in baptism; and our bodily birth or death is not in our power, but in God's authority—we are both born and die—whereas the spiritual birth is in our power; for together with God's cooperation, our own free choice is also needed, so that we may die to sin and be born to righteousness. Admirably did Ecclesiastes begin with birth and death, reminding us of this temporary life of ours. For this reason, he says, Moses also, having entitled his first book Genesis, immediately named the second Exodus, symbolically sketching through the narrative our temporary life in this world. "A season to plant, and a season to uproot what has been planted." After the sensory meaning, to the intellectual: often at the same season one both uproots and plants, as when one uproots the weeds of the sowing and plants the genuine seeds of the word—cutting out vice and implanting virtue; and often at different times, as when Paul cuts off from the Church the man who committed fornication, and plants him again when he repents. "A season to kill, and a season to heal." To kill sin, and to heal one's own soul with the medicines of repentance. Such action always has its season, and always happens opportunely; but now especially, since Paul cries out, "Behold, now is the acceptable season, behold, now is the day of salvation.

But in the case of bodily matters, the ruler has a season to put the murderer to death, and to heal and care for the benefactor, or even by a gentler correction to restore the one who has sinned more lightly. "A time to cast down, and a time to build up." The divine building is divided into practical and contemplative virtue. So the one who practices virtue builds up the ethical; but the one who gazes intently on intelligible beauties builds up contemplation; this one always builds well for himself a house not made with hands in the heavens. But the one who repents purges out the sin that existed before; and it is good for us to be cast down from evil, and to be built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. "A time to weep, and a time to laugh." There is a certain season, not the chronological one, but the one taken from the matter itself. For the one who does not weep in depth, but superficially, will hear concerning Jerusalem: Late did she wail with her voice, and her tears were on her cheeks. But the one who weeps seasonably, and repents from a disposition, will be heard when he hears: Jerusalem wept with weeping; the cry of your tears, when he saw it, he had mercy on you. And there is also a weeping in a chronological season in this our life, so that in the age to come we may laugh; and at the falls of disciples, or even of brothers, we weep opportunely, but at their advancements we laugh opportunely. "A time to mourn, and a time to dance." Those who devote themselves to repentance mourn; those who are girded with self-control dance, and are adorned with prudence, and moved by courage, and perfected by righteousness. David also danced, and not merely so, before the Lord.

Therefore the prophets too, being children in the marketplace in this life, because they were infants in evil, said to the Jews: "We lamented to you, and you did not beat your breasts"—that is, we foretold to you things of gloom, and you did not repent. And the apostles also say to them: "We piped to you, and you did not dance"—that is, we proclaimed the kingdom of heaven, crying out audibly like a pipe, and you did not dance, nor did you leap for joy at the gift. For the Savior's Gospel parable teaches us these things. "A time to cast stones, and a time to gather stones." The one who has sinned incurably is cast out of the spiritual house, like the stone with scurvy, as set down symbolically in Moses; but the one who sins in ways that can be healed is gathered through repentance into the building of the apostles and prophets. And every hard-hearted one is cast out; but the precious stones are gathered. And the law also commanded that the woman who had committed fornication be stoned. And the teacher casts stones at those who sin—that is, with words of rebuke; but after sufficiently disciplining them through rebukes, he gathers the stones that were cast out, ceasing from the striking words. "A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing." According to the literal sense, there is a time to embrace one's own wife, when prayer does not hinder it, and the need is good—either for the begetting of children, or by way of concession, because of our incontinence, so that we may not be tempted to fornication by Satan. And there is a time to be far from embracing, either because of prayer, or because the wife is with child. Otherwise:

There was a time to embrace at the beginning of the world, so that we might grow and multiply and fill the earth; now is the time to keep far from embracing, when it is the last hour and the world hastens toward its end. But as for the meaning: Honor wisdom, he says, so that it may embrace you; such an embrace always has its time. And since the law is called the left hand, and the mind is named the head, and the evangelical teaching is called the right hand, and the whole Church is named the body, the Bride sang in the Song, saying: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me." That is, the law benefits only the mind of the wiser sort, but the evangelical teaching embraces the whole Church with a divine embrace; of this embrace there is never a time to keep far away. But in the case of the ark, when evils were pressing in, it was a time to keep far from embracing; therefore the men went in by themselves, and the women, having been separated, by themselves. But in the going out from the ark, Noah went out together with his wife, for it was a time of embracing. And generally, it is a time to keep far from evil and to cleave to God. "A time to seek, and a time to destroy." As to the wording, the saying is placed in reverse order, for no one seeks what he has not destroyed. But as to the meaning, he who is in ignorance has a time to seek the truth; and having found it, he ought in due season to destroy the darkness of ignorance. Otherwise:

One seeks his lost soul, and having found it and recovered from error, he ought, as far as depends on his wickedness, to die and be lost; but in the time of martyrdom there is a time to lose the soul, that we may find it. "A time to keep, and a time to cast away." The steward of money knows when to keep money and when to spend it. With respect to understanding, there is a time to keep and not to cast divine teaching to just anyone; and a time to cast it out, when the hearers are suitably disposed. For you ought, he says, to have put my money with the bankers, but not to cast the holy things to the dogs, nor the pearls before the swine. Otherwise: There is a time to keep the Gospel commandments; and the same time is also for casting out the shadows of the Law. "A time to rend, and a time to sew." He who makes peace between those who fight sews together in due season; but he who casts out of the Church the man who has taken his father's wife rends in due season. Otherwise: He who rends his heart before Christ through repentance sews himself to the Church of the firstborn. "A time to be silent, and a time to speak." He who in silence and ascetic practice has received the divine lessons, when he is deemed worthy to speak—the Lord gives a tongue of instruction in due season, to know when one ought to speak a word—then he also speaks in due season. For the one being taught hears from the Law: "Hear, Israel, and be silent"; but the elder who has acquired prudence will be permitted to speak, hearing: "Speak, elder, for it is fitting for you.

A time to love, and a time to hate.” The sinful woman loved the feet of Jesus—that is, she loved them in godliness—and she hated the path of wickedness in every way, so that the one time belonged to both. Otherwise: the soul ought always both to love and to hate: to love its own bridegroom, the Word, through works, saying, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth”; and to hate the enemy and sower, the devil. “A time of war, and a time of peace.” When one has battle against the spiritual forces of wickedness, one is at peace with God. And in this life there is a time of war against the principalities and powers; and he who has conquered, in the age to come, will delight in due season upon abundance of peace. “What excess has he who does in those things wherein he himself labors?” After the matters concerning times, he again returns to the human person; and he teaches that he who labors over human affairs has nothing more than the rest, since both pleasant and painful things are common to all, and especially death, which is over all. Therefore only the wise man has something more. “I saw then the distraction which God gave to the sons of men, to be distracted in it: all things which he made are beautiful in their time.” It has already been said that the distraction has been given by God to the sons of men, and not to the wise, so that, being occupied with indifferent middle things, they may not turn completely toward wickedness. All things then and

The intermediate things are good, yet done in their proper time, and because of necessary need, such as farming, getting wealth, eating and drinking; but there is always a time for the practice of good, as also for abstaining from evil. Otherwise: he calls "time" the use that is according to what is due and according to nature. So Ecclesiastes says that, having observed how man was distracted and turned aside from the things according to nature to the things contrary to nature, and having wisely understood, "I saw that nothing is evil by nature, but all things are good when moved and coming to be according to nature." Eyes are good when they look rightly, but when distracted and turned aside from their natural activity and looking curiously, they are no longer good. All things, then, are good in their time, that is, if they come to be according to nature and according to what is due. "And indeed he has given the age in their heart, so that man may not find out the work that God has made from the beginning and to the end." [The "and indeed" is a Hebrew idiom, loosely placed in the Hebrew tongue. But the sense is this:] God allowed those who think human thoughts to be distracted, so that they might not, having suddenly fixed their attention on the creation and come to a notion of the beauty of the things that have come to be, suppose the things seen to be God or gods. Nevertheless he did not leave those who are distracted without help; but he has given to nature the common lesson of death, so that, knowing that we do not continue forever in this age, we might come to our senses and take thought for the life after these things. Otherwise: the age, being significant of a span of time, comprehends all the things that have come to be in it.

Of this present age, then, he says, God has given the knowledge to the sons of men, that heaven and earth and the things seen began from time, and that in time they are dissolved. But of the things that came to be before this age, or of those that will be after these, we have not received clear knowledge; for which reason we also hear from another Scripture, "Seek not things higher than yourself, and search not things deeper than yourself." "I knew that there is no good in them, except to rejoice and to do good in his life." The wise man knows the good by nature. The good by nature is God alone, who does all things in goodness. He, then, who does good according to what is attainable, and preserves love toward God and neighbor, this man rejoices with the inexpressible joy. I knew, then, he says, that there is nothing good in life, except the very doing of good, and to rejoice in the practice of good. "And indeed every man who shall eat and drink, and see good in all his labor, this is a gift of God." The wise man has known what the truly good is; but every man, that is, the common and vulgar man who has fallen away from the knowledge of the truly good, defining good in pleasure, supposes eating and drinking to be good. And that the supply of sensible things is given to men from God is manifest; not, however, that we should misuse the things supplied by God, but that we should be sociable and ready to share in due measure, and partake with thanksgiving of the things given by God. He has woven together, therefore, the persons of the wise man, and of him who knows good in the proper sense, and of him who has the knowledge of good in an erroneous way.

I knew that whatever God has made, it shall be forever; nothing can be added to them, and nothing can be taken from them, and God has made them, so that they might fear before his face." Of existing things, some are visible and some invisible. The present discourse concerns visible things; of these, some are always the same, such as earth, heaven, sun, and moon; others remain the same through succession, such as man, plants, and the like. I knew, then, he says, that nothing can be added to God's ordering of the world, since it is perfect and complete; nor can anything be taken away from all things as superfluous. But those who apply themselves to the contemplation of created things, and who discover the reason of each thing as far as possible, are possessed by divine fear and come into amazement, marveling at the wisdom of the Creator. Therefore the fear of God is stored up naturally in the common notions, or the law, rousing the faithful from the harmony of created things to the power of the one who made them. But one must know that visible things are symbols of certain intelligible things; so that according to the reason for which they came to be, they are complete. For whether something came to be by God in a primary sense, or according to a secondary reason, nothing can be added, and nothing can be taken from them. All things, then, are beautiful, all things are perfect, and the works of God are without excess. "What has come to be already is; and whatever is of becoming has already come to be; and God will seek out the one who is pursued." If anything, he says, came to be beforehand, it now is: a man has come to be, he is a man; a plant has come to be, it is a plant; but also the things that are going to come to be have already come to be.

People are about to come into being after us; already before them others have come into being. And the phrase, "God will seek out the persecuted man, and will seek out him who does no harm, and will save him." "And again I saw under the sun a place of judgment, there the impious man; and a place of the righteous, there the pious man. I said in my heart: God will judge both the righteous and the impious, for there is a time for every work." Leading us up from perceptible things to intelligible things, he teaches that with foreknowledge and with a pure eye of the mind he beheld the place of judgment of the impious, that it is under the sun—so as to say, in Hades; but he also says that he has beheld the place of the righteous. And he added to this, "under the sun." If this is understood simply, it is clear that the righteous are to be in paradise and in the heavens. But if "under the sun" is taken in common, both of the righteous and of the impious, he beheld those who have now departed from this life, not yet having received the kingdom of the heavens. But it is fitting to inquire where the pious are, under the sun. It is clear that they are in paradise, according to the Savior who said to the thief: "Today you will be with me in paradise." And one must know that the historical account teaches that paradise is on earth. But some said that paradise is also in Hades. Therefore he says, "And the rich man saw Lazarus," but he, being somewhere below, beheld him somewhere above, with Abraham. However these things may be, we are taught both from the present passage and from all of divine Scripture that the pious man is in a state of well-being, but the unjust man in fitting punishments.

But others have thought that paradise is in heaven; yet the simple Preacher will rather follow the historical sense. Then, examining the matter further, he adds, saying: "I said in my heart: Is the righteous man condemned together with the ungodly?" He said this as one inquiring, not as one pronouncing definitively. For once he has taught that the place of the righteous is one thing and the place of the ungodly another, then he reminds us, leading us into fear, that God will bring all to judgment and will examine all our affairs. For, he says, there is a time for every matter, and for every work. This means: there will also be a time for the universal judgment. And you will understand it according to the deeper meaning as follows: I saw under the Sun of righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ, that he comes to judge the living and the dead—the place of the ungodly, the standing on the left; and the place of the righteous, the standing on the right; and I said in my heart that God will bring all to judgment, rendering to each according to worth, having appointed that time at which every matter and work of ours will be examined with precision. "There I said in my heart concerning the speech of the sons of men, that God will judge them." This is like what is in the Gospel: Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. And understand "speech" to mean the very thought as well, since we are also held accountable for our thoughts. "And to show that they themselves are beasts, and that the meetings of the sons of men and the meeting of the beast are the same; one meeting is theirs. As the death of this one, so the death of that one. And one spirit is in all.

And man has nothing more than the beast. For this reason, he says, I saw and became wise, from God, in the words of judgment, so that I might demonstrate—that is, so that I might teach men—that they differ in nothing from beasts, evidently in respect of the body and of the life that loves the body. For we all breathe the same air as the beasts, we undergo the same death, and in this man has nothing more than the beast. Therefore the beastly and flesh-loving life is vanity. From these things the Preacher teaches us not to attend to our flesh but to our rational essence, according to which we have fellowship with the angels; for according to our perceptible essence we are like the beasts, but according to the invisible and rational, like the holy angels. "All things go to one place; all things came from the dust, and all things return to the dust. And who knows whether the spirit of the sons of man goes upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goes downward into the earth?" The Manichaeans, asserting metempsychosis, say that the immortal soul puts on all bodies—of rational beings, of irrational, of plants, and of reptiles. But we Christians, instructed from the divine Scriptures, are taught to understand beasts as the more irrational, those compared to the senseless beasts, and men, by way of distinction from the more beastly, as the more rational. Who then knows whether those who seem to the many to be more rational are deemed worthy of the kingdom of the heavens at the time of judgment, and are not cast down to the lower regions?

Or conversely, is it that those who seem to be more irrational are not taken up above, according to the unsearchable judgments of God? For that the soul of man is immortal, while that of the irrational beasts is destroyed together with the body, is surely evident to everyone who partakes even in small measure of reason. Otherwise: In many places the Ecclesiastes, assuming the persona of the flesh-lover, brings forward the words as from that persona, saying: Who knows what will be? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. And the Apostle, making clear the things concerning this present life, said: If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are more pitiable than all men. Everywhere, therefore, the Ecclesiastes, teaching us this through riddles, sends us on to another life. "And I saw that there is no good, except that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion; for who will bring him to see what will be after him?" If the statement is from the persona of the flesh-lover, you will understand it thus: I saw, says such a one, that there is no good in life except to rejoice in one's own works and desires; and this is the portion and good fortune of man. Then the Ecclesiastes teaches whence such thoughts arise in the lovers of the body: because, he says, no one can show to those whose mind is blinded the things that are to come and to happen after these things, that is, the eternal punishments. But if the statement is from the Wise Man, you will contemplate it more sublimely. There is no good, he says, for man except the gladness that is to succeed him hereafter, from his own good works here.

For his joyful activity, that is, the virtuous one, this will be his portion. For it is not possible for one who has not lived according to virtue to return again after this life here, and to come to repentance. CHAPTER 4. "And I turned, and I saw the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and there is no one to comfort them, and from the hand of those oppressing them there is power, and there is no one to comfort them." He says, I turned to another examination, and observing men, I beheld the oppressors doing injustice, and the oppressed weeping from weakness, because no one strengthens them, and because no one by defending them gives them comfort. And some oppress for the sake of money, others for the sake of doctrines, as the heretics oppress the orthodox. And the devil, the author of evil, and the apostate powers always oppress by lying. "And I praised the dead, those who have already died, who themselves live until now. And better than both of these is he who has not yet been born, who does not know the evil work that has been done under the sun." He blesses the dead above the living. Why? Because the righteous have ceased from their labors; but the sinners have been cut off

of the impulse to sin. For the common death is brought upon both sides advantageously. And as for the meaning: those who have died to sin, and live in Christ, are incomparably better than those who live in sins. Then he adds: "And better than both of these is he who has not yet come to be," nor has he seen this toilsome life, which indeed he also calls a "making." Hence some say that the soul existed before the body. For how, they say, can one be called good who does not even exist? To whom we shall say: If the soul existed beforehand, and because of sin in its bodiless mode of life was cast into the body as into a prison, in order that it might be disciplined (for this is what you say), how was the sinning soul blessed, and not being disciplined? And yet "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives." But if to be loved by God is this good, and to be disciplined is good, and the soul comes into a body in order that it may be disciplined, then the life in the body is good, compared with that of the soul that sinned in its prior life and was not deemed worthy of divine conversion. This argument, then, has been overturned, and the soul did not exist before the body. So then, "better than both of these is he who has not yet come to be," he says concerning the man who has not come into existence at all, so as to say according to the Savior's word: "It would have been good for him if he had not been born." But from this another question succeeds us: if not to have been born is better than to have been born, then coming into existence is therefore an evil for human beings; therefore the one who created man is the cause of evils. How then did God see all things whatsoever he had made, and behold, they were very good?

To this we say that the Preacher, having set forth two persons, one the false accuser and the other the one falsely accused, did not set forth the person of the falsely accused in a simple way, but established a tear for him, over the things in which he is wronged. Therefore the person introduced is not that of a philosopher, nor of one who is truly a Christian, but of one who is himself also a lover of the world. For the philosopher, when wronged, does not weep, but on the contrary rejoices and is glad, as also the Apostle wrote: And you accepted the plundering of your possessions with joy. The Preacher, then, having set forth two unphilosophical persons, one of the wrongdoer and the other of the one wronged, and of him who weeps from excessive grief and lack of instruction, added that, in comparison with these two unphilosophical men, it were good not to have come into existence at all; and the very experience of things will bear witness to what has been said. For if someone were to ask the holy martyrs, or prophets, or apostles, or indeed all who have lived their life in virtue: Tell us, holy men, if the choice lay before you of being made by God or of not being made, what would you choose? Do you not think they would answer at once: Indeed we give thanks to the goodness of God, who made us and anointed us for the contests of virtue, and wove for us these blessed crowns? It has been shown, then, that the Preacher's word concerns sinners. "And I saw all the labor, and all the manliness of the work, that it is a man's zeal, this is vanity and a choice of spirit." Manliness is blameworthy when it is the setting oneself upon vain things and the gaining of the goal. And the blameworthy zeal is that which has envy as its neighbor.

I saw, then, he says, the toil of men over vain works, and others envying them, or rather being jealous of them. For example, someone grows rich from injustice, and others envy him, or wishing to obtain similar things, they emulate his manner of life. And so the things concerning these are vanity, and a choice of spirit. "The fool has folded his hands together, and has eaten his own flesh." Hands are given to men for performing what is fitting. Therefore the one who holds back his own hands, that is, the idle man, when he later repents or even wastes away, is said to eat his own flesh. And with respect to the meaning, the one who does not unfold the energies of his soul toward the virtues eats his own flesh, becoming the cause of punishment to himself. Otherwise: to fold is also said of loving and embracing. The fool, then, loving his own disreputable deeds, eats his own flesh, himself preparing for himself the punishment that comes from the just judgment. "A good handful with rest is better than two handfuls with toil and choice of spirit." "Better is a little for the righteous man than great wealth of sinners." And with respect to the meaning, the handful is the undefiled faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But two handfuls are serving both God and mammon, and being reproached by the prophet who says, How long will you halt on both knees? Good, then, is the former beyond doubt. Otherwise: the one handful is the unity that is immaterial; the two handfuls are material things that are divided. And the dyad is unclean. For the unclean things entered the ark two by two.

It is good, then, to pursue unity and to spend one's life in virtue with rest—that is, without vainglory—rather than to be distracted by the dyad, that is, by material things. Alternatively: someone has observed the man as a handful, since God, taking dust from the earth—that is, grasping it—formed man. And the woman is also a handful; for God, grasping from Adam's side, formed her. Good, then, he says, is celibacy beyond the two handfuls, that is, beyond union and marriage. For even if the second is not blameworthy, the first is praiseworthy and free from hardship. "And I turned, and I saw vanity under the sun." Going around in a circle, he says, turning the eye of my heart, I saw nothing else being done among the things under the sun for the sake of which it is not vanity; and he means evil works. "There is one, and there is no second, and indeed a son, and indeed a brother, and there is no end to all his toil; and indeed his eye is not filled with wealth; and for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of goodness? Indeed this is vanity, and an evil distraction." Still, he says, looking around at human affairs, I saw some who do not even have heirs according to the law, and who are insatiably disposed toward wealth, having an empty and insatiable eye. Then, having observed this, he introduces the person of this insatiable man as one who comes to repentance and says, "And for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of goodness?" And he adds vanity to this toil as well. Alternatively, in thought: "There is one." He calls the self-lover one—the one who does not wish to have anyone as a brother or a son.

For those who wish it and live according to God, even if they are not kinsmen according to the flesh, nevertheless all are brothers and sons to them, according to the saying, "Be as a father to the fatherless, and in place of a husband to their mother." This one, then—the one who, through a wicked disposition, wishes to have no one as either brother or son—deprives his own soul of goodness, neither desiring the good things to come nor doing anything good in life. Therefore "vanity" is also added to this one. "Two are better than one, in that they have a good reward for their toil." He praises the concord of two that arises for good; for this is also rewarded by God. And the Savior sent out the apostles two by two, rightly in concord. But God divided those who agreed together wickedly at the building of the tower. And with respect to the meaning: good is the concord of soul and body for what is noble, or it is also rewarded by God. How are two better than one? If the body is temperate but the soul is vainglorious, the body's temperance is vain. And conversely, if the soul is humble-minded but the body commits fornication, the humility is vain. For when one part sins, soul or body, the other is necessarily included with it. "Good, then, is the concord of the two," in the sense of the reward of virtue, "because if they fall, the one will raise up his companion. And woe to the one when he falls and there is no second to raise him up." Those who are in concord for good are a help to one another. For even if one, as a human being, overlooks something of what is required, he will have the other to correct him.

But the phrase "when they fall, not both at the same time," but sometimes the one, sometimes the other. "And indeed if the two lie down, and there is warmth for them, and how shall the one be warmed?" From what happens bodily he teaches something spiritual. For those who sleep in a coupling are warmed more than one alone; so too those who are in harmony in spirit. "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them," says the Lord, clearly granting the warmth of the Holy Spirit. "And if the one prevails, the two will stand against him." Again from perceptible events he teaches us a spiritual insight. For just as if, while two walk with one mind in the marketplace or in the desert, someone should attack them, the two are safer for repelling the attacker; so you will understand it also in the way of insight. For having taught the things concerning soul and body, since the Apostle mentions three when he says, "May your spirit and soul be kept whole," he sets out the matters of the insight more perfectly, and says that if the one is prevailed over—that is, the mind of the flesh—the soul, joined to the spirit, bridles the body, so that it too obeys the spiritual motions of the soul. But it must be known that man is said to consist of three things: soul, body, and spirit—the spirit not being some other thing than the soul in essence; for there are not two rational faculties in man; but by way of conception we say the spirit is other than the soul, calling "spirit" that which is more mobile and higher than the soul.

This, I think, is also the meaning, as we have noted in Ezra. Or also in this way: the spiritual gift is a Spirit, the one that illumines and makes radiant our soul, which we received from the divine inbreathing. And when we preserve the image according to which we were made, we possess the spiritual gift whole and complete; but when we sin, we are deprived of the gift. This, then, I think, is what the Apostle prays for: that we remain whole, as we were from the beginning, having a body and soul pure, and preserving the spiritual gift undefiled. Otherwise: the movements of the soul are divided into the rational, the irascible, and the appetitive. If, then, these are in praiseworthy harmony, the irascible is moved according to nature against the passions and the demons, and the appetitive reaches out for the better things—for which reason Daniel was called a man of desires. And the rational part does each thing with justice, skillfully guiding the irascible and the appetitive. But if it should happen, through the pleasure of nature, that the irascible or the appetitive is moved in a disorderly way, the two that are pure and in harmony—the rational, say, and the appetitive—prevail over the irascible; or the reverse. In this way, then, the two that are well in harmony enslave the one that wrongly opposes them. "And the threefold cord will not quickly be broken." Again, from the three-stranded rope he conveys spiritual contemplations; and first he teaches love, binding us together into harmony. Soul, body, and spirit, when in harmony, are not quickly broken by the assault of the enemy. Otherwise: the rational, the irascible, and the appetitive, when purified by unity, preserve the soul unharmed. Otherwise:

Those who believe in the consubstantial Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are at odds with those who oppose it. "A poor and wise child is better than an old and foolish king, who no longer knows how to take heed; for out of the house of prisoners he will come forth to reign, though in his kingdom he was born poor." The child, by appearance, is not as honored as the elder; nor is the poor man as the king. Therefore, comparing wisdom and folly, he plainly declares the incomparability of wisdom, saying that it is good to be both a child and poor, yet wise, or an elder and a king, yet foolish. For the fool did not recognize that wisdom is powerful enough to appoint even a servant and a prisoner as king. And the proof is from Joseph, who, though young and having been bought for silver and a prisoner, was made ruler of Egypt by the God-given wisdom that was with him. And this wisdom makes the wise man, when he reigns, moderate, so that he is neither exalted nor puffed up by his dignity. For the poor man according to God, neither in palaces nor in abundance of wealth, departs from being poor, being blessed and poor in spirit. Otherwise: Of the

of the older and foolish people of the Jews, the younger people from the Gentiles, being wise and delivered from the devil's bonds through faith in Christ, has become a royal priesthood; poor in spirit, blessed in the Gospels. And the type of such poor ones has become our Lord Jesus Christ: being the wisdom of the Father, and young in bodily age, and being a king according to the divine dignity, yet having become poor for our sake though he was rich, and having come out from the bonds of death, having loosed the prison of Hades, and teaching us by example to be humble-minded. Through the words he spoke: Learn from me, that I am gentle and humble in heart. "I saw all the living who walk under the sun, with the second young man, who will arise in his place; there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. And even the last will not rejoice in him; and even this is vanity, and a choice of spirit;" since the whole saying looks toward allegory. For no one can see all men with physical eyes. And since the interpretation of the literal sense is understood in different ways (for some have taken the second young man to mean the Lord Jesus Christ, and others the Antichrist), we shall therefore set forth each interpretation. I saw, he says, all the living who walk under the visible sun, that is, the sinners, with the second young man; he means the Antichrist, who will arise in his place; he says, in place of your Lord Jesus Christ.

And there was no end to the multitude of sinners, who existed from of old in place of these. But even the last, that is, those at the coming of the Antichrist who believe in him, will not be gladdened in him, nor will impiety save those who belong to it. Then, teaching that these also endure this deception by free choice and not by compulsion, he added: And this too is vanity, and a choice of the spirit. Otherwise: he says that those under the sun of righteousness know—that is, those living the true life. And this is the second young man from heaven, who rose up in place of the first, the earthy one from the earth; and he means Adam. And, he says, those who walk under this young man were endless before themselves—that is, forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things before; for this is the citizenship of the faithful. And who are the last of these, who are not gladdened in the Lord Jesus Christ, but either the people of the Jews, who being first has become last; or those at the consummation who believe in the Antichrist; or indeed all who, after the virtuous, are called last because of the vulgarity of their life. Then, teaching that by the inclination of self-determined choice the aforementioned last are not gladdened in the second young man, he added: And this too is vanity, and a choice of the spirit. But it must be known, because of what has been said before, that Adam is also called a young man, while he was still in paradise and actively practicing the virtues. And the Lord Jesus is also called a young man because of the all-powerful strength of the divine power.

The Antichrist is also called a young man because of his love of novelty and because he is always young in wickedness. "Guard your foot in whatever way you walk to the house of God; and be near to hear." The members of the outer man are spoken of by the same names also in the case of the soul, such as eye, and hand, and foot, and the rest. But the things said of the soul cannot also be said of the body; for wings are spoken of in the case of the soul, according to the verse, "If you sleep among the lots, the wings of a dove are silvered over." Guard, then, the foot of your soul in every matter, in whatever way you walk, so as to arrive at the house of God, that is, the heavenly Jerusalem. And he who guards the foot of the soul is near to hear, that is, to obey the word and to keep the divine commandments upright. But if you should take what is said also of the perceptible foot, "Guard," he says, "the whole body"; for by a part, from the foot, he indicated the whole, so that not through the same things both virtue and wickedness

he serves. For example: do not walk with the same feet both in church and in worldly theaters. And likewise in other matters. For those who journey to the house of God ought to be unconnected with opposing things. "For the gift of fools is your sacrifice, because they do not know how to do evil." Since there are often also fools who offer, like those who perform almsgiving out of vainglory; and Cain, who offered rightly but did not divide rightly. Your sacrifice, he says, let it be made with discernment and with knowledge. For fools do not even know that they offer badly, because they do not have knowledge and discernment. For he who does the good with knowledge will with knowledge also abstain from the opposite. But he who is ignorant of the first thing will be ignorant of the rest as well. Therefore, "because they do not know how to do evil," is instead, they are held in ignorance, and are darkened in their mind. And strictly speaking, here he called the gift of fools a "gift," but of the wise he spoke of a "sacrifice." CHAPTER 5. "Do not be hasty with your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to bring forth a word before the face of God, because God is in heaven above, and you are on the earth below." He advises that the rash tongue be restrained; then, since the tongue of the unwise is made to serve rash thoughts from the heart, blocking up the very source of untimely words, he adds, Let not your heart be quick to bring forth a word before the face of God; instead of, Because God looks upon all things, even the thoughts that are established in the soul, even if they are not brought out through words; for God, dwelling in the highest watchtower of the heavens, beholds all things in the deep.

Otherwise: Do not speak quickly about theology, nor at random; for being mortal and wearing flesh, and clothed with things below, you cannot grasp the essence of the invisible and supercelestial God. On these matters let your words be few. Therefore, because of all the things said before, let your words be few not only in number but also in precision. "For a dream comes in the multitude of temptations, and the voice of a fool in the multitude of words." If he says these things proverbially and without qualification, you will understand it thus: As, he says, those who endure many temptations during the day are also disturbed through dreams, so too in much speaking the fool is convicted by his own voice. Otherwise: As a dream that tempts someone, perhaps to fornication or to love of money, flies away, and nothing of what seems to be done in the dream turns out to be true, so also the voice of the fool, having accomplished no benefit or useful thing, resembles a dream. So as to say that the words of the fool resemble dreams. But if, as giving the reason for the things said above, he added, "that a dream comes in the multitude of temptation, and the voice of a fool in the multitude of words," you will understand it thus: Do not be, he says, a babbler, nor display your own folly through your own words, because many temptations befall babblers—not only perceptibly and during the day, but also terrifying them in sleep. "As you may vow a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, because there is no will in fools; therefore whatever you may vow, pay it." Prayer is a request for good things from God; a vow is the promise.

Someone promises God not only money, but also fasting, chastity, and all such things. Since, then, fools change their minds after making a promise, not wishing to fulfill their vow, he advises fulfilling one's promises with great speed. "It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay." It is bad to be wholly unwilling to give anything to God; but it is worse to promise to give and not to pay. In two evils, then, he called the lesser evil good. And this is so according to another understanding: that one should not be quick to bring forth before the face of God, because after one has made an appointment, a multitude of temptations rises up, hindering the vow, so that one is even disturbed in sleep. For example, a lover of money who has appointed to give money to God is not only anxious by day and driven back, his thoughts depicting poverty and lack to him, but also at night, as is likely, harassed by similar fantasies, he is checked from fulfilling his vow. And how great is the penalty for those who do not fulfill their vows, Ananias and Sapphira make clear, having been condemned to death. "Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin." A garrulous tongue stains the whole body, and especially unguarded conversation with women provokes the flesh to sin. "And do not say before the face of God that it is ignorance." Sinning, he says, from an unbridled mouth, repent, and do not make excuses and say, "I sinned in ignorance." Otherwise: Those who have driven to the depth of evils and have come to contempt say, "God does not deign to know the sins that are among men." You, then, he says, do not say this.

For nothing has escaped the divine eye. "Lest God be angry at your voice, and destroy the works of your hands." Do not sin, he says, with your tongue, lest you also destroy your deeds of virtue. For God, being angry at reckless words, also makes to vanish whatever good we seem to have done. Otherwise: Do not say that God is ignorant of sins among men; for God is angry at such a voice, and does not approve our deeds. But slaying the duller sort, sometimes he also brings poverty upon them, destroying the works of their hands. "Because in the multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words." He set forth three things resembling one another: the unreal phantasms of dreams, the vain labors of men, and the untimely babbling of many words. For the words of the babbler resemble dreams; and the vain pursuits of men differ nothing from dreams. In the multitude, then, of dreams—that is, of men who dream, and labor in vain, and babble—God is angry. But do not suppose the multitude of words to mean much speaking, but idle speech; for Paul, stretching out his speech until midnight, was insatiable to his hearers. But he who says many things, and has not declared the matter as divine, is said to have said nothing; for he who speaks beyond what is fitting, even to a single word, is called a babbler. And teaching a general guard of all the virtues, he adds: Fear God. For the fear of the Lord surpasses all things.

If you see extortion of the poor and violent seizure of judgment in a land, do not marvel at the matter, for a high one watches over a high one, and high ones are over them; and there is abundance of earth." He calls "seizure of judgment" the rich buying unjust verdicts from those who judge; and in another way, he who snatches judgments that in no way belong to him commits seizure of judgment. If, then, he says, you see the poor oppressed by the rich and by extortioners, do not marvel—that is, do not be vexed, nor be disheartened, nor think the world to be without providence. For God, who is higher than all, being over all and observing each of the things done by the one who seems to be high, rich, and boastful, renders to each according to the worth of what he has done. And "high ones are over them," that is, those who are proud in their own eyes are nothing other than "abundance of earth"—that is, useless earth. For why, he says, are you arrogant, earth and ashes? "Over every cultivated field there is a king." And generally, he says, speaking thus: as though God had artistically fashioned his own world like some paradise, he is king over his own field and provides for it. So it is not fitting, because of the irregularities among men, to think the world to be without a king or without providence. But it is fitting to know that, since this world is called a field, according to the parable in the Gospels, God established man as king, according to the saying, "You subjected all things beneath his feet." He reminds us, then, of our dignity, so that, honoring him who crowned us, we may work the virtues. Otherwise?

Since God is king of the field that has been contemplated, the field that has been cultivated to the utmost, let us not destroy his vineyard, either by lawless deeds, or by godless doctrines, or by destructive teachings. For he is king over all things—the king of the field that has been cultivated. Alternatively: Divine Scripture is a certain fragrant field, fruitful, a garden planted together, having a hidden treasure. And it is fitting that one who seeks this should be zealous to please the king of the field, that is, God, casting off all things in the world, and neither attending to the letter only in a Jewish manner, nor allegorizing everything entirely and rooting out the plants, passing over the benefit that comes from the letter; but one must search the plain words with faith, and dig them over with the guidance of the Spirit, so that we may please the king of the field, cultivating his spiritual garden. "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; and who has loved abundance in his produce? This too is vanity." The phrase, "And who has loved abundance in his produce," is instead of "and whoever has loved"—for himself, and not for a commonly beneficial use—to gather in the produce; so that it means thus: The lover of money, whether he gathers silver or produce, is not filled, always desiring more, being a slave rather than a master of wealth. "In the abundance of goodness those who eat it were multiplied; and what manliness is there in her? For it is the beginning of seeing with his eyes." Symmachus rendered the last verse thus: "For what brave deed is there for the one who has her, unless it be only the contemplation of his eyes?" And the meaning is thus:

There is a certain man who pursues evil vigorously, like the money-lover who gathers wealth by every means; and this is a blameworthy courage. But those who are so recklessly greedy for money consider this to be a good—food, and drink, and the very sight of their money. In abundance of goodness, that is, in an ever-increasing surplus of wealth, they rejoice, as though the money-lovers were eating it. And what profit is there in such courage? For such a man's portion extends only as far as seeing the beginning of his wealth; that is, he has dominion over it for no other purpose than merely to pay attention to it. Otherwise: those whose goods are rightly multiplied, those who eat them are multiplied. For those who truly wish to multiply goodness for themselves have many sharers of their wealth, that is, the poor. What, then, says he, did such courage profit the reckless and uncommunicative man, granting him only as far as seeing the pleasure that lies in wealth? "Sweet is the sleep of the servant, whether he eats little or much; but to him who is filled with riches there is no one who lets him sleep." By comparison he declares the servant better off than the man who is a slave to the love of money. For the household servant, being free from care about how he may be fed, has sweet sleep. But the slave of money has a master that does not let him sleep—the covetous and anxious reasoning. And in a deeper sense, those who serve God have a sweet departure from this life, which he rightly called sleep. But the money-lovers are succeeded not by sleep but by death, which does not allow them to rest, but delivers them over to eternal punishment.

There is an infirmity which I saw under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his own harm, and that wealth will perish in a wicked distraction. All the forms of wickedness are infirmities of the soul. But the disease of the love of money is so intense an infirmity that it is itself called the root of all evils. I saw, then, he says, wealth kept for the harm of the one who has it; for either the money-lover destroys it even while he lives, sometimes even being plotted against because of it, or at any rate when he dies he is deprived of it, having toiled with unstable and uncertain labor to gather it. For this is what "in a wicked distraction" means. Then, since many make children their pretext and gather money, he adds accordingly: "And he begot a son, and there is nothing in his hand. Just as he came out from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came." But if the money-lover makes children his pretext, let him examine the hand of the newborn child, and when he finds that he was not born with money, let him observe him also at the end; for he will find him again naked, having come out from his mother's womb, and naked also when he departs from this life. Then he adds: "And he shall take nothing in his toil

for himself, so that he may carry it in his hand; and indeed this is a wicked infirmity. For just as he came, so also will he depart. And what is his abundance, for which he labors into the wind? And indeed all his days are in darkness and in mourning, and in much anger, and in infirmity, and in gall. If, then, neither the money-lover himself, nor his child, nor in general any man is able to carry out with him any of the perceptible riches, is not the love of money a wicked infirmity of the soul? Why then do you labor into the wind, since unstable wealth is scattered and blown away? Seeing that even the life of the money-lovers is in darkness, that is, in ignorance and in mourning. For they are merciless toward themselves, partaking of their possessions sparingly; but also in much anger, always being provoked, and striving about small matters and growing angry, and being infirm in soul. Consider how many passions enter in together with the money-lover, besides the fact that after this life darkness succeeds him, punished by divine wrath and aversion. Behold, I saw a good, which is beautiful, to eat and to drink, and to see prosperity in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, the number of the days of his life, which God gave him. Wealth, and possessions, and authority over it, to eat from it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor:

This is a gift of God, that he will not remember many of the days of his life, because God distracts him in the gladness of his heart. Having set before himself the face of the money-lover, and having made an assault upon him, since he struck him sharply, he attempts to heal him, and gently to lead him out of the passion. Then, since he cannot hear the highest virtue, introducing with great wisdom the things pleasant to men to accomplish, he mingles with his teaching that one must not gratify the belly in all things, and that the life here is brief. He counsels the money-lover, then, for the time being to make use of what he has, so that through what seems pleasant he may lead him out of the passion of love of money, saying, "It is good for you, O wealthy money-lover, to eat and drink and be glad, as long as you reckon the things under the sun; for you must also consider that you have received numbered days from God, and the time of life that God has given you was thus apportioned to you"—that is, set apart. Having received, then, wealth from God, and the authority to use it, take care not only to eat and drink, but also to receive your own portion; and observe the wonderful teaching: after drawing the money-lover out of the passion through the enjoyment of foods, then he gently teaches that this is not man's portion—the enjoyment of foods—but to receive his portion, that is, what abides with him: to scatter his wealth to the poor, and truly to be glad in such service. For this is truly a gift of God: to take up a disposition of mercy and love of the poor.

Then, pressing him to be persuaded and to take his own portion—that is, to spend his money well, so that it may become his—he reminds him of the brevity of life, saying that he will not remember many of the days of his life. Such a distraction and occupation is dear to God and gladdens the heart of the merciful. And that the exhortation is directed to the money-lover, he again brings forward next against the money-lovers; and these things are as regards the literal sense. But he who is able to hear the great Ecclesiastes in a more divine way, hearing in the Gospels, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear," knows who is the only good, that it is God; and that he who eats and drinks the flesh of the Lord, this man comes to be in the enjoyment of the good things to come. And he labors well and exercises himself in the virtues, as long as he is under the sun—that is, in the life here—considering that his days are numbered, and that it is not fitting that any of them be lost or pass by unfruitful. For the portion of man in the strict sense is that which concerns virtue alone, procuring that God become our portion, according to "You are my portion, O Lord," by the

spoken by the father of the Ecclesiastes. And that this is truly wealth, about which the Apostle said, "In everything you were enriched in him, in all knowledge and wisdom." For he who eats and drinks these spiritual goods, and rejoices, knows that these are gifts of God, and longs for eternal life, being out of his mind over this short-lived life. For those who through the grace of God are occupied with spiritual things, and are drawn away in mind, despise the things here. For since perceptible wealth is not a good in the primary sense, why is it that God, who is no respecter of persons, does not give it to all? And yet he has plainly spread the truly good things equally to all—I mean the working of the virtues. So that even if wealth is given as something attended to by the virtuous, it is not by nature either good or bad. But since these are intermediate and indifferent things, it is transformed according to the disposition of those who handle it well or badly. CHAPTER 10. "There is an evil which I saw under the sun, and it is great among men: a man to whom God gives wealth, and possessions, and glory, and there is no lack in his soul of anything he desires; and God does not give him power to eat of it, because a stranger will eat it. Indeed this is vanity and a grievous infirmity." As for the literal sense, the discourse is against the money-loving and the stingy. But the phrase, "And God does not give him power to eat of it," is similar to, "God handed them over to dishonorable passions.

God does not compel the love of money or debauchery, but permits it when men choose this, because the will is autonomous. As for the meaning: often someone has become rich in word and in doctrines, and since he did not have actions to match, some who encountered his writings were benefited, but he himself did not profit, because his actions did not agree with his words. Concerning such people the Savior said: "Do listen to their words, but do not do according to their works." Alternatively: the people of the Jews was rich, honored with the law, the prophets, the priesthood, and it did not enjoy its wealth, having fallen sick with a great sickness—lawlessness against the Lord. For this reason the stranger ate its good things—the people from the Gentiles. Concerning which it is written: "Alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise." "If a man begets a hundred children, and lives many years, and the number of the days of his years be many, and his soul is not filled from the good, and even a burial did not come to him, I said the untimely birth is better than he, because it came in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name shall be covered; and even it did not see the sun, and did not know; rest is for this one more than for that one." The phrase "If a man begets a hundred" is said hyperbolically. Scripture has used this so that the lesser may be avoided; and a hyperbole is a statement that exceeds the truth for the sake of emphasis, as also the Apostle says: "And still I show you a more excellent way by hyperbole.

If I speak with the tongues of angels, and if I have all knowledge, and know the mysteries, but do not have love, I am profited nothing. And yet it is impossible to possess those things apart from love; but he has spoken thus, using hyperbole. So then, he says, even if someone becomes so great in having many children—which is impossible—and even if he remains alive for many years, but lives wickedly and not virtuously, and perhaps is not even deemed worthy of burial (for many such things happen), I say that the miscarriage is better than such a man. For this one came in vanity, and walks in darkness, passing his life in ignorance; and in darkness his name shall be covered, being blotted out of the book of the living, and not deemed worthy of the Sun of righteousness. But the account concerning miscarriages—why some are born dead, and others live one day or two—must be left to the unsearchable righteous providence of God. As for the meaning: Judas was an apostle, and through his teaching he begot many; and since he was not filled with goodness but was perverted, being of a diabolical spirit, his burial did not take place

to him—that is, he did not die in the tomb of the Savior. For those who are buried together with the Savior in baptism, and who keep the gift, conducting their lives in virtue, these also rise together with him well. If, then, such a teacher, having perfected many disciples (for this is what the number one hundred signifies), and having remained a long time in teaching, is not deemed worthy of the burial mentioned, because he did not cut off the base things, he walks in darkness, and he will not see the sun of righteousness. But the inspired Paul, who says, "And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me," was deemed worthy of burial, having fought the good fight, having the desire to depart and be with Christ. And concerning the one who lived badly, Jeremiah also wrote, "He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey," instead of, He shall not be deemed worthy of the rest of rational beings, having ended his life in irrationality. "And if he lived a thousand years, he has not seen goodness in his descent; do not all things go to one place?" Even if, he says, in addition to many children and wealth, someone lives even a thousand years, but does not pursue the truly good, that is, virtue—what profit has such a one gained, going with the untimely born and the short-lived to one place, and [hearing] "Earth you are, and to earth you shall depart"? "All the toil of man is for his mouth;

And indeed the soul will not be filled. Since he had spoken above about foods and drinks, lest anyone suppose that he was introducing gluttony, he says that even if for the most part people labor for the sake of the belly, whatever they gratify it with, the soul has received nothing, but is empty and unfilled, not receiving the food suited to itself—the food that comes from reason and the virtues. Alternatively: vice is something incomplete and unfilled; the soul, then, that lives together with it always brings forth wicked things through its mouth, reviling, weaving deceits, and yet is not satisfied, because of the incompleteness and unfilledness of vice. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? Because the poor man knows how to walk before life. What advantage, then, he says, has the wise man over the fool? Much in every way: for the fool gives himself over to pleasures, but the wise man who is poor, poor in spirit, walks before life—that is, he journeys through the virtues until he arrives at the final object of desire, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for he himself is eternal life. Alternatively: the fool is the people of the Jews, who hung our Life on a tree; but the one from the Gentiles, poor of old, ran to the crucified one, walking before Life, and grew rich in faith in him. A good sight of the eyes is better than a soul that walks about; indeed, this too is vanity and a choice of spirit. The Apostle says: The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. And natural is the one who uses anger and desire contrary to what is right. And in the Gospels it is written:

If your eye is bright, your whole body will be bright; that is, if your reasoning faculty, that is, your mind, has been enlightened, it is able to use both the spirited and the appetitive parts properly and in accordance with nature. It is therefore incomparably good to have the eyes of the soul clear-sighted and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, better than the one who walks by the soul, that is, the soul-like and unenlightened man. For truly such a person is nothing other than vanity, having become soul-like by his own choice. But how is it that in the Gospels one eye is mentioned, while here two are remembered? And we say that there he called the mind an eye, but here he called the spiritual activities of the mind, both the practical and the contemplative, eyes, and the one who sets these right has a good vision of eyes. But one must know that divine Scripture often calls the whole soul from one part: from the appetitive part, as when it says, And you shall eat a grape as much as to fill a soul, instead of the appetite; and from the spirited part, when it says, Every simple soul is blessed, but a wrathful man is not comely; for from the spirited part it called the whole soul. And when it says, Having purified your souls in obedience to the truth, since the rational part in us through sanctification

is purified, from this he called the whole soul; and when he calls the whole soul, he means along with its parts, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. And here, therefore, from the rational faculty, that is, the eyes, he called the spiritual man good, or the psychic man. "If anything has come to be, its name has already been called, and it has been known what man is; and he will not be able to be judged with the one stronger than he; for there are many words multiplying vanity." There are many words multiplying vanity: those that oppose the providence of the Creator. For example, there are those who say ignorantly, Why did God make one man poor and another rich? and one uncomely and another exceedingly comely? and all such things. Restraining these babbling questionings, the Ecclesiast says that the Maker himself knows the reasons of all things that have come to be, according to which he brought them forth; for not only did he know all things before their generation, but also their names lay stored up in the reasons of divine foreknowledge. For if God brought anything into generation, he already had its reason and its appellation summarily with himself. Knowing, then, also the things that are expedient for each man, he thus brought him into life, and the things concerning man were foreknown by him, that he is also changeable, and mortal, and weak. Let no one, then, speak against the one who knows all things before their generation, and who brings each thing forth in the fitting order, according to the reasons he himself knows. For no one will be able to be judged with the truly strong one;

For the strong man will by all means prevail, according to what was said by David, That you might be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged. CHAPTER 7. "What advantage does man have, that anyone should know what is good for man? What will be for him? And he made them in a shadow; for who will declare to man what will be after him under the sun?" Disparaging not the virtuous life but the vain life of men, he says, What more does he have who busies himself with vain things? A beautiful woman? Is it clear to him whether he will be distressed because of her, perhaps because she commits fornication, or even otherwise grieves him? Money? But this hanged Judas. A vineyard? For this Naboth was plotted against. For who will declare to man what will befall him, as long as he is in this life? And the present passage abolishes both divination and natal astrology. For none of these can say anything clearly. And even if all things should come to someone according to his heart's desire in this life, his life, being numbered, runs past more swiftly than a shadow. It is fitting, therefore, to live according to virtue, looking toward the future and endless and shadowless age, about which we have learned both through the prophets and through the apostles and through our Lord. For the things that will befall us in this life are completely unclear; but the things in the future are very evident: that punishments await sinners, and eternal life the righteous. "A good name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of his birth." Symmachus, instead of "than good oil," rendered "than fragrant myrrh." And by myrrh he signified the whole pleasure that is among men.

It is good, then, he says, to reap a good reputation from the virtues, and to have a name inscribed in the heavens through a life lived according to God, rather than every human pleasure. And he declares that the day of one's departure is also good, beyond the day of one's birth. For the day of birth leads one into the sea of life, where the dragon lurks; but the other leads one out of the contest. And if one is a sinner, he ceases from sinning further; but if a righteous man, he will delight in eternal life. With respect to the meaning, it is good to acquire a good name, that is, to have Christ as one's portion through faith, and to be called by his name, that is, to be called a Christian, rather than simply to give alms. For many even of the Gentiles give alms, but they have profited nothing, unless they have the good name; but if they do this from a disposition of mercy, they will surely acquire the good name as well, like the centurion Cornelius. And the day of death is also good, on which we are buried together with Christ and die to sin, beyond the day of our common birth, on which Adam begat us. "It is good to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of drinking, since this is the end of every man." The blessed Job, suspecting the misdeeds at a drinking party, used to offer sacrifices on behalf of his children who feasted together in harmony. But in mourning, reflecting on the common lot of nature, we become compassionate and correct our own life. For this is, "And the living will give good to his heart.

A good temper is better than laughter, for by the evil of the face the heart is made good. To be angry according to nature, as against passions or demons, is good; and concerning this he says, A good temper is good; but to defend oneself against the one who has done wrong by desire and lust is blameworthy. Better, then, is praiseworthy anger than laughter. For the grave and undispersed face prepares the soul of man to be made good and to rejoice. Otherwise, he is said to be angry who uses a rebuking word. Good, then, is it for both teacher and master to use such words toward their subordinates, rather than to smile at them and to relax their souls. For in the severity of the face, which he calls evil, he himself will be made good, and he will make those under his hand good. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in the house of gladness. The wise man, reckoning the mournings of this life, that they come from corruption, and that the things here easily fall and are overturned, becomes sympathetic to those who endure these things; but he despises the things seen, and not standing firm. But the fool, thinking the things in the world to be fixed, and not bending under their instability, nor looking ahead to the future, gives himself to luxury and dissipation and pleasures. Note from this the mind of Ecclesiastes, because often, having set down the person of the lover of the world, he defines the good in eating and drinking. It is good to hear the rebuke of a wise man, rather than a man hearing the song of fools. For the one softens the soul; but the rebuke of the wise men pricks and strengthens it.

For as the sound of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools." The boiling, he says, and the loud laughter of fools are like thorns kindling a pot: first, because just as the crackling of thorns from the fire is evident even to those who do not see but hear, so also the loud outburst of laughter marks out fools; then, there is smoke from the burning there, but here a darkening of the soul from such laughter. There thorns kindle a pot; here sins kindle the eternal fire for the fool. For the wise man will scarcely smile quietly. "And this too is vanity, that slander carries about a wise man, and destroys the heart of his strength." He teaches another kind of vanity. If he calls the perfect man wise, you will understand it thus: the foolish among men slander not only themselves but also God, as though he did not oversee human affairs, or governed them badly, because the impious often prosper and the righteous are straitened. Concerning these things David also said: My steps had nearly slipped, because I was envious of the lawless, when I saw the peace of sinners. You see how the sinews of his soul were loosened, and he suffered something vain. But since he was a perfect wise man, filled by the Spirit, he brought on the end of those who sin—how they became a desolation, suddenly they failed, they perished because of their lawlessness. But if he means the one who has just taken up divine instruction, understand that the slanders of this newly-enlightened man, and of heretics, and demonic temptations, and the things said above, loosen the sinews of the soul.

And if he does not quickly sober up and recover, futility will be added to him as well. "The end of a word is better than its beginning." The end of words that accord with virtue is better; for it is not only the beginning that is good, but also to put an end to what is earnestly pursued. "A long-suffering man is better than one lofty in spirit." In what has gone before it has been said that opposites are not compared. He does not speak, then, by way of comparison, but teaches what is the case: that the long-suffering man is good, but God opposes the one who is lifted up in spirit, that is, in mind, by reason of pride. "Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools." The phrase "Do not be hasty" means: do not take up an irascible habit in your judgment; but even if it should be necessary to feign anger, do not fall into the passion; for blameworthy anger, called the bosom of fools, dwells and rests in the ruling faculty. And in another way you will understand "in the bosom," instead of: Do not flatter, nor court, your anger by being eager to avenge yourself on those who have grieved you. "Do not say: Why is it that the former days were better than these? For you did not ask about this in wisdom." The unwise among men say this in many ways: Because, they say, in ancient times God spoke to men through prophets and angels, because it was permitted to the ancients to have many wives and to possess abundance of property; but now the gospel word cuts these things off. And there are others who say: Formerly God helped me, but now I have been abandoned; for this reason I cannot do good. But all these are the words of fools. For one can also hear others saying: Now the world has been filled with evils.

And some days are evil, and others good. But the one who lives according to virtue, always passing from life to life and advancing in the virtues from faith to faith, knows no difference of days, but also understands the accounts of the things previously raised as difficulties. "Wisdom is good with an inheritance; and there is abundance for those who see the sun, because wisdom is in its shadow, as the shadow of silver; because the abundance of the knowledge of wisdom will give life to those who are with it." The one to whom a word of wisdom is given through the Spirit, this one has wisdom with an inheritance—that is, the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit. This one also has abundance in beholding the sun; for he is not deceived and does not suppose it to be God; nor does he stop at wondering at it or taking pleasure in it; but beholding its Creator in a manner proportionate, he is illumined by the divine light. And wisdom does what silver also does: it snatches from dangers, builds cities, shelters the one who possesses it—for he calls shelter a shadow. But wisdom has the extra, the life-giving knowledge, persuading us to despise things seen and to look to eternal life alone. Otherwise: Wisdom, he says, that is with an inheritance—that is, faith together with works—has something extra beyond others, the sun. What is the extra? And the Word is taken as silver in the sense of contemplation. Just as, then, the shadow of silver—that is, the discursive and manifest word—teaches us the lessons concerning wisdom, so the shadow of wisdom—that is, the introductory and practical virtue, being a shadow—sends us on to perfect wisdom, the contemplation and understanding of things more divine.

But such possession of wisdom grants us eternal life. "See the works of God, that who shall be able to set straight what God has twisted, in the day of his goodness?" From the unevenness of life some dared to say, as if defending God, so as not to call him the cause of evils, that he neither made the world nor provides for it. For if God foreknew, they say, why are not all rich? Why are not all healthy? Casting out this opinion, Ecclesiastes says that God is also the maker, and no one can set upright the things that have been twisted except him, or heal the lame, and the like. But if you wish, he says, to know that God administers all things for our advantage, attend to what follows: "Live in good, and see in the day of evil; see, this also is fitting. God has made this concerning speech, so that man may find nothing after him." Live, he says, according to virtue, and observe in the temptations that befall you, whether God has not made all things in harmony and concord, and has well concealed the teaching concerning these things. And this he calls speech, so that man may not know the things that are about to befall him. For in harmony even what seems to be evil is brought on, after it has seemed to be good; and the opposite; for example, someone is healthy, and

living these things according to virtue; later he falls ill; he is rich, then he is poor. And what is the reason for this? That if we humans could foresee what is going to happen to us, divine fear would not take hold. But shut in by uncertainty, we both fear God and know that from him alone is the release from evils. And no one is able to heal the distortion among humans except he alone. So the apparent disharmony is harmonious, and the inequality is equality, driving all alike by uncertainty toward divine fear. Then he adds: "I saw all things in the day of my vanity." These things, he says, I examined as a wise man, in the days of vanity. And he calls the present life a day of vanity: first, because most people do not pursue righteousness in it; and then because it also passes away. For this reason, stirring us to longing for the coming and endless age, he says, "Do not become excessively righteous, and do not be excessively wise, lest you be confounded; do not act impiously much, and do not become hardened, lest you die in your untimely hour." Since each virtue is measured according to deficiency and excess, the vices lie alongside it. Do not become, then, he says, excessively righteous, meaning: Do not, through excess of hatred for evil, become unsympathetic toward those who sin, and hardened, and inhuman. But neither be excessively wise, lest you be confounded. And the things outside divine teaching are excessive. Whatever, then, he says, the divine Word has hidden from us for our benefit, let us not seek out. For to seek these things is a confounding and madness of mind. But neither, he says, should you act impiously much concerning doctrines, meaning: for a long time.

But strive to find the truth, and to be redeemed from your failings through repentance. And do not become, he says, hard—that is, unyielding—and resisting the teaching of the Spirit. Then he adds, applying it in common: Lest you die in your untimely season. He dies in an untimely season who has not been perfected in the virtues, but has lived with wickedness and dies in it. But he who has been brought to perfection in the virtues comes to his end like ripe grain. "It is good that you should take hold of this; yes, from this do not defile your hand, for he who fears God will come forth in all things." Having taught about wickedness and virtue, he added that it is good to take hold of virtue, and not to defile one's action (called the "hand") with wickedness. Then concerning the pure and purifying fear of God he says that he who fears God will come forth in all things, passing through every action according to virtue, being perfected by his advances, and escaping every temptation. "Wisdom will help the wise man, more than ten rulers who are in the city, because there is no righteous man on the earth who will do good and not sin." The very Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, helps the one who believes in him and becomes wise through faith, more than the ten commandments that are in the city of the Jews. For even if someone kept the ten commandments of the law, still it was not possible for a man not to slip; and the law justified no one; but our Lord Jesus Christ himself became for us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Otherwise:

Man is a little world, now called a city, having five senses in the body and five in the soul. So if a man, through the ten senses that have power over him, strives to help himself, but does not have the aid of true wisdom that comes from Christ, he will be unable to be saved. For being a man, he cannot avoid sinning. "And indeed, to all the words that the impious will speak, do not set your heart, so that you do not hear your servant cursing you; for many times he will do you evil, and with many downfalls he will afflict your heart, for you also have cursed others." Here he teaches forgetfulness of wrongs, calling the impious, in a more general sense, the abusive and the sinful. Then, establishing from abundance that one ought not to pay attention to abuses, he says that even if your servant curses you, you should not be stirred to anger; for he is especially and in various ways able to plot against you. For this is the meaning of, "With many downfalls he will afflict your heart." Or also in this way: abuse often harms the soul. For if someone is angered at each one of those who abuse him, he endures many downfalls, being dragged down into the passion of anger, and he fills his own soul with wickedness. And consider, he says, that you also have often cursed others, and so correct your forgetfulness of wrongs. "All these things I tried in wisdom. I said: I will become wise; and she was far removed from me, far beyond what she was; and a deep depth.

Who will find her?" Having come into contact with intelligible and sensible things, and having known in part the mysteries of wisdom, then looking into its vast sea, and that whatever one grasps, by so much one falls short, the Ecclesiastist let fall these present words. Which Paul also later having experienced, said in wonder, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and how inscrutable his ways!" "I encircled, I and my heart, to know, and to survey, and to seek wisdom, and a reckoning; and to know the folly of the impious, and trouble, and a turning about. And I find her, I, more bitter than death—the woman who is a snare, and nets in her heart, bonds in her hands. The good before the face of God shall be delivered from her; and the one who sins shall be caught in her. The wise man, gathering his own mind in a circle around the act of thinking, and beholding himself, and the object of thought, neither perceives things distorted, nor, looking straight ahead, does he look away to sensible things; but having shut up all the senses, and having come to be within himself, the mind in a circle beholds itself and the object of thought. Thus then, he says, gathering myself, I sought to know what then is the wisdom from outside, and the reckoning concerning it; whether the one according to the analogy of numbers, or the one according to genethlialogy, and simply in whatever way the children of the Greeks reckon; and to know what is this folly of the many sophists, and trouble, and unstable turning about. And I found that such wisdom is like a harlot woman. For just as she hunts the young with deceptive words.

Thus she too ensnares the foolish, weaving the nets of syllogisms; and just as that woman, having loosened the soul by soft touch, binds it fast, so too does this one by the smooth persuasiveness of her fair speech. The sinner, then, is caught by her without help; but the good man, aided also by God, is delivered from her bonds. He declares that such wisdom—that is, folly—is worse than death, inasmuch as the one releases the soul from the body, while the other puts the soul itself to death. "Behold, this I found, said the Ecclesiastes: one by one, to find a reasoning which my soul sought, and I found it not; and one man among a thousand I found; but a woman among all these I found not. But see, this I found, that God made man upright; but they sought out many reasonings." The whole passage looks toward allegory. And this is the meaning: Examining, he says, the entire female kind—not the bodily kind, but that of the slack and womanish souls—I found in none of them the reasoning which my soul sought, that is, the manly reasoning; for this is what the wise man seeks. But also, making examination of those who seem not to be womanish, I found rarely the true man and the virtuous one. Then, reasoning whence comes so great a difference, I found that God made every man upright and undeviating, but they were divided by many reasonings; so that one was mastered by fornication, another by love of money, and another by another passion. CHAPTER 8. "Who knows the wise? And who knows the solution of a word?

The wisdom of a man will illuminate his face, and the shameless man will be punished by his face. It is impossible for wise men to discern the truly wise unless one has been stamped with wisdom and has received this charism from God; for the one who has received the charism of this discernment knows who are truly wise and who are not, though they are thought to be. This one also solves problems and the twists of words. This one also has the face of his soul illuminated by the radiance of divine wisdom; but the one who is not wise but is shameless in his face—that is, who brings forward contentious words—when refuted, is hated. Guard the mouth of the king, and do not be eager concerning a word of an oath of God; and from his face you shall go. (Other books have "to go.") It is good also to be subject to the earthly king; but Scripture enjoins us to guard the mouth of God, the King of all—that is, to keep silent about his mysteries and not to bring them out to the unworthy—and to keep his commandments. It is good also to be on guard, and not to swear by God, nor to be eager to go outside the divine face, but to do all things as God overseeing. According to the other writing, read it thus: "And concerning a word of an oath of God do not be eager," instead of: Do not rush into oaths, but even from his face—that is, from the oath—you shall go, that is, go away, that is, flee; do not endure to swear. Do not stand in an evil word, for whatever he wishes, he will do.

Just as a king exercising authority speaks, and who will say to him, "What have you done?" In general it is good not to be held by any evil preconception, nor to set oneself against things that are in any way base, whether spoken or merely supposed; but since the next saying makes mention of commandments, you will understand it thus: Since God, the King of all, who exercises authority over all things, has legislated, and there is no contradicting him, do not stand scrutinizing the commandments, asking why he legislated this and not that; for this is wickedness. Rather, fulfill what has been commanded with fear and faith. "He who keeps a commandment will not know an evil word." And, "The heart of a wise man knows a time of judgment, because for every matter there is a time and a judgment." He who keeps the divine commandment, he says, will not know an evil word—that is, he will not do an evil deed. For knowledge is twofold: the one is in mere awareness, the other in action. And this is how Scripture says that Adam knew Eve his wife; for he was not ignorant of her even before, but when he had intercourse with her, then he is said to have known her in deed. According to knowledge in action, then, he who keeps the commandment does not know evil—that is, he does not practice it. But according to mere awareness, he who knows what is good also knows what is base; and conversely, he who knows what is base also knows what is good. (For the same knowledge belongs to contraries, not in respect of use, but in respect of understanding.) The wise man, then, he says—the one who does every matter in judgment and at the fitting time—knows that there will be a time also of the universal judgment, at which God, the righteous judge, renders to each according to his worth. "Because the knowledge of man is great upon him; because there is no one who knows what is to come.

For who can tell him what will be after him?" Great, he says, is knowledge, and it constrains a man; and if he wishes to know everything, coming upon him in abundance it narrows his mind. The things, then, that he must know are these: that he is a rational living being; that he is mortal; that he has an immortal soul; that there are recompenses for good and for evil. All that tends to faith: that he was made in the image of God, and that he ought to preserve the image. But the things that will be after him, it belongs to God alone to know and to make known to whomever he wills. Since, then, the discourse is about judgment, you will understand it thus: great is the knowledge concerning the principles of judgment; and no one has reported to man the exact principles concerning it—for instance, when it is, or where the tribunal is established, or how God examines the life of each one; or how those at the eleventh hour receive the reward first; or that those whom we consider evil are known to God as good, and the reverse. For all these reasons, then, do not be overly wise, lest you be confounded. "There is no man who has authority over the spirit, to restrain the spirit; and there is no one who has authority in the day of death." The meaning of "spirit" is applied to many things; for the soul is called spirit, and the wind, the air which we breathe; and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In all the things said, no one has authority over the spirit except God alone. For neither to ensoul, or to lead the soul out from the body; nor to stir the wind, whether the south wind or the north; nor to bestow a spiritual gift, or to take it away; nor to corrupt the air, or to make it temperate

to accomplish, belongs to no one else except God alone. "There is therefore no one who has authority over the spirit, to restrain it. And there is no one who has authority in the day of death. And there is no sending forth in the day of war." As for the literal sense: when war has overtaken, it is not a favorable time to be sent out and to sail on journeys abroad. As for the deeper meaning: the one who has been commanded by God to die in war—there is no one who sends him back again to this life here. Otherwise: when in judgment a man begins to be warred against by his own sins, there is no one who is able to say, "Send me back to life that I may repent." But not even when about to die can he say, "Grant me to live, that I may repent." For there is no one who has authority in the day of death. "And impiety will not save the one who belongs to it." In place of: the one tyrannized and held captive by your impiety. Knowing, therefore, that there is no one who has authority in the day of death, and there is no sending forth in the day of war, let us not act impiously. "And all these things I saw." The teacher, having known these things accurately, proclaims them, on account of which we must all be persuaded by his words. "And I gave my heart to every work that is done under the sun, all that man has exercised authority over man, to harm him. And then I saw the impious brought into tombs, and from the holy place." Without distraction, he says, I gave my mind, to know the works of men, and by what account man harms man. Then, since it is considered unjust that the powerful are often impious and prosperous, having inquired more deeply, I saw the fall of the impious, and the deadness of the soul.

For "to the graves" here means "to punishments." And neither the power helped them at all, nor their being reputed to be holy and to be employed in the services of God. He teaches, therefore, not to be scandalized at the apparent disorder of the present life, looking to the recompense of things to come. "And they went, and were praised in the city, because they did so." These who seemed indeed to be pious and holy, but walked in impiety, were praised in their own lifetime, either unnoticed or flattered for what they did. But neither the pretense of piety helped them at all, nor the praise from flatterers; but the matter turned out to be vanity for them too, as they are led into the graves. And the phrase "And indeed this is vanity" can also be applied to the following verses, so that it reads thus: "And indeed this is vanity, that there is no contradiction made quickly by those who do evil; therefore the heart of the sons of man was fully confirmed in them, to do evil." This, he says, produced the vanity in life—that there are none who speak against and convict those who perpetrate evil, quickly; that is, not doing this with zeal and cutting off wickedness by reproofs—or "quickly" means those who perpetrate evil with zeal and diligence. Therefore he says: Because the wicked are not convicted but are even praised, the heart of the sons of man has been fully confirmed and has come into a settled state, to perpetrate evil. And observe that he said "sons of man." For the sons of God do not perpetrate evil.

Whoever sinned did evil from then on, and from his youth." Sin was introduced by the deceit of the evil one; therefore when we pray we say: "Deliver us from the evil one." The one who sins, then, fulfills the will of the devil, who from then on and from his youth—that is, from the beginning—esteemed base things. Alternatively: Sin, he says, is not recent but old. Therefore Noah also heard from God that the mind of men is earnestly inclined to evil. And "youth" here means not youth in age, but a fresh and not steadfast character. Alternatively: The one who has a habit of sinning, and has consented in his mind to sin, begins to sin from then on, from the moment he consented, even if he accomplishes the deed much later, or even does not accomplish it at all, being prevented not by his own choice but by some circumstance. Alternatively: The one who sins and does evil, even if he became known to us from the outcome, yet by the words of God's foreknowledge he was known from of old to be a sinner. "For I know that it will be good for those who fear God, so that they fear before him. And it will not be good for the ungodly, and he will not be long in the shadow, who does not fear before the face of God." After exposing the vanity in the world, he delivers to those who assemble in the church the fear that sanctifies in God. This fear, for the pious who live as in the presence of God and guard every action and thought of theirs as though God were watching, becomes the cause of all good things; but for the ungodly there is no good.

But the phrase "he will not prolong a day in shadow" means: since the sinner supposed that the time in this life, even if it is long, is not a shadow, but he clung to things that do not stand and are temporary as though they would remain forever. Or thus: even if in this life the sinner is sheltered through God's forbearance and is not punished, yet a little later he will be handed over to eternal punishment. "There is a vanity that is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men, that it comes upon them as the work of the unjust; I said that this too is vanity." Now introducing the person of the one who is tripped up, Ecclesiastes says: I saw in life the things owed to the impious having come upon the righteous—such as disease, or poverty, or some other painful visitation—and conversely, the things owed to the pious having befallen the impious. Therefore such a person, as one who is shallow-minded, says, "this too is vanity." But the wise man, observing the outcomes of affairs and the recompenses of each, knows that God does not allow these things to happen in vain. But rather, so that the righteous may obtain greater crowns, and the impious may have their punishments intensified. And again he called vanity "upon the earth"; for nothing in heaven is vain. "And I praised with gladness, that there is no good for man under the sun, except to eat and to drink and to be glad, and this itself will accompany him in his toil, the days of his life, which God gave him under the sun; in which I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to see the distraction that is made upon the earth.

For even in the day and in the night there is no sleep in his eyes, seeing." If the face of the lover of the world is still speaking, he defines all gladness in the pleasure of sensible things; but if someone has such ears as to hear the wise Ecclesiastes speaking, he knows what the true food and drink is, and that while we are still under the sun in this life we have received the earnest of the Spirit. And from the passage, "Inasmuch as I gave my heart to know wisdom," the Wise One knows, having contemplated with the most keen-sighted eye of his mind, that no one is undistracted, and that there is no one who sees sleep; but the one is distracted in a praiseworthy way, being occupied with divine things; the other in a blameworthy way, toiling over human things. And the righteous man does not give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids, but he keeps watch, since it is day, and does not fall into the darkness of ignorance; neither in the day, that is, in a time of prosperity; nor in the night, that is, in a time of temptations. But the unjust man, joining nights to days, does not sleep a sweet sleep, either anxious how he may acquire the things he desires, or fearing the removal of what he has already acquired. "And I saw all the works of God, that man will not be able to find out the work that has been done under the sun; however much a man may toil to seek, he will not find it; and even whatever the wise man may say to know it, he will not be able to find it." The knowledge of God, according to which all things have come to be, is comprehensible to him alone. But we, even if we write and know something, know in part, being made wise by his grace.

No one, then, whether among those outside or among those who have begun to make progress in the true wisdom, nor among things attainable by human means, is wise enough to be able perfectly to have knowledge of the whole creation; for neither the essences nor the measures of heaven, perhaps, or of earth, or of sea, nor how they were fixed, nor on what they stand, is it possible to discover. But even if a wise man speaks persuasive words, he is wholly unable to discover any truth. CHAPTER 9. "Because I gave all this to my heart, and my heart saw all this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God." He has said whose knowledge is hidden, in order to restrain us from laboring in vain over such inquiries; now he says what the eye of the wise man has been precisely assured of, that the righteous and the wise, and their deeds, are under the shelter of the hand of God, not being permitted by hostile adversaries to be harmed. For the virtuous, and their works according to virtue, are sheltered by God; but concerning the impious it is written: And they themselves were thrust away from your hand. "And indeed man does not know love and hatred; all things are before his face; vanity in all." Symmachus, instead of "vanity in all things," has rendered "all things are unclear before them"; instead of "man does not know whether the one he hates will bring benefit, and the one he loves will be a plotter." But according to a higher meaning, he who is still man, and has not yet become God's, does not know what is worthy of love, or what is worthy of hatred. For toilsome virtue is worthy of love; but pleasure in sensible things is worthy of hatred.

But the one who understands things in a mistaken and inverted way has all things vain before his face, understanding existing things not as the truth is, but as pleasure suggests. "There is one event for the righteous and the impious, for the good and the evil, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice; as the good man is, so is the sinner; as the one who swears, so is the one who fears the oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event for all." It has often been set down in the passages above that things intermediate and indifferent—sickness and health, wealth and poverty, and the like—are common to both the righteous and the sinner, insofar as all are mortal living beings; for insofar as they are rational, they have a difference: in that the one does good, while the other acts impiously by free choice. Note that he has also placed the one who swears with the sinners. He called the common happenings evil, as if speaking in the person of those who stumble and who, because of the common happenings, do not think that the righteous man has any more than the impious, or any less toil. For both alike toil, as long as they are under the sun; but after the departure from here, to each is rendered according to his worth. "And indeed the heart of the sons of men was filled with evil, and revolving in their heart, and after it, toward the dead. For who is a companion to all the living?" The heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, being carried round this way and that; and they labor until they too reach the dead; for no one can have continual fellowship with the living. For the common end altogether succeeds him. Otherwise:

Sons of man" means the common herd: seeing the common misfortunes of the righteous, they are filled with wickedness, and their heart is carried about in toils, until, being dead in their deeds, they are reckoned together with the dead, having no fellowship with those who lived in virtue, who are also rightly called living, enjoying eternal life. "There is hope that the living dog is itself better than the dead lion." The poor man, even if he lives according to God, has a good hope beyond the proud and boastful man, who has been put to death by sin. Alternatively: the people from the Gentiles, formerly a dog and unclean, but having come to the faith and been made alive, has a good hope beyond the royal people of the Jews. "The living will know that they will die; and the dead are not, knowing nothing." Those who have a vital moisture in their own mind, reckoning the present life to be temporary, live in virtue because of the hopes to come; but those who have been put to death by sin, held fast by ignorance, live like irrational beasts. "And there is no longer a reward for them, because their memory has been completed." For what reward is there for sinners, whom God is said not even to remember? For the Lord has known only those who are his. Understand this also in reference to the

the people of the Jews. "And indeed their love, and indeed their hatred, and indeed their zeal have already perished." Those who are dead in their transgressions, of whom the people of the Jews are also, no longer preserve love toward God, nor hatred toward wickedness; nor can they say as Phinehas did, "I was zealous with zeal for the Lord." "And indeed there is no portion for them forever, in all that is done under the sun." The land of promise, which was the inheritance of the Jews, and Jerusalem itself, and the dignity of the priesthood they have lost, so that they have no portion in this life upon the earth. "Come, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine with a good heart, because God has been well pleased with your works." According to the literal sense, one partakes of God's creatures in gladness and with a good heart, using them in moderation and according to need; for this is proper to rational beings. Therefore he also said, "your bread." For insatiability and gluttony are proper to irrational beasts. According to the deeper meaning, bread and wine are the virtues of rational beings, nourishing the souls in a fitting manner. Therefore God is also well pleased, that is, he assents and rejoices in such actions of theirs. Otherwise: the Word made flesh urges the human race to the mystical participation, which has come to be chiefly for our sake; for for our salvation the incorporeal one was made flesh. And he is well pleased, and rejoices together with the works of the Church.

Let your garments be white at all times." The deeds according to virtue, and the garment given through the regeneration of the bath, kept white at all times through sinlessness, have as their garments white ones. And he who washes his bed each night, and soaks his couch with tears, and wipes away the stains of sin through repentance. "And let not oil be lacking on your head." As for the literal sense, the word wishes the practitioners of virtue to be cheerful, and not to make their faces disappear in the gloom of hypocrisy. As for the meaning, oil is nourishing of light, and a release from toils. And the anointing of the Holy Spirit enlightens our mind and gives us rest, which we ought to have at all times, not grieving the Holy Spirit. Otherwise: our head is called Christ; and he appropriates to himself the alms given to the poor. Let us not then cease anointing our head, that is, taking up a habit of almsgiving toward those in need. "And see life with the woman whom you have loved." If simply, with a beloved woman, he means the Church, the bride of Christ, in whom eternal life is found. But if with the woman of the one being taught, as for the literal sense he teaches monogamy, and introduces honorable marriage; and chastity in marriage becomes the cause of eternal life. See then life with the woman whom you have loved, instead of, Do not be deceived by her, as Adam was by Eve. But be eager yourself to lead by the hand the weaker part toward life.

In a deeper sense, wisdom is called a woman, living with whom we may delight in eternal life. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor reasoning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in Hades, where you are going." He exhorts us to pursue practical virtue according to all our strength, but not beyond our strength. For the one who works at this according to his strength both cultivates good reasonings and is deemed worthy of knowledge and wisdom, insofar as God apportions according to what is beneficial. But in Hades, since practical things, being perceptible, cannot exist there, those who lived in sins, being unable in Hades to pursue practical virtue, necessarily can neither become wise nor otherwise virtuous, having been handed over to eternal torments. "I turned, and I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to the discerning, nor yet grace to the knowledgeable, for time and chance will befall them all; and moreover man does not know his time." "I turned," he says, in place of, "I observed something else again,

For it is not entirely to the swift that victory in the race belongs, nor to the strong that success in war belongs, nor to the prudent and understanding that wealth belongs. But neither do those who know many things always have favor; for the happenings are common to all, that is, the outcomes of affairs. And neither among humans is anything self-sufficient, or even, or alike to the end, since all things are overturned and proceed according to the unattainable judgments of God. But neither does a person know, it says, the time of his own death; therefore it is fitting to be watchful and to practice virtue. And with respect to understanding: the virtuous, the swift, the strong, or the rich ought not to trust in themselves; but the opposite, which indeed those who are wise in this way also do, saying, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it have labored in vain"; and to commit everything to God. For it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God who shows mercy, that the success of victory comes. For neither does a person have favor, even if he knows many things, unless he receives the favor from God, nor does he know the time of action, unless he is enlightened by God. "As fish that are caught in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls upon them suddenly." An evil net is the web woven from manifold wickedness. But there is also a good one, like the dragnet woven from the old and new teachings of our Savior. Those, then, of humans who pursue the wet and flowing life, like irrational fish swimming in the streams of wickedness, are caught by such nets.

But those who pursue the falsely named knowledge, and who seem to be some lofty beings and airborne, like the birds that fly, are caught in the devil's snares, and they fall into the evil time of punishment, whenever sudden destruction comes upon them. "And this too I saw: wisdom under the sun; and there is a great city to me, and it is small, and men in it are few; and a great king shall come against it, and shall surround it, and shall build great palisades against it; and he shall find in it a poor wise man, and he himself shall save the city by his wisdom; and no man remembered that poor man. And I said, Wisdom is good beyond power; and the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard." As if speaking to himself, the one who stumbles says that he has seen great wisdom under the sun—a certain small city with few inhabitants, besieged by a great king, and saved by one of those within, poor but wise; and the weapons from outside are conquered by the good counsel of the poor man within, and that unassuming and propertyless wise man receives no gratitude. For men are naturally inclined for the most part to forget their benefactors, and to despise the words of the humble, even if they are useful; but to flatter only the rich and powerful, and to praise their words. But I, says the wise man, not having trusted in the many, will not say this: "Wisdom is good beyond power." So much for the literal sense. But for the anagogical sense: the small city is the Church on earth, in comparison with the heavenly one; the few men in it are the saints and the elect.

But the one great in evil, the originator of evil, is the devil. He always encircles this city, wishing to capture those in it. But the poor and wise man who saves the city is Christ the Savior, the wisdom of God the Father, who also says, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." And his words are not heard among the unwise Greeks and Jews; but the wise man, having understood by the power of the mystery that it was not by divine authority and strength, but by wisdom that he acted, and that the Word became man, wrestled down the tyrant, leaving him no pretext; so that just as he conquered the ancient Adam as a man, so also by a man he might be thrown down by the new Adam, who is from the heavens. Concerning this he cried out beforehand: "Good wisdom is above power. The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the cry of those who have authority in folly." Do not take what is said as a comparison; for wisdom and folly are not compared. For comparison is of things similar, not of things contrary. The words, then, he says, of the wise are heard in quiet, that is, whenever the hearers have received what is said with pleasure, rest comes to be in the souls of the hearers; but the cry of the foolish is worthy of condemnation, even if they be some rulers; for the soul, filled with folly, utters its words with a cry and in confusion, not with calmness, or any order, or steadiness. Otherwise: The divine apostles, servants of wisdom, gave rest to the souls of those who heard; but the aberrant cry of the foolish Jews, of those who said, "Take him away, take him away, crucify him," destroyed both those men themselves and those who followed them.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war." Any prudent counsel is indeed a good thing, better than the aid that comes from weapons. And in the anagogical sense, the power of Wisdom itself was shown—of our Lord Jesus Christ and God—casting down the weapons of war, that is, the devil and the demonic ranks, and showing all the forms of evil to be powerless. "And one sinner will destroy much good." Adam sinned, and he caused sin and death to be transmitted to the whole human race, himself destroying the image of the good God and producing many such men. And simply, anyone who sins destroys his own goodness, which perhaps he acquired through earlier virtues, and draws many to the same imitation. CHAPTER 10. "Dead flies make the ointment of sweet oil stink." The prepared oil is the myrrh, as Aquila also rendered it; and the fly is an unclean creature, settling on wounds and putrefactions, and seeking the incisions of the body. The fly kills itself by throwing itself into the perfumer's oil. For it both dies itself and destroys the oil. The Jews, then, having lost their senses regarding their own souls, are dead flies, having hastened to make the sweet-smelling word of the Savior stink, and desiring to find occasions against him. "A little wisdom is precious above the glory of great folly." Many have been glorified in folly: the man formidable in tongue, in unjust advocacy; the man who became illustrious as rich in the world; those who labored over vain things in external wisdom.

But incomparably better is he who begins with the wisdom that is according to God, and is led into it, and begins to touch it, and is out of his mind with respect to the glory that lies in folly. "The heart of the wise is at his right; and the heart of the fool is at his left." Heart must be understood as the mind; for the bodily heart certainly lies in one place, in what is called the diaphragm. The mind of the wise man, then, always inclines to the right and to things praiseworthy; but the mind of the fool to the left and to things that are blameworthy. "And indeed, when a fool walks in the way, his heart will fail, and all that he reasons is folly." In this life, which is called the way, the fool, having his heart on the left, always fails, not pursuing according to the mark toward the prize of the upward calling, nor stretching forward to the things that are before, nor hastening to the end. But even if he seems to walk, he will fail, doing and reasoning all things incomplete and irrational. And if he even attempts the way of the statutes, or pretends to meditate on them—that is, the divine commandments—since he has not inclined his heart to the right, he fails, neither understanding what is enjoined nor doing anything according to the will of the lawgiver. "If the spirit of the one who has authority rises up against you, do not leave your place, for healing will put a stop to great sins." The spirit of the one who has authority over this age, of the sons of disobedience, who subjected themselves to the authority and tyranny of the devil not by compulsion but by choice.